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LIVING WITH PURPOSE
CAN EXTEND YOUR LIFE
www.aarp.org - When you wake up in the morning, do you think to yourself, “I’m so excited, because today I get to… (fill in the blank)? No? I have teenagers, and on occasions I hear the following proclamation, “I’m bored!” Usually said out loud to the world in general, with only one part (unsaid) that is directed at me: “…and what are you going to do about it?” Boredom, idleness, and lack of motivation can often be linked to a lack of purpose, according to Richard Leider, author of The Power of Purpose. I was struck by series of interviews Richard made of a group 65 and older.
Each was asked what they would change about their life if they could do it all over again. The resounding response: a life with purpose - they wanted their time on this planet to matter, to have made a difference. Robert Byrne once said, “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.” Do you have one?
Living with purpose is more than just mustering motivation to get through daily tasks like grocery shopping, getting your car repaired, or preparing your taxes. More than getting a manicure or “9 holes in” before noon. Real purpose gives meaning to your life and others. In fact, I believe it is “other” centered: perhaps a purpose that supports your community or helps improve another person’s life. Even a small, but deliberate act, can have purpose: * Spending time with an older neighbor - who may be isolated. * Serving meals at a local food bank/kitchen. * Responding to a friend’s personal tragedy. * Volunteering at a community, hospice or senior center. There are so many needs and fewer hands to meet them. And according to a study conducted by Rush University Medical Center, living with purpose can extend your life.
If you have identified a meaningful purpose - go for it with gusto. If you don’t, get one. The author of the article, David Whitehead from AARP (A community of people committed to rediscovering their gifts and exploring new possibilities), says that AARP’s new online tool, Life Reimagined can help you discover your unique gifts and explore new possibilities for the road ahead. “The important point is - get started! Strive to live with purpose. It can help change, sustain and bring joy and happiness to your life - perhaps even while helping others,” he says. Just pursuing selfish ambitions, trying to establish a permanent place for ourselves in this mortal world, is our big mistake. We should live for higher purposes.
In order to comprehend that there is a life, which is indeed fulfilling; a life beyond the heartbreaks of this world, takes positive engagement. It is necessary to be amongst those with a different standard of life - a selfless life, a life that is spiritual by nature rather than a material one. Spiritual life is not fantasy nor theory. Spiritual life is devotional life and is all about practice. ... We are created for a higher purpose. We are aliens to this planet. We are from a different realm, we do not belong here. Our place, our nourishment, is in a different realm. ... The idea is that whatever you do in your day, make sure that your endeavor is to make your guru smile. If you can make your guru smile, your day will be successful. We should approach devotional service in that mood, “What will make my spiritual master smile?”
Śrīpad Bhakti Srirupa Madhava Mahārāja :
"The Ultimate Encouragement"
Sri Narasingha Chaitanya Ashram
Sep 6 2008 - Krishna Talk 81
http://gosai.com/ashrama/swami-bs-madhava
http://gosai.com/writings/the-ultimate-encouragement
Publicado por dasavatara das en 1:38 PM No comments: Enlaces a esta entrada
Etiquetas: Śrīpad Bhakti Srirupa Madhava Mahārāja, Values Meaning of Life
FROM RELIGIONS OF EXCLUSION TOWARD
A NEW SPIRITUALITY OF INCLUSION
http://www.huffingtonpost.com - The concept of "being spiritual but not religious" suffers from a lot of confusion. One reason is that spirituality fails to elucidate specific guidelines on how to "do it right." Unlike religion, which often errs on the other side with too many rules, or too rigid of rules, a generalized spirituality offers few or no standards for behavior, or even for thought. Many who have turned to being spiritual but not religious left religion in the first place to escape overly rigid rules, so they like it this way. But having no explicit guidelines at all can leave seekers prey to superficial and spiritually counterfeit ideas.
You can't expect your life to improve because you suddenly start wearing crystals, for example. This absence of guidelines and structure unfortunately leaves people confused, to the extent there is a "spiritual but not religious" movement. An understanding of the spiritual development stages begins to provide a much needed structure to spirituality.
It can orient people toward an authentic spirituality based on a more solid form of personal responsibility, and a deeper form of interpersonal integrity than even our religions teach. One example of this is the concept of inclusion versus exclusion. At the literal level, our religions teach specific beliefs that differ greatly from one religion to another. Each religion excludes outsiders, and denies their beliefs have any validity. But the spiritual development stages tell us we need to move beyond these literal beliefs to become spiritually mature.
The process includes a step where a person thinks through what he or she has been taught in an open-ended critical manner. This may lead her to reason herself out of belief in that religion, or at least it will lead her to grasp the same teachings in a less rigid, and hopefully less literal, way.
Unlike the specific religions, which exclude outsiders, this form of spirituality includes everyone and everything. Margaret Placentra Johnston, author of this article, explains that "at the upper spiritual development levels, a person can see that all religious traditions have validity when their teachings are seen as metaphors for more universal truths." Nowadays, many people promote various ‘spiritual’ activities because it is considered that they mean open-mindedness and reject ‘religious’ practices which involve close-mindedness.
The intention underlying this desire to be ‘spiritual-not-religious’ is laudable, but its application is questionable. Usually the intention is that we should be broad-minded, not narrow-minded. That intention is fine, but is the underlying implication true? Is it true that spirituality makes us broad-minded and religion makes us narrow-minded? ... The Vedic wisdom-tradition points to an intriguing relationship between spirituality and religion. It explains that spirituality is meant to help us develop love for God. This is done through a harmonious combination of philosophy and religion, which constitute the two rails on which spirituality runs. The philosophy aspect of spirituality involves the study and understanding of matter, spirit and the controller of both, God. And the religion aspect involves the following of certain rules and regulations that help us realize and experience higher spiritual truths.
Śrīpad Caitanya Caran das (BE E-TC) :
“The Spiritual Scientist” - Articles
"Isn’t it better to be spiritual instead of being religious?"
Bhaktivedanta Academy for Culture and Education (BACE), Pune
http://thespiritualscientist.com/
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2013/02/isn%E2%80%99t-it-better-to-be-spiritual-instead-of-being-religious/
Etiquetas: Faith Religion, Śrīpad Caitanya Caran das (BE E-TC), The Spiritual Scientist
SIGNIFICANCE OF RECITING
THE POWERFUL GAYATRI MANTRA
www.boldsky.com - Gayatri Mantra is considered to be one of the powerful mantras in Hindu religion. The Gayatri Mantra has been reported in the Rig Veda about 2500 to 3500 years ago, and the mantra may have been chanted for many centuries before that. The significance of Gayatri Mantra is beyond the human reach and whoever chants can feel the power of Gayatri mantra. Gayatri mantra is said to be so powerful that if it is repeated thrice a day, it will confer all the blessings on you in the form of good health, wealth, vitality and beauty.
Gayatri Mantra in Sanskrit: Aum bhur bhuvah suvaha, tat savitur varenyam. Bhargo devasya dhimahi. Dhiyo yo nah pracodha yat. The interpretation of Gayatri Mantra: Aum, Dear God, Thou are the giver of life, the bestower of happiness and the remover of pain and sorrow. O Lord, Creator of the universe, may we receive your sin-destroying light. May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction.
Here are few benefits of reciting Gayatri Mantra: Makes you strong from within: Reciting Gayatri Mantra brings strength in oneself. Brings positive energy: When one is reciting the powerful Gayatri Mantra, it illuminates the surrounding atmosphere and creates positive vibrations. Successful marriage: If anyone is worried about the delay in marriage, then there is a solution found in Gayatri Mantra. Brings prosperity: Interestingly, Goddess Gayatri is also known as Annapoorani, the Hindu Goddess of food. It is said that any family who worships Goddess Gayatri and recite the Gayatri Mantra find prosperity in their life.
Gives us health and a sense of protection: Reciting Gayatri Mantra is known to be a particular type of Pranayama. It regulates and channelizes the entire breathing system which in turn makes us healthy. It is also a magnificent hymn or prayer that connects the human mind with the Supreme Being.
The words for the Gayatri mantra are arranged in such a manner that it creates a powerful force. Anyone who chants this Mantra tends to feel relaxed, thus increasing concentration power. Vijayalakshmi, the author of the article, explains that the power of Gayatri Mantra enhances the intellectual level and washes away the sins, purifies the mind, body and soul. "There are few techniques that should be followed while chanting the Gayatri mantra. It is recommended that a person chanting Gayatri Mantra should always close their eyes and try to concentrate on each and every word that are recited," she says. The meaning of the Brahma Gayatri must bring us to the conclusion of Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Gayatri mantra and the Srimad-Bhagavatam are one and the same.
What is the meaning of Gayatri ? The word gayatri is a combination of two Sanskrit words: ganat (what is sung) and trayate (gives deliverance). This means, "A kind of song by which we can get our salvation, relief, emancipation. Gayatri is known as veda-mata, the mother of the Veda. If we examine the Vedic conclusion from it's most condensed aphorism to its most extensive expression, we shall find that it begins with omkara : the Vedic symbol OM. That truth is expressed as the gayatri mantra, then it appears in the form of the Vedas, and then as the Vedanta-sutra. Finally, the Vedic conclusion is given its fullest expression in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Since the meaning, the purpose of Vedic knowledge progresses in this line, the gayatri mantra must contain within it the meaning of Srimad-Bhagavatam - that is, that the Krsna conception of Godhead is the highest.
Śrīla Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Mahārāja :
"Brahma Gayatri Bhasya - Sri Gayatri Nigudhartha"
http://www.bvml.org/SBRSM/
http://gosai.com/writings/brahma-gayatri-bhasya-sri-gayatri-nigudhartha
Etiquetas: Gayatri mantra, Śrīla Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Mahārāja, Vedas Yoga Ayurveda
WHERE AIR POLLUTION IS BAD,
HEART ATTACKS ARE MORE DEADLY
www.theatlantic.com - Patients released from the hospital following a heart attack are more likely to die over the following years if they go home to an area with higher levels of air pollution, according to a new study in the European Heart Journal. By air pollution, the study refers specifically to particulate matter that's 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5). No significant results were found for larger particles or for the presence of nitrogen oxide in the air. But reducing the concentration of PM2.5 to a baseline level, absent human contributions, could reduce post-heart attack mortality by 12 %.
To arrive at this data, they followed over 150,000 patients in England and Wales, cross-referencing their health records with average air pollution levels for their postcode. At the study's end, a quarter had passed away; the researchers estimate that 4,783 of those deaths occurred prematurely due to the influence of air pollution.
What's interesting about researchers focus on the patient's location, though, is that one of the aims of the study was to evaluate whether air pollution might be contributing to the socioeconomic disparities seen in mortality following heart attacks: Multiple studies have established that patients with lower income and less education are more likely to die following a heart attack. The same has been established for people living in poorer communities, which are also known to suffer disproportionately from poor air quality.
But after accounting for factors like smoking and diabetes, the researchers found little support for air pollution's ability to explain the steady decline of recovery rates with lowered socioeconomic status. Something else, yet to be fully understood, must be behind that association; air pollution is more of an equal opportunity health risk.
The PM2.5 are particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, called "fine" particles. These tiny particles introduced into the atmosphere by human activity appear to hinder our recovery after heart attacks by as much as 20 percent. Lindsay Abrams - the author of the article, explains that in the U.S. the major sources of PM2.5 include traffic, wood burned in stoves and fireplaces, field and forest burning, and, to a lesser extent, industrial production. Along with the industrial revolution and the proliferation of automobiles, air pollution threatens humanity; however, the worst effect of the modernization and the urbanization is the increasingly breakdown of morals, ethics and mental stability.
If we deal properly with consciousness then we can realistically deal with the problems of this world. Otherwise we are just doing patchwork. The cause of all the pollution in the world is polluted consciousness. Because our minds are highly polluted with toxic greed. What is the nature of this greed? It can never be satisfied. The Vedic solution is to learn how to be content and satisfied with simple things - simple living high thinking. Earth is our mother and the natural resources are sacred, they are God’s energy and how we respect and utilize them is what is going to determine the fate of the world. We could be happy with the simple things that God provides if we just learn the art of using them in harmony with the will of God.
Śrīla Radhanath Swami Mahārāja :
"Vedic Solution to Environmental Pollution"
http://www.radhanath-swami.net/ - http://radhanathswami.info/
http://www.radhanathswami.com/2013/01/vedic-solution-to-environmental-pollution/
Etiquetas: Ecology Environmentalism, Health Disease, Science, Śrīla Radhanath Swami Mahārāja
ETHNIC RECONCILIATION
AND PEACE PROCESS IN MYANMAR
www.eurasiareview.com - In a landmark talks between the Myanmar government and the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) held at Chiang Mai on 20 Feb 2013, the government, perhaps for the first time, officially agreed to initiate a political dialogue with the ethnics after six decades of civil war. “This is the beginning. They (ethnic groups) see that a political dialogue must be facilitated in order to solve these problems. But we didn’t manage to make it happen under the previous governments” said Aung Min, the Chief Negotiator, at a press conference after the meeting.
Till date, the government has entered into ceasefire agreements with 10 armed groups which have only resulted in suspension of hostilities. A full-fledged war is in progress since June 2011 with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) which is the only major group that has not entered into a cease fire agreement.
The last ceasefire agreement with the KIA that lasted for 17 years was broken by the government troops in June 2011. Minor skirmishes still happen with some other groups also on some pretext or the other. The peace committee has always harped on economic development and evaded the issue of political dialogue for the reason that it was beyond the purview of the peace committee and that it is the prerogative of the parliament to initiate the political dialogue.
The peace process has also gained momentum in the first ever Myanmar Development Co-operation Forum held at Naypyidaw on 20 January 2013 wherein a number of representatives of the International Community met with President Thein Sein to sign an agreement for a smooth process for international aid to flow into Myanmar for the next few years.
The Myanmar government has taken a welcome step to initiate political dialogue with the ethnic groups which has been their main demand. According to C. S. Kuppuswamy, the author of the article, the ethnic groups have also perhaps realised that they have to work on a common agenda despite the differences in their demands and views for achieving their goal. The reaction of the Myanmar armed forces on these developments are yet to be known. The outcome of the present initiative will very much depend upon the cooperation of the armed forces. We should all leave our sectarian views and expand our vision of things and thus contribute to a more peaceful world than the one we live in.
Though the vocation of each individual is different, everyone’s goal is the same - the attainment of peace. If we ignore the Emperor of Peace and simply devote ourselves to worldly duties or to our work, thinking that peace will come to us through material learning, wealth or riches, then we are destined to fall into the pit of misery. The consequences of this attitude are clear - people are becoming more and more selfishly oriented and thus actually ignoring the interests of their society and country. They have forgotten that the struggle for enjoyment or renunciation is not the essential struggle in life. We achieve real enjoyment by renouncing our own selfish interest in favor of higher purposes like society, country and God. The real struggle in life is to find a harmonious relationship between enjoyment and renunciation. ... If we do this, we can make our lives successful.
Śrīla Bhakti Bibudha Bodhayan Mahārāja :
“Sanatan Hindu Dharma - The Way to Harmony”
http://www.gopinathmath.com/book/export/html/53
http://www.gopinathmath.ru/katha/Sanatana%20Hindu%20Dharma%20way%20to%20harmony.pdf
Etiquetas: Racial Ethnic Conflicts, Search for Peace, Society Politics, Śrīla Bhakti Bibudha Bodhayan Mahārāja
RAPE AND KILLING OF 3
YOUNG SISTERS SHOCKS INDIA
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com - In the wake of outrage over the alleged rape and murder of three minor girls in Murmadi-Sawari village in Bhandara district last week, the Centre as well as the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) have reacted sharply on Thursday. "We have asked the Maharashtra government to send a report on the unfortunate incident," Union minister of state for home R P N Singh said in Delhi on Thursday. Taking a suo motu cognisance of a media reports, the NHRC issued a notice to the state chief secretary seeking the report within four weeks. "They belong to a poor family. Quoting the villagers, the media report said that the post-mortem of the bodies was done only when they protested," the NHRC said in a statement. The girls, aged 11, 9 and 6, went missing on February 14. A day later, their brutalized bodies were found in a well three km from their home.
It was only after the villagers staged an agitation by blocking roads and protesting outside the police station that the cops finally lodged a case of murder, kidnapping, rape and other serious charges. Though the police initially registered a case of accidental death, post mortem report confirmed sexual abuse and murder, police said. Additional director general of police Javed Ahmad who visited the village on Thursday said there is no breakthrough yet even after seven days of the incident. The victims' mother met Bhandara superintendent of police on Wednesday and demanded arrest of her mother-in-law and others in the case. Ahmad said the police teams are investigating all possible angles in the case, including the allegations made by the mother of the victims. "Efforts are being made to nab the culprits. Several persons have been quizzed in this connection," Ahmad said.
Police were searching villages in western India on Friday for suspects in the rape and killing of three young sisters. The bodies of the sisters - aged 6, 9 and 11 - were found at the bottom of a village well in Bhandara district in Maharashtra. Initial medical reports inform the girls were sexually assaulted. The shocking news comes as India is still reeling from the horrific case occurred last December in New Delhi, in which five men and a juvenile are accused of gang raping and murdering a 23-year-old woman. Another heinous sexual attack which shows that during the terrible age of Kali-yuga men are increasingly devoid of good qualities, as described in many Puranas.
In Kali-yuga it is seen that women become stronger, bolder, and more independent. In some cases, women are forced to become strong and independent due to being mistreated or left unprotected by men of little character. The Bhagavatam (1.16.21) explains that women and children are left unhappy and forlorn by unscrupulous men who often search for young girls with whom they might have illicit sex. ... The Vishnu Purana (Book Four, Chapter 24) also confirms this, stating that union between the sexes will be based on passion alone, and women will be mere objects of gratification. ... By the time this takes place in Kali-yuga, child pornography, rape, and other sexual crimes will be out of control. Politicians and law officers will be bribed into impotence, some even participating in and profiting from these perverse activities.
Stephen Knapp (Śrīpad Nandanandana dasa) :
“The Vedic Prophecies: A New Look into the Future”
Vol. 3 - “Changes During Kali Yuga”
“The Depravity in Family Life ind Relations Between People”
http://www.stephen-knapp.com - http://www.stephenknapp.info/
Publicado por dasavatara das en 12:09 PM No comments: Enlaces a esta entrada
Etiquetas: Abuse Sexual Violence, Society Politics, Stephen Knapp (Śrīpad Nandanandana dasa), Vedas Yoga Ayurveda
CAN MATERIALISM AND
SPIRITUALITY COEXIST?
http://timesofindia.speakingtree.in - Can materialism and spirituality coexist? Is it possible to be spiritual and materialistic at the same time? Why not? In fact, it is more difficult to be completely spiritual or completely materialistic. It is a lot easier and more enjoyable being a combination of both. Even if the ratio is 70:30 or 80:20, it is fine. Most of us fall in this category. People with a ratio of 95:05 are rare. If money and spirituality could not co-exist, we would not have so many Hindu gods and goddesses wearing gold crowns and silken robes.
In fact, the word money, itself, is said to have originated from the Roman fertility goddess Moneta, an aspect of Juno, in whose temple money was first minted. Hence, many spiritual leaders believe that money is a part of divine energy and should be wisely used in our own interest and the interest of society.
Clearly, there’s no conflict between wealth, prosperity and spirituality. It is greed and spirituality that cannot co-exist. Contrary to what is popularly believed, money is not the root cause of all evil in society. It’s the urge to cling to it that is the problem. Comparing present-day lifestyle with that of earlier times, it might seem that there’s a decline in spirituality, but it is actually not the case. Earlier, people led simple lives and, therefore, had enough time and money to devote to spiritual pursuits. Today, an average person works 10 to 12 hours a day and spends so much time commuting to work.
Necessities of life too, have increased. To be able to maintain a ‘decent’ standard of living, people have to work really hard. As a result, they might not be able to devote themselves to religious or spiritual pursuits. There’s a saying in Hindi: “Bhookhe pet bhajan na hoy”. It means that you can’t be spiritual on an empty stomach. Clearly, there’s no contradiction between material needs and spiritual needs.
What is the relationship between money and spirituality? "Money is not the cause of all evil. It is the urge to cling to it that is the problem," remarks Bhavleen Kaur, the author of the article. "In spite of not going to the temples every day, and not participating in bhajans and kirtans (congregational chants), one could still be close to the Divine through one’s concern for one’s family, friends and the world around him." Even in the complicated daily life, one can act spiritually "As long as his moral compass is pointed in the right direction," she explains. The real treasure that we must cherish is our relationship with God and try to turn our greed into real generosity to others using our money to spread God Consciousness.
Householders engage in fruitive activity earning money, so it is recommended for them to use the fruits of their labor toward offering food to Krishna, or God. They are also required to host as many guests as possible. ... Though the ideal householder life may be difficult to implement in this age, the best thing a family can do is to become devotees of Lord Krishna and offer all their food to Him prior to eating. This prasadam should also be distributed to as many friends, family, and neighbors as possible. Through this system, there is no need for government programs or food donation charities. In this way, the householders can perform the highest service to their fellow man and satisfy society’s real hunger, the hunger for spiritual life.
Krishna's Mercy.org - Jai Shri Krishna :
"Feeding the Hungry"
Written by: Keshava - Published on Jun 18, 2009
http://www.krishnasmercy.org/dotnetnuke/
http://krishnasmercy.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/feeding-the-hungry/
http://www.krishnasmercy.org/dotnetnuke/News/Blog/tabid/57/EntryId/71/Feeding-the-Hungry.aspx
Publicado por dasavatara das en 11:53 AM 1 comment: Enlaces a esta entrada
Etiquetas: Krishna's Mercy.org - Jai Shri Krishna, Money, Prasadam, Values Meaning of Life
ANIMALS AND BIRDS:
HINDU DEITIES VEHICLE
www.boldsky.com - Animals and birds play an important role in Hindu religion. Hindus are known to respect cow as it is considered to be extremely sacred. Cow is also known as Aditi, meaning 'Mother of Gods'. In Hindu mythology, the cow is considered the mother of all including Gods and humans. Every part of the cow holds religious symbolism; the horns symbolize the Gods, legs represent each of the Himalayan mountains and her face represents the sun and the moon. The Gopuras or the tower in South-Indian temples are often carved with the deities and animals. Some of the animals and birds which are popularly known to be the vehicles of the Hindu deities are:
The Rat is Lord Ganesha's vehicle. It symbolizes Ganesha's ability to destroy every obstacle. The Bull (Nandi) is Lord Shiva's guardian and vehicle. The bull is said to embody sexual energy and fertility. Riding on its back, Shiva is in control of these impulses. The Tiger is the vehicle of Goddess Durga, the destroyer of evil. Sometimes it is drawn as a lion, appearing without stripes which symbolizes mercilessness, anger and pride.
The Peacock, vehicle of Goddess Saraswathi, represents arrogance and pride over its beauty, and by having a peacock as her mount, the Goddess teaches not to be concerned with external appearance and to be wise regarding the eternal truth. The Owl, vehicle of Goddess Lakshmi, the owl represents spiritual wisdom, the blindness associated with seeking worldly rather than spiritual wealth. The Swan, also known as Hamsa is the vehicle of Lord Brahma, symbolises intelligence and discrimination. Garuda is the lord of all birds and Lord Vishu's vehicle. He is a remover of obstacles and a fanatic enemy of serpents.
The Elephant (Airavat) is the vehicle of Lord Indra, the Storm God and bringer of rains. It symbolises reliability, dignity, power, royalty and pride. The Crocodile or Makara is the vehicle of Lord Varuna, the God of Rain. The crocodile symbolises dignity, power, speed, strength, cunning and bravery. The Horse, the vehicle of Lord Surya or the Sun God, who is the chief of the 'Navagrahas'. He rides upon seven horses which symbolise the seven rainbow colours.
Great reverence is given to the animals in Hindu mythology either with direct representation or as God themselves, such as Lord Ganesha (Elephant God) and Hanuman (Monkey God). Vijayalakshmi, the author of the article, mentions various animals which are considered the vehicles of Hindu Gods. She says that some people may think that these animals just act as a means of transportation, but they are symbolic representative of something immaterial and formless. These creatures or Vāhana (“vehicle”) serve as the vehicle and as the sign of a particular deity. Apart from those already mentioned, other vahanas are: Agni's carrier is usually a ram. Lord Yamaraja's vehicle is a water buffalo. Karttikeya's vehicle is a peacock. Vayu, the god of wind, rides an antelope. Yamuna devi rides on a turtle or fish, and Saraswati devi and Ganga Ma on makaras.
The Sanskrit word Vihana means 'vehicle' or 'carrier', denoting an animal or creature that serves as a vehicle or mount for a deity. The vahana accompanies, pulls the chariot of, or serves as the seat or mount of the transcendental personality he serves. A vahana is sometimes depicted on banners and emblems to identify the cult or affiliation of the devotee. In some instances, the vahana assists an exalted personality to manifest on planes or in spheres or worlds hierarchically inferior to their own. In one of Vishnu's pastimes, for example, he is described as riding upon Garuda, "since the Lord is not accustomed to stand on earthly ground". ... The Supreme Personality of Godhead said, "Of lordly elephants I am Airavata", thus Airavata is the king of all elephants. Airavata (Airaawat) is the vehicle of Lord Indra, king of the demigods.
The Hare Krsnas :
"The Philosophy" - "The Supreme Personality of Godhead"
"Transcendental Associates" - "Transcendental Carriers"
http://www.harekrsna.com/index.htm
http://www.harekrsna.com/philosophy/associates/carriers.htm
http://www.harekrsna.com/philosophy/associates/carriers/demigods.htm
Etiquetas: Hinduism, The Hare Krsnas, Vedas Yoga Ayurveda
PREGNANT TEEN AND BOYFRIEND
WIN COURT BATTLE TO KEEP BABY
http://news.yahoo.com - A pregnant teen who sued her parents, claiming they were coercing her to have an abortion, will be able to give birth to her baby. Attorneys representing the 16-year-old girl were granted a long-term injunction against the girl's parents in Texas family court on Monday, according to court documents. The teen is 10 weeks pregnant and the injunction will last for the duration of her pregnancy. As part of the order, the girl will be able to use her car to go to school, work and medical appointments. Her parents had taken away the use of the car as part of their effort to force an abortion, court papers stated.
The teen's parents will be liable for half of the hospital bill when she gives birth, unless she is married to the baby's 16-year-old father. The teen, identified in the lawsuit only as R.E.K. since she is a minor, was "beside herself" when she called the center for help, her lawyer Stephen Casey told ABCNews.com last week.
Attorneys filed a lawsuit on the teen's behalf earlier this month arguing that her parents "are violating her federal constitutional rights to carry her child to term by coercing her to have an abortion with both verbal and physical threats and harassment." The group claims it has previously represented teens in similar situations and won their cases. When the pregnancy was confirmed, the teenager's father allegedly "became extremely angry, was insistent that R.E.K. was not having the baby, and that the decision was not up to her, according to the lawsuit. He stated he was going to take her to have an abortion and that the decision was his, end of story."
The teen claimed in the lawsuit that her parents had taken away her phone, pulled her out of school, forced her to get two jobs and took away her car in an effort to "make her miserable so that she would give in to the coercion and have the abortion."'
A Texas teen has won her abortion court battle against her parents, meaning she will be allowed to give birth against her parents’ wishes. The 16-year-old pregnant teen sued her parents after they allegedly tried to coerce her into getting an abortion, but the courts ruled she can keep the baby. "These girls are in a bind, particularly in a situation where their parents are forcing them to do something they don't want to do," lawyer Stephen Casey said. "Regardless of the [situation], that's her parents and she should expect support from them in this situation, not resentment and anger." Due to the current spiritual crisis, it is not very common that the law raises his voice to defend unborn babies, so news like this are very positive and an example of hope that we should broadcast.
The idea of abortion shows the depth of the crisis of values found in our so-called “modern society”. The government tries to protect the interests of consumers, industrial people, pensioners, etc. Could it be that these creatures have no rights just because they can talk about their needs and express their desire to live? How to be denied protection to them? The legalization of abortion will be the burial of the grace and dignity of man and the politician class, too. ... Ignoring the law is no excuse to transgress it although abortion was legalized, it would be a violation of the laws of nature (Law of Karma: Justice infallible. Eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth) in other words action and reaction, both individually and collectively. Earthquakes in Popayan or Mexico are reactions, they are not coincidences. We are responsible for what we do and what we fail to do, too. ... We must strive to achieve the purification of our existence by wholeheartedly promoting compassion, truthfulness, internal and external cleaning, in realizing our eternal life.
Śrīla Bhakti Bimala Harijan Swami Mahārāja :
“Industrialization of Abortion”
http://bhaktivimalaharijanswamiconferencias.blogspot.com.ar/
http://bhaktipedia.org/espanol/index.php?n=harijan_bv.harijan_bv
http://bhaktipedia.org/espanol/index.php?n=harijan_bv.industrializacion_aborto
Etiquetas: Abortion, Śrīla Bhakti Bimala Harijan Swami Mahārāja, Values Meaning of Life
'METEORITE RUSH' BEGINS AS
RUSSIAN SCIENTISTS FIND FRAGMENTS
www.smh.com.au - A meteor that exploded over Russia's Ural mountains and sent fireballs blazing to earth has set off a rush to find fragments of the space rock, which hunters hope could fetch thousands of dollars apiece. Friday's blast and ensuing shockwave shattered windows, injured almost 1200 people and caused about $32 million worth of damage, said local authorities. It also started a "meteorite rush" around the industrial city of Chelyabinsk, 1500 kilometres east of Moscow, where groups of people have started combing through the snow and ice.
Scientists at the Urals Federal University were the first to announce a significant find - 53 small, stony, black objects around Lake Chebarkul, near Chelyabinsk, which tests confirmed were small meteorites. The main fireball streaked across the sky at a speed of about 30 km/s, according to Russian space agency Roscosmos, before crashing into the snowy wastes.
Viktor Grokhovsky - a scientist with the Urals Federal University and the Russian Academy of Sciences - did not say whether the fragments had told his team anything about the origins of the meteor, which NASA estimated was 55 feet (16.7 metres) across before entering Earth's atmosphere and weighed about 10,000 tons. More than 20,000 people took part in search and clean-up operations at the weekend in and around Chelyabinsk, which is in the heart of a region packed with industrial military plants. Many other people were in the area just hoping to find a meteorite after what was described by scientists as a once-in-a-century event.
Residents of a village near Chelyabinsk searched the snowy streets, collecting stones they hoped would prove to be the real thing. The internet filled quickly with ads from eager hunters hoping to sell what they said were meteorites - some for as little as 1000 roubles ($32).
Scientists announced the discovery of dozens of tiny fragments (only 0.5 to 1 centimetres across) of a massive meteor whose ground-shaking shockwave hurt 1,200 people and damaged buildings across five regions of Russia. One amateur space enthusiast estimated chunks could be worth anything up to 66,000 roubles ($2,128) per gram - more than 40 times the current cost of gold. One seller of a large, silver-hued rock wrote in an ad on the portal Avito.ru: "Selling an unusual rock. It may be a piece of meteorite, it may be a bit of a UFO, it may be a piece of a rocket!". Almost everyone is concerned with earning money and seeking sense gratification, but our internal self will never be satisfied no matter how much money we make.
The greatest need in the world today is love and compassion, not money and technology. Those things can be used but if money and technology are in the hands of greedy, envious, lustful people they will not help the world. You may earn money, you may use technology if required but let it be with a heart of love and compassion. Be an instrument of love, an instrument of illumination in this world. Many of you are young, you have decisions to make right now in your life of what your future will be. Human life does not last very long. Sometimes it is said youth is wasted on the young. When you start getting older you realize the years go so fast. If only I could do it again. You have youthful energy, you have intelligence, you have so many opportunities. What is your ideal? What is your purpose, what is your integrity?
“Conquering The Greatest Enemy”
http://www.radhanathmaharaj.net/content/conquering-greatest-enemy-radhanath-swami
Publicado por dasavatara das en 8:55 PM 2 comments: Enlaces a esta entrada
Etiquetas: Money, Śrīla Radhanath Swami Mahārāja, Values Meaning of Life
HOMAGE PAID TO GODDESS SARASWATI
MOTHER OF KNOWLEDGE AND MUSIC
www.thehimalayantimes.com - In Kathmandu, Hindu devotees today observed the Saraswati Puja, also known as Basanta Panchami, by worshipping Saraswati, regarded as the goddess of learning, across the county. Students, teachers, musicians, artists and others worshipped the goddess. The kids, who are about to enroll at school, were made to scribble letters today with a belief that the goddess bless them as they seek knowledge. Devotees and students were seen thronging various Saraswati temples in the Kathmandu Valley and across the country since early morning.
According to the Hindu calendar, the day also marks the end of the winter and beginning of the spring season. Panchami also celebrates the birthday of Goddess Saraswati, the mother of wisdom, learning, speech and music. In this festival, kite flying competitions are organised with the participation of national and international competitors.
Basant Panchami is a festival considered especially significant for lovers of art and education. On this day, yellow coloured dishes are made in many northern regions of India. Yellow flowers are seen the most during Vasant Ritu (spring season). This time, mustard crops are full grown and yellow colored flowers blossom on it. Basant means a sort of intoxication. The Colour of Basant - or Basanti colour - is a colour in the mid of yellow and orange. Hence, considering the relevance of yellow color, many people eat food of this color and wear yellow coloured clothes.
The day of Basant Panchami is considered to be the beginning of life. Spring season is the season of rebirth and bloom, the time when fields of yellow mustard charm everybody's heart. Wheat crop starts swinging like gold. Colorful flowers starts blossoming. The day of Basant Panchami is celebrated as the welcoming of colors and happiness.
The festival of Basant Panchami (Vasant Panchmi) is the Hindu festival that highlights the coming of spring. This festiva is celebrated on fifth day (panchami) of Shukla Paksha of Magh month (between the months of January and February in Gregorian calendar). On this day Lord Vishnu, God Krishna-Radha and Mother Saraswati - the Adhisthtari Devi of Vedas - the Goddess of education and learning, are worshiped with yellow flowers, Gulaal, water offerings, incense, lamp, etc. As per the tradition, yellow and sweet rice and yellow coloured Halwa are offered to God in the pooja and then eaten as Prasadam. This festival is especially celebrated in North India with full glee and delight.
In the Vedic/Hindu tradition, there are many festivals that are observed throughout the year. There are major festivals and numerous minor ones, as well as those that are celebrated on a local or regional basis. ... Vasant Panchami is known as the festival of kites. It is celebrated towards the end of winter in the month of January-February, especially in the northern parts of India. The weather changes from harsh winter to soft spring or "Vasant". Vasant is the time when the mustard fields are abound with their yellow flowers that seem to usher in spring. So Punjabis welcome the change and celebrate the day by wearing yellow clothes, holding feasts and by organizing kite flying. Vasant Panchami day puja (worship) is devoted to Sarasvati, the Goddess of Learning. She bestows the greatest wealth to humanity - the wealth of knowledge.
Dr Stephen Knapp (Śrīpad Nandanandana dasa) :
"Hindu Festivals"
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/hindu_festivals.htm
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/books_by_stephen_knapp.htm
Etiquetas: Dr Stephen Knapp (Śrīpad Nandanandana dasa), Religious Holidays, Vasant Panchami, Vedas Yoga Ayurveda
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TALK, Berlin: “Between state of exception and everyday banality: Precarious borders in the post-Soviet space”
November 20, 2018 November 22, 2018 administrator
Speaker: Prof. Tatiana Zhurzhenko (Institute for Human Sciences, University of Vienna, Austria)
When: 6 p.m., Thursday, 29 November 2018
Where: Zentrum für Osteuropa- und internationale Studien (ZOiS), Mohrenstr. 60, 10117 Berlin
Link to the announcement
Prof. T. Zhurzhenko was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, where she studied Political Economy and Philosophy at Kharkiv State University (today V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University) and ganed her PhD in Social Philosophy in 1993. She was Assistant and then Associate Professor at the same university (1993-2010). From 1994-1999 she was also a co-founder and co-director of the Kharkiv Center for Gender Studies. In 2002 she moved to Vienna as Lise Meitner Fellow at the Institute for East European History, University of Vienna, where she conducted research on the identities and discourses in the Ukrainian-Russian borderlands. She held an Elise Richter Fellowship doing research on the politics of memory in Eastern Europe at the Department of Political Science, University of Vienna (2007-2011). In 2012-2013 Zhurzhenko worked at the Aleksanteri Institute (Finnish Centre for Russian and Eastern European Studies), University of Helsinki in the research group on Russian identity in the Media. She was awarded research fellowships at the London Metropolitan University (1998, 2001-2002), IWM (2001), Toronto University (2002) and Harvard University (2012). Since 2005 she has been teaching courses on post-Soviet transformations, gender and feminism, and memory politics at the University of Vienna. Her research focuses on post-Soviet borders and borderland identities, on memory politics in Eastern Europe, and on gender politics and feminism in Ukraine. She hase been serving as Research Director, Russia in Global Dialogue (2014-2018) and Research Director, Ukraine in European Dialogue. Full CV.
Events, Lecture & SeminarsAustria, Social sciences
UKRAINE, Kyiv: German-Ukrainian Legal Database (GULD) has been presented
Call for applicants: “Ukraine calling”, apply by 20 January 2019
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Kingdom Season 3 hits Virgin on-demand in UK
Staff Reporter | On 01, Jun 2017
Season 3 of Kingdom has hit Virgin TV in the UK today.
The US mixed martial arts drama, which is created by Byron Balasco, stars Frank Grillo (Captain America, The Purge) as Alvey Kulina, an MMA legend and owner of Venice, CA-based Navy St. gym. He’s joined by Matt Lauria (Friday Night Lights) as Ryan “The Destroyer” Wheeler, the world-class athlete who redeemed himself in the cage to defend his title in a bittersweet victory against his best friend, Jonathan Tucker (Justified, Parenthood) as Jay Kulina, Alvey’s older son who lost the belt to Ryan, and Nick Jonas as Nate Kulina, Alvey’s younger son and a once-promising fighter determined to work his way back to the top of the sport. Other cast members include Joanna Going (House of Cards, Mad Men) as Christina Kulina, Alvey’s estranged wife and mother to Jay and Nate and Kiele Sanchez (The Purge, Lost).
The show was snapped up by Virgin TV as an exclusive for UK viewers last year, with the series available to watch on-demand. Now, the show has returned to Virgin’s platform for a third run, with the first episode available today – the same as its US launch date. A new episode will be available each following week for a total of 10 episodes.
Season 3 continues the story of Alveyy and his wider Navy St. family, charting their struggles both inside and outside of the cage. The season sees several new additions to the ensemble, including Oscar-nominated Talia Shire (The Godfather, Rocky) as Alvey’s mother, Annette, and Kirk Acevedo (Oz, Band of Brothers, 12 Monkeys) in a recurring role as Dom Ramos, a former fighter and new coach at the gym.
The show continues Virgin’s investment in its growing library of exclusive on-demand shows, which includes Ash vs Evil Dead, Magic City, Billy & Billie, Full Circle and Imposters.
Virgin TV Exclusives are available for Virgin Full House TV customers at no extra charge, and are available on-demand through the Virgin TV V6 or TiVo boxes, as well as on mobile devices through the Virgin TV Anywhere app.
Kingdom MMA Virgin Media
Netflix UK film review: Jackie
Netflix UK TV review: House of Cards Season 5 (Episode 3, 4 and 5)
Imposters returns to Virgin TV for Season 2... April 6, 2018 | Staff Reporter
UEFA Champions League final and Roland Garros available in 4K on Virgin TV... May 25, 2018 | Staff Reporter
Nick Play launches on Virgin Media in the UK... May 30, 2018 | Staff Reporter
Virgin Media UK TV review: Kingdom Season 1 (Episodes 1 and 2)... March 31, 2016 | Ivan Radford
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Economic, Social, and Political Attitudes in the UAE: A Comparison of Emirati and Non-Emirati Youth in Ras Al Khaimah
Calvert W. Jones
Schooling is widely acknowledged as one of the key arenas in which the basic economic, social, and political attitudes of a population take root. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), much tends to be assumed about young people’s attitudes toward risk, competition, achievement motivation, responsibility, and other areas relevant to national development. But relatively little research has been conducted to confirm or deny popular assertions in these areas, or to explore the variation that may exist across individual emirates or across school types within each emirate. This paper reports preliminary findings from a study of the economic, social, and political attitudes of youth in Ras Al Khaimah, using data collected across a range of secondary schools including two government schools, one elite private school, and two Indian schools. Findings should help construct a more nuanced empirical picture of the UAE’s growing youth population by investigating the different ways in which its members are being socialized. The research may also offer insights into how to improve policymaking for national development that are better suited to the cultural diversity of the country's growing youth population.
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Bob Casey, Minnesota Twins Public Address Announcer, Dies
One of the truly distinct voices in the game of baseball was silenced when Twins public-address announcer Bob Casey died at the age of 79 as a result of complications of liver cancer and pneumonia.
A PA man for 44 seasons and the only one in Twins history, Casey passed away on March 27, 2005, at the Veterans' Medical Center in Minneapolis. His son, Mike, said the entire family was there.
"We were all at his side when he passed," Mike Casey said. "He battled right up until he couldn't do it anymore."
Funeral arrangements are still pending. Casey is survived by his wife of 55 years, Rosemary, three sons and several grandchildren.
The Twins said Sunday that they would dedicate the 2005 season to Casey's memory.
"He was certainly one of the signatures of Twins baseball for over 40 years," Twins president Dave St. Peter said. "Multiple generations of fans have come to know his voice and style. He had a great passion and love for the game."
Casey had battled failing health for some time and was first hospitalized with a tumor on his liver during Thanksgiving. He was released from the VA hospital in mid-January after having shed nearly 40 pounds, but he still attended TwinsFest that month and received an outpouring of support from Twins players and fans.
He also briefly visited Twins Spring Training in early March, but he contracted pneumonia as a result of unseasonably wet and cold conditions and was hospitalized again.
On Friday, Casey was administered his last rites.
"The cancer was just too tough," Mike Casey said. "It had just taken its toll. The quality of life wasn't there. We didn't want him to suffer. He's too good a guy. We wanted to remember that."
Casey began his career as a PA announcer in 1951 while working for the minor league Minneapolis Millers. He became a Major League announcer when the Washington Senators moved to Metropolitan Stadium and became the Minnesota Twins in 1961.
At Twins games inside the Metrodome, Casey was always positioned in a spot under the stands behind home plate. He will be remembered for shouting his unique high-pitched voice through the microphone when he called out players' names. His pre-game cry that there would be "Nooooo smoking at the Metrodome!" was always anticipated and cheered by fans.
"There will never be another Bob Casey, that I can tell you," St. Peter said.
During his career of calling nearly 4,000 games, Casey forged relationships with several Twins players, including close friendships with Hall of Famers Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett. He befriended current members of the club right until the end.
After hearing about Casey's death, center fielder Torii Hunter recalled meeting him while he was still a minor leaguer in 1994.
"Every year, he made it his business to come say hi to me when I was on the minor league side," Hunter said. "When I came to the Major League clubhouse, he came to say hi. He went out of his way. I've known him for so long and we developed a relationship. I know that he lived and breathed baseball and the people that are in it. He's a great guy. I know people are going to miss him. He'll be missed in this clubhouse definitely."
"I knew that he wasn't feeling well, but it's just shocking," Twins pitcher Brad Radke said. "He was always a nice guy. He always said hi to you. He was upbeat, and he loved the game of baseball."
Visiting players also got to know Casey. Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez developed a bond with him, and after learning of his grave condition from Twins radio broadcasters John Gordon and Dan Gladden, Rodriguez placed a call to Casey at the hospital.
"He's an icon in our game," Rodriguez said Saturday. "His voice will live on forever."
Casey was hoping to work part-time for a 45th season and announce his retirement in June when Rodriguez and the Yankees were scheduled to be in town.
"He spoke a lot, but it was hard to understand him," Rodriguez said of the final conversation with Casey. "His son was kind of translating what he was trying to say. His son told me that Puckett and myself were his favorites, and that he wanted to go out this year in June ... (and) have me take him out there and throw out the first pitch. It was very emotional."
What also endeared Casey to many was his humorous ability to turn the correct pronunciation of a player's name into something totally different.
Former Twins star Paul Molitor would become "Paul Monitor." Yankees Japanese star Hideki Matsui once found his name altered to "Hideki Mat-sushi." Names of such players as Juan Encarnacion or Aramis Ramirez could become almost indecipherable and elicit laughs from the press box.
Former Twins outfielder Dustan Mohr, who was already in a game, was re-introduced as the game's new right fielder, but somehow he was re-named "Dustin Hoffman."
"He'll always be remembered for screwing names up, which was great," Radke said.
Even on Opening Day last season, when the Twins game wore into extra innings against Cleveland, former veteran Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel heard something even he never heard before.
"Now batting, Ozzie Virgil," Casey announced. "Correction, Ozzie Vizquel!" At that point, all Vizquel could do was step out of the batter's box smiling as he looked in Casey's direction.
"We loved him," Hunter said. "Nobody said anything about the names or had a problem. If you knew Casey, you knew he was a great guy. You could never get upset at him at all."
A replacement for Casey has yet to be named. But everyone knows something big will be missing at Twins’ home games.
"It will be totally different," Hunter said. "That's all I know -- Bob Casey's voice on the PA. For him to not call out the names, it will be a different ballpark."
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Z7_H2LG0180LG8F10A93JELC80QA4
Media Release Details
Adani Power’s Mundra plant sets a record in power generation
Editor’s Synopsis
Adani Power Ltd, India’s largest thermal private power producer and part of the Adani Group, a global integrated player, today announced that its state-of-the-art 4620 megawatts (MW) power plant at Mundra, has set a record by attaining the highest generation of 4,644 MW, making it the only power station of such a gigantic size to reach a significant milestone in electricity production. The generation so far was constrained due to inadequate evacuation capacity, which has been alleviated with guidance, support and cooperation of various state and central grid authorities.
Adani Power has a thermal power generating capacity of 7,920 MW, consisting of 4620 MW at Mundra, 1980 MW at Tiroda and 1320 at Kawai. The Mundra plant, which is one of the world’s largest private coal based power station at a single location, has five units of 660 MW and four units of 330 MW each. All the 660 MW units are based on environment friendly supercritical technology.
“Adani Power is committed to narrow the demand supply gap in electricity in India. We are proud that the Mundra plant has surpassed its installed capacity of 4620 MW. This is a national record in the Indian power sector. We, at Adani, are devoted towards nation building and this project is dedicated to the people of India. We are confident of achieving a target of generating 9,240 MW of electricity by March 2014,” said Mr. Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group.
“Achieving 4644 MW power generation at Mundra is one more feather in the cap of our Mundra plant. The state-of-the-art technology used in this project and Adani’s expertise in management of such complex projects are key to its success. We hope to replicate this feat at our other projects too,” said Mr. Vneet S Jaain, CEO, Adani Power.
The company is evacuating the electricity from the Mundra power plant via a 400 kV transmission line from Mundra to Dehgam in Gujarat covering 430 KM and a 500 kV high voltage direct current line from Mundra to Mohindergarh in Haryana, covering over 1000 KM.
The Mundra plant is also the world’s first coal fired power project to receive carbon credits. It is generating about 1.8 million Certified Emission Reductions each year.
Adani Power is currently implementing a coal-fired project of 3300 MW at Tiroda, Maharashtra.
About Supercritical Technology
The Supercritical power plants operate at higher temperatures and pressures and therefore achieve higher efficiencies compared to conventional sub-critical power plants. The use of supercritical technology leads to significant CO2 emission reductions.
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White House Correspondents Insider
Behind the scenes of one of the most powerful clubs in America.
WHC Brunch
Dan Meyers Joins APCO Worldwide as Senior Director
January 10, 2018 By Christian Conner
Former George W. Bush White House press representative Dan Meyers has joined public affairs consulting firm APCO Worldwide as senior director and head of advocacy. In addition to his White House credentials, he was special assistant to the political director of the Republican National Committee, and a worked as an aide for Rudy Giuliani during his 2008 presidential bid.
Prior to joining APCO, Meyers spent nearly a decade with public affairs firm DCI Group, leaving the organization as Vice President.
Dan Meyers, in a statement, said of APCO, “In an increasingly divided Washington, APCO has a proven track record of finding ways to create political movements to shape and influence policy. The firm has an established history of working on some of the largest and highest profile issue campaigns in the history of the city. I look forward to continuing that with APCO’s dynamic team and ultimately helping clients achieve their goals.”
Read the release here: http://apcoworldwide.com/news/detail/2018/01/10/apco-bolsters-its-advocacy-and-public-affairs-expertise-in-washington-with-new-hire
Filed Under: News Media, Uncategorized Tagged With: APCO Worldwide, Dan Meyers, DCI Group, George W. Bush, Republican National Committee, Rudy Giuliani, Washington
Anita McBride, former Bush Chief of Staff to APCO Worldwide's International Advisory Council
May 18, 2010 By WHC Insider
Anita McBride is parlaying her extensive White House experience into the global business market.
APCO Worldwide President and CEO Margery Kraus announced today that McBride is now a member of the company’s International Advisory Council (IAC) and a senior counselor with Global Political Strategies (GPS). McBride served as a former assistant to President George W. Bush and chief of staff to First Lady Laura Bush among numerous other White House and government positions that spanned three presidencies. Her extensive work with foreign policy and leaders makes her a perfect fit as part of APCO’s IAC which is comprised of “more than 50 recognized global leaders, including former elected politicians, leaders of business and industry, and academics at leading universities.”
Kraus said in a release today that, “Her uniquely high-level expertise on a range of domestic and international issues will be a valuable asset to our IAC and GPS teams and a considerable benefit to our clients.”
Filed Under: News Tagged With: Anita McBride, APCO Worldwide
About White House Correspondents Insider
Exploring “behind the scenes” of the most powerful reporters and editors in the world, the Washington press corps. We track the White House Correspondents’ weekend and all the activities around it from journalists and media companies to the White House and politicos. Tammy Haddad is Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief of WHC Insider and she hosts the Washington Insider podcast.
White House Correspondents Insider is not affiliated with or approved by the White House Correspondents Association which is a registered trademark of the WHCA.
2020 WHC Weekend Countdown
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Copyright © White House Correspondents Insider
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Bipartisan Bill would Bring Back Glass-Steagall Act (Finally)
Senators Elizabeth Warren and John McCain
The 1999 repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, a law passed in 1933, allowed banks to begin using federally insured deposits as chips in a big investment casino. Those risky investments helped lead to the financial crash at the end of the George W. Bush administration from which the United States is still recovering.
Now Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and John McCain (R-Arizona)—along with Senate co-sponsors Angus King (I-Maine) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington)—have introduced legislation that would restore Glass-Steagall’s restrictions on how commercial banks may invest their deposits.
The 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act (pdf) would “clarify regulatory interpretations of banking law provisions that undermined the protections under the original Glass-Steagall” and would make “too-big-to-fail” institutions smaller and safer, minimizing the likelihood of a government bailout, according to ThinkAdvisor.
The bill, McCain said in a statement, wouldn’t end the concept of banks being too big to fail, but “would rebuild the wall between commercial and investment banking that was in place for over 60 years, restore confidence in the system and reduce risk for the American taxpayer.”
The bill would separate commercial banks, which manage checking and savings accounts for consumers, and investment banks.
“Despite the progress we’ve made since 2008, the biggest banks continue to threaten our economy,” Warren said in a statement. “The biggest banks are collectively much larger than they were before the crisis, and they continue to engage in dangerous practices that could once again crash our economy.”
A poll by Lake Research Partners found that Americans, by a margin of nearly 3 to 1, want more oversight of financial institutions, according to ThinkAdvisor. Whether the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act becomes law, however, depends on whether members of Congress listen to voters or to their sponsors in the financial industry.
-Steve Straehley
Sen. Warren Reintroduces Bill to Restore Glass-Steagall (by Melanie Waddell, ThinkAdvisor)
Warren, McCain Introduce Bill to Bring Back Glass-Steagall (by Kevin Cirilli, The Hill)
30% Growth of 4 Biggest Banks is a Danger Sign, Warns Senator Warren (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
10-Year Anniversary of the Bill That Led to the Current Economic Crisis (by Noel Brinkerhoff and David Wallechinsky, AllGov)
davidano 3 years ago
I am working on a petition to move this legislation forward. While we have done much to recover from the recession, we need to do more to make sure it does not happen again. That is why I need your support.Tell your Congressmen or Congresswomen to support the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act of 2015: https://www.change.org/p/barack-obama-u-s-house-of-representatives-u-s-senate-support-s-1709-21st-century-glass-steagall-act-of-2015?recruiter=1637279&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink
Tina 4 years ago
Well? Lip service?
YeahRIght 4 years ago
Seven year economic cycle: '73 they gave us the Arab oil embargo... '80 they gave us the S&L scandal... '87 (October) stock market crash aka Black Monday... '94 bond market collapse.. '01 - 9/11 induced stock market crash... '08 Lehman brothers & banker bailouts, stock market crash... Here it's 2015 not yet September but let's "look out!"
Rick Potvin in Phoenix 4 years ago
Uhh.... smoke and mirrors? No. No, it's not smoke and mirrors. You'll see that soon enough.
Smoke and mirrors. Why would anyone think this guy would actually get this done.
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State Doesn’t Try Too Hard to Locate Owners of $7.2 Billion in Unclaimed Property
Unclaimed gold bars worth $375,000
The fifth-largest source of revenue for California’s General Fund are found objects that don’t really belong to the state.
They are among 28.4 million unclaimed properties, valued at $7.2 billion, that have gravitated over the years to the state from bank accounts, insurance policies, stocks, securities, expiring gift certificates, safe deposit boxes, utility reimbursements, property transaction fees and other sources under the state’s Unclaimed Property Law (UPL). About 60% of the property is unclaimed, but still claimable.
It’s a substantial haul, accumulated with the original intention of reuniting the true owners with their property, but the state’s independent Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) doesn’t think nearly enough is being done to make that happen. A new report (pdf) acknowledges there are legitimate reasons why a lot of the haul—90% are cash assets—will never be claimed, but argues that the $400 million in annual revenues is acting as a powerful disincentive for the state to do more.
The state, on average, reunites about 40% of the properties it picks up—$250 million a year—with the owners. Nearly half the properties are worth $25 or less and 90% are under $500. But there is also a bag of diamonds valued at $500,000 and three gold bars worth $375,000, in addition to baseball cards, liquor and a can of sardines.
The properties end up in the state’s hands after specified periods of dormancy pass at the institutions holding the material.
The state has streamlined the online process for people to search the unclaimed property website run by the State Controller Office (SCO) for their stuff, but the process to claim it is clunky and under-publicized, the report says. To some extent, that is by design.
Language regularly included in the state’s annual budget bill “prohibits SCO from spending more than $50,000 per year to inform the public about the unclaimed property program.” Although the governor has suggested kicking that up to $60,000, the state only spent about $38,000 in 2014, running advertisements in 50 newspapers with a circulation of 4.5 million informing the public of the program’s existence.
The Analyst said the law only limited that general kind of advertising, and suggested the state pony up bigger bucks to individually contact people whose property is shifting to the state or is already in the state’s possession.
Not all the holders of unclaimed property turn it over to the state as required by the law, so back in 2000 the state offered a one-year amnesty to scofflaws if they came forward. The program was extended for a second year and ended up bringing in $196 million, $113 million in cash and $83 million in securities from 4,927 holders of 145,903 properties. That was a nice complement to the $780 million that legally flowed to the state.
Every month, the state sweeps all but $50,000 out the UPL fund and into the General Fund. Only the personal income tax, sales and use tax, corporate tax, and the insurance tax (in that order) provide more revenue. The state regularly takes in more unclaimed property than it reunites with people, and there is no time limit for when people can apply to reclaim their property. So, theoretically, the state’s unclaimed property liability will continue to rise.
Realistically, even with aggressive outreach, there is no chance that all the owners of unclaimed property will come forward. Some of the property records are too sketchy to identify an owner, some owners have died, others have moved away.
The Analyst made several suggestions for returning more property to owners besides letting people know the state has their stuff. California could match unclaimed property records to tax filing information and automatically send people money when there is a match. The state could allow claimants to upload documents online, and clean up errors in the database that reduce the accuracy of online searches. A database feature could be built in that “suggests possible matches to users.”
The Analyst also offered that another amnesty for wayward holders of property might be rewarding, as well as lowering the penalty for noncompliance with the law below the current 12%.
Analyst Recommends California Officials Boost Efforts on Unclaimed Property (by Jim Miller, Sacramento Bee)
California, Which Gains $400 Million in Unclaimed Assets a Year, Urged to Find Owners (by Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times)
California Controller Announces Unclaimed Property Agreement with Charles Schwab & Co. (California Office of the Controller)
Rethinking the State’s Lost & Found Program (Legislative Analyst’s Office) (pdf)
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Below is a link to an article entitled “Republicans are in Full Control of the Government – But Losing Control of Their Party.” It is an interesting article but what the article fails to take note of: This is what the mainstream Republicans want because it means the status quo will continue and, if it continues, they continue and, hopefully for them, continue to control the party.
Here is the key passage: “Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill have described the dynamic between the White House and GOP lawmakers as a “disconnect” between Republicans who are still finding it difficult to accept that he is the leader of the party that they have long controlled.
“The disconnect is between a president who was elected from outside the Washington bubble and people in Congress who are of the Washington bubble,” Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), who works closely with the White House. “I don’t think some people in the Senate understand the mandate that Donald Trump’s election represented.”
Whether Trump had a mandate is questionable but he does have the presidency and this is a threat to those mainstream Republicans who share little with Trump politically and like him even less. So, what to do? Well, appear to be incompetent, bogged down in intraparty fights, and little or nothing will change. And because the most powerful Republicans want to preserve the status quo, Trump’s attempts to move them will fail.
But what about the country? I can hear it now: "But the country is getting screwed?" Of course it is. But where's the news in that? That's been going on since at least 1980 and Reagan's election. I mean just because Bill Clinton didn't screw Monica doesn't mean he didn't screw us!
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/republicans-are-in-full-control-of-government-%e2%80%94-but-losing-control-of-their-party/ar-AAoGcCt
What is Anti-Federalism?
Dr. Peter Schultz
Those called the “Anti-Federalists” were, as most know, those persons who opposed the ratification of the Constitution when it was proposed in 1787 to the thirteen states. Among these persons were Patrick Henry in Virginia, Melancton Smith in New York, and Mercy Warren in Pennsylvania. It is the purpose of this paper to provide an overview of what the Anti-Federalists stood for and why they thought the proposed Constitution ought not be ratified.
To begin at the beginning and where most would agree, the AF were proponents of what has been called “the small republic theory” of government. According to this “theory,” perhaps most famously cast in its modern form by a Frenchman by the name of Montesquieu, liberty could only be secured in small societies, i.e., geographically small societies. The reasons for this theory may be rather easily stated in the following three propositions.
First, it was thought that only in small societies would people voluntarily obey their government. Second, it was thought that only in small societies could governments be genuinely responsible to the people. And, third, it was thought that only small societies could produce citizens, i.e., those kinds human beings necessary for maintaining republican forms of government. It will useful to consider each of these propositions to see what each meant or means.
First is the thought that only in small societies would people voluntarily obey their government. This may be illustrated rather easily by contrasting life in small towns and life in big cities today. In small towns, a police force is often almost unnecessary, whereas in a city like Boston a police force is absolutely necessary or indispensable. Some small towns in northeast Connecticut, for example, don’t even have a police force and rely pretty much on state troopers for their law enforcement, such as it is. I grew up in a small town in New Jersey and I must say that mothers were far more important in maintaining order than the police force there.
Of course, a city like Boston is inconceivable without a police force, and a rather large and powerful police force at that. It is useful to consider what this means. What we call “police forces” are in fact military institutions. Like the military, the police wear uniforms, carry weapons, and are authorized to use those weapons even if it means that someone might die. This is not to say that there is no difference between the Boston police force and the U.S. Marines. It is only to say that there are similarities that we often overlook.
Now, it is important to note the implication of the Boston situation. Government in Boston, maintaining law and order there, requires the presence of a military force, whereas life in small towns does not. Hence, there is a “militarization” that takes place in large cities, meaning not only a militarization institutionally but also a militarization psychologically. It also means that government in a city like Boston relies on force rather than consent to maintain law and order, to maintain the peace. Everyone knows, moreover, that militarization which leads to the use of force to maintain the peace and good order of a society requires, inevitably, that personal liberties will be compromised. There will be, necessarily and inevitably, less liberty in Boston than in a small town. And, perhaps more importantly, force will be the glue that holds the society together in large places whereas it is less necessary as the social glue in small places. [1]
Insofar as force predominates then it is all too easy for fear to become another aspect, perhaps even the key ingredient, of whatever it is that binds a society together. And, of course, it is a question of what happens to human beings who are governed by means of fear. It is even possible to wonder whether such humans would be capable of self rule as they would always have to be controlled by others who make them aware of “the fearful” stuff. And it would be advisable under these conditions to have a government that struck fear into the hearts and souls of those it is governing. Such a government could hardly be called “republican.”
Second, it was thought that only in small societies could government be genuinely responsible to the people. It is important to note at the outset that “genuine responsibility” meant to the AF a government that adhered to popular opinion, not a government that tried to mold popular opinion or lead popular opinion as is so commonly said today. A genuinely responsible government was responsive to the people.
To ensure such responsiveness, the AF would rely on certain institutional devices, especially short terms in office and strict term limits. This would help to ensure that the people representatives would not lose touch with the people, as so often happens with what we call “professional politicians.” Under an AF scheme there would be no professional politicians and, hence, little chance that politicians would get “out of touch.” Of course, for this to make sense it is necessary to see that the AF had a different conception of what governments should do than we have today. That is, if governments are to undertake large social projects that seek to “re-form” society, then professional politicians would be advisable. However, if governments are not to undertake such social projects, then professional politicians are not necessary. The AF were fond of arguing that “no great talents “ were needed in politics but, again, to make sense of this argument, it should be kept in mind that it entails a very different understanding of the proper scope of government than the one we have today or than the one the Federalists had in 1787.
But these institutional devices were only part of the AF thought on maintaining a genuinely responsible government. Also, they thought it necessary that those who would be elected to office should be like the people they represent. That is, the people representatives, together, should “re-present” the people in the government. The government should look like, have a likeness with the people themselves. So, unlike today, when Representatives and Senators are unlike the people they represent, in an AF scheme government officials would reflect the people.
It is useful to emphasize that such a scheme would require a very different mindset than the one that predominates today. Today it is thought that what might be called an “elite” is best suited to the task of governing and, hence, we elect those who we think are “better” than we are, at least in a socio-economic sense. For example, it is quite common to hear a person praised for taking a government position that requires an economic sacrifice on their part, whereas it is implied that the wealthy are better suited for government than the less well off, the middle or lower class people.
For the AF scheme to work, a middle class society is necessary and by a middle class society I mean a society in which people aspire to be middle class and think that those in the middle class are “better” than either the lower classes or the upper classes.[2] Hence, in such a society, the people would choose middle class people to represent them. Only with such a mindset would those chosen to govern be like most of those they represented.
Further, an AF scheme would then require a middle class society as its base. Such a society would not then aspire to the creation of great wealth, either in individuals or for society itself. And it might be fair to say that such a society would not aspire to greatness of any kind, cultural, economic, militarily, or politically. As it might be put today, such a society would not aspire to “super power” status. For illustrative purposes, I might say that a middle class society would aspire not to greatness but to goodness. It would seek to be good, not great. It would not undertake projects, either at home or abroad, that sought to achieve greatness. To be flippant about it, such a society would not aspire to “No Child Left Behind” but, rather, to supply all children with the nurturing needed to be decent. Education would not be seen as a ladder to “success” or “fame,” but rather an arena where children would be taught not competition but caring. Or it would not declare “a war on drugs,” a war that sought the eradication of mind-altering and illegal drugs. Rather, it would seek to build the kind of society in which such drugs would seem superfluous or irrelevant to the kind of life style most people aspired to.
Lastly, the Anti-Federalists thought that it was only in small societies that the kind of citizen could be developed who could support the demands of a republican government and a republican society. Republican government demands that the governed control the governors, which is only possible, as was intimated above, in simple, close-knit societies with relatively simple, transparent governments. And a republican society demands a kind of likeness among the people, the kind of likeness that blurs the differences between the rich and the middle and lower classes. This is why George Mason at the constitutional convention suggested that the national government be empowered to pass “sumptuary laws,” that is, laws that regulate such events as funerals or weddings in order to prevent the few from making ostentatious displays of their wealth.
But there is another aspect to republican citizenship as understood by the Anti-Federalists which is perhaps best understood by contrasting it with the kind of citizenship that was embraced by the progressives at the beginning of the 20th century and which still carries a lot of weight today. That citizenship was to be characterized by what might be called a “nationalistic fervor,” that is, an intense nationalism that would create unity among the people. One might say that the progressives sought to replace a “union” with a “nation.” In unions, the parts retain their integrity while in nations, the parts are subsumed into or consumed by the whole. In a nation, the parts become invisible or are “disappeared.” In this view, citizens rally to the nation’s cause almost as one, after being summoned by a “leader.” They are to “ask not what their country can do for them but what they can do for their country.” Moreover, they pledge their allegiance in schools everyday, while standing solemnly at attention while listening to the national anthem. And those who won’t honor these rituals, whether for religious reasons or not, are not considered citizens.
Needless to say, there is little room for such a galvanizing citizenship in small or localized republican communities. Localized communities don’t have flags that are revered and they don’t have anthems, unless of course one exists to celebrate the local sports’ team victories. Moreover, as the purpose of government and society is to achieve good, not to achieve greatness, “heroic citizenship,” like the kind of “heroic leadership” that summons it, is not only unnecessary; it is irrelevant. That is, it would not make sense for a mayor or even a governor of a state to say: “Ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country!” The kind of citizenship that exists in small republican societies is one that is vigilant with regard to government and especially with regard to people of great ambition. Both phenomena are dangerous and when combined are doubly so.
No doubt, Anti-Federalism, understood as I have presented it above, will seem more than a little strange to us today. That is to be expected because taking Anti-Federalism and the Anti-Federalists seriously requires that we lift a veil that has shrouded our vision for a long time. The Constitution of 1787 was ratified and it has, we have been taught to think, worked well for more than 200 years. There is no doubt that the founders, that is, the Federalists who wrote, helped ratify, and helped implement, did some good work. But, and especially these days, there can or should be little doubt that while the founders did good work, their work is far from perfect. To understand why, it is more than useful to consult the Anti-Federalists, as they were the dissenters in 1787 and 1788. And not only were they dissenters; they were cleared eyed dissenters and, as such, they saw just how defective the new political order might become. The veil had not yet descended, the Constitution was not yet revered as it came to be revered, and they were still in touch with a way of thinking politically that no longer is visible. It behooves us to pay them some attention.
[1] Some will argue that in fact there is more liberty in large cities like Boston than in small towns and, hence, that is why people like living in large cities. In small towns, everyone knows everyone else’s business and, hence, there is less liberty. While this seems persuasive, it rests I think on confusing anonymity with liberty. Big city anonymity does offer more freedom than that found in small towns. But it is not clear that overall people are freer in big cities than small towns as is evident if one thinks of how children can live in small towns. Also, the constraints felt by adults in big cities, such as where they cannot go safely, are not insignificant and liberty must mean or include the freedom to move about as one wishes.
[2] “Better” did not mean for the AF innately better. It simply meant for the AF that those in the middle class were, because of their circumstances, more moderate, more “moral” than those in the other two classes. For example, those in the middle class have to work for a living and, hence, have less time and, by the way, less money to engage in activities that are, for want of a better term, “unproductive.” For the AF, living as middle class was a “better’” way to live than to live poorly or, and this is especially interesting, to live richly. In a genuinely middle class society, most would not want “to marry a millionaire” or to be millionaires.
Posted by Anti-Federalist at 11:18 AM No comments:
What Is Federalism?
Having raised the question, “What is Anti-Federalism,” it seems necessary to raise the question above, “What is Federalism?” That is, what were the Federalists for?
Here we enter a thicket from which we might never emerge if we were to try to figure out and summarize the views that have been attributed to the Federalists. As the victors in the debate over the ratification of the Constitution in 1788, the Federalists have garnered much more attention than the Anti-Federalists, as is always the case with winners and losers. Moreover, because they were the victors, their cause was victorious as well and, hence, people use them to support their various causes as they can provide a kind of imprimatur for these causes.
So to avoid this thicket, I will not be spending time reviewing the various interpretations of the Federalists and their cause. Rather, I will move into what I think their cause was, paying attention to points of intersection between them and the Anti-Federalists.
If the Anti-Federalists may be said to be partisans of “small republics,” the Federalists may be said to be partisans of “large republics.” Or as James Madison argued in Federalist #10, they were proponents of “a large, commercial republic.” So it may first be asked, What was the problem(s) with small republics and how was or were these addressed by the creation of a large republic.?
Most importantly, the problem with small republics may be called “the tyranny of the majorities.” That is, it was thought that in small republics, majorities could form rather easily and because in a republic the majority legitimately holds power, then once formed these majorities would prove to be oppressive. One advantage of a large republic, perhaps even the advantage of such a place, is that it is more difficult for such majorities to form. As James Madison wrote in Federalist 10, a “multiplicity of interests” necessarily spring up in large and complex societies making it more difficult for “a permanent majority” to form. Emphasis should be placed on the word “permanent” because, of course, for anything to get done in a republic majorities would have to form. However, in a large, complex, and economically developed society, these majorities would most likely be temporary, coalescing in order to pass a particular piece of legislation, to endorse a particular policy and then disappearing.
Moreover, because these majorities were temporary, it was thought that there was a likelihood that they would actually come to agree on something that was very close to or resembled what might be called the “common good.” Of course, no particular group was interested in the “common good” but because of the negotiating that would be necessary to form working majorities, it was thought that something resembling the “common good” would emerge from the political arena. At the very least, the rights of minorities would not be compromised given the absence of a permanent majority.[1]
However, it must be said that there is more to the appeal of a large, commercial republic than reducing the possibility of majority tyranny, an appeal reflected by the character of the government created by the Constitution. A large, commercial republic was also appealing because such a republic would be able to rival monarchies in terms of greatness, in terms of what was called in the Federalist Papers and elsewhere “a great empire.” To create such an empire, a powerful, complex, and central government was needed. Simple government controlled by “simple” – read “middling” – persons would no longer suffice. A government that merely reflected the middling majority would need to be replaced by a government composed of representatives who represented a refinement of those of the middle class. Moreover, these types of representatives should be permitted to govern for long periods, to be professional politicians for the same reasons that these types were allowed to populate other professions, their superior talents. Unlike the Anti-Federalists, the Federalists did not aspire to “sameness” or “likeness” in their representatives.
And of course such a republic must have a government that is composed of offices of great powers and much prominence. For example, there might be an office fit for the greatest man of the day, just as the presidency is often said to have been created with George Washington in mind. If such an office then helped make its occupant the greatest man of the day, the nation’s leading man accompanied by “the First Lady,” that would be fine as well. After all, it is not possible to have a government capable of doing great things without great offices and great men to occupy them. The greater the office, the more it would appeal to those men who are driven by, in Alexander Hamilton’s words, “the love of fame, the leading passion of the noblest minds.” Men of noble minds want to do noble things and a government of great offices is the only way to make such doings possible.
So whereas the Anti-Federalists argued that “no great talents” were necessary in a government, the Federalists did not. It is important though, to do justice to both sides in this debate, to recognize that neither argument is persuasive absent a consideration of the appropriate ends of government. If the wish is to have a government do great things, to remake society in significant even basic ways, then it is indispensable to have “great talents” in the government. It takes “great talents” to do “great things.” On the other hand, if the wish is to have a government that does not seek to do “great things,” that seeks to do, say, “good things,” then it is not necessary to have “great talents” in the government. In fact, as the Anti-Federalists liked to point out, such men would be dangerous, as great men with great ambitions always are.
So at bottom then, the differences between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, the differences between what we call “small republics” and “large republics,” come down to differences over the appropriate ends of government. And it might even be said that these differences come down to differences over whether governments – and of course human beings – should seek greatness, to do great things, or should seek goodness, to do good things. If the wish is to pursue greatness, then a great government, composed of great offices filled with great human beings, is absolutely essential. However, if the wish is to pursue goodness, then a simple government, composed of simple offices filled with simple human beings, is absolutely essential.
The Federalist had, it has been said by the leading authority on the Anti-Federalists, the more powerful argument.[2] Such would seem to be the case. The appeal of greatness, of doing great things, perhaps even as a recent president thought, of ridding the world of evil, is about as seductive an appeal as is imaginable. To do great things, to do the greatest thing, to create, would appear to be almost god-like. To conserve, on the other hand, as even Lincoln pointed out,[3] pales by comparison. But while the argument for greatness is more powerful, we may wonder if it is better. The more powerful arguments are such because they appeal to our passions, while the better arguments, although weaker, appeal to our reason. And so it is worth wondering whether, even though the Anti-Federalists made the weaker argument, they did not also make the better argument. They would not be the first example of human beings trying “to make the weaker argument appear stronger.”
[1] That this argument makes some sense, think of the areas where something very much like a permanent majority exists in the United States, viz., race, and then think the oppression of and what great effort it took to overcome the oppression of the minority race.
[2] See Herbert J. Storing, What the Anti-Federalists Were For.
[3] See Lincoln’s speech “On the Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions.”
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Alice Cooper Comments on Rock Hall Induction
. (hennemusic) AZCentral reports that Alice Cooper has confirmed that he will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his band March 14.
Cooper, 62, said Tuesday that he was notified a week ago by the Cleveland-based organization that he and his group will be part of its 26th class.
"Getting in the Hall of Fame is about the ultimate thing you can do when you're a garage band from Cortez High in Phoenix," Cooper said. "It's the most humbling thing in the world when you realize who else is in there. You look out at the audience, and every guy who influenced you is sitting there, and they are the people who voted on you." more on this story
Preview and Purchase Alice Cooper CDs
Alice Cooper MP3 Downloads
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ArtistsExhibitionsProjectsGallery
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
Monique van Genderen
September 25 – November 2, 2014
Installation ViewsThumbnailsBack
Galleri Brandstrup proudly presents a new series of art works by the L.A.-based artist Monique van Genderen. Her first solo exhibition at the gallery is entitled Abstrakt Maler: The Gentle Art of Making Enemies.
Van Genderen graduated from California Institute of the Arts in the early 1990s, and although she may be associated with other Los Angeles painters of that decade, her work engages a complex vocabulary of historical and contemporary references. In her work, van Genderen explores elements of narrative, illusion and figuration within the framework of abstraction. One can say that the artist allows the surface and material to narrate the picture plane, rather than a subject. Her works explore the intervention of hardedge abstractions made from traditional painter’s mediums and various industrial materials. In one work, there is silhouette of a flower the way Matisse would paint it, but in the next, she uses elements of the typical style of Mark Rothko.
Her abstract and non-figurative paintings shows a spatial complexity achieved only through the play of light and color. The surfaces in her paintings are alternately transparent and reflective, and a closer look reveals occasional matte areas, which define the physical surface on which she works. The various levels of transparency and reflection are achieved through different types of paint: oil, enamel and alkyd. Pieces or additional planes proclaim a structure within the canvas. The painter is aware of the edge, usually stopping short of it, occasionally going off it. Her color choices range from organic to synthetic - from the pastoral colors of the garden to the neon lights of the nightclub.
The most outstanding reference to art history in van Genderens art is of the female artist Helen Frankenthaler and her Color Field paintings. The resemblance is striking between the two, but van Genderen pushes the limits of the abstract much further. Her paintings appeal to the spectator‘s body as well as the eye, which heightens the physiological experience of viewing to an aesthetic experience.
In 2011, van Genderen held a show at Galerie Michael Janssen in Berlin, Germany with the title The Gentle Art of Making Enemies. This year’s exhibition at Galleri Brandstrup has the same title, but the artist has also supplemented Abstrakt Maler (Abstract Painter). The title The Gentle Art of Making Enemies emphasizes her relationship to art history; it alludes to the book of the same name by the great painter James Abbot McNeill Whistler. It was first published in 1892 and is an account of personal revenges between Whistler and the art critic John Ruskin who criticized Whistler‘s beautiful painting Nocturne in Black and Gold. Ruskin called the painting "unfinished" and as "flinging a pot of paint in the public's face". There is an important link between the title of the book and the exhibition, as the painting Nocturne in Black and Gold is told to be the first nonfigurative painting ever made. Whistler was already in the beginning of the 19th century pointing towards what would be the tradition of nonrepresentational painting, and even though abstraction now is accepted as fine art, van Genderen points towards a historical development that still is at work.
©2015 Galleri Brandstrup +47 22 54 54 54 galleri@brandstrup.no
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Francesca Battistelli Releases New Studio Album 'Own It'
Marcus Lundin Nov 03, 2018 01:46 AM EDT
FRANCESCA BATTISTELLI/CURB/WORD ENTERTAINMENT Cover for Francesca Battistelli's 2018 album Own It
Acclaimed Christian singer-songwriter Francesca Battistelli recently released her anticipated new studio album, Own It, on Curb/Word Entertainment. In the making for two and a half years, the new project is the follow-up to her Grammy-nominated album, If We're Honest, which among other featured the Grammy-winning song, "Holy Spirit."
Named Artist on the Rise by YouTube Music, Battistelli co-wrote nine of the ten songs on the new album, collaborating with songwriters such as Matt Maher, Bart Millard of MercyMe, David Garcia, Mia Fieldes, Jeff Pardo, Molly Reed, Ellie Holcomb, Seth Mosley, and Josh Bronleewe.
Own It features Battistelli's powerful single "The Breakup Song" where she says goodbye to fear and encourages others to do so as well, saying it often holds people back from truly living. The album also features her current single, "This Could Change Everything," to which she released a new music video accompanying the album release and is available at the end of this article.
Celebrating the album release, Battistelli was joined by her label, family and friends at a special VIP event held earlier the same week in Nashville. Sharing stories about the making of the album, she also gave attendees an early listen to a few of the new songs. As a special surprise during the event, Ryan Dokke, SVP/General Manager of Curb/Word Entertainment, presented her with a gold plaque for the RIAA Gold certification of her top-charting single, "He Knows My Name."
Battistelli has been sharing many of her new songs and many of her previous hits and fan favorites headlining her very own "The Breakup Tour" throughout the fall. The tour recently concluded in Lexington S.C., and big news about her upcoming tour plans will be announced soon.
Click below to watch the music video for "This Could Change Everything," or click here to watch it on YouTube:
Own It Track List:
1. The Breakup Song
2. The Very Best
3. Love Somebody
4. Royalty
5. This Could Change Everything
6. As Good As It Gets
7. You Belong
8. Let The Light In
9. Defender (feat. Steffany Gretzinger)
10. Freedom
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Consumer Behavior & Technology
Founder and CEO of Tomorrow, a consumer innovation research lab, Mike Walsh advises some of the world's leading brands and corporations on what's coming next in their industry. Author of the best seller FUTURETAINMENT, he is a leading authority on the intersection of emerging technologies, consumer behavior and fast growth markets. Constantly traveling the world for the best ideas, he distils the most relevant insights into tailored keynotes that allow any audience to not only understand, but also start to in?uence the future direction of their industry. Rather than focusing on the distant future, Mike focuses on the next five years - scanning the near horizon for disruptive technologies and consumer innovations on the verge of hitting critical mass - then translating these into usable business strategies.
Publisher of the ‘Disruptive Future’ blog read by thousands of professionals in the media and entertainment space, Mike's unique insights and operating experience in emerging markets re breakthrough innovation and business transformation, makes him an expert on the growing influence of consumers in BRIC countries. Mike’s new book, The Divergence (published 2012), charts the rise of online consumers in these emerging markets and shows that tomorrow's Web will be radically different to conventional Western models requiring entirely new engagement strategies. His views have appeared in a wide range of international publications including Business Week, Forbes and Wallpaper Magazine.
Mike has been a pioneer in the digital space since the 1990s, running both successful start-up ventures as well as holding senior leadership positions in established media organizations. With a background in corporate law and management consulting, he began his career at XT3, a spin out from McKinsey and one of the first digital consulting firms created to help major companies embrace the embroynic Web. During the first dotcom boom, Mike launched the technology publishing group internet.com in Australia, which went on to become the leading local technology news and events platform in the country. He also founded and ran Jupiter Research in the Asia Pacific, one of the first research agencies to track the early adoption of e-commerce and digital business models by online consumers. During this period, he was recognized as one of Australia’s “Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30.”
After his experiences in the Web space, Mike spent five years in senior strategy roles at News Corporation where he helped shape the digital strategy for both their Australian newspaper and Asian TV divisions. Directly engaged by the CEO of Star TV to provide the company with a digital roadmap for their operations, he began his in-depth research into the fast growth markets of Asia.
While in Hong Kong and inspired by the dramatic changes taking place in China and India, Mike founded his latest venture, Tomorrow - an innovation research lab focused on emerging technology and disruptive consumer behavior. Always in demand for his fresh insights and practical future-focused strategies, Mike has advised the CEOs and senior management teams at multinational companies including: the BBC, Fuji?lm, Richemont, MSN, Star TV, Televisa, Philips, and HSBC.
In addition to his corporate profile, Mike is a published photographer and supporter of the Arts. His photographic images from his travels around the world helped his book, FUTURETAINMENT, win an Art Director’s Club award in NYC. He has also served on the Director’s Circle at the Australian Musuem of Contemporary Art.
As a global nomad and consumer trend scout, Mike does live research, in the trenches, with big corporations and entrepreneurs all over the world bringing a truly global perspective to every event.
THE BIG DATA REVOLUTION
There is a new war coming - over the future’s most valuable asset. Big Data, once just the domain of technology professionals, will soon be the number one issue for all business leaders. Consumers are producing more of it, marketers are starting to leverage it, and governments are seeking to control it - and most importantly, business leaders will be asked to make decisions based on it.
The real Big Data revolution is not just about the amount of data that has to be processed, but a mindset change about how data gets used in the enterprise.
FUTURETAINMENT - Yesterday The World Changed, Now It’s Your Turn
Based on Mike Walsh's bestselling book, FUTURETAINMENT is a fast paced tour of the latest technologies, global trends, and case studies that will forever change the way you think about your relationship with your customers.
FLEX - Business Re-Imagined
What does it take to lead a 21st century company? New technology is not only an opportunity to improve productivity, it invites us to ask a much bigger question - can we re-imagine the way we do business?
WORLD NEXT - Your Roadmap To The Global Future
Social unrest, economic turmoil, rapid technological change - we live in a world seemingly dominated by crisis. And yet if you look more closely, you may also see a different set of patterns giving rise to new markets, new consumers and new ways to do business.
The future is already here, you just need to know where to look. Disruptive mobile technology from China to India's low cost business models, next generation mobile banking in Africa and social consumerism in South America - innovation is shifting to a new geography.
How we interact, transact and entertain ourselves in the future will be shaped by a billion new consumers from emerging markets. WORLD NEXT is your roadmap to understanding and accessing the growth potential of tomorrow's world.
Watch Mike Walsh's Video
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Published On: Sun, Aug 11th, 2013
Top iPhone, iPad apps now free in Apple store
ipadiphoneMobile Applications
Popular apps for the iPhone and iPad, some of which usually go for up to $20, were being offered for free in Apple’s online App Store on Monday, possibly in conjunction with the store’s fifth anniversary.
Popular games were in abundance on the list, with “Infinity Blade II,” “Where’s My Water?” and “Tiny Wings” among them.
The steepest discount appeared to be Traktor DJ, a suite of tools for mixing and recording music that usually goes for $19.99.
MapMyRide+, photo-text app Over and recipe app How to Cook Everything also were among the apps being offered for free Monday.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for more information about the free apps.
In May, the App Store passed a staggering 50 billion downloads, according to Apple.
It seems likely that the apparent promotion will be part of an effort to commemorate July 10, 2008, the day the App Store went live as an update to iTunes.
It increased the appeal of the iPhone, and later the iPad, and created a sales model that has been adopted by rivals like Google, Microsoft and BlackBerry in the years since.
That’s led to Apple to trademark the term “app store” in an ongoing effort to protect the term.
In 2011, Apple filed a lawsuit against Amazon, which rolled out the Amazon App Store along with its entry into the tablet market with the Kindle Fire.
Last month, the two companies failed to come to an agreement after new rounds of negotiations. Apple argues that Amazon infringes on its trademark by calling its store that sells apps an “app store.” Amazon argues that the words constitute a generic description. The term “app,” as applied to computers, dates at least to the 1980s. Google’s app store, for users of its mobile Android operating system, is called Google Play. BlackBerry has BlackBerry World, and Microsoft’s merely says “Windows Phone” at the top of its mobile store’s homepage.
Source: CNN
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RITCHIE BLACKMORE Taps 'Exciting' New Singer For Upcoming Rock Shows
Legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore spoke to Billboard.com about his plans to perform RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE material at what will probably be four shows next year in Europe.
"I'm now 70, so I just felt like playing some rock 'n' roll for a few days," he said. "We're going to do four or five dates" — most likely in England, Germany and Sweden — "of just playing the old rock stuff, PURPLE stuff and RAINBOW. I'm doing it for the fans, for nostalgia, and the singer I found is very exciting; he's a cross between [Ronnie James] Dio meets Freddie Mercury. So this will mean exposing a new singer to the masses, and I'm sure he'll become pretty famous because of his voice."
Blackmore declined to reveal the other musicians that will participate in the shows because contracts are still being negotiated, but said that none will be known names from his previous groups. He plans to film and record the performances for future release.
Blackmore quit rock and roll in 1997 to form a medieval folk band called BLACKMORE'S NIGHT with then-girlfriend and now-wife Candice Night. Since then, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT has released nine studio albums, with a new CD, "All Our Yesterdays", due on September 18.
Over the past few months, RAINBOW has been the frequent subject of reunion rumors, with singer Joe Lynn Turner — who fronted RAINBOW from 1980 until 1984 and was a member of PURPLE from 1989 until 1992 — repeatedly claiming that Ritchie was "itching" to play rock music and insisting that he was in talks with the guitarist about a renewed collaboration.
Tags: deep purple, ritchie blackmore
SULLY ERNA Hopes GODSMACK Will Headline European Festivals By 2020 Or 2021
Ex-VIXEN Singer JANET GARDNER Performs In Denver (Video)
DEVIN TOWNSEND To Perform STRAPPING YOUNG LAD Material On 2020 Tour
Video: MEGADETH's DAVID ELLEFSON Performs In Baltimore During 'Basstory - More Life With Deth' Tour
Watch RATT Perform In Englewood, New Jersey
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10/26/2007, Friday
FOR RELEASE 10/26/2007, Friday
Bausch & Lomb Announces Expiration Of Tender Offers and Consent Solicitations for its Outstanding Debt Securities and Convertible Debt Securities
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Bausch & Lomb (NYSE: BOL) (the "Company") today announced the expiration, as of 8:00 a.m., New York City time, on October 26, 2007 (the "Expiration Date") of its offers to purchase its outstanding 6.95% Senior Notes due 2007, 5.90% Senior Notes due 2008, 6.56% Medium-Term Notes due 2026 and 7.125% Debentures due 2028 (collectively, the "Debt Securities") and its outstanding 2004 Senior Convertible Securities due 2023 and Floating Rate Convertible Senior Notes due 2023 (together, the “Convertible Debt Securities”), all pursuant to its previously announced cash tender offers and consent solicitations for the Debt Securities and the Convertible Debt Securities.
The following table sets forth the results of the tender offers and consent solicitations for the Debt Securities and the Convertible Debt Securities as of the Expiration Date:
Title of Security
CUSIP No.
Principal Amount Outstanding
Amount of Securities Tendered
Approximate Percentage Tendered
6.95% Senior Notes due 2007
071707AH6
071707AL7
6.56% Medium-Term Notes due 2026
07171JAE6
7.125% Debentures due 2028
071707AG8
2004 Senior Convertible Securities due 2023
071707AM5
Floating Rate Convertible Senior Notes due 2023
071707AK9
Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Banc of America Securities LLC, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. acted as dealer managers for the tender offers and consent solicitations. Questions regarding the tender offers and consent solicitations may be directed to Citigroup Global Markets Inc. by telephone at (800) 558-3745 (toll-free), Banc of America Securities LLC by telephone at (888) 292-0070 (toll-free) for the Debt Securities and (888) 583-8900 x2200 (toll-free) for the Convertible Debt Securities, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC by telephone at (212) 325-7596 (collect) or J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. by telephone at (212) 270-1477 (collect).
Global Bondholder Services was the information agent for the tender offers and consent solicitations.
This news release is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to purchase, a solicitation of an offer to purchase or a solicitation of consent with respect to any securities. The tender offers and consent solicitations were made solely pursuant to the applicable Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement and the related Letter of Transmittal and Consent, which set forth the complete terms of the tender offers and consent solicitations.
Forward Looking Statement
This news release contains, among other things, certain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to future events or the future business performance of Bausch & Lomb. Such statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties including those concerning the ability of the Company and the parties with which it contracts to develop and introduce products successfully as well as the risk factors listed from time to time in the Company’s U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to filings on the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2006, filed on April 25, 2007, the Company’s Form 12b-25 filed on May 10, 2007 and the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2007, filed on May 30, 2007.
Bausch & Lomb is the eye health company dedicated to perfecting vision and enhancing life for consumers around the world. Its core businesses include soft and rigid gas permeable contact lenses and lens care products, and ophthalmic surgical and pharmaceutical products. The Bausch & Lomb name is one of the best known and most respected healthcare brands in the world. Founded in 1853, the Company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and employs approximately 13,000 people worldwide. Its products are available in more than 100 countries. More information about the Company can be found at www.bausch.com.
Copyright Bausch & Lomb Incorporated.
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With: Jason Momoa, Stephen Lang, Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan, Bob Sapp
Written by: Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, Sean Hood, based on stories by Robert E. Howard
Directed by: Marcus Nispel
MPAA Rating: R for strong bloody violence, some sexuality and nudity
Conan the Barbarian (2011)
1/2 Star (out of 4)
Hy-Boring Age
Directed by Marcus Nispel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Pathfinder, Friday the 13th), this movie is terrible, terrible, terrible. In the Hyborian age of swords and sorcery, Conan is born during a bloody battle. As a boy, his village is slaughtered by the evil Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang), whose goal is to collect all the pieces of a powerful mask. Years later, when Conan has grown into a man (Jason Momoa), he seeks his revenge. Meanwhile, Khalar Zym and his sorceress daughter (Rose McGowan) are hunting for a "pureblood," Tamara (Rachel Nichols), which will help them complete a terrifying ritual. Can Conan find and stop the bad guy, and rescue the girl, before it's too late?
It starts with some stale dialogue, which is then delivered badly by all the actors (including McGowan, who usually understands the value of good pulp). Star Momoa spends most of his time attempting what he must have thought was a steely gaze, but which comes across more like a self-conscious leer. The lazy, ridiculous story surely would have been rejected by the pulps. The action sequences are clunky and incomprehensible, not to mention poorly paced, and the 3D effects are like flat images in a pop-up book.
That might be the worst of it, and indeed, it's enough to make audiences howl with unintentional laughter, but Nispel goes further. He has delivered perhaps the most gruesomely violent movie of the year, although without taking any kind of glee in the violence; it's extreme and horrifying. Last, though hardly least, is the movie's despicable treatment of women as props, and women and children as the targets of brutal violence. Even the Schwarzenegger movies were better. Don't be conned by this Conan.
Lionsgate has released a two-disc set that includes a digital copy, a DVD, and a Blu-Ray, which plays both the 2D and 3D versions (though none of this improves the film at all). Happily, there's a cool 18-minute featurette about the history of Conan, as well as an 11-minute featurette on Conan creator Robert E. Howard. Less interestingly, director Nispel provides a commentary track, and actors Momoa and McGowan provide another one, and there are featurettes on the film's fight and action sequences (presumably a primer on how not to do them).
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Spotlight Interview: Lucy Zimmerman
Lucy Zimmerman: Assistant Curator
Wexner Center for the Arts at the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Major: Art History
Minor: Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise
Lucy Zimmerman is currently the Assistant Curator at the Wexner Center for the Arts at the Ohio State University. Read on to see how Lucy’s senior thesis jumpstarted her museum career.
DeacLink: Please walk me through your path from graduation day to your current job.
Lucy Zimmerman: It was a bit of serendipity, in a way. I’m from Cleveland, graduating in 2009 it was pretty rough time to be out in the world looking for a job and had planned to move home. Jay Curley (my thesis advisor) knew Jon Seydl (then the Vignos Curator of European Paintings and Sculpture, 1500-1800 at the Cleveland Museum of Art). Some of my coursework overlapped with an exhibition Jon was organizing, so Jay suggested we meet. I interned for Jon for the summer, then was hired as a curatorial research assistant.
The exhibition I worked on with Jon was about Pompeii and the modern imagination, considering how Pompeii has served as a shifting mirror for contemporary ideas about decadence, apocalypse, and resurrection. I did research on all of the modern and contemporary works in the show (Warhol, Rothko, Allan McCollum, Tacita Dean, Lucy McKenzie, among others) for about a year—research trips to the Warhol and the Smithsonian Archives of American Art were some highlights.
I went to the MA program in the Humanities at University of Chicago in the fall of 2010; which was a fast and rigorous yearlong program. After that year, I came back to the CMA and wrote entries for the exhibition catalogue, as well as authoring didactics. I gave gallery talks and tours, produced and cleared rights for reels of film clips, and worked on an audio guide. It was a great learning experience to see many facets of the show come together, and Jon was an incredible and empowering mentor.
After that I worked in the modern art department in Cleveland for about a year, and I worked on special exhibitions primarily and some acquisitions research. Both of my jobs at the CMA weren’t full-time to be totally transparent, so I was cobbling things together on the side. I worked as a private chef for a family for a little bit, and then a full-time job opened up at the Wexner Center for the Arts where I was hired as a Curatorial Assistant in the fall of 2014, and recently was promoted to Assistant Curator of Exhibitions. This was a natural next step for me, as it was more aligned with my goal of working with contemporary art and living artists.
DL: How much did your studies and general experience at Wake inform or drive your career path?
LZ: The two most formative experiences for me at Wake were both in my last year there: being selected to be part of the student union art acquisition committee and writing my honors thesis. It was such a unique experience to go to New York and interface with galleries, talk with contemporary artists, and purchase art that felt relevant to put in the collection to mark our time. Additionally, I wrote an honors thesis senior year, which was challenging, but it satisfied my passion for research. Both of those experiences opened many doors for me, and the honors thesis was a valuable experience in utilizing the student to teacher ratio and thinking with more nuance about my ideas through conversations with Professor Curley.
DL: How did you find and apply to the various positions you’ve held (online, inside reference, networking etc)? Please share tips and suggestions for the student audience on networking, interviewing and applying for jobs.
LZ: My experience was unique, I guess had the right coursework and proved myself with my research skills and by being resourceful. I would recommend looking at art as much as possible, going to talks, events, and visiting museums when you travel; this way you will be ready when opportunities present themselves to have an informed opinion about what you like and don’t like and why. Keep at it. Museums jobs are highly competitive, and there is a super qualified applicant pool; if this is the career path someone wants to take, it requires persistence.
DL: What could Wake have done better to prepare students for life after graduation?
LZ: Part of me wants to say it’s not what Wake could have done better but what I could have done better; in terms of being more proactive and engaging in the art on and off campus. Wake can be a bubble, so students should be thinking about using local and regional resources to see art in North Carolina whether it’s at SECCA or Reynolda House, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke, Ackland Art Museum at UNC, etc.
DL: What is your favorite part of living and working in Columbus? What is the most interesting thing going on in the art scene there at the moment, in your opinion?
LZ: I used to be apologetic about living in Ohio and not in New York, but Ohio is a quick jaunt to New York or Chicago; so, I don’t necessarily feel like I’m missing out on being in the center of art world. I like that Columbus has a slower pace, it allows me to have some headspace, though there is still a decent number of things happening. There’s a pretty active DIY culture, art collectives, and galleries run by artists that are bringing in young names. Being connected to the university is exciting because you have all these resources and the energy of the campus and students.
DL: What is your favorite part about working for the Wexner Center for the Arts?
LZ: The Wex is a nimble institution by virtue of not having a permanent collection and has a reputation for being a laboratory for contemporary art. The artist residency program is amazing and has defined this place since the center opened, almost 30 years ago. This annual award supports the creation of new work and encourages artists to try something complicated or new. Everyone here jumps at the opportunity to nurture and support unique and challenging work and ideas, and it has been such a joy working with great artists.
I have been fortunate in the last year to work with an array of terrific artists: Anita Witek, Ruth Root, Stanya Kahn, Mickalene Thomas. Kahn is an artist I advocated for acquiring on the buying trip at Wake, so it was such an honor bring her to Columbus and speak with her on a stage about her most recent video.
LZ: I am working through exhibition proposals now and some ideas for the future while continuing to work in collaboration with the senior curator and the curator-at-large on supporting and providing input on their shows.
DL: Do you have a kernel of advice you'd like to impart to the readers?
LZ: There’s a lot going on outside of NY/LA—it’s certainly more affordable when you’re starting out—so don’t be afraid to consider options between the coasts.
Other than that, I guess always be looking, reading, and thinking. The field of contemporary art is so vast that it can feel unknowable, so to get anywhere you have to be active. I read ArtForum, reviews in the NYT and LA Times, Texte zur Kunst, Mousse, and listen to Modern Art Notes podcasts.
Tags Lucy Zimmerman, Wexner Center for the Arts, art history major, curator, Cleveland Museum of Art, Stanya Kahn, Jay Curley, art history, Entrepreneurship and the Social Enterprise, Ohio State University, Jon Seydl, University of Chicago, Cleveland, Wake Forest University, North Carolina, SECCA, Smithsonian, Warhol, Pompeii, Anita Witek, Ruth Root, Mickalene Thomas
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The UK version of this monumental rock score
Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm; Sundays at 4pm
Students & Seniors: $20
Music by Benny Anderson & Bjorn Ulvaeus (ABBA)
Book & lyrics by Richard Nelson & Tim Rice
Choreographed by Caitlin Roberts
Music Direction by Ruth Lettera
Directed by Joel Fenster
Taking place from 1979 to 1983, and inspired by the celebrated 1972 Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky chess match, the players here are obnoxious American Freddie Trumper, the heartthrob Russian Anatoly Sergievsky, Hungarian emigre Florence Vassy, is Freddie’s chess second, and the love interest ping-ponging between Freddie and Anatoly and Anatoly’s estranged wife, Svetlana, is trotted out by the KGB to toy with Anatoly’s mind.
Directed by Joel Fenster, with Music Direction by Ruth Leterra and Choreography by Caitlin Roberts, from Bangkok to Budapest the players, lovers, politicians and spies manipulate and are manipulated to the pulse of a monumental rock score by Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (ABBA) that includes “One Night in Bangkok,” “I Know Him So Well, “Anthem” and “Heaven Help My Heart” and a book and lyrics by Richard Nelson and Tim Rice.
March 6 & 7, 2019.
Check our Auditions page for more info.
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Gabriel Ricard
Captain Canada's Movie Rodeo
Chris Rock, who will host the 88th Academy Awards on February 28th (Image © AMPAS).
I may not bother watching the Oscars this year—just don’t call it a boycott. I do not have the courage or interest in boycotting anything. I’ve never really understood the concept of a boycott. Then again, I’ve never really had to understand. So there’s that.
But I suspect I’m not going to watch the show this year. At the very least, I know I don’t really want to. The only reason why I might is because the film department is planning to live tweet the whole silly telecast, and god knows I need to use my stupid Twitter account more often.
Either way, my reasons for not really wanting to tune in are fairly simple. When people talk about the lack of diversity at the Oscars for the second year in a row, I’m on board with that. I agree completely. It does make me a little angry, but ultimately, it just makes me sad.
If I couldn’t think of a single performance from a non-white actor or actress this year that was Oscar-worthy, I could probably get on board with the current field of admittedly excellent contenders. Since I can think of several performances that warranted significant awards nominations, I just can’t get on board with the nominees. That in of itself depresses me a little. It’s great to see Stallone nominated for his (final?) performance as Rocky Balboa. Bryan Cranston deserves the nod for Trumbo. Brie Larson in Room is nothing short of breathtaking. Every single one of them is going to be overshadowed by the fact that once again, the Academy has made it clear that their voting members are extraordinarily behind the times. That’s sad, but it’s not as sad as the latter portion of that fact.
It comes down to this: I can name every single black actor or actress who has won an Oscar. I don’t even have to think about it. What I can’t do is name every single white actor or actress who has won an Oscar. In an 88-year-old awards ceremony, that’s unfortunate.
In the end, the Oscars have a long history of snubbing actors, actresses, directors, films, and everything else that is part of the industry the ceremony claims to cherish. That list does include whites. However, when you consider the number of POC actors who have even been nominated, the glaring omissions becomes something that is far more upsetting, particularly in terms of Hollywood’s long, racist history.
The Oscars is not an entity unto itself, as much as some people within the industry seem to believe it is. Rather, it is a large representative of a much bigger artistic universe. When that large representative is again and again shown to be narrow-minded, self-important, and endlessly, comically arrogant, it’s hard to argue with anyone who doesn’t give a damn about the Oscars to begin with.
For all my bitching about the Oscars through the years, I still like the notion of recognizing exemplary artists. More specifically, I just like the silliness of the whole Oscar carnival of bullshit. However, as I dwell on the fact that the Oscars shut out black actors/actresses and other minorities for the second year in a row, I really can’t have the stupid, stupid fun that I wind up having. I can’t be dismissive over the triviality of an awards show. Rather, I find myself focusing on the fact that the Oscars casual racism is systematic of a much larger problem that continues to dominate Hollywood and beyond.
It’s a shame. I really wanted to watch Leonard DiCaprio have his heart crushed yet again.
However, as the Academy scrambles to institute measure designed to increase the diversity of the voices behind its stature, it’s tempting to be ever-so-slightly optimistic.
The Martian (2015): B-
Matt Damon would really like to meet us, but he thinks he'd blow our minds (Image © 20th Century Fox).
Let’s get past the absolute fucking absurdity of the Golden Globes awarding The Martian a Best Comedy award. We have to. It’s not fair to this exceptional science fiction film to focus on the fact that apparently, the Golden Globes people know comedy like I know how to survive on Mars for an extended period of time.
Let’s just deal with the film on its own terms. Under that light, Ridley Scott has directed one of his best in at least a few years. Adapted from the novel by Andy Weir, The Martian is indeed a moderately amusing movie. It has to be. When your manned mission to Mars goes tits up, and you’re stuck on a hostile planet for a little while, it helps to be able to chuckle a little. The Martian does have comedic elements to its makeup, particularly in terms of how Matt Damon deals with his situation. Damon can carry a scene all on his own. The fact that he can is one of the essential elements to the success of this film. There are lengthy patches of The Martian in which very little is happening. That’s not to say the movie is boring. It’s simply a very low-key film, even during moments of significant danger. Whether or not the science behind this film is factual is one thing. There is nonetheless a realism to the way the lengthy story unfolds. This realism continues in the range of strong performances, particularly Matt Damon as the “Martian” in question.
People expecting a fast-paced blockbuster might be disappointed. Everyone else is bound to be impressed by a movie that maintains interest, even when it’s seemingly just spinning its wheels.
Pocket Money (1972): C-
Paul Newman and Lee Marvin teaming up for a comedy/drama about two losers trying to herd 200 cattle through Mexico, quite frankly, sounds amazing on paper. Throw in the fact that Terrence Malick wrote the screenplay, with Stuart Rosenberg (Cool Hand Luke) directing, and it’s fair enough to be confident in what you’re going to get.
Sadly, the elements don’t quite come together here. If you want a leisurely movie, something in which virtually nothing happens for two hours, you’re going to be okay. If Newman and Marvin bantering about nothing in particular for two years is something that strikes you as a good time, you’ll be pretty interested in the proceedings from start to finish. There is no question that Malick likes to ramble in his storytelling. He likes to wander across the weird landscape, show you a few thousand tiny details, and then leave it up to you to make sense of things. That energy is very much in play here. The problem seems to be that Rosenberg isn’t quite the right director for something like that. There is a clear, quiet clash of personalities between these two men, and it winds up sinking Pocket Money’s potential to be one of the best films of the 70s.
Still, it’s far from a complete mess. There is something inherently, instantly appealing about Newman and Marvin trading lines. The time capsule quality of Texas and Mexico in this era has a modicum of charm, as well. It’s just too bad that Pocket Money can’t make more of its talents.
Seduced and Abandoned (1964): A+
Pietro Germi's Seduced and Abandoned (Image © Continental Distributing Inc.)
Pietro Germi (who also contributed to the screenplay) directs one of the most vicious satires of a specific culture and time that you will ever come across. Seduced and Abandoned is a great example of post-War Italian satire cinema. This is particularly true, in the sense that even as the movie becomes an increasingly wacky comedy of errors, the commentary itself on customs, family, and marriage is absolutely bleak. As Agnese (Stefania Sandrelli) is forced into marriage by her hopelessly short-sighted, arrogant father (Saro Urzi), in the wake of an affair with her sister’s fiancé (Aldo Puglisi), things naturally go out of control very quickly. Things go to hell for everyone, and it only gets worse from there.
Seduced and Abandoned is going to be a weird experience, if you’re generally not in the habit of watching old foreign films. However, if you’re eager to begin an education in such an arena, you could certainly do worse than this. Personally, it’s one of my favorite Italian comedies of all time. Then again, I’m a sucker for deeply subversive, unrelentingly silly movies.
Trumbo (2015): C+
While this biopic of writer/activist Dalton Trumbo is pretty by-the-book, it is nonetheless a well-told, essential story. Although Trumbo’s life and career was certainly varied and rich, the movie naturally chooses to focus on Trumbo’s experiences as a member of the infamous “Hollywood Ten.” As you may or may not know, these were men who chose to fight McCarthyism, the Red Scare, and Hollywood’s fearful practice of blacklisting anyone who was accused of being a communist.
It didn’t go well for them, although Trumbo would eventually come back from it all. The movie more or less captures the atmosphere of dread and uncertainty that dominated the area. It achieves this atmosphere most significantly in the performances. In particular, Bryan Cranston excels as the man himself, while Helen Mirren almost runs off with the whole film as Hedda Hopper. The acting ultimately keeps Trumbo from being ordinary. Cranston makes for a pitch-perfect centerpiece to this notion, while supporting performances from John Goodman, Alan Tudyk, Diane Lane, Louis C.K., Dean O’Gorman, and Michael Stuhlbarg add to the potent energy of the era the film tries to encapsulate.
In strict writing, directing, and editing terms, Trumbo is somewhere in the vicinity of average. When you factor in the acting, things pick up considerably. Cranston’s best film work to date is most certainly deserving of an Oscar.
Moonwalkers (2015): C-
Make no mistake: Moonwalkers isn’t really very good. It wants to tell a fairly ambitious story, in which a dour, war-scarred CIA agent (Ron Perlman) accidentally comes together with a shady band manager (Rupert Grint) to develop a film that depicts America landing on the moon. It certainly casts well, and Grint and Perlman play off each other so well, you’ll want at least more of that aspect of the film. However, a very promising script collapses under the weight of its storytelling goals, with a weak ending, uninspired characters, and an inability to hit the right satirist notes.
Even with all of this in mind, the script and film still establishes a decent-enough foundation for a good time. It gets a lot of mileage out of Grint and Perlman. It just could have been so much more in the satire/insanity-of-the-era department, especially when you remember that Dean Craig is a really good writer.
I’m so selfish, I sometimes use other people’s birthdays to measure certain spans of time in my own life. In terms of Drunk Monkeys, the last four years can disguise themselves as forty quite well. I’m amazed at the time, place, and state of my life in mid-2012, when the endlessly amazing Matthew Guerruckey asked me if I “had anything else I thought Drunk Monkeys would like.”
I gave them the first issue of this column. And that was it. I’ve written sixty-two editions of Captain Canada’s Movie Rodeo for DM.
Captain Canada rides again, as Gabriel Ricard takes on the pretentious Jared Leto and the always engaging Bryan Cranston in his latest Movie Rodeo.
Films reviewed: The Nice Guys (2016), Blood Orange (2016), All the Way (2016), Coup de Torchon (1981), Money Monster (2016)
Gabriel Ricard tackles Asian Scarlett Johansson, texting in films, and other depressing topics in the latest edition of Captain Canada's Movie Rodeo.
Reviews: Hail, Caesar (2016), Midnight Special (2016), Ned Rifle (2014), White Lightning (1973), Night of the Creeps (1986)
Gabriel Ricard ponders the wonder of the theater-going experience, Beetlejuice, and the fate of D.C. Comics on the big screen in the latest edition of Captain Canada's Movie Rodeo.
Reviews: Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Zootopia (2016), 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), Heaven Can Wait (1978), Pee-Wee's Big Holiday (2016)
Gabriel Ricard explores some of last year's biggest films in an Academy-approved edition of Captain Canada's Movie Rodeo.
Reviews: Anomalisa (2015), Deadpool (2016), Carol (2015), The Revenant (2015), Brooklyn (2015)
Gabriel Ricard takes on the Oscars So White controversy and reviews a few of the nominated films in his latest Captain Canada column.
Reviews: The Martian (2015), Pocket Money (1972), Seduced and Abandoned (1964), Trumbo (2015), Moonwalkers (2015).
Gabriel Ricard reviews some of the biggest films of 2015, including one that has become one of the biggest films of all time, in his latest Captain Canada column.
Reviews: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), The Hateful Eight (2015), Creed (2015), A Face in the Crowd (1957), Tangerine (2015)
As the year draws to a close, Gabriel Ricard mourns some of the greats that we've lost in 2015 in his latest Captain Canada column.
Reviews: The End of the Tour (2015), The Merry Gentlemen (2008), The V.I.P.s (1963), The Intern (2015), The Peanuts Movie (2015).
Gabriel Ricard looks ahead to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and back to one of the most underrated Hitchock movies in his latest Captain Canada column.
Reviews: Mr. Holmes (2015), A Pervert's Guide to Ideology (2012), Masculin Féminin (1966), Spellbound (1945), Pixels (2015).
Gabriel Ricard gets nostalgic and gets down and dirty with Channing Tatum in the 50th edition of Captain Canada's Movie Rodeo.
Reviews: Magic MIke XXL (2015), Late Spring (1949), Enemy of the State (1999), The Blob (1988), Not Quite Hollywood (2009).
Tagged: Film, Film Reviews, Captain Canada, Gabriel Ricard
Newer PostThe Drunk Monkeys Film Department
2016 Oscars Discussion
Older PostFILM CLUB
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#HoffmanTeam
Andrew Corso
Condo Owners Struggle To Lease Out Pricey Pads
Over the summer, broker Reba Miller had high hopes that her rental listing at 56 Leonard Street would fetch $32,000 a month. The owner had signed a contract on the new condominium more than three years earlier, and the plan was to sell it and collect a tidy profit.
But with new development resales “not lining up to what everyone dreamed and wanted,” Miller said the owners decided to rent it out until the right buyer came along. However, a drawn-out closing and a weakening rental market meant they had to lower their expectations. They pulled the listing.
The owners relisted the apartment in August, but with the rent reduced by nearly 30 percent.
“That $23,000 is a giveaway price….she’s done her part, now I have to do my part, that brokering pressure is on me,” the president of RP Miller said.
There are plenty of luxury condo owners facing the same set of issues. Across all price points, the rental market is challenged. In September, the median net effective rents slipped in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, according to data from appraisal firm Miller Samuel. Citi Habitats estimates that 21,793 new rental units will be added to the market across the three boroughs by the end of this year. And another 21,434 units are expected to become available next year — meaning the rental glut is only going to get worse.
Luxury condo owners who are renting out their units are in a uniquely challenging position. Along with competing against major landlords in rental buildings who use concessions to reel in tenants, they are also up against a suite of condo investors who picked up units in pricey luxury buildings during the new development boom, and are now renting them out.
“There are more people who bought in the buildings as an investment than I or anyone was aware of,” said the Corcoran Group’s Robby Browne, whose own unit at 15 Central Park West is now rented for $16,250 a month, a drop from the $18,500 it used to score. “I would say the market for luxury rentals is down at least 10 to 15 percent.”
Billionaires’ Rentals
Landlords in some of the city’s most expensive condo buildings have been forced to slash prices to fill the eight-figure pads. At Macklowe Properties and CIM Group’s 432 Park Avenue, there are four units available to rent, according to StreetEasy, three of which have been price reduced.
“You’ve got two choices: you stay with it, or you make your adjustment so your owner is able to get his cash flow,” said Corcoran broker Stephen Gutman, whose listing at 432 Park was reduced from $55,000 a month down to $49,000 a month. According to Gutman, a condo owner 20 floors up listed their apartment for below market rent last year, which meant all the rentals in the building had to adjust. “It’s a spectacular building… but it takes a certain type of person to spend that type of money on rent.”
Dennis Hughes, also of Corcoran, said many condo owners now have to offer concessions — covering brokers fees and throwing in a month or two of free rent — in order to keep up.
“Otherwise you are the lone wolf out there with a high priced apartment… the consumer is savvy,” he said, adding that his two bedroom listing at Extell Development’s One57 has now been reduced by 5 percent down to $22,000 and includes the broker fee. “It’s simply more challenging… [but investors] came into this realizing this is not a static market.”
Brokers said renters at the high-end are overwhelmed with choice, and no one will rush to sign a lease. “You are competing with brand new rentals — places like the Four Seasons — the list just keeps going,” said Compass’ Kirsten Jordan. Her no-fee loft rental listing at 79 Laight Street is now advertised for $20,000 a month, even though the current tenant is paying $26,000.
“This year, there were people who thought they were going to get $50,000 who ended up with $30,000,” she said, although she noted that it can be impossible to know exact rents because brokers do not always disclose them. Jordan suspects that many renters could be choosing to stay in their apartments and negotiating new lease terms, which is slowing down the number of people on the market. “It’s an open market economy and you have to compete in different ways,” she said.
“On the renters side, the common feedback is that there is no rushing at all — even at the high-end they are looking at value,” said Brown Harris Stevens’ Bastian Weinhold, who is listing a three-bedroom rental unit at One Beacon Court for $40,000, which is a $20,000 price cut on the rent it scored in 2015.
“From a certain point on it’s not worth renting an apartment…they are not desperate for money,” he said.
Not too shabby
It’s not all doom-and-gloom, other brokers said, with some high-end rentals moving relatively quickly. “You have to be very sharp with what you are offering, there has to be something special to it,” said Corcoran’s Andres Perea-Garzon, who manages a portfolio of short-term rentals at the Pierre, including a unit that is on the market asking $500,000 a month.
That unit, he said, performs well because they allow short and long term rentals, and it works out to be cheaper than staying in the hotel. “It’s a very niche market,” he said. “We are not as affected [by the weaker market] as an another premier building would be.”
Others claimed, even where is tough competition, distinctive units will always rent well.
“We’ve negotiated very little on them, and our fees have been paid and there’s been no pushback,” said Stribling’s Sean Turner of her rentals this year, which includes a no-fee penthouse at 62 Wooster Street asking $75,000.
“Everything is cyclical, and if you are in the business and you wait long enough, it will always change.”
Newer PostCompass Now Worth $1.8 Billion
Older PostMTA Approves $574m MetroCard-Replacing eReaders
90 5th Avenue
hoffmanteam@compass.com
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Australia switches off final analogue free-to-air TV signal
Welcome to Australia’s digital-only television era
Today Australia achieves an historic switchover from analog to digital-only television. This is the biggest change in Australian broadcasting since the introduction of colour television almost 40 years ago.
The last of Australia’s analog free-to-air television signals are switching off today in Melbourne and communities in Remote Central and Eastern Australia.
Now over 8 million households from Broome to Lord Howe Island, from Darwin to Hobart, and everywhere in between, are able to watch digital-only free-to-air television.
Digital television brings better picture and sound quality, and an unprecedented choice of 17 free-to-air channels. It also frees up broadcasting spectrum for a range of new services such as mobile broadband.
For the first time, people living in remote areas of Australia can enjoy the same television services as city viewers. The Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) has delivered digital television to over 163,500 households in locations that do not receive a terrestrial signal. Some 34,000 of these installations have been provided through the Satellite Subsidy Scheme, including 14,500 installations without cost for households in remote Indigenous communities.
For people receiving the full-rate of certain government pensions, the Household Assistance Scheme has converted over 318,000 households to digital television. Assistance schemes will remain open for Melbourne and communities in Remote Central and Eastern Australia until 10 January next year.
For conversion to digital-only television, attach a set-top box or digital recorder to your analog television, or upgrade to a digital television with built-in digital tuner.
Following the switchover, television channels in Melbourne will move to a new location on the spectrum and viewers will need to retune their digital television equipment on 7 February 2014.
Information and help is still available on the website www.digitalready.gov.au or by calling the Digital Ready Information Line 1800 20 10 13.
Linius signs commercial deal with SportsHero
Almost 14 million Australians have subscription or pay TV
Ericsson Mobility Report: 5G uptake even faster than expected
Datacom signed-up as Viaccess-Orca system integrator in APAC
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PUMA presents the new 2019/20 Valencia Kits
PUMA and Valencia FC yesterday presented the new kit for next season, true to the slogan FOOTBALL IS FOR THE BRAVE.
With the kit, PUMA pays homage to the club and its fans. The concept behind the design is called Valentia – a nod to the Roman origins of the city and the club’s DNA – a mix of daring and determination that has allowed it to be one of Spain’s top teams with the most national and international titles.
With the new kit design, PUMA also brings out the special connection that Valencia CF has with its stadium, the mythical colosseum Mestalla, and with its city, by using one of the cultural representations that has made it famous around the world, “Las Fallas”.
The very characteristic forcefulness of the colours at the Mestalla stadium are shown with an explosive combination of white, orange and black in the home jersey. The formstripe situated on the shoulders is dyed black in honour of the fearsome bat in the club’s insignia.
The away kit jersey is inspired by « Las Fallas », the festival of fire and passion that is globally renowned, with the spectacular « Nit de la Cremà » as a reference, with a burning « Colour Flux » graphism that covers the top part of the chest.
Every jersey is made using PUMA’s evoKNIT thermoregulation technology, which regulates humidity to create the perfect body temperature. Combined with a seamless design, these models offer the latest in comfort and mobility for an optimal performance.
The jersey will be presented at the Museu de l´Almonia, the perfect place to see the Roman Valentia along a path more than 2000 years old.
The home kit jersey, retailing for R999, will be available at PUMA stores, Totalsports and selected retailers from 4 July 2019.
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I never exercise on an empty stomach. As a rule, I put something in the tank 2 hours before a hike or yoga class to make sure I don't peter out...or pass out. But it turns out that exercising in a fasted state worked for me. Instead of feeling light-headed, I had more grit and go. I marched up that mountain on a mission and planked with more purpose. Major perks: Science shows that exercising in a fasted state can supercharge your body's fat-burning potential.
Here’s what we do know: The keto diet may be useful in treating symptoms of epilepsy, a seizure disorder. “The use of keto in treating epilepsy has the most evidence,” Angelone says. One study conducted by Johns Hopkins Medicine, for example, followed epileptic patients on the keto diet and found that 36 percent of them had a 50 percent reduction in seizures after three months on the diet, and 16 percent were seizure-free. However, experts aren't entirely sure why the keto diet has this affect, she adds.
With ancient grains trending, this one will battle quinoa and teff for space at your table. Native to the Middle East, kamut, also known as Khorsan wheat, is rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, high in protein and low in calories. A half-cup serving has 30% more protein than regular wheat (six grams), with only 140 calories. Eating kamut reduces cholesterol, blood sugar and cytokines, which cause inflammation throughout the body, a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found. “This whole grain has plenty to offer,” says Moskovitz. “It packs in a good source of zinc, iron, and B-vitamins, all of which will help keep your energy levels high so you can burn more calories throughout the day, aiding your weight-loss efforts.” Toss it into salads or eat it as a side dish on its own. A quick tweak like that can have you melting fat fast—along with these secrets on 14 Ways to Lose Your Belly in 14 Days.
For example, in the graphic below you would eat dinner on Monday night and then not eat again until Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, however, you would eat all day and then start the 24–hour fasting cycle again after dinner on Wednesday evening. This allows you to get long fast periods on a consistent basis while also eating at least one meal every day of the week.
Although many hypotheses have been put forward to explain how the ketogenic diet works, it remains a mystery. Disproven hypotheses include systemic acidosis (high levels of acid in the blood), electrolyte changes and hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose).[19] Although many biochemical changes are known to occur in the brain of a patient on the ketogenic diet, it is not known which of these has an anticonvulsant effect. The lack of understanding in this area is similar to the situation with many anticonvulsant drugs.[56]
While the 16:8 diet seems like a great way to drop weight fast, it does have some cons. Sarah Mirkin, RD, author of Fill Your Plate, Lose the Weight, a 21-day meal plan designed to help women over 40 lose weight, says, "I think that it limits food intake to such a small window of time that it's difficult for someone to meet their nutritional needs."
I'd love to say I lost 10 pounds in a week, but my body doesn't really work that way. And besides, I only fasted 7 days. I'm definitely eating less food and weirdly feeling less hungry, which over time will result in fat loss. But we all know that if you're only following an eating plan because of weight loss, you're bound to fail. That's because, when the scale gets stuck, and it will, we're quick to throw in the towel. It's intermittent fasting's built-in intrinsic motivation that keeps me going. My energy, focus, and motivation have all skyrocketed, and I've learned how to tell my hunger pangs who's boss. Love handles, you're next!
There were [no statistical] differences between the low- and high- [meal frequency] groups for adiposity indices, appetite measurements or gut peptides (peptide YY and ghrelin) either before or after the intervention. We conclude that increasing meal frequency does not promote greater body weight loss under the conditions described in the present study.
Islam engages in a fasting practice reflective of intermittent fasting in terms of both food consumption and diet consistency.[11] The duration of the Ramadan fast is between 28 and 30 days, depending on the year, and consists of not eating or drinking from sunrise until sunset.[11] During the holiday, Muslims eat twice per day: once in the morning before dawn and once in the evening after dusk.[11] A meta-analysis on the health of Muslims during Ramadan shows significant weight loss during the fasting period of up to 1.51 kilograms (3.3 lb), but this weight was regained within about two weeks of Ramadan ending.[17] The analysis concluded that "Ramadan provides an opportunity to lose weight, but structured and consistent lifestyle modifications are necessary to achieve lasting weight loss."[17] Negative effects of Ramadan fasting include increased risk of hypoglycemia in diabetics as well as inadequate levels of certain nutrients.[11]
So how exactly does intermittent fasting work? There are two main approaches. The first method: You limit yourself to 500 calories per day, with alternate days that have no food or calorie restrictions. The second method: You limit the time period of when you can eat to an 8- to 10-hour window. For example, your meals are contained within the hours of 9 am and 7 p.m. Each approach has its pros and cons, so it may take some experimenting to find which way works for you. But no matter which method you choose, periodic fasting is scientifically proven to burn fat effectively without losing too much muscle or dropping your metabolism.
There’s another reason why 16:8 dieters might end up eating less. “I think participants found it difficult to eat all of their regular meals and snacks within the 8-hour timeframe,” says Kristina Varady, PhD, associate professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois Chicago and a co-author of the Nutrition and Healthy Aging study. If trying to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. seems like a squeeze, you’ll likely end up cutting out a meal or shrinking your portions.
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Toivo Tulev presented with the first Lepo Sumera Award
On the 14th of July at the Pärnu Concert Hall the first Lepo Sumera Award for Composition was be presented to the composer Toivo Tulev as part of the Pärnu Music Festival. The award was introduced by the Estonian Authors’ Society and the Estonian Composers’ Union. The laureate was unanimously elected by a jury.
The award includes 4000 EUR, future collaboration with Pärnu Music Festival, a commission from the Estonian leading contemporary classical music festival Estonian Music Days and an artwork by the internationally renowned glass artist Mare Saare, which was inspired by Toivo Tulev’s music.
The Lepo Sumera Award for Composition values a distinct arch of development in the author’s style, the range of musical thinking and artistic depth within the composer’s work. The jury consists of the conductor Paavo Järvi, composer Erkki-Sven Tüür, musicologist Kerri Kotta and electronic musician and son of Lepo Sumera, Tammo Sumera.
“Toivo Tulev is an uncompromising visionary in his music and the creator of a distinct personal world of music. Particularly in the last few years his sense of musical thinking has developed a wide symphonic grasp and a will to expand musical ideas up to their final outcomes, which has resulted in the birth of a number of pieces that reinterpret their classical genres in an original way. Teaching also holds an important place in Toivo Tulev’s work – he is a professor and the head of the composition department at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre,” the jury explained unanimously as to why Toivo Tulev became the first recipient of the award.
“A wide range of thinking, not only in art, should always be noted since the world is nowadays dominated by a bureaucratic way of thinking. People with big ideas and dreamers are far and few in between, or perhaps just not well known. All humans naturally mirror the beliefs and rules of the society they were brought up in. Very few can break out of it and discover their own path. Finding their own voice is the most difficult thing for a composer,” said the chairman of the jury, Paavo Järvi, who has also recorded all of Lepo Sumera’s symphonies.
“Lepo Sumera was always fascinating to be around. I repeatedly witnessed how a single sentence or impulse could create an idea which he would immediately start to develop. The years of working with him and recording his music taught me a lot. I felt that back then, he was already an important part of Estonian contemporary music history,” Järvi recalls.
The candidates for the Lepo Sumera award of composition were nominated by members of the jury. The laureate was chosen during discussions by the jury.
Madli-Liis Parts
Estonian Composers’ Union, Estonian Music Days
madliliis@gmail.com, or phone +372 5620 1108
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Director SOUTH KOREA
LEE Chang-Dong
After debut as a novelist in 1983, Lee Chang-Dong started his film career with To the Starry Island as script writer and assistant director. In 1999, he made his directing debut with Green Fish (1996) and in 1999, his second feature, Peppermint Candy was invited to the Directors’ Fortnight of 2000, and received many awards. His third film, Oasis was premiered at competition of 2002 Venice Film Festival and won the Best Director's Award and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for leading actress. His fourth film, the first after stepping down as a minister of Culture and Tourism in South Korea, Secret Sunshine, was presented in Competition at the Festival de Cannes 2007, winning critical acclaim and also the Award for Best Actress for leading actress Jeon Do-Yeon.
BURNING BURNING 2018 In Competition – Feature Films Director, Script / Dialogue
DOHEE-YA A GIRL AT MY DOOR 2014 Un Certain Regard Producer
POETRY 2010 In Competition – Feature Films Director, Script / Dialogue
SECRET SUNSHINE 2007 In Competition – Feature Films Director, Script / Dialogue
POETRY 2010 Award for Best Screenplay Director, Script / Dialogue
Member - Feature films - 2009
Andrea ARNOLD
Corneliu PORUMBOIU
Jacques AUDIARD
Naomi KAWASE
Neeraj GHAYWAN
Pablo GIORGELLI
Script Writer, Director
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Archives for December 3, 2007
Democrat Senate Staffer Nabbed In Child Sex Bust
December 3, 2007 by Bruce Carroll
“To Catch A Predator” has come to the front door step of US Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA).
A U.S. Senate aide was arrested Friday after allegedly arranging a lunchtime sexual encounter with a teenage boy, according to federal court records.
James McHaney, 28, was nabbed by FBI agents after he arranged the afternoon liaison via a “cooperating witness” working with investigators. According to the … felony complaint and an accompanying statement of facts filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the CW and McHaney were conversing online Friday afternoon when the CW asked whether McHaney was interested in engaging in anal sex with a 13-year-old boy.
“I’ll be there,” McHaney allegedly replied. He later asked for a photo of the child with whom he and the CW would have sex and whether the boy had “any pubes.” When told no, McHaney allegedly replied, “That’s hot.”
McHaney was nabbed in the lobby of an unnamed “predetermined location,” where he had arranged to meet CW. Until his arrest Friday, McHaney had worked as the D.C. scheduler for Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell. A caller to Cantwell’s office was told late today that, as of last Friday, McHaney no longer worked for the Washington state politician.
A GP Reader tipped me off to this story with the following observation….
Nothing like the deafening sound of crickets chirping from the gay left blogosphere.
Unlike all the others who were entrapped for just being gay (or foottapping), this guy is a sex criminal.
And he has a Facebook profile: McHaney –loaded with pics of him at Human Rights Campaign events, wearing a John Kerry shirt, etc etc.
My reader is a reliable source…. so I’m trusting him on the Facebook profile information. If anyone has the link and/or photos of McHaney touting his Democratic credentials…. please email them.
And never mind the gay left blogosphere…. where is Brian “Mark Foley” Ross from ABC News reporting about a child sex predator hooking up on US Senate computers?
-Bruce (GayPatriot)
Filed Under: Congress (110th), Gay America, Gay Politics, Leftist Nutjobs, Liberals, Media Bias, National Politics, Post 9-11 America
Croesus, Ceasar, Chavez?
December 3, 2007 by GayPatriotWest
In 549 B.C.E., Croesus, then secure as King of Lydia (a nation in what is now western Turkey), sought to expand his power by challenging the then-nascent Persian Empire. Because of the rapid expansion of that neighbor to the east, Croesus assumed it would be vulnerable to attack from his, a nation which has long since secured its power over the lands under its control. He grew ever more confident of his impending victory when he consulted the Oracle a Delphi and learned that if he crossed the river Halys, the boundary between the two realms, a great empire would fall.
When he crossed that boundary, an empire did indeed fall, but it was his own. Had he not sought to expand his realm — and his power, he would have likely continued to reign as a powerful king until his death. No wonder history remembers him not for his leadership, but for his wealth.
Half a millennium later, having defeated his rivals (and some former allies), Julius Caesar returned triumphant to Rome. He was assembling armies to attack the growing Parthian Empire in the East. Given his military record, his success seemed likely. But, before departing on that campaign in February 44 B.C.E, he declared himself dictator for life. A month later he was dead, murdered by a conspiracy which included some who had, until that declaration, supported him.
I thought of those men last night when I read that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez lost a referendum which would have strengthened the powers of the presidency and allowed him to run indefinitely for reelection. Even though Chavez controls the media on his nation, having closed down an opposition television network, he lost, in large part due to the “defection” of some of his erstwhile supporters who spoke out against this initiative.
While some of those supporters might continue to support the leader with aspirations of life-time dictatorship, his loss may serve as a rallying point for the opposition. They know now that he is not invincible. As Daniel Duquenal writes at Pajamas, “a revolution that loses an election is always in trouble.”
Perhaps, just as those two historical rulers lost their secure positions of leadership when they overreached, so too will the Venezuelan strongman also fall for overreaching. Instead of this referendum serving to consolidate his power, it may will serve as the beginning of the end of his domination of Venezuela.
It’s too soon to tell whether or not this is the beginning of the end. With his nation’s economy in the tank despite rising fuel prices (which should be helping this oil-exporter), his people might start blaming their demagogic president for their woes. And now that he has been proven vulnerable, he may not be able to contain the forces rising against him.
Time will only tell whether this referendum represents a setback for Chavez or becomes the first nail in the coffin of his aspirations to control his nation as his buddy Castro has long controlled his.
Welcome Instapundit Readers!!
Filed Under: Anti-Americanism Abroad, Politics abroad
Honoring Patriots & Making the Military Stronger
December 3, 2007 by Average Gay Joe
When I went to the event last Saturday, I didn’t know what to expect. I was curious about what would take place and also a little excited to finally meet some of the folks I have read about, including a couple that were interviewed on the last Gay Patriot’s America podcast. What I didn’t expect was what I found and how much this would weigh on my mind, still leaving me to sort out some of it. The aspects involving efforts to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” were good while the unanticipated personal side surprised me with the metaphorical kick in the pants. Many people tend to forget that I’ve only been “out” to family & friends for a little over 2 years now, something I myself overlook at times, so perhaps some of the reactions I had to the event are to be expected. However, like I said yesterday I’m going to save most of the personal reflections for a later date on my own blog.
Filed Under: Gays In Military, Great Americans, Military
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Abraham Speaks on Energy Crisis
by William Yeatman on March 20, 2001
in Small business
Energy Secretary Spence Abraham began to lay out the administrations energy policies in a major speech at the U. S. Chamber of Commerces National Energy Summit on March 19 in Washington, D. C. He left no doubt that the Bush Administration intends to keep its campaign promises to push policies that will promote more affordable and abundant energy supplies for American consumers.
Abraham characterized the Clinton-Gore Administrations energy policy as, “You cant find it, you cant transport it, and even if you get it, we dont want you to use it. Through neglect or complacency or ideology, this approach has led us to the crisis we face today.”
He addressed three key points that the administrations policies must address:
“First, demand for energy is rising across the board, but particularly for natural gas and electricity;
“Second, supplies are being limited by a regulatory structure that, in many respects, has failed to keep pace with advances in technology and an uncertain political environment that often discourages investment in desperately needed facilities;
“And third, our energy infrastructure that network of the generators, transmission lines, refineries and pipelines that convert raw resources into usable fuel is woefully antiquated and inadequate to meet our future needs.”
Americas demand for energy will continue to increase, according to Abraham. He quoted forecasts from DOEs Energy Information Administration that demand for oil will increase by 33 percent over the next 20 years, for natural gas by 62 percent, and for electricity by 45 percent.
It is difficult to meet these demands, however, when capacity is lacking. “Since 1980,” said Abraham, “the number of American refineries has been cut in half. There hasnt been a new refinery built in the United States in over 25 years.” Much of the problem is due to government interference. “New regulatory interpretations limit the ability of existing refineries to expand capacity,” he said. “Add to that regulations that require the production of more than 15 different types of gasoline and you have a refining industry strained to capacity, leaving us dangerously vulnerable to regional supply disruptions and price spikes.”
To meet Americas rising demand for electricity over the next 20 years, said Abraham, the U.S. will have construct 1,300 new power plants or 65 per year. And he added that if history is a guide, then this may be too conservative an estimate. Abraham reiterated coals importance to electricity generation and pledged that, “The administration will not regulate coal out of existence, and we will not support measures that will threaten electricity supplies and significantly raise electricity prices.”
Finally, Abraham noted the importance of a reliable and affordable supply of energy. “This nations last three recessions have all been tied to rising energy prices and there is strong evidence that the latest crisis is already having a negative effect.”
Californias power crisis is causing layoffs and companies to move to states with reliable energy supplies. Abraham noted that “Intels CEO Craig Barrett announced that the worlds leading chipmaker wont be expanding in California: As long as California is a Third World country, Barrett said, we wont build $2 billion manufacturing plants here.” Other regions in the country are also in danger of experiencing California-style crises, Abraham warned.
Secretary Abraham held a press conference at the U. S. Chamber immediately after his speech. Over 60 reporters attended, but there was not a single question about the obvious conflict between the administrations energy policies and the Kyoto Protocol.
Previous post: Consumer Group Relieved at Announcement on CO2
Next post: No Change in Arctic Sea Ice; No Change in Arctic Sea Ice; Enhanced Greenhouse Effect Needed
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Why Are Drugmakers So Desperate For Our Health Records?
Big data analytics is beginning to unlock a whole heap of information about how medicines perform in the real world, and as a result, drugmakers are rushing to scoop up patient health records and strike as many deals as possible with technology companies.
According to Reuters, having the opportunity to study real-world evidence offers manufacturers a powerful tool to prove of the value of their drugs. This is something Roche in particular, aims to leverage. Obtaining such evidence means collecting data outside traditional randomised clinical trials, the current gold standard for judging medicines. Interest in the field is sky rocketing, with hot areas for studies including cancer, heart disease and respiratory disorders.
Historically, it has always been difficult to understand how drugs work in routine clinical practice, but the with the rise of electronic medical records, databases of insurance claims, fitness wearables and social media, this has quickly become a lot easier.
However, as expected this does bring with it a debate surrounding access to personal data. Some campaigners and academics are concerned that the data might be used primarily as a commercial tool by drugmakers and therefore intrude upon patients’ privacy.
Of course, having access to this information is vital in cancer treatment. But, the interest goes far beyond this. All the world’s major drug companies now have departments focused on the use of real-world data across multiple diseases, and several have even completed scientific studies using information to delve into key areas addressed by their drugs.
“It’s getting more expensive to do traditional clinical trial research, so industry is looking at ways it can achieve similar goals using routinely collected data,” explained Paul Taylor, a health informatics expert at University College London.
“The thing that has made all this possible is the increasing digitisation of health records.”
In addition, the world’s regulators are seeming to take notice too. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, believes more widespread use of real-world evidence (RWE) could cut drug development costs and help doctors make better medical choices.
Under the 21st Century Cures Act, the FDA has been directed to evaluate the expanded use of RWE. “As the breadth and reliability of RWE increases, so do opportunities for FDA to also make use of this information,” Gottlieb said.
The European Medicines Agency is also studying ways to use RWE in its decision making.
But, Sam Smith, a campaigner for medical data privacy at Britain’s MedConfidential, is worried that drugmakers’ RWE studies are just a cover for marketing. “How much of this is really for scientific discovery and how much is it about boosting profits by getting one product used instead of another?”
There is also a concern that these types of studies could be susceptible to “data dredging”, where multiple analyses are conducted until one gives the hoped-for result.
Addressing such problems, AstraZeneca’s head of innovative medicines, Mene Pangalos, explained, “It’s a real problem but I don’t think it’s insurmontable. As people get more comfortable with real-world evidence studies I think it will be much more widely used. I would like to see a world where real-world data can be used to help change drug labels and be used much more aggressively than it is today.”
Looking ahead, it seems that this is the next frontier for drugmakers. Roche Chief Executive, Severin Schwan is even betting that Roche’s leadership in both cancer medicine and diagnostics will put it in a prime position.
“There’s an opportunity for us to have a strategic advantage by bringing together diagnostics and pharma with data management. This triangle is almost impossible for anybody else to copy,” he said.
“You can have a big debate about whose data it is – the patient’s, the government’s, the insurer’s – but one thing for sure is the pharmaceutical company does not own it. So there’s no choice but to do partnerships,” he added.
There is no denying that we are going to be seeing a lot more value placed on data. With Apple’s latest iPhone update including a new feature allowing users to view their medical records, Amazon teaming with Berkshire Hathway and JPMorgan Chase on a new healthcare company, numerous start-ups are popping up.
“You are going to see more deals,” commented Susan Garfield, a partner in EY’s life sciences advisory practice. “Data already has tremendous value and it is going to have increasing value in the future. The question is who is going to own and capture it.”
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Unlocking the potential of genomics in healthcare
Integrating genomics into healthcare is a monumental task that needs to be broken down. Here, Dr Ang Davies, Lecturer in Healthcare Sciences at the University of Manchester, and Dr Jan Taylor, Clinical Scientist in Bioinformatics at the St. James Institute of Oncology, use their combined expertise to explore the challenges faced by clinical bioinformaticians in the NHS. It’s an exciting time at the coalface, and there’s still a lot of work to be done.
Genomics is beginning to have a significant impact on areas of medicine other than clinical genetics, including cancer, cardiology, microbiology and ophthalmology to name but a few. The realisation that we can now very quickly and relatively cheaply sequence a number of genes simultaneously that will influence a treatment regime, provide a diagnosis or even exclude certain diseases/conditions means that clinicians are opting for this route rather than conducting a sequential genetic testing which can be time-consuming and often does not lead to a diagnosis – often referred to as the diagnostic odyssey. What has not been addressed to date is the efficient management of huge quantities of complex genomic data that sequencing technologies produce and the shortage of skilled clinical bioinformaticians to analyse and interpret this data.
There is a small cohort of clinical bioinformaticians working within the NHS in the UK, who come from diverse backgrounds. Many have come from a biological or computer science research or translational research background, whilst others were trained as a clinical scientists and have developed their own bioinformatics skills within their clinical centres. Bioinformatics is a broad discipline, covering a wide range of specialisms and current clinical bioinformaticians have very different backgrounds which impacts on their mode of practice. This could be likened to a surgeon for example, whilst they might all be described as surgeons clearly there are vast differences between the training and role of an eye surgeon to a heart surgeon. The use of programming languages that a bioinformatician might use in their work is a good example of this, varying from Python, to Perl, to Java and so on.
In the UK, Modernising Scientific Careers led by Health Education England has gone some way to addressing the requirement for training focused on clinical need, leading the development of a new Scientist Training Programme in Clinical Bioinformatics. This training comprises 3 years of work-based training and a parttime masters programme undertaken at The University of Manchester, enabling them to apply for clinical registration through the Health and Care Professions Council. Unfortunately however the first cohort will not finish until July 2016, in the meantime there will be the opportunity for those currently practising as clinical bioinformaticians to undergo a process of equivalence to this programme to also become registered scientists and therefore also progress to Consultant Clinical Bioinformaticians. These leadership roles will be vital in years to come if we are to truly benefit from this genomic revolution.
So what is the situation really like at the coalface for current bioinformaticians managing, analysing and interpreting all of this genomic data in the healthcare setting? In practice the experience is vastly different, varying from Trust to Trust, and even between departments of the same Trust. Roles vary from being part of a team (3-4 people), or a single role embedded in a clinical department. In an ideal world one might imagine a team of bioinformaticians made up of a system administrator, programmers, and web developers, although most centres are a long way from this currently. However with the introduction of bench-top Next Generation Sequencing instruments most centres, be they large or small, do have access to the technology and so most likely will be analysing some kind of genomic data requiring the development and implementation of a bioinformatics ‘workflow’ to analyse this data. This workflow will enable the signal generated from the sequencer, to be converted into sequence, reassembled and mapped back to a reference genome and then analysed for differences which are then further analysed using specialised tools and databases. This might be done using bespoke ‘in-house’ bioinformatics workflows, commercially sourced workflows, or a hybrid of the two. The workflow choices depend on many factors; choice of sequencing machine, DNA capture method, sample type, available computing infrastructure, and previous bioinformatic experience. This makes clear the difficulty in standardisation of standard operating procedures and protocols between laboratories currently and this is unlikely to change, as departments have different priorities for procuring NGS capabilities (budget likely being the overriding influence). This therefore places the emphasis and importance on the need for validation against test data sets and adherence to appropriate recording of programming code and version control, and databases and tools that are used in the bioinformatics analysis. Pressure is being brought to bear in this regard with the introduction of ISO standards that bioinformatics workflows that will need to be adhered to for clinical laboratories to retain accreditation.
Provision of the appropriate IT infrastructure required to store and analyse genomic data is also an issue which needs to be addressed. As with sequencing technologies, the available computing power to a bioinformatician varies greatly, from a single standard workstation, a linux server through to a managed HPC facility, depending on the centre, and sometimes the available links to University research computing facilities.
The landscape of IT provision in the NHS is complex and each hospital Trust is likely to be different, therefore the bioinformatician has to communicate with many stakeholders to ensure this functions as required: this includes data storage; health informatics and governance, who may have important information that links to part of a patients records; clinical colleagues – this will be discussed in more detail; data communications – that look after the networks through which these large quantities of data are moved around the hospitals; IT services; and also research IT services – sometimes it is easier for hospitals to collaborate with universities to analyse this kind of data as they already have the systems in place; and the other important route of communication is with other bioinformaticians to try to establish best practice in this developing discipline. Dealing with these complex structures requires tenacity, perseverance, leadership and strong communication skills.
It is important for the bioinformatician not to lose focus of the fact that there is a patient, with most probably additional family members in the case of inherited diseases for which the outcome of their work could have a huge impact. At this moment it is unlikely for the bioinformatician to directly see a patient but certainly in the larger centres they will take part in multi-disciplinary meetings with clinicians, senior clinical laboratory scientists and also genetic counsellors, where they will be helping to inform a clinical diagnosis or treatment regime. Therefore they have a really important part to play in educating their clinical colleagues such that the workflows and bioinformatics steps are more transparent and stand up to the necessary rigour that other laboratory processes are required to achieve. One of the most important roles that the bioinformatician needs to undertake is to ensure that patient data, including symptoms and phenotype are captured by clinical colleagues and linked with associated genotype. Achieving this on a much larger scale with National/ International databases such that more data and information can be shared subject to patient consent within the clinical genomic community means that the patients particularly with rare conditions and diseases will benefit more quickly from advances in genomic sequencing. It also fundamental that the bioinformatician is informed of any changes to laboratory protocols such as the addition of additional genes or changes to protocols that will impact on the bioinformatic workflow such that these can be planned for, validated and tested prior to being relied to inform clinical diagnoses and decisions.
Clinical bioinformatics is a newly recognised healthcare profession, and as such there is a lot of work to do to increase its reputation in the healthcare setting. For those of us working at this frontier, it’s a time for building a community of best practice, sharing a diverse set of skills and experiences, and embedding bioinformaticians as integral members of the multi-disciplinary care team.
This article first appeared in Issue 3 of Front Line Genomics magazine.
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In-Depth: Xbox Live Arcade Sales Analysis, April 2010
May 20, 2010 12:00 AM | Simon Carless
[Sister site GamerBytes' editor Ryan Langley examines April 2010's Xbox Live Arcade debuts and continuing successes, with charts and leaderboard data, for a look at how XBLA titles -- from After Burner Climax to Puzzle Chronicles -- are performing.]
With March's Block Party promotion out of the way, April is a time for games to market themselves and push their own agendas without the help of Microsoft. In previous years, the month has had some games succeed (The Dishwasher) and games fall off almost instantly (Flock).
Will this year be any different? In this analysis we check out Puzzle Chronicles, After Burner Climax, Final Fight: Double Impact and Tecmo Bowl Throwback, as well as look at the Top 20 lists released by the Major Nelson blog:
Fighting for Two
There were four new releases on Xbox Live Arcade for April 2010 across three weeks -- the first week of the month had no release at all. It’s very strange to see this happen, and there's been no official word as to why it occurred.
The first release for the month was Capcom’s Final Fight: Double Impact, a mixture of both Final Fight and Magic Sword in one package. It was also the only game that we were able to track through Leaderboards, where it had over 21,000 players in its first week, and a total of 34,150 players in the month. Surprisingly, it didn’t do as well as the PlayStation Network version, which was able to get 41,630 players in the same time frame.
Fire! Fire! Fire!
Sega/AM2’s After Burner Climax and Konami/Infinite Interactive’s Puzzle Chronicles both came out on the week of April 12th. After Burner was able to hit the top of the Major Nelson list in its first week (seen below), while Puzzle Chronicles debuted at 18th place, leaving the list the week after. It was a poor performance for Infinite Interactive’s third title on the Xbox Live Arcade, though admittedly it did not fare well in reviews. Hopefully Puzzle Quest 2 can redeem the Australian developer.
Thrown Back
The final release for the month was Tecmo Bowl Throwback, which debuted in second place, despite only being available in the United States and Canada. It was only beaten by The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, which was on sale that week.
Unfortunately, Tecmo has had a rough time on the digital front – Fret Nice, NBA Unrivaled and Puzzlegeddon have all done pretty poorly on the Xbox Live Arcade. But it looks like they finally hit a gold vein with this one.
Topping The Twenty
There were four weeks in the month of April. However, the Major Nelson Top 20 was only available for the last three. We’ve compiled the lists and put them against the Leaderboard data for each of those weeks. These statistics are to give us a good indication on how well everything is going for each of the games. Some games we just cannot follow, due to their strange Leaderboard context, be it multiplayer only or time trial only. But compiling these statistics give us an idea on how well every game is doing.
Toy Soldiers is still doing very well, and has beaten Block Party rival Perfect Dark for the whole month. It added 39,480 players in April -- not enough to beat Trials HD’s 50,521 for the month, but it’s staying around far longer than I think anyone ever imagined. Perfect Dark has also added 35,240 players for April.
Game Room has continued to do well, despite the lack of major new releases; however it has since been removed from the list of Xbox Live Arcade titles. Hopefully, we will begin to see a Top 20 for Game Room titles as well.
Favorites from 2009 like Magic: The Gathering, Battlefield 1943 and Worms 2 have continued to stay on the Top 20 list with no problems, while TMNT 1989 has beaten its newer Re-Shelled brother – though it's half the price, which helps.
DLC Connection
No additional downloadable content that we could follow was released in April, but let’s have a look at the games from prior months.
Again, Trials HD and Peggle downloadable content continues to do well each week -- a little bit lower than the previous month, but still great overall. All other DLC has been selling quite slowly, as it has been for some time.
Deals Coming Out Of Their Ears
Back at the end of March, Microsoft started off an “Inventory Blowout Sale” promotion – 10 games would go half price for a week, starting half a week in. The games listed, outside of Geometry Wars 2 and Trials HD, were all part of this promotion – the second half of the promotion being in the first week of April. Each game boosted itself notably in sales compared to its usual weekly amounts, with South Park and Defense Grid being the big winners.
Geometry Wars 2 was the actual Deal Of The Week for the week of April 5th, and added over 23,000 new players to the Leaderboards. The Dishwasher was the second deal of the week, and while we cannot follow its Leaderboards, we do know that it hit first place on the Top 20 for that week.
The final deal was another test subject – Major Nelson promoted over his Twitter feed that for one day Trials HD would be 33% off. This extra incentive boosted the game’s total for that week to be around 6,000 players higher than expected. I would expect to see more of this sort of thing in the future.
The Big List
We finish off with the giant list of titles that we’ve been following, showing off 100 titles that we haven’t seen in the Top 20 for ages. We won’t be doing this next month however -- it’s a big task that I really don’t have the time to do. We will however be doing it in June to check up on the sales of titles across the first 6 months of the year, to see how things have really done.
For this month however we can see that Kingdom Of Keflings has quietly been doing well over the month, despite being over a year old, as has N+, Serious Sam and Pinball FX.
We’ve already seen some interesting releases for May, with Konami’s Rocket Knight and Ace Team’s Zeno Clash. But May has always been a difficult month for the Xbox Live Arcade in terms of sales -- will these high profile releases buck the trend?
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The New Acropolis Museum is a place fit for Greece’s greatest treasures
Posted By Matthew On July 7, 2008 @ 1:15 pm In British Museum,Elgin Marbles,New Acropolis Museum | 1 Comment
The opening of the New Acropolis Museum [1] later this year will represent one of the most significant events in the museums world for some time – not necessarily because of the building’s facilities, but because of what it will stand for. The question remains though over whether the British Museum will acknowledge this fact & allow the Elgin Marbles to be reunited in their rightful home.
The Sunday Times [2]
From The Sunday Times
The new Greek Acropolis Museum
The Acropolis will this year have a museum fit for Greece’s greatest treasure, the Elgin Marbles
Mark Hodson [3]
A new museum will open in Athens later this year. No big deal, you might think. You’d be wrong. The New Acropolis Museum is not merely a dazzling piece of modernist architecture, but the latest gambit in a 200-year campaign for the return of the Elgin Marbles.
The museum, which has been 30 years in the planning and has cost the Greek government more than £100m, will at last provide a permanent home for the greatest treasures of the classical period, safe from the city’s corrosive, polluted air.
Built in the shadow of the Acropolis, it will display the sections of the marbles owned by Greece – alongside plaster copies of the “missing” sections that reside in the British Museum.
Whether the trustees of the British Museum will be persuaded to give up one of their biggest crowd-pullers, only time will tell.
But regardless of the outcome, the Greek authorities have created a world-class attraction, as I discovered recently on an exclusive tour with the museum’s curator, Professor Dimi-trios Pandermalis.
First, the history. In the early 19th century, the Parthenon was under attack by looters. Lord Elgin, the British ambassador, hired a team of workers to hack away at the monument, taking many of its finest sculptures and large chunks of the marble frieze that lined the inside rim. Elgin shipped the treasures back to England and then sold them to the British Museum for £35,000.
Fast-forward to the late 20th century. The marbles remain divided. Scientists discover the pollution in Athens is eating into the fabric of the Parthenon. The original Acropolis museum, built in the late 19th century, is cluttered and poorly maintained. A new museum is planned.
It took 25 years of wrangling before an architect was chosen: the controversial, Swiss-born Bernard Tschumi. His high-tech angular design – all glass, concrete and marble – stands in bold contrast to the monuments on the Acropolis. It’s a huge two-fingered salute to traditionalists, as emphatically modern and pleasing as IM Pei’s Louvre Pyramid in Paris.
Problems began as soon as the first spadeful of earth was dug. Beneath the site, builders discovered the remains of a settlement dating from the 4th century BC. Before each foundation was laid, protracted negotiations took place between architects, engineers and archeologists.
The result, though, is astonishing. The three-storey building appears to float over the ground on concrete piles, while beneath it the entire 4,000 sq metre site has been preserved. As you approach the entrance, you look down through glass panels cut into the plaza floor to see more than 2,000 years of history below, including immaculate mosaics.
Once inside, you climb a glass-floored ramp lined with some of the 50,000 artefacts found during the dig. “There are lifts, but we want people to walk up to remind them of the walk to the top of the Acropolis hill,” said Pandermalis.
We then went into a vast gallery designed to house 120 sculptures from the Archaic period. Daylight flooded in through floor-to-ceiling windows and glass panels high above our heads.
“The light is so beautiful in here, and it changes with the time of day and the seasons,” said the professor, standing before a towering statue of a goddess. “Look at the texture, the detail, it’s so soft. You can’t get that with artificial light.” I admired the quality of the marble. “We spent a long time choosing it,” he said. “It comes from Helicon, the sacred mountain of the Muses.”
The sheer scale – 10 times the size of the original Acropolis museum, with 14,000 sq metres of floor space – means exhibits have room to breathe. Visitors can wander between the thick concrete columns to find fresh angles and perspectives. It feels more like a temple than an exhibition space.
Beautiful though it was, Pandermalis was clearly anxious to get me up to the top floor, a huge glass-walled gallery where the treasures of the Parthenon will be displayed. Even without any exhibits, this would be a stunning building, with panoramic views across the city.
Wrapped around the central core of the gallery at eye level is the 160-metre-long frieze, with the Greek originals – coated in a soft brown patina – standing alongside white-plaster copies of the sections removed by Elgin. The effect is awe-inspiring. For the first time, visitors can see for themselves the travesty of splitting the marbles.
“It’s clearly ridiculous if you have a body in London and a head in Athens to keep them separate,” said Pandermalis. “Reunification is not just an emotional issue, it is a logical one. It’s a basic principle of archeology.”
With 2m people expected to visit the museum each year, the Greeks hope that public opinion will slowly force a change of heart in London. That looks unlikely in the near future.
The official line from Great Russell Street is that the British Museum is a superior home because it provides a “unique overview of world sculpture”.
After a recent visit to Athens, Dr Andrew Burnett, deputy director of the British Museum, said he was “very impressed”. So does the new building move the argument forward? “No,” said Burnett. “There is no proposition on the table [to return the marbles to Greece], so the subject has not been discussed by the trustees.”
Whatever the arguments, when you stand in that gallery, looking at the missing sections and gazing across to the Parthenon, it is hard not to feel an emotional tug. It may have been 30 years in the making, but this museum has been worth the wait.
The opening date for the New Acropolis Museum (www.new acropolismuseum.gr) is yet to be fixed, but is likely to be in October or November. At present, the ground floor is open from 10am to noon daily (free entry).
The Athens Gate Hotel (00 30-210 923 8302, www.athensgate.gr; doubles in November from £91, B&B) is two minutes from the museum. It has smart rooms and a rooftop bar. Also nearby is the Art Gallery Hotel (210 923 8376, www.artgalleryhotel.gr; doubles from £70, B&B).
Airlines flying to Athens include British Airways (0844 493 0787, www.ba.com), EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) and Olympic (0871 2000 500, www.olympicairlines.com).
Article copyright 2008 Mark Hodson [3]
URL to article: http://www.elginism.com/new-acropolis-museum/the-new-acropolis-museum-is-a-place-fit-for-greeces-greatest-treasures/20080707/1167/
[1] New Acropolis Museum: http://www.newacropolismuseum.gr/
[2] The Sunday Times: http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/destinations/greece/article4268110.ece
[3] Mark Hodson: http://www.markhodson.net/
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Will Benin’s artefacts ever be exhibited in Benin?
Posted By Matthew On February 11, 2010 @ 10:04 pm In British Museum,Similar cases | No Comments
An exhibition of artefacts from Benin has taken place at the Ethnography Museum in Stockholm. Despite many calls for the repatriation of Benin artefacts though, it seems as though most are only displayed in museums outside the region.
Nigerian Compass [1]
Repartration of looted artefacts in Europe: Benin’s case can’t be different
Recently, the ethnography museum of Stockholm, Sweden hosted an exhibition and seminar on Benin court art and culture. Prince Edun Akenzua who headed the delegation from His Majesty, Omo n’ Oba n’ Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Eriduawua II of Benin to the international event discusses it and other salient issues relating to the Edo kingdom’s stolen artifacts in European museums with EMMANUEL AGOZINO. Excerpts:
What was the exhibition at the Ethnography Museum of Stockholm, Sweden, all about?
Thank you. What happen at Stockholm was not originated by us. But it was a good outing. This was how it actually started. The Nigerian Ambassador to Sweden, Dr. Igali, knew that that country was about going to mount an International exhibition on Benin works. He then immediately wrote a letter to the Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, informing him of what is being planned and advising him that it will be wise if the State can send somebody who is knowledgeable in Benin Arts and history to beat the exhibition. The Governor then referred the letter to the Oba of Benin with a request that the Oba sends somebody. That was how the Oba recommended that I should go for the event. At the exhibition, I delivered a paper.
But for me, the even was not a surprise because about a year ago, I was also in Viena, Austria, where a similar exhibition was held. The one at Viena was put together by about several countries, comprising Austria, Germany, France, United States of America and one other country that I cannot remember now. I was there and it was such a great shock to me that when they brought out the works from all these countries, majority of them turned out to be Benin bronzes artefacts and other works stolen during the massacre. So it is from that Austria exhibition that they keep moving the works from one European nation to another. Apart from myself, other Nigerians that were there included, the then Director General of National Commission for Musem and Monument (NCMM), Dr. Joseph Eboriemen and former Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Prof. Babalola Borishade. However, I made it clear to them in my speech that our presence at the event and that of the Federal Government was only tactical as it did not show that Benin will stop the struggle for the reparation of its stolen works, particularly, those plundered from here in 1897. We cannot stop until justice is done. I told then that that was the situation.
We saw all those works that they looted. About 4000 works. And now let me add that we have traced the descendants of those who committed those atrocities to Benin, their fourth generations. We have their photographs and that of the British who did that. And indeed, they are now aware that there is nothing that they can do but to return those items back. In other words, why we were there was to let the crime continue to be in the world’s conscience. What the British did to Benin in 1897 and other occasions. That is what the trip was all about.
So, seeing the images exhibited, especially that of your great grand father, Oba Ovonramwen, as he was being deported by the British, what was your feeling?
I must tell you the truth. As I stood there viewing the works, many of them I was seeing for the first time, an emotion of nostalgia stirred inside me. I should say that some of the works which were forcefully removed or stolen were not made for galleries. Most of them were made to record events in the lives of the people. In other words, they were records of our people’s life. The others were made for religious purposes. I did not feel too good about it.
Do you think the keepers of those works in western galleries are remorseful what they did to Benin or abut still keeping the works?
Well, I cannot imagine what goes on in their conscience. But I can tell you what some of them said. And from that, I can say that I am convinced that they do have guilty conscience no. But some of them equally will like to pretend that the arguement does not exist. You know that it is the same guilty conscience that is making a lot of these European nations to return the works now. I personally invited the Director of the British museum here during the centenary. But he did not come. He told me why he could not was that they are building a new museum. Although some people are now trying to use diplomatic language by saying that the works were forcefully removed but we know that the items were deliberately looted. The British had an eye on it. They were so many. For instance, the Mr. Philip who provoked the war had before then written intelligence report to the British government. This was in 1896. In the report he told them that Oba Ovonramwen had to be deposed. And that they must wage a war against Benin. He even gave them intelligence report that 1500 troops will be able to do it. The troops were led by an Admiral at that time. And they fought Benin with canons and rockets. Can you imagine? Canons and rockets in 1897? When the best we have here are bows and arrows. He now wrote in wrote in his intelligence report which I have with me here, that “he believed that the value of bronze and other works in the Oba’s palace will be enough to offset deposing the Oba and fighting the war.”
Of course the British were initially, reluctant. But when the man who use to head the council, his name was Car, went on leave, Philip who was acting on his behalf saw an immediate opportunity to carry out what he had always promoted. So, he just said he was coming to pay a visit to the Oba of Benin. Nine of them were coming. And with the nine Europeans were about 3000 Africans whom he called carriers. But indeed this are all soldiers drawn from the cantonment in Sapele, from where they previously attacked King Nana of Itshekiri. Others were from Ghana and Hausa land. He sent a word to Benin and the chiefs sent back word to him that we are at the middle of a festival. At such time the Oba is not supposed to see any visitor. But before you knew it, he and his troops has started moving towards Benin. It was this that led to the altercation. So they drew the gun on each other. At the end, seven of the European were killed, two escaped with some of their African carriers. But it turned out that in their boxes, Philip had asked them to hide their guns. So that was what the British called the Benin masacre. But the world later saw what they were up to when they burnt down the whole of Benin.
So, what led the Benin monarchy to later begin the call for reparation of her works?
The whole idea started long time ago during my father, Oba Akenzua II, who was the grandson of Oba Ovonramwen from whose palace the whole items were looted in 1897. Since then the struggle has been on. I will tell you some of things that even strenghtened the efforts. For instance, in 1936, three years after my father’s coronation, the British came here in Benin, I think it was the Earl of Plymouth, and made presentation to him. But do you know that we are surprised that one of the things he gave my father then was one of the beaded crowns and other regalia removed in 1897 from Benin? If you were my father how will you feel with that kind of gift? Although my father was grateful for it, he indeed knew that he was getting back something that was stolen from his grandfather. Since then there has been pressure from here in the palace and the Oba that those stolen works and other artifacts should be returned to Benin. It was from that the matter got to the Federal Government through Dr. Moses Ekpo, the then curator of National Museum, Lagos. Ekpo started championing the crusade and through his efforts, the Federal Government was able to buy back about three items for the National Museum in Lagos.
Can you imagine Nigeria buying those works again from Britain for Nigeria museum?
Also, another thing that happened was that in 1977, before the FESTAC, the organisers of that event headed by the late Irabor Emokpai, suggested to the Federal Government that what is now called ‘FESTAC Head’ should be used as a symbol of that event. Then the Government asked the British Government to lend Nigeria that mask. But the British Government refused, because they claimed that Nigeria cannot protect the mask. However, the only concension the British made then was that if they are going to lend it to Nigeria for use at the FESTAC, Nigerian government must sign an insurance of about 2000 pounds. So when they couldn’t do it, they came to Benin here and met with my father. He told them that a replica can be made by the same people who made the first one. He now commissioned them. But when they now finished that replica, it was difficult to tell which one was the original. It was this second one that was eventually used for the FESTAC.
So since he mounted the throne, the present Oba, who is my brother has been calling for the repartration of the works. We will not relent until justice is done. For instance, the Oba wrote a letter to the Queen of England on the repartration of the looted artifacts in 1997 – just before we organised the commemoration of the centenary of that event here. I was the Chairman of that event. We visited many European nations with the view of letting them see why they should return those works. We are still on it.
Sometimes, the views we get from many resourceful quarters energises my belief that what we are doing is right. But in some countries like Britain it has not been easy. This is because, I have been informed, there is an act of the parliament against the repartration of the works. But the fact that such repartration has happened all over the world will not make Benin’s own different. Recently, even Britain returned to Scotland some of the items of treasure they removed from that country. The Austrians have also returned to Jews some of the paintings the Nazis stole in that part of the world. So also with the Italians, who recently returned to Ethiopia the great obelisks they removed from that country during Benito Mussolini’s attack of the country. So why should Benin’s own be different?
URL to article: http://www.elginism.com/similar-cases/will-benins-artefacts-ever-be-exhibited-in-benin/20100211/2719/
[1] Nigerian Compass: http://www.compassnews.net/Ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=39892:repartration-of-looted-artefacts-in-europe-benins-case-cant-be-different&catid=54:arts&Itemid=694
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Researchers call for economy audit over tax leaks
Compliance gap
Tax expnditure
Ugandan researchers have called for an audit into the country's key sectors for possible value added tax (VAT) leaks.
VAT leakage is loosely defined as an inefficient processing of the VAT on part of the company and VAT rebate on part of government, usually resulting in loss for either party.
Makerere University based Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) has called for an investigation into key sectors of manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail trade, and water supply for a potential value added tax (VAT) leakage.
Social services and arts, entertainment and recreation sectors were also found to present a significant compliance risk. EPRC researchers, Paul Lakuma and Brian Sserunjogi wrote in their latest paper,The value added tax (vat) gap analysis for Uganda, that the country faced a compliance gap of up to 40 per cent in 2010. This reduced to around 30 per cent in 2016/17.
“The sectoral decomposition of the VAT gap suggests that manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail trade, water supply, other social services and arts, entertainment and recreation sectors present a significant compliance risk. This calls for investigation and audit of these sectors,” the researchers wrote.
VAT is a levy charged on a product whenever value is added at every stage from production to the point of sale. In Uganda, the levy stands at 18%. VAT is usually based on the taxpayers’ consumption. The more you consume, the more you pay it.
For Uganda, the companies that pay, usually claim it back in input costs. But in areas where companies are unable to convince the tax body for a refund, they choose to file wrong information, the paper indicates.
“This paper has showed that Uganda’s VAT compliance gaps are large but have been reducing over time…consistent with Uganda’s low but improving tax efficiency relative to its regional peers. As a percentage of GDP, the compliance gap was around 3.6 per cent of GDP in 2016/17.”
Manufacturing was found to have the biggest compliance gap, according to Lakuma, because it uses mainly agricultural inputs as raw materials. Agricultural inputs are exempt and therefore manufacturers cannot claim back VAT on their use, giving them leeway to file wrong information in an attempt to reduce their tax bill.
“In this regard, the cascading effects of [unclaimable] input tax create opportunities and motivation for noncompliance in the manufacturing sector. Accordingly, large compliance gaps have been observed in the agriculture and manufacturing sector in Uganda,” said the paper.
Manufacturers, who are the largest purchasers of agricultural products in Uganda, were found to have large compliance gaps, which means that the VAT exemption on the supply of agricultural goods is not recovered in the manufacturing sector.
This provides a basis for removal of tax expenditure in the agriculture sector, the researchers argued. The paper looked at the difference between potential revenues and actual VAT collections, known as the compliance gap. It notes that the compliance gap increased from 39% in 2009/10 to 64% of potential revenues (5.7% of GDP) in 2010/11.
This was due to reduction in imports during the general elections season, the lag effects of the global financial crisis, the effects of rebasing the economy from 2005/06 to 2009/10 and potential loss of information during the switchover from a manual VAT system to an e-tax system.
The paper notes that the supply of petroleum fuels for industrial use account for more than two thirds of tax expenditures in the manufacturing sector.
In the transport sector, it says, exemptions granted to trailer suppliers and the zero rating of international transport are key areas for audit by ministry of Finance.
Article writen by Alon Mwesigwa - amwesigwa@observer.ug and published by The Observer on December 17, 2018
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Erasmus Law Review, Issue 3 2018
Personal data is any information related to an identified or identifiable natural person.1xThe definition we adopt is based on EU data protection law. See after the third section. Sometimes it is obvious which information constitutes personal data; some other times the exercise becomes complex and may lead to unexpected results. The paramount principle upon which EU data protection law is based is the possibility of qualifying certain information as personal data. Whenever the piece of information carried by data can be separated from the physical person to whom that information refers, the rules and safeguards stemming from EU data protection law become inapplicable. In this sense, data is conceived as binary: it is either personal or not.
The possibility of identifying, directly or indirectly, a person through a number of pieces of information – individual or combined – highlights the complexities that data protection experts are currently experiencing when dealing with technologies and techniques such as Big Data,2xBig Data has been defined as a data set whose size is beyond the ability of typical database software tools to capture, store, manage and analyse. See J. Manyika, M. Chui, B. Brown, J. Bughin, R. Dobbs, C. Roxburgh & A.H. Byers. Big Data: The Next Frontier for Innovation, Competition, and Productivity (2011). Cloud Computing,3xCloud Computing has to be understood as a methodology through which a vast measure of pooled and virtualised resources can be accessed. See A. El Khoury, ‘Data Protection and Risk Regulation. Cloud Computing: A Case Study’ (LLM thesis on file at LUISS School of Governance, Rome). data mining and collection of information through the Internet of Things (IoT).4xWith the term ‘Internet of Things’, we refer to a global network infrastructure linking uniquely identified physical and virtual objects, things and devices through the exploitation of data capture, communication and actuation capabilities. See A. Guimarães Pereira, A. Benessia and P. Curvelo, Agency in the Internet of Things, Publications Office of the European Union (2013), at 7. Devices of all sorts around us are constantly collecting information to provide services, yet not all data collected falls within the category of personal data strictly speaking. This amount of non-personal information can, however, quickly lead to the identification of a physical person and reveal very personal aspects such as political orientation or sexual preferences.
In this article, I propose to analyse the binary notion of personal data and highlight its limits in the current EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).5xEuropean Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/679, OJ 2016 L 119/1. Breyer v. Deutschland 6xCase C-582/14, Patrick Breyer v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland, ECLI:EU:C:2016:779. shows that from a risk-regulation perspective, the binary notion is not particularly fit for purpose, considering that data collection and information flows are complex processes. This calls for a different conception of personal data, which should go beyond its binary definition, and instead, focus on its inherent, relative nature. Data could indeed be personal and non-personal at the same time: the relevant distinction can be made only in a specific moment, while putting the data in the context of processing operations carried out around it. This article, therefore, purports to show that the use of a binary system to determine the applicability of EU data protection law may be too simplistic an approach.
For this purpose, it employs quantum mechanics as a guide to shed more light on the matter. At the beginning of 1900, when certain observations on matter could not be described through classical physics, physicists began thinking differently, and quantum mechanics arose as a new branch of physics. Interestingly, it seems that certain principles elaborated within quantum theory may be appropriate for describing data. By drawing inspiration from quantum mechanics, this article aims to ultimately overcome the binary notion of personal data and find a right balance in the application of EU data protection law. This conclusion is also supported by the fact that today it has become rather easy to identify a data subject due to the increasing affordability of certain processing operations and the tools to perform them.
2 Setting the Scene: We Live in a World of Data
The idea behind the quote ‘Data is the new oil’7xThe quote is often attributed to different people. See M. Kuneva, European Consumer Commissioner in a 2006’s Speech http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-09-156_en.htm (last visited 24 June 2018); G. Rometty, IBM CEO in a Speech to the Council of Foreign Relations in 2013 https://siliconangle.com/blog/2013/03/11/ibms-ceo-says-big-data-is-like-oil-enterprises-need-help-extracting-the-value/ (last visited 24 June 2018). is elementary: oil was – and most likely still is – the basis of the world’s economy during the twentieth century. Refined to produce plastics, fuel and many other materials, oil can be converted into many different commodities. A legitimate question would be, what does oil have to do with data? Both commodities – oil and data – can be traded and their trade volumes and prices can affect stock markets in different ways. It was demonstrated that changes in oil prices could predict stock market return worldwide,8xG. Driesprong, B. Jacobsen & B. Maat, ‘Striking Oil: Another Puzzle?’, 89 Journal of Financial Economics 307 (2008). whereas the impact that data can have on stock markets is tied to the reliability that companies feeding off the data can project on the general public.9x See ‘Facebook Stock is in the Red for the Year After the FTC Confirms Investigation’, http://fortune.com/2018/03/26/facebook-stock-ftc-investigation-cambridge-analytica/ (last visited 24 June 2018).
Moreover, oil is not a self-sufficient commodity: once refined and transformed its sub-products cannot be reverted to oil. This concept was well summarised by Scaruffi:
[T]he difference between oil and data is that the product of oil does not generate more oil (unfortunately), whereas the product of data (self-driving cars, drones, wearables, etc.) will generate more data (where do you normally drive, how fast/well to drive, who is with you etc.).10xP. Scaruffi, Humankind 2.0 (2016), available at https://www.scaruffi.com/singular/bigdata.html (last visited 18 November 2018).
Differently from oil, not all data is equal. In this sense, data is more comparable to rocks: there are common and inexpensive, and rare and expensive ones. When a piece of information refers to a human being, it becomes personal data. Not all personal data has the same economic value: there are different values, different pieces of information linked to that data which can make it more or less attractive for business operators according to the type of business they are running.11x See also I.N. Cofone and A.Z. Robertson, ‘Privacy Harms’, 69 Hastings Law Journal 1039, at 1049-1053 (2018) where the concept of the Privacy Bell is discussed. Despite the authors refer to privacy, and not to data protection, the same theory could be used to describe the degree of information on a data subject that data could provide. For an advertisement company, geographical data on potential customers is valuable: the company might use that information to target its advertisements and promptly show offers from restaurants to nearby potential customers. This geographical data (technically called ‘geotag’) needs to be placed in the context of activities that a potential customer is carrying out in a determined time and space. Knowing the potential customer is located close to a restaurant whose advertisement can be shown by the advertisement company is valuable data. If the potential customer is hiking in a forest, however, knowing his specific location does not bring any advertising potential, because there are no restaurants nearby to advertise.12xFor an in-depth analysis on the use of geotags and Big Data, see J.W. Crampton, M. Graham, A. Poorthuis, T. Shelton, M. Stephens, M.W. Wilson & M. Zook, ‘Beyond the Geotag: Situating ‘Big Data’ and Leveraging the Potential of the Geoweb’, 40 Cartography and Geographic Information Science 130 (2013).
Data is to be understood in broad terms, and according to Ackoff, is raw and does not have a meaning in itself.13xR.L. Ackoff, ‘From Data to Wisdom’, 16 Journal of Applied Systems Analysis 3 (1989). In the case of geographical data, latitude and longitude are just numbers, coordinates on a map; when matched with a physical person, they become a geotag, an information conveying that a person is physically located somewhere. Therefore, information is data that has been given a meaning by way of relational connection with other data.14x Ibid. The meaningfulness of this information has a different degree of appreciation for the subject making use of it.
Another difference between data and oil is that the latter is a scarce resource, whereas the former is virtually infinite, self-sustainable and self-replicable. To understand these concepts we can imagine a timeline, a sequence of events starting at time 0 and ending at time 10. The actual length between 0 and 10 is not relevant. A barrel of oil will always be a barrel of oil throughout the timeline, or until it is transformed into something else. On the contrary, data and the information held within it changes according to its intended use and with time . For example, a person’s name is likely to remain unchanged, but if we consider body temperature, its variation throughout a timeline might reveal other pieces of information, such as that the person has a cold or is performing physical activity. This different degrees of information provided by data allows for an interesting observation: data has both an intrinsic and extrinsic value. The intrinsic value is by virtue of the piece of information carried by the data. In the previous example, it would be the fact that the body has a certain temperature in a specific moment. When that information is, however, put in correlation with the same data from a different moment of the timeline, it allows inferring a new information.15xCofone and Robertson, above n. 11. The Privacy Bell shows mathematically how the degree of privacy changes according to the degree of plausible assumptions that can be made on a person: more plausible assumption, less privacy. The same concept is applicable to data protection.
For companies it makes sense to collect, aggregate and analyse any kind of data, even the one that, prima facie, does not seem to identify a person or highlight a pattern. The reason is that this data could prove useful when put in correlation with other data sets: it could show trends and correlations in those data sets where people are identified, thus transforming into personal data the first data set as well.16xThis shows why, in academia, some researchers call the debate between anonymous data and personal data a false debate. See S. Stalla-Bourdillon and A. Knight, ‘Anonymous data v. personal data – a False Debate: an EU Perspective on Anonymization, Pseudonymization and Personal Data’, 34 Wisconsin International Law Journal 284 (2017) and S.Y. Esayas, ‘The Role of Anonymisation and Pseudonymisation Under the EU Data Privacy Rules: Beyond the ‘All Or Nothing’ Approach’, 6 European Journal of Law and Technology 1 (2015).
So far, this article has focused on the more theoretical aspects of data and information. Now it is time to apply those aspects to concrete cases. The world these days is populated by smart devices capable of collecting and sharing any type of data, by IoT, Cloud Computing and Big Data, which are at the basis of services not even imaginable few years ago. All these technologies are the equivalent of the tools used to extract and refine oil. Tiny sensors collect data, which is shared and processed in the Cloud and ultimately stored in Big Data. Cloud, Big Data and IoT are three different perspectives of complex data processings: IoT gathers, Cloud processes and Big Data stores data. This picture portrays data as a commodity – the fuel running a complex mechanism of systems. Thus, the fundamental question is, how is this commodity regulated? According to EU law, data as such is not regulated, but it becomes strictly regulated when it can be qualified as personal. This leads to another question: are the boundaries of personal data and non-personal data so well defined to justify such a binary approach to data regulation?17xSome courts in the United States shared the same perplexity. See Sanders v. ABC, 978 P.2d 67 (Cal. 1999), where ‘privacy, for purposes of the intrusion tort, is not a binary, all-or-nothing characteristic. There are degrees and nuances to societal recognition of our expectations of privacy’. If the case deals with privacy, the same reasoning is valid for data protection if we consider that the presence or absence of privacy is logically linked to the fact that data is personal or not, although the right to privacy and the right to data protection have fundamental differences in their scopes and limitations. See e.g. Case C-28/08 P, Commission/Bavarian Lager, [2010] ECR I-6055, para. 60, and J. Kokott and C. Sobotta, ‘The Distinction Between Privacy and Data Protection in the Jurisprudence of the CJEU and the ECtHR’, 3 International Data Privacy Law 222 (2013).
3 The Current Notion of Personal Data: From the GDPR to the Case Law of the ECJ
The definition of personal data in Article 4 of the GDPR18xPersonal data is defined as ‘any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (“data subject”); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person’, Art. 4, GDPR, above n. 5. largely draws from and overlaps with the old definition enshrined in Article 2 of Directive 95/46/CE19xArt. 2(a) of Directive 95/46 defines personal data as ‘any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (“data subject”); an identifiable person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identification number or to one or more factors specific to his physical, physiological, mental, economic, cultural or social identity’. European Parliament and Council Directive 95/46/CE, OJ 1995 L 281/31. (Data Protection Directive, or DPD hereinafter), which the GDPR aimed at replacing and updating. The main difference between the two is in the use of the concept of identifier: it is used implicitly in the GDPR and explicitly in the DPD. Identifiers are not defined in the GDPR, but they have to be understood as a piece of information holding a particularly privileged and close relationship with the data subject, such as cookies or internet protocol addresses.20xCompare with Art. 29 Data Protection Working Party, Opinion 4/2007 on the concept of personal data (2007) at 14. Recital 30 of the GDPR explains that identifiers are important as they may leave traces of the data subject in a particular environment, which, once combined with other identifiers and information, may be used to create profiles of the data subjects and to identify them.21x See also R.E. Leenes, ‘Do You Know Me? Decomposing Identifiability’, Tilburg University Legal Studies Working Paper No. 001/2008, where the identifiability is divided in four subcategories: L-, R-, C- and S-identifiability. L-identifiability allows individuals to be targeted in the real world on the basis of the identifier, whereas this is not the case for the other three. In fact, R-identifiability can be further decomposed into the S-type, which is a technical kludge, and C-type, which relates to the classification of individuals as members of some set.
3.1 The Practical Issues of Identifiers
Some of the issues revolving around identifiers could be understood by analysing the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which called into question how Facebook collects and shares personal data.22xThe Cambridge Analytica scandal concerned the collection of personal data of around 84 million Facebook users by British political consulting Cambridge, which used it to steer the US presidential elections of 2017. After the scandal became public, Mark Zuckerberg (CEO of Facebook) was summoned before the United States Congress and the European Parliament to answer on how and when Facebook collects and shares data. A recurrent question concerned the so-called shadow profiles. 23xShadow profiles are an aggregation of information concerning a particular data subject who has not yet been formally identified. See, in particular, the question asked by New Mexico Representative Ben Lujan (full transcript available at https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/11/facebook-shadow-profiles-hearing-lujan-zuckerberg/?guccounter=1 (last visited 7 July 2018) and by MEP Syed Kamall (see Facebook’s written answers available at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/resources/library/media/20180524RES04208/20180524RES04208.pdf> (last visited 7 July 2018).
Shadow profiles are based off a basic function of the Internet: most websites collect information on visitors to tailor services such as advertisements or store users’ preferences to provide a better browsing experience. Facebook’s peculiarity is that whenever one of its features (as simple as a like and share button) is embedded in a website, it sends data about its use to Facebook, even if the user’s activity on the webpage was only limited to browsing.24x Ibid. This data is full of identifiers such as cookies, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and many others.25x See M.D. Ayenson, D.J. Wambach, A. Soltani, N. Good, and C.J. Hoofnagle, ‘Flash Cookies and Privacy II: Now with HTML5 and ETag Respawning’, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1898390; D. Barth-Jones, ‘The ‘Re-Identification’ of Governor William Weld’s Medical Information: A Critical Re-Examination of Health Data Identification Risks and Privacy Protections, Then and Now’, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2076397 and F.J. Zuiderveen Borgesius, ‘Singling Out People Without Knowing Their Names – Behavioural Targeting, Pseudonymous Data, and the New Data Protection Regulation’, 32 Computer Law & Security Review 256 (2016). Facebook counts around 2.2 billion users monthly,26xStatistics are referred to the second quarter of 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/dantedisparte/2018/07/28/facebook-and-the-tyranny-of-monthly-active-users/#383c9c8f6aea (last visited 4 November 2018). and it is not difficult to understand why most websites today embed features from it, thus allowing a large collection of identifiers. A sufficient amount of identifiers can be used to infer information about a virtually unknown person (technically, a not-yet-identified data subject).
What is the use of this aggregated data? In the case of Facebook, when a person registers to it, the platform associates the shadow profile with that person. Without shadow profiles, the database containing personal data of a new user should be empty. Any collection of personal data should begin only at the moment of registration and, in any case, after the user has given explicit consent to it. However, when shadow profiles are used, correlations are done automatically by Facebook, and the already performed data collection and analysis are associated with that data subject. In turn, the platform can immediately offer enhanced services such as suggesting a friend list or displaying advertisements of interest for that user in a surprisingly (or worryingly) accurate fashion.
Identifiers as such do not do have to be understood as personal data: they hold a privileged relationship with the data subject because they can describe certain of his characteristics.27xIt is the case for keystroke dynamics applied for personal authentication, which relies on the fundamental assumption that keystroke dynamics (i.e. how a certain person types on a keyboard) is almost unique for each person. See G. Gabla, ‘Applying Keystroke Dynamics for Personal Authentication’ Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2508480. Yet, they have the potential to become personal data, at later stages. All the more so when an identifier not conceived to collect personal data could be re-engineered into an identifier carrying a high degree of personal identifiability.28x See Barth-Jones, above n. 25; and Zuiderveen Borgesius, above n. 25.
The practical issue of identifiers and personal data has been presented to better understand the impact of the reasoning followed by the European Court of Justice.
3.2 Breyer v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland
In the landmark judgement delivered on 19 October 2016 in Patrick Breyer v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland 29x Breyer, above n. 6. Breyer was ruled under the DPD. Differences with the GDPR will be marked throughout the analysis. (Breyer hereinafter), the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ hereinafter) determined that dynamic IP addresses constitute personal data in relation to a certain provider, where it has the legal means that would enable it to identify the data subject through additional data held by another provider.
The case originated from a request for preliminary ruling from the German Federal Court of Justice (FCJ), in relation to an action brought by Mr. Breyer – a former member of the parliament in Schleswig-Holstein – against the Federal Republic of Germany, concerning the registration and storage by the latter of the IP address allocated to him, alongside the date when he accessed several websites run by German federal institutions, the terms entered in the search fields and the quantity of data transferred. Data retained by the German federal institution, no matter how specific, did not allow the identification of Mr. Breyer, thus falling outside the notion of personal data and the protection of the DPD. However, such identification would have been possible if the Internet Service Provider (ISP) had revealed sufficient information to identify the person operating behind a dynamic IP address.30xAn IP address is a logical numeric address assigned to every device connected to a network to identify it. These addresses are assigned by an ISP to a host in a fixed or dynamic fashion. In the former case, a device will always use the same IP address, whereas in the latter case, the IP address is assigned each time the device connects to the network. IP addresses exist to identify a specific device, but they are not necessarily meant to identify the person operating it in a given moment, all the more so when the IP address is a dynamic one. See S. Feit, TCP/IP: Architecture, Protocols, and Implementation with IPv6 and IP Security (1996).
Whether static IP addresses should be considered personal data or not was already answered by the ECJ in 2011. In Scarlet Extended, 31xCase C-70/10, Scarlet Extended, ECLI:EU:C:2011:77. the ECJ concluded that static IP addresses should be considered personal data because they allow the precise identification of the user.32x Ibid. para. 51. According to the Court, there are two elements to consider: one technical and one legal. Technically, the ISP assigns an IP address to a device, and this IP is always the same (static IP); legally, the underlying contract for the Internet service provisioning will be undertaken between the ISP and a natural or legal person, under whose responsibility the connected device is operated. This is why in Scarlet Extended the ECJ based its conclusions on the fact that an injunction by a court to an ISP to install technical means to analyse the traffic generated by a certain IP address, in order to monitor the use of peer-to-peer software33xPeer-to-peer networking is a distributed computing architecture allowing the partitioning of tasks between different devices (peers) connected to a network, thus allowing a substantial degree of anonymity when sharing files of considerable size. See also R. Ambrosek, Shawn Fanning: the Founder of Napster (2006) where the facts behind the very first peer-to-peer software called ‘Napster’ are re-construed. used to infringe intellectual property rights, was precluded by EU data protection law.34xNotably, the ECJ ruled, ‘Directives 2000/31, 2001/29, 2004/48, 95/46 and 2002/58, read together and construed in the light of the requirements stemming from the protection of the applicable fundamental rights, must be interpreted as precluding an injunction made against an ISP which requires it to install the contested filtering system’. Scarlet Extended, above n. 31, para. 55.
If the nature and function of static IP addresses are clear, dynamic IP addresses are trickier. The difference in the identifiability features of static and dynamic IP addresses can be understood through an example: if we picture IP addresses as coats of different colours used to identify doctors in a hospital, using a static IP means that each doctor will always wear the same coat; on the contrary, a dynamic IP address entails that each time a doctor enters the hospital’s premises, he will be assigned one random coat from the ones available. This latter concept is known in information technology as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), and it prevents two devices from being assigned the same IP address and thus causing a conflict in the network architecture. That coat alone, however, does not bring sufficient information to enable an identification of the doctor wearing it: it holds a privileged relationship with the data subject, but alone it does not allow its identification.
The DPD enshrines in Recital 26 a key principle to ascertain whether an identifier actually allows for the identification of a data subject: the means likely reasonably to be used by the controller or by any other person to identify the data subject.35xRecital 26, DPD, above n. 19. The GDPR provides the same principle in a same-numbered recital,36xRecital 26, GDPR, above n. 5. but it adds to it that to consider those means as ‘likely reasonably to be used’, account should be given of all objective factors, such as costs and the amount of time required for the identification, taking into consideration the available technology at the time of the processing and the technological developments. In a nutshell: feasibility and capability. A technical means is likely reasonably to be used according to the feasibility of its use and the capability of a data controller to use it, which include technical implementation, time and the costs and benefits of doing so. Technical implementation, economic cost and time need to be put in relation to the potential economic benefit of the operation for the data controller.
The concept of means likely reasonably to be used generated a large debate in German academia, which polarised around a subjective and an objective criterion.37x See M. Schreibauer, ‘§ 11 Telemediengesetz (4 to 10)’, in M. Esser, P. Kramer & K. von Lewinski (eds.), Kommentar zum Bundesdatenschutzgesetz. Nebengesetze (2014); J. Nink and J. Pohle. ‘Die Bestimmbarkeit des Personenbezugs. Von der IP-Adresse zum Anwendungsbereich der Datenschutzgesetze’, in Multimedia und Recht (9/2015), at 563-67. J. Heidrich and C. Wegener, ‘Rechtliche und technische Anforderungen an die Protokollierung von IT-Daten. Problemfall Logging’, 8 Multimedia und Recht 487 (2015). H. Leisterer, ‘Die neuen Pflichten zur Netz– und Informationssicherheit und die Verarbeitung personenbezogener Daten zur Gefahrenabwehr’, 10 Computer und Recht 665 (2015). According to the objective criterion, a person can be identified when, regardless of the capability of a certain data controller to identify him, the identification is feasible by combining data from different sources. The subjective criterion relies on the concrete capability of a certain data controller to make use of its means to identify the data subject. The main difference between the two criteria lies in the relevance given to the data controller. For instance, the sheer size of means available might make all the difference in understanding whether certain data is personal or not for that specific controller. Relativity at its best!
In Breyer, the two criteria applied as follows: for the subjective criterion, IP addresses become personal data only when there is the concrete capacity of a provider who has access to that information to use his own resources to identify the data subject (e.g. by performing more correlation with other data sets or even collecting additional data); on less theoretical grounds, by applying the objective criterion, IP addresses become personal data only when a data subject can be concretely identified, regardless of the abilities and the means of a provider to do so.38xSee Breyer, above n. 6, paras. 52-54.
The choice between the two criteria has a fundamental meaning when dealing with dynamic IP addresses. In that case, the means likely reasonably to be used to identify the data subject are allegedly more complex, expensive and time consuming to implement. Thus, if theoretically an identification is possible (subjective criterion), it does not mean that this could happen in practice (objective criterion). The question referred to the ECJ by the German FCJ, however, has a remarkable subjective element. What the FCJ fundamentally asks is if a dynamic IP address stored by an online media provider (i.e. the owner of a website) has to be considered already personal data for that provider, in the case where only a third party has the additional information necessary to identify the data subject39x Breyer, above n. 6, para. 31. which accessed the online media through that dynamic IP address in a specific moment in time.40xNotably, dynamic IP addresses change at every connection; thus, the reasoning has to be strictly bound to the possibility of identifying a data subject in a specific moment of a timeline.
The groundbreaking element of Breyer does not consist in the ECJ’s ruling that, under certain conditions, dynamic IP addresses are personal data, but rather in the legal reasoning followed to reach those conclusions – that same reasoning is applicable mutatis mutandis to similar categories of data and subjects. This reasoning is based on three key elements.
First, from a technical perspective, dynamic IP addresses belong to the general category of metadata41xMetadata has to be understood as data about other data. See J. Pomerantz, Metadata (2015), at 16.: metadata is not personal data, but may contain data about personal data. For instance, typical metadata applied to personal data would be the date when the personal data surname has been changed in a system. If we strictly apply the binary approach adopted in the DPD or in the GDPR, metadata stays outside the protection provided by EU data protection law, meaning that every processing operation on that metadata is possible, including transfers outside the EU and recombination with other data.
The second element stays in the nature of power used by the German federal institutions to obtain information from the ISP. Public entities can act either in their public capacity, representing the public interest (cum imperio), or as any other legal entity (sine imperio).42x See E. Casetta, Manuale di Diritto Amministrativo (2008), at 300. When acting cum imperio, a public administration does not act as a peer towards its counterparts – it exercises a public power with an outreach not possible for private operators – whereas, acting sine imperio does not entail an exercise of public power and the outreach is the same as any other private operator. In Breyer, the German federal institution acted sine imperio.43xM. Reimann and R. Zimmermann, The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law (2007), at 1274.
The third element concerns the outreach of an action sine imperio, which, according to the ECJ, consists of any possible channel not prohibited by law to achieve the desired result.44x Breyer, above n. 6, para. 47. These channels could be, for instance, contractual clauses foreseeing the trading of metadata between two entities acting sine imperio one against the other.45xC.J. Hoofnagle, ‘Big Brother’s Little Helpers: How Choicepoint and Other Commercial Data Brokers Collect, Process, and Package Your Data for Law Enforcement’, 29 N.C.J. Int’l L. & Com. Reg 595 (2003). Such clauses could be very easily inserted in a service provisioning agreement between different service providers in a contract for Cloud Computing services and,46x See C. Reed, ‘Information “Ownership” in the Cloud’, Queen Mary School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 45/2010. concerning mere metadata, none of the guarantees foreseen by EU data protection law could prevent such trading.47xWhich explains why the data processing put in place by Facebook to perform shadow profiling, despite being despicable, is perfectly compatible with EU data protection rules.
The three aforementioned key elements have to be tested within the framework of ‘means likely reasonably to be used’ provided by Recital 26 of the DPD and GDPR. Earlier we used the terms feasibility and capability, but what the ECJ concluded in a much more complex manner is that the possibility for a data controller to obtain further data from a third party to identify a data subject has to be understood within its capability to do so. In fact, ‘that would not be the case if the identification of the data subject was prohibited by law or practically impossible on account of the fact that it requires a disproportionate effort’.48x Breyer, above n. 6, para. 46.
Proportionality is another element that has to be accounted for. It entails at least two sub-elements: an effort and a subject performing it. Lifting a hundred kilograms is a remarkable effort for a human, but is a negligible effort for a crane. On those same lines, imposing a certain contractual clause where metadata has to be transferred to a data controller might be a negligible effort, if that data controller is someone the size of Google or Facebook.49x See S. Bradshaw, C. Millard & I. Walden, ‘Contracts for Clouds: Comparison and Analysis of the Terms and Conditions of Cloud Computing Services’, 19 International Journal of Law and Information Technology 187 (2011) where the authors refer to Terms and Conditions offered by Cloud computing providers in business-to-business contracts. Moreover, in the proportionality check, a significant role is also played by the reward that those efforts bring.
The conclusion of Breyer is that dynamic IP addresses are not personal data per se, but they can become so for a data controller if it has lawful means to obtain any further data that would allow the identification of the data subject. The same reasoning is applicable to any kind of metadata, which brings two questions: I any data potentially personal data? Is the binary notion of personal data adequate to respond to the challenges posed by the complex world of Big Data?
4 Big Data, Anonymisation, Pseudonymisation and Data Analysis
Breyer shows how data is subject to a double relativity. One relativity aspect concerns the very nature of the data (personal or not) against the means that a controller can put in place to reconstruct that data as personal; in this case, the controller performs an identification. The other relativity (hence double relativity) concerns the effort needed to reconstruct non-personal data as personal, which is not relative to the means used, but to the data controller performing it and to its capacity to do so.
To put it in different words, at the beginning of this article I used the example of the timeline, from time 0 to time 10. What Breyer shows is that non-personal data located at time 0 could become personal data in another moment of the timeline, depending on the subjects having access directly or indirectly to it. Moreover, the possibility of non-personal data to mutate its nature depends on the theoretical means that a controller can potentially put in place to do so (if we opt for the subjective criterion), or the means that it actually puts in place, only when it makes use of them (if we opt for the objective criterion).
To add another layer of complexity to this reasoning, we should also take into account the issue of data anonymisation. This practice has been described as the process through which a data controller manipulates data sets in a database in order to make it difficult to identify data subjects.50xP. Ohm, ‘Broken Promises of Privacy: Responding to the Surprising Failure of Anonymization’, 57 UCLA Law Review 1701, at 1707 (2010). Data anonymisation is also often referred to as ‘de-identification’.51xS. Latanya, ‘Weaving Technology and Policy Together to Maintain Confidentiality’, 25 Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 98, at 100 (1997): ‘The term anonymous implies that the data cannot be manipulated or linked to identify an individual’. There are several techniques through which data anonymisation can be achieved, and the difference lies in the cost, complexity, ease of use and robustness.52x See, for instance, the basic guides to data anonymisation published by the Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore, Guide to Basic Data Anonymisation Techniques (2018); and the European Data Protection Supervisor, Opinion 3/2018 – EDPS Opinion on Online Manipulation and Personal Data (2018). In this sense, we can apply the same proportionality check described for the transformation of metadata in personal data: there will be an initial effort to anonymise personal data, and the anonymisation will be as strong as the effort put in place by the data controller to anonymise that data. Therefore, the robustness of an anonymisation processing is directly proportional to the effort put in place by the data controller, which is also logically impacted by three factors: the degree of robustness that the data controller wants to achieve for those categories of personal data subject to anonymisation; the means likely reasonably to be used to that end and the costs and benefits balance of the anonymisation processing.
Today, the possibility of using virtually unlimited computing power resources, thanks to Cloud Computing53xS. Chen, H. Lee & K. Moinzadeh, ‘Pricing Schemes in Cloud Computing: Utilization-Based versus Reservation-Based’, Production and Operations Management (2018). and accessing data from tremendously big databases called Big Data, is not reserved for big corporations or governments. The very basis of Cloud Computing is its capability of providing enterprise-like services for any kind of user who can afford the price: the more powerful the service, the higher the price.54xFor a more detailed overview of Cloud contracts see Bradshaw, Millard & Walden, above n. 49. Data anonymisation is surely a privacy-enhancing technology, but it is also a threatening technology for data protection due to the binary notion of personal data and the so-called accretion problem.55xA. Narayanan and V. Shmatikov. ‘Robust de-anonymization of large sparse datasets’, 111 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (2008). The accretion problem postulates that once an adversary has linked two anonymised databases together, he can add the newly linked data to his collection of outside information and use it to help unlock other anonymised databases.56x See e.g. B. Krishnamurthy and C.E. Wills, ‘On the Leakage of Personally Identifiable Information Via Online Social Networks’, 7 WOSN ‘09 Proceedings of the 2nd ACM workshop on online social networks (2009). Theoretically, the risk increases exponentially for each further database correlated and, as we emphasised earlier, data protection rules are applicable only as long as we are dealing with personal data. If the personal element disappears, there are no safeguards for that data. Pas gráve, one may argue: if anonymised information suffers a data breach, nobody’s rights to data protection or privacy will be violated. From a logical perspective, this is true. The amount of data and metadata present in Big Data, and the simplicity with which they can be computed in a Cloud system by anyone, however, poses a serious risk of reidentification.57x See e.g. D’Acquisto, J. Domingo-Ferrer, P. Kikiras, V. Torra, Y.A. de Montjoye & A. Bourka, ‘Privacy by Design in Big Data: An Overview of Privacy Enhancing Technologies in the Era of Big Data Analytics’, ENISA: European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (2015).
There is another interesting debate about anonymisation, and it concerns the ‘pseudonymisation’ technique. Pseudonymisation involves substituting the real identifying information with a code number or a nickname. Article 29 Data Protection Working Party has described it as ‘the process of distinguishing identities’. Such a process aims at collecting additional data related to the same individual without having to know his identity.58xArt. 29 Data Protection Working Party, above n. 20, at 18. The problem with pseudonymisation is that it gives the false hope of creating a safe harbour from data protection obligations,59xEsayas, above n. 16, at 6-8. thus legitimating high-risk processing operations (such as profiling) under the impression that any claim for damages of unlawful processing could be prevented.60xIt is the case of the shadow profiling operations performed by Facebook through the placement of cookies, which was fined an incremental penalty of 250,000 EUR per calendar day of non-compliance by the Court of First Instance of Brussels in a judgment of 16 February 2016. See also the joint declaration of the French, Spanish, Belgian and Dutch Data Protection Authorities of 4th December 2015 https://www.cnil.fr/sites/default/files/typo/document/Declaration_commune_Groupe_de_contact_Facebook.pdf (last visited 6 July 2018). Also, the GDPR in Article 6(4)(e) provides that pseudonymisation is an appropriate safeguard,61xThe same choice is made in Art. 25(1), where pseudonymisation is presented as a privacy by design measure, Art. 32(1)(a) considering pseudonymisation as adequate safeguard for the security of processing and Art. 40(2)(d), where pseudonymisation becomes a key element of the codes of conducts of enterprises. at the same level as encryption.62xEncryption can be applied to provide pseudonymisation, but the two processing are logically distinct operations. There is a general understanding that key-coded data may not even be considered personal data so far as there are appropriate measures to exclude re-identification, such as a strong encryption algorithm, a strong encryption key and a secure key. See W.K. Hon, C. Millard & I. Walden, ‘The Problem of ‘Personal Data’ in Cloud Computing: What Information is Regulated? – the Cloud of Unknowing’, 1 International Data Privacy Law 211. In reality, the means likely reasonably to be used are becoming more and more affordable and common thanks to the technologies described earlier. Thus, a correct risk assessment should conclude that re-identification of a data subject is more likely to happen than to retaining a permanent de-identification (or pseudonymisation).
It has been argued that current anonymisation techniques do not favour the data subject’s right to self-determination, meaning that the degree of freedom that a data subject can exercise on its personal data is very limited. For instance, when personal data is anonymised, a data subject is faced with difficulty already at the stage of identifying that personal data is being processed. Thus, the data subject cannot verify whether its records are getting adequate protection. This kind of dispute is, however, substantially unfounded. Whenever personal information is anonymised, it ceases to be personal. Thus, the data subject does not have any legal right over it. It is for this very reason that the real emphasis should be on the moment right before the anonymisation and on the process of anonymisation itself. Once data is anonymised, it can be transferred without boundaries, and as the European Commission stated in 2009, this is not even considered a data transfer in the legal sense.63xEuropean Commission, Frequently Asked Questions Relating to Transfers of Personal Data from the EU/EEA to Third Countries (FAQ B.1.9) (2009), available at http://ec.europa.eu/justice/policies/privacy/docs/international_transfers_faq/international_transfers_faq.pdf (last visited 18 November 2018). Moreover, other than giving technical advice and guidance on which anonymisation logic exist and what are some of their risks and advantages, and providing examples on their use, public regulatory bodies, such as national data protection authorities, cannot do much more, as anonymisation relies on complex algorithms that are often subject to intellectual property rights.64x See Art. 29 Data Protection Working Party, Opinion 5/2014 on Anonymisation Techniques (2014), at 11 where the analysis revolves around the logic behind certain anonymisation techniques, but it refrains from referring to specific commercial solutions.
From a conceptual perspective the distinction between personal and non-personal data is neat; yet, we underlined that this binary approach does not bring a real added value when data protection has to be implemented practically, because the possibilities of identifying a data subject are not the same for every data controller and change according to the circumstances as well. Yet, the legal definition of personal data remains a purely binary one.65x See also Hon, Millard & Walden, above n. 62.
If, until now, we were able to substantiate our reasoning without the need to dig into Big Data’s technicalities, the next set of issues inevitably demands so. Notably, another set of problems strictly linked to the technical aspects of Big Data – conceptually distinct from data anonymisation and very close to data reidentifiability – are those of data mining and predictive analysis.
Data mining is commonly defined as a set of automated techniques used to extract buried or previously unknown pieces of information from large databases. Data mining makes it possible to unearth patterns and relationships, and then use this new information to make proactive, knowledge-driven business decisions.66xA. Cavoukian, Data Mining: Staking a Claim on Your Privacy (1998), at 4.
From a data protection perspective, data mining is a processing operation and is neutral: the same data mining techniques can be applied to different databases, whether they contain personal data or not. Business operators are increasingly relying on data mining as it allows them to understand the market better and make better decisions.67xJ.P. Bigus, Data Mining with Neural Networks: Solving Business Problems from Application Development to Decision Support (1996), at 9. I.N. Cofone, Ignacio & A. Robertson, ‘Consumer Privacy in a Behavioral World’, 69 Hastings Law Journal 1471 (2018). Moreover, thanks to Cloud Computing, the costs of computing services powerful enough to run data mining algorithms are considerably low.68xP. Ruxandra-Stefania, ‘Data Mining in Cloud Computing’, 3 Database Systems Journal 67 (2012). The main issues with data mining are that by mining Big Data, the algorithm can find patterns among data sets, thus unveiling further information that was not originally included in those data sets, and de-anonymise personal data that was previously anonymised.69xArt. 29 Data Protection Working Party, above n. 64, at 5.
Predictive analysis is a particular type of statistical analysis that can provide, with a certain degree of certainty, answers to certain questions.70x See E. Siegel, Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die (2016). For instance, by analysing a set of anonymised information, the predictive analysis could tell whether a certain buyer of a product is a man or a woman or if it is a reliable debtor.71xOn the problem of credit scoring see D.K. Citron and F.A. Pasquale, ‘The Scored Society: Due Process for Automated Predictions’, 89 Washington Law Review 1, at 16 (2014). Once one anonymised information is de-anonymised (remember the accretion problem, and the proportional effort), all the other anonymised information about that (now) identified data subject is immediately correlated to him or her: this is what technically happens behind the curtains of Facebook’s shadow profiling.
The relativity of personal data, and the ease with which the virtual border between personal and non-personal data can be disregarded, calls for a different approach, a different conception of personal data – one more attuned with the reality of data processing taking place in today’s world – a notion of personal data that draws from quantum mechanics.
5 Overcoming the Notion of Personal Data through Schrödinger’s Cat: Quantum Superposition and Quantum Entanglement of Personal Data
Quantum mechanics is a branch of physics developed in the early twentieth century by brilliant minds such as Erwin Schrödinger, Max Planck, Neils Bohr, Albert Einstein and Werner Heisenberg following a series of educated guesses inspired by a thorough knowledge of physics.72xS.M. Barnett, J. Jeffers & J.D. Cresser, ‘From Measurements to Quantum Friction’, 18 Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter S401 (2006). Quantum theory aimed to describe and explain the behaviour of matter at an atomic and subatomic level, which could not be explained by classical physics, in order to answer very practical questions such as why hot objects glow at a different colour depending on their temperature. This article does not claim to redefine quantum physics or enrich its postulations but humbly aims at borrowing specific observations and applying them to data protection law to check whether they could be of help in ultimately providing a more fit-for-purpose definition of personal data.
The basic intuition is that the issue of describing (or measuring) the nature of data as personal or non-personal is very similar to the problems that the illustrious minds behind quantum theory tried to resolve. Bohr wrote, ‘[A] measurement to a certain degree deprives the information given by a previous measurement of its significance for predicting the future course of the phenomena. Obviously, these facts not only set a limit to the extent of the information obtainable by measurements, but they also set a limit to the meaning which we may attribute to such information’.73xA. Plotnitsky, Niels Bohr and Complementarity. An Introduction (2012), at 68. If we consider a single data in today’s interconnected and complex world, its size and velocity of transmission are negligible. Any data (personal or not), regardless of its ability to provide descriptive details of a data subject, is shared between systems at very high speed similar to what happens to protons and electrons in a subatomic system. For the same reason, Bohr concluded that what matters is the unambiguous description of the matter’s behaviour, rather than its measurement in a given moment.74xJ.A. Wheeler and W.H. Zurek, Quantum Theory and Measurement (2014), at 5.
Our starting point is the conclusion reached by the ECJ in Breyer: data can be personal or non-personal sometimes, according to certain criteria. This emphasises the need to have a notion of personal data capable of providing an unambiguous description, rather than a measurement. The same matter can be better understood through Schrödinger’s famous cat experiment.
Schrödinger’s cat is a thought experiment imagined in 1935 by the physicist Erwin Schrödinger75xE. Schrödinger, ‘Die gegenwärtige Situation in der Quantenmechanik’, 23 Naturwissenschaften 807 (1935). and used to describe two fundamental principles of quantum mechanics: quantum superposition and quantum entanglement. Specifically, the experiment involves a cat in a sealed box with a bottle of poison, a Geiger counter and a radioactive source. The radioactive source has a 50 per cent chance of decaying. As soon as the Geiger counter detects the decay, a mechanism breaks the bottle of poison in the box, killing the cat. It is not possible to know if the cat is dead or alive before opening the box. Thus, the cat, in the timeline of the experiment, is both dead and alive at the same time. This state of matter is described in quantum mechanics as quantum superposition, and it entails that any two or more quantum states (the cat is dead or alive) can be added together (hence the name superposition) and the result will be another valid quantum state (for the cat, that status would be the cat being dead and alive at the same moment).76xP.A.M. Dirac, The Principles of Quantum Mechanics (1947), at 1-18. The main difference with binary systems is that in those, the result can only be true or false, 1 or 0, but never both together, whereas in quantum mechanics the result can be 1, 0 or a combination of the two.
Quantum superposition could also be understood through the famous heads or tail, where a coin is flipped in the air and the players have to guess on which side the coin is going to land. In a timeline that goes from 0 to 10, where 0 is the moment just before the coin is flipped and 10 is the moment when the coin lands showing one of the two faces, in any moment between 0 and 10 the coin is potentially showing both heads and tail.
In our case, the cat or the coin represents data. The fact that the cat is dead or alive or the coin flips on one face or the other represents the fact that data is measured as personal or not. Theoretically, from an observer standpoint, every data not yet identified as personal behaves in the same manner: it is non-personal as long as a data controller does not perform a processing operation suitable of correlating that non-personal data with personal data or an individual, thus converting its nature from non-personal to personal. What puts data in the superposition state is the availability of the means likely reasonably to be used by a data controller to identify a data subject from that data. This is why we used the adverb ‘theoretically’. Theoretically, we could envisage a set of non-personal data that is kept isolated from any processing operation capable of putting it in correlation with other databases. This is possible either because that non-personal data is collected and stored in a way to be inaccessible or non-compatible with any other data set (thus preventing reidentification) or just because it is swiftly deleted after having achieved its purpose. It was noted, however, that these cases are an exception rather than the rule.77xArt. 29 Data Protection Working Party, above n. 64, at 5.
Observing that data is in the quantum superposition state also entails another logical conclusion. Quantum superposition as such is a neutral state: it comprises the case where data becomes personal, but also the opposite, where personal data is anonymised and loses its identification properties.78xAlternatively, pseudonymised with all the caveats highlighted before. This observation is significant for understanding another concept described by quantum mechanics: quantum entanglement.
Quantum entanglement is a very particular quantum mechanical, physical phenomenon79xA. Einstein, B. Podolsky & N. Rosen, ‘Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?’, 47 Physics Review 777 (1935). in which two particles are so deeply linked that they share the same existence, no matter their physical distance. Once two particles are entangled, even if they are in the superposition status, their measurement will bring the same result.80xWheeler and Zurek, above n. 74, at 422-5. To resume our example of heads or tails, if we flip two coins, and these are entangled, any measurement taken during their spin would lead to the same result: the two coins showing the same face. In the case of data, the entanglement consists in the possibility of linking together information from different data sets and processing it in a specific time. At the time of processing, if one data becomes personal, then all the other data from different data sets linked to it exhibit quantum entanglement, and they become personal data too. The bond shared by the different data is their possibility of providing a piece of information sufficient to identify differently the data subject. Then, the fact that this data can be put in correlation provides the entanglement that changes the nature of data that was not personal, in a domino-effect fashion.
Going back to Breyer, the collection of dynamic IP address and log files by the online media provider consists of specific data on a particular subject’s factual circumstances.81x Breyer, above n. 6, paras. 23-24. The data subject has yet to be identified as Mr. Breyer, and the identification becomes possible only when the ISP reveals information sufficient to achieve the identification. The data held by the ISP and the data held by the online media provider are entangled. They are physically distant, because they are stored in two different systems that are not linked physically or logically to one another; once superposition is triggered by the means likely reasonably to be used by the online media provider, the data in the two systems exhibit entanglement and can ultimately be measured as personal data. In other words, the entanglement among all the data present in the two data sets allows for an immediate measurement as personal data when a bridge is built between them: this bridge involves the possibility of putting in correlation one non-personal data from a data set with one personal data from another data set. This operation instantly exposes the entanglement (due to the correlations already made within each database), and all data suddenly becomes personal.
Notably, the entanglement – this intangible link or, to use the words of Einstein, this ‘spooky action at a distance’82xA. Einstein, ‘Reply to Criticism: Remarks Concerning the Essays Brought Together in This Co-Operative Volume’, in P.A. Schilpp (ed.), Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist (1949) 665. – involves the fact that certain data are inherently capable of describing an action, a property or a fact of a data subject. Through this description, data can directly or indirectly contribute to the identification of the data subject. Therefore, the intangible link consists in the fact that all data originates from the same data subject.
6 Quantum Theory and the GDPR
This long and complicated reasoning explained in the previous sections leads to two important conclusions. First, a correct approach to the notion of personal data should aim at providing an unambiguous description of it, rather than a predetermined measurement. In practice, this means taking into account the fact that data is in the quantum superposition state and could exhibit quantum entanglement.
A binary approach fails at grasping these complexities and, above all, fails at describing the true nature of personal data in a world of Big Data and infinite possible processing operations. Quantum superposition and quantum entanglement are a great aid in describing the reality of what can happen to data and personal data when placed in the context of the free-flow of information, and where practically any data controller has access to technical or legal means likely reasonably to be used to achieve the identification of the data subject. Second, rather than measuring the nature of data in a given moment and anchoring to it the applicability of EU data protection law, the focus should be on the processing operations triggering quantum superposition and what surrounds them – meaning that the focus should be on those means likely reasonably to be used to transform non-personal data into personal data. The status (personal or not) of data cannot be measured with sufficient certainty or, better, cannot describe the nature of data unambiguously because that status might change in the future depending on the data controller attempting the identification and its available means. If we assume that most data can potentially become personal, from a risk-regulation perspective, it is safer to assume that data is in the superposition status. The focus then shifts on the means used to entangle data and on the safeguards that should apply to those processing operations. In fact, due to those processing operations data exhibits entanglement and can be measured as personal.
On applying quantum superposition to the notion of personal data, the result necessarily moves away from a binary approach and three statuses of data can be observed: personal, non-personal and potentially personal. Personal data is data that has already identified (directly or indirectly) a data subject; non-personal data is data that does not and cannot (even theoretically) identify a data subject; finally, potentially personal data is a residual category, a grey zone, for which identification has not occurred yet, but it has not been excluded either.
If we apply the notion of entanglement to these three new categories, the focus becomes the processing operation that forces data to exhibit quantum entanglement. As a consequence, despite not having measured data as personal in a specific moment, some provisions of the GDPR should be applicable. The rationale behind this consequence lies in the fact that the GDPR foresees obligations and safeguards that could be respected by data controllers without identifying a data subject. This core group of obligations, I argue, would represent a standard for best practice that should be capable of shielding the data controller from liabilities, and possible data subject from damages.83xThe data subject is considered as eventual because its identification has not happened yet, but could happen at a later stage, when the damage has already been caused. It will be always the case, for instance, for the transfer of personal data in a third country that does not provide an adequate level of safeguards according to Chapter V of the GDPR. In this case, (not yet personal) data can be legally transferred; yet, when that data is used for the identification of the data subject or to enrich a profiling operation that has already taken place, the ultimate result is that the data subject is damaged, but has no legal claim over the data controller that performed the transfer. Moreover, this conclusion allows avoiding any measurement a posteriori of data as being personal, similarl to the conclusions of the ECJ in Breyer. Finally, a solution of this kind would be desirable in a legal framework where administrative fines for unlawful processing of personal data could have significant economic consequences, such as reaching €10,000,000 or 2 per cent of the annual turnover of a company.84xArt. 83(4) of the GDPR. That amount can be doubled easily according to paras. 5 and 6 of the same article, in case where a company bases its core business on processing data, which only afterwards reveals to be processing of personal data. In fact, paras. 5 and 6 deal with specific cases where either the processing operation went too far and the data subject is irremediably damaged by this or the data controller does not comply with an order of the supervisory authority. In the case where the processing of data is based on the wrong assumption that the data processed is not personal, it is very common to have data transfers towards third countries outside the guarantees of Chapter V. Thus, the processing operations are also engineered on that wrong assumption, and redesigning them is a process that necessarily takes a certain amount of time, during which the company can easily be put out of business.
We mentioned earlier this core group of provisions of the GDPR which should be applicable regardless of the measurement of data as personal in a specific moment. To conclude this section it seems worth presenting a table (Table 1) including these provisions and the rationale behind their applicability.
Table 1 Core group of GDPR provisions
Points (b), (c), (d) and (f) of Article 5(1):
Article 5 deals with the principles related to the processing of personal data. In particular, the principles of purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy and integrity and confidentiality should be applicable. In turn, those provisions that are strictly related to the presence of a data subject (or the possibility of identifying it) have been excluded.85 The reasoning is that the data controller might deal with data for which he does not have means likely reasonably to be used to identify the data subject, and may be completely unaware of the fact that that data could lead to the identification of a data subject.86 On the contrary, the principles we identified as applicable are related to the design of the processing operations and prevent reckless processing of data.
Point (f) of paragraph 1 and paragraph 4 of Article 6:
Article 6 deals with the lawfulness of processing. Although we deemed as not necessary the provision under point (a) of Article 5(1), the lawfulness referred to in point (f) of Article 6(1) refers to the legitimate interests pursued by the data controller, for instance, its freedom to conduct business. Article 6(4) enriches Article 6(1) and sets further limitations to the processing operations, which include an assessment of the compatibility of the reasons for the further processing, of the need to use encryption or pseudonymisation and an evaluation of the type of data that is being further processed.
Point (f) of Article 14(2):
While Article 14 entails the existence of an identified data subject, the overall goal of the article can be understood from Recital 30 of the GDPR. The idea is that the data controller has to keep track of the personal data it processes. If we apply quantum superposition, and we accept the conclusion that data could turn into personal data at some point, then the data controller should always keep track of where it gets data, where it sends it for further processing, from how long that data is kept and if it transfers it outside the EU.
Section I of Chapter IV, Articles 24 to 31:
Section I of Chapter IV, Articles 24 to 31 establish the obligations between data controllers and data processors. The relationship between the two is fundamental to establishing a good model of governance for the processing operation because although the data processor processes data on behalf of the data controller, it might have a certain degree of flexibility in how certain operations are technically performed.
Article 33:
Article 33 on the notification of data breach towards authorities should be applicable every time a data controller is not able to demonstrate that the data processed under its responsibility is non-personal data according to the notion we provided earlier, meaning that the data breach notification should be performed every time the controller has not taken steps to ensure that the data processed is non-personal data. Data protection authorities should be put in the position of knowing whether a breach of data that is potentially personal could lead different entities, such as cybercriminals, to use the breached data sets with other data sets and ultimately identify data subjects.87
The designation of the data protection officer should become the rule where data is processed on a large scale. The designation should be based on the exception provided for in paragraph 4.
Chapter V, Articles 44 to 50:
Transfers of personal data to third countries or international organisations are risky operations by nature because data is transferred to a different jurisdiction with different (or no) safeguards. For this reason, the GDPR allows such transfers only in very limited circumstances and only where the data controller or processor have adopted appropriate safeguards. Therefore, considering the quantum superposition of data, this whole Chapter should be applicable in all cases where the data controller did not put in place mechanisms to ensure that data falls in the non-personal data category. The reason for such a stringent conclusion is that once data is transferred outside the EU, it does not matter if it becomes personal: it will still be outside the reach of EU data protection safeguards. All the more so in the case where economic operators amass vast amounts of potentially personal data (e.g. dynamic IP addresses) and perform the reidentification of subjects outside the EU, in countries where there are no safeguards for personal data and operations like mass-profiling for surveillance reasons are common.88 The result of that identification can facilitate the use of data mining and predictive analytics techniques, which would ultimately unveil even more personal data on the data subject, with the final goal of using this aggressive profiling on that data subject in the EU.
85 In particular, the principle of lawfulness, fairness and transparency and the principle of storage limitation entail obligations that are determined by the data subject. For instance, those two principles will be applied in a very different manner if the data subject is an adult or a minor.
86 If we consider that data is in the superposition status, and the data controller did not take any measure to make sure that data falls in the non-personal data category, then it is legitimate to conclude that another data controller might get access to that data in superposition and make use of its means to combine it with other personal data and ultimately make the data in superposition exhibit entanglement, thus transforming it into personal data.
87 The accretion problem as such is a neutral process and can be used for legitimate or illegitimate purposes.
88 It is the case for the very recent Social Credit System developed by China. According to this, nothing prevents the fact that China amasses a large amount of potentially personal data and performs the identification of tourists or foreigners visiting China, at the border, where biometric data is collected from pictures. See, for instance, G. Sgueo, ‘Tetris, La Cina e la gamification dei servizi pubblici’, available at http://www.forumpa.it/citta-e-territorio/tetris-la-cina-e-la-gamification-dei-servizi-pubblici (last visited 8 November 2018), and A. Cagaan, ‘China’s Social Credit System raises privacy concerns over surveillance’, available at https://www.veridiumid.com/blog/chinas-social-credit-system-raises-privacy-concerns-surveillance/ (last visited 8 November 2018). It was also the case for the Prism programme run in the United States by the National Security Agency, which was the main driver behind the ECJ judgment in Case C-362/14 Maximilian Schrems v. Data Protection Commissioner, where the court stated that the EU-US Safe Harbour Agreement was not a legitimate tool for the transfer of personal data from the EU to the United States . See A. El Khoury, ‘The Safe Harbour Is Not A Legitimate Tool Anymore. What Lies In the Future of EU-USA Data Transfers?’, 6 European Journal of Risk Regulation 659 (2015).
In conclusion, the core group of provisions listed in Table 1 should provide a fair balance between meeting the need of data controllers to carry out their businesses in a profitable manner without excessive burdens and preventing them from harming data subjects involuntarily. The listed provisions deal with the correct management of data flow in a company and should already be in place for other reasons, mostly linked to the monitoring of the business activities, their profitability and the development of new processing operations.
7 Concluding Remarks
The purpose of this article has been to demonstrate that, despite the best intentions to regulate personal data in a stringent manner, its legal notion has very practical implications. We live in a world dominated by data exchanges, where the saying ‘If you are not paying for it, then you are the product’ is dramatically fitting. The Cambridge Analytica scandal showed that the possibility of transforming data into personal data is very real, and Breyer demonstrated its legal implications. In both cases, the binary notion of personal data seemed to be a weak tool to determine the applicability of EU data protection law.
Similar to the problems that physicists had to solve when quantum theory was developed, the notion of personal data has to describe unambiguously the behaviour of personal data in a real-world scenario. The consequences of not doing so are to be mistaken by the measurement of data as personal (or not) in a specific moment, with the certainty that such a result could be reversed at a later stage. This is all the more so when the whole applicability of EU data protection rules depends on that measurement.
The article shows that quantum theory may provide a better point of view, thus enabling the selection of a number of core provisions of the GDPR to avoid the detriment of data subjects, who could suffer damages, and of data controllers, which will have to pay for those damages.
* The information and views set out in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Commission.
1 The definition we adopt is based on EU data protection law. See after the third section.
2 Big Data has been defined as a data set whose size is beyond the ability of typical database software tools to capture, store, manage and analyse. See J. Manyika, M. Chui, B. Brown, J. Bughin, R. Dobbs, C. Roxburgh & A.H. Byers. Big Data: The Next Frontier for Innovation, Competition, and Productivity (2011).
3 Cloud Computing has to be understood as a methodology through which a vast measure of pooled and virtualised resources can be accessed. See A. El Khoury, ‘Data Protection and Risk Regulation. Cloud Computing: A Case Study’ (LLM thesis on file at LUISS School of Governance, Rome).
4 With the term ‘Internet of Things’, we refer to a global network infrastructure linking uniquely identified physical and virtual objects, things and devices through the exploitation of data capture, communication and actuation capabilities. See A. Guimarães Pereira, A. Benessia and P. Curvelo, Agency in the Internet of Things, Publications Office of the European Union (2013), at 7.
5 European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/679, OJ 2016 L 119/1.
6 Case C-582/14, Patrick Breyer v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland, ECLI:EU:C:2016:779.
7 The quote is often attributed to different people. See M. Kuneva, European Consumer Commissioner in a 2006’s Speech http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-09-156_en.htm (last visited 24 June 2018); G. Rometty, IBM CEO in a Speech to the Council of Foreign Relations in 2013 https://siliconangle.com/blog/2013/03/11/ibms-ceo-says-big-data-is-like-oil-enterprises-need-help-extracting-the-value/ (last visited 24 June 2018).
8 G. Driesprong, B. Jacobsen & B. Maat, ‘Striking Oil: Another Puzzle?’, 89 Journal of Financial Economics 307 (2008).
9 See ‘Facebook Stock is in the Red for the Year After the FTC Confirms Investigation’, http://fortune.com/2018/03/26/facebook-stock-ftc-investigation-cambridge-analytica/ (last visited 24 June 2018).
10 P. Scaruffi, Humankind 2.0 (2016), available at https://www.scaruffi.com/singular/bigdata.html (last visited 18 November 2018).
11 See also I.N. Cofone and A.Z. Robertson, ‘Privacy Harms’, 69 Hastings Law Journal 1039, at 1049-1053 (2018) where the concept of the Privacy Bell is discussed. Despite the authors refer to privacy, and not to data protection, the same theory could be used to describe the degree of information on a data subject that data could provide.
12 For an in-depth analysis on the use of geotags and Big Data, see J.W. Crampton, M. Graham, A. Poorthuis, T. Shelton, M. Stephens, M.W. Wilson & M. Zook, ‘Beyond the Geotag: Situating ‘Big Data’ and Leveraging the Potential of the Geoweb’, 40 Cartography and Geographic Information Science 130 (2013).
13 R.L. Ackoff, ‘From Data to Wisdom’, 16 Journal of Applied Systems Analysis 3 (1989).
14 Ibid.
15 Cofone and Robertson, above n. 11. The Privacy Bell shows mathematically how the degree of privacy changes according to the degree of plausible assumptions that can be made on a person: more plausible assumption, less privacy. The same concept is applicable to data protection.
16 This shows why, in academia, some researchers call the debate between anonymous data and personal data a false debate. See S. Stalla-Bourdillon and A. Knight, ‘Anonymous data v. personal data – a False Debate: an EU Perspective on Anonymization, Pseudonymization and Personal Data’, 34 Wisconsin International Law Journal 284 (2017) and S.Y. Esayas, ‘The Role of Anonymisation and Pseudonymisation Under the EU Data Privacy Rules: Beyond the ‘All Or Nothing’ Approach’, 6 European Journal of Law and Technology 1 (2015).
17 Some courts in the United States shared the same perplexity. See Sanders v. ABC, 978 P.2d 67 (Cal. 1999), where ‘privacy, for purposes of the intrusion tort, is not a binary, all-or-nothing characteristic. There are degrees and nuances to societal recognition of our expectations of privacy’. If the case deals with privacy, the same reasoning is valid for data protection if we consider that the presence or absence of privacy is logically linked to the fact that data is personal or not, although the right to privacy and the right to data protection have fundamental differences in their scopes and limitations. See e.g. Case C-28/08 P, Commission/Bavarian Lager, [2010] ECR I-6055, para. 60, and J. Kokott and C. Sobotta, ‘The Distinction Between Privacy and Data Protection in the Jurisprudence of the CJEU and the ECtHR’, 3 International Data Privacy Law 222 (2013).
18 Personal data is defined as ‘any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (“data subject”); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person’, Art. 4, GDPR, above n. 5.
19 Art. 2(a) of Directive 95/46 defines personal data as ‘any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (“data subject”); an identifiable person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identification number or to one or more factors specific to his physical, physiological, mental, economic, cultural or social identity’. European Parliament and Council Directive 95/46/CE, OJ 1995 L 281/31.
20 Compare with Art. 29 Data Protection Working Party, Opinion 4/2007 on the concept of personal data (2007) at 14.
21 See also R.E. Leenes, ‘Do You Know Me? Decomposing Identifiability’, Tilburg University Legal Studies Working Paper No. 001/2008, where the identifiability is divided in four subcategories: L-, R-, C- and S-identifiability. L-identifiability allows individuals to be targeted in the real world on the basis of the identifier, whereas this is not the case for the other three. In fact, R-identifiability can be further decomposed into the S-type, which is a technical kludge, and C-type, which relates to the classification of individuals as members of some set.
22 The Cambridge Analytica scandal concerned the collection of personal data of around 84 million Facebook users by British political consulting Cambridge, which used it to steer the US presidential elections of 2017.
23 Shadow profiles are an aggregation of information concerning a particular data subject who has not yet been formally identified. See, in particular, the question asked by New Mexico Representative Ben Lujan (full transcript available at https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/11/facebook-shadow-profiles-hearing-lujan-zuckerberg/?guccounter=1 (last visited 7 July 2018) and by MEP Syed Kamall (see Facebook’s written answers available at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/resources/library/media/20180524RES04208/20180524RES04208.pdf> (last visited 7 July 2018).
25 See M.D. Ayenson, D.J. Wambach, A. Soltani, N. Good, and C.J. Hoofnagle, ‘Flash Cookies and Privacy II: Now with HTML5 and ETag Respawning’, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1898390; D. Barth-Jones, ‘The ‘Re-Identification’ of Governor William Weld’s Medical Information: A Critical Re-Examination of Health Data Identification Risks and Privacy Protections, Then and Now’, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2076397 and F.J. Zuiderveen Borgesius, ‘Singling Out People Without Knowing Their Names – Behavioural Targeting, Pseudonymous Data, and the New Data Protection Regulation’, 32 Computer Law & Security Review 256 (2016).
26 Statistics are referred to the second quarter of 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/dantedisparte/2018/07/28/facebook-and-the-tyranny-of-monthly-active-users/#383c9c8f6aea (last visited 4 November 2018).
27 It is the case for keystroke dynamics applied for personal authentication, which relies on the fundamental assumption that keystroke dynamics (i.e. how a certain person types on a keyboard) is almost unique for each person. See G. Gabla, ‘Applying Keystroke Dynamics for Personal Authentication’ Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2508480.
28 See Barth-Jones, above n. 25; and Zuiderveen Borgesius, above n. 25.
29 Breyer, above n. 6. Breyer was ruled under the DPD. Differences with the GDPR will be marked throughout the analysis.
30 An IP address is a logical numeric address assigned to every device connected to a network to identify it. These addresses are assigned by an ISP to a host in a fixed or dynamic fashion. In the former case, a device will always use the same IP address, whereas in the latter case, the IP address is assigned each time the device connects to the network. IP addresses exist to identify a specific device, but they are not necessarily meant to identify the person operating it in a given moment, all the more so when the IP address is a dynamic one. See S. Feit, TCP/IP: Architecture, Protocols, and Implementation with IPv6 and IP Security (1996).
31 Case C-70/10, Scarlet Extended, ECLI:EU:C:2011:77.
32 Ibid. para. 51.
33 Peer-to-peer networking is a distributed computing architecture allowing the partitioning of tasks between different devices (peers) connected to a network, thus allowing a substantial degree of anonymity when sharing files of considerable size. See also R. Ambrosek, Shawn Fanning: the Founder of Napster (2006) where the facts behind the very first peer-to-peer software called ‘Napster’ are re-construed.
34 Notably, the ECJ ruled, ‘Directives 2000/31, 2001/29, 2004/48, 95/46 and 2002/58, read together and construed in the light of the requirements stemming from the protection of the applicable fundamental rights, must be interpreted as precluding an injunction made against an ISP which requires it to install the contested filtering system’. Scarlet Extended, above n. 31, para. 55.
35 Recital 26, DPD, above n. 19.
36 Recital 26, GDPR, above n. 5.
37 See M. Schreibauer, ‘§ 11 Telemediengesetz (4 to 10)’, in M. Esser, P. Kramer & K. von Lewinski (eds.), Kommentar zum Bundesdatenschutzgesetz. Nebengesetze (2014); J. Nink and J. Pohle. ‘Die Bestimmbarkeit des Personenbezugs. Von der IP-Adresse zum Anwendungsbereich der Datenschutzgesetze’, in Multimedia und Recht (9/2015), at 563-67. J. Heidrich and C. Wegener, ‘Rechtliche und technische Anforderungen an die Protokollierung von IT-Daten. Problemfall Logging’, 8 Multimedia und Recht 487 (2015). H. Leisterer, ‘Die neuen Pflichten zur Netz– und Informationssicherheit und die Verarbeitung personenbezogener Daten zur Gefahrenabwehr’, 10 Computer und Recht 665 (2015).
38 See Breyer, above n. 6, paras. 52-54.
39 Breyer, above n. 6, para. 31.
40 Notably, dynamic IP addresses change at every connection; thus, the reasoning has to be strictly bound to the possibility of identifying a data subject in a specific moment of a timeline.
41 Metadata has to be understood as data about other data. See J. Pomerantz, Metadata (2015), at 16.
42 See E. Casetta, Manuale di Diritto Amministrativo (2008), at 300.
43 M. Reimann and R. Zimmermann, The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law (2007), at 1274.
45 C.J. Hoofnagle, ‘Big Brother’s Little Helpers: How Choicepoint and Other Commercial Data Brokers Collect, Process, and Package Your Data for Law Enforcement’, 29 N.C.J. Int’l L. & Com. Reg 595 (2003).
46 See C. Reed, ‘Information “Ownership” in the Cloud’, Queen Mary School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 45/2010.
47 Which explains why the data processing put in place by Facebook to perform shadow profiling, despite being despicable, is perfectly compatible with EU data protection rules.
49 See S. Bradshaw, C. Millard & I. Walden, ‘Contracts for Clouds: Comparison and Analysis of the Terms and Conditions of Cloud Computing Services’, 19 International Journal of Law and Information Technology 187 (2011) where the authors refer to Terms and Conditions offered by Cloud computing providers in business-to-business contracts.
50 P. Ohm, ‘Broken Promises of Privacy: Responding to the Surprising Failure of Anonymization’, 57 UCLA Law Review 1701, at 1707 (2010).
51 S. Latanya, ‘Weaving Technology and Policy Together to Maintain Confidentiality’, 25 Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 98, at 100 (1997): ‘The term anonymous implies that the data cannot be manipulated or linked to identify an individual’.
52 See, for instance, the basic guides to data anonymisation published by the Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore, Guide to Basic Data Anonymisation Techniques (2018); and the European Data Protection Supervisor, Opinion 3/2018 – EDPS Opinion on Online Manipulation and Personal Data (2018).
53 S. Chen, H. Lee & K. Moinzadeh, ‘Pricing Schemes in Cloud Computing: Utilization-Based versus Reservation-Based’, Production and Operations Management (2018).
54 For a more detailed overview of Cloud contracts see Bradshaw, Millard & Walden, above n. 49.
55 A. Narayanan and V. Shmatikov. ‘Robust de-anonymization of large sparse datasets’, 111 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (2008).
56 See e.g. B. Krishnamurthy and C.E. Wills, ‘On the Leakage of Personally Identifiable Information Via Online Social Networks’, 7 WOSN ‘09 Proceedings of the 2nd ACM workshop on online social networks (2009).
57 See e.g. D’Acquisto, J. Domingo-Ferrer, P. Kikiras, V. Torra, Y.A. de Montjoye & A. Bourka, ‘Privacy by Design in Big Data: An Overview of Privacy Enhancing Technologies in the Era of Big Data Analytics’, ENISA: European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (2015).
58 Art. 29 Data Protection Working Party, above n. 20, at 18.
59 Esayas, above n. 16, at 6-8.
60 It is the case of the shadow profiling operations performed by Facebook through the placement of cookies, which was fined an incremental penalty of 250,000 EUR per calendar day of non-compliance by the Court of First Instance of Brussels in a judgment of 16 February 2016. See also the joint declaration of the French, Spanish, Belgian and Dutch Data Protection Authorities of 4th December 2015 https://www.cnil.fr/sites/default/files/typo/document/Declaration_commune_Groupe_de_contact_Facebook.pdf (last visited 6 July 2018).
61 The same choice is made in Art. 25(1), where pseudonymisation is presented as a privacy by design measure, Art. 32(1)(a) considering pseudonymisation as adequate safeguard for the security of processing and Art. 40(2)(d), where pseudonymisation becomes a key element of the codes of conducts of enterprises.
62 Encryption can be applied to provide pseudonymisation, but the two processing are logically distinct operations. There is a general understanding that key-coded data may not even be considered personal data so far as there are appropriate measures to exclude re-identification, such as a strong encryption algorithm, a strong encryption key and a secure key. See W.K. Hon, C. Millard & I. Walden, ‘The Problem of ‘Personal Data’ in Cloud Computing: What Information is Regulated? – the Cloud of Unknowing’, 1 International Data Privacy Law 211.
63 European Commission, Frequently Asked Questions Relating to Transfers of Personal Data from the EU/EEA to Third Countries (FAQ B.1.9) (2009), available at http://ec.europa.eu/justice/policies/privacy/docs/international_transfers_faq/international_transfers_faq.pdf (last visited 18 November 2018).
64 See Art. 29 Data Protection Working Party, Opinion 5/2014 on Anonymisation Techniques (2014), at 11 where the analysis revolves around the logic behind certain anonymisation techniques, but it refrains from referring to specific commercial solutions.
65 See also Hon, Millard & Walden, above n. 62.
66 A. Cavoukian, Data Mining: Staking a Claim on Your Privacy (1998), at 4.
67 J.P. Bigus, Data Mining with Neural Networks: Solving Business Problems from Application Development to Decision Support (1996), at 9. I.N. Cofone, Ignacio & A. Robertson, ‘Consumer Privacy in a Behavioral World’, 69 Hastings Law Journal 1471 (2018).
68 P. Ruxandra-Stefania, ‘Data Mining in Cloud Computing’, 3 Database Systems Journal 67 (2012).
69 Art. 29 Data Protection Working Party, above n. 64, at 5.
70 See E. Siegel, Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die (2016).
71 On the problem of credit scoring see D.K. Citron and F.A. Pasquale, ‘The Scored Society: Due Process for Automated Predictions’, 89 Washington Law Review 1, at 16 (2014).
72 S.M. Barnett, J. Jeffers & J.D. Cresser, ‘From Measurements to Quantum Friction’, 18 Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter S401 (2006).
73 A. Plotnitsky, Niels Bohr and Complementarity. An Introduction (2012), at 68.
74 J.A. Wheeler and W.H. Zurek, Quantum Theory and Measurement (2014), at 5.
75 E. Schrödinger, ‘Die gegenwärtige Situation in der Quantenmechanik’, 23 Naturwissenschaften 807 (1935).
76 P.A.M. Dirac, The Principles of Quantum Mechanics (1947), at 1-18.
78 Alternatively, pseudonymised with all the caveats highlighted before.
79 A. Einstein, B. Podolsky & N. Rosen, ‘Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?’, 47 Physics Review 777 (1935).
80 Wheeler and Zurek, above n. 74, at 422-5.
81 Breyer, above n. 6, paras. 23-24.
82 A. Einstein, ‘Reply to Criticism: Remarks Concerning the Essays Brought Together in This Co-Operative Volume’, in P.A. Schilpp (ed.), Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist (1949) 665.
83 The data subject is considered as eventual because its identification has not happened yet, but could happen at a later stage, when the damage has already been caused. It will be always the case, for instance, for the transfer of personal data in a third country that does not provide an adequate level of safeguards according to Chapter V of the GDPR. In this case, (not yet personal) data can be legally transferred; yet, when that data is used for the identification of the data subject or to enrich a profiling operation that has already taken place, the ultimate result is that the data subject is damaged, but has no legal claim over the data controller that performed the transfer.
84 Art. 83(4) of the GDPR. That amount can be doubled easily according to paras. 5 and 6 of the same article, in case where a company bases its core business on processing data, which only afterwards reveals to be processing of personal data. In fact, paras. 5 and 6 deal with specific cases where either the processing operation went too far and the data subject is irremediably damaged by this or the data controller does not comply with an order of the supervisory authority. In the case where the processing of data is based on the wrong assumption that the data processed is not personal, it is very common to have data transfers towards third countries outside the guarantees of Chapter V. Thus, the processing operations are also engineered on that wrong assumption, and redesigning them is a process that necessarily takes a certain amount of time, during which the company can easily be put out of business.
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Search result: 60 articles
The Conduit between Technological Change and Regulation
Keywords technology, socio-technological change, money, windmill, data
Authors Marta Katarzyna Kołacz and Alberto Quintavalla
This article discusses how the law has approached disparate socio-technological innovations over the centuries. Precisely, the primary concern of this paper is to investigate the timing of regulatory intervention. To do so, the article makes a selection of particular innovations connected with money, windmills and data storage devices, and analyses them from a historical perspective. The individual insights from the selected innovations should yield a more systematic view on regulation and technological innovations. The result is that technological changes may be less momentous, from a regulatory standpoint, than social changes.
Marta Katarzyna Kołacz
Marta Katarzyna Kołacz, Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Private Law, Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Alberto Quintavalla
Alberto Quintavalla, LL.M., Ph.D. Candidate in the Rotterdam Institute of Law and Economics, Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
‘A Continuous Process of Becoming’: The Relevance of Qualitative Research into the Storylines of Law
Keywords storylines of law, qualitative research, law in action, law in books
Authors Danielle Antoinette Marguerite Chevalier
The maxim ‘law in books and law in action’ relays an implicit dichotomy, and though the constitutive nature of law is nowadays commonly professed, the reflex remains to use law in books as an autonomous starting point. Law however, it is argued in this article, has a storyline that commences before its institutional formalisation. Law as ‘a continuous process of becoming’ encompasses both law in books and law in action, and law in action encompasses timelines both before and after the formal coming about of law. To fully understand law, it is necessary to understand the entire storyline of law. Qualitative studies in law and society are well equipped to offer valuable insights on the facets of law outside the books. The insights are not additional to doctrinal understanding, but part and parcel of it. To illustrate this, an ethnographic case study of local bylaws regulating an ethnically diverse public space of everyday life is expanded upon. The case study is used to demonstrate the insights qualitative data yields with regard to the dynamics in which law comes about, and how these dynamics continue for law in action after law has made the books. This particular case study moreover exemplifies how law is one of many truths in the context in which it operates, and how formalised law is reflective of the power constellations that have brought it forth.
Danielle Antoinette Marguerite Chevalier
Dr. mr. Danielle Antoinette Marguerite Chevalier, PhD, is assistant professor at Leiden University, The Netherlands.
Conversations about Indigenous Peoples and Adjudication Interviews with G. Bennet, and S. Corry
Authors Dr. Beatriz Barreiro Carril
Dr. Beatriz Barreiro Carril
Lecturer of International Law (Rey Juan Carlos University).
Legal Legitimacy of Tax Recommendations Delivered by the IMF in the Context of ‘Article IV Consultations’
Keywords legitimacy, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Article IV Consultations, tax recommendations, global tax governance
Authors Sophia Murillo López
This contribution examines the legal legitimacy of ‘Article IV Consultations’ performed by the IMF as part of its responsibility for surveillance under Article IV of its Articles of Agreement. The analysis focuses on tax recommendations given by the Fund to its member countries in the context of Consultations. This paper determines that these tax recommendations derive from a broad interpretation of the powers and obligations that have been agreed to in the Fund’s Articles of Agreement. Such an interpretation leads to a legitimacy deficit, as member countries of the Fund have not given their state consent to receive recommendations as to which should be the tax policies it should adopt.
Sophia Murillo López
Sophia Murillo López, LL.M, is an external PhD candidate at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and a member of the ‘Fiscal Autonomy and its Boundaries’ research programme.
The Peer Review Process of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes
A Critical Assessment on Authority and Legitimacy
Keywords Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information, exercise of regulatory authority, due process requirements, peer review reports, legitimacy
Authors Leo E.C. Neve
The Global Forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes has undertaken peer reviews on the implementation of the global standard of exchange of information on request, both from the perspective of formalities available and from the perspective of actual implementation. In the review reports Global Forum advises jurisdictions on required amendments of regulations and practices. With these advices, the Global Forum exercises regulatory authority. The article assesses the legitimacy of the exercise of such authority by the Global Forum and concludes that the exercise of such authority is not legitimate for the reason that the rule of law is abused by preventing jurisdictions to adhere to due process rules.
Leo E.C. Neve
Leo Neve is a doctoral student at the Erasmus School of Law, Rotterdam.
Administering Justice and Serving the People
The Tension between the Objective of Judicial Efficiency and Informal Justice in Canadian Access to Justice Initiatives
Keywords access to justice, procedural law, courts, civil justice reform, comparative law
Authors Catherine Piché
Canada has a complex system of courts that seek to serve Canadians in view of the traditional objectives of civil justice – principally accessibility, efficiency, fairness, efficacy, proportionality and equality. The Canadian court system is generally considered by its users to work well and to have legitimacy. Yet, researchers have found that ‘there is a tendency for people involved in a civil case to become disillusioned about the ability of the system to effect a fair and timely resolution to a civil justice problem’. This article will discuss the ways in which reforms of procedural law and civil justice have originated and continue to be made throughout Canada, both nationally and provincially, as well as the trends and influences in making these reforms. With hundreds of contemporary procedural reforms having been discussed, proposed and/or completed since the first days of Canadian colonisation on a national basis and in the Canadian provinces and territory, providing a detailed analysis will prove challenging. This article will nonetheless provide a review of civil justice and procedural reform issues in Canada, focusing principally, at the provincial level, on the systems of Ontario and Quebec. Importantly, I will seek to reconcile the increasing willingness to have an economically efficient civil justice and the increased power of judges in managing cases, with our court system’s invasion of ADR and its prioritisation of informal modes of adjudication.
Catherine Piché
Dr. Prof. Catherine Piché, Université de Montreal.
Evaluating BEPS
Keywords tax avoidance, tax evasion, benefits principle
Authors Reuven S. Avi-Yonah and Haiyan Xu
This article evaluates the recently completed Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project of the G20 and OECD and offers some alternatives for reform.
Reuven S. Avi-Yonah
Reuven Avi-Yonah is Irwin I. Cohn Professor of Law, the University of Michigan.
Haiyan Xu
Haiyan Xu is Professor of Law, University of International Business & Economics, Beijing; SJD candidate, the University of Michigan.
The Integrity of the Tax System after BEPS: A Shared Responsibility
Keywords flawed legislation, tax privileges, tax planning, corporate social responsibility, tax professionals
Authors Hans Gribnau
The international tax system is the result of the interaction of different actors who share the responsibility for its integrity. States and multinational corporations both enjoy to a certain extent freedom of choice with regard to their tax behaviour – which entails moral responsibility. Making, interpreting and using tax rules therefore is inevitably a matter of exercising responsibility. Both should abstain from viewing tax laws as a bunch of technical rules to be used as a tool without any intrinsic moral or legal value. States bear primary responsibility for the integrity of the international tax system. They should become more reticent in their use of tax as regulatory instrument – competing with one another for multinationals’ investment. They should also act more responsibly by cooperating to make better rules to prevent aggressive tax planning, which entails a shift in tax payments from very expert taxpayers to other taxpayers. Here, the distributive justice of the tax system and a level playing field should be guaranteed. Multinationals should abstain from putting pressure on states and lobbying for favourable tax rules that disproportionally affect other taxpayers – SMEs and individual taxpayers alike. Multinationals and their tax advisers should avoid irresponsible conduct by not aiming to pay a minimalist amount of (corporate income) taxes – merely staying within the boundaries of the letter of the law. Especially CSR-corporations should assume the responsibility for the integrity of the tax system.
Hans Gribnau
Professor of Tax Law, Fiscal Institute and the Center for Company Law, Tilburg University; Professor of Tax Law, Leiden University, The Netherlands.
Post-BEPS Tax Advisory and Tax Structuring from a Tax Practitioner’s View
Keywords BEPS, value creation, tax structuring, international taxation
Authors Paul Lankhorst and Harmen van Dam
The international tax landscape is changing and it is changing fast. The political perception is that taxation of multinational enterprises is not aligned with the ‘economic activity’ that produces their profits (i.e. not aligned with ‘value creation’). The perception links ‘value creation’ with ‘employees and sales’.
In the BEPS Project of the OECD, the OECD attempts to combat base erosion and profit shifting and to align taxation with value creation. In this article, the authors discuss the impact they expect BEPS to have on tax advisory and tax planning. The focus goes to BEPS Actions 7, 8-10 and 13.
By maintaining the separate entity approach under BEPS for the taxation of multinationals, has the OECD been forced to ‘stretch’ existing rules beyond their limits? Will the created uncertainty lead to a shift from ‘aggressive tax planning’ by multinationals to ‘aggressive tax collection’ by tax administrations? Will the role of tax advisory change from advising on the lowest possible effective tax rate to a broader advice including risk appetite and public expectations?
Paul Lankhorst
Paul Lankhorst, MSc LLM, is tax adviser at Loyens & Loeff.
Harmen van Dam
Harmen van Dam, LLM, is tax partner at Loyens & Loeff.
Legal Constraints on the Indeterminate Control of ‘Dangerous’ Sex Offenders in the Community: The English Perspective
Keywords Dangerous, sex offenders, human rights, community supervision, punishment
Authors Nicola Padfield
This article explores the legal constraints imposed on the rising number of so-called ‘dangerous’ sex offenders in England and Wales, in particular once they have been released from prison into the community. The main methods of constraint are strict licence conditions, Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements and civil protective orders such as Sexual Harm Prevention Orders. ‘Control’ in the community is thus widespread, but is difficult to assess whether it is either effective or necessary without a great deal more research and analysis. Post-sentence ‘punishment’ has been largely ignored by both academic lawyers and criminologists. The article concludes that financial austerity might prove to be as important as the human rights agenda in curbing the disproportionate use of powers of control.
Nicola Padfield
Nicola Padfield, MA, Dip Crim, DES, Reader in Criminal and Penal Justice, University of Cambridge. I thank Michiel van der Wolf for involving me in this project and for his many useful insights and comments.
Raising Barriers to ‘Outlaw Motorcycle Gang-Related Events’
Underlining the Difference between Pre-Emption and Prevention
Keywords Prevention, pre-crime, pre-emption, risk, outlaw motorcycle gangs
Authors Teun van Ruitenburg
Fighting outlaw motorcycle gangs is currently one of the top priorities of many governments around the world. This is due to the notion that outlaw motorcycle gangs do not consist solely of motorcycle enthusiasts. Numerous cases reveal that these clubs, or at least their members, are involved in (organised) crime. In order to tackle these clubs, the former Dutch Minister of Security and Justice announced a whole-of-government strategy towards outlaw motorcycle gangs in 2012. As part of this effort, authorities such as the Dutch National Police, the Public Prosecution Service, the Dutch Tax Authority and local governments aim to cooperate in order to disrupt and restrict outlaw motorcycle gangs by means of Criminal, Administrative and Civil Law. Part of this strategy is to hinder club-related events. This article discusses the latter strategy in light of the distinction between prevention and pre-emption. As the latter two concepts are often used interchangeably, this article attempts to use a more strict division between prevention and pre-emption. Thereby, it becomes apparent that outlaw motorcycle gangs are to some extent governed through uncertainty. The author suggests that maintaining the ‘prevention–pre-emption distinction’ can offer an interesting and valuable point of departure for analysing today’s crime policies.
Teun van Ruitenburg
Teun van Ruitenburg, MSc., is PhD Candidate at the Criminology Department of the Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Exit, Voice and Loyalty from the Perspective of Hedge Funds Activism in Corporate Governance
Keywords Uncertainty, entrepreneurship, agency costs, loyalty shares, institutional investors
Authors Alessio M. Pacces
This article discusses hedge funds activism based on Hirschman’s classic. It is argued that hedge funds do not create the loyalty concerns underlying the usual short-termism critique of their activism, because the arbiters of such activism are typically indexed funds, which cannot choose short-term exit. Nevertheless, the voice activated by hedge funds can be excessive for a particular company. Furthermore, this article claims that the short-termism debate cannot shed light on the desirability of hedge funds activism. Neither theory nor empirical evidence can tell whether hedge funds activism leads to short-termism or long-termism. The real issue with activism is a conflict of entrepreneurship, namely a conflict between the opposing views of the activists and the incumbent management regarding in how long an individual company should be profitable. Leaving the choice between these views to institutional investors is not efficient for every company at every point in time. Consequently, this article argues that regulation should enable individual companies to choose whether to curb hedge funds activism depending on what is efficient for them. The recent European experience reveals that loyalty shares enable such choice, even in the midstream, operating as dual-class shares in disguise. However, loyalty shares can often be introduced without institutional investors’ consent. This outcome could be improved by allowing dual-class recapitalisations, instead of loyalty shares, but only with a majority of minority vote. This solution would screen for the companies for which temporarily curbing activism is efficient, and induce these companies to negotiate sunset clauses with institutional investors.
Alessio M. Pacces
Professor of Law & Finance, Erasmus School of Law, and Research Associate, European Corporate Governance Institute.
A World Apart? Private Investigations in the Corporate Sector
Keywords Corporate security, private investigations, private troubles, public/private differentiation
Authors Clarissa Meerts
This article explores the investigative methods used by corporate security within organisations concerned about property misappropriation by their own staff and/or others. The research methods are qualitative: interviews, observations and case studies carried out between October 2012 and November 2015. The findings include that, even though corporate investigators do not have the formal investigative powers enjoyed by police and other public agencies, they do have multiple methods of investigation at their disposal, some of which are less used by public investigative agencies, for example the in-depth investigation of internal systems. Corporate investigators also rely heavily on interviews, the investigation of documentation and financial administration and the investigation of communication devices and open sources. However, there are many additional sources of information (for example, site visits or observations), which might be available to corporate investigators. The influences from people from different backgrounds, most notably (forensic) accountants, (former) police officers, private investigators and lawyers, together with the creativity that is necessary (and possible) when working without formal investigative powers, make corporate security a diverse field. It is argued that these factors contribute to a differentiation between public and private actors in the field of corporate security.
Clarissa Meerts
Clarissa Meerts, MSc., is a PhD student at the Criminology Department of the Erasmus University Rotterdam.
‘We Do Not Hang Around. It Is Forbidden.’
Immigration and the Criminalisation of Youth Hanging around in the Netherlands
Keywords Criminalisation of youth hanging around, culture of control, immigration and discrimination
Authors Thaddeus Muller
The focus in this article is the ‘criminalisation’ of youth hanging around with the emergence of bans on hanging around. A critical social constructivist approach is used in this study, which draws predominantly on qualitative primary data collected between the late 1980s and 2010s. The article compares indigenous with immigrant youth, which coincides with, respectively, youth in rural communities and youth in urban communities. This study shows that there is discrimination of immigrant youth, which is shaped by several intertwining social phenomena, such as the ‘geography of policing’ – more police in urban areas – familiarity, sharing biographical information (in smaller communities), and the character of the interaction, normalising versus stigmatising. In further research on this topic we have to study (the reaction to) the transgressions of immigrant youth, and compare it with (the reaction to) the transgressions of indigenous youth, which is a blind spot in Dutch criminology.
Thaddeus Muller
Thaddeus Muller, Ph.D., is senior lecturer at the Lancaster University Law School.
Harmony, Law and Criminal Reconciliation in China: A Historical Perspective
Keywords Criminal reconciliation, Confucianism, decentralisation, centralisation
Authors Wei Pei
In 2012, China revised its Criminal Procedure Law (2012 CPL). One of the major changes is its official approval of the use of victim-offender reconciliation, or ‘criminal reconciliation’ in certain public prosecution cases. This change, on the one hand, echoes the Confucian doctrine that favours harmonious inter-personal relationships and mediation, while, on the other hand, it deviates from the direction of legal reforms dating from the 1970s through the late 1990s. Questions have emerged concerning not only the cause of this change in legal norms but also the proper position of criminal reconciliation in the current criminal justice system in China. The answers to these questions largely rely on understanding the role of traditional informal dispute resolution as well as its interaction with legal norms. Criminal reconciliation in ancient China functioned as a means to centralise imperial power by decentralizing decentralising its administration. Abolishing or enabling such a mechanism in law is merely a small part of the government’s strategy to react to political or social crises and to maintain social stability. However, its actual effect depends on the vitality of Confucianism, which in turn relies on the economic foundation and corresponding structure of society.
Wei Pei
Wei Pei, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the Beihang School of Law in the Beihang University.
A Law and Economics Approach to Norms in Transnational Commercial Transactions: Incorporation and Internalisation
Keywords Incorporation and internalisation, transnational commercial transactions, transnational commercial norms
Authors Bo Yuan
In today’s global economy, a noticeable trend is that the traditional state-law-centred legal framework is increasingly challenged by self-regulatory private orders. Commercial norms, commercial arbitration and social sanctions at the international level have become important alternatives to national laws, national courts and legal sanctions at the national level. Consisting of transnational commercial norms, both codified and uncodified, and legal norms, both national and international, a plural regime for the governance of transnational commercial transactions has emerged and developed in the past few decades. This article explores the interaction between various kinds of norms in this regime, identifies the effects of this interaction on the governance of transnational commercial transactions and shows the challenges to this interaction at the current stage. The central argument of this article is that the interaction between social and legal norms, namely incorporation and internalisation, and the three effects derived from incorporation and internalisation, namely systematisation, harmonisation and compliance enhancement, are evident at both the national and international levels. In particular, the emergence of codified transnational commercial norms that are positioned in the middle of the continuum between national legal norms and uncodified transnational commercial norms has brought changes to the interaction within the international dimension. Although the development of codified transnational commercial norms faces several challenges at the moment, it can be expected that these norms will play an increasingly important role in the future governance of transnational commercial transactions.
Bo Yuan
Bo Yuan is a Ph.D. candidate at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, Department of Law and Economics.
Cutting Corners or Enhancing Efficiency?
Simplified Procedures and the Israeli Quest to Speed up Justice
Keywords Israel, austerity, civil procedure, simplified procedures, small claims
Authors Ehud Brosh
Israel was spared the worst of the world financial crisis of 2008-2009. However, austerity concerns are by no means invisible in the developments in the field of civil procedure. These concerns correlate heavily with the long-standing Israeli preoccupation with ‘speeding up’ justice. An array of simplified procedural tracks, aimed at addressing the perceived inadequacy of ‘standard’ procedure, have been developed in Israel over the years. The importance of simplified procedures in the Israeli system cannot be overestimated. Their development illustrates the dialectical tension between the values of ‘efficiency’ and ‘quality’ in the administration of justice. During periods of austerity, the scales are easily (or easier) tipped in favour of efficiency and general or particular simplification of procedure. In times of prosperity, on the other hand, concerns over ‘quality’, access to justice, and truth discovery predominate, and attempts at promoting efficiency and/or simplification at their expense tend to be bogged down. Such attempts also tend to lose their extrinsic legitimacy and are widely viewed as ‘cutting corners’. This is evident in the recent Israeli experience with civil procedure reform.
Ehud Brosh
Ehud Brosh, LL.M., is a research student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Austerity’s Effect on English Civil Justice
Keywords Austerity, court fees and legal aid, adversarial and inquisitorial process, McKenzie Friends, simplified process
Authors John Sorabji
This article considers the effect of austerity-induced public spending cuts on the English civil justice system. In doing so it initially examines two fundamental changes engendered by the effect austerity has had on civil court fees and legal aid: first, a challenge to the traditional commitment in English procedure to adversarial process, and a concomitant increase in inquisitorial or investigative processes; and secondly, the growth in use of unqualified individuals to act as advocates in court for individual litigants who are unable to afford legal representation. It then turns to consider what, if any, effect austerity has had on simplified processes available in English civil procedure.
John Sorabji
DPhil, Senior Fellow, UCL Judicial Institute, University College, London, email: j.sorabji@ucl.ac.uk.
Canadian Civil Justice: Relief in Small and Simple Matters in an Age of Efficiency
Keywords Canada, small and simple matters, austerity, civil justice, access to justice
Authors Jonathan Silver and Trevor C.W. Farrow
Canada is in the midst of an access to justice crisis. The rising costs and complexity of legal services in Canada have surpassed the need for these services. This article briefly explores some obstacles to civil justice as well as some of the court-based programmes and initiatives in place across Canada to address this growing access to justice gap. In particular, this article explains the Canadian civil justice system and canvasses the procedures and programmes in place to make the justice system more efficient and improve access to justice in small and simple matters. Although this article does look briefly at the impact of the global financial crisis on access to justice efforts in Canada, we do not provide empirical data of our own on this point. Further, we conclude that there is not enough existing data to draw correlations between austerity measures in response to the global crisis and the challenges facing Canadian civil justice. More evidence-based research would be helpful to understand current access to justice challenges and to make decisions on how best to move forward with meaningful innovation and policy reform. However, there is reason for optimism in Canada: innovative ideas and a national action plan provide reason to believe that the country can simplify, expedite, and increase access to civil justice in meaningful ways over the coming years.
Jonathan Silver
Jonathan Silver, B.A. Honors, J.D. 2015, Osgoode Hall Law School.
Trevor C.W. Farrow
Trevor C.W. Farrow is Professor and Associate Dean, Osgoode Hall Law School. He is very grateful to Jonathan Silver, who took the lead in researching and writing this article.
Relief in Small and Simple Matters in Belgium
Keywords Belgium, small matters, simple matters, recovery of unchallenged claims, summary order for payment
Authors Stefaan Voet
This article is based on a national report that was written for the XVth World Congress of the International Association of Procedural Law that was held in Istanbul in May 2015 and that focused on Effective Judicial Relief and Remedies in an Age of Austerity. It first of all sketches the general judicial context in Belgium and some of its relevant features: the judicial organisation, the goals of the civil justice system, the course of an ordinary civil lawsuit, the role of the court, and the litigation costs. Next, a detailed and critical overview of the current and future procedures that offer relief in small and simple matters is given. The current summary order for payment procedure, which was introduced in 1967, did not meet its goals. The article concludes that a new trend is emerging in Belgium, namely keeping small and unchallenged claims outside the judiciary and providing for cheaper and more efficient alternatives.
Stefaan Voet
Stefaan Voet is an Associate Professor of Law at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and a Visiting Professor at the Universiteit Hasselt.
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9th annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival returns to Flagstaff April 14
Event includes seven films, raffle, live music and silent auction to benefit Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project
The Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project has been hosting the Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Flagstaff for nine years. (Photo courtesy of GCWRP)
By Erin Ford
Originally Published: March 27, 2018 10:42 a.m.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A series of films about the world’s most endangered animals — including Arizona’s Mexican gray wolves — takes center stage April 14 at the Coconino Center for the Arts.
The annual event proceeds benefit the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project. Adult admission is $14, student admission is $12 and children aged 12 and under is $6. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the program begins at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at https://gcwolfrecovery.org/tickets or at the door the night of the event.
This year’s festival will feature seven films, including the featured film “Right to be Wild” by Flgastaff documentary filmmaker Katja Torneman. The film documents the discovery of the last wild lobos and the conservationists tasked with saving them from extinction — it includes rare footage of the capture of the last wild lobos, biologists tracking Lobos from helicopters and on the ground, wolf ecotourism, conservationists, everyday citizens and students working to raise the natural wild population.
Torneman is an award-winning documentary filmmaker – she was awarded the 2013 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence for her local children’s film “Anna, Emma and the Condors.”
Natural Heroes ANNA, EMMA AND THE CONDORS promo by NaturalHeroesTV
Other films include:
A Letter to Congress (3 min) — Wallace Stegner’s 1960 letter to Congress about the importance of wilderness is the framework for a new message, one in which our unified voice can help prevent the transfer of our most valuable heritage — our public lands — to private and corporate interests.
Can we Save the Frog Prince? (13 min) - After surviving for millions of years, frogs around the world are disappearing in a global extinction crisis.
Canis Lupus Colorado (18 min) — Gray wolves shaped this place for eons only to disappear nearly overnight. Canis Lupus Colorado is the story of the past, present, and future of Colorado’s now extinct native wolf population.
Forgotten But Not Gone: The Pacific Fisher (8 min) — For the past 20 years, conservation organizations have advocated for listing Pacific fisher under the Endangered Species Act. Despite the emergence of new threats, in April of 2016, Fish and Wildlife reversed their decision.
The Invisible Mammal: The Bat Rescuer (10 min) — Beyond the impacts of climate change and habitat destruction, certain bat species in North America are also suffering population decline due to white nose syndrome.
Killing Games: Wildlife in The Crosshairs (10 min) — On any given weekend, some of America’s most iconic wildlife are massacred in wildlife killing contests that ignore the critical role apex predators play in maintaining healthy ecosystems.
In addition to the films, live music will be provided by local Hopi musician and Museum of Northern Arizona’s artist-in-residence Ed Kabotie. There will also be a raffle and silent auction, and refreshments are available.
More information is available at https://gcwolfrecovery.org.
Three decades after Endangered Species Act protection, government required to prepare recovery plan
Environmental groups prepare lawsuit to force wolf recovery plan
Mexican wolf rarest in North America
Part 3 of 3: What a revised recovery plan could mean for Mexican Gray Wolves
Groups file suit challenging Mexican wolf recovery plan
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St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
All links verified on or after March 4, 2017
[On the Principles of Nature] [Summa Contra Gentiles] [Summa Theologica]
On the Principles of Nature (1252-1256)
HTML (Single page, 38KB) at TheologyWebsite.com (Translated by Prof. Gerard Campbell)
Paperback edition of Aquinas on Matter and Form and The Elements : A Translation and Interpretation of the De Principiis Naturae and the De Mixtione Elementorum, translated by Joseph Bobick (Univ of Notre Dame Pr, 1998).
Summa Contra Gentiles (1261-1264)
HTML (300+ pages, indexed, some abridgement) at the Jacques Maritain Center (Translated by Joseph Rickaby)
Paperback edition in four volumes (Univ of Notre Dame Pr, 1997):
Vol. 1: God, translated by Anton C. Pegis
Vol. 2: Creation, translated by James F. Anderson
Vol. 3: Providence, Part 1, translated by Vernon J. Bourke
Vol. 4: Salvation, translated by Charles J. O'Neil
Summa Theologica (1265-1273) [GBWW,GI,HTR]
HTML (multi-page, indexed) at Christian Classics Ethereal Library (Translated by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province)
HTML (31 pages, indexed) at New Advent Catholic Supersite (Translated by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province)
Hardcover edition, translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province (Thomas More Publishing, 1981, 3057 pg, 5 vol).
Hardcover edition of Summa Theologiae: A Concise Translation (Thomas More Publishing, 1997, 652 pg).
Paperback edition of Aquinas's Shorter Summa : Saint Thomas's Own Concise Version of his Summa Theologica (Sophia Inst Pr, 2001, 432 pg).
[≤ 450BC] [449-400BC] [399-350BC] [349-1BC] [1AD-199] [200-1499] [1500-1599] [1600-1649] [1650-1699] [1700-1749] [1750-1789] [1790-1829] [1830-1859] [1860-1889] [1890-1909] [1910-1929] [≥ 1930]
The Enneads (250)
On the Incarnation (c. 318)
Ecclesiastical History (c. 325)
Life of Antony (c. 356-362)
Sermons (Chrysostom) (c. 370-404)
Letters (Chrysostom) (c. 370-404)
On the Priesthood (c. 386)
On the Teacher (c. 388)
Commentary on Galatians (c. 390?)
Christian Doctrine (397-426)
On the Trinity (400-416)
Confessions (Augustine) (c. 401)
The City of God (413-426)
Enchiridion (Augustine) (421)
The Rule of St. Benedict (c. 530?)
The Quran (c. 632)
Beowulf (c. 725)
Tales from the 1001 Nights (c. 850?)
The Destruction of Dá Derga's Hostel (c. 900?; mss. c. 1100)
The Tale of Genji (c. 1008-1021)
Shahnameh (1010)
The Mabinogion (c. 1050?)
Monologium (1077)
Proslogium (1087)
The Song of Roland (c. 1100)
The Rubaiyat (c. 1120)
Letters of Abelard and Heloise (c. 1130-1136)
On Loving God (c. 1130?)
Sermons on the Song of Songs (1136-1153)
The Story of the Volsungs and Niblungs (12th century)
Guide of the Perplexed (1180-1190)
The Nibelungenlied (c. 1200)
Magna Carta (1215)
The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi (c. 1250-1261)
The Saga of Burnt Njal (13th century)
Summa Theologica (1265-1273)
The New Life (c. 1292-1294)
The Cloud of Unknowing (c. 1300)
The Divine Comedy (c. 1306-1321)
Inferno (c. 1306-1314)
On Monarchy (c. 1309-1313)
Purgatorio (c. 1315-1318)
Paradiso (c. 1319-1321)
Sonnets (Petrarch) (c. 1327-1374)
Ascent of Mt. Ventoux (c. 1336)
The Decameron (1351)
The Spiritual Dialogue (St. Catherine of Siena) (1370)
Troilus and Criseyde (c. 1385)
Canterbury Tales (c. 1386)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Late 14th century)
On the Imitation of Christ (1418)
The Spiritual Dialogue (St. Catherine of Genoa) (1447)
Le Morte d'Arthur (c. 1470)
Notebooks (da Vinci) (c. 1478-1518)
The Dignity of Man (c. 1486)
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Holy New York
a brief reference to NYC places of worship
Outside NYC
Other christian
Outside New York
Google+ blog
BlogSpot mirror
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Queens
By: Priest Tags:
The Parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is one of the oldest parishes in Long Island, having been organized in 1841. The Parish grew steadily and by 1869 the original church building was inadequate. Funds were raised to purchase the current site at the corner of Newtown Avenue and Crescent Street and construction began on a new and larger church. The cornerstone was laid September 9, 1871, and the completed church was dedicated by Bishop Loughlin on August 7, 1873.
Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY
jordanville
russian orthodox
Holy Trinity Monastery is a male monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), located near Jordanville, New York. Founded in 1930 by two Russian immigrants, it eventually became a main spiritual center of Russian Orthodoxy in the West. The monastery is well known for its publishing work and for the attached Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary.
The monastery was founded in 1930 by Father Panteleimon (Nizhnik) and two his friends as they bought the Starkweather farm near Jordanville for a $25 down payment. In addition to performing the daily services, the brotherhood worked the land and began dairy production.
Plymouth Church, Brooklyn
Plymouth Church is an historic church located at 57 Orange Street between Henry and Hicks Streets in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The church building was built in 1849–50 and was designed by Joseph C. Wells. The barn-like church building with its pews arranged in an arc before the pulpit became a standard design and layout for other evangelical Protestant churches throughout the United States. The Classic revival parish house and arcade which adjoin the building were built in 1913-14, and were designed by Woodruff Leeming.
Corpus Christi Monastery, The Bronx
Corpus Christi Monastery is the oldest Dominican monastery in the United States, currently located in the Bronx at Lafayette Avenue. This is a 115-year old branch of the first monastery of nuns founded by St. Dominic de Guzman in Prouilhe, France, in 1206. The original monastery was founded by Mother Mary of Jesus (Julia Crooks of New York City) in Newark, NJ, in 1880. Nine years later, she and five other Sisters came to the Bronx, at the invitation of Archbishop Michael Augustine Corrigan.
Brooklyn Visitation Monastery (Monastery Square)
The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary was founded in 1610 by St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal in Annecy, France. The Monastery of Brooklyn was founded in 1855, as fruit of a Novena made by Visitation Sisters in the Baltimore Monastery. It is situated on 7.5 acres in the heart of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
Vocation Retreats are offered at the Monastery for those wishing to discern their vocation.
St. Saviour's Catholic Church, Brooklyn
St. Saviour's Church is a Roman Catholic chriatian church located at the corner of 8th avenue and 6th street in Park Clope, Brooklyn. This corner lot was purchased on November 9th, 1905 by father James J. Flood, who had been selected to form a new parish on the Hill section of the Slope. The new parish was to be erected from portions taken from the parishes of Holy Name, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Francis Xavier. A month later, the house at 611 Eighth Avenue was purchased for $9,000 as a part of a future permanent rectory.
Van Cortlandt Jewish Center, The Bronx
van cortlandt
The Van Cortlandt Jewish Center (VCJC) is a modern Orthodox synagogue affiliated with the Orthodox Union. Founded in 1927, the Center initially was housed in a street level room of an apartment building. In 1947, the Center moved into a converted mansion at 3997 Gouverneur Avenue, where it remained for 18 years. In 1965, VCJC moved into its own newly constructed building at 3880 Sedgwick Avenue, its current home.
St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church, The Bronx
St. Nektarios Church is a greek orthodox christian church located at Bailey ave. in the Kingsbridge Heights neighbourhood of The Bronx borough of New York City. St. Nektarios, born Nektarios Kephalas (1846-1920) is a latter-day saint, recognized by Constantinople in 1961. The church building is a former private house, built in the end of 19th century as the Second Empire style house.
Blue Cliff buddhist monastery in Pine Bush, NY
Blue Cliff Monastery is a 80-acre (0.32 km2) Buddhist monastery located in Pine Bush, New York. It was founded in May 2007 by monastic and lay practitioners from Plum Village in France. The monastery is under the direction of Thich Nhat Hanh's Order of Interbeing in the Vietnamese Zen tradition. The monastery is located in the lush green Hudson Valley of New York. Inside the property there are two ponds and a creek, and out of its 80 acres 65 are forest. Visitors are welcome to practice mindfulness with the fourfold community of monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen.
Kadampa Meditation Center in Glen Spey, NY
glen spey
Kadampa Meditation Center New York is the site of the resplendent US Kadampa World Peace Temple. It is located amid 82 acres of lush woodland in the colorful Upper Delaware River Valley. Secluded walking trails, meditation spots, a creek-fed pond, and abundant wildlife surround the Temple, inviting visitors to connect with pure, natural surroundings. Kadampa Meditation Center is an international spiritual community open year-round for tours and visits. it's rich program of Modern Buddhism includes workshops, classes, special events, prayer services, and group and individual retreats.
www.holy-ny.com
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CNCS Offered Training for High School Students
College of Natural and Computational Sciences, in collaboration with the Vice-President for Community Engagement and Enterprises Development, and Vice President for Administration and Students Affairs has conducted one-month training for 379 grade 9 -12 students selected from the nearby high schools.
According to Dr. Seleshi Demie, Associate Dean of the College said “The College has been offering such programssince2013to service high school students during the summer.
The 379 outstanding high school students were drawn from West and East Hararghe zonal districts, Harari Regional State, Haramaya University Model School and schools around the University vicinity. The students were given practical training in the field of natural and social sciences: Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, ICT, English and mathematics.
Dr. Seleshi added that during the course of the training, the University provided boarding services to the students for about a month in addition to meal, health and other related services. He said, “This program has been a paramount opportunity for cultural exchanges, in addition to the intended lessons. Since the program accepts only those who are outstanding, it has also served as a venue to inculcate competition amongst the students back in the schools where they come from.”
Among the 379 trainees, 297were male, whereas the remaining 82 were females.
One of the trainees, Tsedey Teshome a Grade 12 student from East Hararghe Zone, Deder Secondary School, explained that the training was crucial in filling the gap they had and invoked their interest toward science.
Another trainee, Ayisha Mohammed, Grade 10 student, from Harari Regional State, Aw-Abdal Secondary said that the training has enabled her to get answers to the questions that bothered her mind concerning university life.
Student Sulteyb Afendi from Harari Regional State, Aw-Abdal Secondary Grade 10 student added that this kind of training is so important to increase their interest as a venue to develop a healthy competition amongst students back in the schools they come from.
All candidates appreciated and gave many thanks to the University and indicated that they are happy with the training program and the event has enabled them to get see what university life would be like; as well as obtaining a multitude of knowledge from the training which will enable them to prepare for next level in their further education.
By in NEWS on September 5, 2017
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Senate Vote on Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson Bill Possible Next Week
By: Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, PC | 21-Sep-2017
Last week, Senators Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) introduced the latest iteration of their reconciliation bill to repeal and replace key provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Unlike previous bills, the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson bill focuses on converting the ACA’s health care expenditures into a block grant called the “Market-Based Health Care Grant Program” until 2026, when federal funding would end.
The bill would also fundamentally reform the Medicaid program by applying per capita caps. We are again faced with a highly fluid situation, and a bill that might evolve in order to attract the last Senate votes needed for passage as a reconciliation measure.
This bill amends the prior reconciliation bill (H.R. 1628) that was debated in July and failed to pass with “no” votes from Senators John McCain (R-Az.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Susan Collins (R-Me.). At the end of that process, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell returned H.R. 1628 to the Senate calendar, leaving the door open for the Senate to take up repeal and replace again before the end of September.
Financial and Coverage Outlook
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has announced that it will provide a preliminary assessment of the bill early next week, focusing only on budgetary projections. The CBO will not, however, be able to estimate the bill’s effects on the deficit, health insurance coverage, or premiums for at least several weeks.
At present, there are no CBO estimates on this bill, but other organizations, including consulting firms, think tanks, and journalists that are largely critical of repeal-and-replace initiatives have published their estimates of the outlook for funding and coverage under the bill. Overall, there would be a significant reduction of federal health care funding provided to the states in excess of $200 billion dollars between 2020 and 2026. After 2026, the expiration of the Market-Based Health Care Grant Program would cause a significant further drop in federal health care spending.
The financial impact would be greatest for states that expanded their Medicaid programs under the ACA and successfully expanded enrollment in Medicaid and subsidized Exchange plans. California would likely be the hardest hit, losing an estimated $27.8 billion in 2026 alone (Center for Budget and Policy Priorities) and losing an estimated total of $61.7 billion (Kaiser Family Foundation) or $78 billion (Avalere Health) from 2020 through 2026. The estimated loss for California rises to $129 billion when 2027 is included and to $800 billion through 2036. Texas, on the other hand, would gain $35 billion in funding from 2020 through 2026 according to Avalere’s analysis.
The Graham-Cassidy bill would (1) eliminate the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, which would be temporarily and partially replaced by the “Market-Based Health Care Grant Program” from 2020 through 2026, (2) reform federal Medicaid financing to a per capita cap model starting in 2020, and (3) allow states to apply for block grants for certain Medicaid populations. Both the House-passed American Health Care Act and the failed Senate Better Care Reconciliation Act included similar per capita caps and block grants, and our analyses of these bills can be found here and here.
While the bill would initially base annual funding adjustments on the medical component of the consumer price index (CPI), beginning in fiscal year 2024 most of the annual funding adjustment would be based on the all-urban CPI that historically has increased at a much slower rate than the medical CPI.
The bill also limits retroactive Medicaid coverage to the second month before the month of application for most beneficiaries, and permits (although does not require) states to redetermine eligibility every 6 months or such shorter period as the state may elect. Prior bills required eligibility to be redetermined every 6 months, which some states projected would have the effect of substantially reducing Medicaid enrollees as many individuals would simply fail to reapply.
The bill would permit states to impose work requirements for non-disabled, nonelderly, nonpregnant individuals as a condition of Medicaid eligibility.
The bill substantially reduces provider taxes that would be matched by federal funds. Currently provider taxes may not exceed 6% of the provider's revenues. The 6% threshold is reduced each fiscal year beginning 2021 by 0.4 percentage points until it reaches 4.0% in fiscal year 2025. This could substantially reduce federal Medicaid funding for a number of states.
Market-Based Health Care Grant Program
The Graham-Cassidy bill would eliminate federal funds for the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, exchange subsidies (premium tax credits and cost-sharing reduction payments), Basic Health Program (an alternative to premium tax credits and cost-sharing reduction payments), and small business tax credits as of January 1, 2020. All of these ACA programs would then be temporarily replaced by the Market-Based Health Care Grant Program from 2020 through 2026. After 2026, there would be no further funding for the Market-Based Health Care Grant Program, absent congressional intervention.
The formula for distributing the Market-Based Health Care Grants would evolve from year to year, but it would significantly disfavor states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA.
In 2020, funding would reflect a baseline of ACA expenditures in four consecutive calendar quarters prior to 2018, trended forward using an update factor. In 2026, funding would be calculated as $190 billion (the total appropriation in that year) multiplied by the ratio of the state’s population with incomes between 50 and 138 percent of the federal poverty level to the national population in this income bracket. This amount would be reduced proportionately if the amount allocated to the states exceeds the $190 billion appropriated.
In each year between 2020 and 2026, the state’s allotment would be incrementally adjusted away from the 2020 baseline amount and toward the 2026 amount. In each of these years, the state would receive the previous year’s allotment adjusted by one sixth of the difference between the 2020 baseline amount and the 2026 amount. For example, if a state’s 2026 amount (based solely on its population with incomes between 50 and 138 percent FPL) was 12 percent lower than the state’s 2020 baseline amount (based on ACA funding), the state would be allotted roughly 98 percent of its baseline amount in 2021, 96 percent in 2022, 94 percent in 2023, 92 percent in 2024, and 90 percent in 2025 before falling to 88 percent in 2026.
Various adjustments to these allocations would be phased in between 2021 and 2026. First, between 2021 and 2023, a clinical risk adjustment would be phased in. The clinical risk adjustment would be based on the risk profile of the state’s low-income population and could modify the state’s allotment by up to 10 percent. Second, beginning in 2024, an adjustment based on the proportion of the state’s low-income population that does not have sufficient coverage (based on the actuarial value of a CHIP benchmark plan). Third, HHS could apply an adjustment for non-clinical risk factors that affect health care expenditures in a state.
After 2026, the bill provides no further funds for the grant program, so there would be no ongoing replacement for the repealed ACA safety-net programs.
Individual and Employer Mandates
Like the AHCA and the BCRA, the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson bill would repeal the individual and employer mandates retroactive to 2016. While previous repeal-and-replace efforts attempted to replace the individual mandate with alternative penalties for breaks in coverage (e.g., a 30 percent premium surcharge or a 6-month lock out period), this bill currently includes no such provision. States, however, could seek waivers enabling plans to vary premiums based on a number of factors, likely including the maintenance of continuous coverage.
Commercial Market Reforms
The Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson bill would allow states to waive a number of ACA provisions with respect to coverage provided by a health insurance issuer that is receiving funding under a state’s Market-Based Health Care Grant Program or provided to an individual receiving a direct benefit under a state’s Market Based Health Care Grant Program. States could waive the ACA’s premium rating provisions, permitting issuers to vary premiums based on health status or other factors (other than sex or membership in a protected class). This could result in individuals with preexisting conditions facing unaffordable premiums in states with such waivers in place. States would also be permitted to waive essential health benefit requirements, permitting issuers to offer narrower benefits packages that might exclude maternity, prescription drug, and other benefits that are currently considered to be essential health benefits on the individual and small group markets. Lastly, states could waive the medical loss ratio rule, which requires rebates to be issued when a plan’s ratio of claims expenditures to premiums falls below 80 percent.
These waivers to premium rating requirements for pre-existing conditions and other factors, essential health benefit requirements, and to the medical loss ratio would be eliminated after the Market-Based Health Care Grant Program expires in 2026. As a result, absent congressional action, all of the ACA’s market reforms would then be in effect without the individual mandate, the ACA’s affordability programs, or any replacement scheme.
The bill also would broaden enrollment in catastrophic plans starting in 2019. Currently, enrollment in catastrophic plans is restricted to individuals under 30 years of age and those with hardship or affordability exemptions.
Lastly, the bill has a number of provisions that would liberalize rules for health savings accounts (HSAs). For example, it would allow HSA funds to be used for over-the-counter medications, would reduce the excise tax for non-qualified HSA expenses, allow for payment of high-deductible health plan premiums with HSA funds, and the use of HSA funds for periodic fees for primary care service arrangements. The bill would also prohibit the use of HSA funds to purchase a high-deductible health plan that offers abortion coverage.
The bill would also prohibit, for one year, any payments to Planned Parenthood, its affiliates, and other tax exempt, essential community providers that provide abortions other than to preserve the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest. This prohibition would last for one year from the date of the bill’s enactment.
ACA Taxes
Unlike previous repeal-and-replace efforts, this bill does not repeal the bulk of ACA taxes. It would, however, repeal the medical device tax.
As we noted at the outset, the situation is highly fluid. There are ongoing negotiations within the Republican caucus in an effort to secure 50 votes, and there likely will be changes to the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson Bill before any vote. A CBO score is also expected early next week, and it may influence the debate and the content of the final bill. If this bill is to be considered as a reconciliation bill, it likely will need a final vote by September 30, 2017.
We will continue to monitor this process, and provide updates and analysis as appropriate.
For additional information, please contact Lloyd Bookman or John Hellow in Los Angeles at 310.551.8111; Mark Reagan or Katrina Pagonis in San Francisco at 415.875.8500; or James Segroves, Keith Fontenot or Martin Corry in Washington, D.C. at 202.580.7700.
Topics: Affordable Care Act, Health Care Reform, Medicare
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A thought-provoking debate - The Irish News
A thought-provoking debate
The late Joe McWilliams was not only a gifted artist but also an individual with a mischievous sense of humour, and there can be little doubt that, looking down from above, he must be hugely enjoying the row over his last major work.
His vivid depiction of an Orange parade past St Patrick's Church in Belfast on a massive 7ft canvas included a tiny detail which might well be taken to imply that, in the opinion of Mr McWilliams, who died last month, the behaviour of some hangers-on could be compared to the Ku Klux Klan.
All those who view the painting are entitled to agree or disagree, although it is a matter of historical record that the notorious 1930s loyalist William Fullerton, leader of the sectarian gang commemorated in an Orange song as the Billy Boys, established a KKK branch in his native Glasgow.
It has been agreed following complaints by some unionists that a sign should be placed in the Ulster Museum alerting visitors to the possibility they may find exhibits by Mr McWilliams to be `thought-provoking', an epitaph which he could only take as an enormous compliment.
06 November, 2015 01:00 Leading article
More in Leading article
Opinion: Sir Anthony Hart's plan needs urgent implementation
Opinion: Bonfires and flags cause avoidable tensions
Opinon: Mr Johnston's attitude is cavalier towards issues of vital importance to the people of Ireland
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About Batley & Spen
Israel boycott ban
David Cameron on integration
Constituency office to remain open
The Batley & Spen constituency office will remain open in order to continue helping constituents until Jo Cox’s successor is elected.
The constituency staff will be responsible for winding down the office and will work under the supervision of Holly Lynch, MP for Halifax. They will also be able to provide assistance with matters that require urgent attention.
A spokesman for the office said: “No date has yet been set for the by-election but until then, Jo’s staff are very keen to do what they can to continue her good work. Jo worked very hard to help her constituents and would want them to go on getting any help they need.”
Constituents can contact the office in Batley by calling 01924 910499 or by emailing jo.cox.mp@parliament.uk
This entry was posted in Batley & Spen on 1st July 2016 by Dan Howard.
Mobile cancer support services rolls into Batley & Spen
A mobile cancer information service run by Macmillan Cancer Support rolled into Batley & Spen where they were joined by the local MP.
Just a few days after supporting Macmillian in the Parliamentary Tug of War, Jo Cox met the team to see how the service is helping local people affected by cancer.
The service visits towns, cities and workplaces around the UK offering free, confidential information and support about cancer.
Jo Cox said: “This is a great initiative by Macmillan and I am very pleased to support the important and valuable work they do. I was delighted to meet up with the team when they came to Batley & Spen and to see so many local people popping in for information and advice.”
Amanda Fry, from Macmillan, said: “There are now an estimated 2.5 million people living with cancer in the UK, which is an increase of almost half a million in five years. That means more people are affected by cancer in some way – patients, carers, friends and relatives.
“This service aims to help anyone with questions about cancer. People can drop in, talk to our cancer information specialists or simply pick up some booklets. It was great to be back in Batley & Spen to provide this support, and to welcome Jo Cox on board to be able to share the work we’re doing helping people in her constituency.”
Five Macmillan mobile information units travel around the UK visiting local communities, providing cancer information and advice on the ground. Last year, they helped over 74,000 people in over 565 locations across the UK.
For further information about Macmillan’s service, including details of future visits, go to www.macmillan.org.uk. Support is also available by calling Macmillan free on 0808 808 00 00 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm).
This entry was posted in Batley & Spen and tagged Macmillan Cancer Support on 13th June 2016 by Dan Howard.
Jo gets roped in to raise money for Macmillan
Batley & Spen MP Jo Cox lined up in the Parliamentary Tug of War to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
The charity’s 30th annual Tug of War event saw a series of battles – including the eagerly anticipated House of Commons versus House of Lords, with the MPs winning their seventh straight victory.
All the money raised will help Macmillan ensure that no one faces cancer alone.
The event was compéred by BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine and saw spectators and teams enjoy an evening of fundraising festivities alongside the matches at Westminster College Gardens.
Mrs Cox was part of the team of female MPs who battled against the Macmillan ladies, but were beaten. She said: “There are 2.5million people living with cancer in the UK. The funds raised through events such as Macmillan’s Tug of War are more vital than ever before and will fund the vital practical, medical, emotional and financial support services that they offer.”
The Tug of War has raised over £3million to fund vital Macmillan services for people affected by cancer over the last 30 years.
Richard Taylor from Macmillan Cancer Support said: “The winning medals for Macmillan’s Parliamentary Tug of War were as fiercely fought over as ever before in this, its 30th year. The night was a fantastic success with politicians from all sides of the Commons and Lords really pulling together for the benefit of people affected by cancer.
“The incredibly generous donations from the spectators alongside some good natured political heave ho will go a long way in helping Macmillan ensure that no one faces cancer alone.”
For further information please visit www.macmillan.org.uk/tugofwar
This entry was posted in Parliament and tagged charity, fundraising, Macmillan Cancer Support on 13th June 2016 by Dan Howard.
Results of report on hospital trust are ‘unacceptable’ says MP
The CQC has today published its report into inpatient satisfaction at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Dewsbury & District Hospital.
Batley & Spen MP Jo Cox, whose constituency is home to the hospital, said: “The results of the CQC survey of inpatients are not acceptable but are not a surprise given all the information I and others have had over the last year.
“Staff morale is rock bottom and there have been serious staff shortages. Patients have suffered from long waiting times and inadequate care.
“Staff numbers and the morale and well-being of staff is inextricably linked to patient experience and clinical outcomes. If you get the former right, the latter will follow.
“The new chief executive of the Trust, Martin Barkley, has plans in place which have workforce engagement and staff morale as a crucial ingredient.
“Alongside this, an Urgent Care Improvement Plan (UCIP) is in place to to fix the very severe operational pressures at the Trust.
“Without doubt, the reliance on extra beds to manage the pressures caused by the very high number of hospital admissions, and the difficulty in discharging people in a timely manner, is one of the root causes of low staff morale and the Trust’s inability to retain important front-line staff. The UCIP is a 41 point plan to fix that.
“It must get fixed and making sure it get fixed is my number one priority.
“I am confident that these are the correct plans and the right course for fixing the very serious issues within the Trust. These problems will not be resolved quickly but they must be resolved.
“In the last few months I have successfully pushed for both the Trust and the government to set clear metrics upon which I can track the success of these plans. From now onwards I will be following up on a month by month basis and I will be pushing hard for evidence of improvement.
“But this is not only a matter of having the right plan with the right oversight. The government needs to make sure the resources to implement these plans are available. I will continue to push them on this.”
This entry was posted in Batley & Spen, NHS and tagged CQC, DDH, NHS on 8th June 2016 by Dan Howard.
Help compile the next Police and Crime Plan
Mark Burns-Williamson (right) visited Liversedge, Birstall and Batley during his re-election campaign
Jo Cox MP is urging people in Batley & Spen to help compile West Yorkshire’s new police and crime plan.
Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson was re-elected in May and has launched a new consultation to find out what matters to the public, police and their partners across the county.
The priorities fed back will inform the PCC’s plan for the next five years.
As part of the consultation, which involves a survey of local priorities, Mr Burns-Williamson will also visit communities to talk directly with local people over the coming months.
The new plan will be revealed in September and will list emerging and existing priorities.
Mrs Cox said: “The new Police and Crime Plan will set the direction for policing and community safety for the next five years. It is important that local people’s voices are heard and I hope they will take some time to fill in the survey and encourage family, friends and colleagues to do the same.
“The more feedback from people the more the commissioner and the police can understand what needs to be done to ensure local people and communities are safe and feel safe.”
A web chat is planned for June when people can log on and say matters most to them. For more information and to complete the survey visit the PCC’s website by clicking here. You can also request a survey by calling 01924 294000.
This entry was posted in Batley & Spen and tagged PCC, police, policing on 31st May 2016 by Dan Howard.
Constituency office to remain open 1st July 2016
Mobile cancer support services rolls into Batley & Spen 13th June 2016
Jo gets roped in to raise money for Macmillan 13th June 2016
Results of report on hospital trust are ‘unacceptable’ says MP 8th June 2016
Help compile the next Police and Crime Plan 31st May 2016
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© Jo Cox MP 2015
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BBC Question Time
As you are aware the school was closed yesterday as it was used as a polling station for the Corby Local Elections. However, there was action in the atrium as the BBC 1 programme Question Time was broadcast live from here last night.
The host David Dimbleby was joined by Chris Grayling, Harriet Harman, Nigel Farage and Tessa Munt. In the audience were some of our A Level Government & Politics students. More information to follow next week.
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NEETS in 2013
Post on 16 July 2013 by Guest tagged: NEETs, students, UCU
This report makes a highly significant contribution to our understanding of youth unemployment. In many ways, its findings are both disturbing and sobering and clearly illustrate the negative consequences of being outside education and employment – both for individual young people and for society more broadly.
The research shows that young people categorised as NEET (not in education, employment or training) are prone social exclusion and isolation, and that they are more likely to suffer from depression and other limiting illnesses than those in education and work.
It also illustrates the corrosive effect that unemployment can have on a young person’s confidence, motivation, and their view of the future.
Importantly, however, the report also shows that most NEET young people do not have low aspirations: its findings suggest that the vast majority want to work and believe they can make a valuable contribution to society.
Furthermore, whilst the research confirms that individuals with no qualifications are particularly vulnerable to being NEET, it also shows that a significant proportion of young people outside education and work possess high-level skills and qualifications.
Such findings suggest that youth unemployment is related as much to the availability of employment and the particular nature of jobs available to young people as it is to their individual and personal qualities and dispositions.
Whilst education and training which equips young people for the world of work is clearly important and high-quality, personalised Information, Advice and Guidance is desperately needed, new and creative ways of engaging young people are necessary: a new settlement – a Youth Resolution – is needed.
The creation of such a movement, to which training providers, support services, voluntary organisations and, perhaps most importantly, employers commit, would provide an agenda for change – not only for education, training and employment standards, but also for the broader social responsibilities we as a society have for young people’s individual well-being and their collective future.
Professor Robin Simmons
The impact of further education
UCU: 2013 Comprehensive Spending Review Submission
Universities UK: Why government must invest in universities
The economic case for investment in education – campaign briefing
ASCL: Promoting Social Mobility
AOC: Economic Impact Studies
157 Group: Tackling unemployment, the college contribution
IPPR/UCU: Further Higher? Tertiary education and growth in the UK’s new economy
1994 Group Maintaining the UK’s Science, Engineering and Technology sector: the case for high-cost subjects support
GuildHE – Creating Prosperity
Million+: What’s the value of a UK degree
UCU: Higher education tuition fees
Social mobility – campaign briefing
Approaches to youth unemployment and NEETS – international examples
Spending on post-16 education – campaign briefing
“In the 21st Century we need a well trained work force to improve the sustainability of this country long term, cutting FE and HE will not achieve this.”
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Iranian Journal of Health, Safety and Environment
Ahmad Ahmadi Teymourlouy
a: Health Management and Economics Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences. b:Department of Pharmacoeconomics & management, School of Pharmacy- International campus, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Hesam Seyyedin
Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, School of Health Management and Information sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Reza Fadaye-vatan
Center for Ageing Research, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Tehran, Iran.
Amir Omrani
School of Management and Medical Information, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Home > Vol 6, No 1 (2019) > Ahmadi Teymourlouy
Assessing the Suitability of the Design, Safety and Physical Environment of Hospitals for the Elderly: A Case Study in Iran
Ahmad Ahmadi Teymourlouy, Hesam Seyyedin, Reza Fadaye-vatan, Amir Omrani
Iran, like many other countries, is experiencing a growing elderly population. In 2016 census in Iran, out of a population of 79,926,270 people, more than 6 million people (8.2% of the population) were 60 years and over. This can be a major challenge for both healthcare providers and senior patients. This study assesses the suitability of the design, safety, physical environment and systems of Iranian hospitals based on age-friendly design principles.
In this descriptive research, 26 hospitals in Tehran were selected and examined. Data were collected using a valid and reliable checklist with 50 items assessing the physical environment, accessibility, service delivery, and management systems of the hospitals.
The results showed that 96 % of hospitals have wide corridors, 88% have suitable lighting, 85% have ramps for wheelchair users and railings for staircases, but 58% do not have an alarm in each toilet. It can be said that the majority of the hospitals were in a relatively good condition in terms of safety of the physical environment, but resource management and special programs and healthcare systems for the elderly were in a poor condition.
Given the rising elderly population in developing countries such as Iran, it is imperative to create elder-friendly environments and programs. The increasing demand for hospital beds necessitates special care be given to elder-friendly principles in the design and construction of new hospitals as well as the renewal of existing ones. It is also vital to carefully consider the health, safety and special needs of older patients in design and construction of new hospitals as well as the renewal of existing ones and developing health policies at the macro, meso and micro level, especially as they relate to inpatient and outpatient services.
Elder-Friendly Hospitals, Safety, Elder-Friendly Principles, Physical Environment of Hospitals, Healthcare Services
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Iranian Journal of Health, Safety and Environment e-ISSN: :2345-5535 Iran university of Medical sciences, Tehran, Iran
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View from the Top: Plein-Air Surveillance at Point Mugu
May 10, 2017 Hillary Mushkin & Jena Lee
Joseph Bolstad | Sketch of Laguna Peak Tracking Station, 2016 | Colored pencil on paper
Point Mugu is one of the most spectacular wilderness landscapes in California. From the bluffs off the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, hikers are afforded sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica Mountains. The U.S. Air Force and Navy also enjoy this overlook, but not for its aesthetic appeal.
Point Mugu is home to the U.S. Naval Base Ventura County (NVBC), U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) Point Mugu, and the 36,000-square mile Sea Range – the country’s largest military testing range over water. Here, the U.S. and its allies test, launch and track missiles, fly surveillance aircraft and collect data in an airspace that can expand to more than 220,000 square miles.
View from Chumash Trail of a shooting range at Naval Air Station Point Mugu | Photo: Jena Lee
Tracking, surveilling and data collecting are ways of seeing specifically tailored to military goals. Last June, we took a group of artists to hike and draw the Laguna Peak Tracking Station at Point Mugu to get a glimpse of the apparatus that enables the military to have a technologically augmented, automated, remote point of view, and consider it in contrast to our comparably low-tech, human, grounded perspective.
The Laguna Peak Tracking Station is one in a network of U.S. satellite stations supporting naval and aerospace missile launches and tracking. The installation is perched on a 1,500-foot-high mountain peak above Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC). It enables military personnel in the Naval Satellite Operations Center (NAVSOC), a control room at the NVBC below, to see and measure the performance of missiles across and beyond this vast range. The technology used at the facility includes coverage of photo and video optics, airborne and surface target control, telemetry, radio communication and data transmission, surveillance radar, and a transmitter system for “Command and Destruct” of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The NBVC has been at Point Mugu in its current configuration since 2000, but the Navy has been using this site for over a half-century. Naval Air Station Point Mugu was established here in 1942 as a United States Navy anti-aircraft training center during World War II and quickly became the Navy's major missile development and test facility. The base has been home to many weapons-testing programs. The test range extends offshore to the Navy-owned San Nicolas Island in the Channel Islands. In 2000, Naval Air Station Point Mugu was merged with nearby Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme to form NBVC.
Stages of missile interception by the Arrow system, which has been tested at Point Mugu several times since 2004. The picture shows a hostile missile trajectory and that of the "Black Sparrow" air-launched target missile used in firing tests. | Image Source: Wikipedia
Our visit to the area was part of “Incendiary Traces”, an art, research and media project that involves plein-air reconnaissance missions where groups visit, sketch, and observe local active military landscapes in Southern California and elsewhere. While artists, scholars, journalists, and armed authorities all seek to understand unknown situations, we don’t traditionally use the same techniques or tools to do so. The military relies heavily on specialized technologies and techniques to gain “situational awareness”, and “command” and “control” of the landscape. Given that the military deals with life or death situations, it’s not surprising that they rely on mechanized and quantification-based visualization to impose a sense of objectivity and minimize human error. These technologies can reveal inclinations and occlusions in the cultures that produced them. “Incendiary Traces” draws upon the similarities and differences between the visualization methods of artists, scholars, journalists, engineers and armed authorities to uncover these inclinations.
Hillary Mushkin | Sketch of Laguna Peak Tracking Station, 2016 | watercolor and ink on paper
Here, sketches made by the group of artists and writers who joined us that day highlight the significant role human gesture, subjectivity and interpretation play in depicting the landscapes of conflict zones. While we were all looking at the same landscape, our sketches are different. Together, they form a textured, heterogeneous perspective, especially when compared to the centralized view the tracking station contributes to in the NAVSOC control room. Our varied backgrounds and interests reflect what we chose to include in the frame, our choice of medium, level of detail and rendering style.
Joseph Bolstad is primarily a sculptor; his sketch reflects a focus on 3D shape and volume. Hillary Mushkin’s sketch reflects some of the concerns of the larger “Incendiary Traces” project – what we can see from close up, on the ground, and what it is like to look at something from a distance. Working with the fluid, potentially unruly nature of watercolor, she asks, how accurate can a picture be? Jena Lee found beauty and a bit of ironic humor in the contrast between the spectacular rolling landscape and the utilitarian manmade structures. Richard Wheeler’s artistic practice involves research on surveillance and satellite imaging. The photos he made at Point Mugu with a new surveillance scope system he put together show that such technologies can have unexpected results. Conor Collins works primarily with photography and computer graphics. His sketch perhaps reflects a more straightforward attempt to record what he saw. Lesley Goren, an artist who has been studying native flora, chose to foreground the laurel sumac sprouting new growth from a recent fire in the area. Stacie Jaye Meyer was particularly inspired by what was on the ground at our feet. She collected plant material that had been charred in the fire. Her sketches are experiments in capturing the environment using a focal point and methodology that significantly differs from the military’s.
Incendiary Traces is an ongoing project. As technologies that extend perception become increasingly advanced in the hands of those who have the privilege to posses it, this kind of work reminds us of the infinite impossibility of omniscience, and the inevitable persistence of diverse, human perspective.
Jena Lee | Sketch of the Ridge with Laguna Peak Tracking Station, 2016 | Marker and pencil on paper
Richard Wheeler | View of Laguna Peak Tracking Station, 2016 | Composite afocal digital photograph
Conor Collins | Sketch of Laguna Peak Tracking Station, 2016 | Pencil on paper
Lesley Goren | Sketch of Laguna Peak Tracking Station, 2016 | Marker, ink and pencil on paper
Stacie Jaye Meyer | Environmental Capture at Point Mugu, 2016 | Found charcoal on paper
Participating artists at Point Mugu (L to R): Sara Voden, Hillary Mushkin, Stacie Jaye Meyer, Leslie Goren, Richard Wheeler, Joseph Bolstad, Jena Lee | Photo: Conor Collins
Source: https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/view-f...
In Reconnaisance Tags hike and draw, satellite, point mugu, laguna peak, tracking station, landscape, US Navy, navsoc
← The Intimate Technology of Remote VisionReconnaissance: Inside the Panopticon →
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Actor Jayasurya’s next movie titled as “Thrissur Pooram”
By Stephen | 13 May 2019
It has been quite a while a movie of Jayasurya has released. Actor Jayasurya was last seen in the movie “Pretham 2” which got released in December 2018. Now, the actor has committed a new project. His upcoming movie is titled as “Thrissur Pooram”. The movie will be directed by Rajesh Mohanan. In the movie Actor Jayasurya will be seen in a mass action avatar. The actor will be playing the role named "Round Jayan". The script of the movie is handled by Music Director Ratheesh Vega. As the title suggests the movie revolved around Thrissur City. The first look poster of the movie was released by the makers today. The project will be bankrolled by Actor Vijay Babu. The makers are also planning to conduct an audition for fresher in Thrissur for the movies star cast. Bigg Boss winner Sabumon Abdusamad will be seen in a pivotal role. Anyway, we can expect more details about the project soon.
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Sept 15 2011 Issue
Category: Sept 15 2011 Issue
Tough measures to shut down money launderers
September 14, 2011 Indian Newslink
A number of ministries and government agencies are pooling their resources to tackle the rising menace of money laundering with progressive measures in place over the next two years. The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 will come fully into force on June 30, 2013 but the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) notification said financial institutions,…
Sept 15 2011 IssueLeave a comment
Triangle TV adds another angle to Awards
We are happy to announce that Triangle Television has joined the high profile team of sponsors of the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards (IBA) 2011. The fast-growing television channel, which exclusively provides broadcasting opportunities to all Hindi programme producers, will sponsor the ‘Best Businesswoman’ category of IBA 2011. We are also happy to announce that veteran journalist, interviewer, presenter and…
Mixed-ownership Model progressive
National is working hard to build a more competitive economy based on exports and higher savings, helping create sustainable, higher-paying jobs. Building a stronger economy is a key priority for this Government. We are focused on the things that matter to our Indian communities, and to all New Zealanders. Currently the Government, on behalf of New Zealanders, owns over $220…
Bank of India Opening
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Dr Alan Bollard will inaugurate the office of the Bank of India (NZ) Limited in Auckland on Thursday, October 6, 2011. The inaugural function will be held at the Bank’s office and first branch at 10 Manukau Road, Epsom at 10 am. An inaugural dinner for invited guests will be held at Stamford Plaza…
Commonwealth weary of the Fiji enigma
After almost six years of dingdong battle, Fiji remains a diplomatic nightmare and regional and international enigma and with no solution in sight. Although he did not throw up his hands, Commonwealth Secretary General Kamlesh Sharma agreed that the military regime in Fiji in general and Prime Minister Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama in particular, has remained defiant since the overthrow…
Media Partnership enhances social values
New Zealand’s fast-growing multiethnic communities in general and the Indian community in particular will benefit from the strategic media partnership just established between one of the fastest growing New Zealand television channels and your favourite newspaper. Triangle Television, adored by tens of thousands of Indian television viewers for creating a platform for a number of programme providers to air community…
Bank of India to focus on growth of SMEs
Increased exposure to the small and medium-sized enterprises and the agricultural sector, establishing new branches and operating additional ATMs are among the priorities of Bank of India in its Indian operations for the current financial year. Chairman & Managing Director Alok Kumar Mishra said that the Bank will continue to follow its strategy of inclusive growth in the years ahead.…
Terrorism revisits Indian Capital
As the world was preparing to observe the 10th Anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the US (on September 9), terror revisited the Indian Capital on September 7. According to initial reports, a powerful bomb, triggered by a sophisticated explosive device inside a briefcase, exploded near the crowded Delhi High Court at 1030 am. The attack left at least 11…
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Illinois Senator and Obama's Avowed Communist Mentor, Who Covered the Soviet Union's 27th Congress of the Communist Party in Moscow, Made Sure Obama was Her Handpicked Successor
Americans, me included have been duped for a long time. We are slowly waking up, many of us. We are in different stages of this new awareness. But sooner or later we will all run into a story like this one and others...and have to come to terms with the facts that our Republic has been hi-jacked and in its place is a high-tech Madison Avenue, Hollywood type facade that keeps most of us as stars of our own personal "Dumb and Dumber" meets "The Truman Show movie". Things simply are not as they appear in this Matrix we call America. You will find that what conspiracy theorist told you 30 years ago about a New World Order is actually already in place and happening to us right now, in real time. The politicians are in reality actors on a stage, performing for us as we clap and dance to the tunes they play. As more and more wake up, the actors we call leaders have planned for this I am afraid, and they know it is not to their benefit to have an unruly "audience" that won't play by their rules.
It is shocking to 'come out" at first, but the truth, will set you free. -W.E.
WND h/t Commie Blaster
Alice Palmer, the avowed communist who helped launch Barack Obama’s career, continues to haunt Obama even today.
In 2008, Palmer showed up at the Democratic National Convention in Denver as a Hillary Clinton supporter, still resentful toward Obama for knocking her and three other candidates off the ballot for an Illinois state Senate seat some 13 years earlier by challenging voter signatures.
“The Democratic primary, what I witnessed, was one of the most appalling, disgusting things I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Hollywood-based digital photographer Michele Thomas told WND in a joint interview with Hollywood film producer Bettina Viviano.
Thomas began as a volunteer for the 2008 Clinton campaign then launched a petition drive when she learned the Democratic National Committee was not going to allow delegates to cast their votes for Clinton at the convention.
“I just felt like the entire process was being eviscerated and rules were being changed all along to ensure that no matter what, Barack Obama was the nominee,” Thomas said.
“And I felt compelled to take a stand to have the process in which we decide who our candidates are that we vote for be upheld,” she said. “And that the peoples’ votes are held up from the ballot box to the convention where the delegates bring those votes forward.”
Thomas said she received death threats as she gathered the 300 signed and notarized petitions required by Democratic National Convention rules to prompt a count of votes for Hillary Clinton on the first ballot.
Knowing how Obama had defeated Palmer in his first election campaign in 1996, Thomas required the delegates who signed the petition to notarize their signatures on two copies. One copy was sent to a Post Office box and the other brought to the convention in Denver.
Thomas said she did it “so there was no way the DNC or the Obama campaign, his lawyers, could knock my signatures off this petition.”
Thomas took three months off work to conduct the petition drive, foregoing considerable income.
She explained why she did it and why she is speaking out about it now.
“I’m a little scared right now, there’s no doubt about it,” she admitted, “but at some point in your life, if you are fortunate enough, you are faced with the decision of doing something bigger than yourself.”
As WND reported, the charges of Thomas, Viviano and others connected to the 2008 campaign are now being investigated by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Cold Case Posse, which is probing Obama’s eligibility for Arizona’s 2012 ballot.
Help Sheriff Joe blow the lid off Obama’s fraud. Join the Cold Case Posse right now!
‘Bare-knuckle’ politics
In 1995, Obama saw his opening to run for elected office when Palmer decided to give up her state Senate seat and run for Congress in a special election.
In 1986, as editor of the Black Press Review, Palmer was the only African-American to cover the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in Moscow.
She went out of her way to make Obama her handpicked successor.
To get Obama’s state Senate race off to a good start, Palmer arranged a function to be held for a few influential liberals in the district at the Hyde Park home of Weather Underground founders Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn.
It’s not likely Palmer would have selected Obama to be her successor in the Illinois Legislature or have introduced him to the Hyde Park political community at the Ayers-Dohrn home unless she saw an affinity between Ayers and Dorhn’s radical SDS Weather Underground history and her own history of openly professed communism and Obama.
After Palmer stepped aside for Obama to take her seat, she suffered an unexpected electoral defeat in the November 1995 Democratic Party primary. She came in a distant third, behind Jesse Jackson and Emil Jones Jr., a power-wielder who would become Obama’s mentor after Obama was elected to fill Palmer’s seat.
After losing the special congressional election, Palmer reversed her decision and decided she wanted her Illinois Senate seat back.
Palmer supporters asked Obama to step aside, but he refused and decided to challenge Palmer’s eligibility for the ballot using what the Chicago Tribune described as the “bare-knuckle arts of Chicago electoral politics.”
Obama hired a fellow Harvard Law School alumnus to challenge the legitimacy of the signatures Palmer received on petitions to qualify for the ballot.
Once he set on the strategy, Obama kept challenging petitions, until he succeeded in getting all four of his Democratic primary rivals forced off the ballot, enabling him to run unchallenged.
Viviano described Obama’s strategy in defeating Palmer in 1995 as a betrayal.
“Alice Palmer was his mentor who had asked Bill Ayers to throw that coming-out party for Obama,” she explained.
Thomas said she met Palmer in person at the 2008 convention in Denver.
“I actually had my petitions in my backpack,” Thomas remembered. “I walked right up to her and I said, ‘Alice Palmer, you have no idea how you have affected my life and what I’ve just done.’”
Thomas explained to Palmer how she designed her petition to make sure Obama could not get lawyers to disqualify her signatures.
“I had every single one of these petitions notarized because I know what happened to you,” Thomas told Palmer upon meeting her in Denver. “I have them in my backpack right now. Do you want to see them?”
Palmer said yes.
“She started going through them, and she got tears in her eyes when she saw that they were notarized,” Thomas recalled. “She said, ‘Oh my God, This is what I should have done, this is what I should have done.”
Thomas told Palmer that the only reason she got her signatures individually notarized was to prevent the Democratic National Committee or the Obama campaign from throwing out her signatures to disqualify the petition.
“This was all because of what [Obama] did to all of his challengers,” Viviano stressed. “It just was outrageous to disqualify these people that way. This is how moral and ethical our so-called president is. His own mentor, who went out of her way to support him in his career – he turned around with a knife and put it in her back and had her challenged off the ballot in a way that was so amoral and unethical, and she became a Hillary supporter.”
Thomas remembered that Palmer pulled her aside at the Denver presidential nominating convention and told Thomas that she wanted to tell her a story.
Palmer explained to Thomas that after Obama’s lawyers disqualified her signatures in 1996, she spent the next few months walking door-to-door making sure her signatures were valid.
“She said every single one of them was correct, and they should have not been knocked off,” Thomas said.
Thomas recalled that Palmer wanted to have dinner with her that night. But the person who introduced her to Palmer later called and said that the dinner was off because Palmer had been threatened.
Viviano shared Thomas’ outrage.
“America doesn’t do scared like that,” she insisted. “This is a First Amendment country, freedom of speech and now, all of a sudden, there are people cowering in the corner that are afraid to tell the truth about things.
“This is like living under Chavez or Castro,” she said. “It’s ridiculous.”
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Attili: Israeli settlers draining Palestinian water supply
July 29, 2012 10:42 P.M. (Updated: July 31, 2012 1:37 P.M.)
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israel allocates 70 times more water to each settler than to the average Palestinian in the West Bank, the head of the Palestinian Water Authority said Sunday.
At a press conference in Ramallah, Shaddad Attili said Palestinians received 105 million cubic meters of water, less than the amount allocated in the 1995 Oslo Accords and around a quarter of the 400 million cubic meters needed according to international standards.
Israel controls most of the water resources in the West Bank and refuses to increase the amount of water it allocates to Palestinians, Attili said, forcing Palestinians to buy water from Israel.
Water is a final status issue in negotiations with Israel and postponing the issue to final talks has created a water crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, the official said.
The Palestinian Water Authority has had to buy water and is billions of shekels in debt, Attili said. The Palestinian Authority, in the midst of its own fiscal crisis, has not helped with the debt, he added.
Meanwhile in Gaza, 95 percent of the water is not fit for human consumption, and sea water -- contaminated with sewage -- is leaking into the over-extracted coastal basin, threatening long-term problems of kidney disease. Within two years there may be no drinking water left in Gaza, Attili said.
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Boston’s Tragedy Exposes the Dangers of Media Bias
When media jump to dangerous conclusions in reporting acts of terrorism it can victimise the innocent and reinforce hatreds. This has been highlighted in coverage of the tragic events in Boston this week.
A twenty-year-old man watching the conclusion of the Boston Marathon had his body torn into by the force of the bomb, which killed three people and injured 176, many of them seriously.
But he was the only victim who, while in the hospital being treated for his wounds, had his apartment searched in “a startling show of force” according to neighbours who watched in amazement as police ransacked his apartment and took away some of personal belongings.
It was this action – as a result of racial profiling by the police – that provided the basis for a widely-criticised report in the tabloid New York Post which boldly and inaccurately claimed that 12 people were killed in the explosions and, more alarmingly, that a "Saudi national who suffered shrapnel wounds" had been identified as "a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing."
The story, which has yet to be corrected, spread quickly through the usual information pipelines: within 48 hours the story had 48,000 Facebook likes and was tweeted more than 16,000 times.
The Post report was disowned by Boston police, even though it was their initial racial profiling that set the media hare running. In fact, the man involved, a 21-year-old Saudi national, is a student studying English in Boston. He is described by his roommate Mohammed Hassan Bada, 20, as quiet, clean, and a sports fan — someone who he didn't think would plant a bomb.
But that didn’t stop some journalists from forcing the issue. Bada found himself on the receiving end of media harassment. He complained about being pestered non-stop by reporters the following day. "Let me go to school, dude," he told a Fox News producer, who asked him if he had any idea he might have been living with a killer.
Some media argued that the racial profiling was appropriate. "Was he a real student or was this a front?" asked Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano. "Was he honest or was he deceptive when he made his visa application, which is a lot more complex post-9/11 — but which any smart and determined person can trick the government and get in here even though they have evil designs."
It soon became clear, however, that the injured student with chunks of shrapnel in his leg was a witness (and a victim), not a suspect. Critics quickly called for the Post to apologize for labeling him a potential terrorist. Although it has never made the correction, the paper did, at least, subsequently and correctly report that "nothing terrorism related" was found in the wounded Saudi's apartment.
The scope for further victimization of people from Middle Eastern origin was made worse by the reckless language of one conservative media pundit who in the wake of the bombing caused a storm of protest for making the incendiary remark that “Muslims are evil. Let’s kill all of them.”
This was Erik Rush, a regular on Fox News and CNN. With no information about the attackers yet made public, he implied in a tweet that the culprit was the young man from Saudi Arabia and in response to criticism on Twitter went further with his call to violence.
He later said he was being sarcastic, but as someone with a history of targeting Muslims on the air and in his writings, and in the febrile atmosphere in which he was working, it is perfectly understandable why some people might take the comment seriously.
All of this illustrates that in some corners of media – even those at the heart of the traditional mainstream – journalists are too quick on the draw when it comes to speculation over responsibility for acts of terror. The police don’t help when they set the pace with their stereotypes and institutional bias, but that is no excuse for journalists to publish unverified and potentially inflammatory information.
Apr 18, 2013 Posted by: Aidan White | in MyBlog
written by Dasha Ilic, April 19, 2013
There was a discussion on the same subject on Democracy Now. I wonder when we'll have this kind of debate on mainstream media.
http://www.democracynow.org/20...gment_cnn_
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Appeals panel: Federal judge wrong to deny Boeing military contractor defense in asbestos suit
By Timothy MalloyJanuary 23, 2019Personal Injury
A Chicago federal appeals court has overridden a downstate federal judge, who sent an ex-Boeing worker’s asbestos suit against the company back to state court, saying the case belongs under federal jurisdiction because Boeing claims the federal government was in control of its bomber production and knew the danger of asbestos was involved.
The Dec. 14 ruling was authored by Circuit Judge Amy St. Eve, with agreement from Circuit Judges Diane Sykes and Amy Barrett, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
In April 2017, Bruce and Barbara Betzner filed a negligence suit in Madison County Circuit Court against Boeing. The suit alleged Bruce developed mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos, while working on the assembly of B-1 and B-1B bombers between 1982 and 1987 at a Boeing plant in Dallas.
Madison County is near St. Louis. According to reports, thousands of asbestos suits have been filed in the county, because of its court system’s reputation as a venue favorable to plaintiffs and their attorneys in such cases. Asbestos plaintiffs don’t have to live in Madison County, only having to show the company being sued did business in the area. Of 1,299 civil filings in the county in 2016, a total of 1,078 were mesothelioma claims.
In June 2018, Boeing asked to have the Betzner case moved to U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, on grounds of “contractor defense,” in that the U.S. Air Force was responsible for any alleged asbestos exposure, not Boeing, because the Air Force was in charge of the bomber’s design and production.
However, District Judge Staci Yandle refused, pushing the matter back to Madison County Circuit Court, saying Boeing failed to furnish any “facts, supporting affidavits, or exhibits” to back up its federal contractor defense argument. Yandle added Boeing “simply did not provide sufficient information” for the court to decide federal jurisdiction was the proper venue.
Circuit Judge St. Eve said Yandle was wrong to say Boeing needed facts, affidavits or exhibits. Rather, Boeing only had to submit a “short and plain statement of the grounds of removal” from state to federal court, St. Eve said in quoting a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
St. Eve went on to note the contractor defense shields contractors from liability when making products for the federal government under strict governmental control, in which the products comply with governmental specifications and the contractor warns the government of production hazards.
In light of the requirements for a contractor defense, St. Eve said Boeing plausibly laid out such a defense.
“When designing, manufacturing, supplying, testing, and repairing the B-1 and B-1B aircraft it acted as a government contractor under the detailed and ongoing direction and control of the United States military. Boeing also claimed that the military had exclusive control over the design and development of the aircraft and required adherence to precise specifications.
“Additionally, Boeing alleged the aircraft it manufactured conformed to the military’s specifications and the federal government was independently aware of the potential health hazards related to asbestos exposure,” St. Eve determined.
St. Eve added that because Boeing’s allegations are “plausible on their face, this case belongs in federal court.”
This article was first published by Cook County Record.
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Real Estate Developer Sent to Prison for Fraud
Allison Tussey — March 19, 2015 — Leave a comment
Timothy Monahan, 36, San Diego, California, a real estate developer, was sentenced after previously pleading guilty to committing wire fraud.
U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo sentenced Monahan to one year and one day incarceration, followed by two years of supervised release. Restitution to the Bolivar Investment Group, LLC in the amount of $140,525.19 was paid prior to sentencing.
According to court documents, in about late 2008, Monahan and his business partner, “M.H.,” sought investors to invest approximately $3,000,000 for the acquisition of an approximately five-acre tract of land adjacent to the Lakeview Regional Medical Center in Covington, Louisiana, and the development of two office buildings on that land. Monahan and M.H. convinced Bolivar Investors Group, L.L.C., an investment group organized by members of the Crescent River Port Pilots Association, to invest the money. In February 2009, Monahan, his partner, and Bolivar created a new entity, ANewtrac West, to facilitate the purchase and development. As part of the agreement, Bolivar agreed to fund a $3,000,000 capital contribution to Newtrac West. Shortly thereafter, Monahan and his business partner opened a bank account in the name of Newtrac West; while representatives of Bolivar were supposed to have access to the account, in truth only Monahan and M.H. had access. Between January 20, 2009, and July 14, 2009, Bolivar made six deposits, including five by wire, into the Newtrac West bank account, totaling approximately $3,000,000.
Between January 20, 2009, and July 27 2009, Monahan used approximately $140,525.19 from the account without authorization to pay expenses and debts apart from and unrelated to the purchase or development of the land in Covington.
Subsequently, Monahan and M.H. devised a scheme to hide the misuse of funds. Specifically, false financial and bank statements of Newtrac West, based on the real bank statements for the Newtrac West account, were created to hide the unauthorized withdrawal of funds and to deceive representatives of Bolivar into believing that Newtrac West was in excellent financial condition. For example, while the Newtrac West account had a true balance of negative $29,292.45 on September 30, 2009, the doctored statement represented that the account had a balance of $826,512.92.
Monahan’s partner, M.H., was charged in the Eastern District of Louisiana in August 2013 for his role in the above-described scheme. He pleaded guilty in the Southern District of California and was sentenced to twenty-four months in jail earlier this year.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced the sentence
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg was in charge of the prosecution.
In Mortgage Fraud Louisiana
5 Sentenced in Texas Mortgage...
Man Arrested for Falsifying...
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Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus was born in 1945 in Gothenberg on the west coast of Sweden. After a successful local career in Sweden with a folk group in the mid 1960s, he started his collaboration with Benny Andersson. They then went on to form ABBA with Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Even during the ABBA years, the idea of writing a musical seemed appealing and, in 1981, Björn and Benny met Tim Rice and co-wrote Chess with him, which opened in the West End in 1986. In 1995 Björn and Benny opened a new musical called Kristina Från Duvemåla, which played for three years in Sweden. Their most recent musical is the Stockholm production Hjälp sökes, which opened in 2013. Bjorn is one of the producers for MAMMA MIA! The Party, which opened in Stockholm in January 2016.
Author's Shows
Chess The Musical
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Projects / Events / Tree of Light < >
As the culmination of a two-year project for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, 40 schools and community groups working with professional dancers, musicians, visual artists and writers, created a series of four outdoor performances with a total of 1,200 participants.
Momentum provided structural engineering services to the event’s centrepiece, the 16m-high Tree of Light. This consisted of cantilevered boxes suspended above the band with rigging arms and beams inserted into the box structures. The ‘brutalist tree’ was powered by cyclists at its centre, and during the performance the monumental sculpture shuddered into life in a blaze of light powered by human energy.
Client . Block9
© Peter Podworski
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Toggle navigation Communities
West Greenwich, RI Real Estate
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West Greenwich is a large rural town in Kent County, Rhode Island with a population of approximately 6,000 residents. The town has maintained its rural landscape and has many farms around town that residents and visitors can enjoy.
Leyden Farm Vineyards and Winery is one of the many family owned businesses in the town. The farm is a popular location for buying Christmas trees and wine that is made on the property.
The Mishnock Barn is also a popular West Greenwich attraction known as the “Best Country Western Dance Club in Rhode Island.” The barn is family run and has three dancing floors with about 3,000 square feet of dancing space.
This rural town is 51 square miles and is perfect for farming and horse riding. Stepping Stone Ranch is one of the many horse ranches in the town offering riding lessons, horse boarding and trail riding.
Because of its rural landscape, many West Greenwich properties have farms and horse stables on the property. Much of the real estate in West Greenwich are singlefamily homes with several acres of land. Most homes for sale are in the styles of Colonials, Capes and Ranches.
West Greenwich Information
West Greenwich is a wellspring of tranquility. While its location makes it ideal for commuters, the community has seen significant growth as major companies have relocated or opened large facilities in-town.
Impressions / Character
The woodland splendor of the Arcadia Management Area is designed deliberately for fishing, boating, hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. This spot is a sanctuary for nature lovers. West Greenwich provides the kind of sprawling suburban living that is rapidly becoming a rarity.
Villages / Neighborhoods
West Greenwich is made up of the villages of: Escoheag, Hopkins Hill, Kitt's Corner, Mishnock, Nooseneck, Robin Hollow, West Greenville Center, Wickaboxet.
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160 John Potter Road
West Greenwich, RI 02817 $544,880 | Single Family 4 Bed | 3.1 Bath
140 Victory Highway
West Greenwich, RI 02817 $519,900 | Single Family 3 Bed | 2 Bath
76 W Log Bridge Road
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16 Doe Place
105 Stubble Brook Road
80 Browns Corner Road
West Greenwich, RI
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Robert E. Petersen Collection
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Harrington and Richardson M1 Semi Automatic Rifle
This cutaway M1 rifle was originally built to be mounted inside an electrically-operated mechanism that cycled the action for demonstration purposes. SN 4727229
John Cantius Garand was born on New Year's Day, 1888 in St. Remi, Quebec, Canada. After spending his early years in Canada, he moved with his family to Connecticut. Showing great mechanical aptitude from an early age, he designed and patented a screw jack at the age of 14; by his nineteenth birthday, Garand was working as a machinist.As his career progressed, he gained experience in tool and gauge making and design. Garand was also an accomplished marksman. On one occasion, it is said that he spent over $100 in a single day at the shooting galleries of Coney Island.
During the First World War, Garand took a job in a micrometer factory in New York City. While employed there, he came up with a design for a machine gun and submitted it to the U.S. government. As a result, he was hired as a designer by the Bureau of Standards, where his work with machine guns continued. Garand's design employed a mechanism in which the primer moved slightly rearward on firing with enough force to unlock the bolt. Army Ordnance officials were sufficiently impressed with the young man's work that in 1919, he was transferred to Springfield Armory at an annual salary of $3,500. With the success of John Browning-designed machine guns, the Army saw no need for a similar arm. Instead, Garand was tasked with developing a semi-automatic rifle based on his machine gun design.
By 1925, Garand had worked out many of the problems facing this new rifle, but a change in the design of the Army's .30-06 cartridge made Garand's primer-activated system unworkable. Undaunted, he re-designed his rifle to be gas-operated. Additional challenges were posed when the Army abandoned the .30-06 in favor of the .276 cartridge; Garand adapted his design to work with the new round, and in 1929, this design was the winner in Army acceptance trials. Instead of entering production, Garand's rifle faced yet another obstacle, as Army Chief of Staff Douglas MacArthur insisted that the .30-06 be retained. Once again, Garand returned to his workshop and changed the design for use with the heavier cartridge. On January 9, 1936, the "U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30 M1" was adopted by the Army as its new battle rifle.
The Marine Corps followed suit in November, 1941, based at least in part on the rifle's favorable performance on Guadalcanal. Garand's original design was not without its share of problems. Most notable among these was a load failure with the seventh cartridge contained in the 8-round en bloc clip, a tendency to eject the clip with one round remaining, and an operating rod malfunction caused by prolonged exposure to rain. All of these were solved through minor improvements prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. Original production M1s utilized a gas-trap actuator. This was changed to a gas-port system in 1940.
Eventually, these early production rifles were converted to the new system during normal ordnance maintenance and rebuild cycles, but some did see service in the Philippines during the early days of the war. Other changes included the use of a compartment in the buttstock for storage of cleaning supplies, and improved sights. M1 variants include the M1C and M1D sniper rifles. Initial production was limited to Springfield Armory, and by the end of the war, nearly three and one-half million M1s had been produced in its shops. By mid-1943, Springfield's output topped 4,000 rifles each day. Winchester Repeating Arms accounted for over 500,000 more. With the conclusion of hostilities, Winchester's M1 production lines were shut down, and Springfield concentrated on rebuilding surviving service rifles. Production resumed during the Korean War, when nearly one million M1s were manufactured by Springfield Armory, Harrington & Richardson, and International Harvester. Production of the M1 ended in 1957.
The United States was the only nation to issue a semi-automatic rifle as a standard infantry arm during the Second World War, and the Garand's firepower proved to be a decisive factor in combat. The M1 proved to be rugged, dependable, and accurate, and it was also easy to strip and maintain in the field. M1s saw service in all theaters of the war and in extreme climates from the deserts of North Africa and the jungles of the Pacific to the frozen forests of Belgium and Germany. Although initially viewed with suspicion by the soldiers to whom it was issued, the rifle proved itself time and again to be superior to any other infantry long arm up to that time.
In fact, General George S. Patton called the M1 ". . . the greatest battle implement ever devised." General Douglas MacArthur added, "The Garand rifle . . . is one of the greatest contributions to our armed forces." Garand received many awards for his rifle, the highest of which came in March, 1944, when he was presented with the Civilian Medal of Honor for "exceptionally meritorious service to his country." He continued his work at Springfield Armory until his retirement in 1953, after 34 years of service. The M1's successor, the selectable-fire M14, was based on his earlier design. All told, he held fifty-four firearms-related patents, all of which were signed over to the government, with no additional compensation paid to Garand other than his salary. John Garand died in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1974 at the age of 86. - Harrington & Richardson, located in Worcester, Massachusetts, was founded in 1871 by Gilbert H. Harrington, the inventor of the top-break revolver, and William A. Richardson.
By 1876, H&R had become sufficiently established to be represented at the National Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, where the company exhibited 24 of its pistols. In 1880, H&R achieved another significant milestone in becoming the sole American licensee for the manufacturer of quality English Anson & Deely double-barrel hammerless shotguns, and in 1900, the company introduced its own top-break single barrel shotgun. In the years prior to the First World War, Harrington & Richardson's product line expanded to include other shotguns and revolvers.In addition, H&R produced an improved semi-automatic pistol patterned after British Webley & Scott, as well as the Handy Gun, a top break single-shot pistol that was available in various calibers and small-bore shotgun gauges.
During the First World War, the company received a contract for shoulder-type flare guns. This was the first of many military contracts that H&R would receive from the U.S. government, marking the beginning of a long association of arms production in support of American troops. After the war, Harrington & Richardson redesigned its handgun line. Among the arms introduced during this period was the U.S.R.A. single-shot target pistol, which featured a short hammer fall and crisp trigger pull. The U.S.R.A. pistol became the standard of the U.S. Army pistol team and was used to set a new U.S. pistol record in 1932. Prior to the Second World War, the company manufactured .38 caliber revolvers for British police use. These pistols, which were also available on the U.S. commercial market, were the first firearms ever carried by British "Bobbies".
In addition to these revolvers, H&R also produced handcuffs and leg irons for police use. When the United States went to war again in 1941, H&R produced the Reising .45 caliber submachine gun under contract with Eugene Reising, the gun's inventor. These delayed blowback arms, which fired from closed bolt, were more accurate than conventional "slam fire" submachine guns such as the Thompson, but Army acceptance tests showed that the Reising's close tolerances caused function problems when not cleaned regularly or when operated in dirty conditions. With Thompson production earmarked for Army and Lend-Lease purchases, the Marine Corps adopted the Reising, in both conventional wood stock and folding metal stock models, to supplement its insufficient submachine gun inventory. Reisings saw action on Guadacanal, where their performance was problematic due to the near impossibility of keeping them clean under jungle combat conditions. The Marines received their last Reisings in 1943, after which they were withdrawn from front line use as additional Thompsons and M1 carbines became available. Approximately 100,000 Reisings were manufactured, including some for Lend-Lease sales to the Soviet Union. A semi-automatic civilian version was also produced for use by defense plant and prison guards. After the war, H&R discontinued production after attempts to sell Reisings to police departments failed due to the ready availability of surplus military arms. During the Korean War, Harrington & Richardson once again turned its production lines to the manufacture of military arms.
On April 3, 1952, H&R received an order for 100,000 M1 rifles plus spare parts, and the first deliveries were made a year later. The company's experience as producer of firearms enabled it to begin production without the start-up problems experienced by other military contract arms producers, including International Harvester. Unlike other M1 manufacturers, H&R also made extensive use of subcontractor-produced parts and components in their rifles. The end of hostilities in July 1953 meant that most H&R-produced rifles were added to postwar inventories. The company continued to receive additional contracts for the M1, and by the time production ceased in 1956, H&R had produced 428,600 rifles. The end of production did not mark the end of the company's association with John Garand's rifle, as H&R later received a contract to rebuild 50,000 M1 rifles in 7.62mm NATO caliber for the U.S. Navy. In late 1954, Harrington & Richardson received an additional contract to conduct an engineering study aimed at production of 500 T48 rifles, an American version of the Belgian FN FAL .30 caliber rifle which was under consideration as a possible successor to the M1 as the U.S. military's standard battle rifle. In 1957, the Army adopted the Springfield Armory-developed M14, which was based on John Garand's original M1 design.
These rifles becamethe first multi-purpose American infantry rifle, replacing the M1 rifle, M1 carbine, Browning Automatic Rifle, and M3 submachine gun. As with the M1, the Army issued contracts for the M14 to Winchester and H&R to supplement production at Springfield Armory. H&R's tool-up and manufacture began quickly, with the company utilizing machinery left over from M1 production, but problems arose with subcontracted parts. To further complicate manufacturing efforts, inspectors discovered cracks in some receivers. H&R's M14 production came to a halt as the Army changed both metallurgical and heat treatment specifications for these rifles. With problems now corrected, H&R was able to make up for lost production time and get back on schedule by August 1961. By the time production ceased, Harrington & Richardson had manufactured over 500,000 M14s, making the company the largest manufacture of these rifles. H&R also produced the M16 "black rifle" under contract with the Department of Defense, as well as the M4 survival rifle, a .22 Hornet/.410 combination gun manufactured for use by U.S. Air Force flight crews. Harrington & Richardson exists today, but under a new name, the New England Firearms/H&R 1871. In addition to producing a complete line of pistols, rifles, and shotguns based on their earlier designs and ranging from inexpensive to presentation-grade models, the company is a U.S. distributor for British-made Webley & Scott shotguns.
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October 5 2009-State Bar Associations Fall Radio Campaign Provides Information and Key Resources to Help the Public Avoid Foreclosure and Eliminate Debt
STATE BAR ASSOCIATION'S FALL RADIO CAMPAIGN PROVIDES INFORMATION AND KEY RESOURCES TO HELP THE PUBLIC AVOID FORECLOSURE AND ELIMINATE DEBT
Campaign Also Calls on Attorneys to Continue the Proud Tradition of Volunteering for Pro Bono
Continuing its work to help New Yorkers in difficult economic times, the New York State Bar Association today unveiled its newest statewide radio ad series to let the public know about information and the resources it has available to help people avoid mortgage foreclosure and obtain debt relief. Narrated by State Bar President Michael E. Getnick (Getnick Livingston Atkinson & Priore, LLP of Utica and of counsel to Getnick & Getnick of New York City), the ad campaign will also promote the first-ever National Pro Bono Week, to be held October 25-31, by highlighting the legal profession's proud tradition of free assistance while encouraging attorneys to do even more to help those in need.
"The economic downturn during the last year has without question hurt many New Yorkers," said Getnick. "These radio ads are designed to let the public know that help is out there - in many cases in the form of free legal assistance provided by the thousands of attorneys who volunteer pro bono services. The ads also alert the public to many of the State Bar Association's free resources, including a video presentation on our Web site that provides practical advice for homeowners facing foreclosure and our Lawyer Referral Service to recommend an attorney who can provide debt counseling."
The NCSA (Non-Commercial Sustaining Announcements) spots were produced and distributed in coordination with the New York State Broadcasters Association as part of an ongoing radio campaign designed to educate citizens about a wide variety of important legal issues that affect the lives of New Yorkers. The spots will run from October 5th through October 31st. It is anticipated that the ads will air several thousand times on radio stations across the state throughout the four-week campaign.
The scripts for the three radio ads are as follows:
Mortgage Foreclosure: 30-seconds:
This is Mike Getnick, President of the New York State Bar Association. In neighborhoods across the nation, the American Dream of owning a home is jeopardized by the threat of foreclosure. If you are facing the loss of your home, we can help. Our Web site at nysba.org contains useful tips and practical steps that can help avoid foreclosure and save your most important investment. Visit nysba.org for more information.
Brought to you by the New York State Bar Association, in cooperation with the New York State Broadcasters Association.
Financial Debt: 30-seconds:
This is Mike Getnick, President of the New York State Bar Association. These tough economic times have made us all tighten our belts. The bills start coming in faster than you can afford to pay them and the collection calls start to mount. You do not have to face these problems alone. We can put you in touch with an attorney who can help guide you through a debt crisis. For more information, visit our Web site at nysba.org.
The Good We Do: 60-seconds:
This is Mike Getnick, President of the New York State Bar Association. The economic difficulties of the last year greatly increased the demand for free legal services. Whether it is a homeowner facing the loss of a home or parents seeking health care for their children, lawyers are deeply committed to answering the call of those in need but cannot afford to pay. Each year, our members provide thousands of hours of free legal services. But there are always opportunities to do more. This October 25th -31st, the State Bar will participate in the first ever National Pro Bono Week, a celebration highlighting the important role that volunteer attorneys play in ensuring equal access to justice for all citizens. For more information on National Pro Bono Week or if you are an attorney who can volunteer for one of our free programs and clinics, please visit our Web site at nysba.org. Ensuring justice for all; it's the good we do.
Below are links to the mp3 audio files of the three radio announcements:
http://www.nysba.org/Foreclosuremp3
http://www.nysba.org/Debtmp3
http://www.nysba.org/goodwedomp3
The 76,000-member New York State Bar Association is the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. Founded in 1876, State Bar programs and activities have continuously served the public and improved the justice system for more than 130 years.
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The Compact
Support COPE
Compact for Open-Access Publishing Equity
Scholarly publishing is going through a transformation as a result of digital means of communication, coupled with the financial predicament of libraries. With the most recent economic downturn, access to scholarly articles, so important to research progress and public advancement, will no doubt suffer.
Open-access scholarly journals have arisen as an alternative to traditional subscription scholarly journals. Open-access journals make their articles available freely to anyone, while providing the same services common to all scholarly journals, such as management of the peer-review process, filtering, production, and distribution. Since open-access journals do not charge subscription or other access fees, they must cover their operating expenses through other sources, including subventions, in-kind support, or, in a sizable minority of cases, processing fees paid by or on behalf of authors for submission to or publication in the journal.
Universities subsidize the costs of subscription journals by subscribing to them. Universities and funding agencies can provide equitable support for the processing-fee business model for open-access journals — to place the subscription-fee and processing-fee models on a more level playing field — by subsidizing processing fees as well.
The compact for open-access publishing equity supports equity of the business models by committing each university to "the timely establishment of durable mechanisms for underwriting reasonable publication charges for articles written by its faculty and published in fee-based open-access journals and for which other institutions would not be expected to provide funds."
A full account of the motivation for the compact can be found in the article "Equity for Open-Access Journal Publishing" published in the open-access journal Public Library of Science Biology.
Additional universities are encouraged to sign on to the compact at this web site.
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Insights: Bill Targets Migrant Detention Centers; Before You Go
June 28, 2019 Filed in: California
Bill Aims to Increase Transparency at Migrant Detention Centers
It is no secret that conditions in Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) migrant detention camps in California and nationally have questionable living conditions. There have been consistent reports of human rights violations in overwhelmed detention facilities. According to NBC News, there have been 24 deaths in the last two years alone in these facilities.
Reviews of the centers conducted by the California Attorney General (AG) has shown that available information regarding the treatment of immigration detainees in California is cursory and inconsistent.
Now, Senator Maria Elena Durazo (D – Los Angeles) is seeking to create greater transparency and ultimately safety for those in detention centers through SB 622 – Dignity in Detention. This bill would ensure there is an immediate investigation when a death occurs in civil custody in California, including immigration detention.
According to Senator Durazo, these centers – like those in Adelanto, McFarland, and Holtville – subcontract all operations of the facilities, and fail to comply with the federally-developed ICE Operations Performance-Based National Detention Standards.
Common issues among a number of facilities include language barriers, issues with access to medical and mental health care, obstacles to contacting family and other support systems, and barriers to adequate representation. (See related story of the Bishops pastoral visit to one of these detention facilities last year.)
SB 622 would provide a first step in creating greater transparency in these centers, and take immediate action in the event of the death of a detainee. California authorities would be mandated to investigate the death, which up to this point is handled by several different agencies, all with separate reporting requirement.
The bill has cleared the Senate side and now sits with the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Stay with us for the latest and ways you can help move this bill forward.
Action Alerts Before You Leave
Before you head out on that well-deserved summer vacation or break, be sure to review the current list of action alerts from the CCC to let lawmakers hear the Catholic voice. The Legislature will break for summer recess July 12 and return August 12, but there is important work that will take place before legislators sign-off for the month.
Use the links below to quickly send letters and ensure that lawmakers hear from you on these vital bills.
Oppose Bill Targeting “Seal of Confession”
Support Bill that Recognizes the Rights of Pregnant Parenting Students
Oppose the Bill that Requires Medicated Abortions on Campus
Urge Lawmakers to Expand the CalEITC Program
Urge California Lawmakers to Focus on Reducing Child Poverty
Urge Lawmakers to Help Prevent Youth Suicide
Urge Lawmakers to Focus on Preventing Youth Suicide – No on SB 316
Oppose the Bill that Makes Human Life a Monetary Transaction
Act Now to Help Support New K-12 Teachers
Urge Your State Senator to Support New K-12 Teachers
U.S. Bishops Detail Accountability Reforms
Earlier this month, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted to on several proposals to hold bishops accountable for instances of sexual abuse of children or vulnerable persons, sexual misconduct, or the intentional mishandling of such cases. They also specifically committed to involving and utilizing lay professional experts and established a new, independent mechanism for the reporting of such cases.
The new system commits to the involvement of lay professionals, informs the person asserting an allegation of their rights, establishes a notification process for conflicts of interest, and ensures claims won’t result in prejudice, retaliation, or discrimination.
The new system builds on The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, more commonly known as the Dallas Charter, which is a comprehensive set of procedures originally established by the USCCB in June 2002 for addressing allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy. The Charter also includes guidelines for reconciliation, healing, accountability, and prevention of future acts of abuse. It was revised in 2005, 2011, and 2018.
This year’s review resulted in the new system, in which Bishops agreed that third-party, independent oversight is crucial in successfully uncovering, publicizing and punishing bishop misconduct.
Click here for more information on this new process.
Hundreds of Thousands Object to SB 360
The final count of letters from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles protesting SB 360 looks like it will total more than 100,000, while more than 19,000 letters have been collected by the Diocese of Sacramento. The Archdiocese of San Francisco has just shy of 18,000. Those are just some of the totals from dioceses around the state as they fight to maintain the seal of confession.
The bill threatens to remove the right to privacy between a penitent and confessor during the Sacrament of Reconciliation and other spiritual counseling for priests and employees of the Church.
This tremendous outpouring could be amplified by sending a letter if you haven’t already done so. Tell you fellow parishioners as well.
SB 360 will be heard next in the Assembly Public Safety Committee on July 9 – when summer vacations are in full swing. Check back with www.cacatholic.org or our social media platforms to keep up with developments.
Taking Action: Caring for our Common Home
Last week, the California Bishops released God Calls Us All to Care for Our Common Home, a pastoral statement in response to the growing ecological threats to our state.
In it, the Bishops challenge the people of California to appreciate the beauty of the state and to apply – both individually and collectively – the teachings of Laudato Si’ in safeguarding our natural gifts. Click here for a video on the calling.
There are several dioceses already employing green methods that are resulting in tremendous gains for the environment. One-third of the parishes, offices and facilities of the Diocese of Monterey have gone solar, and the counties of Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz now draw on 100 percent carbon and nuclear-free energy largely thanks to efforts of local Catholics. The Diocese of Stockton has been tirelessly working for more than 10 years through its Environmental Justice Project to help steward God’s creation, focusing on recycling and energy efficiency.
These are just two of the inspirational ways that dioceses are heeding the call of the Bishops. We encourage you to connect with your local parish or diocese to put the Bishops’ call into action in the places closest to your own home.
There will be no issue next week because of the Independence Day Holiday. Enjoy the celebration.
Vol. 12, No. 21
Article source: https://www.cacatholic.org/insights-bill-targets-migrant-detention-centers-you-go
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Death doulas explain why everyone should have an end-of-life plan
ABC Radio Melbourne, by Nicole Mills, 7 Aug 2018.
A new breed of doulas are helping break down the fear around death, which they say shouldn’t be a confronting word.
Carmen Barnsley from Melbourne said just like birth doulas, death doulas were there to provide support, knowledge and assistance during times of upheaval and uncertainty.
“I find it is just a privilege and a humbling experience to be where life enters this world and when life leaves it,” the former nurse said.
“Death is just as amazing an experience as birth is, but we celebrate birth and we deny death.”
Ms Barnsley has had her own experience with death. Her son died when he was five months old.
While she was in the depths of numbing grief, the hospital handed over a Yellow Pages and told her and her husband they needed to pick a funeral parlour.
It was the first of many conversations she had during the grieving process that made her realise that as a society, we need to start doing death better.
“Some cultures do death beautifully. It’s a reflection of the person’s life, whereas I think we do it pretty poorly,” she said.
“The honest thing I can say about the doulas in my network is everyone has been through a personal process of death.
“A lot of the doulas who are coming from personal experiences are coming from terrible personal experiences and were seeking answers to improve it so that doesn’t happen to another person again.”
Ms Barnsley said her colleagues came from all walks of life, having worked as hospital chaplains, accountants, social workers, celebrants and in the funeral industry.
She wants people to understand that knowledge is power, especially when it comes to death.
“A death doula isn’t about dying, it’s about allowing that individual to live until they die.
“I find when somebody puts a plan in place they will then live until they die, as ironic as that sounds.”
She recommends having conversations about death when you’re young and healthy instead of leaving it until death approaches when emotions run high.
“In the medical profession we have informed consent. I’d love for end-of-life issues to have informed choices.
“I don’t have a terminal disease but I have an advanced life care directive in place.
“My doctor has got a copy; this is probably a little bit touchy at the moment, but mine is actually up on the [My Health Record] healthcare site … so that any hospital in Australia can access my directive.”
The main thing Ms Barnsley wants people to know is that death doesn’t have to be impersonal and there is no prescribed process to follow.
“You don’t need a funeral home, and some people don’t even know that,” she said.
“You may need to get one to transport someone, but you can have a loved one at home, you can organise transport straight to burial or cremation or whatever the person’s choice is.
“[In the past] a family did care for loved ones dying; it wasn’t in a hospital, it wasn’t medicalised, it wasn’t institutionalised and that was the norm.
“But there became a fear factor with death; let’s take it behind closed doors, we don’t talk about it, and there’s still people within our community that still have that.”
Bonita Ralph first came into contact with doulas when she was pregnant with her first child.
Years later she read an article about the work of death doulas and realised it was a similar concept.
“For me it was a very lightbulb moment where I went, ‘Oh my God, of course that’s the same thing’,” she said.
“It’s the same sort of energy, the birthing space and the dying space.”
Ms Ralph comes from a community welfare and social justice background and sees the work of a death doula as an “in-between role” to help bridge the gap between the medical system and the community.
“I think a lot of people think that when you’re a doula, you’re sitting at the bedside of someone who is dying, and that hasn’t been my experience yet,” she said.
“I think that may come, it may not, and that’s OK because I think the doula role, for me, is broader than that.
“A doula is a companion, someone to walk with you, someone to support you in your choices and that absolutely applies to end-of-life care and death.”
Ms Ralph said one of the best things people could do was spend time reflecting on their own experience with death and understand where their knowledge about death comes from.
“I think we’re moving really slowly towards acknowledging that if we don’t have role models and experiences, then we actually don’t know what to do,” she said.
“They need to know that it’s not illegal to take someone who has died home. It’s not illegal to organise your own funeral. You don’t need a funeral director. It’s a lot of work and maybe I wouldn’t suggest it; logistically it’s tricky, but it’s not impossible.
“People do dig their own graves, the graves of family members. That is not impossible. There are options out there.”
Ms Ralph said these options would not be for everyone, and while Australia was blessed to have a good medical system, it was important to know your choices.
“I don’t want people to feel like they’re being forced or that there’s a right or wrong way to do death,” she said.
“Death is so important because if you don’t offer good support, if you don’t offer genuine response to what that family needs, there’s going to be complicated bereavement results because people don’t move through and grow with their grief. They can get stuck.”
She said often people found it easier to talk openly about death with a doula, but she always encouraged people to have those same conversations at home so their next of kin understood their wishes.
“Talking about death is not weird. It’s important.
“Ask anyone who has had to work through a complicated death process such as a tragic death or complicated families or someone has died and left everything undone and the family has to pick up the pieces.
“Have these conversations when you’re young and well and alive and engaged, and have these conversations ongoing because things change. Relationships change. Expectations change. So don’t be afraid and keep having that conversation.”
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Home Cities Delhi
BJP plans high-voltage, star-studded campaign in Delhi
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi is planning a star-studded campaign for the upcoming elections for seven parliamentary constituencies in the national capital.
Published: 30th March 2019 10:23 AM | Last Updated: 30th March 2019 10:23 AM | A+A A-
Sapna Chaudhary, the Haryanvi singer-dancer. ( Photo | ANI )
By Parvez Sultan
Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi is planning a star-studded campaign for the upcoming elections for seven parliamentary constituencies in the national capital. It has decided to involve popular Bhojpuri film and television actors such as Amrapali Dubey, Shubhi Sharma, Akshara Singh, and Sweta Tiwari along with some Mumbai-based film stars to bolster its campaign.
A senior party functionary privy to the development said the singer-cum-dancer from Haryana, Sapna Chaudhary, who was in the news recently after reports pertaining to her joining the Congress surfaced, might campaign for the BJP in Delhi.
“We are in touch with several film and TV stars, who may canvass for the party in Delhi. We will inform you accordingly,” said Manoj Tiwari, chief of Delhi BJP.
The move, particularly engaging Bhojpuri artistes, is aimed at wooing the around 40 lakh poorvanchli voters—migrants from eastern UP and Bihar—mostly living unauthorised and resettlement colonies in pockets across the city.Tiwari, a Member of Parliament from the northeast Delhi seat, is himself a Bhojpuri singer and actor.
Justifying the party’s decision to bring professionals from the film and television industry for electioneering, the BJP leader said that the stars, especially those from the Bhojpuri film industry, had huge fan followings and inspiring stories to tell. “Film and TV people are impressed with the functioning of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his policies. They are keen to associate themselves with the BJP. However, our star campaigner is Modiji, who will be addressing at least two rallies in coming weeks,” said another leader of Delhi BJP.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday announced the names of its 15 star campaigners. The list of AAP’s star campaigners includes the names of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and senior party leaders.
A Delhi Congress leader said the party had not finalised its star campaigners in Delhi yet.“We will raise issues of national importance and try to connect with the common man. This will be our focus. Our senior leaders will campaign for our candidates in Delhi, he said.
Stay up to date on all the latest Delhi news with The New Indian Express App. Download now
Bharatiya Janata Party Sapna Chaudhary Sweta Tiwari Lok Sabha polls 2019 Lok Sabha elections 2019
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Home States Odisha
Higher education system needs to scale new heights: HRD Minister
Published: 02nd July 2013 12:29 PM | Last Updated: 02nd July 2013 12:29 PM | A+A A-
It is unfortunate that none of Indian universities figure in the top 200 universities in the world, said Union Human Resource Development Minister MM Pallam Raju.
“There are many degree-awarding institutions in our country, but most of them lack quality. For shortage of good academic institutions, many meritorious students prefer foreign institutions for higher studies,” he said while addressing the third convocation of Central University of Odisha at its Landiguda campus near Koraput on Monday.
The Union Minister said necessary steps need to be taken to revive the lost glory of Indian higher education system as enumerated in the country’s history and take at least a few of the existing universities into the global top league.
“The higher education sector is undergoing expansion as the Government aims to increase enrolment of students by the end of 12th Plan period,” said Raju. “The Union Government established Central University of Odisha in the KBK region in order to address the concern of equity and offer the opportunity of higher education to students of backward areas.”
The HRD Minister said the drive towards innovation should benefit the persons who are not sound and stable from the socio-economic point of view. “Though innovation is the key to future progress, the drive for innovation in our country is weak as we lack the systems that encourage and generate innovations. There is a need to strengthen the system of research mobilisation, inter-disciplinary and inter-university research collaborations and industry-academia collaboration,” he said, adding that distributive justice, as a higher goal of democratic polity, can be achieved only through a sound education system.
At the convention, social activist Tulsi Munda was conferred the Honoris Causa and eight students of the university who have secured top positions in their respective departments were awarded the Gold Medals for 2011-13 academic session.
In his presidential address, Prof K Srinath Reddy, Chancellor of the University, described the nature of modern education as ‘problem solving education’ and opined that education should pass through stages of knowledge and information and enable transformation.
Earlier, the University’s Vice-Chancellor Surabhi Banerjee informed that the University is planning to open new courses in the academic session of 2013-2014.
The VC added that the University will move to its new campus at Sunabeda soon from its existing campus at Landiguda.
“The new campus is spread over 430 acres and we have already completed majority of infrastructure works there,” she said.
Banerjee informed that the UGC has sanctioned 61 more teaching posts for the University this year. As of now, there are 30 regular and 12 contractual teachers in the Central University.
Stay up to date on all the latest Odisha news with The New Indian Express App. Download now
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Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun affirms that radical intervention required to manage cost of governance; ...inaugurates Efficiency Unit (E-Unit)
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has affirmed that no meaningful improvement will be recorded in the country without a radical intervention to manage the cost of governance.
She expressed the federal government’s resolve to bridge the gap between recurrent and capital expenditure with a view to freeing the much-needed funds for investment in infrastructure.
Speaking in Abuja yesterday while inaugurating the Efficiency Unit (E-UNIT) in her office, Adeosun said no amount of fiscal innovation, financial re-engineering or other well intention-ed economic policies would deliver the desired results as long as the manner in which government money is expended is not carefully controlled.
According to her, “We need to put the fiscal house in order. Much has been said about the devastating effects of corruption in our economy but little has been said about the costly and incrementally damaging effects of inefficiency and wastage.
“Inefficient spending is systematic and very hard to identify since it is often embedded in the day to day activities of government.
“We are determined to change the balance between capital and recurrent expenditure to release funds for investment in infrastructure that we need. To do so, we must be more efficient in how we spend,” she said.
The minister said she was extremely excited inaugurating the nation’s first Efficiency Unit as a critical tool in the management of public expenditure.
“We have seen similar initiatives deliver significant savings globally and I am sure that Nigeria will be no exception. The people have charged us with bringing change and this is an important part of it.
“Our vision is that our Efficiency Unit will be a change agent and catalyst for improving the management and delivery of public services so that we make sure that every naira we spend counts.
“Applying insight and ideas from the private sector and pools of vast practice within the public sector, we aim to provide practical, implementable recommendations that will deliver quantifiable savings to the Nigerian people,” Adeosun said.
She observed that in the context of fiscal consolidation, with the low oil price, public services can only be enhanced by reallocating resources from lower priorities to strategic initiatives by generating greater spending efficiency.
The minister pointed out that the primary objective of the E-UNIT initiative is to assist the government in identifying opportunities to reduce wasteful and inefficient spending “by doing more with less.”
Adeosun noted that the scope of the Efficiency Unit would be a wide one, encompassing every Ministry Department and Agency that is in the receipt of public funds.
“Spending public money is a trust and there must be both discipline and accountability in its use.
“We will seek to understand why in many cases the price paid for basic services by government exceseds that is paid in the private sector. The federal government has significant buying power in the market and this must result in keen pricing of all goods and services.
“In deed, in most jurisdictions, providing service to government is often minimally profitable but we have found in Nigeria, the reverse is the case.
“There are a number of factors that may explain this: It may be a function of poor negotiation skills or lack of reliable data.
“Also, the manner in which government operates may be inflating costs; for example, delayed payment or perceived risk of non-payment may result in higher pricing to government procurements” she stated.
According to her, initial reviews had unveiled wide variations in the prices of basic items between departments, adding that paper costs varied by up to 80 per cent between departments while range of prices for airline flights to the same destination differed by 100 per cent.
The current economic situation and reduction in oil prices, she noted, had exposed Nigeria’s vulnerabilities and created the need for greater efficiency in government spending.
On whether the recommendations of members of the E-UNIT would be implemented, she said the initiative would not be an ad hoc measure but a permanent, high profile one that would ensure probity in the use of public funds.
She also disclosed that guidelines would be introduced to guide spending while benchmarks will be put in place.
Responding to a question on whether poor remuneration is not an incentive for stealing, the minister said “ stealing is stealing” and cannot bet be rationalised on the altar of poor remuneration.
The E-UNIT is headed by Ms. Patience Oniha, a highly experienced Banker and Chartered Accountant. She had worked with Ecobank Nigeria, Standard Chartered Bank, KPMG and is currently a Director in the Debt Management Office (DMO).
Other members of the Committee include Head of Service of the Federation, Accountant-General of the Federation, Auditor-General of the Federation and Director, Budget Office of the Federation.
Drawn from the private sector are Alhaji Kabir Mohammed, former ICAN President; Mr. Kunle Elebute, (Partner KPMG) and Ms. Seyi Kumapayi, Chief Financial Officer, Access Bank.
Members of the supervising committee have agreed to donate their time without fee as their contribution to making government more efficient.
Credit: ThisDay
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Archive of journal
Information to the authors
Annotation and keywords 2017
Science and Innovation. 2017. #1.
Science and Innovation. 2016. #1 (9).
Science and Innovation. 2016. #2 (10).
Imomzoda Mukhammadyusuf Saidali – the Doctor of Philology, professor, the rector of the Tajik National University, the academician of Academy of Sciences of Republic of Tajikistan, academician of Academy of pedagogical and social sciences of the Russian Federation.
Imomzoda Mukhammadyusuf Saidali was born on April, 28th,1959 in Temurmalik district of Hatlon region. In 1981 graduated from the philological faculty of the Tajik State University named after V.I.Lenin (nowadays the-Tajik national university).
His labour activity has begun as the senior laboratorian of the Institute of language and literature nemed by Abuabdullo Rudaki of Academy of Sciences of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (1981-1984). In 1984-1985., had training in the Institute of the world literature named after M.Gorkiy of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. From 1985-1991 was the research assistant of Institute of language and the literature Abuabdullo Rudaki of the Academyof Sciences of Tajikistan. In 1990 successfully defended the master's thesis on a theme «Portrait Art in S.Ajni's prose».
From 1991 to 2004 Imomzoda Mukhammadyusuf Saidali worked as the teacher, the senior lecturer of the department of the theory of the newest Tajik-Persian literature and the dean of philological faculty of the Tajik national university. In days of a management of faculty Imomzoda M.S. paid much attention to formation improvement of quality, development of a philological science, the edition of the methodological literature, strengthening of material base of the faculty. For this period the philological faculty has reached the big successes in the preparation of scientific specialists, having turned to the center of preparation of literary critics and linguists of republic. In 2002 Imomzoda M.S. successfully defended the thesis for a doctor's degree on the theme «The Art of thought and poetics of the art prose of S.Ayni»
Professor Imomzoda M.S. is actively engaged in research activity. He is the author of more than 200 scientific and methodical works on pressing questions of the Tajik literature. Among the most known works are- «Questions on the Tajik language and the literature» (1998), «Spirituality and a visible trace " (2000) «World outlook and art of S.Ajni's thinking» (2011)., Etc.
The known literary critic, professor Imomzoda M.S. takes worthy place in the modern Tajik literary criticism, making huge contribution to development of the Tajik philological science. Scientific researches of professor Imomzoda M.S. cover pressing questions of history and the literature theory, and also the literary criticism and comparative literary criticism, the theory of translation, features of modern Tajik poetry and prose. Thanks to work of the scientist in the Tajik literary criticism ,the new concept of poetic prose on materials of products of modern prose writers has been developed.
Considering high organizing and mental abilities of the professor of Imomzoda M.S., the Government of Republic of Tajikistan in 2004 appointed him the rector of the Russian-Tajik (Slavonic) University(RTSU), and in 2012 the rector of leading high school of Republic of Tajikistan - the Tajik National University(TNU).
Under the management of Imomzoda M.S. the staff of RTSU and TNU made the essential contribution to dialogue of interstate humanitarian cooperation, in strengthening of national and language mutual relations not only within the country, but also at the regional and international levels.
The great attention of Imomzoda M.S. paid to questions of functioning and Russian languages development in territory of the CIS. By RTSU was opened the fund «Russian World», the Forum of graduates of Russian high schools was held "under the title Science and education" in the framework of 3rd Forum of creative and scientific intelligency of the CIS countries. In the framework of the Federal target program "Russian Language" together with the Moscow State university named after M.V.Lomonosov and the center of the International education in Tajikistan were held Days of Russian Language. Three Centers which are taking up the problems of interrelations of the CIS countries - the Center of geopolitical researches, Center "East-West" and the Center of the Tajik language have been opened at the MSLU ,were organized Imomzoda M.S. In 2004 under RTSU Imomzoda M.S. has opened Institute of improvement of professional skill of Russian and the literature teachers The professor Imomzoda M.S. is one of founders of periodic literary «Literary search» which is devoted to actual problems of the literature and a philological science.
Professor Imomzoda M.S. for a long time was the chairman of dissertational council on defense of doctor's and master's theses at RTSU and now heads dissertational council on defense of doctor's and master's theses at Тajik National University. Under his management 4 doctors and 12 master's theses have been defended.
Imomzoda M.S. is the honorable professor of the Moscow state linguistic university and Xinjiang pedagogical university of the Chinese National Republic(2012).
For the great contribution to a science and preparation of highly-skilled personnel professor Imomzoda M.S. in 2008 is selected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of Republic Tajikistan, the academician of Academy pedagogical and social sciences of the Russian Federation.
For merits before motherland, for the long-term honest work and the big contribution in friendship and cooperation strengthening between the people the professor Imomzoda M.S. is awarded the order "Friendship" (2011), the Reading and writing of Executive Committee of the CIS (2011), the Reading and writing of Council about cooperation in an education sphere of the CIS (2011). In 2012 professor Imomzoda M.S. is awarded a rank «the Honored worker of the higher vocational training of the Russian Federation».
Post address: 17, Rudaki avenue,
Dushanbe, 734025,
Tel.: (+992-37) 2-27-74-41
E-mail: vestnik-tnu@mail.ru
Page of the journal in RSCI
Contents of the journal in RSCI
Copyright © 2019 Наука и инновация. All Right Reserve.
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As Seen In 2015
Marcum LLP Featured in Accounting Today Article, "Marcum Channels its Marketing Campaign to Cable TV."
Top 100 Firm Marcum LLP has launched a television advertising campaign in key markets across the United States.
The Ask Marcum campaign, which also includes print, digital and billboard ads, showcases Marcum's expertise as a leading accounting and advisory firm serving public and private middle-market companies, entrepreneurs, and high net worth individuals.
The TV ads air on cable news stations in nine major metro regions covering the firm's 17 offices, including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Miami, Hartford/New Haven, Conn., West Palm Beach, Fla. and Providence, RI.
The campaign includes three 30-second ads that run during prime-time business news programming, as well as weekend sports news. It is the firm's first time tapping into television advertising. According to Marcum's YouTube channel, the commercials will air on early morning and primetime programming on cable news networks, including CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, and, on the weekends, ESPN.
"Marcum's new integrated marketing campaign is rooted in the trusted relationships that we have with our clients and their confidence in our ability to help them plan for success and achieve their objectives," Marcum managing partner Jeffrey Weiner said in a statement.
"The integration of television into our marketing mix will create additional opportunities for clients to engage with Marcum in the course of their business days, while elevating firm recognition and brand interaction among those who may not know us as well," Marcum chief marketing officer Bruce Ditman noted. "It is a natural complement to the executions we initially built into the Ask Marcum campaign, which has been extremely successful so far and which we anticipate continuing to build through the remainder of 2015 and beyond."
Click here to read the full article on www.accountingtoday.com >>
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THE INFAMOUS COMIC-CON HOTEL KEYS ARE DISCLOSED! BUT ARE THEY ACTUALLY HIDDEN CAMERAS?
Los Angeles, CA (Pop Culture Today) July 2, 201 — For Comic-Con 2013, the Warner Bros. Television/CBS action-crime drama Person of Interest will be featured on limited-edition collectible keycards — with two separate designs — at top hotels throughout the San Diego area during the convention. Nearly 40,000 branded room keys will be available to fans at nearly 30 participating hotels, courtesy of Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Marketing.
One keycard features Reese and Finch — series stars Jim Caviezel (left) and Michael Emerson — keeping a watchful eye.
And one keycard could be seen as a response to those who may have suggested that Person of Interest — which posits a world in which a highly sophisticated, all-seeing surveillance program could track the whereabouts of virtually anyone, anywhere, following our every move — was a bit of science fiction. In light of recent revelations in the news, the producers say pardon if they say they told you so…
This marks the sixth consecutive year that Warner Bros. has been the official Comic-Con hotel keycard sponsor — and the first time that a single show has been selected to make its presence known … virtually everywhere.
Person of Interest returns for its third Comic-Con panel session on Saturday, July 20, with executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Greg Plageman joining members of the cast (attendees to be announced)
Fans of the show can now catch up on the first two seasons on digital download (in standard and high definition) through all online retailers, including iTunes and Amazon Instant Video. Additionally, the complete second season of Person of Interest will be available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD on September 3, 2013.
Person of Interest returns for a third season on September 24, airing on a new day and at a new time: Tuesdays at 10/9c on CBS
About Person of Interest
Winner of the 2012 People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama, Person of Interest stars Jim Caviezel (The Thin Red Line, The Prisoner) as John Reese, a former CIA agent who teams up with reclusive billionaire and computer genius Harold Finch, portrayed by Emmy® winner Michael Emerson (Lost). The crime thriller follows Reese and Finch as they set out to prevent violent crimes with high tech surveillance and their own brand of vigilante justice. Reese’s special training in covert operations appeals to Finch, a software genius who invented a program — aka the Machine — that can identify people soon to be involved in violent crimes. Tapping into ubiquitous surveillance feeds throughout the city, the two work outside of the law, combining Reese’s black ops skills with Finch’s technological prowess and unlimited wealth to unravel the mystery of the person of interest, and stop the crime before it happens.
Reese’s actions draw the attention of the NYPD, including by-the-book homicide Detective Joss Carter (Academy Award® nominee Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and the morally compromised Detective Lionel Fusco (Kevin Chapman – Mystic River). With infinite crimes to investigate, Reese and Finch find that the right person, with the right information, at the right time, can change everything.
Created by Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight trilogy), the series is executive produced by J.J. Abrams (Revolution, Fringe, Lost), Nolan, Greg Plageman (Cold Case) and Bryan Burk (Revolution, Fringe, Lost). Person of Interest is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc., in association with Bad Robot Productions and Warner Bros. Television.
ADULT SWIM ERECTS FUNHOUSE FOR COMIC-CON 2013 FANS
New Adult Swim Funhouse Will Provide a Soundproof Booth for Series Panels for Fan Favorite Shows and 2014 Animated Series Providing Fans a Sweet Escape from the Con Chaos
Los Angeles (Pop Culture Today) 6/28/2013 — This year at San Diego Comic-Con, Adult Swim will be bringing more entertainment, celebrities and one-of-a-kind fan experiences to their fans. Adult Swim programming panels run from Thursday to Saturday, featuring creators, producers and actors from fan favorites The Venture Bros., Childrens Hospital, NTSF:SD:SUV::, Robot Chicken, Aqua TV Show Show, Squidbillies, The Eric Andre Show, The Heart, She Holler, China, IL, and sneak peeks of several new and upcoming series such as Rick and Morty, Hot Package, King Star King, and Mr. Pickles.
Adult Swim stars on hand will include Rob Corddry, Paul Scheer, Jackson Publick, Doc Hammer, Seth Green, Patton Oswalt, Amy Sedaris, Eric Andre, Hannibal Buress, and many more. Fans can also stop by the Adult Swim booth #3721 to enjoy free mini massages and a place to escape from the hectic pace of the convention floor.
This year the Adult Swim Funhouse will be making its official grand opening at SDCC, to the “delight and confusion of attendees.” The magic castle will be erected across from the convention center, in the Petco Park parking lot just over the footbridge. Fans will have a chance to enter the world of Adult Swim and get lost within the 10+ rooms. The multiple paths and room challenges will force guests to crawl, dance, and sing their way to get to the end. Those fans who survive and emerge from the Adult Swim Funhouse will receive free custom live screen printed t-shirts. Free for fans, tickets will be distributed at the Funhouse each day starting at 4:00 p.m. and will be open Thursday, July 18 – Saturday, July 20 from 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. each night.
Adult Swim Funhouse will be at Comic-Con 2013
Below is a schedule of series panels. Panel times and room locations will be announced in the coming weeks.
ADULT SWIM PANELS
The Heart, She Holler
The creators and stars of Adult Swim’s epic TV event, The Heart, She Holler, will explain it all at this panel. Executive producers John Lee (Xavier: Renegade Angel, Wonder Showzen), and Alyson Levy (Xavier: Renegade Angel, Wonder Showzen) will be joined by cast members Patton Oswalt (United States of Tara, Ratatouille), Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy) and Heather Lawless (The Campaign). The panel will be moderated by Kristen Schaal (Bob’s Burgers, 30 Rock).
Show creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer will discuss the original series, now in its fifth season, and answer fan questions. They will be joined by the voice of Brock Samson, Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld, The Tick).
Watch a sneak peek of Childrens Hospital season 5 and hear from the show’s creative team, led by creator and star Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), executive producer Jonathan Stern (Burning Love, Newsreaders) and executive producer David Wain (The State, Wanderlust). They will be joined by members of the show’s ensemble cast of comedic heavyweights, including Lake Bell (How to Make It in America), Erinn Hayes (Parenthood), Ken Marino (Party Down, The State) and Rob Huebel (Human Giant, The Descendants).
NTSF:SD:SUV:: (National Terrorist Strike Force: San Diego: Sport Utility Vehicle::)
Watch a sneak peek of NTSF:SD:SUV:: season 3 and hear from the show’s creative team led by creator and star Paul Scheer (The League), executive producer Jonathan Stern (Childrens Hospital, Newsreaders) and consulting producer Curtis Gwinn (Fat Guy Stuck in Internet). They will be joined by members of their ensemble cast including Karen Gillan (Dr. Who), Brandon Johnson (Funny or Die), June Diane Raphael (Burning Love, Ass Backwards) and Martin Starr (Party Down, Freaks and Geeks).
The Eric Andre Show and Hot Package
Adult Swim’s late night hosts will share the stage for a season preview and fan questions. Eric Andre (Don’t Trust the B—in Apartment 23), host of the returning late night talk show The Eric Andre Show, and his sidekick Hannibal Buress (30 Rock, SNL) will be joined by Derrick Beckles (TV Carnage), host of the new live-action fictional Canadian entertainment news program Hot Package.
Co-creators/executive producers Seth Green and Matthew Senreich are joined by head writers/co-executive producers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root, actor/writer Breckin Meyer, writer/director Zeb Wells, and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, to discuss the Emmy-winning series. Come watch a sneak peek and get your questions answered about the upcoming new season and the next Robot Chicken DC Comics Special. Keith Crofford, vice president of production for Adult Swim, will moderate the panel.
Creator and executive producer Brad Neely and executive producer Daniel Weidenfeld discuss the second season of the animated series China, IL, which will air this fall. They will be joined by cast member Hannibal Buress (30 Rock, SNL). The panel will be moderated by Jonah Ray (The Meltdown, The Nerdist).
Premiering this winter, Rick and Morty is a show about a sociopathic scientist who drags his unintelligent grandson on insanely dangerous adventures across the universe. Executive producers Dan Harmon (Community, Channel 101) and Justin Roiland (Channel 101) will preview the new animated series, and will be joined by writer Ryan Ridley and cast members Spencer Grammer (Greek) and voice actress Kari Wahlgren. The panel will be moderated by Rob Schrab (The Mindy Project, SCUD).
[adult swim] Presents
Dave Willis (Squidbillies, Aqua TV Show Show) and Ned Hastings (Squidbillies, Aqua TV Show Show) will discuss the return of long-running animated series Aqua TV Show Show and Squidbillies. Christy Karacas (Robotomy) will preview season 4 of Superjail! and JJ Villard (Monsters Vs. Aliens) and Tommy Blacha (Metalocalypse) will discuss the upcoming new series King Star King. Also fans will get an exclusive look at new Adult Swim series Mr. Pickles from creators Will Carsola and Dave Stewart (Funny Or Die Presents Nick Swardson’s Pretend Time).
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Stuewer wins Pais Prize
Roger Stuewer
Roger Stuewer, Professor Emeritus in the School of Physics and Astronomy and the Program in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, has been awarded the 2013 Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics. The prize was established by the American Physical Society and American Institute of Physics to recognize and encourage outstanding contributions to the history of physics and is widely seen as the highest honor one can receive for work in the history of physics.
Professor Stuewer is the ninth recipient of this prestigious award. Professor Stuewer won, as the citation says, "for his pioneering historical studies of the photon concept and nuclear physics, and for his leadership in bringing physicists into writing the history of physics by helping to organize and develop supporting institutions and publications."
Professor Stuewer has written extensively about Nobel Laureate, Arthur Holly Compton, who did some of his early research at Minnesota in 1916-1917 that led him in late 1922 to provide conclusive evidence for Einstein's photons. He co-edits (with John S. Rigden) the journal "Physics in Perspective," which seeks to bridge the gap between physicists and nonphysicists, by allowing scientists to tell their own stories. He recently worked with Norton Hintz, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota, on an autobiographical article for the journal.
The award will be presented to him in a special ceremonial session during the meeting of the American Physical Society in Denver, April 13-16, 2013. We congratulate Professor Stuewer on this remarkable achievement.
More information at http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/pais.cfm
Posted Friday, September 28th 2012 by Jenny Allan
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03 JUN 2019 5:27PM by PIB Delhi
Dr. Harsh Vardhan takes charge as Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare; cycles to Nirman Bhawan to take charge Appeals on making health a ‘Jan Andolan’
Dr. Harsh Vardhan took charge as the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare at Nirman Bhawan, today. He cycled to Nirman Bhawan to take charge and ascribed the act to his ‘green good deed’ for the day.
Thanking the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Dr Harsh Vardhan stated that health of the people of this country is the top priority of the Modi government. He said that the Government will focus on strengthening promotive and preventive strategies so that people adopt positive and healthy lifestyles and remain healthy.
Speaking on Ayushman Bharat, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that “we will consider expanding eligibility criteria to include those poor and vulnerable people who have been left out from the current list of PMJAY”. He stated that concerted efforts will be made for empanelling more private hospitals. Also, that the Government will resolve the bottlenecks in the implementation of Ayushman Bharat and make it more handy and easily accessible for the common man. “We will make Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY and Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) into a people’s movement. More than 18,000 HWCs have become functional. The Government will take up the programme to next level with expanded package of services, availability of drugs and point of care diagnostics and tele-medicine facility. The focus will be on consolidating both the streams of Ayushman Bharat, he added.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan emphasised to make health a ‘Jan Andolan’ through people’s involvement. He said that we can provide maximum possible help through this Ministry as there is instant benefit to the people. He further added that India has the potential and capacity for fulfilling the goal of ‘Health for All’.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan also laid emphasis on elimination of TB from India by 2025 and said that the government will also take concerted and time-bound actions to eliminate Leprosy and Kala Azar. He added that the government will create a roadmap for essential devices list and a separate policy for medical devices focusing on their accessibility and affordability to masses. “We are committed to leveraging all resources efficiently to ensure that the out-of-pocket expenditure on health is reduced and all citizens can avail of necessary medical services,” Dr. Harsh Vardhan elaborated.
The Health Minister stated that the government will strengthen the medical education reforms by taking up pending bills like re-organisation of MCI, etc. “The Government will use Mission Indradhanush approaches as part of UIP to ensure full immunization coverage and save all the children and pregnant women from vaccine preventable diseases by 2022, he said. Dr Harsh Vardhan also said that he will request for higher budgetary allocation for health. He further also directed the officials for holding state specific meetings for the States that are lagging behind in IMR and MMR for aggressive progress. He suggested for creating a common working group comprising Health Ministry and the Department of Science & Technology for research and innovation in the health sector by converging the resources and potential of both the Ministries. He said that there is an urgent need to revisit the policies which have been framed many years ago and need changes in tune with the present time.
He was received by the senior officers of the Ministry. Dr. Harsh Vardhan also held a briefing meeting, in presence of Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, with the senior officers of the Ministry, ICMR, FSSAI, NHA, NCDC and DGHS to review the progress of the work done.
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Spyware Overtakes all Internet Threats in 2005
Millions of dollars are being spent unnecessarily each month as North American businesses and consumers wrestle with what has become the biggest threat to security on the Internet.
Victoria, BC (PRWEB) October 18, 2005
Millions of dollars are being spent unnecessarily each month as North American businesses and consumers wrestle with what has become the biggest threat to security on the Internet. According to a study published last month, spyware issues now outnumber virus threats by more than 2 to 1. The same report said the average expenditure by large North American enterprises tops $130,000 USD per month.
"One of the reasons these users are spending so much money fighting intrusions is that they haven't quite come to grips with the fact that spyware has become a dangerous, profit-driven industry," says Jason Carvalho, Business Development Manager for ParetoLogic Inc., an international software company specializing in security solutions.
That’s why ParetoLogic has focused on a soon-to-be released suite of anti-malware software that includes real-time blocking and the ability to freeze and block all Windows processes while malware is kept out or removed from a user’s PC.
ParetoLogic’s stand-alone product XoftSpy is currently available for download from ParetoLogic.com and through Internet vendors via the Digital River RegNow platform. It is also being offered to Internet Service Providers as a fully supported install on user desktops. XoftSpy is faster—with a more comprehensive database and unlimited support—than its leading competitors. There is no subscription requirement, and it uses minimal system resources.
The new Paretologic Security Suite, set for a December 10, 2005 release, will include enhancements such as real-time blocking and an Anti-Spam component at an industry-competitive price.
In 2005, working online without real-time malware/spyware protection is a recipe for disaster. In the coming months, ParetoLogic will be unveiling powerful new technology to ensure optimal productivity and unparalleled PC security at home and in the office.
Learn more at http://www.SpywareDaily.com.
Jason Carvalho
PARETOLOGIC INC
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Anton Pannekoek
Not being Austrian, perhaps I should apologize for writing on the national question. If it were a purely Austrian issue, anyone who is not intimately acquainted with the practical situation and who is not obliged to be acquainted with it through everyday practice would not get involved in examining it. But this question is acquiring increasing importance for other countries as well. And thanks to the writings of the Austrian theoreticians, and especially to Otto Bauer’s valuable work, The Question of Nationalities and Social Democracy1, it is no longer an exclusive preserve of Austrian practice and has become a question of general socialist theory. Currently, this question, the way it has been addressed and its implications cannot but arouse lively interest in every socialist who considers theory to be the guiding thread of our practice; at the present time one can also make judgments and engage in criticism outside the realm of specifically Austrian conditions. Since we shall have to combat certain of Bauer’s conclusions in the following pages, we shall say in advance that this by no means diminishes the value of his work; its importance does not reside in having established definitive and irrefutable results in this domain, but in laying the groundwork for further debate and discussion on this question.
This discussion seems to be especially timely at this juncture. The separatist crisis puts the national question on the agenda in the party and obliges us to re-examine these questions, and to subject our point of view to thorough scrutiny. And maybe a debate concerning theoretical basics would not be totally useless here; with this study we hope to make our contribution in this debate to our Austrian comrades. The fact that comrade Strasser, in his study Worker and Nation, has arrived at the same conclusions as we have, by a completely different route, on the basis of Austrian conditions (guided of course by the same basic Marxist conception), has played a determinant role in the decision to publish this pamphlet. Our labors may therefore complement one another in regard to this question.
I. The Nation and its Transformations
The Bourgeois Conception and the Socialist Conception
Socialism is a new scientific conception of the human world which is fundamentally distinct from all bourgeois conceptions. The bourgeois manner of representing things considers the different formations and institutions of the human world either as products of nature, praising or condemning them depending on whether or not they contradict or conform to “eternal human nature”, or as products of chance or arbitrary human decisions which can be altered at will by means of artificial violence. Social democracy, on the other hand, considers the same phenomena to be naturally-arising products of the development of human society. While nature undergoes practically no change—the genesis of animal species and their differentiation took place over very long periods—human society is subject to constant and fast-paced development. This is because its basis, labor for survival, has constantly had to assume new forms as its tools have been perfected; economic life is thrown into turmoil and this gives rise to new ways of seeing and new ideas, new laws, and new political institutions. It is therefore in relation to this point that the opposition between the bourgeois and socialist conceptions resides: for the former, a naturally immutable character and at the same time, the arbitrary; for the latter, an incessant process of becoming and transformation in accordance with laws established via the economy, upon the basis of labor.
This also applies to the nation. The bourgeois conception sees in the diversity of nations natural differences among men; nations are groupings constituted by the community of race, of origin, and of language. But at the same time it also believes that it can, by means of coercive political measures, oppress nations in one place, and extend its domain at the expense of other nations somewhere else. Social democracy considers nations to be human groups which have formed units as a consequence of their shared history. Historical development has produced nations within its limits and in its own way; it also produces change in the meaning and essence of the nation in general with the passage of time and changing economic conditions. It is only on the basis of economic conditions that one can understand the history and development of the nation and the national principle.
From the socialist point of view, it is Otto Bauer who has supplied, in his work The Question of Nationalities and Social Democracy, the most profound analysis; his exposition constitutes the indispensable point of departure for the further examination and discussion of the national question. In this work, the socialist point of view is formulated as follows: “The nation is thus no longer for us a fixed thing, but a process of becoming, determined in its essence by the conditions under which the people struggle for their livelihood and for the preservation of their kind” (p. 107). And a little further on: “the materialist conception of history can comprehend the nation as the never-completed product of a constantly occurring process, the ultimate driving force of which is constituted by the conditions governing the struggle of humans with nature, the transformation of the human forces of production, and the changes in the relations governing human labor. This conception renders the nation as the historical within us” (p. 108). National character is “solidified history”.
The Nation as Community of Fate
Bauer most correctly defines the nation as “the totality of human beings bound together by a community of fate into a community of character” (p.117). This formula has frequently but mistakenly been attacked, since it is perfectly correct. The misunderstanding resides in the fact that similarity and community are always confused. Community of fate does not mean submission to an identical fate, but the shared experience of a single fate undergoing constant changes, in a continuous reciprocity. The peasants of China, India and Egypt resemble one another in the similarity of their economic conditions; they have the same class character but there is not a trace of community between them. The petit-bourgeois, the shop-keepers, the workers, the noble landowners, and the peasants of England, however, although they display many differences in character due to their different class positions, nonetheless still constitute a community; a history lived in common, the reciprocal influence they exercise upon one another, albeit in the form of struggles, all of this taking place through the medium of a common language, makes them a community of character, a nation. At the same time, the mental content of this community, its common culture, is transmitted from generation to generation thanks to the written word.
This is by no means meant to imply that all characters within a nation are similar. To the contrary, there can be great differences of character within a nation, depending on one’s class or place of residence. The German peasant and the German industrialist, the Bavarian and the Oldenburger, display manifest differences in character; they nonetheless still form part of the German nation. Nor does this imply that there are no communities of character other than nations. We are not, of course, referring to special organizations, limited in time, such as joint-stock companies or trade unions. But every human organization which comprises an enduring unity, inherited from generation to generation, constitutes a community of character engendered by a community of fate.
The religious communities offer another example. They are also “solidified history”. They are not just groups of people who share the same religion and who come together for a religious purpose. This is because they are, so to speak, born in their churches and rarely pass from one church to another. In principle, however, the religious community includes all those who are connected socially in one way or another by origin, their village or their class; the community of interests and conditions of existence simultaneously created a community of basic mental representations which assumed a religious form. It also created the bond of reciprocal duties, of loyalty and protection, between the organization and its members. The community of religion was the expression of social belonging in primitive tribal communities and in the Church of the Middle Ages. The religious communities born during the Reformation, the Protestant Churches and sects, were organizations of class struggle against the dominant Church, and against each other; they thus correspond to a certain extent to our contemporary political parties. As a result, the different religious faiths expressed living, real, deeply-felt interests; one could convert from one religion to another in much the same way that one can quit one party and join another in our time. Later, these organizations petrified into communities of faith in which only the top stratum, the clergy, maintained relations within its own ambit which set it above the entire Church. The community of interests disappeared; within each Church, there arose, with social development, numerous classes and class contradictions. The religious organization became more and more an empty shell, and the profession of faith, an abstract formula lacking any social content. It was replaced by other organizations which were living associations of interests. Hence the religious community constitutes a grouping whose community of fate increasingly belongs to the past, and is progressively dissolving. Religion, too, is a precipitate of what is historical in us.
The nation, then, is not the only community of character which has arisen from a community of fate, but only one of its forms, and sometimes it is hard to distinguish it from the others without ambiguity. It would serve no purpose to attempt to discover which human units of organization could be defined as nations, especially in ancient times. Primitive tribal units, great or small, were communities of character and of fate in which characteristics, customs, culture and language were passed on from generation to generation. The same is true of the village communes or the peasant regions of the Middle Ages. Otto Bauer discovers in the Middle Ages, in the era of the Hohenstauffens, the “German nation” in the political and cultural community of the German nobility. On the other hand, the medieval Church possessed numerous traits which made it a kind of nation; it was the community of the European peoples, with a common history and common mental representations, and they even had a common language, the Latin of the Church, which allowed educated people to mutually influence one another, the dominant intellectual force of all of Europe, and united them in a community of culture. Only in the last years of the Middle Ages did nations in the modern sense of the term slowly arise, each with its own national language, national unity and culture.
A common language is, insofar as it forms a living bond between men, the most important attribute of the nation; but this does not justify identifying nations with human groups speaking the same language. The English and the Americans are, despite the fact that they speak the same language, two nations with different histories, two different communities of fate which present strikingly divergent national characteristics. It is also incorrect to reckon the German Swiss as part of a common German nation which would embrace all German-speaking peoples. No matter how many cultural elements have been allowed to be exchanged between them by means of an identical written language, fate has separated the Swiss and the Germans for several centuries. The fact that the former are free citizens of a democratic republic and the latter have lived successively under the tyranny of petty princes, foreign rule, and the weight of the new German police state, had to confer upon each group, even if they read the same authors, a very different character and one cannot speak of a community of fate and of character in this case. The political aspect is yet more evident among the Dutch; the rapid economic development of the maritime provinces, which surrounded themselves on the landward side with a wall of dependent provinces, and then became a powerful mercantile State, a political entity, made Low German a separate modern written language, but only for a small segment separated from the mass of those who spoke Low German; all the others have been excluded from this language by political barriers and have adopted, as residents of Germany who have been subject to a common history, the High German written language and culture. If the Austrian Germans continue to emphasize their German qualities despite their long history of separate development and the fact that they have not shared in the most important of the most recent historical experiences of the Germans of the Empire, this is essentially due to their embattled position in relation to Austria’s other nationalities.
The Peasant Nation and the Modern Nation
The peasants have often been described as being stalwart guardians of nationality. Otto Bauer, however, also calls them the tenants of the nation who do not participate in national culture. This contradiction starkly reveals that what is “national” in the peasantry is a very different thing than what constitutes the modern nation. Modern nationality does of course descend from peasant nationality but differs from it in a fundamental way.
In the ancient natural economy of the peasants, the economic unit was reduced to its smallest scale; the operative interest did not extend beyond the borders of the village or the valley. Each district constituted a community which barely maintained relations with its nearest neighbors, a community that had its own history, its own customs, its own dialect and its own character. Some of them were connected by ties of kinship with the villages of neighboring districts, but they did not have much influence on one another. The peasant clings powerfully to the specificity of his community. To the extent that his economy has nothing to do with the outside world, to the extent that his seeds and his crops are only in exceptional cases affected by the vicissitudes of political events, all the influences of the outside world pass over him without a trace. He is in any case unconcerned and remains passive; such events do not penetrate his innermost being. The only thing which can modify man’s nature is that which he actively grasps, which obliges him to transform himself and in which he participates out of self-interest. This is why the peasant preserves his particularism against all the influences of the outside world and remains “without history” as long as his economy is self-sufficient. From the moment that he is dragged into the gears of capitalism and established in other conditions—he becomes bourgeois or a worker, the peasant begins to depend on the world market and makes contact with the rest of the world—from the moment that he has new interests, the indestructible character of his old particularism is lost. He is integrated into the modern nation; he becomes a member of a much more extensive community of fate, a nation in the modern sense.
The peasantry is often spoken of as if the preceding generations already belonged to the same nation as their descendants under capitalism. The term “nations without history” implies a concept according to which the Czechs, Slovenes, Poles, Ukrainians and Russians have always been so many different and particular nations but that somehow they have long remained dormant as such. In fact, one cannot speak of the Slovenes, for example, except as a certain number of groups and districts with related dialects, without these groups ever having constituted a real unity or a community. What the name faithfully conveys is the fact that, as a general rule, dialect decides which nations are to be claimed by the descendants of its original speakers. In the final analysis, however, it is the real developments which decide whether the Slovenes and the Serbs, or the Russians and the Ukrainians, must become one national community with one written language and one common culture, or two separate nations. It is not language which is decisive but the political-economic process of development. By identifying language as the decisive factor one could just as well say that the peasantry of Lower Saxony is the faithful guardian of German nationality, and also of Dutch nationality, depending on which side of the border it inhabits; it only preserves its own village or provincial particularity; it would be just as foolish to say that the peasant of the Ardennes tenaciously preserves a Belgian, Walloon or French nationality when he clings to the dialect and the customs of his valley, or to say that a Carinthian peasant of the precapitalist era belonged to the Slovene nation. The Slovene nation only made its appearance with the modern bourgeois classes which formed a specific nation, and the peasant would not willingly have become a part of it unless he was linked to that community by real self-interest.
Modern nations are integral products of bourgeois society; they appeared with commodity production, that is, with capitalism, and its agents are the bourgeois classes. Bourgeois production and circulation of commodities need vast economic units, large territories whose inhabitants are united in a community with a unified State administration. As capitalism develops it incessantly reinforces the central State power; the State becomes more cohesive and is sharply defined in relation to other States. The State is the combat organization of the bourgeoisie. Insofar as the bourgeois economy rests upon competition, in the struggle against others of the same kind, the organizations which are formed by the bourgeoisie must necessarily fight among themselves; the more powerful the State, the greater the benefits to which its bourgeoisie aspire. Language has not been a crucial factor except in the effort to draw the boundaries of these States; regions with related dialects have been forced into political mergers where other factors do not intervene, because political unity, the new community of fate, requires a single language as a means of intercourse. The written language used for general concourse is created from one of these dialects; it is thus, in a sense, an artificial creation. So Otto Bauer is right when he says: “I create a common language together with those individuals with whom I most closely interact; and I interact most closely with those individuals with whom I share a common language” (p. 101). This is how those nation States which are both State and nation arose.2 They did not become political entities simply because they already constituted national communities; it was their new economic interests and economic necessity which was the basis of men’s joining together into such solid groupings; but whether these States or others emerged—if, for example, southern Germany and northern France did not together form a political entity but this was instead the case with southern and northern Germany—is due principally to the ancient kinship of dialect.
The spread of the nation State, and its capitalist evolution, have brought about a situation where an extreme diversity of classes and populations coexist within it; this is why it sometimes seems dubious to define the nation State as a community of fate and of character, because classes and populations do not act directly upon one another. But the community of fate of the German peasants and big capitalists, of the Bavarians and the people of Oldenburg, consists in the fact that all are members of the German Empire, within whose borders they wage their economic and political struggles, within which they endure the same policies, where they must take a position regarding the same laws and thus have an effect upon one another; this is why they constitute a real community despite all the diversity of this community.
The same is not true of those States which emerged as dynastic entities under absolutism, without the direct collaboration of their bourgeois classes, and which consequently, through conquest, came to include populations speaking many different languages. When the penetration of capitalism begins to make headway in one of these States, various nations arise within the same State, which becomes a multinational State, like Austria. The cause of the appearance of new nations alongside the old resides once again in the fact that competition is the basis for the existence of the bourgeois classes. When the modern classes arose from a purely peasant population group, when large masses were installed in the cities as industrial workers, soon to be followed by small merchants, intellectuals and factory owners, the latter were then compelled to undertake efforts on their own behalf to secure the business of these masses who all spoke the same language, placing the accent on their nationality. The nation, as a cohesive community, constitutes for those elements that form part of it a market, a customer base, a domain of exploitation where they have an advantage over their competitors from other nations. To form a community with modern classes, they must elaborate a common written language which is necessary as a means of communication and becomes the language of culture and of literature. The permanent contact between the classes of bourgeois society and State power, which had hitherto only known German as the official language of communication, obliges them to fight for the recognition of their languages, their schools and their administrative apparatuses, in which fight the class having the most material interest is the national intelligentsia. Since the State must represent the interests of the bourgeoisie and must give it material support, each national bourgeoisie must secure as much influence over the State as possible. To win this influence it must fight against the bourgeoisie of other nations; the more successfully it rallies the whole nation around it in this struggle, the more power it exercises. As long as the leading role of the bourgeoisie is based upon the essence of the economy and is acknowledged as something which is self-evident, the bourgeoisie can count on the other classes which feel bound to it on this point by an identity of interests.
In this respect as well the nation is utterly a product of capitalist development, and is even a necessary product. Wherever capitalism penetrates, it must necessarily appear as the community of fate of the bourgeois classes. The national struggles within such a State are not the consequence of any kind of oppression, or of legal backwardness, it is the natural expression of competition as the basic precondition for the bourgeois economy; the (bourgeois) struggle of each against all is the indispensable precondition for the abrupt separation of the various nations from one another.
Tradition and the Human Mind
In man, nationality is indeed part of his nature, but primarily of his mental nature. Inherited physical traits eventually allow the various peoples to be distinguished from one another, but this does not serve to separate them, nor, even less so, does it make them enter into conflict with one another. Peoples distinguish themselves as communities of culture, a culture transmitted by a common language; in a nation’s culture, which can be defined as mental in nature, is inscribed the whole history of its life. National character is not composed of physical traits, but of the totality of its customs, its concepts and its forms of thought over time. If one wishes to grasp the essence of a nation, it is above all necessary to get a clear view of how man’s mental aspect is constituted under the influence of his living conditions.
Every move that man makes must first pass through his head. The direct motor force of all his actions resides in his mind. It can consist of habits, drives and unconscious instincts which are the expressions of always similar repetitions of the same vital necessities in the same external living conditions. It could also enter into man’s consciousness as thoughts, ideas, motivations or principles. Where do they come from? Here, the bourgeois conception sees the influence of a higher supernatural world which penetrates us, the expression of an eternal moral principle within us, or else the spontaneous products of the mind itself. Marxist theory, however, historical materialism, explains that everything which is mental in man is the product of the material world around him. This entire real world penetrates every part of the mind through the sensory organs and leaves its mark: our vital needs, our experience, everything we see and hear, that which others communicate to us as their thought appears as if we had actually observed it ourselves.3 Consequently, any influence from an unreal, merely postulated supernatural world is excluded. Everything in the mind has come from the external world which we designate with the name of the material world, which is not meant to imply that material constituted of physical matter which can be measured, but everything which really exists, including thought. But in this context mind does not play the role which is sometimes attributed to it by a narrow mechanistic conception, that of a passive mirror that reflects the external world, an inanimate receiver that absorbs and preserves everything thrown at it. Mind is active, it acts, and it modifies everything that penetrates it from the outside in order to make something new. And it was Dietzgen who has most clearly demonstrated how it does so. The external world flows before the mind like an endless river, always changing; the mind registers its influences, it merges them, it adds them to what it had previously possessed and combines these elements. From the river of infinitely varied phenomena, it forms solid and consistent concepts in which the reality in motion is somehow frozen and fixed and loses its fugitive aspect. The concept of “fish” involves a multitude of observations of animals that swim, that of “good” innumerable stances in relation to different actions, that of “capitalism” a whole lifetime of frequently very painful experiences. Every thought, every conviction, every idea, every conclusion, such as, for example, the generalization that trees do not have leaves in the winter, that work is hard and disagreeable, that whoever gives me a job is my benefactor, that the capitalist is my enemy, that there is strength in organization, that it is good to fight for one’s nation, are the summaries of part of the living world, of a multiform experience in a concise, abrupt and, one could say, rigid and lifeless formula. The greater and the more complete the experience which serves as documentation, the more deep-rooted and solid the thought and conviction, the more true it is. But all experience is limited, the world is constantly changing, new experiences are ceaselessly being added to the old, they are integrated into the old ideas or enter into contradiction with them. This is why man has to restructure his ideas and abandon some of them as mistaken—such as that of the capitalist benefactor—and confer a new meaning to certain concepts—such as the concept of “fish”, from which the whales had to be separated—and create new concepts for new phenomena—like that of imperialism—and find other causal relations for some concepts—the intolerable character of labor is a result of capitalism—and evaluate them in a different manner—the national struggle is harmful to the workers—in short, man must ceaselessly begin all over again. All of his mental activity and development consists in the endless restructuring of concepts, ideas, judgments and principles in order to keep them as consistent as possible with his ever-richer experience of reality. This takes place consciously in the development of science.
The meanings of Bauer’s definitions of the nation as that which is historical in us, and of national character as solidified history, are thus placed in their proper context. A common material reality produces a common way of thinking in the minds of the members of a community. The specific nature of the economic organization they jointly compose determines their thoughts, their customs and their concepts; it produces a coherent system of ideas in them, an ideology which they share and which forms part of their material living conditions. Life in common has penetrated their minds; common struggles for freedom against foreign enemies, common class struggles at home. It is narrated in history books and is transmitted to the youth as national memory. What was desired, hoped for and wanted was clearly highlighted and expressed by the poets and thinkers and these thoughts of the nation, the mental sediment of their material experience, was preserved in the form of literature for future generations. Constant mutual intellectual influence consolidates and reinforces this process; extracting from the thought of each compatriot what they all have in common, what is essential and characteristic of the whole, that is, what is national, constitutes the cultural patrimony of the nation. What lives in the mind of a nation, its national culture, is the abstract synthesis of its common experience, its material existence as an economic organization.
Therefore, all of man’s mental qualities are products of reality, but not only of current reality; the whole past also subsists there in a stronger or weaker form. Mind is slow in relation to matter; it ceaselessly absorbs external influences while its old existence slowly sinks into Lethe’s waters of oblivion. Thus, the adaptation of the content of the mind to a constantly renewed reality is only incremental. Past and present both determine its content, but in different ways. The living reality which is constantly exercising its influence on the mind is embedded within it and impressed upon it in an increasingly more effective manner. But that which no longer feeds off of the present reality, no longer lives except in the past and can still be preserved for a long time, above all by the relations men maintain among themselves, by indoctrination and artificial propaganda, but to the extent that these residues are deprived of the material terrain that gave them life, they necessarily slowly disappear. This is how they acquire a traditional character. A tradition is also part of reality which lives in the minds of men, acts upon the other parts and for that reason frequently disposes of a considerable and potent force. But it is a natural mental reality whose material roots are sunk in the past. This is how religion became, for the modern proletariat, an ideology of a purely traditional nature; it may still have a powerful influence on its action, but this power only has roots in the past, in the importance that the community of religion possessed in other times; it is no longer nourished by contemporary reality, in its exploitation by capital, in its struggle against capital. For this reason the process leading to its extinction among the proletariat will not stop. To the contrary, contemporary reality is increasingly cultivating class consciousness which is consequently occupying a larger place in the proletariat’s mind, and which is increasingly determining its action.
Our Task
I have framed the task assigned by our study. History has given rise to nations with their limitations and their specific characteristics. But they are not yet finished and complete definitive facts with which one must contend. History is still following its course. Each day it continues to build upon and modify what the previous days built. It is not enough, then, to confirm that the nation is that which is historical in us, solidified history. If it were nothing but petrified history, it would be of a purely traditional nature, like religion. But for our practice, and for our tactics, the question of whether or not it is something more than this assumes the utmost importance. Of course, one must deal with it in any case, as with any great mental power in man; but the question of whether nationalist ideology only presents itself as a power of the past, or whether it sinks its roots into today’s world, are two completely different things. For us, the most important and decisive question is the following: how does present-day reality act upon the nation and everything national? In what sense are they being modified today? The reality in question here is highly-developed capitalism and the proletarian class struggle.
This, then, is our position in regard to Bauer’s study: in other times, the nation played no role at all in the theory and practice of social democracy. There was no reason to take it into consideration; in most countries it is of no use to the class struggle to pay any attention to the national question. Obliged to do so by Austria’s situation Bauer has filled this gap. He has demonstrated that the nation is neither the product of the imagination of a few literati nor is it the artificial product of nationalist propaganda; with the tool of Marxism he has shown that it has sunk its material roots into history and he has explained the necessity and the power of national ideas by the rise of capitalism. And the nation stands revealed as a powerful reality with which we must come to terms in our struggle; he gives us the key to understand the modern history of Austria, and we must thus answer the following question: what is the influence of the nation and nationalism on the class struggle, how must it be assessed in the class struggle? This is the basis and the guiding thread of the works of Bauer and the other Austrian Marxists. But with this approach, the task is only half-finished. For the nation is not simply a self-contained and complete phenomenon whose effect on the class struggle must be ascertained: it is itself in turn subjected to the influence of contemporary forces, among which the proletariat’s revolutionary struggle for emancipation is increasingly tending to become a factor of the first order. What effect, then, does the class struggle, the rise of the proletariat, for its part exercise upon the nation? Bauer has not examined this question, or he has done so in an insufficient manner; the study of this issue leads, in many cases, to judgments and conclusions which diverge from those he provided.
II. The Nation and the Proletariat
Class Antagonism
The current reality which most intensely determines man’s mentality and existence is capitalism. But it does not affect all men in the same way; it is one thing for the capitalist and another for the proletarian. For the members of the bourgeois class, capitalism is the world of the production of wealth and competition; more well-being, an increase in the mass of capital from which they try to extract the maximum possible profit in an individualistic struggle with their peers and which opens up for them the road to luxury and the enjoyment of a refined culture, this is what the process of production provides for them. For the workers, it is the hard labor of endless slavery, permanent insecurity in their living conditions, eternal poverty, without the hope of ever getting anything but a poverty wage. Consequently, capitalism must exercise very different effects on the minds of the bourgeoisie and the minds of the members of the exploited class. The nation is an economic entity, a community of labor, even between workers and capitalists. Capital and labor are both necessary and must come together so that capitalist production can exist. It is a community of labor of a particular nature; in this community, capital and labor appear as antagonistic poles; they constitute a community of labor in the same way that predators and prey constitute a community of life.
The nation is a community of character which has arisen from a community of fate. But with the development of capitalism, it is the difference of fates which is increasingly dominant in considering the bourgeoisie and the proletariat within any particular people. To explain what he means by the community of fate, Bauer speaks (p. 101) of the “relations constituted by the fact that both [the English worker and the English bourgeois] live in the same city, that both read the same posters and the same newspapers, take part in the same political and sporting events, by the fact that on occasion they speak with one another or, at least, both speak with the various intermediaries between capitalists and workers”. Now, the “fate” of men does not consist in reading the same billboards, but in great and important experiences which are totally different for each class. The whole world knows what the English Prime Minister Disraeli said about the two nations living alongside one another in our modern society without really understanding it. Did he not intend to say that no community of fate links the two classes? 4
Of course, one does not have to take this statement literally in its modern sense. The community of fate of the past still exercises its influence on today’s community of character. As long as the proletariat does not have a clear consciousness of the particularity of its own experience, as long as its class consciousness has not been awakened or is only slightly stirred, it remains the prisoner of traditional thinking, its thought is nourished on the leftovers of the bourgeoisie, it surely constitutes with the latter a kind of community of culture in the same way that the servants in the kitchen are the guests of their masters. The peculiarities of English history make this mental community all the more powerful in England, while it is extremely weak in Germany. In all the young nations where capitalism is just making its appearance, the mentality of the working class is dominated by the traditions of the previous peasant and petit-bourgeois era. Only little by little, with the awakening of class consciousness and class struggle under the impact of new antagonisms, will the community of character shared by the two classes disappear.
There will undoubtedly still be relations between the two classes. But they are limited to rules and regulations of the factory and to carrying out work orders, so that the community of language is not even necessary, as the use of foreign-born workers speaking various languages proves. The more conscious of their situation and of exploitation the workers become, the more frequently they fight against the employers to improve their working conditions, the more that the relations between the two classes are transformed into enmity and conflict. There is just as little community between them as between two peoples who are constantly engaged in frontier skirmishes. The more aware of social development the workers become, and the more socialism appears to them as the necessary goal of their struggle, the more they feel the rule of the capitalist class as foreign rule, and with this expression one becomes aware of just how much the community of character has dissipated.
Bauer defines national character as the “difference in orientations of the will, the fact that the same stimulus produces different reactions, that the same external circumstances provoke different decisions” (p. 100). Could one imagine more antagonistic orientations than those of the will of the bourgeoisie and the will of the proletariat? The names of Bismarck, Lassalle, 1848, stimulate feelings which are not just different but even opposed in the German workers and the German bourgeoisie. The German workers of the Empire who belong to the German nation judge almost everything that happens in Germany in a different and opposed way to that of the bourgeoisie. All the other classes rejoice together over anything that contributes to the greatness and the foreign reach of their national State, while the proletariat combats every measure which leads to such results. The bourgeois classes speak of war against other States in order to increase their own power, while the proletariat thinks of a way to prevent war or discovers an occasion for its own liberation in the defeat of its own government.
This is why one cannot speak of the nation as an entity except prior to the full unfolding within it of the class struggle, since it is only in that case that the working class still follows in the footsteps of the bourgeoisie. The class antagonism between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat results in the progressive disappearance of their national community of fate and of character. The constitutive forces of the nation must therefore be separately examined in each of the two classes.
The Will to Form a Nation
Bauer is completely correct when he views the differences in orientation of the will as the essential element in differences of national character. Where all wills are oriented in the same way, a coherent mass is formed; where events and influences from the outside world provoke different and opposed determinations, rupture and separation result. The differences of wills have separated the nations from one another; but whose will is involved here? That of the rising bourgeoisie. As a result of the preceding proofs concerning the genesis of modern nations, its will to form a nation is the most important constitutive force.
What is it that makes the Czech nation a specific community in relation to the German nation? That which is acquired by life in common, the content of the community of fate which continues to practically influence the national character, is extremely weak. The content of its culture is almost totally taken from the modern nations which preceded it, above all the German nation; this is why Bauer says (p. 105): “It is not completely incorrect to say that the Czechs are Czech-speaking Germans. . . .” One might also add some peasant traditions rounded off with reminiscences of Huss, Ziska and the battle of White Mountain, 5 exhumed from the past and without any practical meaning today. How could a “national culture” have been erected upon the basis of a particular language? Because the bourgeoisie needs separation, because it wants to constitute a nation in relation to the Germans. It wants to do so because it needs to do so, because capitalist competition obliges it to monopolize to the greatest possible extent a territory of markets and exploitation. The conflict of interests with the other capitalists creates the nation wherever the necessary element exists, a specific language. Bauer and Renner clearly demonstrate in their expositions of the genesis of modern nations that the will of the rising bourgeois classes created the nations. Not as a conscious or arbitrary will, but as wanting at the same time as being compelled, the necessary consequence of economic factors. The “nations” involved in the political struggle, which are fighting among themselves for influence over the State, for power in the State (Bauer, pp. 218-243), are nothing but organizations of the bourgeois classes, of the petit-bourgeoisie, the bourgeoisie, the intellectuals—classes whose existence is based upon competition—and here the proletarians and the peasants play a secondary role.
The proletariat has nothing to do with this necessity of competition of the bourgeois classes, with their will to constitute a nation. For it, the nation does not mean the privilege of securing a customer base, positions, or opportunities for work. The capitalists immediately learned to import foreign workers who do not speak German or Czech. By mentioning this capitalist practice it is not our basic intention to expose nationalist hypocrisy, but above all to make the workers understand that under the rule of capitalism the nation can never be synonymous with a labor monopoly for them. And only infrequently does one hear among backward workers, such as the American trade unionists of the old school, of a desire to restrict immigration. The nation can also temporarily assume its own significance for the proletariat. When capitalism penetrates an agrarian region, the landlords then belong to a more developed capitalist nation, and the workers leave the peasantry for the other nation. National feeling can then be for the workers an initial means of becoming aware of their community of interests against the foreign capitalists. National antagonism is in this case the primitive form of class antagonism, just as in Rhineland-Westphalia, during the era of the Kulturkampf, the religious antagonism between the Catholic workers and their liberal employers was the primitive form of class antagonism. But from the moment when a nation is sufficiently developed to have a proper bourgeoisie which takes responsibility for exploitation, proletarian nationalism is uprooted. In the struggle for better living conditions, for intellectual development, for culture, for a more dignified existence, the other classes in their nation are the sworn enemies of the workers while their foreign language-speaking class comrades are their friends and allies. The class struggle creates an international community of interests. Thus, for the proletariat, one cannot speak of a will to become a separate nation based on economic interests, on its material situation.
The Community of Culture
Bauer discovers another nation-building force in the class struggle. Not in the economic content of the class struggle, but in its cultural effects. He defines the politics of the modern working class as a national-evolutionary politics (p. 135) that will unite the entire people in a nation. This has to be more than just a primitive and popular way of expressing our goals in the language of nationalism, with the intention of making them accessible to those workers who have gotten mixed up with nationalist ideology and who have not yet become aware of the great revolutionary importance of socialism. So Bauer adds: “But because the proletariat necessarily struggles for possession of the cultural wealth that its work creates and makes possible, the effect of this politics is necessarily that of calling the entire people to take part in the national community of culture and thereby to make the totality of the people into a nation.”
At first glance this seems to be completely correct. As long as the workers, crushed by capitalist exploitation, are immersed in physical misery and vegetate without hope or intellectual activity, they do not participate in the culture of the bourgeois classes, a culture which is based on the labor of the workers. They form part of the nation in the same way as livestock, they constitute nothing but property, and they are nothing more than second-class citizens in the nation. It is the class struggle which brings them to life; it is by way of the class struggle that they get free time, higher wages and therefore the opportunity to engage in intellectual development. Through socialism, their energy is awakened, their minds are stimulated; they begin to read, first of all socialist pamphlets and political newspapers, but soon the aspiration and the need to complete their intellectual training leads them to tackle literary, historical and scientific works: the party’s educational committees even devote special efforts to introducing them to classical literature. In this manner they accede to the community of culture of the bourgeois classes of their nation. And when the worker can freely and without coercion devote himself to his intellectual development under socialism, which shall free him from the endless slavery of labor—unlike his present situation where he can only appropriate in scarce moments of leisure, and then only with difficulty, small fragments of culture—only then will the worker be able to absorb the entire national culture and become, in the fullest sense of the word, a member of the nation.
But one important point is overlooked in these reflections. A community of culture between the workers and the bourgeoisie can only exist superficially, apparently and sporadically. The workers can to some extent, of course, read the same books as the bourgeoisie, the same classics and the same works of natural history, but this produces no community of culture. Because the basis of their thought and their world-view is so different from that of the bourgeoisie, the workers derive something very different from their reading than does the bourgeoisie. As pointed out above, national culture does not exist in a vacuum; it is the expression of the material history of the life of those classes whose rise created the nation. What we find expressed in Schiller and Goethe are not abstractions of the aesthetic imagination, but the feelings and ideals of the bourgeoisie in its youth, its aspiration to freedom and the rights of man, its own way of perceiving the world and its problems. Today’s class-conscious worker has other feelings, other ideals and another world-view. When he is reading and comes across William Tell’s individualism or the eternal, indomitable and ethereal rights of man, the mentality which is thus expressed is not his mentality, which owes its maturity to a more profound understanding of society and which knows that the rights of man can only be conquered through the struggle of a mass organization. He is not insensitive to the beauty of ancient literature; it is precisely his historical judgment which allows him to understand the ideals of past generations on the basis of their economic systems. He is capable of feeling their power, and is thus capable of appreciating the beauty of the works in which they have found their most perfect expression. This is because the beautiful is that which approaches and represents in the most perfect way possible the universality, the essence and the most profound substance of a reality.
To this one must add that, in many respects, the feelings of the bourgeois revolutionary era produced a powerful echo in the bourgeoisie; but what is found as an echo in the bourgeoisie of that era, is precisely what is lacking in the modern bourgeoisie. This is all the more true in regard to radical and proletarian literature. As for what made the proletariat so enthusiastic about the works of Heine and Freiligrath6, the bourgeoisie does not want to know anything. The way the two classes read the literature which is available to both, is totally different; their social and political ideals are diametrically opposed, their world-views have nothing in common. This is to a certain extent even truer of their views of history. In history, what the bourgeoisie considers to be the most sublime memories of the nation arouse nothing but hatred, aversion or indifference in the proletariat. Here nothing points to their possessing a shared culture. Only the physical and natural sciences are admired and honored by both classes. Their content is identical for both. But how different from the attitude of the bourgeois classes, is that of the worker who has recognized these sciences as the basis of his absolute rule over nature and over his destiny in the future socialist society. For the worker, this view of nature, this concept of history and this literary sentiment, are not elements of a national culture in which he participates, they are elements of his socialist culture.
The most essential intellectual content, the determinant thoughts, and the real culture of the social democrats do not have their roots in Schiller or Goethe, but in Marx and Engels. And this culture, which has arisen from a lucid socialist understanding of history and the future of society, the socialist ideal of a free and classless humanity, and the proletarian communitarian ethic, and which for those very reasons is in all of its characteristic features opposed to bourgeois culture, is international. This culture, despite its various manifestations among different peoples—since the proletarians’ perspectives vary according to their conditions of existence and the form assumed by their economies—and despite the fact that it is powerfully influenced by the historical background of each nation, especially where the class struggle is underdeveloped, is everywhere the same. Its form, the language in which it is expressed, is different, but all the other differences, even the national ones, are progressively reduced by the development of the class struggle and the growth of socialism. Indeed, the gap between the culture of the bourgeoisie and that of the proletariat is constantly expanding. It is therefore inaccurate to say that the proletariat is fighting for the ownership of the national cultural goods which it produces with its labor. It does not fight to appropriate the cultural goods of the bourgeoisie; it fights for control over production and to establish its own socialist culture upon that foundation. What we call the cultural effects of the class struggle, the workers’ acquisition of self-consciousness, of knowledge and the desire to learn, of higher intellectual standards, has nothing to do with a bourgeois national culture, but represents the growth of socialist culture. This culture is a product of the struggle, a struggle which is waged against the whole bourgeois world. And just as we see the new humanity developing in the proletariat, proud and sure of victory, freed from the vile slavery of the past, comprised of brave combatants, capable of an unprejudiced and complete understanding of the course of events, united by the strongest bonds of solidarity in a solid unit, so from now on the spirit of the new humanity, socialist culture, weak at first, confused and mixed with bourgeois traditions, will be awakened in this proletariat, and will then become clearer, purer, more beautiful and richer.
This is obviously not intended to imply that bourgeois culture will not also continue to rule for a long time and exercise a powerful influence on the minds of the workers. Too many influences from that world affect the proletariat, with or without its consent; not only school, church, and bourgeois press, but all the fine arts and scientific works impregnated by bourgeois thought. But more and more frequently, and in an ever-more comprehensive fashion, life itself and their own experience triumphs over the bourgeois world-view in the minds of the workers. And this is how it must be. Because the more the bourgeois world-view takes possession of the workers, the less capable of fighting they become; under its influence, the workers are full of respect for the ruling powers, they are inculcated with the ideological thought of the latter, their lucid class consciousness is obscured, they turn on their own kind from this or that nation, they are scattered and are therefore weakened in the struggle and deprived of their self-confidence. Our goal demands a proud human species, self-conscious, bold in both thought and action. And this is why the very requirements of the struggle are freeing the workers from these paralyzing influences of bourgeois culture.
It is, then, inaccurate to say that the workers are, by means of their struggle, gaining access to a “national community of culture”. It is the politics of the proletariat, the international politics of the class struggle, which is engendering a new international and socialist culture in the proletariat.
The Community of Class Struggle
Bauer opposes the nation as a community of fate to the class, in which the similarity of fates has developed similar character traits. But the working class is not just a group of men who have experienced the same fate and thus have the same character. The class struggle welds the proletariat into a community of fate. The fate lived in common is the struggle waged in common against the same enemy.
In the trade union struggle, workers of different nationalities see themselves confronted by the same employer. They must wage their struggle as a compact unit; they know its vicissitudes and effects in the most intimate kind of community of fate. They have brought their national differences with them from their various countries, mixed with the primitive individualism of the peasants or the petit-bourgeoisie, perhaps also a little national consciousness, combined with other bourgeois traditions. But all of these differences are traditions of the past opposed to the present need to resist as a compact mass, and opposed to the living community of combat of the present day. Only one difference has any practical significance here: that of language; all explanations, all proposals, all information must be communicated to everyone in their own language. In the great American strikes (the steelworkers strike at McKee’s Rocks or the textile workers strike at Lawrence, for example), the strikers—a disjointed conglomeration of the most varied nationalities: French, Italians, Poles, Turks, Syrians, etc.—formed separate language sections whose committees always held joint meetings and simultaneously communicated proposals to each section in its own language, thus preserving the unity of the whole, which proves that, despite the inherent difficulties of the language barrier, a close-knit community of proletarian struggle can be achieved. Wanting to proceed here to an organizational separation between that which unites life and struggle, the real interests of those involved—and such a separation is what separatism implies—is so contrary to reality that its success can only be temporary.
This is not only true for the workers in one factory. In order to wage their struggle successfully, the workers of the whole country must unite in one trade union; and all of its members must consider the advancement of each local group as their own struggle. This is all the more necessary when, in the course of events, the trade union struggle assumes harsher forms. The employers unite in cartels and employers’ associations; the latter do not distinguish between Czech or German employers, as they group together all the employers in the whole State, and sometimes even extend beyond the borders of the State. All the workers of the same trade living in the same State go on strike and suffer the lock-outs in common and consequently form a community of lived fate, and this is of the utmost importance, trumping all national differences. And in the recent sailors’ movement for higher wages which in the summer of 1911 confronted an international association of ship-owners, one could already see an international community of fate arising as a tangible reality.
The same thing happens in the political struggle. In the Communist Manifesto of Marx and Engels, one may read the following: “Though not in substance, yet in form, the struggle of the proletariat with the bourgeoisie is at first a national struggle. The proletariat of each country must, of course, first of all settle matters with its own bourgeoisie.”7 In this passage it is clear that the word “national” is not used in its Austrian sense, but arises from the context of the situation in Western Europe where State and nation are synonymous. This passage only means that the English workers cannot wage the class struggle against the French bourgeoisie, nor can the French workers wage the class struggle against the English bourgeoisie, but that the English bourgeoisie and the power of the English State can be attacked and defeated only by the English proletariat. In Austria, State and nation are separate entities. The nation naturally arises as a community of interests of the bourgeois classes. But it is the State which is the real solid organization of the bourgeoisie for protecting its interests. The State protects property, it takes care of administration, puts the fleet and the army in order, collects the taxes and keeps the masses under control. The “nations”, or, more precisely: the active organizations which use the nation’s name, that is, the bourgeois parties, have no other purpose than to fight for the conquest of a fitting share of influence over the State, for participation in State power. For the big bourgeoisie, whose economic interests embrace the whole State and even other countries, and which needs direct privileges, customs duties, State purchases and protection overseas, it is its natural community of interests, rather than the nation, which defines the State and its limitations. The apparent independence which State power has managed to preserve for so long thanks to the conflicts between nations cannot obscure the fact that that it has also been an instrument at the service of big capital.
This is why the center of gravity of the political struggle of the working class is shifting towards the State. As long as the struggle for political power still remains a secondary issue, and agitation, propaganda and the struggle of ideas—which naturally must be expressed in every language—are still the highest priority, the proletarian armies will continue to be separated nationally for the political struggle. In this first stage of the socialist movement, the most important task is to free the proletarians from the ideological influence of the petit bourgeoisie, to snatch them away from the bourgeois parties and inculcate them with class consciousness. The bourgeois parties, separated by national boundaries, then become the enemies to be fought. The State appears to be a legislative power from which laws can be demanded for the protection of the proletariat; the conquest of influence over the State in favor of proletarian interests is presented to the barely-conscious proletarians as the first goal of proletarian action. And the final goal, the struggle for socialism, is presented as a struggle for State power, against the bourgeois parties.
But when the socialist party attains the status of an important factor in parliament, our task changes. In parliament, where all essential political questions are settled, the proletariat is confronted by the representatives of the bourgeois classes of the entire State. The essential political struggle, to which educational work is increasingly subjected and into which it is increasingly integrated, unfolds on the terrain of the State. It is the same for all the State’s workers, regardless of their nationalities. The community of struggle extends to the entire proletariat of the State, a proletariat for whom the common struggle against the same enemy, against all of the bourgeois parties and their governments in all nations, becomes a common fate. It is not the nation, but the State which determines for the proletariat the borders of the community of fate constituted by the parliamentary political struggle. As long as socialist propaganda remains the most important activity for the Austrian and Russian Ruthenians,8 the two national groups will be closely linked. But from the moment when developments reach a point where the real political struggle is waged against State power—the bourgeois majority and its government—they must go their separate ways, and fight in different places with sometimes completely different methods. The former intervene in Vienna in the Reichsrat together with Tyrolean and Czech workers, while the latter now carry on the fight under clandestine conditions, or in the streets of Kiev against the Czar’s government and its Cossacks. Their community of fate is sundered.
All of this is all the more clearly manifested as the proletariat becomes more powerful and its struggle occupies a larger and larger share of the field of history. State power, along with all the potent means at its disposal, is the fief of the owning classes; the proletariat cannot free itself, it cannot defeat capitalism unless it first defeats this powerful organization. The conquest of political hegemony is not a struggle for State power; it is a struggle against State power. The social revolution which shall issue into socialism consists essentially of defeating State power with the power of the proletarian organization. This is why it must be carried out by the proletariat of the entire State. One could say that this common liberation struggle against a common enemy is the most important experience in the entire history of the life of the proletariat from its first awakening until its victory. This makes the working class of the same State, rather than the same nation, a community of fate. Only in Western Europe, where State and nation more or less coincide, does the struggle waged on the terrain of the nation-state for political hegemony give rise within the proletariat to communities of fate which coincide with nations.
But even in this case the international character of the proletariat develops rapidly. The workers of different countries exchange theory and practice, methods of struggle and concepts, and they consider these topics to be matters common to all. This was certainly the case with the rising bourgeoisie; in their economic and philosophical concepts, the English, French and Germans were mutually and profoundly influenced by their exchange of ideas. But no community resulted from this exchange because their economic antagonism led them to organize into mutually hostile nations; it was precisely the French bourgeoisie’s conquest of the bourgeois freedom long enjoyed by the English bourgeoisie which provoked the bitter Napoleonic Wars. Such conflicts of interest are utterly lacking in the proletariat and for that reason the reciprocal intellectual influence exercised by the working classes of the various countries can act without constraint in forming an international community of culture. But their community is not limited to this aspect. The struggles, the victories and the defeats in one country have profound impacts on the class struggle in other countries. The struggles waged by our class comrades in other countries against their bourgeoisie are our affairs not only on the terrain of ideas, but also on the material plane; they form part of our own fight and we feel them as such. The Austrian workers, for whom the Russian Revolution was a decisive episode in their own struggle for universal suffrage, know this quite well.9 The proletariat of the whole world perceives itself as a single army, as a great association which is only obliged for practical reasons to split into numerous battalions which must fight the enemy separately, since the bourgeoisie is organized into States and there are as a result numerous fortresses to reduce. This is also the way the press informs us of struggles in foreign countries: the English Dock Strikes, the Belgian elections, and the demonstrations on the streets of Budapest are all of interest to our great class organization. In this manner the international class struggle becomes the common experience of the workers of all countries.
The Nation in the State of the Future
This conception of the proletariat already reflects the conditions of the future social order, in which men will no longer know State antagonisms. Through the overthrow of the rigid State organizations of the bourgeoisie by the organizational power of the proletarian masses, the State disappears as a coercive power and as the terrain of domination which is so sharply demarcated in relation to foreign States. Political organizations take on a new function: “The government of persons gives way to the administration of things,” Engels said in his Anti-Dühring.10 For the conscious regulation of production, you need organization, executive organs and administrative activity; but the extremely strict centralization such as that practiced by today’s State is neither necessary nor can it possibly be employed in pursuit of that goal. Such centralization will give way to full decentralization and self-administration. According to the size of each sector of production, the organizations will cover larger or smaller areas; while bread, for example, will be produced on a local scale, steel production and the operation of railroad networks require State-sized economic entities. There will be production units of the most various sizes, from the workshop and the municipality to the State, and even, for certain industries, all of humanity. Those naturally-occurring human groups, nations—will they not then take the place of the vanished States as organizational units? This will undoubtedly be the case, for the simple practical reason, that they are communities of the same language and all of man’s relations are mediated through language.
But Bauer confers a totally different meaning upon the nations of the future: “The fact that socialism will make the nation autonomous, will make its destiny a product of the nation’s conscious will, will result in an increasing differentiation between the nations of the socialist society, a clearer expression of their specificities, a clearer distinction between their respective characters” (p. 96). Some nations, of course, receive the content of their culture and their ideas in various ways from other nations, but they only accept them in the context of their own national cultures. “For this reason, the autonomy of the national community of culture within socialism necessarily means, despite the diminishing of differences between the material contents of their cultures, a growing differentiation between the intellectual cultures of the nations” (p. 98). . . . Thus “the nation based on the community of education carries within it the tendency for unity; all its children are subject to the same education, all its members work together in the national workshops, participate in the creation of the collective will of the nation, and enjoy with each other the cultural wealth of the nation. Socialism thus carries within itself the guarantee of the unity of the nation.” (p. 98). Capitalism already displays the tendency to reinforce the national differences of the masses and to provide the nation with a stronger inner coherence. “However, it is only a socialist society that will see this tendency to triumph. Through differences in national education and customs, socialist society will distinguish peoples from one another to the same extent that the educated classes of the different nations are distinguished from one another today. There may well exist limited communities of character within the socialist nation; but autonomous cultural communities will not be able to exist within the nation, because every local community will be subject to the influence of the culture of the nation of the nation as a whole and will engage in cultural interaction, in the exchange of ideas with the entire nation” (p. 117).
The conception which is expressed in these sentences is nothing but the ideological transposition of the Austrian present into a socialist future. It confers upon the nations under socialism a role which is currently played by the States, that is, an increasing isolation from the outside and an internal leveling of all differences; among the many levels of economic and administrative units, it gives the nations a privileged rank, similar to that which falls to the State in the conception of our adversaries, who loudly complain about the “omnipotence of the State” under socialism, and here Bauer even speaks of “national workshops”. In any event, while socialist writings always refer to the workshops and means of production of the “community” in opposition to private property, without precisely delineating the dimensions of the community, here the nation is considered as the only community of men, autonomous in respect to other nations, undifferentiated within its borders.
Such a conception is only possible if one totally abandons the material terrain from which the mutual relations and ideas of men have arisen and only insists on the mental forces as determinant factors. National differences thereby totally lose the economic roots which today give them such an extraordinary vigor. The socialist mode of production does not develop oppositions of interest between nations, as is the case with the bourgeois mode of production. The economic unit is neither the State nor the nation, but the world. This mode of production is much more than a network of national productive units connected to one another by an intelligent policy of communications and by international conventions, as Bauer describes it on pages 413-414; it is an organization of world production in one unit and the common affair of all humanity. In this world community of which the proletariat’s internationalism is henceforth a beginning, one can no more discuss the autonomy of the German nation, to take an example, than one could speak of the autonomy of Bavaria, or of the City of Prague or the Poldi Steelworks. All partially manage their own affairs and all depend upon the whole, as parts of that whole. The whole notion of autonomy comes from the capitalist era, when the conditions of domination led to their opposite, that is, freedom in respect to a particular form of domination.
This material basis of the collectivity, organized world production, transforms the future of humanity into a single community of destiny. For the great achievements which are hoped for, the scientific and technological conquest of the entire earth and its transformation into a magnificent home for a race of masters [ein Geschlecht von Herrenmenschen], happy and proud of their victory, who have become rulers of nature and its forces, for such great achievements—which we can hardly even imagine today—the borders of States and peoples are too narrow and restrictive. The community of fate will unite all of humanity in an intellectual and cultural community. Linguistic diversity will be no obstacle, since every human community which maintains real communication with another human community will create a common language. Without attempting here to examine the question of a universal language, we shall only point out that today it is easy to learn various languages once one has advanced beyond the level of primary instruction. This is why it is useless to examine the question of to what degree the current linguistic boundaries and differences are of a permanent nature. What Bauer says about the nation in the last sentence quoted above therefore applies to all of humanity: although restricted communities of character will subsist within humanity, there cannot be independent communities of culture because every local (and national) community, without exception, will find itself, under the influence of the culture of all of humanity, in cultural communication, in an exchange of ideas, with humanity in its entirety.
The Transformations of the Nation
Our investigation has demonstrated that under the rule of advanced capitalism, which is accompanied by class struggle, the proletariat cannot be a nation-building force. It does not form a community of fate with the bourgeois classes, nor does it share a community of material interests, nor a community which could possibly be that of intellectual culture. The rudiments of such a community, which were sketched at the very beginning of capitalism, will necessarily disappear with the further development of the class struggle. While powerful economic forces generate national isolation, national antagonism and the whole nationalist ideology in the bourgeois classes, these features are absent among the proletariat. They are replaced by the class struggle, which gives the lives of the proletarians their essential content, and creates an international community of fate and of character in which nations as linguistic groups have no practical significance. And since the proletariat is humanity in the process of becoming, this community constitutes the dawn of the economic and cultural community of all of humanity under socialism.
We must therefore respond in the affirmative to the question we posed above: For the proletariat, national phenomena are of no more significance than traditions. Their material roots are buried in the past and cannot be nourished by the experiences of the proletariat. Thus, for the proletariat the nation plays a role which is similar to that of religion. We acknowledge their differences, despite their kinship. The material roots of religious antagonisms are lost in the distant past and the people of our time know almost nothing about them. For this reason these antagonisms are totally disconnected from all material interests and seem to be purely abstract disputes about supernatural questions. On the other hand, the material roots of national antagonisms are all around us, in the modern bourgeois world with which we are in constant contact, and this is why they preserve all the freshness and vigor of youth and are all the more influential the more capable we are of directly feeling the interests they express; but, due to the fact that their roots are not so deep, they lack the resistance of an ideology petrified by the passage of centuries, a resistance which is so hard to overcome.
Our investigation therefore leads us to a completely different conception than Bauer’s. The latter imagines, contrary to bourgeois nationalism, a continuous transformation of the nation towards new forms and new types. So the German nation has assumed, throughout its history, continually changing appearances from the proto-German to the future member of the socialist society. Under these changing forms, however, the nation remains the same, and even if certain nations must disappear and others arise, the nation will always be the basic structure of society. According to our findings, however, the nation is just a temporary and transitory structure in the history of the evolution of humanity, one of numerous forms of organization which follow one another in succession or exist side by side: tribes, peoples, empires, churches, village communities, States. Among these forms, the nation, in its particular nature, is a product of bourgeois society and will disappear with the latter. A desire to discover the nation in all past and future communities is as artificial as the determination to interpret, after the fashion of the bourgeois economists, the whole panoply of past and future economic forms as various forms of capitalism, and to conceive world evolution as the evolution of capitalism, which would proceed from the “capital” of the savage, his bow and arrows, to the “capital” of socialist society.
This is the weak point of the basic underlying idea of Bauer’s work, as we pointed out above. When he says that the nation is not a fixed object but a process of becoming, he implies that the nation as such is permanent and eternal. For Bauer, the nation is “the never-finished product of an eternally-occurring process”. For us, the nation is an episode in the process of human evolution, a process which develops towards the infinite. For Bauer the nation constitutes the permanent fundamental element of humanity. His theory is a reflection on the whole history of humanity from the perspective of the nation. Economic forms change, classes emerge and pass away, but these are only changes of the nation, within the nation. The nation remains the primary element upon which the classes and their transformations simply confer a changing content. This is why Bauer expresses the ideas and the goals of socialism in the language of nationalism and speaks of the nation where others have used the terms people and humanity: the “nation”, due to the private ownership of the means of labor, has lost control over its destiny; the “nation” has not consciously determined its destiny, the capitalists have; the “nation” of the future will become the architect of its own destiny; we have already referred to his mention of national workshops. So Bauer is led to describe as national-evolutionary and national-conservative the two opposed trends in politics: that of socialism, oriented towards the future, and that of capitalism, which is trying to preserve the existing economic order. Following the example cited above, one could just as well call this kind of socialism the socialism of capitalist-evolutionary politics.
Bauer’s way of approaching the national question is a specifically Austrian theory, and is a doctrine of the evolution of humanity which could only have arisen in Austria, where national questions totally dominate public life. It is a confirmation of the fact that, and this is not meant to stigmatize him, a researcher who so successfully masters the method of the Marxist conception of history in turn becomes, by succumbing to the influence of his surroundings, a proof of that theory.
It is only such influence which has placed him in such circumstances that he can make our scientific understanding advance to such a point. Along with the fact that we are not logical thinking machines but human beings who are living in a world which obliges us to have a full knowledge of the problems which the practice of the struggle pose for us, by relying on experience and reflection.
But it seems to us that the different conclusions also involve different basic philosophical concepts. In what way have all our criticisms of Bauer’s conceptions always converged? In a different evaluation of material and intellectual forces. While Bauer bases himself on the indestructible power of mental phenomena, of ideology as an independent force, we always put the accent on its dependence on economic conditions. It is tempting to consider this deviation from Marxist materialism in the light of the fact that Bauer has on various occasions represented himself as a defender of Kant’s philosophy and figures among the Kantians. In this manner, his work is a double confirmation of the fact that Marxism is a precious and indispensable scientific method.
Only Marxism has allowed him to enunciate numerous noteworthy results which enrich our understanding; it is precisely at those points which are in some respect lacking that his method is most distant from the materialist conceptions of Marxism.
III. Socialist Tactics
Nationalist Demands
Socialist tactics are based on the science of social development. The way a working class assumes responsibility for pursuing its own interests is determined by its conception of the future evolution of its conditions. Its tactics must not yield to the influence of every desire and every goal which arise among the oppressed proletariat, or by every idea that dominates the latter’s mentality; if these are in contradiction with the effective development they are unrealizable, so all the energy and all the work devoted to them are in vain and can even be harmful. This was the case with all the movements and attempts to stop the triumphant march of big industry and to reintroduce the old order of the guilds. The militant proletariat has rejected all of that; guided by its understanding of the inevitable nature of capitalist development, it has put forth its socialist goal. The leading idea of our tactics is to favor that which will inevitably realize this goal. For this reason it is of paramount importance to establish, not what role nationalism is playing in this or that proletariat at this moment, but what will its long-term role be in the proletariat under the influence of the rise of the class struggle. Our conceptions of the future meaning of nationalism for the working class are the conceptions which must determine our tactical positions in relation to the national question.
Bauer’s conceptions concerning the nation’s future constitute the theoretical basis of the tactics of national opportunism. The opportunistic tactic itself presents the very outline of the basic premise of his work, which considers nationality as the sole powerful and permanent result of historical development in its entirety. If the nation constitutes, and not just today but on an ever expanding scale in conjunction with the growth of the workers movement, and under socialism totally does so, the natural unifying and dividing principle of humanity, then it would be useless to want to fight against the power of the national idea in the proletariat. Then it would be necessary for us to champion nationalist demands and we would have to make every effort to convince the patriotic workers that socialism is the best and the only real nationalism.
Tactics would be completely different if one were to adopt the conviction that nationalism is nothing but bourgeois ideology which does not have material roots in the proletariat and which will therefore disappear as the class struggle develops. In this case, nationalism is not only a passing episode in the proletariat, but also constitutes, like all bourgeois ideology, an obstacle for the class struggle whose harmful influence must be eliminated as much as possible. Its elimination is part of the timeline of evolution itself. Nationalist slogans and goals distract the workers from their specifically proletarian goals. They divide the workers of different nations; they provoke the mutual hostility of the workers and thus destroy the necessary unity of the proletariat. They line up the workers and the bourgeoisie shoulder to shoulder in one front, thus obscuring the workers’ class consciousness and transforming the workers into the executors of bourgeois policy. National struggles prevent the assertion of social questions and proletarian interests in politics and condemn this important means of struggle of the proletariat to sterility. All of this is encouraged by socialist propaganda when the latter presents nationalist slogans to the workers as valid, regardless of the very goal of their struggle, and when it utilizes the language of nationalism in the description of our socialist goals. It is indispensable that class feeling and class struggle should be deeply rooted in the minds of the workers; then they will progressively become aware of the unreality and futility of nationalist slogans for their class.
This is why the nation-State as a goal in itself, such as the re-establishment of an independent national State in Poland, has no place in socialist propaganda. This is not because a national State belonging to the proletariat is of no interest for socialist propaganda purposes. It is a result of the fact that nationalist demands of this kind cause the hatred of exploitation and oppression to easily take the form of nationalist hatred of foreign oppressors, as in the case of the foreign rule exercised by Russia, which protects the Polish capitalists, and is prejudicial to the acquisition of a lucid class consciousness. The re-establishment of an independent Poland is utopian in the capitalist era. This also applies to the solution of the Polish question proposed by Bauer: national autonomy for the Poles within the Russian Empire. However desirable or necessary this goal may be for the Polish proletariat, as long as capitalism reigns the real course of development will not be determined by what the proletariat believes it needs, but by what the ruling class wants. If, however, the proletariat is strong enough to impose its will, the value of such autonomy is then infinitely minuscule compared with the real value of the proletariat’s class demands, which lead to socialism. The struggle of the Polish proletariat against the political power under which it really suffers—the Russian, Prussian or Austrian government, as the case may be—is condemned to sterility if it assumes the form of a nationalist struggle; only as a class struggle will it achieve its goal. The only goal which can be achieved and which for this reason is imposed as a goal is that of the conquest, in conjunction with the other workers of these States, of capitalist political power and the struggle for the advent of socialism. Hence under socialism the goal of an independent Poland no longer makes sense since in that case nothing would prevent all Polish-speaking individuals from being free to unite in an administrative unit.
These different views are evident in the respective positions of the two Polish Socialist Parties.11 Bauer insists that both are justified, since each of them embodies one facet of the nature of the Polish workers: the P.P.S., nationalist feeling, the SDKPiL, the international class struggle. This is correct, but incomplete. We do not content ourselves with the very objective historical method which proves that all phenomena or tendencies can be explained by and derived from natural causes. We must add that one facet of this nature is reinforced during the course of development, while another declines. The principle of one of the two parties is based on the future, that of the other is based on the past; one constitutes the great force of progress, the other is a compulsory tradition. This is why the two parties do not represent the same thing for us; as Marxists who base our principles on the real science of evolution and as revolutionary social democrats who seek what is ours in the class struggle, we must support one party and help it in its struggle against the other.
We spoke above of the lack of value of nationalist slogans for proletariat. But is it not true that certain nationalist demands are also of great importance for the workers, and should the workers not fight for them alongside the bourgeoisie? Is it not true, for example, that national schools, in which the children of the proletariat can receive instruction in their own language, possess a certain value? For us, such demands constitute proletarian demands rather than nationalist demands. Czech nationalist demands are directed against the Germans, while the Germans oppose them. If, however, the Czech workers were to interest themselves in Czech schools, a Czech administrative language, etc., because these things allow them to enhance their opportunities for education and to increase their independence in respect to the employers and the authorities, these issues would also be of interest to the German workers, who have every interest in seeing their class comrades acquire as much force as possible for the class struggle. Therefore, not only the Czech social democrats, but their German comrades as well must demand schools for the Czech minority, and it is of the little importance to the representatives of the proletariat how powerful the German or the Czech “nation” is, that is, how powerful the German or the Czech bourgeoisie is within the State, which will be strengthened or weakened by this development. The interest of the proletariat must always prevail. If the bourgeoisie, for nationalist reasons, were to formulate an identical demand, in practice it will be pursuing something totally different since its goals are not the same. In the schools of the Czech minority, the workers will encourage the teaching of the German language because this would help their children in their struggle for existence, but the Czech bourgeoisie will try to prevent them from learning German. The workers demand the most extensive diversity of languages employed in administrative bodies, the nationalists want to suppress foreign languages. It is only in appearance, then, that the linguistic and cultural demands of the workers and those of the nationalists coincide. Proletarian demands are those demands which are common to the proletariat of all nations.
Ideology and Class Struggle
The Marxist tactic of social democracy is based upon the recognition of the real class interests of the workers. It cannot be led astray by ideologies, even when the latter seem to be rooted in men’s minds. As a result of its Marxist mode of comprehension, it knows that those ideas and ideologies which apparently do not have material bases, are by no means supernatural nor are they invested with a spiritual existence disconnected from the corporeal, but are the traditional and established expressions of past class interests. This is why we are certain that in the face of the enormous density of class interests and real current needs, even if there is little awareness of them, no ideology rooted in the past, however powerful it may be, can resist for long. This basic concept also determines the form assumed by our struggle against that ideology’s power.
Those who consider ideas to be autonomous powers in the minds of men, which spontaneously appear or are manifested thanks to a strange spiritual influence, can choose one of two ways to win men over to their new goals: they can either directly fight the old ideologies, demonstrating their erroneous nature by means of abstract theoretical considerations and in that way attempt to nullify their power over men; or they can try to enlist ideology in their cause by presenting their new goals as the consequence and the realization of old ideas. Let us take the example of religion.
Religion is the most powerful among the ideologies of the past which dominate the proletariat and are used in an attempt to lead it astray from the united class struggle. Confused social democrats, who have witnessed the construction of this powerful obstacle to socialism, have tried to fight religion directly and to prove the erroneous nature of religious doctrines—in the same way previously attempted by bourgeois nationalism—in order to shatter their influence. Or, on the other hand, they have tried to present socialism as an improved Christianity, as the true realization of religious doctrine, and thus to convert Christian believers to socialism. But these two methods have failed wherever they have been tried; theoretical attacks against religion have not succeeded at all and have reinforced prejudice against socialism; similarly, no one has been convinced by ridiculous social democratic attempts to cloak socialism in Christian attributes, because the tradition to which men are firmly attached is not just Christianity in general, but a particular Christian doctrine. It was obvious that both of these attempts were destined to fail. Since the theoretical considerations and debates which accompanied these attempts focus the mind on abstract religious questions, they detour it away from real life and reinforce ideological thinking. In general, faith cannot be attacked with theoretical proofs; only when its basis—the old conditions of existence—has disappeared and a new conception of the world occurs to man, will doubts arise concerning doctrines and ancient dogmas. Only the new reality, which more and more clearly penetrates the mind, can overthrow a faith handed down from generation to generation; it is, of course, necessary that men’s consciousness should clearly come to grips with this reality. It is only through contact with reality that the mind frees itself from the power of inherited ideas.
This is why Marxist social democracy would not even in its wildest dreams think of fighting religion with theoretical arguments, or of trying to use religion for its own purposes. Both such approaches would help to artificially preserve received abstract ideas, instead of allowing them to slowly dissipate. Our tactic consists in making the workers more aware of their real class interests, showing them the reality of this society and its life in order to orient their minds more towards the real world of today. Then the old ideas, which no longer find any nourishment in the reality of proletariat life, yield without being directly attacked. What men think of theoretical problems is no concern of ours as long as they struggle together with us for the new economic order of socialism. This is why social democracy never speaks or debates about the existence of God or religious controversies; it only speaks of capitalism, exploitation, class interests, and the need for the workers to collectively wage the class struggle. In this way the mind is steered away from secondary ideas of the past in order to focus on present-day reality; these ideas of the past are thus deprived of their power to lead the workers astray from the class struggle and the defense of their class interests.
Of course, this cannot be achieved all at once. That which remains petrified within the mind can only be slowly eroded and dissolved under the impact of new forces. How many years passed before large numbers of the Christian workers of Rhineland-Westphalia abandoned the Zentrum12 for social democracy! But the social democracy did not allow itself to be led astray; it did not try to accelerate the conversion of the Christian workers by means of concessions to their religious prejudices; it was not impatient with the scarcity of its successes, nor did it allow itself to be seduced by anti-religious propaganda. It did not lose faith in the victory of reality over tradition, it clung firmly to principle, it opted for no tactical deviations which would give the illusion of a quicker route to success; it always opposed ideology with the class struggle. And now the fruits of its tactic continue to ripen.
It is the same with regard to nationalism, with the sole difference that in dealing with the latter, due to the fact that it is a more recent and less petrified ideology, we are less prepared to avoid the error of fighting on the abstract theoretical plane as well as the error of compromise. In this case as well it suffices for us to put the accent on the class struggle and to awaken class feeling in order to turn attention away from national problems. In this case, too, all our propaganda could appear to be useless against the power of nationalist ideology; 13 most of all, it could seem that nationalism is making the most progress among the workers of the young nations. Thus, the Christian trade unions of the Rhineland made their greatest gains at the same time as the Social Democracy; this could be compared to the phenomenon of national separatism, which is a part of the workers movement that concedes more importance to a bourgeois ideology than to the principle of class struggle. But insofar as such movements are in practice capable only of following in the wake of the bourgeoisie and thus of arousing the feeling of the working class against them, they will progressively lose their power.
We would therefore have gone completely off the rails if we wanted to win the working masses over to socialism by being more nationalist than they are, by yielding to this phenomenon. This nationalist opportunism could, at the very most, allow these masses to be won over externally, in appearance, for the party, but this does not win them over to our cause, to socialist ideas; bourgeois conceptions will continue to rule their minds as before. And when the decisive moment arrives when they must choose between national and proletarian interests, the internal weakness of this workers movement will become apparent, as is currently taking place in the separatist crisis. How can we rally the masses under our banner if we allow them to flock to the banner of nationalism? Our principle of class struggle can only prevail when the other principles that manipulate and divide men are rendered ineffective; but if our propaganda enhances the reputation of those other principles, we subvert our own cause.
As a result of what has been set forth above, it would be a complete error to want to fight nationalist feelings and slogans. In those cases where the latter are deeply-rooted in people’s heads, they cannot be eliminated by theoretical arguments but only by a more powerful reality, which is allowed to act upon the people’s minds. If one begins to speak about this topic, the mind of the listener is immediately oriented towards the terrain of nationalism and can think only in terms of nationalism. It is therefore better not to speak of it at all, not to get mixed up in it. To all the nationalist slogans and arguments, the response will be: exploitation, surplus value, bourgeoisie, class rule, class struggle. If they speak of their demands for national schools, we shall call attention to the insufficiency of the teaching dispensed to the children of the workers, who learn no more than what is necessary for their subsequent life of back-breaking toil at the service of capital. If they speak of street signs and administrative posts, we will speak of the misery which compels the proletarians to emigrate. If they speak of the unity of the nation, we will speak of exploitation and class oppression. If they speak of the greatness of the nation, we will speak of the solidarity of the proletariat of the whole world. Only when the great reality of today’s world—capitalist development, exploitation, the class struggle and its final goal, socialism—has entirely impregnated the minds of the workers, will the little bourgeois ideals of nationalism fade away and disappear. The class struggle and propaganda for socialism comprise the sole effective means of breaking the power of nationalism.
Separatism and Party Organization
In Austria after the Wimberg Congress, the social democratic party was divided by nationalities, each national workers party being autonomous and collaborating with the others on a federalist basis.14 This separation of the proletariat by nationalities did not cause major inconveniences and was frequently considered to be the natural organizational principle for the workers movement in a country which is so profoundly divided by nationalities. But when this separation ceased to be restricted to the political organization and was applied to the trade unions under the name of separatism, the danger suddenly became palpable. The absurdity of a situation where the workers in the same workshop are organized in different trade unions and thus stand in the way of the common struggle against the employer is evident. These workers constitute a community of interests; they can only fight and win as a cohesive mass and therefore must be members of a single organization. The separatists, by introducing the separation of workers by nationalities into the trade union, shatter the power of the workers in the same way the Christian trade union schismatics did and significantly contribute to obstructing the rise of the proletariat.
The separatists know this and can see it as well as we do. What, then, impels them to take this hostile stance towards the workers despite the fact that their cause was condemned by an overwhelming majority at the International Congress at Copenhagen? 15 First of all, the fact that they consider the national principle to be infinitely superior to the material interests of the workers and the socialist principle. In this case, however, they make reference to the rulings of another international Congress, the Stuttgart Congress (1907), according to which the party and the trade unions of a country must be intimately linked in a constant community of labor and struggle.16 How is this possible when the party is articulated by nationality and the trade union movement is at the same time internationally centralized throughout the State? Where will the Czech social democracy find a trade union movement with which it can be intimately linked, if it does not create its own Czech trade union movement?
To proceed, as have many German-speaking social democrats in Austria, by referring to the total disparity of political and trade union struggles as an essential argument in the theoretical struggle against separatism, is to literally choose the weakest position. There is, of course, no other way out if they want to simultaneously defend international unity in the trade unions and separation by nationalities in the party. But this argument does not produce the sought-after results.
This attitude is derived from the situation which prevailed at the beginning of the workers movement when both party and trade union had to assert themselves slowly while fighting against the prejudices of the working masses and when each of them was trying to find its own way: at that time it seemed that the trade unions were only for improving the immediate material conditions, while the party carries out the struggle for the future society, for general ideals and elevated ideas. In reality, both are fighting for immediate improvements and both are helping to build the power of the proletariat which will make the advent of socialism possible. It is just that, insofar as the political struggle is a general struggle against the entire bourgeoisie, the most distant consequences and the most profound bases of the socialist world-view must be taken into account, while in the trade union struggle, in which contemporary issues and immediate interests come to the fore, reference to general principles is not necessary, and could even be harmful to momentary unity. But in reality it is the same working class interests which determine the two forms of struggle; it is just that in the party they are somewhat more enveloped in the form of ideas and principles. But as the movement grows, and the closer the party and the trade union approach one another, the more they are compelled to fight in common. The great trade union struggles become mass movements whose enormous political importance makes the whole of social existence tremble. On the other hand, political struggles assume the dimensions of mass actions which demand the active collaboration of the trade unions. The Stuttgart resolution makes this necessity even more clear. Thus, every attempt to defeat separatism by positing the total disparity of trade union and political movements is in conflict with reality.
The error of separatism, then, lies not in wanting the same organization for the party and the trade unions, but in destroying the trade union to accomplish this goal. The root of the contradiction is not found in the unity of the trade union movement, but in the division of the political party. Separatism in the trade union movement is merely the unavoidable consequence of the autonomy of the party’s national organizations; since it subordinates the class struggle to the national principle, it is even the ultimate consequence of the theory which considers nations to be the natural products of humanity and sees socialism in the light of the national principle, as the realization of the nation. This is why one cannot really overcome separatism unless, on all fronts, in tactics, in agitation, in the consciousness of all the comrades, the class struggle rules as the sole proletarian principle compared to which all national differences are of no importance. The unification of the socialist parties is the only way to resolve the contradiction which has given birth to the separatist crisis and all the harm it has done to the workers movement.
In the section above entitled “The Community of Class Struggle” it was demonstrated how the class struggle develops on the terrain of the State and unifies the workers of all the State’s nationalities. It was also confirmed that during the early days of the socialist party, the center of gravity was still located in the nations. This explains historical developments since then: from the moment that it began to reach the masses through its propaganda, the party split up into separate units on the national level which had to adapt to their respective environments, to the situation and specific ways of thinking of each nation, and for that very reason were more or less contaminated by nationalist ideas. The entire workers movement during its ascendant phase was stuffed full of bourgeois ideas which it can only slowly rid itself of in the course of development, through the practice of struggle and increasing theoretical understanding. This bourgeois influence on the workers movement, which in other countries has assumed the form of revisionism or anarchism, necessarily took the form of nationalism in Austria, not only because nationalism is the most powerful bourgeois ideology, but also because in Austria nationalism is opposed to the State and the bureaucracy. National autonomy in the party is not only the result of an erroneous yet avoidable resolution of this or that party congress, but is also a natural form of development, created incrementally by the historical situation itself.
But when the conquest of universal suffrage created the terrain for the parliamentary struggle of the modern capitalist State, and the proletariat became an important political force, this situation could not last. Then one could see if the autonomous parties still really comprised one single party (Gesamtpartei). It was no longer possible to be satisfied with platonic declarations about their unity; henceforth a more solidly-grounded unity was needed, so that the socialist fractions of the various national parties would submit in practice and in deed to a common will. The political movement has not passed this test; in some of its component parts, nationalism still has such deep roots that they feel closer to the bourgeois parties of their nations than to the other socialist fractions. This explains a contradiction which is only apparent: the single party collapsed at the precise moment when the new conditions of the political struggle required a real single party, the solid unity of the whole Austrian proletariat; the slack bonds connecting the national groups broke when these groups were confronted by the pressing need to transform themselves into a solid unity. But it was at the same time evident that this absence of the single party could only be temporary. The separatist crisis must necessarily lead to the appearance of a new single party that will be the compact political organization of the whole Austrian working class.
The autonomous national parties are forms from the past which no longer correspond to the new conditions of struggle. The political struggle is the same for all nations and is conducted in one single parliament in Vienna; there, the Czech social democrats do not fight against the Czech bourgeoisie but, together with all the other workers deputies, they fight against the entire Austrian bourgeoisie. To this assertion it has been objected that electoral campaigns are conducted within each nation separately: the adversaries are therefore not the State and its bureaucracy, but the bourgeois parties of each nation. This is correct; but the electoral campaign is not, so to speak, any more than an extension of the parliamentary struggle. It is not the words, but the deeds of our adversaries, which constitute the material of the electoral campaign, and these deeds are perpetrated in the Reichsrat; they form part of the activity of the Austrian parliament. This is why the electoral campaign coaxes the workers out of their little national worlds; it directs their attention to a much greater institution of domination, a powerful organization of coercion of the capitalist class, which rules their lives.
The State, which in other times seemed weak and defenseless against the nation, is increasingly asserting its power as a consequence of the development of large-scale capitalism. The growth of imperialism, which drags the Danubian monarchy in its wake, puts increasingly more potent instruments of power into the hands of the State for the purposes of international policy, imposes greater military pressure and tax burdens on the masses, contains the opposition of the national bourgeois parties and completely ignores the workers’ sociopolitical demands. Imperialism had to provide a powerful impulse to the joint class struggle of the workers; in comparison with their struggles, which shake the entire world, which set capital and labor against each other in a bitter conflict, the goals of national disputes lose all meaning. And it is not to be totally ruled out that the common changes to which the workers are exposed by international politics, above all the danger of war, will unite the now-divided working masses for a common struggle more quickly than is generally thought.
It is true that, as a result of linguistic differences, propaganda and education must be conducted separately in each particular nation. The practice of the class struggle must acknowledge nations as groups distinguished by different languages; this applies to the party as well as the trade union movement. As organizations for struggle, both the party and the trade union must be organized in a unitary manner on an international scale. For purposes of propaganda, explanation, and educational efforts which are also of common concern, they need national organizations and structures.
National Autonomy
Even though we do not get involved in the slogans and watchwords of nationalism and continue to use the slogans of socialism, this does not mean that we are pursuing a kind of ostrich policy in regard to national questions. These are, after all, real questions which are of concern to men and which they want to solve. We are trying to get the workers to become conscious of the fact that, for them, it is not these questions, but exploitation and the class struggle, which are the most vital and important questions which cast their shadows over everything. But this does not make the other questions disappear and we have to show that we are capable of resolving them. Social democracy does not just simply leave men with the promise of the future State, it also presents in its program of immediate demands the solution it proposes for every one of those questions which constitute the focal points of contemporary struggles. We are not merely attempting to unite the Christian workers with all the others in the common class struggle, without taking religion into consideration, but, in our programmatic proposal, Proclamation Concerning the Private Character of Religion, we are also showing them the means to preserve their religious interests more effectively than through religious struggles and disputes. In opposition to the power struggles of the Churches, struggles which are inherent in their character as organizations of domination, we propose the principle of self-determination and freedom for all men to practice their faith without risk of being harmed by others for doing so. This programmatic proposal does not supply the solution for any particular question, but contains a blanket solution insofar as it provides a basis upon which the various questions can be settled at will. By removing all public coercion, all necessity for self-defense and dispute is simultaneously removed. Religious questions are eliminated from politics and left to organizations that will be created by men of their own free will.
Our position in regard to national questions is similar. The social democratic program of national autonomy offers the practical solution which will deprive struggles between nations of their raison d’etre. By means of the employment of the personal principle instead of the territorial principle, nations will be recognized as organizations which will be responsible for the care of all the cultural interests of the national community within the borders of the State. Each nation thus obtains the legal power to regulate its affairs autonomously even where it is in the minority. In this way no nation finds itself faced with the permanent obligation of conquering and preserving this power in the struggle to exercise influence over the State. This will definitively put an end to the struggles between nations which, through endless obstructions, paralyze all parliamentary activity and prevent social questions from being addressed. When the bourgeois parties engage in a free-for-all, without advancing a single step, and find themselves to be helpless before the question of how to get out of this chaos, the social democracy has shown the practical way which permits the satisfaction of justified national desires, without for that reason necessitating mutual harm.
This is not to say that this program has any chance of being implemented. All of us are convinced that our programmatic proclamation of the private character of religion, along with the greater part of our immediate demands, will not be brought to fruition by the capitalist State. Under capitalism, religion is not, as people have been made to believe, a matter of personal belief—if it were, the promoters of religion would have had to adopt and implement our program—but is instead a means of rule in the hands of the owning class. And that class will not renounce the use of that means. A similar idea is found in our national program, which seeks to transform the popular conception of nations into a reality. Nations are not just groups of men who have the same cultural interests and who, for that reason, want to live in peace with other nations; they are combat organizations of the bourgeoisie which are used to gain power within the State. Every national bourgeoisie hopes to extend the territory where it exercises its rule at the expense of its adversaries; it is therefore totally erroneous to think that the bourgeoisie could through its own initiative put an end to these exhausting struggles, just as it is utterly out of the question that the capitalist world powers will usher in an epoch of eternal world peace, through a sensible settlement of their differences. For in Austria, the situation is such that a higher body is available which is capable of intervening: the State, the ruling bureaucracy. It is hoped that the central power of the State will be engaged to resolve national differences, because the latter threaten to tear the State apart and impede the regular functioning of the State machinery; but the State has learned how to coexist with national struggles, and has gone so far as to make use of them to reinforce the power of the government against the parliament, so that it is no longer at all necessary to do away with them. And, what is even more important: the realization of national autonomy, such as the social democracy demands, is based upon democratic self-administration. And this quite justifiably strikes terror into the hearts of the feudal and clerical elements of big business and the militarists who rule Austria.
But does the bourgeoisie really have an interest in putting an end to national struggles? Not at all, it has the greatest interest in not putting an end to them, especially since the class struggle has reached a high point. Just like religious antagonisms, national antagonisms constitute excellent means to divide the proletariat, to divert its attention from the class struggle with the aid of ideological slogans and to prevent its class unity. The instinctive aspirations of the bourgeois classes to block the proletariat’s lucid and powerful efforts towards unification form an increasingly larger part of bourgeois policy. In countries like England, Holland, the United States, and even Germany (where the conservative party of the Junkers is an exceptional case of a sharply-defined class party), we observe that the struggles between the two major bourgeois parties—generally between a “liberal” party and a “conservative” or “religious” party—are becoming more embittered, and the war-cries more strident, at the same time that their real conflicts of interest diminish and their antagonism consists of ideological slogans handed down from the past. Anyone with a schematic conception of Marxism who wants to see the parties as merely the representatives of the interests of bourgeois groups, is faced with an enigma here: when one would expect that they would fuse into a reactionary mass to confront the threat of the proletariat, it seems, to the contrary, that the gap between them grows deeper and wider. The very simple explanation of this phenomenon is that they have instinctively understood that it is impossible to crush the proletariat with force alone and that it is infinitely more important to confuse and divide the proletariat with ideological slogans. This is why the national struggles of Austria’s various bourgeoisies flare up all the more violently the less reason there is for their existence. The more closely these gentlemen cooperate to share State power, the more furiously they attack one another in public debates over issues relating to nationalist trifles. In the past, each bourgeoisie strove to group the proletariat of its nation into a compact body in order to mount a more effective battle against its adversaries. Today, the opposite is taking place: the struggle against the national enemy must serve to unite the proletariat behind the bourgeois parties and thus impede its international unity. The role played in other countries by the battle-cry, “With us for Christianity!”, “With us for freedom of conscience!”, by means of which it was hoped that the workers’ attention would be diverted from social questions, this role will be increasingly assumed by national battle-cries in Austria. It is in relation to social questions that their class unity and their class antagonism against the bourgeoisie will be asserted.
We do not expect that the practical solution to national disputes we have put forth will ever be implemented, precisely because these struggles will no longer have any point. When Bauer says that “national power politics and proletarian class politics are logically difficult to reconcile; psychologically, one excludes the other: national contradictions can disperse the forces of the proletariat at any moment; the national struggle renders the class struggle impossible. The centralist-atomist constitution, which makes the national power struggle inevitable, is therefore intolerable for the proletariat” (p. 252), he is perhaps partly correct, to the extent that he helps to provide a basis for our program’s demands. If, however, he means that the national struggle must first cease so that the class struggle could then take place, he is wrong. It is precisely the fact that we are striving to make national struggles disappear which leads the bourgeoisie to maintain their existence. But this is not how we will be stopped. The proletarian army is only dispersed by national antagonisms as long as socialist class consciousness is weak. It is after all true that, in the final accounting, the class struggle far surpasses the national question. The baleful power of nationalism will in fact be broken not by our proposal for national autonomy, whose realization does not depend upon us, but solely by the strengthening of class consciousness.
It would therefore be incorrect to concentrate all our forces on a “positive national policy” and to stake everything on this one card, the implementation of our national program as a precondition for the development of the class struggle. This programmatic demand, like most of our practical demands, only serves to show how easily we could resolve these questions if only we had power, and to illustrate, in the light of the rationality of our solutions, the irrationality of the bourgeois slogans. As long as the bourgeoisie rules, our rational solution will probably remain just a piece of paper. Our politics and our agitation can only be directed towards the necessity of always and exclusively carrying out the class struggle, to awaken class consciousness so that the workers, thanks to a clear understanding of reality, will become inaccessible to the slogans of nationalism.
Reichenberg, 1912
1. See Les Marxistes et la question nationale, pp. 233-272, as well as Arduino Agnelli, “Le socialisme et la question des nationalités chez Otto Bauer”, Histoire du marxisme contemporain, II, 10/18, pp. 355-406. (Note from the French edition).
In English, see Otto Bauer, The Question of Nationalities and Social Democracy, tr. Joseph O’Donnell, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2000. All page references refer to the English language edition.
2. This is why the words “State” and “nation” are used interchangeably in Western Europe. The State’s debt is called the national debt and the interests of the State community are always called national interests. (Pannekoek’s note).
3. The relationship between mind and matter has been most clearly set forth in the writings of Joseph Dietzgen, who, by virtue of his analysis of the philosophical foundations of Marxism, well-deserved the title Marx bestowed upon him: the philosopher of the proletariat. (Pannekoek’s note).
See Joseph Dietzgen, L’essence du travail intellectual. Écrits philosophiques annotés par Lenin, introduced and translated by J.-P. Osier, Maspero, Paris, 1973; and Joseph Dietzgen, Essence du travail intellectual humain, translated by M. Jacob, with a Preface by Anton Pannekoek, Champ Libre, Paris, 1973. In fact, Marx wrote, in a letter dated October 28, 1868 to Meyer and Vogt, concerning Dietzgen: “He is one of the most brilliant workers I know”; Marx-Engels, Werke, Vol. 32, p. 575. As for Engels, he attributed the parallel discovery of the materialist dialectic to Dietzgen. (Note from the French edition).
In English, see Joseph Dietzgen, The Positive Outcome of Philosophy, translated by Ernest Untermann. Introduction by Anton Pannekoek. Charles H. Kerr & Company, Chicago, 1906; and Philosophical Essays, translated by M. Beer and T. Rothstein, Charles H. Kerr & Co., Chicago, 1917.
4. See the Earl of Beaconsfield (Benjamin Disraeli), Sybil, or the Two Nations, London, Longman’s, Green and Co., 1913, pp. 76-77.
5. John Huss (1369-1415), Czech reformer, condemned by the Council of Constance and burned at the stake. The date of his death was long celebrated in Bohemia as a national and religious holiday. He was also a proponent of the use of the Czech language.
Jan Ziska von Trocnov (1370-1424), Hussite leader. On July 14, 1420, he repelled the assault of the Emperor Sigismund at Mount Witka, near Prague. After having defeated the Emperor once more two years later, he died of the plague in Pribyslau.
The White Mountain (Bila Hora) is located west of Prague. The battle took place on November 8, 1620. The Protestant army of Bohemia was defeated by imperial troops. According to Bauer’s analysis, the defeat at White Mountain, which eradicated the educated elements of the Czech nation, transformed the latter into a “nation without history”.
6. Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810-1876), a poet and one of the leaders of the democratic party in the revolution of 1848, collaborated with Marx and Engels on the Neue Rheinische Zeitung. His poems are part of the cultural patrimony of social democracy.
7. Manifesto of the Communist Party, in The Marx-Engels Reader, 2nd Edition, ed. Robert C. Tucker, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, 1978, p. 482.
8. I.e., the Ukrainians.
9. The Russian revolution sparked the struggle for universal suffrage in Austria. After a large mass movement in which the social democracy played the leading role at the end of 1905, in January 1907 the Emperor granted his approval to the electoral reform proposal mandating universal suffrage in the territory of Austria (which did not include the other part of the bicephalic monarchy, Hungary or Transleitania).
10. See F. Engels, Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, in The Marx-Engels Reader, 2nd Edition, ed. Robert C. Tucker, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, 1978, p. 689.
11. Pannekoek’s argument here is identical to Rosa Luxemburg’s. On the day after the beginning of the 1905 revolution, however, Rosa Luxemburg called for Polish autonomy within a constitutional Russian Empire.
These parties later underwent restructurings and transformations which we shall not discuss here because we are only providing an example to illustrate the theoretical positions taken by the various groups. (Pannekoek’s note).
The PPS split into two fractions. The right wing would take power with Pilsudski as its leader after the First World War. The left wing—the PPS-Levitsa—would merge with the SDKPiL to form the Polish Communist Party.
12. The (Catholic) Social Christian Party of Germany.
13. Thus, in his review of Strasser’s pamphlet Worker and Nation in Der Kampf (V, 9), Otto Bauer expressed his doubt that putting the accent on the proletariat’s class interest could have any impact at all in the face of the glittering attraction of nationalist ideals. (Pannekoek’s note).
14. The 1897 Congress of the Austrian Social Democratic Party, meeting in Vienna-Wimberg, approved the structure since implemented in the Austrian social democracy: a federation based on the nationality principle in order to guarantee the autonomy and the individuality of its six component national parties.
15. The 1910 Congress of the Socialist International at Copenhagen unanimously condemned the “separatism” of Czech trade unionism.
16. The resolution adopted at the 1907 Stuttgart Congress of the Socialist International particularly stipulated: “The proletarian struggle can be more effectively conducted and will be all the more fruitful the closer the relations are between party and trade unions, without compromising the necessary unity of the trade union movement. The Congress declares that it is in the interest of the working class that, in every country, the closest relations should be established between the trade unions and the party and that these relations should be made permanent.”
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Cool Pics Archive #17
These images have been chosen for their uniqueness. Subject matter ranges from historic events, to really cool phenomena in science and engineering, to relevant place, to ingenious contraptions, to interesting products (which now has its own dedicated Featured Product category).
Cool Pic Archive Pages
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This project sponsored by DARPA gives a whole new meaning to the electronic surveillance "bug." In this case it uses a real bug. A wireless controller stimulates the giant flower beetle's optical and muscle signaling system to command takeoff, landing and left / right turns. The only power needed is a small battery for the controller, and a little pollen. Heat sensors, microphones, and cameras will eventually be added.
Here is an excellent photo of the Planck satellite's 0.35 mm to 1.0 cm antenna farm. How many hours of simulation went into designing the feed horns and array layout? Its mission is to study of the origin of the universe in the sub-mm domain by mapping the cosmic microwave background. The CMB was discovered serendipitously by Bell Labs scientists in 1962. More images of the installed configuration are on the CNES website.
Here is a new way of looking at 10,000 pennies. Well, not exactly pennies. This image of a $100 bill is composed of an effort by 10,000 people from 51 countries tasked with digitally rendering 1/10,000th of the picture - without knowing what the overall subject would create. Participants were found on Amazon's Mechanical Turk collaboration website (an interesting concept).
This photo is as hilarious as it is poignant. It was in a magazine article I was reading that invoked the famous Peter Principle. It made me laugh out loud. "The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong" is as valid today as it was 40 years ago when Laurence Peter and Raymond Hull wrote it. Just read the headlines about the world's financial crisis brought on by government geniuses and you will see what I mean.
Lightning season is upon us again, so I thought it would be a good idea to remind everybody of the hazard it presents. A year or so after leaving a company where I designed and built the RF & analog portion of an S-band surveillance radar system, I received word that the phased array antenna and equipment rack had been torched by lightning. The site maintenance guy had unhooked the lightning protection cable during the winter to facilitate snow plowing. He never reconnected it.
Here is an EM spectrum chart that you probably have not seen. It is one of many drawings, done by physicist Randall Munroe on xkcd. He creates "webcomic[s] of romance, sarcasm, math, and language." They are sort of like stick figure Dilbert comics. "Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)." - Thanks to Ljube Babunski
Borrowing from laser research, scientists are now working on using "twisted beams" in an attempt to cram more data into the crowded frequency spectrum. Digital data is encoded based on the rate of twist. The downside is that a phased array is required on both the transmit and receive side of the system, so it will be a while before your cell phone is using the technology. However, fixed terrestrial and space communications can benefit mightily from it.
Popular Science is running a feature on the private labs and workshops of hobbyists. They encourage readers to submit photos of their workbenches. The electronics bench shown here appeared in the magazine, and something hanging on the pegboard wall immediately caught my eye - makes me wonder how old the owner of the bench is. Can you find what I refer to? BTW, send me a photo of your bench and I'll post it.
Google maps have a great feature built in that allows companies to electronically insert a map tack at their physical locations so that viewers automatically get notified. You can even create specialty maps for your particular needs, like this map of electronics research & development companies in the UK. Click on the blue teardrops for detail on the companies. You can add your company to the map. It would be a good idea to add your company to Google's main map database like I have done for RF Cafe.
Few things are as awesome as peering through a large telescope and witnessing the Coma Custer of galaxies in the constellation of Coma Berenices (near Leo & Virgo). I had the opportunity to view it through a 14" Celestron. Although not quite as vivid as this photo, the style variation is clearly discernable - spiral, barred, elliptical, top-down, edge-on, the complete gamut. It seems as though you can reach out and touch them. Not until the early 20th century did we even realize what those fuzzy patches of light were.
As if it is not cool enough to inspect the insides of an old watch and be amazed at the precision of the hand-formed gears, springs, and escapements, this particular watch is especially incredible. On March 10, 2009, permission was granted to open the case of Abraham Lincoln's pocket watch to verify or discredit rumors of an inscription made by a repairman stating, "Fort Sumpter was attacked by the rebels..." Look at what was discovered.
Have you seen the map of the world's undersea and overland Internet backbone routing? It is amazing. This photo is of the Terremark headquarters in Miami, where undersea Internet cables emerge from the Atlantic and connect to the rest of the country. Click on the Proxy Trace option for any website on YouGetSignal.com site to see how a webpage gets to you - it's a mess... and a wonder.
Ahhh, the good old days, back when a 4-inch diameter cable with 1,500 twisted pair of wires (3,000 total) carried about 10% of the channels now handled by a single fiber optic cable. Those lightning-fast dial-up connections were really great. Not. Have you ever seen the punch-down termination panels for these monster cables? These old cables make for cool pictures, like old newsroom typewriters, but give me modern equipment any day.
French amateur astronomer Thierry Legault snapped this image of the Space Shuttle Atlantis silhouetted against the sun using a five-inch telescope and a digital camera. The next day, he got the rendezvous with the Hubble Space Telescope. High quality equipment at reasonable prices are readily available to amateurs. Even hydrogen-alpha filters for directly observing sun spots and prominences fit the budget of many people - for as little as a kilobuck.
Taiwan's World Games Stadium can generate up to 1.14 GWh of energy using 8,844 solar panels, which cover the 14,155 m^2 (162 kft^2) roof. The US$150M structure will be used to host events in July 2009. When not powering the stadium, the panels pump energy back into the local grid, generating revenue. Construction photos showing the open structure are equally cool.
"The Observable Universe - from Top to Bottom." Here is a very clever graphic that shows relative distances on a log scale. It begins at ground level, works its way up past Mt. Everest, past the ISS, our Milky Way galaxy, and all the way to the edge of the observable universe. (large graphic - 662x2647 pixels).
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Tag Archives: marina diamandis
Tuesday Tracks: Your Weekly New Music Discovery – Nov. 6
AJ MOULTRIÈ, AJ the One, All Tvvins, claire george, Clean Bandit, jackie venson, kojey radical, Luis Fonsi, marina diamandis, swindle
Every week, there’s a plethora of new music at our fingertips. Artists on platforms such as Spotify and Bandcamp are plentiful, and the radio offers a steady deluge of new singles, but who has time…
Photos & Videos: Marina and the Diamonds, and Christine and the Queens at the Fox Theater in Oakland – Oct. 21, 2015
Roman Gokhman
Christine and the Queens, heloisse letissier, Marina and the Diamonds, marina diamandis
Marina and the Diamonds barreled through the Bay Area last week, this time with an LED-heavy production and three-act performance to Oakland’s Fox Theater for two shows. While the pretty lights distracted from the performance…
Marina and the Diamonds on touring, writing and leading an army
Britney Spears, Marina and the Diamonds, marina diamandis
I had the opportunity to finally meet Marina Diamandis prior to her show in San Francisco a few weeks ago. We’ve spoken a couple of times previously, but those were both phone conversations. She’s charming…
Photos and videos: Marina and the Diamonds, with Christine and the Queens – 4/17/2015
Christine and the Queens, Marina and the Diamonds, marina diamandis
I thoroughly enjoyed this show. Marina’s new material is strong live, and she’s built on her stage presence while, at the same time, letting go of Electra Heart as a stage persona. Opener Christine and…
Roman Gokhman’s favorite concerts of 2013: The top 5
2013, Feral Fauna, Green Day, Imagine Dragons, Marina and the Diamonds, marina diamandis, Royal Teeth, The Colourist, The Vaccines
This is the final part in a five-part series. Read how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” acts in PART 1, the runners-up in PART 2, 15 through 11 in PART 3 and…
Photos & video: Marina and the Diamonds, Charli XCX at the Warfield – 5/6
Charli XCX, Marina and the Diamonds, marina diamandis
Read some of Roman Gokhman’s previous interviews with Marina Diamandis here.
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a composer with
an ear for
stillness and subtext.
— The Times, on The Journey Between Us
Resonance and harmonic colour play a vital role in Samantha’s music. This preoccupation yields pieces with an intensely colourful and often meditative quality. Other art-forms are a constant source of inspiration which have prompted collaborations with writers, directors, choreographers and performers.
Samantha (b.1984) has worked with numerous ensembles including the Philharmonia Orchestra, Riot Ensemble, the choir of Selwyn College Cambridge, LOD Muziektheater (Ghent), Silbersee Vocal Ensemble (Amsterdam) and The London Sinfonietta. Her music has been performed at festivals here and abroad such as Aldeburgh Music, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Sounds New, Gaudeamus Muziekweek, York Late Music, Lake District Summer Music and The Oxford Lieder Festival.
In 2013, she was awarded an RPS Composition Prize and was commissioned to write a new work for the Philharmonia Orchestra as part of the Music of Today series. Samantha’s music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and her flute piece Kinesphere was released on NMC last year. Last year she was commissioned to write a new work celebrating the 50th birthday of the London Sinfonietta, premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in January 2018 and conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. In June 2018, her music was showcased in a portrait concert at Kettle’s Yard Cambridge.
This February her work Formations was choreographed by Kristen McNally and performed by the Royal Ballet in a showcase of new dance at the Linbury Theatre, ROH. Upcoming commissions include a new work for the Philharmonia Orchestra in Spring 2019, conducted by Martyn Brabbins.
Samantha studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the University of Oxford. She holds as doctorate in Composition and she is a Lecturer in Composition at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Samantha Fernando Blog
BBC Radio 3 & BASCA conference on Diversity in Composition
RT @jlwpoetry: Amazing moments from Engender at the Royal Opera House, and so good to be working with my brilliant composer and fr… https://t.co/1T0BuI2gCq
For the next three days I will be working on some new opera material with @jlwpoetry and a wonderful team of music… https://t.co/cxt6brDYkf
Composers! The deadline for the @ISCM_WMD submissions is fast approaching (8th July). The 2020 festival will be in… https://t.co/6tmFULqLCl
Lovely review of last week's concert 😊 https://t.co/9yHfEnILYQ
4 Illuminations
Xasax Saxophone Quartet Samantha Fernando
Oliver Coates (cello) Samantha Fernando
Elsbeth Gerritsen (mezzo), Eva Reiter (paetzold contrabass recorder), Samantha Fernando
Positive/Negative Space
(fl,cl,a.sax,vc) London Sinfonietta, Samantha Fernando
upcoming- 2019
3rd - New work, philharmonia orchestra, conducted by Martyn brabbins, the anvil, basingstoke
New commission for the Philharmonia Orchestra, commissioned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Anvil concert hall.
More info and tickets here
6th-9th - formations, royal ballet, linbury studio, roh, london
‘Formations’, which was commissioned last year by the London Sinfonietta, is being choreographed by Kristen McNally for this showcase ‘New Work New Music’, at the newly refurbished Linbury Studio.
5th - echo of a woman, royal holloway symphony orchestra, conducted by rebecca miller
Commissioned by Royal Holloway and Egham Museum to celebrate the centenary of Women’s Suffrage. The new work, ‘Echo of a Woman’ for soprano and orchestra, is generously supported by Arts Council England.
Tickets and more info here
7th - Portrait concert, Kettle's Yard, cambridge
a selection on my chamber works will be performed in a portrait concert at Kettle's Yard, including a new commission for soprano, cello and piano- The Way Home.
Raphaela Papakadis (soprano), Dominic Saunders (piano), Corentin Chassard (cello)
14th & 15th - new aria for the 40th anniversary of NOs
hoxton hall, London
The National Opera Studio has commissioned 12 new arias to mark its 40th anniversary, one for each of its singers. I have created a new work, 'The Handbag Aria' with librettist Rebecca Hurst for soprano Lorena Paz Nieto, accompanied by Erika Gundesen.
24th - new work, london sinfonietta, royal festival hall
New work for the 50th anniversary concert of the London Sinfonietta. To be premiered at the Royal Festival Hall, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. More information and tickets here.
22nd - bbc radio 3 broadcast.
4 Illuminations for Saxophone Quartet, broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Hear and Now programme.
9th - Look Up, Gaudeamus muziekweek, utrecht, Netherlands.
Look Up for four voices, viola da gamba and electronics will be performed by Silbersee vocal ensemble at Gaudeamus Muziekweek.
30th - To Dust we return, film score recording
Recording session at The Warehouse, Waterloo, with the London Mozart Players. Film written and directed by Peter Mallett. Conductor: Stacey Watton, recording engineer: Aaron Holloway-Nahum.
27th - Sissay Settings, York Late Music
Set of new songs for soprano and piano, commissioned by York Late Music. Poems by Lemn Sissay. Concert in conjunction with York Literature Festival.
Soprano - Ana Beard Fernandez
Piano - Kate Ledger
7.30pm St Saviourgate Chapel, York. Tickets here
10TH & 11TH - THE JOURNEY BETWEEN US, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE
New work for narrator and ensemble. Commissioned by the London Sinfonietta. Premiered at Southwark Playhouse.
Conductor- Geoffrey Patterson
Narrator- Lisa Dwan
8TH - SPEAKS, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE
Performance of Kinesphere (solo flute), Southwark Playhouse. London Sinfonietta, Michael Cox (flute)
20th - Positive/Negative Space, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
Positive/Negative Space (fl/cl/bass cl/vc), performed by The Riot Ensemble.
Bates Mill, Huddersfield
17th - Sorrow's Share, Britten Studio, snape maltings.
Chamber opera, Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh.Libretto: J L Williams, Director: Finn Beames, Designer: Harry Witham
22nd - Fault Line, Peckham Asylum
Fault Line for solo cello, performed by Oliver Coates. Commissioned by the London Sinfonietta in conjunction with Kingston University and Creative Works.
Peckham Asylum
Its Day for tenor and orchestra. Commissioned by the Aldeburgh Music, and premiered at Snape Maltings, Suffolk (October 2014).
Glimmer for soprano and orchestra. Premiered by the Lux Orchestra and conducted by Maxime Tortellier. Performed at the Canterbury Arts Festival and at St James Church, Holland Park, London (October 2011).
Frozen Reflection for chamber orchestra. Commissioned by the Aurora Orchestra and premiered in the Sounds New Festival, Canterbury (May 2009).
3 Chopin Orchestrations for chamber orchestra. Commissioned by the Aurora Orchestra and premiered in the Sounds New Festival, Canterbury (May 2009).
Behind the Lids of Sleep for baritone and orchestra. Commissioned by the Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra and performed in the Dukes Hall. Conducted by Patrick Bailey and Sung by George Humphreys (September 2008).
Chamber(5+ players)
The Journey Between Us for narrator and ensemble. Commissioned by The London Sinfonietta and generously supported by Entrepreneurs Michael & Patricia McLaren-Turner and an Elliott Carter legacy. Premiered at the Southwark Playhouse by the London Sinfonietta, Geoffrey Patterson (conductor), Lisa Dwan (narrator) and John Lloyd-Davies (director) February 2016.
Sense of Place for large ensemble. Commissioned by the Philharmonia Orchestra and premiered at the Royal Festival Hall as part of the Music of Today Series (May 2014).
Shadows on Shadows for solo double bass and string ensemble, commissioned by Christ Church Music Society and Oxford Contemporary Music Group, premiered at Christ Church Cathedral (May 2010).
Chamber (1-4 players)
Fault-Line for solo cello, commissioned by the London Sinfonietta and premiered at Peckham Asylum (June 2015).
Kinesphere for solo flute. Commissioned by the London Sinfonietta for their Sinfonietta Shorts series, premiered at Kings Place by Michael Cox (November 2014). To be released on the NMC label in February 2016.
Positive/Negative Space for flute, clarinet, alto saxophone and cello. Commissioned by the London Sinfonietta and premiered at the Purcell Room, London. (December 2013). Second performance by the Riot Ensemble at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (November 2015).
4 Illuminations for saxophone quartet premiered at Royaumont Abbey, France, by the Xasax Quartet (September 2012).
Chamber (vocal)
Sissay Settings, for soprano and piano. Settings of poetry by Lemn Sissay. Commissioned by York Late Music and premiered by Ana Beard Fernandez (soprano) and Kate Ledger (piano) at the Festival in February 2016.
Look Up for four voices, bass viol and electronics. Commissioned by LOD Music Theatre and Silbersee vocal ensemble, Belgium, premiered at LOD Music Theatre in Ghent (December 2014).
Ganymede for tenor and piano. Commissioned by the Oxford Leider Festival and premiered at the Holywell Music Room (October 2014).
3 songs for cello and soprano performed by Zosia Jagodinska and Gwen Martin at New Sounds, Shoreditch (January 2014).
War Without End for baritone and piano, text by Euan Ferguson, from the Observer. Commissioned by the London Sinfonietta and Opera Genesis. Premiered at Kings Place, London (January 2009).
Sorrow’s Share, premiered at Snape Maltings in September 2015. JL Williams (librettist), Finn Beames (director) and Harry Whitham (designer). Written as part of the Jerwood Opera Writing Programme.
After, a music theatre piece for soprano, baritone and piano, commissioned by Lake District Summer Music and premiered at the Theatre-by-the-Lake, Keswick (August 2010).
Change for unaccompanied choir, selected by the John Armitage Memorial for two performances at St. Bride’s Church London and Manchester Cathedral. Performed by the Chapel Choir of Selwyn College Cambridge, conducted by Nicholas Cleobury (March 2009).
A short film of the premiere of Look Up at LOD in Ghent (December 2014) with the singers of Silbersee, viola da gamba and electronics.
Jennifer Van der Hart- soprano
Elsbeth Gerritsen – mezzo
Steven van Gils – tenor
Arnout Lems – baritone
Pieter Vandeveire – viola da gamba
Wouter Snoei – electronics
the journey between us: trailer
Explore the intricate links between new music and storytelling on Thursday 11 and Friday 12 February 2016 at Southwark Playhouse. Personal, compelling and deeply powerful, four short stories traverse the challenges of personal relationships at different stages in life. A new work by RPS award-winning composer Samantha Fernando intersperses the words, giving space for a different kind of listening.
fault line for solo cello: discussion and demo
with zoe martlew
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Forums > Journalism > Journalism topics only >
Writing for mags like The New Yorker, GQ, Esquire, etc.
Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by WaylonJennings, Oct 22, 2008.
WaylonJennings Guest
Just found out that Ryan Lizza, The New Yorker's chief political guy right now, is only 33 years old.
Curious about how writers - and we have a few of them here - end up writing for mags like these? Is it a don't-call-us-we'll-call-you situation? A "If you have to ask ..." type of thing? Are they all mucho credentialed (grad degrees in their beat, maybe an MFA, etc.)? Does the fork in the road come at age 20-22 when most of us decided to go into newspapers?
I'm curious. How does someone break in?
WaylonJennings, Oct 22, 2008
Mizzougrad96 Active Member
I've done freelance for one of the magazines you listed and for several other similar magazines.
Early in my career, through some connections, I got very well-paid freelance gigs doing researched charts, team capsules, top 10 lists, essentially glorified agate for magazines like Maxim, GQ, ESPN the Magazine, TSN, Street and Smith, as well as a zillion magazines that have since folded. Maxim paid me $800 to do a top 10 list that was about 600 words and took about three hours to research. ESPN paid me $1 a word for team capsules for a preview section. I did contract work for SI.
In most cases, doing this kind of work led to writing assignments.
I know these types of freelance gigs are a lot harder to come by than they were a decade ago, but that's how I started doing magazine work.
Mizzougrad96, Oct 22, 2008
JR Well-Known Member
Ask Jones.
JR, Oct 22, 2008
JR said:
Well, in his case, the answer would be, "Be insanely talented..."
Not all of us can claim that. ;D
Xsportschick likes this.
I've heard the Jones story. How he basically begged "Esquire" to give him a shot until they wouldn't let him leave. (Though I wouldn't mind hearing it again).
I guess I wonder if someone risks getting stigmatized/pigeon-holed from working in newspapers.
Goldeaston Guest
Waylon brings up a good point regarding pigeon-holing. Many, maybe even most, sportswriters fall victim to this crap. Somehow, if you cover sports, you're not a "real" journalist in the eyes of many in the field. Likewise, if you've "only" worked for a daily, you're somehow unqualified to write longform for a magazine. I'm not sure I get that. A beat writer in a given week may write five stories and five notbooks, for instance. At about 500 words apiece, that's 5000 words a week. How that does not prepare you to write longform, I have no idea.
I realize the two forms and their construction are done in different ways. But a typical good sportswriter can put together some pretty nice prose while writing on deadline after a weeknight baseball game. I would think that, given a few days or even weeks to come up with 3000 words for a magazine story, by comparison, would be relatively easy. Maybe it's just me.
Goldeaston, Oct 22, 2008
partain Member
I'm a former sports/newspaper guy who spent 7-plus years at various non-profit associations and parlayed that into a job with a magazine that covers the two associations I used to work for. At the time I was hired, the magazine never even advertised editorial openings. If a position became available, the staff simply compiled a list of four or five names of people they knew. I was lucky enough to know several people on staff. We're no where near some of the magazines listed, but we are a 75-year-old publication with circulation of 200,000 in a niche sports market.
As for the writing end, I had no formal training in magazine writing. Of course, we're starting to see shrinking newsholes as well, which means features have dropped from 3,500 words to 1,800 to 2,000 in most cases. So the writing side really isn't that difficult, especially considering the time allotted for pulling these stories together. I also write and compile several departments each month that aren't all that different from daily newspaper work.
I had done some freelance stuff for the magazine, as well, before coming on full-time. So I think that's a great way to get in the door at many places. But the best thing you can do is find a way to your name in front of people. My editor doesn't like to take calls in the first place, much less ones from people he doesn't know.
partain, Oct 22, 2008
buckweaver Active Member
Goldeaston said:
I would think that, given a few days or even weeks to come up with 3000 words for a magazine story, by comparison, would be relatively easy.
I agree with almost all of what you said ... except the above. It's never easy; just a different kind of hard. Churning out 5,000 words a week on the same topic doesn't really prepare you for writing long-form, because it's not the same kind of writing. Not the same kind of focus. But it does give you the confidence that you can do it, and maybe can help to organize your ideas.
buckweaver, Oct 22, 2008
I guess the key word is relatively. Nothing in this profession is easy. At least nothing done with any amount of quality.
Jones Active Member
Fuck, I'm 34 and a has-been.
A different kind of hard is exactly right. Less deadline pressure, more space, more time, often better access... But longer stories, a higher writing standard, stories that stand up over time, and really no room for error. The pressure isn't from the clock; it's from a bunch of empty pages that are worth a lot of money.
But to answer the question, Waylon, I started in newspapers, and have never felt any sort of stigma after I made my move to magazines. In fact, the opposite is probably true -- I think, if I can say this without sounding like an asshole, my time in newspapers made me a better reporter and a faster writer than the average magaziner. I turn something around in a week, and people are like, How can you do that? Well, if you're used to turning around baseball gamers in ten minutes, a week feels like an eternity. But seeing as some magazine stories take eight months, a week in that world can seem to flash by in a few beer farts. It's weird.
Now, all that being said, it's a rare writer who can make the adjustment without a hiccup or two. It really is a different art, and it takes a little while to beat some of the newspaper habits out of yourself. I know I took a while to find my footing. But it can be done, absolutely.
Local hero Wright Thompson is a great example of a young guy who worked his way into magazines after doing good work at newspapers.
Unfortunately, the freelance opportunities have been the first casualty of this little downturn we're in, and like Mizzou said, that was once the best way into magazines. It's harder than it used to be (and it was never easy) to convince an editor to pay a stranger to write a story that he's already paying his staff to write. As I've always said, and it's more true than ever: You need to pitch a story that he can't possibly turn down, and that only you can write. It's a tough trick, but if you do that, and then you hit a home run, you're in.
Because it's a small world, magazines. It's tough to crack, but once you crack it, you're part of the gang of thieves. After I got my job at Esquire, I got offers from a bunch of magazines who'd turned me down only months before. They just didn't want to take the chance on me that Esquire did. And, yeah, I wasn't too proud to beg.
Bottom line? You've got to find the guy who's still willing to give a guy a chance, and you have to convince him that you're the guy who deserves it.
Of course, I can say that, because I'm insanely talented.
That's a joke, by the way. I wake up every day thinking that today's the day they call my bluff, and I'm left blowing old fat guys for ten bucks a throw.
Jones, Oct 22, 2008
Jones, I am finding that as the economy causes staff reductions at newspapers, freelancing opportunities are actually on the rise. Do you think the same may be true of magazines at some point?
Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member
To get my foot in the door, I'd be willing to do background for you Jones in exchange for beer.
Inky_Wretch, Oct 23, 2008
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April is the cruellest month, or so T.S. Eliot claimed, and certainly the amount of illness and worse that has been clinging like ‘ the brown fog of a winter dawn’ in recent weeks would seem to bear that out. OK, I’ve got the literary references out the way and proved I know my Wasteland. Actually, I had to look up that latter quote while I’ve never been able to forget that the famous poet’s name is an anagram of toilets. Yet Spring has sprung and all the lovely flowers nosing their way out of the earth and the trees coming into blossom and the little birdies in their nests serve as a reminder that this time of year is one of renewal and regeneration blah blah.
I had a reversible coat when I was a child and I remember fretting about having to choose which way to wear it. It was impossible for it to be inside out and that bothered me. By the same token, reading wise it’s proved to be an uneasily double sided month. On the one hand I was bored witless by Zola’s The Earth ( yes, I know it’s a classic but by God I swear my fingers had paper burns due to racing through the last chapters just to end the whole experience ) and disappointed by Catherine O’Flynn’s The News Where You Are which I’d bought on the strength of having so much enjoyed her debut novel What was Lost.
Yet flip the coin, reverse the coat and there was the wonderful My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout: less than 200 pages but one of those books that somehow manages to convey the whole messiness, complexity and joy of life by depicting a fragment of it – in this sense Strout’s novella reminded me of McEwan’s On Chesil Beach. Lucy is recovering from an operation, is visited by her estranged mother and they talk. So much both between mother and daughter and within the narrative itself is left unsaid; we are made aware of how many other different stories flow beneath the one that is given. It is a tender novel and one I’d like to read again. This is not the case with Jem Lester’s Schtum, although it was a great read. The novel deals with Ben’s fight to get his severely autistic son, Jonah, into the appropriate residential education while battling his own demons and a broken marriage. It’s tough painful stuff, making novels like Rain Man and Curious Incident…, which also have protagonists with autism, look by comparison as unsubstantial as candy floss. There is a lot of shit – both literal and otherwise – in this book and yet some very funny moments too. I wasn’t so sure about the later shift of focus on to Ben’s Jewish heritage and family history. While this explained a lot, as a reader one wants to stay with Jonah: a boy who can be uncontrollably destructive and violent one moment and sweet and loving the next, a boy whose genetics mean that his relationship with the external world is turned inside out.
Having started with a reference to April ( which incidentally was the name of the central character in Shena McKay’s The Burning Orchard – another of this month’s pleasing reads ) and with the forthcoming election I feel there must be something pithy and political to say about May the month and May the PM. Unfortunately, not from me!
April 27th, 2017 in Blog
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Skeptiko Shows
Mod+ 273. DR. HENRY BAUER, DOGMATIC SCIENCE WRONG ABOUT HIV-AIDS CONNECTION
Thread starter Alex
LoneShaman
Yeah none of us are experts. But it does not take an expert to ask if it actually has been shown by the original standards set by virology? Or ask if it is indeed true that there are no EM of these particles to be shown directly in the actual blood of patients, only in cultures with stimulants that produce reverse transcriptase? This claim was made by one of the pioneers of electron micrography, apparently it remains true. The failure in protocols is quite clear concerning the original studies and EM of the 80's. The problem is that these questions should be easily satisfied after 30 years. It seems that the reason Kary Mullis could not find his citation is that it actually does not exist? I mean these should be well established.
Jim_Smith
Michael Larkin said:
I suspect that it's a picture of a retrovirus sample all right, but to be convinced it's HIV-1, I'd need to check its provenance--can you supply that?
Why don't you try clicking on the link?
Michael Larkin
Jim_Smith said:
As far I'm aware, I've clicked on all the links in your post and in what those lead to. All I can see in PHIL is the attribution in 1985 to the CDC/Dr. Edwin P. Ewing, Jr.
What I can't see anywhere is the link to the paper from which the photo was taken, if indeed it comes from a paper. Help me out here: if I've missed the link, please could you re-supply it? As it stands, all I seem to see is a picture that is labelled HIV-1. It's apparently a retrovirus, but apart from a label, I don't see any provenance for that claim.
You can't tell if it is a retro virus just from EM. Not everything that looks like a retro virus is a retro virus. And all images are from cultures that are more or less retro viral soups, stimulated with growth factors. The only way to know for sure is by the standards that were ignored in the original research.
Are there EM of wild samples directly taken from the blood of patients I wonder?
I don't get it. What does "bump" signify?
bump... as in bump it to the top of the list (or in this case the bottom of the page) i.e. make sure it doesn't get lost in the noise.
LoneShaman said:
What you say is true when there's a lot of cellular debris around: there may be elements of that which look like retroviruses. But the purified isolate shown in the picture lessens the doubt: plainly, there are many examples all around the same diameter with the same appearance (but no scale is provided, so I can't determine for sure the size of the particles). Personally, I'm reasonably satisfied it's a picture of a retrovirus.
What I have no evidence for is that, apart from the label, it's a picture of HIV-1; which is why I've asked Jim for the provenance of the picture so I can check that's what it actually is. In the absence of that, he's merely accepting that's what it is because that's how it's labelled.
I'm not an expert in retroviruses, but I spent three years as an electronmicroscopist after graduation in zoology, and am reasonably skilled in interpreting electronmicrographs; more, at any rate, than the average person.
Alex said:
Cheers. You learn something new every day.
But the claim is it has not been properly isolated. If it is pure isolated HIV that can replicate in uncontaminated cells then that is the standard. It may very well be a retro virus, the origin is the thing. Without the further steps there is nothing to say these are a result of having aids you could say. Cells do indeed produce particles that look identical to retro viruses. It should be noted that a range endogenous viruses are said to be activated by HIV and even contribute to some of its proteins. None of this was known twenty years ago. This clouds the waters somewhat and adds a much bigger dimension.
You should read this.
http://truthbarrier.com/2013/06/20/...terview-with-em-pioneer-dr-etienne-de-harven/
But the claim is it has not been properly isolated. If it is pure isolated HIV that can replicate in uncontaminated cells then that is the standard. It may very well be a retro virus, the origin is the thing.
Without the further steps there is nothing to say these are a result of having aids you could say. Cells do indeed produce particles that look identical to retro viruses. It should be noted that a range endogenous viruses are said to be activated by HIV and even contribute to some of its proteins. None of this was known twenty years ago. This clouds the waters somewhat and adds a much bigger dimension.
Yes, I agree. That's why I keep on asking Jim for the provenance of the picture: which would hopefully be a paper where the full methodology of isolation and purification was laid out, as well as the source of the specimen. As it is, all we have is a picture that for all we know could of some other retrovirus, exogenous or endogenous.
Thanks. Will read and may respond.
http://www.life.umd.edu/classroom/bsci424/BSCI223WebSiteFiles/KochsPostulates.htm
Koch's Postulates
Four criteria that were established by Robert Koch to identify the causative agent of a particular disease, these include:
1.the microorganism or other pathogen must be present in all cases of the disease
2.the pathogen can be isolated from the diseased host and grown in pure culture
3.the pathogen from the pure culture must cause the disease when inoculated into a healthy, susceptible laboratory animal
4.the pathogen must be reisolated from the new host and shown to be the same as the originally inoculated pathogen
http://dobzhanskycenter.bio.spbu.ru/pdf/sjop/MS341_O'Brien_HIV Newsline 2ndary.pdf
The HIV-AIDS Debate Is Over
By Stephen J. O'Brien, Ph.D.
During the early years of the AIDS epidemic, both defenders and critics of the theory
that HIV causes AIDS agreed that HIV failed to completely fulfill Koch's postulates (1, 7,
13, 14, 25). As defenders of the theory were quick to point out, a number of other
diseases, notably typhoid fever, diphtheria, and leprosy, also fail to meet these
stringent tests of causality -- yet there is no controversy about what causes these
illnesses. We know the pathogens that produce these diseases; what we cannot do with
consistency is culture those pathogens in vitro.
This was the problem with HIV as well, until recently. There was little question, even
among the counter-theorists, that HIV clearly satisfied the first and second of Koch's
postulates, but it proved considerably harder to show that HIV also fulfilled the third.
Today, however, overwhelming epidemiological and experimental data have been
assembled to fulfill all three of Koch's postulates, establishing to a virtual certainty that
HIV causes AIDS (26).
[postulate 1]
Demonstrating the epidemiological concordance of HIV exposure and AIDS was
relatively straightforward, once the etiologic agent had been identified. Numerous
studies have shown, for example, that prompt and progressive depletion of CD4
lymphocytes -- and a subsequent diagnosis of AIDS -- follows HIV seroconversion in the
vast majority of HIV-infected hemophiliacs (27, 28), and HIV antibodies have been
detected in more than 90% of transfusion recipients who received blood from donors
who were HIV-positive. In the latter group seroconversion has likewise led to
progressive depletion of CD4 cells and the onset of AIDS (27-29).
Two recent cohort studies of HIV-positive hemophiliacs have provided an even more
direct link between HIV infection and mortality: They show a ten-fold increase in deaths
among antibody-positive patients compared to uninfected individuals, irrespective of
the severity of the subjects' hemophilia (30, 31). Significantly, since the screening of
donated blood for the presence of HIV was instituted, new infections have dropped
almost to zero among hemophiliacs and transfusion recipients -- further proof that HIV
is the cause of AIDS.
The fact that HIV itself (or antibodies to the virus) can be detected in more than 95% --
but fewer than 100% -- of AIDS patients worldwide is explained by the relative
insensitivity of the early tests for the presence of HIV in patients' peripheral blood. By
the more sensitive HIV RNA assays now used to detect the virus, it is possible to
confirm the presence of HIV in individuals who have as few as 20 viral particles per mL
of blood (see "The HIV RNA Assay: A Valuable New Diagnostic Tool," Vol. 2, No. 2).
Sensitive as these new diagnostic tests are, they will not detect HIV in all profoundly
immunocompromised patients -- not because the virus fails Koch's test for
pathogenicity but because other disorders cause the body's immune system to collapse
(32, 33). Certain drugs also produce immune suppression, as do chemical carcinogens,
irradiation, and cigarette smoke.
The isolation component of Koch's postulates has been repeatedly demonstrated since
the discovery of HIV. Scores of isolates have been cultured from AIDS patients; the
virus has been cultivated in fresh human T lymphocytes; and cultured-cell lines have
been developed for in vitro propagation (10, 34). ...
This leaves only Koch's third postulate
-- transmission pathogenesis -- as a matter of contention. Ethical considerations
preclude the experimental inoculation of uninfected individuals with HIV, and this
makes empirical verification of Koch's last postulate exceedingly difficult.
Difficult, but not impossible. For while we cannot deliberately infect anyone with HIV
merely to satisfy Koch's postulates and Duesberg's curiosity, we can examine the
evidence that has been gathered on healthcare workers who were accidentally infected
with HIV in the course of their professional work. Take, for example, the cases of three
laboratory technicians who were inadvertently exposed to the HTLV-IIIb strain of HIV-1
while working with that strain in their laboratories (35). All three of these technicians
developed antibodies to HIV, and within five years all three showed marked CD4
lymphocyte depletion. Two had their CD4 counts fall to less than 200 cells/mm3, and
one of those developed PCP.
In all three of these cases it was possible to establish the precise phylogenetic type of
the virus that had infected the laboratory workers. When genetic sequencing tests were
performed on the laboratory virus and on viral samples taken from the three workers,
the sequence divergence was less than 3% (36). This low level of divergence is
equivalent to the variation observed in cases of HIV transmission from mothers to their
infants -- and it is less than one third as great as the extent of variation seen when
viral samples from unconnected patients are compared (37, 38). Thus, these three
unfortunate individuals provide prima facie evidence of transmission pathogenesis,
Koch's third postulate.
This same high level of genetic concordance was also seen when the C.D.C. compared
viral samples taken from a Florida dentist who died of AIDS with samples taken from
five of his patients who tested positive for HIV and who had no HIV risk factors other
than multiple visits to the dentist for invasive procedures (39, 40). Two independent
research groups reached the same conclusion after examining the HIV gene sequences
of these six individuals: the dentist had almost certainly infected his patients in the
course of those invasive procedures, although the experts could not say exactly how
those infections had occurred (41-44).
It is unlikely that we will ever learn how transmission occurred in this unique cluster of
infections, but the genetic data gathered from the victims of this tragedy teach us an
important lesson: They establish, as conclusively as science can establish such things,
that when HIV is inadvertently transferred from a person with AIDS to an uninfected
host, it does indeed produce AIDS in that host (45). And thus it satisfies the last, and
most rigorous, of Koch's postulates.
http://www.life.umd.edu/classroom/bsci424/BSCI223WebSiteFiles/KochsPostulates.htm...
Just answer the question. Is there or is there not a reference to a paper from which the photo you posted was taken? If there is, I will look at it to see if I can determine whether or not it's actually of the HIV-1 virus.
I'm not quite sure why you're being so obtuse in view of how you began in this thread: unless it's some kind of performance art where you're illustrating the obstinacy and evasiveness of the orthodoxy. Whatever, it isn't helping me, and I'm getting tired of it. Put up or shut up, otherwise you're going on my ignore list because I can't be bothered having to deal with you and figure out where you're coming from.
Likes: A Brand New Car!!
is the cause of AIDS.
I think there are at least 3 possible caveats here.
1) Were those found to be HIV-positive treated with anti-retrovirals? If they were, these drugs mimic AIDS symptoms to some extent and kill people!
2) Eleni explains in her lengthy interview (the full version) that testing positive for HIV definitely means you are at risk of health problems - it just isn't clear what exactly it measures! It is probably worth reading the full version of this, because it puts a lot of issues into perspective. For example, without a fully purified virus, you can't test antibodies to determine if they react to that virus, and that virus alone. She explains that a lot of antibodies aren't that specific. She also explains that the identification of a retrovirus is done by looking for reverse transcriptase, but that is also complicated by the fact that this enzyme can come from other places. On top of that, the body (and cultured cells) can produce endogenous retroviruses when under various sorts of stress!
http://www.ourcivilisation.com/aids/hivexist/
3) The phrase "show a ten-fold increase in deaths among antibody-positive patients" might be a bit weasely because it doesn't say the HIV-positive hemophiliacs died of AIDS, nor does it say if they were treated with toxic drugs (presumably they were)!
After reading Dr Kendrick's book "Doctoring Data" (which I would strongly recommend everyone reads) I have learned that you sometimes have to look at the wording of medical science claims very closely!
Postulate 1. Antibodies persist after a pathogen is long gone so they can't be evidence for the existence of the pathogen. These tests do not detect viral particles.
Postulate 2. Culturing is not isolation and purification.
Postulate 3. The original disease is a collection of diseases and many healthy people with HIV enjoy a long life. Many treatments are immuno surpressing.
Postulate 4. PCR test do not necessarily imply the presence of HIV.
http://www.rethinkingaids.com/gallorebuttal/Farber-Gallo-40.html
Likes: Reece
politicaljunkie
I'd actually like to ask a couple of questions about this
1. what exactly is to be gained from denying AIDS/HIV or the link between the two? We have a ton of evidence showing a link. To dismiss it is to assume that the thousands of doctors and nurses, and the perhaps millions of sufferers are all complicit in some sort of conspiracy, which is implausible to say the least. Denying AIDS seems to be not only ignorant but dangerous.
2. Please kindly explain why 300,000 people dropped dead from AIDS in South Africa over the period when Thabo Mbeki was in power, and was explicit in his denial of it.
3. On a related note, 12% of South Africans and 18% of adults have the disease now. Either they are all lying, or surprise surprise, they are infected with it. Denying it will only condemn those millions to death.
Likes: bishop
politicaljunkie said:
During 18th, 19th and early 20th century, the overwhelming majority of Western scientists and medical doctors believed that masturbation was a devastatingly dangerous practice, which caused a terrible number of severe physical and mental problems . Now we know that their belief in catastrophic perils of masturbation was totally baseless - in fact, just plain wrong.
Does it mean that nearly all scientists and doctors of the West were participants of a global conspiracy that lasted for two centuries? Certainly not. It just mean that the scientific and medical consensus of the time was wrong - and that the vast majority of doctors and scientists were sincerely believing what they were taught, and have no tendency to rebel against the established academic positions.
The situatuion today is still the same - most academicians and practitioners accept the dominant dogma without much questioning. Why? Because they believe in it, and assume that this is a reasonable choice. They are not some kind of malicious conspirators; they are honest believers in this dogma, whose choise may be misguided - but still sincere.
Of course, rebels do exist - but their fate, as fate of all heretics, is quite unpleasant. They suffer a whole range of harsh consequences of their dissidence, from personal vilification in media to refusal of funding and promotion to outright banishment from profession. And - and this is the most terrible fact of all - ones who attack these contrarians, ones who mercilessly destroy their careers and damage their lives, are thinking that they are doing the right thing. They are thinking that they are protecting the profession - and the gullible public - from the sinful influence of deceptive or delusional individuals and groups. For these attackers, their victims are either mad or bad, and have nobody but themselves to blame for the misery which fall on them.
Most of attackers will not even try to familiaraze themselves with the heretical experiments and theories. The reason is simple - they are certain that there are nothing to understand at all, or at least nothing worth understanding. For them, everyting that contradict the current consensus is by definition faulty or fradulent, and anyone who disagree is a madman or a liar.
These are the common processes of human psyche and society - processes to which academicians are not immune; to the contrary, they are easy victims of them. They do not require organized conspiring; they require only uncritical acceptance of authority - probably the most common, and the most dangerous, psychosocial weakness of human species.
Likes: A Brand New Car!! and Typoz
Vortex said:
Of course people can be wrong, absolutely. In the late 19th and turn to the 20th century, most scientists thought physics was complete. They were wrong.
Most scientists at least in public think psi is nonsense. Shermer in his upcoming debates with Sheldrake sees psi evidence as artefacts of poor controls, despite the fact the parapsychology has pioneered double blinding and publishing of null results since at least the joint honorton-hyman communique. Most scientists thought germ theory was nonsense, until the evidence mounted. So I completely agree that challenging consensus can be detrimental to ones life and career. AIDS denial however is not pioneering, and your post doesn't really address the point that AIDS/HIV are almost certainly linked, that 300,000 South Africans died as a direct result of Mbeki's denialist policies, and that in much similar vein, millions of South Africans are infected with it.
Reece said:
A couple things: you say, and I don't know exactly how you mean it, that some seem to be "experts" here. I would differ. I don't think many of us that are expressing doubts are claiming anything with certainty.
What I mean by this is people posting links to scientific-y fact pages, as if it's some kind of proof of something and something the individual understands. This happens on both sides, and I don't see the point of it as I'm guessing most people here lack any formal knowledge of the data. Lobbing talking point pages at one another just seems to obfuscate the whole issue: there is nothing murkier and more lame IMO than a strict scientific debate between non scientists. What I'm looking for is an honest discussion about how something like this is even possible (HIV not existing), and is this represented realistically in the world we see before us.
The video I posted seems to walk one through the questionable parts; granted it takes an hour and a half, but it's accessible and doesn't seem to be flim-flam. It's hard to know how to respond to what the woman in the video has to say. And that brings me to the second thing I wanted to say, which is what Michael already said: it's a sad state of affairs with Science (TM) since we can't even really trust the establishment enough to help us work through this problem or non-problem. They don't even seem to address it.
If you do watch the video, let us know what you think.
And yeah, I think your questions are good ones. I would wager that, if "deniers" are correct, the establishment isn't simply faking to keep a conspiracy going, but that the individuals believe in what they're doing . . .
Before we get into the doc I just want to make sure the one you're talking about is The Emperor's New Virus. I watched that and I don't find it convincing. I would be happy to discuss why, but I want to make sure that's the doc you mentioned above.
What I am looking for is the hard scientific data. Any help would be great.
It is also pretty lame when non scientists eat up what they don't understand and make simplistic notions of about the nature of complex condition.
Very interesting article at rethinking AIDS concerning Africa. Definitions matter. And it appears there is good news although you wont find it in apocalyptic computer derived projections of the AIDS lobby.
A Brand New Car!!
I wasn't going to post here again, but as I have been named in Henry Bauer's post I'll make one observation.
Now we're told he doesn't really understand the concept of a passenger virus and thinks there are excellent reasons to doubt that HIV even exists. This change of mind about such a fundamental question seems very surprising to me, to say the least.
Critical thinkers who are self-critical have changes of mind on fundamental questions all the time (of which there are millions of examples). Thank you for producing such an idiotic statement for my amusement.
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Joey Jordison Fired via Email
Joey Jordison says Slipknot fired him via Email
HOW JOEY JORDISON SAVED HIS SOUL
HOW JOEY JORDISON SAVED HIS SOUL - THE TRUTH ON WHY JOEY LEFT SLIPKNOT
“Clown” Took Drummer To Paul's Grave
“Clown” Took New Drummer To Paul Gray’s Grave To Pay His Respects
Slipknot Deny Members
Jim Root On New Members: “I Think We’re Always Going To Deny Who It Is”
SLIPKNOT drummer Joey Jordison has described his departure from the band as "cowardly", revealing that he was fired via email because the other members thought he was on drugs.
Joey parted ways with the band in 2013, with his departure cited at the time as due to "personal reasons". He had been in the group since 1995, releasing four albums with the band.
Last week, the musician revealed that ill health was the reason for him being unable to perform with the group. Joey Jordison suffers from a neurological disorder called transverse myelitis.
Speaking to Metal Hammer, the sticksman claimed that he was fired over email. "No band meeting? None. Anything from management? No, nothing. All I got was a stupid fucking email saying I was out of the band that I busted my ass my whole life to fucking create. That's exactly what happened and it was hurtful. I didn't deserve that shit after what I'd done and everything I'd been through. They got confused about my health issues and obviously even I didn't know what it was at first," he continued. "They thought I was fucked up on drugs, which I wasn't at all. I've been through so many things with those guys and I love them very much. What's hurtful is the way it went down was not fucking right. That's all I want to say. The way they did it was fucking cowardly. It was fucked up."
Slipknot have not yet responded to Joey Jordison's claims.
However, Joey Jordison also said that he would sit down with the band to discuss the possibility of him rejoining.
"Honestly, I’m not trying to be dramatic, but if that was brought up, what I’d want to do would be to get together," he is quoted as saying.I’d want to see them, just hug it out and feel that energy that we had when we were fucking young and hungry and all that shit. Continuing, Jordison added: "They’re my brothers. We’d hug and talk and do shit like we used to do. We used to sit up all night along planning this shit and what we wanted to do. So that’s how I’d wanna do it. It’d have to be in person. If it happened, that would be fucking awesome, but only time will tell."
Joey Jordison also went on to describe the band's latest album '.5: The Gray Chapter' - the only Slipknot full-length he hasn't played on - as "great".
"I listened to the whole record multiple times," he told Metal Hammer. "And I think it's great. It's fucking cool and I'm glad they moved on. "I'm glad they're carrying on the name, because what's important is the fans."
Search Tags: joey jordison drummer departure quit
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With our move to London has come an opportunity to see more art and take the children to exhibitions that they will like 'cos they're fun. Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist whose work first came to our attention in Sydney. She is currently having a bit of a revival in interest which in no small part is helped by the massive retrospective in Tate modern at the moment. Her work is predominately interested in spots, polka dots and sex. She is a fascinating artist who has spent much of the last years of her life living in a sanatorium of her own volition. The spots have come to represent her view of the world while she is having her hallucinations and a way to bring the viewer into her experience.
We love the mirrored infinity room the first time we stood in one about 3 years ago . This time it's bigger and even more special. The boys loved it. I have to say I steered them away from watching her famous orgy film , call me old fashioned. But I gamely explained her interest in Phallus's as best I could and we made our way round the art with a new appreciation of the male sex organ.
London is not looking too shabby in the sunshine either. Lots of happy people and some great colours all over this town. Have to say I included the sculpture with its plastic still on as salute to one of my art tutors at college who proudly told me how one of his students had wrapped his head in cling film so as to make her sketch more interesting. I can never look at a head wrapped in plastic in the same way again.
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New Album Alert - Anastacia - Resurrection
We are never Outta Love for Anastacia, so excited to announce she will release her brand new album Resurrection later this year…
It’s been six years since Anastacia’s released Heavy Rotation in 2008 and took time out of the spot light after a catalogue of poor health related issues – all well documented – including first Crohn’s disease and later breast cancer. Just last year she announced that the disease had returned resulting in a subsequent double mastectomy.
Back on form and ready to shine again, the singer is ready to release her 6th overall studio album, with her incredible, totally one of a kind of voice. Now fit and healthy, she has embraced the recording of this new album with her trademark passion and enthusiasm. And the results are staggering. It’s great to have her back.
Anastacia explains around the new album “Writing this album was a cathartic process for me. Having the opportunity to share my messages, my music to the world is extremely special, Stupid Little Things is about trying not to over think everything. Don’t make issues bigger than they really are....”don’t focus on the small stuff!” The rest of the album is composed of various dynamics, upbeat, ballads, dramatic, soft, but overall it is about positivity. I feel like this is the real ‘Anastacia’ coming back again.”
Anastacia was the best-selling new female pop artist in 2001 and is recognized for worldwide sales of over 30 million records. Anastacia burst onto the world stage with the release of her debut album Not That Kind in 2000 driven by the smash hit I’m Outta Love, the best selling song of that year.
Stupid Little Thing
I Don’t Want to Be the One
Dark White Girl
Deluxe Version…
Other Side of Crazy
Oncoming Train
Left Outside Alone, Pt. 2
Underdog (iTunes deluxe only)
Welcome back honey, we missed you. Grab your copy of the album Resurrection on iTunes now and grab a listen to the classic track that made us fall in love with the singer..!
Labels: Anastacia, iTunes, new album, Sony Music
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MainFleet
Participation by SCF Group vessels in opening up the Northern Sea Route
The Northern Sea Route is a shipping corridor that passes along Russia’s northern coastline, through the waters of the Arctic Ocean (the Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukotsk and Bering Seas). It is the shortest maritime route between the ports of Europe and the Far East, and links the mouths of Siberian rivers into a single transports system. The length of the main Northern Sea Route, from Cape Zhelanie to Cape Dezhnev, is 2150 nautical miles.
PAO Sovcomflot has unique experience of operating ships in the Arctic. The company’s fleet specialises in shipping in challenging climatic conditions; the first passages along the Northern Sea Route by Sovcomflot vessels have gone down in the history of global shipping. In 2010 the tanker SCF Baltica became the first heavy-tonnage vessel to make the high-latitude journey from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. This passage demonstrated the possibility – and economic viability – of using the Northern Sea Route as a transport corridor for heavy-tonnage tankers. The SCF Baltica completed its passage along the Northern Sea Route on 6 September 2010. On 16 September 2011 the heavy-tonnage Suezmax tanker Vladimir Tikhonov completed an experimental high-latitude passage to ship gas condensate from Europe to Asia along the Northern Sea Route. The success of this tanker opened up a new high-latitude deep-sea route for commercial shipping, which passes north of the Novosibirsk Islands. It has been subsequently named “The Tikhonov Route”. On 5 December 2012 the LNG tanker Ob River (under the ownership of a foreign company and chartered by OAO Gazprom) completed the world’s first transit of LNG along the Northern Sea Route, with Mr Oleg Durasov, captain of the ice-reinforced tanker SCF Neva, on board in his capacity as an expert. On 28 October 2013 SCF Group’s tanker Viktor Bakaev made the first passage along the Northern Sea Route in a westerly direction by one of the company’s vessels, during the last navigation of 2013.
In 2014 PAO Sovcomflot continued its programme to open up high-latitude Arctic routes from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Nine transit passages were made along the Northern Sea Route, and a further three went from the Gulf of Ob to Murmansk. During the summer of 2014 the research vessel Vyacheslav Tikhonov conducted geophysical exploration in the Kara Sea.
At present 16 SCF Group vessels have transported over 600,000 tonnes of cargo from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean along high-latitude Arctic routes.
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Navigation: Home > Athletes > Jim Iverson
Jim Iverson
1948 Platte HS grad. 1952 Kansas State grad. Was an all-stater four times at Platte. Played in four state tournaments, setting records for points scored in a championship-round game (29), consolation-round game (42), for three games (82) and for state tourney career (251). Starting guard for Kansas State and played for the Wildcats in 1951 when they beat Arizona, Brigham Young and Oklahoma State before falling to Adolph Rupp's Kentucky club in the finals of the NCAA tournament, 68-58 in Minneapolis. As a senior, the 5-11 guard was all-Big Seven and averaged 13 points a game as the Wildcats went 19-5 and were ranked third in the nation. He scored 633 points in 75 games at K-State, where he lettered three years. Iverson played with the College All-America team that toured the country with the Harlem Globetrotters. Iverson was a second-round draft pick of the Boston Celtics in 1952. Had a tryout with the Celtics after getting out of the service, then got into coaching. He coached at South Dakota State, leading the Jackrabbits to the college-division national title in 1963. Coached SDSU 9 seasons (1956-65), compiling a 142-65 record and winning the North Central Conference title five times. The 1961 team finished third in the nation.
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Mike Luckovich (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Posted by Yulie Foka-Kavalieraki at 12:31 PM
Europe’s Squandered Minority
by Zeljko Jovanovic
Today, millions of Europeans are afraid and frustrated as they face unemployment, loss of savings and pensions, radically reduced social benefits, and other economic hardships. Their fears are warranted, because the current financial crisis is undermining the very union that was established to heal Europe’s wounds at the end of World War II.
But, in the midst of the general suffering, one group – the Roma – has been ignored. Europe’s largest and most disadvantaged ethnic minority, with a population equal to that of Greece, millions of Roma are trapped in extreme poverty and ignorance, compounded by widespread discrimination. Indeed, the 2009 European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey found that Roma experience more severe discrimination than any other ethnic-minority group in Europe.
Hard times provoke aggressive, vindictive, and intolerant attitudes, and Roma have become scapegoats in this economic crisis. In fact, Roma-bashing is helping far-right political parties to mobilize and nationalist leaders to win votes. Even some mainstream political parties have resorted to using anti-Roma rhetoric that would have been inconceivable a decade ago. But the Roma have refrained from reciprocating the sometimes lethal violence inflicted on them.
Posted by Yulie Foka-Kavalieraki at 8:00 PM
The Freedom Writer
by Ellen Bork
When the dissident Liu Xiaobo won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize from his prison cell, the Chinese government reacted hysterically—denouncing the Nobel Committee, retaliating against Norway diplomatically and trying to intimidate foreign governments out of sending representatives to the ceremony. Mr. Liu had been arrested nearly two years earlier, just before the release of Charter 08, a declaration of democratic principles for China inspired by Charter 77, the Czechoslovak initiative led by the playwright (and later Czech president) Václav Havel that, 31 years earlier, led to the Velvet Revolution and inspired people throughout the Soviet bloc.
China's leaders should feel just as aggrieved by No Enemies, No Hatred, a collection that shows why the Communist Party fears this 56-year-old intellectual-turned-activist and his ideas. In essays on China's rise, Tibet, the impact of materialism and nationalism on morality and sex, the 2008 Olympics, and much more, Mr. Liu advances the antithesis to the Party line, writing "free from fear," as co-editor Perry Link puts it in his valuable introduction.
The essays appeared mainly in publications based in the U.S. and Hong Kong and found their way back to China via the Internet, which Mr. Liu celebrates, perhaps only half-jokingly, as evidence of a divine being. Interspersed throughout are poems, often searing, that attest to Mr. Liu's intellectual as well as emotional partnership with his wife, Liu Xia, an artist currently under house arrest. Rounding out the book are documents including the text of Charter 08, Mr. Liu's poignant statements at his 2009 trial and the verdict sentencing Mr. Liu to 11 years in prison.
Greece must not leave asylum seekers at the mercy of extremists
by Hans Lucht
On the morning of 25 May, Kelly from Ghana was on the bus going to a pickup place at the outskirts of Athens, where African immigrants and asylum seekers go to look for work, when he was attacked by a mob. He saw them from afar, standing at the bus stop – a group of about 10 young men – but thought nothing of it. They were probably going to one of the demonstrations, he supposed. But as they entered the bus, they pulled out bats, iron rods and knives, and attacked him.
As Greece struggles to avoid economic meltdown, dark-skinned immigrants and asylum seekers have become scapegoats in racially motivated attacks that, according to the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, have become an almost daily occurrence in Athens.
Last week, in cases pertaining to asylum seekers caught entering the UK and Ireland, the European court of justice upheld that asylum seekers could not be sent back to Greece because they risk being subjected to "inhuman or degrading treatment".
Ninety per cent of undocumented immigrants enter the EU via Greece. The Greek response has been to announce the construction of a barbed wire wall on the Turkish border, though the EU has made clear that such a wall will receive no funding. The influx of migrants has not been welcomed by some segments of the Greek population. Thus the extreme rightwing party Golden Dawn won its first ever seat on the Athens city council in November 2010 on an anti-immigrant agenda.
Five myths about Margaret Thatcher
by Claire Berlinski
Britain in the early 1970s was decayed, ungovernable and globally irrelevant, done in by the cumulative effect of postwar socialist reforms. Margaret Thatcher, who came to power as the nation’s first female prime minister in 1979, returned Britain to the realm of the great powers. Worshiped, feted, loathed and mocked, she is one of the most controversial figures of the 20th century. And now Thatcher, as interpreted by Meryl Streep, will be coming to a theater near you in the movie “The Iron Lady,”opening Dec. 30.
But even those most sympathetic to her tend to misunderstand her personality, her governing style and her accomplishments. Let’s examine these misconceptions.
1. The Iron Lady never backed down.
Not true. Her genius was her gift for choosing her battles wisely and avoiding those she couldn’t win. In 1981, for example, the National Union of Mineworkers — Britain’s most powerful union — threatened to strike. Despite urgent warnings from her advisers, Thatcher had made no preparations to withstand a conflict with the miners, and she capitulated immediately to their demands. She spent the next three years preparing to take them on: Her government stockpiled coal, devised schemes to smuggle strategic chemicals into power stations, changed the trade union laws and infiltrated MI5 spies into the miners’ inner circle.
When another strike loomed in 1984, she was ready. Previous mining strikes had ended after only weeks. Not this one. Over the course of a year, as Britain waited to see who would break first, Thatcher proceeded to crush the strike with a brutal, calculating ruthlessness that stunned the public. Neither labor nor the unions ever recovered.
Posted by Aristides N. Hatzis at 8:30 AM
Martin Sutovec (SME Daily)
When Václav Havel and 241 others signed Charter 77 during the Cold War in 1977, they were denounced by the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia as "traitors and renegades" and "agents of imperialism." Such were the epithets by which some of the most courageous Europeans of the 20th century were known.
Why did Charter 77 so offend the Soviet-backed rulers? The charter's original purpose was merely to protest the harassment and imprisonment of a Frank Zappa-inspired Czech rock band. It explicitly rejected any interest in becoming a basis for "oppositional political activity." It called on the government only to fulfill civil and human-rights commitments ostensibly guaranteed under Czechoslovakia's own constitution as well as the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, which the regime had signed.
But the Charter also exposed the hypocrisy of a system claiming to speak for a "people" whose rights it comprehensively violated. And it was disgust with such hypocrisy that animated Havel's life, first as a dissident playwright and polemicist and later as a statesman who stood up for his convictions, whatever the personal cost.
Riber Hansson
Posted by Yulie Foka-Kavalieraki at 11:24 AM
The historian Walter Russell Mead recently noted that after the 1990s revolution that collapsed the Soviet Union, Russians had a saying that seems particularly apt today: “It’s easier to turn an aquarium into fish soup than to turn fish soup into an aquarium.” Indeed, from Europe to the Middle East, and maybe soon even to Russia and Asia, a lot of aquariums are being turned into fish soup all at once. But turning them back into stable societies and communities will be one of the great challenges of our time.
We are present again at one of those great unravelings — just like after World War I, World War II and the cold war. But this time there was no war. All of these states have been pulled down from within — without warning. Why?
The main driver, I believe, is the merger of globalization and the Information Technology revolution. Both of them achieved a critical mass in the first decade of the 21st century that has resulted in the democratization — all at once — of so many things that neither weak states nor weak companies can stand up against. We’ve seen the democratization of information, where everyone is now a publisher; the democratization of war-fighting, where individuals became superempowered (enough so, in the case of Al Qaeda, to take on a superpower); the democratization of innovation, wherein start-ups using free open-source software and “the cloud” can challenge global companies.
And, finally, we’ve seen what Mark Mykleby, a retired Marine colonel and former adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, calls “the democratization of expectations” — the expectation that all individuals should be able to participate in shaping their own career, citizenship and future, and not be constricted.
Keeping the Arab Spring alive
It was a year ago Saturday that fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself aflame in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, improbably providing the spark for what has become a regional revolution. The Arab Spring acquired its name in part because early commentators likened it to the upheavals that brought an end to dictatorship in other parts of the world — including the former Soviet bloc, East Asia and Latin America. It seemed logical that Middle Eastern states would, at last, follow the same path that led in other places from dictatorship and economic stagnation to free elections, free markets and integration into a global economy.
A year later, it’s clear that the Arab revolutions are different in some fundamental ways — and may not deserve the label of “spring.” Democratic transformations in other parts of the world since 1980 were largely peaceful, as autocrats from the Philippines to Chile yielded to “people power.” But while that paradigm mostly worked in Tunisia and in Egypt early this year, the subsequent months have been dominated by scenes of slaughter, as Libya’s Moammar Gaddafi, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh have chosen to fight — even to the death — rather than give up. Mr. Gaddafi is gone, and the Assad and Saleh regimes may soon follow. But the thousands of deaths they caused have cast a pall over their countries; no one yet knows when and how the killing will end or whether there will be reconciliation.
A second difference in the Arab transformation is the worrying economic prospects of newly liberated countries. Eastern European and Asian countries adopted liberal market policies that led to booming growth; so, after a few years of drift, did most of Latin America. But Egypt and other Arab states so far are leaning toward a populism that could inhibit foreign investment and trade. They are also unlikely to receive as much Western aid as helped the new democracies of the 1980s and ’90s. Libya will prosper with oil. But many young Arabs may find that their aspirations for jobs remain unmet.
Beyond Guantánamo, a Web of Prisons for Terrorism Inmates
It is the other Guantánamo, an archipelago of federal prisons that stretches across the country, hidden away on back roads. Today, it houses far more men convicted in terrorism cases than the shrunken population of the prison in Cuba that has generated so much debate.
An aggressive prosecution strategy, aimed at prevention as much as punishment, has sent away scores of people. They serve long sentences, often in restrictive, Muslim-majority units, under intensive monitoring by prison officers. Their world is spare.
Among them is Ismail Royer, serving 20 years for helping friends go to an extremist training camp in Pakistan. In a letter from the highest-security prison in the United States, Mr. Royer describes his remarkable neighbors at twice-a-week outdoor exercise sessions, each prisoner alone in his own wire cage under the Colorado sky. “That’s really the only interaction I have with other inmates,” he wrote from the federal Supermax, 100 miles south of Denver.
There is Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, Mr. Royer wrote. Terry Nichols, who conspired to blow up the Oklahoma City federal building. Ahmed Ressam, the would-be “millennium bomber,” who plotted to attack Los Angeles International Airport. And Eric Rudolph, who bombed abortion clinics and the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
In recent weeks, Congress has reignited an old debate, with some arguing that only military justice is appropriate for terrorist suspects. But military tribunals have proved excruciatingly slow and imprisonment at Guantánamo hugely costly — $800,000 per inmate a year, compared with $25,000 in federal prison.
The criminal justice system, meanwhile, has absorbed the surge of terrorism cases since 2001 without calamity, and without the international criticism that Guantánamo has attracted for holding prisoners without trial. A decade after the Sept. 11 attacks, an examination of how the prisons have handled the challenge of extremist violence reveals some striking facts:
The long and winding road to cannabis legalisation
by Jan van Ours
In many Western countries, between one quarter and one third of the population admit to having used cannabis at least once in their lives – according to the official statistics. This column provides an in-depth review of existing economic, social, and media evidence for and against legalisation. It concludes that although there is of course uncertainty surrounding the long-term implications, prohibition is not working and it is time to legalise.
Although some countries have quasi-legalised cannabis use (the Netherlands), made cannabis available for medical purposes (California), or allowed the growing of a small number of cannabis plants for personal use (Australia), in most countries – the Netherlands included – cannabis supply, distribution, and use is prohibited (Reuter 2010). Nevertheless, in 2009, between 2.8% and 4.5% of the world population aged 15-64, corresponding to between 125 million and 203 million people had used cannabis at least once in the past year (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2011).
Table 1 presents cannabis use statistics for a number of countries, distinguishing between lifetime use (ever), recent use (last year) and current use (last month). The range in lifetime use is substantial from a low 21% in Sweden to a high 42% in the United States. The range in recent cannabis use is also substantial from a low 1% in Sweden to a high 14% in Italy. Finally, current use ranges from 1% in Sweden to 7% in Spain and the United States. What is also striking is the big difference between lifetime use and recent use. In the Netherlands for example 25% of the population aged 15 to 64 has ever used cannabis but only 7% has done so in the last year. Apparently, for a substantial part of the users, cannabis is not very addictive (see also Van Ours 2006 for details).
Greece must not leave asylum seekers at the mercy ...
Beyond Guantánamo, a Web of Prisons for Terrorism ...
The long and winding road to cannabis legalisation...
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The Eliz
Chamber Debates
Bram Stoker Club
Joseph Robinette “Joe” Biden Jr. is an American politician who was the 47th Vice President of the United States from 2009 to 2017, having been jointly elected twice with President Barack Obama. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Delaware as a United States Senator from 1973 until becoming Vice President in 2009.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon is a Scottish politician who is the fifth and current First Minister of Scotland and the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), in office since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. Sturgeon has been a member of the Scottish Parliament since 1999, first as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region from 1999 to 2007, and as the member for Glasgow Southside since 2007 (known as Glasgow Govan from 2007 to 2011).
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was a British statesman who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a non-academic historian, a writer (as Winston S. Churchill), and an artist. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his overall, lifetime body of work. In 1963, he was the first of only eight people to be made an honorary citizen of the United States.
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and film historian, whose career spans more than 50 years. Part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and influential filmmakers in cinematic history.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu, CH is a South African social rights activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. He was the first black Archbishop of Cape Town and bishop of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa).
Nancy Patricia D’Alesandro Pelosi is an American politician who is the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, representing California’s 12th congressional district. She previously served as the 52nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011, the only woman to do so, and is to date the highest-ranking female politician in American history.
Caryn Elaine Johnson, known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg, is an American actress, comedian, author and television host. She has been nominated for 13 Emmy Awards for her work in television and is one of the few entertainers who has won an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, an Oscar, and a Tony Award. She was the second black woman in the history of the Academy Awards to win an acting Oscar.
Conan Christopher O’Brien is an American television host, comedian, and television producer. He is best known for hosting several late-night talk shows; since 2010 he has hosted Conan on the cable channel TBS.
Chancellor Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is a German politician who is currently Chancellor of Germany. She is also the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
Dame Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Lydia Mirren is an English actor. Mirren began her acting career with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1967, and is one of the few performers who have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting, having won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2007, after two previous nominations, for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen.
Sir Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was an English character actor, singer, and author. With a career spanning nearly 70 years, Lee initially portrayed villains and became best known for his role as Count Dracula in a sequence of Hammer Horror films.
Alfredo James “Al” Pacino is an American actor of stage and screen, filmmaker, and screenwriter. Pacino has had a career spanning more than fifty years, during which time he has received numerous accolades and honors both competitive and honorary.
Amy Poehler is an American actress, comedian, director, producer, voice artist and writer. She is best known by starring as Leslie Knope in the NBC’s sitcom Parks and Recreation, for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Musical or Comedy
Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice (after Sandra Day O’Connor) and one of four female justices appointed on the Supreme Court (along with Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, who are still serving)
Timothy Donald “Tim” Cook is an American business executive, industrial engineer and developer. Cook is the current and seventh Chief Executive Officer of Apple Inc., previously serving as the company’s Chief Operating Officer, under its founder Steve Jobs.
Sir Alexander Chapman “Alex” Ferguson is a former Scottish football manager and player who managed Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is regarded by many players, managers and analysts to be one of the greatest and most successful managers of all time.
About The Phil
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Manifestos for 333rd SessionMarch 20, 2017 / By admin
Manifestos for the 334th Session:March 20, 2018 / By admin
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@2017 - University Philosophical Society, Trinity College Dublin
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← Low-Life
Excerpt: Paradise →
Small Worlds: An Interview With Matthew Pettit
BY Martyn Pedler Jan 25, 2018
Matthew Pettit is a London-based artist who’s been making comics “properly”, as he puts it, for “six or seven years”. He publishes a solo anthology series called Wax and has a new comic, Paradise, in the latest Shortbox collection curated by Zainab Akhtar. Martyn Pedler: Where does a comic start for you? An idea, an image, a character?
Matthew Pettit: It’s usually an idea. I did an illustration degree, so my background is the drawing side as opposed to the writing side of comics. But for me, when I’m making comics, the story and writing and pacing have more weight for me than the actual image-making itself. I’ve always tried to generate images, but it’s never been a way for me to start. There’s usually a small idea that becomes a bigger idea, then I start making images and characters.
People say short stories are more difficult because all the flaws sit right there on the surface. Does that go double for short, standalone comics?
Definitely. For me, everything has been very standalone. What’s enjoyable, but time-consuming, is making the world that those comics exist in. Not only do you only have finite time in the comic itself to convey what you want to say, but in the actual making of the comic you spend a lot of time thinking about the world – even if it’s only a small thing, it doesn’t have to be big and epic – and the logic of the characters. When it’s a standalone issue, you’re limited as to what you can tell. You have to have priorities if you’ve only got 20 pages. You can’t explain this giant premise. You have to decide what’s important.
Is that something you look for in single-issue stories – that they still have a sense of “world”?
I think less so now. I used to do that. Three years ago, I tried to start a series, called 26552, which was kind of a sci-fi. I had quite a lot of things planned, and I did two issues, both 20 pages. I found from asking friends that there was so much stuff I thought I’d shown that I hadn’t. That was a big moment for me. I also remember watching an interview with Simon Hanselmann, and he was saying a piece of advice he gives to young cartoonists is to not fixate on big themes – to experiment with stories. So from then, maybe two or three years ago, I’ve tried to keep most things fairly succinct, to not have these giant worlds to convey to the reader by being really boring or with a big block of text.
I was very taken by your comic Brown Jenkins. It’s a taut little nightmare of a story that achieves so much in a couple of pages.
That was inspired by a Lovecraft story. It was just a character that really stuck out to me, and I thought it would be interesting to show that character – Brown Jenkins, who’s not really mentioned all that much. That’s an example of having the idea, and just doing it, as opposed to everything having such a huge narrative behind it. That’s something I’m trying to do more.
Horror comics don’t have access to a lot of the easy frights of cinema: jump scares, musical stings. How do you generate horror on the page?
For as long as I’ve been doing comics, I’ve been interested in how you read them. I try to design my books to use page-turns. Setting something up on the left page, the right page, and then having the next left page reveal something. It’s not really a jump scare, but it’s there. It’s important with comics because if you’ve got something happening on the top-right page, the viewer can almost subliminally see that, take that in. You can lose something.
But beyond that, with Brown Jenkins, what I was trying to do was have some sense of relatability with the character. I’m not sure I’d be able to make any kind of horror comic without some fairly human character within it. Some character who the reader can empathize with. That comic, for example – I have memories of being a kid, in the dark, maybe in an unfamiliar bedroom, and being afraid…
Color is very prominent in these comics. The red and black of Brown Jenkins, the purple and green of The Fields Beyond. At what point in your process do you start thinking about color?
That’s funny, actually. I really struggle with color. Only in the last year is color something I think about at all. Before that, it was a huge afterthought. I’m more aware of it now. Most of my work is designed for risograph printing, especially now. So before I start a project, if I’m printing it myself, I’m aware of the kind of colors I think I’ll use. In that way, I’m quite limited, but I kind of like that. It means that I’ve never really done a full-color comic. It’s helped me get better using colors by only having a limited amount I can use anyway.
It sounds like you create your work for print, and not for the screen. Is that right?
Yeah, I think that’s right. I don’t know that it’s smart. I think digital comics are definitely important, and I should put more things online. I design things for print, for how they look. Fields Beyond is a good example of that. I knew how the gradients would look when they were printed. It wasn’t designed for the screen. What I really should do is scan in a printed version – because I’m most interested in just having people read the comic. I’m interested in books as artifacts or objects, but that’s secondary to wanting to share a story.
Why did you choose the anti-realist body shapes in The Fields Beyond? The circular heads, the arms that appear and disappear…
That was a fairly big change in the way I was drawing at the time. My process has changed a lot in terms of how I’m actually making comics. I jump between digital production and dip pen and ink. Digital I can produce much quicker but I feel like I personally get less out of doing it. With Fields Beyond – that was Christmas last year – I remember feeling very tight in the way I was making images, and not enjoying it. I decided to try to actively be looser in how I was making things. More abstract. Using shapes as opposed to line work. I’ve semi-bounced back, in a way. Paradise is more like my older art style, just hopefully improved.
When you say you get “less” out of your digital art, what do you mean?
I don’t know what it is, but I like putting ink to paper. Now I usually work on translucent vellum. Having an original, taking enjoyment in drawing a good panel, thinking “that scene works” – I find that I get that more with traditional media than digital. I’ve been working with digital for so long. Before I was making comics, I was working with a tablet for most of my illustration work. I felt like I could cheat a lot of stuff. It became too sterile, like a job, going through the motions. But it is much quicker. There are pros and cons, but I get more enjoyment out of working traditionally and seeing the pages in front of me.
Can you talk a little about Paradise, your comic in the Shortbox collection? For many, it might be the first piece of yours they’ve seen…
That’s what I was really excited about. I don’t have a large audience, so the opportunity to make something that more people would read was great. Paradise is the journey of two boys – someone said it was weird that I called them “boys” as they’re meant to be about 16, 17, and early 20s. I guess “young men” is more appropriate – and it’s their journey as ex-gang members or bandit runaways. It’s set in a different time, semi-dystopian but not explicitly. They’re wandering aimlessly, almost just trying to survive, but it’s about how the aggression of their past has permeated through them, particularly the older character, and how that’s projected onto the younger character.
For those just discovering you in Shortbox, what do you have coming up in the future?
The big thing I’ve been thinking about while making this – and before, actually – was a larger story in somewhat of a similar universe as Paradise. It’s like what I was saying: when you create a story, you have to create that world. I was interested in not doing that again and using something I already knew, so I could jump right in. And also my solo anthology series called Wax – another one of those this year as well.
After all these short stories, do you think you have an epic, thousand-page story in you busting to get out?
I’ve definitely got one – I just don’t know if it’s a good idea! I don’t know if it’s what I should be doing. I’ve tried it with 26552 and it just wasn’t a good time. I absolutely loved it at first, but I got way ahead of myself in planning and realized that the whole thing was full of holes. I don’t know. I don’t like the idea of thinking “this is going to be a thousand pages, this is going to be an epic” because I feel like I’d ruin it. I’d kill it somehow, and end up boring myself. But I hope so. I have ideas for longer stories and want to spend more time on projects. I can see the next comics I produce being longer.
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Baseball Little World Series | There’s a Ugandan team at the Little League World Series and they’re incredible
Posted August 22, 2015 by Ugandan Diaspora News Team in Sports ~ 6,959 views
By Roger Sherman — Baseball hasn’t been in Uganda for long, but the talent and passion of its players have them winning games at the Little League World Series against all the odds.
The Little League World Series began Friday, kicked off by a 4-1 win by a team from Uganda over a team from the Dominican Republic. On the surface, it’s a huge upset: More than 10 percent of MLB players are Dominican-born, while there has never been an MLB player born in Uganda, or, for that matter, the entire continent of Africa.
But it’s not necessarily a fluke. Ugandan baseball is young and has faced a lot of obstacles. But these kids have gotten really good really fast, and they aren’t going away any time soon.
Uganda qualified by winning the Europe-Africa regional tournament, held in Kutno, Poland. That regional title is somewhat of a misnomer. The tournament featured 13 teams from Europe and one from Africa — the Ugandans. And that one team from Africa absolutely dominated, winning all six of its games, five by mercy rule, leaving the tournament with a combined score of 67-2.
Twenty-five years ago, there was no baseball in Uganda: no fields, no bats, no gloves, no pitchers, no hitters. The sport really started in earnest in 2002, when Richard Stanley, an American businessman who is a partial owner of the Yankees Double-A affiliate, the Trenton Thunder, was in the country to help the country grow its vegetable oil industry. A government official asked him to help kickstart the country’s baseball infrastructure, and he wrangled enough starter kits from the MLB and Little League to start four teams, via Boston.com:
Two years of shipping and bureaucratic issues later, the country held its first-ever official baseball tournament. A curious thing happened there: After pairing the teams for a semifinal round and then holding a championship between the winners, the kids asked to play each of the teams they hadn’t yet played, one after the other. The marathon tournament finally ended six hours after it started.
“This is what impressed me,” Stanley said. “They just want to play. ‘Give me a chance, let us play,’ and again, you don’t see that in America.”
Stanley kept going. Soon, there was a baseball complex with five fields near the capital, Kampala, and a boarding school bearing his name providing scholarships for athletically gifted Ugandan children.
But even that wasn’t enough to get them playing internationally. Raising money to travel to international tournaments, like the qualifiers in Poland, was a problem. Getting visas for those tournaments was a problem, as NPR detailed:
Parents or guardians had to sign documents, which meant 10-hour bus rides home for some kids. The regional tournament, meanwhile, was in Poland, which has no Ugandan embassy, so kids took other buses to neighboring Kenya for visas.
“Kids have to miss days of school just to get their visas,” says (head coach Bernard) Adei.
And Little League rules prevented players who lived at boarding schools from participating, emphasizing leagues based in players’ hometowns. That rule was eventually dropped, and the Ugandan team won their regional qualifying tournament for the first time in 2011. But they couldn’t get visas to travel to Williamsport, and the tournament organizers replaced them with a Saudi Arabian team.
In 2012, the Ugandans qualified again and became the first African team to make it to Williamsport, but they were overmatched — Adei says the players had never seen a curveball. They beat a team Oregon in a consolation bracket game, but left the tournament without any meaningful wins.
The team learned quickly. Their win over the Dominican Republic marks the first win ever in a non-consolation round by a team from the Europe-Africa region. With three trips earned to Williamsport in the past five years and today’s win proving they’re legit, I suspect you’ll be seeing a lot of Ugandan teams at the Little League World Series in coming years.
And it’s not just the boys — a Ugandan softball team, the first African team ever at the Little League Softball World Series, finished in sixth.
And they’re having a blast. From an ESPN story about their arrival in Pennsylvania:
Indeed, as the Uganda float glided through the annual Little League parade last night, the players were showered with candy and drinks, cushy balls and pins. “The kids were ecstatic,” Petty said. “It was great to see them bust out their moves.”
Happiest of all was Adei. He didn’t get to America as a pitcher, but he is finally here as the manager of AVRS. “The people are very welcoming,” he said. “I’m just so impressed with the fields and the facilities and the people. This trip is something I will never forget.”
Uganda has a lot of problems. It’s one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking in the bottom 20 of GDP per capita. It has human rights problems, with one of the most aggressively anti-gay governments in the world. But stories like that of this baseball team — a group of talented kids winning games and being incredibly happy while doing it and maybe, just maybe, using baseball as a path to a better life — make you have hope. We’ll be rooting for the Ugandan squad to continue their surprising run as long they can.
Source — SB Nation
featured, slider, spotlight
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FOX Sports | Netball World Cup 2015 – Under-funded Uganda hope to defy odds and challenge for medal
Japan | Uganda’s Olympian Stephen Kiprotich Comes In Second At The Tokyo Marathon Bags UGX 216m
Ugandan Boxing Sensation Sharif “The Lion” Bogere Knocks Out Opponent In Massachusetts
Glasgow | Kipsiro wins sensational 10,000m as Bolt makes Commonwealth Games Debut
Uganda’s Boxing Legend | Cornelius Boza Edwards To Be Inducted Into Nevada’s Boxing Hall of Fame
New Music | Abdul Mulaasi Unveils Political Satire in New Music Video – Byaali Mu Pulaani
Bribery | Former Ugandan Minister Kabafunzaki Implicated by Political Assistant
The Observer | First son Muhoozi denies harboring Presidential ambitions
New Movie | Queen of Katwe in theaters September 23rd – Based on a True Story
BBC World News | Uganda’s President Museveni Speaks Out after Election Results – Interview aired Feb 22nd 2016
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I usually argue that a critic has heard more records, and thus has more reference points as in how this record compares to the rest. Agree? And is there anything else that gives value to the opinions of a critic?
In response to the first part, I think it's hard to say. Personally, I like it when reviewers clearly have done their homework about an artist or an album or a style of music - it means to me that they're invested in their topic and that's always a good thing. At the same time, it can be interesting to read someone grapple with an album/artist/music for the first time and be completely ignorant of its background/history. Context is important but ultimately it's the cultural object itself that makes and leaves the impression. So I'm not always bothered if I don't feel like the writer has a massive background on what they're writing about.
What I don't like and don't' respect is a writer fronting like they know what they're talking about when it's clear as day that they don't. You see this in pop music criticism all the time - writers who write on rap music as if they've studied it for 15 years when, in truth, they've only just started listening to it. If you're a newbie - don't front like you're a vet. Take me: I just listened to The White Album for the first time in my life the other week. I'd be a fool to try to talk about that album as if I know the Beatles' inside and out because I don't. And if I tried to do that, anyone who actually knows anything about the Beatles could probably look right through me and call bullshit on that. Personally, I see this happen all the time with people writing on hip-hop - they're not experts, they haven't been life-long fans but they're fronting as if they have been and I find that insulting to the intelligence of readers who can smell bullshit like that instantly. It's ok if you're new so long as you're willing to cop to it but most critics want to act omniscient. I know why - no one likes to feel stupid - but I respect honesty as much as I respect knowledge.
In response to your second question, let me answer this elliptically: I recently had lunch with Ann Powers, former NY Times music critic and arguably one of the most important female rock critics of the last 15 years, along with Greil Marcus, the undisputed godfather of modern rock criticism and the topic came up as to why both of them became music writers. Their response surprised me and I've thought of it often since then. I'm paraphrasing here so apologies to Ann and Greil if I get this wrong but both became critics because there was something about a song or album or artist that got under their skin and they needed to find a way to talk about it. When they began to write about music they weren't do it for the artist. They weren't doing it for the consumer. They weren't doing it for an editor or a magazine or a paycheck. They did it for themselves - to see what they could come up with that would adequately articulate what was in their heads and hearts about music. Ultimately, I think if you are true to that goal, then it doesn't matter if you've heard one album or a thousand. It doesn't even matter if anyone but yourself reads what you have to write - if a writer can accomplish the goal of really getting out what they want to say about music, that's an achievement in and of itself. I think if you read a lot of music criticism - the cases where you know the reader has nailed it for themselves - THOSE are great pieces to read regardless if you agree with the opinion. Right now, I'd offer up Sasha Frere-Jones' piece on Timbaland and the Neptunes that came out in the New York Times. It's just so obvious that Sasha said what he's been dying to say about Timbo and the 'Tunes. Plain as day and that is one of the things that makes the piece so compelling. It's not the only thing - Sasha clearly knows these artists, their body of work, what they mean to pop music in general, but that's called doing your homework. Sasha goes beyond just reporting background - he makes a statement about why these producers matter and it's a compelling, articulate argument. He just nails it cold and you know he does.
I'm not sure if that answers your question exactly but like most things, you know good criticism when you see it. There's no checklist you can run through insure that what you write will be good or valuable. Ultimately, that's for history to decide, not us.
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Luxury Car Hiring Made Easy
In Automotive, Blog, Luxury, Travel
Travel in Style: The Best Luxury Cars for Summer Drives
Author Orsola MorettiPosted on March 24, 2018 May 17, 2018
There’s a lot you should know about driving luxury cars. They’re built for many occasions and need, but the best so far would be to ride one on a vacation; nothing like relaxing on the long, open road while driving in a fast, sleek luxury car. These are sturdy cars and they’re also built for speed; you know what you’re getting when you rent one.
So here’s what you should look for when you’re riding a luxury car. This list has some of the best countries that make top luxury cars.
Built for: performance
There’s just something about German-made luxury cars available on the market. Since the time Hitler requested for a car that would become the epitome of German excellence, they’ve stepped up. The list just goes on and on—Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche are just some of the brands who’ve answered the call for excellence. It’s a travesty for German cars if you choose not to rent one during your travel.
Built for: speed
Watch a race and you’re sure to see that the front leaders are driving cars created by Ferrari, Lamborghini, or even Maserati and you can of course also hire these monsters from agencies like this: http://www.apexluxurycarhire.com/car-rental-locations/italy/milan/. That’s the reputation that these Italian manufacturers have done through the years; they aren’t just sleek and sexy, they’re super-fast as well. If you’re going to go on a vacation, renting any of these cars for a luxurious vacation would be too tempting to pass up.
Built for: status
The best way to travel in the UK is to probably feel like royalty. There are many places to take in when you’re in London; there’s the Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London. There’s the bridge over the River Thames as well. You’ve got to see them to believe them, but what better way than to ride using one of the exotic rentals available to you? Be an eye-candy yourself!
Built for: 0-60
If you want to go faster, where else would you want to go but in Japan? There’s a special kind of car available in the Land of the Rising Sun for speed demons. Where else would you go if you wanted to drive on wide, open spaces, or at least climb up the mountain road in a luxury import? You know the brands—Honda, Toyota, efficient gas guzzlers that you can put to the metal.
Built for: hauling
Not a sedan guy? You don’t have to worry about getting what you want and getting to where you need to go in style. Once you get a taste of UK cars, you’re also going to like them for their capacity and room. Even the luxury brands here are built to haul as they are for efficiency. You’re not going to go wrong getting a luxury car in London or in Cambridge, as you have a car that can haul.
There’s a whole other list of cars that carries your luggage like no other, but it’s good to keep your choices to ones that you need when you plan to rent a Porsche in Rome. Figure out what you’re renting for and get the luxury cars that fulfills your need as much as your craving.
June 12, 2018 The Reasons Why: People Should Visit the Seaside Gem, Viareggio
May 23, 2018 Just in Time: How to Travel to Viareggio in Italy
May 3, 2018 The Italian Job: Different Ways to Enjoy Italy
April 23, 2018 The Tuscany Region: What to Expect when Expecting a Festival
April 3, 2018 Summer Style: The Top Cars to Use on a Summer Travel
© 2019 Viareggio Online
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CITY SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE EXCEEDS ANNUAL GOAL MONTHS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
Over 1.5 Million Square Feet of Energy-Saving Reflective Rooftop Installations Tallied this Year
Over 9.2 Million Square Feet Installed Since 2009
New York – NYC Department of Small Business Services Commissioner (SBS) Gregg Bishop today announced that a City sustainability initiative has exceeded its annual goal months ahead of schedule. The initiative, called NYC °CoolRoofs, has tallied installation of 1.5 million square feet of energy-saving, reflective rooftops during calendar year 2018, exceeding its annual goal of 1 million square feet. By installing a white, reflective coating on buildings, NYC °CoolRoofs reduces building energy consumption and internal building temperatures during the hot summer months. The initiative also provides local jobseekers with training and paid work experience coating these rooftops. Since the initiative launched in 2009, over 9.2 million square feet of New York City rooftops have been coated.
NYC °CoolRoofs is a partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency, and Sustainable South Bronx, a division of The HOPE Program. It is a key component of Cool Neighborhoods NYC, the city’s strategy to help keep New Yorkers safe during extreme heat and protect against the worst impacts of rising temperatures from climate change. NYC °CoolRoofs also supports New York City’s goal to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2050 (80 x 50), as outlined in Mayor de Blasio’s One New York: The Plan for a Strong and Just City.
“Mayor de Blasio has laid out ambitious plans to build both a greener city and a greener workforce,” said J. Phillip Thompson, NYC Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives. "The success of programs like NYC CoolRoofs shows that a green economy is an economy that lifts up New Yorkers."
“New York City leads the way as a national model in the fight against climate change and our program is proof that sustainability can benefit a city as a whole,” said Gregg Bishop, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. “Surpassing our annual goal for the NYC °CoolRoofs program this far in advance is testament to the City’s commitment to building a more sustainable city for New Yorkers.”
“Reflective roofs keep buildings cooler and clusters of them help to reduce local temperatures in our neighborhoods,” said Jainey Bavishi, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency. “Improvements under the NYC °CoolRoofs program are already paying dividends to New Yorkers across the city, and especially families living in heat-vulnerable areas. We look forward to working with even more building owners and non-profit, affordable housing, and community partners to help keep our city cool and New Yorkers safe and healthy during the hot summer months.”
“The NYC °CoolRoofs program is hitting key goals in our climate fight ahead of schedule while creating jobs for New Yorkers” said Mark Chambers, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. That’s what success looks like as we fight for a stronger, more sustainable New York City that reflects our values (and the sun) at the same time.”
“It is well documented that New York City's most vulnerable neighborhoods suffer from disproportionate environmental burdens and high unemployment rates. NYC °CoolRoofs addresses these challenges simultaneously,” said Toby Sheppard Bloch, Chief Venture Officer, The HOPE Program and Sustainable South Bronx. “We applaud the City's leadership on these issues and we are proud to work hand-in-hand with the Department of Small Business Services to make New York City more sustainable.”
About NYC °CoolRoofs
NYC °CoolRoofs treats roofs with a specialized coating material that allows the roofs to reflect sunlight which, in turn, reduces heat absorption. This leads to an overall cooler building during the summer months. Installations are provided at no-cost to nonprofits, affordable housing, select cooperatively-owned housing, and select organizations providing public, cultural, or community services. Privately-owned buildings can receive installations at minimal cost. By installing a cool roof, buildings can gain the following:
Lower air conditioning costs by 10% to 30%;
Up to 30% reduction in internal building temperatures during the summer; And
Increased longevity of roof and building cooling equipment.
The initiative provides opportunity for jobseeking New Yorkers to gain experience. Through the ten-week initiative, participants will receive training, 300 hours of paid work experience, and the opportunity to obtain industry-relevant certifications, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration 30-hour (OSHA 30) safety certification. Successful graduates will be connected to employment opportunities upon completion of the program.
More information on NYC °CoolRoofs can be found at nyc.gov/coolroofs.
About The HOPE Program and Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx)
HOPE and SSBx empower New Yorkers to build sustainable futures through comprehensive training, jobs, advancement and lifelong career support. Together, these two nonprofits five training tacks which prepare individuals for careers in green construction and maintenance, the food sector or general industries. HOPE and SSBx serve over 450 New Yorkers each year, with offices in Brooklyn and the Bronx, and have earned praise as one of the most effective workforce development providers in the field. To learn more, please visit www.thehopeprogram.org.
About the Department of Small Business Services (SBS)
SBS helps unlock economic potential and create economic security for all New Yorkers by connecting New Yorkers to good jobs, creating stronger businesses, and building vibrant neighborhoods across the five boroughs. For more information, visit nyc.gov/sbs, call 311, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Newer PostHOPE makes a Spark!
Older PostElected Officials and Community Partners Celebrate HOPE's Hunts Point Ribbon Cutting!
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How are geodes formed?
At WCCS, what began as Geology Club has evolved into a full-time class
Josh Cotton
jcotton@timesobserver.com
Photo submitted for publication Warren County Christian School students digging up geodes in the midwest. Students from the school undertake the trip every couple years.
Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton WCCS student Jacob Sorensen discusses electron microscopy results taken from samples of geodes collected by geology students at Warren County Christian School.
A group of students at the Warren County Christian School are working to figure out just where geodes come from and how they came to be.
Essentially a partially hollow stone with – when fully formed – crystals on the inside, students at WCCS have been working with the geological anomalies since 2012.
It started as a Geology Club and has now become a for-credit course.
“The end project is to determine whether they are igneous or sedimentary all of the literature indicates that they are sedimentary,” John Lewis, who teaches the course, said. “The end goal is to find out how a geode becomes a geode.”
Another trip is planned for this summer to do more geode gathering and research. Prior trips have included research in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and western Kentucky. “Each time we do this, we know what we’re looking for a little bit.”
“We’re thinking about this differently,” Lewis said. “We hear sedimentation but the evidence tells us it’s not. The evidence says it’s igneous.”
“It seems like geodes are widely dismissed by the scientific community,” Jacob Sorensen, one of the class’s students said. “We’re doing that research. We’re discovering. We’re finding that they’re metamorphic as, generally, all this evidence seems to suggest.”
“We’ve got our hypothesis. We’re going to perform a test to see it through. (We’ve) got evidence to support (our) hypothesis that don’t seem to run contrary. That’s where we’re at at this point.”
“Originally, I joined for credit,” Devon Smith said, noting that he thought geology was “taken care of by the scientific community.”
“Once I found out they weren’t,” he realized he “could be part of a group that finds out what geodes really are.”
What (science considered) sedimentary — we’re finding to be igneous.
For Matthew Klenck, an interest in geology started much younger when he “loved collecting even the smallest of rocks.”
Coming to WCCS – and the Geology Club (which is also now a credit course) – Klenck said it has helped him “because I know something more.”
Lewis explained that he reached out to a firm that does electron microscopy and has had a couple of samples examined. The results haven’t been what was expected.
“We’re tying to figure out how and what and where,” Lewis said. “We believe (geodes were) created very quickly with a lot of heat…. There’s water involved somehow.”
He said that they are “at a point where publishing a paper is in the crosshairs.”
Lewis credited the students and the work they have done.
“The kids have worked so hard,” he said. “There’s a tension. An interest, pursuing an unknown, if you will. This is what education is about as far as I’m concerned. I’m proud of these kids, all of these kids who have gone through this. The kids have been working their tails off since 2012 to get all this stuff done.”
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2015 U.S. Open round 1 and 2 pairings and tee times: Snooze alert and a couple really great groups
By Stephanie Wei under US Open
Par-3 no. 15 at Chambers Bay
The USGA released the first and second round groupings and tee times on Friday afternoon for next week’s U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, and I have to say that they’re not as “fun” (or funny) as they traditionally have been (unless I’m completely missing something). Perhaps it’s because they got into some trouble for the “fat guys group” last year, but still, USGA, I expect more!
I feel like there are a quite a few pairings where I see a connection between two players, but there’s one odd man out. I thought about just making up random correlations, but I don’t have five hours and I’m simply not witty enough. I did my best to come up with themes. Check ’em out and feel free to give your take in the comments.
All Times PDT
Thursday (June 18), hole #1 / Friday (June 19), hole #10
7 a.m. / 1 p.m. – Michael Putnam, University Place, Wash.; Marcus Fraser, Australia; TBD
*Putnam, who grew up just down the road from Chambers Bay where he still lives, played the first official round at the venue and shot 70, so it’s fitting that he gets to hit the first tee ball in the opening round. Meanwhile, I have no idea who this TBD guy is, but he sure shows up a lot here.
7:11 a.m. / 1:11 p.m. – Garth Mulroy, South Africa; Richard Lee, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Lucas Bjerregaard, Denmark
*Um, no clue. I’d say I couldn’t pick them out of a line up, but I know Lee, so that doesn’t work. Hey, there’s that two out of three theme!
7:22 a.m. / 1:22 p.m. – Jason Allred, Scottsdale, Ariz.; (a) Kyle Jones, Snowflake, Ariz.; Cody Gribble, Dallas, Texas
*Cool to see Allred, probably the nicest guy ever in pro golf, qualify.
7:33 a.m. / 1:33 p.m. – Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Bubba Watson, Bagdad, Fla.; Angel Cabrera, Argentina
*All major champs who are considered bombers.
7:44 a.m. / 1:44 p.m. – Wen-Chong Liang, People’s Republic of China; David Hearn, Canada; Hiroyuki Fujita, Japan
*Have you heard that joke about the Chinese guy, the Japanese dude and the Canadian? I haven’t, either.
7:55 a.m. / 1:55 p.m. – Robert Streb, Shawnee, Kan.; (a) Lee McCoy, Athens, Ga.; TBD
*Snore.
8:06 a.m. / 2:06 p.m. – George McNeill, Fort Myers, Fla.; Masahiro Kawamura, Japan; Cameron Tringale, Mission Viejo, Calif.
*Nice guys that the average fan couldn’t pick out of a line-up?
8:17 a.m. / 2:17 p.m. – Henrik Stenson, Sweden; Francesco Molinari, Italy; Brandt Snedeker, Nashville, Tenn.
*Two Europeans and an American?
8:28 a.m. / 2:28 p.m. – Jim Furyk, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain; Colin Montgomerie, Scotland
*”Oldies” that don’t hit it very far.
8:39 a.m. / 2:39 p.m. – Brooks Koepka, West Palm Beach, Fla.; Russell Henley, Macon, Ga.; Byeong-Hun An, Republic of Korea
*Good dudes who don’t say that much. All three played in the U.S. Amateur at Chambers Bay in 2010.
8:50 a.m. / 2:50 p.m. – Jason Dufner, Cleveland, Ohio; Marc Warren, Scotland; Matt Every, Jacksonville, Fla.
*An outspoken guy and two quiet ones?
9:01 a.m. / 3:01 p.m. – Brandon Hagy, Los Angeles, Calif.; (a) Matthew NeSmith, North Augusta, S.C.; Sebastian Cappelen, Denmark
*Who?
9:12 a.m. / 3:12 p.m. – (a) Nick Hardy, Northbrook, Ill.; Alex Kim, Fullerton, Calif.; Rich Berberian Jr., Derry, N.H.
*I only know Berberian because I was at the sectional where he qualified.
Thursday (June 18), hole #10 / Friday (June 19), hole #1
7 a.m. / 1 p.m. – Troy Kelly, Lakewood, Wash.; Seuk Hyun Baek, Republic of Korea; Cameron Smith, Australia
*Good to see the USGA also have another Washington native hit the first tee shot on the back nine, too.
7:11 a.m. / 1:11 p.m. – John Parry, England; TBD; (a) Jack Maguire, St. Petersburg, Fla.
*OK.
7:22 a.m. / 1:22 p.m. – Timothy O’Neal, Savannah, Ga.; Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga, Tenn.; Kurt Barnes, Australia
*No clue.
7:33 a.m. / 1:33 p.m. – Gary Woodland, Topeka, Kan.; Victor Dubuisson, France; John Senden, Australia
*Three kinda quiet guys?
7:44 a.m. / 1:44 p.m. – TBD; Morgan Hoffmann, Jupiter, Fla.; Bernd Wiesberger, Austria
*Two nice guys?
7:55 a.m. / 1:55 p.m. – Marcel Siem, Germany; Alexander Levy, France; Brian Harman, St. Simons Island, Ga.
*Two short guys and a tall dude?
8:06 a.m. / 2:06 p.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Japan; Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland; Matt Kuchar, St. Simons Island, Ga.
*Ummm, I’m stumped, but they are all three recognizable names.
8:17 a.m. / 2:17 p.m. – Dustin Johnson, Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Adam Scott, Australia; Sergio Garcia, Spain
*Three really good players who are relatively attractive. This is an awesome pairing, by the way.
8:28 a.m. / 2:28 p.m. – Martin Kaymer, Germany; (a) Gunn Yang, Republic of Korea; Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland
*The USGA traditionally pairs the reigning U.S. Open champ (Kaymer) with the reigning U.S. Amateur champ (Yang). You’ve also got three USGA champions, not to mention the world no. 1. Kaymer and Rory *must* be sick of each other by now after playing together so much recently.
8:39 a.m. / 2:39 p.m. – Patrick Reed, Houston, Texas; Chris Kirk, Milton, Ga.; Jamie Donaldson, Wales
*Two guys who went to Georgia at different times (Reed and Kirk)? Two guys who were stars of their respective teams at the Ryder Cup last year (Reed and Donaldson)?
8:50 a.m. / 2:50 p.m. – Webb Simpson, Charlotte, N.C.; Keegan Bradley, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Kevin Na, Diamond Bar, Calif.
*OK, this one is pretty good from the USGA. Three guys who have reputations of playing pretty slow.
9:01 a.m. / 3:01 p.m. – (a) Sam Horsfield, England; Shunsuke Sonoda, Japan; Oliver Farr, Wales
9:12 a.m. / 3:12 p.m. – Kevin Lucas, Folsom, Calif.; Pat Wilson, Andover, N.J.; (a) Cole Hammer, Houston, Texas
*Huh?
1 p.m. / 7 a.m. – Jason Palmer, England; Roberto Castro, Atlanta, Ga.; Andres Romero, Argentina
*Um, Palmer chips one-handed. Cool.
1:11 p.m. / 7:11 a.m. – (a) Denny McCarthy, Rockville, Md.; D.A. Points, Windermere, Fla.; Shiv Kapur, India
*There’s a joke about shiv-ing somewhere…
1:22 p.m. / 7:22 a.m. – (a) Bryson DeChambeau, Clovis, Calif.; Blayne Barber, Auburn, Ala.; Billy Hurley III, Annapolis, Md.
*Just make sure Barber signs the correct scorecard.
1:33 p.m. / 7:33 a.m. – Geoff Ogilvy, Australia; Ernie Els, South Africa; Retief Goosen, South Africa
*Three international former major champions.
1:44 p.m. / 7:44 a.m. – Bo Van Pelt, Jenks, Okla.; Charlie Beljan, Mesa, Ariz.; Tony Finau, Lehi, Utah
*Hmmm…
1:55 p.m. / 7:55 a.m. – Lee Janzen, Orlando, Fla.; (a) Oliver Schniederjans, Powder Springs, Ga.; Darren Clarke, Northern Ireland
*Two older gentleman who are major champs and a rising star.
2:06 p.m. / 8:06 a.m. – Daniel Summerhays, Fruit Heights, Utah; Thomas Aiken, South Africa; Danny Lee, New Zealand
*Nice guys?
2:17 p.m. / 8:17 a.m. – Jordan Spieth, Dallas, Texas; Jason Day, Australia; Justin Rose, England
*Three really good players. Two super polite, PC guys and an Australian?
2:28 p.m. / 8:28 a.m. – Tiger Woods, Hobe Sound, Fla.; Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif.; Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa
*TIGER WOODS! RICKIE FOWLER! LOUIS! OMG! That’s all I’ve got.
2:39 p.m. / 8:39 a.m. – Jimmy Walker, Boerne, Texas; Zach Johnson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Ian Poulter, England
*Two relatively boring, but sneaky funny guys and a really outspoken Englishman.
2:50 p.m. / 8:50 a.m. – Ryan Moore, Las Vegas, Nev.; Anirban Lahiri, India; Erik Compton, Coral Gables, Fla.
*Moore is actually a Washington native and grew up not far from Chambers Bay and has won multiple USGA championships on the amateur level. No clue who he has in common with Lahiri and Compton.
3:01 p.m. / 9:01 a.m. – (a) Jake Knapp, Costa Mesa, Calif.; Tyler Duncan, Columbus, Ind.; Matt Mabrey, Little Rock, Ark.
*They sound like really nice guys.
3:12 p.m. / 9:12 a.m. – Michael Davan, Hoopeston, Ill.; (a) Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss.; Andrew Pope, Orlando, Fla.
*See above.
1 p.m. / 7 a.m. – Tom Hoge, Fort Worth, Texas; Brad Fritsch, Holly Springs, N.C.; Tjaart van der Walt, South Africa
*Um, Fritsch is actually Canadian, but OK.
1:11 p.m. / 7:11 a.m. – Brad Elder, Dallas, Texas; (a) Beau Hossler, Mission Viejo, Calif.; Jamie Lovemark, Scottsdale, Ariz.
*Cool. Hossler is only 20 but playing in his third U.S. Open.
1:22 p.m. / 7:22 a.m. – Ryo Ishikawa, Japan; Luke Donald, England; J.B. Holmes, Campbellsville, Ky.
*Two shorties and a bomber.
1:33 p.m. / 7:33 a.m. – Lucas Glover, Tequesta, Fla.; (a) Bradley Neil, Scotland; Marc Leishman, Australia
*Two nice guys and an amateur.
1:44 p.m. / 7:44 a.m. – Ryan Palmer, Colleyville, Texas; Joost Luiten, Netherlands; Danny Willett, England
*Three nice guys.
1:55 p.m. / 7:55 a.m. – TBD; George Coetzee, South Africa; Alexander Noren, Sweden
*They both come from countries that start with “S”.
2:06 p.m. / 8:06 a.m. – Brendon Todd, Atlanta, Ga.; Branden Grace, South Africa; Thongchai Jaidee, Thailand
*Two guys have names that start with “B”.
2:17 p.m. / 8:17 a.m. – Billy Horschel, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Paul Casey, England; Lee Westwood, England
*Three good players.
2:28 p.m. / 8:28 a.m. – Bill Haas, Greenville, S.C.; Charl Schwartzel, South Africa; Hunter Mahan, Dallas, Texas
*Three solid players.
2:39 p.m. / 8:39 a.m. – Shane Lowry, Republic of Ireland; Ben Martin, Greenville, S.C.; Stephen Gallacher, Scotland
*Well, at least Lowry isn’t in the “fat” group again…
2:50 p.m. / 8:50 a.m. – Charley Hoffman, Las Vegas, Nev.; Camilo Villegas, Colombia; Tommy Fleetwood, England
*Three guys who have had interesting hair styles.
3:01 p.m. / 9:01 a.m. – Mark Silvers, Thunderbolt, Ga.; (a) Brian Campbell, Irvine, Calif.; Cheng-Tsung Pan, Chinese Taipei
*Thee mysterious qualifiers.
3:12 p.m. / 9:12 a.m. – TBD; Jared Becher, Reno, Nev.; Samuel Saunders, Fort Collins, Colo.
*Arnie’s grandson and ….yeah.
(a): amateur
#2015 U.S. Open, #Chambers Bay, #U.S. Open first and second round tee times
← WATCH: Post-round interviews with Brooke Henderson, Charley Hull and Stacy Lewis WATCH: Bubba Watson shows how extreme the greens are at Chambers Bay →
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Posts for tag: thumb sucking
Tags: celebrity smiles thumb sucking
It's no secret that many of Hollywood's brightest stars didn't start out with perfectly aligned, pearly-white teeth. And these days, plenty of celebs are willing to share their stories, showing how dentists help those megawatt smiles shine. In a recent interview with W magazine, Emma Stone, the stunning 28-year-old star of critically-acclaimed films like La La Land and Birdman, explained how orthodontic appliances helped her overcome problems caused by a harmful habit: persistent thumb sucking in childhood.
“I sucked my thumb until I was 11 years old,” she admitted, mischievously adding “It's still so soothing to do it.” Although it may have been comforting, the habit spelled trouble for her bite. “The roof of my mouth is so high-pitched that I had this huge overbite,” she said. “I got this gate when I was in second grade… I had braces, and then they put a gate.”
While her technical terminology isn't quite accurate, Stone is referring to a type of appliance worn in the mouth which dentists call a “tongue crib” or “thumb/finger appliance.” The purpose of these devices is to stop children from engaging in “parafunctional habits” — that is, behaviors like thumb sucking or tongue thrusting, which are unrelated to the normal function of the mouth and can cause serious bite problems. (Other parafunctional habits include nail biting, pencil chewing and teeth grinding.)
When kids develop the habit of regularly pushing the tongue against the front teeth (tongue thrusting) or sucking on an object placed inside the mouth (thumb sucking), the behavior can cause the front teeth to be pushed out of alignment. When the top teeth move forward, the condition is commonly referred to as an overbite. In some cases a more serious situation called an “open bite” may develop, which can be difficult to correct. Here, the top and bottom front teeth do not meet or overlap when the mouth is closed; instead, a vertical gap is left in between.
Orthodontic appliances are often recommended to stop harmful oral habits from causing further misalignment. Most appliances are designed with a block (or gate) that prevents the tongue or finger from pushing on the teeth; this is what the actress mentioned. Normally, when the appliance is worn for a period of months it can be expected to modify the child's behavior. Once the habit has been broken, other appliances like traditional braces or clear aligners can be used to bring the teeth into better alignment.
But in Stone's case, things didn't go so smoothly. “I'd take the gate down and suck my thumb underneath the mouth appliance,” she admitted, “because I was totally ignoring the rule to not suck your thumb while you're trying to straighten out your teeth.” That rule-breaking ended up costing the aspiring star lots of time: she spent a total of 7 years wearing braces.
Fortunately, things worked out for the best for Emma Stone: She now has a brilliant smile and a stellar career — plus a shiny new Golden Globe award! Does your child have a thumb sucking problem or another harmful oral habit? For more information about how to correct it, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can learn more in the Dear Doctor magazine article “How Thumb Sucking Affects the Bite.”
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Over, but Not Broken
December 12, 2016By Christina BradicForeign Assistance, News
Over, but Not BrokenChristina Bradic2019-05-15T09:38:43-08:00
On Saturday, Congress officially adjourned. You may have heard about this in the news in the context of, ‘This week Congress adjourned without doing… X.’ But behind the news headlines and media stories, behind the doors of Congress, there are people who represent you, who listen to you, working to get things done – and getting things done.
It probably is not a coincidence that some of the bills named that passed are issues that World Vision advocates have spoken passionately about – the Water for the World Act, Girls Count Act, and the Global Food Security Act. You went beyond emails for these issues to make phone calls, meet members of Congress in person, draw attention to the issues on social media, and even join us in Washington, D.C.
The positives from this year.
It is an ongoing challenge to ensure that international aid and development funding keep pace with growing global challenges. In lieu of a FY2017 budget, Congress passed a continuing resolution before the session ended – a piece of appropriations legislation that will extend current funding until April 28, 2017. What does this include, and what does it mean?
Funding for the International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) and grant programs to fight child labor will remain funded at the current level of 86 million dollars until the continuing resolution expires. The House had proposed zeroing out funding for this department for FY2017.
Added to the Continuing Resolution was $4.3 billion in funding for the State Department/USAID accounts – representing an eight percent increase in the Foreign Assistance budget. This money will go towards humanitarian assistance for refugees and countering extremist groups in the Middle East.
A small but strategic one percent of the U.S. budget.
Goals for next year.
The Education for All Act. This bill passed the House and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. However, the bill was held up and did not go for a full Senate vote. This bill, which will help provide a coordinated strategy to bring education to girls, children fleeing conflict, children with disability, and others, will likely be reintroduced next Congress.
The Reach Every Mother and Child Act. This bill currently has 218 cosponsors in the House (more than half!) and 35 cosponsors in the Senate (over a third!). Despite this incredible amount of support, the bill was not voted on in either chamber. You can encourage your members of Congress next session to reintroduce this critical legislation that aims to end preventable mother and child deaths by 2035.
Continue to speak out for overseas development assistance dollars. In the grand scheme of things, this is a very small proportion of the federal budget, which beyond increasing national security, strengthening economic trade partners, and advancing technology – literally saves lives.
Be a voice for vulnerable children, whether they are fleeing conflict, subject to trafficking, or victims of other violence.
And we want to say thank you.
To House Foreign Affairs Chairman and Ranking Member Congressman Ed Royce and Elliot Engel, Representatives Chris Smith and Betty McCollum, and Senators Johnny Isakson and Bob Casey for support of the Global Food Security Act.
To Senators Chris Coons and Susan Collins, and Representative Dave Reichert and Betty McCollum for being champions for maternal and child health issues.
To Senators Marco Rubio and Jeanne Shaheen, and Representative Steve Chabot for sponsoring the Girls Count Act.
You! The advocates who collectively contacted Congress over 65,000 times this year about issues that truly matter.
← Praying for People in Poverty
A Couple of Minutes – Another Gift Given →
Debra Coe says:
It’s been simultaneously an honor and a humbling experience to advocate for the issues World Vision promotes as we continue to speak up for the voiceless and marginalized. Learning how to effectively advocate in the power of the Holy Spirit has reignited my hope that together we are bringing about His Kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.” Thank you for providing coordination and education as we continue our advocacy efforts.
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One of Irkutsk's many ornate structures with a crowd of minibuses waiting in front of it.
Looks like an empty sign to Americans but over here it means "Do Not Enter." If it were in America, this sign would no doubt have been filled in with something creative to forbid.
You'll also find an awful lot of impressive looking churches here surrounded by poor people and soldiers.
Irkutsk is also known for its old wooden structures.
A standard street market.
Lake Baikal, one of the biggest, deepest lakes in the world.
The water is incredibly clear throughout the lake.
Stretching for hundreds of kilometers, this lake is predicted to one day become an ocean. Not in the near future though.
Near the lake, a mystery smokestack belches black fumes.
Villagers walk down a local street.
Ornate structures can be found down at the lake as well.
As can extremely ugly cats which one merchant was attempting to sell to tourists. Selling pictures probably would have been more profitable.
Back in Irkutsk, a tram ambles by.
And normal looking cats exist in comfort.
I saw several of these wooden slides in playgrounds. Not quite sure how they would work without inflicting considerable pain. Also didn't see any of them in use.
This basketball hoop may well predate the NBA.
Structures like this can be found around town.
A view of our hotel from the park outside.
These crazy looking devices were in everyone's hotel room. Needless to say, none of them worked.
Day 29. The weather has improved greatly. Still a bit chilly but the rain appears to have disappeared for now. We decided to take a trip down to Lake Baikal which we had heard so much about. Like the fact that it's the world's deepest lake, it contains more fresh water than all five Great Lakes combined (a fifth of the entire world's supply), and its water is incredibly clear. It's also pretty damn huge; they say one day it will become the earth's fifth ocean.
First we spent a couple of hours wandering around the city, checking out various interesting looking buildings. We went into one of the churches which happened to be having a service, it being Sunday morning and all. But it wasn't like any church service I had ever seen. Basically, it was a crowded room where a bunch of people were all standing facing forward while the sound of a woman chanting somewhere could be heard. There was nothing in the front of the room to focus your attention on and I realized that whatever action was going on was occurring in the smaller room to the left. But that was *so* crowded with people who occasionally would all do some ritualistic thing like bow or chant or do something with their hands that I was dissuaded from elbowing my way in there to see what was in the front. I'll just have to leave that to my imagination.
I don't really have a problem with organized religion as long as it doesn't get in my way. That happens a lot back home. Here, I was content to observe and respect their ways. And I've always liked churches - the buildings, that is, not often what goes on inside them. This wasn't really an exception. You had this big ornate structure, very pleasing to the eye, and it was surrounded by all kinds of really poor people who would beg for money from anyone passing by. The contrast between haves and have-nots just seemed a little stark especially when you consider that so many people give money to churches in order that they take care of these very people. Some things just never seem to change over time or distance.
Since our tour agency (the one that's been picking us up and booking us in these crazy hotels) didn't know anything about tours to the lake, we were left to our own devices. We were told that buses left from the bus station (logical) which only left us to find the bus station (not easy). We eventually accomplished this and set about finding out when the next bus would leave. At first it appeared that there was only one bus a day to the largest tourist attraction in a thousand miles but that turned out to be misinformation. There were two. (For some reason they were on completely different schedules.) And the next bus was four hours away. So we set about finding a cab to drive us all the way there (around 70 kilometers each way). I initially thought the price was a bit steep (1500 rubles as opposed to less than 100 for the bus) but that was before realizing the advantages of having our own private car. This driver was pretty amazing. Of course it was scary as hell as we swerved in and out of traffic at high speeds all the way down to the lake. Like many cars around here, the steering wheel is on the right hand side even though traffic drives on the right. This is likely due to some kind of import deal with Japan. I didn't really think about how this would make that much of a difference insofar as how someone drives. But that was before watching someone try to overtake traffic from the right hand side. The driver wasn't able to see if there was any oncoming traffic until he actually had stuck himself out almost halfway. So that was pretty hair raising. But we eventually got there in one piece and had a good look around.
The lake is pretty incredible. It's so clear that you can see 40 meters down in parts, which can cause all kinds of vertigo effects when people dive in. And its size is certainly unparalleled.
We explored the shoreline a bit and wandered down the streets of a lakeside village. It was all quite relaxed. A lot of local people were selling fish from the lake both on the side of the road and in a local market where all sorts of other touristy things could also be found.
On the way back our driver suggested we stop at an open air museum that had a bunch of old structures. I was pretty surprised that he didn't seem to be rushing us at all but I guess he had made a ton of money by going on this excursion (even though it was really only about 30 euros) so he was content to let us take our time. Plus he was obviously proud of these attractions.
Seeing a bunch of old wooden structures is historical and educational but I was getting pretty bored. And another merchant area didn't do much to help. I've just never been one to get excited over arts and crafts and I don't think I've ever bought anything in my entire life which could be described as a "trinket." So after about an hour and a half there, I was pretty happy to be heading back towards the city, even if that meant getting scared shitless by the cab ride.
We didn't really do a whole lot more except walk around town, get food, and find supplies for tomorrow morning's train ride. Since we had to be up at 5:00 am, it was a good thing that we were exhausted. What was bad was getting calls throughout the night from hookers wanting to know if I wanted a Russian girl. I don't know what goes on in the Russian hotel business but there's some kind of blatant tie-in to prostitution rings. They know what language you speak, they usually call within minutes of your checking in, and they know not to call couples. I have no moral problems with what they do except for getting the equivalent of unsolicited spam on my hotel phone. I suppose it's a fitting end to my last night in this country.
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Home News Auction: Tupac Shakur’s Love Letter to Madonna… Opening Bid at $100k
Here you go the full Tupac Shakur’s love letter to Madonna. Let’s bidding… Minimum Bid: $100,000. The auction opens on July 17. See the auction.
The letter was written on January 15th 1995 and in it Tupac talks about their relationship and details that he can’t be with her right now because of her skin colour.
Memorabilia company Gotta Have Rock & Roll, which has set the opening bid at $100k, has been given the green light to flog off Tupac’s handwritten letter after receiving a unanimous decision from the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court.
One of the most significant music artifacts to ever come to auction. This handwritten love letter from Tupac Shakur to Madonna is being offered at auction for the first time ever. This now famous, extremely personal, three-page handwritten and signed letter was written by Tupac Shakur to Madonna from prison. Tupac addressed the letter to “M”, dated it, “Jan 15 1995, 9:30 A.M.” and signed it “Always, 2PAC, Tupac Shakur” in black ink on lined paper.
The deep connection between Tupac and Madonna is seen throughout the letter. He writes about their relationship in terms of race and celebrity status, and how societal norms affect their relationship, writing:
“I must apologize to you. Because like you said I haven’t been the kind of friend I know I am capable of being. Not because I am evil or because you weren’t worthy but at the risk of sounding over dramatic, the effects of racism make it difficult for a young black man to properly show affection for an older white woman.”
He further writes about his fears about his own death, which he feared would come soon, writing,
“If there is any information you can share with me regarding Jack & crew please do it could very well be a matter of live & death”. He also warns her to be safe, writing “Please be careful Madonna. Everyone is not as honorable as they seem. There are those whose hearts bleed with envy & evil. They would not hesitate to do you harm! Let my 5 bullets be proof of that!”
It was less than two years later that Tupac’s worst fears came true, when he was viciously gunned down on the night of September 7, 1996 in his car in Las Vegas.
Handwritten in black ballpoint pen on three pages, each measuring 8.5 x 13. From the collection of Darlene Lutz, Madonna’s former fine art advisor. Very good condition. Comes with a letter of provenance from Ms. Lutz and a Gotta Have Rock & Roll™ Certificate of Authenticity.
Photo : TMZ.com
Here is the letter in its entirety:
“I’ve waited a long time 2 finally write this mainly because I was struggling to find all the answers so that I wouldn’t leave any unanswered questions. First and foremost, I must apologize to you because like you said I haven’t been the kind of friend I know I am capable of being. Not because I am evil or because you weren’t worthy but at the risk of sounding over dramatic, the effects of racism make it difficult for a young black male to properly show affection for an older white woman. Can u understand that? For you to be seen with a black man wouldn’t in any way jeopardize your career, if anything it would make you seem that much more open & exciting. But for me at least in previous perception I felt due to my “image” I would be letting down half of the people who made me what I thought I was. I never meant to hurt you. As a matter of fact I was honestly stuck on you but I got scared. I didn’t want to be another “toy” or another one of many. Also, I read somewhere in an interview where you said “I’m off to rehabilitate all the rappers & basketball players” or something to that effect those words cut me deep seeing how I had never known you to be with any rappers besides myself. It was at this moment out of hurt & a natural instinct to strike back and defend my heart & ego that I said a lot of things I have since come to regret.
But you know how f*cked up society can be. If it wasn’t then I could openly show you how I felt anytime, anywhere and you in return could show your support for me in the open not just anonymously. Can you feel me? In the time since, as u can see, I have grown both spiritually and mentally. It no longer matters how I’m percieved. Please understand my previous position as that of a young man with limited experience with a extremely famous sex symbol who also happens to be known to every man, woman, and child in the world. Please remember me not for my shortcomings but for the good times and the magic that we shared (assuming of course that I meant anything 2 u). Now my outlook is different everyone is judged and treated not by their color or fame but on how they treat me and because you have been so kind even in the midst of my craziness I offer my friendship once again this time much stronger & focused. If you are still interested I would like to further discuss this with you but some of it couldn’t wait. I felt compelled to tell you…just in case anything happened 2 me.
Please be careful Madonna. Everyone is not as honorable as they seem. There are those whose hearts bleed with envy & evil. They would not hesitate to do you harm! Let my 5 bullets be proof of that!
P.S. If there is any information you can share with me regarding Jack & crew please do. It could very well be a matter of Life & Death.
Alwayz,
He ends the letter asking her if she would come to visit him in prison. He wants to talk face-to-face because “this experience has taught me to not take time 4 granted.” He closes with a heart.
handwritten Letters
Tupac’s Former Bodyguard Frank Alexander Reveals Who Shot 2Pac (Interview)
Tupac’s Drawing Of Sex With Girlfriend Desiree Smith, Prison Love Letters From 1995
NEW LEAKS: Madonna – I’d Rather Be Your Lover (Unreleased) feat. 2Pac [FULL OUTRO]
1995-09-17 / Tupac Letter To Desiree Smith – ”Thug Love 4 Life”
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Forecasting Follies
Jay Greene
Using models to predict presidential elections can be fun. Too bad they don't work.
Like most political junkies during the summer of 1992, I closely followed every news report and analysis to see who was winning the presidential race. Yet political science colleagues told me it was unnecessary to pay attention to the twists and turns of the campaign since we already knew who was going to win. A number of social scientists had developed models that could predict the outcome of presidential elections months before anybody had cast a ballot.
Eager to benefit from the advances in my discipline, I looked up the models. But different models predicted different outcomes. I then tried to figure out which were the better models, so I could know which predictions to believe. My close investigation of the history and statistical techniques of presidential election forecasting models led me to conclude that none of the existing models deserves our faith.
My colleagues in political science are not the only ones who have been drawn to the predictive power of presidential forecasting models. The Washington Post, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and NBC News all featured the models' predictions. One Bush insider even said the campaign suffered from overconfidence and delayed aggressive tactics because they put credence in a forecasting model that predicted easy victory.
The problem, however, is not that the Bush campaign picked the wrong model to believe; the problem is that predicting the outcome of presidential elections accurately and reliably is simply not within the current grasp of social science. To make meaningful predictions, the statistical techniques used by the modelers require far more information about past presidential elections than exists. Even if we were to have enough information, voter behavior in presidential elections might just be too random to predict accurately.
Despite the deficiencies of these models, their reputation for success continues to grow. Why have these models received this reputation, and why is it mistaken?
HOW THE MODELS WORK
All presidential forecasting models use statistical methods common in the social sciences. The technique, known by the daunting name "multi-variate ordinary least squares regression," estimates the independent effect of a number of factors on the phenomenon being studied. Using this method we could, for example, estimate the relative influence of presidential popularity, economic growth, and incumbency on presidential election outcomes. Most social scientists use this technique only to examine historical relationships.
To generate a prediction from this sort of model, the presidential election modelers compare calculations from previous elections of such independent variables as presidential popularity and economic growth with their current values (low popularity, moderate growth) to estimate the result in a future election. Essentially, the forecasters measure the historical relationship between various factors and election outcomes and then predict the outcome of a current election based on the present status of those factors.
The models differ in the factors they include to predict the election as well as the way in which they measure the election outcome. Of those models that forecast the result in terms of the two-party popular vote percentage, Emory University professor Alan Abramowitz's model was closest to the mark in 1992. Using economic growth, presidential popularity, and length of time in office as factors, he predicted that Bill Clinton would win with 53.7 percent of the two-party popular vote, while the actual figure was 53.4 percent. On the other end of the spectrum was Ray Fair of Yale University, who had the ear of the Bush campaign. His indicators included economic growth, inflation, and incumbency. He predicted a landslide with George Bush winning 55.7 percent of the two-party popular vote.
Since the electoral college vote actually determines the winner, some models predict the percentage of the electors rather than the popular vote. James Campbell of the National Science Foundation has a model that does this by forecasting the outcome in each state. The factors he uses include state partisanship, home state advantage, and economic growth in each state as well as the nation. He predicted that Clinton would win 61.7 percent of the electoral college vote. Clinton actually received 68.8 percent. Michael Lewis-Beck of the University of Iowa and Tom Rice of the University of Vermont have a model that forecasts the national electoral college outcome without including state-level information. They factor in national economic growth, presidential approval ratings, mid-term House elections, and party unity. The pair, generally viewed by political scientists as the deans of presidential election forecasting, predicted a Bush victory with 57.5 percent of the electoral college vote.
ARE CAMPAIGNS IRRELEVANT?
These models share not only a methodology but also a political assumption: campaigns do not significantly affect election outcomes. Campaign strategies, media spin, and debate performances are not incorporated. Instead, the models rely on "fundamentals," such as the rate of economic growth and the power of incumbency, to generate their predictions. In addition, the modelers make their predictions by Labor Day, so they forecast without knowledge of the fall events.
The premise that campaigns are essentially irrelevant appeals to many political scientists who have long suspected as much. There are two arguments for such skepticism. First, perhaps both parties are equally competent at running presidential campaigns. Every thrust by one side is more or less parried by the other. Like players in any competitive market, political parties must sell their products as best they can. Because the presidential campaigns of both parties have frequent access to the media, vast financial resources, and dedicated staff, the outcome may be more related to the conditions of the market than to the marketing. The belief that Republicans have a monopoly on competent campaign personnel or that Democrats receive excessive press support may be nothing more than rationalizations of defeats determined by economic factors.
Second, voters may discount campaign promises and positions and rely more on the fundamentals like the state of the economy to make their decisions. Voters know that campaign promises are often not kept. Moreover, the average citizen may be in no position to evaluate the proposed policies. Experts can hardly agree on the likely consequences of proposals, so how can individual voters be expected to sort through the clutter?
Instead, many political scientists believe that voters judge candidates and parties retrospectively. That is, they evaluate the incumbent or the incumbent's party based on their personal and financial well-being. If they are "better off than they were four years ago," voters will be inclined to reelect the incumbent party. If they are worse off, voters will "throw the bum out." According to the retrospective voting school, the incumbent's past performance on easily measured criteria should be more decisive in elections than unpredictable campaign maneuvers.
Some readers may deplore the economic determinism in this entire approach. After all, to accept the idea that voters base decisions primarily on variables other than candidates, issues, or campaigns is to believe that politics as ordinarily understood doesn't matter much. Is it really the case that all the sound and fury of modern campaigns simply cancels itself out, and that voters in the end largely ignore candidates and messages? If so, a great deal of time and money are being wasted by smart people.
Yet as politics has been reduced to the manipulation of symbols, and as sound bites have driven out informed public discussion of issues, perhaps people's own conditions really are the more solid basis of their voting behavior--assuming those conditions can be accurately measured. In parliamentary systems, where the personality of the prime minister is structurally less of a factor, the electoral swing in favor of or against the government is often fairly uniform and closely correlated with perceived economic well-being. The same is true of the vote for state legislatures in the United States.
Despite the structure of our system, with its greater emphasis on the chief executive, perhaps we overstate personality. Voters' perceptions of leaders--as measured in the apparent ups and downs of approval ratings and the see-sawing of leads during campaigns--may be shallowly held, ephemeral, and far less reliable than people's subjective feelings about their own well-being. Thus this brand of political science is not as ipso facto foolish or deterministic as it may seem. Indeed, to suggest that voters are swayed by campaign slogans and sound bites seems the more cynical perspective. Perhaps voters are not the sheep they are imagined to be and cannot be manipulated so easily by the campaign strategists lauded so frequently in the press as geniuses. We should take heart that voters cannot be sold a candidate as if he were a box of soap.
If it is true that presidential campaigns make little difference and if voters' choices are largely a function of known economic and political fundamentals, then predicting election outcomes should be possible. One would only have to determine the historical relationship between these fundamentals and past election results to determine when people are likely to think that they are better off and when they are likely to throw the bum out.
Retrospective voting theory is supported by a variety of evidence other than presidential election forecasting models. But the fact that presidential election prediction further buttresses a theory that many political scientists are already inclined to believe has led to little critical examination of the models. Even if retrospective voting theory were valid, forecasting models lack enough information, a glaring defect that should have been detected much earlier. The neglect of critical examination, assisted by misleading statistics from the modelers, has imbued presidential election forecasting with too much credibility. The shocking thing about this brand of forecasting is not that social scientists have tried to do it but that so many in academia, the press, and campaign staffs have been fooled into believing that we have succeeded.
MISSING THE MARGINS OF ERROR
For one thing, forecasting models are limited by our lack of historical information on the relationship between political and economic fundamentals and elections. While there have been more than 50 presidential elections, reliable information about the economy is available only for the past 20 elections, and polling data exists only for the last 12. With as few as 12 observations upon which to make their predictions, the models gain little leverage from statistical techniques. Normally statistics condense many pieces of information into a few, but in this case we only have a few at the start.
Because our estimate of the historical relationship between the fundamentals and election results cannot be very strong with so few observations, we would expect a great amount of uncertainty in our prediction. This uncertainty can be expressed in something called the margin of error. Virtually everyone who has seen an opinion poll is familiar with the idea of a margin of error. A poll may say that a result has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent. Generally, this means that if we were to repeat the survey 100 times under the same conditions, we would expect 95 trials to have results within three points of those reported.
The forecasting modelers, however, do not report their margins of error. They only tell us their best estimates of the outcome without indicating how confident we can be in their predictions. Looking only at this best estimate, one might think that Alan Abramowitz's model was highly accurate since it generated a prediction within three-tenths of a percentage point of the actual result. Yet a model's prediction consists of not only the best estimate but also the range of uncertainty around that estimate. According to my calculations, the margin of error for Abramowitz's model is plus or minus 5 percent. The model, then, really says that we can be highly confident that Clinton would get somewhere between 48.7 percent and 58.7 percent of the two-party popular vote. Bush could win by a narrow margin or lose in a landslide. With such a wide range of possible outcomes, his prediction could end up being accurate by chance alone.
The margins of error for the other models are even larger. Ray Fair's has a margin of error of plus or minus 8 percent around his prediction of Bush winning with 55.7 percent of the two-party popular vote. So according to his model, Clinton could have won comfortably or Bush could have won in an unprecedented landslide. Once we consider margins of error, we can no longer say that Fair's model was wrong. Almost any outcome was possible according to his model. The fact that his prediction was off by more than Abramowitz's may simply be Fair's bad luck.
The percentage of the electoral college vote is harder to predict because all of a state's electoral votes go to the winner even if the popular vote is close. The margin of error for the model advanced by Michael Lewis-Beck and Tom Rice, therefore, is much larger: plus or minus 29 percent. James Campbell's model is a little better, with a margin of error of plus or minus 18 percent. The margins of error for these models are so wide, encompassing victory for either candidate, that they are useless for prediction.
PROBLEMS WITH MAKING THE MODEL
Margins of error capture the level of uncertainty in a prediction--assuming we have the right model. The choice of factors to include in the model adds to the uncertainty. The decision to include one set of variables, such as presidential popularity and growth in GNP, rather than another, such as the rate of inflation and unemployment, changes our prediction. Because we may be unsure of which model to choose, the predictions of each model have greater uncertainty than is conveyed in their margins of error.
Presidential elections might be explained by a long list of factors. Whether we choose to include one set of variables or another in a model makes an enormous difference in the prediction. The models advanced by Alan Abramowitz and by Lewis-Beck and Rice, for example, are theoretically and methodologically quite similar. Yet Abramowitz's best estimate was right on target in 1992 while Lewis-Beck and Rice were off by a long shot. How could we have known, before the election, whether to believe the prediction of one model or the other? Both models were equally good at explaining past election outcomes and neither was more theoretically compelling. Very little distinguishes the models, but they offered conflicting forecasts.
Because we have only a dozen or so presidential elections to help us sort through all of the possible factors to include in a model, we cannot be sure how best to compose a model. Slight changes that have no empirical or theoretical significance can greatly alter the prediction. Since we do not have enough information to know before the fact what to include in the models, and since including different variables produces different predictions, we are in no position to predict the outcome with any serious level of certainty. We would have to predict the right model before we could predict the right outcome.
DRAWING THE TARGET AFTER FIRING THE ARROWS
If picking the right presidential election forecasting model is currently indeterminate, and if the margins of error are large even if we were to know the right model, one would expect that the models would be sullied by a record of poor prediction. But forecasting models maintain a reputation for success. In part, this reputation can be explained by the lack of critical examination by political scientists inclined to believe the theory behind forecasting. But more important, the modelers themselves have sometimes reported statistics that exaggerate a model's performance.
The two most prominent presidential election forecasters, Lewis-Beck and Rice, tout their model's excellent record. They report that it successfully "predicted" 10 of the last 11 elections with an average absolute error of 5.6 percent of the electoral college vote. That would be an impressive record--if they were making predictions. Instead, they are reporting how well their model fits certain events after those events have taken place. With fewer than a dozen elections, it is no surprise that they could find some combination of variables that could account for past outcomes.
Other political scientists have offered humorous models that successfully "predict" past presidential elections. One joke model predicts elections based on the quality of the Beaujolais harvest. Another is based on the baseball league that wins the all-star game, and still others are based on candidates' height, attractiveness, and left-handedness. All of these joke models have a record of successful "prediction," but that is because they were made after the fact. If you already know where the arrow lands, it isn't hard to draw the target around it.
Even worse, some of the modelers have changed their models after an election to maintain its successful record of prediction. Ray Fair, for example, changed whether Gerald Ford should be counted as an incumbent in his model after 1976 and altered one other variable to improve the model's track record. Rather than altering their model, Lewis-Beck and Rice have simply proposed three different models in three elections to ensure their history of success. Perhaps the only predictions skeptical readers should believe are those made before an election occurs.
Unfortunately, even successful predictions made before an election do not necessarily validate a model. According to one estimate there were more than 20 presidential election forecasting models making predictions in 1992. Since there are only two realistically possible outcomes and relatively little variation in the popular vote percentages, it is possible that some of those models will pick the right winner and even come close to the right margin of victory by chance alone. Only if we could observe the same model over several future elections could we really develop confidence in its predictive power.
While retrospective voting theory offers intriguing hypotheses about the irrelevance of campaigns, presidential election forecasting models are simply incapable of providing a meaningful test of the theory. Presidential election forecasting models, like the Beaujolais or baseball models, should remain part of "recreational political science." They cannot tell us who will win the presidency, nor can they test any theories, but the models can provide an entertaining distraction from the pundits and polls during a campaign.
What Democrats Don't Get About the Republican Party
They are never beaten, because they never stop fighting. Even when Democrats think they've won.
Articles By Jay Greene
RSS feed of articles by Jay Greene
The Gender Gap Mystique
The Left's Obsessive Opposition
The Myth of the New Democrats
Lani Guinier's Constitution
The New Immigration and the Old Civil Rights
Going South
The Coming Budget Battle
Blood Knots
Money Talks, Reform Walks
Journal of Graphic Fantasies
Market, State, and Dystopia
Separatist But Equal?
Hispanic USA
Ending Welfare Reform as We Know It
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Al-Qaeda knows how to appeal to young Western Muslims, but the United States still has a lot to learn.
Americans were rattled out of their holiday routine last year when they learned that a 23-year-old Nigerian citizen named Umar Abdulmutallab snuck a bomb in his underwear onto an Amsterdam flight bound for Detroit. Thankfully, Abdulmutallab proved to be a hapless terrorist -- instead of blowing up the plane, he set himself on fire, charring his skin with third-degree burns as the other passengers subdued him.
Abdulmutallab has a typical -- if surprising -- background for a terrorist. His father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, is one of the richest men in Africa. Abdulmutallab attended the British School in Lome, Togo, and then traveled to London to study engineering and business finance at University College.
Osama bin Laden himself comes from a wealthy background, and most of the September 11 hijackers were middle-class. Bourgeois bombers are not a new phenomenon. But the failed Christmas attack highlighted a growing concern for national-security officials: Westernized Muslims, even Americans, being drawn to terrorist activity. Authorities claim more than 20 Somali Americans from Minnesota, including the first American suicide bomber, Shirwa Ahmed, were lured to fight in Somalia's ongoing civil war on behalf of the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab. The government has fingered Chicago resident David Coleman Headley for helping plan the terrorist attack on Mumbai with the anti-Indian terrorist group Laskhar-e-Taiba. An Afghan American named Najibullah Zazi was indicted for a bomb plot the Obama administration has quietly described as "the real thing." Five young men from Virginia were captured in Pakistan, allegedly trying to join the Taliban to fight against the United States. Seven young men in Raleigh, North Carolina, were arrested for allegedly planning to fight in Afghanistan against American troops. Perhaps most memorably, an Army psychologist named Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13 people.
Many of the individuals involved in recent incidents weren't radicalized in a mosque -- they were radicalized online. Despite the ongoing concern over "safe havens" where terrorist groups can train, recruit, and plan attacks without interference, al-Qaeda has proved adept at radicalizing its targets from afar, through the Internet. Anwar al-Awlaki, an extremist Imam born in New Mexico who has a blog and a Facebook page, has become the most prominent example of an al-Qaeda recruiter who is adept at tailoring the group's message to appeal to Muslims in the West. Prior to his joining al-Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen, the 9-11 hijackers were drawn to his sermons. Since then al-Awlaki has been tied to both Maj. Hasan and Abdulmutallab -- who traveled to Yemen where al-Awlaki personally trained him.
Charles Allen, a former intelligence analyst at the CIA and chief of intelligence analysis for the Department of Homeland Security, describes al-Awlaki as one of a number of recent propagandists who have "an ability to translate jihadist ideology into American colloquial English in ways that seem to resonate." This means that extremists can be inspired to act violently even without training or close contact with a terrorist group.
Karen Greenberg, executive director of NYU's Center on Law and Security, says that there are at least three distinct terrorist narratives used to lure recruits -- the regional narrative, which involves local conflicts like the one in Somalia or Kashmir; the narrative of American military involvement in Muslim countries abroad; and the narrative of the West and its corrupting cultural influences. Part of what's made Osama bin Laden so successful is that he's been able to weave these kinds of appeals together. "We have an increasing burden to bear if we don't counter the narrative here among young and Muslim Americans whose minds can be bent [toward violence]," Allen says. Greenberg, however, cautions against lumping these recruitment narratives together. "They really identify groups; people are motivated by very different things," Greenberg says. "Until you divide them out, you can't mount the right counterterrorism strategy."
Broadly, concern over the deaths of Muslim civilians appears to be the most common motivating factor for Western Muslims who join terrorist groups. In most cases, terrorist recruitment has involved young Muslims being lured in with the harrowing images of civilian casualties in places like Somalia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. They see fellow Muslims suffering, and they want to help.
Those Muslims who are radicalized and choose to turn to violence are a miniscule percentage of the overall population -- but they are significant because they are a symptom of the United States' failure to expose al-Qaeda's members as hypocrites whose methods have mostly resulted in the deaths of Muslims, not Westerners.
Mohamed Elibiary, who has been working with the U.S. government to counter domestic radicalization, explains, "The typical American Muslim youth that's become radicalized, by and large, they're not looking to attack the U.S.; what they want to do is go overseas to defend Muslims in military zones." Like gangs or cults, Elibiary says, terrorist recruiters know how to prey on young, alienated Muslims' desire to belong. Not every young Muslim in the United States is vulnerable to recruitment -- rather, there has to be what Rhodes College Professor Quintan Wiktorowicz calls a "cognitive opening," some sort of traumatic event, like the death of a parent or an acute experience of discrimination, that leaves the individual receptive to radicalization.
"When you have a shock to your system, you start asking all kinds of questions, you start looking for things to explain, to have psychological comfort. If they turn to religion, and they've never been religious," Elibiary says, they might turn to a cleric who "is pushing a political ideology that's masquerading as religion."
In the FBI's criminal complaints, the descriptions of the recruiters' behavior read like the solicitations of pedophiles in Internet chat rooms. One of the recruiters who helped send young Americans to Somalia told his marks that he experienced "true brotherhood" fighting jihad against Ethiopian troops, that it would be "fun" and that he would help them find wives soon afterward.
America's secret weapon against terrorism is its pluralism -- unlike Europe, being American isn't necessarily tied to a particular race or ethnicity, and assimilation and acceptance have always followed America's historical bouts of xenophobia. But at the same time, the distance from the horrors of terrorist violence abroad makes it easier for terrorist recruiters to present a romantic vision of jihad to privileged young people who have never experienced these realities firsthand.
Despite Osama bin Laden's topical videotaped appeals, al-Qaeda has been largely discredited in the Muslim world because its war against the West has mostly harmed Muslims. A report from the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point found that between 2004 and 2008, only 15 percent of the 3,010 people killed in al-Qaeda attacks were Westerners. By the numbers, al-Qaeda's war against the West is really a war against Islam.
This is old news in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. But it's not in the U.S., where the true costs of al-Qaeda's crusade against Muslims abroad are barely acknowledged. Because the U.S. has been so successful in preventing terrorist attacks, al-Qaeda's wholesale butchery of Muslims is an abstract issue. Muslims in the West don't have access to the most effective counter-narrative against al-Qaeda: its own murderous actions. "The more people see the impact of al-Qaeda's attacks up close and first hand, the less supportive of al-Qaeda people tend to be," says Michael Jacobson, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute on Near East Policy.
The backlash hasn't occurred just in the Muslim world as a whole, but among radical Muslims themselves. Sayyid Imam al-Sharif, also known as Dr. Fadl, helped provide the theological basis for al-Qaeda's existence. Since then, he's denounced Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda's methods as murderous and destructive because they have led to the death of innocent people. Likewise, Sheikh Salman bin Fahd al-Awdah, an extremist Saudi cleric who was reportedly an inspiration to bin Laden, denounced him on Saudi television in 2007 asking, "How much blood has been spilt? How many innocent people, children, elderly, and women have been killed ... in the name of al-Qaeda?" Defections of insiders often turn on similar themes -- al-Qaeda's bloodthirstiness and hypocrisy sometimes drive away its most devoted members.
In the U.S. however, discussions about Islam and politics occur in hushed tones. Since 9-11, Elibiary says, American Muslim leaders have studiously avoided political discourse, wary of the negative attention it might bring to the community. As a result, young Muslims who are looking for answers go elsewhere. "If it's not being allowed in the brick-and-mortar places, those conversations shift to the online forums, and that makes it easier for recruiters who are really overseas ... to be able to reach the kids over here," Elibiary says.
Therein lies the problem for the U.S. in countering the al-Qaeda narrative domestically. The most powerful and effective vehicle for doing so is the American Muslim community -- -which is busy building ramparts to guard itself from the distrust of its fellow Americans. "This has to be done by the heritage communities themselves," Allen says. "We have a problem that will grow if we don't work harder as a society, but I reject that the federal government as a whole can solve this; it has to be from the local communities."
Elibiary agrees community involvement is important, but he says the government has an important role to play in developing that counter-narrative as well. Individuals like the Virginia Five are drawn to foreign conflicts like Afghanistan in part because the U.S. does a poor job of explaining the reasons for its ongoing military missions. The politics of war in the United States are such that there is substantial social pressure to assume that the cause is just and that U.S. interference will lead to a better outcome. This is how Americans rationalize the human cost of their military adventures. But those answers don't come as easily to American Muslims watching news anchors blithely list the numbers of civilian casualties in America's foreign conflicts, as if they were as apolitical as the weather report.
Nevertheless, the American Muslim community has proved to be a vital national-security asset for countering domestic terrorism -- despite the Obama administration's continuation of many Bush-era national--security policies, such as indefinite detention and the use of military commissions to try suspected terrorists, and the Republican Party's open calls for policies like racial profiling. The FBI found out about the Lackawanna Six, a group of Yemeni Americans living in New York state who had received training from al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, when a member of the local Muslim community tipped them off in June 2001. Likewise, a 2003 plot by three Toledo men to execute attacks in Iraq was foiled with the aid of a Muslim informant. Local Imams in Raleigh, North Carolina notified the FBI that seven local men were plotting attacks against Americans. The government learned of the Virginia Five when their panicked families went to the Council on American-Islamic Relations and then Elibiary for help. And the father of the failed underwear bomber, Abdulmutallab, unsuccessfully tried to warn American authorities that his son had become dangerous.
That's not to say there isn't room to improve the relationship between law enforcement and the Muslim community. The Council on American Islamic Relations has been critical of the U.S. government for violating the civil liberties of Muslims, and charged that the FBI guidelines for initiating investigations amount to racial profiling. They also argue that, in several recent terrorism cases, the plots would never have come to fruition without the encouragement of FBI informants acting as "agent provocateurs." Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesperson for CAIR, says, "We're doing everything we can to rebuild the trust between the Muslim community and the FBI, but I think the ball's really in their court."
Since Abdulmutallab was arrested, Republicans have accused the Obama administration of poorly handling the bombing attempt by treating Abdulmutallab as a criminal rather than an enemy combatant. With this criticism, the GOP is ignoring the fact that the Obama administration has done exactly what the Bush administration would have -- and did, in the case of failed shoe-bomber Richard Reid, who was convicted in a civilian court and is currently in prison. Republicans said that Abdulmutallab shouldn't have been "given" Miranda rights and that he should have been put in military detention. Some even proclaimed that he should have been tortured -- and that because the Obama administration didn't do any of these things, valuable intelligence was lost. If Obama had listened to the Republican chorus, he would have destroyed the government's best opportunity for getting information out of Abdul-mutallab and alienated Muslims all over the world in the process.
Weeks after the bombing attempt, the administration revealed that Abdulmutallab had been talking to federal investigators -- in part because they had brought his distraught family over to the U.S. to persuade him to open up. Securing their cooperation would have been impossible if Abdulmutallab had been mistreated. Denying Abdulmutallab his rights -- rights that have been extended to any noncitizen accused of committing a crime and captured on American soil -- would have sent a message to Muslims worldwide and especially in the United States that they have no rights the government is bound to respect. Al-Qaeda's narrative, the story of a hypocritical Western power proclaiming itself a beacon of democracy while it wages open war not against terrorist groups but against all Muslims everywhere would have been strengthened. If the right's wishes had been heeded, it's hard to imagine any more Muslim fathers coming to American authorities for help.
The circumstances of the underwear bombing -- that al-Qaeda could find only one disturbed young man willing to blow himself up on a plane bound for the United States and that he failed to do so -- show how much al-Qaeda's capabilities have been diminished since 19 well-trained terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
"Al-Qaeda's under heavy pressure and has been in a very intense way for the last couple of years," Allen says.
But keeping that pressure on means not just dismantling al-Qaeda's operational capacity but countering the extremist messages that might inspire others to act, as Maj. Hasan did, even without the institutional support of an extremist group. It means further discrediting al-Qaeda, something that can only be done by avoiding the impulse to succumb to hysteria and fear toward all Muslims, so that people like the families of the Virginia Five still feel able to come to the government for help.
"That's the only way I think you're going to counter this," Allen says.
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Adam Serwer is a writing fellow at The American Prospect and a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He also blogs at Jack and Jill Politics and has written for The Village Voice, The Washington Post, The Root, and the Daily News. Follow @adamserwer
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