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But there are no easy answers.
It's unclear if he was directly addressing remarks made by Bolton over the weekend that when Erdogan wrote: "Turkey intends to cooperate and coordinate our actions with our friends and allies."While Bolton said a USA withdrawal will be contingent on whether the White House can reach an agreement with Turkey on protecting the Kurds, he also said the time American troops will remain in Syria is not unlimited - adding "the primary point is we are going to withdraw from northeastern Syria."The national security adviser's repeated caveat that the withdraw is from northeastern Syria, not Syria overall, underscores a policy shift since Trump's December 19 announcement that all American forces would leave Syria".
"As the president has stated, the USA will maintain whatever capability is necessary for operations needed to prevent IS's resurgence", the administration official said. We've taken back the land. "The United States opposes any mistreatment of opposition forces who fought with the USA against IS".
"It's one thing for the government to be very confident that an individual joined or tried to join ISIS".
"Gen. Dunford did not say this during his meetings [Tuesday] with Turkish defense officials", a Joint Staff statement said.
Meanwhile, the prisoner problem is only growing worse. Such disgraceful conduct might well have serious adverse consequences the next time we try to enlist a regional force to fight terrorists.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just began a tour of eight Middle Eastern nations to discuss the withdrawal of the American troops. National security adviser John Bolton traveled to Israel and Turkey, where he said he would seek assurances from Turkey that the Kurds would be protected and pledged that the USA would ensure that ISIS is defeated.
He then took another swipe at the 2015 Iran nuclear deal - from which the USA withdrew a year ago.
Any such offensive would likely see the YPG redirecting fighters battling the last Isil enclaves to the northern border with Turkey.
IBM has banked on quantum as one of its core future technologies, first opening up client access through the cloud a year ago . IBM has bet a lot on this futuristic technology and time and again shared its progress in the field of quantum computing.
The talks are occurring as Chinese growth - 6.5 percent in the July-to-September period - fell to its lowest point in a decade. But as meetings wound down in Beijing on Tuesday evening, Trump tweeted: "Talks with China are going very well! ".
Ankara's operation against Kurdish-led forces in Syria doesn't hinge on a USA pull-out, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has warned. Specifically, Salih said he would like to see the USA help in the reconstruction of Iraq and rebuilding the country's economy, according to a statement from his office. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to disclose the information publicly.
In a recent case of an American suspected of IS membership, USA officials wrestled for more than a year, never charged him and then ultimately released him in Bahrain.
He was speaking to reporters at the U.S. Consulate General in Erbil, Iraq.
US officials have since tempered the timeline for withdrawal, saying there isn't one, and Trump has said a drawdown would happen slowly. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis quit over it.
And numerous Trump administration´s decisions have stoked confusion and angered many regional allies.
SDF leaders threatened in recent weeks to release these prisoners because, they said, they were understaffed and due to the threat of possible Turkish attacks in the north.
"These questions are hard enough, if you know the timeline on which you're making them _ if you know what the USA involvement will or won't be over that timeline, " Geltzer said. "The (YPG's) fight with Islamic State in Syria is a huge lie".
At least 15 Houthi militants were killed attempting to launch a ballistic missile towards Saudi Arabia from Al-Tayyar district in Saada province on Wednesday, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya News Channel reported.
The Complete List of Winners of the 2019 Golden Globes
Focus Features, which is owned by Comcast, 1960s roadtrip movie Green Book was named best comedy movie. This year saw blues, golds, reds and lots of metallic.
A New Jersey child has died of the flu, marking the first pediatric flu death of the 2018-2019 season in the state. The HSE has urged all people in at-risk groups for the flu to get vaccinated if they have not done so already.
More than a dozen foreign offices received suspicious packages on Wednesday, including the USA and British missions in Melbourne. The substance in the packages is "suspected to have been sourced from his Shepparton home" in Northern Victoria, police said.
Meghan will continue in her role as joint-patron for The Royal Foundation, which was set up by Princes William and Harry. Meghan Markle has officially been announced as patron of four organisations, taking over two of those from The Queen .
FC reports that the player is looking increasingly likely to join Bayern Munich in the near future. Despite starting Chelsea's last two cup matches, Hudson-Odoi has struggled for regular game-time.
Parsons 'extremely disappointed' Grizzlies didn't give him chance
He entered the season healthy, but was sidelined with knee soreness after just three games. He has averaged 7.0 points in 19 minutes per game.
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Home News News Briefs
Verity Martin
Utah gay marriage ban struck down in federal court
According to BBC, a Denver-based federal appeals court ruled against Utah’s gay marriage ban, upholding a lower federal court’s ruling. A three-judge panel blocked the legislature, ruling that the law was unconstitutional and discriminated against same-sex couples.
Utah’s gay marriage ban has been struck down by several US courts, and this marks the first time a federal appeals court has ruled on same-sex marriage in the United States.
Same-sex marriage is legal in 19 states and the District of Columbia. If the ban is not struck down, same-sex couples will not be able to marry in the six states covered by the court: Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Utah.
Anti-spam law comes into effect July 1
A major section of Bill C-28 is set to come into effect next week, forcing many businesses to get client consent before they are able to send electronic marketing communications. Emails, text messages, and occasionally social media accounts fall under this umbrella.
Neglecting to abide by the new legislation could result in fines for businesses, organizations, and individuals. This bill will apply to any business that sends electronic messages. The bill is set to come into effect in several stages, the last of which is set to launch July 1, 2017.
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day messages from Peter MacKay stick to old-fashioned gender roles
Justice Minister Peter MacKay is in the spotlight again after his Mother’s Day and Father’s Day messages to staff became public.
According to CBC, the messages praised mothers and fathers for very different aspects of their parenting, painting mothers as caregivers and fathers as role-models.
MacKay, who has recently been accused of being old-fashioned and patronizing towards women, commends women for having “two full-time jobs,” working in the government, and being a mother. According to MacKay’s email, the main functions of motherhood include changing diapers, making lunches, and planning dinner.
His Father’s Day email took a different tone, praising fathers for their guiding influence on their children and applauding their efforts in shaping the minds of the future generation. MacKay has not yet released a statement addressing the messages.
Providing a unique perspective
The unsustainable truth about Tim Hortons
Staving off a takeover with Canadian bacon
I will go down with this ship
Pre-finals finals stress
Their doctors are polite, too
Religion and faith on campus
Mental health committee opens discussion to students
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The Spanish banks in a European context: From transition to recovery
Spanish banks have taken advantage of the crisis to implement measures, which now appear to have given them some relative advantages with respect to many of their European peers. Despite a seemingly more benign outlook going into 2017, major challenges remain on the international scene for both the Spanish and eurozone banks.
Abstract: Spain’s banks appear to have more reason for optimism in 2017 than they did in 2016 ‒ a year marked by uncertainty and market jitters since its onset. The scrutiny of the European and international institutions and the efforts made by the sector itself appear to have translated into a significant improvement in the robustness and earnings prospects of the Spanish banks, which are nevertheless still making adjustments, significant in some cases, in a market environment that still cannot be described as risk-free. Relative to the eurozone as a whole, the Spanish banks continue their ‘deleveraging’ effort in an attempt to match supply with the new demand paradigm. However, the prospects for credit are improving little by little. Spanish banks also appear to present a relative advantage in terms of their cost-to-income ratios and income-generating capabilities. Two-thirds of the gross operating income generated by the banks in the single currency area are gobbled up by their administrative and wage costs, compared to just half in Spain. Finally, the Spanish banks’ Tier 1 capital ratio rose from 11.87% to 14.96% between 2010 and 2016 ‒ somewhat below the eurozone average, but comfortably above regulatory requirements and demonstrating reinforced transparency. Going forward, both Spanish and eurozone banks face a challenging international context, mainly due to uncertainty surrounding Brexit implementation, potential spillover effects from US financial deregulation, and the upcoming stress test exercise.
The backdrop: Earnings at the Spanish banks, outside scrutiny and ratings actions
So far, 2017 has not been free from uncertainty for the European banks, although the markets have not been as convulsive or volatile as in 2016. Monetary conditions remain exceptional, with the ECB expected to continue to provide abundant liquidity and real rates still in negative territory.
Doubts about the health of the Italian banks linger. The solution offered to date for the bailout of Monte dei Paschi di Siena is incomplete and unlikely to address three problems: (i) tainted sector credibility given the persistent lack of transparency; (ii) correct application of the mechanisms contemplated by the single supervisor, given that the situation has been defined as a bailout and not a ‘bail-in’ (in which shareholders and bondholders would assume part of the costs); and, (iii) non-performance across the Italian banking industry as a whole. Although the Italian authorities have offered up to 20 billion euros of contingent aid for the country’s banks presenting solvency issues, an exhaustive analysis of the banks’ assets is still lacking.
In the midst of the doubts about the Italian banks, the ECB itself has made statements suggesting that it might be a good idea to create a pan-European asset management company (a so-called bad bank) to provide a faster exit route for the impaired assets still in the hands of the eurozone’s banks. This avenue would offer an additional solution for the Italian banks and those of other countries, potentially even complementing the bad banks already set up in some instances. Whatever happens, the transparency-related problems have yet to be definitively resolved.
As for Spain, the banks have just wrapped up reporting their 2016 results. The six largest Spanish banks ‒ Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Bankia, Popular and Sabadell ‒ posted aggregate net profit of 8.76 billion euros, marking a drop of 22.3% from 2015. The loss recognised by Banco Popular (3.49 billion euros) had a considerable effect on the overall performance. Stripping Popular out, sector profits would have risen by 8.5%.
In the middle of earnings season, the European Commission (EC) published an important report (on February 22nd) titled Country Report Spain 2017 ‒ Including an In-Depth Review on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances (Brussels, 22.2.2017 SWD [2017] 74 final). Although the document broadly addresses the full spectrum of macroeconomic policies and the recent performance of the Spanish economy, it also assesses financial aspects of considerable interest.
Specifically, in this working document, the EC affirms that the “financial sector has continued to show a high degree of stability, supported by its ongoing restructuring, low funding costs and the economic recovery.” In reference to the banking sector, it notes that it has “further strengthened its capital buffers and all six Spanish banking groups that were subject to the EBA stress tests of July 2016 comfortably met capital requirements under this exercise.”
The EC maintains that the non-performing loan ratio will continue to trend in the right direction, noting that the “aggregate non-performing loan ratio fell to just above 9% in November 2016. As elsewhere in Europe, squeezed profitability, against the background of low interest rates and remaining scope to further improve the sector’s business model, is the main challenge.”
In sync with the outlook which most economists continue to express, the report notes that although the outstanding volume of credit is still falling, this trend may well revert in 2017; indeed bank lending to small and medium-sized enterprises is already registering considerable growth. There are also signs of some recovery in consumer credit.
The report also underlines the solvency of the Spanish banks, observing that the system “has ample access to liquidity and can comfortably meet the regulatory capital requirements. Solvency levels are resilient to a stress scenario, strengthened.”
Taking a longer-term perspective, although the authors applaud the private sector’s deleveraging efforts, they also indicate that “the indebtedness of the Spanish economy remains high, with the stock of private non-financial sector debt amounting to 167.5% of GDP in Q3-2016. Mirroring the net external liabilities, the high level of debt remains a macroeconomic imbalance, the associated financial burden constraining domestic demand and increasing vulnerability to interest rate shocks.”
Elsewhere, in terms of the environment facing the Spanish banks, it is also worth highlighting the fact that certain court decisions are among the factors exerting downward pressure on profitability. On December 21st, 2016, the EU Court of Justice ruled that the outlawing of the so-called mortgage ‘floors’ in Spain in May 2013 should have full retroactive effect. Although a good deal of the potential impact had been provisioned for by the banks as a reasonably probable legal risk, the ruling had the effect of reducing the profits reported by a considerable number of banks in 2016. On January 20th, 2017, the Spanish government approved a free, voluntary and expedited out-of-court settlement procedure for dealing with demands for reimbursement in connection with the mortgage floors. Note that a sizeable number of financial institutions consider that the eventualities contemplated in the ruling do not affect some or all of their existing mortgage agreements.
In terms of the sector’s improving reputation, it is worth noting that on February 9th, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) upgraded Bankia’s issuer rating from BB+ to BBB-, restoring this entity to investment grade status. S&P left its ratings outlook at stable. This ratings agency also lifted the ratings of Bankinter (from BB+ to BBB-), Ibercaja (from BB to BB+) and Abanca (from B+ to BB-) by one notch, leaving them all on watch positive. It also put its issuer ratings for Santander, CaixaBank, Kutxabank, Cecabank and Caja Laboral on watch positive. On the other hand, Fitch downgraded Banco Popular from BB- to B+ on February 15th.
In parallel and in this same arena, Spain’s House of Deputies and the Bank of Spain have been scrambling to take transparency measures in the midst of intense controversy concerning their preventative and supervisory actions before and during the financial crisis in Spain. Both institutions have announced they will compile reports analysing these matters in detail.
Situation relative to the eurozone
Several qualitative aspects of what sets the Spanish banks apart from their European peers have been analysed in detail in prior editions of the Spanish Economic and Financial Outlook. Specifically, the following three aspects:
A unique effort to step up transparency (beyond the usual regulatory requirements) in a bid to dispel doubts about the quality of their assets.
A deeper restructuring effort which has driven a bigger adjustment in supply and demand for retail banking services in Spain; this effort, moreover, remains intense.
Application of a broad package of requirements as a result of the financial aid provided by the EU, notable among which the assumption of bail-in mechanisms, even though: a) at the time the Single Resolution Mechanism had yet to be set in motion; and, b) these mechanisms have not been applied in Italy despite being effective since January 2016.
That being said, Spain continues to display certain tendencies that are evolving in line with those unfolding in the rest of the eurozone. The most recently updated figures in the European Central Bank’s Statistical Data Warehouse enable a comparison of the Spanish banks relative to the eurozone average as of September 2016. The first thing that jumps out is the deleveraging process: total banks assets have been contracting sharply since 2015 (Exhibit 1) and although there was a brief let-up towards the end of 2016, there are few signs of a recovery that would suggest that the size of the eurozone banking sector will increase any time soon.
This contraction in overall assets is evident in the credit balance, which, as noted above, began to recover in 2015 before going on to fall once again in the face of market uncertainty throughout 2016. As shown in Exhibit 2, the quarter-on-quarter rate of change was negative in 2016 and there are no signs of a significant turnaround. The proliferation of elections and the associated uncertainty is partly responsible for containment of the growth in credit. On top of this, the banks face regulatory pressure and reduced demand for financing at a time when indebtedness remains high. Nevertheless, the outlook for 2017 is brighter.
As for the business side of things, the negative rate environment is the key obstacle in the way of the European banking industry’s path back to profitability. This challenge relates not only to the generation of interest margin but also to matters less widely discussed such as the technical challenge of designing contracts when rates are negative or the outlook for demand when the cost of money is shaped by the central bank’s actions rather than reflecting the real risk of potential borrowers. All of which framed by the widespread public perception, albeit somewhat biased, that the current rates favour the banks but not households. However, the majority of households and companies have been able to repay their debts with significantly greater ease in the current environment of negative real rates. For the banks, however, it is more challenging to apply the risk premium needed to get credit flowing more decisively. As shown in Exhibit 4, net interest income as a percentage of total assets held steady between 2011 and 2014 (averaging 1.8% in Spain and 1.3% in the eurozone) but fell substantially in 2016.
One of the aspects on which the Spanish banks started out with a competitive advantage relative to the eurozone was efficiency. Given that sector restructuring has been relatively more intense in Spain, it is not surprising that the sector has maintained its edge in this respect. The cost-to-income ratio (operating expenses/gross operating income) presented in Exhibit 5 reveals a figure of 51.8% for the Spanish banks compared to a eurozone average of 64.4%. This means that two-thirds of the gross operating income generated by the banks in the single currency area are gobbled up by their administrative and wage costs, compared to just half in Spain.
Where the Spanish banking sector continues to evidence the higher indebtedness of the private sector relative to the European average is on the ‘loan-to-deposit’ ratio (Exhibit 6). This simple ratio provides an approximation of how much of the credit awarded has been backed up by the banks’ main source of liquidity: Deposits. In Spain, despite the cumulative drop in outstanding credit, the loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 94.2% in September 2016, having risen from 90.9% in 2014. However, the eurozone has continued in the opposite direction, with the average falling from 102.2% in 2014 to 100.7% by September 2016.
Another aspect to have contributed meaningfully to renewed confidence is the observed increase in capital adequacy ratios. The Spanish banks’ Tier 1 ratio increased from 11.87% to 14.96% between 2010 and 2016 (Exhibit 7). The eurozone continues to have somewhat of an edge in this respect, presenting an average Tier 1 ratio of 17.08% in 2016. Nevertheless, and continuing the thread of the analysis performed in the last section, an appropriate level of transparency regarding asset quality is just as important as having a high capital ratio, if not more so.
Challenges in 2017
Even though the markets appear to be a little firmer, 2017 is not free from risks for the Spanish banks or their European peers. By way of conclusion, here we summarise three of the major international challenges looming and their potential impact on the Spanish and eurozone banks:
One of the most controversial: Brexit. The triggering of this process in March 2017 is particularly important for the Spanish financial institutions on account of their exposure to the UK market. In fact, as illustrated in Exhibit 8, the Spanish banks were the only institutions among the major European countries to increase their exposure to the UK in the year prior to the referendum of June 23rd, 2016. Specifically, by 21.97 billion euros. This increase, however, should be viewed against the backdrop of the Spanish banks’ relative presence in the British market and their recent acquisitions. Moreover, as outlined in the last edition of SEFO, the risk of changes in the regulatory environment governing Spanish banks operating in the UK market do not appear excessive, although it is too soon to calibrate these changes.
Financial deregulation pressure stateside: although this issue is still on his ‘wish list’ and lacks concrete form, President Trump has suggested that the regulations brought in under the Dodd-Frank Act are excessive and inappropriate and should be largely rolled back. If he were to do this, dismantling much of this legislation without introducing sufficient counterbalances, it could turn out to be an error of gigantic proportions for two reasons. Firstly, because it could lead to the assumption of inadequate risk by the US and a proliferation of ‘shadow banking’ activities. And secondly, because it would seriously damage already-tenuous international financial coordination, an effort which at least has found a certain amount of common ground and success on certain aspects, such as capital adequacy. This loss of coordination could catch the eurozone off-guard at a particularly delicate time given the evident fragility of the banking union’s financial architecture in the face of the Italian banking crisis.
Lack of transparency benchmarks: The European Banking Authority faces a major challenge in 2017. This year there will be just one transparency exercise in the banking sector, while the next stress tests have been put off until 2018. The Italian banking crisis and lingering questions about certain institutions suggest that this transparency exercise could go in either direction. It could turn out well if sufficiently stringent and robust. But it could also turn out badly if, as until now, it overlooks important risks that end up materialising in the form of fresh episodes of bank stress, as happened with Monte dei Paschi di Siena. For the Spanish banks, this transparency exercise may prove the definitive opportunity for showing that the market is correctly assessing relative risk factors.
Santiago Carbó Valverde. Bangor Business School, CUNEF and Funcas Francisco Rodríguez Fernández. University of Granada and Funcas
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Intersectionality in Atlanta, Georgia- Ad from Anti Abortion Group "Black Children Are An Endangered Species"
Submitted by LaPrincipessa on 18 February, 2010 - 02:31
Located in southern United States, attempting to appeal to the 1/3 African American population of Atlanta, Georgia, the billboard pictured above plays upon racial stereotypes and social norms to convey a typical, pro-life message and relays the message that abortion is an immoral act against humanity.
I enlarged this picture above to emphasize it's effects. Look at the photo, what do you see? How does it make you feel? Are you sad for the child? Are you thinking about African American fetuses that have yet to be born? Are you worried about African Americans in America, that they may become "extinct"?
These are the questions the advertisement provoke.
The advertisement relays the message that a fetus is an independent being, suggesting that actual murders are occurring when an abortion is performed. The insinuation then, is that women are murderers. Not only women, black women are murderers who are ruthlessly killing off their own race.
The advertisement conveys a common notion among pro-life groups, that life begins at conception, that each fetus should be considered an actual living, breathing child. This has been disproven via scientific study and withstood legal action in court throughout many years. Thus, the message that the dispelling of a fetus from the womb, either surgically or medically, is murder is not only factually untrue, but contrary to the thousands of cases that have set the legal precedent that a fetus, up to a certain point within the womb, is not an independent, living human being; that the fetus is dependent upon the sustenance, nurturing and wellbeing of the body carrying it. The advertisement's message of "murder" is therefor untrue, scientifically unfounded and intellectually dishonest.
The group who purchased the billboard space and paid for the advertising campaign made the calculated decision to appeal to the African American community, as some reports indicate that statistically African American women obtain the most abortions, specifically in the South. (this may not actually be true, as much data is lacking and doesn't account for social factors and political implications) The insidious message to the broader demographic in America however, is that African Americans are more promiscuous, practice unsafe sex, and because they obtain more abortions, are less responsible. This has many lasting effect across the country that further enables historical constructs and stereotypes surrounding race to flourish. (Such as the construct in which the African American Women are portrayed to be an out-of-control sexual being that always wants sex)
It has been reported that many pro-life groups have jumped on the bandwagon and support this ad. campaign, citing their desire to save "all of god's creatures" (im quoting a coworker whom I spoke about this issue with). There seems to be a genuine ignorance of the type of message the billboard actually conveys, however. While many blogs and some mainstream media outlets have decried this despicable billboard, there has been little coverage and hardly any outrage. I daresay, I heard about stupid Tim Tebow's mother's personal, vaginal illness for weeks before the paltry commercial aired. This advertisement is 100 times more damaging on 400 different levels and I have read very litte on the subject.
If it were possible for me to feel any more dejected about this particular issue, it is only because there has been a complete lack of media coverage and criticism. Because mainstream media has failed again and allowed this pro-"life" group spewing lies, hate and racism, to get away with murder.
LaPrincipessa | Twitter.com/sophiabiabia | Sophiabiabia@gmail.com
(Posted at Women Undefined)
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Cookie’s Kids Children School Uniform Fashion Trends for 2019
Cookie's Kids, a New York City-based children’s clothing store chain offering premium school uniforms, stresses the addition of accessories for one-of-a-kind looks.
New York, United States - March 20, 2019 /PressCable/ —
Cookie’s Kids, a New York City-based children’s clothing store chain boasting locations all throughout Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx and which has become famous for its incredible selection of premium uniforms, is offering tips to parents and students alike for making uniforms unique without breaking the rules. At the top of Cookie’s list is the addition of accessories, which, when injected in a fun and creative way, can yield one-of-a-kind looks and styles.
To view the entire line of Cookie’s Kids school uniforms, visit: https://www.cookieskids.com/school_uniforms.aspx
“We’re seeing a trend of added flexibility when it comes to the styles of uniforms kids can wear in schools that demand them – but through accessorizing, these styles can be taken to a whole new level without breaking the rules,” says a Cookie’s senior company spokesperson. “Backpacks, jackets and shoes are all great ways to make a look unique; switching it up from ballet flats to sneakers can completely change the vibe of an outfit, as just one example.”
For girls’ accessories, Cookie’s representatives suggest elements such as jumpers paired with white button-up uniform shirts that will make any young lady feel like a princess, and they also point to IZOD’s khaki skater skirts paired with perfectly-fitted blazers or fitted red polos with a pair of casual slim-fit khakis rolled at the hem with floral sneakers.
When it comes to the boys, Cookie’s reps find that adding the perfect belt to that shirt-and-tie ensemble is an effective way of personalizing an outfit, in addition to recommending pieces such as red polos and khakis as well as high-top Converse sneakers for out-of-the-ordinary combos.
Cookie’s executives have also been studying the key influences on school uniform design in 2019, referencing themes of gender-neutrality, climate management and modesty that are dominating youth-geared fashion at the moment. According to Cookie’s research, schools in 2019 and beyond want to make the right choices in managing the diverse student bodies they have while students themselves want to feel comfortable, stylish and modern in what they are wearing.
To this end, the trends in boys’ clothing tends to lean towards slim-fit trousers and “city shorts,” with short styles featuring a fixed waistband and slim fit to give pupils a cooler choice in the warmer months without compromising on sophistication, while the inverted pleat dominates modern girls’ fashion, offering a way to introduce color and patterns into a school uniform.
Name: Al Falack
Organization: Cookie's Kids
Address: 510 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY, New York 11201, United States
Website: http://www.cookieskids.com
Source: PressCable
NEW YORK — U.S. overdose deaths last year likely fell for the first time in nearly three decades, preliminary statistics suggest. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday posted the provisional numbers showing nearly 68,000 drug overdose deaths were reported last year. The number may go up as more investigations are completed, but the agency expects the tally will end up below 69,000. Overdose deaths had been climbing each year since 1990, topping 70,000 in 2017. The numbers were celebrated by the U.S. secretary of health and human services. "Lives are being saved, and we're beginning to win...
NEW YORK — Scientists say they nearly eliminated disease-carrying mosquitoes on two islands in China using a new technique. The downside: It may not be practical for larger areas and may cost a lot of money. In the experiment, researchers targeted Asian tiger mosquitoes, invasive white-striped bugs that can spread dengue fever, Zika and other diseases. They used a novel approach for pest control: First, they infected the bugs with a virus-fighting bacterium, and then zapped them with a small dose of radiation. Zapping is meant to sterilize the mosquitoes. And releasing mosquitoes infected with a bacterial strain not found...
Planned Parenthood to defy Trump abortion referral rule
WASHINGTON — Federally funded family planning clinics, including Planned Parenthood, are defying the Trump administration's ban on referring women for abortions, drawing a line against what they say amounts to keeping patients in the dark about legitimate health care options. "We are not going to comply with a regulation that would require health care providers to not give full information to their patients," Jacqueline Ayers, the group's top lobbyist, said in an interview Tuesday. "We believe as a health care provider it is wrong to withhold health care information from patients." The fallout from the confrontation between the Trump administration...
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Requests to bring in child brides OK'd; legal under US laws
WASHINGTON — Thousands of requests by men to bring in child and adolescent brides to live in the United States were approved over the past decade, according to government data obtained by The Associated Press. In one case, a 49-year-old man applied for admission for a 15-year-old girl.
The approvals are legal: The Immigration and Nationality Act does not set minimum age requirements for the person making the request or for that person's spouse or fiancee. By contrast, to bring in a parent from overseas, a petitioner has to be at least 21 years old.
And in weighing petitions, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services goes by whether the marriage is legal in the spouse or fiancee's home country and then whether the marriage would be legal in the state where the petitioner lives.
The data raises questions about whether the immigration system may be enabling forced marriage and about how U.S. laws may be compounding the problem despite efforts to limit child and forced marriage. Marriage between adults and minors is not uncommon in the U.S., and most states allow children to marry with some restrictions.
There were more than 5,000 cases of adults petitioning on behalf of minors and nearly 3,000 examples of minors seeking to bring in older spouses or fiances, according to the data requested by the Senate Homeland Security Committee in 2017 and compiled into a report. The approval is the first of a two-step visa process, and USCIS said it has taken steps to better flag and vet the petitions.
Some victims of forced marriage say the lure of a U.S. passport combined with lax U.S. marriage laws are partly fueling the petitions.
"My sunshine was snatched from my life," said Naila Amin, a dual citizen born in Pakistan who grew up in New York City.
She was forcibly married at 13 in Pakistan and later applied for papers for her 26-year-old husband to come to the U.S. at the behest of her family. She was forced for a time to live in Pakistan with him, where, she said, she was sexually assaulted and beaten. She came back to the U.S., and he was to follow.
"People die to come to America," she said. "I was a passport to him. They all wanted him here, and that was the way to do it."
Amin, now 29, said she was betrothed when she was just 8 and he was 21. The petition she submitted after her marriage was approved by immigration officials, but he never came to the country, in part because she ran away from home. She said the ordeal cost her a childhood. She was in and out of foster care and group homes, and it took a while to get her life on track.
"I was a child. I want to know: Why weren't any red flags raised? Whoever was processing this application, they don't look at it? They don't think?" Amin asked.
Fraidy Reiss, who campaigns against coerced marriage as head of a group called Unchained at Last, has scores of similar anecdotes: An underage girl was brought to the U.S. as part of an arranged marriage and eventually was dropped at the airport and left there after she miscarried. Another was married at 16 overseas and was forced to bring an abusive husband.
Reiss said immigration status is often held over their heads as a tool to keep them in line.
There is a two-step process for obtaining U.S. immigration visas and green cards. Petitions are first considered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS. If granted, they must be approved by the State Department. Overall, there were 3.5 million petitions received from budget years 2007 through 2017.
Over that period, there were 5,556 approvals for those seeking to bring minor spouses or fiancees, and 2,926 approvals by minors seeking to bring in older spouses, according to the data. Additionally, there were 204 for minors by minors. Petitions can be filed by U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
"It indicates a problem. It indicates a loophole that we need to close," Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, told the AP.
In nearly all the cases, the girls were the younger person in the relationship. In 149 instances, the adult was older than 40, and in 28 cases the adult was over 50, the committee found. In 2011, immigration officials approved a 14-year-old's petition for a 48-year-old spouse in Jamaica. A petition from a 71-year-old man was approved in 2013 for his 17-year-old wife in Guatemala.
There are no nationwide statistics on child marriage, but data from a few states suggests it is far from rare. State laws generally set 18 as the minimum age for marriage, yet every state allows exceptions. Most states let 16- and 17-year-olds marry if they have parental consent, and several states — including New York, Virginia and Maryland — allow children under 16 to marry with court permission.
Reiss researched data from her home state, New Jersey. She determined that nearly 4,000 minors, mostly girls, were married in the state from 1995 to 2012, including 178 who were under 15.
"This is a problem both domestically and in terms of immigration," she said.
Reiss, who says she was forced into an abusive marriage by her Orthodox Jewish family when she was 19, said that often cases of child marriage via parental consent involve coercion, with a girl forced to marry against her will.
"They are subjected to a lifetime of domestic servitude and rape," she said. "And the government is not only complicit; they're stamping this and saying: Go ahead."
The data was requested in 2017 by Johnson and then-Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, the committee's top Democrat. Johnson said it took a year to get the information, showing there needs to be a better system to track and vet the petitions.
"Our immigration system may unintentionally shield the abuse of women and children," the senators said in the letter requesting the information.
USCIS didn't know how many of the approvals were granted by the State Department, but overall only about 2.6 percent of spousal or fiance claims are rejected. A State Department representative said the department is committed to protecting the rights of children and combatting forced marriage.
Separately, the data show some 4,749 minor spouses or fiancees received green cards to live in the U.S. over that 10-year period.
The head of USCIS said in a letter to the committee that its request had raised questions and discussion within the agency on what it can do to prevent forced minor marriages.
USCIS created a flagging system when a minor spouse or fiance is detected. After the initial flag, it is sent to a special unit that verifies the age and relationship are correct before the petition is accepted. Another flag requires verification of the birthdate whenever a minor is detected. Officials note an approval doesn't mean the visa is immediately issued.
"USCIS has taken steps to improve data integrity and has implemented a range of solutions that require the verification of a birthdate whenever a minor spouse or fiance is detected," USCIS spokesman Michael Bars said. "Ultimately, it is up to Congress to bring more certainty and legal clarity to this process for both petitioners and USCIS officers."
The country where most requests came from was Mexico, followed by Pakistan, Jordan, the Dominican Republic and Yemen. Middle Eastern nationals had the highest percentage of overall approved petitions.
Follow Colleen Long on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ctlong1
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Assignment Method Of Estimating Population
Zulurr 27.02.2018 27.02.2018 0 Comments on Assignment Method Of Estimating Population
This Wednesday is every math teacher’s favorite day, Pi Day! Whether your favorite pie is apple, pecan, pumpkin, or Key lime, you can prepare your students with the Circumferenceand Area of Circles Gizmo. In this Gizmo, students set the radius (and diameter) of a circle, then use the included arc length tool to measure the circumference. Students see that the ratio of the circumference to the diameter is always a bit over three, or pi to be precise. Students can also use these tools to see how pi relates to the area of a circle.
Measuring circles is a great classroom activity as well. Have students create circles of various sizes on thin cardboard or poster board, either with compasses or by tracing everyday objects like cans and lids. Measure the diameter and circumference of each circle, and post the results on the chalkboard. Even better, measure the diameter and circumference of all the empty pie pans when you’re done feasting. Happy Pi Day!
The post Gizmo of the Week: Circumference and Area of Circles appeared first on ExploreLearning News.
GENECLASS2 is a software that computes various genetic assignment criteria to assign or exclude reference populations as the origin of diploid or haploid individuals, as well as of groups of individuals, on the basis of multilocus genotype data. In addition to traditional assignment aims, the program allows the specific task of first-generation migrant detection. It includes several Monte Carlo resampling algorithms that compute for each individual its probability of belonging to each reference population or to be a resident (i.e., not a first-generation migrant) in the population where it was sampled. A user-friendly interface facilitates the treatment of large datasets.
The general aim of genetic assignment methods is to assign or exclude reference populations as possible origins of individuals on the basis of multilocus genotypes. Faster and cheaper development of highly polymorphic genetic markers, such as microsatellites, has increased the efficiency of such methods (see Estoup et al. [1998] for an empirical comparison of assignment results using microsatellite and protein loci). Genetic assignment methods are useful in addressing issues such as relationships, structure, and classification at the individual level (reviewed in Estoup and Angers [1998]). Because assignment methods allow us to draw inferences about where individuals were or were not born, they also have the potential to provide direct estimates of real-time dispersal through the detection of immigrant individuals (Paetkau et al., 2004; Rannala and Mountain 1997).
Several methods based on different assignment criteria computed for likelihood estimation have been developed to reach these goals (Cornuet et al. 1999; Paetkau et al. 1995; Rannala and Mountain 1997). The question of individual assignment to population samples also prompted the development of statistical methods distinguishing between resident individuals that are “misassigned” (have a genotype that is most likely to occur in a population other than the one in which the individual was sampled) by error from real immigrant individuals (i.e., type I error). Monte Carlo resampling methods have been proposed to identify a statistical threshold beyond which individuals are likely to be excluded from a given reference population sample (Cornuet et al. 1999; Paetkau et al., 2004; Rannala and Mountain 1997). The principle behind these resampling methods is to approximate the distribution of genotype likelihoods in a reference population sample and then compare the likelihood computed for the to-be-assigned individual to that distribution. Paetkau et al. (2004) have shown that the Monte Carlo resampling methods of Cornuet et al. (1999) and Rannala and Mountain (1997) generally result in an excess of resident individuals being excluded. In fact, the identification of accurate critical values required resampling methods to preserve the linkage disequilibrium deriving from recent generations of immigrants (i.e., admixture linkage disequilibrium) (Stephens et al. 1994) and to reflect the sampling variance inherent in the limited size of reference datasets. Paetkau et al. (2004) proposed a new Monte Carlo resampling method taking into account those aspects and that better control type I error rates. In particular, this resampling method was found to perform better than other ones for the detection of first-generation migrants (Paetkau et al. 2004).
Most available computer programs have been developed for assigning individual diploid genotypes (e.g., GENECLASS [Cornuet et al. 1999] and Immanc [Rannala and Mountain 1997]). GENECLASS2 provides an efficient and user-friendly tool that (1) computes various genetic assignment criteria used for likelihood estimation, (2) treats datasets with diploid or haploid data, (3) assigns or excludes individuals as well as groups of individuals to reference populations, and (4) computes probabilities that each individual belongs to each reference population or is a resident (i.e., not a first-generation immigrant) in the population where the individual has been sampled (cf. the first-generation migrant detection task). For the computations performed in (4), different Monte Carlo resampling algorithms, including that of Paetkau et al. (2004), have been implemented.
Statistical Criteria
Three types of criteria used for likelihood estimation have been implemented in GENECLASS2: genetic distance-based criteria, a criterion directly based on allele frequencies, and Bayesian criteria (see Cornuet et al. [1999] for a comparative study).
Distance Criteria
The assignment criterion is a genetic distance computed between the individual or group of individuals to be assigned and each reference population (Cornuet et al. 1999). The following distances have been implemented: Nei's standard genetic distance (Nei 1972), Nei's minimum genetic distance (Nei 1973 in Nei 1987), Nei's Da distance (Nei et al. 1983), Chord distance (Cavalli-Sforza and Edwards 1967), and a distance taking into account the allele size of microsatellite markers (Goldstein et al. 1995). For a review of a mathematical description of these distances, see Takezaki and Nei (1996).
Frequency Criterion
Paetkau et al.'s (1995) formula used to compute the assignment criterion was generalized for any level of ploidy or for groups of individuals. A multinomial distribution was used to compute the likelihood that an individual (group of individuals) originates from a given population sample. This likelihood, L, of the sample follows a multinomial distribution:
\[L{=}\frac{m!}{m_{1}!m_{2}!{\ldots}m_{k}!}p_{1}^{m_{1}}p_{2}^{m_{2}}{\ldots}p_{k}^{m_{k}}.\]
Since a gamma function Γ(x + 1) = x!, the log-likelihood can be written as follows:
\begin{eqnarray*}&&Log(L){=}Log({\Gamma}(m{+}1)){-}{{\sum}_{i{=}1}^{k}}({\Gamma}(m_{i}{+}1))\\&&{+}{{\sum}_{i{=}1}^{k}}m_{i}Log(p_{i}),\end{eqnarray*}
with m, the total number of genes to be assigned, or mi, the number of copies of allele i in the to-be-assigned sample, and pi being the frequency of allele i in the reference population sample. When an allele is found in the to-be-assigned sample but not in the reference dataset, its frequency is set to an adjustable default value (e.g., 0.01). Paetkau et al. (2004) have shown that the value of this default frequency for missing alleles has little effect on assignment results.
Bayesian Criteria
A derived method (Rannala and Mountain 1997) has been implemented for treating genomes with any level of ploidy or groups of individuals. The prior distribution for allele frequency at a given locus is a Dirichlet distribution with parameter αi = α/k, where i is the current allele and k is the total number of different allelic states at this locus over all reference populations. In Rannala and Mountain (1997) α = 1, while α = k in Baudouin and Lebrun (2000), the latter case corresponding to a uniform prior distribution of allele frequencies. The likelihood (L) that an individual (group of individuals) originates from a given population sample is
\begin{eqnarray*}&&Log(L){=}Log(\mathrm{Pr}(m/n)\\&&{=}Log({\Gamma}(m{+}1)){+}Log({\Gamma}(n{+}\mathrm{{\alpha}}))\\&&{+}{{\sum}_{i{=}1}^{k}}Log\left({\Gamma}\left(m_{i}{+}n_{i}{+}\frac{\mathrm{{\alpha}}}{k}\right)\right)\\&&{-}{{\sum}_{i{=}1}^{k}}Log({\Gamma}(m_{i}{+}1))\\&&{-}{{\sum}_{i{=}1}^{k}}Log\left({\Gamma}\left(m_{i}{+}\frac{\mathrm{{\alpha}}}{k}\right)\right)\\&&{-}Log({\Gamma}(m{+}n{+}\mathrm{{\alpha}})),\end{eqnarray*}
with Γ being a gamma function with parameters m, the total number of genes to be assigned, or mi, the number of copies of allele i in the to-be-assigned sample, and n, the total number of genes in the reference population sample, or ni, the number of copies of allele i in the reference population sample.
Self-Assignment and Detection of Migrants
These procedures are based on the computation of the above statistical criteria for all individuals included in a given population dataset. When the population considered is that where the individual has been sampled (i.e., self-assignment task), individuals are excluded from their population during computation (leave-one-out procedure; Efron 1983).
For the specific task of first-generation migrant detection, the statistical criterion computed for likelihood estimation can be one of three types: (1) the likelihood of the individual genotype within the population where the individual has been sampled (L_home), (2) the ratio of L_home to the highest likelihood value among all available population samples including the population where the individual was sampled (L_max) (Paetkau et al. 2004), and (3) the ratio of L_home to the highest likelihood value among all population samples excluding the population where the individual was sampled (L_max_not_home). Note that the likelihood ratios L_home/L_max and L_home/L_max_not_home have more power than the L_home statistics (cf. Paetkau et al. [2004] for L_home/L_max versus L_home, and unpublished results for L_home/Lmax_not_home versus L_home). Such likelihood ratios are appropriate when all source populations for immigrants are thought to be sampled. However, if some source populations are clearly missing, it becomes more appropriate to use L_home as the test statistic for the detection of first-generation migrants.
Probability Computation
The program computes the probability of the multilocus genotype of each individual to be encountered in a given population. Monte Carlo methods allow computing a random sample of multilocus genotypes for a large number of individuals (e.g., 1000 or 10,000). The assignment criterion values of the simulated individuals are then computed, stored, and sorted, so that the probability of an observed multilocus genotype can be estimated as the rank of its corresponding criterion value within the distribution of simulated criterion values (Cornuet et al. 1999; Rannala and Mountain 1997).
Historically, probabilities were computed by simulating a single set of a large number of individuals by the random drawing of alleles using allele frequencies directly estimated from the reference population samples (e.g., the programs GENECLASS [Cornuet et al. 1999] or IMMANC [Rannala and Mountain 1997]). Paetkau et al. (2004) show that these Monte Carlo resampling methods introduce a bias that leads to overrejection of resident individuals. To correct for this bias, Paetkau et al. (2004) propose a new Monte Carlo resampling method which has been implemented in GENECLASS2, in addition to those used in Cornuet et al. (1999) and Rannala and Mountain (1997). This new simulation algorithm generates population samples of the same size as the reference population sample. The assignment criterion is then computed for each individual of the newly simulated population minus itself (leave-one-out procedure). The program iterates until the total number of simulated assignment criterion values is reached (e.g., 1000 or 10,000). Because this method takes into account the sample size of the reference population, it better reflects the sampling variance associated with the analyzed dataset than the resampling procedure of Cornuet et al. (1999) and Rannala and Mountain (1997).
The second important feature of the resampling method of Paetkau et al. (2004) is that multilocus genotypes of the simulated individuals are generated by the random drawing of multilocus gametes using the following procedure. In the case of sexually reproducing diploid individuals, one individual (i.e., a potential “parent”) is randomly drawn from the reference population sample, and one gene and corresponding allelic state is then randomly drawn among the two gene copies for each locus. A second gamete is designed the same way from a second individual (“parent”) and both gametes are associated to give a simulated multilocus diploid genotype. This method was also adapted to haploid individuals with a diploid reproduction phase. The random generation of gametes as a basis for constructing simulated individual genotypes has the advantage of preserving the potential admixture linkage disequilibrium deriving from recent generations of immigrants (Paetkau et al. 2004).
It is worth noting that, while the computation of the assignment criteria was generalized for any level of ploidy or for groups of individuals, the three resampling methods implemented in GENECLASS2 only apply to haploid or diploid biological organisms with a sexual reproduction phase.
The computation of the probability of belonging is relatively time consuming. Typically computation without using the probabilities of belonging option takes a few seconds to a few minutes to run, while the computation of probabilities takes a few minutes to several hours depending on the sizes of the analyzed and reference datasets, the number of simulated individuals, and the speed of the processor. Note also that the computations based on the algorithm of Paetkau et al. (2004) are more time consuming than those based on the algorithm of Cornuet et al. (1999) or Rannala and Mountain (1997).
Management of Missing Data
Missing data were treated as follows. A locus is excluded from all computations when one or more reference population samples have no observation (i.e., genotypes) at this locus. On the other hand, when the to-be-assigned entity (individual or group of individuals) was genotyped for several loci but not for a locus l, then computations are done using all loci except locus l. A list of used and unused loci is given for each individual computation in the output file. It is worth mentioning that criterion values are not comparable among individuals when based on a different number of loci.
Input Data Files
For the simple computation of criteria, a data file containing a mixture of diploid or haploid data is accepted, and the level of ploidy is taken into account during computations. However, probabilities based on Monte Carlo resampling methods are computable only for data files containing diploid or haploid data and not a mixture of both. The file formats accepted by GENECLASS2 are those used by the following population genetics software programs: GENEPOP (Raymond and Rousset 1995), GENETIX (Belkhir et al. 1996–2001), and FSTAT (Goudet 1995). GENECLASS2 also converts input data files into any of the three above file formats.
Datasets of virtually any size can be treated, provided the computer has enough memory to load the data and make the computations. Two files are needed for the assignment of individuals not included in the reference population sample. One file contains the reference dataset, the other the individuals or groups of individuals to be assigned. Only a single file is needed when the to-be-assigned individuals are included in the reference population sample (cf. self-assignment or migrants detection).
Output Data Files
The criterion −log10(L) or the genetic distance for the distance-based method, as well as probabilities, are displayed in a grid with one row per individual and one column per population. When the probability computation option is not used, an adjustable number of best-matching populations are sorted for each individual and a score is given for each population. In a reference file with P populations, the score of an individual i in a population T is computed as follows:
\[Score_{i,T}{=}\frac{L_{i,T}}{{\sum}_{j{=}1}^{P}L_{j,T}},\]
with Li,T the likelihood value of the individual i in the population T. In the case of self-assignment, a “quality index” is computed as the mean value of the scores of each individual in the population it belongs to.
All results can be printed, or saved in a CSV format (i.e., values are written by rows, fields separated with semicolons ) for further treatment in a spreadsheet (e.g., Microsoft Excel). A tool also included in GENECLASS2 displays basic summary statistics of the analyzed datasets: the number of alleles and genes per population and locus, allelic frequencies, heterozygotes proportions, and Nei's gene diversity (i.e., expected heterozygosity) (Nei 1987).
Running Environment
GENECLASS2 was developed in the Pascal object programming language and compiled with Borland Delphi6 and Kylix2. Therefore the software can be run on a Microsoft Windows or a Linux platform. An easy-to-use graphics interface has been designed to guide the user in the assignment process: choice of task (assign/exclude population as origin of individuals or detection of migrants), choice of statistical criterion for likelihood estimation, computation of probabilities, etc. The package includes a user-friendly help file with graphical interfaces that explain how to run the program to perform the two above tasks.
GENECLASS2 is freely available in English or French at http://www.montpellier.inra.fr/CBGP/softwares. A self-extracting setup executable leads the user through installation of the software on Windows-based machines. An RPM file containing the program file and the libraries allows the package to be installed on Mandrake and Red Hat Linux platforms. A .tar.Z archive allows manual installation of the binaries on other kinds of Linux platforms. A registration form allows users to be kept informed of new releases.
This work was supported by grants from the CIRAD/INRA on “Approches biomathématiques et biotechnologiques pour l'identification génétique et la gestion adaptée des populations animales et végétales” (to S.P., J.-M.C., and L.B.) and from the INRA SPE department on methods associated with real-time population genetics (to J.-M.C. and A.E.).
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. Microsatellite analysis of population structure in Canadian polar bears.
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A Trip To Kashmir Essay
Vubei 02.03.2018 02.03.2018 0 Comments on A Trip To Kashmir Essay
I recently concluded a fun and adventure filled trip to Jammu and Kashmir. At first I was hesitant to undertake this trip with family as several people warned me not to go ahead in view of the ‘alleged’ disturbance in that area. However I am happy that I insisted on going ahead, Kashmir being one of the important places in the list of my must-visit destinations.
Yes, you might get scared initially as you will see army-men all over the place. They are paranoid about security with multiple and thorough checks of your bags and vehicles. However you get used to these soon enough.
We landed at the Srinagar airport and the drive to the hotel (Lalit Grand Palace) through the road besides the famed Dal Lake was enough to mesmerize us. There was a blast at the Dal gate on the previous day and most of the local people were indoors but we faced no problem at all in reaching the hotel. A shikara ride and surf boarding in the evening were clear signals that this will be a trip to remember.
We spent the next day visiting the Nishat Garden and Shalimar garden and lazing around the hotel, conserving energy for the next day’s trip to the holy cave of Amarnath. We also took the royal buggy ride in the evening, which has a historic appeal of its own. It is said that the buggy belonged to Maharaja Hari Singh on whose palace property, the hotel is built.
The helicopter ride to Amarnath through Baltal was very exciting as it was the first time we were riding a chopper. We could see thousands of pilgrims going to Amarnath, on horses and on feet.
The helipad at the holy cave is a small flat area built in the middle of a snowy plateaue. A steep climb of about 200 steps and we were at the feet of a large snowy Shivlinga (about 20-25 feet in height). The ground under our feet was freezing and we had to constantly keep walking to avoid frost-bite.
It was a dream come true for us – both religion and adventure wise. On the way back, I got to sit with the pilot in the cockpit. Amazing experience it was, seeing the fantastic landscape from the vantage point.
Category: BlogPersonalTags: kashmir, travel
I was in Kashmir with my family for three days on a holiday earlier this month. On our return, there was so much interest from friends in knowing details about the trip – most who spoke to us had never been to Kashmir, a few were there many years ago, before the militancy problem emerged – that I thought it worth writing a blog about our impressions.
Movies, poets and storytellers have shown and described the splendour of Kashmir in ways I can never hope to do. Let me just say that it’s one of the most outstandingly beautiful places I have seen on Earth. We were in Srinagar, Gulmarg and Pahalgam. The last two offer positively stunning views. Gulmarg had snow, and Pahalgam offers an unforgettable horse ride up a fairly steep mountainside, that leads to a magnificent meadow ringed by trees and snow-capped peaks.
Srinagar’s Dal Lake, houseboats, shikaras and gardens are an absolute treat, made nicer by the politeness and friendliness of the locals. As you go around Dal Lake on a shikara, you come across other shikaras from who you can buy stuff like seekh kababs and rotis, or you could go to a houseboat that sells Kashmiri textiles and artifacts.
We stayed two nights in a houseboat. It was one of the older houseboats, with fairly basic, but comfortable rooms. The owner was a delightfully pleasant old man. We were told there are more luxurious houseboats available at higher tariffs.
We could not go to Ladakh, which is 250 km from Srinagar, but that would be another must-see place if you have the time and willingness to spend. As many who have seen 3 Idiots would know, the spectacular lake in the final scene is in Ladakh.
An army officer who we met in Udhampur in Jammu said the most beautiful place that he had seen in Kashmir was along the new road passing over the Pir Panjal mountain range. “It puts Gulmarg to shame,” he said.
This road, used extensively by the Mughals and therefore also called Mughal Road, remained abandoned after 1947, but the Indian government has been reconstructing the road since 2005. Since 2010, it has hosted some motor rallies, and is expected soon to be opened for public use.
My wife’s sister and family live in Udhampur, so our first stop was this town that is also the headquarters of the Indian Army’s Northern Command, We drove down to Srinagar from Udhampur. It’s a lovely scenic route along mountainsides, and along the way is Patnitop, which is something of a tourist hotspot.
But it is an over 200 km journey, and though some people claim the distance can be covered in three hours, I can’t imagine who can do that other than audacious race-car drivers. We took 7 to 8 hours, including some longish breaks. May be our driver was being extra careful; and I did not mind that. But any which way, you could find the drive a little tiring after some time. And if you don’t have too many days to spend in Kashmir, the simpler thing to do, if you can afford it, would be to fly straight into Srinagar. Trains go only up to Udhampur.
Is Kashmir safe for tourists?
That’s something many obviously want to know. The impression we gathered from talking to multiple people, including local Kashmiris, is that the problem of militancy has reduced significantly. Local support for the militants appears to have waned, because the one and only big business of Kashmir – tourism – has been badly hit for many years on account of the militancy, and because the militants are seen to be nowhere close to achieving their objectives even after so many years.
The border fencing along the line of control has proved to be very effective in controlling infiltration. Army and CRPF presence is overwhelming. You can see them just about everywhere, including in the middle of desolate farmlands. I’m not sure how the locals view that, but it could be a source of serious irritation.
One of the boys who took us on a shikara said militants were mostly coming out of some of the least developed areas of Kashmir, such as Baramulla, and that the average Kashmiri was yearning for peace.
The nearly mile long queue for the Gulmarg cable car ride was evidence that tourists are flocking back to Kashmir. Locals however noted that business this year was down compared to last year. My guess is this is more a reflection of the state of the country’s economy, but some locals attributed it to the fear generated by Afzal Guru’s hanging.
We did, however, run into one young tour guide at Gulmarg who, when he realized after nearly ten minutes of following and pestering us that he is not going to get any business out of us, left muttering something about going with Pakistan. Again, the feeling I got was he was just letting off steam; I doubt he has any genuine desire to be part of Pakistan.
The state needs development
The pestering by tour guides can get on your nerves. There are so many of them, young and old, in places like Gulmarg; they follow you around hoping you would pay them a few hundred rupees to show you around.
When we had completed our Gulmarg visit and were getting ready to go, another family that had just come and was being pestered by tour guides asked us for advice on where to go. My son provided some directions. He was promptly at the receiving end of abuses from the tour guides for `stealing their business’.
This tour guide menace is one indication of the desperate need for development in Kashmir. Clearly, there are not enough jobs. Some part of this problem may resolve itself if militancy continues to wane and tourists return to Kashmir in larger numbers. But that may be insufficient.
The big problem is that tourism is at best a six months phenomenon. For the rest of the year, the Kashmir valley is cold, and often deep in snow. The Dal Lake freezes in the winter months.
We met some enterprising small merchants who said they conduct their business in the summer in Kashmir and the same business in the winter in some other location in India. One said he sets up a shop selling almonds and saffron in Jamshedpur in winter; another said he sells Kashmiri textiles and jewellery in Varkala in Kerala. Even the traditional livestock handlers move their entire livestock along the road from Jammu to Kashmir in the summer and in the opposite direction in winter.
But such methods will not work for everybody, especially given the current state of infrastructure and the difficult terrain. I can claim no expertise in this matter. But something has to be done.
The government has undertaken a massive four-lane highway project between Jammu and Srinagar that cuts through mountains – creating multiple tunnels and bridges, including a 9-km tunnel that will be India’s longest. When completed, it will reduce the road distance between the two towns by at least 50 km, but more significantly, will halve the traveling time, and put an end to the snow-related traffic jams that often last for days in winter. A similar rail project is also in the works. You can see some parts of this ongoing work as you go from Jammu to Srinagar, and the current target is to complete the road project by 2016.
Hopefully, these projects will be completed on schedule and will provide a level of integration of the Kashmir valley with the mainland that will be a source of meaningful economic development for the Kashmiris.
DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.
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Church History – on January 7th 1854, the missionary parish of Nanaimo was formed. Bishop Demmers blessed the first chapel and placed it under the invocation of St. Peter. It remained a mission chapel until 1876 when Bishop Charles Seghers installed Fr. Lemmens as the first resident parish priest.
The sisters of St. Ann arrived on April 18th 1877. Within a few days a school was opened. A new church was built and was opened for midnight Mass on Christmas Day 1878. In 1879 construction was started on a new convent on land donated by Bishop Seghers.
In 1910, a disastrous fire destroyed both convent and church. A new building was constructed and opened by 1911. Wellington had become a ghost town so Fr. Heynan transferred the church from Wellington to Nanaimo. A bell in the present St. Peter’s church bears this inscription, “this bell was bought after the fire of July 11th 1910.”
After many years of devoted service Fr. Heynan retired in 1937. His successor was Fr. Lewis MacLellan, the first local priest to be installed as pastor of Nanaimo. The early priests had come from Belgium and Holland.
A campaign to raise funds for a new St. Peter’s church was undertaken and on the feast of St. Joseph, in March of 1958 Bishop Hill turned the first sod. The church was opened and dedicated on May 1st, 1960.
After many years of service the sisters decided to close the convent in 1966. In 1968 the parish celebrated a mortgage burning. Fr. Phillip Hanley, was the new pastor. In 1969, Monsignor Baker, passed away and now lies buried beside the church he helped to build. There is not much more information available until the arrival the Salvatorian Fathers in 1998.
Fr. Zarebski was the first Salvatorian priest to become a pastor at St. Peters. Under his Guidance the spiritual life of the church had been invigorated. He initiated 40 hours adoration of the Blessed Sacrament weekly, outdoor processions on the feast of Corpus Christi. He encouraged devotion to the Divine Mercy and many other devotions.
Fr. Zarebski was moved to Burnaby in 2006 and was replaced by Fr. Waldemar Podlasz who has continued to enhance the parish spiritual life by encouraging the beauty of the liturgy. Beautiful flowers always adorn the altar and for special occasions such as Christmas and Easter the altar is especially glorious. In July of 2013 Fr. Piotr became pastor, moving from Calgary to Nanaimo. While only with the parish for a short year before being asked by his Provincial Superior to return to the Seminary in Poland as a Formator, Fr. Piotr made a lasting impression on the parishioners. In July 2014 Fr. Krzysztof Pastuskza joined us from the mainland.
St. Peter’s Catholic Women’s League was chartered on October 20th 1937 at a meeting at St. Ann’s convent. They raise funds for needy cases by catering; teas, bazaars, and rummage sales. The Missions both domestic and foreign have been aided by these funds through the years. Education has also benefited by C.W.L. scholarships. Contributions were made to the cost of building St. Peter’s church which was dedicated May 1st, 1960. The main alter and crucifix above it and the stained glass window was also donated by the C.W.L.
During the late nineteen forties a need for a fraternal organization for men became evident. A council for the Knights of Columbus was organized in Nanaimo and was called mid island council. The local Knights have also established a scholarship fund. Each Christmas season the council works with the St. Vincent de Paul society to aid needy families with gifts and a special food hamper. The Knights hope to ensure the rights of the unborn. All concerned citizens must be made aware and be prepared to raise their voices in support of their right to life. A memorial has been erected beside the church in remembrance of all victims of abortion.
It is estimated that there are more than 1,100 Catholic families in St. Peter’s the number of individuals participating in the Sunday Eucharist is approximately 700.
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Iran, Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan, Libya, Somalia, Somaliland, Sudan, Syria, United States, Yemen
A country-by-country look at Trump’s immigration executive order
January 30, 2017 Kevin Lees 2 Comments
Yazidi women in both Syria and Iraq have suffered greatly at the hands of ISIS — but they will be caught up in Trump-era restrictions on refugees all the same. (Reuters)
There’s a neighborhood in Los Angeles, commonly known as Tehrangeles, that is home to up to a half-million Persian Americans, most of whom fled Iran after the 1979 Islamic republic or who are their second-generation children and third-generation grandchildren, all of them American citizens.
The neighborhood runs along Westwood Boulevard, and it is home to some of the wealthiest Angelinos. But under the executive action that US president Donald Trump signed Friday afternoon, their relatives in Iran will have a much more difficult time visiting them in Los Angeles (or elsewhere in the United States). The impact of the order, over the weekend, proved far deeper than originally imagined last week when drafts of the order circulated widely in the media.
The ban attempts to accomplish at least five different actions, all of which began to take effect immediately on Friday:
First, the order institutes a ban for 90 days on immigrants from seven countries — Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Libya.
Secondly, the ban initially seemed to include even US permanent residents with valid green cards with citizenship from those seven countries (though the Department of Homeland Security was walking that back on Sunday, after reports that presidential adviser and former Breitbart editor Steve Bannon initially overruled DHS objections Friday). But it also includes citizens of third countries with dual citizenship (which presents its own problems and which the White House does not seem to be walking back).
Third, it institutes a 120-day freeze on all refugees into the United States from anywhere across the globe and an indefinite ban for all refugees from Syria.
Fourth, it places a cap of 50,000 on all refugees for 2017 — that’s far less than nearly 85,000 refugees who were admitted to the United States in 2016, though it’s not markedly less than the nearly 55,000 refugees admitted in 2011 (the lowest point of the Obama administration) and it’s more than the roughly 25,000 to 30,000 refugees admitted in 2002 and 2003 during the Bush administration.
Fifth, and finally, when the United States once again permits refugees, it purports to prioritize admitting those refugees ‘when the person is a religious minority in his country of nationality facing religious persecution.’ It’s widely assumed that this is a back-door approach to prioritizing Christian refugees. More on that below.
In practice, it’s already incredibly difficult to get a visa of any variety if you are coming from one of those countries, with a few exceptions. But formalizing the list is both overbroad (it captures mostly innocent travelers and refugees) and underbroad (it doesn’t include potential terrorists from other countries), and experts believe it will hurt US citizens, US businesses and bona fide refugees who otherwise might have expected asylum in the United States. On Sunday, many Republican leaders, including Arizona senator John McCain admitted as such:
Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism. At this very moment, American troops are fighting side-by-side with our Iraqi partners to defeat ISIL. But this executive order bans Iraqi pilots from coming to military bases in Arizona to fight our common enemies. Our most important allies in the fight against ISIL are the vast majority of Muslims who reject its apocalyptic ideology of hatred. This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security.
On the campaign trail, Trump initially called for a ban on all Muslims from entering the country; when experts responded that such a broad-based religious test would be unconstitutional, Trump said he would instead extend the ban on the basis of nationality.
Friday’s executive action looks like the first step of institutionalizing the de facto Muslim ban that Trump originally promised (thought it would on its face be blatantly unconstitutional).
Of course, as many commentators have noted, the list doesn’t contain the countries that match the nationalities of the September 2001 hijackers — mostly Saudi Arabia. But it doesn’t contain Lebanon, though Hezbollah fighters have aligned with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in that country’s civil war. It doesn’t include Egypt, which is the most populous Muslim country in north Africa and home to one of the Sept. 2001 terrorists. Nor does it include Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country. Nor Pakistan nor Afghanistan, where US troops fought to eradicate forms of hardline Taliban government and where US troops ultimately tracked and killed Osama bin Laden.
This isn’t a call to add more countries to the list, of course, which would be even more self-defeating as US policy. But it wouldn’t surprise me if Bannon and Trump, anticipating this criticism, will use it to justify a second round of countries.
In the meanwhile, the diplomatic fallout is only just beginning (and certainly will intensify — Monday is the first full business day after we’ve read the actual text of Friday’s executive order). Already, Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel, citing the obligations of international law under the Geneva Conventions, disavowed the ban. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau used it as an opportunity to showcase his country’s openness to immigration and welcomed the refugees to Canada. Even Theresa May, the British prime minister who shared a stage with Trump in Washington on Friday afternoon, distanced herself from the ban, and British foreign minister Boris Johnson called it ‘divisive.’
But the most direct impact will be felt in relations with the seven countries directly affected by the ban, and there are already indications that the United States will suffer a strategic, diplomatic and possible economic price for Trump’s hasty unilateral executive order. Continue reading A country-by-country look at Trump’s immigration executive order →
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Is Hillary Clinton really a hawk?
August 11, 2016 Kevin Lees Leave a comment
Then-US secretary of state Hillary Clinton visits American troops in Tripoli in 2011. (US Embassy in Libya)
In Vox on Tuesday, Jeremy Shapiro and Richard Sokolsky argued that, as president, Hillary Clinton would be too focused on her domestic political agenda to be too bothered with foreign policy, whether she’s really a hawk or a dove or [name your bird of prey].
I worry that lets Clinton off the hook for some poor policy decisions over the course of her career, both as a senator from New York and as the nation’s leading diplomat as US secretary of state. After all, it was vice president Joe Biden who proclaimed in Jeffrey Goldberg’s famous piece for The Atlantic earlier this year on the ‘Obama doctrine’ that Hillary ‘Hillary just wants to be Golda Meir.’
That same profile gave us the following nugget into Clinton’s mind on international affairs:
Many people, I noted, want the president to be more forceful in confronting China, especially in the South China Sea. Hillary Clinton, for one, has been heard to say in private settings, “I don’t want my grandchildren to live in a world dominated by the Chinese.”
Suffice it to say that, as the 45th president of the United States, Clinton wouldn’t quite welcome the end of unipolarity just yet.
But I also worry for another reason, summed up in four words by former British prime minister Harold MacMillan: ‘Events, dear boy, events.’ George W. Bush, until September 2001, wasn’t supposed to be a foreign policy president, either. You don’t choose your issues in the Oval Office; the issues choose you. (One reason, among many, why Donald Trump remains such a terrifying presidential nominee).
To steal a concept from Tyler Cowen over at Marginal Revolution, who might be the only person left in the United States who’s managed to turn the 2016 general election into an exercise in intellectual growth, I’d like to engage in my own version. I’ll call it ‘foreign policy hindsight 20/20 for me, but not for thee.’ Continue reading Is Hillary Clinton really a hawk? →
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Four foreign policy arguments Sanders could still deploy against Clinton
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, fresh off a win in Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary, debated last night in Miami. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
If there’s one thing we know about Bernie Sanders, he sure doesn’t like Henry Kissinger.
And if there’s one fact that he likes to deploy in his foreign policy case against Hillary Clinton, it’s her vote authorizing the Iraq War 14 years ago, when Clinton was just in her second year as a senator from New York.
But aside from the Kissinger snark and some minor back-and-forth over US policy in Cuba, foreign policy played only a little role in Wednesday night’s Democratic presidential debate, and it’s played an equally minor role throughout the entire contest. On one hand, that’s because the Sanders insurgency has zeroed in on income inequality, the growing wealth gap and the role of wealthy donors in campaign finance. But it’s also because Clinton, whether or not you trust her judgment, is the most qualified non-incumbent candidate in decades when it comes to international affairs. In addition to her service in the US senate, she also served for four years as secretary of state and eight years as first lady. It’s truly formidable.
Yet, given Clinton-Sanders dynamic, there’s still a lot of space for Sanders to make a strong foreign policy case against Clinton, and time after time, Sanders just hasn’t made that case. Maybe that’s politically wise; shifting his emphasis from Wall Street and income inequality would dilute his message with an attack based on issues that seem far less salient to Democratic primary voters.
But it’s true that Clinton’s foreign-policy instincts have always been more hawkish than those in her own party and, often, those of president Barack Obama and vice president Joe Biden (who, according to Jeffrey Goldberg’s amazing piece in The Atlantic about Obama’s world view, said Clinton ‘just wants to be Golda Meir’).
To some degree, the problem with challenging Clinton on foreign policy is that Sanders would largely be challenging the Obama administration, and that’s tricky when you’re trying to win the votes of an electorate that still adores Obama. But Sanders certainly hasn’t shied away from stating clear differences with the Obama administration’s approach to domestic policy.
Moreover, to the extent that Sanders made a clear and cogent case on international affairs, he could claim that his more dovish approach represents true continuity with the Obama administration (and that Clinton’s more hawkish approach shares more in common with a potential Republican administration). There’s no doubt that Sanders is a talented politician; in one fell swoop, he could use foreign policy to drive a wedge between Clinton and the Obama legacy. That’s a very powerful tool, and it’s one that Sanders, so far, hasn’t been interested in wielding.
Fairly or unfairly, Sanders is tagged as a one-issue protest candidate, and he suffers from the perception that his candidacy’s purpose is to nudge Clinton further to the left, not to win the Oval Office. By adding a foreign policy element to his critique of the Democratic frontrunner, Sanders could bend a more skeptical media into taking him more seriously and show voters that he really can fill out what Americans expect from a president. In the 21st century, like it or not, the president is the chief policymaking official when it comes to foreign policy.
Given the stakes involved, it’s not too late for Sanders to make this case as the Democratic contest turns to larger states like Ohio, Illinois and Florida next week and, after that, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and California. If he wanted to do so, there’s a long list of areas from which Sanders could choose.
Here are four of the most salient. Continue reading Four foreign policy arguments Sanders could still deploy against Clinton →
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Saïd Bouteflika winning internal battle to succeed ailing brother in Algeria
January 28, 2016 Kevin Lees Leave a comment
Saïd Bouteflika, the brother of Algeria’s ailing president, might emerge as the most powerful successor to lead the country if his brother resigns or dies.
When he was reelected to a dodgy fourth term in April 2014, Algerian voters knew that Abdelaziz Bouteflika, now aged 79, was ailing.
Though he easily dispatched a former prime minister, Ali Benflis, who officially won just over 12% of the vote, most of the opposition simply boycotted the last vote. During the 2011 Arab spring protests and beyond, Algerians have generally been more willing to tolerate Bouteflika’s hold on power because of the stability that his regime brought after a decade of civil war.
Aides claim the president’s faculties are intact, despite a stroke three years ago that left him unable to speak. Nevertheless, it’s clear — and has been clear for some time — that there’s an internal struggle between Bouteflika’s camp and the Algerian military about his ultimate successor.
RELATED: Bouteflika headed for controversial fourth term
Last year, Bouteflika sidelined Algeria’s top internal security official, Mohamed Mediene, a move widely seen as a setback to the military’s involvement in Algerian domestic politics and, accordingly, any succession after Bouteflika’s resignation or death. It was a shock at the time, considering that Mediene, also known as ‘Toufik’ and commonly referred to as the Dieu de l’Algérie, or the ‘God of Algeria,’ had been a fixture within the country’s power elite for more than two decades as the head of the Department of Intelligence and Security (DRS), the Algerian intelligence agency since 1990.
‘General Touflik’ had been at the heart of Algeria’s military and intelligence services for a quarter-century until his abrupt removal last year. (Al Jazeera)
Bouteflika’s next step came earlier this week, with his administration apparently set to reorganize the DRS altogether. If successful, Bouteflika will have dismantled one of the institutional pillars of the military’s power, thereby transferring the country’s intelligence apparatus, which plays a role in domestic as well as international affairs, from the military to the presidential camp.
With so much at stake, the Algerian military may not simply accept such a sweeping adjustment of power, and its leaders may be biding their time to strike in a post-Bouteflika struggle. But it means that Bouteflika’s camp is very serious about controlling the post-Bouteflika transition in as orderly way as possible — and in a way that leaves the presidential regime, and not military or DRS leaders, in charge.
His brother’s keeper
The most likely successor? For now, it might be Saïd Bouteflika, who will argue that he represents the most seamless transition, thereby guaranteeing Algeria’s continued stability.
So what do we know about Saïd? Continue reading Saïd Bouteflika winning internal battle to succeed ailing brother in Algeria →
abdelaziz bouteflikaalgeriaali haddadarab springbarakatbouteflikaDRSFLNISISlibyamalimedienenational liberation frontnorth africasaid bouteflikatouflik
Iran, United States
Why global oil prices seem likely to remain low throughout 2016
Iran is looking forward to ‘implementation day,’ when its nuclear energy deal takes effect and global sanctions are relaxed, allowing it to export oil more easily. (Reuters)
In 2015, we saw how falling oil prices affected world politics from Alberta to Nigeria. Net exporters like Venezuela, Russia and the oil-rich Middle Eastern countries are feeling the drop in revenues, and that could accelerate political agitation as oil prices force budget cuts.
As Brad Plumer wrote yesterday for Vox, explaining the fall in oil prices is simple. Supply has outstripped demand, and while global demand is still growing, it’s growing at about half the rate that it was even in mid-2015.
RELATED: Sixteen global elections to watch in 2016
RELATED: Could Norway benefit from the oil price decline?
The difference between $30 oil (about the current price level), $20 oil or $50 oil could make or break incumbents seeking reelection — lower oil prices mean fewer goodies at election time.
In 2016, that means oil prices could affect Scotland’s May regional elections by dampening the economic case for Scottish independence and, therefore, the electoral support for the Scottish National Party. It means that Russia’s September legislative elections could engender the same kind of political protests (or worse) that met the last elections in 2011. Lower oil prices are already endangering Ghanian president John Dramani Mahama’s hopes for reelection in December, given how much Mahama has staked on Ghana’s oil potential. It could even push Venezuela’s opposition, newly empowered as the majority in the National Assembly, to seek chavista president Nicolás Maduro’s recall even more quickly.
More generally, it could make life difficult for Nigeria’s new president Muhammadu Buhari. Not only will lower oil revenues hurt his capacity to deploy resources across Africa’s most populous country, but Buhari must find a way to deliver to Nigeria’s impoverished Muslim north, where Boko Haram continues to pose a security challenge, and Nigeria’s southeastern Igbo population, including Rivers state and Delta state, where much of Nigeria’s oil reserves are located. The southeastern challenge is particularly precarious, in light of the fact that Buhari defeated Goodluck Jonathan, the first president to come from Nigeria’s oil-rich southeast. A wrong step by Buhari could catalyze long-simmering demands for greater political autonomy or even secession.
On the demand side, the European Union (as a whole) imports more oil than any other country in the world — by a longshot. Lower prices could bring about the kind of truly robust economic growth that has eluded the eurozone for decades. That, in turn, could ameliorate the pressures of democratic backslide among the central European Visegrad Group, and it could goose economic activity in Mediterranean countries like Portugal, Spain and Greece, where no single political party has enough support for a majority government. That, in turn, could reduce support for radical leftist parties and bolster more moderate coalitions. It could, marginally, benefit incumbent governments in Ireland, Romania and elsewhere in 2016 and France in 2017. (The same effect, by the way, relieves a lot of pressure on faltering ‘Abenomics’ policy in Japan, too).
In his final state of the union address last night, even US president Barack Obama bragged about lower oil prices. If prices stay consistently low throughout 2016, it could marginally help Obama’s Democratic Party win the November general election.
Autocratic countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Angola, Algeria and Kazakhstan, could face popular protests.
So where are oil prices going? No one knows, but here’s what you have to believe if you think oil prices are going to rise substantially anytime in 2016: Continue reading Why global oil prices seem likely to remain low throughout 2016 →
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One chart that explains Obama era Middle East policy
Chart credit to Bank of America.
Within a half-century, the most important fact of the Obama administration might well be that it presided over an energy boom that de-linked, for the first time in many decades, US dependence on Middle Eastern oil and foreign policy.
No other fact more explains the deal, inked with the Islamic Republic of Iran, that brings Iran ever closer into the international community — and no other fact brings together so neatly the often contradictory aspects of US president Barack Obama’s policy in the Middle East today.
RELATED: Winners and losers in the Iran nuclear deal
With the exception of a small peak in the mid-1980s, when prices tanked after the oil shocks of the 1970s, US imports of foreign oil are lower than ever — and that’s a critical component to understanding Tuesday’s deal between the P5+1 and Iran. Thanks, in part, to the shale oil and fracking revolutions, US oil reserves are at their highest levels than at any point since 1975. Bank of America’s chart (pictured above) shows that US dependence on foreign oil — net imports as a percentage of consumption — dropped to 26.5% by the end of 2014.
Making sense of the Obama administration’s Mideast contradictions
One of the sharpest criticisms of the Obama administration is that it has no overweening strategy for the region. On the surface, the contradictions are legion. To take just three examples: Continue reading One chart that explains Obama era Middle East policy →
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Hagel’s exit symbolizes Obama policy shift
November 25, 2014 Kevin Lees Leave a comment
The headline should have read yesterday:
“US President elected to end military quagmires in the Middle East fires prominent anti-quagmire Defense Secretary, ramps up for ambiguous Middle Eastern quagmire.”
Whatever the reasons for US president Barack Obama’s decision to fire defense secretary Chuck Hagel, it’s clear that Hagel’s brand of foreign-policy realism is falling ever further out of favor, as the Obama administration moves toward a more interventionist approach to foreign policy in its final two years.
Though the decision, in superficial ways, is similar to the 2006 resignation of former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, which also followed a devastating midterm election for president George W. Bush, Hagel’s experience at the Pentagon had little in common with Rumsfeld’s tenure.
Hagel, his worldview forged as a squad leader in the US army infantry during the Vietnam War, was always a cautious prairie conservative. As a former US senator from Nebraska, Hagel stood up to his own Republican Party over the conduct of the US occupation of Iraq in the mid-2000s.
That skepticism seemed to be pitch-perfect for the Obama administration in earlier years, when it was taking pains to extricate the United States from internal conflicts in the Middle East.
Obama successful ended the US occupation of Iraq, he studiously avoided taking sides in the Syrian civil war (even when it meant swallowing criticism for backing away from his ‘red line’ statement about the use of chemical weapons), and he kept US military assistance to a minimum in the NATO-led effort to support anti-regime rebels in Libya.
Critics have argued that the Obama administration has pursued a disengaged approach to world affairs, thereby explaining both Libya’s disintegration into chaos and, in no small measure, the vacuum that allowed the Islamic State group (الدولة الإسلامية) to wreak havoc throughout traditional Mesopotamia — eastern Syria and western Iraq.
That criticism seems to have resonated with Obama and his foreign policy and national security team, and Obama’s apparent decision to make a personnel change seems more important than the fact that Hagel is out and someone new is in. Telescoping that decision comes with the real costs involved with pushing a high-profile nomination through what will be a Republican-controlled Senate in January 2015. Hagel stumbled from the beginning, starting with the Congressional hearings upon his appointment and who seemed to lack the presence for the role. But neither he nor his successor is likely to call the shots on foreign policy.
Continue reading Hagel’s exit symbolizes Obama policy shift →
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Tunisian election results: the (secular) empire strikes back
October 30, 2014 Kevin Lees Leave a comment
Behind all the happy headlines ushering in the ‘secular victory’ in Tunisia’s Sunday parliamentary elections, there’s a darker possibility lurking.
Tunisia’s newly constituted secular party, Nidaa Tounes (حركة نداء تونس, Call of Tunisia), narrowly defeated Tunisia’s Islamist party Ennahda (حركة النهضة) in the first regular parliamentary elections since the Arab Spring revolution that ousted former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Official results announced hours ago confirmed the victory, which gives Nidaa Tounes a plurality, but not an outright majority, in Tunisia’s 217-member, unicameral parliament.
Under the new election law, 199 members of the assembly are elected across 33 single-member and multi-member constituencies, with 18 representatives elected from six overseas constituencies.
The risks of Ennahda are well-known to US and European policymakers, who have long doubted that Islamist movements can also be inclusive and democratic. Though Tunisia’s Islam is mild by the standards of the Arabian peninsula, the Levant and even neighboring Libya, secular Tunisians feared that Ennahda would overreach in the same way as the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi in his one year as Egypt’s president, endangering the relatively liberal social climate that Tunisians enjoyed, even under the Ben Ali regime.
RELATED: How Tunisia became the success story of the Arab Spring
Those fears, despite a rise in violence from fundamentalist Islamists earlier this summer, were always overwrought. Ennahda, which won the first parliamentary elections to Tunisia’s post-Ben Ali constituent assembly in October 2011, has a much more mixed record in government. Tunisians are still unsatisfied about the state of the economy and, especially, unemployment three years after economic factors played a huge role in the protests that led to Ben Ali’s overthrow and kicked off the ‘Arab spring’ revolutions across the Muslim world.
But Ennahda, despite a political crisis that forced its government to resign in January 2014, nevertheless bridged Tunisia from the authoritarian Ben Ali era to the promulgation of a new constitution. In respect of Tunisia’s new democratic system, Ennahda leadership conceded victory, based on preliminary results released Monday.
Rachid al-Ghannouchi, who founded Ennahda in 1981, was a longtime champion of greater democracy in Tunisia, and he has always been painfully mindful of the political divisions that plunged neighboring Algeria into a civil war in the 1990s and the miscalculations of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the increasingly chaotic anarchy in neighboring Libya.
But in Nidaa Tounes, Tunisians have elected into government a patchwork alliance of liberals, labor unions and technocrats and officials with experience that goes back not just to the Ben Ali era, but to Tunisia’s first post-independence president, the long-serving Habib Bourguiba.
That brings another risk — that the rem ants of the Ben Ali and Bourguiba regimes could develop such a stranglehold on Tunisia’s governmental institutions that the country returns to the kind of de facto soft-authoritarian, if secular, state that preceded the spectacular January 2011 revolution that resulted in Ben Ali’s forced resignation.
Tunisian affairs tend toward moderation, among both the Islamist and secular camps. Even during the Bourguiba regime, Tunisia pushed forward with some of the most progressive rights within North Africa and the Middle East, especially as regards women’s rights. So while the prevailing sentiment after Tunisia’s elections should be relief that the vote took place with virtually no disruption, and that Ennahda quickly admitted defeat and indicated its intent to hand over power to Nidaa Tounes, there’s room for concern about the fragility of Tunisia’s nascent democracy.
No one personifies the ties to the old regime more than Beji Caid Essebsi, the Nidaa Tounes leader, who is also the frontrunner in the Tunisian presidential election set for November 23. Essebsi (pictured above), now age 87, was an advisor to Bourguiba from the first moments of Tunisia’s independence, and he served as the head of Bourguiba’s national police, interior minister and foreign minister, and he served in Tunisia’s parliament during the Ben Ali era. Continue reading Tunisian election results: the (secular) empire strikes back →
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Ready or not, Libyan voters will elect a new parliament
Amid growing political turmoil, during which the interim General National Congress (GNC) has lost even the pretense of control, Libyans will vote for a new ‘permanent’ parliament in elections tomorrow as the country slides into ever greater insecurity.
Since the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi in August 2011, repeated attempts to introduce a measure of effective governance have failed, first by the National Transitional Council, and now by the GNC.
On the eve of Libya’s elections, international observers say the voting was organized much too hastily and without adequate preparation. The risk is that, following the July 2012 elections for the GNC and the February 2014 constituent assembly elections to appoint a body to write Libya’s new constitution, a third set of botched elections could further undermine democracy. That’s especially true if voters in the eastern Libya of Cyrenaica don’t particularly bother to turn out. Just 1.5 million voters have registered to participate in the elections, down from the 2.865 million voters that registered for the 2012 vote. If those numbers hold up, turnout tomorrow will be much lower than the 1.76 million that participated in July 2012.
RELATED: Libya hits new security low as interim prime minister resigns
Rather than wait for a new constitution to come into effect, the GNC hastily renamed itself the ‘House of Representatives,’ and late last month announced elections for June 25 to elect 200 members to the newly formed parliament. The GNC acted under considerable pressure from militia forces loyal to former Libyan general Khalifa Hifter (pictured above), who is waging an increasingly effective campaign, chiefly in Benghazi, to eliminate Islamists and Islamist-sympathetic militias throughout the country.
Since the collapse of former prime minister Ali Zeidan’s government in March, Libyan governance has essentially crumbled. Zeidan, a liberal human rights attorney who lived in Geneva before returning to Libya after the 2011 civil war, was first elected prime minister in November 2012 after a contentious vote within a body that, from the outset, was severely divided between liberals and Islamists. Though elected with the support of liberals, Zeidan only narrowly defeated Mohammed Al-Harari, the candidate of the Islamist Justice and Construction Party (حزب العدالة والبناء), the political wing of Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood.
Over the course of his premiership, Zeidan presiding over an increasingly fractious interim government that gradually lost control of much of the country outside Tripoli. In fairness to Zeidan, it’s not clear if any government could have effectively asserted control over Libya over the past two years. As security increasingly faltered, Zeidan himself was kidnapped from a Tripoli hotel in October 2013 and held for hours in an aborted coup attempt.
The final straw for Zeidan came earlier this year when, after growing tensions with conservative militias in Benghazi, eastern rebels commandeered an oil tanker, the Morning Glory, and sailed it halfway across the Mediterranean Sea before US Navy SEALS apprehended it. Though Zeidan initially fled Libya, he returned earlier this week, claiming that he is still legally Libya’s prime minister.
His successor, former defense minister Abdullah al-Thinni, tried to step down nearly a week later as interim prime minister after an attempt on his life. The GNC’s replacement candidate, Ahmed Maiteeq, a Misrata native and businessman, was disputed, and Libya essentially had two competing potential prime ministers until the Libyan supreme court ruled on June 9 that Maiteeq’s election was invalid, thereby restoring the reluctant al-Thinni as interim prime minister.
Hifter’s rise has coincided with the political and security tumult. With significant support in western Libya, militia forces loyal to Hifter effective shut down the GNC earlier this spring, accelerating the decision to hold what amounts to snap elections for the new parliament. Today, Hifter’s leading the most notable anti-militia effort in Benghazi, after declaring himself the leader of ‘Operation Dignity’ in mid-May. Though Hifter’s offensive isn’t sanctioned by the GNC (nor by al-Thnni nor Zeidan nor Maiteeq), his efforts haven’t necessarily been unwelcome by some members of the Libyan government, notably within the interior ministry, which has struggled to implement law and order on a nationwide basis.
Critics worry, however, that Hifter has aims to become a new Gaddafi-like dictator. Hifter has expressed high regard for Egypt’s newly elected president, former army chief Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, especially regarding el-Sisi’s crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood within Egypt. Critics worry that Hifter is launching a military offensive to win the same kind of quasi-authoritarian power that El-Sisi now enjoys in Egypt.
Intriguingly, Hifter is actually a US citizen. Once a Gaddafi partisan, Hifter led a disastrous military campaign in the 1980s in Chad. After his defeat and his subsequent capture by Chadian forces, Hifter joined forces with the anti-Gaddafi opposition and fled to exile, living in northern Virginia between 1990 and 2011, when he returned to Libya to help lead the anti-Gaddafi rebel forces. He was initially mistrusted by other leading rebel generals, however, and he’s the subject of significant speculation that he once worked with US military or other clandestine government officials.
That means, as national voting takes place, Hifter’s forces are engaged in a dangerous showdown in Libya’s second-largest city against Ansar al-Sharia (كتيبة أنصار الشريعة), an Islamist militia that wants to adopt harsh shari’a law across Cyrenaica, the oil-rich region that’s home to Benghazi, if not the entire country.
But it’s not the only place where violence is marring the election campaign. In Sabha, the historical capital of the southern Fezzan region, largely desert and sparsely populated, a parliamentary candidate was killed by gunmen on Tuesday.
Ibrahim al-Jathran, another militia leader, who also fought to topple Gaddafi in the 2011 civil war, last summer took control of four eastern ports, thereby shutting down much of the Zeidan government’s ability to export oil. In a deal with Libya’s interim government soon after Zeidan’s ouster, Jathran permitted two of the ports to reopen, but oil production is still just around 12.5% of Gaddafi-era levels, gas stations in Tripoli are closed, and Libya remains subject to recurring power outages.
Despite some temporary progress, Jathran still advocates a much more autonomous Cyrenaica, if not outright independence. Though Cyrenaica is home to 1.6 million people (the bulk of Libya’s 5.7 million people live in Tripolitania, along Libya’s northwestern coast), much of Libya’s oil wealth is located in the eastern region.
As if that weren’t enough, US special forces last week arrested Ahmed Abu Khattala, a Benghazi-based militia leader believed to be responsible for the September 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi. Though Khattala’s arrest was widely hailed in the United States, Libyans have largely decried what they call the US’s violation of Libya’s national sovereignty.
All of these issues — the standoff between Hifter and Ansar al-Sharia, Khattala’s arrest, the blockage of the country’s dwindling oil exports — threaten to dwarf this week’s election. The February elections to appoint the constitutional constituency assembly attracted just 500,000 voters. If the June 25 parliamentary elections feature similarly low turnout, it will be hard to argue that any party or group will have won much of a mandate for anything.
That’s especially true if Islamists, which have typically been the most organized forces in elections held across North Africa since the Arab Spring revolts of early 2011, win the largest share of seats in tomorrow’s vote. That could empower Islamist militias in Cyrenaica and beyond, setting the scene for a long war of attrition between Hifter’s supporters and Islamist militias.
Even before Zaidan took power, Libya has struggled in the post-Gaddafi era to form a coherent government, in no small part due to the failure of the Gaddafi regime to establish truly national institutions in Libya, where he came to power in a 1969 military coup, just 18 years after the country won full independence from British and French oversight. Under both Ottoman rule, beginning in 1510, and Italian rule, between 1912 and 1947, Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were governed as discrete provinces, with modern ‘Libya’ taking shape chiefly as a political construct in 1951. Up until independence, when the British relinquished full sovereignty over Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, the French were administering Fezzan separately.
Mahmoud Jibril, a secular liberal, served as Libya’s first interim leader, between March 2011 and October 2011 when he chaired the executive board of the National Transitional Council. He stepped down just three days after Gaddafi was captured and killed by a mob in Gaddafi’s own hometown of Sirte. Jibril leads the National Forces Alliance (تحالف القوى الوطنية), a very mildly Islamist, liberal group that won the largest group of seats in the GNC in the July 2012 elections. At the time, however, Jibril’s influence was at its peak, and no one expects his group to repeat the successes of the 2012 election.
Abdurrahim El-Keib was elected by the National Transitional Council in November 2011, and he guided Libya through the September 2012 election of the interim GNC.
Photo credit to Reuters / Esam Omran Al-Fetori.
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Who is Federica Mogherini?
May 14, 2014 Kevin Lees Leave a comment
When Matteo Renzi, the 39-year-old former Florence mayor, pushed Enrico Letta out of power in February, I questioned the timing of his decision and noted that it was an arguably anti-democratic electoral coup against a prime minister of his own party that could easily backfire on Renzi.
But among the most eyebrow-raising choices was Renzi’s decision not to reappoint the internationally acclaimed Emma Bonino as foreign minister, allegedly against the wishes of Italian president Giorgio Napolitano.
A longtime leader of the Radicali Italiani (Italian Radicals), a group of reform-minded, good-government economic and social liberals, Bonino had a long career in Italian and international politics as an inaugural (and subsequent) member of the European Parliament, international trade minister under center-left prime minister Romano Prodi, and European commissioner for health and consumer protection in the late 1990s. A longtime international activist for human rights, Bonino surfaced briefly as a potential Italian presidential contender in May 2013, though the electors ultimately decided to reappoint Napolitano.
Instead, Renzi appointed Federica Mogherini, a previously little-known international affairs expert and legislator in Renzi’s Partido Democratico (PD, Democratic Party).
Of course, youth need not prevent an official from becoming foreign minister (it hasn’t stopped Austria’s 27-year old foreign minister Sebastian Kurz). Nonetheless, it was a risk to replace such a renowned official like Bonino with an untested foreign minister like Mogherini (pictured above). Even before Bonino, the foreign ministry is a role that’s been held by some of Italy’s most senior politicians — Gianfranco Fini and Franco Frattini on the right, and Massimo D’Alema and Lamberto Dini on the left.
Mogherini, in her first trip abroad, was received by US secretary of state John Kerry yesterday, and she appeared briefly at the Brookings Institution today to share thoughts about European relations with Russia, Ukraine, North Africa and the Middle East.
Mogherini is impressive, even to those of us who regret that Bonino’s time as foreign minister was truncated to just 10 months. At her discussion at Brookings, she was more forthright and authoritative than one might expect from such an untested foreign minister. Continue reading Who is Federica Mogherini? →
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The cynical politics behind the Benghazi ‘scandal’
May 9, 2014 Kevin Lees 1 Comment
I’m always super-hesitant to jump into commentary on American politics, mostly because there’s so much to learn about politics and policy elsewhere in the world.
But the decision by the US House of Representatives and House speaker John Boehner on Thursday to form a select committee to ‘investigate’ the Benghazi attacks is one of the reasons I find US politics so utterly discouraging.
A select committee is a ‘special’ committee created for a specific, targeted purpose. The House typically creates a select committee when one or more of the existing House committees don’t have enough authority or capacity to carry out that purpose. For example, between 2007 and 2011, the House, under Democratic control, authorized a select committee on energy independence and global warming.
Of all the mistakes that US president Barack Obama has made in six years in foreign policy, the Republican leadership has generally focused on the Benghazi sideshow — at the expense of more fundamental and, constitutionally controversial matters.
Why ‘Benghazi’ has become such a spectacle
It’s easy to understand why ‘Benghazi’ makes for such a sensational affair. The attack left four US personnel, including Christopher Stevens, the US ambassador to Libya, dead. It left the Obama administration, just weeks before a presidential election, slack-jawed to explain why US security failed so spectacularly.
Add to that the post-Watergate alchemy, whereby shouting ‘cover-up’ can spin routine politics into scandal, a White House that’s been reluctant, perhaps understandably, to work enthusiastically with its Congressional interlocutors, and a zero-sum political environment where House Republicans show, time after time, that they are willing to take extraordinary measures to achieve certain objectives (e.g., last autumn’s government shutdown, routine debt ceiling crises).
It’s easy to see the political advantage for Republicans in opening a select committee to investigate the matter. Trey Gowdy (pictured above), the two-term congressman from South Carolina, who will head the committee, is already talking about the investigation in terms of a ‘trial,’ with Gowdy and his committee as the prosecution and the Obama administration as the defense. Continue reading The cynical politics behind the Benghazi ‘scandal’ →
benghaziboehnerchristopher stevensCIAdemocratdronegaddafigowdyhillary clintonhouse of representativeslibyaNSAobamarepublicanselect committeestate departmentUnited States
Bouteflika headed for controversial fourth term
April 16, 2014 Kevin Lees Leave a comment
Though Algeria quickly became one of the first countries where the ‘Arab Spring’ protests gained momentum three years ago, its longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika is almost certain to win a fourth term in Thursday’s presidential election.
Algerians, like many others throughout north Africa and the Middle East, coalesced in protest of higher prices, massive unemployment and the general lack of economic progress. But with memories of Algeria’s brutal, decade-long civil war of the 1990s still fresh, it was enough for Bouteflika (pictured above) to agree to end the 19-year period of ’emergency rule,’ lift some of his government’s more oppressive measures against political expression and introduce subsidies to lower the price of food and other necessities.
Besides, most Algerians thought, he would be too old at age 77 to run for a fourth term. Nonetheless, despite a campaign to convince Algerian voters to boycott tomorrow’s vote, Bouteflika will theoretically extend his rule through 2019.
But Bouteflika’s reelection campaign says less about Bouteflika than it does about the power struggle bubbling beneath the surface. Frail and unable to walk, Bouteflika suffered a stroke last year and spent four months receiving medical treatment in Paris. No one thinks he’ll last another five years. At a recent meeting with US secretary of state John Kerry, he could barely stand up or and he seemed unable to speak clearly.
So why not groom a successor and let Bouteflika slip into a comfortable retirement? Continue reading Bouteflika headed for controversial fourth term →
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Libya hits new security low as interim prime minister resigns
Just a little over a week after Libya’s prime minister Ali Zaidan was sacked over the country’s deteriorating security situation, its newly appointed interim prime minister Abdullah al-Thinni has resigned after threats on his life and the lives of his family members.
In the United States and Europe, Libya long ago fell from the headlines, despite the support that NATO allies provided to the rebels that sought to oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
But over three years after Gaddafi fell from power (he was captured during an attempt to escape his hometown of Sirte and brutally murdered by a mob), Libya is not in particularly good shape.
Oil production has allegedly fallen to just 12.5% of its Gaddafi-era levels, as the central government and regional militias play a game of tug-of-war over potential oil revenues. Meanwhile, the Libyan government is unable to guarantee security throughout much of the country, especially outside Tripoli.
Al-Thinni (pictured above), who formerly served as Libya’s defense minister, made it clear that he’s stepping down after an attempted attack on him and his family:
“My family and I suffered a brutal attack last night and shooting terrified local residents and put lives in danger,” Thinni said in a letter addressed to the [General National Congress] and published on the official Prime Ministry website. “I will not accept one drop of blood to be spilled because of me and I will not allow myself as Prime Minister to be a reason for Libyans fighting.”
Much of the problem lies in the eastern region of Cyrenaica, the cradle of the Libyan revolution against Gaddafi, and a traditional stronghold of opposition to Gaddafi’s 42-year rule. Continue reading Libya hits new security low as interim prime minister resigns →
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France, United States
Can the Obama administration save François Hollande?
No one could miss the undertones of yesterday’s op-ed, co-written by US president Barack Obama and French president François Hollande, in The Washington Post and Le Monde:
A decade ago, few would have imagined our two countries working so closely together in so many ways. But in recent years our alliance has transformed. Since France’s return to NATO’s military command four years ago and consistent with our continuing commitment to strengthen the NATO- European Union partnership, we have expanded our cooperation across the board. We are sovereign and independent nations that make our decisions based on our respective national interests. Yet we have been able to take our alliance to a new level because our interests and values are so closely aligned.
It was one of the biggest, wettest, sloppiest kisses that the Obama administration has given a foreign leader — and it’s not something that this administration does often. It’s part of the red-carpet treatment that Obama is rolling out for Hollande, who visited Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, in Virginia on Monday, and will be the host of a state dinner tonight at the White House.
It’s clearly an opportunity for the newly single Hollande to move on after a dismal January, when sensational headlines over his trysts with a French actress overshadowed his his attempts to introduce a new economic reform package. It became a nearly monthlong saga that sent Hollande’s partner, Valerie Trierweiler, to a Paris hospital for over a week, and that ended with their breakup.
Time magazine, which a wide-ranging interview, asks this week on its cover whether Hollande can fix France. It’s worth asking whether, first, the White House is trying to help fix Hollande. Polls routinely show Hollande with an approval rating in the low 20s (or even high teens), making him the least popular president in the history of the Fifth Republic, not even two years into his five-year term.
The White House treatment, including Monday’s joint editorial, undoubtedly hopes to share of Obama’s star power with the widely derided president. Obama needs Hollande’s help to finalize the US-EU free trade pact, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, even though it could harm French farmers and wine producers by opening the European Union to cheaper US exports. Obama will also need Hollande’s help to win a long-term nuclear energy deal with Iran while the temporary six-month deal remains in effect.
It’s true that France has been, surprisingly, almost as reliable a partner on US foreign policy as the United Kingdom in recent years. Hollande has deepened France’s 21st century internationalism, of course, most notably through his decision to mount a largely successful intervention to keep northern Mali from falling to foreign Islamic jihadists, thereby giving Bamako the space to hold new elections and build a stronger national government. French peacemakers in the Central African Republic may have also helped limit violence between Christians and Muslims in December and January and smoothed the way for Michel Djotodia’s resignation. Hollande was willing to back a US military attack on Syrian president Bashar al-Assad last August when the United Kingdom and the US Congress were not.
But credit for the hard work of repairing US-French relations, insofar as it relates to the newly muscular tone of French foreign policy, more appropriately rests with former president Nicolas Sarkozy, whose administration marked the true pivot on foreign policy. Continue reading Can the Obama administration save François Hollande? →
assadCameronCARcentral african republicChiracEuropean UnionFranceHollandeiranlibyamalimerkelmonticelloobamaPSSarkozysocialist partystate dinnersyriaTTIPUnited States
Libya, United States
Neither Republicans nor Democrats learned the real lesson of Benghazi
December 30, 2013 Kevin Lees Leave a comment
In the United States, ‘Benghazi’ has become a code word for conservative Republicans hinting at a dark cover-up within the administration of US president Barack Obama about who actually perpetrated the attack on September 11, 2012 against the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya’s second-most populous city.
The furor stems largely from comments by Susan Rice, then the US ambassador to the United Nations and a candidate to succeed Hillary Clinton as US secretary of state, that indicated the attack was entirely spontaneous, caused by protests to a purported film trailer, ‘Innocence of Muslims,’ that ridiculed Islam and the prophet Mohammed. Republicans immediately seized on the comments, arguing that al-Qaeda was responsible for the attack, which left four US officials dead, including Christopher Stevens, the US ambassador to Libya at the time, a volatile period following the US-backed NATO efforts to assist rebels in their effort to end the 42-year rule of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
An amazingly detailed report in The New York Times by David Kirkpatrick on Saturday reveals that there’s no evidence that al-Qaeda was responsible for the attack. While it was more planned than the spontaneous anti-film riots that rocked the US embassy in Cairo the same day, the Benghazi incident was carried out by local extremist militias. Kirkpatrick singles out, in particular, Abu Khattala, a local construction worker and militia leader, but he also identifies other radical militias within Benghazi, such as Ansar al-Sharia, which may not have been responsible, but still seem relatively sympathetic to anti-American sentiment:
Mohammed Ali al-Zahawi, the leader of Ansar al-Shariah, told The Washington Post that he disapproved of attacking Western diplomats, but he added, “If it had been our attack on the U.S. Consulate, we would have flattened it.”
Similarly named groups have emerged throughout north Africa and the Arabian peninsula over the past few years — a group calling itself Ansar al-Sharia, not ‘al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’ (AQAP), took control of portions of southern Yemen after the battle of Zinjibar in 2011. The United States ultimately listed ‘Ansar al-Sharia’ as an alias for AQAP, but it’s unclear the degree to which the two are (or were) separate. It also underscores the degree to which local Islamist groups like AQAP are necessarily fueled by local interests and concerns . Most Yemenis fighting alongside AQAP are doing so for local reasons in a country that remains split on tribal and geographic lines — South Yemen could claim to be an independent state as recently as 1990. Groups also named Ansar al-Sharia also operate in Mali, Tunisia, Mauritania, Morocco and Egypt, and some of them have links to al-Qaeda affiliates and personnel. Others do not.
If Khattala, as The New York Times reports, is the culprit behind the consulate attack (and the US government continues to seek him in response to the attack), he fits the profile less of a notorious international terror mastermind and more of a local, off-kilter eccentric:
Sheikh Mohamed Abu Sidra, a member of Parliament from Benghazi close to many hard-line Islamists, who spent 22 years in Abu Salim, said, “Even in prison, he was always alone.” He added: “He is sincere, but he is very ignorant, and I don’t think he is 100 percent mentally fit. I always ask myself, how did he become a leader?”
Moreover, if there’s a scandal involving the Obama administration, it’s the way in which the United States came to enter the Libyan conflict in 2011. The Obama administration refused to seek authorization from the US Congress when it ordered military action in Libya in support of the NATO mission and to establish a no-fly zone, pushing a potentially unconstitutional interpretation of the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which requires Congressional authorization for open-ended conflicts that last for more than 60 days. Ironically, Obama’s case for ignoring Congress was actually stronger with respect to potential airstrikes on Syria earlier this year, though Obama’ ultimately decided to seek Congressional support for a potential military strike in August in response to the use of chemical weapons by Syria’s military.
Republicans, who control the US House of Representatives but not the US Senate, the upper house of the US Congress, just as they did in 2011, could have (and should have) held Obama more accountable for his decision vis-à-vis the War Powers Resolution. Instead, they’ve colluded with a conservative echo chamber that mutters ‘Benghazi’ like some unhinged conspiracy theory, suggesting that somehow the Obama administration purposefully lied about what happened that day. The reality is that the Obama administration was as caught off guard as anyone by the attack. Democrats that would have howled with disgust over Benghazi if it had happened under the previous administration of Republican George W. Bush have remained incredibly docile during the Obama administration — to say nothing of the Obama administration’s encroaching internet surveillance, ongoing war in Afghanistan, frequent use of drone attacks and pioneering use of ‘targeted killings’ (including assassination of US citizens).
Kirkpatrick’s report showed that while US intelligence agencies were tracing an individual with tangential ties to al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden, they largely missed the more local threats like Khattala and Ansar al-Sharia:
The C.I.A. kept its closest watch on people who had known ties to terrorist networks abroad, especially those connected to Al Qaeda. Intelligence briefings for diplomats often mentioned Sufian bin Qumu, a former driver for a company run by Bin Laden. Mr. Qumu had been apprehended in Pakistan in 2001 and detained for six years at Guantánamo Bay before returning home to Derna, a coastal city near Benghazi that was known for a high concentration of Islamist extremists.
But neither Mr. Qumu nor anyone else in Derna appears to have played a significant role in the attack on the American Mission, officials briefed on the investigation and the intelligence said. “We heard a lot about Sufian bin Qumu,” said one American diplomat in Libya at the time. “I don’t know if we ever heard anything about Ansar al-Shariah.”
That, in turn, highlights the real lesson of Benghazi — both the Obama administration and the national security apparatus that it has empowered, and the conservative opposition to the Obama administration are missing the larger problem with the way that the United States engages the world. It’s a point that rings most clearly in the words of Khattala himself:
“The enmity between the American government and the peoples of the world is an old case,” he said. “Why is the United States always trying to use force to implement its agendas?”….
“It is always the same two teams, but all that changes is the ball,” he said in an interview. “They are just laughing at their own people.” Continue reading Neither Republicans nor Democrats learned the real lesson of Benghazi →
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If I Could Tell You Just One Thing – Watch now on YouTube
A-list star Priyanka Chopra hosts ‘If I Could Tell You Just One Thing’, a brand new show for YouTube which chronicles her journey as she meets three inspirational women – Simone Biles, Awkwafina and Diane von Furstenberg – and asks their advice on how to change the world.
“We see an opportunity to evolve and dig a little deeper using the global reach of YouTube to shine a light on human stories that inspire us and make us smarter,” said YouTube’s chief business officer Robert Kyncl.
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Social inequality in Latin America: a condition that affects health
Category: Our
Published: - Apr 11, 2019
Latin American Post sets its position on a more common and deeper problem than is initially believed
Health must always be first, however, some of our countries do not seem to have it so clear. Recently, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, better known as ECLAC, warned about inequality in the distribution of income of people in Latin America, which decreased significantly between 2008 and 2015, largely due to the way in which as some countries prioritize their social development goals.
Leer en español: La desigualdad social en Latinoamérica: una condición que afecta la salud
That study, presented in Santiago de Chile, also showed the inequalities in the use of time between men and women, in the ethnic-racial condition and in other inequalities that arise in the different stages of the life cycle. The conclusion of the study made by the Chilean leader of ECLAC, Alicia Bárcena, pointed out that inequality is a historical characteristic of the societies of this part of the world due to the existence of vicious circuits and that the objective is to reduce it notably by 2030.
Read also: The 5 challenges of health systems in Latin America
In Latin American Post we agree that this situation affects the health of people in the continent. From our point of view, for there to be an improvement in the labor income of the poorest sectors, we must work to formalize jobs, in a real increase in minimum wages in several countries of this geographical region, and in the increase of monetary transfers to the neediest strata.
A worrisome reality
James Fitzgerald is director of systems and health services of the United Nations (UN) and, in the framework of World Health Day, said that citizens of several Latin American countries present numerous challenges of access to health service, which should be inconceivable in these times.
In this sense, it is not difficult to specify that these citizens are those who are mainly in rural areas, although the leader also mentioned the Afro-descendant population as one of the most affected by the inequality in health systems prevailing in Latin America.
Access to health in the world, and especially in the continent, is conditioned, but not guaranteed, and this is due to obstacles such as economic capacity, as well as a non-optimal service and other irregularities of physical and geographical nature.
In fact, in that sense, the UN gave terrifying figures in which three out of ten people in this part of the world do not have access to health services due to lack of money. Unusual, taking into account that the state must guarantee a basic right of human beings, without any kind of distinction.
The problem arises from the state because, in many of them, public investment in health is very low. According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for health must progressively reach 6%, but on average the figure is only 4%.
The figures that PAHO manages and that support this conclusion points out that Latin American nations invest only 3.8% of their GDP in health, and that, worldwide, almost 800 million citizens, about 12% of the population, they must invest from their personal budget to attend to health situations.
Una publicación compartida de COMMUNITY MANAGER (@cm_smm) el 18 Mar, 2019 a las 7:13 PDT
More inequality, less health for the Latin American citizen
In short, LatinAmerican Post supports research that shows that many governments are not investing what health deserves, undermining the ECLAC objective for 2030 and, of course, with the living conditions of Latin Americans.
All this situation affects the proper coverage and attention of the population, especially the rural population, as stated in the Sustainable Agenda of the Americas 2018-2030, which, in turn, poses challenges such as strengthening the promotion of health and prevention of diseases, as well as in parallel solve access problems in rural and remote areas. In short, more investment and greater coverage and prevention by the states in health matters.
LatinAmerican Post | Editorial Team
Translated from "La desigualdad socia en Latinoamérica: una condición que afecta la salud"
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Cast IT
Claire Mathieu: College Admission Algorithms in the Real World
cast it, claire mathieu, college admission, gale–shapley algorithm
Claire Mathieu is a leading researcher in algorithms design and director of research at Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) in Paris, France.) Claire has been involved in the 2018 redesign of the college admission procedure in France, where close to a million students apply for more than ten thousand different college programmes. At the root of the procedure is the famous and widely used Stable Marriage method of Gale and Shapley (1962), a result that was recognised with the 2012 Nobel Prize in Economics.
Claire explains to us the basic algorithmic ideas, but also the many challenging details that must be addressed when an otherwise clean and well-understood procedure is implemented to tackle a real-world scenario. Many domain-specific peculiarities arise, such as social, cultural, political, administrative, and legal issues, which are themselves often ill-defined and frequently conflicting.
The episode was recorded on 20 August 2018, during the European Symposium of Algorithms 2018, hosted by Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland.
Robin Hanson: The Age of Mind Uploading
Robin Hanson is an associate professor of...
Yves Bertot: Verifying One Million Digits of Pi
878 views April 19, 2018
Yves Bertot is a senior researcher that the...
Sarah Pink: Digital Ethnography
Sarah Pink is a Professor of Design and Media...
Ivan Damgård: Secure Multi-Party Computation
Ivan Bjerre Damgård is professor of theoretical...
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FORMER PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE CONVICTED OF TREASON
A court in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Thursday found former President Viktor Yanukovych guilty of treason and helping Russia annex the Crimean peninsula. The Kiev court began reading out the verdict in Yanukovych's case, a process that is expected to take at least the whole day. The judge already declared Yanukovych guilty of treason and premeditated actions to alter the country's borders and will rule later on the other charges.
Yanukovych fled Ukraine in 2014 as tensions in Kiev flared up following a deadly police crackdown on protesters calling for the president to follow through with an association agreement with the European Union. Yanukovych eventually surfaced in Russia and was tried in absentia.
The Kremlin has used a request by Yanukovych as one of the legal grounds to seize the Crimean peninsula and later formally annex it. At a United Nations Security Council session on March 1, 2014, a Russian envoy had read out a request by Yanukovych to send Russian troops to Ukraine.
Yanukovych later said he did send a letter to Putin asking for military assistance but claimed that that was not an official invitation for boots on the ground. The annexation of Crimea triggered hostilities in eastern Ukraine where fighting between Russia-backed separatists and government troops has claimed more than 10,000 lives.
Earlier in the trial, Yanukovych testified via video link from Moscow. His lawyer has said that the former president would not be able to follow the verdict because he is in hospital after sustaining injuries on a Moscow tennis court in November.
Prosecutors have asked the court to sentence Yanukovych to 15 years in prison.
Contributed by Vladimir Feldman (Minsk, Belarus)
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+27117174028 editor@witsvuvuzela.com
Indepth projects
Team Vuvu 2019
Wits Journalism
Lecturer honoured by French government.
by Patricia Aruo | Feb 10, 2018
Dr Alexia Vassilatos has been chosen as one of the recipients of a national order of France by the French Ministry of Education.
The Wits French lecturer and Head of Discipline was awarded the “Ordre des Palmes Académiques” (French Academic Palms) last month. It recognises individuals who have contributed to the advancement of French language and culture in the education sector. The award is bestowed annually by France’s Ministry of Education on behalf of the French government. Vassilatos has been a lecturer at Wits for 15 years and obtained her Bachelor of Arts at the university prior to that. She says that it was an honour to have been nominated for the award by the French Embassy in South Africa and believes that her multiple contributions throughout her years in academia were the reason she received the award.
Some of her contributions include her long-term role in the Association of French Studies in South Africa (AFSA), for which she currently serves as a treasurer.
“It’s a really nice recognition. I think the French Embassy thought that I would be worth being recognised for my involvement. For me it is a 24-hour commitment,” she says.
The association supports French by developing guides for schools, training teachers as well as publishing academic journals. Outside of her work with the AFSA, she has published academic research, participated in conferences and taught French for many years.
The significance of the award is not lost on her and she admits that while there are no prescribed duties attached to the award, there is an increased feeling of expectation.
“When you get an award of any kind, there is a big expectation. I’m not even French but I’ve been linked to a strong affiliation to France and the French language through a national honour. There is a sense of responsibility that comes with it”.
Vassilatos is Greek but has lifelong ties to French culture having lived in France and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she was born and lived until she was 15. For Vassilatos, the award “shows what I’ve always known, that French has a place in South Africa. Some people do not find the connection immediately obvious. On the African continent, French is not just a language. It is a space where very different cultures can meet through a linguistic commonality. Sometimes a cultural and economic one. Around it you can have so many meetings of different role players”. Vassilatos will receive her medal at the French Embassy in South Africa later this year.
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The Vuvuzela newspaper is produced by the career-entry students of the Wits Journalism Department at Wits University.
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Courtney B. Vance Movies
Below we've shown a selection of the most popular Courtney B. Vance films.
D-Tox
D-Tox is an action, thriller movie starring Sylvester Stallone, Courtney B. Vance and Tom Berenger.
Charles S. Dutton
Released in 1996, The Preacher's Wife is a fantasy film with an approximated budget of $40,000,000.
The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October was released in 1990, featuring Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery and earned an average rating of 7.2.
Cookie's Fortune
Cookie's Fortune was released in 1999, featuring Glenn Close and Julianne Moore and earned an average rating of 6.5.
Space Cowboys is an action, adventure film featuring Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland.
Final Destination 5 is a horror, mystery film starring Emma Bell, Nicholas D'Agosto and Miles Fisher.
Released in 2011, The Divide is a science fiction movie with an estimated budget of $3,000,000.
Michael Biehn
Milo Ventimiglia
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Movies Like City of Ember
In the list below we've found similar top rated films that include keywords such as dystopia, adventure and gnosticism. When searching for a related movie to City of Ember you might be looking for another movie featuring Saoirse Ronan or Harry Treadaway, or even another adventure and family movie. In order to list comparable movies to City of Ember we've utilised many elements such as film genre, storyline and headlining actors.
Zathura: A Space Adventure
Zathura: A Space Adventure was released in 2005, featuring Jonah Bobo and Josh Hutcherson and earned an average rating of 5.8.
Inkheart was released in 2008, starring Brendan Fraser and Sienna Guillory and received an average rating of 5.9.
Boasting Jeff Bridges and Rachel McAdams, The Little Prince earned a movie rating of 7.7.
Starring Saoirse Ronan and Diane Kruger, The Host received a film rating of 6.
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Released in 2010, Resident Evil: Afterlife is a action film with an estimated budget of $60,000,000.
Starring Paul Bettany and Cam Gigandet, Priest received a film rating of 5.6.
The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box
The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box is a fantasy, adventure movie starring Aneurin Barnard, Michael Sheen and Lena Headey.
V for Vendetta was released in 2005, featuring Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving and earned an average rating of 7.4.
Serenity was released in 2005, featuring Nathan Fillion and Gina Torres and earned an average rating of 7.4.
City of Ember is an adventure, family film starring Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway and Mary Kay Place.
PG, Theatrical
underground world
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Roads | Public Service Commission
View of Laurelton
Authors: Public Service Commission
Subject: Roads | Dwellings
Description: Looking west from the Long Island Rail Road embankment just north of New York State Route 27 (Sunrise Highway) at 231st Street.
View of Laurelton From Rail Road
Subject: Roads | Railroad tracks | Long Island Rail Road
Description: Looking west from a point on the Long Island Rail Road embankment north of New York State Route 27 (Sunrise Highway) near 231st Street.
View East From 160th Street, Jamaica
Subject: Roads
Description: Looking east from 160th Street along the line of the proposed North Conduit Avenue. At far right is New York State Route 27 (Sunrise Highway). The utility poles and the houses at left are on Southern ... More
View East from Farmers Boulevard, Springfield Gardens
Subject: Roads | Automobiles | Dwellings
Description: Looking east from Farmers Boulevard along the path of the proposed North Conduit Avenue. Automobiles can be seen on New York State Route 27 at right.
Description: Looking east from a point north of New York State Route 27, and about 500 feet west of Farmers Boulevard, along the line of property through which the new North Conduit Avenue will be opened.
View East From New York Boulevard (now Guy R. Brewer Boulevard), Jamaica
Description: Looking east from New York Boulevard (now Guy R. Brewer Boulevard) along the line of the proposed North Conduit Avenue, to the north of New York State Route 27.
View East From Rockaway Boulevard, Jamaica
Description: Looking east from Rockaway Boulevard along the line of the proposed North Conduit Avenue. At right is New York State Route 27 showing the westbound exit roadway to the boulevard.
View East North of Route 27, Springfield Gardens
Description: Looking east along the north side of New York State Route 27 (visible at far right) from a point midway between 181st Street and 181st Place in Springfield Gardens. This is the route of the proposed N ... More
Description: Looking east along the waterworks property on the north side of New York State Route 27 from Springfield Boulevard. (Route 27 is marked by the line of lampposts and utility poles at right.) This is th ... More
View West From 160th Street, Jamaica
Description: Looking west from 160th Street along the line of the proposed North Conduit Avenue. At far left is New York State Route 27 (Sunrise Highway), with the Rockaway Boulevard overpass visible in the distan ... More
View West From Farmers Boulevard, Springfield Gardens
Description: Looking west from Farmers Boulevard along the line of the proposed North Conduit Avenue, on the north of New York State Route 27.
View West From New York Boulevard (now Guy R. Brewer Boulevard), Jamaica
Description: Looking west from New York Boulevard (now Guy R. Brewer Boulevard) along the line of the proposed North Conduit Avenue. At far left, the line of utility poles marks New York State Route 27 is New York ... More
View West North of Route 27, Springfield Gardens
Description: Looking west along the north side of New York State Route 27 from Springfield Boulevard in Springfield Gardens. The new North Conduit Avenue will be built on the northerly side of this strip.
Along Path of Proposed South Conduit Avenue, South Ozone Park
Description: A view from the north side of Old South Road at the line of 123rd Street, of land in the path of the proposed South Conduit Road
Description: A view looking east along the route of the proposed South Conduit Avenue from a point west of 130th Place.
Jamaica (New York, N.Y.) (7)
Springfield Gardens (New York, N.Y.) (6)
Howard Beach (New York, N.Y.) (5)
South Ozone Park (New York, N.Y.) (5)
Cross Bay Boulevard near 155th Avenue, Howard Beach, NY (2)
Laurelton (New York, N.Y.) (2)
Laurelton, NY (2)
New York State Route 27 near 160th Street, Jamaica, NY (2)
New York State Route 27 near Farmers Boulevard, Springfield Gardens, NY (2)
New York State Route 27 near Rockaway Boulevard, Jamaica, NY (2)
New York State Route 27 near Springfield Boulevard, Springfield Gardens, NY (2)
Ozone Park (New York, N.Y.) (2)
100-04 North Conduit Avenue (now North Conduit at Cohancy Street), Ozone Park, NY (1)
144-12 156th Street, South Ozone Park, NY (1)
154-18 Rockaway Boulevard, Jamaica, NY (1)
Farmers Boulevard near 144th Road, Springfield Gardens, NY (1)
Intersection of 150th Avenue and 126th Street, South Ozone Park, NY (1)
Linden Boulevard and Sunrise Highway, Howard Beach, NY (1)
Linden Boulevard at New York State Route 27 and 84th Street, Howard Beach, NY (1)
New York State Route 27 near 181st Street, Springfield Gardens, NY (1)
Automobile repair shops (1)
Long Island Rail Road (1)
Railroad crossings (1)
Railroad tracks (1)
Vacant lands (1)
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The war memorial was erected in 1921 in High Street, and was paid for by public subscription. In 2010, the town council agreed a new design for the area.
In December 2010, work started which included stabilising the memorial which had developed a tilt over many years. This was done by injecting a resin type material into the soil which expands and solidifies to form a solid foundation. The work was successful and resulted in a reduction of the tilt and has given a firm foundation for the war memorial to sit on.
The redevelopment project also included the area around the memorial which saw the installation of new benches, waste bin, hanging basket poles, trees and the re-pavement of the surrounding area.
This area is now a pleasant focal point, and a place where one can sit and contemplate.
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Abitare Architecture Exit Architects
Alessia Pincini
A team created to integrate the knowledge and experience of its members, in order to face their professional work with the maximum soundness and capacity.
Go to the gallery
Abitare.it places the space of MIRRORS at disposal of planners, designers and graphic designers. Every week to a different studio, from Italy and abroad. Up to now more than 90 participated and are now included in our database. The layout is simple: the protagonists present themselves through a curriculum and a selection of three significant projects, all of them being illustrated through an images gallery and a short descriptive text. An effective way to convey the thought and the practice of the studio to the reader, to acquaint him with the initiatives, the competitions, the projects in the pipeline, so sharing with him one’s creative world.
The MIRRORS offer the possibility of communicating and self-presenting in a concise and direct way one’s expressive capabilities, partaking experiences and entering the community of Abitare.it
E-mail your MIRROR to the e-mail address:
alessia.pincini@guest.rcs.it
“Exit Architects integrates the personal and professional experience of an architects team gathered round their common interest in developing a people-aimed architecture.
We intend our architecture to play a role in citizens’ everyday life, making them feel and experience through materials and spaces. We try to create “alive” buildings, inserted in society, and spaces where users share experiences and interact.
We believe it is possible to integrate in each project the technical rationality and the emotion at architectural spaces, to combine the construction precision and the intuition, to unite functionality and beauty.
Our work seeks the optimum integration of all the circumstances around each project, with special focus on the client needs, the relation between buildings and city, the sustainability and the intention of producing contemporary architecture.
We are as well involved in various collaborative initiatives with other international architectural practices in order to broaden our scope of work and open us to new experiences.”
Easter Sculpture Museum, Hellín, Albacete, Spain, 2002-2011
The Museum Project was the result of an ideas competition organized by the Hellín Municipality. The competition rules considered the refurbishment of the Casa del Conde as well as the construction of an extension on the plot area former occupied by some small service buildings of the house.
In the competition winning proposal we included the completely refurbished Casa del Conde as a part of the Museum. We even wanted to give it a main role, incorporating the former backyard facade as the background of the new main exhibition space. The inner court of the house played also a significant role as an exhibition area which established a relationship between the old and the new parts. The upper levels hosted an administration area and a library.
In the inside, a white-concrete space, shaped by light, surrounds a sinuous way among the sculptures, which stand on several big wooden bases that organize the exhibition and contain the showcases for smaller objects. Therefore it happens just the opposite as in Easter, and in this case it is the visitor who wanders between the sculptures as he discovers them from different points.
The great scale of the main space, the intentional use of light and the construction with few and durable materials give the interior a character very appropriate for the important collection of religious sculptures to be exposed.
photos by Fernando Guerra-Exit Architects
Rehabilitation of former prison of Palencia as Cultural Civic Center, Palencia, Spain, 2007-2011
The former Palencia Provincial Prison complex was created at the end of the XIX century, built with brick bearing walls following the “neomudéjar” style, and composed mainly of four two-storey wings and some other with one storey. On this building was planned a comprehensive refurbishment to transform the former use and convert it into a center that promotes the social and cultural activity in this part of the town.
Our proposal intends to convert the former prison into a meeting place, recovering some of the old spaces, and creating at the same time new structures that make possible the new planned activities. It is a project that respects the existing building, which is given a contemporary, lighter appearance, and where the natural light will play a key role. With this aim the main two-storey wings have been refurbished, emptying their interior and placing a new independent structure to bear the new floors and roofs. Besides, between the main wings have been built new connecting pavilions, which form the new complex perimeter and give it a modern and friendly aspect. To introduce the light in the building we had to remove the old covered with tiles which were in very poor condition, and have been replaced by others of zinc that open large skylights which introduce light into the open halls of the Center.
The entire building is organized around a great hall that connects the 4 pavilions of the former prison. It is a diaphanous space based only on a few mild cylindrical courtyards of glass that illuminate and provide the backbone of the stay. Due to its central location in relation to the pavilions, this space acts as a nerve center and distributor of users, across the Pavilion access and reception, directed towards the rest of the areas of the Centre.
photos by FG+SG Fotografía de Arquitectura-Exit Architects
Public Library “Luis Martín Santos”, Madrid, 2003-2007
The library is thought as a metaphor of books itself. Covers that attract you and let you see only a little fragment of the stories they contain. Stories, all of them, born from imagination. This is the way the library is tried to be built, as an enigmatic cover with a plain shape that makes it an object. An attracting cover that, once left behind, discovers a story full of nuances, with paths still to be written.
The library opens itself to a pedestrian boulevard, at the end of a residential 8-floor blocks area. The building gets its identity through materials, rejecting composition criteria. On the other hand, as we get close to it, the apparent opacity disappears and the building opens itself to people circulation.
The building is conceived as a dense, compact and hermetic solid, perforated by six circular courtyards that trap the natural light and generate reading areas open to the sky. The diverse areas into this solid are developed in four levels, with very different use on each one. Nonetheless there is a strong visual connection between all of them through the building sections. The areas are clearly defined: hall/exhibition, children/teen, periodicals, general collection and meeting rooms.
The hall serves as a relation and control area. Visually connected with the children area and with direct access to the periodicals area, it is conceived as a dispersed space, open to the exterior and from which it is clearly understood the building organization.
The general collection occupies the main space of the building. It is a closed and introverted space. Surprisingly, despite the exterior hermetic appearance, it is full of the soft light that gets in through the courtyards. These are, at the same time, transparent and reflecting, and generate a non-hierarchical spatially structure, through which you can easily wander around captivated by the existing tranquillity.
photos by Miguel De Guzmán-Pablo Álvarez Couso-Exit Architects
Riobamba 10, 5° C
http://exit-architects.com
MINI-STUDIO by FRENTEarquitectura
Office and Residential Building Neutrogasse
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Bjarke Ingels in Bordeaux
There are even columns – made of concrete – in the totemic but unpretentious...
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Greg Hands (Chelsea & Fulham MP) quits government – on principle over May’s 3-line whip voting on Heathrow expansion
Junior trade minister Greg Hands (MP for Chelsea & Fulham)has resigned from the Conservative government to oppose expansion of Heathrow. The vote in Parliament on whether to build the runway will be on Monday. Greg said he had pledged to his electorate to oppose a 3rd runway, at the 2017 election, and he would keep his word and honour his pledges. The borough would be badly over-flown if Heathrow was allowed to expand. It had been thought that ministers with constituencies directly affected could have been allowed to miss the vote. However, the Government will be whipping the vote. The highest profile opponent of Heathrow expansion in the cabinet is Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, who once pledged to lie down in front of bulldozers to stop it happening. However, in a cowardly and discreditable manner, he is shirking his responsibilities to stand up to his claims, by engineering an overseas appointment on Monday, to be out of the country. [Snout too firmly in trough, and enjoying his important high kudos job ….] Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson suggested on Twitter that Mr Hands’ resignation should prompt the prime minister to allow her MPs a free vote. Greg has, in the past, held a range of other responsible ministerial roles.
Greg Hands quits as minister over Heathrow expansion
21.6.2018 (BBC)
Image copyrightUK PARLIAMENT
Junior trade minister Greg Hands has resigned from the government to oppose expansion of Heathrow Airport.
The vote on whether to build a third runway at the airport west of London is due to be held on Monday.
Mr Hands, who represents the Chelsea and Fulham constituency in London, said he had pledged to oppose the new runway at the 2017 election.
It had been thought that ministers with constituencies directly affected could have been allowed to miss the vote.
Skip Twitter post by @GregHands
Greg Hands
✔@GregHands
As the Government will be whipping the vote on Monday, this means I am resigning from the Government. It has been an honour to serve the Prime Minister (and her predecessor) for the last 7 years and I wish the PM & the Government every continuing success.
I wrote to the PM earlier this week on how I will honour these 2017 General Election pledges to the people of Chelsea & Fulham and vote against the Heathrow 3rd runway on Monday.
11:34 AM – Jun 21, 2018
End of Twitter post by @GregHands
The highest profile opponent of Heathrow expansion in the cabinet is Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, who once pledged to lie down in front of bulldozers to stop it happening.
But Mr Johnson is scheduled to be out of the UK on Monday so will not be attending the vote in the House of Commons.
Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson suggested on Twitter that Mr Hands’ resignation should prompt the prime minister to allow her MPs a free vote: “It’s not too late for her to change whipping arrangements. This would also allow Boris Johnson to re-enter the country.”
Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas said the foreign secretary should quit too:
Skip Twitter post by @CarolineLucas
✔@CarolineLucas
If Boris Johnson has a backbone, or a shred of credibility left, he will join Greg Hands in resigning. #Heathrow
As the Government will be whipping the vote on Monday, this means I am resigning from the Government. It has been an honour to serve the Prime Minister (and her predecessor) for the last 7 years and I wish the PM & the Government every continuing success. https://twitter.com/greghands/status/1009741396243353601 …
12:09 PM – Jun 21, 2018
Labour is also divided on the controversial issue, with members of the party’s leadership, such as shadow chancellor John McDonnell, opposed to it, but high profile trade union backers in favour. The party’s MPs are being allowed to vote however they want to on the issue.
The SNP are in favour of Heathrow expansion, with the Lib Dems opposed and with the government deciding to whip (order) Conservative MPs to vote in favour, it is widely expected that the expansion plan will get Commons backing.
A Downing Street spokesman said Mr Hands, who has held various ministerial roles and was chief secretary to the Treasury under David Cameron, had “served the government with great ability and distinction over several years, and we thank him for all of his work”.
He added: “This government is committed to expanding airport capacity at Heathrow – this is an important decision which will play a crucial role in securing the future of global Britain.”
The debate on expanding Heathrow has been going on for nearly 20 years.
The last Labour government backed the idea, and won a vote on it in 2009, but that plan was scrapped – and the idea of expansion put on hold for five years – by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition formed after the 2010 election.
But the idea of expansion was resurrected and has been subsequently backed by the Conservatives.
Ministers approved a draft national airports policy statement in October but Parliament has to give its approval for detailed planning to begin.
Campaigners argue that a new runway will breach the UK’s legal limits on air pollution and increase noise pollution with an extra 700 planes a day.
It will result in huge disruption to residents of nearby villages, such as Longford, Harmondsworth and Sipson, with hundreds of homes likely to be knocked down.
Robert Barnstone, from the No 3rd Runway Coalition, told the BBC the government was “failing people and failing the environment as well”.
Former Transport Secretary Justine Greening, who backs expanding Gatwick instead, suggested the idea of Heathrow as a national hub airport was outdated and the focus should be on improving regional capacity.
And Tory MP Zac Goldsmith, who resigned his Richmond Park seat in 2016 over the issue and subsequently lost a by-election, said for many people “this doesn’t just look like a blank cheque being given by this government to a foreign-owned multinational, it looks like a whole book of cheques signed by our constituents”.
[Then there is then pro- Heathrow blurb …..]
See full article at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44561170
Commenting on the resignation from Government of Greg Hands MP, Paul McGuinness, Chair No 3rd runway Coalition, said:
“Greg Hands’ resignation is principled, and wholly enforced by the government’s decision not to allow a free vote, despite its earlier promises and u-turn from its previous position to oppose Heathrow expansion.”
The article in the Guardian says:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jun/21/greg-hands-quits-as-minister-to-vote-against-heathrow-third-runway
A Downing Street source said: “He had been categoric to his constituents that he would vote against the third runway, so it is not a massive surprise that he has resigned. It is a three-line whip.”
Andy McDonald, the shadow transport secretary, said: “Greg Hands’s resignation piles the pressure on Boris Johnson, who promised his constituents he would ‘lie down in front of the bulldozers’ to stop a third runway. Instead he is jetting off to Luxembourg on Monday to avoid the vote because he is too weak to stand by his promises.”
A Downing Street spokesman said: “Greg Hands has served the government with great ability and distinction over several years and we thank him for all his work. This government is committed to expanding airport capacity at Heathrow – this is an important decision which will play a crucial role in securing the future of [a] global Britain.”
The government’s plan to expand the west London airport is almost certain to get the green light in the Commons next week. Conservative MPs have been told there is a three-line whip to vote in favour of the proposed £14bn expansion. Labour MPs will get a free vote.
Johnson, the foreign secretary and one of the expansion’s most vocal opponents, is due to be abroad on the day of the vote, allowing him to escape having to choose between resignation and rebelling against Theresa May.
The former transport secretary Justine Greening, a fierce opponent of Heathrow, told the Guardian she was “very sad” Hands had been forced to quit. “It’s totally wrong that Conservative MPs are not allowed a free vote to represent their local longstanding concerns on Heathrow pollution,” she said.
“Other Conservative MPs have also voiced concerns to me about Heathrow expansion more broadly. If the secretary of state for transport was confident of his case he should allow a free vote. Because that’s not the case, the government has lost a very capable minister.”
Full article at
Greg Hands (MP for Chelsea & Fulham) urges DfT to ban Heathrow night flights from 11pm to 6am
Chelsea and Fulham MP (Cons) Greg Hands has urged DfT ministers to impose a ban on all night flights at Heathrow. Greg renewed calls for all planes to be grounded between 11pm and 6am, a period of 7 hours, and says he is frequently woken up at night by noise from aircraft passing over west London. In a letter to Lord Ahmed, the parliamentary under secretary of state for transport, Mr Hands argued that there should be a “comprehensive” ban on night flights at Heathrow. He said the lives of local people are being unfairly disrupted by the noise, and research from international health bodies, including the WHO and the BMJ, highlights the damaging impacts of sustained sleep deprivation on people’s wellbeing. “These Londoners have jobs to do and families to look after, for which they require a good night’s sleep.” A ban of flights for a 7 hour night period would “lessen the detrimental impact on hundreds of thousands of Londoners living beneath the flight path”. … “I find it unacceptable that the convenience, quality of sleep, and the health of millions of residents in London and the wider South East under the flight path is sacrificed for the sake of a few thousand inbound passengers per night”.
http://www.airportwatch.org.uk/2017/03/greg-hands-mp-for-chelsea-fulham-urges-dft-to-ban-heathrow-night-flights-from-11pm-to-6am/
Posted: Thursday, June 21st, 2018. Filed in General News, News about Airports, Recent News.
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Location: Easter Island, Pacific Ocean. Grid Reference: 27° 8' 24" S, 109° 20' W
Easter Island: ('Big Island', 'The navel of the Earth', 'The eye turned to the sky').
Easter Island is situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and was one of the primary islands of the Polynesian Island group. Hundreds of stone statues or 'Maoi' lie scattered around the island, and encircle it on long raised platforms. The island poses several questions in regards pre-Columbian contact with the Americas.
The small, isolated nature of the island led many to suggest that this may have led to the eventual implosion of tribal activity on the island, which culminated only shortly before its discovery by the Dutch in 1772. Recent studies however suggest that the islanders were masters of their environment and the collapse actually occurred 'following' European contact. (7)
There have been several suggestions of an origin and contact from both sides of the Atlantic.
(Click here for Map of Island)
Easter Island: (Rapa Nui).
The island was 'discovered' on Easter sunday (April 5th), and was therefore named Easter island. Before this, it had been called 'Rapa Nui' - (Big Island), 'Matakiterani' (Eye turned to the sky), and 'Te Pito No Te Henua' (The Navel of the Earth). (1)
A Brief History. The reigning consensus is that Easter Island was colonized around 300-400 AD as part of an eastward migratory trend that originated in Southeast Asia around 2000 BC. The settlers are thought to have been Polynesians from the Marquesas Islands, 3600 km northwest, or the Mangareva (Gambier) Islands, 2500 km west. (4) The large separation of Easter Island from any other inhabited island has led historians to believe that their arrival was an accidental and once only event. This view is strongly contested, in light of other known examples of Polynesian feats of navigation, and the several various cultural influences seen in the iconography of the island.
The earliest Radio-carbon date so far from the island is 380 AD, from Thor Hyerdahl's expedition. (1)
The island was officially discovered in 1722 by a Dutch expedition under Admiral Jacob Roggeveen.
Like subsequent European visitors, the Dutch reported seeing not only fair-skinned Polynesians, but people of darker skin, others who were white like Europeans, and a few with reddish skin.(4)
In 1770 a Spanish party from Peru claimed the island for Spain. A conflict seems to have raged on the island before the arrival of the British navigator Captain James Cook four years later. He found a decimated, poverty-stricken population, and observed that the statue cult seemed to have ended, as most of the statues had been pulled down. It’s possible that some of the statues were toppled even before the Dutch and Spanish visits but that those sailors did not visit the same sites as Cook.
The Frenchman La Pérouse visited Easter Island in 1786 and found the population calm and prosperous, suggesting a quick recovery from any catastrophe. In 1804 a Russian visitor reported that at least 20 statues were still standing. Accounts from subsequent years suggest another period of destruction so that perhaps only a handful of statues were still standing a decade later. Some of the statues still upright at the beginning of the 19th century were knocked down by western expeditions.
Chronology:
380 AD - Thor Hyerdahl's earliest uncorrected C-14 date from Easter Island. (1)
690 AD (+/- 130) - William Mulloy's earliest uncorrected C-14 date from Easter Island. (1)
907-957 AD (+/1 200) - Earliest Ahu with Solar orientation according to William Mulloy. (1)
1772 - Island first 'officially' discovered on Easter Sunday by Dutch.
1862 - Peruvian slavers took 1,000 men (Most of the male population), to work the Guano Islands of Lima. 100 survivors were later returned, of which 15 reached their homes (carrying smallpox), which almost finished the population of the island. (1)
1864 - Total remaining island population - 111. (originally estimated at 5,000).
Article: New Scientist. 'Early Americans Helped Colonise Easter Island'. (2011).
South Americans helped colonise Easter Island centuries before Europeans reached it. Clear genetic evidence has, for the first time, given support to elements of this controversial theory showing that while the remote island was mostly colonised from the west, there was also some influx of people from the Americas.
Easter Island is the easternmost island of Polynesia, the scattering of islands that stretches across the Pacific. It is also one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world.
So how did it come to be inhabited in the first place? Genetics, archaeology and linguistics all show that as a whole, Polynesia was colonised from Asia, probably from around Taiwan. The various lines of evidence suggest people began migrating east around 5500 years ago, reached Polynesia 2500 years later, before finally gaining Easter Island after another 1500 years.
But the Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl thought otherwise. In the mid-20th century, he claimed that the famous Easter Island statues were similar to those at Tiahuanaco at Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, so people from South America must have travelled west across the Pacific to Polynesia. His famous Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed a balsa wood raft from Peru to the Tuamotu islands of French Polynesia, showed that the trip could have been made. But if it was made, no trace remained.
Now Erik Thorsby of the University of Oslo in Norway has found clear evidence to support elements of Heyerdahl’s hypothesis. In 1971 and 2008 he collected blood samples from Easter Islanders whose ancestors had not interbred with Europeans and other visitors to the island.
Thorsby looked at the HLA genes, which vary greatly from person to person. Most of the islanders’ HLA genes were Polynesian, but a few of them also carried HLA genes only previously found in Native American populations.
Genetic shuffling: Because most of Thorsby’s volunteers came from one extended family, he was able to work out when the HLA genes entered their lineage. The most probable first known carrier was a woman named Maria Aquala, born in 1846. Crucially, that was before the slave traders arrived in the 1860s and began interbreeding with the islanders.
But the genes may have been around for longer than that. Thorsby found that in some cases the Polynesian and American HLA genes were shuffled together, the result of a process known “recombination”. This is rare in HLA genes, meaning the American genes would need to be around for a certain amount of time for it to happen. Thorsby can’t put a precise date on it, but says it is likely that Americans reached Easter Island before it was “discovered” by Europeans in 1722.
Thorsby says there may have been a Kon-Tiki-style voyage from South America to Polynesia. Alternatively, Polynesians may have travelled east to South America, and then returned. There is already evidence for that: chicken bones found in Chile turned out to be Polynesian, so we know that the eastward journey did happen at some stage.
However, Thorsby’s findings don’t mean that Heyerdahl’s ideas have been vindicated. The first settlers to Polynesia came from Asia, and they made the biggest contribution to the population. “Heyerdahl was wrong,” Thorsby says, “but not completely.”
(Article: New Scientist)
Tradition and Myth:
The French ethnologist, Francis Maziere, went to Easter Island in 1963, a few years after Thor Hyerdahl. The emphasis of his research focused on the almost-lost traditions of the islanders concerning their origins. According to Maziere, the legends of settlement of the islands by Polynesians contained allusions to catastrophism. For example, one legend says "King Hotu-Matua's country was called Maori, and it was on the continent of Hiva...The king saw that the land was slowly sinking in the sea", as a result he put all his people into two giant canoes and sailed East to Easter Island. Another legend says that Easter Island was once 'part of a larger country broken up by Uoke because of the sins of its people'. (1)
The Monuments of Easter Island:
The principal stone monuments on Easter Island are ceremonial paths with paved borders, tumuli, pakeopa (or ahu), and, finally, the great stone statues or 'Maoi'.
The 'Maoi' - (The Stone Statues).
Easter Island is perhaps best known for its immense stone statues 'Moai', of which there are approximately 900 scattered across the island. Some of the Maoi were placed, facing towards the centre of the island, on platforms called 'Ahu', built along the coasts. Captain Cook was told in 1774 that they were monuments to earlier 'ariki's', or royalty. The 'Maoi' are also described in local tradition as having once possessed 'mana' or a beneficial power.
All Easter Island’s giant statues were supposedly made within the space of a few hundred years. Different phases are clearly discernible, and may be separated by far longer periods than orthodox opinion allows. It is significant that the statues do not bear the slightest resemblance to the Polynesians, and in terms of size, appearance, and number are unique in the Pacific.
All the giant statues on Easter Island have long ears, and some islanders still practised ear elongation at the time the first Europeans arrived. The custom was also practised in the Marquesas Islands in Polynesia, and in Peru; the Incas said they had inherited the custom from their divine ancestors. The oldest known practice of ear extension was among the mariners in the prehistoric Indus Valley harbour-city of Lothal, where large numbers of big earplugs of the type used in ancient Mexico, Peru, and Easter Island have been found. Hindu rulers subsequently adopted the custom, but it was restricted to members of the royal families and images of the Hindu gods. Buddha images with long ears are found all over Asia, and long-eared stone statues have also been dug up in the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.
Hundreds of Maoi are still to be found scattered lying around the island, raising the question of why there are just so many, with more on the way..
Numerous half-finished heads also lie abandoned in the Rano Raraki quarry - as if left suddenly, mid-work.
The huge heads were discovered to have bodies beneath the ground which are controversially argued to have become naturally buried over time. This argument is contested by the fact that they were made with more pointed bottom parts and were placed upright in groups, all facing away from the volcanic quarry (in contrast to the way they all once faced inwards on the Ahu platforms).
The buried parts of the statues, uncovered for the first time by S. Routledge, are of great interest not only because they add to the dimensions of these already huge statues but also because they reveal unsuspected but particularly detailed decorative carving (having been protected from the corrosive effects of the air and the rain).
This buried Maoi was found to have a 'sailing' vessel carved onto it.
There is said to be a distinct difference between the statues at Rano Raraku and those on the Ahu which is that the statues at the crater have a pointed base, destined to be buried in the ground, while those on the ahu have a flat base, so that they can stand on these monuments. This finding is disputed by Heyerdahl (6), who states categorically that following an examination of hundreds of statues, only one has ever been found with a pointed bottom, and that he believes, was because it was faulty. his contention is that they were all destined to eventually encircle the whole island on Ahu.
The statues at the crater are scattered around in a random manner, whereas the statues at the ahu, when they were still standing, were perfectly aligned and in a group. Although the giant statues appear scattered haphazardly, they actually form three major groups on the inner slope of the crater, facing north, such that they all have their backs to the face of the volcanic rock from which they were carved.
Moai Statistics.
The following statistics on Easter Island's moai are the results of Van Tilburg's survey in 1989. She reported, "A total of 887 monolithic statues has been located by the survey to date on Easter Island...397 are still in situ in quarries at the Rano Raraku central production centre.....Fully 288 statues (32% of 887) were successfully transported to a variety of image ahu locations....Another 92 are recorded as "in transport," 47 of these lying in various positions on prepared roads or tracks outside the Rano Raraku zone."
Total number of moai on Easter Island: 887
Total number of maoi that were successfully transported to their final ahu locations: 288 (32% of 887)
Total number of moai still in the Rano Raraku quarry: 397 (45%)
Total number of moai lying 'in transit' outside of the Rano Raraku quarry: 92 (10%)
Less than one third of all carved moai actually made it to a final ceremonial ahu site. Was this due to the inherent difficulties in transporting them? Were the ones that remain in the quarry (45%) deemed culturally unworthy of transport? Were they originally intended to remain in place on the quarry slopes? Or had the islanders run out of the resources necessary to complete the Herculean task of carving and moving the moai?
The Size and Weight of Moai.
Measuring the size, weight, and shape of the 887 moai on Easter Island has been a 15-year process for Van Tilburg. The most notable statues are listed below:
Largest moai:
Location: Rano Raraku Quarry, named "El Gigante"
Height: 71.93 feet, (21.60 meters)
Weight: approximately 145-165 tons (160-182 metric tons)
Largest moai once erect:
Location: Ahu Te Pito Kura, Named "Paro"
Height: 32.63 feet (9.80 meters)
Weight: approximately 82 tons (74.39 metric tons)
Largest moai fallen while being erected:
Location: Ahu Hanga Te Tenga
(Ref: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/easter)
There were clearly some very large stones carved on this island, and although Charles Berlitz estimates the largest carved stone (still unfinished), at approximately 400 tonnes (3), this figure is greatly reduced by D. Zink (1), who estimates the largest 'Moai' on the island at 90 tons (length 90ft, still in quarry). Whether the two are talking about the same object or not is difficult to say, assuming they are however, this disparity illustrates how much estimates can vary from one source to another.
(The Top-50 Megaliths of all Time)
Detailed information about the Maoi: (The Easter Island Statue Project)
The 'Eye turned to the sky'.
When proof was found in 1978 that some of the Easter Island statues once had inlaid eyes, it came as a shock to many researchers, who had opposed the idea on the grounds that this was not a Polynesian custom. Inlaid eyes were a common feature of many of the oldest images of the Middle East, from Egypt to the Indus Valley. The seafaring Hittites, for example, adopted the practice from the Sumerians. Many prehistoric American stone statues also had inlaid eyes.
Stone top-knots or 'Pukao', and eyes made from obsidian and cowry shells bring the statues placed on the 'Ahu' alive. The top-knot (Right), comes from the Isla Zapatera in Nicaragua.
The Ahu Platforms.
There are over 300 stone platforms or Ahu on the island (4), many of them built from huge cyclopean blocks, with similarities to south American structures.
The finest platform masonry, such as that found at Ahu Tahiri (one of the two ahu at Vinapu), consists of ‘enormous squared and tooled stones, that turn the edge of the toughest modern steel’. The best facade slabs commonly weigh 2 or 3 tons. At Vinapu one of the polished basalt slabs measures 2.5 by 1.7 m (8 by 5.5 ft) and weighs 6 or 7 tons, while one at Ahu Vai Mata is 3 by 2 m (10 by 6 ft), and weighs 9 or 10 tons.
The cyclopean masonry of Ahu Vinapu and certain other platforms is reminiscent of that of ‘Incan’ (or rather pre-Incan) monuments to be found at Cuzco, Sacsayhuaman, Ollantaytambo, Machu Picchu, and Sillustani - All in Peru. John Macmillan Brown writes:
The colossal blocks are tooled and cut so as to fit each other. In the Ahu Vinapu and in the fragment of the ahu near Hangaroa beach the stones are as colossal as in the old Temple of the Sun in Cuzco, they are as carefully tooled, and the irregularities of their sides that have to come together are so cut that the two faces exactly fit into each other. These blocks are too huge to have been shifted frequently to let the mason find out whether they fitted or not. They must have been cut and tooled to exact measurement or plan. There is no evidence of chipping after they have been laid. Every angle and projection must have been measured with scientific precision before the stones were nearing their finish.
Archaeo-Astronomy:
'A hint of the existence of a solar cult on Easter Island was found by Hyerdahl in the local name of a cave in which local maidens were once isolated to bleach their skin for certain sacred festivals. This cave, the cave of the white virgin, was also known as "An o keke", or "cave of the sun's inclination". Later, a system of holes bored in the rock at the Orongo ruins was found to indicate the summer solstice (Dec. 21st in the southern hemisphere)...Later, Dr. William Mulloy found that the Vinapu platform was orientated at right angles to the summer solstice sunrise. Dr. Mulloy published a corrected C-14 date of 907-957 AD (+/1 200 years), for the earliest ahu (or temple platform) with a solar orientation'. (1)
Around 20 Ahu appear to have been oriented astronomically, so that the moai faced the rising or setting sun at the solstices or equinoxes. The inland ahu with astronomical orientation are generally linked with the solstices, especially the winter solstice, though the moai of Ahu Akivi face the setting sun at the equinoxes. Astronomically oriented ahu along the coast tend to be positioned so that the moai look straight east or west. This is true of Ahu Tahiri (Vinapu 1), whereas Ahu Vinapu 2 marks the summer solstice. (5)
The Navel of the Navel: Easter Island.
It is an interesting fact that the islanders of Easter Island worship a mysterious site with 5 stone spheres; in the centre of a round stone-enclosure is a bigger stone sphere with 4 smaller stone spheres surrounding it. The site, "Te pito kura" must have been a ritual centre for the earliest islanders to pray and divine for something. The stone sphere on Easter Isle is at the northern coastal area of the island, just north of the statue quarry at the volcanic crater of Rano Raraku.
The islanders have a legend that the statues were moved to the platforms and raised upright by the use of mana, or mind power. Either the god Makemake, or priests or chiefs commanded them to walk or to float through the air, and according to one legend, use was made of a finely crafted stone sphere, 75 cm (2.5 ft) in diameter, called te pito kura (‘the golden navel’ or ‘the navel of light’), to focus the mana.
The Rapa Nui term "Te Pito Kura" translates to "Golden Navel", or "Navel of Light", while "Te Pito Te Henua" translates to "Navel of the World"; which is what Rapa Nui is often referred to by its residents, referencing its place in Polynesian mythology. This specific site is the navel of the navel, as it were, located on the island's shore near Anakena, the spot where Rapa Nui's legendary founding figure, Hotu Matura, is said to have landed. Stone barriers surround a worked stone sphere (the "navel" itself) measuring some 75 centimetres in diameter, reputedly brought by Hotu Matura from overseas. Geological sourcing, however, indicates the sphere is actually of local origin.
(The Costa Rica Stone Balls - Petrospheres)
Kohua Rongo-Rongo: (Easter Island Script).
Easter island is diametrically opposite the Indus-Valley city of Mohenjo-Dharo (Pakistan). It's name proclaims it as an earth Navel, which some authors have suggested is because of this very fact.
It has been noted in the past that the Indus valley script shares many similar symbols to 'Rongo-Rongo'.
(Comparison Between the Indus Valley - Easter island Script)
The incised written tablets termed 'rongo-rongo' were found suspended from the roof in every hut on the arrival of the first missionary (6). On his order, the majority were burnt, while others were hidden away in secret family caves where they deteriorated and perished. Very few have survived today.
It was clearly documented by early missionaries that even the most intelligent and well informed islanders could provide the meaning for any of the signs or provide ideograms for the simplest of words. The following quotes come from Hyerdahl's excellent treaty on 'Early Man and The Ocean' (6):
'They knew each tablet to represent a specific text, but disagreed about which text belonged to which tablet. If one tablet was substituted for another in the middle of their recital, the continued the original text uninterruptedly. The text was recited with singing rather than speaking voice. They piously copied the original old tablets on new boards, and regarded them as magic objects of the greatest value'
Although there were several claims that the script had been deciphered, none have proven worthy of scrutiny. Script itself is a non-Polynesian characteristic and the search for its origin was eventually rewarded through one of its paricular characteristics, which is that it is 'arranged in boustrophedon, i.e. in a continuous serpentine band where every second line is turned upside-down. Europeans, Chinese and the Indus Valley people never wrote in boustrophedon, and the language had been forgotten by the time of the Europeans first arrival. In fact, the only place in the world where this particular style of writing can be found is in South America; Peru to be precise (6). Heine-Geldern also noted a south American provenance, said of it:
'The Cunas (of the modern Republic of Panama) today generally write on paper. But beside this, written wooden tablets also exist, and the Cuna's say that these were the original writing material. The tablets seen by Nordenskiold were intended to be hung up in the houses during celebrations. The ideograms are painted on with colours...Also the writing is in boustrophedon, and with the succession of lines running upwards from the bottom' (6)
The Cuna signs however, although continued in boustrophedon, are not upside-down on each alternate line, and are individually dissimilar to the Easter island signs. The Easter islanders themselves are specific in their tradition of the first immigrant king, Hotu Matua, having brought with him sixty-seven written tablets when he came from his home in the far-east. Heyerdahl mentions that on the arrival of the Europeans, the Indians of Lake Titicaca area still 'continued a primitive form of picture writing' (6). This conforms with the observation by Russian rongo-rongo expert J. V. Knorozov, that the only two places where 'reversed boustrophedon' occur in the world are Easter Island and ancient Peru.
Sariemento Gamboa, upon consulting as assembly of forty-two learned Inca historians recorded the following in reference to the ninth Inca 'Patchacuti Inca Yupanqui':
'...after he had well ascertained the most notable of their ancient histories he had it all painted after its order on large boards, and he placed them in the house of the sun, where the said boards, which were garnished with gold, would be like our libraries, and he appointed learned men who could understand and explain them...' (6)
(List and Description of all known Rongorongo Texts)
The 'Cult of the Bird-Man': (Tangatu Mana).
The entire social life of the Easter islanders used to revolve around the Bird Cult (manutara: the good-luck bird). Moreover, of all the traditions and customs this cult was the last to disappear. The main ceremony every year was organized with the goal of choosing the chief (the chief warrior, in particular), who was called the tangata manu (literally, Man Bird). The man who became tangata manu was the first one to find an egg laid by a migrating sea bird with a long beak, the sooty tern or sea swallow.
Tangatu Mana; The Bird-Man.
The islanders had chosen, for this competition and the accompanying ceremony, the southernmost promontory on the island, where the Kau or Kao volcano (Rano Kau) is located. This crater is 1,300 meters high and approximately three-quarters of a mile in diameter, 198 and there is a small lake, surrounded by grasses and bushes, at the bottom of the crater. On the side of the crater that faces the interior of the island, the slope is quite gentle while, on the other side, the crater forms steep cliffs of more than 400 feet in height 199 that are battered by ocean waves. It is the most impressive site on the island both because of its beauty and because of the silence that reigns there, broken only by the noise of the crashing waves and the strident cries of the sea birds as they hover near their nests on the cliffs.
The owner of the egg, henceforth protected by the gods, became tangata manu or man-bird 210. Unlike the kings, who were not allowed to cut their hair, he had to shave his head and dye his pate red. Then he had to put on a wig-like crown made of human hair, called a hau oho, and paint his face red and black. He had to hang a bird on his back 211 and, finally, he had to change his name, with his new name designating the year that would follow 212.
Thus, Mrs. Routledge was able to establish a list of 86 years of different birdmen (and the names of the victorious hopu). Immediately after the transfer of power, via the egg, the news was announced by lighting a fire on the summit of Rano Kau on the east or west side, depending on the region of the island from which the victor had come. It is possible, as suggested by S. Routledge, that the next thing that happened was the carving on one of the rocks at Orongo of an image of the birdman who had just been chosen and that this practice explains the more than 111 representations of tangata manu that are found there (as well as many that have been erased; see Addendum). The fact that three of these sculptures represent a tangata manu holding an egg in his hand seems to support this hypothesis.
On the side of the volcanic crater that faces the sea, there is a little village called Orongo, which consists of about fifty dwellings. These dwellings were located among the rocks, many of which were carved. The carvings most often represented a man with the head of a bird and Mrs. Routledge reported 111 such images. It is interesting that she also noticed that some of the carvings were partly hidden by the walls of houses and she suggested that the carvings had been made before the houses had been built.
The most beautiful and the most venerated idol of the ancient islanders, known as Hoa hakanana ia or the “Breaker of Waves", was located in one of these houses. This statue is very finely carved and its back is decorated with beautifully carved motifs (Click here for larger image). These motifs were not only carved but were also accented by red paint the statue’s white background. On each side of this statue, at its feet, there was originally a large stone, with a hole similar to those carved in the stones in which house supports were inserted. One of these stones was also decorated with a crude carving. (Extract From Chavin)
The most venerated 'Breaker of Waves'.
In addition to all the sailors from the ship Topaze, 300 natives had been needed to uproot this statue and take it down to the dock at Cook Bay.
The 'bird-men' petroglyphs, which how strong similarities to S. American Olmec rock-art.
A Case for South American Contact:
Some plants on Easter Island clearly come from South America, such as the islanders’ staple food the sweet potato (which is known by its Quechua name kumara), and also manioc and gourd. Similarly, two species of freshwater plants, found in Easter Island’s crater lakes but nowhere else in the Pacific, and both useful to man, come from South America. One of them was the totora reed, which dominated the banks of South America’s Lake Titicaca and was cultivated in vast irrigated fields in the desert valleys on the coast below; it was used for making mats, houses, and boats. The other was known to the islanders as tavari, and was used as a medicinal plant. Like the totora, it grew in Lake Titicaca. This last information supports the case for contact with Tiahuanaco.
Balfour proposed that the stone statues on Easter Island were directly related (in terms of style) to the statuary on the Solomon Islands (above), but other similarities in tribal art have been noticed in certain punumùrù masks from New Caledonia and certain statues on Treasury Island (2).
A photo of the cyclopean platforms 'Ahu' upon which finished figures were placed. The extreme reminiscence with south America masonry in particular the superb multi-facetted work with 'Basalt' rock, and the insertion of perfectly made 'filler' stones (see centre), make a strong case for contact.
(Similar Examples of Masonry Techniques from South America)
This kneeling figure from Easter Island (left) bears a strong resemblance to others found at La Paz, (centre), San Lorenzo (right), and also at Tiahuanaco in Bolivia.
Similar figures can be seen on other Polynesian islands: Raivavia (left) and Hiv Oa (Right).
(Other examples of Prehistoric Cross-Culturality)
(List and Description of Known Rongorongo Texts)
(Easter Island - Indus Valley Scripts: A Comparison)
(The Prehistoric Pacific Islanders)
(More about pre-Columbian America)
1). D. Zink. The Ancient Stones Speak. 1979. Musson Publ.
2). Stephen Chauvet, "The Art of Treasury Island", in Cahiers d’art, nos. 1 and 2, Paris, 1929
3). C. Berlitz. Atlantis. 1984. Guild Publishing.
4). http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/dp5/easter1.htm#e2.
5). Ramírez and Huber, Easter Island, pp. 53, 110.
6). Thor Hyerdahl. Early Man and the Ocean. 1978. George Allen and Unwin.
7). http://www.heritagedaily.com/2013/12/archaeologist-suggests-new-evidence-on-collapse-of-easter-island-culture/100502
Further Research:
About Us | Homepage | A-Z Site Index | Gift Shop | Contact-Us
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Civics, Culture, Ideas
Thanksgiving 2007, such as it is
Two turkeys named May and Flower will not be carved up tomorrow after all. They were spared by a mock presidential pardon earlier this week. Do you care? Me neither, but I learned about it on the White House home page, in the course of looking for President Bush's official Thanksgiving Day proclamation. The pardon story is right there up front, whereas you have to drill down a layer or two to find the proclamation. This is what we've come to, 218 years after the First US Congress resolved to ask President George Washington for an official proclamation of national thanksgiving. He obliged with this masterpiece, which along with Lincoln's wartime proclamation of 1863 is probably the best known in the long line of annual documents.
I enjoy reading each year's proclamation, no matter who is in the White House. I grew up hearing them read in church services on the Thursday morning, prior to our family dinner around my mother's or grandmother's table. The menu was always turkey, but back then that wasn't the name of the day. The day was about giving gratitude to God for his favor upon our nation, and honoring Him in hope of its continuation.
In the 1950s in those towns where I lived in Michigan, Missouri, and Colorado, Americans still believed that "it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor," as Washington's 1789 proclamation puts it.
Many agreed with the Father of our Country, even then, that the prayers on Thanksgiving Day should go so far as to "beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions" as well as "to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue" in America.
Lincoln's 1863 proclamation is also worth reading in full and pondering. In the third year of a horrific civil war, the Emancipator was able to enumerate many blessings for which gratitude to God was due, summarizing: "No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy."
Like Washington, he too urged that the day include "humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience," and his recommended approach to praying for peace did not omit a submissive note, foreshadowing the Second Inaugural address 16 months later. Citizens, he urged, should "fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union" (italics added).
It's a long way from the sunlit America of 1789 to the agonized land of 1863 to the turkey pardon of 2007. I very seldom agree with Marx about anything, but you wonder if this is one of those cases he noted of history repeating itself -- first as tragedy and then as farce.
While President Bush's proclamation for this year contains little that God-fearing Americans may disagree with, there is almost nothing in it that challenges us to remember a Deity whom the first president called "that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be" and whom the 16th president referred to as "the Source... our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens."
Bush mentions God only a single time in his own words about the present day, and only twice more in historical references to what earlier generations believed. This from a president who is undoubtedly a man of deep faith, directed to a country that has been called the world's most devout, "a nation with the soul of a church." It's a matter, I guess, of what any public official is now permitted (by the secularist watchdogs of mass media and cultural elites) to say upon any public occasion, even Thanksgiving Day. One is moved to cry out, not flippantly but in all earnest: God help us!
Newer PostVoice of the remnant
Older PostHear the Show:11/18/07
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Birkbeck Centre for Contemporary Theatre
Reviews, blogs and articles
GRiT: Graduate Research in Theatre is the Centre’s forum for postgraduate students, academics and Fellows to meet, share and discuss current scholarship and research in progress. In 2016-17, we hosted these sessions, which addressed our theme for the year, transmission:
Thursday 2 March, 4-5.30pm, G10: Nobuko Anan (Birkbeck): ‘Bowie and Boys’ Love’.
Thursday 26 January, 4-5.30pm, 106: Catherine Silverstone (Queen Mary, University of London): ‘Temporal Listening: HIV and AIDS and Karen Finley’s Written in Sand (2013-15)’
Thursday 24 November, 4-5.30pm, Malet Street: Leah Sidi (Birkbeck): ‘The Politics of Transmission and Transmitting Politics: The Belarus Free Theatre’s 4.48 Psychosis‘
Theatre Conversation: ‘Sordid Ironies and the Short-Fingered Vulgarian: Alison Jackson’s Mental Images of Donald Trump’: On Thursday 22 June, 2-4pm, we welcomed Tony Perucci (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). From the beginning of his 2016 campaign for the US presidency, Donald Trump has employed the strategy of ‘gaslighting’ the American public – willfully challenging their sense of what is ‘fact’ and what is ‘fiction’. As part of her Mental Images series, British photographer Alison Jackson staged scenes with a Trump lookalike of then-candidate Trump in numerous compromising situations. Depicting images of behaviour that would be disqualifying of any other politician, Jackson utilizes the ‘seeming to be real’ to challenge the viewer’s voyeuristic desire to ‘expose’ Trump’s misogyny and racism. As the strategy of exposure continues to be politically ineffective, Jackson’s photographs of the ‘in fact a fiction’ creates an affective charge that performatively constructs a politics of ressentiment focused not merely towards Trump but towards the systemic problems of neoliberal capitalism. Tony Perucci is a scholar-artist based in the US, where he is Associate Professor of Performance Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His publications include the books Paul Robeson and The Cold War Performance Complex(Michigan, 2012) and On the Horizontal: Mary Overlie and the Viewpoints (Michigan, forthcoming). This Theatre Conversation was co-hosted by Birkbeck Centre for Contemporary Theatre and BiGS (Birkbeck Gender and Sexuality).
Bill Gaskill – symposium, discussion, celebration: On Saturday 20 May we staged a day-long symposium devoted to exploring the work of Bill Gaskill. Bill (William) Gaskill was one of the most influential theatre directors in post-war UK theatre. He helped define the mission of the Royal Court in its early days and directed many celebrated productions for the Royal Court, the National Theatre and the RSC. He was also a dedicated teacher, mentor and friend to many writers and directors such as Max Stafford-Clark, Peter Gill and Nadia Latif. Theatre artists, critics and scholars discussed Bill Gaskill’s work and influences in a series of talks over the day, convened by Birkbeck’s Rob Swain and David Eldridge. Contributors included Peter Gill, Professor Dan Rebellato, Nicholas Wright, Max Stafford-Clark, Wunmi Mosaku, Christopher Hampton, Ken Cranham and Nadia Latif. You can hear a podcast of the first panel discussion here.
Theatre Scratch Night: On Tuesday 16 May, as part of Arts Week 2017, students from our theatre and creative writing programmes – ranging from undergraduate to PhD level – shared their work in progress. The evening included the first showing of several short new plays. You can see a photo gallery of this event here.
Andy Smith: dematerialising theatre: On Monday 15 May, as part of Arts Week 2017, we welcomed theatre-maker Andy Smith. For the last fifteen years, both alone and in collaboration with Tim Crouch (An Oak Tree, Adler & Gibb), Andy Smith has been involved in creating a large body of work. He refers to this as a ‘dematerialised theatre’ – a theatre that attempts to do more with less. This talk reviewed some of the principles of the practice, and explores some of its origins. Andy read and discussed some examples of his work. You can hear a podcast of the talk here.
Theatres of Contagion: Infectious Performance: On Thursday 11 and Friday 12 May, we hosted an international conference exploring themes of contagion and infection in performance and across disciplines, asking: how have theatre and performance represented, examined or been implicated in the transmission and circulation of medical and psychological conditions? How has our understanding of these relationships and phenomena changed over time, across cultures, including via developments in interdisciplinary practice and inquiry? Scholars and artists from across the world gave presentations addressing contexts from the medieval period to the contemporary, and keynote lectures and performances were given by Bridget Escolme (QMUL), Dickie Beau, David Slater and Entelechy Arts, Stephen Frosh (Birkbeck), Richard P. Mann (Leeds), Emily Senior (Birkbeck) Matthew Weait (Portsmouth), and Kirsten Shepherd-Barr (Oxford). Download abstracts and biographies here.
No Way Out: Theatre as a Mediatised Practice: On Thursday 20 April, we hosted the first day of No Way Out: Theatre as a Mediatised Practice, a two-day TaPRA Performance & New Technologies Working Group Interim Event which took place on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 April 2017. The event was organised and convened by Maria Chatzichristodoulou (LSBU) and Seda Ilter (Birkbeck). Mediatisation – the increasingly pervasive influence of new media technologies in the form of social institutions and ideological apparatuses on society, culture and consciousness since the late twentieth century – has radically shaped our everyday lives and relationships. Mediatisation as a social and cognitive phenomenon has changed the way theatre and performance are produced, shaped, performed and perceived. This shift has led to a state where there is nothing left outside of mediatisation. No Way Out featured two keynote speeches – Professor Matthew Causey (Trinity College) on Thursday 20 April 2017 at Birkbeck, and Professor Andy Lavender (Surrey) on Friday 21 April 2017 at LSBU. The day hosted at Birkbeck also featured two panels – the first on ‘post-digital resistance’, and the second sharing new postgraduate scholarship. Speakers included Rosemary Klich (Kent), Stella Keramida (Independent), Aneta Mancewicz (Kingston), Tarryn Li-Min Chun (Michigan), Annette Balaam (Bristol), Benjamin Monk (Kent), and artist-researchers from Arte Total Cia. The day closed with a provocation from Professor Janis Jefferies (Goldsmiths).
Twofold: the Particularities of Working in Pairs: On Friday 3 & Saturday 4 March we hosted a symposium investigating how practitioners in a range of settings work in pairs. Marking the end of artist Karen Christopher’s long-term duet series The Difference Between Home and Poem, the symposium asked: why do people so often work in pairs? What is the significance of working in pairs? And what is unique to the duo as a form? Practitioners from the fields of visual art, dance, spoken word, theatre and performance, and researchers studying how artists live and work together presented their work, and two new work-in-progress performances were shared – Tin Can People, The Katie & Pip Project and The Duet by Marcus Orlandi. Co-hosted with Haranczak/Navarre Performance Projects, and supported by Generic Skills Funding via Corkscrew: practice-based/led research at Birkbeck. Presented at Birkbeck School of Arts and Camden People’s Theatre.
Theatre Conversation: Shirotama Hitsujiya: On Friday 10 February, we welcomed Japanese artist Shirotama Hitsujiya to speak about her work. Japanese pop culture is filled with images of girls, from kawaii (“cute”) Hello Kitty to fighting girls in anime, and to eroticised girls in products targeting male consumers. In this talk, Shirotama Hitsujiya discussed her company YUBIWA Hotel’s portrayals of girls, in relation to these girls in pop culture, and contextualised her work in the contemporary Japanese performing arts scene. Based in Tokyo, Shirotama Hitsujiya is a female playwright, director, performer, and Artistic Director of a company, YUBIWA Hotel, known for its “girlie” performance. In 2006, she was chosen as one of the “100 Japanese Women Acclaimed by the World” by Newsweek Japan. She is also one of the founding members of the Asian Women’s Performing Arts Collective.
Politicians and Other Performers: On Friday 20 January we staged a symposium exploring performance and political culture. Politics has long been acknowledged as a theatrical arena in which politicians perform their roles. But with the growth of marketing, public relations and celebrity culture in the 20th and 21st centuries, and developments in mass culture and social media, the connection between politicians and performers seems more intractable, and often confusing, than ever before. It is against this backdrop that the day-long event asked: how might interpreting politicians and their work through some of the practices and concepts established in theatre and performance studies help us to better understand contemporary political life? We heard from scholars across disciplines, and the day finished with a screening of the film dramatisation of Peter Morgan’s Frost/Nixon (dir. Ron Howard, 2008). The papers presented were as follows:
The Leinster House Look: Mary Robinson and the Craft of Femininity,Aoife Monks
Mending Speech: Glenda Jackson on and off script, Emma Bennett and Ella Finer
‘Scotland’s Siren: “The Most Dangerous Woman in Politics”?, Maggie Inchley
Turn! Turn! Turn!, Rachel Cockburn
Just Theatre? Rethinking the Significance of Politicians’ Performances in Representative Democracy, Julia Peetz
Maryam Rajavi: Propaganda Queen and/or President in Waiting?, Alinah Azadeh
‘The swaggerers were in the ascendency’: performative masculinity as political strategy in post-conflict Northern Ireland, Alexander Coupe
Boys Don’t Cry, Mark Blacklock
Anatomy of a ‘babyface’: the body performances of Justin Trudeau and Sami Zayn, Broderick V. Chow
‘Toronto’s crack-smoking mayor’: The performative disruptions of Rob Ford, Scott Rodgers
Jonathan Lethem, Amnesia Moon and Donald Trump, Joe Brooker
Facing Reality: Mike Daisey’s The Trump Card, Louise Owen
Dramaturgy Now: On Tuesday 25 October we hosted a Theatre Conversation exploring the practice of dramaturgy. The dramaturg is an increasingly significant figure in UK theatre but the role of the dramaturg is often misunderstood. In this talk, dramaturg Hanna Slattne drew on her own work to discuss a wide range of dramaturgical processes and relationships. Hanna is one of the UK’s most experienced dramaturgs and theatre makers, specialising in new work, new writing and cross art form collaboration and with extensive experience in mentoring and facilitating artists in their development processes. In autumn 2016, she won the Kenneth Tynan Award.
Brecht in Translation: during September and October 2016, Centre Fellow Phoebe von Held and Matthias Rothe (University of Minnesota) staged further workshops to develop their translation project, Jae Fleischhacker, a dramatic fragment by Bertolt Brecht, dealing with Chicago’s wheat exchange market at the beginning of the twentieth century. This is the first translation of the text and it will be published in a new volume of Brecht’s fragments in 2017 by Bloomsbury.
Andy Smith: Dematerialising Theatre (Birkbeck Arts Week 2017)
Copyright © 2019 Birkbeck Centre for Contemporary Theatre. All rights reserved.
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On 24 June in Asian history
1398: Death of Hongwu (Zhu Yuanzhang), first emperor (1368-1398) of the Chinese Ming dynasty, born on October 21, 1328
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hongwu_Emperor
1520: Death of Hosokawa Sumimoto, Japanese samurai commander, born in 1489
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosokawa_Sumimoto
1571: Miguel López de Legazpi founds Manila
https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/1198/today-in-philippine-history-june-24-1571-manila-was-proclamed-as-the-capital-of-the-spanish-colonial-administration-in-the-philippines
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_L%C3%B3pez_de_Legazpi
1622: The Dutch attempt to capture Macau from the Portugueses fails
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Macau
1763 : Murshidabad (in now West Bengal) is captured by the East India Company for the second time and Mir Jafar will be declared King on 29
http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-mir-jafar.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir_Jafar
http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Mir_Jafar_Ali_Khan
1897: Birth of Omkarnath Thakur, Indian singer and musicilogist who died on December 29, 1967
http://swaratala.blogspot.fr/2011/06/pandit-omkarnath-thakur-1897-1967.html
http://davidphilipson.com/pages/omkarnath.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OWfG4FPG1U
1908: Birth of Guru Gopinath, Indian classical dancer, who died on October 9, 1987
http://www.narthaki.com/info/profiles/profil13.html
1910: In Korea, Japanese gendarmerie replace Korean police
1931: Xiang Zhongfa, Head of Chinese Communist Party, born in 1880, is executed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiang_Zhongfa
1932: A military coup ends the absolute power of the king of Siam
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siamese_revolution_of_1932
http://www.academia.edu/2273790/Contested_Nationalism_and_the_1932_Overthrow_of_the_Absolute_Monarchy_in_Siam
1939: Siam is renamed to Thailand by Plaek Pibulsonggram, the third prime minister
http://www.famousdaily.com/history/siam-renamed-thailand.html
https://www.quora.com/Why-was-the-country-of-Siam-renamed-Thailand
1949: In Indonesia, Dutch troops leave Jogjakarta
1954: Beginning of the Battle of Mang Yang Pass. Vietminh troops ambush the French G.M. 100 unit in An Khê. Also known as the Battle of An Khe, it was a major defeat for the French by the Viet Minh
https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Battle+of+Mang+Yang+Pass
http://a70thvets.com/file/Savage/G100/G100.htm
1955: Birth of Swami Chidvilasananda, current guru of Siddha Yoga
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chidvilasananda
1965: Saigon breaks its diplomatic relations with France after it has recognized North Vietnam
1971: Birth of Ji Jin Hee, South Korean actor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ji_Jin_Hee
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Ji_Jin_Hee
1974: In India, after the Hight Court of Allahabad declared her election invalid, the Supreme Court authorizes Indira Gandhi, to keep her premiership but withdraws her vote right in the parliament
1974: Birth of Ruffa Gutierrez, Filipino actress and model
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruffa_Gutierrez
1988: Death of Bui Xuan Phai, Vietnamese painter, born in September 1920
http://www.eyegalleryvn.com/cms/Bui-Xuan-Phai—The-Artist-Of-Hanoi-ptarget-view-pid-56.html
http://www.thavibu.com/articles/ATC34.php
http://www.google.fr/search?q=Bui+Xuan+Phai&hl=fr&rlz=1G1ACAW_FRFR414&prmd=ivnso&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=KDMETqLKB8rAhAeQn5TcDQ&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CBEQ_AUoAQ&biw=1093&bih=614
1989 : In India, a majority of opposition members resign from the Lok Sabha on the issue of the Comptroller Auditor General report on the Bofors gun deal
http://www.mapsofindia.com/on-this-day/june-24-1989-a-majority-of-opposition-members-in-the-lok-sabha-resign-on-the-issue-of-the-cag-report-on-the-bofors-gun-deal
http://www.news18.com/news/india/what-the-bofors-scandal-is-all-about-468591.html
1989: Death of Hibari Misora, Japanese singer and actress, born on May 27, 1937
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibari_Misora
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JPKop-dYJ8
1998: In Malaysia, Daim Zainuddin, closed to Mahathir, is appointed « special » minister, in charge of some economic topics, so encroaching the domain of Anwar Ibrahim who is at odd with Mahathir
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daim_Zainuddin
2000: Death of Sadiq Hussain Qureshi, Pakistani politician, born on July 25, 1927
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadiq_Hussain_Qureshi
2006: The death penalty is abolished in the Philippines
2006: Phan Van Khai and Tranh Duc Luong leaves as Prime Minister and President of Vietnam
2008: A Japanese warship calls in China for the first time since World War II
2012: China successfully completes its first ever manual docking of a spacecraft with another space module. Astronauts on the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft docked with the Tiangong-1 lab module without relying on an automated system.
2013: Burmese President Thein Sein defends a Buddhist monk accused of fomenting a wave of anti-Muslim violence in the country
2014: Former Interior Minister Charupong Reuangsuwan says in an open letter read on YouTube and posted on Facebook that the Organization of Free Thais for Human Rights and Democracy rejects the junta’s legitimacy
http://asiancorrespondent.com/124104/ex-minister-forms-thai-opposition-group-from-exile/
2014: President Aquino endorses Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s push to amend Japan’s constitution and expand the Japanese role on regional security amid China’s expansionism moves
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/107009/aquino-backs-japans-larger-military-role
2015: Death of Tran Van Khe, known as the master of traditional Vietnamese music, at the age of 94
http://tuoitrenews.vn/lifestyle/28859/vietnam-legendary-musicologist-tran-van-khe-dies-at-94
2015: China blocks an Indian move at the United Nations to seek an explanation from Pakistan for releasing from prison an alleged mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks
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Life at BMC
Dates & Guidelines
BMC Commons Magazine
New Work & Ideas from BMC Alumni
Literary & Non-Fiction
Film & Performance
Supporting writers, artists and activists in Blue Mountain Lake, New York
Toward the end of his life, Harold Hochschild collaborated with his son, Adam Hochschild, author of Bury the Chains and King Leopold’s Ghost (among others) and co-founder of Mother Jones magazine, to convert their family property at Eagle Nest in Blue Mountain Lake, New York to a non-profit working space for artists and writers.
Soon after, Harriet Barlow, founder and co-founder of 15 non-profit organizations and member of over 50 boards of directors, agreed to become Blue Mountain Center’s founding Executive Director to further develop the vision for BMC and put it into action. Over a period of 36 years, Harriet, along with many others like Ben Strader who came to BMC as an intern in 1984 and serves as the current Executive Director, shaped the BMC we know today.
For the first few years of Blue Mountain Center's existence, the only residents were writers. In 1985, thanks to the generosity of family and former residents, we were able to create artist studios, and in 1993 we adapted the Grey Cottage garage to be a composer's studio.
The concept of Blue Mountain Center emerged over many years but was very influenced by a variety of predecessors, including early artist colonies, and most significantly the Highlander Center.
Before Blue Mountain Center
The first occupants of the land on which BMC now stands were native Haudenosaunee and Anishnabe people. Warm months brought them to these lakes and others in the central Adirondacks for the district's abundant fish and game. In the winter weather — which often sees temperatures as low as negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit — they returned to their settlements in the warmer, lower valleys of the Mohawk and St. Lawrence Rivers.
Although non-native hunters and trappers probably passed through the area in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the first recorded non-native visit to the chain of Blue Mountain, Eagle, and Utowana Lakes was not until 1840. The visitor that year was Ebenezer Emmons, Professor of Natural History at Williams College, who was making a survey of the region for the State of New York.
This particular area, incidentally, has always been of special interest to geologists. One reason is that the nearest low ridge you can see just on the other side of Eagle Lake forms the divide between the watersheds of the Hudson and the St. Lawrence Rivers. The water of Eagle Lake reaches the sea off the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec. Only a few hundred yards away beyond the ridge are ponds which drain, via the Hudson River, into New York Harbor. Scientists believe that before the last Ice Age the waters of Eagle, Blue Mountain, and Utowana Lakes flowed eastward instead of westward, and reached the sea at New York also.
The first person to live for an extended length of time at the site of what is now Blue Mountain Center was, appropriately enough, a writer. Born as Edward Zane Carroll Judson, he wrote under many names, most commonly that of Ned Buntline. A newspaperman, magazine editor, sailor, adventurer, and a prodigious drinker who also picked up a few dollars now and then by lecturing on temperance, Buntline wrote more than 100 popular books, and was the foremost practitioner of what came to be known as the dime novel. Later on in his life, he achieved lasting renown by finding an obscure cavalry scout and christening and promoting him as Buffalo Bill. Songs, plays, biographies and a traveling show followed. Buffalo Bill later broke with Buntline and toured the world with his "Wild West, Rocky Mountain and Prairie Exhibition," which included bucking broncos and stagecoach robbery, but Buntline continued to collect royalties.
Between 1856 and 1862, Ned Buntline lived on and off in a cabin whose remains are now visible a few yards toward the lake from the Center's south porch. Buntline seems to have passed his time here writing, trout fishing, drinking and fathering children by two of his six wives, and perhaps, according to local legend, by other women in the vicinity as well. He also wrote a poem of praise to his lakeside homestead, whose final stanza is:
Where the rolling surf laves the emerald turf,
Where the trout leaps high at the hovering fly,
Where the sportive fawn crops the soft green lawn,
And the crows shrill cry bodes a tempest nigh—
There is my home—my wildwood home.
Buntline departed to fight in the Civil War and did not return here. Around the site of his house, a succession of local farmers grew rye and raised cows for much of the next 40 years.
Beginning in 1899, a number of buildings started going up around the old Buntline property, erected by William West Durant, a railroad baron's son and an ambitious though unsuccessful entrepreneur in the Adirondacks. Between 1890 and 1910, the central Adirondacks were extremely fashionable as a summer resort; Durant tried to take advantage of this by building steamboats and a railroad line, and by converting the farmland around Buntline's former house into a golf course. He had great plans for the creation of a country club and resort, of which what is now BMC's main building was to be the centerpiece. He got as far as staging an exhibition golf match by one of the leading professionals of the day, and the country club ran for a season or two. But in the midst of further building, Durant went bankrupt.
In 1904 Durant's creditors sold the land and buildings to a group of four New Yorkers who, over the next several decades, used the property as summer homes for their families. They also rented some buildings to friends. Various other sales and subdivisions took place over the years. In recent decades the clubhouse was occupied by the late Harold Hochschild, a New York businessman and a son of one of the original 1904 purchasers. On his death in 1981, he left the house along with an endowment to maintain it, for use as a writers' colony and conference center.
During the last decades of the 19th century, visitors to Blue Mountain Lake had an arduous 26-hour journey from New York City; overnight boat to Albany, a stretch by train, and then an eight-hour stagecoach ride over a road so rough passengers had to be strapped in. By 1900 the trip was a much pleasant one: it then became possible to take an overnight train to the village of Raquette Lake, 10 miles west of Eagle Lake. The remaining distance was covered by steamboat, except for a very short shuttle journey by a small steam railway, alongside a stretch of river rapids too rough for boats. The first asphalt highway to the area was not completed until 1929.
— Adapted from "A Bit of History" by Adam Hochschild
Photo credits: Trevor Nathan (Home), Karin Hayes (Community, Support Us, & Contact), & Jan Mammey (Apply).
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Wheeling Edition: Oliver's Pies
Oliver's Pies is an institution in Wheeling. The Centre Market pie shop has a number of different pieces and cheesecakes, and even local shops sometimes serve Oliver's on their dessert menu.
How it got started: Our son, Adam Oliver, holds a third degree black belt in Taekwondo. In 2004 he had earned a spot on the young men's Team USA and was going to South Korea to compete in the World ITF Championship Tournament. He had competed in three preliminary tournaments in Ohio, Texas and Connecticut to qualify for the team and was thrilled when he was selected to represent the United States at this worldwide tournament along with his friend, Zac Taylor, who had earned a spot on the men's Team USA. My husband, Jim, and Zac's dad, Paul, were asked to go along as chaperones. It was the chance of a lifetime for all of them, but how in the world would we afford the cost of sending two people to South Korea for 10 days? The boys' Taekwondo school, Seszko International, sponsored fund raisers, but we still needed to come up with a majority of the funds needed.
One night, at about 1:00 in the morning, Jim sat straight up in bed and said, "I'm going to bake pies." Still half asleep, I responded, "That's nice, honey," and went back to sleep. Jim learned how to bake from his grandmother when he was a teenager and has loved baking ever since, but I was more than a little skeptical about his ability to bake enough pies to get him to Korea. Within the day, Jim had purchased supplies and began baking pies. The rest of our five kids went all around the neighborhood taking orders for homemade 10-inch fruit and cream pies. Friends, co-worker's, and family all placed their orders and we were soon baking a lot of pie. In six weeks we had baked and sold over 400 pies and earned enough money to send both Adam and Jim on their way, and in October, 2004 they spent an incredible 10 day journey touring and competing in South Korea.
After returning from South Korea, Jim went back to work as a crown and bridge technician in his own dental lab, but we often got calls from people asking, "Are you still making pies?" Several even suggested that we open up a pie shop. We toyed with the idea for several months and Jim decided that he wanted to give it a try, so in July 2005 Oliver's Pies was created. We converted a spare room into a "pie room" and the pie baking quickly took on a life of it's own. Jim would work in the lab during the day, and then we would all team together to bake in the evening for the next day's pie orders. It often meant 14-16 hour long days and limited free time for the whole family.
In February 2007 we opened a pie shop located in the historic Centre Market of Wheeling, WV, which gave us more public exposure and meant we no longer had to rely solely on delivery for our customers. We quickly became known as "The Pie Man" and "The Pie Lady" - word of mouth was an amazing thing.
A year later in February 2008 we moved the entire baking operation down to Centre Market and then things really took off. Jim had given up his crown and bridge lab at the end of 2007 so that he could concentrate on the baking of Oliver's pies and the entire baking process can be observed by any visitor to the Centre Market. The smell of fresh baked pies is obvious the minute you walk through the door of the Upper Market.
Whole 10-inch pies and 7-inch "half pies" available Monday through Saturday, along with individual slices. We now offer homemade cheesecake, as well. Jim's love for his craft, his love and his respect for his grandmother, and his dedication to his family are found in each and every pie that is baked at Oliver's Pies. By the way, the kid who started it all, Adam, came home from South Korea as a world champion, placing first in the patterns competition, bringing home the gold medal. He returned home in December 2008 after serving a two-year service mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Salta, Argentina Mission.
The shop is inside the main building, with a few tables placed nearby. It's small, intimate and also a bit crazy busy.
When we walked in, I immediately picked up a menu to see my options. Mmmm peanut butter or chocolate peanut butter. Or Old Fashion Egg Custard? But, mmm pecan. I had to. I got a slice of pecan pie and ... oops ... may have taken a bite before I even got a photo ... BUT, that's a testament to how good this thing is. Light, flaky crust with a rich, chewy center and delicious sweet pecans.
So, so good. The only thing that could have made it even better is a glass of cold milk to wash it all down. Ahh, you owe it to yourself to indulge a bit nd get a sweet treat.
Labels: A, Desserts, Wheeling
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Morgantown Edition: Beertopia
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CARL Job Listings
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Metadata and Discovery Librarian, University of California, Riverside
The University of California, Riverside (UCR) seeks a motivated, proactive, user-oriented Metadata and Discovery librarian. The successful candidate will be dedicated to collaborative, stakeholder focused development and implementation of original and complex metadata creation and integrated library management system optimization.
Located an hour’s drive to the east of Los Angeles, an hour west of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, an hour east of ocean beaches, ninety minutes north of San Diego, and an hour south of mountain ski resorts, UCR is located in an area of dramatic landscapes and rich cultural traditions. The University is a dynamic, aggressively-developing land grant research institution dedicated to preparing its diverse student body to be successful competitors in the world marketplace of ideas. UCR boasts the first new School of Medicine to open on the West Coast in 43 years; a new School of Public Policy; and the Bourns College of Engineering, ranked 10th in the world according to an international ranking organization.
The UCR Library is a critical partner in preparing UCR’s students to be globally competitive while simultaneously preparing them for careers in the Inland Empire and beyond. The mission of the UCR Library is no less than to bring the world’s information resources to the UCR community and to ensure that UCR students, faculty, and staff have the skills to fully exploit those resources to change the world for the better.
The UCR Library is a team of intensely collaborative, forward-thinking colleagues dedicated to providing excellent services to our students, faculty, and community members in a rapidly evolving information environment. The successful candidate will be technologically sophisticated; committed to problem-solving in local, regional, national, and international arenas; and able to develop innovative solutions to complex problems; and a dynamic and effective leader.
The UCR Library is comprised of three facilities housing more than 3,800,000 volumes, 940,000 electronic books, 97,000 print and electronic journals, and 2,300,000 microforms. The Library provides services to more than 22,000 students and nearly 2,000 faculty and other academics in an institutional environment planning for and experiencing extensive growth. The successful candidate will join an enthusiastic staff of 214, including 26 FTE librarians, 90 FTE support personnel, and 98 students in building a research library of excellence within a dynamic and diverse university ranked among the top 50 in the nation. The UCR Library is a member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Among the unique collections of the UCR Library is the Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy, the Water Resources Collections & Archives, the Rupert Costo Library of the American Indian, the Paul Chou Collection of Chinese history and culture, the George Brown Papers, the Tomás Rivera Papers, and the Inland Empire Memories Initiative. Information about the UCR Libraries is available at http://library.ucr.edu.
The UCR Library is an integral part of the University of California library system. With collections totaling 30 million volumes, UC’s more than 100 libraries are surpassed in size on the American continent only by the Library of Congress collection. In addition, UC’s California Digital Library (CDL) provides the core of the Universitys digital collections. CDL also assists UC to share resources and holdings more effectively, and provides leadership in applying technology to the development of library collections and services. Organizationally situated within the UC Office of the President, the CDL operates in close collaboration with all UC campuses and their libraries.
UC professional librarians are academic appointees and are represented by an exclusive bargaining unit; The University Council-American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT). This position is in the bargaining unit.
Reporting to the Metadata and Technical Services (MTS) Department Head in the Content and Discovery Division; the Metadata and Discovery librarian will work collaboratively to develop, manage, and implement metadata and cataloging projects and standards that optimize the user-experience of our discovery systems.
In collaboration with appropriate stakeholders including the AUL for Content and Discovery, Metadata and Technical Service Dept. Head, Cyberinfrastructure, and public services departments develops Integrated Library Management System optimization project prioritization aimed at enhancing discoverability (currently via ALMA/PRIMO);
Collaborates with colleagues in the Metadata and Technical Services department, library Cyberinfrastructure, and other appropriate stakeholders to identify and implement strategic linked data initiatives;
Participates in establishment of best practices for interoperability, data/authority control, and metadata standards as part of the Descriptive Metadata Working Group ;
Completes complex original cataloging and authority control for a variety of materials, including monographs, serials, news, and data assets, in accordance with current standards and rules such as RDA, LCSH, SHM, MARC, and NACO authority rules;
Utilizes relevant standards, rules, and best practices in the creation, analysis, enrichment, normalization, and maintenance of metadata;
Evaluates and provides recommendations to the AUL for Content and Discovery, the Head of the Metadata and Technical Services, and other stakeholders on emerging metadata standards that may optimize discovery of content in the UCR environment.
Collaborates with public service departments such as Teaching and Learning, Collection Strategies, and Access Services to enhance the user experience in utilizing the ILMS discovery layer (PRIMO)
Contributes to metadata quality control, cleanup, editing, enhancement, migration, and mapping, using tools such as MarcEdit, and/or OpenRefine, Catmandu, and use of regular expressions and SQL queries;
Shares technical knowledge and expertise through provision of in-house training sessions;
Participates in UC-wide and other national committees, groups, and initiatives including those establishing best practices and/or metadata schemas;
Participates in general administrative duties, library-wide activities, committees, special projects and library programs; represents the UCR Library on various University of California standing committees and ad-hoc groups;
Master of Library and Information Studies from an ALA-accredited institution or equivalent experience or degree in a field related to this position;
Experience working with integrated library management systems such as ALMA, Sierra, or Millennium and discovery layer systems such as Primo, Summon, Blacklight);
Knowledge of library content discovery and best practices in improving the discoverability of library resources
Experience with original and complex copy cataloging standards and practices, such as MARC21, Dublin Core, FRBR, FRAD, and RDA.
Familiarity with linked data and semantic web standards such as BIBFRAME
Experience with large-scale metadata management, such as bulk import and export, data remediation and-clean up, and quality control.
Ability to analyze, implement and adapt to evolving technologies;
Excellent organizational skills, and effectiveness in balancing multiple assignments and projects;
Effective written and oral communication;
Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to work successfully in an intensely collaborative environment with a broad range of people from culturally diverse backgrounds including, colleagues, administrators, students, faculty, donors, and alumni.
Experience with XML and linked data technologies (e.g., XSLT, RDF, OWL, SPARQL, BIBFRAME);
Experience or ability and willingness to learn a programming language;
Knowledge of user experience design principles;
Demonstrated project management skills;
Experience with institutional repository systems such as Fedora, Omeka, DSpace, Dataverse, or other comparable products;
Experience with metadata quality control, including use of automated routines for metadata maintenance;
Working knowledge of a language other than English;
Academic degree in a related field and/or advanced coursework at the post-graduate level;
UCR is a world-class research university with an exceptionally diverse undergraduate student body. Its mission is explicitly linked to providing routes to educational success for underrepresented and first-generation college students. A commitment to this mission is a preferred qualification.
UCR librarians are members of the Librarians Association of the University of California (LAUC). Research, publication, and/or service to the University and profession are expected for continuing advancement.
Salary and Benefits:
Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience within a range of: $61,201 – $84,260
Appointment at rank of Assistant Librarian to Librarian – Potential Career depending upon qualifications and experience. Advancement through the librarian ranks at the University of California is through a series of structured, merit-based evaluations, occurring every two to three years, each of which includes substantial peer review. Excellent retirement system, health, and vacation benefits.
Application: Submit resume, names and contact information of at least three references, and a letter of interest addressing qualifications and experience related to the primary duties of the position through APRecruit (https://aprecruit.ucr.edu/JPFO1112. The search will remain open until the position is filled; for best consideration application should be received by August, 26, 2019.
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 11th, 2019 at 1:19 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Back to the CARL site..
Archives Operations Coordinator/Digital Archivist, CSU Dominguez Hills July 17, 2019
Judicial Center Law Librarian, California Judicial Center Library, San Francisco, CA July 16, 2019
Political Science and Public Policy Librarian, UC Berkeley July 15, 2019
Instruction & Outreach Librarian, UC Merced July 15, 2019
Physical Sciences Librarian, California State University, Sacramento July 12, 2019
Digital Archivist, UC Berkeley Bancroft Library July 11, 2019
Business Librarian, Full-time Temporary, UC San Diego July 11, 2019
Metadata and Discovery Librarian, University of California, Riverside July 11, 2019
Resource Acquisitions Librarian, University of California, Berkeley July 11, 2019
Systematic Review Coordinator and Medical School Liaison, University of Southern California July 8, 2019
Theme: Contempt by Vault9.
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meeting elizabeth banks and a simple "thank you"
Me with my new BFF Elizabeth Banks.
A few weeks ago I went to a San Diego Magazine "Taste of Hollywood" event at Ben Bridge Jewelers in UTC. Imagine my surprise upon arrival to see that the guest of honor on hand was none other than Elizabeth Banks.
While most of you know her from 30 Rock , Scrubs , and Zack and Miri Make a Porno , I admire her for one of her lesser known roles: a real-life, new mom who unapologetically used a surrogate to have her beautiful baby boy, Felix.
On her blog she writes, "I have been very fortunate in life both professionally and personally."
Speaking about infertility, she goes on to say, "The one true hurdle I've faced in life is that I have a broken belly. After years of trying to get pregnant, exploring the range of fertility treatments, all unsuccessful, our journey led us to gestational surrogacy: we make a "baby cake" and bake it in another woman's 'oven.'"
Banks chatting with reporters at the event.
Her framing and straightforward directness are a welcome, stark contrast to many women of a certain age and celebrity who aren't open about their fertility issues...which I discussed when Celine Dion spoke about her struggles.
I took this unexpected, happy opportunity to thank her in person. I told her how much I appreciated her openness about her surrogate and conceiving her child, and how much it meant to me.
She said, "Everybody's got their own journey to having a kid, and there's no wrong one."
I shared the short version of our story, and she immediately asked if I was okay now. I told her I was, and she said, "That's the most important thing."
Bonus silly pic, pre-iPhone steadiness.
As we begin National Infertility Awareness Week, I'm grateful for this platform to talk about these issues and raise awareness in my own community of friends and family. While there are 7.3 million women dealing with infertility, at times it's easy to feel alone.
With each kick ass woman like Elizabeth Banks who comes forward and shares their stories publicly, it makes the world of IVF, fertility, and infertility feels a little less small.
Now, on to the most pressing question: do you give paper or wood as a gift during this week? I always get confused on anniversary and celebratory gifts.
All photos mine.
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Lucy Rose, the Warwickshire-born singer-songwriter is bored of putting banal announcements out into the world via Instagram, of keeping a safe distance between art and feeling.
She’s coming out of a year she describes as one of the hardest times of her life, and which fuelled a more probing type of album. But this was no conscious decision. Rather, it was just part of surviving. Consequently, her new album, ‘No Words Left’ is a restless piece of work, born out of necessity rather than curiosity.
If her last album, Something’s Changing, released in 2017, represented an artist rediscovering their voice, No Words Left is Lucy using that voice to devastatingly frank effect. Perhaps in some ways this shouldn’t come as a surprise; Lucy is no longer the 18-year-old kid who moved down to London to make a go of things via open mic nights, and ended up singing with Bombay Bicycle Club. She’s a grown up, a wife, a woman, locked in a strange relationship with the city she came to ‘make it’. And, of course, she’s a human being, singing about those difficult, universal feelings that impact us all.
Join our mailing list to hear the latest Lucy Rose news first along with other Communion releases, gigs & more direct to your inbox.
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You are here: Business > Auto >
World New Energy Vehicle Congress starts in Hainan
The 2019 World New Energy Vehicle Congress kicked off Tuesday in the city of Boao, south China's island province of Hainan. [Photo/people.com.cn]
The 2019 World New Energy Vehicle Congress kicked off Tuesday in the city of Boao, south China's island province of Hainan, as industry heavyweights and policy makers gathered to discuss the future of the booming field.
The congress, which will be concluded Wednesday, focuses on discussions about new energy vehicles (NEVs) market among leading worldwide vehicle manufacturers.
China is a global leader in manufacturing NEVs with more than 200 types of new energy cars launched in the first half of 2019, and the Chinese government has a clear road map to beef up the industry, said Horbert Diess, chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, at the congress.
"Reform and opening up is a driving force for China's auto industry since it enables the industry to go global and attract world attention," said Fu Yuwu with the China Society of Automotive Engineers.
First Automotive Works (FAW), one of the leading automakers in China, said 40 percent of the passenger vehicles produced by the company will be NEVs by 2025. The ratio is expected to go up to 60 percent by 2030, according to Xu Liuping, chairman of the board with FAW Group.
SAIC Motor said it is applying 5G technology to make driving more intelligent. Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd aims to mass produce Level-3 auto-driving cars and connect all of its new products to the internet by 2020.
The ongoing technological revolutions have also propelled the auto industry into vigorous and prompt actions, said Wan Gang, president of the China Association for Science and Technology.
Wan added that auto retailers around the world should seek cooperation and innovation and make due contribution to the industrial upgrading of the auto market.
By the end of 2018, over 5.64 million NEVs have been sold around the world, and China accounted for 52.8 percent of them.
The 2019 World New Energy Vehicle Congress kicked off Tuesday in the city of Boao, south China's island province of Hainan, as industry heavyweights and policy makers gathered to discuss the future of the booming field.
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Browse > Home / Kiko, Reviews / Trolls
November 4, 2016 by Kiko Martinez
The animated film "Trolls" is based off of the toyline that hit its popularity in the late 80s/early 90s.
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel
Directed by: Walt Dohrn (debut) and Mike Mitchell (“Shrek Forever After”)
Written by: Jonathan Aibel (“Kung Fu Panda”) and Glenn Berger (“Kung Fu Panda”)
Nothing says migraine-inducing entertainment like a neon-tinted animated musical voiced by the likes of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake and Zooey Deschanel and co-directed by the guy that made “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.” Someone stab my eardrums with a broche, am I right?
Surprisingly, you’d be wrong. While there are a few moments that will probably be slightly irritating for anyone above the age of six, “Trolls” is a barrel-full of rainbows and sunshine and candy-corn flavored happiness. In other words, it’s pretty darn amusing (and, moreover, it doesn’t feature the voice of Jim Parsons, which is always a positive).
In “Trolls,” which is based off of the collectible plastic toy with Don King-like hair, the always-cheerful creatures are living a fulfilling life of singing, dancing and hugging. When an evil Bergen, which oddly looks like a Boxtroll from the 2014 animate film, finds their hidden village, she scoops up a handful of the trolls and takes the home for the Bergens’ annual festival where they feast on the half-pints (the only time a Bergen feels happiness). It’s up to peppy troll Poppy (Anna Kendrick), sullen troll Branch (Justin Timberlake), and some other less important trolls (the sparkly silver one speaks with an auto-tuned voice!) to rescue their friends before they end up as appetizers.
What “Trolls” has going for it is its cleverly placed musical interludes and dance choreography. Young audiences haven’t really been given a true animated musical since “Frozen” in 2013, so it’s exciting to get a movie that captures some of the delightful aspects of the genre. From songs like Timberlake’s “Cant’ Stop the Feeling!” to Lionel Richie’s “Hello” to even Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence,” the soundtrack is curated to perfection.
With a colorful and vibrant look and some interesting characters that are almost Dr. Seussian, “Trolls” isn’t going to top the likes of the best animations this year, but it’s easily one of the most fun.
Grade: B-
Shrek Forever After
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
Tags: 2016, Anna Kendrick, Glenn Berger, Jonathan Aibel, Justin Timberlake, kikoreview, Mike Mitchell, Trolls, Walt Dohrn, Zooey Deschanel
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Smithers, get this Bedlamite an Alienist!
— C. Montgomery Burns on The Simpsons
Posted on February 1st, 2005 in Movie Reviews by EngineerBoy
Tony Jaa is the next great martial arts star. That fact is very clear after seeing Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior. He has the charisma of Bruce Lee, the charm of Jackie Chan, and the grace and menace of the bastard love child of Jet Li and Mikhail Baryshnikov. In this film he does all his own stunts, a la Jackie Chan, and they are wild, eye-popping moves. And just in case you miss them, the director films them from several angles, and plays them back repeatedly, sometimes in super-slo-mo, so you can see that it was all done with physics, not with wires, pixels, or mirrors. At first this replay action took me out of the flow of the film, but after a couple of times I got used to it and grew to expect it because some of the moves were so unbelievable they just have to be re-experienced immediately in order to grok the fullness.
Just to give you an idea of where I’m coming from, I’m no fanboy of martial arts films. I’ve never seen a Bruce Lee film all the way through, just bits and pieces, and my favorite part of Jackie Chan’s films is always the outtakes at the end. But I have seen enough of these kinds of films to get the basic storyline, where the reluctantly violent hero tries in vain to achieve his task with a minimal of bloodshed, but his vile opposition won’t let him hang up his guns.
That same storyline applies here. Tony Jaa plays Ting, a young and naive country boy who goes to the big city to retrieve a macguffin that has deep sacred meaning to his village. Along the way he runs into a former village-mate, now a bottom-rung hustler in the big city, who reluctantly (and comedically) “helps” our hero. Pretty standard stuff, really.
But what sets this movie apart is the fighting and stunt work. Mind boggling is the only way to describe it. This movie is worth seeing just for these facets. However, the script is actually engaging and the story is intriguing, and they (thankfully) subtitle the movie instead of overdub the voices, so the true personality of the characters comes through.
So, even if you’re not a fan of martial arts movies, I think this one is worth a look. And try not to groan and yowl out loud with the action on the screen, I dare you. I also dare you to try and get the tune “Mmm-bop” out of your head once you replace “Mmm-bop” with “Ong-bak”. Go on, I double dare you.
Nia: New Age Exercise I Can Get Into
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Berlin Mulls EADS Future Post-Daimler
(Source: Deutsche Welle German Radio; published Feb. 9, 2010)
European aerospace giant EADS could encounter heavy turbulence in the months ahead. Daimler is reportedly interested in divesting its stake in the venture. The possible move is already giving Berlin motion sickness.
Daimler plans to sell its stake in the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) when a consortium agreement expires in June 2012, the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports, citing industry sources. The German auto giant, according to the report, wants to focus on its car manufacturing business.
Government officials in Berlin will meet later this month to discuss the possible consequences of such a move, a source familiar with the mater told Reuters. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has already held an initial meeting about Daimler and EADS with Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble und Economy Minister Rainer Brüderle, according to the source.
Change in long-term shareholders
Speculation has been mounting ever since Daimler, which no longer views the aerospace investment as core to its operations, reduced its stake in EADS from 22.5 percent to 15 percent in a 2007 deal brokered by the government with a German bank consortium. Early last year, Berlin tried but failed to find a long-term German investor to take over the banks' stake, which agreed to extend the current arrangement for up to three years.
Daimler is tight-lipped about its plan, saying only that previous comments by its chief financial officer Bodo Uebber - who also serves as supervisory chairman of EADS - remain valid. Last year, Uebber said the long-term shareholder structure of the aerospace company could change.
Most of EADS is controlled by German and French interests, both public and private. Daimler and the German banking consortium own 22.5 percent, while the French government has a 15 percent stake and the French media group Lagardere 7.5 percent.
These four shareholders, together with the Spanish state holding SEPI, with a 5.47 percent stake, form the core shareholder bloc of EADS.
Lagardere, which halved its investment in EADS since 2006, has indicated that it has no plans to cut its stake further before 2012. In the same breath, however, the company also made it clear that it doesn't see itself as an indefinite partner.
Keeping jobs, accessing technology
Any sale by Daimler or Lagardere would have implications for the Franco-German shareholder balance, raising politically sensitive issues in Paris and Berlin.
Both governments are keen to preserve strategic oversight of a company that makes, among other products, civilian and military aircraft in competition with Boeing of the United States. But the two part ways when it comes to state ownership: while the French state isn't overly shy to buy into the private sector, the German government is more reluctant.
"The German government needs to retain German participation in the company," said Cord Schellenberg, an independent aerospace consultant based in Hamburg. "It's about keeping jobs, about having access to future technologies and about having a say in a very strategically important industry."
At the same time, Schellenberg argues that Daimler has benefited and could continue to benefit from its aerospace involvement – if CEO Dieter Zetsche and shareholders agreed to stick with the EADS investment.
"Many innovations, like lightweight materials now used in cars, originated in the military aerospace sector before moving to the civilian aerospace sector and later the car industry," he told Deutsche Welle. "Daimler has profited from synergies between the aerospace and auto industries and from having direct access to new technologies."
Focused on making winning cars
Uebber knows this. The Daimler executive began his career with the airplane manufacturer Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm, which later became part of the German aerospace group Dasa before being folded into EADS.
But his boss, Daimler chief executive Dieter Zetsche, has made it clear that under his leadership, the focus is on cars.
The search for a Daimler replacement in EADS won't be easy. Candidates would need deep pockets and ideally some technological expertise – not to mention an interest in aerospace. There aren't many that fit that bill on German soil. Siemens' sheer size and engineering background makes it a possible candidate, but it has other interests. And the nation's other big carmakers want and need to remain focused on producing winning cars in the fiercely competitive auto sector.
By the look of things, policymakers in Berlin and Paris may need some acrobatic flying skills to keep EADS from entering a nosedive.
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G is for Golden Casket
Golden Casket, maternity, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Royal Childrens Hospital 8 Responses »
Every Queenslander knows the Golden Casket even though Lotto has gained more prominence now.
The Casket started in 1916, when the Queensland Patriotic Fund asked if they could run an Art Union for the Repatriation Fund of the Queensland War Council. The first Casket went on sale in December 1916.
It was successful in raising funds and a second Casket was also run for the Patriotic Fund, then three Caskets were run to fund the building of homes for War Widows by the Anzac Cottage Committee.
The sixth Casket run gave the profits to the Hospital for Sick Children (now known as the Royal Childrens’ Hospital).
The Hospital was in urgent need of funds for repairs and further development at a time when donations from the public were more difficult to obtain.
From 1920 the Government took over the running of the Casket with the profits being used for funding Public Hospitals, Maternity Hospitals and Baby Clinics.
The Royal Women’s hospital was funded by the Casket at a cost of 200 thousand pounds. By 1938, 93 maternity hospitals and 122 baby clinics had been provided by the profits of the Casket.
The money was used to provide free hospitals in Queensland and this was important as previously hospital care was not free. Previously the richer persons provided charitable entry or you paid for the services provided. The hospitals were always trying to gather donations. With the Casket there were many small donations from many people rather than larger donations from the few.
The general public embraced the concept of the Casket, as not only was there a possibility of winning the first prize, which was a number of years of wages for a tradesman for a small investment, it didn’t matter if you didn’t win, as after all “you still got the hospital!”
100 000 tickets were sold in each Casket. You could buy a quarter or half share in a ticket and originally a barrel containing a 100 000 marbles was used to draw the prizes. Then, in 1932, a new machine invented by a Brisbane engineer, John Lund was put into use.
The new machine (shown in the illustration) stood over six foot tall with a rectangular barrel divided into five compartments. Each compartment contained ten discs from 0 to 9.
The barrel is turned by a handle, three turns of the handle rotated the barrel once, thoroughly mixing the discs. At the end of the revolution a disc in each compartment falls into the slot and a five figured number is shown in a clear window. (For the mathematicians amongst you, the number 100 000 was represented by five zeros showing in the window). This system stayed in place until the introduction of computers.
It was possible for the same number to win multiple times in the same drawing.
All drawings were open to the public.
In the first fifty years of the Casket’s operation, it contributed significantly to the sick and needy with $73 million dollars being used for the hospital and health system and $200 million being returned as prizes.
I don’t know precisely when grandma Myrtle Doris Weeks bought this ticket but guess it to be in the early 1950s. At this time the top prize was 15 000 pounds. Each full ticket cost ten shillings. My grandparents never won the top prize but regularly bought tickets, as after all, “you got the hospital!”
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Home / Terrorist / World News / 30 People Killed in Wedding Blast in Southeastern Turkey
30 People Killed in Wedding Blast in Southeastern Turkey
August 21, 2016 Terrorist, World News
At least 30 people have been killed and some 94 more injured in a blast that targeted a wedding ceremony in Turkey’s southeastern Gaziantep province.
According to Gaziantep Governor Ali Yerlikaya, the “terror attack” took place in the Sahinbey district’s Akdere neighborhood late on Saturday. Earlier, the governor’s office put the death toll at around 22.
A parliamentary deputy from the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) has said the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group is responsible for the attack.
"We wish God's mercy for those who have lost their lives in this cruel attack, and for the injured, a quick recovery," said a statement released by provincial governor's office, confirming the incident’s death toll.
"We strongly condemn this cruel terror attack and those carrying it out," it added.
After the blast, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) announced that some of its members were present at the wedding where a large number of women and children were also present.
Moreover, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said, "It is barbaric to attack a wedding… The aim of terror is to scare the people but we will not allow this.”
Turkey has suffered a series attacks by Daesh and Kurdish terrorists over the past year, the deadliest of which being a gun and bomb attack on Istanbul's Atatürk international airport, which claimed the lives of over 40 people and injured over 20 more.
The bombing incidents increased especially after last July when the country launched a military campaign against militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeastern border areas. The Turkish military has also been conducting offensives against the positions of the group in northern Iraq.
On Thursday, a bomb attack -- claimed by the PKK -- and clashes with the militants killed at least six members of Turkish security forces in the eastern parts of the country.
The attack occurred hours after six people were killed and more than 250 people injured in two separate bomb blasts that hit police stations in the city of Elazig in Eastern Anatolia and in a town in the province of Van.
According to the latest toll provided by the state-run Anadolu news agency in July, more than 600 Turkish security forces and over 7,000 PKK militants have been killed since the collapse of their truce agreement in 2013. Ankara says all of those killed in its operations were PKK members. Rights campaigners and Turkey’s pro-Kurdish political parties challenge the figure, saying many civilians have been killed.
Credit: PressTV
30 People Killed in Wedding Blast in Southeastern Turkey Reviewed by E.A Olatoye on August 21, 2016 Rating: 5
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Tag Archives: poland elections
Commentary—The Bad Seed(s)– Elections and Repression
Turkey and Poland are two geographically unrelated countries. The roots of their history and the present state of their governments are unrelated. They do form an emerging political mosaic that allows us to see into the future: an unhealthy nationalistic surge, and a domestic repressive political climate, and a “me” mentality. These conditions have created a danger to the dynamics of any form of democracy not only for the citizens of these two countries but will be the seeds seized upon to impact their neighbors and ultimately our own national security interests. We see that moment in the rhetoric of our President and the acts of his ministers.
In Poland, during and after the German occupation in WWII, neither the people nor its government were anything but hostile toward minority groups. Some thought that when Lech Walesa came to govern in 1980, the country was on a path to democratic reform. Democracy ebbed and flowed during which the Country became a member of the EU and NATO. In 2015, the picture changed. As in the United States presidential election, Poland moved hard right and, in doing so, turned the Polish democracy on its head. In its latest move, the ruling party –Law and Justice—did the unthinkable in a democracy and ended the Country’s judicial independence. In a decisive move, the governing political party purged an overwhelming number of judges. It is tantamount to the Republican party dismissing those Justices on the Supreme Court they found to be counterproductive to their platform. In Poland, Judges who were not considered loyal to the ruling party were dismissed and replaced by those who were. Sound familiar?
Turkey, Istanbul, was once a beautiful country and city to visit. A country that was known for its marvelous array of spices, food and antiquities of wonder. A country that has moved from a democratic state to what could be defined as a dictatorship wrapped in a democratic election. Notwithstanding its present political stance and leadership, it is embraced by the United States because of geopolitical necessity in a troubled area of the world.
When we visited Turkey, it was a democratic nation-state. Today it is not. How did the country move so dramatically away from its democratic roots? What prompted its people to change their chant from democracy to embracing a man who was permitted to destroy an open, independent press? Turkey became a hard right Muslim nation and experienced a childish, attempted coup that failed. 150 members of the press have been arrested, and the working conditions of the press were best described in a report from Reporters Without Borders. Just three years ago, it ranked Turkey 149 out of 189 countries that support a free press. That ranking placed Turkey between two countries– one a failed state (Congo) and the other where journalists are regularly utilized as targets for murder (Mexico).
Turkey is a country where judges are indiscriminately rounded up and arrested by the Government. Where thousands of high ranking officers in the military either escape to another country or are arrested for alleged treason. Where thousands of police officers and hundreds of academicians were fired from their jobs with their passports confiscated. The Guardian has reported that the Turkish President has dismissed thousands of state employees under a so-called emergency decree for alleged connection to terrorist groups. At last count 130,000 people have been dismissed from their jobs with their passports confiscated during this period
The Associated Press has reported, as I am writing this commentary, that the state of emergency declared by newly reelected President Erdogen, after the failed coup and that has been in place for two years will be lifted. The emergency rule allowed the government to bypass parliament on all key issues. The latest nail in the democratic life of the people of Turkey is that the so-called “democratically” elected president’s role will be transferred to that of an “executive presidency” (no checks and balance in his authoritative control).There will be a completely revamped charter providing him greater authority as its president. In his latest decree the President has abolished the office of the Prime Minister. He will draft the budget and, as noted, chose the judges and have the ability to dismiss the Parliament at will. All this occurring as 12 non-governmental organizations, three newspapers and one television station were shuttered.
Despite the government’s decision to lift the state of emergency, a close look at the proposed statutes that will replace the emergency decree does nothing more than maintain the repressive status quo. The new laws would still allow the government to detain its citizens for an extended period without a criminal charge. The pending legislation would also give the government the power to stop people from leaving the country or traveling freely within the country. And to tighten control further, if you were “considered” a threat, you could be removed from your state job with your passport confiscated. To tighten control even further, if a person’s rights were revoked, the government had the right to penalize one’s spouse.
Clearly, the history in Poland, in the specifics, differs from that in Turkey. That is not the point. The point is that individual rights in both countries are being circumscribed by an elected government. The individual citizen, in both of these countries, has forfeited their rights through an election process. A process that has been cherished for generations, and that has been the method by which we elect a person who will respect and protect all of us. Where their story converges, is the lack of civility and spear point of those running for elected office. The aim of their political campaigns was to target the lowest common denominator—the masses. To demine and ridicule those least able to defend themselves. To promise anything and all things, rational or not for one voting group after another. Civility and truth was not a hallmark, and when a candidate’s approach was lacking in civility and honesty, it became permission for all to act similarly. The elections in Poland and Turkey did not become a debate about values but one of intolerance, bigotry, self-interest and in the end dishonesty. The mob won.
It matters not which way I turn, the sign posted is held high: “Me First”. What does that mean and at what cost to each of us? Why has the vocal majority become so angry and in turn vengeful? Why do we tell people— “go back to where you came from” — based on their language or color of their skin, their tribe or religion? All of us, at one time or another, other than the American Indian (and even they did not somehow materialize out of nowhere on this continent), came from “somewhere” else. Seventy years ago, my father told a black person, who was ill and could not afford to consult with a private physician, that a good alternative would be a doctor in an emergency room of a very fine nearby hospital. He was admonished: “I aint gonna sit on any bench next to a spick!” Why the anger and why the disgust? And that was seventy years ago.
The mob language today is often accompanied by threats of violence. What little civility and tolerance that exits is mocked and ridiculed by our leaders and chanted by the crowd turned mob. We are discarding and crippling the usual barriers that were a natural support of civility. The barriers that held us within permissible conduct are ignored by those in power and that conduct filters down to those who feel empowered, or believing they have been rejected or ignored thru the decades, and its “now their turn”. The crowd then becomes the catalyst for greater unacceptable behavior by the leaders. So, in Poland, the latest attack is against an independent judiciary, and it is destroyed; in Turkey, unless you are likeminded your rights and freedom are evaporated.
One is hard pressed to look at the international scene and find a country that is welcoming without conditions. And as we turn inward and view our own political system, there are those among us who today, and this is difficult to comprehend, openly support the candidacy of an avowed Nazi, a holocaust denier and a white nationalist, each running for elected office under the banner of an American flag and a national political party. How did that happen?
Two countries, Poland and Turkey, two different histories and cultures, and yet the more they are different, the more they seem the same, and the deadly infection they breed is spreading. And it is here.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged election fraid, EU, Istambul, journalists, lech walesa, loss of civil rights, Mexico, Natp, poland elections, political intolerance, turkey elections on July 23, 2018 by Richard Allan.
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of Electric Boat Association of Greece
The Administrative Council of Electric Boat Association of Greece constitute from:
Andreas Apostolopoulos
tel: +30 6932843110 | | www.iliofos.gr
Electrician Engineer from the ATEI Chalcis, been born in Aegio and grew in Kiato Korinthia and encontinuity in Aegio Achaia, from where he graduate from [...]
Electrician Engineer from the ATEI Chalcis, been born in Aegio and grew in Kiato Korinthia and encontinuity in Aegio Achaia, from where he graduate from the 2nd General Lyceum at Aegio.
In 1998 graduates from the Military Faculty of Telecommunications (S.E.T.TIL.). and in 1998 begins his career worker for company ALSTOM- A.E.G. and is occupied in the sector of manufacture of specialised instruments for networks of companies of mobile telephony like Cosmote, Telestet-WIND, Vodafone but also in the manufacture of substations for D.E.I but also for Greek Armed Forces.
It continues his specialisation in evolved electronic systems in group INTRAKOM and it is specialised in the planning and the manufacture of Defensive Directed Missile System PATRIOT that was produced for Greek Armed Forces.
In 2004 was educated in Germany, in the company Carl Zeiss Optronics Gmbh for project Leopard 2 Hel and in 2006 is imported in Faculty S.T.EF of POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES at Lamia in the department of Aerospace Engineers, with direction: ELECTRIC AND ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS OF AEROPLANES.
In 2007 create his own technical company ILIOFOS Co with work that is focused around the manufacture, study and supervision of Electric – Hybrid cars and Public Transportation, at Electromechanical Public Works, Industrial buildings and Private-owned work with photovoltaic applications.
In 2009 are selected by the program Smilies of European Union for the genesis of idea of Public Transformation Vehicles with engine of internal combustion in electrically driven or hybrid.
In 2011 begin the collaboration with leading companies of world self-propulsion, as NetGain Motors, Logena Automotive but also the UQM Technologies.
In 2010 is a member of G.A. of Handball Team at Aegio, “PEGASUS” and in 2014 are elected vice-president of G.A. of Handball Team of “SERIFATO”.
His big love for the sea but also for Greece, is the one that in the maze of season of memorandum, pushes it seeks solutions in order to helps his homeland and en takes place, in 2016 creates the Organisation of Electric Boats of Greece – EBA Greece and is elected as Chairman.
Athanase Contargyris
Tactical Member
| www.adfe-grece.com
Economist and holds a Master in Management Sc. of ΗΕC Business School of France with a specialisation in Economy and Management of Public Organisations [...]
Economist and holds a Master in Management Sc. of ΗΕC Business School of France with a specialisation in Economy and Management of Public Organisations and a Licence in Public Law of the University of Sceaux in France.
He is coordinator of European projects in different fields with a focus on infrastructures and networks for the support of entrepreneurship, innovation and on e-learning on behalf of French, Cypriot and Greek institutions.
He started his career in France, in the public sector (Ministry of Economy, Center for the External Trade and French Embassy in Greece) and later on in the industrial group Pechiney, before founding his own French consultancy (CEDECS) in which he continues his involvement as CEO and the Greek consultancy DIALOGOS, which was amongst the pioneers of e-learning in EU and in Greece since 1989. With this quality he has been selected as academic evaluator of Socrates-KA4 programme (Innovation in learning and training) during10 years(2000-2010) and was the coordinator of the project PASSAGE (FP VII- 2008-2011) for the capture, valorisation and transfer of know-how in Textile, Leather and Clothing, at European level.
Since his return in Greece in 2007 he focused his activities on supporting entrepreneurship and innovation and on Regional Innovation Smart Specialisation Strategies (RIS3) in Greece and in other Mediterranean countries (MED programme – projects SMILIES, MEDLAB, TEXMEDIN, CreativeMed – and MED-ENPI – project ΝΕΤΚΙΤΕ).
Currently he is involved in CreativeWear and TALIA projects of MED and in TCBL project of HORIZON 2020.
Natasa Filippakopoulou
Insurance Agent & Financial Advisor and musician with a Degree in Piano, Harmony & Contrapoint from the National Conservatory of Athens and [...]
Insurance Agent & Financial Advisor and Μusician with a Degree in Piano, Harmony & Contrapoint from the National Conservatory of Athens and a Diploma in Interior Design and Decoration from KLC School of Design, Chelsea Harbour London.
Married with two children, having established 6 year ago φ Design Interiors and having worked for 5 year as Interior Designer – Decorator in Kripis and 16 years as Musician in Kinder Garden & Elementary level schools and as of December 2014 took over the position of Insurance Agent & Financial Advisor in Ethniki Asfalistiki.
The love for boats and sea leaded her to take the Degree in Sailing from Hellenic Offshore Racing Club (HORC) in 1999. Since then she has made several trips with sailing yachts.
Pantelis Bakirtzis
A.C. Member
tel: +30 6944416605 |
Cardiologist who graduated from the Cluj Napoca University in Romania. He was born and raised in Aigio, in 1978 he graduated from the Young Men’s Lyceum of Aigion [...]
Cardiologist who graduated from the Cluj Napoca University in Romania. He was born and raised in Aigio, in 1978 he graduated from the Young Men’s Lyceum of Aigion.
In 1996, he acquired his specialty title of Cardiology from the 1st Cardiology Clinic of the AHEPA Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. He resides in Thessaloniki, where he exercises his profession, in particular he maintains a private practice from 1996 and up to present in the Region of Thermi, Thessaloniki.
He has been providing his services at the cardiology department of BIOIATRIKI SA from 2009 up to this day, whereas he has collaborated with and provided his services at the nuclear medicine department of IATRIKI PROLIPSI SA from 2005 and up until 2009.
From 1996 and up to 2005, he provided his services in the cardiology clinic as well as in the nuclear medicine department of EURODIAGNOSI SA.
“I was born on
the name day of Saint Nicolas at the northern seaside of Peloponnese, in beautiful Aigion and I was baptized at St. Nicolas’ parish at the beach of Alyki. Thus began my bond with the sea, long before I was able to comprehend the world around me. It would be extremely difficult for me to live in a place far away from it. Fascinated from all it can offer throughout the year, I have always been in contact with it – swimming, fishing, scuba diving and sailing. At this critical juncture for my country, amid extreme pessimism, the bright idea my friend Andreas Apostolopoulos had for the creation of ΕΒΑ excited me and made me want to try for something worthwhile!”.
“If you decompose Greece, you will end up with an olive tree, a grapevine and a fishing boat. That is all you need to rebuild the country”.
Alexis F. Daras
Consultant for Tour Operators and as a free lancer Program Director for Yachts, Cruises & River Cruises. He was born in Athens, from a French father and a Greek mother [...]
He was born in Athens, from a French father and a Greek mother. He studied at The French School of Athens and finished the University of Strasbourg, International Relations & Interpretation.
In 1998, he became Project Leader and Skipper of Pytheas 98, a sailing journey from Pireus to Stockholm with a 6 meters Rigid Inflatable Boat reproducing the sailing of the Ancient Greek Naviguator Pytheas that started from Marseille and discovered the Northern Parts of Europe.
He has been working as a Consultant for Youth and Citizen Participation within the Framework of European Projects and NGOs. He has been the Vice President of a niche Cruise Line promoting the company in the Americas and Asia.
He is curently working as Consultant for Tour Operators and as a free lancer Program Director for Yachts, Cruises & River Cruises, he is also the Project Leader of the Penteconter Project. A project that was selected as the Flag Ship of the European Project Smilies.
The New Penteconter will be a ship inspired by the Antiquity, 50 rowers and built for eco efficiency, with recycled light materials, solar panels, electric engine and solar sail. She will be a 100 % eco friendly.
Elias Adam
Electrician Engineer
Mission - Purpose | Scientific Council
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Home / Parliament protesters say they will stay until the government acts
Parliament protesters say they will stay until the government acts
By staff writers
Some 28 hours after their protest began, Tamils are still in Parliament Square in London. They say they will not leave until the UK government pledges to help stop the slaughter in Sri Lanka.
Over one thousand people have defied attempts to disperse them, mostly pecaefully but with some confrontations and six arrests.
Two of the arrests were for displaying images of the Tamil Tigers, an organisation banned in Britain under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
However, the majority of the protesters want an end to violence on all sides, although they are especially critical of the Sinhala-majority Sri Lankan government, which they accuse of being responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians.
Some of those who arrived in central London at 4pm yesterday have relatives in the country. They say the world and the European governments are turning a blind eye to the killing going on in their homeland.
The demonstration has already been successful in raising media and public awareness of what is going on, say organisers.
Meanwhile, a United Nations human rights expert warned today of a bloodbath in Sri Lanka unless government and rebel forces can stop fighting for long enough to allow tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the war zone to flee.
The civilians are in a precarious position, huddled in a narrow "no-fire" zone on the island's northeast coast where the rebels are holed up after a series of military defeats at the hands of government troops.
Walter Kaelin, an independent human rights expert appointed a representative of UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, said: "It's absolutely necessary to avoid a bloodbath."
Talking to Geneva-based radio station WRS, he continued: "If the Sri Lankan army would try to go into there, if the LTTE would not be ready to let these civilians go, then we'll end up with a bloodbath, and this must by all means be avoided."
Following a four-day visit to Sri Lanka, Kaelin said he urgently called on the rebel movement , which has been accused of using Tamil civilians in the war zone as human shields, "to allow all civilians under its control to leave."
He also urged both sides in the conflict to pause the fighting "to allow civilians to leave" and allow aid workers "to provide life-saving relief to the remaining population."
Keywords:tamil | sri lanka
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DOE HOME
IIT HOME
Tel. directory
Dr. V. Sundar
Professor Emeritus, Ocean Department, IIT Madras
Tsunami / NPTEL video’s
Titles of thesis work
Book Published
After obtaining B.E in civil engineering from University of Madras, (Anna University) in 1975, M.Tech (1977) and Ph.D (1981) from IIT Madras joined IIT Madras in Department of Ocean engineering as a faculty and I am presently a professor since 1996. I have served as the head of the department from Sep2003 to Aug 2006. I have supervised 19 Ph.D, 14 M.S and 12 M.Tech theses in India and 9 graduate theses in Germany. I have 430 publications in Conferences and journals to my credit. A few of my publications have won the best paper award in International conferences. I have participated in about 100 conferences worldwide and has chaired a number technical sessions and has served as a member of the International Scientific committee for a number of International conferences. In addition I have organized 4 such major conferences and one more will be conducted shortly. I am a member of the editorial board for about 10 Intl journals and have reviewed a number technical papers submitted to such journals. I have been invited by different German agencies as a visiting Scientist, Visiting Professor on a continuous basis from 1992 till 2006, wherein, recognizing my contributions to teaching and research I was awarded the prestigious honorary doctorate by university of Wuppertal, Germany. I am the third recipient of this distinction over the span of about 40 years of the existence of the university. Apart from this, I have bagged about 10 awards. Recognizing my contributions to the field of Coastal Engineering, The International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research, IAHR, a worldwide independent organisation of engineers and water specialists working in fields related to the hydro-environmental sciences and their practical application founded in 1935 elected me as Chairman of its Asia Pacific division. I am the first Indian to occupy this position. The Erasmus Mundus Master Course in Coastal and Marine Engineering and Management,a consortium of five universities in Europe, funded by the European Commission and conducted for the students drawn from countries worldwide had selected me as a visiting professor for delivering lectures in Coastal Engineering in the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway during Aug-Nov 2011. The selection was from a stiff competition from experts worldwide.
INVOLVEMENT INFIELD RELATED PROBLEMS.
I have been involved in offering solutions to a variety of coastal/Ocean engineering related problems. Been instrumental also in the development of fishing harbours along our coast apart from offering solutions to coastal erosion problems. My significant contribution is the solution to the coastal erosion problem along the North of Chennai harbor that had been experiencing continuous erosion in spite of several other solutions that were offered over the last five decades. The solution of groin field adopted, not only solved the problem but has enhanced the formation of beach. Similarly the coastal protection measures suggested by me that has been implemented along the west coast of Tamilnadu had proved to be excellent buffers in reducing the impact of tsunami 2004. My role during the post tsunami is significant and worth mentioning. I delivered lectures all over to the media/ educational institutions/ and several other agencies and also conducted International and National workshops/seminars and conferences to highlight the mitigation measures for coastal hazards. Soon after the tsunami of 2004, I was entrusted The responsibility of preparing a “Master plan for coastal protection for the Tamilnadu” by Govt. of Tamilnadu. On seeing this report and on the request of Govt of Kerala, the other affected tsunami affected maritime state invited me to prepare a similar report which was complied with. Most of the solutions that were implemented so far have yielded fruitful outcome resulting in the enhancement of the livelihood of the coastal community. I continue to carry out teaching research and sponsored and consultancy projects realetd to coastal and Ocean engineering problems.
Ocean Dept.
Department of Ocean Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Chennai 600 036.
© 2014 Department of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras. Developed by Clusters World Site Visitors
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Our Acadian Heritage
HERITAGE MENU
Fisherman Were First
English Trouble
Fur Trading Survives
English Claim
Father/Son Conflict
Money Settles Dispute
Different Places
Governor Of Acadia
Battle For Control
La Tour Attack
First Families Settle
After d'Aulnay's Death
English Take Notice
Treaty Of Breda
First Families Of Acadia
1st Families Port Royal
Settlements Fall
Troops To Acadia
Governor Appearances
Fall Of Louisbourg
British Want New Oath
Turn Toward Expulsion
Scene Of Confusion
Acadian Lands Offered
Names Have Changed
Story Kept Alive
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Father And Son On Different Sides Of Conflict, For A While
One of the Frenchmen captured by the English at Gasp'e Bay was the Acadian Claude de La Tour. He had sailed back to France to find backing for himself and his son, Charles, in the Acadian venture that had fallen into his hands. In France, Claude made what he hoped to be a happy connection with Cardinal Richelieu's Company of New France and was on the way home with the good news when the Kirke brothers took him prisoner and sent him to England.
On his way to England, Claude made friends with his captors. By the time they reached London, Claude and the Kirkes were on such good terms that they introduced him to the English King Charles I. A the same time, Claude met one of the queen's attendants who quickly became his third wife.
That marriage may have helped Claude to decide to switch sides in the struggle for control of Acadia. He made a deal with Sir William Alexander, who held the English grant to the land. Claude would help Alexander establish a colony in Nova Scotia and would prevail upon his son to do the same. In exchange, they were to be given land there and were to be made Knights Baronet of Nova Scotia.
Claude thought he had joined up with the winning team and that he could influence his son to do the same. Events would eventually prove him wrong on both counts.
Claude sailed to Nova Scotia in 1629 with Alexander's eldest son, who was also named Sir William Alexander. There were two groups of settlers with them. One group, led by Claude and the young Alexander, settled on what would later be called the Allain River at a place they named Charlesfort. It was also called Scotch Fort, and was less than five miles from the all but abandoned French settlement of Port Royal. A second group, led by Lord Ochiltree, settled on Cape Breton Island at a place they called Baleine. Later, when the French built a fortress at the site, they called it Louisbourg.
Baleine would not last very long. In August 1629, Captain Charles Daniel, an officer of the Company of New France, set up a fort at St. Ann's Bay on Cape Breton Island, established a garrison of French soldiers there, and then marched against the Scotsmen. On September 18, he overran Baleine and captured everyone there.
But, with Claude de La Tour's help, the Scots were able to dig in at Charlesfort and to hold their ground. In recognition of his efforts, Claude and young Alexander signed an agreement at Charlesfort in October 1629 in which the La Tours, father and son, received a share of the fur trade and a strip of Nova Scotia's Atlantic coast. Claude went back to English in early 1630 and the grant was formally awarded to him by the senior Alexander on May 10, 1630, "upon condition that the said knight (Claude) de la Tour, and his said sonne, as he hath promised, and for his said sonne by these presents doth promise to be good and faithful vassals of the Sovereign lord the king of Scotland (who was Charles I of Great Britain)...and give unto him all obedience and assistance to reducing the people of the country."
Claude sailed back to Charlesfort in the spring of 1631. On his way, he stopped at Cape Sable to tell his son about the deal he had made for both of them.
There are several accounts of what happened next. Charles Mahaffie reports, "There are two reports of the father-son reunion....In his version published in 1632, (Samuel) Champlain says that Charles 'had not allowed himself to yield to the persuasion of his father, who was with the English; for he would rather have died than to consent to such baseness as to betray his king.' The other account is by a friend of Charles' named Nicolas Denys, who years later wrote a history of Acadia in which he relates Charles' response 'that he was under great obligation to the King of England for so much good will towards him, but that he had a master able to appreciate the loyalty which he owed to him, and that he could not deliver the place into their hands, nor accept any commission other than that which he held; and he thanked the King of England for the honor which was done him, but that he could not accept any rewards except from the King his master.'"
Some of the versions attribute Charles' refusal to loyalty to France. Most say it was simple pragmatism: He disagreed with his father about which side would ultimately win the struggle for control in Acadia.
According to several accounts, father and son took up arms against each other after Charles refused to go along with his father's deal. Those accounts say the Scots tried to force Charles from his stronghold at Cape Sable, but that he successfully resisted. Other accounts make no mention of fighting, saying only that when they were unable to persuade Charles to join with him, Claude and his Scotch friends boarded their ship and sailed on to Charlesfort.
Whether there was fighting or not, father and son reconciled some time before 1635. Denys reports that in that year Claude and his English wife were living at Cape Sable with Charles and, "very amply provided," they lived out their lives in a home that Charles built there for them.
By that time, Claude's dealings with the England had become moot, since Acadia was, at least for a time, back in the hands of the French.
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Queen Bee Floral Design
Order flowers and gifts from Queen Bee Floral Design located in Harrisburg PA for a birthday, anniversary, graduation or a funeral service. The address of the flower shop is 1011 N Mountain Rd, Harrisburg Pennsylvania 17112 Zip. The phone number is (717) 652-0222. We are committed to offer the most accurate information about Queen Bee Floral Design in Harrisburg PA. Please contact us if this listing needs to be updated. Queen Bee Floral Design delivers fresh flowers – order today.
1011 N Mountain Rd
Find Queen Bee Floral Design directions to 1011 N Mountain Rd in Harrisburg, PA (Zip 17112) on the Map. It's latitude and longitude coordinates are 40.336495, -76.791295 respectively.
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In full bloom: Hutchison family celebrates 50 years at Fisher's Florist
Tim noted that Fisher's Florist also sells silk arrangements, green potted plants and gift items like Keystone Candles, which are made in Harrisburg.Getting creativeStacy and Angie Biesecker arranged bouquets of colorful flowers for customers last week. Stacy finished up her arrangement filled with bright yellow daisies, vibrant purple carnations and elegant white roses.Both agreed they enjoy working with... (The Shippensburg News-Chronicle)
James M. Prencipe
James M. Prencipe, 87, passed away on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017 at the residence of his daughter and son-in-law in Harrisburg. He was born to the late John and Mary Piccirillo Prencipe in Ridgway, Pennsylvania, and was predeceased by his brothers, John and Anthony. James graduated from Ridgway High School. He earned a bachelor of science in education from Indiana State Teachers College, and a master's degree from University of Virginia. James was a gifted athlete, playing football and basketball in high school, football at Indiana, and semi-pro football for the Johnsonburg Shamrocks. His golfing romance began as a caddy at Elk County Country Club, and continued to blossom as a player and teacher of the game to many aspiring golfers. James was a proud veteran of the United States Army, serving as a captain in Germany during the Korean War, followed by many years of continued service as a reservist. James returned to his place of birth to teach high school science and chemistry, and coach football and basketball, shaping numerous young lives. He retired from the Ridgway Area School District after 38... (Gulf Coast News Today)
Flowers, Red Knights look for finish against Harrisburg
Reading Eagle: Natalie Kolb Reading High head coach Rob Flowers, on the losses to Harrisburg the last two seasons: "The common thread is we didn't finish, and they did, We have to make sure we finish." Friday September 9, 2016 12:01 AM After late losses in the last two meetings, Reading looks to play a full game A Reading Eagle subscription is required for unlimited access to readingeagle.com ... (Reading Eagle)
Royer's Flowers opens 16th store Tuesday
County. It also has stores in Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster and York counties. Its sister company Stephenson’s Flowers & Gifts has one Harrisburg store. Royer’s traces its roots to 1937 when Hannah Royer grew and sold African violets in Lebanon County. The company in 2009 expanded floral deliveries to Shippensburg for the first time. The company annually collects items for area food banks. In six years Royer’s Stems Hunger has collected nearly 12,000 pounds of food. The Chambersburg store, located off Norland Avenue, will be open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays; 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Jim Hook, 717-262-4759 Read or Share this story: http://ponews.co/2bU1RkT ... (Chambersburg Public Opinion)
Christine Flowers: After Newtown, nothing could ever be normal
I’m fair game in the comments section of this newspaper. After Newtown, I testified in Harrisburg about what I considered to be one overlooked aspect of the massacre: Mental illness. I told the House Committee on Human Services that we needed to balance the right to bear arms and the right to privacy against the rights of the community. It’s a very conservative position, although a lot of conservatives don’t think it is. There are those, for example, who are so wedded to the idea that the Second Amendment is absolute and cannot be tampered with that any divergence of thought, any disagreement, is considered heresy. I’m not the only one who has found that out. One of my political heroes also has experienced this fallout. His name is Pat Toomey, and as we all know, he is a Republican running for re-election to the U.S. Senate. I like Sen. Toomey for many reasons, some of which I’ve already expressed here, including his ability to compromise across the aisle on the issues of immigration and child welfare, and his strong support for unborn life, economic fairness and core family values. But the thing that makes me realize he is, truly, a profile in courage is his position on guns. For a man who has a perfect rating from the NRA, he is uniquely courageous in being able to support legislation that would make it impossible for terrorists to obtain guns, and has supported expanded background checks. His previous work with Sen. Joe Manchin, a blue-dog Democrat from West Virginia, was hailed by many on both sides of the aisle as the kind of legislative compromise that serves people, not agendas. A lot of people are annoyed about Toomey’s support for both background checks and banning terrorists from obtaining guns. They rail on about due process concerns, which is a term that people throw around without really knowing what it means. It means that there has to be an orderly, equitable process for depriving or limiting your right to something in the Constitution. And while there is indeed a “right” to bear arms, that is not absolute. While there might be a problem with determining just who is a terrorist, who can’t fly on a plane, and who should be flagged as a terror threat, it’s ridiculous to start pointing fingers when, damn it, national security is at least as important as someone’s ability to buy a Smith and Wesson or an Uzi. Let’s make sure the wrong people aren’t being tagged as criminals and terrorists, but let’s not stonewall legitimate legislation because of our misplaced fears of a rapacious government. The irony in all of this is that conservatives who strongly support Second Amendment rights sound an awful lot like the progressives who will be voting for Toomey’s challenger, Katie McGinty. They may not be coming at it from the same direction, but they have targeted a man who has struck exactly the correct balance between the constitutional right to bear arms, and the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness enunciated in the Declaration of Independence. Of course, there will continue to be pushback, and hate mail. There will be criticism from the right that he’s impinging on the right to own a gun, and from the left that he’s an uncaring conservative in liberal sheep’s clothing. But to those of us who know what really matters, including the parents of murdered first-graders who have honored him, it doesn’t matter. After Newtown, it’s all just noise. Christine Flowers is an attorney and Delaware County resident. Her column appears every Sunday. Email her at cflowers1961@gmail.com. (The Delaware County Daily Times)
Royer's Flowers's annual food drive benefits Central PA Food Bank
Therapy Institute outpatient centers: 120 N. Baltimore St., Dillsburg; 3399 Trindle Road, 2nd Floor, Camp Hill; 450 Powers Ave., Lower Level, Harrisburg; 5000 Commons Drive, Harrisburg; 5108 E. Trindle Road, Suite 200, Mechanicsburg. Royer’s Stems Hunger benefits the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and the Greater Berks Food Bank. Share this: Like this: Like Loading... Related Posts Advertisement ... (abc27)
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FIRST LOOK: Check out Arseface – yes, really – from the upcoming Preacher TV Show
March 26th, 2016 by Marc Comments
With the Preacher TV Series Pilot being so well received last week, we’re getting more and more excited to see the adventures of Jesse Custer on the screen over the run of the ten-part series.
And just today, we’ve been given an image (below)of one of the comic’s most iconic characters: Arseface.
Eugene “Arseface” Root (Ian Colletti) in the comics tries to kill himself but is, instead, left with a disfigured face (above). Eugene also happens to be a really lovely kid.
The show’s producer, Seth Rogan, said during the SXSW panel and screening of the pilot: “We could never afford that in CGI – it’s a prosthetic rig. That poor little f—er has to wear that s–t on his face. He has a positive attitude about it, but I know it f—ing sucks,” Rogen laughed, praising Colletti’s performance. “He can emote a lot even with the thing on his face.”
a boy whose failed suicide attempt leaves him with a severely disfigured face, but doesn’t stop him from being the nicest kid you’ll ever meet. Eugene idolizes local preacher Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper), but remains troubled by something he did in the past, which he fears has turned God against him.
We know he’s not exactly as he looks in comics but it’s unmistakeable who he is and, for a TV show, we’re pretty excited with how far they are pushing his appearance.
Let us know your thoughts, folks.
The series is a supernatural, twisted and darkly comedic drama that follows a West Texas preacher named Jesse Custer, who is inhabited by a mysterious entity that causes him to develop a highly unusual power. Jesse, his badass ex-girlfriend Tulip (Ruth Negga) and an Irish vagabond named Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) come together and when they do, they are thrust into a crazy world populated by a cast of characters from Heaven, Hell and everywhere in between. The series also stars Lucy Griffiths as Emily, W. Earl Brown as Sherriff Root, Anatol Yusef as DeBlanc, Tom Brooke as Fiore and Derek Wilson as Donnie Schenck.
“Preacher” premieres” Sunday, May 22nd at 10 p.m. on AMC.
Tags: AMC, arseface, dc comics, Preacher, Vertigo
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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Home/FIFA LEAGUES/CUPS/Liverpool squad’s determination to win silverware highlighted by forward-looking approach
Liverpool squad’s determination to win silverware highlighted by forward-looking approach
Liverpool might have just finished their Premier League season, but the players’ minds are already focused on the upcoming Champions League final.
One more chance to end the campaign on a major high presents itself on 1 June, as the Reds face Tottenham in the Champions League final.
It’s a second successive appearance at this stage for Jurgen Klopp‘s team and the boss and players are fully deserving of silverware—but it will still take an almighty effort to lift the trophy, given Spurs are formidable domestic opponents.
But the squad are confident, as they might be, and a couple of key players have spoken about how their thoughts are already turning to the all-important 90 minutes in Madrid.
Andy Robertson limped off at the break in the semi-final second leg, and told the club website that his injury isn’t entirely cleared up, but he—and his team-mates—have been desperate to contribute whenever possible.
“It wasn’t the best on Sunday and I could feel it during the game, but I wanted to play and was desperate to get out there.
“The adrenaline kept me going and the fact a lot of us have played through pain, not just me. Luckily now we’ve got a couple of weeks to recover and get our bodies right – and we’ll know we’ll be as fresh as we can be going into the final.”
With the final in Madrid creeping closer, Robertson has acknowledged his form has been largely impressive up to now, but there’s one big display still needed.
The Reds’ full-backs have been key in both halves of the pitch this season and they’re sure to be called upon as usual against Spurs.
“[This season] was about me finding that level and showing I can be consistently good – and I think I’ve managed to do that.
“This season was big for me, I’ve managed to kick on and I’ve got a few years left in me, so hopefully I can take it into next season. Hopefully there’s one good performance left in me this season, then I’ll rest and then be fully concentrated on trying to put in the same performances next season and get the same kind of results.
“We can’t look back on good memories quite just yet, but time is the best healer; the last couple of days have been tough, but when we look back in the summer I am sure we’ll be looking back on a fantastic season.
“We still have one more big game, but the Premier League season has come to an end and it was disappointing because we didn’t achieve what we wanted to achieve, but with the points tally and the way we went about our business, I think we can be proud of that.”
When Robertson exited the pitch against Barca, it was midfielder Gini Wijnaldum who came on to take his place in game-changing fashion.
Gini scored twice to help seal a remarkable turnaround and he’ll be hopeful of winning a place in the starting XI in the final as a result.
The No. 5 said that usually the team would have a trophy in the bag already, given their Premier League exploits, but now the only challenge which matters is to ensure the season finishes on a deserved high.
“97 points, we’d normally be champion with. But in this case, City had one point more and they turned champions. Overall, I think we had a good season and now is the challenge to finish with a title to make the season complete.
“It would be really sad if we finish the season without a title, especially because I think we were quite consistent this season and we did so good.
“I think this season deserves one.
“The last couple of games were basically games where we could only win and look at what City were doing. They won also, so fair enough that they are champions.
“But now we have a game that we can control, so we have to bring that to a good end.
“It would be really special, especially because this season deserves an end like that. We’re going to do everything to bring it to that end, but it’s going to be tough.”
After the disappointment of the final day of the league campaign, it’s good to see the squad remains positive and determined—and they certainly have proven they have the quality to win the final this time around.
approach determination forwardlooking highlighted Liverpool silverware squads win
Heung-min Son's adorable scenes with his Tottenham team-mate's kids
Jack Grealish backs Aston Villa to get the job done at Wembley this time
Jurgen Klopp explains lack of urgency over contract extension & why he ‘can’t imagine leaving Liverpool’
How being a ‘city of solidarity’ helped Liverpool triumph on Anfield’s greatest-ever night
Krystian Bielik to leave Arsenal this month/Not in Emery’s plans
Jean Michel Seri departs Fulham for Galatasaray
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A Night at the US Open 2016
Arthur Ashe Stadium on September 1, 2016.
It was another wonderful time at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens for Round 2 of the US Open 2016. I went to an evening session like I did in 2014 and this time the two matches I saw were Serena Williams (six-time US Open women’s champion) versus Vania King, and Juan Martín del Potro (the 2009 US Open men’s champion) versus Steve Johnson.
A Honey Deuce cocktail.
I like the energy of the evening sessions plus the cooler temperatures and the fact that the sun has gone down so you don’t have to worry about getting a sunburn. Before heading to Arthur Ashe Stadium for the matches I made sure to swing by the Grey Goose bar to try a Honey Deuce, the signature cocktail of the US Open, made with Grey Goose vodka (naturally), lemonade, and Chambord. Each drink is topped with honeydew melons shaped like tennis balls and the reusable cup lists the names of past champions on both the men’s and women’s sides going back to 1968. It’s a refreshing drink and I highly recommend it. I found several recipes online if you want to make one at home yourself! Here is one I found on the Town & Country website, with a backstory of when and how the drink was created.
The new roof at Ashe Stadium. It was closed for the Serena Williams match.
Because it had been raining for most of the day the new roof at Ashe was closed. It feels like quite the party inside when they get the steam machines, disco lights, and music going. One song played during changeover was “Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé, featuring Jay Z. Serena was seen on the Jumbotron smirking when she heard it and the reason why was revealed seconds later when the camera showed Beyoncé and Jay Z were both in the audience! Cue the crowd cheering and applauding because that’s what happened.
I wanted to see if I could find Beyoncé without having a cameraman do it for me and sure enough, I spotted her. I did it by first finding Serena’s mother, Oracene, who always wears a hat. Once I found her, I saw Beyoncé one row behind her!
Beyoncé in the third row on the right. Serena’s mother Oracene is the lady in the center in a hat!
Beyoncé smiling as she hears her own song being played! Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images.
Serena awaits Vania’s serve.
Serena was dominant from start to finish against Vania. You won’t be surprised to learn that she won in straight sets, in just over an hour. What I was surprised by was how many people left as soon as the match was over, Beyoncé included!
I like Serena’s evening session look! Photo by Mike Hewitt.
Serena being interviewed by Pam Shriver after her win.
I stuck around for the second match between Juan Martín del Potro, from Argentina, affectionately known as Delpo, and the American Steve Johnson. Prior to the match, an announcer said the roof would be opening. There was a countdown clock before it happened and music played and lights flashed as the panels separated. It took about five minutes. The roof makes it very loud in the stadium when it’s closed and the noisiness is only a little better when it’s opened. The chair umpires kept asking the crowd during both games to settle down and be quiet between points! The roof does cut down on the breeze in Ashe, which I was glad about since last time I went it was so windy that I was freezing.
Everyone was taking pictures of the roof as it opened, myself included!
Before the start of the second match the roof was opened with great fanfare.
Steve Johnson vs. Martín Del Potro (in black and yellow).
The match between Delpo and Johnson was longer but Delpo was ultimately victorious and took the match in straight sets. Delpo just won the silver medal at the Rio Olympics and has been trying to make a comeback after multiple wrist surgeries the past few years. I don’t know if he will take it all the way like he did in 2009 but so far he’s made it to the quarterfinals, where he will play Stan Wawrinka. I am happy to see him doing so well—he is talented and humble, 6’6, and very easy on the eyes!
Delpo won in straight sets. Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images.
Apparently not that many tennis fans are into Delpo, judging by the number of empty seats by the end of the match. My son and I were literally the only people in our section by the end of the night and had the place to ourselves. I hope if Delpo makes gets to the semi-finals, things will change. Who doesn’t love a good comeback story?!
Delpo after his win. Look at the empty seats!
Let me know if you have either attended the US Open this year or been following along on TV. Who do you think will win for the women or the men?
GSL said...
I'll be pulling for Andy Murray and with Serena so dominant and Sharapova out over PEDs, the women hold no interest and I've always said that women are more interesting athletically in tennis, gymnastics, and figure skating.
Hi there GSL, I am pulling for Andy too. I would love to see him win again. If Serena is on her game I expect she will win her 7th title but if it's not her, my money is on Angelique Kerber. The two of them played the highest quality women's final I have ever seen at Wimbledon in July. Serena certainly earned that win and had to battle for every point. Great post on Edith Wharton, btw, maybe I will re-read one of her novels this fall. xx
Rosemary Nardone said...
Nice post. I attended the tournament for many years, last one being in 2011. It just seemed to be so over crowded and I wasn't enjoying as much as I used to. The night matches are the best, and most relaxing. I like watching in Armstrong or the old Grandstand much more close to the action. I would like to get back for a day or two and see all the changes they have made to the site. Sad to see Murray lose as now I have no favorites left. Rafa was my other who lost way too soon.
Hi Rosemary, I think you will like the changes made to the entire complex if you ever go back. It seemed a lot roomier to me. I know they are tearing down Armstrong after this tournament. I am listening to the men's final as I type this and Stan is up on Novak. I hope he can clinch it for his first US Open title!
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Give Me My Remote > Finding Carter > FINDING CARTER: Anna Jacoby-Heron and Terri Minsky Talk Season 1
FINDING CARTER: Anna Jacoby-Heron and Terri Minsky Talk Season 1
August 5, 2014 by Marisa Roffman
FINDING CARTER’s first season has explored the journey of Carter Stevens’ reunion with her biological family, and the struggles everyone has dealt with in the aftermath.
I sat down with FINDING CARTER showrunner Terri Minsky and series star Anna Jacoby-Heron (Taylor) to talk about the show, and what’s to come…
Twins often have similar mannerisms, even if they don’t grow up together. Anna, have you and Kathryn Prescott (Carter) gotten together to work on the physicality of the twins?
Anna Jacoby-Heron: Not really. We have this weird kind of synchronicity about us. When we went in to do the chemistry read, we both sat down and crossed our legs at the same time and did something with our hands, and it was weird.
Terri Minsky: It was definitely weird.
AJH: So I think it kind of happens naturally.
Did you look for those moments to write to that, Terri?
TM: that would have been really smart. As you say that, I’m thinking, “No, but I should have.” They do have a natural — they do play twins. There have been a number of people who commented, “Why not just get Kat’s actual twin?” Because we’re not doing THE PARENT TRAP. We didn’t want to be like, “Who is going to go out with Gabe this week?” What we liked is that were similarities to them, but also an opposite quality — I don’t get to spend enough time with them, but the time I do spend with [Anna], I realize she’s so much cooler than anyone I know. [Laughs] And I’m writing her as this complete straight-laced [girl]. And she’s so convincing, I keep thinking to myself, “Oh, I hope Anna is happy I gave her this cute boyfriend.” And meanwhile [she] probably has this cute boyfriend. [to Anna] You don’t need me!
For me, writing for Taylor is like writing my fantasy of what my life would have been like, but what I think [Anna’s] life is actually like. But I don’t know. That’s the thing: I don’t get to spend enough time with her. I just think that the two of them together, they have a natural affinity that I feel lucky, but I have not in any way written to it.
What can you say about Taylor’s journey in season 1?
AJH: I think one of the things I love most about Taylor is her arc throughout the first season. She has so many changes — when you meet her, she’s the polar opposite at the end of the season. You see [the twins] start to intermix their personalities and their qualities.
TM: By episode 10, Taylor is a completely different person. A completely different person. And you just think, “Where was all of that? That must have been completely condensed down and buried.” I think of her as an exploding character. Everything that’s happening to her as a result of Carter coming back is larger than it would have been if she had lived her life without that consciousness that she was trying to fill a hole created [by the loss of her twin].
At what point will Carter start to process that the woman she thought was her mother lied to her for most of her life?
TM: Their birthday. I think of that as being the episode that Carter’s perception, [the twins’] relationship, just her identity of which family she’s a part of, is addressed.
How is Taylor handling her first shared birthday in years?
AJH: It’s kind of emotional. I don’t want to give too much away!
TM: You have to figure that her birthday was actually a day of mourning in the past.
AJH: It’s the first time — it’s a line she says: “I’ve always dreaded my birthday. It was always the worst day of the year.” And it’s the first time she’s celebrated her birthday since she was three.
What can you say about the family’s evolution throughout season 1, especially with the book about Carter’s return looming in the background?
TM: I feel like there are all kinds of competing stories: obviously there is Carter and her two mothers. One of them she won’t even acknowledge as a mother. And then there’s the boys — we have Gabe and we have Max, and we have two sisters who have completely different experiences with both of them. I also feel…I always want there to feel like a tug of war, as a writer, that should be happening. Everyone should have something that is pulling them in the opposite direction. And that’s sort of what I went for in every story: you would feel conflict, constantly.
When Taylor finds out about her mother’s affair and that her father is writing this book, how will she handle the newest bombshells in her life?
AJH: She handles it — it’s insane how much she takes on when she’s this young. I think she’s a really strong person, and she handles it the best way she knows how to. Sometimes it works out.
TM: I think the thing about Taylor is she doesn’t have that much experience, but she has a very instinctive way about responding, which for me, has been really interesting. It’s different than Carter’s, but it’s no less strong. There’s a strong moral center that has guided her all her life, which is totally being tested, and I just like the fact that what she does with it, how she avoids [things], and when it works and when it doesn’t.
During the TCA panel, there was the tease that Lori’s motivation/backstory for kidnapping Carter made people cry. How will those reveals play out this season?
TM: People are responding to the abduction story with, “Ooh, we like the kidnapper better than the mother.” If you really step back, step back and think for a moment, you go, “So, this is a person who took a twin. And forget that she disrupted the life of an entire family — which she did — she took one half of an entity.” And to never let the mother know, “Your daughter is safe, your daughter is alive, your daughter is happy.” As a woman to never give a mother that kind of relief, I think that’s very dark.
I think the answer to the question, “Why did she take that one? Why? Was that deliberate? Was it arbitrary? Could Taylor have lived Carter’s life?” It’s kind of that feeling that there are a lot of stories — and a lot of people — that abduction story is going to affect. But the story itself — when we know the story — is going to shed light on the entire family in a different way. You’re going to understand this family in an entirely different way because of the abduction.
Does Taylor ever indulge in the “what if” of her life — what if she had been the one taken instead of Carter, what if they had been taken together, etc?
AJH: I think when she’s back with her sister, she’s thinking about the person her sister is now, in front of her. How that is. She gets concerned later, but [in the present time] she’s more about, “I have to pay attention to the person in front of me.”
TM: She’s had to adjust her entire life, so I don’t think she indulges in hypotheticals. To me, Taylor is the girl that always had the ultimate essay to write on her college application — her whole identity was put into place at three, and no one else can write that essay. But it’s all sort of screwed up when the sister comes back. Everything she thought she knew about herself is basically useless.
Will we find out the motivations for the kidnapping before season 1 ends? Or is this going to be a long-term question?
TM: It’s not going to be by the end of season 1. It’s not going to be LOST, where suddenly there’s a polar bear. But I have this one story, and I don’t want to give it away all at once. So I couldn’t actually say, “It’s a four season arc”; I have no idea, actually. I know what the thing is you find out at the end of season 1, but I don’t know how much longer it’s a secret, or when you reveal it and you move on from there. The idea is, I think, ideally for a backstory, it gives you forward story. It’s not just something that happened that we need to find out — when we know, it moves the characters in a different direction.
FINDING CARTER airs Tuesdays at 9 PM on MTV.
MTV Picks Up FINDING CARTER to Series
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FINDING CARTER Season 2 Trailer
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Main Title/Infinite Space [7:17]
The Cell [5:49]
Cellular Blur [4:31]
Descent [5:03]
Transitional Pathway [5:25]
Amalgamated Man [8:02]
The Harrow [7:26]
Disintegration [3:48]
End Titles [4:58]
Zoetrope Trailer V.3 [3:28]
First 3,000 in 6 Page Digipak.
Also including Zoetrope trailer video playable on Mac & PC.
Note that to achieve the best sound quality possible this album was mixed using 24 BIT digital technology and additionally mastered using 32 BIT technology. The result is truly amazing for the Compact Disc format and is close to DVD Audio and SACD sound quality standards, and is of true reference quality!
Press Information I first listened to this latest piece of work by Brian Williams late at night, after I had just been wandering at a abandoned factory area in Eastern Germany. That really put me in the right mood for this music. It stimulated my fantasy to think of what scenes would be happening behind these deserted factory walls at night...
That this cd has filmic qualities is not so strange, because it is in fact a soundscape. Lustmord has contributed music to movies before, this time he created the soundtrack for the black & white movie "Zoetrope", directed by Charlie Deaux. 'Inspired by the Franz Kafka short story In the Penal Colony, Zoetrope presents the haunting examination of a man imprisoned in the inner depths of his own mind, only to discover the truth about himself and the world of oppression which has driven him to his inescapable fate.'
The trailer, which can be found on the cd as an extra, really is promising and frightening. A lot of industrial machinery, long shadows, weird estranging scenes...
This album is much darker than the previous Lustmord album "Metavoid". There are no beats or melodies, just ominous soundscapes, with dark drones and strange samples that give you an uneasy feel. Although the album consists of separate tracks, it seems to be a continuous dark flow, with not too much variation in style or mood. The album is one long oppressive stream of dark sounds, which creates a feeling of paranoia. If you are in the right mood, this can be a perfect soundtrack to accompany your imagination. But you may get bad dreams...
2002. HD Lets start with track one "Infinite Space". Extremely atmospheric, sounds of wind and sounds of that chanting from the monolith scene from 2001 "A Space Odyssey". This metallic sound comes in sounding like a futuristic blade cutting through the atmosphere. All this mixed with sounds of bombs going off and that pool table reverb sound from "Stalker" (An earlier Lustmord work in collaboration with the well respected Robert Rich). The pallet is one of completely black backgrounds. "Zoetrope" is definitely more than "just music". It's an experience. The level of trance that get inflicted upon the listener is like no other.
This album is extremely heavy in the low frequencies. Track two starts off with some sound of a door opening and then shut. But this door is 500 feet tall and 10 feet thick made of steel. And believe me you can feel this door shutting. The sounds of dripping water and demonic whispers engulf the listener into a psychotic state. The rumbling of some kind of craft is projected within this track. The cd comes in a beautiful digipak which shows scenes from the film "Zoetrope". Also included is the Zoetrope trailer in a digital video file playable with both the PC and Mac platforms. The album is complete madness. I can't explain the feeling into words.
Track 3 "Cellular Blur" opens up with this low frequency sweep and the sound of another kind of craft. This time it sounds like a smaller craft (I haven't seen the film yet, and don't know what its about, therefore I am just explaining how it sounds to me). There is a bomb or some kind of gunshot that goes off and this then brings the listener to another soundscape within the track. On the back of the cd it states that the project was done in 24 bit through the mixing and mastering process. It definitely sounds better than previous Lustmord material, even Metavoid.
The fourth and final track I will talk about is "Descent". This piece sounds like its title. It is utterly dark and atmospheric, with grinding loops and sounds of some breathing moving quickly to an staggering ambient drone. Explosions and metallic sound sculptures are present here as well.
There are also six more tracks on the album and they are all brilliant masterpieces of sound. I can only wish to see this film to absorb what kind of brilliant minds have created such works of art. This is all I am going to say about this album.
You have to get this if you are a Lustmord fan, and most of you probably have this album already. The level of fear and astonishment one gets from this album is unmatched.
Lustmord is unique and rare in this world. It is extremely recommended, as is "Metavoid", "Stalker" and "The Place Where the Black Stars Hang".
2002. bullethead I am listening to this Cd for the first time as I type this...dark ambient is used to describe much electronic music such as The Magnificent Void by Steve Roach and Beyond The Immobile Point by Max Corbacho. Much dark ambient may sound like the bottomless abyss or the depths of interstellar space but they carry the awesome beauty of these places.
Even Stalker - Lustmord and Robert Rich, described as dark and scary stuff is beautiful and relaxing.
Zoetrope is not any of this. It conveys absolute desolation that somehow takes a barren and infinite wilderness and fills it with the terror of isolation and pain. It reminds me of the planet in the Alien film leading up to the egg nursery. Dark, weird and claustrophobic. it reminds me of the film Eraserhead, bleak and industrial while creating mental nightmares. Eraserhead is at least surreal and 'funny'. This isn't....
I have yet to hear a single musical 'note'. There is lots of deep, deep rumblings, industrial hisses, buzzes and strange cacophonic conglomerations that almost become rhythms but lay under and distort the other noises. The noises and subrhythms shift and change, starting and stopping without warning. There is the sound of water dripping and the reverb seems to go on forever (a soundproof room would really suit this CD). The sounds are crafted in such a way that just as you 'get into' a bit of it (as the brain seems to like to do)they stop or change adding to the sense of disorientation. The only music appears at track nine which is the end title for the film.
I listened to this after watching the trailer on my computer. perhaps without seeing the trailer my imagination would have done something different but I found myself constantly trying to imagine how the sounds fitted the action in the film, what on earth (or any other place) was being done to the guy!!. My imagination ran riot and it wasn't pleasant.
It is not music for dinner parties or tapping toes to, it is hard to imaging anyone having a conversation with this music playing in the background. I rate this alongside Irrlicht by Klaus Schulze, Music that demands your attention - you'll either love it or hate it. I love it. Got to see the film.
Next day my grandson visited (aged 12) and he is often intrigued by the music I listen to. I put Zoetrope on and asked him what the music made him feel. For the first track he said "It makes me feel like I am flying through something, in a sort of dream" and for the second track "It sounds like being in prison and having something weird done to you". That follows the images of the trailer on the Cd very well (whirly thing flying across the screen and the guy in the cell), and I promise I did not show it to him...So the music creates the feelings that the images portray! That's an achievement!
2004. Andy / Wales
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Your Book Saved My Life, Mister
ALL OF MY BOOKS, including Wagons Westward!!! Hiiiii-YAW and Ck-ck Giddup Beauty! C’mon Big Girl, Awaaaaayy! and Pa! Look Out! It’s—Aiiiiieee!, have been difficult for my readers, I guess, judging from their reactions when they see me shopping at Val-Mar or sitting in the Quad County Library & Media Center. After a rough morning at the keyboard, I sort of like to slip into my black leather vest, big white hat, and red kerchief, same as in the book-jacket photos, and saunter up and down the aisle by the fruit and other perishable items and let my fans have the thrill of running into me, and if nobody does I park myself at a table dead smack in front of the Western-adventure shelf in Quad County’s fiction department, lean back, plant my big boots on the table, and prepare to endure the terrible price of celebrity, but it’s not uncommon for a reader to come by, glance down, and say, “Aren’t you Dusty Pages, the author of Ck-ck Giddup Beauty! C’mon Big Girl, Awaaaaayy!” and when I look down and blush and say, “Well, yes, ma’am, I reckon I am him,” she says, “I thought so. You look just like him.” Then an awful silence while she studies the shelf and selects Ray A. James, Jr., or Chuck Young or another of my rivals. It’s a painful moment for an author, the reader two feet away and moments passing during which she does not say, “Your books have meant so much to me,” or “I can’t tell you how much I admire your work.” She just reaches past the author like he was a sack of potatoes and chooses a book by somebody else. Same thing happens with men. They say, “You’re an author, aren’tcha? I read a book of yours once, what was the name of it?”
I try to be helpful. “Could it have been Wagons Westward!!! Hiiiii- YAW!”
“No, it had someone’s name in the title.”
“Well, I wrote a book entitled Pa! Look Out! It’ s—Aiiiiieee!”
“No, I think it had the name of a horse.”
“Could it have been Ck-ck Giddup Beauty! C’mon Big Girl, Awaaaaayy!”
“That’s the one. Did you write that?”
“Yes, sir, I did.”
“Huh. I thought so.”
And right there you brace yourself for him to say, “Y’know, I never was one for books and then my brother gave me yours for Christmas and I said, ‘Naw, I don’t read books, Craig, you know that,’ and he said, ‘But this is different, Jim Earl, read this, this isn’t the girls’ literature they stuffed down our throats in high school, this is the real potatoes,’ so I read it and by George I couldn’t put the sucker down, I ran out and did the chores and tore out and back in the pickup to check on those dogies and I read for two days and two nights without a minute of shuteye. Your book changed my life, mister. I’m glad I got a chance to tell you that. You cleared up a bunch of stuff that has bothered me for years—you took something that had been inside me and you put it into words so I could feel, I donno, not so weird, feel sorta like understood, y’might say. That was me you put in that book of yours, mister. That was my life you wrote about there, and I want to say thanks. Just remember, anytime you’re ever in Big Junction, Wyoming, you got a friend there name o’ Jim Earl Wilcox”—but instead he says, “You wouldn’t know where the little boys’ room is, wouldja?,” as if I were a library employee and not a book author. So it’s clear to me that when people read my books they like me a little less at the end than at the beginning. My fourth book, Company A, Chaaaaaaarge!, is evidently the worst. Nobody bought it at all.
I know what it’s like to be disappointed by a hero. You think I don’t know? Believe me, I know. I met my idol, Smokey W. Kaiser, when I was twelve. I’d read everyone of his books twice—the Curly Bob and Lefty Slim series, the Lazy A Gang series, the Powder River Hank series—and I had waited outside the YMCA in Des Moines for three hours while he regaled the Rotary with humorous anecdotes, and when he emerged at the side door, a fat man in tight green pants tucked into silver-studded boots, he looked down and growled, “I don’t sign pieces of paper, kid. I sign books. No paper. You want my autograph, you can buy a book. That’s a rule of mine. Don’t waste my time and I won’t waste yours.”
Smokey’s problem was that he was a jerk, but mine is that I get halfway through a story and everything goes to pieces. In Wagons Westward!!! Hiiiii-YAW! the pioneers reach Council Bluffs, having endured two hundred solid pages of Indian attacks, smallpox, cattle stampedes, thirst, terror, bitter backbiting, scattered atheism, and adulterous inclinations, and then they sit on the bluffs and have a meeting to decide whether they really want to forge onward to Oregon or whether maybe they should head east toward Oak Park or Evanston instead. Buck Bradley, the tall, taciturn, sandy-haired, God-fearing man who led them through the rough stuff, stands up and says, “Well, it’s up to the rest of you. Makes no nevermind to yours truly, I could go either way and be happy—west, south, you name it. I don’t need to go west or anything. You choose. I’ll go along with whatever.”
I don’t know. I wrote that scene the way I heard it in my head but now I see it in print, it looks dumb. I can certainly see why it would throw a reader, same as in Giddup Beauty! C’mon Big Girl, Awaaaaayy!, when Buck rides two thousand miles across blazing deserts searching for Julie Ann and finally, after killing twenty men and wearing out three mounts and surviving two avalanches, a prairie fire, a blizzard, and a passel of varmints, he finds her held captive by the bloodthirsty Arapaho. “So, how are you doing?” he asks her. “Oh, all right, I guess,” she says, gazing up at him, wiping the sweat from her brow. “You want to come in for a cup of coffee?” “Naw, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You look okay.” “Yeah, I lost some weight, about twenty pounds.” “Oh, really. How?” “Eating toads and grasshoppers.” “Uh-huh. Well, now that I look at you, you do look lighter.” “Sure you won’t have coffee?” “Naw, I gotta ride. Be seein’ ya, now.” “Okay, bye!” To me it seemed more realistic that way, but maybe to the guy reader it sounded sort of unfocused or something. I don’t know. Guys have always been a tough audience for me. The other day a guy grabbed my arm in the Quad County and said, “Hey, Dusty! Dusty Pages! That right? Am I right or am I right?”
“Both,” I said.
“Mister,” he said, “your book saved my life. My brother gave it to me and said, ‘Buck, read this sometime when you’re sober,’ and I put it in my pocket and didn’t think about it until, October, I was elk hunting up in the Big Coulee country, other side of the Little Crazy River, and suddenly wham it felt like somebody swung a bat and hit me in the left nipple. I fell over and lay there and, doggone it, I felt around and didn’t find blood—I go ‘Huh???????’ Well, it was your book in my jacket pocket saved my life—bullet tore through the first half of it, stopping at page 143. So, by Jim, I thought, ‘This is too crazy, I got to read this,’ and I started to read and I couldn’t believe it. That was me in the book—my life, my thoughts, it was weird. Names, dates, places—it was my life down to the last detail, except for the beer. I don’t drink Coors. The rest you got right. Here.” And he slipped an envelope into my hand. “This is for you,” he said.
It was a subpoena to appear in U.S. District Court the 27th of November to defend myself in a civil suit for wrongful misuse of the life of another for literary gain. I appeared and I tried to defend, but I lost. My attorney, a very, very nice man named Howard Furst, was simply outgunned by three tall ferret-faced bushwhackers in black pinstripes who flew in from Houston and tore him limb from limb in two and a half hours in that cold windy courtroom. They and their client, Buck Bradley, toted away three saddlebags full of my bank account, leaving me with nothing except this latest book. It’s the first in a new series, the Lonesome Bud series, called The Case of the Black Mesa, and it begins with a snake biting Bud in the wrist as he hangs from a cliff while Navajo shoot flaming arrows at him from below and a torrent of sharp gravel showers down on his old bald head. From there to the end, it never lets up, except maybe in Chapter 4, where he and the boys shop for bunk beds. I don’t know what I had in mind there at all.
Garrison's weekly columns
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The pleasure of running into Stan on Sunday
I stopped in a cafe on Sunday after church to get awakened from a feeling of blessedness and who should I run into but my Anoka High School gym teacher Stan Nelson, who is 99 years old and still talking and making sense. He looked at me and said, “Are you still having trouble with chin-ups and the rope climb?” I was 17 at the time and now I’m 76, and I told him that I’ve managed to stay out of situations that might require me to climb a rope or lift myself up by a horizontal bar, so the answer is, No, it’s no trouble at all.
“You’re looking good,” he said. He’s looking good too, hearty and keen, as if 99 is what he was aiming for all along. “You flunked the physical for football, didn’t you,” he said. I said, “Yes. Heart valve. They fixed it in 2001.” I opened my shirt and showed him the surgical scar on my sternum. He said he didn’t think I would’ve liked football anyway. I agreed with him about that.
It made me happy to see a man of 99 enjoying his life. It puts everything else into perspective, all the mopey poetry I wrote in college, the long single-spaced anguished letters written to friends under the influence of Kafka and Kierkegaard. Self-conscious misery is for the young; old age is the time to cheer up.
I was brought up by people who went through the Great Depression and the war and who told me how hard life could be and I matriculated into prosperous times when I put myself through college working part-time in the scullery and could still have a beer now and then. I’ve been independent ever since. I never confided my problems to anybody; I just let them go unexpressed and eventually they blew away like dry leaves. Or they became quirks. I was lucky. I married well. I got my heart sewn up by a surgeon and now I’m older than most of my aunts and uncles. I went to church and was forgiven and took Communion and now my old gym teacher is pleased to see me.
Minneapolis is near where I grew up on the Mississippi. The city has risen, spread, renovated, beautified itself since I was a boy — the old factories and warehouses are now expensive condos — and it’s lovely to walk around the old hometown, one foot in the past, while looking at the unimaginable present, the enormous towers, the male couples, the young women checking their cellphones, the ordinariness of being among people of color: that didn’t exist back then.
I’m at peace with all of it and a great deal more. The children of my friends are engaged in good works, trying to help people addicted to opioids and heroin whose lives have fallen apart, who live in ragged encampments, desperate families with small children, a scene of wretchedness out of Dickens’s Oliver Twist in the midst of my prospering city. I admire the doers of good works. I worry that they’ll forget to go to the state fair and ride the Ferris wheel in the dark and laugh and enjoy their cheese curds.
Life is good. Power and influence are illusory. Rich people often get lousy health care. Doctors don’t give thorough digital prostate exams to CEOs. Famous people are more likely to die in stupid accidents because their handlers are afraid to say, “Stop. That’s crazy.”
We live in treacherous times but so did Thomas Keillor who survived the five week voyage from Yorkshire in 1774 and my ancestor Prudence Crandall who got booted out of Connecticut in 1831 for admitting young women of color to her school and so she fled to Kansas where she campaigned for women’s suffrage. She was a Methodist. I like to imagine her sitting on a porch in Kansas, writing fierce polemics against male supremacy and the racist killjoys who blight the landscape, and at the same time enjoying the music of meadowlarks and the taste of tomatoes eaten off the vine and the pleasure of shade in the midst of brilliance. To change the world, you must start out by loving it. It’s fine to march but don’t forget to dance. The Lord is gracious. Come unto his gates with thanksgiving. In other words, get over yourself. It isn’t about you. Grab the rope and pull yourself up. Try. Try again.
When I consider how my time is spent
A mockingbird couple has set up housekeeping in a tree in our backyard and the male goes crazy whenever we set foot in his territory, which I guess means that their children have hatched and are at that perilous point in life when you’re about to fly. When we slip out back for supper, he shrieks at us from the corner of the yard, far from the nest, and flies from branch to branch to fence, cursing us, threatening to peck our eyes out. He’s a good father. The mother stays on the nest and he exercises his toxic mockingbird masculinity and yells bloody murder.
It’s been a week of blissful summer weather and so we sit back there evenings, sometimes mornings, especially now that our own fledgling has flown off to summer camp. She tried to hide it but she was eager to leave and we’ve not heard a word from her since. She’s a sociable kid, a busybody, a member of the gang, who loves drama, and life at home as an only child is much too sedate. To be the daughter of a writer means hanging around a silent inert parent who is of less interest than a scarecrow. Camp means swimming, hiking, gardening, camping with a gaggle of equals. There’s no comparison.
Once in a blue moon, she calls. If we text her, she responds with a word or two. I’ve given her several postcards, stamped, addressed to me, which is a joke. The chance of her writing a postcard to her father is zero to minus. She and I hug when she’s home and sometimes she walks over to my laptop and says, “Make me laugh,” so I do. She and I share a keen sense of humor involving bodily functions and I know her vulnerabilities and though she folds her arms and looks very stern, I can make her fall apart. Her mother handles discipline, hygiene, manners, and education, and my department is comedy.
I miss her and at the same time I’m grateful that she finds pleasure elsewhere. Meanwhile, a tiny feathered father is yelling at me to stay away from his kids or else face death.
My love and I sit at a table in the shade of a tree and pick at our summer salads, gorgeous tomatoes and cucumbers, greens, chopped peppers and onions, anointed with oil and vinegar, and we carry on the conversation that is at the heart of any happy marriage. We met thirty years ago, a lunch date, and I was taken by the fact that she was funny and concise and never at a loss for words, which is still true. I am an old man now and she somehow remains 35, same as then. I experience sudden gaps in memory, like walking along a sidewalk and suddenly a ditch appears, when I can’t come up with the word for old-age confusion — dentistry — diminution — sensual — pretension — and have to slip-slide around it, and she ignores this and leads the conversation onto solid ground.
I could go on living like this for a long long time, two people under a tree in a backyard, watched over by a ferocious bird, waiting for our child to call. When she does, often it is only for a minute: we hear girl talk in the background and laughter and then she says, “Can I call you back later?” and we say yes and she’s gone. Life is good. Of course disaster can strike at any time — last week we had supper with a friend who described a visit to a park where she tripped on a curb and had to go to the ER and wound up spending two weeks in the hospital for reconstruction — and I am aware of that though I choose not to discuss it over salads. I am aware of a whole string of beloved relatives and friends who are gone because they were born too early to be able to enjoy the medical advances that would’ve enabled them to live longer. I miss them and I try to live up to their example of fidelity and humor and kindness.
I’m glad we traveled to Portugal in June and I am looking forward to baseball in July and the return of our daughter in August, but this is the good life as I know it, a day of work followed by a conversation with my lover in the shade of the backyard, feasting on salad, and speaking quietly to a fellow father, assuring him that I intend no harm. That’s my goal right now. No harm.
Life, liberty, dancing, feasting, hugging, and collecting stuff
I have returned from a week in Portugal and a little village where we attended our nephew’s wedding and enjoyed lavish feasting and shameless dancing and people hugging each other left and right. There was liquor involved but mostly it sprang from lack of self-consciousness. Everybody knew each other except for us Americanos; there was nothing to hide. After the wedding, I saw men hugging other men, if you can believe such a thing. The father of the bride hugged the groom and squeezed him hard.
I’m from Minnesota. I associate male hugging with pickpockets. I don’t recall ever hugging or being hugged by another person of the male persuasion. My people shook hands. We were cautious people and didn’t want to be thought “too forward.”
The feast and dance took place at the bride’s parents’ farmhouse and I noticed the great freedom that her father enjoyed in his enormous garage. Several motorcycles in stages of repair, tractor parts, many gizmos and whatchamacallits around in no apparent order. Antique clocks and tools, implements, machine parts, tchotchkes, buckets of miscellaneous bolts and screws. Also a good deal of junk.
All of this was attractive to me. And so when I came back to America and watched the Democratic debates, I was looking for a candidate who would open the door to feasting and dancing and hugging and the basic freedom of owning stuff for which there is no good explanation. I don’t see Biden or Sanders or Warren or Harris as being that candidate. They all stayed behind their lecterns.
And so I come, for the umpteenth time in my life, to realize how irrelevant politics is to happiness.
Nobody wants to hear this, but I’ll say it anyway: the Current Occupant hasn’t changed much. He’s ridden along on a wave of prosperity that began during the Obama years and he’s issued thousands of twitters and scowled and threatened and called people names and he’s shown great cruelty to people who can’t vote, but when it comes right down to it, the daily weather forecast matters far more than anything he does in Washington.
As we descend into the 2020 presidential campaign, the very number 2020 reminding us to seek Clear Sharp Vision, let us agree that the importance of the presidency is greatly exaggerated. The office gets so much attention because journalists are lazy and it’s easier to write about one guy than to, say, spend six months in Iowa and write about American agriculture. Woodward and Bernstein didn’t get into the movies played by Redford and Hoffman by writing about corn and soybeans. But the effect of Watergate on the lives of Americans was less than that of a solar eclipse.
No president can make America great. God is the judge of greatness, and meanwhile the challenge is to educate children, do business, feed and doctor people, preserve farmland and wilderness, deal with the real world, look for the least worst outcome.
The guy who affected my life most was LBJ, whose Vietnam War obsessed me in my 20s and whose Medicare is a lovely benefit in my 70s. In between, there was Nixon whom we liberals loathed for reasons I can’t recall and Gerald Ford who pardoned him and thereby was defeated by the Georgia Sunday school teacher. The movie actor I remember for his affable Irish mug but don’t ask me to write 500 words about Iran-Contra because I can’t and neither can you. Then came the Ivy League Texan and the last of the Arkansas liberals and Dubya who tried so hard to be presidential and then our first Kenyan president and now this New Yawk showman who has the distinction of being the first man elected to the office by being an out-and-out jerk and mooning the media and giving the stinky finger to whoever irks him and yet what has he done other than offend most Americans? Not that much.
Most of the real damage done by presidents falls on distant lands while life in these States keeps chugging along and so when I look at the Democrats in the race and ask whom I favor, I say, “Anybody who doesn’t wear a ducktail and who attends church now and then and doesn’t blather.” We need a new story. And now I’m going to take my wife by the hand and walk down the street and find a café with a table under an umbrella and order salad and an iced tea and enjoy some conversation about the future. That’s where happiness lies, out in front of us.
BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB
An Evening with Garrison Keillor and Heather Masse.
New Marlborough, MA
Garrison Keillor in conversation with bestselling author Simon Winchester. Tickets $20-$25.
Accompanied by Richard Dworsky on piano, it’s an evening with Garrison Keillor at Edmonds Performing Arts Center. 7:30 p.m.
Waynesboro, VA
Accompanied by Richard Dworsky on piano, it’s an evening with Garrison Keillor at the Wayne Theatre. 8:00 p.m.
The 12th A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION CRUISE
Aboard the ms Veendam
• Letter from Garrison
• Itinerary
• Talent
• Ports
Note: Some of you may have heard rumors that U.S. citizens will no longer be able to visit Cuba by the time the ms Veendam sets sail. Please know that at this moment, we are fully planning to keep Cuba on the itinerary, but that we have backup options as well. In the event that the itinerary changes, reservations will not be canceled or refunded.
6/20/2019 UPDATE: Cuba must be removed from our itinerary. U.S. travel to Cuba for tourist activities is now banned by the U.S. government.
Dear Prairie Home Cruisers,
It was a long hard winter in Minnesota, and I am in a mood for warmth and pleasure next winter and that will be The 12th Prairie Home Cruise, a one-week jaunt from Fort Lauderdale with stops at Jamaica, Cozumel, the Cayman Islands, and Key West, sailing March 18, 2020.
All a person needs to get through the blizzards and darkness is a bright light on the horizon — a candle in the window — and so, next winter, I will dream of March 18, the flight to Fort Lauderdale, the surprise at seeing sunshine, green plants, people in shorts and T-shirts.
And then the cruise!!!
Rob Fisher and his 10-piece Coffee Club Orchestra will perform for your dancing pleasure. The amazing jazz singer Nellie McKay is coming, a powerful pianist and ukulelist. Gospel will be represented by Jearlyn Steele. Pat Donohue will join us, as will Dakota Dave Hull, a veteran of early PHC days who is in all-time top form. Robin and Linda Williams are on board. Heather Masse is coming, and Christine DiGiallonardo so Brooklyn will be represented. Maria Jette and Vern Sutton will sing from the piano bench tropical hits such as “Bésame Mucho” and “Perfidia.” Of course our acting company of Sue Scott, Tim Russell, and Fred Newman will be there, and thanks to them, Dusty and Lefty will ride the plains and Guy Noir will scour the back alleys and Mom and Duane and Ruth Harrison, Reference Librarian. Rich Dworsky and the Guys All-Star Shoe Band will support all of this and I will be there, as well. Talking about Lake Wobegon, coffee, rhubarb pie, reminiscing about early radio days. Doing poetry. Emceeing the story hours. Writing limericks for guests who win the limerick lottery. And singing with Heather and Christine, Robin and Linda.
If this cruise is as much fun as I expect it to be, maybe we’ll do another. As Emily Dickinson wrote:
Wild nights — Wild nights! Were I with thee
Wild nights at sea! With PHC!
Off to Jamaica! Freely we go!
Peel that banana! Let’s do a show.
Winter, goodbye!
Minnesota, New York!
Hello, Miss McKay
And the Coffee Club Orch.
See EMI’s website for cabin pricing
As on previous cruises, guests will have the opportunity to enjoy music performances, lectures, and nature viewing in multiple locations. We’ll gather at the Mainstage for live A Prairie Home Companion shows followed by dancing with the Coffee Club Orchestra, the Crow’s Nest for early morning singing and late-night dancing, and the Wajang Theater for lectures. Guests can catch live music sets in intimate settings such as the Ocean Bar and bring acoustic instruments to picking sessions at the Explorer’s Lounge. Of course, bird-watching will take place on the decks!
Dan Chouinard
Dan Chouinard is a St. Paul-based honky-tonk pianist, concert soloist and accompanist, street accordionist, sing-along enabler, Italian and French teacher, and bicycling vagabond. He’s been commissioned to write and host a number of live programs blending history, memoir, and music for broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio and Twin Cities Public Television. He played on a dozen live broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion and served as rehearsal pianist for Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, and Lindsay Lohan during the making of the 2006 Robert Altman film of the same name.
The Coffee Club Orchestra
The Coffee Club Orchestra sprang into existence in the fall of 1989 when Garrison Keillor asked musical director Rob Fisher to put together a group for his radio show. Chosen for their breadth of experience and their versatility, the Coffee Club musicians delighted public radio listeners with their rambunctious renditions. Rob Fisher and the Coffee Club Orchestra have since appeared on many of New York’s stages, from the plaza at Lincoln Center to City Center’s Encores! series. Their album of Depression-era popular music, Shaking the Blues Away, was released on EMI/Angel in 1992. They can also be heard on Kristin Chenoweth’s debut album, Let Yourself Go.
Christine DiGiallonardo
New York-based vocalist Christine DiGiallonardo is at home singing in early-music chamber ensembles as well as jazz and rock bands. She has performed in New York City Center’s Encores! productions of High Button Shoes, Me And My Girl, Brigadoon, The New Yorkers,Annie Get Your Gun, Lady, Be Good!, On Your Toes, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Fiorello! She also performs solo and with her sisters, Daniela and Nadia, as The DiGiallonardo Sisters, and her voice can be heard on commercial jingles for Aquafresh, Mr. Clean, Playtex, and Febreze.
Pat Donohue
Grammy-winning fingerpicker and songwriter Pat Donohue has a devotion to acoustic guitar that has made him an American standard, as he echoes the tones of Robert Johnson, Blind Blake, Charlie Parker, Muddy Waters, and Chet Atkins. A versatile guitarist’s guitarist, he wows fans with intricate fingerpicking, easy wit, and nimble interpretations of old blues, swing, R&B, and original tunes. For over 20 years, Pat was lead guitar and songwriter for A Prairie Home Companion’s Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band. He now tours the U.S., playing performance halls, clubs and coffeehouses, conducts workshops, and teaches at prestigious guitar camps.
Richard Dworsky
For 23 years, Richard Dworsky served as pianist and music director for Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, providing original theatrical underscoring, leading the house band, and performing as a featured soloist. The St. Paul, Minnesota, native also accompanied many of the show’s guests, including James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Yo-Yo Ma, Sheryl Crow, Chet Atkins, Renée Fleming, and Kristin Chenoweth. Rich’s original compositions for piano (and piano with ensemble or vocal) can be heard on his CDs All In Due Time, So Near and Dear to Me, and The Path to You.
Rob Fisher
For four seasons, Rob Fisher served as APHC’s music director and led the Coffee Club Orchestra. An internationally recognized music director, conductor, and pianist, and a leading figure in musical theater, he has been a guest of every major orchestra in the country as conductor or pianist. With the New York Philharmonic, Fisher conducted the acclaimed concert versions of Carousel (Emmy nomination for Best Music Director) and My Fair Lady, as well as Mr. Keillor at 70. For his work on the Tony Award-winning Encores! series at New York’s City Center, he was presented the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Special Achievement.
Dakota Dave Hull
Fargo native Dakota Dave Hull calls what he does “classic American guitar.” Hailed by everyone from Dave Van Ronk to Doc Watson, from the Washington Post to DownBeat magazine, his style spans a wide musical geography to create an infectious, uniquely personal blend of jazz, ragtime, folk, blues, Western swing, and vintage pop. He is a restlessly curious, adventurous traveler along the broad highway of America’s music. Most of all, his music is great fun. As Douglas Green (Ranger Doug of Riders in the Sky) puts it, “There is an imp within Dave Hull that always expresses itself on the fretboard.” His recent albums include his Sacred and Profane set, Heavenly Hope and This Earthly Life (Arabica Records).
Maria Jette
Versatile soprano Maria Jette was a frequent performer on A Prairie Home Companion. She can sing dozens of operatic roles; she also performs pop songs, chamber music, oratorio, and show tunes. Maria spent a decade singing with the Twin Cities Baroque opera company Ex Machina, and has appeared with orchestras nationwide, including the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, New York Chamber Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra.Among her recordings is The Siren’s Song: Wodehouse and Kern on Broadway, her second volume of P.G. Wodehouse songs, both with pianist Dan Chouinard.
Larry Kohut
Bassist for Prairie Home Companion’s house band, Larry Kohut is equally fluent on both upright and electric bass. He’s a first-call studio musician as well as a favorite with jazz musicians, playing with artists such as Kenny Werner, Ramsey Lewis, Bruce Barth, Benny Golson, Michael Brecker, George Coleman, George Garzone, Phil Woods, Chris Potter, Kurt Elling, Karrin Allyson, Patricia Barber — and the list goes on. His discography includes more than 100 albums, as well as several major movie soundtracks and hundreds of commercial jingles.
Richard Kriehn
When Richard Kriehn turned 10, his mom bought him a mandolin; at 19, he’d won the Buck White International Mandolin Contest. He went on to play with the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble and bluegrass group 1946. On the classical side, he has performed with numerous orchestras and was principal second violin for the Washington/Idaho Symphony. He first appeared on A Prairie Home Companion in 2006, when the show broadcast from Washington State University, where Richard had just completed a master’s degree in violin performance and conducting. A few years later, he was a fully established member of the APHC house band.
Heather Masse
Trained at the New England Conservatory of Music as a jazz singer, Heather Masse is equally versed in a variety of American song traditions — folk, pop, and bluegrass. A member of Billboard-charting folk group The Wailin’ Jennys, she has performed at hundreds of venues across the world. She was a frequent guest on A Prairie Home Companion, both with The Jennys and as a solo performer, and collaborated with artists such as Elvis Costello, Wynton Marsalis, Sheryl Crow, Renée Fleming, and Emmylou Harris. Her recordings include August Love Song — on which she joins forces with trombone great Roswell Rudd.
Nelly McKay
Nellie McKay has released a stack of acclaimed albums, among them: Sister Orchid, My Weekly Reader, and Normal as Blueberry Pie: A Tribute to Doris Day. She won a Theatre World Award for her portrayal of Polly Peachum on Broadway in The Threepenny Opera and performed onscreen in the films P.S. I Love You and Downtown Express.She co-created and starred in the award-winning off-Broadway hit Old Hats and has written several musical biographies, including A Girl Named Bill: The Life and Times of Billy Tipton, and The Big Molinsky: Considering Joan Rivers.
Joe Newberry
Known worldwide for his exquisite clawhammer banjo playing, Joe Newberry is also a powerful guitarist, singer, and songwriter. The Missouri native was raised in a family full of singers and dancers. He took up guitar and banjo as a teenager and learned fiddle tunes from great Missouri fiddlers. After moving to North Carolina, he quickly became an anchor of the incredible music scene there. The Gibson Brothers’ version of Joe’s song “Singing As We Rise,” featuring guest vocalist Ricky Skaggs, won the 2012 IBMA Gospel Recorded Performance Award. With Eric Gibson, he shared the 2013 IBMA Song of the Year Award for “They Called It Music.”
Fred Newman
Fred Newman is an actor, writer, musician, and sound designer for stage and screen, cartoon and concert hall. For nearly two decades, he added myriad sounds to A Prairie Home Companion. Originally from small-town Georgia, he worked with Jim Henson and created sounds, voices, and music for the Nickelodeon cartoon series DOUG, PBS’s Between the Lions, and films like Gremlins, Cocoon, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? He even created the sound of Old Faithful for Yellowstone’s Old Faithful Visitor Center — all with his mouth. Author of MouthSounds, he’s now at work on a new book and series: From the Sound Up (The New Anthropology of Sound).
Tim Russell
Tim Russell worked on-air for WCCO Radio in the Twin Cities for some 33 years. In 1994, he became an actor on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion until the fall of 2018. The CD Tim Russell: Man of a Thousand Voices (HighBridge Audio) is a collection of his work on APHC. Tim is still a man of many voices and a proud SAG-AFTRA Voiceover Artist. He appeared in the Robert Altman film A Prairie Home Companion, in the Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man, and opposite Christopher Lloyd in I Am Not a Serial Killer. Tim is also a film critic on his blog, Russellreviews.com.
Sue Scott
After enjoying 24 years as the female cast member on A Prairie Home Companion, Sue Scott has rejoined the vibrant Twin Cities theater community. She recently appeared in Barbecue at Mixed Blood Theatre, Little Wars with Prime Productions, and in the sold-out run of Sisters of Peace at the History Theatre in St. Paul. A veteran voice-over talent, Sue has also been cast in some interesting roles in film and television: ABC’s In An Instant and the Netflix series Lady Dynamite. In addition, she is immersed in creating and producing her new podcast, Island of Discarded Women.
Chris Siebold
Chicago-based guitarist, singer-songwriter, composer, and arranger Chris Siebold leads his own bands — Lennon’s Tuba and Psycles — and collaborates often with Grammy-winning harmonica player Howard Levy. House guitarist for the last two seasons of A Prairie Home Companion, Chris joined Garrison Keillor and company for the “America the Beautiful” and “Love and Comedy” tours. This is his fourth appearance on an APHC Cruise. Chris lives in Batavia, Illinois, with his four-year-old son, Julian.
Billy Steele
Youngest of the Steele siblings, Billy Steele, performs, writes, produces, and serves as assistant director for the Grammy-winning Sounds of Blackness. He writes and produces for various other artists as well, including the Steeles, and his voice has been heard on soundtracks with the likes of Rod Stewart and Luther Vandross. Recently, he collaborated on the Disney soundtrack Legends, The John Henry Story, narrated by James Earl Jones. Billy is the musical director for Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Jearlyn Steele
Growing up in Indiana, Jearlyn Steele sang with her siblings as The Steele Children. One by one, they moved to Minnesota and started singing together again. Now music is the family business. She has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, at Carnegie Hall and at the 2018 Super Bowl LIVE Verizon stage. In addition, Jearlyn is a public speaker (the singing speaker, she calls herself), an entertainment reporter for public television, voice-over talent, and host of Steele Talkin’, a Sunday-night radio show that originates on WCCO in Minneapolis. Among her solo CDs is Jearlyn Steele Sings Songs from A Prairie Home Companion.
Vern Sutton
Vern Sutton has collaborated with major musical organizations as a singer, actor, director, and educator. He was a founding member of the Center Opera Company, which became the Minnesota Opera, and composers Dominick Argento, Robert Ward, Conrad Susa, Stephen Paulus, David Thomas, Libby Larsen, and others have written for his voice. For 36 years, he taught at the University of Minnesota School of Music, and for four summers he was artistic director of Opera in the Ozarks. Vern was a guest on the first broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion and on innumerable shows after that.
April Verch
Growing up surrounded by living, breathing roots music, April Verch thought every little girl learned to stepdance at the age of three and fiddle at the age of six. She decided early on that she’d be a professional musician, and for decades she has been captivating audiences across the globe. From her native Canada to Europe, Australia, China, the United Arab Emirates, and beyond, she has spread a signature sound that blends regional Canadian, American old-time, bluegrass, country, and Americana. In 2019, April released her 12th recording, Once A Day (Slab Town Records), a heartfelt homage to 1950s and ’60s classic country.
Robin and Linda Williams
For decades, Robin and Linda Williams have made it their mission to perform the music they love: “a robust blend of bluegrass, folk, old-time, and acoustic country that combines wryly observant lyrics with a wide-ranging melodicism.” Today some might call it “Americana,” but these music masters were living and breathing this elixir 20 years before that label became a radio format. The two first appeared on A Prairie Home Companion in 1975, the same year they recorded their first album. In 2013, they released Back 40 — marking 40 years on the road and 40 years of marriage.
Jed Wilson
A versatile pianist equally at home as an improviser and as an accompanist, Jed Wilson earned a degree in jazz performance from the New England Conservatory of Music and has worked extensively in the worlds of jazz and folk music. In addition to maintaining a long-term collaboration with singer Heather Masse, he has performed or recorded with Aoife O’Donovan, Dominique Eade, and Rushad Eggleston. His most recent recording is a solo piano EP titled Nocturnes.
Aly Busse
Aly Busse is the Vice President for Education at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, a nonprofit research laboratory. She comes from a diverse background in informal science education, including aquariums, museums, and community outreach programs. Before joining Mote Marine Laboratory, Aly was Education Director at UnderWater World, Guam, and Youth and Family Programs Coordinator at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. She also held dual roles at Rutgers University as the Senior Program Coordinator for a science outreach program and Associate Director of the Rutgers Geology Museum. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from the University of North Carolina–Wilmington, a Master of Science in Science Education from Old Dominion University, and is a PhD candidate at the University of South Florida.
Kiley Gray
Originally from Florida, Kiley Gray has always known that marine biology was her passion. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from the University of West Florida, Kiley worked as a fisheries biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. She is currently the Coordinator for Public Programs at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, an independent, nonprofit research laboratory with a public aquarium. In this position, she is responsible for bringing marine science and research to the public through a variety of programs for audiences of all ages and is an instructor for the Florida Master Naturalist program.
Lytton John Musselman
Lytton John Musselmanearned a Ph.D. in botany from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and was chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where he holds the Mary Payne Hogan Distinguished Professorship of Botany. He established the Blackwater Ecologic Preserve in 1984 and is the Manager of that property. In addition, he has been a consultant for new Qur’anic gardens in Albania, Qatar, and Brunei Darussalam. Lytton is co-author of The Quick Guide to Edible Plants (Johns Hopkins University Press). His other books include 2019’s Parasitic Plants in African Agriculture. Described as a “passionate botanist” by Garrison Keillor, Lytton received the Meritorious Teaching Award from the Association of Southeastern Biologists in 2019.
Jon Wiant
Jon Wiant is an authority on intelligence and international affairs. His senior intelligence career spanned the Cold War and the security challenges that followed. In retirement, this recipient of the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal has taught at Washington universities and is a widely popular cruise and tour lecturer.
Ocho Rios, Jamaica
A lot of history is packed into Ocho Rios, Jamaica — or Ochi, as the locals call it. Christopher Columbus was marooned near this site for more than a year, until a rescue ship finally arrived and the explorer returned to Europe. It was his final voyage. Playwright Noël Coward lived in the vicinity. So did swashbuckling actor Errol Flynn and author Ian Fleming. (Parts of Dr. No, the first James Bond movie, were filmed nearby.) And reggae pioneer Bob Marley was born in this same parish: St. Ann.
The area is a bonanza for nature lovers, featuring scenic hikes, spectacular waterfalls, and sandy beaches. And the area’s cross-cultural cuisine runs the gamut from spicy jerk chicken to the leafy greens of callaloo to ackee with saltfish (the country’s national dish).
George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
George Town, the capital of the Cayman Islands, is located on the western shore of Grand Cayman. Here, you’ll settle into just the right tempo for you: prestissimo (very quick) or larghissimo (did someone say sloth?). Enjoy swimming, snorkeling, diving, moseying through lush gardens, hiking through nature, bird-watching, sauntering along the fabled Seven Mile Beach (one of the best in the Caribbean), shopping, or taking in historic sites and the National Museum. Or just plunking down in the sand and daydreaming.
Then let the grazing begin! A melting pot of cuisines and a magnet for top chefs, Grand Cayman has culinary offerings to suit any palate.
Twelve miles off the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, the island of Cozumel serves up a visual feast — from the stunning beaches to an array of birds and tropical fish to ancient architectural ruins of the Maya, whose settlements in the area date back to early in the first millennium A.D. Scuba dive or snorkel in the crystal-clear waters. Rent a bicycle and pedal the island’s paved bike path. And leave a little time for shopping — leather goods, Mexican handicrafts, silver, and maybe a brightly colored hammock to doze in back home in your own backyard.
Key West — the westernmost of the Florida Keys and the southernmost city in the contiguous United States — has a ton of history, culture, and charm packed into a few square miles. John James Audubon, Tennessee Williams, and so many other notables drew inspiration here. Tour historic buildings, including the residence of one of the great American writers of the 20th century: Ernest Hemingway, who called Key West home for more than a decade. (And keep an eye out for those six-toed cats!) Enjoy water- and nature-related activities. Take in the stunning scenery. Sample sumptuous seafood. Soak up the sun. Relax.
Here you will find answers to the more common questions we have been asked about our cruises. We also address some important issues specific to this cruise.
Before sailing with us, you must read and sign EMI/PHC Terms and Conditions, which spell out important and contractually binding guidelines for our cruise.
We recommend that you visit the Holland America website. You will find extensive and detailed information about sailing on their ships. They have been in the cruise business much longer than we have — please make use of their expertise.
EXECUTIVE MEETINGS and INCENTIVES, INC. (EMI) is your partner in travel. They are your first stop for any help you may need with travel arrangements or any question you may have. See EMI’s website for more information.
YOU MUST HAVE A CURRENT PASSPORT TO SAIL ON THIS CRUISE. Even though this cruise originates and returns to the same domestic port, you must have a passport to sail this cruise. U.S. citizens under the age of 16 may present an alternate government-issued proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate. Please refer to Holland America’s website for Passport Guidelines.
YOU MUST SEND EMI YOUR FLIGHT ITINERARY BEFORE SAILING ON THIS CRUISE.
You must also provide details as to how you plan to transfer to and from the cruise terminal in Fort Lauderdale. This is a Holland America requirement and can be provided during the OLCI (Online Check-In).
WHAT IF A PORT BECOMES UNAVAILABLE DUE TO REASONS BEYOND THE CONTROL OF PRAIRIE HOME CRUISES AND HOLLAND AMERICA?
We were scheduled for two (2) stops in Cuba — Havana and Cienfuegos, as well as Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and George Town, Cayman Islands. Holland America uses this language in their agreements with passengers: “WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO DEVIATE FROM SCHEDULED ROUTE, CHANGE PORT OF EMBARKATION/DISEMBARKATION, SUBSTITUTE TRANSPORTATION, CANCEL CRUISE AND ACTIVITIES, AND CHANGE OR OMIT PORTS OF CALL; SUBSTITUTION.” As this change was necessary and the cruise will sail as scheduled March 18–25, 2020, there will be no refunds. Please refer to EMI/PHC Terms and Conditions for more detail.
PRAIRIE HOME CRUISES (PHC) is an independent company that was formed under the umbrella of PRAIRIE GRAND, LLC, for the purpose of chartering cruise vacations. PRAIRIE HOME PRODUCTIONS is the sister company that produces “A Prairie Home Companion” and “The Writer’s Almanac.” PHC is responsible for all changes and additions made to the regularly scheduled HAL cruise. We will provide the APHC performers, entertainers, and lecturers sailing with you.
HOLLAND AMERICA LINES (HAL) operates and manages the Veendam; provides for passenger safety and comfort; and is responsible for your cabin accommodations, food, beverages, recreation, and shopping while on board. Go to Holland America website for more information about life aboard the ship.
EXECUTIVE MEETINGS and INCENTIVES (EMI) is our agent in charge of selling our cruise and booking your accommodations. They will provide you with the highest levels of professional travel-related services. They will book your passage on the ship. EMI will help you with transfers to and from the cruise, cabin selection, and dinner table seating, and will provide guidance for other onboard needs.
For other questions, email us or call EMI’s Prairie Home Cruise number at 908-458-3591.
I. Booking
How much does the cruise cost?
For pricing information, visit EMI’s pricing page. We have cabins in a wide range of prices. You will find that we are offering favorable rates compared to our other cruises, especially when you look at how much we are charging per day.
What types of cabins are on the ship? Where are they located?
There are a wide variety of cabins throughout all levels of the ship. You will always be close to the action on the Veendam. If you are interested in a Verandah cabin, we suggest that you book early, since there are relatively few of these available. See HAL’s Deck Plan for pictures, descriptions, and deck plans.
Is this a different ship than we have sailed before?
For those of you who have traveled with us before, we will be sailing on the original class of ship with the Veendam. We sailed the same ship for a seven-day trip to Alaska in 2006. This ship will feel familiar, since the layout is similar to previous charters we have sailed. You will come aboard and immediately feel at home. Check out the Veendam Deck Plan.
How do I book a cabin? What types are currently available?
For booking information, visit EMI’s pricing page. You will see a list of the currently available cabins. Just click on the one you are interested in.
May I sail only part of this cruise?
Deviations need to be requested in advance of the sailing via EMI. We do need to ensure that you are aware of a few stipulations. As with any travel, cruise guests must comply with all customs and immigration specifics that are applicable to the port in which they embark/debark the vessel, including any additional costs that may be involved at the pier/port to embark/debark the guests. Additionally, while we endeavor to follow our published itinerary, please understand that unplanned circumstances may require that we change or cancel our scheduled call to this port, or otherwise prohibit our ability to honor the deviation request. Should this occur, you as the guest assume all responsibility for any additional costs incurred.
Unfortunately, we are unable to adjust the cruise fare or make a change to individual invoices to manually reflect the shorter cruise segment. Please be advised that because this is not a standard embark/debark port with porters on staff, guests will be responsible for carrying their own luggage off the ship. We regret any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.
Are wheelchair-accessible rooms available onboard? What about other special needs?
Holland America, PHC, and EMI do not discriminate against persons on the basis of disability. We seek, to the fullest extent feasible, to accommodate guests with special needs. Holland America offers a limited number of staterooms designed to be wheelchair and scooter accessible. Most public areas of the ship are wheelchair accessible; some areas such as the topmost outdoor observation area are not. To learn more about HAL’s options for guests with special needs, see the Shipboard Life section of Holland America Frequently Asked Questions. You can explore the deck plan (Veendam Deck Plan) to see where the wheelchair-accessible rooms are located. Please contact EMI directly at 908-458-3591 to discuss any special needs you may have.
II. Payment/Finances
Is travel insurance necessary?
We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance. You will be booking this cruise many months before we sail; circumstances can easily change. Insurance is your only recourse for reimbursement in the event of change, delay, or crisis. For more information, see EMI’s pricing page.
What is included in the payment and what will cost extra?
Please refer to EMI/PHC Terms and Conditions page. While on board, you can spend a minimal amount or incur significant charges by the end of the cruise. You will certainly be able to have an enjoyable time no matter how little or how much you spend. Alcoholic beverages, soda, spa services, the casino, and other onboard services are not included in your fare. We do not include airfare, ground transportation, shore excursions, or other off-ship expenses in our fares.
I’m a Holland America stockholder. Can I get a discount on my cruise?
No. This cruise is private and chartered.
I’ve booked my cabin. What’s next?
EMI will confirm your reservation with you electronically and provide an EMI confirmation number they will use to track your reservation. Closer to the cruise, EMI will provide your Holland America booking number and cabin number, which you will use to prepare for your trip to Book Shore Excursions.
How do I check in?
Check-in and preparation for your cruise is an online process that HAL calls Express Docs. All passengers are required to check in using this system in advance of the cruise. You will need your HAL booking number to do this. You will be prompted to accept Holland America Terms and Conditions online. Once this is clicked, the contract is accepted. All documents necessary for your cruise will be provided online through Express Docs, including your cruise contract and your boarding pass. You will need to print out the boarding pass portion of these documents for each person in your party and have the boarding passes available at check-in. See EMI’s website for step-by-step instructions on how to use Express Docs.
It is essential that you review all documents thoroughly and that you bring everything with you. This process is similar to checking in for an airline flight, just more extensive. It is required.
May I cancel my reservation?
You may cancel, but we have a strict refund policy. Within TEN (10) DAYS of your registration, your deposit becomes nonrefundable. On or after November 20, 2019, your full cruise fare will be collected and is not refundable. Please see EMI/PHC Terms and Conditions page.
How do I pay for extras while on board?
While on board, HAL maintains a “cashless society.” All additional purchases made will be charged to passengers’ onboard accounts. These accounts must be settled before disembarking.
If you have not done so already online, you will need to register your credit or debit card in order to use your onboard account for shipboard purchases. On the day of sailing, your card will be pre-authorized for U.S. $60 per person for each day, or $420 per person. Your account will then be activated, and you may make purchases by simply showing your guest identification card and signing a receipt. At the end of your cruise, you will receive a final statement, and your card will be charged only for the actual amount of your purchases. Please inform your credit or debit card issuer in advance that your card will be used on a Holland America Line ship. This will help prevent delays in obtaining pre-authorization on board. Some banks may keep the pre-authorization in place for up to 30 days. If you do not want to use a credit or debit card, the ship will collect a cash deposit from you at time of boarding in the same pre-authorization amount. Any excess deposit will be refunded to you at the end of the cruise. Traveler’s checks may be cashed at the front office to make your deposit. Personal checks are not accepted on board.
What about tipping? To whom and how much?
A prepaid gratuity is included in your cruise fare. The gratuity currently is $14.50 (cabin) — $16.00 (suite) per person per day, or $101.50 (cabin) — $112.00 (suite) per person for the cruise. This will be shared among the Veendam’s entire staff. In addition, an automatic 15 percent gratuity is added to all bar and beverage service. Any tipping above this is entirely up to you. It is common, but not required, to tip for personal service in your cabin. Spa services include a 15 percent automatic gratuity. Additional tipping for bar service, dining room service, or the ship’s transportation services is not expected. For more info regarding these charges see Gratuities and Service charges.
In terminals, airports, ports of call, on-shore excursions, and at hotels, we suggest that you extend gratuities consistent with customary practices.
Are guests from outside the U.S. able to purchase online?
Yes. International guests will be able to book their cabins online. All credit card charges will take place in USD and be converted to your local currency the day of the transaction.
III. Travel To/From the Cruise
Regardless of who books your air travel, you must send EMI a copy of your flight itinerary. If you book your own travel, you must still provide EMI with your flight itinerary. EMI must provide HAL with travel itineraries for all passengers. This is a legal requirement: you will be denied boarding if you do not provide your travel itinerary in advance. You must provide a cell or other phone number that can be used to communicate with you in the event of travel delays.
We recommend that you purchase airline tickets early. We hope you can find a good deal for travel to Fort Lauderdale. EMI can help you book your flights; see EMI’s website for more information.
When do we leave? When do we come home?
Please note: This cruise departs and returns on a WEDNESDAY.
Boarding will begin in Fort Lauderdale at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 18, 2020; please do not arrive at the terminal before 11:00 a.m. You must be on board no later than 3:00 p.m. We sail at 4:00 p.m. local time and cannot wait for delayed passengers.
Fort Lauderdale is a major cruise port and there are many options for same-day travel from the airport to the cruise terminal. The two are quite close to each other. Please be sure to allow ample time for travel complications, understanding that you should arrive to the cruise terminal no later than 2:00 p.m. For those that choose to fly into Miami International Airport, driving time between the Miami airport and the port is approximately 40 minutes. Leave ample time to transfer as you would in any major city.
Upon our return to Fort Lauderdale, disembarkation may begin as early as 7:30 a.m. and will end by 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 25, 2020. Passengers should easily be able to depart from Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, if you wish. We suggest a departure time no earlier than 1:00 p.m.
What if my luggage gets lost by the airline?
In the event your bags are delayed, Holland America will make every effort to work with local operators to help your bags catch up with the ship. Guests will need to submit a claim at the airport before joining the vessel, once onboard the Veendam, guests must submit their claim along with any other details to the Guest Service desk. Please note that some major discount air carriers require that lost or delayed luggage be signed for personally by the owner at the airport. Please check their policies carefully before booking your air travel.
Where can I stay in Fort Lauderdale?
EMI has blocked out rooms in a nearby hotel, before and after the cruise. See EMI’s website if you are interested. Fort Lauderdale hotel rooms are not included in your cruise fare. EMI will not book a hotel room for you unless you ask them to do so.
What are the arrangements for travel from airport to ship?
We recommend that you purchase a transfer package from EMI when you purchase your cruise — they are available for both Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport
They will offer a number of options; see EMI’s website for details. These transfers will include luggage handling. EMI will not book any of these options for you unless you request them. Costs for these transfers are in addition to your cruise fare. Here are the basic options:
– Airport to hotel on March 17th, hotel that night, and transfer to the ship on the 18th
– Airport to ship on March 18th.
– Ship to airport on March 25th.
– Ship to hotel March 25th, hotel that night, and transfer to the airport on the 26th.
How about getting to Fort Lauderdale on my own?
This may be a good option for many of our passengers. There are parking facilities available at or near the terminal, including a garage adjacent to the terminal.
How do I get my luggage onto the ship?
They do it for you! Once at the port terminal, you will leave your bags at the designated drop bag area for transfer to the ship—much the way you would check bags for a plane flight. There is no cost for this service. Your bags will be delivered directly to your cabin. A similar procedure will happen in reverse when we return to Fort Lauderdale.
When you first get on and last get off the boat, there will be a lengthy period of time when you will not have access to your baggage or to your cabin. Please be prepared with a small carry-on bag to hold the items you need, including all of your travel documents, medications, and any valuables you may have with you.
Whenever your bags are being transferred for you, please be sure to respect deadlines for having your bag ready, properly tag your bags, and reclaim them promptly. In particular, remember that just as at an airport, you will always need to claim your luggage in the cruise terminal. It will not automatically be transferred to your hotel.
Is there security screening?
Before embarking the ship, your luggage will be screened before being loaded onto the vessel. If electrical devices or illegal substances are detected, you will be called to security to verify your items.
Will I need a passport?
All passengers 16 years of age and over need passports. There are exceptions for infants and minors under the age of 16. Passports must be good for six months beyond the duration of the cruise. These regulations are strictly enforced. Please refer to Holland America’s website for Passport Guidelines.
May visitors come onboard?
Holland America does allow for guests to have onboard visitors. If guests are interested in having a guest on board, they can visit the front office to find out the terms and conditions.
What about after the cruise, in Fort Lauderdale?
We arrive early in Fort Lauderdale, allowing a great opportunity to explore all the area offers. EMI has blocked out hotel rooms in Fort Lauderdale for the night following the cruise, if you’d like to stay overnight.
EMI will offer you the option of booking a transfer directly to the airport if you are flying immediately following the cruise.
You will require a minimum of two (2) hours to transfer off and get from the ship to the airport, plus time to navigate the airport itself. We suggest booking flights out of Fort Lauderdale that leave after 1:00 p.m.
IV. Traveling Abroad
Yes, all passengers must carry a passport that expires a minimum of six (6) months following the cruise. For this domestic origination cruise, infants and minors under the age of 16 may prove citizenship with a government-issued birth certificate, and copies are acceptable. Please refer to Holland America’s Passport Guidelines.
Do I need shots?
We are not aware of any special vaccinations or immunizations required for the areas to which we are traveling but please refer to Immunization Recommendations for additional information. Please refer to Travel Advisories for current details regarding all advisories.
What languages will be spoken at our ports of call?
English is the official language in Ocho Rios and George Town. In Mexico, the official language is Spanish, though many citizens speak English.
What about currency?
JAMAICA:
The currency of Jamaica is the JAMAICAN DOLLAR. ATM machines will be available to draw funds, but with arrival in Jamaica on a Sunday, banks will be closed. Credit cards are widely accepted.
CAYMAN ISLANDS:
The currency of the Cayman Islands is the CAYMAN DOLLAR, but the U.S. dollar is readily accepted. Credit cards are widely accepted.
The currency of Mexico is the MEXICAN PESO, although US dollars are still widely accepted in most local businesses in Cozumel. Your best bet is to use Mexican Pesos instead of other currencies to pay for your shopping, dining out, and other purchases as local business exchange rates are usually not good. Alternatively, you can pay with your credit card and be charged your bank’s exchange rate.
For ATMs, it is best to withdraw Mexican Pesos, as you will pay to convert your money twice if you withdraw USD.
V. Entertainment
What will we do on board?
Boredom is not an issue. Never has been, never will be. We will schedule a full slate of musical performances. In the main showroom and in smaller venues throughout the ship, you will have ample opportunity to enjoy your favorite “Prairie Home” performers. There will be sing-alongs and storytelling and gatherings with Garrison. We will add lectures, readings, and other events to HAL’s regular cruise offerings.
The APHC events are in addition to all of the activities you would expect on a cruise ship: dining, swimming, spa services, eating, relaxing, sports, gambling, shopping, eating, entertainment, other special events, and more eating.
When do we attend the evening performances?
Our main attraction on board is the evening performance in the main showroom. These can be similar to APHC broadcast shows, or they can be music concerts, or even shows featuring the various talents of your fellow passengers. Regardless, everyone wants to come see them.
The showroom only holds about half of the ship’s passengers, which is why we repeat the show each night. The problem comes when people try to see both shows. This can deny your fellow passengers the opportunity to see the show, so we use a plan that we hope you think is fair.
You will receive a color-coded Holland America ID card. This will identify which show you may attend each night. We are going to check this identification for each main evening show, just as we would take tickets for a regular performance. We will clear the auditorium after each show, and we will not allow people to reserve seats in advance.
Will you publish a schedule of activities?
We are always adding new things to do, right up to the day of departure. When you arrive on the ship, we will have for you a schedule of activities for the entire cruise. Once aboard, we adjust the schedule daily. HAL and APHC will publish an official daily schedule, which will be delivered to your cabin every morning.
Will I actually SEE Garrison and other performers?
The Prairie Home Company will be guests of Holland America just like you, living in cabins right down the hall or maybe next door. You’ll see them in the elevators, on the Lido Deck, at the buffets and bars, and, of course, on stage. Don’t hesitate to say hi, ask questions, or tell us you loved a particular event, but do understand that we may be running to our next assignment or just need some time on our own.
Should I bring a musical instrument?
Sure! On this cruise we plan to give our passengers opportunities to play together and we will schedule “jam” sessions with a few of our performers. In casual — purely unplugged — settings you’ll have the chance to share your musical talents with your shipmates. Acoustic instruments only — Garrison wouldn’t have it any other way!
Will any of the shows be broadcast?
No, but they will be recorded for possible later use. We may feature some video, photos, and audio segments via garrisonkeillor.com within a month or so of our return.
Will there be opportunities for autographs?
While on board, feel free to ask for autographs at your leisure. We will also schedule autograph sessions in coordination with the gift shops on board. Check in with a Prairie Home or EMI staff member on board if you have questions about this.
Will there be APHC merchandise for sale?
Yes. Check out the gift shops on board. We’ll have clothing, books, and lots of music featuring your “Prairie Home” favorites.
VI. Dining
When do we schedule our dining? May we sit together at dinner?
When you register for the cruise, you will request your seating preferences for dining. EMI will do everything possible to honor seating requests. In most every case you will be able to sit near friends and family (assuming you want to!). You may meet new friends at your table as well. Note that your dining time preference determines which performance of the evening Showroom events you will attend.
What is the difference between early seating and late seating?
The Dining Room and the Main Show Lounge each hold half of the ship’s passengers, so we all need to rotate.
—EARLY seating passengers will eat at the first seating of dinner, at 5:30 p.m. Then they go to the second Main Lounge show, at 8:30 p.m.
—LATE seating passengers see the Main Lounge Show first, at 6:00 p.m. They then go to dinner at the second seating, at 7:45 p.m.
While accommodations can often be made, due to the popularity of our evening shows, we will use assigned dinner times: the “As-You-Wish” dining program available on regular HAL cruises will not be used.
If I have food allergies or other dietary needs, will the ship be able to accommodate these?
Yes, but you must inform us in advance. Upon your initial booking via the EMI website, you will be asked about dietary restrictions. You will be asked again when you check in to Holland America to receive your Boarding Documents. Any special needs should be noted at this time (e.g. need for distilled water for CPAP machines, etc.). You can learn more under Shipboard Life at Holland America Frequently Asked Questions.
Because we are chartering the ship, APHC has the freedom to set our own dress code policies. We are considerably more relaxed than the standard cruise. Sunday-go-to-church clothes is about as fancy as we get. If you like to dress up, please feel free, and many of us may join you.
The only time there will be an actual dress code is in the dining rooms during the evening meal. On most nights, the dress code will be “smart casual.” This means long pants and sports shirt or sweater for men, and skirt or long pants and sweater or blouse for women. We ask that you not wear casual T-shirts, swimsuits, bathrobes, tank tops, shorts, and the like in the dining room. Further, we will designate one or two evenings as “semi-formal.” This generally means sport coat and maybe a tie for men; and a dress, skirt, or pantsuit for women. These nights are an opportunity for you to dress up, and the crew will wear their dress uniforms, but it is not a strict requirement.
May we dine elsewhere?
Holland America offers many other options for dining. You are not obligated to join us in the dining room, although you may want to let your seatmates know you won’t be joining them. Dining options include a private table at the Pinnacle Grill or the Canaletto Restaurant, informal dining on the Lido Deck, and Room Service available 24/7. The Pinnacle and Canaletto options require a modest surcharge — well worth it for the high quality of food, level of service, and atmosphere. Remember that the dining room is a lovely, peaceful, option for breakfast and lunch — and it’s included.
VII. Life Aboard Ship
How do I contact an EMI or APHC staff person? How will they be identified?
We will staff an info table near the front desk. And we’ll all try to wear our ID lanyards.
After boarding the ship, how long before I can get into the cabin?
Boarding for the ship begins several hours before we cast off. You’ll be able to settle in once your stateroom is prepared. HAL has streamlined this process to a great degree but please understand that they have to turn around accommodations for more than 1,200 people in a very short period of time. Plenty of onboard activities will be available while you wait. Make arrangements for your week. And the buffet lines will be open.
An announcement will be made when your staterooms are ready; that’s when you can meet your cabin steward and get unpacked.
What kind of amenities will I find in my cabin?
Cabins on the Veendam are outfitted much like a good hotel room. You will find them to be comfortable, nicely decorated, efficient, and clean.
All linens and bedding will be supplied. Your bathroom comes complete with towels, toiletries, and your very own onboard bathrobe. You will find ample closet and drawer space, a dressing table, cabin-controlled air conditioning, a variety of cabin lighting, and a television with shipboard programming.
All staterooms are equipped with standard 110 AC (U.S. port) and 220/240 AC (2-prong European port) power outlets. Personal care items and electronics will work just as they do at home. Hair dryers are available in all staterooms. You may wish to bring a travel alarm clock since they are not provided, although your cabin phone accesses an effective wake-up call system.
For safety reasons, the ship respectfully requests that you do not iron clothing in your stateroom. Ironing facilities are available in the self-service laundry rooms for your convenience. Full laundry, dry-cleaning, and valet services are available on the Veendam.
Where can I smoke?
Please note that Holland America has a strict policy of prohibiting smoking in all staterooms. This policy will be strictly enforced. Substantial fees will be charged for cleaning your cabin if you smoke inside. In Verandah cabins, smoking is permitted outside on the balconies only.
In deference to our performers and your fellow passengers, this is a “non-smoking” cruise with even stricter policies than regular cruises. You may smoke only in one designated public area on one outside deck of the ship. Our cruise designates all interior areas (including all lounge and restaurant areas) as non-smoking where smoking might be permitted on other HAL cruises. See the Holland America Smoking Policy.
How can I be reached in case of an emergency?
Holland America has procedures in place for situations that require emergency contact with your loved ones. Please refer to Emergency Phone Numbers for more information.
What if I need medical attention?
Fully trained medical professionals are on board at all times, and a complete medical facility is available. Aspirin and seasickness pills are available at guest services, but you may have to pay for other items or services.
Can I call my friends in their cabin? Can I call home?
Your stateroom comes equipped with telephones that can be used to call your fellow passengers just as in a hotel. They can also be used for ship-to-shore communication, however significant charges apply. Please refer to Ship-to-shore communication for more information.
Passengers may not see our guest roster, and we will not give out cabin numbers.
Will my cell phone work?
Probably not while on board, almost certainly while in port — but be careful. Call your carrier for details for your plan. We suggest purchasing a data roaming package or making sure you deactivate your roaming feature before you leave port. Cellular at sea is very expensive.
Will I have access to the internet?
Yes. You may bring your own computer or use ones provided by HAL. You can buy minutes for surfing the internet at any point throughout the trip. Wi-Fi is available throughout the entire vessel, including your stateroom, and is charged under the same system. Please be aware that the prices are high and can add up quickly. Please refer to Internet Use for more details.
We know that on previous cruises, many of our passengers have not been satisfied with the internet service on board. HAL continues to do what they can to improve service. However, a ship on the open ocean will only be able to access a certain amount of bandwidth and there will definitely be service outages. For your information, the biggest problems on our cruises occur when all of us try to get on the internet between leaving port and having dinner.
We recommend that you do not plan on accessing the internet to stream video, hold conference calls, engage in an activity that requires to you to maintain one consistent connection, or any other activity requiring high-quality internet service. You should expect to be able to check your email and keep up on basic social media but there will be times when service is simply not available. It is also advisable that you LOG OFF when you have finished using the internet.
On this cruise in particular, reliable high-quality internet service will be readily available in all of our ports.
Can I get married on board ship?
No. This is a private, chartered cruise. No weddings. No divorces, either.
Will there be stuff for my kids to do?
Holland America provides a range of activities for kids through their Club Hal program. See HAL Onboard Activities for details. The Club HAL room is regularly available with games electronic and otherwise, and has daily special group activities. The schedule of events is determined by the number of kids who sail with us; we will include APHC programming in their schedule.
How should I dress for the weather?
March is one of the prime months to sail the Caribbean, when the seas are generally calm and weather temperate. Expect good beach weather.
When on deck, it can always be windy and cool; be prepared for that. Of course, be prepared for rain. Be sure to bring comfortable shoes for walking on deck or on shore.
Should I bring anything else?
If you are interested in “knowing stuff,” you might want to bring along your binoculars and a field guide or three (birds, marine mammals, wildflowers, and geology are just a few). Previous guests have found benefit from bringing a camera, a journal, an instrument, or their most recent knitting project.
What will sea conditions be like?
We could have calm seas. We could have large waves. The ship may glide placidly along with barely a perceptible movement. The ship may rock back and forth, making even the stout of heart (and stomach) reach for the Dramamine. We will probably see a bit of everything. Holland America schedules cruises for favorable weather, something we’ve certainly experienced over the years. It is unlikely that we will experience severe weather, and HAL does an excellent job of tracking and avoiding storms as necessary.
VIII. Excursions
You’ll find all the information you need at Shore Excursions. You will receive an email notice when they are available for your review and booking.
Booked guests may confirm shore excursion requests in advance of sailing. Once you have your Holland America booking number and cabin number, you may use it to view shore excursion information specific to your itinerary. To complete a booking, please proceed through all screens on the HAL booking page until you receive confirmation from them that your booking is complete.
Before you leave from home, we suggest you make use of a handy feature on the website: you can generate a complete schedule of your cruise that includes your pre-booked activities.
Guests may pre-book shore excursions online until five days prior to sailing. If your departure date is less than five days away, please call Shore Excursions at 1-888-425-9376 to book directly with an agent. All shore excursion requests are processed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Wait-listed requests for sold-out shore excursions will be processed prior to requests made on board. Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult over 25.
Excursion cancellations may incur a cancellation fee, and any refund may be issued in the form of credit to your onboard account. Excursions have individual deadlines after which no refund or credit is given. Please refer to Shore Excursions for details.
All excursions are the responsibility of independent tour operators. HAL acts only as an agent to help you book your tours. We have no financial or operational relationship with them. While excursions may be arranged directly with independent operators on shore, you will have limited recourse in the event of an unsatisfactory experience.
All of our ports afford the opportunity to explore on foot at no cost or by local transportation. We will have extra information on all of our ports for you before and during the cruise. Please feel free to set out as you wish.
Wherever and however you explore, be sure to be back on time. Be sure that your watch is set to ship’s time; local time on land can be different. The ship cannot wait past scheduled departure times.
IX. Contact Us
Email us or call EMI’s Prairie Home Cruise number at 908-458-3591.
Faribault, MN
Love songs, poetry from memory, observational comedy, and accompaniment from pianist Richard Dworsky. $38.50
Edmonds, WA
Coeur d'Alene, ID
Coeur d’Alene, ID
Garrison Keillor performs a benefit show in behalf of the Coeur d’Alene Symphony. 7:30 p.m.
AlbumsAPHC ClipsAudioEventsPrairie Home ArchivesSongsWriter's Almanac
The Writer’s Almanac for July 19, 2019
Posted on July 19, 2019 - Writer's Almanac
On this day 65 years ago, the first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” was published. The three complete volumes were more than 500,000 words long.
It’s the birthday of journalist Hunter S. Thompson (1937). After he died, per his request, his ashes were shot from a cannon.
On this date in 1867, the Harvard Dental School was founded. Prior to the 19th century, people generally went to barbers or blacksmiths to get teeth pulled.
In 1945 on this day, the first atomic bomb exploded 120 miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Officials told citizens that an ammunitions dump had blown up.
A Prairie Home Companion: July 20, 2002
Posted on July 15, 2019 - Prairie Home Archives
A rebroadcast of our February 5, 2000 show with Czech bluegrass band Druha Trava, guitarist Pat Donohue along with accordion player Dan Newton, and singer/songwriter Lynn Peterson.
It’s the birthday of the philosopher who said “There is nothing outside the text” — Jacques Derrida, born in El Biar, Algeria, 1930.
On this day in 1789, an angry mob stormed the Bastille prison in Paris and liberated the seven prisoners within: four forgers, two “lunatics,” and an aristocrat accused of incest.
There was a blackout in New York City on this date in 1977. Over 25 hours, more than 1,600 stores were looted, more than a thousand fires were set, and nearly 3,800 looters were arrested.
Today is the birthday of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904), who wrote under a pseudonym to avoid his father’s judgment, and always in green ink, because he believed it was the color of hope.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” was published on this date in 1960. Harper Lee wasn’t sure how it would be received. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1961 and has sold more than 40 million copies.
BooksColumnsMr. BlueProseQuotesVerse
Posted on July 16, 2019 - Columns
Posted on July 9, 2019 - Columns
A June wedding in a faraway village
Posted on June 25, 2019 - Columns
We came to Portugal knowing only the words for apology (desculpe) and gratitude (obrigado) and were stunned by the beauty on every hand, the seaside city of Porto on the river Douro, the narrow twisty streets and red tile roofs over skinny passageways into stone-paved courtyards, the crowd on the stone wharf at night, the girl swinging flaming torches and an old man singing to his guitar about his many heroic disappointments.
In the Fatherland for Father’s Day
I’ve landed in London where there are no elevators, only lifts, and where the signs say “Offices To Let,” which at first looked like “Office Toilet” to me, and where you see “Look Left” or “Look Right” painted on the pavement at every pedestrian crossing — and I wonder, How many of my countrymen looked the wrong way and were crushed by a lorry before the Brits painted the warnings? Nebraska wheat farmers, New York stockbrokers, confident successful men who brushed off their wives’ warning to look both ways. “I know how to cross a street, dang it,” they said and stepped in front of a double-decker bus and were erased from the face of the earth and their dust flown home for the memorial service.
They spoke of the kindly delight
In family, how he fought the good fight,
And nobody said
As they spoke of the dead,
“Why didn’t he look to the right?”
Trying hard to relax and have fun
I’ve been a grind for many years, chained to my oars, and I am in serious need of frivolity, so last Friday my wife and daughter and I boarded the Queen Mary 2 in New York and sailed out of the harbor and under the Verrazano Bridge bound for England with a dance band on board, a casino, deck chairs where one can lounge and doze and do nothing meaningful whatsoever. A big band plays nightly in the enormous ballroom and there is a multitude of serious dancers on the floor who know the jitterbug, the foxtrot, the tango — really know them, don’t just stand and sway rhythmically — and a handsome Irishman belts out “Night and Day” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” There are impenetrable Brit accents everywhere and elaborately polite service — waiters who say “Thank you” at every opportunity. The bottle of English ginger ale says, “Upend before pouring” — when was the last time you saw “upend”? The sign in the toilet says that the plumbing does not operate on a “cistern system” but a pressure system so do not flush while seated. There is the sunny aft deck where I can lie and not read a book. So what do I do? I think about work.
The graduation speech I didn’t get to give
Posted on June 4, 2019 - Columns
It was graduation weekend at my daughter’s school and so I hung out with emotional dads for a couple of days and at the graduation dance I got a little teary-eyed myself. It was the Father-Daughter dance and we shimmied and shook to “I Saw Her Standing There” and then a slow waltz to “Wonderful World” and I sang the words to her, “I hear babies cry, I watch them grow; they’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know.” And I meant them.
A fine day on which I did nothing at all
Posted on May 28, 2019 - Columns
Memorial Day and my love and I walked out in the park to observe the young and restless, the old and rickety, soaking up the sunshine. The laziest day of the year, meant to remember the insane fury of war. Contented families, families making an effort to ignore each other, kids teetering along on bikes or skateboards, dozens of runners each with his or her signature stride (lope, lunge, trot, traipse, scoot, sprint, stagger), picnickers lounging in the shade and dogs sniffing other dogs and toddlers acquainting themselves with the wonders of grass.
Life is so interesting, it’s hard to stop
It’s a privilege to have a doctor of medicine in the family and my family has two, one American, one Swedish. We dreamers and ideologues need to come into contact with science now and then. The Swedish doctor told us yesterday she is skeptical of the American practice of routine colonoscopies, that the profit margin on the procedure is very high and the rationale is modest at best. I’d never heard skepticism about colonoscopies before; it was like someone bad-mouthing mouthwash. I’ve been pro-colonoscopy because it feels good to get cleaned out and the muscle relaxant is so luxurious and pleasurable, and health insurance paid the freight so I didn’t give it a thought. Interesting.
What I learned from window replacement
I am drinking coffee this morning from a cup that says “Verum Bonum Pulchrum” — truth, goodness, beauty — an impossible ideal, but it’s my sister-in-law’s cup, not mine. Our apartment is undergoing window replacement so my love and I are being harbored by relatives. She sleeps in a handsome mahogany bed that belonged to her grandmother Hilda and I sleep on a hard single bed in the basement. Separation is good for a happy marriage like ours. We say good night and I trudge downstairs and lie in the dark on a skinny bed that is like the one I slept in when I was 17. So I close my eyes and it’s 1959 and I’m considering my prospects in life.
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If you are hosting a show with Garrison, please feel free to use the below press photos for marketing, as well as the below short biography. Promo video for purpose of booking is available here.
Garrison Keillor did “A Prairie Home Companion” for forty years, wrote fiction and comedy, invented a town called Lake Wobegon where all the children are above average, even though he himself grew up evangelical in a small separatist flock where all the children expected the imminent end of the world. He’s busy in retirement, having written a memoir and a book of limericks and is at work on a musical and a Lake Wobegon screenplay, and he continues to do “The Writers Almanac” sent out daily to Internet subscribers (free).
He and his wife Jenny Lind Nilsson live in Minneapolis, not far from the YMCA where he was sent for swimming lessons at age 12 after his cousin drowned, and he skipped the lessons and went to the public library instead and to a radio studio to watch a noontime show with singers and a band. Thus, our course in life is set.
“Fans laughed, applauded and sang along throughout Sunday night’s two-hour show” -Jeff Baenen, AP News
“His shows can, for a couple of hours, transform an audience of even so-called coastal elites into a small-town community with an intimacy only radio and its podcast descendants can achieve” -Chris Barton, LA Times
“[Keillor is] an expert at making you feel at home with his low-key, familiar style. Comfortable is his specialty.” -Betsie Freeman, Omaha-World Herald
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IELTS Academic Reading Sample 142 - Right and left handedness in humans
READING PASSAGE 142
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-12 which are based on Reading Passage 142 below.
Right and left-handedness in humans
Why do humans, virtually alone among all animal species, display a distinct left or right-handedness? Not even our closest relatives among the apes possess such decided lateral asymmetry, as psychologists call it. Yet about 90 per cent of every human population that has ever lived appears to have been right-handed. Professor Bryan Turner at Deakin University has studied the research literature on left-handedness and found that handedness goes with sidedness. So nine out of ten people are right-handed and eight are right-footed. He noted that this distinctive asymmetry in the human population is itself systematic. “Humans think in categories: black and white, up and down, left and right. It”s a system of signs that enables us to categorise phenomena that are essentially ambiguous.’
Research has shown that there is a genetic or inherited element to handedness. But while left-handedness tends to run in families, neither left nor right handers will automatically produce off-spring with the same handedness; in fact about 6 per cent of children with two right-handed parents will be left-handed. However, among two left-handed parents, perhaps 40 per cent of the children will also be left-handed. With one right and one left-handed parent, 15 to 20 per cent of the offspring will be left handed. Even among identical twins who have exactly the same genes, one in six pairs will differ in their handedness.
What then makes people left-handed if it is not simply genetic? Other factors must be at work and researchers have turned to the brain for clues. In the 1860s the French surgeon and anthropologist, Dr Paul Broca, made the remarkable finding that patients who had lost their powers of speech as a result of a stroke (a blood clot in the brain) had paralysis of the right half of their body. He noted that since the left hemisphere of the brain controls the right half of the body, and vice versa, the brain damage must have been in the brain’s left hemisphere. Psychologists now believe that among right-handed people, probably 95 per cent have their language centre in the left hemisphere, while 5 per cent have rightsided language. Left-handers, however, do not show the reverse pattern but instead a majority also have their language in the left hemisphere. Some 30 per cent have right hemisphere language.
Dr Brinkman, a brain researcher at the Australian National University in Canberra, has suggested that evolution of speech went with right-handed preference. According to Brinkman, as the brain evolved, one side became specialised for fine control of movement (necessary for producing speech) and along with this evolution came righthand preference. According to Brinkman, most left-handers have left hemisphere dominance but also some capacity in the right hemisphere. She has observed that if a left-handed person is brain-damaged in the left hemisphere, the recovery of speech is quite often better and this is explained by the fact that left-handers have a more bilateral speech function.
In her studies of macaque monkeys, Brinkman has noticed that primates (monkeys) seem to learn a hand preference from their mother in the first year of life but this could be one hand or the other. In humans, however, the specialisation in (unction of the two hemispheres results in anatomical differences: areas that are involved with the production of speech are usually larger on the left side than on the right. Since monkeys have not acquired the art of speech, one would not expect to see such a variation but Brinkman claims to have discovered a trend in monkeys towards the asymmetry that is evident in the human brain.
Two American researchers, Geschwind and Galaburda, studied the brains of human embryos and discovered that the left-right asymmetry exists before birth. But as the brain develops, a number of things can affect it. Every brain is initially female in its organisation and it only becomes a male brain when the male foetus begins to secrete hormones. Geschwind and Galaburda knew that different parts of the brain mature at different rates; the right hemisphere develops first, then the left. Moreover, a girl’s brain develops somewhat faster than that of a boy. So, if something happens to the brain’s development during pregnancy, it is more likely to be affected in a male and the hemisphere more likely to be involved is the left. The brain may become less lateralised and this in turn could result in left-handedness and the development of certain superior skills that have their origins in the left hemisphere such as logic, rationality and abstraction. It should be no surprise then that among mathematicians and architects, left-handers tend to be more common and there are more left-handed males than females.
The results of this research may be some consolation to left-handers who have for centuries lived in a world designed to suit right-handed people. However, what is alarming, according to Mr. Charles Moore, a writer and journalist, is the way the word “right” reinforces its own virtue. Subliminally he says, language tells people to think that anything on the right can be trusted while anything on the left is dangerous or even sinister. We speak of lefthanded compliments and according to Moore, “it is no coincidence that lefthanded children, forced to use their right hand, often develop a stammer as they are robbed of their freedom of speech”. However, as more research is undertaken on the causes of left-handedness, attitudes towards left-handed people are gradually changing for the better. Indeed when the champion tennis player Ivan Lendl was asked what the single thing was that he would choose in order to improve his game, he said he would like to become a lefthander. [ Geoff Maslen ]
Questions 1-7
Use the information in the text to match the people (listed A-E) with the opinions (listed 1-7) below. Write the appropriate letter (A-E) in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet. Some people match more than one opinion.
A Dr Broca
B Dr Brinkman
C Geschwind and Galaburda
D Charles Moore
E Professor Turner
Example Answer
Monkeys do not show a species specific preference for B
left or right-handedness.
11. Human beings started to show a preference for right-handedness whenthey first developed language.
12. Society is prejudiced against left-handed people.
13. Boys are more likely to be left-handed.
14. After a stroke, left-handed people recover their speech more quickly than righthanded people.
15. People who suffer strokes on the left side of the brain usually lose their power of speech.
16. The two sides of the brain develop different functions before birth.
17. Asymmetry is a common feature of the human body.
Questions 8-10
Using the information in the passage, complete the table below. Write your answers in boxes 8 10 on your answer sheet.
Percentage of children left-handed
One parent left-handed
One parent right-handed ........(8)........
Both parents left-handed .........(9)........
Both parents right-handed .......(10).......
Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in boxes 11 and 12 on your answer sheet.
11 A study of monkeys has shown that
A monkeys are not usually right-handed.
B monkeys display a capacity for speech.
C monkey brains are smaller than human brains.
D monkey brains are asymmetric.
12 According to the writer, left-handed people
A will often develop a stammer.
B have undergone hardship for years.
C are untrustworthy.
D are good tennis players.
8 15-20%
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Statutory InstrumentsIonstraimí Reachtúla
S.I. No. 385/1999 - Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) (Amendment) Regulations, 1999
View SIAmharc ar an IR
AmendmentsLeasuithe
I, JOHN O'DONOGHUE, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 10 (1)(b) of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act, 1962 (No. 12 of 1962) (as adapted by the Justice (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 298 of 1997 )), and in so far as the following Regulations relate to rates or scales of payment of fees, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, hereby make the following Regulations:
1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) (Amendment) Regulations, 1999.
(2) The collective citation “the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations, 1965 to 1999” shall include these Regulations.
2. (1) In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act, 1962 (No. 12 of 1962);
“the Regulations of 1998” mean the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 160 of 1998 ).
(2) In these Regulations a reference to a Schedule is a reference to a Schedule to these Regulations unless it is indicated that reference to some other Regulations is intended.
3. The fees, payable under the Act, of a solicitor assigned in relation to a case in pursuance of a certificate for free legal aid for cases in the District Court and appeals to the Circuit Court, for bail applications to the Circuit Court or Special Criminal Court which are contested by the prosecution and for essential visits to prisons and other custodial centres (other than Garda Stations), shall be—
(a) with effect from the 1st day of July, 1999, those set out in the First Schedule (in lieu of those set out in the Fifth Schedule to the Regulations of 1998),
(b) with effect from the 1st day of April, 2000, those set out in the Third Schedule (in lieu of those set out in the First Schedule),
4. The fees, payable under the Act, of counsel assigned in relation to a case in pursuance of a certificate for free legal aid for bail applications to the Circuit Court or the Special Criminal Court which are contested by the prosecution and for essential visits to prisons and other custodial centres (other than Garda Stations), shall be—
(a) with effect from the 1st day of July, 1999, those set out in the Second Schedule (in lieu of those set out in the Sixth Schedule to the Regulations of 1998),
(b) with effect from the 1st day of April, 2000, those set out in the Fourth Schedule (in lieu of those set out in the Second Schedule),
5. The Regulations of 1998 are hereby revoked.
FIRST SCHEDULE
The fees payable to a solicitor in cases in the District Court and appeals to the Circuit Court in respect of (a) the first day of a hearing and (b) each subsequent day.
Classification of defendant
(a) First day of hearing
(b) Each subsequent day
Fee for each of the first four such persons represented on any one day by the solicitor.
Fee for the fifth and for each additional such person represented on any one day by the solicitor.
Fee for each such person represented on any one day by the solicitor.
The defendant, in cases involving only one defendant and the first defendant in cases involving multiple defendants.
The second defendant in cases involving multiple defendants.
Each defendant other than the first or second defendant in cases involving multiple defendants.
The fee payable to a solicitor in respect of each contested bail application to the Circuit Court or Special Criminal Court.
The fee payable to a solicitor in respect of each essential visit to a prison or other custodial centre (other than a Garda Station).
The fee payable to counsel in respect of each contested bail application to the Circuit Court or Special Criminal Court.
The fee payable to counsel in respect of each essential visit to a prison or other custodial centre (other than a Garda Station).
THIRD SCHEDULE
FOURTH SCHEDULE
GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 30th day of November, 1999.
JOHN O'DONOGHUE,
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
The Minister for Finance consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations insofar as they relate to the scale or payment of fees.
CHARLIE McCREEVY,
Minister for Finance.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)
These Regulations provide for an increase in the fees payable under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme to solicitors for attendance in the District Court and for appeals to the Circuit Court, and for an increase to solicitors and counsel in respect of essential visits to prisons and other custodial centres (other than Garda Stations) and for certain bail applications, as follows;
1.5% with effect from 1st July, 1999,
1% with effect from 1st April, 2000.
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Avoid / Izbjegavanje
in collaboration with S.Vujičić and D.Očko
Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb, June 2 – June 26, 2005.
Ivana Franke, Silvio Vujičić and Damir Očko are not an art collective: they are a group of artists whose previous works and explorations showed us similar, but at the same time complementary interests. The nature of perception, the level of discernibility, the relations between the observation level and the art object, surface invisibility and frequent playing with tautologisms belong to their common sphere. ... At its first level, the exhibition can be regarded as a display of four independent “works”, four illusions, directed towards ambience. We encounter the first, probably the most spectacular one, in the museum hallway: the floor is covered by a “carpet” fabric with tiny synthetic crystals glued to it. Nine light bulbs hang from the ceiling, approaching the floor at the distance shorter than thirty centimetres: due to light refraction in glass marbles around the bulbs, a spectral effect occurs. Depending on the movement and the distance of the beholder, the shape varies from shallow, bowl-like, to full sphere. Almost ironically, the used material – Swarowski marbles normally used for less glamorous purposes, for (sic!) traffic lights, also contributes to the spectacular effect. The light colonnade fills the passage, which is not meant for exhibition purposes exclusively. It is continued by a new “illusion”, which uses the stream of warm air upwards. There are heaters, radiating swaying warm air, attached to the window overlooking the yard of the Kulmer palace, whose one wing houses the Museum of Modern Art. A black case, whose smooth surface draws the attention to the stream of warm air and whose black immobility stresses that flowing air stream highlight this almost imperceptible effect. A simple, almost banal effect draws the attention to the view of the window: a grey wall with a metal pipe descending it and the nearby cylindrical tower on the opposite side of the yard. The display makes the view of the series of backyard scenes and improvised warehouse space an element of the installation. In its controlled changeability it is close to a two-dimensional picture or a photograph. A glimpse of what is happening in a yard and almost imperceptible, but continuous changes in everyday life – like drying clothes, changes in objects’ positions, the distance of curtains from the floor and, of course, the change of light from daylight to evening light are well-known traditional topics of painting, in recent time of video-art and photography. In this case there is no transfer to a medium, what is mimicked is a virtual surface suggested in swaying air, for a moment resembling an opaque reverberating plate. At the end of a glittering path scattered with rainbows there is a flickering backyard window, permanently changing the frame. Two installations in the inner rooms of the museum oppose the light and glitter of the first pair of installations. In the completely dark inner space, the visitors are placed between two spots: in the deep, behind the passage through three dark rooms, there is an outline of a construction within which the phenomenon of optic illusion is formed. Opposite to it, in the farthest eastern room, there is a black wall hiding a sound installation. A white dot of light is the object reflected in the optic illusion. Because of movement and the change of viewpoint it assumes other shapes and doubles in size, for a moment changing the perception of the space itself. The phenomenon occurring in the desert heat or above the asphalt in summer is transferred into the gallery space and treated like an exhibit, accessible to the public only as long as the exhibition is open.
The experiment that brought about this optic effect is not the work’s purpose, it is just a medium, because whereas a scientific experiment reveals the laws of nature, this is a re-mystification of a phenomenon. The experiment is targeted at confirming a certain hypothesis, while the simulation of an optic illusion in a dark exhibition space requires primary suggestive qualities and astonishment. The fairy-tale character of the phenomenon and a series of its charming connotations are opposed to the product of the illusion itself: it is just a mirror picture of a small, glowing spot. However, its mirroring is a result of a complete natural sequence, of a big difference in the density of warm and cold layers of air, identically as in the nature, only in this case within a museum room. The construction within whose half sqm the phenomenon occurs is in the dark, but not invisible: its massive steel body is not hidden from curious eyes, but still the process of creating the illusion is secondary to the attention paid to the phenomenon itself. In its constant transformation the white spot is the runaway spot. Opposite to it, left from the entrance hall, there is a black, detached part of the wall, which hides the sound mechanism within which a metal bowl, an instrument for non-linear expansion of sound, is hidden. The sound fills the rooms and its source can not be defined: a few moments after setting the mechanism in motion, it just inhabits the space. The optic illusion and the source of sound are two juxtaposed points of instability. Between these two points there are “representative” exhibition halls of the museum, transformed by darkness and defined by the position of objects deceiving our perception. Three go-through, empty rooms can be perceived as spaces for unrealised individual works of each if the three artists like a “negative plate” of the common exhibition. Avoidance as a denominator of the whole exhibition starts from the description of the exhibition results. The search for common aspects frequently took the form of a negative selection, far from simple spontaneous expressions of ideas. The result is a somewhat ascetic, reduced exhibition form, from which really nothing can be deduced, but to which also nothing can be added. Every supplement would fill at least one of the three empty rooms in the middle and scare away the “ghosts” who had been given this space for temporary usage. Avoidance is the search for the point break, that which is on the other side of the viewpoint. The English word avoid is a mild imperative, but when it is divided into a void, there is emptiness in the middle after the indefinite article. Each of the four “parts” is actually a vision, spirit, casting off a solid, tangible form. It might partly be said that the object of the exhibition is perception, or rather perception traps and the change of the observer’s position. The public, but also the artists, are inside the work and receive the information from some other level, where the unknown, supernatural and parascientific meet, in the realm of contingency programmed by the Skies.
From the text by Jasna Jaksic
Exhibition views:
Avoid / Izbjegavanje in collaboration with S.Vujičić and D.Očko. Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb. Photos: Kristina Lenard.
Floor plans:
List of exhibited works
Floor, Collaboration with Silvio Vujičić and Damir Očko, 2006.
Fabric, glass pearls, nine light bulbs. 2000 x 250 cm.
Fata Morgana, Collaboration with Silvio Vujičić and Damir Očko, 2005.
Steel construction, fire clay, refrigeration system, heating system, LED lights. 200 x 50 x 200 cm.
Window, 2005
Collaboration with Silvio Vujicic and Damir Ocko
Heating unit, window
Untitled (Sound Installation), 2005
Collaboration with Silvio Vujicic and Damir Ocko.
Tibetan singing bowl, rotational mechanism, wall.
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GILO DIARIST
Lives on the
Bus of Death, Con't.
http://www.jewishworldreview.com | With this dispatch, we offer brief vignettes of the latest "sacrifices for peace." Yesterday witnessed the deadliest Arab bombing in Jerusalem in six years. Among those who died were individuals who had previously cheated death, an Ethiopian girl who feared the end was near, and a would-be ballerina.
How sad, nay, pathetic, that the snuffing out of human lives has become so frequent, that, in most of the media, the death of innocents is reduced to nothing more than another mark in a tally --- and afterthoughts.
1. Dr. Moshe Gottlieb came to the Holy Land from Los Angeles, where he had a thriving practice. At 70, nobody would have thought it unusual if he would have slowed down; stopped doing the Creator's work and enjoyed his well derserved "golden years." He didn't, though.
Every Tuesday, he would travel from his home in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo to volunteer his services and expertise in various clinics around the country. Helping and healing children, that is what he did; that is what he lived for.
Dr. Gottlieb was en route to a clinic in the Tel Aviv suburb of B'nei Brak that treats children with Down's Syndrome, when he was killed.
2. Glila Bugla, 11, was born in Ethiopia. Every night, she would awaken from sounds of shots being fired into her suburban Jerusalem neighborhood by Arab terrorists. The deteriorating situation in Israel, the land of her dreams, was causing her nightmares. She was scared to venture out anywhere she did not have to go.
On Sunday, Glila informed her 5th grade class that a kind family in America had helped her struggling immigrant family to buy an apartment there. On July 10, they would move yet again, this time to New York.
Glila's body was blown to bits and today, that which is left of it, is buried here.
3. Shani Avitzedek, 15, was a 9th grader who dreamed of becoming a ballerina. Tomorrow, was to be her last day at school. She had a ballet performance scheduled for Sunday.
Yesterday, was the "Yom Kef" fun day. Her class had picked the Mesilat Zion pools as their destination. Shani's parents reminded her before she boarded the city bus for the start of her big day to make sure she had sufficient sunscreen and water.
She tried to calm her parents. "The sun won't kill me," she told them.
4. Mendel Barzon, 71, who emigrated from Russia in 1991, loved to ride the busses. A friendly fellow, he had many "commuter friends." In fact, yesterday morning, his son had offered to drive him to work, but he declined.
Mendel enjoyed a reputation as the best shoemaker/repairman in Jerusalem's Ben-Yehuda area. He survived the Ben Yehuda bombings and other terror attacks and was a leader in the Meretz party, which continues to believe peace can only come to the Jewish State via a reconciliation with Arafat. Mendel's body was blown to "peaces."
5. Gila Nekev, 55, was a Fench immigrant who settled in Israel 30 years ago. Gila was a bus rider, too. Gila never liked driving her car, as parking was always a hassle where she worked. Gila was a single mom who raised her three daughters, Ela, 28, Orit, 24, and Noa, 20.
She was always proud of her three soldier daughters. Yesterday, the three recited "Kaddish" together for Mom, who was to start her vacation today.
6. When Rachamim Tzidkyiahu, 51, arrived for work yesterday, he was thinking about the upcoming bar mitzvah of his son, Ron. The boy was to be called to the Torah for the very first time at Judaism's holiest site, the Western Wall. The date was to be "Shabbas Nachamu," the "Sabbath of Consolation," which follows Tisha B'Av, Judaism's annual day of mourning. Yesterday, Tisha B'Av arrived early. Instead of the boy's first public affirmation of his bond with the Jewish people being joyous, it was tragic, when he began to recite the word of "Kaddish."
7. Boaz Aluf, 54, had just celebrated his young son's bar mitzvah the previous week. He would give public lectures on Talmudic ethics every morning at 6:30 am, reminding the assembled at the beginning of the day to be good, G-d fearing folks.
His wife, Esther, a nurse, was on duty at the local hospital when she was informed of her husband's death. The call came, as she was scrambling about trying to treat other injured victims.
8. Michal Biazi, 24, had not ridden busses for months. She was terrorized by terrorism.
But yesterday, she made an exception, though not willingly.
In the afternoon, she and her husband were to attend the bris, circumcision, of their nephew. The childless couple were to be given a special honor that is said to act as "good luck" on their behalf.
That morning, as the two traveled to work, Michal remembered that she had forgotten her change of clothes at home. Not wanting his wife to be late, her husband offered to drop his wife off at a bus stop and pick up the clothing, which he would bring to the ceremony.
In a single day, the family went from celebrating the miracle of birth to mourning a senseless death.
9. Baruch Garani, 60, was on his way to Machane Yehuda shuk (open-air market) to buy vegetables. Though he was a regular customer, every time he would go, his wife would remind him to be "careful."
After the bombing at the bazaar, his children bought Baruch a cellphone, so they could be in touch instantaneously, should the need arise.
Two months ago, his wife was hospitalized at Shaarey Zedek in Jerusalem, an hour and a half walk from Baruch's home. On the Sabbath, he would trek to be at her bedside and recite the "Kiddish" sacrament. Yesterday, Baruch's wife and four children recited not "Kiddish," but "Kaddish" at the same hospital for him.
10. Liat Gan, 24, often sat next to her baby brother,Yoni, 16 on the bus. When the Arab boarded yesterday, Yoni whispered to his sister that he was suspicious; that he might be a terrorist. Seconds later, the bomb went off.
Yoni talked to his sister and tried to "revive" her. Yoni soon fell into a state of unconsciousness and thought that his sister had fainted.
Liat was engaged to be married in August.
11. Shiri Nagari, 22, is the third child of the five children of Dr. Tuvia and Esther Nagari. Dr. Tuvia is a well known dentist in Jerusalem and Esther is a mathematician for the government's statistic office. Shiri was a graduate of Pelech, a religious high school, where she graduated with honors before serving the Israel Defense Forces as a teacher.
Shiri had just returned from a year of studies in America. She was near the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 and witnessed its destruction.
Shiri worked with Down's Syndrome children in Israel. Her charges cried at their friend's grave last night. Who will help these kids today in their hours of special needs?
12. Helena Avon, 63, immigrated from Romania, 20 years ago. Helena was a "nanny" and caregiver to the Mani family. She survived the earthquake at Bucharest many years ago, before settling here.
Helena had fed the family's dogs and boarded the bus to go to the city for errands when she was murdered by a different sort of animal.
13. Tania Braslavsky,41, immigrated to Israel 11 years ago with her husband and child. Tania was an engineer. She and her husband were fearful of raising a child in Russia. Her husband had been beaten by anti-Semites in the Mother Land for daring to wear his yarmulke (skullcap) in public.
Tania loved the sea. She would bring her family every weekend to Tel Aviv for surf, sun and fun. Her hands were found separated 100 meters from the bus' charred frame.
14. Rafael Berger, 27, served with the IDF as a reserve officer in Jenin during Passover. Only nine months ago, he and Orit, his wife, moved to Gilo. Rafael was working on his doctorate at the Hebrew University. He was supposed to finish oral exams next week for his Phd.
15. Leah Baruch, 59, worked for the office of the President of Israel for 23 years, as a housekeeper. She was a "mother" and a sister to the Presidents and their families.
Leah's funeral was attended by former First Ladies Herzog and Weizman, and by President and Mrs. Katzav.
16. Iaman Gazi, 25, was an Arab from Wadi Ara, and a student at a vocational school in Jerusalem. He had been awarded a special scholarship to the vocational school from the Israeli government. He was an Israeli Arab who was killed by a terrorist Arab.
Bodies 17, 18, and 19 are still in pieces and have yet to be identified.
Harvey Tannenbaum
Appreciate this writer's work? Why not sign-up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Harvey Tannenbaum resides in Efrat and is the president of Protexsia Plus. To comment, please click here.
© 2002, Harvey Tannenbaum
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In a month’s time, the Country Music Association will elect one new member/act to the Country Music Hall of Fame in each of its three categories: Modern Era, Veteran Era and Songwriter/Musician/Non-Performer (this category rotates, and this year a songwriter will be elected). For this article, I’m focusing on the Modern Era candidates, who are…… MORE
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AR Murugadoss officially announces his next: A Women centric film
by Unknown, Kolly Insider - Tuesday, June 10, 2014
AR Murugadoss is ready with his next – it will be a women oriented action film with Bollywwod's lucky mascot Sonakshi Sinha.
Home » Murugados | Sonakshi Sinha » AR Murugadoss officially announces his next: A Women centric film
http://www.kollyinsider.com/2014/06/ar-murugadoss-officially-announces-his.html
In her official twitter page, she said, "It's official! My next is a woman oriented Action film directed by the genius behind Ghajini & Holiday, AR Murugadoss! We start in November."
Sinha is playing a college girl in the yet-untitled film.
She’s planning on undergoing a 30-day martial arts workshop in preparation of her role.
“It’s a completely heroine-oriented script with the actress doing the kind of action a hero does. Murugadoss has been telling people that Sonakshi is the ‘hero’ of his film. The action-oriented film will require Sonakshi to undergo an extensive 30-day training in martial arts prior to the shoot. Martial arts experts will be flying down to Mumbai to teach her,” a source close to the Bollywood actress told DNA India.
“She also consulted a few of her friends like Prabhudheva, Akshay Kumar and Shahid Kapoor about the art form. That is why she has been losing a lot of weight – to get a fit and lithe body for the film. While actresses have been known to do lot of action-oriented scenes in films, this will have Sonakshi actually fighting with the villains and fending them off with martial arts techniques.”
The film is slated to come out in November.
The actress is currently completing “Tevar,” which also stars Arjun Kapoor and Ajay Devgn.
Meanwhile, AR Murugadoss' Tamil directorial, Kaththi, starring Ilayathalapathy Vijay and Samantha, will be releasing as a Diwali Special.
Reportedly, the movie is produced as a joint venture between Fox Star Studios and AR Murugadoss. It is to be noted that the joint venture has produced three superhit movies in Tamil – Engeyum Eppothum, Vatthikuchi, and Raja Rani.
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Oh Young-jin Column
[INTERVIEW] Man who calls himself a god
Huh Kyung-young / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
By Oh Young-jin, Ahn Seong-jin
The decision to interview Huh Kyung-young was an instant one.
When stumbling upon a photo of him on our colleague's Facebook account, we went for it.
But it was not an easy decision.
There was an occupational fear that an interview with the man who calls himself a god could legitimatize his incredible claims. Weighing against it was a wellspring of curiosity about why and how he draws crowds despite it all. Ambivalence was over soon with the latter winning the battle of two minds hands down.
The battle was decided but the war was not. An attack of uncertainty came back to us in the lead-up to the meeting with Huh. After all, we belonged to most people who wanted to check out rumors of his disease-healing powers and prophetic abilities but were ready to dismiss him as a charlatan, preying on gullible and dim-witted people.
But we almost felt our worries unnecessary when he came late by about an hour for our interview. We asked why he was late but he told us he went to the address of our previous office and had to battle congested traffic on the way.
A joke came across the mind: If he is a god as he claimed, he must have a divine GPS that is not always working properly. The urge was barely suppressed. Of course, this was not the end of my story about him.
Then, the man, who ran for the presidency three times, asked one of us to come close to demonstrate his diagnostic and healing power. What he did was the O-Ring test or BDORT, an applied kinesiology and patented alternative medicine that is considered by many a sham. He skillfully conducted these tests saying one of us had a case of rhinitis. He made the thumb-index finger ring weak and strong, claiming he can make one sick or healthy with the use of an invisible laser-like beam from his eyes.
After one too many demonstrations, our surprise turned into skepticism.
Then we confronted him with the ultimate question ― why he is making a comedy of himself by laying a claim for a spot on the pantheon of gods.
We live in an age defined by the Nietzschean declaration of the death of god. Acknowledging our "all-too-human" qualities is the zeitgeist of this age.
"Why?" we asked again. His answer was the most sober moment of our 90-minute interview with him.
"For levity," he said.
We asked him, "Would you object to our defining you as an entertainer?" He said he didn't.
Then, a train of thoughts rushed in.
He may be the invention of our own needs ― getting laughs from a society where there is too little to laugh about and finding a dumping ground where we throw away cares and fears.
He is making transactions with consumers of his entertainment. His YouTube lectures are readily available. One lecture we checked out ahead of this interview also started with his gaining understanding from the audience for being late for the lecture. "I can be late, can't I? For I will give you blessings," he said. The audience approved without hesitation. What made the audience so accommodating and enthusiastic was either they were his backers or the herd mentality was in play.
One hostess well captured his appeal during a recent TV appearance. "He says what people want to hear."
Or his appeal comes from his staying power. A famous political commentator talked about Huh's absence from the May presidential election, saying, "Where is he?" He ran for three polls starting in 1997 when the late President Kim Dae-jung won. In the May election, he couldn't run because his electoral eligibility was not restored after he spent a year and a half in jail for claiming he was married to Park Geun-hye during the presidential campaign. He claimed he was happy behind bars ― getting away from it all.
How would we assess him after the interview? Any regrets? We were happy to let our curiosity kill us or anybody else. Was he a healer, prophesier or a god? We may say we are atheists at least for now.
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Title X
PUBLIC OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND RECORDS Chapter 121
FLORIDA RETIREMENT SYSTEM View Entire Chapter
121.052 Membership class of elected officers.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF CLASS.—There is hereby established a separate class of members within the Florida Retirement System, which hereafter may be cited as the “Elected Officers’ Class.” Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to said class shall also be construed as a reference to the Elected State Officers’ Class, as the same existed prior to July 3, 1990.
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The following holders of elective office, hereinafter referred to as “elected officers,” whether assuming elective office by election, reelection, or appointment, are members of the Elected Officers’ Class, except as provided in subsection (3):
(a) Any Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Cabinet officer, legislator, Supreme Court justice, district court of appeal judge, circuit judge, or state attorney assuming office on or after July 1, 1972.
(b) Any county court judge assuming office on or after October 1, 1974.
(c) Any public defender assuming office on or after July 1, 1977.
(d) Any constitutional county elected officer assuming office on or after July 1, 1981, including any sheriff, tax collector, property appraiser, supervisor of elections, clerk of the circuit court, county commissioner, school board member, or elected school board superintendent, or any elected officer of any entity with countywide jurisdiction assuming office on or after July 1, 1981, who, pursuant to general or special law, exercises powers and duties that, but for such general or special law, would be exercised by any of the constitutional county elected officers set forth in this paragraph, including the sheriff and clerk of the circuit court in a consolidated government with countywide jurisdiction unless such sheriff or clerk elected to continue to participate in a local retirement system.
(e) Any public service commissioner assuming office on or after July 1, 1972, but prior to July 1, 1979.
(f) Any elected officer of a municipality or special district assuming office on July 1, 1997, through June 30, 2009, as provided in paragraph (3)(e). On or after January 1, 2010, an elected officer shall become a member only if the governing body of the municipality or special district, at the time it joins the Florida Retirement System for its elected officers, elects, by majority vote, to include all its elected positions in the Elected Officers’ Class.
(3) PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL, GENERALLY.—Effective July 1, 1990, participation in the Elected Officers’ Class shall be compulsory for elected officers listed in paragraphs (2)(a)-(d) and (f) assuming office on or after said date, unless the elected officer elects membership in another class or withdraws from the Florida Retirement System as provided in paragraphs (3)(a)-(d):
(a) Any elected officer who is or becomes dually employed and a member of the Florida Retirement System or one of the existing systems may elect membership in any system or class for which he or she is eligible. Upon becoming dually employed, the elected officer shall have a period of 6 months to notify the administrator of his or her decision, as provided in subsection (6).
(b) Upon assuming office, any sheriff shall have a period of 6 months to notify the administrator of his or her decision to remain or elect membership in the Special Risk Class in lieu of membership in the Elected Officers’ Class.
(c) Any elected officer may, within 6 months after assuming office, or within 6 months after this act becomes a law for serving elected officers, elect membership in the Senior Management Service Class as provided in s. 121.055 in lieu of membership in the Elected Officers’ Class. Any such election made by a county elected officer shall have no effect upon the statutory limit on the number of nonelective full-time positions that may be designated by a local agency employer for inclusion in the Senior Management Service Class under s. 121.055(1)(b)1.
(d)1. Any elected officer may elect to withdraw from participating in the Florida Retirement System in any manner whatsoever. Upon assuming office, the member shall have a period of 6 months to notify the administrator of his or her decision to withdraw from the Florida Retirement System altogether. Such election shall be made in writing and a copy shall be filed with the employer.
2. Upon receipt of a request from an elected officer to withdraw from the Florida Retirement System pursuant to subparagraph 1., the administrator shall refund all moneys contributed by the elected officer to the system during the period of participation in the system, unless the elected officer has a vested right under the Florida Retirement System, in which case he or she shall not receive a refund of contributions.
3. Any elected officer who has withdrawn from the Florida Retirement System pursuant to this paragraph shall be permitted to rejoin the Elected Officers’ Class upon written request to the administrator.
a. Credit for prior service based on the period for which refunds were received pursuant to subparagraph 2. shall be received by an elected officer who rejoins the system upon payment to the System Trust Fund of an amount equal to the contributions refunded to the elected officer pursuant to subparagraph 2., plus 4 percent interest compounded annually from the date of refund until July 1, 1975, and 6.5 percent interest, compounded annually thereafter until the date of payment.
b. Credit for prior service based on the period during which the elected officer had withdrawn from the system, and for which no contributions were made, shall be received by the elected officer upon payment to the System Trust Fund of an amount equal to the contributions required, under the contribution rate in effect during the period of withdrawal for which credit is being purchased, plus 6.5 percent interest, compounded annually until the date of payment. The payment of the total of such amount shall be made by the employer and the elected officer in the relative proportions provided by law for contributions during the period of withdrawal.
Failure to timely withdraw from the Elected Officers’ Class shall constitute an election to maintain membership in the Elected Officers’ Class.
(e) The governing body of a municipality or special district may, by majority vote, elect to designate all its elected positions for inclusion in the Elected Officers’ Class as follows.
1. Effective July 1, 1997, such election must be made between July 1, 1997, and December 31, 1997, and is irrevocable. The designation of such positions is effective the first day of the month following receipt by the department of the ordinance or resolution passed by the governing body.
(4) PARTICIPATION BY ELECTED OFFICERS SERVING A SHORTENED TERM DUE TO APPORTIONMENT, FEDERAL INTERVENTION, ETC.—
(a) A duly elected officer whose term of office was shortened by legislative or judicial apportionment pursuant to s. 16, Art. III of the State Constitution may, after the term of office to which he or she was elected is completed, pay into the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund the amount of contributions that would have been made by the officer or the officer’s employer on his or her behalf, plus 4 percent interest compounded annually from the date he or she left office until July 1, 1975, and 6.5 percent interest compounded annually thereafter, and may receive service credit for the length of time the officer would have served if such term had not been shortened by apportionment.
(b) Any duly elected officer whose term of office was shortened because the election at which he or she was elected was delayed as a result of federal intervention under the federal Voting Rights Act may, after the term of office to which he or she was elected is completed, pay into the System Trust Fund the amount of contributions that would have been made by the employee or by the employer on his or her behalf for the period of time the assumption of office was delayed, plus 4 percent interest compounded annually from the date he or she assumed office until July 1, 1975, and 6.5 percent interest compounded annually thereafter, and may receive service credit for the length of time he or she would have served if such term had not been shortened by delay of the election.
(c) For the purpose of this chapter, “creditable service” includes the period from November 1972 to January 1973 which would have been served by an elected county officer but for the enactment of chapter 67-510, Laws of Florida, if the inclusion of such period would provide any person affected with sufficient creditable service to qualify for retirement benefits pursuant to this chapter.
(d)1. Any justice or judge, or any retired justice or judge who retired before July 1, 1993, who has attained the age of 70 years and who is prevented under s. 8, Art. V of the State Constitution from completing his or her term of office because of age may elect to purchase credit for all or a portion of the months he or she would have served during the remainder of the term of office; however, he or she may claim those months only after the date the service would have occurred. The justice or judge must pay into the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund the amount of contributions that would have been made by the employer on his or her behalf for the period of time being claimed, plus 6.5 percent interest thereon compounded each June 30 from the date he or she left office, in order to receive service credit in this class for the period of time being claimed. After the date the service would have occurred, and upon payment of the required contributions, the retirement benefit of a retired justice or judge shall be adjusted prospectively to include the additional creditable service; however, such adjustment may be made only once.
2. Any justice or judge who does not seek election to a subsequent term of office because he or she would be prevented under s. 8, Art. V of the State Constitution from completing such term of office upon attaining the age of 70 years may elect to purchase service credit for service as a temporary judge as assigned by the court if the temporary assignment immediately follows the last full term of office served and the purchase is limited to the number of months of service needed to vest retirement benefits. To receive retirement credit for such temporary service beyond termination, the justice or judge must pay into the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund the amount of contributions that would have been made by the justice or judge and the employer on his or her behalf had he or she continued in office for the period of time being claimed, plus 6.5 percent interest thereon compounded each June 30 from the date he or she left office.
(5) UPGRADED SERVICE; PURCHASE OF ADDITIONAL CREDIT.—
(a) As provided in paragraph (b), and subject to the provisions of subsection (6), if applicable, a current or former member of the Elected Officers’ Class, or former elected officer who held office after his subclass of the Elected Officers’ Class was established, and who opted for membership in a membership class of the Florida Retirement System other than the Elected Officers’ Class, may purchase at his or her own expense additional retirement credit in the Elected Officers’ Class for all creditable service as an officer within the purview of this class, and such other creditable service as authorized hereunder for which he or she has accumulated credit in the retirement system or class within the Florida Retirement System from which he or she transfers. Any member of the Elected Officers’ Class may purchase additional retirement credit for service prior to January 1, 1973, as a county solicitor, elected county prosecuting attorney, county judge, judge of a court of record, judge of a criminal or civil court of record, judge of any metropolitan court established pursuant to s. 6, Art. VIII of the State Constitution, judge of a small claims court, or justice of the peace, or for service as a county court judge from January 1, 1973, to October 1, 1974.
(b) To receive additional retirement credit for service within the purview of the Elected Officers’ Class as provided in paragraph (a), such member shall pay a sum equal to the difference between the amounts derived under subparagraphs 1. and 2.:
1. The total employee and employer contributions actually paid, based on the actual gross salary received and the contribution rates in effect for the period of his or her tenure in office; and
2. The total contributions which would have been required at the time the service was rendered for the subclass of elected state officers’ service being purchased, based on the actual gross salary received or on a gross salary of $1,000 per month, whichever is greater, multiplied by the contribution rates required, as follows:
a. The contribution rates in effect at the time the service was rendered for the subclass of elected state officers’ service being purchased; or
b. The contribution rates in effect on July 1, 1972, for such service rendered before July 1, 1972, by an elected officer who held an elective office included within the Elected State Officers’ Class upon its creation; or
c. The contribution rates in effect for the appropriate subclass on the date of inclusion of the elective office within the Elected Officers’ Class, as set forth in subsection (2); or
d. For service as an elected county officer before July 1, 1981, the contribution rate applicable for the legislative subclass of the Elected State Officers’ Class,
plus interest thereon at the rate of 4 percent per year compounded annually each June 30 from the date of such service until July 1, 1975, and at the rate of 6.5 percent per year thereafter until the date of payment.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection to the contrary, a current or former member of the Elected Officers’ Class, or a former elected officer as described in paragraph (a), may elect to claim additional retirement credit in the Elected Officers’ Class pursuant to paragraph (a) upon payment of the required contributions and interest due the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund. The current or former employer of such officer may elect to pay any portion of the total required employee and employer contributions and interest due on behalf of such member, provided such payment is made before January 1, 1998.
(d) Any member of the Florida Retirement System who serves as the elected mayor of a consolidated local government, which government by its charter has chosen status as a municipality rather than a county government for purposes of the state retirement system administered under this chapter, may elect membership in the Elected Officers’ Class established by this section for the duration of the term of office. Any such mayor or former mayor shall be eligible for membership in this class for the term of office, provided the member or the local government employer pays the retirement contributions that would have been paid had actual participation commenced at that time, plus interest at 6.5 percent compounded each June 30 from date of participation until date of payment. No retirement credit will be allowed under this subsection for any such service which is used to obtain a benefit under any local retirement system.
(6) DUAL EMPLOYMENT.—A member may not participate in more than one state-administered retirement system, plan, or class of membership simultaneously. If an elected officer becomes dually employed, or if a member becomes dually employed as an elected officer, such officer shall have 6 months to elect membership from among the plans or classes for which he or she is eligible, as set forth in this subsection. Failure to make election during the prescribed period shall result in compulsory membership in the Elected Officers’ Class.
(a) If an elected officer is or becomes dually employed, he or she may elect membership in the Elected Officers’ Class and retirement contributions shall be made only on the salary earned as a state or county elected officer. At retirement, the officer’s average final compensation shall be based only on the salary received as an officer of that class for any period including dual employment.
(b) If an elected officer is or becomes dually employed in a position in the Regular Class, such officer may elect membership in the Regular Class and contributions shall be paid on the total salary received for all employment, at the contribution rate required for the Regular Class. At retirement, the officer’s average final compensation shall be based on all salary reported for both classes for any period including dual employment.
(c) If an elected officer is or becomes dually employed in a position in a class other than the Regular Class, he or she may elect to be a member of the other class for which he or she is eligible and retirement contributions shall be based only on the salary earned in the position other than the elected position. At retirement, the officer’s average final compensation shall be based only on the salary received as an employee in that position for any period including dual employment.
(d) A member of the State University System Optional Retirement Program, the State Community College System Optional Retirement Program, or the Senior Management Service Optional Annuity Program who becomes dually employed in an elected office eligible for the Elected Officers’ Class shall, within 6 months after assuming office, select membership in one of the following classes or plans. Failure to timely notify the administrator of such selection shall result in compulsory membership in the Elected Officers’ Class for the entire period of dual employment as an elected officer.
1. The Elected Officers’ Class.—If the participant elects membership in the Elected Officers’ Class, participation in the optional retirement program or the optional annuity program shall cease for the period of dual employment, and retirement contributions shall be paid as required only on the salary earned as a state or county elected officer. At retirement, the member’s average final compensation under the Florida Retirement System shall be based only on the salary received as an employee in that position for such period including dual employment. When the member ceases to be a dually employed elected officer, he or she may, within 90 days, elect membership in the Florida Retirement System class for which he or she is eligible, except as provided in s. 121.051(1)(a) for members of a faculty practice plan, or may again become a participant in the optional retirement program or the optional annuity program for which he or she is eligible.
2. The State University System Optional Retirement Program, the State Community College System Optional Retirement Program, or the Senior Management System Optional Annuity Program.—If the participant elects to remain a member of the optional program, retirement contributions shall be paid as required only on the salary earned in the position eligible for the optional program selected. At retirement, his or her annuity shall include the contributions required only on the salary received for employment in the position eligible for the selected optional program for such period including dual employment.
3. The Regular Class.—If the participant elects membership in the Regular Class, participation in the optional retirement program or the optional annuity program shall cease for the period of dual employment and retirement contributions shall be paid as required on the total salary received for all employment. At retirement, his or her average final compensation under the Florida Retirement System shall be based on all salary reported for both positions during such period of dual employment. Membership in the optional program shall cease for as long as the officer remains an elected officer. When such member ceases to be a dually employed elected officer, he or she may, within 90 days, elect membership in the Florida Retirement System class for which he or she is eligible, except as provided in s. 121.051(1)(a) for members of a faculty practice plan, or again become a participant in the optional retirement program or the optional annuity program for which he or she is eligible.
(e) Where a former elected officer purchasing additional retirement credit under former subparagraph (5)(b)2. was dually employed, employee and employer contributions paid for service in the position not covered by the Elected Officers’ Class shall be refunded to the employee and employer, as applicable, and no salaries earned in a class other than the Elected Officers’ Class shall apply toward the officer’s average final compensation.
(7) CONTRIBUTIONS.—
(a) The following table states the required retirement contribution rates for members of the Elected Officers’ Class and their employers in terms of a percentage of the member’s gross compensation. A change in a contribution rate is effective with the first salary paid on or after the beginning date of the change. Contributions shall be made or deducted as may be appropriate for each pay period and are in addition to the contributions required for social security and the Retiree Health Insurance Subsidy Trust Fund.
Dates of Contribution
Rate Changes Members Employers
July 1, 2001, through June 30, 2002
Legislators 0% 15.14%
Governor, Lt. Governor, Cabinet Officers 0% 15.14%
State Attorneys, Public Defenders 0% 15.14%
Justices, Judges 0% 20.61%
County Elected Officers 0% 17.61%
2. Effective July 1, 2002, the required retirement contribution rates shall be specified in s. 121.71.
(b) The employer paying the salary of a member of the Elected Officers’ Class shall contribute an amount as specified in this subsection or s. 121.71, as appropriate, which shall constitute the employer retirement contribution with respect to such member. The employer shall also withhold one-half of the entire contribution of the member required for social security coverage. Effective July 1, 2011, each member of the Elected Officers’ Class shall pay employee contributions as specified in s. 121.71.
(c) If a member of the Elected Officers’ Class ceases to fill an office covered by this class for 3 calendar months for any reason other than retirement and has not been employed in any capacity with any participating employer for 3 calendar months, the member may receive a refund of all contributions he or she has made to the pension plan, subject to the restrictions otherwise provided in this chapter. Partial refunds are not permitted. The refund shall not include any interest earnings on the contributions for a member of the pension plan. Employer contributions made on behalf of the member are not refundable. A member may not receive a refund of employee contributions if a pending or an approved qualified domestic relations order is filed against the member’s retirement account. By obtaining a refund of contributions, a member waives all rights under the Florida Retirement System and the health insurance subsidy provided under s. 112.363 to the service credit represented by the refunded contributions, except the right to purchase his or her prior service credit in accordance with s. 121.081(2).
(d) The following table states the required employer contribution on behalf of each member of the Elected Officers’ Class in terms of a percentage of the member’s gross compensation. Such contribution constitutes the entire health insurance subsidy contribution with respect to each such member. A change in the contribution rate is effective with the first salary paid on or after the beginning date of the change. The retiree health insurance subsidy contribution rate is as follows:
Rate Changes Contribution
October 1, 1987, through December 31, 1988 0.24%
January 1, 1989, through December 31, 1993 0.48%
January 1, 1995, through June 30, 1998 0.66%
July 1, 1998, through June 30, 2001 0.94%
Effective July 1, 2015 1.66%
Such contributions and accompanying payroll data are due and payable no later than the 5th working day of the month immediately following the month during which the payroll period ended and shall be deposited by the administrator in the Retiree Health Insurance Subsidy Trust Fund.
(8) NORMAL RETIREMENT DATE; VESTING REQUIREMENT.—A member of the Elected Officers’ Class shall have the same normal retirement date and vesting requirement, as those terms are defined in s. 121.021(29) and (45), for a member of the regular class of the Florida Retirement System. Any public service commissioner who was removed from the Elected State Officers’ Class on July 1, 1979, after attaining at least 8 years of creditable service in that class is considered to have reached the normal retirement date upon attaining age 62 as required in s. 121.021(29)(a).
(9) AVERAGE FINAL COMPENSATION.—The average final compensation of a member of the Elected Officers’ Class shall be as defined in s. 121.021(24). If a member has received credit for upgraded previous Elected Officers’ Class service as provided in subsection (5), and the upgraded service salary is greater than his or her actual salary, the upgraded service salary shall be used to calculate the member’s average final compensation.
(10) ACCRUED SERVICE VALUE.—A member of the Elected Officers’ Class who is a Supreme Court justice, district court of appeal judge, circuit judge, or county court judge shall receive judicial retirement credit of 31/3 percent of average final compensation, and all other members shall receive elected officer accrual value of 3 percent of average final compensation, for each year of creditable service in such class.
(11) RETENTION OF CREDIT.—
(a) Any member of the Elected Officers’ Class who ceases to fill an office covered by this class and who is employed in a position covered by another class of the Florida Retirement System shall retain judicial or elected officer retirement credit in the Florida Retirement System, as applicable, for each year of creditable service in such class.
(b) Any public service commissioner who was removed from the Elected State Officers’ Class on July 1, 1979, shall retain any retirement credit earned in the Elected State Officers’ Class as of that date.
(c) Any member of the Elected Officers’ Class who leaves office or otherwise terminates membership in the retirement system for any reason other than death or retirement and who does not come under the provisions of paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) shall be subject to the termination benefit provisions of s. 121.091(5).
(12) BENEFITS.—
(a) Upon attaining his or her normal retirement date, a member of the Elected Officers’ Class shall, upon application to the administrator, receive a monthly benefit which shall commence on the last day of the month of retirement and be payable on the last day of each month thereafter during his or her lifetime. The amount of such monthly benefit shall be the total percentage of accrued value received by the member multiplied by his or her average monthly compensation. The total percentage of accrued value received by a member shall be the sum of the retirement credit earned or purchased as a member of the Elected Officers’ Class, and any other retirement credit earned or purchased as a member of an existing system or another class of the Florida Retirement System, together with any additional retirement credit he or she has acquired for upgraded service within the purview of the class, wartime military service, or past or prior service. However, in no event shall the annual benefit exceed the member’s average final compensation.
(b) The benefit provisions of s. 121.091(2)-(6), (8), (9), and (11), relating to benefits payable for dual normal retirement ages, early retirement, disability retirement, termination benefits, optional forms of retirement, designation of beneficiaries, employment after retirement, and method of computing actuarial equivalent, respectively, shall also apply to members of the Elected Officers’ Class. These provisions shall be construed in such manner as to make them compatible with the provisions of this section.
(c) The benefit provisions of s. 121.091(7), relating to death benefits, shall apply to members of the Elected Officers’ Class and shall be construed in such manner as to make them compatible with the provisions of this section, except that:
1. If any elected official dies in office who would have been vested under the Elected Officers’ Class, any other class of the Florida Retirement System, or any other state-administered retirement system, if the official had lived to complete his or her term of office, the official’s spouse may elect to leave the official’s retirement contributions in the retirement trust fund and pay into said fund any required contributions which would have been paid by the officer or the employer had the officer lived to complete the term of office.
2. If a deceased member’s surviving spouse as described in subparagraph 1. previously received a refund of the member’s contributions made to the retirement trust fund, the surviving spouse may pay into the retirement trust fund an amount equal to the deceased member’s contributions previously refunded, together with interest at 4 percent compounded annually on the amount of such refunded contributions from the date of refund until July 1, 1975, and at 6.5 percent compounded annually thereafter to the date of payment, plus such additional contributions as may be required under subparagraph 1., in order to become vested, as applicable.
Upon conclusion of the term of office to which the deceased officer was elected, a spouse who pays into the retirement trust fund such additional or refunded contributions, plus interest, shall be eligible to receive a monthly benefit in the same manner as the surviving spouse of a member who dies after accumulating the required number of years of creditable service as described herein.
(d) The provisions of ss. 121.101 and 121.111, relating to the cost-of-living adjustment of retirement benefits and retirement credit for wartime military service, respectively, shall apply to members of the Elected Officers’ Class. Creditable service for actual wartime service, as authorized by s. 121.111(2), not exceeding 4 years, shall be acquired and paid for as provided in said subsection. Upon payment by the member of 4 percent of gross salary plus accrued interest, retirement credit shall be granted at the rate of 1.6 percent for each year of creditable service acquired under said subsection.
(13) SOCIAL SECURITY COVERAGE.—Members of the Elected Officers’ Class shall be subject to social security coverage as provided by the federal Social Security Act. The administrator shall make such modification to the agreement between the state and the Federal Social Security Administrator, made pursuant to the provisions of chapter 650, hold any referendum, or take any other action as may be required to provide social security coverage for such members.
(14) RULES.—The administrator shall make such rules as are necessary for the effective and efficient administration of the Elected Officers’ Class.
History.—ss. 2, 4, ch. 72-345; s. 1, ch. 72-359; s. 1, ch. 74-215; s. 1, ch. 75-296; s. 1, ch. 76-240; s. 1, ch. 77-464; s. 1, ch. 77-285; s. 4, ch. 78-308; s. 26, ch. 79-164; s. 2, ch. 79-375; s. 2, ch. 79-377; s. 2, ch. 80-131; s. 2, ch. 81-214; s. 3, ch. 81-307; s. 1, ch. 82-114; s. 36, ch. 83-217; s. 2, ch. 83-283; ss. 6, 8, 15, ch. 84-266; s. 2, ch. 85-220; s. 2, ch. 86-137; ss. 7, 8, ch. 86-180; s. 6, ch. 87-373; s. 9, ch. 88-382; s. 8, ch. 90-274; s. 4, ch. 92-122; s. 1, ch. 93-157; s. 5, ch. 93-193; s. 2, ch. 93-285; s. 1, ch. 94-254; ss. 6, 17, ch. 94-259; s. 1424, ch. 95-147; s. 17, ch. 95-392; s. 4, ch. 96-423; s. 3, ch. 97-180; s. 4, ch. 98-138; s. 4, ch. 98-413; s. 3, ch. 99-9; ss. 32, 33, ch. 99-255; s. 7, ch. 99-392; s. 20, ch. 2000-151; s. 7, ch. 2000-169; s. 8, ch. 2001-235; ss. 1, 11, 14, ch. 2001-262; s. 21, ch. 2002-1; s. 2, ch. 2002-177; s. 4, ch. 2002-273; s. 4, ch. 2009-209; s. 9, ch. 2011-68; s. 2, ch. 2013-53; s. 2, ch. 2014-54; s. 2, ch. 2015-227.
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April 25, 2010 Joseph Wallace
In other vaguely Czech animated news, Jan Pinkava is working on a feature film with Laika (presumably stop-motion as they shut down their CG department). Pinkava has had a very interesting career and is a truly international artist. He was born in Prague in 1963, a time when Švankmajer was making his first films, and the Czech film industry was active and fruitful with artists like Frantisek Vlacil and Milos Forman leading the way. Pinkava’s family moved to the UK in the late 60s and it was here that he was educated and started to play with animation.
He won an award for a short film of his on the BBC show Screen Test which brought him a lot of attention. Interested by the potentials of new technologies, he then went over to Wales to study computer science in Aberystwyth and stayed until he got a PhD. After a brief stint in London he was picked-up by Pixar in 1993 and made some award-winning commercials as well as working on their features. Geri’s Game, Pinkava first short at Pixar won the Oscar, as well as numerous other awards and really established him as a director. This gave him the impetus to begin developing a story of his into feature film. The story was about a rat on the streets of Paris who dreamed of being a chef…
Ratatouille (2007) © Disney / Pixar
This would of course later become the brilliant Ratatouille, but not without some turbulence. It’s unclear what really happened, and the Ratatouille DVD Extras provide little answers, but Pinkava was replaced as Director by Brad Bird, hot off the success of The Incredibles. Jan stayed briefly, demoted and then quit Pixar. Brad Bird is currently working on a live-action adaptation of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco called …1906. The exciting news regarding Jan Pinkava is that we should soon see more work from this skilled craftsman with the Laika film. I’m not sure if this is anything to do with the new features that Henry Selick is directing as I understood he had left Laika and was now working with Disney/Pixar and John Lasseter on creating at least three new stop-motion feature films. Many British animators over here are already packing their bags getting ready to go to the states for something. Time will tell.
Henry Selick with Coraline. Image. © Syfy 2010
Tags Czech Animation, Europe, History
← New ThingsCzech Adventure →
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Reflections: A Brief History of Looking at Ourselves
Hometown Girl: Contemporary Quilts of Mimi Dietrich
Woman of Two Worlds: Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte and Her Quest for an Imperial Legacy
In Full Glory Reflected: Maryland during the War of 1812
Paul Henderson: Maryland's Civil Rights Era in Photographs, ca. 1940-1960
Inventing a Nation: Maryland in the Revolutionary Era
Divided Voices: Maryland in the Civil War
With an Artistic Eye: Folk Art at the Maryland Historical Society (Temporarily down, beginning Feb. 11, 2019)
Work and Play on the Bay
The Star-Spangled Banner Gallery
Furniture in Maryland Life
Reflections: A Brief History of Looking at Ourselves, opens June 19, 2019
The Maryland Historical Society presents Reflections: A Brief History of Looking at Ourselves, an exhibition
of portraiture that celebrates photography as an expression of identity, place and sense of belonging. On view, June 19, 2019-July 1, 2020, Reflections encompasses nearly the entire era of photography, from the earliest 1840s daguerreotypes to modern day photographs and Instagram "selfies."
Presented by the Von Hess Foundation
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte was one of the femme fatales of the War of 1812 generation, setting the gossipmongers atwitter with her revealing empire dresses at society events. Her marriage to Napoleon Bonaparte’s younger brother Jerome became an international drama. Even at ninety-four, Elizabeth was still making news as one of America’s richest women. As the official keeper of Elizabeth’s memory, The Maryland Historical Society is launching a major new exhibition, entitled “Woman of Two Worlds: Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte and the Quest for an Imperial Legacy” that will open on June 9, 2013.
The exhibition illustrates the ‘two worlds’ of France and America that Elizabeth inhabited and showcases her pearl and garnet tiara, silver, porcelain, paintings, textiles, jewelry, manuscripts, furniture and one of her "scandalous" dresses in the French-style.
Presented by Brown Advisory and Legg Mason
In Full Glory Reflected is Maryland’s largest display devoted to the War of 1812 and its era. The exhibition fills an entire gallery floor with a fascinating array of artifacts and documents, many donated by the Defenders of Baltimore themselves.
Visitors explore life in the early-nineteenth century as they follow Baltimore’s evolution from a small, scenic village to a bustling boomtown. Clipper ships carry them from the Chesapeake to China, and they discover the significance of maritime trade during this period. They watch as impressments, riots, and raids lead to war with Great Britain, and as war leads to battles like Bladensburg and North Point. They experience the disastrous surrender of the capital in Washington, and the heroic defense of Baltimore. Finally, they learn how the War of 1812 has been and will be commemorated. Visitors leave the exhibition considering what Americans were thinking, feeling, and doing during the early-nineteenth century. They also have a better understanding of the experience of Marylanders during the War of 1812.
The exhibition features many important objects, including: a mug known as the “Etting Cup,” circa 1814, owned by Samuel Etting and etched with images and names associated with the Battle of Baltimore; a canteen inscribed by Shipley Liester Jr. and used in the Battle of North Point on September 12, 1814; Rembrandt Peale’s portraits of Joshua Barney, George Armistead, and other Defenders of Baltimore; a photograph of the “Old Defenders of Baltimore in Druid Hill Park” by W. Ashman, circa 1876-1880; and the original manuscript of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” written by Francis Scott Key at the Battle of Baltimore in 1814.
Opened February 2011 - (Re)Opened and Expanded February 2017
Maryland's Civil Rights movement began in the early to mid-1930s. The lynching of George Armwood on Maryland's Eastern Shore in 1933 sparked revamping of the Baltimore Branch NAACP and intense activism on the part of black and white residents of Baltimore.
Paul Henderson (1899-1988), born in Springfield, Tennessee moved to Baltimore in 1929. In 1930, Henderson married grade school teacher Elizabeth Johnson and the couple took an apartment on McCulloh Street, within walking distance of Pennsylvania Avenue, the black community of Baltimore's shopping and entertainment district. Along with the NAACP, politics, church life, sports, education, and the Afro-American newspaper, Pennsylvania Avenue is one of the many subjects featured in his photographs.
On exhibition are images of important events, groups, and people, such as the protest at segregated Ford's Theatre in Baltimore, NAACP membership campaign meetings at Sharp Street Church, the Baltimore Elite Giants Negro League baseball team, Morgan State College, Dr. Lillie May Carroll Jackson (head of the NAACP, 1935-1970) and family, Thurgood Marshall with Dr. Carl Murphy (editor-publisher of the Afro-American newspaper), Henderson's photography equipment, and ephemera from his manuscript collection.
MdHS has displayed Paul Henderson’s work in exhibits at Baltimore City Hall and Morgan State University’s Lewis Art Museum.
A blog with more of Henderson's work and videos with Henderson photos with audio from the McKeldin-Jackson Oral History Project can be found here: http://hendersonphotos.wordpress.com
See also: Paul Henderson Manuscript & Ephemera Collection - MS 3089
Paul Henderson Photograph Collection (BCLM, HEN) inventory lists
Related program: Seen & Heard: Maryland's Civil Rights Era in Photographs and Oral Histories (February 23, 2012)
Inventing a Nation: Maryland in the Revolutionary Era is a collaborative exhibition between the Maryland Historical Society and the Maryland State Archives presenting documents and artifacts from the American Revolutionary War. Iconic life-sized portraits by Charles Willson Peale complement the swords, uniforms and other personal items of America’s Revolutionary heroes. Artifacts belonging to George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, Tench Tilghman, and William Paca are on display.
The Maryland Historical Society opened the permanent exhibition Divided Voices: Maryland in the Civil War in 2011 to tell the story of how Maryland, as a slave-holding border state, was caught between North and South, divided over slavery and freedom, Union and Confederate. In 2018, MdHS’s museum, library and education staff collaborated to refresh Divided Voices and reveal new stories about the African American experience before, during and after the war. The exhibition includes a number of new museum acquisitions, as well as reinterpretation of existing objects in MdHS’s collection. New interactive elements—including a 12-minute film and an iPad used for visitor feedback—draw visitors into the dialogue about the conflict and ask them to ponder the question, “Are we still divided?”
With an Artistic Eye: Folk Art at the Maryland Historical Society
**This exhibition is temporarily down, beginning Feb. 11, 2019, and will be replaced by "Hometown Girl: Contemporary Quilts of Mimi Dietrich," opening Mar. 23, 2019.
With an Artistic Eye assembles diverse objects from the Maryland Historical Society’s rich collections that can be considered folk art. The exhibition includes paintings, watercolors, sculptures, pottery, stoneware, textiles, furniture and jewelry created by artists without formal training, but with exceptional creative talent. Many of the objects of view have not been exhibited for decades.
Work and Play on the Bay highlights the importance of the Chesapeake Bay to Maryland for over 350 years. Boat models, paintings, decoys, mastheads and trail boards are featured in the exhibition. A section of the installation features an area where younger visitors can try their hand at oystering.
Core Exhibitions
The Maryland Historical Society is home to the oldest known surviving manuscript of Francis Scott Key’s “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Along with this national icon, the Star-Spangled Banner Gallery showcases paintings and artifacts, which tell the story of the brave Defenders of Baltimore who fought to protect our city and country from the British during the War of 1812. The Gallery also features a changing selection of items from the H. Furlong Baldwin Library’s Star-Spangled Banner sheet music collection.
Currently on view is The Star-Spangled Banner. A Patriotic Song. Published by Carr Music Store in Baltimore in 1814, it is one of the few remaining copies of the 1st edition of the poem set to music we know as our national anthem.
Click here to see more War of 1812 material in the Maryland Historical Society's collections
Furniture in Maryland Life explores the manufacture, design, and function of furniture made and used in Maryland from 1634 to 2000. Decorative arts treasures, such as silver and porcelain, along with stunning paintings of Maryland interiors contribute to this fresh look at the furniture industry in Maryland.
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Home»Posts tagged with»Kamala Mills fire
‘Maha government mulling a law over hookah parlours,’ CM Fadnavis
By Team MMM on March 19, 2018 Featured, Top Stories, What’s New?
On Monday, Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, assured the state legislature that his government is considering to bring in a law to deal with illegal hookah parlours. CM Fadnavis said this while answering a question raised by the oppositions MLA’s during the debate on illegal hookah parlours in Mumbai
The state government is deliberating to establish a law which can regulate illegal hookah parlours in the city. CM Devendra Fadnavis announced this during a debate in the legislative council. Last December, after 14 innocent people died in the Kamala Mills fire due to sparks from a hookah. The state government had decided to finally […]
BMC Hospitals: Fire safety measures should be full proof, demand MLAs
By Surabhi Jagdish and Aarti Jadhav on February 27, 2018 Featured, Human Interest, Top Stories, What’s New?
BMC hospitals, dispensaries and medical colleges, have no NOC with regards to fire safety. Even KEM Hospital doesn’t have the NOC. So, in case of fire in the hospital, a big emergency can arise. Fire safety issue in BMC hospitals was raised in the Maharashtra assembly
After Kamala Mills fire, Municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta, had ordered fire department to carry out fire safety audits in all the BMC hospitals and dispensaries. In which, it was revealed that KEM Hospital doesn’t have the NOC. On Tuesday, in Maharashtra assembly, BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar and Ashish Shelar raised this issue. Speaking to My […]
Kamala Mills fire: hookah claimed 14 lives, concludes MFB
By Team MMM on January 5, 2018 Did You Know?, Featured, Top Stories, What’s New?
Mumbai Fire Brigade submits its report after the Kamala Mills tragedy
A week after the Kamala Mills Fire killed 14 people, Mumbai Fire Brigade submitted it’s investigation report. In which they mentioned the flying embers emitted from the lighted charcoal sigree which is used in hookah as a cause of fire. Hemant Parab, deputy chief fire officer, Byculla Mumbai Fire Brigade said, “We have submitted the […]
Kamala Mills fire: Know how KEM doctors tackled the emergency
By Aarti Jadhav on December 30, 2017 Featured, Human Interest, Top Stories, What’s New?
A massive fire broke out at 12.30 am at ‘1Above’ restaurant in Kamla Mills Compound, Mumbai. Many people were present in the pub when the fire broke. 14 people lost their lives in the incident and 26 are injured. The injured were admitted to KEM Hospital. But, during the night time the doctors were less compared to the day time
It was an emergency and the injured needed an immediate treatment. Right from the patient’s relatives, the police and the media, everyone was present in the hospital. Owing to which, the hospital administration immediately asked the doctors to report on their duties. After which, the patients were treated. On the other hand, it was essential […]
Mumbai Kamala Mills fire: He saved 12 but lost his life
By Team MMM on December 30, 2017 Featured, Top Stories, What’s New?
Sarabjit Parida, worked a waiter at 1Above’ restaurant. Sarabjit came forward to save lives immediately after the fire broke out and while doing so, he lost his life
Sarabjit was working as a waiter in ‘1Above’ On Thursday, unfortunately Sarabjit went to work but did not return home. Sarabjit was amongst those 14 innocent people who lost their lives. A massive fire broke out at 12.30 am at ‘1Above’ restaurant in Kamala Mills compound, Mumbai. Many people were present in the pub when […]
Kamala Mills fire: BMC chief suspends 5 officers; CM Fadnavis orders probe
By Aishwarya Iyer on December 29, 2017 Featured, Top Stories, What’s New?
Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis visited the spot of the mishap and paid heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and also to those injured. He sent out a statement directing the BMC Commissioner to conduct an in-depth enquiry
As soon as the news about the Kamala Mills fire took place, there was immense grief and speculation around the city. The chief minister of the State, Devendra Fadnavis visited place where the incident occurred and paid heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and also to those injured. He sent out a statement […]
Mumbai Kamala Mills fire: Hiding in the toilet, led to death by suffocation
One of the saddest highlights of the Kamala Mills fire is the way how 14 people died purely due to suffocation in the toilet, as they hid there in an attempt to save themselves
Destiny has its way of giving fury, they say. This was proved on Friday in the fire that broke out at Kamala Mills compound inside porch 1Above restaurant and then spreading to the rest of the area. But what seemed to be one of the saddest parts of the whole event was 14 people who […]
Viagra for women, now a reality?
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Brennan Kennedy
Volunteer of the Year award guidelines
In Canada, Sun Life Financial encourages our employees and Career Sales Force advisors to apply for the Volunteer of the Year award. Employees and advisors can also be nominated by an outside source. Please follow the guidelines below.
To enter or be nominated, the candidate must have:
volunteered significant hours from January 1 to December 31, and
contributed talents, energy and skills to help charitable organizations in the community.
This program recognizes up to 4 people for their extraordinary involvement in their community each year. Deadline for submission is April 30 and award recipients are announced in July.
Awards available:
1 National Volunteer of the Year award
Up to 3 runner-up awards
The recipient of the National Volunteer of the Year award receives $10,000 to donate to a Canadian registered charity of their choice.* The runners-up each receive $3,000 to donate to their chosen Canadian registered charities.*
* The recipients must choose registered charities that meet the guidelines of the volunteer program to receive the donation.
Awards eligibility:
Employees of Sun Life Financial who are full time, or reduced hours, and those on maternity/paternity leave.
Sun Life Financial Career Sales Force advisors (excluding staff of advisors and associate advisors)
To apply for the Volunteer of the Year award, the employee or advisor must have personally volunteered at least 50 hours from January 1 to December 31, with a minimum of 1 registered charity.
Volunteering must have taken place on personal time.
Volunteer hours will only be accepted if they occurred at a registered charitable organization. Search Canada Revenue Agency to confirm that the organization(s) is/are registered with the federal government.
Volunteer hours completed at service clubs have additional restrictions for program eligibility. Volunteer hours served only at service clubs do not qualify for the Volunteer of the Year awards program. Service club volunteer hours must be in conjunction with other hours at another/other charitable organization(s). As well, the award recipient cannot direct the donation to the service club; instead he or she must choose another registered charity.
Recipients of the Volunteer of the Year award cannot specify how the charity uses the financial gift. The donation is made in the name of the charity and it is entirely up to the registered charity to decide how the money should be used.
Previous National Volunteer of the Year award recipients are ineligible to enter or be nominated for the same award they received for 2 consecutive years after the year they receive the award. Runners-up are eligible the following year.
Awards selection process:
Sun Life Financial’s Philanthropy team will verify all information and shortlist the candidates. The Volunteer of the Year award recipients will be selected by committee based on established criteria.
Send entry forms or nominations, along with supporting documents, to Philanthropy no later than March 15.
Complete the Volunteer of the Year application form and email or mail it to:
1 York Street
Toronto, ON M5J 0B6
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christians: it is anti-semitic to deny jews the gospel
Avant-garde authors are now publishing some of the frankest discussions of Jews ever to have appeared in US web sites and print publications, raising a firestorm of protest, some of which is no doubt legitimate and some less so.
An honest forthright discussion of Jews, ranging from the intimidating foreign lobby AIPAC to the illegal settlements in Palestine and Syria and the imprisonment and murder of children in the West Bank, from the belligerent encroachment in Lebanese airspace to the unprovoked murders of Syrians engaged in battle with ISIS, to the demonic blasphemy of Israel friend and multimillionaire televangelist John Hagee and his infatuation with wars contrived to spill rivers of American blood and massacre thousands of foreign civilians in their sleep all in the name of our Gentle Saviour, is the ultimate challenge to the limits of Christian love. But if you are a Christian, it is your mission to minister to the people who have perpetrated these immoral acts and to do so in love.
But even without the blemishes, Jewishness is a ticklish subject, in part because the Jews are a hard group to define in the first place. Normally they are defined from the standpoint of either religion or ethnicity, neither of which define them satisfactorily. For example, there are Ethiopian Jews who clearly do not belong in the bloodline of Abraham. Yet the Old Testament says Abraham married an Ethiopian woman (Numbers 12:1), and the New Testament tells of Philip ministering to an Ethiopian Eunuch of Queen Candice's court who was reading a copy of the Old Testament (Acts 8:26) when Philip encountered him.
Both of these passages indicate that Judaism was widely accepted in ancient Ethiopia, which clearly had ties to the Holy Land (the Ethiopian languages are in fact Semitic).
Thus ethnicity and genetics are not valid criteria for defining the group.
As for religion, over 50% of today’s Israelis polled have said they were irreligious. So religion is not a reliable criterion either. Therefore the word "Jew" must be defined in the broadest possible way. From the standpoint of politics and notably their influence on US politics, Jews could at least safely be called an interest group.
The Jewish lobby AIPAC has had an inordinate influence on US politics and particularly on foreign relations in the Middle East. In his speech before the group Trump told AIPAC that he would always stand with Israel. Ominously, he also said, incorrectly, that Iran “is the biggest state sponsor of terror,” repeating a Zionist slogan that completely white-washes the role of Saudi Arabia as the sponsor of both Al-Qaeda and ISIS – terror groups being combated in Syria and Iraq by, ironically, Iranian boots on the ground. This statement is in harmony with Israeli propaganda and the Israeli government’s desire to fight Iran, at least as long as the US does the heavy lifting. But s would pit the US against a strong ally of nuclear armed Russia.
AIPAC recently pressured 43 US senators to introduce a bill that would have made it a federal crime to boycott Israel. It is chilling to know that 43 US senators hold the interests of Israel in higher esteem than the US Constitution and would have blithely seen you or me thrown in federal prison for advocating a boycott of a country that illegally occupies territory in Palestine and Syria and bullies its neighbours by launching deadly missile attacks against their armed forces even as the latter are engaged in battle against groups internationally recognized as terrorists. If you do an internet search using “israel attacks Syria,” you will find numerous reports of such unprovoked attacks. In the latest attack, Israel claimed its airspace had been violated by an “Iranian” drone. Journalists did not seem to notice the Israeli disclosure that this “Israeli airspace” was in fact located in the illegally occupied Golan Heights, which belongs to Syria. Makes you wonder if there is anywhere on earth that Israel would not claim as its own if it could get away with it, and whether any journalist would have the integrity to deny such a claim. The White House immediately accepted the Israeli tale and said it would stand with Israel no matter what. You know what that means for world peace.
So why do Americans, who otherwise rush to defend their constitutional freedom of religion and speech, so blithely allow a foreign country to walk all over everyone, allowing a foreign lobby to write a law that blatantly tramples the holiest of all constitutional amendments and allow it to drag the US into defending Israel in its dangerous confrontation with Iran and its allies?
There are two powerful psychological components in the US public’s support for Israel:
The Holocaust and the feelings of sympathy it evokes.
Christian Zionism based on a false interpretation of the Bible (as we shall show).
The US is home to the Holocaust Museum and has produced many films and videos on the Holocaust, which evoke feelings of solidarity among Americans. In the minds of most Americans the defence of Israel by the US military is tantamount to the bald eagle sheltering the tender Anne Frank with its mighty wings.
Christian Zionism has captivated the minds of millions of Americans, with over 60% of US Evangelicals believing that it is a Christian duty to support Israel, despite the fact that their government acknowledges same-sex marriages performed in other countries and provides sex change operations for its army recruits at tax payer expense – things that, in their own home country, these same Christians strongly oppose. Clearly, “Christian” Zionists see supporting Israeli policy, including wars, as their top priority and taking the Gospel to the Jews as an afterthought if even that.
Middle East Eye posted a powerful piece on how Christian Zionism got Trump and Pence elected.
Arch-Zionist Pastor John Hagee believes, as the first above-linked article states, that it is Christians' responsibility to support Israel because the Second Coming depends on this. The thinking behind this is as twisted as it comes. The Christian Zionists argue that, since 2 Thessalonians 2 prophesies that the Anti-Christ will sit in the Temple of God, generally thought to be in Jerusalem, then that temple – destroyed in 70 AD – must be rebuilt, and Christians must support this reconstruction. But this passage is in fact a description of an ungodly use of the temple, and it is absurd to think that God would want His people involved in setting the stage for one of the wickedest events of the future world. Indeed nowhere does the New Testament say that Christians should involve themselves in the fulfilment of any prophecy, let alone of something evil. But aside from that there is a more likely explanation of this from the site christianitybeliefs.org.
“Keep in mind that when the Apostle Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, the Jewish temple was still standing, as it wasn’t destroyed by the Romans until 70 A.D., so any reference to a physical temple would have been to that temple, not an end times temple.”
Based on their blasphemous distortion of scripture, the Christian Zionists believe that Christ will not return until Israel becomes a nation with its capital in Jerusalem. They therefore believe it is their sacred duty to support Israel in all its policies – including its illegal occupation of land in Palestine, Jerusalem and Syria and its abuse of children in Palestine, up to and including murder. Jesus’ teachings on love seem to be the last thing on their minds.
The fact is, Jesus said, in Matthew 22:39 that he would not come back until the Jews accepted him as having been sent by the Lord. He never once told his followers that they must help organize and support a secular state called Israel. In fact, Ezekiel 37, on which much of Christian Zionism rests, prophesies a resurrected Israel that is obedient to God, certainly anything but a secular state half of whose populace does not accept the God of Abraham. All of this cult is non-Biblical and supported on the flimsiest interpretation of obscure passages, a blasphemous distortion to suit the specific ends of Zionists.
At variance with Christ’s words, Cristian Zionists' message to the Jews is: you do not need to accept Jesus. Uniting as a nation -- even as a secular nation without any religion – is your chief mission.
The greatest danger here is that Zionism supported on religious grounds ignores the real and imminent danger inherent in confronting powerful nations because it carries the tacit implication that the policies forged and implemented by Zionists are of God and therefore, God will save America from the consequences of their foolish actions. This blind belief in divine invincibility is the same notion that propped up the pious leaders and participants of the Peasants’ Revolt, which targeted churches and property and killed priests. The fanatics were all eventually rounded up and executed for their crimes. Only as the flames licked the soles of their feet did they realize that they had never been on God’s side. We may not allow a similar misguided fanaticism to bring tragedy to the world at large.
There is no question that this interest group is the most influential lobby in US politics.
Multimillionaire televangelist John Hagee has had personal contact with Netanyahu and has had the ear of Neocon notables such as John McCain and GW Bush. He urged the latter to bomb Iran and after this conference with Hagee, Bush apparently became tougher on Iran. Here is a pastor who is not afraid of nuclear war, believing that God is on his side.
But what if God has His own plans for Israel and for America? What if He wants Americans to obey Him instead of ruling His world by their own rules, based principally on war and subversion of stable governments?
Assuming that is so, then American Christians had better get down to heeding the words of Jesus, who said the Jews would not see Him again until they were ready to welcome Him. That means ministering to the Jews, not congratulating them on the creation of a secular state by warlike means -- on land from which God had banished them for disobedience. If Israel ever does truly accept the Prince of Peace, then they will start seeing the world through eyes of love and start treating their neighbours fairly, going with humility to the bargaining table with Palestine, Iran, Lebanon and anyone else they have mistreated in the past, being prepared to return illegally seized territory to its original owners.
If you are a Christian familiar with prophecy, you know this will happen sooner or later. How about sooner? How about applying the Great Commission to the Jews for a change? Is it not selfish -- indeed anti-Semitic -- to continue denying them the salvation you enjoy?
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PROBLEMS OF MODERN YOUTH: Essay Writing
PROBLEMS OF MODERN YOUTH
It has been rightly said that we spend the first half of our lives trying to understand the older generation, and the second half trying to understand the younger generation. This is nothing peculiar to the modem age. It has always been so. Every age has its own problems. Youth has always felt somewhat exasperated with age, and age has always been suspicious of youth. With their natural ebullience and impatience, a majority of young people is keen to act and learn on their own rather than be guided by the experience of their elders. The older people, being more at home with words rather than with action, often make noises about the problems of youth. In every generation, old men are found shaking their hoary heads and waxing nostalgic about the good old days when young people knew better and showed due reverence to age and tradition. In all ages, whenever they have pondered over the ways of youth, they have foreseen nothing but ruination staring the world in its face. And yet the world goes on. Every generation passes from the spontaneity and exuberance of youth to the caution and prudence of old age, and then yields place to the next.
Some of the charges brought against modem youth are that they represent a rudderless generation without any ideals to live by, or cause to live for. Without the redeeming influence of faith, they are afflicted with a compulsive reverence which manifests itself in increasing defiance of parental authority and revolt against established social, moral and behavioural norms. On the slightest pretext they take to the streets, indulging in violence and destruction. They want to attract attention to themselves through unconventional behaviour and clothes. A majority of them have fallen victims to self-pity, mister med as alienation. They are becoming a generation of drug addicts and have developed an aversion to honest, hard work, ever on the lookout to have something for nothing. It is no longer anxious youth going forth into a hostile world. Now, it is hostile youth going forth into an anxious world, which is not sure, what to expect from it.
This is a formidable list of charges and it will require on army of psychologists to ascertain the truth of the allegations made and to analyze the erratic behaviour patterns referred to. But even from the layman’s point of view, the indictment appears to be patently one-sided. It betrays a lack of sympathetic understanding and realistic appreciation of the dilemma in which the younger generation finds itself today.
If we come to think of it, it is not that only the younger generation is feeling restless. As a matter of fact, human society itself is in a state of flux. And that is not a recent development. A profound change has been coming over it for the last quarter of a century. It started with those who had fought in the Second World War They had been brought up in an atmosphere impregnated by conformism. But after they had borne the brunt of fighting for seven long years, their outlook was radically changed. They came to acquire a rather equivocal attitude towards established authority as also towards long-accepted social mores and codes of conduct. They had seen the death and destruction wrought by the war. It diminished their respect for the wisdom of old age because it was the old men—their fathers—who had started the war. The catastrophes of death and destruction, which had visited the world twice in thirty years eloquently, showed that the old had bungled, and that their claims to mature wisdom were false. Then the general erosion of law and order, which is natural in times of war, wrought a profound change in the spirit of the age. An attitude of dissent and irreverence came to replace spontaneous faith and quiet acceptance of the status quo. Thus, it was the old people themselves who sowed the seeds of that arrogance of which they complain so bitterly while discussing modem youth.
A fast-growing population has increased to complexities of life in our times and the fantastic technological progress triggered off by the Second World War. These two factors combined have brought about great socio-political changes during the last three decades, both in the industrialized countries of the west and in the underdeveloped countries in Asia and Africa.
Growing affluence in the developed societies of the West has generated among the people there a restlessness, which pines for instant rewards. Pursuing the mirage, parents have little time to devote to their children and to properly direct and supervise their activities. The children have all the money they need, and seldom face the need to work for a living. The result is that they try to attract attention in other ways and seek excitement in drugs and permissiveness.
In the underdeveloped countries also, young people are feeling disgruntled because their visions of a happy future are being obliterated either by internal strife or by political opportunism. Very few among such countries are enjoying political stability and even in them, more often than not, it is a particular class which is cornering most of the rewards of technological progress. This provokes the young to protest against rampant corruption in society and the denial of social justice.
In the circumstances, is it to be wondered at if all talk of dedication to ideals, renewed moral vigour, basic virtues etc. leaves the young cold and unconvinced? They are no longer prepared to blindly accept whatever their elders choose to ram down their throats. They are prone to subject to critical review all the social and political values they are called upon to accept When they see high-sounding principles invariably being ignored for expediency, political leaders deliberately hoodwinking the masses, vested interests being allowed to frustrate the state at every step, corruption common in high places and other gaping differences between promise and performance, they naturally become cynical and clamour for change.
Students form a very important group among the youth of all nations. Like the others in the same age group, they too have ample reason to be dissatisfied with the state of affairs in our educational institutions. Their biggest and most legitimate grievance is that what they learn after putting in so much time, effort and money has very little relevance to the realities of life with which they come face to face after leaving the university. Rather than equipping them to make an honourable living, education appears to be rendering them unemployable. Therefore, it is but natural that they should want to have a say in determining what should be taught so that it has some relevance to their future life and its needs. They would no longer tolerate politickers masquerading as teachers. They are not prepared to concede that the educational authorities have also to act as the guardians of their morals. They consider themselves quite capable of looking after themselves.
If we look at the problems of youth today in the light of foregoing, it will be apparent that it is not the young alone who are to blame for the state of mind in which we find them. They may well be charged with being ignorant of what they want. But they surely know what they do not want. Theirs is a movement of protest against hypocrisy and lack of integrity in their elders, an expression of moral revulsion against corruption in society. Students are up in arms against displays of hollow pedantry and alienated erudition in educational institutions, the lack of living contact between students and teachers, and the unresponsiveness of the whole educational system to the need for change. The young are protesting against the difference between the myth and reality of the society in which they are growing.
Evidently, this concern for the future and this anxiety to rescue life from hypocrisy is very laudable indeed. But it cannot be said that the young are all the time guided by such high purpose, or that their choice of methods is always happy. Dissent is necessary—in fact obligatory when things go wrong. But when it descends from the verbal level to the physical, it invites tragedy. Violence comes natural to youth. The young, supremely sure that the authority against which they are up in arms is unjust and oppressive, and feeling certain of the correctness of their own stand, react emotionally. The intensity of their feelings is such that it fills them with hatred and they turn to violence.
Those who advocate taking to the streets to give vent to feelings of grievance plead that no one pays attention to words any longer. But this^ way of thinking is dangerous. Violence is an expression of intolerance. As the President of the Yale University said some time ago, the ugliness of the radical is no different from the ugliness of the reactionary. Both share the sin of arrogance, which is the enemy of freedom. In a general unleashing of violence, dissent is the first casualty.
On the whole, the younger generation today is much misunderstood and more maligned than it deserves. The world, which it is going to inherit, will be immensely more exciting than the world of its predecessors ever was or could be. At the same time, life will present to it a much bigger and far more complex challenge. It would not do to condemn it and find fault with it that is easy enough. What is really important is that it is treated with understanding so that it can develop its faculties to reshape the world it is going to inherit in accordance with its noblest vision.
Tags: English Essay Topics, English Essays, Essay about New speech topics, Essay about PROBLEMS OF MODERN YOUTH, Essay Topics for High school students, Essay writing Topics, New speech Topics, persuasive essay topics, persuasive speech topics, Short essay writing topics
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Court gives tribe, environmentalists new chance to fight uranium mine
Canyon Mine uses water cannons to evaporate water from its holding pond near the mine shaft. (Blake McCord/Grand Canyon Trust)
Vandana Ravikumar, Cronkite News
Originally Published: November 6, 2018 10:27 a.m.
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court said Oct. 25 that the Havasupai tribe and environmental advocates can challenge an existing uranium mine on land near the Grand Canyon where mining was recently banned.
The decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a partial reversal of its own December decision that said the Canyon Mine, approved in 1988, was grandfathered in and could not now be challenged.
“This decision is a victory for public lands everywhere,” said Amber Reimondo, energy program director for the Grand Canyon Trust, one of the advocacy groups challenging the mine. “It recognizes that those of us who want to protect public lands can go to court to help put teeth into safeguards like the Grand Canyon mining ban.”
But a spokesman for mine owner Energy Fuels
Resources said the company is committed to continuing the fight to open the mine, which he said poses no threat to the environment.
“It’s a minor setback, but I don’t think it’s going to impact anything we’re doing up there. So we’ll see what happens,” said Curtis Moore, the spokesman.
The ruling is the latest in a years-long fight that began in 1988, when the Forest Service approved plans to build and operate the mine around Red Butte, just miles from the Grand Canyon and the Havasupai lands. Construction began on Canyon Mine but was put on hold in 1992 when the market for uranium faltered.
The mine was still shuttered in 2012 when then-Interior Secretary Ken Salazar imposed a 20-year moratorium on new mining claims — a “mineral withdrawal” — on more than 1 million acres of public lands around the Grand Canyon.
A few months before the ban took effect, Energy Fuels Resources told the Forest Service that it planned to reopen Canyon Mine. After a review, the Forest Service determined that the company had “valid existing rights that were established prior to the mineral withdrawal.”
Even though it determined that the mine did not need new environmental or historic site approvals to operate, the Forest Service contacted the tribe to negotiate possible changes to protect Red Butte, which was declared a historic place in 2010.
The court said those negotiations continued until 2013, when the Havasupai sued, along with the Grand Canyon Trust, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club. The suit demanded new reviews of the mine under the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historical Preservation Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.
“There is potential for contaminating the groundwater,” said Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon chapter. “That’s part of the reason why the Havasupai tribe has challenged this mine — in fact, has been challenging this mine since the 1980s.”
Taylor McKinnon of the Center for Biological Diversity said that neither the miners nor the government “can ensure protection against permanently damaging the Grand Canyon’s aquifers and springs.”
Moore flatly rejected that claim.
“It will not be disruptive to the environment,” he said of the mine. “There’s a 40-year history of mining these types of deposits in northern Arizona, where there’s been no adverse environmental impact. Their fears are unfounded.”
The suit also said the Havasupai consider Red Butte a sacred place, and Bahr said the government is “ignoring the concerns of the Havasupai and a number of other tribal nations regarding what the impact of this mine is or could be.”
A federal district court last year sided with the government, and that ruling was upheld by the 9th Circuit in December. But the court revisited its ruling and said Oct. 23 that while the mine approval could not be challenged under the environmental or historical laws, there could be a challenge under the Federal Land Policy Management Act.
It said that act gives the Interior secretary the authority to order mineral withdrawals, but that those withdrawals are “subject to valid existing rights” — and the district court needs to determine if there was a valid existing right under the FLPMA.
“The original three judges who reviewed this took another look at it and said, ‘We changed our mind at one of these points, and we’re going to send it back to the district court so we can get a ruling at that level,’” said Roger Clark, director of the Grand Canyon Trust’s Grand Canyon Program.
The court ordered the case back to district court to reconsider the challenge on those grounds.
“Theoretically, this mine that’s already been developed … if it is subject to the Mineral Withdrawal, nothing could be mined out of there until after the moratorium is lifted in 2032,” Clark said.
Both sides agree that there is still a long legal battle ahead. But Moore said the mining company is confident that it will emerge successful.
“We’re unsure what exactly our next steps will be, but presuming that we do have to go back to the district court and argue that issue, we’re pretty confident that we’ll prevail on that issue,” he said.
Supreme Court upholds mining ban near Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon uranium mining ban upheld, court sides with Havasupai
Attorneys spar over withdrawing Grand Canyon-area land from uranium mining
Groups file suit to block Canyon uranium mine near Grand Canyon
Havasupai Tribe files two lawsuits fighting for water rights
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The Night of the Secretary General
By Paul Kirby (composer) & William G. Marx (librettist)
Directed by Lissa Moira
View All Concerts
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Presented in partnership with the Musicians Club of New York
Foto: UN/DPI
TRANSIT ALERT: The A train is not running north of 168th Street this weekend. As an alternative, transfer to the 1 train at 168th Street and ride to 191st Street (exit via the tunnel to Broadway; do not take the elevators), or transfer at 168th Street to a free shuttle bus running on Broadway to 184th Street.
FREE EVENT (RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED)
Saturday, October 21 at 7:30 PM MAP IT
Sunday, October 22 at 5:00 PM MAP IT
As the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1953-61, Dag Hammarskjöld used his post and its “bully pulpit” to strive for world peace during the Cold War. Among the highlights of his tenure at the United Nations were his negotiation of the release of eleven US pilots captured during the Korean War; the establishment in 1956 of the UN Emergency Force; and his intervention— also in 1956—to help resolve the Suez Crisis.
After his death, Hammarskjöld’s book, Vägmärken (Markings), was discovered in his home, along with a letter giving permission for its publication. This deeply personal book revealed him to be a man of unshakeable integrity. Paul H. Kirby, composer, and William G. Marx, librettist, have teamed up to create a music drama centering on Hammarskjöld’s thoughts and ideals, as expressed in his own words, and as translated by Leif Sjöberg and W. H. Auden.
The performances will feature baritone James Parks, accompanied by a 9-piece orchestra, conducted by the composer.
Paul H. Kirby/William G. Marx - The Night of the Secretary General
About the creators
Composer/conductor Paul H. Kirby has served as music director and conductor of the Central Iowa Symphony, Iowa State University Symphony, Houston Youth Symphony and Ballet, and several other musical organizations. He holds degrees in music from the City University of New York (Doctor of Musical Arts), the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Rice University, with additional study at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. He has been the recipient of a wide range of commissions including ballet, choral, organ, musical theatre, sonatas, and symphony. His musical arrangements, compositions, discography and resume are listed at library.newmusicusa.org/PaulHKirby. He is also keenly interested in supporting his fellow composers. In addition to sharing his financial expertise with the Musicians Club of New York as its Treasurer for the past decade, he also served as the first Chairman of the Musicians Club's re-instituted Member/Composers Committee, and has become a regularly featured composer and performer at its annual concert.
Librettist William G. Marx completed his A.B. and A.M. degrees at the University of Michigan (UM) and his Ph.D. in English language and literature at Michigan State University (MSU). Dr. Marx’s academic interests lie in the study of early English literature, especially that of medieval English drama, the plays of William Shakespeare, and the life and work of Thomas More. His doctoral dissertation applied selected techniques of Constantin Stanislavski to the interpretation and staging of medieval religious drama. While serving in the U.S. Army in Germany, Dr. Marx directed a production of Samuel Beckett’s, Waiting for Godot, which toured half a dozen bases in the greater Nürnberg area. At MSU, he directed and acted in seven productions of medieval English drama that comprised some fifteen plays. For over 25 years, Dr. Marx worked as an assistant to the director of the Center for Integrative Studies in MSU’s College of Social Science. He retired from MSU in 2007 and now enjoys the honorable station of Senior Specialist Emeritus. Dr. Marx is co-author of the recently published Staging Salvation: Six Medieval Plays in Modern English (Tempe, Arizona: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2014). He has also published chapters on the character of “Mrs. Noah” in English medieval drama (in From Page to Performance, ed. John A. Alford, 1995) and on the life and works of Thomas More (in Icons of the Middle Ages, ed. Lister M. Matheson, 2012).
About the performers
Baritone James Parks, a native of Frederick, Maryland, was most recently seen in Southern Florida at Stage Door Theater in The Last Romance and Macomb Michigan, premiering Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun. In New York City, James is sought after for collaborating on new musicals and demo recordings. Recent new works include Bradley Cole, Dick Whittington: an Xmas Panto, and Tombstone the Musical. James was part of a national tour of Pinkalicious. Mr. Parks holds a bachelors of music from Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins and a masters of music from NYU Steinhardt.
Saturday, October 21 Sunday, October 22
# of guests attending, including yourself *
© Music at Our Saviour's-Atonement
178 Bennett Avenue (one block west of Broadway at 189th Street)
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Three detained in attempt to murder case
Mangaluru, Dec 12, 2016 : Mangaluru City Police Commissioner M Chandra Sekhar named those in custody as Ahmad Shinan, 22, residing near Nadupalli Mosque, Sheikh Shahbaz, 22, from Kudroli, and Anish Ashraf, 19, also from Kudroli. The trio had made a futile bid to kill Mohammad Ijaz, 26, a resident of Nellikai Road in the city, on December 02.
The accused, who waited for Mohammad Ijaz to return to his flat, attacked him from behind with sharp weapons as he was alighting from the scooter that he drove in front of his flat. As Ijaz ran to save his life, the trio chased him and attacked him with talwar causing injuries on his head and also stabbed him on the back with knives and fled the scene, leaving Ijaz a grievously injured.
Based on a tip off, personnel of Mangaluru South police station, where a case of attempt to murder was registered, nabbed the accused near Surathkal junction as they were coming back to the city after being on the run since the incident. Police also seized a scooter, talwar and knives used by the accused. PC Chandra Sekhar said the accused had fled to Goa after committing the offence and were returning to the city when they were intercepted and taken into custody.
Noting that the incident had taken place on account of personal enmity between the victim and the accused, PC Chandra Sekhar said that police investigation is now focussing on other people behind the incident, those who sheltered the accused and provided them with logistical and other kinds of support when they were on the run.
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No more passport free travel between Denmark and Sweden
To cope with a big migrant influx or the need to better handle possible terrorist threats the sharper border controls all over the EU may bring back European travel to post-WWII standards.
Beginning on January 4 and for the first time in over 50 years travelers going from Denmark to Sweden by train, bus or boat will need to present a valid photo ID, such as a passport, to enter Sweden from its southern neighbor. There are penalties for tour operators who fail to impose checks. Passengers who fail to present a satisfactory document will be turned back at the border.
Sweden is set to drastically reduce the flow of refugees into the country by imposing strict identity checks on all travelers from Denmark. All the Nordic countries are now working to shed their reputations as havens for asylum seekers and the new rules for entering Sweden from Denmark will likely force similar controls at Denmark's border to Germany. In his new year address, Denmark’s liberal prime minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said the country was prepared to impose similar controls on its border with Germany, if the Swedish passport checks left large numbers of asylum seekers stranded in Denmark.
The move marks a turning point for the Swedish ruling coalition of Social Democrats and Greens, which earlier presented itself as a beacon to people fleeing conflict and terror in Asia and the Middle East.
Sweden was initially expecting about 100,000 newcomers in 2015, but by year's end the figure was almost twice that, and the country is struggling to provide shelter, education and other services for would-be asylum seekers. After failing to convince other European nations to share some of Sweden's migrant burden the government made a substantial U-turn in late November, declaring much less liberal asylum policies both in terms of residence permits, accompanying families and border controls.
According to Sweden's migration board, 80 percent of people seeking asylum in the country in 2015 did not have a passport and 60 percent have still not managed to show any official identification papers to the authorities.
Sweden became part of the Schengen area, the 26 European countries that abolished passport and other types of control at their borders in 2001, but the borders to Denmark and other Nordic nations have been open since the Helsinki Treaty in 1962. At this point several of the Schengen participants have increased control at their borders. Sadly, passport free travel in Europe might become a thing of the past again.
As of 2016 and continuously, for the first time in 50 years, the Swedish passport — or some other form of ID — is needed for travel between Denmark and Sweden.
ENLARGE IMAGE »
The Oresund Bridge, Öresundsbron, is a combined two-track rail and four-lane road bridge across the Öresund. The bridge-tunnel is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe and connects the Danish capitol Copenhagen with Malmö. The bridge is the longest border crossing bridge in the world. It opened July 2, 2000.
Old Swedish border marker along the border to Norway. Image source: Public Domain
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'The Lunchbox' inspired by stories about housewives
by veena February 28, 2014 0174
Irrfan Khan (right) and director Ritesh Batra (second from right) on "The Lunchbox" set.
Washington, Feb 28 (IANS) Back in 2007 Indian-American filmmaker Ritesh Batra had embedded with Mumbai’s ‘dabbawallas’ for a couple of weeks while trying to make a documentary about them, but instead ended up making “The Lunchbox”.
“I wanted to find personal stories from among them. Instead we became friends and they started telling stories about the housewives they would pick up lunchboxes from,” Batra told IANS in a phone interview.
“I got more interested in that. So I abandoned the documentary and started writing this,” said the director, who has won the Best Debut Director prize at the prestigious 2014 FilmFare Awards for the film.
That was the genesis of the film set to release in New York and Los Angeles Friday after a stellar run at the world’s top film festivals including Cannes, Toronto, and Sundance where it met with rave reviews.
It then opens March 7 in San Francisco, Washington DC, Chicago and other major US cities.
Batra never anticipated the way the film seems to have taken both India and the West by storm.
“You are just trying to be honest to every moment of the film,” he said. “It’s hard enough to make a film. To anticipate what it’s going to do later is just impossible.”
The story revolves around Ila, a young middle class Mumbai housewife, trying to win back her husband’s affections through his stomach and how a rare mistaken delivery in Mumbai’s famously efficient ‘dabba’ delivery system of lunchboxes, from homes to offices, connects her to a testy old widower (Irrfan Khan) through notes in the lunchbox.
“It was a very difficult role to cast,” said Batra, who after lots of auditions spread over several months, settled on Nimrat Kaur, a relatively unknown actress who had earlier appeared in a couple of TV commercials in India.
Batra met Nimrat after seeing a couple of her plays at the recommendation of his casting director. “I had a great instinct about her, and when I met her the instinct grew stronger.”
And Nimrat turned out to be “just a great great fit for the part. She really inhabited the part,” said the director, who grew up in Mumbai and lives in New York. “I am really glad that we found her.”
For the lead character of Saajan and his office colleague Shaikh, “I always had Irrfan and Nawazuddin Siddique in mind and I was thrilled when they came on board,” he said.
Nawazuddin’s character was always part of the screenplay, Batra said, but “He just became more and more important as I kept writing.”
As for his technical crew “everything was sort of an educated choice to achieve a specific objective.” he said.
Except for the cinematographer(Michael Simmonds)and the editor, largely the crew is from Bombay, “because there is a huge thriving industry here”.
“It was important for me have the cinematographer from New York because he can see things that I can’t see being from here. So it was very important to have a foreign eye.”
“The editor (John Lyons) is someone I trust and always wanted to work with.”
Batra has no immediate plans for a new film. With “The Lunchbox” set to release in US then in Hong Kong, Israel, UK,
Japan, and Australia “I have a lot of commitments to the film for the next few months – lots of traveling.”
Make films for the world: Ritesh Batra to Indian filmmakers
Washington, Feb 28 (IANS) Ritesh Batra, director of the critically acclaimed “The Lunchbox” would like Indian filmmakers to “reach out with our films to the world” as India has a wealth of stories to tell.
“We should not restrict our audience to India and Indians. Indian films should be for the world,” says the director of what critics in his words have called “an Indian story with a universal heart.”
“We have a wealth of stories,” Batra told IANS in a phone interview ahead of the film’s release in New York and Los Angeles Friday clarifying reported remarks that the audience for off-Bollywood or indie films from India is abroad.
On the controversy over “The Lunchbox” being snubbed in favour of Gujarati film “The Good Road” as India’s official entry for the Academy Awards in Best Foreign Film Category, Batra said: “I think the process needs to be improved. It needs to be more in with the World’s.”
In Spain and Chile, for example, it’s their academies that “make decisions that are good for the cinema of the country because it’s the country that gets the Oscar not the filmmaker or the film.”
Batra does not consider “The Lunchbox” an indie film as it is an India-US-France-Germany co-production.
“I think in India a film without songs is called an indie film,” he quipped. “I don’t know if there is a formula” for the success of a film like his. “But if there is, I would like to know it.”
He agrees that the rise of multiplexes in India has been good for independent filmmakers.
“The Lunchbox was very successful, I think, because of that. It played in India for several weeks. So I think it’s very good of course.”
Batra who grew up in Mumbai, lives in New York City, and is married to a Mexican, believes that this “multiple existence” obviously “shapes my instinct in some way”.
But I think for me to analyse myself is very difficult because everything comes from a personal place of instinct,” he said. Maybe 15 to 20 years from now, one may be able to see how this affects a filmmaker’s work.
Batra said he was open to doing commercial Bollywood/Hollywood cinema, if he could make it something personal.
“Sure. It’s hard to anticipate. It depends on a story finds you as much as you find the story. If it’s something I can take it and make my own, I’ll do it.”
“Both the characters in ‘The Lunchbox’ are me to some degree,” he said. “I wrote it when I was away from India from the point of view of nostalgia. There is a lot of nostalgia in the characters from India.”
Balancing his life as a new father and as a husband while his wife was expecting during the making of the film was “very difficult honestly with the travel and trying to write,” Batra said. “It’s really a daily day to day effort,” but then “It’s like everyone else.
Batra, who divides his time between Mumbai and New York does not consider himself either an Indian filmmaker or an American one.
“I consider myself a filmmaker,” he said. “The stories just find you and it does not matter where they are set. If you can bring something to them then they are yours.”
Corruption practised with impunity in India, says US report
'Shaadi Ke Side Effects' – looking into a marriage, with a smile
My father cut me off when I was 18: Sonam Kapoor
veena July 21, 2016
I was a bully and mischievous in school: Ranveer Singh
veena January 22, 2016
Emraan Hashmi's son makes first appearance on screen
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WET & HOT NEWS ! /
By treasures | On 14/06/2019 | In Underwater Archeology
By Michael Wing - Epoch Times
The ancient Greeks once sailed the seas aboard ships like the ones depicted on ancient murals and vases from the time of Plato. In modern times, though, we have never actually laid eyes on one—that is, until now.
In the depths of the Black Sea, more than 80 kilometers off the coast of Burgas, Bulgaria, an ancient Greek merchant ship, resembling paintings of the vessel used by Homer’s Odysseus, was discovered by an Anglo-Bulgarian research team in October 2018.
From carbon dating, the ship is thought to be over 2,400 years old, making it the world’s oldest ship ever found that is still intact.
The vessel measures 23 meters long (75 feet), and its rudder, rowing benches, as well as the contents of its cargo hold remain preserved despite being two-dozen centuries old.
The Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project (MAP) team located the ship at a depth of 2,000 meters below the surface (well beyond the reach of modern divers) using two underwater robotic explorers to digitally map the wreck in 3D.
They also took samples for carbon dating. “It’s when the ROV [remote operated vehicle] drops down through the water column and you see this ship appear in the light at the bottom so perfectly preserved it feels like you step back in time,” MAP researcher Dr. Helen Farr told BBC.
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Pekin Insurance® Recognizes Winning Performances of Top Agents and Agencies
Posted by Pekin Insurance on Apr 9, 2012 in News
For the 52nd consecutive year, Pekin Insurance has held Award and Appreciation Banquets to honor agents and agencies for insurance production that has gone Beyond the expected.® This year, 46 Full Circle Agency Awards, 119 Underwriter of Merit Awards, 122 Gold Key Awards, 144 Silver Key Awards, and 97 Inner Circle Club memberships were presented at banquets held throughout the month of March in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
The Full Circle Agency Award was given in recognition of exceptionally high standards of service to an agency’s customers and community. As our top award, the Full Circle Agency Award is given only to an agency which has demonstrated outstanding professional performance in both the Property/Casualty and Life and Health lines of insurance.
The Underwriter of Merit Award was presented to those agencies who demonstrated professional skill and knowledge in the field of property/casualty insurance, which was the foundation for agencies to earn the award.
The company’s Gold and Silver Key Awards annually honor those individual agents who displayed superiority in the sales of life and health insurance.
Membership in the Inner Circle Club was achieved by those agents who earned a Gold Key Award and produced excellent performance levels in the sales of life and health insurance and who also excelled beyond that to be among the top 5% of producers for Pekin Life Insurance Company.
The coveted Robert T. Tebben Agency of the Year Award was presented to one agency in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin. This coveted award honors the late Robert T. Tebben, who in his over 50 years of service to the company, contributed more than any other single individual to the present success of Pekin Insurance. He believed that all Pekin Insurance agencies should strive to be Full Circle Service Agencies which provide a full range of services to their customers. The winners of this astute award were as follows: Midland Insurance Agency in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois; Myers and Hayden Insurance, Inc., in Fort Wayne, Indiana; First Gabrielson Agency in Belmond, Thornton, and Clear Lake, Iowa; Williamson Insurance Services of Zanesville, Inc., in Zanesville, Ohio; and Bock Insurance Agency, Inc., in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
It is a true privilege for Pekin Insurance to celebrate the accomplishments of their outstanding agents and agencies at Award and Appreciation Banquets each year.
Pekin Insurance has been in business since 1921 and is one of the leading insurers in the state of Illinois, providing multiple lines of insurance. Pekin Insurance offers insurance coverage in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin through its growing agency force which now totals 1,210 independent agencies and 7,518 insurance producers in the six- state area. The company is headquartered in Pekin, Illinois, with service offices at Champaign, Moline, Mount Vernon, Rockford, and Warrenville, Illinois; Indianapolis and Warsaw, Indiana; Des Moines, Iowa; Columbus, Ohio; and Appleton and Waukesha, Wisconsin.
To learn more about Pekin Insurance, visit www.pekininsurance.com.
Pekin Insurance® Holds Annual Meeting (2012)
Posted by Pekin Insurance on Feb 15, 2012 in News
The Farmers Automobile Insurance Association held its annual meeting on Tuesday, February 14, 2012, at their Home Office in Pekin, Illinois.
The following directors were elected for three year terms: Craig W. Concklin, Hinsdale, Illinois; and Daniel V. Connell and A. Richard Kriegsman, both of Pekin, Illinois.
Subscribers elected Craig W. Concklin, Hinsdale, Illinois; and A. Richard Kriegsman, Pekin, Illinois, to the Advisory Committee.
Pekin Insurance officers elected included: Gordon M. Walker, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer; Steven R. Anderson, Vice Chairman of the Board; Scott A. Martin, President; Daniel V. Connell, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Secretary; Todd A. Clark, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Brian K. Lee, Senior Vice President; Stephen H. Nunan, Senior Vice President – Underwriting; Peggy S. Collins, Vice President – Group and Claim Services; Curtis A. Eeten, Vice President – Claims; Gregory L. Feller, Vice President – Sales; Joel M. Jackson, Vice President – Marketing; Rodney L. McKimson, Vice President – Information Technology; Edward A. Mulvey, Vice President – Personal Lines Underwriting and Assistant Secretary; Joseph C. Ricigliano, Vice President – Commercial Lines Underwriting and Assistant Secretary; Diane K. Steiner, Vice President – Life Underwriting and Assistant Secretary; Michael A. Zabinski, Vice President – Controller; G. Christine McGann, Assistant Treasurer; Michele E. Ginther, Assistant Treasurer; Aaron Z. Potacki, Assistant Secretary; and Michael L. Norton, Assistant Secretary.
Pekin Insurance is a group name adopted to designate the combined operation of The Farmers Automobile Insurance Association, Pekin Insurance Company, PAC, Inc., and Pekin Life Insurance Company.
Pekin Insurance has been in business since 1921, and is one of the leading insurers in the State of Illinois, providing multiple lines of insurance. Pekin Insurance offers insurance coverage in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin through its growing agency force which now totals 1,210 independent agencies and 7,518 insurance producers in the six state area. The company is headquartered in Pekin, Illinois, with service offices at Champaign, Moline, Mount Vernon, Rockford, and Warrenville, Illinois; Indianapolis and Warsaw, Indiana; Des Moines, Iowa; Columbus, Ohio; and Appleton and Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Pekin Insurance Agencies Helped to Bring Joy to Troops Serving Overseas (2011)
Posted by Pekin Insurance on Dec 14, 2011 in News
Pekin Insurance agencies made the holidays more meaningful and merry with outstanding production of life insurance during Pekin Insurance’s recent “Help the Troops Call Home for the Holidays Sales Contest” culminating in USO phone cards being sent to active deployed units in the Southwest Asia region including Kuwait, Dubai, Qatar, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
For every life insurance application that a Pekin Insurance independent agent submitted during the contest, a USO phone card was donated to USO Operation Phone Home.
More than 1,300 USO phone cards were sent to our troops serving overseas. The company and its independent agencies take great pride in and sincerely thank the men and women who are making the sacrifice and commitment to fight for the freedom and safety of our country. We were happy to help members of our armed services have the opportunity to hear the voices of their loved ones during the holiday season.
In business since 1921, Pekin Insurance today offers multiple lines of insurance in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin and is represented by nearly 1,500 independent agencies.
Pekin Insurance independent insurance agencies can assist you with your auto, home, business, life, and health insurance needs with service that goes Beyond the expected.®
Visit www.pekininsurance.com to find out more about a company that provides peace of mind and long-term security for its policyholders. Also, take the time to sign up for their informative eNewsletter.
2011 Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament
Posted by Pekin Insurance on Dec 1, 2011 in News
Pekin Insurance is proud to be a part of the Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament hosted by Pekin Community High School on December 27, 28, and 29. This year marks the 47th year of the tournament featuring some of the best basketball teams in the state of Illinois. For more information on the tournament, visit www.holidaytournament.com.
Pekin Life Insurance Company Announces New Health Claim Service
Posted by Pekin Insurance on Nov 18, 2011 in News
Pekin Life Insurance Company has been providing benefit administration services to their group health insureds for nearly half a century. Recognizing their long history of expertise in employee benefit administration and commitment to providing service that goes Beyond the expected,® a third party administration unit has been created to extend their professional support to businesses that prefer to self-fund their benefits.
Group Plan Solutions (GPS) Benefit Administration, a division of Pekin Life Insurance Company, was established to help guide employers through the maze of health care reform while providing direction to finding the optimal solution to employee benefit needs. Peggy Collins, Vice President – Group and Claim Services, remarks, “Many TPAs focus on how quickly your claims are processed. We focus on making sure that your claims have been examined for ways to save you money, while still making sure your employees are paid the benefits you have promised them. You can trust that we will be as fiscally responsible with your self-funded benefit dollars as we are with claims we process as an insurance provider.”
Terrie Strebing is the company’s new TPA Administrator. With over 10 years of experience in the third party administration arena, she will guide businesses to provide an outstanding benefit package for their employees.
Strebing hails from Danville, Illinois, where she attended Danville Area Community College. Her previous experience as an account executive; manager, client development; and client development coordinator in the health industry will aid in the building of trust with new TPA clients while finding innovative solutions to client problems.
A multi-line company, Pekin Life Insurance Company also offers individual and group life and health products; including term life, universal life, major medical, Medicare supplement, annuity, credit insurance, debt protection, and pre-need coverages.
Other products offered by the Pekin Insurance group include automobile, homeowners, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, boatowners, commercial automobile, businessowners, commercial property and liability, workers compensation, and bonds.
Pekin Insurance offers insurance coverages in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin through its independent agency network.
Information about Pekin Life Insurance Company can be obtained by visiting www.pekininsurance.com and like them on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/pekininsurance.
Pekin Insurance Announces Partnership With PGA Pro D.A. Points
Posted by Pekin Insurance on Sep 22, 2011 in News
An already great year got even better for D.A. Points on Wednesday when the professional golfer entered into an agreement with hometown company Pekin Insurance to become his primary sponsor.
Just hours before he appeared on the Golf Channel program “The Grey Goose 19th Hole,” Points reached an agreement to represent Pekin Insurance on the PGA Tour.
“It’s definitely icing on the cake,” said Points, the Pekin native who won his first PGA Tour event this year and currently has more than $2 million in earnings. “Hopefully it’s a sign of great things to come.
“I’ve always been looking for a way to give back to the Pekin community, and partnering with Pekin Insurance will allow me to do so much better than I could have on my own.”
Points will wear the Pekin Insurance logo on the left chest of his golf shirts, replacing the logo for American Blood Centers he has worn the past two years. The two-year agreement, worth an undisclosed amount, will also include appearances at various meet-and-greets with Pekin Insurance clients.
Points also said there are plans to develop some kind of charity component to the agreement. Points said the deal came together thanks to his agent, Brad Buffoni. The Milwaukee-based agent has been successful in setting up insurance company endorsements for his other high-profile clients, Iowa’s Zach Johnson and Wisconsin native Mark Wilson.
“This is obviously a unique opportunity for us,” said Joel Jackson, vice president of marketing for Pekin Insurance. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we’re excited to take advantage of.”
Jackson added that the charity component of Points’ involvement would likely take the form of some sort of “Birdies for Charity” fund, although no specific details had been worked out.
Points also has sponsorship agreements with TaylorMade, Titleist/FootJoy, Westin Orlando, and Marquis Jet.
In 24 starts this year, Points, who won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, has made 17 cuts and earned $2,025,076.
TRAVEL PLANS: The remainder of the 2011 tournament schedule for D.A. Points will include the McGladrey Classic in Sea Island, Ga. (Oct. 13-16), the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic at Disney World (Oct. 20-23), the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic in Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia (Oct. 27-30) and the HSBC World Golf Championship in Shanghai, China (Nov. 3-6). The events in Malaysia and China will be the first time Points will compete in Asia.
Article courtesy of the Peoria Journal Star.
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Cody Simpson & The Tide Premieres New Music Video for “Don't Let Me Go”
Australian singer-songwriter Cody Simpson and his band the Tide have dropped a new music video for “Don't Let Me Go”.
The video features Cody Simpson, Lorynn York, Shareef Addo and Ryan McCarthy, directed by Taylor Curran and Cody Simpson. The clip draws a story of infatuation and young love in Los Angeles with black and white footages.
The song is their second single of the 2018, following the previously released single “Underwater” after their debut EP "Wave One" the release last year.
The track is an electric pop sound with the synth-beats unlike the EP "Wave One".
Cody Simpson said of their music after the debut EP "Wave One" in an interview with Billboard;
"It's definitely a step for me musically. When we got back in the studio after [Wave One], we were all much more interested in creating something fresher and more modern, more lively and colorful -- that’s where we’re at now musically. My drummer and bass player and co-producers have been working quite diligently at less live production and more programmed production. That was a major asset and a major improvement. Making this kind of music was an extreme and immense growth period. We experimented a lot, we were working on music from rock to reggae to blues to pop and incorporating all of those influences, and this is what we came up with."
Cody Simpson debuted a solo artist in 2012 and has released three albums "Paradise", "Surfers Paradise" and "Free". Also he is known for a collaboration song "Home to Mama" with Justin Bieber in 2015.
He formed his own band with Adrian Cota (drums) and Shareef "Reef" Addo (bass) in 2017. He released the debut EP "Wave One" as Cody Simpson & The Tide.
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At a cast party in 1970, actors Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey came up with the idea to write a show featuring the music of the 1950s, set in high school with characters based on people they went to school with. Together they wrote a play and original music, however Grease did not start out as a musical. In February of 1971 the pair mounted their first production of the show with a non-professional cast of 18 and a budget of only $171 at Kingston Mines Theater, an obscure venue in Chicago. The four night run played to sold out houses and was extended for many weeks following its initial premiere. During the initial run, two young theatre producers, Ken Waissman and Maxine Fox, saw the show and offered to produce it in New York providing Jacobs and Casey would agree to rewrite it as a musical with a full score. The pair quickly agreed, quit their day jobs and headed to New York where they worked daily on the rewrite. A year later the new musical Grease premiered off-Broadway at the downtown Eden Theater. It earned seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical of the Year and then moved to Broadway to play at the Broadhurst Theater and eventually the Royale. At 3,388 performances it set a record as the longest-running show on Broadway until 1980, when A Chorus Line took that title.
The first National Tour of Grease followed the New York debut and took the U.S. and Canada by storm. In the cast was a young newcomer named John Travolta playing Doody, the nerdy kid who idolizes Danny Zuko. In 1973, the show opened in London’s West End with the then unknown American actor Richard Gere as Danny Zuko. In 1978, Grease was made into a major motion picture starring John Travolta, by then a rising television star, in the lead role along with Olivia Newton-John as Sandy. The film catapulted Travolta to major motion picture stardom and it remains the highest grossing movie musical of all time. Grease has enjoyed many revivals since its initial success and continues to be a favorite show for theatres and audiences around the world.
Grease takes place in a fictional high school during the late 1950s, a time that ushered in a new phenomenon that resulted from the post-World War II economic boom – the teenager. This new era allowed teen-aged children the freedom of leisure time, independence and cash to spend. For the first time in history teens displayed their rebellion against the adult world’s conservative dress and behavioral codes by experimenting with cigarettes, alcohol and sex, by wearing leather jackets and tight pants and by slicking back their longer hair. Rebellious youth culture was on the rise in the form of the “Greasers,” the young men in working class neighborhoods who affected an image of “cool,” a poised, disinterested disdain. The root cause of all this “decadent” behavior was attributed to a new form of music called “rock n’ roll.”
In 1958 there was no way to know where the seeds of social revolution would lead or just how profoundly the world was about to change. During the 1970s, in the aftermath of the turbulent cultural-revolution and the Vietnam War, the 1950s were looked back upon as an innocuous and innocent time and often idealized as a happy decade. Perhaps this accounts for the revival of 1950s pop culture in the 1970s. In addition to Grease, there were films such as American Graffiti and The Lords of Flatbush and the television show "Happy Days," all celebrating, with varying degrees of seriousness, the first glimpses of an authentic youth culture in America. The persistent charm and joy of Grease lies in the fact that it restores us, for a short while, to a state of blissful ignorance.
The Ogunquit Playhouse has taken a fresh look at this popular classic and is melding favorite elements of both the film and the Broadway musical to create a unique production of the rock n’ roll show. DJ Salisbury has returned to the Ogunquit Playhouse as the Director/Choreographer, (2012 and 2013 D/C for Buddy, the Buddy Holly Story) and he has delivered a thrilling injection of pure fun, along with astounding dancing to match the iconic songs.
PRESS RELEASE >
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OUT OF MIND » PERCEPTUAL AWARENESS » INFORMATIVE GUIDES FOR THE SHIFT IN CONSCIOUSNESS » Miracles and Inspiration
Miracles and Inspiration
1 Miracles and Inspiration on Thu Apr 05, 2012 7:58 am
angels77
Epic Paradigm Shift Poised to Unfold Within US and World Imminently
Reported by Scott Mowry | http://miraclesandinspiration.com/news_epic-paradigm-shift.html
For more news stories see our News Archives
Major events across the US continue to accelerate towards a momentous breaking point with each passing week in the first quarter of the year 2012.
We are fast approaching a paradigm shift of epic proportions that will result in the total freedom of all US and world citizens. Many spectacular developments, long in the planning stages, are set to unfold that will alter the course of history forever and will place humanity permanently on the path towards the Golden Age.
Behind the scenes, heroic battles wage the likes of which have never been seen on this planet before yet go completely unnoticed by the people who will ultimately benefit from them the most. Along the way, intense negotiations are and have been underway within all sectors of our modern society to break an intricate control system that has been in place for a hundred years or longer. In some cases –– for thousands of years.
These include the stranglehold upon our monetary systems, our governmental organizations, media empires, religious institutions, energy resources, science and technology spheres, food productions and health care industries. All are about to be lifted out a state of suppression to be transformed into a state of dynamic activation for the benefit of all of mankind.
FINANCIAL WAR THE MOST INTENSE
Most particularly intense at this stage of the game is the war to wrest control of the world's financial power structures with major victories occurring at a near daily basis. This unseen war is the precise reason why we have yet to see any major news of currency revaluations in foreign countries, particularly with the Iraqi dinar which has long been anticipated
Although the revaluation of the Iraqi dinar was originally intended to be a secret held by a few insiders devised during the first George Bush, Jr. administration, current estimates are that as many as six million people around the world have discovered and subsequently invested in this classified plan.
Even a few select mainstream news media outlets are now beginning to report on foreign currency revaluations such as Bloomberg News and Fox Business News.
On another note, the alliance between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South
BRICS Alliance: Russia, Brazil, India, China & South Africa
Africa, also known as BRICS, has taken the bold steps to dump the US dollar as their primary trading currency and create its own bank. This is yet another nail in the coffin for the privately-owned Federal Reserve banking cartel as more and mores nations seek to increasingly marginalize the dollar for a take down.
BRICS recently held their annual summit in New Delhi, India in late March 2012 where they made a series of major announcements. Along with the White Dragon Society, BRICS is now emerging as perhaps the most forceful global resistance vehemently opposed to any further aggressive overtures by the NWO cabal, such as World War III in the Middle East.
One significant person who continues to stand tall is Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has miraculously managed to rescue his country from a total downfall to the New World Order banking cabal. Mr. Putin survived two assassination attempts in his home country recently in his bid for re-election and is now set to lead the Russian people into the promised land.
On Friday, March 28, 2012, Barack Obama appointed Jim Yong Kim, a physician and President of Dartmouth College to lead the World Bank. The irony of placing an Asian in charge of this major financial institution was not lost and was likely strongly endorsed, if not enforced, by the White Dragon Society.
Apparently, Jim Yong Kim has no ties the criminal cabal as previous World Bank Presidents have such as Robert Zoellick and Paul Wolfowitz. His appointment is yet another sign the world's financial systems are dramatically changing for the better.
Further indications that the criminals are turning upon one another are another series of unprecedented reports arising from the Vatican –– the richest, most powerful institution and the very heart of darkness on planet Earth. The US State Department announced it has placed the Vatican bank on the "concerned list" for money laundering, while JP Morgan suddenly decided to close all of the Vatican's accounts it holds. Astonishing news, to say the least!
(See video below, "Signs of the Illuminati Defeat Are Everywhere!" for further information on the Vatican.)
And finally, no less than the Queen of England's own bank, Coutts Bank, was fined 8.75 million pounds for failing to carry out correct checks on “politically exposed persons” and prevent money laundering. And in an even more dramatic development, the Queen's fortune has now has been officially linked to drug trafficking.
UNSUNG HEROES ABOUND
Meanwhile n the shadows, many, many heroic people are battling in the trenches with little recognition yet they possess the most noble and altruistic intentions for all of humanity, often risking life and limb to do so. They have remained true to their purpose of fighting against darkness and evil with a strong sense of will and determination to see the job through to the bitter end.
In the not-too-distant future, we will need to recognize and honor these individuals for their courage, bravery and service towards not only to our country, but to the whole of the human race. These heroes come from the military, economic fields, various governmental departments, legal professions, intelligence services and average, ordinary walks of life –– all linked by a high moral fiber that propels them to serve.
Still others making a profound difference in our world include a large number of people in highly conscious states who are proactively meditating, consciously co-creating and envisioning a grand future for humanity. They can be found in far flung regions across the planet such as India, Tibet, China, etc. and they are literally birthing a new reality for us all to step into.
The Oneness University Temple – Chenai, India
The Oneness University, out of southern India, and its leader Sri Bhagavan, are openly speculating that by the end of 2012, there will be 70,000 enlightened beings upon the Earth. This 70,000 is the critical mass number needed to shift the entire planet into a higher state of consciousness.
Enlightenment is a very real phenomenon that is transferrable from one human being to another. It is a provable fact from scientific research known as the"100th Monkey Effect," in which Japanese scientists observed that a learned behavior spreads instantaneously from one group of monkeys to all related monkeys once a critical number is reached.
Thus, for every one person who becomes enlightened, in turn effects 100,000 others around them. The numbers suggest that 70,000 x 100,000 = 7,000,000,00 –– the likely total population of planet Earth by the end of 2012 or early 2013. We can therefore conclude that critical mass guarantees a planetary shift.
We may likely never learn the names of these many enlightened beings due to the fact that they seek little glory for their efforts, preferring to operate from a place of anonymity and humility.
Together, all of these diverse cross-section of people have worked tirelessly to bring the Golden Age to planet Earth as rapidly and as expeditiously aspossible. And they have made tremendous strides since the dawn of the year 2012.
If you can, imagine not having to worry about the basic necessities of life such as feeding your family, putting clothes on your back, affording your housing or having access to first class medical care. Soon, all the people of world will be provided with these basic necessities as a birth right, once the resources, technologies and monies have been freed up to be dispersed among all.
Perhaps this kind of scenario may sound fanciful and untenable. Yet many are seeing and feeling the real possibility of this kind of lifestyle emerging for all of the human race sooner, rather than later.
We are indeed living in the most exciting times ever seen in the history of the Earth!
MASS ARRESTS WITHIN US BORDERS ABOUT TO BEGIN
Soon, our news media will finally begin reporting on an unprecedented number of mass arrests that will sweep up many well known political, religious, economic and social leaders, as well as other high profile individuals whose names will be familiar to us all. While many others unknowns who have stood in dark corners wielding great negative power and influence upon the world will be removed from their hiding places.
According to the latest report from Benjamin Fulford, these arrests will include those at the very top of the pyramid including within organizations as powerful as can be found on the planet. These groups that will be targeted are: the Committee of 300; the Bilderberg group; the Council on Foreign Relations; the Club of Rome; the Trilateral Commission and the European Commission.
A whistleblower by the name of "Drake", a former member of the US military who served in Vietnam has emerged recently to act as a sort of quasi-spokesman for the US Pentagon and was interviewed by David Wilcock on March 28, 2012.
In this extensive nearly three-hour long phone interview, Drake and David Wilcock discussed a wide-range of topics including the impending mass arrests, the military's role as backing law enforcement and Federal Marshals, and the return of the US to a sovereign nation state.
Particularly interesting was the final hour of the interview where David Wilcock and Drake discuss some of the suppressed technologies that will be emerging in the very near future, as well as the dimensional shift about to occur.
(More information on this interview can be found in our David Wilcock Audio section.)
Once these arrests begin in earnest, it is possible that some areas of the country may experience slight delays in services such electrical power, or perhaps even telephone or internet utilities. Although, Drake stressed that the military will make every effort to insure that all Americans do not experience undue hardships during this momentous transition.
Therefore, it is recommended to have a three-day supply of food and water on hand for any possible short-term emergency situation.
Of further note, a major shift is already occurring within our corporate news media as people in the US move away in record numbers and turn towards alternative news sources found on the internet.
Reports are suggesting that viewership for the CNN channel has dropped by 50% this year alone. Other media empires such as News Corp, owners of Fox News, have seen numerous of their employees arrested in the United Kingdom.
Polls are indicating that the majority of the American people no longer trust mainstream media sources such as newspapers, magazines and cable news networks, which spells doom for those in the compromised news media.
Meanwhile, the hacker activist group known as Anonymous continues to grow stronger by the month. In their boldest move yet, the group recently released a sensational video that called for the outright overthrow of the the corrupted, corporate US government.
Anonymous continues to prove that is more than the authorities can handle at this time and has became a valuable PR machine for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Occupy Wall Street itself is gearing up for a massive round of protests beginning this Spring that will last until the big changes start to roll out and perhaps longer. Anonymous is also to be featured in an upcoming documentary film entitled, "We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists".
And finally, Foster Gamble, the creator and host of the landmark documentary film, "Thrive" recently announced his company will be making the film available for free, beginning April 5, 2012.
It will be available for viewing on their website so as to spread their message to as may people as possible, without any hindrances.
DIVINE INTERVENTION IN FULL FORCE NOW
And while we are at it, cancel all plans for Martial Law, FEMA enslavement camps, a devastating world-wide financial collapse, World War III and Armageddon. They are officially off the table! We are full steam ahead for Heaven on Earth now.
What seems like an extraordinary synchronicity of events all occurring at once, is merely the human race responding en mass to an enormous influx of energy emanating from the galactic center of the universe.
Assisting humanity along every step of the way, these energy waves streaming in are upgrading everything in their path including human consciousness, human DNA and the very nature of human reality which is being transformed from a third-dimensional to a fifth-dimensional existence. All of these upgrades are part of a grand Divine plan now moving into hyper-overdrive, preparing humanity's ascent into the Golden Age.
What may seem absolutely impossible and unfathomable one month, will suddenly become highly probable the next month. Therefore, it is vital not to cast doubt or dispersions on any of these seemingly unrealistic scenarios that many are envisioning for our immediate future. In other words, you may be quite surprised what becomes magically available to you from one day to the next.
At this point in time, anything and everything is possible and we should not limit our selves in any way, shape or form. Go ahead and dream the impossible dream.
YOUR CALL TO SERVE
As these monumental historic events begin to unfold, it is important to be mindful to not go into a state of fear or panic. In point of fact, many of us will be called upon to assist others with understanding the true ramifications of these epoch-making developments.
Many of you reading this update are probably familiar with many of these planned changes because you have heard rumors or you have done your research on them for many years.
Perhaps you have even grown rather weary and impatient, knowing within your heart that changes of this magnitude were inevitable, yet the wait for their implementation has felt like an eternity. You will soon be rewarded for your patience and persistence.
However, we must be ever mindful that the average American has absolutely no clue of what is coming down the pike. Many may have just recently become awakened to the horror that our government, banking institutions and media sources are completely corrupt yet they feel incapable of seeing any kind of solutions available to right the ship.
Your role will become more clearly defined as a mentor, an educator, a psychologist or even as a spiritual advisor as these historic events unfold upon your television and computer screens. In other words, you will need to explain to your family, your friends and acquaintances, or your co-workers what is really going on simply because you may have a better understanding of the overall big picture.
You will become an invaluable asset to those around you who may feel bewildered or completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of changes that will occur, one after another, after another.
Above all, remember –– stay calm, stay positive and stay strong. Trust that all is unfolding is part of an vast amazing, miraculous Divine plan that will result in your personal freedom, as well as, the freedom of your loved ones.
The Golden Age is here, ladies and gentlemen, now it is time to get down to work.
More information and videos at: http://miraclesandinspiration.com/news_epic-paradigm-shift.html
© 2012 MR Productions, LLC
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Org. Synth. 1949, 29, 78
5-NITRO-2,3-DIHYDRO-1,4-PHTHALAZINEDIONE
[1,4-Phthalazinedione, 5-nitro-2,3-dihydro-]
Submitted by Carl T. Redemann and C. Ernst Redemann.
Checked by Cliff S. Hamilton and Carl L. Carlson.
In a 16-cm. evaporating dish are placed 42.2 g. (0.2 mole) of 3-nitrophthalic acid,1 50 ml. of water, and a few drops of phenolphthalein indicator solution. The mixture is made faintly alkaline to phenolphthalein with about 66 ml. (0.4 mole) of 6 N sodium hydroxide solution (Note 1), the last portions of which are added slowly with good stirring so that the end point may be observed. The color of the phenolphthalein is discharged by the addition of 0.2–0.3 g. of the 3-nitrophthalic acid, and 26.0 g. (0.2 mole) of hydrazine sulfate2 is added. The solution is evaporated to dryness over a sand bath, with stirring at the latter part of the evaporation (Note 2), and the residual solid is cooled, ground in a mortar to a fine powder, and placed in a 200-ml. conical flask with 25 ml. of tetralin (Note 3). The mixture is heated at 160–170° for 3 hours and allowed to cool. After the addition of 50 ml. of benzene the solid is collected on a Büchner funnel and pressed down well, and most of the benzene is removed by suction. The solid is then washed with two 25-ml. portions of ether and allowed to stand in the air until the odor of ether is no longer detectable. The resulting material, weight 62–68 g., is an equimolar mixture of sodium sulfate and 5-nitro-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione, and it may be used directly for preparing 5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione (luminol, p. 69).
For purification, the crude material is suspended in 600–700 ml. of boiling water, and solid sodium carbonate is added in portions until the nitro compound has dissolved. Decolorizing carbon is added cautiously, and the suspension is boiled for a few minutes and filtered. The clear red-brown filtrate is acidified with concentrated hydrochloric acid, and the 5-nitro-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione is precipitated as a cream-colored flocculent solid. The solution is allowed to cool to room temperature, and the solid is separated by filtration and dried. The product thus obtained weighs 31–32 g. (75–78%) and has a melting point of 315–316° (dec.) when determined with the Kullman copper block (Note 4).
1. The strength of the sodium hydroxide solution is not critical; the equivalent amount of a solution of a different concentration may be used.
2. It is wise to cover the hand with a cloth or a glove while stirring, for the hot mixture may spatter if the heating is too rapid. The evaporation may be finished by transferring the evaporating dish to an oven shortly after the solid begins to separate. It is necessary to continue the evaporation until the solid is completely dry.
3. In an optional procedure the dry powder is heated in an oven at 160–170° for 3 hours.
4. No satisfactory solvent has been found for the recrystallization of 5-nitro-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione, but this precipitation gives a satisfactory product, free of sodium sulfate. The melting points given in the literature range from 297° to 320°.
5-Nitro-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione has been prepared by heating 3-nitrophthalic acid with a large excess of hydrazine hydrate,3 by heating 3-nitrophthalic acid with hydrazine sulfate4 and sodium acetate, and by heating the nitro acid with hydrazine hydrate in ethanol at 150°.5
This preparation is referenced from:
Org. Syn. Coll. Vol. 3, 69
Org. Syntheses Coll. Vol. 1, 408 (1941).
Bogert and Boroschek, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 23, 740 (1901).
Huntress, Stanley, and Parker, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 56, 241 (1934).
Radulescu and Alexa, Z. physik. Chem., B8, 393 (1930).
ethanol (64-17-5)
hydrochloric acid (7647-01-0)
ether (60-29-7)
sodium acetate (127-09-3)
sodium hydroxide (1310-73-2)
sodium carbonate (497-19-8)
sodium sulfate (7757-82-6)
3-Nitrophthalic acid (603-11-2)
decolorizing carbon (7782-42-5)
hydrazine hydrate (7803-57-8)
Hydrazine sulfate (10034-93-2)
phenolphthalein (77-09-8)
Tetralin (119-64-2)
5-Amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione (521-31-3)
5-Nitro-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione,
1,4-Phthalazinedione, 5-nitro-2,3-dihydro- (3682-15-3)
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The Prince’s Trust awards ceremony in Leicester
December 1st, 2010 News
On 30th November 2010 The Prince’s Trust held its 1st awards ceremony at the Leicester Tigers’ Stadium to recognise the outstanding achievement made by young people in the East Midlands.
The young people who were given awards had all experienced a difficult past but had managed to turn their lives around and achieve their goals with the help of The Prince’s Trust.
The awards ceremony was presented by Jay Singh-Sohal who was himself helped by The Prince’s Trust and is now a successful TV Journalist. He introduced the event by saying, “This afternoon you will hear the stories of young people with broken lives that have been pulled together by The Prince’s Trust.”
A video was played of His Royal Highness Prince Charles, founder of the trust. He described the people receiving the awards as, “role models for thousands of people across the UK.” He added they are, “truly amazing young people who have changed their lives.”
All of the finalists who were mentioned at the awards ceremony showed amazing resilience in turning their lives around. All of them had suffered as children or young adults but had achieved more than they could have imagined. These success stories showed the hard work and determination of the young people involved and also the help they received from The Prince’s Trust to get their lives back on track.
The fifth award was presented by Leicester businessman Vic Sethi who is British Asian. He received the ‘Businessman of the Year’ award this year which was presented to him by David Miliband. Mr Sethi told Pukaar News in an interview, “I’m the only British Asian businessman from Leicester involved with The Prince’s Trust and sat on the board. I have been supporting it for the last 3 to 4 years and would like to see more like minded British Asian Businessmen get involved. This can only be possible with the support of Media partners such as Romail Gulzar of Pukaar News, Rajan Singh of Star TV, Mr Bal of Sikh channel and other groups alike.”
He continued on to say, “The trust also helps British Asian children both domestically and abroad, a fact that not many of us are aware of. We need to bring in more successful British Asian businesses to support and contribute back to the Trust. The children of today are the future of tomorrow, they are our real wealth and the Trust helps and supports them ensuring that they achieve their full potential.”
The final award of the day was presented by Leicester Tigers Player Rory Underwood. This award was for someone who has achieved the most this year in turning their life around and helping others do the same. The award went to Laura Nuttell who tried to take her own life at 18. She was hospitalised for three years but The Prince’s Trust helped her turn her life around and she is now studying Mental Health and Social Work and aims to use her experiences and knowledge to help other young people.
Rory Underwood finished the day’s event by saying, “I’m very humble about what these young people achieve. You are all inspirational. I wish you all the best. I look up to you as role models.”
Laura Nuttell, the final award winner, added, “It’s meant so much to me to achieve what I have but to be honoured for it means so much. Thank you.”
Prince's Trust
Princes trust awards
Tigers Rugby Ground
Next article Wakefield Cathedral is holding a service for Asia Bibi
Previous article Christmas Lights Leicester 2010
Fans Gather To See Rugby Trophy in Leicester
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Land Needed for Horse Sanctuary in Leicestershire
RANIERI AWARDED WITH HONORARY DEGREE
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Photo of Remedios Varo.
The above image was taken from: (http://www.espacioblog.com/lauracano/post/2008/08/18/remedios-varo)
From left to right: Gerardo Lizarraga, Chiki Weisz, Jose Horna, Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo, Gunther Gerszo, Benjamin Peret, and Miriam Wolf at the wedding of Carrington and Weisz, Mexico City, 1946.
The above image is taken from(http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=87793121).
Remedios Varo was born in Angles Cataluna, Spain on December 16, 1908. In 1924, at age 15 she was admitted to the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid to study painting. Here she learned about the Surrealist movement. In 1930, She married painter Gerardo Lizárraga in San Sebastián. Varo left her country and moved to Paris, France because of the Spanish Civil War and to study avant-garde* art. A couple years later she separated from Lizárraga and met avant-garde artist, Esteban Francés. They shared a studio in the Plaza de Lesseps.
Between 1935 and 1936 Varo had an exhibition of drawings (with José Luis Florit) in Madrid. She also met the Spanish surrealist Oscar Domínguez in Barcelona. Through Domínguez, she met the French Surrealist poet Benjamon Péret who became her second husband.
Varo and Péret move to Paris in 1937. He she met Miró, Max Ernst, Victor Brauner, Wolfgang Paalen, André Breton and Leonora Carrington. In that same year Varo participated in the International Surrealist Exhibit in Tokyo, Japan.
Later she moved to Mexico City, Mexico with her husband (Péret) to escape Nazi occupation of France in 1941. Between 1947 and 1949, Varo and Péret separated. Varo participated in the International Surrealist Exhibition in the Gallery Maeght, Paris. She was hired by the Venezuelan Ministry of Public Health to do technical drawings. Varo lived in Venezuela until 1949.
In 1953, Varo married her third husband, Walter Gruen, an Austrailan exile who was a successful businessman in Mexico City. She had the first one woman exhibition in 1956 at the Galeria Diana in Mexico City, Mexico. Shown in that exhibition included twelve were works which went over very well. Varo participated in the First Salon of Women's Art at the Galerias Excelsior of Mexico in 1958.
Varo did little experimentation with other media. In 1959 she created her only surviving sculpture, Homer Rodans. It is a small figure of chicken, fish and turkey bones that are wired together. She has her second solo exhibition in 1962 at the Galeria Juan Martin of Mexico City. This exhibition contained fifteen works and was a success just like her first.
Though she is very popular in Latin America she is little known to the rest of the World. She died in Mexico City on Tuesday October 8, 1963 at age fifty four of a heart attack. (Haynes,26; Kaplan, 38-39; Lois Parkinson Zamora, 113-114; http://www.cornermag.org/corner02/page04a.htm; http://www.leninimports.com/remedios_varo.html; http://www.remediosvaro.biz/remedios_varo.htm)
* avant- garde- advanced and stylistically innovative art. The artistic avant-garde was regarded a new kind of art which was in opposition to traditional art, searching for a new kind of artistic expression. It was inspiration for surrealists at the beginning of the 20th century. In this case I am referring to French surrealism.
Extensive explanation of avant-garde can be found at http://mustekala.kaapeli.fi/artikkelit/1070380027/index_html%20
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Home › Photovoltaics
Thickness, composition and properties of solar cells
Originally developed to provide electrical power for orbiting space satellites in the 1960s, photovoltaic (PV or solar cell) technology is now mostly used for grid connected utility power generation. In typical form, solar cells are packaged in photovoltaic modules and are often connected in multiples, as solar photovoltaic arrays, to directly convert energy from the sun into electricity. The term photovoltaic denotes the unbiased operating mode of a photodiode in which current through the device is entirely due to absorbed light energy.
By far, the most prevalent bulk material for solar cells is crystalline silicon. Cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) and amorphous silicon (A-Si) are three thin-film technologies often used as outdoor photovoltaic solar power production. In addition, other photovoltaic technologies span from light-absorbing dyes (DSSC) to organic/polymer and silicon thin-films.
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is typically used to measure the thickness and composition of metal-containing thin-film layers as part of production process control. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray reflectometry (XRR) are used in R&D to physically characterize layer properties like roughness, density, porosity, and crystal structure.
Process FAB metrology
In-line process XRF, XRD, and XRR tools Lab XRD / SAXS
From phase analysis to thin-film thickness and molecular structure Lab XRF
Thickness and elemental composition of thin films
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Smart Sample Loading System (SSLS)
Rigaku’s new Smart Sample Loading System (SSLS) adds a new dimension of flexibility to the ZSX Primus sequential WDXRF spectrometer. The SSLS can handle samples up to 50 grams.
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Much has been written, with varying degrees of authority, on the RLM (Russian Liberation Movement, RLA (Russian Liberation Army) and General A.A. Vlasov. A number of authors have masqueraded under the title of �research historian�, however, their products were more in tune with the political views and moral requirements of governments of the time rather then an unbiased and truthful rendition of the facts. Fortunately, truthful, unbiased memoirs of the facts were recorded by eyewitnesses. Researchers, who were more interested in the truth rather then political correctness and fame have delved into war archives which have only lately become available, and revealed the TRUTH of this important page of Russian history.
For the most part, high-ranking bureaucrats or officers wrote published material on this era of history with direct access to HQ�s. The intention of this page is to share with you the observations and interpretations of happenings of the day from the point of view of the � soldier of the ranks�.
I dedicate this Page to those, who died defending their, possible naive,wish to help free their Motherland from Stalin's and the Bolshevik�s Yoke. The RLA soldiers who died on the front, in POW camps or were annihilated in Gulags rushed towards perdition with the wish to help their Motherland. The same Motherland that refused to acknowledge their existence at the time when they needed her protection most (refusal by Stalin to accept help to russian POW�s by the International Red Cross Organization).
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Photo: Starlight Children's Foundation and Earbus Foundation of WA
Sarah Moeller
The Starlight Children’s Foundation (Starlight) and Earbus Foundation of WA (Earbus) embarked on a collaborative partnership servicing children in rural and remote Western Australia early in 2015. When Earbus and Starlight travel together to Indigenous communities, the Earbus team provides ear screening, surveillance and treatments while Captain Starlights attract children to clinics, and provide opportunities for entertainment and play for those waiting to be seen by the clinical team. The aim of clinical trips is to reduce the incidence of otitis media (middle ear disease) in Aboriginal children.
Since 1988, the Starlight Children’s Foundation has been delivering programs, in partnership with health professionals, to support the total care of children, young people and their families who are living with a serious illness or a chronic health condition. The Captain Starlight program was first launched in in 1991 and today there are almost 150 Captain Starlights across Australia. The program is delivered by professional performers from a wide range of backgrounds including actors, clowns and comedians. They engage with children and young people through activities such as art, music, story-telling, comedy and games to reduce anxiety and alleviate boredom. Starlight has a commitment to reaching regional and remote areas and numerous programs have been operating throughout all of Australia since the beginning of the Foundation in 1988.
Based on this work, a partnership was formed with the Earbus Foundation of WA. Earbus deploys mobile ear health teams offering ongoing ear health services to Aboriginal children in schools, day-cares, kindergartens and playgroups. The teams provide comprehensive ear screening and general health services. Earbus employs GPs, audiologists and ear, nose and throat specialists working to reduce the incidence of middle ear disease in Aboriginal and at-risk children in Western Australia to below the World Health Organization benchmark of four per cent. Otitis media can affect every aspect of early childhood development, including the ability to learn and succeed in school and hence creating lifelong barriers that prevent children from achieving their full potential.
Health professionals within the Earbus Clinical team have experienced trips both with and without Starlight. Their feedback has indicated that trips are enriched by the presence of Captain Starlights both as a drawcard for increased attendance and a mechanism for reducing anxiety in some children waiting their turn. This suggests that clinical visits are more enjoyable for children when they are waiting in between appointments with the different members of the clinical team. Children spend between 15 minutes to over an hour with the team and without the engagement or distraction of the Captain Starlights might leave prematurely, hence not receive the full service or treatment they require. Captain Starlights also help enhance the relationship between the Indigenous community and health professionals. By working with the youngest members of the community, creating a positive, anxiety-free healthcare experience, the aim is to facilitate a change in attitude towards healthcare.
After working for 30 months, Earbus has achieved a reduction in referrals for otitis media (from 54 per cent to 22.4 per cent in Goldfields; 52 per cent to 15.4 per cent in the Pilbara). In both regions, hearing loss has decreased (from 17 per cent to 11.6 per cent in Goldfields; 22 per cent to 7.96 per cent in the Pilbara) and the level of chronic ear disease has fallen below the WHO benchmark for the first time.
Earbus and Starlight have also noted additional benefits from collaborating with each other, including the ability to pool limited resources, increased credibility, and enhanced awareness of both organisations across the regions.
Overall, Starlight and Earbus have established a successful partnership improving the ear health of children in rural and remote Western Australia.
Debra Royle reported on her trip with Earbus and two Captain Starlights to the Pilbara region in the August 2016 issue of Partyline (p.38)
Health Services & Programs
The number of Australians joining up to My Health Record is growing daily,… Read more
By Di Martin
14 Jun 2018 Issue 63 0
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Discover (R) Small Business Watch (SM)
Most Small Business Owners Still Looking for Recovery Signs
in Current Events
Most Republicans Credit Trump for Job Creation
45% of Owners Whose Profitability Suffered in Downturn Don't Expect Sustained Recovery for Another Year; Two-Thirds of All Owners Likely to Tap Personal Assets
GAS PRICES: 76% Say Rising Fuel Prices Affect Profitability
If the overall economy is improving in 2011, small business owners aren't feeling it. Their outlook on the direction of the economy and the climate for their particular businesses has been in decline since January, and more than half of them have rated the economy as poor for 19 consecutive months, according to the March Discover(R) Small Business Watch(SM). The monthly barometer of economic confidence dropped to 86.5 in March, down from 90.2 in February.
"Our surveys have shown that the economic events of the recent past have hit small businesses hard, and many are still struggling to sustain an individual recovery of their own," said Ryan Scully, director of Discover's business credit card. "Nearly a third of small business owners told us they have contemplated going out of business sometime during the past two months, which is up from spring of 2008."
March Confidence Indicators
-- 54 percent of small business owners said the U.S. economy is getting worse, up from 41 percent in February and the highest since September 2010; 27 percent of small business owners said conditions are improving, down from 34 percent; and 15 percent said conditions are the same, down from 20 percent in February.
-- Small business owners' outlook for their own businesses over the next six months also declined: 42 percent say conditions are getting worse, up from 40 percent in February; 30 percent say conditions are getting better, down from 33 percent; and 24 percent say conditions are the same, down from 25 percent.
-- 56 percent rate the current U.S. economy as poor, equal to February; 35 percent rate it fair, up from 32 percent; 6 percent rate it good, down from 7 percent; and 3 percent rate it excellent, unchanged from the prior month.
-- On the upside, fewer small business owners report temporary cash flow issues. Over the past 90 days, 52 percent of small business owners reported no temporary cash flow issues that affected their ability to pay bills on time, up from 46 percent in February; 43 percent of small business owners reported having cash flow issues, down from 50 percent.
-- 29 percent of small business owners plan to increase spending on business development in the next six month, up from 28 percent in February; 40 percent will decrease spending, down from 41 percent last month; and 27 percent say they will make no changes, down from 30 percent last month.
Profitability Hurt by Downturn, 14% May Never Recover
Seventy-seven percent of small business owners said their profitability was hurt by the economic climate of the past three years, and only 22 percent of that group has experienced a sustained recovery, while 57 percent have not, and 21 percent aren't sure.
Among those who have not experienced a comeback for their businesses, 14 percent said they may never recover, 45 percent expect it to take more than a year, 16 percent say they will recover in six to 12 months, 10 percent predict three to six months and 7 percent are expecting a sustained recovery in the next three months. Only 1 percent said they are already experiencing recovery.
Two-thirds of small business owners, 66 percent, say it is very likely or somewhat likely that they will have to use personal assets in the next 12 months to stay in business, up from 61 percent who reported the same in October 2009.
The number of small business owners who extend credit to their customers has dropped: 27 percent said they extend credit, compared to 32 percent who extended credit in April 2008.
The news in March is slightly better for small business owners who extend credit: While 63 percent of small business owners now say customers have asked to delay a payment in the past three months, that number was up to 73 percent in April 2008.
Small Business Owners Feel Squeeze from Gas Prices
Seventy-six percent of small business owners say rising gasoline prices are affecting the profitability of their businesses. Of those, 90 percent say prices are having either a somewhat negative or very negative impact, which is on par with their sentiments in April 2008, when government statistics show that the national average for gasoline hovered near $3.42 per gallon.
See the full survey at www.discovercard.com/business/watch.
The views and opinions expressed by small business owners and consumers who participate in the Small Business Watch survey are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Discover Financial Services or its affiliates.
About the Small Business Watch
The Discover Small Business Watch is a monthly index measuring the relative economic confidence of U.S. small business owners who have less than five employees, a segment that consists of 22 million businesses producing more than a trillion dollars in annual receipts. The Watch is based on a national random survey of 750 small business owners. It is commissioned by Discover Business card, which strives to offer the best business credit card for American small businesses, and is conducted by Rasmussen Reports, LLC (www.rasmussenreports.com), an independent survey research firm. The numeric index is calculated by assigning values to responses to a set of five consistent questions. The base value of the Watch was established at 100.0 based on surveys conducted in August 2006. In addition to generating the index, the Small Business Watch surveys small business owners every month on key issues, and polls 3,000 consumers four times per year to gauge purchasing behavior and attitudes towards small businesses. For past results and survey data, visit www.discovercard.com/business/watch. For information on Discover Business card, visit www.discovercard.com/business.
The Discover Small Business Watch, being released once a month, queried nearly 750 Small Business Owners in February 2011 on spending intentions and capacity. The survey also asked for opinions on the U.S. economy and ratings of personal finances. The survey was conducted by Rasmussen Reports, LLC. It has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.
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Sharon Core
Sharon Core is an American artist and photographer whose work uses art-historical conventions of landscape, portraiture and still life to explore questions of collective memory, the nature of authenticity and authorship, and the interplay between photographic truth and illusion.
Core had her first solo show in 2000, when her series Drunk was exhibited at White Columns in New York. Since then, her work has been shown in a range of museums and galleries nationally. In 2003-2004, her Thiebauds series was exhibited at Bellwether Gallery in Brooklyn and NADA Miami. Her Early American series was shown at Yancey Richardson Gallery in New York (2008), James Kelly Contemporary in Santa Fe, NM (2009), and the Gallery of the Hermès Foundation (New York, 2009). Still Lives: Early Works by Sharon Core was presented at the Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC, in 2013. Core had the solo exhibitions Early American, 2009, 1606-1907, 2011, Understory, 2016, and Oldenburgs, 2019 at Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York.
Core's work has been shown in numerous group exhibitions at institutions worldwide, including the Museo del Romanticismo (Madrid), Milan Triennale (Italy), the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington, D.C.), the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (Fort Worth, TX), the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles), MoCA Shanghai and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.
Among the awards and commissions Sharon Core has received are the 2014 Views of Lafite annual photography commission of the Domaines Barons de Rothschild, Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac, France; a Shifting Foundation Fellowship in 2013; a Rema Hort Mann Foundation Emerging Artist Grant in 2000; and the 1998 George Sakier Memorial Prize for Excellence in Photography (Yale University School of Art).
Her first monograph, Sharon Core: Early American, was published by Radius Books in 2012.
Sharon Core received an MFA in Photography from Yale University School of Art in 1998 and a BFA in Painting from the University of Georgia in 1987. She lives and works in Esopus, New York.
Yancey Richardson Gallery
info@yanceyrichardson.com
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Home Monster Energy Cup Elliott Focused on Chasing Points at Talladega
Elliott Focused on Chasing Points at Talladega
Chase Elliott (center) talking to his pit crew earlier this year at Talladega. A guaranteed spot in the next round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs won’t detour him and his team from trying their absolute best to capture as many stage points, as well as a victory, in Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500.
TALLADEGA, Ala. – With his win at Dover on Sunday, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott not only secured his second victory of the season, but he also punched his ticket to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs. Even though Elliott doesn’t have to worry about the unpredictability of Talladega Superspeedway’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 Sunday affecting his immediate postseason advancement, the Dawsonville, GA, native plans to go all-out in his return to NASCAR’s largest track this weekend because he knows his performance can certainly have long-term championship implications.
“I think it’s nice to be able to know you’re going to move on, but you can’t get complacent in the fact that you are moving on,” Elliott said after his win this past weekend. “You can’t let those points just sit out there and not try to go get them because those bonus points you get for winning or winning a stage or winning a race or whatever, that’s huge, and you need as many as you can get.”
If the race at Charlotte to close out the Round of 16 was any indication, points are at a premium and even one position (worth one point) in any race can be the difference between a driver moving on to the next round and seeing his hopes to hoist the Cup dashed until next year. Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson was eliminated from playoff contention after he lost a three-way tiebreaker for 11th and 12th place with Aric Almirola and Kyle Larson, who earned the final two positions after posting better finishes in the three first-round races. At the same time, Johnson would have been in and Larson would have been eliminated by one point if it had not been for Larson making a last-lap pass near the finish line to gain the additional spot to force a tiebreaker. And the outcome could have been different had any of those drivers won one more playoff point throughout the year or stage/race point during the Round of 16.
This is why Elliott is going to play the long game at Talladega and give it everything he’s got to grab stage wins and even a race victory. Elliott’s race and stage wins have pocketed him 13 playoff points, but he knows, barring a win in the Round of 8, that number might not help him reach the Championship 4 given that drivers like Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski have banked far more playoff points.
For Talladega’s 1000Bulbs.com 500, its stage segments will be divided at Lap 55, Lap 110 and Lap 188. Under NASCAR’s three-stages-racing format, there is an incentive for drivers to run hard every race in the playoffs even when championship contenders like Elliott clinch a berth in the next round via a win. Drivers can earn points by performing well throughout a race and finishing in the top 10 at the conclusion of each of the first two stages (10 points for first, nine for second, etc.). Additionally, stage winners receive a coveted playoff point.
At the drop of the checkered flag, the winning driver receives 40 points, five playoff points and an automatic berth in the next round (if the driver is championship-eligible). For the rest of the field, second place receives 35 points, third place earns 34 points and so on. Drivers carry through their season-long accumulation of playoff points when points are reset each round of the postseason.
“You know, I’m sure when we’re at Talladega and the race is going on, I’ll feel a lot better,” said Elliott’s crew chief Alan Gustafson, who has five poles and a best finish of second in the 2012 fall event with Jeff Gordon as a crew chief at Talladega. “But we’re going to have to be right in the middle of it, too. We can’t just write those races (coming up, Kansas also) off. We’ve got to use that as an opportunity to go try to gain some more stage points and bonus points to put us in a better position for the Round of 8.
“I’m looking forward to Talladega,” Gustafson said. “We always have super-fast superspeedway cars … I’ve been doing this for 14 years and not won one of those races, which is something that bothers me. I’d love to win at Talladega.”
A win for Elliott this weekend would also have special meaning since his father, Bill Elliott, holds a special legacy at the 2.66-mile complex with the NASCAR official qualifying record of 212.809 mph as well as two victories, including one in 1985 in which he came back from two laps down during green flag conditions to capture the win. Chase has shown signs that he has inherited the superspeedway driving talents of his father, considering he won the pole and placed fifth in his first Cup start at the facility in 2016, as well as finished third in GEICO 500 earlier this year.
When the field takes the green flag at Talladega for the 1000Bulbs.com 500, Elliott will be the lone competitor with a spot clinched for the Round of 8. At the same time, he will have the chance to bolster his championship aspirations and create some historic moments for his team. Fans should expect Elliott to aggressively put the pedal to the metal this weekend because looking back and realizing a major opportunity was missed is not an option when he has both nothing to lose and everything at stake.
“One or two points could be the difference in you making the Round of 4 or not,” the younger Elliott said. “Just knowing that and not being complacent with the win and trying to go get another one or two before it starts I think is important.”
About Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway is NASCAR’s most competitive (record 88 lead changes in 188 laps), highest banked (33 degrees), and longest track (2.66-miles), as well as the most fun and fan-friendly. Talladega offers something for everyone, including hundreds of acres of free camping, amazing kids tickets and college student prices, along with special offers for military members and first responders, and teachers and educators. The historic venue, built in 1969, is deemed NASCAR’s “Party Capital” thanks to the track’s infamous infield, which features the traditional Saturday Night Infield Concert presented by Wind Creek Casino and Hotel and the world-renowned Talladega Blvd., home of Friday night’s “Big One on the Blvd.” party. It’s the site of the most comfortable seats in motorsports, large ISM Vision HD video boards lining the frontstretch and endless pre-race activities for fans on race day, including special Kids VIP opportunities. For ticket information, visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com or call 855-518-RACE (7223).
The track, along with its parent company, International Speedway Corporation, recently announced Transformation – The Talladega Superspeedway Infield Project. The approximate $50 million redevelopment endeavor is part of ISC’s long-term capital allocation plan and reinvestment into its major motorsports complexes. The project, highlighted by a one-of-a-kind Garage Fan Zone Experience, will feature “up-close” access, interactive attractions and enhanced amenities for fans, sponsors, teams and stakeholders in the iconic Talladega infield. Full completion of the modernized project is scheduled for October of 2019. Fans can learn more about the project by visiting www.talladegasuperspeedway.com/transformation. The track, which opened in 1969, will also celebrate its 50th Anniversary next year.
Previous articleThe Final Word – As they were counting chickens at Dover, fate ordered up a few omelets
Next articleThree Decades Later, the Legend of Lyn St. James Lives On at Talladega Superspeedway
Weekend Schedule for New Hampshire
NASCAR Track News
Coming to Charlotte Motor Speedway: Cool Cars, Future Stars and a Chance to Ride the ROVAL™
Harlem Globetrotters bring their one-of-a-kind entertainment to Dover International Speedway on Oct. 6 before Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff race
2019 Pocono Raceway Fan Fest Driver Lineup Announced – Bowman, Ky. Busch, the Dillons, Johnson and LaJoie
Featured Section 2
Denny Hamlin rebounds to finish fifth at Kentucky after penalty
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When Alex Ovechkin Guarantees a Victory You Can Expect the Opposite
Alex “Ovechloss” Ovechkin guaranteed a victory for his Washington Capitals in game 7 against the New York Rangers. When Alex made that bold guarantee, I thought to myself that the Rangers had just been handed the victory.
It helped the Rangers that they were playing the deciding game at home. After Washington took a 3-1 lead in the series, it looked the Rangers’ were in big trouble. Then again, they were playing the Capitals who’ve had their share of game 7 heartbreaks (including OTs).
Game 7 did go into OT but it was the rangers who came out on top, leaving Ovechkin and his teammates to wonder what could have been.
Alex has become accustomed to big time failures. He’s the poster child for that.
Alex is a Great Regular Season Player
Ovechkin is a great player…in the regular season. He’s arguably the greatest player in the world during the regular season but when it comes to the playoffs, a different Alex emerges. He has flashes of brilliance but those are often shadowed by a near non-existence in many playoff games.
I’m underwhelmed with his playoff performances through the years. I know it’s not a fair question to ask but I’ll ask it anyway. Would the Capitals have a better chance in the playoffs without Alex ovechkin? Who knows? Alex is the face of the team and may also be the face of their failures.
One thing is certain to me, Alex Ovechkin should never guarantee a playoff victory again. History wasn’t on his side and the guarantee doomed him and his team. It was a no win situation for the guy. How can he explain this loss? How can he explain that he never delivered on his guarantee?
His guarantee makes him look like a dud. I have a recommendation for Ovechkin; He should shut his piehole and concentrate on winning the game. He shouldn't add distractions to his team or undue pressure.
Do you think that I’m being overly critical of Ovechkin? Yes I am but he deserves it.
Ovechkin’s Woes in the Winter Olympics
Alex Ovechkin’s Russian team has had its fair share of frustration and trouble during the past two winter Olympics. In the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Russians didn't only lose to Canada, they were trounced in the Semi-Final game.
Then there was last year’s debacle in front of a home town crowd at Sochi. Alex’s Russian team didn’t even medal. I think that’s awesome. It was wonderful to see Alex and his teammates stumble and crumble at home.
Alex hasn’t won a Stanley Cup or Olympic gold medal and until he does, he might be considered a failure. Sure he’s a great regular season player but that doesn’t count for much. It’s only statistics. If that’s what matters to Alex he is a success. If winning a cup or gold medal is his goal, he is a big failure.
I Don’t Like the Guy
I have to admit it, if it isn't already obvious; I dislike Alex Ovechkin. The reason for this dislike has to do with Alex’s behavior after his Russian team was demolished by Canada in the Semi-Final game at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Alex was invisible during the game against his arch rival Canadians.
When Alex exited the ice, he rudely avoided the media. He acted like a rude punk and not an NHL superstar. The crybaby couldn't even act like an adult for one second.
Sure his team was humiliated by Canada in Canada but he could have showed a little class.
Alex might surprise us all someday and have the last laugh if he wins a Stanley Cup. I think that’s a long shot andI won’t be holding my breath. I sure hope that doesn’t happen.
Will Alex Ovechkin win a Stanley Cup?
Labels: Alex Ovechkin, New York Rangers, NHL, Stanley Cup Playoffs, Winter Olympics
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From treatment to transformation: Promoting Social Interventions in Global Mental Health
Speaker: Dr Rochelle Burgess PhD, FRSPH # Deputy Director UCL Centre for Global NCDs, Institute for Global Health, UCL; Hosted by: Dr Sumeet Jain # Senior Lecturer in Social Work; SPS International Director; Programme Director, PG Certificate Advanced Social Work Studies (Mental Health Officer Award)
26th Feb 2019 16:00 - 26th Feb 2019 17:30
6th floor Staff room, Chrystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square, Edinburgh
http://www.socialwork.ed.ac.uk/events/social_work_seminar_series/2018_2019/from_treatment_to_transformation_promoting_social_interventions_in_global_mental_health
The recently published Lancet Commission of Global Mental Health and Sustainable Development seeks to launch a new era for the field – one that emphasises the links between mental health and wider social and structural determinants. This positioning is critical as the movement seeks to move beyond its critics, and acknowledge the complex realities of the spaces where mental health is lived.
However, despite explicit recognition of the importance of social determinants, suggestions for action in these areas place the onus on actors outside the health sector, calling on intersectoral action involving social welfare, criminal justice and development sectors. Such suggestions are not new, and unfortunately do not move us beyond the current impasse facing mental health care in LMIC, which is marked by two key challenges; (1) a lack of ownership in terms of ‘responsibility’ for mental health services in the context of multi-disciplinary work or (2) the limitations facing packages of care that focus on psychological or psychiatric dimensions of distress and in some cases the socio-relational challenges facing patients and communities.
This presentation will highlight a need to revisit our approach to the notion of the ‘social’ in our efforts to respond to mental distress. It argues that what is currently framed as ‘mental health promotion’ – efforts that focus on engagement with socio-structural drivers of distress – should also form the focal point of how we think and plan for treatment. Drawing on case studies from research carried out in South Africa (2016) and Colombia (2018) the presentation suggests that opportunities to extend the parameters of treatment to support community led action on socio-structural drivers of distress can be integrated into ‘mainstream’ treatment modalities. In doing so, interventions can contribute to the creation of health enabling environments where mental health and wellbeing can be sustained in the long term. Implications for practice in LMIC settings are discussed.
Biography: Rochelle Burgess is a Lecturer in Global Health and Deputy Director of the UCL Centre for Global Non-Communicable Diseases, at the Institute for Global Health at UCL. For the past 10 years she has worked on global health issues with an emphasis on community participation and qualitative methodologies. She is interested in the promotion of community approaches to health globally, and views communities as a route to studying and responding to the interface between health concerns and broader development issues such as poverty, power, systems of governance, and community mobilisation (civil society). She is the founder and director of the Global Network on Mental Health and Child Marriage, which seeks to drive attention and research into the under recognised and under addressed trauma linked and mental health consequences of early, forced and child marriage globally. Using community psychological approaches, she has worked primarily in participatory research exploring community mental health care systems and their capacity to respond to the needs of marginalised groups, including HIV/AIDS affected women living in poverty in South Africa (since 2007), and Black and Minority Ethnic groups in South West London (since 2013) and internally displaced populations in Colombia (Since 2017). She is co-PI of a study exploring the post-conflict mental health needs of internally displaced communities in Colombia with an emphasis on female ex-combatants and the afro-Caribbean community.
Social Work Seminar Series
Freedom of Information Publication Scheme
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all material is copyright The University of Edinburgh 2013-2015.
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The Tension Builds – Interview with Dave of Noise Therapy
by Brandon Billings / Schwegweb.com
Schwegweb talked with Dave from Noise Therapy.
Schwegweb: How’s the tour going so far with Otep?
Dave: Awesome, we were a little bit concerned at the beginning of the tour, 15 hours before our plane left we heard that it had been canceled. Every show but one has been extremely good.
Do you like the bands you’re out with? E-town, and Otep
Etown are awesome guys, otep is awesome. We haven’t actually talked to otep herself.
Any favorite stops so far?
Shit, there’s so many favorite places to play. Aside from our hometown, probably New York and LA are my two favorites, and they’re supposed to be hardest markets.
How’s the reaction back in Canada, where you have more exposure, compared to here in the US
A few months ago I would have agreed, but we’re actually bigger down here now than we are up there. That’s the problem with Canada, there’s no real advantage, cause everybody up there is scared to play something heavy.
What about other Canadian heavy acts getting bigger on the US scene. Like Finger Eleven or Pulse Ultra?
Pulse Ultra, I didn’t even know they were from Canada actually
Aren’t they from Vancouver too?
No, well actually I don’t know, I’d never heard of them til we came down to the states.
The new album Tension, came out in August, it’s in stores. I know you worked with a couple different producers, did you intend that? How did that come about?
Well Mike Plotnikoff, he’s done pretty much every record we’ve done, so we had him. He wanted us to do some work with this guy named Igor. He’s one of those guys a studio guy with perfect pitch, he can play anything better than anyone else, one of those kind of guys. So that’s how we got him. We wanted to use Rhys Fulber, he did alot of stuff for Fear factory. Mike Wanchic was a friend of our A&R guy, so we just ended up with a shitload of producers. Lots of tension, that’s why we called the album that.
Probably not going to do that again?
You’ve got headphones on, and you’re trying to get into that “spot” and get the emotion out and you’ve got like 4 guys on the talk-back all saying shit to you at the same time. You know, I can only do one thing at once.
I wasn’t sure if that’s how you did it, everyone at once, or a week with and then a week with another.
No, everybody kinda just sat and–The record actually, I wouldn’t say we did more, but most of the songs were the way we wrote them. I mean little changes here and there.
Did you go in with everything written or did you write while you were in the studio?
We had taken a year off, I had talked to Kai, and basically we got together after a year, we started jamming, we wrote four or five songs. The record was half written before, and the other half was written while we were waiting to get into the studio.
What’s your writing process, do you all write together or separate, write and come back together?
We do most of our writing all together, we vibe off each other. Rob or Kai will start a riff, then the drums will come in. We write really quickly. We’ve been together for like 8 years, so when someone will play one riff, you kind of know what every body else is thinking.
So how would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard you?
That would be kind of hard to explain. I don’t really know what we are, nobody does. We’re heavy, but we also have some mellow-er nicer stuff that we mix between the heavy, I guess like a Linkin Park kind of–I don’t know, we don’t have rap though. We’re like a techno, metal, modern…..something. You listen to the record and tell me.
I was going to say there’s also alot of melody too, it’s not just chugging constantly
Yea we have breaks, we’ll have loops running. It’s really diverse. We’re basically as heavy as we could possibly be, but then we’re super mellow
Awesome. Do you have plans for a single or video?
Get Up is on the radio right now. We haven’t done a video yet, if Get Up takes off, we may do a video for it, if not I believe Star 69 will be the next single off the album
Are there any younger bands you’d want to put into the spotlight and maybe help out?
There’s lots. I wouldn’t want to just say one. E-Town Concrete, we’re playing with, really cool band.
What about out of the hometown?
Everybody we know out of our hometown that is up-and-coming is bigger than us. I’m trying to think…. I think Flybanger got a new deal, I think they changed their name back to Jarr
If you could set your own tour, with any three bands, who would they be, Live, dead, gone, whatever.
Disturbed, for business reasons Linkin Park [laughter], Mudvayne, Sevendust, Korn. I don’t know I think that’s five.
Well, I wanna thank you for your time, any parting words for the internet masses?
Don’t stare at it too long. [Laughter}
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Serj Tankian Offers Full Album Stream Of New Album Harakiri Due Out July 10th
With the release of Serj Tankian’s new album Harakiri coming up on Tuesday, July 10th, fans can now stream the entire album on Red Bull’s website. Serj has a busy release week ahead of him in LA. He’s hosting a release event at the WBR Offices in Burbank on Monday, July 9th, performing the outdoor stage at Jimmy Kimmel Live! Weds, July 11th and at KROQ’s Red Bull Sound Space Thurs, July 12th. Review copies of Harakiri are available upon request.
Harakiri Full Album Stream
http://smarturl.it/HarakiriPremiere
Harakiri Medley
http://youtu.be/ZZRhMxUAo4o
“Figure It Out” Official Video on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlXb50LQehc&feature=youtu.be
Harakiri, the new studio album from singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet and political activist Serj Tankian is set to be released July 10th on Reprise Records/Serjical Strike. Harakiri, a Japanese word meaning ritualistic suicide, is the follow up to 2010’s Imperfect Harmonies and the third solo release from the System Of A Down frontman.
“Harakiri proves that Serj Tankian is not just one of the best vocalists in rock and metal, but one of the most passionate and provocative artists at work today.” – Revolver
Harakiri is presently available for pre-order on the singer’s official website. $2 from the sale of each pre-order will be donated to a non-profit organization to fight global hunger. Pre-Orders are also up at iTunes and Best Buy as well.
Serj and the rest of his bandmates in System of a Down will be performing a handful of dates in August. Serj is also confirmed to be part of Slipknot’s Knotfest August 16th and 17th.
Confirmed Serj Tankian Events/Tour Dates:
07/09 Burbank, CA – Release Event @ WBR Offices: moderated Q&A, meet & greet, signing
07/11 Los Angeles, CA – KROQ’s Loveline
07/11 Los Angeles, CA – Jimmy Kimmel Live! Outdoor Stage
07/12 Los Angeles, CA – KROQ Red Bull Sound Space
Confirmed System Of A Down Tour Dates:
08/02 Philadelphia, PA – Susquehanna Bank Center
08/04 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
08/05 Wantagh, NY – Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
08/07 Washington, DC – Verizon Center Arena
08/09 Boston, MA – Comcast Center
08/11 Montreal, QC – Heavy Metal Festival Parterre @ Parc Jean Drapeau
08/12 Toronto, ON – Heavy Metal Festival Downsview Park
08/14 Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Amphitheater
08/15 Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena
Confirmed Serj Tankian Tour Dates:
08/16 Council Bluffs, IA – Mid-America Motor Complex – KNOTFEST
08/17 Minneapolis, MN – Somerset Amphitheatre – KNOTFEST
Official Website: http://www.serjtankian.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SerjTankian
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/serjtankian
Twitter: https://twitter.com/officialserj
Andrew Steinthal
Warner Bros. Records
1290 Ave of the Americas
e. andrew.steinthal@wbr.com
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Competition will consider on the fusion of digital platforms in France
The Council of the Competition announces that he will pronounce himself from now until next the 13 of July on the project of fusion of TPS and Canalsat, that would have to be into the hands of Vivendi
The Council explained in an official notice that in the three months that it has of time to emit its opinion will come to a contradictory instruction between the companies implied in the project, but also will interrogate witnesses “susceptible to clarify the rest of the competition”.
Also he will consult to the Council Superior of Audiovisual (CSA) and to the Authority of Regulation of the Electronic Communications and Correos (ARCEP) on the subjects that are incumbent on to them.
The project of fusion of TPS (filial of the groups of television TF1 and M6) and of Canalsat (filial of Canal Plus) anticipates the creation of a new set baptized temporarily Canal+ France.
In agreement with the presented/displayed scheme, it will be controlled in a 65% by Canal Plus, a 20% by Lagardere, a 9.9% by TF1 and a 5.1% by M6.
The president of Vivendi (first house of Canal Plus), Jean-Bernard Lévy, defended the fusion and assures that “the consumer will be the great winner. He will have the totality of the supply with a single installment”.
Although it did not want to enter the question if it increases the price of the installment by the concentration - “it is too much soon for saying it” -, Lévy explained that “the fusion of the two platforms is going to allow to realize savings in the promotion costs and the consumer will benefit directly”.
The president of Vivendi indicated that if the television by satellite is by the coexistence of the two platforms.
(Agencies, 18/04/06)
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Towne, Ryan & Partners, P.C. Announced as Grant Recipient for the MWBE Certification Assistance Program
Albany, N.Y. (October 10, 2017) — As announced in a press release from Governor Cuomo’s office on Wednesday, Towne, Ryan & Partners, P.C. has been selected as one of the two grant recipients for the Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Certification Assistance Program. Towne, Ryan & Partners, P.C., along with Hofstra University, will provide […]
Towne, Ryan & Partners, P.C. Welcomes New Associate Kevin G. Murphy
ALBANY, N.Y. (June 19, 2017) – Towne, Ryan & Partners, P.C., Upstate New York’s largest certified Women-owned Business Enterprise (WBE) law firm, is pleased to announce that Attorney Kevin G. Murphy has joined the Firm as an associate in the Firm’s Albany office. Mr. Murphy received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of […]
Attorney James T. Towne, Jr. Presents at CCE Equine’s 2017 Saratoga Horse Symposium
ALBANY, N.Y. (May 23, 2017) – On Saturday, May 20, Attorney James T. Towne, Jr., Principal and one of the founding partners of Towne, Ryan & Partners, P.C., appeared as a featured speaker at the 2017 Saratoga Horse Symposium to present on “Equine Liability – Protecting Yourself & Your Farm: A Horse Owners Guide to […]
Attorney Robert H. Coughlin, Jr. Selected as District Representative of the Year by the NYSBA Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law Section
L to R: Claire P. Gutekunst, President of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA); Robert H. Coughlin, Jr.; and Kenneth A. Krajewski, Chair of the Torts, Insurance Compensation Law Section of the NYSBA. ALBANY, N.Y. (January 27, 2016) – On Wednesday evening, Attorney Robert H. Coughlin, Jr., of counsel to Towne, Ryan & Partners, […]
Attorney Caitlin A. Goetz Selected as Post-Star 20 Under 40 Honoree
Article, Community, News, Press Release
ALBANY, N.Y. (July, 26, 2016) – Towne, Ryan & Partners, P.C. is proud to announce that Associate Caitlin A. Goetz has been selected as a Post-Star 20 Under 40 Honoree. The annual awards recognize 20 individuals under the age of 40 who demonstrate success and dedication to their careers, and who are viewed as role […]
Attorney Caitlin Goetz Co-Chairs SPAC’s Sold-Out Winter Ball
Article, News
Winter Ball co-chairs, Caitlin Goetz, Associate at Towne, Ryan & Partners, P.C., and Samantha Kercull, Senior Financial Analyst at Albany Medical Center. Photo Credit: Eric Jenks & The Saratoga Social SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (February 29, 2016) – On Saturday evening, February 27th, Attorney Caitlin Goetz, an Associate at Towne, Ryan & Partners, P.C., stood at the ballroom […]
Attorney James T. Towne, Jr. to Receive Legal Project Champion Award, Serve on Organization’s Advisory Board
Community, News, Press Release, Uncategorized
ALBANY, NY (October 14, 2015) – When Attorney James T. Towne, Jr., Principal and Vice President of Towne, Ryan & Partners, P.C., first approached The Legal Project’s Executive Director Lisa Frisch about his concerns about the difficulties surrounding legal assistance in rural communities – he found a kindred spirit. The Legal Project, a not-for-profit organization […]
Capital District Community Gathers for LASNNY Grand Opening
Photo by Drea Leanza SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (June 5, 2015) – On Thursday June 4, 2015, Capital District attorneys, chamber representatives, elected officials, and community members gathered at the grand opening, ribbon cutting ceremony for the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York’s (LASNNY) newest location at 40 New Street, Saratoga Springs. LASNNY, whose mission is […]
Of Counsel Attorney Robert H. Coughlin, Jr. Interviews with The Saratogian
In a recent interview with The Saratogian, Robert H. Coughlin, Jr., Towne, Ryan & Partners, P.C.’s newest Of Counsel attorney, discusses what he is looking forward to in his new position as well as his time spent giving back to the local community. Check out the interview by Lauren Mineau here.
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John Lippmann has Been Associated With Many Industries
admin / May 5, 2019
The current CEO of “Book of the Month”, John Lippman, is a talented professional who has helped the company make a turnaround with its fortunes. He has been associated with it since Jan 2016 and has continuously ensured that the organization scales newer heights of success. Looking at its massive outreach to readers and a general buzz for it in the market, many new startups have also come in the fray lately.
But the experience of John Lippman stays exclusive for the firm as he is the one person who has been outstanding with his efforts and his team’s relentless pursuits in making it the numero uno of the sector. The person, in fact, has been there with many types of businesses earlier to the current venture and therefore, it is important to understand some of his earlier duties over here.
Many roles over a period of time – To understand all that the professional has done till date, it would be enough to mention here that he has built, advised, acquired, and sold a number of companies earlier to this. The best part in all of it is that all these firms were in different sectors ranging from entertainment, e-commerce, media, and consumer-related functions. It is also a reason why there is so much diversity of performance that can be noticed in his executions. These experiences have only helped him in carrying out the present role in a more meaningful manner.
The person has been a doer all through – John Lippman has helped in reviving the fortunes of many organizations through the years and as such, has been a doer for them. Talented teams of management professionals have been built by him that have been very helpful for a lot of businesses. He has also helped in tackling some really hard and complex business issues through these years that have only added to his rich repertoire of experience.
The CEO has been a real difference for the organization so that it has achieved quite a lot during this time.
Why do you need to read the customer reviews before buying OEM parts?
“Book of the Month” is a Wonderful Initiative
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Latest Injunction Issued Against Casa Cuervo Preventing Red Wax Seal on Reserva de la Familia Tequila
News Source
Casa Cuervo
Reserva de la Familia
Injunction Issued Against Casa Cuervo Preventing Red Wax Seal on Reserva de la Familia Tequila http://www.tequila.net/media/reviews/photos/thumbnail/300x500s/08/c3/2a/injunction-issued-against-casa-cuervo-preventing-red-wax-seal-on-reserva-de-la-familia-tequila-10-1361406388.jpg
Submitted by Tequila.net April 05, 2010
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The dripping red wax seal on a bottle of Maker's Mark is not only distinctive, it's now exclusive legal property of the bourbon company.
A federal judge on Friday issued an injunction preventing a rival liquor company from using a dripping wax seal on its tequilas sold in the United States, ending a seven year legal battle over the bottle topper.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II comes in a long-running lawsuit between Maker's Mark and competitors Diageo North America and Casa Cuervo over the Fortune Brands trademark on the wax seal. Deerfield, Ill.-based Fortune Brands owns Maker's Mark.
"The Court considers the red dripping wax seal inherently distinctive, because it is a unique mark used in an unusual way to draw in the consumer," Heyburn wrote.
Mexico-based Cuervo used a dripping red wax seal on special bottles of its Reserva tequila, which was distributed by London-based Diageo.
Heyburn's ruling barred the companies from using the seal, but did not award damages to Maker's Mark.
Calls and e-mails to spokesmen for Maker's Mark, Diageo and Cuervo were not immediately returned Friday.
The Samuels family, which created Maker's Mark, in 1958, trademarked the distinctive seal, which serves only a decorative purpose.
Cuervo opted to include a dripping wax seal on bottles in 1997 as part of an effort to create an artisan look. The bottles of Reserva with the new seal entered the U.S. market in 2001 in a limited production of 3,000-to-4,000 bottles. The bottles remained on sale in the U.S. for about three years.
Maker's Mark, bottled in Loretto in central Kentucky, sued over the seal in 2003, claiming it violated the long-standing trademark. Cuervo dropped the dripping wax seal five years ago.
During a six-day trial in Louisville last year, Casa Cuervo CEO Juan Domingo Beckmann testified that he made a business judgment to stop using the seal after being sued.
"I like the way it looks, and I would like to be able to use the dripping wax because it looks more hand-crafted," Beckmann testified. "But if I am going to be sued over it, or if I have to pay in order to use it, I simply wouldn't."
Heyburn found that idea "laudable," but not persuasive enough to forestall an injunction.
Maker's Mark spends about $22 million annually to market its bourbon, and sells about 800,000 cases annually. The ad campaigns focus heavily on the dripping red wax seal. The company occasionally will make a wax seal of a different color, such as its recent promotion raising money for a charity with University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari. In that case, Maker's Mark produced a limited number of bottles with a blue wax seal.
Along with the advertising campaigns, Maker's Mark uses onsite dipping stations that allow customers to make their own wax seals on bottles, as well as bartender training.
"Because of the unique nature of the advertising's focus on the red wax, the mark has in some ways taken on a life of its own, garnering significant attention beyond the purchased advertising," Heyburn wrote. These efforts have cultivated something akin to a cult following of the brand among whisky enthusiasts."
Heyburn declined to award damages, saying Cuervo violated the trademark, but did not focus its marketing efforts on the red wax seal to the point of damaging Maker's Mark's brand. Cuervo spent only about $500,000 of its $100 million overall branding budget on the Reserva tequila and sold its bottles for $100 each, while Maker's Mark went for about $24 a bottle, Heyburn found.
"The price difference in products suggests that Reserva appeals to connoisseurs," Heyburn wrote.
Alquimia Tequila Anejo
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Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers’ L.A.M.F. Revisited
When guitarist Johnny Thunders struck out on his own from the infamous New York Dolls in 1975, he brought the band’s drummer, Jerry Nolan, with him and formed the Heartbreakers with former Television bassist Richard Hell. Guitarist Walter Lure was added to the band and, when conflict inevitably arose between Thunders and his bassist, Hell left to form Richard Hell and the Voidoids, replaced by Billy Rath. This is the line-up that, as Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers (to separate them from Tom Petty’s band), recorded a single classic punk-rock album in 1977’s L.A.M.F.
L.A.M.F. has been remixed and reissued numerous times over the 40 years since its original release, the album grabbing a new audience each time and cementing its status as a seminal work of the punk-rock era. In November 2016, sole surviving Heartbreaker Walter Lure was joined by friends like Blondie’s Clem Burke, Tommy Stinson of the Replacements, and the MC5’s Wayne Kramer on two nights at New York City’s Bowery Electric Club to perform L.A.M.F. in its entirety. The events, captured on audio and videotape, also included guests ‘Handsome’ Dick Manitoba of the Dictators, D-Generation’s Jesse Malin, Liza Colby, and Cheetah Chrome of the Dead Boys.
On December 8th, 2017 MVD Entertainment will release LAMF: Live at the Bowery Electric as a fourteen-track CD, a colored vinyl album, and as a full-length DVD which features bonus interviews with Lure, Burke, Kramer, and Stinson. These releases capture an energetic and reverent performance of the material by a group of talented musicians, coinciding with Lure’s touring L.A.M.F. show which kicks off at the end of November 2017 with gigs in Los Angeles, San Diego, Brooklyn, and New York City. Lure is joined on the tour by guitarist Mike Ness (Social Distortion), bassist Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), and drummer Burke. LAMF: Live at the Bowery Electric is a great addition to the Thunders/Heartbreakers canon and a perfect accompaniment to the recent 40th anniversary edition of the original L.A.M.F. album.
Buy the CD from Amazon.com: L.A.M.F. Live at the Bowery Electric
Posted by Rev. Keith A. Gordon at Sunday, November 26, 2017
Labels: CD Preview, Johnny Thunders, punk rock, The Heartbreakers, Walter Lure
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Tag Archive: more
America Lands
admin April 23, 2019 General affected, more, news, strike, users
The news of the discovery of America by Cristobal Colon in 1492, was astonished indelibly to the old continent. Hundreds of adventurers, obsessed by gold and greed, migrated to the new lands in search of military and personal glory. You may want to visit Edward Minskoff to increase your knowledge. One of them, Hernan Cortes Monroy (1485-1547), would be the protagonist of a real feat to conquer, with no more than 1,000 Spaniards under his command, an enormous empire of millions of subjects. In the story, few military campaigns have had such dose of luck, acumen, diplomacy and precision. Polite, I have hence the importance of his memory, made the impossible possible: build the foundations of the future Mexican nation. The conquest began after the search for an effective solution to the big problem that Spain generated with its bloody expolicion to Caribbean lands, the first discovered. The injustices and varied levies motivated the preoccupation of the same authorities of the Crown, which decreed the famous laws of Burgos, in response which was intended to limit abuse of the indigenous population. However, as the Secularization of the Empire, these attentions were omitted, degenerating into a brutal system of work that caused the massive death of the Aboriginal population, decimated by diseases brought by the invaders and the demolition work weight.
The worrying decline in force slave labor, drove the Spanish authorities to seek new labor in the surrounding lands. In fact, Diego Velazquez de Cuellar, Governor of the island of Cuba (in those years Fernandina) organized 3 expeditions to the current territory of Mexico. The first, in 1517, was conducted by Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba who is known as the discoverer of Yucatan. This first expedition was quite rugged, as villagers attacked the expedition members three times, in Ekab, Chakan Putum and the Florida peninsula. Disappointed by the results, Velasquez organized and sent to Juan de Grijalva in 1518 as Captain of the second expedition, in which the clergyman Juan Diaz acted as chaplain and wrote the Chronicle travel itinerary.
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Home / THE MONTE ARCUENTU
The volcanic massif of Mount Arcuentu extends inland parallel to the Costa Verde and is bordered to the south by the Monte Linas. The nature of its rocks is mainly basalt, but on the western side are pumice tuffs fossil sloping down to the coast. The core, of which Mount Arcuentu (784 m) is the highest peak, is made up of a series of basaltic spiers that make this volcanic landscape, virtually uninhabited, really spectacular. Another notable peak is Mount Maiori (725 m) which is separated from M.Arcuentu Passo Genna Flore (498 m). The ruins of a castle on top of Mount Arcuentu show that in the past there was a military post, good for the view along the coast or on the inside, towards the Campidano.
From Cagliari-Sardinia South Take the SS 131 for about 44 Km exit at Sanluri (second road) and follow the signs to Monreale and S.Gavino Guspini. From Oristano, Sardinia-North: Take the SS 131 coming after Oristano, to Marrubiu and continuing for Terralba, St. Nicholas Arcidano and Guspini. Another option is to take the SS 131 to the junction of San Gavino Monreale, from here go towards Guspini. A Guspini follow the signs for Montevecchio. Going through the abandoned mining facilities, the uphill road ends in the country, at a crossroads. To the left you enter the village, while on the right the signals indicate Piscinas and Costa Verde. In this direction after less than 7 km starts at the track that leads to Arcuentu.
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British government is controlled by lobbying by the powerful, through blatant corruption
*** Western "democracy" is a pretence put on by ruling elite to deceive the public, and politics is corrupt to the core. These facts are clearly demonstrated by recent events in the UK. A "democracy" is not controlled by votes, or by voters -- the ordinary working people who pay the wages of their elected representatives and bloated civil service through extortionate taxes. That is an illusion, a charade. In reality, local and national government are controlled by wealthy individuals and corporations -- anybody who has enough money to buy influence. The most striking recent example is provided by Stephen Byers, a serving MP who was a senior cabinet minister in Tony Blair's government. Byers was filmed boasting to an undercover reporter about how he conspired with his corporate paymasters and government ministers to help the company and deceive the public about it. A government official pretended to criticize the company in public, while in reality taking decisions that the company wanted -- it's a pantomime. This is the reality of how a democratic government operates. The ruling elite are proud of it. Always remember, we the ordinary people are paying their wages, they work for us! They should not be lying to us. A drastic change is urgently needed... ***
Revealed: Labour�s cash for influence scandal
[In fact, this scandal is not limited to the Labour party. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who owns the Times along with many other major media outlets, is openly backing the opposition party in the coming general election.]
A FORMER Labour cabinet minister has boasted about how he used his government contacts to change policies in favour of businesses.
Stephen Byers, former trade and transport secretary, was secretly recorded offering himself �like a sort of cab for hire� for up �5,000 a day. He also suggested bringing Tony Blair to meet clients.
He was among several politicians recorded by an undercover reporter posing as a company executive looking to hire MPs for lobbying work.
The others included:
- Patricia Hewitt, a former health secretary, who claimed she helped to obtain a key seat on a government advisory group for a client paying her �3,000 a day.
- Geoff Hoon, the former defence secretary, offered to lead delegations to ministers and told the reporter that he was looking to turn his knowledge and contacts into �something that frankly makes money�. He said he charged �3,000 a day.
- Margaret Moran, the Luton MP who was forced to pay back �22,500 in expenses, boasted that she could ring a �girls� gang� of colleagues on behalf of clients. Among those she named were: Jacqui Smith, the former home secretary; Hazel Blears, the former communities secretary; and Harriet Harman, the deputy leader of the Labour party.
The interviews were part of a joint investigation by The Sunday Times and Channel 4�s Dispatches programme in which 13 Labour MPs and seven Conservatives were approached.
The disclosures will raise questions about the relationship between the large number of MPs leaving parliament next month and their contacts who remain in government. It comes after David Cameron, the Conservative leader, last month said that lobbying was the next political scandal waiting to happen.
Byers, who held three cabinet portfolios from 1998 to 2002, gave specific examples of how he claimed he had changed government policy by lobbying his cabinet friends.
He claimed to have struck a secret deal with Lord Adonis, the transport secretary, last year on behalf of National Express, which he said was seeking to jettison a loss-making East Coast rail franchise without penalties. Byers said: �We agreed with Andrew ... he would be publicly very critical of National Express� as long as he agreed terms which favoured the company. The decision to terminate the franchise in July last year left a burden on the taxpayer of hundreds of millions of pounds.
Byers also claimed he could use his friendship with Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, as his �trump card� to squash government plans that did not suit his clients.
On one occasion Byers says he phoned Mandelson to put a stop to �massively bureaucratic� food labelling regulations after he had been contacted by Tesco. �Peter got it delayed and then got it amended,� Byers said. He also boasted he could get confidential information from Downing Street and could help firms which were price-fixing to get around the law.
On Friday Byers issued a statement saying that he had �exaggerated� his claims and had retracted them the day after the meeting in an email. Tesco denied any deal.
Lord Adonis and National Express denied there was any deal. However, a source close to Richard Bowker, who was chief executive at the time, said that the Byers version given to the undercover reporter was �pretty accurate�.
Hewitt offered a service helping clients to influence legislation. �If you�ve got a client who needs a particular regulation removed, then we can often package that up [for a minister],� she said.
On Friday Hewitt issued a statement saying she was offering to do the work only after she left the Commons. �I am always willing to give advice to companies who have something positive to offer our country,� she said.
Hoon revealed that he had already been offered a chairmanship of a foreign defence firm for an �embarrassing� amount of money. While making clear that he did not want a job that was predominantly lobbying, he offered to find out information on the defence policy from civil servants and said he would introduce fee-paying clients to ministers.
On Friday a lawyer for Hoon said his comments had been misrepresented and he denied ever offering to give confidential information.
The Times, "Revealed: Labour�s cash for influence scandal", 21 March 2010.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7068820.ece
Daily Mail, "Government accused of 'cover-up' over 'cash for access' scandal after No 10 refuses to launch investigation", 23 March 2010.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1259676/Stephen-Byers-faces-investigation-cash-access-lobbying-scandal.html
Daily Mail, "Britain�s voters betrayed by lobby power", 27 March 2010.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1261300/MAIL-ON-SUNDAY-COMMENT-Britain-s-voters-betrayed-lobby-power.html
Daily Mail, "MPs and Peers run private company selling 'influence over Government policy' as multinationals pay to join parliamentary IT lobby group", 27 March 2010.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1261282/MPs-Peers-run-private-company-selling-influence-Government-policy-multinationals-pay-join-parliamentary-IT-lobby-group.html
A disgraced Labour MP has boasted she used a private company based at the Commons to change immigration policy to allow cheap workers to be brought in from India.
Daily Mail, "Public life is so corrupt I fear no one can clean up Blair's legacy of sleaze", 24 March 2010.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1260204/Tony-Blairs-legacy-sleaze-cleaned-up.html
"The Insider" mailing list article, 21 March 2010.
Tags: politics, corruption, influence, access, democracy, corrupt, lobby, lobbying, lobbygate, , conspiracy theories.
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Won't you be my Friend?
JOSEPH & MARY
Disclaimer: I was given products in this post for the purpose of review. I was not paid in anyway to write this review.
WITNESS THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS IN SPELLBINDING BIBLICAL EPIC
STARRING FAN-FAVORITE ACTOR KEVIN SORBO
Also Starring Lara Jean Chorostecki And Directed By Academy® Award Winner
Roger Christian, New Faith-Based Film Arrives on DVD and Digital HD
July 5 from Cinedigm
(Los Angeles, CA, April 18, 2016) – Faith and compassion prevail in the riveting drama, JOSEPH & MARY, arriving on DVD and Digital HDJuly 5 from Cinedigm (NASDAQ: CIDM). Headlined by Kevin Sorbo (Confessions of a Prodigal Son, God’s Not Dead, “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”) and Lara Jean Chorostecki (The Masked Saint), the moving drama from director and Oscar® winner Roger Christian (“Best Art Direction-Set Direction,” Star Wars), JOSEPH & MARY is a recipient of the “Faith-Based Seal” by The Dove Foundation. The uplifting faith-based film also stars Katie Boland (People Hold On, Born to Be Blue) and Stephen McCarthy (Picture Day, The Skulls).
JOSEPH & MARY follows Elijah (McCarthy), a devout Rabbi, during a time of unrest when King Herod the Great’s slaughter of innocents claims the lives of two boys Elijah had sworn to protect. Elijah makes it his life’s mission to avenge their deaths, but when he meets aJoseph (Sorbo), Mary (Chorostecki) and their young son Jesus, the beliefs fueling his revenge are put into question. When the time comes to face his life-long enemy, Elijah finds himself warring within whether or not to kill or choose forgiveness.
JOSEPH & MARY artfully depicts the biblical parents of Jesus as their newborn son helps them inspire faith in unlikely places. Captivating audiences with mesmerizing scenery, the miraculous journey delivers a powerful message of mercy and forgiveness.
DVD BASICS
Street Date: July 5, 2016
Posted by savannah at 10:19 AM
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More than a feeling: Boston back in Pittsburgh
By Scott Tady
PITTSBURGH -- Each night he's on stage, Gary Pihl gets to play one of rock's most famous 12-string guitar intros.
Crowds go wild once they realize it's "More Than a Feeling."
"I'll start that riff, and after about five seconds everyone in the audience recognizes it and starts smiling," said Pihl, lead guitarist for classic-rock band Boston. "Pretty soon they'll be singing along with Tommy (DeCarlo), even singing louder than him and the rest of us. I get a lump in my throat when that happens. I love it. There's no better feeling."
That feeling will be experienced Friday when Boston performs outdoors at Stage AE in Pittsburgh.
Led by founding guitarist-keyboardist-lyricist Tom Scholz, the band will perform a greatest hits-filled show heavy on its eponymous self-titled debut, released 36 years ago this week. Spanning the 8-track, cassette tape, CD and now digital eras, that album sold more than 17 million copies and became the soundtrack to infinite basement parties, backyard cookouts and liberating road trips.
Songs like "Foreplay/Long Time," "Peace of Mind," "Smokin'," "Rock and Roll Band" and "More Than a Feeling" helped set the foundation for classic-rock radio, along with the title-track to Boston's second album, "Don't Look Back."
A third album, 1986's "Third Stage," produced two top-10 songs; the ballad "Amanda" and a rocker, "We're Ready," which drew from the earlier strengths of Scholz' meticulous production and singer Brad Delp's high, soaring, instantly identifiable vocals.
Delp committed suicide in 2007.
The lead singer is now DeCarlo, who was discovered on MySpace a few years ago singing Boston covers. Brand-new Boston-er David Victor supplies harmonies and some vocal leads, too.
"With those two harmonizing and all six of us helping with the singing we've captured that Boston sound from all the albums," said Pihl, a guitarist in Sammy Hagar's pre-Van Halen band, who joined Boston after playing guitar on the "Third Stage" cut "I Think I Like It."
Tracy Ferrie, formerly of Stryper, is the new bassist; Curly Smith, from Boston's '90s lineup, is at the drums.
"We've got a terrific lineup," Pihl said. "People come up to us after the shows and say 'I couldn't believe you sounded like you did on the record,'" Pihl said. "That's when I know we've done our job."
Reluctant to reveal any surprises, Pihl said the concert includes a video screen projection that pays homage to the band's history.
There's more history to be written, including a new Boston album.
"It's not quite done yet," Pihl said. "But Tom called me a while back and said he's itching to play, so I said, 'Sure, sounds like fun -- let's do it.'"
So Boston hit the road, which leads Friday to Pittsburgh. If the Stage AE crowd is like others on the tour, there'll be a new wave of fans there who discovered the band via Guitar Hero and Rock Star video games.
"That's really a testament to the music," Pihl said, "that there's young people in the audience 11 and 12 years old singing along, and not just because their parents dragged them there."
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Are the planets growing?
First unread post • 1318 posts • Page 80 of 88 • 1 ... 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83 ... 88
Re: Are the planets growing?
by nick c » Fri Mar 03, 2017 9:55 am
Another problem to consider; the denser atmosphere hypothesis is comparing dinos, flying pterosaurs, etc. to aquatic animals, but that logic is flawed. Aquatic animals either breathe using gills or surface and hold their breath while swimming underwater.
Dinos, pterosaurs definitely used lungs and that is the problem. Atmospheric density reaches a point where lungs do not work, hence the need for gills or to periodically surface. If the atmosphere were dense enough to support a sauropod's enormous body weight the animal could not breathe using lungs.
Also, sauropods could not use their long necks as a snorkel. Think of it this way, imagine trying to submerge yourself in 10 feet of water and breathe through a 12 foot snorkel. It is not possible. That is why diver's snorkels are limited in length to a foot or so.
http://van.physics.illinois.edu/QA/listing.php?id=2253
by sketch1946 » Fri Mar 03, 2017 4:35 pm
Hi Aardwolf,
Aardwolf wrote: sketch1946 wrote:
This is a hypothesis,..
And a useless one at that.
With respect, this higher atmospheric pressure as a valid hypothesis is
quite reasonable, it's worth some careful thinking...
btw, it's not my hypothesis, but it makes sense to me
Do you have any idea how the huge dinosaurs and birds of the fossil record could have survived? Including flying, most theories postulate changed conditions.
'flying' in water is not my idea, it's all over the place in the literature....
"Some short and simple quantitative analyses:"
"If the pressure and density of atmosphere are increased 4 times then, yes, the drag for the same size and speed would increase 4 times. But so would lift, and the weight would be nearly unchanged. Water is about 800 times denser than air. Many waterbirds - all of them small - manage to fly in both water and air. "
"Obviously they are slower in water than in air. Note that not all diving birds fly in water - many fold their wings in water and swim with webbed feet instead."
"If you increase the pressure and density of air 4 times, a bird of given weight and size would be able to support its weight by flying at a 2 times slower speed. While the drag would be unchanged, it would be developing only half the power needed to fly on Earth - it would expend same amount of energy to fly the same distance, but it would have twice as long time to do so - and therefore it could do with weaker heart, and possibly lungs."
"Alternatively, the bird could fly at the same speed, but have 4 times smaller wing area, or half the wingspan, for the same weight. Shorter wings would be mechanically easier and stronger. Again compare with water. While swimming animals are generally slower than flying animals, some of them are quite fast. Tunnies, dolphins, penguins... The fast swimmers are stocky and muscular. Their relatively short but strong flippers could not lift their weight into thin air, but are useful in water."
"In 4 atm air, the contrast between water and air density would be only 200 times, not 800 times. So it would be easier for waterbirds to adapt to both air and water. Regarding oxygen: at 0,13 bar oxygen in lungs, 100 ml human blood contains 20 ml oxygen in hemoglobin, but just 0,3 ml in water solution. Increasing oxygen partial pressure a few times would not significantly improve oxygen supply."
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/h ... re.658711/
"For terrestrial vertebrates, it is the net force produced by their weight that often limits their size. But this is not true for species that exist in the water. For the latter species it is not their weight but rather other factors, such as the availability of food that might limit the size of these species. Without the weight limitation some of these aquatic species grow to display gigantism. It is the buoyancy of water that allows the whales, the largest animals of today, to grow so large. Without this buoyancy to counteract gravity, the poor whale that finds itself stuck on a beach is soon having its bones broken from its own weight.
"To produce an effective buoyancy force on dinosaurs the Earth's atmosphere would have to be thick enough to have a density comparable to the density of water. By summing the forces acting on a typical dinosaur such as a Brachiosaurus the density of the necessary atmosphere is calculated as:"
"ρF = ρS (1 - 1/S.F.)"
"where ρF is the density of the fluid, ρs is the density of the substance submerged in the fluid such as the dinosaur, and S.F is the scaling factor. Inserting into this equation a scaling factor of 3.2 and an overall vertebrate density of 970 kg/m3, the Earth's atmospheric density during the late Jurassic period can be calculated to be 670 kg/m3. This says that to produce the necessary buoyancy so that the dinosaurs could grow to their exceptional size, the density of the Earth’s air near the Earth’s surface would need to be 2/3’s of the density of water."
"It may be difficult for some people to imagine how the Earth could have had such a dense atmosphere. But nevertheless, the wonders of our reality often exceed the limitations of many people’s imagination. Esker’s Thick Atmosphere Theory violates no property of science. It is the correct solution."
http://www.dinosaurtheory.com/flight.html
sketch1946
by allynh » Fri Mar 03, 2017 9:15 pm
Wow, sketch1946,
It took me a while to understand your post, but it seems that you are claiming the atmosphere was once 2/3rds the density of water, and somehow did not kill all life on the planet. How can I explain this to you.
wiki - Underwater habitat
wiki - Oxygen compatibility
wiki - Oxygen toxicity
wiki - Destruction of chemical weapons
wiki - Venus
The bottom line is called "oxidation." Organics and everything else would literally burn up under the gas densities and pressures with the "hypothesis" that you are "suggesting."
Decades ago, they considered "burning" toxic chemicals in water, under pressure, along with oxygen at high pressure. The levels of pressure and oxygen were very low compared to what you are "suggesting" for an atmosphere that is 2/3rds the density of water. The reason they did not continue the process is that the pipes would have been oxidized along with the toxic materials. Meaning the pipes were starting to "burn" at those oxygen and pressure levels, which are orders of magnitude below what you are "suggesting."
Why did I have you wiki "Venus" as well? Simple, it has a really thick, dense, atmosphere, equal to 92 atmospheres. Still orders of magnitude below what you are "suggesting." Still a dead planet.
Just for fun:
wiki - Dead Sea
and notice what just 1,412 ft below sea level is like. At the lowest elevation on Earth, the atmosphere is thick enough to massively reduce ultraviolet, so you don't have to wear sunscreen while you float on the high density salt water.
On a fun personal note:
I have a series of novels I have plotted out where the Earth has doubled in size from where it is now because of GET. I have the continents floating well above the surface of the vast ocean below. I'm using a kind of air coral(Think the floating rocks in the movie Avatar, but continent size. Neat!) that was developed by an advance AI that runs the Solar System. Earth is a low tech preserve for natural Humans. The people travel around using sky boats. When someone dies they drop the bodies into the ocean, and they burn as they fall into the high oxygen levels in the lower atmosphere. Only their ashes reach the ocean far below. Very moving ceremony.
And that atmosphere is still magnitudes less dense than what you are "suggesting."
BTW, one of the many things that the sky boats do is hunt sky whales. This video is close to how I see the sky whales, but the sky boats are not high tech like in the video.
The Leviathan -- Teaser
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-45NTlgp-o
I always laugh like a madman at the end of the video. You'll see why. HA!
allynh
by sketch1946 » Fri Mar 03, 2017 10:49 pm
Hi Allynh,
allynh wrote: The bottom line is called "oxidation." Organics and everything else would literally burn up under the gas densities and pressures with the "hypothesis" that you are "suggesting."
the atmosphere doesn't have to have the same proportions of gases.. in the literature
it is suggested that there was much more CO2, and less oxygen...
I know about oxidation, but thanks for the tip...
sketch1946 wrote: "Our sister planet and nearest neighbor, Venus, has an atmosphere of 90 bar pressure, consisting of 96% CO2 (5). Why should Earth be so different? Ronov measured the equivalent of at least 55 bar of CO2 tied up as carbonates around the world (6), whereas Holland estimates that at least 70 bar of CO2 is bound as carbonate materials (7). These carbonates had to come from the atmosphere, by way of the oceans, so we propose that, after the original oxidation of CH4 and CO, Earth’s early atmosphere was at very high pressure, up to ***90 bar, and that it consisted primarily of CO2."
"Today, vast deposits of sedimentary carbonate rocks are found on land and on ocean bottoms, >1,000,000 km3 throughout Earth’s crust. Above the continents, the CO2 was taken up by rainwater and by groundwater. This CO2-rich water reacted with rocks to form bicarbonates, followed by transport to the ocean and precipitation as calcium and magnesium carbonates. In the ocean, dissolved CO2 combined with the calcium hydroxide to form deposits of chalk, or it was taken up by coral, mollusks, and other living creatures to form giant reefs. A study of the distribution through time of these deposits gives us clues to the history of CO2 in the atmosphere."
Did you read all the recent posts?
sketch1946 wrote: "...During the Carboniferous period, 350–280 Mya, these plants proliferated widely, covering the land surfaces with lush forests of giant ferns, trees, and plants of all types. Because the atmosphere was rich in CO2, but very poor in oxygen, dead plant material did not decompose rapidly, so layer upon layer of it was laid down in thick blankets that would transform over time to coal."
"...At the same time, the concentration of oxygen slowly rose. These two changes, the decrease in CO2 and the rise in oxygen, thinned the forests and the dead material began to be oxidized more rapidly
so that dense layers of dead organics were no longer deposited. Evidence of this change in atmospheric conditions is that we cannot find any massive coal deposits younger than 65 million years."
allynh wrote: Why did I have you wiki "Venus" as well? Simple, it has a really thick, dense, atmosphere, equal to 92 atmospheres. Still orders of magnitude below what you are "suggesting." Still a dead planet.
The atmosphere of Venus is mostly CO2, but the surface temperature is hot enough to melt lead, i agree it's not a good place for plants and animals... but that's not the point... the point is that scientists speculate that the earth's atmosphere was once much higher in CO2, the hypothesis is talking about a greater mass ie denser atmosphere, with a different composition of gases... explaining huge beds of coal formed by plant matter that ***didn't decompose [oxidise] quickly ... there was a massive atmosphere composed of mainly CO2, and relatively less oxygen,
"there is evidence for very high CO2 volume concentrations between 200 and 150 million years ago of over 3,000 ppm, and between 600 and 400 million years ago of over 6,000 ppm. In more recent times, atmospheric CO2 concentration continued to fall after about 60 million years ago..."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_di ... atmosphere
You would have noticed if you study this stuff there is no shortage of competing theories...
Do you, Allynh, have a believable theory that appeals to you about how these giant animals lived and trotted around, and breathed through their giant necks, and how giant 9 meter wingspan birdie things took to the air.. whatever composition and density it might have been?
by sketch1946 » Sat Mar 04, 2017 3:13 am
I just checked out the current world record for 'saturation diving'
an ordinary modern human could breath at 70 bar provided the gas mix is right...
"In 1992 Greek diver Theodoros Mavrostomos achieved a record of 701 msw (2300 fsw) in an on shore hyperbaric chamber. He took 43 days to complete the scientific record dive, where a hydrogen–helium–oxygen gas mixture was used as breathing gas...
So it's not too far fetched to imagine animals adapted to a high pressure atmosphere could survive OK
by allynh » Sat Mar 04, 2017 10:42 am
sketch1946 wrote: You would have noticed if you study this stuff there is no shortage of competing theories...
You're kidding, right?
It has become clear that you have never read this thread, yet you insist on posting here displaying your utter lack of understanding of the discussions we have had. You have also demonstrated a clear lack of basic science or engineering. Frankly, I find your posts incomprehensible. No matter how I try to read them they simply do not make any sense. Spin all of the plates you want, create all of the incoherent word salad posts, but reality rules.
This is like playing whack-o-mole. Enough. No more. You're not worth my time.
by sketch1946 » Sun Mar 05, 2017 6:24 pm
"The density of the air at the surface of Venus is 67 kg/m3, which is 6.5% that of liquid water on Earth. The pressure found on Venus's surface is high enough that the carbon dioxide is technically no longer a gas, but a supercritical fluid. This supercritical carbon dioxide forms a kind of sea that covers the entire surface of Venus. This sea of supercritical carbon dioxide transfers heat very efficiently, buffering the temperature changes between night and day..."
For an atmosphere to have a density of ten times that, at 670 kg/m3 the atmosphere would have to be ten times more massive.... that's ***one order of magnitude greater than the Venus example above... not 'orders' of magnitude higher...
My intuition tells me Allynh doesn't believe such a dense atmosphere could have existed,
(I too find it too hard to believe that such a huge difference could have existed in atmospheric pressure...)
indeed that's exactly what that guy Esker said:
Esker:"It may be difficult for some people to imagine how the Earth could have had such a dense atmosphere. But nevertheless, the wonders of our reality often exceed the limitations of many people’s imagination."
If you read Esker's dinosaur giantism proposal carefully, he is using a 'scaling factor' approach, which he says clearly is just a tool to try to estimate what conditions might have been different in the age of the giant dinosaurs and pterosaurs... he uses the difference in length of the modern giraffe's neck, and the allosaur's neck, and multiplies the value of the modern atmospheric density to come up with a value for atmospheric density to provide a nearly floating dinosaur.
To put the theory into very very simple terms, our body is made of meat. (A missionary once was told, if God didn't want us to eat people, why did He make them out of meat?)
Meat has a density approximately the density of water, which is roughly a ton per cubic meter.
Mammals immersed in water are close to equilibrium, ie they float.
The immense pressure on an immersed mammal of the pressure of the water is counteracted by a force of buoyancy, which acts against water's pressure, so the apparent weight of an object in water is less than in air... the principle of buoyancy kicks in, where the volume of our dinosaur and density of it's body is directly proportional to to the flotation value...
The dinosaur volume, and the density of dinosaur meat and bones, and atmospheric pressure are factors in the apparent weight of the dinosaur and hence viability...
However hard to prove the possible reasons for each individual change in hypothetical past physical changed conditions, it's useful to look at some numbers:
Changes that would make the dinosaur float completely in the atmosphere would be to have the atmosphere as dense as water, ie one ton per cubic meter
Esker's hypothetical 2/3 of water atmospheric density would have the dinosaur only 1/3 of its weight... why does it have to be so floaty, why not a lesser degree of buoyancy help from a denser atmosphere?
The same reasoning could be modified to allow the dinosaur to be just 10 to 20 percent lighter, if we have an atmospheric density similar to or double that of Venus. Since the volume of the atmosphere and the composition can theoretically change with time, this is a reasonable beginning point to speculate on possible causes for giantism in the past....
The atmosphere of Venus is nearly 100 times as dense as Earths, which is so different to Mars, which is so different to Jupiter... the atmospheric pressure of Venus being *two orders of magnitude greater than earth's...
Scientists speculate that it wasn't always so, for various reasons they guess it may have had water, hydrogen etc.. but this was 'lost to space'... slow and steady or catastrophy?
Has Earth's atmosphere always been the same? Apparently not.
Scientist speculate that Earth's atmosphere was once ***more dense than Venus...
Of course these just speculations, but they're quite mainstream:
"...[in] Earth’s history, the composition of the atmosphere has changed from a hazy, unfamiliar mix to today’s mostly blue skies. As the atmosphere developed, life began and evolved. The evolution of living things changed the atmosphere, and those changes in turn altered life. As far as we know, the relationship is unique to our planet."
"To deduce what the atmosphere [of the earth] has been like for billions of years, paleontologists, geologists, and paleoclimatologists study rocks, ancient soils, and fossils. With every new find, they improve and refine their understanding of ancient atmospheres."
'improve and refine' = change hypotheses...
In the past, Earth's atmosphere:"...It included hydrogen sulfide, methane, and ***ten to 200 times as much carbon dioxide as today’s atmosphere. "
mmm there's that 'multiple orders of magnitude' thing again...
"...the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere reached ***one percent of today’s level, which is 21 percent."
mmm another couple of 'orders of magnitude' ...
".... the sun was only about 70 percent as bright as it is today. Earth should have frozen over, but it didn’t. Why not? Because greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mainly methane and carbon dioxide, trapped enough of the sun’s heat to keep temperatures above freezing."
More changes in atmospheric composition are speculated, scientists (who really be called natural philosophers) have generally a presumption of slow and steady gradual changes...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniformitarianism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gradualism
But then some scientists have tried to reconcile the lack of satisfactory evidence for slow and steady change, with the more likely catastrophic sudden changes that have left evidence in the forms of impact events, tsunamis, extreme volcanism, flooding, mass extinctions, huge beds of coal, limestone sediments etc...
"....Gould—...—uses a variety of strategies from literature, political science, and personal anecdotes to substantiate the general pattern of punctuated equilibrium in the context of natural science (long periods of stasis interrupted by rapid, catastrophic change)..."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctuated_equilibrium
Animals adapted to changed conditions, presumably also humans did so too....
"...the oxygen in the atmosphere reached about one-fifth of today’s level (21 percent). The oxygen boom favored the evolution of lifeforms that could use oxygen to create energy. For other organisms, oxygen was poisonous..."
The only thing that's permanent is change....
"...The atmospheric content of oxygen also reached their highest levels in geological history during the period, 35% compared with 21% today, allowing terrestrial invertebrates to evolve to great size. [???]
A major marine and terrestrial extinction event occurred in the middle of the period...."
A catastrophic event?
The composition of the atmosphere changes, then becomes denser, the earth has a shorter day... quicker rotation... associated with some catastrophic changes...
"The thicker atmosphere and stronger coriolis effect due to Earth's faster rotation (a day lasted for 22.4 hours in early Carboniferous) created significantly stronger winds than today."
"The cooling and drying of the climate led to the Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse (CRC) during the late Carboniferous. Tropical rainforests fragmented and then were eventually devastated...."
Huge beds of carbon-based lifeforms get laid down:
"Carboniferous rocks in Europe and eastern North America largely consist of a repeated sequence of limestone, sandstone, shale and coal beds."
Could the atmosphere have been modified or partially ripped off by cosmic encounters or blown away in a similar way as the atmosphere of Mars?
"A mysterious, catastrophic event tore away the atmosphere of Mars, according to the first detailed analysis of the make-up of the air on the Red Planet."
https://www.theguardian.com/science/201 ... rover-mars
So how can we be sure that the volume and composition and pressure of the atmosphere hasn't changed ****also during these prehistoric times, we have seen above, changes in Sun's luminance, length of the day, composition of the atmosphere, density of the atmosphere, extinction events, smashed-up plant life forming coal beds, and limestone rocks with billions of sea shells and other forms of catastrophic carbon sequestration....
Since we know these giants animals lived, and walked and breathed, in conditions different to today's conditions, why not look at these models with an open mind?
Why not discuss theories of changes in the gravitational constant, changed atmospheric pressure, catastrophic changes like impact events, orbital changes, as well as the uniformitarian assumptions of most mainstream theories.... somewhere amongst these possibilities could be the most reasonable solution....
Among these theories, the notion of a change in the gravitational constant with time, a simple idea, leads to many observed physical things, like earth expansion, explosive vulcanism, expansion cracks in the earth's crust, orbital changes, etc
One simple thing, the gravitional 'constant' decaying with time, the gravitational attraction of each molecule for the next was stronger in the past when the molten earth formed its crust under a pressure that was higher than today.. over time the decay in gravity leads to cracks in the crust, upwelling magma fills the gaps, cools, and you have a slightly bigger earth. Earthquakes are the result of the geometry of the earth's sphere adjusting to this intermittent process... the continental 'movements' are explained as the expansion cracks shift the continents apart...
This hypothesis was put forward by P.A.M.Dirac, and the book I read was written by Pascual Jordan.
Neither of these men could be considered nutters, or crank cases, or fringe dwellers, or pseudo-scientists, as many comfortable, secure, mainstream quantum high-priests describe anyone with alternate views or theories...
In fact Dirac and Jordan are in the very elite of modern science, among the founding fathers of quantum mechanics, they knew each other, talked, discussed, argued:
Most people genuinely interested in real pure science will already know Dirac and Jordan, but for those who don't:
"In the three-year period from January 1925 to January 1928:
1. Wolfgang Pauli proposed the exclusion principle, providing a theoretical basis for the Periodic Table.
2. Werner Heisenberg, with Max Born and ***Pascual Jordan, discovered matrix mechanics, the first version of quantum mechanics. The historical goal of understanding electron motion within atoms was abandoned in favor of a systematic method for organizing observable spectral lines.
3. Erwin Schrodinger invented wave mechanics, a second form of quantum mechanics in which the state of a system is described by a wave function, the solution to Schrodinger’s equation. Matrix mechanics and wave mechanics, apparently incompatible, were shown to be equivalent.
4. Electrons were shown to obey a new type of statistical law, Fermi-***Dirac statistics. It was recognized that all particles obey either Fermi-Dirac statistics or Bose-Einstein statistics, and that the two classes have fundamentally different properties.
5. Heisenberg enunciated the Uncertainty Principle.
6. ***Paul A.M. Dirac developed a relativistic wave equation for the electron that explained electron spin and predicted anti-matter.
7. ***Dirac laid the foundations of quantum field theory by providing a quantum description of the electromagnetic field.
8. Bohr announced the complementary principle, a philosophical principle that helped to resolve apparent paradoxes of quantum theory, particularly the wave-particle duality."
This book below, was where I was introduced to the concept of 'Expanding Earth':
International Series of Monographs in Natural Philosophy, Volume 37: The Expanding Earth: Some Consequences of Dirac’s Gravitation Hypothesis focuses on the applications of Dirac’s gravitation hypothesis.
The book first discusses objections to Dirac’s hypothesis and expansion cracks, including geological chronology, astrophysical objections, rift valleys, rills of the moon, deep-sea trenches, and oceanic rifts. The text then looks at the origin of the oceans, as well as growth and shrink of continents, expansion and formation of oceans, growth of land areas, and paleomagnetism.
The manuscript examines the physics of the earth-moon system. Topics include rheology and seismic exploration of the earth's interior; quantitative data about the earth's expansion; and Dirac’s hypothesis and the many-body problem. The book also offers information on volcanoes, lunar craters, folded mountains, and ice ages. Topics include Binge’s explanation of volcanism, folded mountains, and submarine tablemounts and currents.
The Expanding Earth: Some Consequences of Dirac's Gravitation Hypothesis Paperback – January 1, 1971
by ***Pascual Jordan (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/Expanding-Earth- ... 1483123456
Page 2:"This book will be confined to the question of whether is is possible to find empirical arguments for or against Dirac's proposal...."
Page 17: (Jordan in answer to a criticism of Dirac's hypothesis):
"This critique of Dirac's hypothesis lacks rigour because it takes the cosmic spatial mean value of x (in the case of the Friedmann timescale), instead of the value of x significant in determining the luminosity L (namely the value of x at the centre of the Sun)."
"That this is a really fundamental mistake follows, even without setting out the field equations in detail, from the following argument. It is a fundamental law of physics that there is no action without a corresponding reaction. This indicates an inconsistency in Newtonian mechanics, before it was modified in the Einsteinian sense, in that the space-time continuum has a dominant influence on the motion of masses, while these masses do not exert any corresponding reaction on the continuum."
"In a physically credible theory, therefore, we cannot imagine such a strong influence of x on L as shown by equation (7), without there being some corresponding influence of L on x. In fact, the theory would require that in the vicinity of strongly luminous stars there is a local decrease of x due to the influence of the radiation..."
"The results of palaeontological investigations definitely do not contradict ter Haar's supposition that during the Palaeozoic (up to its end?) there was a closed cloud cover in the atmosphere of the Earth, in conjunction with a solar constant considerably larger than that of the present. The enormous cloud masses...."
An interesting comment, BTW:
Page 109: "... the much-discussed theory that the Moon was captured by the Earth should then be settled. The laws of mechanics permit of only two possibilities for such a capture process. The first is that there must have been a close encounter between ***three heavenly bodies. This would have enabled two of the bodies to remain as close companions, while the third took up the remaining energy and angular momentum."
In fairness to Pascual Jordan, he only suggests further investigation of the possible environmental conditions that may have led to the development of giant insects...
Page 94: "If then, there was some circumstance favouring the development of giant insects, could it perhaps have been due to a combination of a stronger gravitational field at the Earth's surface and a higher atmospheric density - factors that might favour the flight of heavier insects?..."
When respected scientists like Dirac and Jordan with world-wide reputations are willing to put forward ideas about how things might have been on earth during the time of the allosaurs and pterosaurs, and ideas like the possible causes of an expansion of the earth, we should give their ideas serious consideration, in my view...
by sketch1946 » Sun Mar 05, 2017 11:29 pm
Looking back into the past and trying to imagine how animals could survive under drastically increased atmospheric pressure...
Today it has been found that some animals, mammals like seals and whales have adapted to survive in much higher pressures than normal... even to 299 bar!
That's 299 times more than earth's atmospheric pressure, and 3 times more dense than the atmosphere on Venus, they dive down to 2992 meters:
"To stop using so much oxygen, diving mammals can stop their breathing and shunt blood flow from their extremities to the brain, heart, and muscles. They also shut down digestion, kidney and liver function."
"Finally, they lower their heart rate. Most mammals can do this when they dive, even humans. But in marine mammals the slowdown can be extreme. Scientists have measured the heart rate of diving Weddell seals at a mere four beats per minute."
"Then in 2013, Berenbrink made a startling discovery about diving animals' muscles. Like all mammals, their muscles contain a protein called myoglobin that stores oxygen and gives meat its red colour. Myoglobin is ten times more concentrated in the muscles of diving animals than it is in human muscles. It is so concentrated in whales that their flesh appears almost black."
"...Berenbrink found that the myoglobin of diving animals is positively charged. Since like charges repel each other, the positively-charged myoglobin molecules don't stick together. This means that huge amounts of myoglobin can be packed in, supplying plenty of oxygen..."
So do we really know enough to positively rule out that the giant animals could not have developed in a denser atmosphere, under increased, not decreased gravity, and were buoyed up by a thick dense atmosphere under greater pressure than exists today and simple adapted to live, move and breathe in this environment?
Today, whales, seals diving to depths where the pressure is nearly 300 times our normal atmospheric pressure at sea level, show that living under extreme pressures is theoretically possible for relatively giant creatures like sauropods and pterosaurs given that could have simply been adapted differently to suit these conditions.
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150115 ... xplanation
When it comes to numerical estimates, mainstream scientists speculate, estimate, and are not ashamed to revise their figures when necessary to fit different theories:
Indeed Dreadnoughtus was first estimated to be about 65 tons, then scientists didn't like that figure, so changed the 'scaling' factor by revising the hypothetic bone and muscle density.. a bit of selective adaptation in the modern world... and so re-estimated this creature down as low as 'only' 30 tons...
"Using this scaling equation, they concluded that the Dreadnoughtus type specimen weighed about 59.3 tonnes (58.4 long tons; 65.4 short tons). By comparison, this would mean D. schrani weighed more than eight and a half times as much as a male African elephant and even exceeded the Boeing 737-900 airliner by several tons. This very large mass estimate was quickly criticized, though unofficially, by some other sauropod researchers."
"Matt Wedel used volumetric models that yielded a much ***lower estimate between 35–40 tonnes (34–39 long tons; 39–44 short tons), or even as low as approximately 30 tonnes (30 long tons; 33 short tons), based on a 20% shorter torso.
A formal re-evaluation of the animal's weight was published in June 2015. In it, a research team led by Karl T. Bates compared the simple scaling equation results with results found using a volume-based digital model with various amounts of soft tissue and "empty space" for the respiratory system."
"They found that any model using the scale-based weight estimate would have meant the animal had an impossible amount of bulk (fat, skin, muscle, etc.) layered onto its skeleton. They compared their D. schrani volumetric model to those of other sauropods with more complete skeletons and better understood mass estimates to conclude that the D. schrani type specimen must have weighed in the range of 22.1–38.2 tonnes (21.8–37.6 long tons; 24.4–42.1 short tons).
Not everyone agreed with the selective adaption
"Lacovara disputes the methods used by Bates et al., arguing that the new study treats Dreadnoughtus as an exception to well-established mass estimate methods proven on living animals, and that the limb bones would be unnecessarily large if the new mass estimates were correct."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreadnoughtus
No-one knows much about the respiratory system:
"To calculate the animal’s mass, Lacovara and his colleagues used a well known scaling equation based mostly on the circumference of the dinosaur’s limb bones. The outcomes made Dreadnoughtus the most important dinosaur with probably the most full skeleton on report, the researchers stated."
"Yet one thing appeared off, the researchers on the brand new study stated. Two different sauropods (herbivorous, long-necked, four-legged dinosaurs) had comparable skeletal proportions to these of Dreadnoughtus, however their calculated [weight must?] have been much less — simply 55,000 to 77,000 lbs. (25,000 to 35,000 kg), the researchers on the brand new study stated."
"So, they used a 3D skeletal modeling technique to get a greater concept of Dreadnoughtus‘ mass. The method makes use of a mathematical mannequin to reconstruct the quantity of the dinosaur’s pores and skin, muscle mass, fats and different tissues across the bones, they stated."
"The reconstructed measurements are based mostly on knowledge from [modern animals in existing atmospheric environment] dwelling animals, They explored a range of body sizes to foretell how heavy Dreadnoughtus may [have?] been, which is how they reached their 30- to 40-ton estimate."
“No one knows whether dinosaur bodies were particularly fat, particularly skinny or somewhere in between,” he stated. “Also, ***very little is definitively known about the respiratory system of sauropods. Therefore, ***no one knows how much volume should be subtracted for the lungs [and] any system of air sacs.”
http://www.dailyrover.com/dreadnoughtus ... tudy-says/
For contrast, the weight of a Blue Whale is 140 tons and can dive to 2 km deep to a pressure of 200 atmospheres...
note for the dirac doubters :-)
by moonkoon » Mon Mar 06, 2017 12:07 am
It might be somewhat counter intuitive, but Jordan's suggestion of a denser atmosphere (based on Dirac's decreasing gravitational constant idea) deserves serious consideration, for as sketch1946 has pointed out, Dirac knows his onions .
A denser atmosphere would need a much smaller proportion of oxygen than the present atmosphere's 20% (200,000 ppm), otherwise oxidation would get very difficult for life to deal with. Compare this with the much denser abode of the finny fish, which gets by with about 10 ppm. Carbon dioxide would also need to be adjusted downward somewhat I suspect.
The 'filler' would have to be relatively inert, e.g. nitrogen or perhaps argon (about 2% of our current atmosphere).
Another alternative is an actual watery world which is so often depicted in the myths. Much of the fossil record is fairly obviously water world stuff.
moonkoon
by sketch1946 » Mon Mar 06, 2017 1:25 am
Hi moonkoon,
Thanks, it's nice to get a supportive answer
moonkoon wrote: Dirac knows his onions
... and so does Jordan
until I bought Jordan's book, maybe sometime around 1975, I had never heard of Pascual Jordan, I was looking for a book written by Dirac explaining Einstein's General Relativity, the book shop ordered Jordan's book by mistake... I found it very interesting because it is such a simple idea with two very top-of-the-shelf scientists behind it, over the years I've only found one other person who could 'get it'...
and he was another artist like me, not a scientist...
It's just that it puts a very sound physical basis behind 'plate tectonics', no mysterious forces...
I made a model with a spherical rubber balloon, coated with petroleum jelly, and then covered that with a 'crust' of gouache paint, which dries brittle...
when I blew into the balloon to simulate the expansion of the magma inside the crust, ie releasing the pressure of the magma that had been 'pressurised' by the previously stronger gravity, I got all the predicted effects, 'drifting' continents, mountain folding, but most notably, earthquakes!
The tension between the vaseline/petroleum jelly layer and brittle dried crust would 'let go' every now and then, with a sudden jerk... the 'continental crust' sliding a bit relative to the underlying layer...
I guess I could have done a more realistic model and filled the balloon with something like Araldite, a treacle like wood glue, and tried to simulate volcanoes, by inflating with a air compressor, then pricking the balloon to let the wood glue swell up into the pin hole, the glue would then dry in the air just like volcanic magma which sometimes oozes out, and sometimes with the aid of steam does a Mt St Helens, with more pressure you might even get a Mount Toba volcanic eruption...
I've seen a few theories that recognise that the earth's undercrust magma is under pressure, but there are some fairly difficult problems with the cause of the expansion... matter being created ex nihilo, hollow earths, and others, I like Dirac/Jordan so far.. it's clean and simple, and explains a lot of other hard to explain things, like the plate tectonics subduction mechanisms, and lack of enough trenches, and the flotation issues with slabs that float, and then they don't
ie the plates/slabs 'crash' into an isostatic wall, turn and do a right turn, and sink, while simultaneously lifting up the Himalayas for example, they float, and then the flotation stops by magic, and without even a whimper the plates take a dive... no sediments, they all go down too... continents in the meantime drift, reconnect, break apart, slide.. all with dubious mechanisms, slab pull, slab push, convection cells etc...
Declining gravity is more believable in my view.. the definition of the 'constants' of physics has been challenged by many top level scientists, the problems recently that led to the redefinition of the constants makes it almost impossible to verify this intermittent expansion of the earth, only measurable after a random earthquake or rift movement.... not a steady process, but a constant set of random adjustments in the overall geometry of the earth, with tidal forces constantly triggering a new earthquake, fault stress adjustment, etc..
I just watched a video by Pierre-Marie Robitaille showing how Plank's constant is not good maths, and is invalid, in the same way there was the debate between von Neumann and Dirac about using maths in a simplified non-rigorous way.. so for a century we have had a set of 'consensus' scientists leading us all into a 'black hole' using 'dark energy'... mmm
I even checked out the problems with sychronising satellite timing and measuring, there are assumptions and averaging everywhere... it seems as if the people who make each new set of measurements make the assumption that these are more accurate data... I wonder how long it will take before it becomes obvious that Dirac was right after all
by allynh » Mon Mar 06, 2017 2:41 pm
Now we're talking Turkey. HA!
The Secret of the Dinosaur Death Pose
Experiments with dead chickens add a twist to a Mesozoic mystery.
Spinophorosaurus in the classic dinosaur death pose. Credit: Remes et al. 2009
Dinosaurs have lived on Earth for over 235 million years. That means they’ve also been dying for just as long. And when they die – whether we’re talking about a Parasaurolophus or a hummingbird – dinosaurs often take up a classic death pose. The head is thrown back over the body, sometimes almost touching the spine, and dinosaurs with long tails often have those balancing appendages curled upwards in an arc.
Paleontologists have been debating the cause of the dinosaur death pose for over a century now. There are two schools of thought on the subject. Some researchers have proposed that the contortion – technically called the opisthotonic posture – is caused at the time of death by poisoning, lack of oxygen to the brain, or similar circumstances that cause neck and tail to spasm into weird angles. Other paleontologists have suggested that the pose happens after death, with immersion in water or decay tensing muscles and ligaments that pull the head back and the tail up. It could be a perimortem or postmortem pose.
Both groups may be right. There seems to be a variety of ways for dinosaur skeletons to creak into the strangely-beautiful positions many of them are found in. But relatively little has been done to understand why dinosaurs and some of their prehistoric relatives, like pterosaurs, were even capable of such a pose. That’s what led biologists Anthony Russell and A.D. Bentley to X-ray a set of ten thawed, plucked chickens.
Chickens, like all birds, are dinosaurs, and they have the advantage of being readily available at the supermarket. So after thawing out their frozen birds, Russell and Bentley placed the birds in different opisthotonic positions starting at rest and moving the neck back until it mimicked what’s seen in fossil dinosaurs like the Struthiomimus on display at the American Museum of Natural History. They also checked to see if the birds’ heads could be flexed forward, beneath the body, and the researchers used the X-rays from both sets of trials to see how neck vertebrae angles changed with each position.
Chickens in varying degrees of opisthotonic posture. Credit: Russell and Bentley 2015
It actually didn’t take all that much for the birds to get to the dinosaur death pose. The posture, Russell and Bentley write, “can, in chickens at least, be facilitated simply through the limpness associated with death combined with the imposition of a relatively modest displacing force.” Getting the neck to arc downwards was something different altogether. The chickens’ necks locked when they were angled down and required significant force to keep them that way. The natural thing for a dinosaur neck to do is to arc backwards.
The greatest changes happened in the middle of the neck. While the base and the very front of the chicken necks didn’t move much, Russell and Bentley found that two neck joints in the middle changed their orientations significantly and contributed the most to the pose. The flexibility of the skull helped, too. The spot where skull meets the neck stayed flexible in every position, and this undoubtedly helped some dinosaur skeletons achieve the posture where snout touches hip. This might also explain why many fossil dinosaur skeletons are found decapitated. Perhaps the anatomy that gives the skull a wide range of motion also allows it to easily be lost as soft tissues decay, letting heads roll as the rest of the skeleton is pulled towards becoming an osteological circle.
So while there’s probably an array of immediate causes for the dinosaur death pose, the ability for the saurians to take up the posture at all is because of flexible necks that can more easily be retracted back than pressed downwards. That’s the past of least resistance, literally, at or after the time of death, and why today’s dead chickens and emus look like they’re doing impressions of their fossilized predecessors.
Russell, A., Bently, A. 2015. Opisthotonic head displacement in the domestic chicken and its bearing on the ‘dead bird’ posture of non-avialan dinosaurs. Journal of Zoology. doi: 10.1111/jzo.12287
[This post was originally published at National Geographic.]
by sketch1946 » Mon Mar 06, 2017 5:19 pm
Haha, talking Turkey..... here's an image of a Turkish recurve bow...
when the string tension is let off, it arches like the dinosaur neck....
allynh wrote: dinosaurs often take up a classic death pose. The head is thrown back over the body, sometimes almost touching the spine, and dinosaurs with long tails often have those balancing appendages curled upwards in an arc.
Thinking about dinosaur necks...
Apparently dinosaurs had a strong tendon to support their necks,
could this tendon contract at the time of death... presumably they've
been rapidly covered with tsunami mud?
"Neck Design. Sauropods have extremely long necks, as much as half their length. These 35-foot necks did not have more vertebrae than other dinosaurs (typically 12; for comparison, your neck has nine), but each was elongated to three times the length of a back vertebra."
"While some sauropods may have fed on treetops, many ate low vegetation, and it is not clear why they had such long necks."
"How did the neck muscles support this 35-ton weight?"
"They didn't. Front and back legs act like the towers of a suspension bridge. A groove runs along the top of the backbone, holding a ***massive tendon that runs like a cable between tail and neck. The cable allows the weight of the long neck to be supported by a counterbalancing tail---you get the same effect if you hold your arms outstretched from your sides, a rope passing tautly from one wrist to the other over your shoulders---your arm muscles don't have to work to keep your arms up, because their weight is going down your shoulders to your legs."
http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/raven ... ement.html
Could this 'massive tendon' be under tension while living, then contract at death?
while the bow is straightened by the string, in the dinosaur, gravity is causing the head end of the neck and the end of the tail to be pulled downward, and the 'massive' tendon' is under tension preventing those ends from curving downwards.. so when the animal is no longer subject to gravity the 'massive tendon' pulls the neck into a curve?
This guy says the very long sauropod necks while living were less flexible than all the paintings and drawings suggest....
Prof Stevens says sauropod vertebrae form a very straight line.jpg (4.76 KiB) Viewed 5551 times
by allynh » Wed Mar 08, 2017 4:54 pm
I love my disaster films. HA!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raUghGHrSTg
Let's hope it's as good as it looks.
How much of this was Glacial Dams and flooding, and how much was Electric Discharge Machining. Combine that with the next article of finding large amounts of platinum and I suspect EDM. HA!
Formed by Megafloods, This Place Fooled Scientists for Decades
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017 ... scablands/
Picture of Streamlined Poulse Hills near Morango
Remnant of a lost landscape, this island of ancient soil—crowned by a crop of wheat—survived the ice-age floods that sculpted the region known today as the Channeled Scablands.
Photograph by Michael Melford, National Geographic
By Glenn Hodges
Photographs by Michael Melford
In the middle of eastern Washington, in a desert that gets less than eight inches of rain a year, stands what was once the largest waterfall in the world. It is three miles wide and 400 feet high—ten times the size of Niagara Falls—with plunge pools at its base suggesting the erosive power of an immense flow of water. Today there is not so much as a trickle running over the cataract’s lip. It is completely dry.
Dry Falls is not the only curiosity in what geologists call the Columbia Plateau. Spread over 16,000 square miles are hundreds of other dry waterfalls, canyons without rivers that might have carved them (called “coulees”), mounds of gravel as tall as skyscrapers, deep holes in the bedrock that would swallow entire city blocks, and countless oddly placed boulders. All across southeast Washington, fertile rolling hills border eroded tracts of volcanic basalt, as if Kansas farmland and Utah canyon land had been chopped up and sewed together into a topographic Frankenstein.
The first farmers in the region named the rocky parts “scablands” and dismissed them as useless as they planted their wheat on the silt-rich hills. But geologists were not so dismissive; to them, the scablands were an enigma. What could have caused this landscape? It was a question hotly debated for several decades, and the answer was as surprising and dramatic as Dry Falls itself.
Picture of Basalt columns
Tall as a five-story building, this wall of volcanic basalt in Drumheller Channels took shape 10 million years ago as lava cooled, shrank, and cracked vertically. Massive floods later ripped away sections, creating this pillared landmark.
For that matter, so was the source of that answer: a high school science teacher named Harley Bretz. In 1909, the Seattle teacher visited the University of Washington to see the U.S. Geological Survey’s new topographic map of the Quincy Basin, a large area on the west side of the Columbia Plateau. He was 27, with no formal training in geology, but when he looked at the map, he noticed a striking feature: a huge cataract (much like Dry Falls) on the western edge of the basin, a place where water appeared to spill out of the basin and into the Columbia River, gouging a canyon several hundred feet deep. The falls would have been bigger than Niagara, but there was no apparent source of water for them—no signs whatsoever of a river leading to the cataract.
Bretz asked faculty in the department about the feature, called Potholes Coulee, but they had no answers for him. Nor could they explain many of the other unusual features of the region. That’s when, as legend has it, Bretz decided to become a geologist. He earned his Ph.D. in geology from the University of Chicago four years later, changed his professional name from Harley to “J Harlen” to sound more respectable, and in 1922 returned to eastern Washington to take a closer look at the plateau and its scablands. And after two seasons in the field, his conclusions shocked even himself: The only possible explanation for the all the region’s features was a massive flood, perhaps the largest in the Earth’s history—“a debacle which swept the Columbia Plateau,” ripping soil and rock from the landscape, carving canyons and cataracts in a matter of days. “All other hypotheses meet fatal objections,” he wrote in a 1923 paper.
Picture of the Potholes Coulee
Carved by repeated flooding, a horseshoe-shaped canyon called Potholes Coulee lies along the Columbia River. Raging water dropped 850 feet in less than three miles here, stripping away topsoil and eroding the underlying basalt.
It was geological heresy. For almost a century, ever since Charles Lyell’s 1830 text Principles of Geology set the standards for the field, it had been assumed that geological change was gradual and uniform—always the product of, as Lyell put it, “causes now in operation.” And floods of quasi-Biblical proportions certainly did not meet that standard. It didn’t matter how meticulous Bretz’s research was, or how sound his reasoning might be; he seemed to be advocating a return to geology’s dark ages, when “scientists” used catastrophic explanations for the Earth’s features to buttress theological presumptions about the age of a Creator’s divine handiwork. It was unacceptable. How did canyons and cataracts form? By rivers, of course, over millions of years. Not gigantic floods. Period.
So in 1927, after Bretz had published yet another paper about the “Spokane Flood” and the landscape it carved, the nation’s geological bigwigs invited him to Washington, D.C., to present his findings—and receive his beatdown. Bretz was game, and explained to the expert assemblage how a massive ice-age flood had carved three parallel tracts of flood channels south of the Cordilleran ice sheet (which covered Canada and the northern United States), pooled in a temporary lake twice the size of Rhode Island at the southern edge of the scablands, and then drained like an overflowing tub into the Columbia River Gorge. On the way, the floodwaters carved the famous Grand Coulee, a canyon up to three miles wide with walls up to a thousand feet high, cut hundreds of waterfalls, washed away entire hillsides, deposited gravel bars hundreds of feet high, carried rocks the size of cars and even small houses, and created a terrain of braided channels across eastern Washington.
Floodwaters scoured this chaotic labyrinth of channels into the bedrock of Babcock Bench, perched 600 feet above the Columbia River.
A wall of basalt at Frenchman Coulee lures rock climbers and shows the shrinkage cracks that formed in cooling lava millions of years ago.
Rivers and streams could not have done this, Bretz said. The landscape bears none of the marks of riverine systems, with smaller tributaries joining into larger ones, forming tree-like, branch-and-trunk patterns. Instead, you see a pattern of braided channels—the crisscrossing pattern that flowing water creates when it makes its way across fresh terrain. The difference between the channels we typically see—say, after a rainfall or on the margins of a flooding river—and the channels in the scablands is simply scale. These are just much larger, and were carved into rock instead of sand or silt.
The key to the rapid erosion, Bretz said, was the volcanic basalt that forms the bedrock of the Columbia Plateau. When basaltic lava cools into rock, it forms vertical hexagonal pillars that have weak bonds to each other. Compared to, say, granite, which erodes grain by grain, basalt can erode chunk by chunk as these pillars separate. So a massive, high-energy flood could pluck apart the bedrock so quickly that a canyon like the Grand Coulee might be formed virtually overnight.
Picture of Palouse Canyon looking North
“During the ice-age floods, this entire scene was submerged beneath hundreds of feet of water,” says geologist Bruce Bjornstad. The Palouse River, shown here, "was hijacked and forced to follow a new route to the Snake River.”
Bretz’s research was thorough, and his map of the channeled scablands was so accurate that it’s a virtual tracing of modern-day satellite images, creating the immediate impression of channeled floodwaters. But his audience—none of whom had visited, much less studied, the scablands—was having none of it. Bretz’s hypothesis was not just “wholly inadequate,” in the words of one critic, but “preposterous” and “incompetent.” Compounding the problem of his unlikely hypothesis was the question of where all this water would have come from, and Bretz had no convincing answer.
Creating the Channeled Scablands
During the last ice age, 18,000 to 13,000 years ago, the landscape of eastern Washington was repeatedly scoured by massive floods. They carved canyons, cut waterfalls, and sculpted a terrain of braided waterways today known as the Channeled Scablands.
At its greatest extent, Glacial Lake Missoula held more water than Lakes Erie and Ontario combined.
Area affected by cataclysmic flooding
Modern rivers are shown in white.
1) The Cordilleran ice sheet repeatedly advanced to block the Clark Fork River.
2) Behind the ice dam, water from the Clark Fork gathered, forming Glacial Lake Missoula.
3) Each time the ice dam broke, a torrent of water with 10 times the combined flow of all the world's rivers barreled through the Spokane River Valley.
4) The rushing floodwaters traveled southwest across the Columbia Basin, scouring the bedrock.
5) Floodwaters converged into the Columbia River Gorge and eventually emptied into the Pacific.
ROSEMARY WARDLEY, NG STAFF
SOURCES: USGS; ATLAS OF OREGON
For more than a decade afterward, Bretz was on the losing side of a pre-ordained conclusion, as the other geologists who began studying the area concocted one labored hypothesis after another for how the scablands’ features might have been created by gradual erosion. Then, in the early 1940s, the other shoe dropped: Joseph Pardee, a geologist for the USGS, reported that he’d discovered strong evidence of a massive flow of water in western Montana: a swath of current ripples 30 to 50 feet high—like the sand ripples that might form in river or tidal water, but made of gravel and orders of magnitude larger. Their source? A giant ice-age lake—Glacial Lake Missoula—that formed when the Cordilleran ice sheet progressed south and blocked the Clark Fork river valley, forming a dam of ice 2,000 feet high.
Behind that dam, water from the Clark Fork gathered, forming a lake with as much water as Lake Erie and Lake Ontario combined, stretching for hundreds of miles in Montana’s mountainous river valleys. Then the dam broke, and a torrent of water with ten times the combined flow of all the world’s rivers barreled into eastern Washington, reaching speeds approaching 80 miles an hour, decimating the terrain and leaving giant current ripples and gravel bars in its wake.
Rich soil called Palouse loess covers the rolling fields of eastern Washington. “This is what the topography might have looked like before the floods removed the loess,” says Bjornstad.
A farmer rakes hay into windrows near Moses Lake. The rows follow the circular pattern of pivot irrigation.
It would take another two decades to win the establishment over, but for many geologists this was convincing evidence that Bretz’s flood was real. The impossible had happened after all.
Seeing Like a Geologist
It takes practice to see the world as a geologist does. When I got my first glimpse of the Channeled Scablands more than 20 years ago on Interstate 90 west of Spokane, I was struck by their strange beauty, by the way rolling fields of wheat could suddenly yield to a landscape of rocky buttes. I had no explanation for the terrain, and I didn’t need one—I had that primitive eye that looks at rocks and just sees rocks. But when I returned to the scablands with Bretz’s story in mind, suddenly I was in an entirely different world.
Picture of Palouse Falls State Park
Plummeting nearly 200 feet, Palouse Falls is a trickle compared to the megafloods that carved this canyon and shaped the surrounding landscape of eastern Washington State.
Standing in the middle of a broad swath of scablands extending from horizon to horizon, my mind’s eye could clearly see the floodwaters blasting through, like a raging inland sea, ripping up everything not strong enough to stay moored. Driving through what’s known as the Ephrata Fan, a broad open area where floodwaters left the confines of the Grand Coulee and spread out and slowed as they neared what would become Ancient (and very temporary) Lake Lewis, I easily understood why the landscape was riddled with boulders: As the water lost speed, it began dropping all the rocks it was carrying. And when I stood on the lip of the dry falls of Potholes Coulee, looking at this immense canyon with farmland on three sides and a precipitous drop on the other, I felt what Bretz was thinking when he looked at that map a century ago: If a river didn’t carve this, what did?
With the flood story in mind, it all seems so obvious—so obvious, in fact, that it’s almost impossible to see the terrain and not see the floodwaters that shaped it. Why, then, were the experts in Bretz’s day so blind to what now seems like a self-evident geological record? I posed that question to Vic Baker, a geologist with the University of Arizona who became the pre-eminent scablands expert in Bretz’s wake, when we met to tour several of the region’s features. “It’s the mistake people have made most in the history of science,” he said. “They forgot that nature has the answers, not us.”
“Bretz was making arguments, and no one was going into the field to see anything,” Baker said. “They were just countering his arguments with theory.” And because scientists are first and foremost human beings, they’re loathe to change their theories or their minds because of mere data.
Picture of Monster Rock at Ephrata fan
The basalt and granite boulders now littering the Ephrata Fan were carried there by torrents of water that gushed out of a canyon called the Grand Coulee. The largest piece of rock is more than 25 feet tall.
Baker told me a story as we looked out at Palouse Falls, another dramatic cataract at the head of a massive canyon, with a stream running through it that seems comically out of scale, like a toddler wearing a grown man’s boots. Sometime in the late 1950s or early ’60s, a geologist named Aaron Waters brought one of Bretz’s most vocal critics—James Gilluly, the one who’d called his ideas “preposterous” and “incompetent”—to the scablands for a first-hand look. As they took in the sight of the falls and the canyon, Gilluly was dumbfounded by their scale. “Gilluly was just quiet the whole time,” Baker said, “and as they were leaving, he broke out into this immense laugh and said, ‘How could anybody be so wrong?’” After resisting Bretz’s theory for decades, simply seeing the landscape with his own eyes had changed his mind.
Of course, for some of Bretz’s most stubborn critics, even eyewitness experience wasn’t enough. Bretz’s arch-adversary, Richard Foster Flint, a Yale geologist who remained a premier authority in the field until the 1970s, spent years studying the scablands and resisted Bretz’s theory until he was virtually the only one left who did. He finally acknowledged the scablands flooding (grudgingly, with a single sentence in a textbook in 1971), but as philosopher Thomas Kuhn observed, new scientific truths often win the day not so much because opponents change their minds, but because they die off. By the time the Geological Society of America finally recognized Bretz’s work with the Penrose Medal, the field’s highest honor, it was 1979 and Bretz was 96 years old. He joked to his son, “All my enemies are dead, so I have no one to gloat over.”
It is tempting to see this story as a simple morality tale, with “good guy” geologists lining up against “bad guy” geologists in a battle between open-minded inquiry and closed-minded dogmatism. But that might just compound the error, because it neglects the fact that scientists almost always favor their own theories over others’, and rarely are those theories completely right. Enter Richard Waitt, a geologist with the USGS. In 1977 Waitt was exploring the Walla Walla valley in southern Washington when he noticed that one of the 40 sediment layers from the temporary flood lake contained ash from an eruption of Mt. St. Helens. It had been assumed that all those layers had been laid by one flood event—but if only one of them had the volcanic ash, it meant that each of those layers must have represented a separate flood.
“I knew right away that there couldn’t have been just one flood,” Waitt said. But when he published his findings in 1980, arguing that there had been at least 40 ice-age floods in the scablands, he faced such stiff resistance that he felt like Bretz himself. “Baker and his students were totally against it for years,” he said. And the irony for Waitt is that the lines seemed to be drawn just as they had been during the initial controversy. The authorities in the field were invested in a particular theory, and contrary evidence was dismissed without an adequate hearing.
Picture of Basalt columns in Drumhellers
A tower of basalt stands as a testament to the forces of nature that created the Scablands. “The region is unique: let the observer take wings of the morning to the uttermost parts of the earth: he will nowhere find its likeness,” wrote J Harlen Bretz, the geologist who first described the flooding that sculpted this terrain.
It turns out that Waitt was right. In fact, subsequent research indicates that 80 or more floods ravaged the scablands near the end of the last ice age. Repeatedly over a two- to three-thousand-year span ending roughly 13,000 years ago, the Cordilleran ice sheet advanced to block the Clark Fork river, a new iteration of Glacial Lake Missoula formed, and then the ice dam broke, each time unleashing such a torrent of water that if it were to happen today, most of Portland’s skyline would be submerged by the floodwaters. What’s more, something similar might have happened during previous ice ages—meaning that perhaps the most dramatic features of the scablands, like Grand Coulee and Dry Falls, didn’t form in the blink of a geological eye after all, but were shaped by catastrophic erosion over an extended period of time. Which would make both Bretz and his early critics right—Bretz about the flooding, and his critics in their skeptical assessment of his timetable.
This wouldn’t have come as a complete surprise to Bretz. By the early 1950s he’d noticed that some scabland features appeared to be more weathered than others, and in his last paper on the subject, in 1969, he argued that there had been at least seven scabland floods. But by then the controversy that had defined his professional life had already come and gone. When I asked Waitt about the irony of Bretz’s story, he said, “I think if Bretz could have made the argument in the 1920s for several floods, it would have muted the opposition a great deal.”
Perhaps it’s just as well that he didn’t. That sort of neat resolution might obscure what’s arguably the most important lesson of the scablands’ story—the caution that “nature has the answers, not us.” Just when we think we’ve got nature figured out, we find that among her many powers is the power to confound us, again and again and again.
Glenn Hodges writes about the mysteries of the universe at his blog.
Photographer Michael Melford says his mission is to share the wonders of the natural world with others.
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Medical services represent one of the pillars of Winchester area economy
Print this page by James Heffernan
Shenandoah University’s new Health & Life Sciences Building
Photo courtesy Shenandoah University
Just east of U.S. 50 in Winchester, a new $25 million Health & Life Sciences Building is rising at Shenandoah University on a vacant lot between the Alson H. Smith Jr. Library and Mary M. Henkel Hall. Once completed, the 71,000-square-foot building will anchor the south corner of the university’s main campus and combine facilities for undergraduate students in the health sciences under one roof.
More than just a consolidation and reorganization of people and programs, the new building will serve as a symbol of Shenandoah’s commitment to health care and of the importance of this industry to the region.
About half of the private university’s 2,400 undergraduate students are seeking careers in the health sciences. “We have a number of strengths here at Shenandoah, but one is certainly in the health professions and health sciences,” says the university’s president, Tracy Fitzsimmons. “This building will allow us to bring all of our undergraduate health programs back onto the main campus, so we can better serve our students.”
Shenandoah’s health programs, which also include a pharmacy school, help feed the region’s dominant health-care provider, Winchester-based Valley Health System. With more than 8,600 workers, health care is the Winchester area’s largest local employment sector, accounting for 15.5 percent of the labor force, and the outlook for the industry remains favorable, according to the Winchester-Frederick County Economic Development Commission. The field is a pillar of the local economy, along with retail, government and manufacturing.
Thanks to this diverse industry base, the Winchester area serves as an anchor for employment in the northern Shenandoah Valley and is successfully fighting the label of a “bedroom community” for Northern Virginia. Nearly 70 percent of local residents work in Winchester-Frederick County, and the region is home to a large “in-commuting” population, attracting more than 10,000 people from outside its borders for work.
Valley Health a big employer
Designed by Earl Swensson Associates of Nashville, Tenn., Shenandoah’s Health & Life Sciences building will house athletic training, biology, chemistry, nursing, respiratory care and pre-health programs, some of which now are located on the campus of Winchester Medical Center across town.
Academic spaces in the new building will include standard and active-learning classrooms; teaching labs; a 2,000-square-foot, 16-table cadaver lab; a nursing skills lab and simulation suite; a large meeting space; and cutting-edge classroom technologies for active learning. The rest of the building will consist of faculty offices, study spaces and community areas.
Once nursing and respiratory care move from their current facilities on Winchester Medical Center’s campus into the new building, that will create space for Shenandoah’s graduate programs in occupational therapy, physician assistant studies and physical therapy, which are currently housed off campus.
General contractor Howard Shockey & Sons of Winchester broke ground on the project in June. The building is expected to open in the fall of 2014.
“We’re moving into an era in which we’ll see many more chronic illnesses as people live longer, and that is creating a need for primary care,” says Kathryn Ganske, dean of Shenandoah’s Eleanor Wade Custer School of Nursing. “It will also allow for the types of interdisciplinary interactions that our students are wanting and employers in the health professions are looking for.”
One of those employers is Valley Health, which operates six hospitals in northwest Virginia and eastern West Virginia.
With more than 5,300 employees and a medical staff of over 500, Valley Health, including Winchester Medical Center, stands as the area’s largest employer. “This fact, coupled with health care’s above-average annual wages, makes it a central partner in the success of our economy,” says Patrick Barker, executive director of the Winchester-Frederick County Economic Development Commission. “The mere size and depth of services provided by Valley Health provide a unique attribute for our community compared with our competitors. This partnership has been extended into workforce training within the local public school systems.”
In July, Valley Health announced plans to form a strategic alliance with Northern Virginia provider Inova Health System in the areas of clinical research, information technology, population health and clinical service delivery.
Valley Health President and CEO Mark Merrill says the move is a result of the strategic planning process he and his board of trustees went through in early 2012. “We decided we would to like to remain independent and grow our clinical enterprise,” he says, “but we also recognized the need to explore partnership opportunities that would position us favorably in a dynamic and changing time in health care.”
Valley Health brings a strong market position, a top-five hospital in Virginia in Winchester Medical Center, and expertise in rural health care to the relationship, Merrill says, while Inova offers “a good community, not-for-profit partner, financially strong, with very good clinical programs, including some programs we don’t currently have.”
The two health systems will work together to implement an electronic health records system; provide mutual access to services and physicians, particularly in the areas of cardiovascular services, neurosciences, orthopedics, oncology, trauma, and women’s and infant care; and collaborate on research projects and clinical trials. They have also committed to population health management projects in their respective service areas. These programs reward health systems for keeping local residents out of the hospital through education, special events and access to community wellness centers.
“This innovative alliance will enable both of our organizations to do more, in a shorter period of time, and at less cost, than would have been possible if pursued alone,” Merrill says.
Valley Health and Inova will keep separate books, separate brands and maintain distinct governance structures. Both organizations say no jobs will be affected.
Expansion continues
The Winchester-Frederick County economy is coming off a banner year in 2012, with more than $180 million in private investment and 800 new jobs, with the vast majority of the activity coming from existing businesses.
Leading the charge were Navy Federal Credit Union and Kraft Foods. The credit union recently held a grand opening for an addition to its Winchester campus, which will bring 400 new customer-service jobs. Kraft Foods invested $25 million in its Frederick County plant to increase production of Capri Sun beverages. Also in 2012, British manufacturer M&H Plastics, which makes custom packaging for the personal-care and health-care markets, completed a $6.2 million expansion at its local facility, creating 20 jobs.
While the numbers haven’t been quite as robust this year, the local expansion trend continues.
H.P. Hood, one of the largest branded dairy operators in the United States, plans to invest $84.6 million in its Frederick County operation. The Lynnfield, Mass.-based company will expand the local facility to increase ultra-high-temperature production capacity, creating 75 jobs. The project represents the largest investment by an expanding company in Frederick County in 30 years.
In addition, Minneapolis-based Miller Milling is investing $30 million in its Frederick County flour mill. The company is part of an extensive local food-processing cluster, which includes New World Pasta, Kraft Foods, H.P. Hood, National Fruit Product Co. and Royal Crown Bottling.
The Frederick County mill, which opened on the same day as its twin facility in Fresno, Calif., in 1993, will add a fourth production unit, increasing capacity by more than 36 percent. “These projects are primarily meant to accommodate the growth of existing customers and meet their needs,” John C. Miller, president and CEO of Miller Milling, said in a news release. “Right now we don’t have the capacity to meet our customers’ demand.”
On the horizon, McKesson Corp., a Fortune 500 medical and surgical supply company, is building a $36.9 million distribution center in the county near Clear Brook, just a few miles from the West Virginia line. The facility will employ 205 people and serve McKesson’s clients all along the East Coast.
Indeed, the region’s strategic location and transportation network — with the ability to reach 50 percent of the U.S. population within 500 miles and overnight access to nearly two-thirds of the industrial activity in North America — have been pivotal to its economic growth. “They contribute greatly to Winchester-Frederick County getting considered for business locations and expansions,” Barker says.
Reviving business icons
The Winchester-area business community also is protecting its roots.
In March, A.G. Capital LLC, led by David C. Gum, purchased the iconic Winchester furniture company Henkel Harris. Manufacturing at the 300,000-square-foot plant on South Pleasant Valley Road shut down at the end of last year.
“We had heard that they were having some trouble, and then we read about it in the paper in November like everyone else,” Gum says. “Soon after looking at it, we thought we could turn it around. Our first [pitch] wasn’t successful, but in the spring, the previous owners came back to us and offered a deal that we thought was viable, so we went forward.”
Gum felt it was important to try to save the business, founded by Winchester residents Carroll and Mary Henkel in 1946 and passed down to their son, Bill. “I don’t know of any better furniture on the market than Henkel Harris,” Gum says. “The workers are true craftsmen. You can’t import it. There are not a whole lot of furniture companies left in the U.S., certainly not of this quality.”
Although the business continued to make fine products through the years, the market and the distribution channels changed, Gum says, creating the need to cut costs and streamline manufacturing. The company is now leaner, with around 60 employees. “We couldn’t bring everybody back,” Gum says. “We had to go with a smaller, more versatile staff. Now our teams follow the furniture through the entire process.”
The company held an open house in September that drew 1,800 area residents, and Gum says he expected to close the month of September “in the black.”
In 2006, the Gum family saved another local business icon, National Fruit Product Co., makers of the White House line of applesauce, apple juice, apple vinegar, apple slices and apple butter. The processor has been in Winchester since 1915.
Career Awareness Tours
“Our community has a proven track record of commitment to business,” Barker says. “This commitment aims to grow existing businesses and welcome new quality companies and, more importantly, provide continual resources and assistance to secure their future.”
To support the growth and health of the area’s existing businesses, the Winchester-Frederick County EDC employs a seven-person business call team, made up of retired business executives who call on area industries on a rotational basis, conduct surveys and report back to the EDC. Barker says this system allows the EDC to assess the overall health of industry sectors and recognize changing trends. The process also helps the commission become aware of expansion opportunities, helping to facilitate financial or workforce training assistance when possible, he says.
Also key to the region’s success is the EDC’s annual Career Awareness Tours, in which companies open their doors to local high school students, teachers, counselors and workforce development partners to make them aware of some of the careers available in Winchester-Frederick County and the education and skills needed to obtain them.
“The tours have been a huge success,” Barker says. More than 600 people participated in 2012.
Initiatives like these have helped keep local residents working in the region instead of commuting to the Washington, D.C., area. For those still driving to the Washington job market, the EDC offers a “Stop Your Commute” website, which provides links to local employer websites plus a worksheet to calculate the actual cost of commuting.
Also included are testimonials from former commuters who have found local jobs. In hers, Stacey Steele, accounts receivable administrator at SpecialMade Goods & Services Inc., says she was putting 35,000 miles on her car each year, changing the oil every six weeks, getting new tires every 18 months and spending over $300 a month on gasoline. “My commute was costing much more than I had ever thought — both financially and mentally — and I only wish I had made the change sooner,” her testimonial says.
Winchester area at a glance
Change since 2000
Unemployment rate (July)
Adults with bachelor’s degree
Median family income
104,508 26% 5.20% 25.5% $794 $70,602
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Virginia Water Radio 19: Week of May 31, 2010
Welcome to Virginia Water Radio (Episode 19) for the week of May 31, 2010. This week's show is hosted by Alan Raflo, research associate at the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, located at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Our show presents news and notices that relate to Virginia’s waters, from the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean.
Audio removed 8-27-12. Please contact Virginia Water Radio for access to archived audio file.
According to the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record, as of late April the Carrizo company of Houston, Texas, had met all requirements for the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy to issue the company a permit to drill a natural-gas exploration well in the Bergton area of Rockingham County.
Carrizo’s proposed exploratory well would be one of the first in Virginia seeking to tap the Marcellus shale, a 95,000 square-mile gas-bearing rock formation underlying parts of Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and a small part of Virginia. Interest in natural gas from the Marcellus shale has increased dramatically in the past two or three years, particularly following a 2008 study indicating that the formation might hold up to 50 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. Production from the formation typically involves horizontal drilling and use of hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”), which injects a water/sand/chemical mixture to break up gas-bearing rock. Increased Marcellus drilling has generated substantial economic activity but has also led to concerns over water use, disposal of wastewater recovered from the drilling process, and potential groundwater impacts from the fracking mixture.
If Carrizo receives the state permit, it would still need a special-use permit from Rockingham County. The county board of supervisors tabled the company’s special-use permit request on February 24 in order to gather more information about the exploratory drilling process and its potential environmental impacts. News source: Proposed Gas Drilling In Bergton, Harrisonburg Daily News-Record, 4/28/10.
The potential impacts on climate from coal-fired power plant emissions are the focus of a lawsuit currently in Virginia’s courts. On May 25, the state Court of Appeals denied the claim by the Southern Environmental Law Center, representing several environmental groups, that carbon emissions should be regulated in the permit for Dominion Virginia Power’s coal-fired plant under construction in Wise County. The groups were appealing an August 2009 decision by the Richmond Circuit Court. As of late May, the plaintiffs had not yet decided whether to appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court. News source: Appeals court upholds hybrid energy center's air permit, Bristol Herald Courier, 5/26/10. Additional details: The appeal on the carbon emissions followed resolution in September 2009 of another aspect of the lawsuit, regarding mercury. While rejecting the carbon-emissions claim, the August 2009 Circuit Court ruling accepted the plaintiffs’ argument to invalidate the original permit because of its mercury provisions, which would have allowed the plant to emit mercury beyond the permit’s limits if the plant were not able to meet the limit. On September 2, 2009, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality issued a new air permit for the plant, removing the provision for exceeding the permit limit. The limit remains the same, at 4.45 pounds of mercury per year. Sources: “New permit for coal-fired power plant pleases both sides,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 9/3/09; and “Dominion air permit violates Clean Air Act, Law Center says,” Bristol Herald Courier, 10/1/09.
On May 27—in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico/BP oil spill that began on April 20—President Obama announced actions to stop several offshore oil and gas exploration projects. The actions include cancelling the sale of leases for oil and gas exploration in Lease Sale 220, an approximately 2.9-million-acre area about 50 miles off Virginia’s shore. The sale, which would have been the first in the Atlantic Ocean in 20 years, had been expected to occur in 2012, depending on military and environmental reviews. The next potential opportunity for lease sales to occur in the Atlantic will be as part of In a news release in response to the Virginia lease sale cancellation, Governor Robert McDonnell said that he understood the President’s decision and the need for delay and investigation, but that he does not believe that outright cancellation of the lease sale was the only alternative. The governor asserted that a two-year environmental impact statement already underway would have provided adequate information about whether or not to proceed with the actual leasing. News sources: Salazar Calls for New Safety Measures for Offshore Oil and Gas Operations; Orders Six Month Moratorium on Deepwater Drilling, U.S. Dept. of Interior News Release, 5/27/10; Statement of Governor Bob McDonnell on President's Offshore Energy Decision, Virginia Governor’s Office News Release, 5/27/10; Report: Va. offshore drilling would interfere with military ops, Associated Press, 5/19/10. For more information: The federal Minerals Management Service’s Web site on the Lease Sale 220 area is http://www.mms.gov/offshore/220.htm.
WATER SOUNDS AND MUSIC
This week we feature a traditional song about a prominent geographic feature in the farthest southwestern corner of Virginia: Cumberland Gap,” performed by the legendary folk musician Pete Seeger, on “American Favorite Ballads,” a 2009 release from Smithsonian Folkways Records. The song dates at least to the Civil War and has been widely recorded both with a variety of lyrics and as an instrumental. It refers to the gap in the Cumberland Mountains where Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee meet. For centuries, the gap provided passage through the mountains for native peoples, and after European settlement it was the opening through which the Wilderness Road took settlers from Virginia to the western territories. The Library of Congress’s online catalog includes “Songs of the Civil War Era” (1972 recording), which includes “Cumberland Gap”; and the Smithsonian Folkways Web site includes “Ballads of the Civil War” (1954 recording) in its list of albums that include “Cumberland Gap.” As of 5/28/10, the Smithsonian Folkways Web site, http://www.folkways.si.edu/, listed 23 albums—recorded between 1954 and 2009—with recordings of “Cumberland Gap.” More information about Cumberland Gap is available from Web site for Cumberland Gap National Historic Park, at http://www.nps.gov/cuga/index.htm.]
UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS
First, in government policy and regulatory meetings occurring between June 2 and June 9.
On June 7, the State Water Control Board’s Advisory Committee on the general discharge permit for confined animal feeding operations meets in Glen Allen. For more information phone Betsy Bowles at (804) 698-4059. The regulation 9 VAC 25-191, Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) General Permit for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. More information and relevant documents are at http://www.townhall.state.va.us/L/viewchapter.cfm?chapterid=2390.
On June 8, the Board for Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators and Onsite Sewage System Professionals meets in Richmond. For more information, phone David Dick at (804) 367-8595.
And also on June 8, the Regulatory Advisory Panel on development of a permit regulation for Small Renewable Offshore Wind Energy Projects meets in Richmond. For more information, phone Carol Wampler at (804) 698-4579. The advisory panel is assisting the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in the development of a permit regulation for small renewable offshore wind energy projects. Development of the regulation was mandated by the 2009 Virginia General Assembly. More information and relevant documents are at http://www.townhall.state.va.us/L/ViewMeeting.cfm?MeetingID=14656.
Here’s one upcoming event about Total Maximum Daily Loads, or TMDLs, for impaired waters:
On June 7, 10:00 to 11:30 a.m., the U.S. EPA is holding its fourth online seminar, or Webinar, on the Chesapeake Bay TMDL. For more information, phone Tom Damm at (215) 814-5560. Registration for the Chesapeake Bay TMDL Webinar and more information about the Bay TMDL are available at http://www.epa.gov/chesapeakebaytmdl.
Finally, in upcoming educational or recreational events:
On June 5, from 9 a.m. to noon, volunteers in waterways and on shorelines throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed will participate in the 22nd Annual Clean the Bay Day, organized by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. For more information on volunteering, phone the Virginia office of the Bay Foundation at (804) 648-4011.
Also on June 5, Staunton River Battlefield State Park in Charlotte County is holding the Sappony Indian River Festival. The day-long festival includes native dancing, art, and food; learning about birds of prey; an archaeology demonstration; and paddling on the Staunton River. For more information, phone (434) 454-4312.
And on June 9 in Richmond, the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships is holding a symposium entitled The Future of Water Partnerships in Virginia. For information, phone Krystine McGrath at (703) 469-2233.
For more information about government policy and regulatory meetings, click here for the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall, where these meetings are listed by date. TMDL meetings are also listed at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality TMDL Web site.
Virginia Water Radio is a product of the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, which is solely responsible for the show’s content. Hosting and bandwidth for this podcast are also provided by the Water Center. We invite you to visit the center online at www.vwrrc.vt.edu.
Show notes and production assistance were provided by Patrick Fay. Recording assistance was provided by the Office of University Relations at Virginia Tech.
Opinions expressed on this show are not necessarily those of the Water Center, Virginia Tech, or this station.
If you need more information about anything mentioned this week, call us at (540) 231-5463, or visit our web site at www.virginiawaterradio.org.
Click to Listen to Episode
In May, the environmental coordinator for the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission said the environmental clean-up of Fort Monroe in Hampton will cost the Defense Department an estimated $60-70 million. The Army will leave the 570-acre facility in 2011. Areas requiring clean-up include weapon ranges that extend into the Chesapeake Bay, underground storage tanks, an old landfill, and a former automotive repair area. After the Army leaves, the Commonwealth will own the facility and the Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority will manage it, possibly to offer education about the area’s military history and natural environment. News source: Fort Monroe cleanup at $60-$70 million, (Newport News) Daily Press, 5/7/10.
In another water and military item: A Defense Department report released on May 18 said that oil and gas exploration activities in about 75 percent of the proposed Lease Sale 220 area would interfere with military operations, particularly those of the Norfolk Naval Base. Lease Sale 220 is a 4,500-square-mile area about 50 miles off Virginia’s shore. The Defense Department does not have a veto over proposed offshore drilling operations, but the U.S. Department of the Interior, which manages offshore lease sales, has never before approved drilling in an area to which Defense objected, according to the deputy under-secretary of defense for installations and environment. News source: Report: Va. offshore drilling would interfere with military ops, Associated Press, as published in the Virginian-Pilot, 5/19/10.
On May 10, the U.S. EPA and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (or CBF) signed a settlement of the January 2009 lawsuit by CBF and seven other plaintiffs, who claimed that the EPA failed to comply with the federal Clean Water Act by not taking adequate measures to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay. The settlement identifies several actions required of the EPA, including establishing the Bay total maximum daily load (or TMDL), developing effective implementation, expanding review of discharge permits, setting new regulations for concentrated animal feeding operations and for urban and suburban stormwater, and establishing a publicly accessible system for monitoring progress toward restoration goals. News source: EPA reaches settlement in Foundation lawsuit, U.S. EPA News Release, 5/11/10. Environment News Service, 5/12/10. More information: The other plaintiffs were former Maryland State Senator Bernie Fowler, former Maryland Governor Harry Hughes, former Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Tayloe Murphy, former District of Columbia Mayor Anthony Williams, the Maryland Saltwater Sportfisherman's Association, Inc., the Maryland Watermen's Association, and the Virginia State Waterman's Association. CBF information about the lawsuit and settlement are at http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=1840. The settlement text—27 pages—is available at http://www.cbf.org/Document.Doc?id=512. For a sample of the many news accounts of the settlement, see “Bay foundation settles suit against EPA,” Virginian-Pilot, 5/12/10; “EPA legally bound to clean Chesapeake Bay under deal,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 5/12/10; or Chesapeake Bay Case Settled With Nation's Largest Water Cleanup Plan.
In another Bay restoration item: On May 12 the Obama administration released the final version of its “Strategy for Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.” The strategy is a result of the President’s May 2009 Executive Order calling for an increased federal role in restoration of the Bay. The strategy details actions to be taken by the EPA and by the federal departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Interior, and Transportation to achieve five main goals: restoring clean water, restoring natural habitats, sustaining fish and wildlife, conserving land, and increasing public access. News source: New Federal Strategy Will Restore Clean Water, Conserve Land, Rebuild Oysters in Chesapeake Bay Region, Chesapeake Bay Program News Release, 5/12/10. Key aspects of the final strategy, as stated by the Chesapeake Bay Program’s news release, are as follows: “To restore clean water, the EPA will implement the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)…; expand regulation of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and stormwater runoff from cities, towns and suburbs; and increase enforcement activities and funding for state regulatory programs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide farmers and forest owners throughout the Bay watershed with the resources to prevent soil erosion and keep nutrients out of local waterways; target federal funding to the places where it will have the greatest impact on reducing water pollution; ensure that agricultural producers’ conservation efforts are accurately reported; and lead a federal initiative to develop a watershed-wide environmental services market that would allow producers to generate tradable water quality credits in return for implementing conservation practices….To protect priority lands, the Department of the Interior will launch a collaborative Chesapeake Treasured Landscape Initiative; expand land conservation by coordinating federal funding and providing community assistance; and develop a plan for increasing public access to the Bay and its rivers.” The text of the strategy and a 12-page executive summary are available online at http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net.
And in our last news item this week: The Atlantic tropical storm season begins June 1 and runs until November 30. Tropical storms threaten coastal areas, of course, but inland flooding typically is the most deadly aspect of tropical storms. Governor McDonnell has designated May 23rd-29th as Hurricane and Flooding Preparedness Week to emphasize the importance of emergency preparation. For families and individuals, that preparation should include three main things: having an emergency plan; preparing an emergency kit with at least a three-day supply of bottled water and non-perishable food; and staying informed, including having a battery-powered or hand-crank powered radio in case of power outages. To help Virginians get supplies for hurricane season, the Commonwealth’s Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday runs May 25-31, during which no sales tax will be charged on certain emergency-preparation items. So here’s the main message again: Make a plan, get a kit, and stay informed! News Source: Governor McDonnell Urges Virginians to Get Ready for Hurricane Season, and Hurricane and Flooding Preparedness Week proclamation, Virginia Governor’s Office, 5/17/10. More information: Virginia Department of Emergency Services’ hurricane-preparedness Web site: http://www.readyvirginia.gov/stayinformed/hurricanes.cfm; and National Hurricane Center’s Web site for Hurricane Preparedness Week: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/intro.shtml.
This week we featured a new mystery sound: The Atlantic Croaker
Croakers, found in Atlantic and Gulf Coastal waters, are in the Drum family of fishes, which includes several species able to make sounds. In fact, hundreds of fish species make sounds, either to attract mates, show aggression, or for other as-yet-unknown reasons. Thanks to Rodney Rountree of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst for permission to use this recording from his “Fish and Other Underwater Sounds” Web site. Information on Atlantic Croakers is available from the Chesapeake Bay Program’s “Bay Field Guide,” online at http://www.chesapeakebay.net/bfg_atlantic_croaker.aspx?menuitem=14386, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Web site at http://www.asmfc.org. More information on fish sounds is available from the Rodney Rountree’s fish ecology Web http://www.fishecology.org/index.htm; for the sounds specifically, visit http://www.fishecology.org/soniferous/justsounds.htm. The original source of many of the fish sounds at Dr. Rountree’s Web site is a file of fish sounds created by Marie Fish and William Mowbray as a companion to their book Sounds of Western North Atlantic Fishes: A Reference File of Biological Underwater Sounds, Johns Hopkins Press, 1970. For other fish sounds, visit the Cornell University MacCauley Library’s online archive of bird, amphibian, fish, and other sounds: http://macaulaylibrary.org/index.do. For an introduction to sound-making by fish: What’s Making that Awful Racket? Surprisingly, It May Be Fish, New York Times, 4/8/08.]
First, in government policy and regulatory meetings occurring between May 26 and June 2:
On May 26 in Richmond, the State Water Control Board holds a public hearing on the general discharge permit regulation for coin-operated laundries. For more information, phone George Cosby at (804) 698-4067. The regulation is 9 VAC 25-810. The proposed amendments were published in the Virginia Register on April 26, and the public comment period ends June 25. More information and relevant documents are at http://www.townhall.state.va.us/L/viewaction.cfm?actionid=2996&display=stages.
On June 2, the Virginia Roanoke River Basin Advisory Committee meets in Charlotte Court House. For more information, phone Tammy Stephenson at (540) 562-6828.
One upcoming meeting about Total Maximum Daily Loads, or TMDLs, for impaired waters:
May 26, in Emporia, on the TMDL study for portions of Fontaine Creek in Brunswick and Greensville counties. For more information, phone Margaret Smigo at (804) 527-5124.
Finally, in educational or recreational events:
“Nobody’s waterproof, so always wear your life jacket!” That’s the key message of National Safe Boating Week, which started May 22 and continues through May 28. The event is organized by the National Safe Boating Council, headquartered in Prince William County, Virginia. For more information, phone (703) 361-4294.
And last, the Potomac River Swim for the Environment starts at 8 a.m. on June 5, when swimmers will dive into the Potomac at Hull Neck in Northumberland County, Virginia, and swim 7 and 1/2 miles to Point Lookout State Park in Maryland. Participants are raising funds for the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin and for several non-profit environmental organizations. For more information, phone Cheryl Wagner at (202) 387-2361.
Posted by Alan Raflo at 8:35 PM Links to this post
Audio archived 3/16/12; please contact Virginia Water Radio for access to the audio file.
On May 4, the U.S. EPA announced proposed regulations for disposal of coal-combustion residuals, or coal ash. According to the EPA Web site on the proposed rule, the regulations would require liners and groundwater monitoring at new landfills that store coal ash. The proposed regulations would also address the structure of dams used to create coal ash storage impoundments, or lagoons, such as the one that broke near Kinston, Tennessee, in December 2008, leading to a large spill. EPA states that the proposed measures are intended to result in a transition from lagoons that store wet ash to landfills that store ash in dry form. The proposed regulations also call for public comment on two enforcement options: one would set up a system of required federal and state permits; the second would rely on lawsuits by citizens and states. News source: EPA Announces Plans to Regulate Coal Ash, U.S. EPA News Release, 5/4/10. More information: The EPA Web site on the proposed rule is http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/ccr-rule/index.htm.
Disposal and use of coal ash are significant issues in Virginia, tying together energy production, waste management, and water resources. Here are two examples from recent news. First, in April Chesterfield County approved Dominion Virginia Power’s request for a $50-million, 70-acre landfill for coal ash from Dominion’s Chesterfield County Power Station, Virginia’s largest fossil fuel plant, producing about 12 percent of the electricity used in the state. Dominion’s current ash landfill at the power station is predicted to reach its capacity by 2019. Dominion now must seek permits from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality for the landfill and an access road, which will include a bridge over a James River tributary creek; that permitting process could take three or more years. Second, also in April, the U.S. EPA reported that it had found no public-health threat from contaminants in the soil beneath the Battlefield Golf Club’s course in Chesapeake. News sources: Coal ash landfill project moves on to DEQ, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 4/25/10; No current risk from golf course fly ash, EPA says, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, 4/23/10; Chesapeake to extend public water to fly ash site, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, 8/26/09; and Dominion asks judge to throw out $1 billion fly-ash suit, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot; 7/25/09. More information about Dominion’s Chesterfield Power Station is available at http://www.dom.com/about/stations/fossil/chesterfield-power-station.jsp. More information about the Chesapeake Energy Center is available at http://www.dom.com/about/stations/fossil/chesapeake-energy-center.jsp.
Next, in a stormwater item: On May 3 in Richmond Circuit Court, the Virginia Attorney General’s office filed a complaint and announced a proposed consent decree over alleged storwmater violations by Flour Lane LLC during construction of 14 miles of new high-occupancy lanes on the Capital Beltway in Virginia. Under the proposed decree, the company would pay a $66,540 fine and implement an improved stormwater maintenance and inspection program, including weekly reviews by an independent auditor. The Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board will publish the proposed consent decree and provide a 30-day public-comment period. News source: Attorney General Cuccinelli announces filing of suit against alleged polluter and a settlement to keep Capital Beltway HOT lanes construction on schedule, Virginia Attorney General’s Office News Release, 5/5/10. Information on the filing of the complaint and upcoming process by the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board came from a 5/10/10 e-mail communication from Brian Gottstein, director of communication for the Office of the Attorney General.
And in our last news item this week: On May 5, ground was broken in the Accomack County town of Melfa for the Robert S. Bloxom Eastern Shore Agricultural Complex. The complex will house a new seafood storage-facility, a regional office for the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the offices of the Eastern Shore Soil and Water Conservation District. The seafood-storage facility is intended to allow fish harvesters more opportunity to match deliveries of their catch with market demand. News source: Groundbreaking for New Robert S. Bloxom Eastern Shore Agricultural Complex in Melfa, Virginia Governor’s Office News Release, 5/5/10.
This week we feature a widely recorded fiddle tune named for a river with several southwestern Virginia tributaries: "Sandy River Belle,” performed in 1958 for a Galax radio show by Carroll County musicians Norman Edmonds and the Old Timers, and reproduced on a 2004 CD by Field Recorders’ Collective.
The title is thought to refer to the Big Sandy River, an Ohio River tributary that forms part of the border between West Virginia and Kentucky. The Levisa Fork, Russell Fork, and Tug Fork are all Big Sandy tributaries that flow through far southwestern Virginia.
As of 5/13/10, the Web site “Folk Music Index—An Index to Recorded Resources” lists 50 recordings of “Sandy River Belle” from the 1960s to the 2000s. More information about the Field Recorders’ Collective is available at http://www.fieldrecorder.com/index.htm.
First, in government policy and regulatory meetings:
On May 19 in Glen Allen is a meeting of the State Water Control Board’s Advisory Committee on the general permit for nitrogen and phosphorus discharges and for nutrient trading in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. For more information, phone George Cosby at (804) 698-4067.
On May 25, the Marine Resources Commission meets in Newport News. For more information, phone Jane McCroskey at (757) 247-2215.
On May 26 in Richmond, the State Water Control Board holds a public hearing on the general discharge permit regulation for coin-operated laundries. For more information, phone George Cosby at (804) 698-4067.
Next, here’s one upcoming meeting about Total Maximum Daily Loads, or TMDLs, for impaired waters:
Finally, in upcoming educational events:
On May 22 in Gloucester Point, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science holds its annual Marine Science Day. For more information, phone 804) 684-7000.
On May 29 at Chickahominy Riverfront Park in James City County, the James River Association is holding the Chickahominy Water Trail Festival. The featured activity is a paddling race up the river to highlight the newest segment of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Water Trail. For more information, phone (804) 788-8811.
And last—but perhaps most importantly—May 22 to 28 is National Safe Boating Week, organized by the National Safe Boating Council, which is headquartered in Prince William County, Virginia. For more information, you may phone the Council at (703) 361-4294, or visit www.safeboatingcouncil.org, but here’s the Council’s key message for Safe Boating Week: “Remember, nobody’s waterproof, so always wear your life jacket!”
On April 22, the U.S. EPA’s Region 3 office announced $300,000 in grants for seven pilot projects to involve local governments, organizations, and citizens in developing implementation plans for the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDL. Two of the pilot projects are in Virginia. One will be under the coordination of the Rivanna River Basin Commission and involve the City of Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson. The second Virginia project will be in Prince William County, under the coordination of the county’s public works department. The five other pilot projects are in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. News source: Local Watershed Implementation Plan Pilot Projects, U.S. EPA, 4/22/10. More information: The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Web site for the Chesapeake Bay TMDL is www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_and_water/baytmdl.shtml. The U.S. EPA’s Bay TMDL Web site is www.epa.gov/chesapeakebaytmdl/.
In late April, the Chesapeake Bay Program reported that the acreage of the Bay’s submerged aquatic vegetation (also called “underwater grasses” or “Bay grasses”) increased by 12 percent from 2008 to 2009. Increases were seen in all parts of the Bay, although some areas—such as several Anne Arundel County, Md., rivers—showed decreased vegetation or even no vegetation. Submerged vegetation provides oxygen, food, and habitat for many Bay fish, crustaceans, and other animals, and the extent of submerged vegetation is a key water-quality indicator. The 85,899 acres of vegetation recorded in 2009 is the highest seen since 2002 and is about half of the Bay-restoration goal of 185,000 acres. News sources: Underwater Bay Grasses Increase 12 Percent in Bay and Rivers in 2009, Chesapeake Bay Program News Release, 4/27/10; and Bay grasses up overall, down in Anne Arundel, Annapolis Capital, 5/1/10.
On April 20, the non-profit organization Potomac Conservancy—headquartered in Silver Spring, Md., and with a Shenandoah River office in Winchester—began a “Fish Mystery” campaign calling for more research into the causes of intersex characteristics in Smallmouth Bass and other fish in the Potomac River and some of its tributaries. “Intersex” refers to animals showing both male and female characteristics. Besides the occurrence of intersex characteristics in Potomac basin fish, an August 2009 U.S. Geological Survey study found “widespread” occurrence of intersex characteristics in Smallmouth Bass and Largemouth Bass in several U.S. rivers between 1995 and 2004. Responding to these and other findings, in December 2009 U.S. Rep. James Moran of Virginia introduced the Endocrine Disruption Prevention Act. The bill would authorize the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to conduct a research program on how to reduce exposure—especially of children—to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. News sources: Group Asks For More Study Of Potomac Intersex Fish, Associated Press, 4/20/10; and Widespread Occurrence of Intersex Bass Found in U.S. Rivers, USGS News Release, 9/14/09. More information about the Potomac Conservancy is available at http://www.potomac.org/site/. The USGS study, “Widespread occurrence of intersex in black basses (Micropterus spp.) from U.S. Rivers, 1995-2004,” is in the August 13, 2009, online edition of Aquatic Toxicology. More information on the Endocrine Disruption Prevention Act (HR 4190) is available at the Library of Congress’s “Thomas” Web site, http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.4190.
Also on April 20, the U.S. EPA and K. Hovnanian Homes announced a settlement over 591 alleged Clean Water Act violations in 18 states and Washington, D.C. The alleged violations are related to stormwater management at construction sites managed by Hovnanian, a nationwide home-building company. Seventy of the sites in the EPA complaint are in Virginia, and 161 sites are in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The settlement includes a $1-million fine and requirement for Hovnanian to develop a company-wide stormwater-management plan, improve various practices, and submit annual reports to the EPA. The settlement has a 30-day public comment period and is subject to approval by a federal court in Pennsylvania. News sources: Residential Homebuilder Settles Clean Water Act Violations in 18 States and D.C. Settlement affects 161 construction sites in Chesapeake Bay watershed, U.S. EPA News Release, 4/20/10, and Local sites part of Hovnanian settlement, Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 4/23/10, More EPA information about the settlement is available online at www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/cwa/hovnanian.html.
And in our last news item this week: The 2010 Virginia General Assembly passed legislation designating four new Virginia Scenic River segments. The new segments are six miles of the Jordan River in Rappahannock County; 10 miles of the Hazel River in Culpeper, Madison, and Rappahannock counties; nine miles of the Russell Fork in Dickenson County; and 56 miles of the Blackwater River in the counties of Isle of Wight and Southampton and the cities of Franklin and Suffolk. The Scenic River program identifies and designates rivers and streams with outstanding scenic, recreational, historic, and natural characteristics. With the four new segments, Virginia now has 28 scenic river segments totaling 610 river miles. News source: Governor McDonnell Celebrates 40th Anniversary of the Establishment of Virginia's Scenic River Program, Virginia Governor’s News Release, 4/23/10. More information on the Virginia Scenic River Program is available at www.dcr.virginia.gov/recreational_planning/srmain.shtml.
This week we featured a new mystery sound: the Gray Treefrog
Gray Treefrogs are 1-to-3 inch-long and are commonly found in Virginia’s Piedmont, the Blue Ridge region, and the mountains as far south as the New River watershed. As the name implies, they live mostly in trees, except during their breeding season when they move to shallow, standing waters to mate. Information from Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia, by B.S. Martof et. al., University of North Carolina Press/Chapel Hill (1980); Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles in Virginia, J.C. Mitchell and K.K. Reay, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries/Richmond (1999); and the Web site of the Virginia Herpetological Society (VHS) Web site, http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/VHS/VHS information about Gray Treefrogs). (click here to go directly to VHS information about Gray Treefrogs).
On May 11, the Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Board’s two area-review committees meet in Richmond. For more information, phone David Dowling at (804) 786-2291.
On May 13 in Glen Allen, and on May 18 in Harrisonburg, the State Water Control Board holds public hearings on proposed amendments to the general permit for Poultry Waste Management Regulations. For more information, phone Betsy Bowles at (804) 698-4095. The regulation is (9 VAC 25-630). The proposed amendments were published in the Virginia Register on 4/12/10, and the public comment period ends 6/11/10. More information and relevant documents are at www.townhall.state.va.us/L/viewstage.cfm?stageid=5475&display=documents.
On May 18, the Groundwater Protection Steering Committee meets in Richmond. For more information, phone Mary Ann Massie at (804) 698-4042.
May 13, in Williamsburg, on the TMDL implementation plan for Mill Creek and Powhatan Creek. For more information, phone Jennifer Howell at (757) 518-2111.
On May 15, the Naval Heritage Society will cross the Chesapeake Bay in a 26-foot, human- and wind-powered Monomoy pulling boat. The crossing is from First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach to Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern Shore. Once the boat lands at Kiptopeke, park visitors can view the vessel and learn about its history, including use in marine rescues. For more information, phone (757) 331-2267.
And on May 19 at Mathews State Forest in Galax, and May 20 at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon, the Southwest Virginia Fire Learning Network is organizing “Fire History and Vegetation Changes in the Appalachian Mountains from Presettlement to the Present.” For more information, phone Zachary Olinger at (276) 236-2322.
Show notes and production assistance were provided by Patrick Fay. Recording assistance was provided by Gabrielle Minnich of the Office of University Relations at Virginia Tech.
Virginia Water Radio 15: Week of May 3, 2010
Welcome to Virginia Water Radio (Episode 15) for the week of May 3, 2010. This week's show is hosted by Alan Raflo, research associate at the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, located at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Our show presents news and notices that relate to Virginia’s waters, from the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean.
Audio no longer available, as of 3-5-12.
A research paper published in March found that 20 out of 40 sites on large streams or rivers in the United States showed statistically significant temperature increases over periods from 21 to 98 years and ending between 2003 and 2007. The most rapid rate of increase was 1.4 degrees F per decade at the Delaware River near Chester, Penn., from 1965 to 2007. The Potomac River near Washington, D.C., increased about 0.8 degrees F per decade from 1922 to 2006. Two sites showed temperature decreases, including the Jackson River at Hot Springs, Va., which decreased about 1.8 degrees F per decade from 1979 to 2003. At the other 18 sites, no statistically significant trend was seen. The authors attribute the temperature increases to urbanization and global climate change. Such temperature changes, even though small, can have various ecological effects, particularly if continued over many years. News source: The paper, Rising stream and river temperatures in the United States, was published in the March 23, 2010, online version of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. The lead author, Sujah Kaushal, is at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and one of the co-authors, Michael Pace, is now at the University of Virginia’s Department of Environmental Sciences.
The 2010 Virginia General Assembly passed several renewable-energy measures. Here are the basic provisions of three of those measures. 1) House Bill 803 and Senate Bill 623 establish the Green Jobs Tax Credit, which allows a $500 tax credit for “green” jobs created since January 1, 2010. 2) House Bill 928 creates the Universities Clean Energy Development and Economic Stimulus Foundation to help fund research, development, and commercialization of alternative fuels, clean energy production, and related technologies. 3) And House Bill 389 and SB 577 create the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority to support wind-powered electric energy facilities off Virginia’s coast beyond the Commonwealth's three-mile jurisdictional limit. News source: Governor McDonnell Signs Green Energy Legislation at Old Dominion University, Virginia Governor’s Office News Release, 4/2/10. Additional information: The other bills signed by the governor on April 2 were the following (with quotes from the governor’s news release): HB1022—Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) Program: “provides that an investor-owned electric utility will receive triple credit toward meeting the goals of the RPS program for energy derived from offshore wind.” HB 533/SB 112—SAVE Act: authorizing “investor-owned natural gas utilities to petition the State Corporation Commission to implement a separate rider that will allow for recovery of certain costs associated with eligible infrastructure replacement projects,” including projects that enhance safety or reliability and those that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. HB 806—Alternative Fuels Revolving Fund: adding improvement of infrastructure (such as refueling stations) as a goal of the Alternative Fuels Revolving Fund. SB 110—Clean Energy Financing: authorizing localities, in order to secure loans for the initial acquisition and installation of clean energy improvements, to place liens against any property where such clean energy systems are being installed. For more information about these bills, visit the Virginia Legislative Information System Web site at http://leg1.state.va.us/.
On April 28, Governor Robert McDonnell announced that the federal government approved disaster assistance for Virginia’s recovery from the two winter storms that occurred between February 5 and 11, 2010. The assistance will help cover costs of damage to critical infrastructure, debris removal, and related emergency services in 29 counties and eight cities. Assistance was also approved for the costs of snow removal in 13 of these counties and seven of these cities. In February, the federal government approved assistance for 31 counties and nine cities affected by the December 18-20, 2009, snowstorm. News sources: Governor McDonnell Announces Federal Disaster Assistance for State and Local Governments, Virginia Governor’s News Release, 4/28/10; and Governor McDonnell Announces Federal Disaster Assistance for State and Local Governments, Virginia Governor’s News Release, 2/16/10
And our last news item this week is our monthly water status report. First, in precipitation: According to the Southeast Regional Climate Center, precipitation across Virginia between March 30 and April 28 ranged from about one-half inch to about 4 inches. Most areas of Virginia received below-normal rainfall—compared to the historical record for this period—while rainfall in most of far southwestern Virginia was about normal. Second, in stream flow: According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s WaterWatch, streamflows averaged over April 1 to April 28 were normal in most of the Commonwealth, with below- Virginia again being drought-free, as it has been since November 2009. But be on the look-out: abnormally dry conditions have recently appeared in parts of North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Maryland. Additional information: Below are the monthly precipitation and 28-day-average stream flow maps referred to above (please note the color-code chart for the stream flow map). They are included because it’s not easy to find archives of those maps at the respective Web sites. In contrast, archives of the drought maps are easy to find at the Drought Monitor Web site.
Precipitation Map
Streamflow Map (28-day average, as of 4/28/10)
This week we feature “Bear Creek Blues,” recorded by Sara and Maybelle Carter in 1940 and taken from the 1996 CD “Virginia Traditions: Southwest Virginia Blues” by Global Village Music and Ferrum College’s Blue Ridge Institute.
Wise County has a stream called Bear Creek, a Bear Creek reservoir, and most recently, a Bear Creek housing development. So was A.P. Carter referring to that Bear Creek when he wrote the lyrics to this song? If any listeners know the answer to that mystery, Virginia Water Radio would love to know!
On May 4, the Division of Mined Land Reclamation will hold an informal hearing on a notice of violation at Cumberland River Coal Company’s Black Mountain mine near Dunbar in Wise County. For more information, phone Harve Mooney at (276) 523-8271.
And on May 11, the Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Board’s Northern Area Review Committee meets in Richmond. For more information, phone David Dowling at (804) 786-2291.
Next, here is one upcoming meeting about Total Maximum Daily Loads, or TMDLs, for impaired waters:
May 6 in Lynchburg, on the TMDL for the James River and several tributaries in Amherst and Bedford counties and the City of Lynchburg. For more information, phone Paula Nash at (434) 582-5120.
On May 7 in Henrico, the Virginia Water Monitoring Council holds its annual conference, titled “What's Coming Down the Pipe--Exploring Emerging Water-quality Issues.” For more information, phone Katie Register at (434) 395-2602.
On May 8 in Leesburg, the non-profit organization Wisdom Spring is holding Walking for Water, an annual event to raised funds for water wells, medicine, and education in the African country of Burkina Faso. For more information, phone Susan Hough at (703) 505-5152.
And last, looking somewhat farther ahead, On May 25-26 at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, Abingdon, the Clinch-Powell Clean Rivers Initiative holds its annual symposium, this year titled “Conservation Management of the Clinch and Powell River Systems: How Towns, Roads, and Development Influence Aquatic Environments.” For more information, phone Braven Beaty at (276) 676-2209.
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Rosemary has been researching her families in Australia, England and Scotland since 1985. That year she joined the Queensland Family History Society and has held positions within that society since the following year - President (1992-1994), Vice President (1989-1991), Bookshop Coordinator (1995-1999), Cemetery Coordinator (1987-1993), Joint Publications Coordinator (1995-2015), member of Management Committee (1986-1998 and 2007-2015).
Her academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) and Bachelor of Arts (Computer Science) at the University of Queensland and she has completed the Certificate of Genealogical Studies (English Records) with the National Institute for Genealogical Studies.
Though trained as a statistician, she currently works as a part-time consultant for Gould Genealogy & History and Unlock the Past. She is a regular presenter at Unlock the Past events and genealogy groups; she spoke at the New Zealand Family History Fair in 2011 and at the New Zealand Society of Genealogists Conference at Taupo in June 2012.
As an hydrologist and biometrician she co-authored many scientific papers and reports; of interest to family historians, she has authored ScotlandsPeople: the place to launch your Scottish research, Treasures in Australian government gazettes, and So your ancestor was a Baptist in Queensland!; edited Queensland Founding Families, has published numerous indexes, and with her husband Eric compiled the Emigrants from Hamburg to Australasia 1850-1879 series.
Rosemary received the Queensland FHS Award for Services to Family History in 1990, in 2000 was made a Fellow of Queensland FHS and, in 2006, was awarded the AFFHO Award for Meritorious Services to Family History.
Research interests: Cheshire, Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Kent, Lincolnshire, Somerset, Yorkshire in England; Lanarkshire, Inverness, Perthshire in Scotland; Antrim in Ireland and Flintshire in Wales.
Ancestry.com: What does it offer? - An overview of the historic records available on Ancestry for Australia, New Zealand, England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland with a brief peek at what is starting to come online for German research.
Australian Government, Police & Education Gazettes - Examines the hidden material in Australian Government, Police and Education gazettes - mostly we consider them to be irrelevant and uninteresting but that is definitely not the case. The gazettes contain information about people...
Connecting with family lines online - We used to write letters to discover family connections but now there are many different ways we can find others searching the same family lines. This presentation has a look at Genes Reunited, MyHeritage, Ancestry and other websites to see how we...
Directories and almanacs - A look at the wide range of directories and almanacs available and why you should use them when compiling your family history.
Family Photo Book - Why just leave your photographs on your computer. The Family Photo Book software is easy, fun and free to use (versions for Windows and Mac). An album is the perfect gift for anyone and any occasion - for recording family history, family reunions,...
Findmypast - the World Collection - Exactly what is happening at findmypast? The last couple of years have seen huge growth in multiple directions – in records from Australia and New Zealand, Ireland, America, in the original UK site itself and the launch of the British Newspaper...
Findmypast Australasia - Findmypast has come to Australasia! Learn what a great range of unique records are available for researching family and local history on this new site and learn the best way to do it.
Findmypast.co.uk - This presentation looks at the hundreds of millions of records currently available on findmypast.co.uk and how they can help you with your family history – records predominately covering England and Wales though you will find people from elsewhere...
Genes Reunited: Family trees and historic records - Genes Reunited was created on Guy Fawkes Day in 2002. It was the first British website set up to connect people searching the same family lines and in 2010 was ranked the #1 family website based on market share of visits among all UK sites. Since...
Getting the most out of Google - Learn how to use Google more effectively - Google Search, maps, books, images, videos, translate and more. Instead of getting millions of hits and only checking the first few, discover how to target your search and get results that really...
MyHeritage - Founded in 2003, MyHeritage has grown to be one of the world's largest social networks and genealogy sites. It focuses primarily on connecting families offering SmartMatches to link families together. It also offers tagging of photos, free genealogy...
Online newspapers: Finding out what happened in the "dash" - Many sources can give us at least the basics of birth and death - newspapers can give much to add to the gap between, the real life of the person. Now that digital versions are available finding that information is so much easier - Australia, New...
ScotlandsPeople: The place to launch your Scottish research - ScotlandsPeople - what it is, what records are available, how to search effectively and what are the charges.
The 1911 census: What's all the fuss? - Indeed, what is all the fuss about the 1911 census for England and Wales? Take a peek at the enormous task that resulted in this wonderful resource, learn what is different about this census to the earlier ones, see your own relative’s signature on...
The findmypast suite - UK, Ireland, Australasia and USA - An overview of the growing suite of findmypast sites - UK, Ireland, Australasia and USA - with a look at the key records, what is new and what is coming.
TheGenealogist.co.uk: What's the difference? - Apart from the English and Welsh census and BDM records, TheGenealogist.co.uk has many unique records to offer - official non-conformist registers, PCC Wills and images, electoral rolls and more. As well, it has some innovative search options...
Tracing your ancestors in England - An overview of basic resources – civil registration, church records, census, cemetery records, directories, electors registers, maps, newspapers and wills. Includes many examples and covers a variety of ways of accessing the data – free and...
Tracing your ancestors in Scotland - An overview of basic resources – civil registration, church records, census, cemetery records, directories, maps, newspapers and wills. Includes many examples and covers a variety of ways of accessing the data – free and subscription.
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