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Click to copyhttps://apnews.com/127fe8b09ae74a57826ab5953922e711
Peter Jennings
Diane Sawyer
As our media environment blurs, confusion often reigns
By DAVID BAUDERAugust 16, 2018
This combination photo shows MSNBC television anchor Rachel Maddow, host of "The Rachel Maddow Show," moderating a panel at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass. on Oct. 16, 2017 , left, and Sean Hannity of Fox News at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Md. on March 4, 2016. A generation ago, the likes of Walter Cronkite, Peter Jennings and Diane Sawyer were the heroes of television news. Now the biggest stars are arguably Sean Hannity and Rachel Maddow. Old lines between journalism and commentary are growing fuzzier with traditional media guideposts stripped away by technology and new business models. (AP Photo)
NEW YORK (AP) — A generation ago, the likes of Walter Cronkite, Peter Jennings and Diane Sawyer were the heroes of television news. Now the biggest stars are arguably Sean Hannity and Rachel Maddow.
Notice the difference? Cronkite, Jennings and Sawyer reported the news. Hannity and Maddow talk about the news, and occasionally make it. But you never doubt how they feel about it.
In a chaotic media landscape, with traditional guideposts stripped away by technology and new business models, the old lines between journalism and commentary are growing ever fuzzier. As President Donald Trump rewrites the rules of engagement to knock the media off stride, he’s found a receptive audience among his supporters for complaints about “fake news” and journalists who are “enemies of the people.”
In such a climate, is it any wonder people seem to be having a hard time distinguishing facts from points of view, and sometimes from outright fiction? It’s a conclusion that is driving anger at the news media as a whole. On Thursday, it produced a coordinated effort by a collection of the nation’s newspapers to hit back at perceptions that they are somehow unpatriotic.
“We don’t have a communications and public sphere that can discern between fact and opinion, between serious journalists and phonies,” says Stephen J.A. Ward, author of 10 books on the media, including the upcoming “Ethical Journalism in a Populist Age.”
Not long ago — think back 30 years — the news business had a certain order to it.
Evening newscasts on ABC, CBS and NBC gave straightforward accounts of the day’s events, and morning shows told you what happened while you slept. Newspapers flourished, with sections clearly marked for news and editorial pages for opinion. The one cable network, in its infancy, followed the play-it-straight rules of the big broadcasters. There was no Internet, no social media feed, no smartphone with headlines flashing.
Today, many newspapers are diminished. People are as likely to find articles through links on social media posted by friends and celebrities. Three TV news channels, two with firmly established points of view, air an endless loop of politically laced talk. There’s no easy escape from a 24-hour-a-day news culture.
The internet’s emergence has made the media far more democratic — for good and ill. There are many more voices to hear. But the loudest ones frequently get the most attention.
“No one can control the flow of information across social media and the internet media,” says George Campbell, a 53-year-old business consultant from Chicago. “This has led to a confusion about fact vs. fake. But mostly, it has resulted in a cash cow for conspiracy makers.”
Let’s not neglect the memorable journalism that the Trump era has produced all across the country. Many newspapers are far from “failing,” as Trump often claims about the scoop-hungry shops at The New York Times and The Washington Post. The number of digital subscribers to the Times has jumped from below 1 million in 2015 to more than 2.4 million now.
The cable networks have turned politics into prime-time entertainment, and it’s been both great for business and polarizing: Fox News Channel (from the right) and MSNBC (from the left) are frequently the most-watched cable networks in the country.
For many years, those network executives did a delicate dance. The stations were news during the day, opinion at night. But with the opinion shows so successful — shouting what you believe tends to “pop” more than facts — it has become harder to suppress those identities. Even when different sides are given, the hours are filled with opinionated people giving their takes.
A recent White House briefing illustrates how the Trump administration has plucked examples from the endless talk feed in its campaign against the media.
When press secretary Sarah Sanders rebuffed CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s attempt to have her renounce Trump’s attacks on the press, she noted that she’s been attacked personally by “the media” more than once, including by CNN.
Both of Sanders’ references had nothing to do with news reporting, and a lot to do with expressions of opinion. One of them, for example, came from an MSNBC appearance by Jennifer Rubin, a Washington Post columnist paid specifically to give her take on things.
But that kind of distinction blurs when it’s decoupled from the newspaper columns and appears in the wild of social media feeds.
“I don’t blame the public for being confused,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, communications professor and director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
In a heated news environment, journalists are left to find descriptions for things they haven’t seen before. CNN’s Anderson Cooper called Trump’s performance in a joint news conference with Russia’s Vladimir Putin “disgraceful” after both leaders left a Helsinki stage this summer. For Cooper, it was a moment of truth-telling. For the president’s supporters, it was a brash embrace of bias.
The Pew Research Center conducted an experiment earlier this year. It presented more than 5,000 adults with five statements of fact and five opinions and asked them to identify which was which. Only 26 percent of respondents correctly identified the five facts, and 35 percent identified the five opinions as such.
The survey suggested that people are in different realities. For instance, 63 percent of Republicans correctly said the statement “Barack Obama was born in the United States” was a fact. Meanwhile, 37 percent of Democrats incorrectly identified the statement “increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour is essential for the health of the U.S. economy” as fact, not opinion.
“Overall, Americans have some ability to separate what is factual from what is opinion,” says Amy Mitchell, Pew’s director of journalism research. “But the gaps across population groups raise caution, especially given all we know about news consumers’ tendency to feel worn out by the amount of news there is these days, and to dip briefly into and out of news rather than engage deeply with it.”
Another contributing factor to confusion is the way news articles often lose their context when spread on Twitter feeds and other social media, Jamieson said. Opinion and news stories live in the same space, sometimes clearly marked, sometimes not.
One Facebook feed, for example, linked to a Los Angeles Times article with the headline, “In a strikingly ignorant tweet, Trump gets almost everything about California wildfires wrong” and gave no indication that it was an opinion piece.
For many people, the editors and news producers who were once media gatekeepers have been replaced by opinionated uncles and old high-school classmates who spend all their time online. Russian trolls harnessed the power of these changes in news consumption before most people realized what was happening.
“The truth,” Ward says, “is no match for emotional untruths.”
News organizations have never been particularly good at either working together or telling the public what it is that they do. The first collective effort by journalists to fight back against Trump’s attacks came this week, when a Boston Globe editor organized newspapers across the country to editorialize against them. That collection promptly was assessed by some as playing into Trump’s hands by suggesting collusion on the part of “mainstream media.”
In an ideal world, Ward says, people would have an opportunity to learn media literacy. And he’d have fewer uneasy cocktail party encounters after he meets someone new and announces that he’s an expert in journalism ethics.
“After they laugh, they talk about some person spouting off on Fox or something,” he says.
He has to explain: That may be some people’s idea of journalism, but it’s not news reporting.
David Bauder reports on media for The Associated Press. Follow him on Twitter at @dbauder
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Click to copyhttps://apnews.com/a297a888a36a43d4af3b80d6d727c45e
U.S. Open Tennis Championships
Murray worries about rules during break during US Open loss
By HOWARD FENDRICHAugust 30, 2018
Andy Murray, of Great Britain, reacts during his match against Fernando Verdasco, of Spain, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
NEW YORK (AP) — Andy Murray complained at the U.S. Open that his opponent might have flouted the rules during their 10-minute heat break Wednesday in what became a second-round loss for the 2012 champion.
Murray also said after he was beaten by No. 31 seed Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 that the tournament did not do a good enough job of making clear exactly what is allowed and what isn’t during the time away from the court. The U.S. Tennis Association decided on the fly to allow rest periods in men’s matches for the first time in U.S. Open history as the temperature soared past 95 degrees (33 Celsius) this week.
While the women’s rules already call for a break if the conditions are too extreme, there is no such provision for the men. But on Tuesday, the USTA offered men a chance to rest after the third set if they want, then applied that rule on Wednesday, too.
“I went for a shower. He was having an ice bath,” Murray said about Verdasco. “When I came out of the shower ... one of the Spanish doubles players was in there chatting to him, and you’re not allowed to speak to your coach. I went and told the supervisor. I said, ‘What are you guys doing? I mean, there’s clear rules here and you’re allowing this to take place. I don’t get it.’”
The USTA said players were not allowed to consult coaches during the heat breaks.
Verdasco said that’s not what he was doing. He said he was chatting with another player and that player’s coach.
“I didn’t talk one word with my coach or any one member of my team,” said Verdasco, who had been 1-13 against Murray head-to-head entering this match. “I know exactly the rule, and I don’t want to be the one breaking it.”
But Murray was upset that there wasn’t better policing of players while they were off the court.
“This is one of the biggest events in the world. If you have rules like that, you need to stick with them, because one player getting to speak to the coach and the other not is not fair,” said the three-time major champion and former No. 1.
“I shouldn’t be in that position, in the middle of a match at a Slam, having to make sure they’re doing their job,” he said.
Murray also said he was never given a complete written list of the relevant rules.
“The players and teams should know. I’m not blaming Fernando and his team. They probably weren’t aware that that was the rules. They certainly weren’t trying to break any rules. It shouldn’t be for the player that’s competing against him to have to go to the supervisor,” Murray said. “If I hadn’t said anything, they would have been chatting, chatting about the match, giving tactics and stuff.”
This was Murray’s first major tournament in more than a year. After Wimbledon in 2017, he shut himself down for the rest of the season because of an injured hip, then eventually had an operation in January.
He returned to the tour this June, shortly before Wimbledon, but decided his body wasn’t ready for best-of-five-set matches. So his Grand Slam return came at Flushing Meadows, instead, and lasted just two matches.
“Some of the tennis I played today was some of the best I’ve played since I had the surgery or since I came back,” Murray said. “But there were also periods in the match, especially in the first set, where I really didn’t play particularly well. ... There were too many ups and downs for my liking.”
More AP tennis coverage: https://www.apnews.com/tag/apf-Tennis
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Click to copyhttps://apnews.com/cdc0c18f10874bfcbc77ee439280dd0b
Thousands of birds die at California’s Salton Sea
SALTON CITY, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say thousands of migrating birds have died at California’s Salton Sea this month from avian cholera.
The California Department of Fish and Game says ducks, gulls and other birds were found dead at the south end of the state’s largest lake between Jan. 8 and last Thursday.
Testing showed signs of avian cholera, an infectious bacterial disease. It’s spread through direct contact or from contaminated food or water.
Wildlife officials say outbreaks occur annually as a result of birds flocking closely together during migration.
The 350-square-mile (560-square-kilometer) lake is located in the desert near the Mexican border. It’s a regular stop for migrating birds.
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› resource › Green in judgement
Green in judgement
Tony Blackshield
The destruction of Tasmania’s pristine wilderness areas, first by dams and then by logging, has been a focus for environmental protests at least since the flooding of Lake Pedder in 1972. Bob Brown, the founding leader of the Greens, has been a central figure in much of that history, as he was again in January 2016 when he was arrested after refusing to leave the Lapoinya Forest. Along with another protester, Jessica Hoyt, who had been arrested five days earlier, he was charged with an offence under Tasmania’s Workplaces (Protection from Protesters) Act 2014. Although the charges against them were dropped, they went to the High Court to argue that the relevant provisions were unconstitutional.
Last week, a majority of the High Court held that they were right. At that point, the environmental history merged with constitutional history.
Read the full article on Inside Story.
Inside Story and contributor 2017
Link to Resource - hosted externally
Protest movements
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Joe Sutliff Sanders - Kids' Stuff
By Guy Spriggs
Joe Sutliff Sanders is a professor at Kansas State University specializing in children’s literature. But according to Sanders, he found his way into children’s literature – and eventually into a job at one of the field’s leading programs – by accident.
As he was finishing his dissertation at the University of Kentucky in 2005 and preparing to enter the job market, Sanders took note of a series of interesting job offers.
“I kept coming across all these children’s literature positions,” he explained. “I kept saying, ‘It’s too bad that I don’t do children’s literature.’”
Then, Sanders says, he realized that his whole project was directly related to his future field.
Sanders started applying for those positions and found himself in the middle of this young academic field. And, apparently, the path Sanders took path isn’t all that unusual: “Later I found that’s how most of us got into children’s literature,” he said.
“The field is never going to be in danger of settling down,” he said. “People are still falling into [children’s literature] and bringing this wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives.”
Sanders is a prime example of this: he is not only a specialist in children’s literature, but also an authority in the world of comic books.
“I was actually publishing on comics long before I was interested in children’s literature,” Sanders said. “No one wanted to believe that there was something interesting worth reading in those comics.”
In addition to his scholarly publications, Sanders works with Classical Comics, a company that creates graphic novel adaptations of classic novels that are frequently taught in the British secondary school system.
Staying true to form, Sanders’ relationship with Classical Comics developed somewhat by chance.
“My previous job was at Cal State, San Bernardino, which is near San Diego, where the annual comic book convention [Comic-Con] is. I had wanted to go for decades,” he explained.
Sanders made the trip and soon afterwards found himself connecting with a group of comics industry professionals, among which was the owner of Classical Comics. Now Sanders works with Classical Comics to help with translations for adapted works like “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
“With my scholar’s hat on I make sure that we’re translating those in a way that is at least defensible, then I will also make sure that the translations will make sense to an American audience,” he said.
Exploring this wide variety of interests has always been important for Sanders. He says that he was drawn to UK because of an interdisciplinary conference on popular culture hosted by the English Graduate Student Organization.
Even seemingly small things like funds for traveling to conferences played a huge role in Sanders’ career path. “If I hadn’t gone to those conferences I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Sanders said. “[UK] put money into student research and it made an enormous amount of difference.”
Yet while UK seemed like a place he could think outside the box, Sanders was worried that his wide variety of interests didn’t fit into any normal corner of the profession.
“I was looking for a dissertation director who had a lot of different interests and would be all right with me picking a central topic that focused the dissertation but that [also] let me look at all these different areas of interest,” Sanders said.
Once at UK, Sanders found Virginia Blum – who currently serves as the Director of Graduate Students in the English Department – and his academic career has never been the same.
“I can’t say enough about how lucky I was to have Virginia [Blum] as my dissertation director,” Sanders explained. “She had a broader base of knowledge than I had any right to expect.”
“The flexibility and support I got at Kentucky allowed me to develop a competitive project that led me to a job in one of the top programs in my field,” Sanders said.
The dissertation that Sanders worked on at UK has expanded and evolved into his first book: “Disciplining Girls – Understanding the Origins of the Classic Orphan Girl Story,” due out in November 2011 from the Johns Hopkins University Press.
Sanders’ book explores how the competing ideas of corporal punishment and disciplinary intimacy are represented in American novels written after the end of sentimentalism in the mid-19th century.
“Literary historians have said that when sentimental fiction stopped being popular women writers didn’t say anything about discipline anymore,” Sanders explained. In “Disciplining Girls,” Sanders contends that arguments about discipline continued after sentimentalism in the form of orphan girl novels.
“The debates continued in the same kind of novels, [and] these books have formulas that were borrowed directly from sentimental novels.”
Sanders continues to build his reputation as a respected scholar of comic books and children’s literature. But even as he negotiated the contract for his book last year, Sanders knew he could rely on the support he received as a graduate student at UK.
“I had Virginia [Blum] on speed dial. I was still calling her to get advice of how to be the kind of professional she is.”
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Filtering by: Resource type Monograph Remove constraint Resource type: Monograph Subject Service rationalisation Remove constraint Subject: Service rationalisation
Throw out the bricks, build the service : shifting acute hospital-based care into alternative settings
King's Fund and Spiby, Jackie
This report is the result of a major study examining the links between acute, primary and community services in Bromley, Kent. Results of the study, funded by the King's Fund and South Thames Regional Health Authority, contributed to Bromley Health's future strategy for change and led to the redevelopment of ...
London Monitor : focusing on London's health services
King Edward's Hospital Fund for London
This is the second edition of this publication which was published for the first time in 1994. This edition is structured in four parts. The first is a calendar of events in London's health care during 1994, followed by a commentary by the editor. The third section presents the relevant ...
Londoner's views on the future of health care
King's Fund Institute (King Edward's Hospital Fund for London), Philo, John, Pettersson, Geraldine, Posner, Tina, Davies, Jean, King's Fund Commission on the Future of Acute Services in London (King Edward's Hospital Fund for London), and Russell, Jill
The object of this study was to collect information which embraced the richness and complexity of people's views on London's health care services to contribute to the King's Fund's work on London's acute services. This report provides a detailed picture of the ways in which respondents would like to see ...
What next for London's health care?
King Edward's Hospital Fund for London and Maxwell, Robert J.
The author looks at the NHS in London two years after the report of the King's Fund Commission on London and the Tomlinson report and three years before the next general election. Policies shaping the NHS in London have become increasingly controversial. He argues that despite the growing resistance to ...
Progress in the movement of acute services from hospital to primary and community care
Clinical Change (King's Fund Centre for Health Services Development, King Edward's Hospital Fund for London), Farrell, Christine, and Glucklich, Caroline
Following on from the King's Fund London initiative in 1992 the authors investigated the extent to which acute services in London have moved from hospital into primary or community care. This article considers the extent of movement away from traditional acute care in hospital into the following settings: general practice; ...
London : the key facts : a briefing paper about health and health care in London
King's Fund Institute (King Edward's Hospital Fund for London)
This briefing paper aims to contribute some background analysis and data to inform a debate in the House of Commons on 28 April 1994 about London's health care system. It begins with comparative considerations; whether high needs and poor community based care lead to greater pressure on hospitals; and key ...
Working with GPs
Pratt, Julian and Primary Care Group (King's Fund Centre for Health Services Development, King Edward's Hospital Fund for London)
This report summarises the brief which was given to the King's Fund on finding the views of GPs following the Tomlinson report; setting up GP networks; clarifying what the King's Fund might expect from the Investment Fund launch; and improving working with GPs.
A proposal to form an investment fund for primary care development for London
King Edward's Hospital Fund for London and Gordon, Pat
This paper proposes an alliance of charitable foundations, together with Government, to make a distinctive contribution to the way in which health services for Londoners are being shaped. It explains how an investment fund could form the basis of a high profile three year development programme; how it could be ...
Conflict and change : specialist care in London : a report of six meetings arranged to discuss the London Specialty Review reports
King's Fund Centre for Health Services Development (King Edward's Hospital Fund for London) and Farrell, Christine
This report is based on public discussion of the six specialty reviews for London that were set up by the Secretary of State for Health earlier in 1993. In July 1993 the King's Fund arranged six meetings to encourage public debate about the outcomes of the independent reviews of specialty ...
King Edward's Hospital Fund for London4
Farrell, Christine3
King's Fund Institute (King Edward's Hospital Fund for London)3
King's Fund Commission on the Future of Acute Services in London (King Edward's Hospital Fund for London)2
Service rationalisation[remove]13
London11
Primary care8
Acute hospitals3
Nhs3
Monograph[remove]13
Publication date range begin – Publication date range end
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A Twist in the Tale: P25
As we come to the end of this series, in his typical style, Lord Haemlet…
There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact – Arthur Conan Doyle
Relief and gratitude washed over P25 as he finally loosened the restraints that had held him captive for so long. Soon after, he began to shake in terror, so to calm his nerves, he closed his eyes and focused real hard on his immediate environment. He listened for voices, footsteps, the clinking of keys or the menacing clank of the metal doors, but none of those sounds assaulted his hearing. What P25 did hear disturbed him tremendously, so he strained his ears harder, and still heard nothing, only an ominous silence which offered him no comfort.
Secretly working for two mutually antagonistic agencies at the biddings of another agency, came with an unhealthy amount of peril. He’d known the risks involved as he’d known every one of his enemies. He’d known their capabilities, and therefore knew better than to underestimate them. He’d also known the measures and extent they would go, so he’d tried preparing for it. He’d also tried so hard to make sure that the one person, who he’d loved, was properly taken care of. But alas! It had been to no avail.
Katharina!
He’d met her on one of his assignments, in fact, she had been his assignment. He’d been told that she was a threat, and had to be eliminated without it being traced back to the agency. He’d followed and watched her for days, and by the time he was ready to kill her, he’d already known every little detail of her life. He’d known her joy, her pains and regrets. But he’d also come to realize that she was a lonely, harmless and beautiful soul, who was lost in this dangerous world.
So he’d offered her redemption and given her hope. He’d given her love and dedicated his life to her, as he’d done for the agency that birthed and betrayed him. An agency he’d for year’s garnered the trust and respect of all. An agency who’d for years, administered illicit drugs which rendered the human mind cold and void, into his system. An agency who’d for years, tortured him in the slowest possible ways, just for him to appreciate the concept of pain.
After a time, he understood that he was but a dog on a leash, while they were the master. He was theirs to command, and as every master would accord a dog, he was named P25. He was their enforcer and ‘Trojan horse’. He was their Rottweiler; one that was deceptively shrouded in the golden coat of a Retriever. For them, he’d risked his life by successfully infiltrating two hostile factions in what was termed, the ultimate coup de grâce the world had ever known. But everything changed after he’d tried to kill her.
On that day, he’d gone into the bakery she worked, killed everyone and then waited for her to arrive. He’d convinced himself that killing them all was necessary because it would hide his real motive, but he knew better. Ten minutes later, she sashayed into the bakery only to see a pistol being pointed at her head. He’d tried so hard to pull the trigger, but for some strange reason, her hypnotic eyes had held him hostage as she stood in shock.
For the first time, he realized that rebellion was the greatest feeling ever. The feeling had intoxicated and invigorated him. His deception remained a secret because he’d burnt down the bakery to make validation of her death impossible. For the first time he’d discovered the real import of life. For the first time, he realized that his work wasn’t his life. For the first time, he realized that he deserved to be happy, and soon, they were secretly wedded. And for a time, he was the happiest man alive.
‘For a time’!
He was finally at peace with himself, and he began to think of a way out. All he wanted was a clean break, a second chance at life, and a fresh start with Katharina. But as fate would have it, his deception was detected, and she was wrenched away from him forever. He’d sworn to destroy those that were responsible, but first he had to hide in the only safe place known to him. A safe haven only he and another knew existed.
But he was presented with the greatest shock when he realized that his safe haven had been compromised. He’d walked into a trap, and was devastated by the deceit that was unveiled before him. He’d stood dazed and horrified by the magnitude of the betrayal. He’d been effortlessly outwitted in a trade he was considered the best. His shame knew no bounds, and as he was finally bundled away, he howled like a wounded beast.
Finally he heard footsteps coming his way, and a feverish excitement coursed though his spine. Then he heard the clanking of keys and his heart stopped. After a minute, he heard a click as the door was unlocked, and when it was swung open, he let out a guttural shriek and attacked. A few minutes later, the fight was over and P25 was on the floor with a syringe sticking out of his limp arm, and five men gathered around him.
Three hours later, P25 sat strapped to a chair, with his head bloodied and eyes staring almost sightless. His once torturous face was now peaceful and forever devoid of the pain and horror it had known. His lobotomized brain, forever free from the poisonous grip of his schizophrenic psychosis. Now he was but an empty shell that was no longer a danger to others.
Standing before him were the the doctors who’d performed the lobotomy procedure on patient 25. They all stood watching him as they sadly bemoaned the route they’d been forced to take. For years, they had tried all forms of drugs and medications to no avail, and only turned to lobotomy as a last resort. After what seemed like an eternity, one of the doctors finally turned away in tears and left the ward.
It was quite understandable that Dr. Katharina could no longer bear to look at the now docile and empty shell of her husband. It was quite concievable that the experience may have forever scarred her.
I AM..no, ME! no! Who? They chase me you know..
@Haemlet_
Deep apologies for missing the post yesterday. Circumstances beyond my control and all that jazz.
By the way, Happy Democracy day! 14 years and I’m free to tweet what I want.
Stay gripped for the next instalment.
Follow on Twitter @Janus_aneni
Peace to Nigeria.
Author Christopher AneniPosted on May 29, 2013 May 29, 2013 Categories A Twist in the Tale, Psychobabble10 Comments on A Twist in the Tale: P25
All in this life's journey… Blog at WordPress.com.
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Whoever chose that particular match-up to introduce Serie A to a potentially sceptical public had selected wisely. Lazio had just secured the services of Paul Gascoigne, although injury prevented him taking part in this game and ‘Samp’, as they were widely known, were one of the top clubs in the country. In fact, the previous season market the zenith of their powers and the end of a glorious four-year period for the Genoese club who had risen to prominence with a roster of legendary players, a coach who delivered outstanding performances from his players, and a shirt that became the byword for football hipster wear at the time.
Sampdoria were been formed just after the Second World War and their shirt and ‘Blucerchiati’ (blue and circled) appellation were representative of the two clubs amalgamated to form Sampdoria, Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria, with colours of both clubs incorporated.
For much of the following years, the club pottered around Serie B. After winning that league in 1967 though, they reached the top tier of the Italian game. It would be a short tenure at such exalted heights however. Most of their time was spent in the lower reaches of the league and as the seventies progressed they survived the drop back to Serie B by single places and single points. At the end of the 1976-77 season though, the seemingly inevitable dawned as Samp were relegated. As all good stories go though, that dark hour was the harbinger of a renaissance. It was a rise to glory worthy of the work of Peter Paul Rubens who had lived and worked in the city. Not quite the elegance of the master’s ‘Three Graces’ but a rise to the top of Italian football that the Blucerchiati tifosi viewing the gathering of stars at the club may have considered as something akin to his ‘The Origin of Milky Way.’
In 1979, with Sampdoria still in Serie B, the oil tycoon Paolo Mantovani, purchased the club and invested to launch their voyage to success. A man used to success exhibited a characteristic lack of patience as a series of managers were moved out of the club for failing to deliver promotion back to Serie A. Lamberto Giorgis, Lauro Toneatto and Enzo Riccomini all had single season tenures before paying the price for failure. In 1981 though, Mantovani appointed Renzo Ulivieri who performed the oracle and Mantovani’s club returned to Serie A after finishing joint second in the 1981-82 Serie B table, a point adrift of champions Verona.
Mantovani had loftier ambitions though and if he was to achieve his aspirations, a squad that finished equal second in Serie B was unlikely to be sufficient, and the owner began to add the type of players that would later become stars of the game that made up Samp’s ‘Milky Way’. Promotion bought Roberto Mancini to the club, signed from Bologna for just over £2million after playing a single season in the top flight with the Rossoblu. Together, he and Mantovani would orchestrate great times for Samp. He would stay with the Genoa club for fifteen years and be the last of the stars to leave at the end of the golden years. Trevor Francis, England’s first £1million footballer also moved to Genoa, leaving Manchester City. Although only in his late twenties at this time, injuries were already plaguing the striker’s career though and across four years with the club he would only feature in 68 league games.
With their new signings in place, the season back amongst the big guns of Italian football saw a highly creditable seventh place finish, just four points away from a UEFA Cup berth. A decent achievement for sure, but Mantovani was ambitious for more than merely above the average. The centre-back Pietro Vierchowod was acquired from Roma, again after just a single season in the top flight. He would be at the club for a dozen years. Mantovani was building, rather than looking for a quick hit this time. Achieving success in Serie A required an entirely different approach to the methods he had deployed to escape Italian football’s second tier.
The 1983-84 season saw another seventh-place finish, and further investment resulted, plus a change of manager. Eugenio Bersellini had served as Sampdoria’s manager between 1975 and 1977, and Mantovani brought him back to the club with a remit to deliver the club’s first silverware since winning Serie B in the mid-sixties. To aid the process, he also signed Gianluca Vialli from Cremonese to bolster the attack. The new man would form a potent partnership with Mancini. This signing showed a slight change into Mantiovani’s tactics. By this time, the striker already had more than 100 league games under his belt with his first club and was bordering on being the finest article. The same, but more so, was true of Graeme Sounness who moved to the club from Liverpool after six glory filled years on red half of Merseyside.
The changes had the desired effect. Sampdoria climbed to fourth in the league, and would have qualified for the UEFA Cup, but had no need of that, as they also lifted the 1984-85 Copa Italia, giving qualification for the Cup Winners Cup, after defeating AC Milan both home and away in the two-legged final. Sounness netted the winner in the San Siro, before both Mancini and Vialli scored back at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. Mantovani had his first taste of success. Sampdoria’s renaissance was gathering pace.
The club’s European excursion was broadly disappointing though. A clumsy passage to the second round was achieved with 2-1 aggregate victory over Greece’s Athlitiki Enosi Larissa FC, but only after a late Mancini goal achieved a draw in Greece and the same player netted the sole goal in the home leg. Benfica ended Samp’s interest though, when a single goal from Giuseppe Lorenzo in Genoa was insufficient to pull back a 2-0 defeat in Lisbon. The league position also crumbled and Samp fell to eleventh position.
It was time for another change of manager and Bersellini’s cup triumph was insufficient protection from the owner’s disappointment. He was removed and, in his stead, Vujadin Boškov was appointed. The experienced Serb had coached in both Holland and Spain, as well as his native country, and would prove to be the ideal manager to take Sampdoria on. Trevor Francis followed the erstwhile manager through the exit door.
The club’s backline was strengthened by the arrival of German defender Hans-Peter Briegel, who moved to Genoa when his contract expired after winning the Scudetto with Hellas Verona. Toninho Cerezo also joined. Although 31 years old at the time, the Brazilian international was precisely the steadying hand in midfield required to protect the backline and initiate attacks. Having played in two World Cups for the Seleção, and with 70 Serie A games under his belt with Roma, he was the reliable, experienced player the club needed, to replace Sounness who was to move on to Glasgow Rangers.
Although hardly spectacular, some improvement followed, and Samp climbed to sixth in Serie A in the 1986-87 season, and a play-off for qualification to the UEFA Cup, but lost out to AC Milan. The following season though would see them bring forward a young goalkeeper who would flourish both for the club and the Azzurri national team. They would also begin a four-year period of outstanding success. The most celebrated years in the club’s history to date.
Gianluca Pagliuca broke into the Sampdoria first team in 1987 and, over the following seven years, would play almost 200 league games for the club, before being sold to Inter Milan when Samp accepted a £7million world record fee for a goalkeeper from the Nerazzurri.
The first trophy under Boškov’s management was delivered when Sampdoria lifted the Coppa Italia in 1988. In the two-legged final, goals from Vialli and Briegel at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris seemed to put them on the way to glory, but in the away leg, two own goals squared things for Torino before half-time. It would take extra-time to decide matters and a strike by Fausto Salsano with eight minutes remaining sent the cup to Genoa. The league position improved as well. Samp were up to fourth and would have UEFA Cup qualification had they not taken the Cup Winners Cup spot thanks to Salsano’s late goal in Turin.
Excursions into Europe up to this point had been short, and hardly sweet, but that would change over the next couple of seasons, albeit that this venture into Cup Winners Cup was to end in disappointment at the final hurdle. A scrappy First Round 3-2 aggregate victory over Norwegian club IFK Norrköping hardly held out the promise of success, but things would improve. East Germany’s Carl Zeiss Jena proved less tricky fare, and victory took Samp to a semi-final match-up with the holders, KV Mechelen of Belgium. A 74th minute Vialli goal in Belgium meant just a 2-1 defeat and a rousing 3-0 home win, with three goals in the last 20 minutes back home in Genoa did the business. It meant a final against Johann Cruyff’s Barcelona ‘Dream Team’ but an early goal by Salinas and late strike by Rekarte brought disappointment. There would be a sad echo of the outcome a few years down the line, but the tournament had suggested that Sampdoria could compete at this level. They would be back the following year to prove the point.
Another run at the tournament was assured when a four-goal mauling of a Napoli team containing the magical skills of Diego Maradona in the home leg following a 1-0 defeat at the Stadio San Paolo meant that the Coppa Italia was retained. A fifth place finish in Sere A was a solid performance given the European and domestic cup exertions. To keep up the momentum of a progressive club Mantovani added the Cremonese midfielder Attilio Lombardo to the squad. He had four years’ experience with the Grigiorossi, and his Mercurial wing play fitted neatly into the image of Samp as an attacking unit playing expansive and entertaining football. Their popularity among football’s cognoscenti was growing, and they were accumulating new fans and trophies with increasing regularity
In the league, Samp’s status as a solid top six club Serie A, if still some way short of being title challengers, was underscored as they again achieved fifth spot in the 1989-90 season. Their attention however would be drawn again towards Europe. The Cup Winners Cup again began with a tie against Norwegian opposition as they skipped past Brann with 3-0 aggregate victory, winning both legs. Borussia Dortmund would provide stiffer opposition in the Second Round though and with two minutes remaining of the first leg in Germany it looked likely that Samp would have to overturn a 1-0 defeat back in Genoa. A late goal Mancini however put an entirely different complexion on things though and two Vailli strikes without reply at home eased Samp into a last eight berth. They accounted for Grasshoppers with some ease, winning 4-1 on aggregate. Sampdoria were in the last four of the competition again.
Facing AS Monaco, a 2-2 draw in France opened the door to the final as Vialli again struck twice. Goals from Vierchowod and Lombardo completed the job in Genoa and Sampdoria returned to the final of the Cup Winners Cup to facing Anderlecht. In a tense encounter the score remained goalless after 90 minutes, but in the extra period, it was Vialli again who decided the issue netting a brace to bring Samp’s first European trophy. Mantovani’s dynamic and bustling new kids on the block, under Boškov’s management, were beginning to make a big noise, and more was to follow.
A European trophy was a magnificent achievement of course, but in Italy, genuine respect has to be earned in Serie A and up to this point, Samp had been broadly seen as plucky also-rans, scrambling around for European qualification. The 1990-91 season would change that. Samp’s defence of the Cup Winners Cup petered out at the Quarter-Final stage with a surprising 3-2 defeat to Legia Warsaw after progressing against Kaiserslautern and Olimpiacos. Concentration was then was transferred solely to the league campaign. It brought great reward.
Across the 34-game league season they lost only three games, and Vialli finished as the Capocannoniere with 19 goals. The Scudetto went to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris for the first, and so far only, time. Hipster heroes. The Blucerchiati stars were aligned as a galaxy of talents took the unlikely Sampdoria to the top of Italian football. Later that same year, they add the Supercoppa Italiana to underscore their position as top dogs and all that remained now was to transfer that champion status into Europe.
The European Cup venture began with the now traditional First Round tie against Norwegian opposition. Rosenborg were crushed 7-1 on aggregate. Apparently, Samp now had the measure of Scandinavian teams. Honved were trickier opposition and a 2-1 defeat in Budapest meant there was work to do back in Genoa, but a goal from Lombardo and a brace from Vialli had the job done and a Fausto Pari own goal for the Hungarians was rendered meaningless.
Onto the group stage, and Samp were pitted against Red Star Belgrade, Anderlecht and Panathinaikos of Greece. A victory at home to Red Star was followed by a draw in Athens, and then a defeat in Belgium. The Italians rallied from there though and defeated Anderlecht at home and a 1-3 victory against Red Star almost had them home and hosed, although security issues in Yugoslavia meant that Red Star had to play their ‘home’ games in Hungary. A second draw with the Greeks was sufficient to top the group as Red Star lost in Belgium. Barcelona topped the other group and, as was the case in the Cup Winners Cup Final of 1989, Sampdoria would face Barcelona, this time at Wembley for European club football’s top prize.
Conversely, it would surely have tarnished the legend had the club that so many had come to consider as the veritable and worthy underdogs had succeeded on that May evening. It’s difficult to be the iconoclast when you’ve become the establishment, but Sampdoria’s reputation as the lovably glorious club with the iconic jerseys was retained as Ronald Koeman netted a free-kick in extra-time to kindle Catalan euphoria. To all intents and purposes, Sampdoria had reached the summit of fan approval. Sadly, their fate would be downhill from there.
The Coppa Italia was won again in 1994, but that was a last flaring of the glory years as the players who had brought such colour and entertainment to Genoa drifted away to pursue glory elsewhere. Vialli would leave for a liaison with Turin’s Old Lady for the following season, with Cerezo heading home to Brazil at the same time. The manager also decided to cash in his chips when his standing was at its highest, and he decamped to Roma. Two years later Pagliuca joined Internazionale. Next it was Vierchowod and Lombardo beating a track to Juventus and even Mancini left in 1997.
The European Cup Final defeat marked the end of Sampdoria’s golden years, despite estimable but ultimately fruitless progress in European competition in later years. The club remains though a warm glow in the memory of fans introduced to Italian football in that era. After all, who wants to be European champions, when you can be Calcio’s Hipster club.
(This article was originally produced for These Football Times’ ‘Calcio II’ magazine).
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Register Log In AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Travel European Airspace closed because of Vulcanic Ashes
European Airspace closed because of Vulcanic Ashes #373558
Ash cloud from Iceland volcano halts air traffic across Europe, effects reverberate worldwide
By Jill Lawless
LONDON (AP) - An enormous ash cloud from a remote Icelandic volcano caused the biggest flight disruption since the 2001 terrorist attacks Thursday as it drifted over northern Europe and stranded travelers on six continents. Officials said it could take days for the skies to become safe again in one of aviation's most congested areas.
The cloud, floating miles (kilometers) above Earth and capable of knocking out jet engines, wrecked travel plans for tens of thousands of people, from tourists and business travelers to politicians and royals. They couldn't see the source of their frustration — except indirectly, when the ash created vivid red and lavender sunsets.
Non-emergency flights in Britain were canceled, and most will stay grounded until at least midday Friday. Authorities in Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Belgium also closed their air space. France shut down 24 airports, including the main hub of Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Germany's Berlin and Hamburg were shut Thursday evening, and several flights out of the U.S. had to double back.
Kyla Evans, spokeswoman for air traffic service Eurocontrol, said half of all trans-Atlantic flights were expected to be canceled Friday.
At London's Heathrow airport, normally one of the world's busiest with more than 1,200 flights and 180,000 travelers a day, passengers stared forlornly at departure boards on which every flight was listed as canceled.
"We made it all the way to take off on the plane. ... They even showed us the safety video," said Sarah Davis, 29, a physiotherapist from Portsmouth in southern England who was hoping to fly to Los Angeles. "I'm upset. I only get so much vacation."
A volcano beneath Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH'-plah-yer-kuh-duhl) glacier began erupting Wednesday for the second time in less than a month, triggering floods and shooting smoke and steam miles into the air.
About 700 people from rural areas near the volcano were evacuated Thursday because of flash flooding, as water carrying icebergs the size of small houses rushed down the mountain. The Civil Protection Department said there could be damage to roads and other infrastructure.
Video showed spectacular images of hot gases melting the thick ice, sending cascades of water thundering down the steep slopes of the volcano.
The ash cloud became a menace to air travel as it drifted south and east toward northern Europe — including Britain, about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) away.
The ash plume drifted at between 20,000 feet and 36,000 feet (6,000 meters and 11,000 meters), where it could get sucked into airplane engines and cause them to shut down. The smoke and ash also could affect aircraft visibility.
Britain's air traffic service said late Thursday it was extending a ban on most air traffic until 1 p.m. local time (8 a.m EDT) Friday, but flights to Scotland and Northern Ireland may be allowed to resume before then.
The agency said Britain had not halted all flights in its space in living memory, although many were grounded after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.
"People can't remember a time when it has been on this scale," said Patrick Horwood of the air traffic service. "Certainly never involving a volcano."
Eurocontrol spokeswoman Evans said the ash had led to the cancellation of about 4,000 flights within Europe Thursday, and that could rise to 6,000 Friday.
Several U.S. flights bound for Heathrow, including those from Chicago, San Francisco, Denver, Las Vegas and New York, had to return to their departure cities or land elsewhere when London airports were closed.
In Washington, the Federal Aviation Administration said it was working with airlines to try to reroute some flights around the huge ash cloud, which is hundreds of miles wide. Flights from Asia, Africa, South America, Australia and the Middle East to Heathrow and other top European hubs were also put on hold.
In Britain, the closures curtailed some campaigning for the May 6 national election. Monarchs from Norway and the Netherlands traveling to a 70th birthday celebration for Denmark's Queen Margrethe found their plans up in the air.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt resorted to driving home to Sweden from Brussels. "We'll arrive sometime tomorrow," his spokeswoman Irena Busic said.
Eurostar train services to France and Belgium and Channel ferries were packed as travelers sought ways out of Britain. P&O ferries said it had booked a passenger on its Dover-Calais route who was trying to get to Beijing — he hoped to fly from Paris instead of London.
It was unclear whether the ash cloud would affect the arrival of President Barack Obama and other world leaders planning to attend the state funeral Sunday of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash. Polish authorities banned flights over part of northwestern Poland late Thursday, the country's PAP news agency reported. The funeral is to be held in Krakow, in southeastern Poland.
The Icelandic plume lies above the Atlantic Ocean close to the flight paths for most routes from the U.S. East Coast to Europe, and over northern Europe itself.
Meteorologists from the AccuWeather forecasting service in Pennsylvania said the current ash plume will threaten air travel over Europe through Sunday at the least. Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, said the problem might persist for weeks, depending on how much wind carries the ash.
Explosive volcanic eruptions inject large amounts of highly abrasive ash — essentially very small rock fragments — into the upper atmosphere, the cruising altitude of most jet airliners. It can cause significant damage to both airframes and engines.
The U.S. Geological Survey said about 100 aircraft have run into volcanic ash from 1983 to 2000. In some cases engines shut down briefly after sucking in volcanic debris, but there have been no fatal incidents.
In 1989, a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 747 flew into an ash cloud from Alaska's Redoubt volcano and lost all power, dropping from 25,000 feet to 12,000 feet (7,500 meters to 3,600) before the crew could get the engines restarted. The plane landed safely.
In another incident in the 1980s, a British Airways 747 flew into a dust cloud and the grit sandblasted the windscreen. The pilot had to stand and look out a side window to land safely.
Gideon Ewers, spokesman for the International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations, attributed the extent of the disruption to amount of air traffic in the area where the plume was drifting.
"Normally, these volcanic eruptions affect air travel in areas of thin traffic such as the Aleutian islands in Alaska, or in Indonesia and the Philippines," he said.
Ironically, Iceland's Keflavik airport remained open Thursday. Flights to Europe were canceled but those to North America were operating normally.
Iceland, a nation of 320,000 people, sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge, and has a history of devastating eruptions.
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/market_news/article.jsp?content=D9F3NTIG2
Re: European Airspace closed because of Vulcanic Ashes [Re: Short] #373564
Just goes to show that a small nation CAN have an effect on the whole world!
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Home Editorial Trevor Hofbauer and Natasha Wodak with strong wins at GoodLife Fitness Victoria...
Trevor Hofbauer and Natasha Wodak with strong wins at GoodLife Fitness Victoria Half Marathon – Sarah Inglis breaks Lindsay Carson’s streak of four in the 8K
Christopher Kelsall
© Copyright – 2018 – Athletics Illustrated
Marathon story>>
Trevor Hofbauer after winning 2018 GoodLife Fitness Victoria Half Marathon. Photo credit: Christopher Kelsall
It’s a good life if you can lead it, like Calgary’s Trevor Hofbauer and Vancouver’s Natasha Wodak do. The former is the defending Canadian marathon and half-marathon champion, while Wodak owns two national distance records and competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics. The two toed-the-line during the 2018 GoodLife Fitness Victoria Half Marathon Sunday and lived up to their billing as favourites by winning.
“I was coming here to get in a good race before Monterey Bay Half Marathon in November,” said Hofbauer. “But I wanted to run well and get in a great workout. Ultimately I wanted to go under 66-minutes. That’s where my focus was. I got it done, so now I can move on.”
In so doing, he ran his second fastest half-marathon all-time, despite running 300m off course. His personal best is one-hour, four-minutes and 30 seconds. Sunday, he finished in the time of 65:18.
Wodak who owns the national 10,000-metre record of 31:41.59 and the 8K road record, which she set in Victoria at 25:28, entered the race hoping to better the (her own) GoodLife Fitness Victoria Half Marathon record of 1:14:31. She accomplished it finishing in the time of 1:11:45. She finished behind only eight men and 25 seconds outside of her own personal best.
Natasha Wodak after winning 2018 GoodLife FItness Victoria Half Marathon. Photo credit: Christopher Kelsall
“My A-goal was to run around 1:11 and my B-goal was to go under the course record, which I own at 1:14, somewhere in there. I hit a really good rhythm and ended up with a negative split, so I am really happy with that. I am also doing the Monterey Bay Half Marathon and looking forward to pacing Kinsey Middleton to half-way in the Toronto Marathon on October 21.”
Asked if she will go after fellow Vancouverite Rachel Cliff’s national record of 1:10:08, she said, “Not at Monterey Bay, but maybe sometime next year.”
The second woman across the line was Robyn Mildren of Vancouver. She finished in the time of 1:15:00, 31 seconds in front of fellow Vancouver athlete Meg Lewis-Schneider.
Bowerman Track Club athlete Jared Carson finished second in the men’s race behind Hofbauer in the time of 66:39 – a new personal best. He is originally from Atlanta, GA and also lived in Austin, TX. Asked about training and racing in the cooler Portland area he said, “It’s nice. There are seasons up here. We had a nice summer and I enjoy a bit of rain. Atlanta has two seasons, hot and hotter.”
Carson was followed in by Julian Florez of Albuquerque, NM. He made the trip with several area training partners as well as his girlfriend Nicole Roberts who finished third in the 8K race. Florez stopped the clock at 1:07:20.
“It’s definately a great course. We love coming up here and the undulating hills was something different for us. I am now going to get ready to run the California International Marathon and try to hit the US Olympic Trials standard of 2:19,” said Florez.
Julian Florez ran a 1:07:20 at 2018 GoodLife Fitness Victoria Half Marathon. Photo credit: Christopher Kelsall
The top men’s master was Vancouver’s Jeremiah Ziak at age 42. He finished in the time of 1:11:22. The top 40-plus female was Toronto’s Louidmila Kortchaguina, who is known as a strong, long-time marathon runner. She switched to the half-marathon due to a cold. At age 47, she finished in the time of 1:18:10.
In the 8K race Vancouver’s Justin Kent said that he was looking for a new personal best in the event and to run mid-23. He finished first in the time of 23:43. He was followed in by Joshua Potvin of Vancouver in the time of 24:59 and Victoria’s Nick Walker who crossed the line in 25:45.
Four-time champion Lindsay Carson now living in Greater Vancouver finally had her streak of wins broken by training partner Sarah Inglis. The two athletes share the same coach in Mark Bomba. They finished in the time of 27:27 and 27:32 respectively.
“She pulled away at 3K,” said Carson. “I started to gain ground on her near the end, but couldn’t quite do it.”
Asked how the race meshed with her expectations Inglis said, “It exceeded them. Lindsay is super fit, we train together and I came in thinking if I can hang onto her I would be really happy. I never expected to beat her. Mind you, I know she was catching me in the end. It is a fun race and it was nice to run together.”
Nicole Roberts of the UK finished third in the GoodLife Fitness Victoria 8K behind four-time champion Lindsay Carson and winner Sarah Inglis. Photo credit: Christopher Kelsall
Inglis is a Scottish athlete who attended Trinity Western University in Langley. She was coached by Bomba at the school and has continued on with him. Last year she won the Scottish 10-mile championships.
Nicole Roberts nabbed third with a 28:01 finish time. She will be looking to make the Olympic team for Great Britain in the 3,000-metre steeplechase. Currently, however, she is living in Albuquerque, NM.
“I would like to make the team for 2020. I would need to run around 9:45, I know it’s bold and I have a lot of work to do, but that’s why I moved to Albuquerque.”
As for the race, we were together until 3K, then we split up – the performance was about what I expected. It’s a beautiful course. We came last year and found it to be a fun event, we had a good time.”
Victoria’s Craig Odermatt won the masters division and 45-49 age-group with his seventh overall finish and 26:43 finish time.
SHOESTRINGS: Also in the half-marathon was 2016 Rio Olympian Evan Dunfee, Canada’s all-time greatest racewalker, specializing in the 50K distance. He is walking 25K per day for 25 days in support of the 25th anniversary of KidSport. More information can be found at www.dunfeewalks.com.
Of note was Sadie Sigfstead of Edmonton, AB. The Edmonton Harrier moved out to Victoria and is attending Mt. Doug Secondary. At age 15, she finished in the time of 28:35 for 15th overall and a new event 13-15 age-group record.
GoodLife Fitness Victoria 8k
Julian Florez
Natasha Wodak
Nicole Roberts
Trevor Hofbauer
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A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the ...
Starring: Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Bunta Sugawara, Yumi Tamai
Genres: Animation, Family, Fantasy
Re: Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu - Memory Snow
Subaru and friends finally get a moment of peace, and Subaru goes on a certain secret mission that he must not let anyone find out about! However, even though Subaru is wearing a disguise, Petra and other children of the village immediately figure out who he is. Now that his mission was exposed within five seconds of it starting, what will happen with Subaru's "date course" with Emilia?
Twins separated at birth, Camryn and Alex meet by chance for the first time on their 21st birthday and discover they're witches with the power to save their homeland of Coventry from the evil that threatens it. But when Camryn leaves Alex to face the darkness alone, will Coventry be doomed? Or will the sisters multiply their magic by standing together?
Inspired by a magician named Shiny Chariot, the lively Akko Kagari enters the Little Witch Academy with the dream of one day becoming as cool as her idol.
Harry Potter has lived under the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house his whole life. But on his 11th birthday, he learns he's a powerful wizard -- with a place waiting for him at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As he learns to harness his newfound powers with the help of the school's kindly headmaster, Harry uncovers the truth about his parents' deaths -- and about the villain who's to blame.
Ignoring threats to his life, Harry returns to Hogwarts to investigate – aided by Ron and Hermione – a mysterious series of attacks.
Returning for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts, Harry is stunned to find that his warnings about the return of Lord Voldemort have been ignored. Left with no choice, Harry takes matters into his own hands, training a small group of students – dubbed 'Dumbledore's Army' – to defend themselves against the dark arts.
As Harry begins his sixth year at Hogwarts, he discovers an old book marked as 'Property of the Half-Blood Prince', and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort's dark past.
When Sophie, a shy young woman, is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.
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Lindsay Lohan announces possible 2020 presidential bid
Actress Lindsay Lohan addresses reporters during a news conference at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Monday, Jan. 20, 2014, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
HOLLYWOOD, CA -- First Kanye West. Now Lindsay Lohan.
The embattled Hollywood actress is the latest to announce that she "may run for president" in 2020.
Lohan dropped the news on her Instagram page before going on to thank Kanye West for inspiring her presidential ambitions.
PHOTOS: Lindsay Lohan through the years
Lindsay Lohan has been the focus of cameras ever since her breakthrough role in Disney's 1998 family comedy "The Parent Trap."
West, you may remember, announced he was going to run for president in 2020 while accepting the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.
Does he have your vote America? @kanyewest accepts the Video Vanguard award http://t.co/pyg3SBh8gq
— MTV (@MTV) August 31, 2015
Could West and Lohan be possible running mates? That's unclear - but we do know one of Lohan's key platforms.
"The first thing I would like to do as president of US is take care of all of the children suffering in the world," Lohan said. "Queen Elizabeth showed me how by having me in her country."
There's just one problem to Lohan's plan. She would only be 34-years-old when November, 2020 rolls around. You have to be 35 to be elected president or vice president.
politicscelebritykanye westentertainmentpresidential raceu.s. & worldlindsay lohan
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Eratosthenes measuring earth's circumference question?
Back then it is said he hired a person to measure distance from Alexandria to Syene(don't know current names). So my question is how did they measure land distances back then?
Alexandria to Syene was about 800km something. Did they use a standard length of stick/rope or something?
Best Answer: The distance was almost certainly determined with measuring wheels. Actually, Eratosthenes would not have needed to hire anybody to walk the distance. The ancient Egyptian governments had made perfectly good maps dating back to 2500 BC. Herodotus refined these c. 450 BC. In addition, Eratosthenes wrote that he talked to people who had made the trip on camel.
Source(s): http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords...
Morningfox · 7 years ago
Eratosthenes knew that on the summer solstice at local noon on the Tropic of Cancer, the Sun would appear at the zenith, directly overhead (sun elavation of 90°) - though Syene was in fact slightly north of the tropic. He also knew, from using a vertical stick and measuring the cast shadow, that in his home town of Alexandria, the angle of elevation of the Sun would be 83° or 7° south of the zenith at the same time.
Assuming that Alexandria was due north of Syene - Alexandria is in fact on a more westerly longitude - he concluded, using geometry of parallel lines, that the distance from Alexandria to Syene must be 7/360 of the total circumference of the Earth. The distance between the cities was known from caravan travellings to be about 5,000 stadia. He established a final value of 700 stadia per degree, which implies a circumference of 252,000 stadia. The exact size of the stadion he used is no longer known (the common Attic stadion was about 185 m), but it is generally believed that Eratosthenes' value corresponds to between 39,690 km and 46,620 km. The circumference of the Earth around the poles is now measured at around 40,008 km. Eratosthenes result is not bad at all.
Source(s): http://www.juliantrubin.com/bigten/erato...
Encyclopedia · 7 years ago
Awh, crap. *pulls out Human Geography review book* He measured the sun's angels on June 21st at Alexandria and syene in modern-day Egypt. He measured the distance between the two cities and then, using basic geometry, computed the earth's circumference to be 46,250 kilometers, only about 175 kilometers too long.
Lorie · 3 years ago
What geometric method did Eratosthenes use to measure the circumference of the earth?
How did Eratosthenes measured the earth's circumference?
What is the technique used by Eratosthenes to measure Earth's circumference?
Eratosthenes measures the Earth - simplify in simple English, please!?
How did the great Libyan astronomer Eratosthenes measure the circumference of the Earth in 300 B.C.?
Is Brazil larger than the USA continentally speaking?
Are there any cities in Alaska that don't go below freezing in the winter?
Where in the world can I find a perfect weather?
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Baseball Daily
Chicago – June 23, 2018
Hail to the Chief: Presidents and baseball
“I’ll never forget the first time President Taft appeared at our ballpark, in the season of 1909. Our players got so excited that we booted the game away to the Red Sox.”
-Walter Johnson
Washington Senators Hall of Fame pitcher
BY CHRIS REWERS
Just five weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Commisioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis sent a handwritten letter to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
“The time is approaching when, in ordinary conditions, our teams would be heading for Spring training camps,” Landis wrote. “However inasmuch as these are not ordinary times, I venture to ask what you have in mind as to whether professional baseball should continue to operate.”
Roosevelt, in what became known as “The Green Light Letter,” responded to Landis the next day.
“I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going,” he wrote. “There will be fewer people unemployed and everybody will work longer hours and harder than ever before. And that means that they ought to have a chance for recreation and for taking their minds off their work even more than before.”
Woodrow Wilson did baseball no favors during World War I. Wilson’s “work or fight” order forced the 1918 season to end on Labor Day. That year’s World Series, between the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, was played in early September.
The first president to host organized baseball teams at the White House was Andrew Johnson who met members of the Washington Nationals and Brooklyn Atlantics at the executive mansion on Aug. 30, 1865.
The Cincinnati Red Stockings, baseball’s first all-professional team who completed an undefeated 1869 campaign, were honored that year at the White House by President Ulysses S. Grant.
The 1924 world champion Washington Senators
during their White House visit in 1925
(Library of Congress).
The first world championship team to be feted at the White House were the 1924 Washington Senators who paid a visit to President Calvin Coolidge the following year.
The world champion White House visit became an annual tradition during the Ronald Reagan administration. The Chicago Cubs – then known as the White Stockings – first visited the White House to see President Grover Cleveland following their offseason world tour in 1889 and paid their second visit to the White House last week during the final days of Barack Obama’s stay in office.
Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president of the United States, was the first commander in chief to attend a major league game while in office when he witnessed the National League’s Washington Senators loss at home to the Cincinnati Reds on June 6, 1892. Harrison also attended the Senators’ game 19 days later when they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.
President William Howard Taft started a baseball tradition on April 14, 1910 when he attended Washington’s season opener against the Philadelphia Athletics at Griffith Stadium. Taft threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game from his front-row seat and then stayed to watch Walter Johnson shut out the Athletics, 3-0. Legend has it that the portly Taft, who tipped the scales at over 300 pounds, was feeling cramped in his seat. He stood up to stretch his legs midway through the seventh. Out of respect, other spectators also rose to their feet. The tradition of the “seventh inning stretch” was born.
Since Taft, every U.S. president, with the exception of Jimmy Carter, has thrown a ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day.
FDR owns the record with eight ceremonial first pitches between 1933 and 1941. Warren G. Harding and John F. Kennedy did not miss an opener during their three years in office.
President John F. Kennedy (left) was joined by managers
Mickey Vernon of the Washington Senators and Al Lopez
of the Chicago White Sox during pregame ceremonies on
Opening Day of 1961 at Griffith Stadium (JFK Presidential
Library).
On April 10, 1961, Kennedy attended Washington’s opener against the Chicago White Sox and was the guest of broadcaster Vince Lloyd on WGN-TV’s pregame “Lead-Off Man” show.
By that time, the ceremonial first pitch tradition had evolved to include two balls.
The second ball was sent to the White House as a presidential souvenir.
The first ball was a free-for-all. Players from both teams lined up in front of the presidential box. The president threw the ball into the crowd of players, like a groom hurling the bride’s garter into a crowd of bachelors at a wedding reception. The player lucky enough to catch the ball got to keep it.
Kennedy’s toss in 1961 was hauled in by Jim Rivera. The White Sox outfielder approached the presidential box and asked JFK to sign the baseball. The president sloppily scribbled his autograph on the ball and handed it back to Rivera.
White Sox trainer Ed Froelich, recalling the occasion years later to the Chicago Tribune’s David Condon, remembered that Rivera, upon inspecting the ball, barked at the president.
“What kind of garbage college is Harvard, where they don’t even teach you how to write?” Rivera shouted. “What kind of garbage writing is this? What is this garbage autograph? Do you think I can go into any tavern on the South Side and really say that the president of the United States signed this ball?”
Rivera shoved the ball back into Kennedy’s hands.
“Take this thing back and give me something other than this garbage autograph!” Rivera exclaimed.
Froehlich remembered that Kennedy laughed hysterically and wrote “JOHN F. KENNEDY” on the ball in big block letters.
Rivera looked at the baseball and told the president, “You know? You’re all right!”
President George Herbert Walker Bush – who was the captain of the baseball team while he attended Yale – attended all four Baltimore Orioles home openers during his one term in office and Herbert Hoover was a perfect 4-for-4 in attending Senators’ opening days during his time in office.
Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower each attended seven Washington opening days during their presidencies.
Gerald Ford had the ceremonial first pitch honors at the 1976 All-Star Game in Philadelphia during the nation’s bicentennial celebration.
President Reagan, who once broadcast Chicago Cubs games for Des Moines, Iowa radio station WHO, showed up at Wrigley Field for a late-season game between the Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates on Sept. 30, 1988. Reagan donned a Cubs jacket, strolled out on the field and from several feet in front of the pitcher’s mound, fired a pitch to Cubs catcher Damon Berryhill.
President George W. Bush throws a perfect strike to Derek Jeter before Game 3 of the 2001 World
Series (still from Fox broadcast).
One of the highlights of George W. Bush’s presidency came in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks when he let loose the ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 30, 2001 before Game 3 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Bush, who wore a bulletproof vest beneath a New York Fire Department jacket, walked out to the mound and gave the crowd a thumb’s up before firing a perfect strike to Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.
As Bush, who once was a managing partner of the Texas Rangers, warmed up in the tunnel beneath the stands, Jeter warned the president to not bounce the ball.
“They will boo you,” Jeter told him.
” I was nervous, really nervous,” Bush recalled. “The ball felt like a shot put.”
It was an emotional and powerful moment.
“What President Bush told us without uttering a single word was that we could once again attempt to carry on our lives,” sportscaster Jim Gray told the Dallas Morning News. “What an amazing symbol it was. It’s a moment that when I think about it, I get goosebumps.”
President Obama delivers to Cardinals star Albert Pujols before the 2009 All-Star
Game in St. Louis.
President Obama handled ceremonial first pitch honors at the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis, at the Washington Nationals’ home opener in 2010 and before last year’s historic exhibition game in Havana between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team.
“We do a lot of tough stuff as president,” Obama told ESPN. “And by definition you don’t end up being president if you don’t handle stress well. [But] nothing is more stressful than throwing a first pitch.
“They just hand you the ball. And I don’t care if you’ve been practicing ahead of time. When they just hand you the ball…”
Author Chris RewersPosted on January 22, 2017 January 22, 2017 Categories UncategorizedTags 1865, 1869, 1889, 1918, 1918 World Series, 1924, 1942, 1961, 1976, 1976 All-Star Game, 1988, 2001, 2001 World Series, 9/11, Andrew Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Brooklyn Atlantics, Calvin Coolidge, ceremonial first pitches, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Tribune, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Red Stockings, Cincinnati Reds, Cuban National Team, Damon Berryhill, David Condon, Derek Jeter, Dwight Eisenhower, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, Grover Cleveland, Harry Truman, Harvard, Havana, Herbert Hoover, Jim Rivera, Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, New York Yankees, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Ronald Reagan, seventh inning stretch, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, The Green Light Letter, U.S. bicentennial, U.S. presidents, Ulysses S. Grant, Vince Lloyd, Walter Johnson, Warren G. Harding, Washington Nationals, Washington Senators, WGN-TV, White House, WHO, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, work or fight order, World War I, World War II, Wrigley Field, Yale, Yankee Stadium
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Remembering the ‘Sandberg Game’ June 23, 2018
It’s the cost, stupid June 22, 2018
Memories of 8-8-88 March 18, 2017
Chris and Ronnie’s grand night March 11, 2017
1960: Don Cardwell’s amazing Cubs debut March 4, 2017
MLB schedule/pitching probables
Saturday’s Best
Seattle Mariners at Boston Red Sox
TV: Fox
Radio: WEEI-FM (93.7)/KIRO-AM (710)
7:15 p.m. (EDT)
Also On TV
Mississippi State vs. Oregon State
2 p.m. (CDT)
Oregon State’s 12-2 victory over Mississippi State on Friday set the stage for this elimination game. The winner will meet Arkansas in the best-of-3 championship.
1917: Boston starting pitcher. Babe Ruth was ejected in the first inning after walking Washington leadoff hitter Ray Morgan. Ernie Shore relieved Ruth. Morgan was caught stealing second and Shore retired the next 26 hitters he faced to complete a 4-0 no-hit Red Sox victory at Fenway Park.
Cubs broadcaster Jim Deshaies, a left-handed pitcher who won 84 games in a 12-year major league career (1984-95), was born in Massena, N.Y. on June 23, 1960.
Rod Beck, an All-Star relief pitcher who earned 286 career saves in a 13-year major league career (1991-2004), was found dead at his Phoenix home by police officers responding to a call on June 23, 2008. He was 38. The cause of death was not publicly released by the Maricopa County coroner’s office. Beck saved 48 games for the San Francisco Giants in 1993 and 51 games for the NL wild-card winning Chicago Cubs in 1998.
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The Best Argument Against Dividends – and Why It’s Wrong
by BlackSwanAlert | Dec 5, 2018 | Featured | 0 comments
The most common argument I hear from investors who aren’t interested in dividends is that the company should be able to find something better to do with its cash than give it back to shareholders.
They say that the funds should be used to grow the business either by investing in the business itself or by acquiring new ones.
As former Vice President Joe Biden would say, “That’s a bunch of malarkey!”
Let’s look at why that argument doesn’t hold water.
Obviously, I’m not opposed to a management team investing in its business for growth or even buying other companies if it will add to long-term profitability and cash flow.
But often, executives spend shareholders’ capital on ill-fated acquisitions because the money is there.
In my book Get Rich with Dividends, I mentioned a discussion I had with Community Bank System (NYSE: CBU) CFO Scott Kingsley. He explained to me why the company has a policy of consistently returning capital back to shareholders in the form of dividends.
He said, “We are very ‘capital efficiency’ conscious. We believe ‘hoarding’ capital to potentially reinvest via an acquisition or some other use can lead to less-than-desirable habits.”
He went on to say that because of the company’s dividend policy, when management wants to make an acquisition, it usually must go to the capital markets for financing, which forces it to closely examine whether the transaction really makes sense.
Let’s Make a (Bad) Deal
How many horrible acquisitions can you name?
Chances are that management made them because it had the cash on hand, so what the heck? Got to spend it on something, right?
In 1994, Quaker Oats (now part of Pepsi) bought Snapple for $1.7 billion. Just three years later, the company sold Snapple for $300 million, losing 82% of its investment. That means that $25 per share of Quaker Oats’ shareholders’ money went out the door and into the pockets of Snapple’s owners. Would Quaker Oats’ shareholders have preferred a dividend instead? I’m not a mind reader, but I’m going to guess yes.
Similarly, in 2007, Clorox (NYSE: CLX), which does have a solid track record of returning cash to shareholders, paid $925 million to acquire Burt’s Bees. Four years later, it took an impairment charge on the acquisition of $250 million, or $2 per share.
Would Clorox’s shareholders have appreciated a $2 per share dividend? I’m sure they would have.
Now, that doesn’t mean Clorox would have issued a $2 dividend had it paid the right price for Burt’s Bees, but you can see that companies can be easily tempted to spend shareholders’ money, no matter the price, in order to land a prized acquisition.
Dividends = Stronger Earnings
Studies have shown that companies that pay dividends have more reliable earnings than those that don’t.
Douglas J. Skinner and Eugene F. Soltes, professors at the University of Chicago and Harvard University, respectively, concluded, “We find that the reported earnings of dividend-paying firms are more persistent than those of other firms and that this relationship is remarkably stable over time. We also find that dividend payers are less likely to report losses and those losses that they do report tend to be transitory losses driven by special items.”
So non-dividend-paying companies may use their cash to acquire growth, but dividend-paying companies have stronger and more consistent earnings. And a vital rule of investing is that stock prices follow earnings.
If earnings are better and more reliable for dividend-paying companies, that should mean dividend-paying companies’ stocks perform better.
And we know that they do. Companies that have grown or initiated dividends have outperformed the general market by 170.6% over the past 45 years, while the companies that did not pay dividends barely budged over the same time period.
Dividend stocks beat the pants off those that don’t pay dividends, and shareholders receive income while their stocks are in the process of issuing said beating.
So the next time a friend says a company should have better things to do with its cash than pay dividends, wish them luck with their investing and just know that you’ll likely be picking up the tab for lunch in a few years – because you’ll be the one who can afford it.
The post The Best Argument Against Dividends – and Why It’s Wrong appeared first on Wealthy Retirement.
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Houston medical device supplier charged with Medicare fraud
By Lora Hines on January 24, 2014 at 12:38 PM
A Katy man has been indicted on charges in an alleged $3.4 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Huey P. Williams Jr., 44, owner and operator of two Houston medical equipment companies, faces one count of health care fraud, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence. He is accused of developing and executing a plan to defraud Medicare between December 2006 and July 2010.
An indictment is a formal accusation. Williams has not been convicted.
Federal law enforcement officials say Williams submitted false and fraudulent Medicare claims through his companies, Hermann Medical Supplies Inc. and Hermann Medical Supplies II. The companies were to provide Medicare beneficiaries with orthotics and other medical equipment. Officials say Hermann Medical submitted Medicare claims for medical devices which were unnecessary or never provided.
The case was brought as part of a Medicare fraud strike force involving several federal agencies, including the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of the Inspector General.
Lora Hines
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Not aggressive enough
By Loren on February 27, 2006 at 2:28 PM
Wanda Curry, now on the witness stand, served as chief accounting officer of Enron North America for about five months. She was ousted from that job because she was told that her accounting methods were not aggressive enough.
Cliff Baxter, in particular, was unhappy with her insistence that a year-end deal involving Merrill Lynch include the actual transfer of risk. That, though, would have decreased the earnings reported from the deal, she said.
Imagine that. She got the boot because she insisted on allowing basic accounting standards to get in the way of profit.
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« Commercial Real Estate In Cali: Light at the End of the Tunnel | Main | UCLA Anderson Presents "Leaders On Leadership" -- Week Two's Guest: UCLA Hospitals Chief Executive Officer Dr. David T. Feinberg »
Homeownership Rates Could Continue to Drop As Access to Financing Tightens and Attitudes Shift
In 2004, homeownership rates rose to an all-time national high -- 69.2%. By the time the first quarter of 2011 rolled around, the rate had dropped to 66.4%. Now, a new study released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA) says this drop reflects a decline from unsustainable levels to something closer to historical averages. The paper, titled Homeownership Boom and Bust 2000 to 2009: Where Will the Homeownership Rate Go from Here?," was co-authored by Stuart Gabriel, UCLA Anderson's Arden Realty Chair, Professor of Finance and Director, Ziman Center for Real Estate and Syracuse University's Stuart Rosenthal.
The study found that the increase in homeownership rates was most pronounced in the under-30 demographic and that the increases were concamitant with relaxed credit conditions that allowed more households to avail themselves of mortgage credit. Following the economic crash, trends have reversed and homeownership rates have returned to 2000 levels.
In a press release that accompanied the release of the report, Gabriel is quoted:
“The question of why homeownership rates are falling now is really a question of why they were so high during the middle of the last decade. said Gabriel. From the late 1960s to the mid-1990s, U.S. homeownership rates were relatively stable between 64 and 65 percent. Our findings suggest that the boom and bust in homeownership rates over the last decade was driven in part by an initial relaxation of credit standards followed by a tightening of credit with the onset of the 2007 financial crash. Evidence also suggests that households headed by people in their 20s and 30s were willing to take more risk with respect to homeownership in the boom years, followed by a return to a more conservative approach after the crash.”
Among the key findings in the report are:
A combination of changes in mortgage credit standards and attitudes towards investment in homeownership likely contributed to much of the boom and bust in homeownership over the decade
• Changes in the population’s socio-demographic composition and economic attributes also served to lower homeownership rates between 2000 and 2009
Individuals appear to have been more risk-seeking in their approach to home buying in the first half of the last decade. This changed to a more risk-averse posture following the real estate meltdown, and
Between 2000 and 2009 there was a one percentage point increase in the homeownership rate. But, were it not for the shifts in access to homeownership through easier credit and the changes in socioeconomic conditions, the homeownership rate would have actually fallen between 2000 and 2005, rather than increasing.
To view the entire report, please click here
To visit the Ziman Center for Real Esate Website, please click here
Posted by Paul Feinberg on 07/14/2011 at 03:10 PM | Permalink
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JUSTICE NITIN W. SAMBRE
B.Com., LLB.
Born on 19th December, 1967 at Nagpur. Completed his schooling from Somalwar High School and Shivaji Science College. Graduated in Law in the year 1992 from University College of Law, Nagpur.
Being a Sportsman, represented State of Maharashtra in National Tournaments. Was elected as President of the Students Union of the University College of Law, Nagpur in 1991.
Enrolled as an Advocate on 25th August, 1992.
Started legal career with then Senior Advocate Shri Sharad A. Bobde, (now Honourable Judge, Supreme Court of India). Practised in the High Court of Bombay, Nagpur on Civil, Writ and Criminal sides.
Was the Secretary of the High Court Bar Associ ation, Nagpur for 2004-07.
Represented Governor of Maharashtra in the High Court Bench at Nagpur. Was appointed as Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor on 1st September, 2007. Was Counsel for Nagpur Improvement Trust, Special Counsel for Forest Department and Scheduled Tribes Caste Certificate Verification Committee. Was Standing Counsel for Public Undertakings such as Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, etc. Represented statutory bodies such as various Municipal Corporations and Councils. Also represented companies like Tata Sons, Godrej, etc.
Elevated as a Judge of Bombay High Court on 6th January, 2014.
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Anticipating health effects from the BP oil spill
Filed under: Chemical exposure,environmental health,Government,Reports — Myles Tougeau @ 12:09 am
Tags: abandoned oil wells, BP, BP oil spill, CDC, crude oil, dispersants, environmental contaminants, environmental exposure, EPA, GAO, Gulf of Mexico, Institute of Medicine, Minerals Management Service, MMS, NIEHS, NIH, offshore drilling moratorium, offshore oil wells, OSHA, RestoretheGulf.gov, toxicity testing, White House, worker exposure
Assessing the Human Health Effects of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: An Institute of Medicine Workshop
The National Academies’ Institute of Medicine held a workshop to examine a broad range of health issues resulting from the Gulf oil spill.
Home Activity page at http://www.iom.edu/Activities/PublicHealth/OilSpillHealth.aspx.
The workshop, “Assessing the Human Health Effects of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill,” was held June 22 and 23 in New Orleans. During the first day’s sessions, speakers and panelists discussed the potential adverse health effects for humans stemming from the oil spill for various populations. The second day’s sessions explored current monitoring activities, the types of research methods and data sources currently available, and questions to consider when developing short- and long-term surveillance and monitoring systems.
Presentations covered the groups at risk of exposure and possible acute, chronic, and delayed health effects.
Official U.S. Government Web Site on the Spill Response
http://www.restorethegulf.gov/
This site is apparently replacing the Deepwater Horizon website. It contains news and links to resources from many Federal agencies. For example, the Small Business Administration has a Disaster Assistance site for providing loans to affected small businesses.
Today’s news (from the old website) includes news that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will devote $10 million to research the potential human health effects of the oil spill. The NIH National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) will recruit clean-up workers and Gulf residents to collect biological samples, health histories, and information about the clean-up work they performed and the nature of their oil exposure.
White House site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/deepwater-bp-oil-spill
The White House blog provides a timeline of the government’s response to the spill at http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/issues/Deepwater-BP-Oil-Spill.
EPA testing of dispersant toxicity
On June 30 EPA posted information about the first round of toxicity testing at http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/dispersants-testing.html. The testing was done using eight dispersants. EPA also plans to test the toxicity of the dispersants mixed with crude oil.
Links to worker health and safety resources from OSHA and the CDC can be found on the EPA site.
Worker health and safety information from OSHA
Additional worker health information from CDC
The latest information about the oil spill’s trajectory, the position of NOAA’s research ships, spilled oil’s coastal location and the areas closed to shipping can be found at geoplatform.gov/gulfresponse/.
To access the data materials generated for and by the Deepwater Response Incident, you can go to data.gov/restorethegulf/.
Oil containment effort
McClatchy is reporting that the effort is facing two key moments, connecting a third ship to the oil containment system and replacement of the “top hat” – http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20100707/sc_mcclatchy/3559853
Oil drilling moratorium
Obama loses moratorium bid on offshore oil drilling
Court refuses stay in deepwater drilling case
Court rejects bid to restore drilling moratorium
Apparently the courts don’t believe that there’s justification for a moratorium. This despite the fact that an Associated Press investigation found that federal regulators do not typically inspect plugging of these offshore wells or monitor for leaks afterward. (See “Enviro groups stunned that govt ignoring 27K wells”)
Of 50,000 wells drilled over the past six decades in the Gulf, 23,500 have been permanently abandoned. Another 3,500 are classified by federal regulators as “temporarily abandoned,” but some have been left that way since the 1950s, without the full safeguards of permanent abandonment.
Abandoned offshore oil wells
The story reports that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned in 1994 that leaks from abandoned offshore wells could cause “an environmental disaster.” GAO recommended that the Minerals Management Service (MMS) set up an inspection system. (Which MMS didn’t do. ) Although MMS did commission a 2001 study on such wells. According to that study MMS officials were
“concerned that some abandoned oil wells in the Gulf may be leaking crude oil.” But nothing came of that warning.
The GAO report is “Offshore Oil and Gas Resources: Interior Can Improve Its Management of Lease Abandonment.”
From the summary at http://gao.gov/products/RCED-94-82
Among GAO’s findings:
MMS does not have an inspection strategy targeting its limited resources to ensure that wells are properly plugged and lease sites cleared
in March 1993, the active OCS leases in the Gulf of Mexico had estimated lease abandonment costs of about $4.4 billion, but were covered by bonds that totalled only $68 million
GAO’s recommendation (below) was closed, but not implemented.
Recommendation: In order to better protect the environment from the effects of OCS oil and gas lease abandonment and the federal government from incurring the costs of such abandonment, the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director, MMS, to require MMS to develop an inspection strategy for targeting its limited resources to ensure the proper plugging and abandonment of OCS wells and the clearance of lease sites.
Comments: After reviewing the results of the March 1996 study of techniques for removing offshore structures, MMS has decided that its inspection program is adequate. MMS does not intend to develop a different inspection strategy.
So not only is it an environmental disaster waiting to happen, MMS wasn’t even getting money from the oil companies that it was supposed to.
I’ve posted a list of other GAO reports on oil and gas management at https://amidthemaddingcrowd.wordpress.com/gao-reports-on-oil-and-gas-management/.
Comments Off on Anticipating health effects from the BP oil spill
Open Government Initiative (deadline March 19!)
Filed under: Government — Myles Tougeau @ 11:17 pm
Tags: cancer.gov, citizen participation, federal agencies, government dialogue, government transparency, National Cancer Institute, Open Government, OpenGov, White House
While poking around the National Cancer Institute’s website, I noticed an image prominently displayed saying “Share your ideas for Cancer.gov“.
That takes you to the website of a company called IdeaScale. They had information there about the White House’s OpenGov Dialogue (which is now closed). But ironically there was no link from that to the OpenGov websites of other U.S. government agencies, even though IdeaScale has an Open Government page with a paragraph specifically noting how its tool can be used by “Federal Agencies.” It even has a link so that if you’re with a federal, state, or local agency, you can sign up. But no list and no link!
So I Googled “+site:ideascale.com +gov” and got a list of hits. I eventually got to the White House Open Government Initiative site at http://www.whitehouse.gov/open, which lets you click on “Around the Government” and see a “dashboard” for federal agencies showing their progress in meeting certain milestones. When you click on the name of a department or an agency, you get sent to the “Open Gov” page for that agency. From there you can go to the dialogue tool for that agency.
But still no comprehensive list.
I finally discovered that if you’re on the White House Open Government Initiative site and you click on Tell Top Agencies How to Achieve Greater Transparency, Participation, and Collaboration, you get sent to http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/open/tool_poc.shtml. The links on that page send you to the individual agency “Open Gov” pages, which then provide links to the agency dialogue pages.
However, a link to the actual Agency Contact Information for Dialog Tools is provided on that page (and yes it’s in the text at the top, but not really prominently displayed—it’s just a link in the text rather than highlighted as an important link at the top of the page). But what surprised was how many links I was surprised by how many hoops you had to jump through to get to one comprehensive list. It wouldn’t be that difficult to put a list to that agency list on the other sites. In fact, there should be a prominently displayed button on the White House page.
Also, from the couple of idea pages for different departments I looked at, it appears that you have to register to submit comments (or vote on ideas). I haven’t done that, but given the way it’s set up I wouldn’t be surprised if you have to register for each agency separately. (If that is true, maybe I can make a suggestion about that.)
Comments Off on Open Government Initiative (deadline March 19!)
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‘ “Cancer survivor” is not a badge I reach for’: Genevieve Fox. Photograph: Laura Pannack/The Observer
Self and wellbeing
‘Surviving’ cancer is a weird ongoing journey of readjustment
Having been treated for head and neck cancer, Genevieve Fox looked for the yellow brick road back to her old, pre-cancer self, but the truth is it really isn’t like that
Sun 3 Jun 2018 01.00 EDT
“Hey cancer, you picked the wrong bitch.”
“Been there. Beat that.”
“Remission rocks.”
“Survivor.”
This is a selection of bumper stickers and tattoos devised by cancer survivors. Of these, I choose, if choose I must, the semi-colon. It is discreet, obscure, open to interpretation. To me, it signifies cancer as a pause, a clause, not necessarily the end stop; liminal, it conjures a bridge between one life and another, one self and another.
Today is National Cancer Survivors Day or NCSD, an American initiative launched in 1988. It is marked with local events in various countries around the world, including the UK. In the US, NCSD groups organise parades, parties and pampering. They stock up on NCSD merchandise: visors, badges, balloons, banners, T shirts – “the one must-have item” in their catalogue.
Self-proclaimed cancer survivors are an out-there bunch; to count myself among them, I should really ditch the semi-colon in favour of something defiant. I’m thinking CKMA, as in “Cancer, kick my arse.” Since I’ve just had a bowel cancer scare ruled out, it could be my little joke. But beneath the joke would be the fear: I was treated for head and neck cancer in 2014 and I don’t fancy another. But, like so many so-called cancer survivors in so-called remission, I wait for one. I wait, alert, in no-man’s land, the place to which my mind returns in between all its other preoccupations and activities. It is an eerie place, the fear of recurrence. A grenade may whistle into the expectant silence any time – or never at all.
A grenade may whistle into the expectant silence any time – or never at all
“Cancer survivor” is not a badge I reach for. Does that mean I want to hide who or what I am, or rather, who I have become? Perhaps. The very word “survivor” irks. It speaks of fighting, of scars and leaving others behind. “I battled cancer,” reads another bumper sticker. “What’s your superpower?” “Survivor” smacks of victimhood, too, and of exposure to dreadful atrocities. Some people are hit with depression, insomnia, anxiety and PTSD; “survivor” implies that your cancer is history, which is one reason Macmillan prefers the phrase “living with and beyond cancer”. It’s not catchy, but it factors in the impact cancer has beyond the duration of the disease itself.
I can only describe that impact as a feeling of living in a perpetual after. It is uncharted territory, unfamiliar, forever changing, full of surprises. Here the survivor analogy holds: to live well here requires survival skills, adaptability and resilience chief among them.
In the immediate aftermath of my curative treatment in 2014, long before my very recent and rather begrudging acceptance of my place in no man’s land, a new, post-cancer landscape started to form around me. I didn’t know what was going on. I kept looking for the yellow brick road that would lead me back to the old, pre-cancer me. Various emotional aftershocks threw me off track, came after me, in fact, like the San Andreas Fault. The first, shortly after the initial elation after getting the all-clear, was impatience, followed by gratitude, guilt, compassion, fear and, finally, a sense of failure. There were no half measures; each was felt with a head-splitting intensity that eventually sent me running to my Macmillan psychologist. In short, I thought I was going bonkers, and that no one else had the slightest inkling. “That is exactly how my brother felt when his cancer treatment was finished,” a friend said of her sibling, who’d had cancer in his 20s. “The after for him was the hardest part.”
I was wildly impatient for it all to be normal again
I was wildly impatient for everything to be normal again. I laugh at that now, think: fat chance. Friends already thought I was. It’s so great that you are back to normal, they’d say. But I couldn’t eat and was frightened of recurrence. I know, isn’t it fantastic! I would reply, which made me feel alone with my non-normal, wanting-to-be-back-to-normal self. When I told Dr Suleman, a UCLH Macmillan clinical psychologist, he said: yours is a common response. In other words, quite normal.
“Have some answers ready that will work for you when people ask you how you are,” he suggested, “such as: I am doing well, thank you, I am on the road to recovery. Or, the recovery is going well.”
The insertion of the word “recovery” was all that was needed to let others know that I was a work-in-progress.
Some time after this, I was able to start trying to eat again, and was very grateful. The trouble was, I suddenly felt grateful for everything. I’d walk down my street, stop, and say thank you to the paving stones. In the park, I’d see the grass, the leaves on the trees, the twigs and the gnarly nodules on the twigs, and I’d thank them for being there. It made me see Wordsworth and Coleridge in a new light; I never realised what a lot of energy it took, being moved by nature all the time.
When I told Dr Suleman I couldn’t think for all the things I had to thank every second of every minute, he said:
“Are you religious?”
“No,” I said, somewhat disingenuously. “Why?”
“Because you sound a bit hard on yourself.”
“I just want people to know I am grateful.”
“How could you measure your gratitude?”
“How could you go about showing people how grateful you are? What would be the proof?”
I thought for a long time, and then said: “I don’t know.”
“That’s because there isn’t a measure for gratitude. You could go on and on, pushing yourself to be more and more grateful. But you could never be grateful enough because you’ve got no way of measuring it. So give yourself a break.”
I wasn’t quite off the hook, though, because I couldn’t stop being grateful to be alive, which triggered survivor’s guilt. I remember walking on Hampstead Heath and thinking of Primo Levi. I know how you feel, I wanted to say. But the Italian Jewish chemist was a Holocaust survivor, and all I had endured was stage 1b cancer. To have had Levi and myself in the same thought felt obscene. Meanwhile, every time I went back to hospital, or saw someone who looked diminished, I felt sharp pangs of compassion. The fear that my luck wouldn’t last had by now intensified; sure enough, nine months after the all-clear, a lump appeared where it shouldn’t. It turned out to be benign, which in turn intensified the pressure on me to be even more grateful.
The final emotion to send me reeling was a sense of failure. I felt I had fallen short of what is expected of a cancer survivor. I told Dr Suleman I was supposed to be a better person.
“Who says?”
“Everyone. Everyone says that when you have cancer, it’s a transformative experience. You see everything differently, and you become good.”
“Did you like your old self?”
Blimey, what a question. “It was all right, I suppose.” He didn’t know the half of it.
“Then go back to your old self. Go back to where you were before. I give you permission.”
“Really? No transformation?”
“No transformation.”
The pressure to have what UCLH Macmillan Support specialist Vikky Riley calls a “cancer epiphany” was off, and that was a big help at the time. Today, however, living as I do with both my cheer and my fear, I still haven’t found the old self to which Dr Suleman said I could return. Instead, I hover between two selves, as if waiting for a better fit to emerge. I am that semi-colon. I think of the bardo, that between-consciousness state so vividly explored in George Saunders’ novel Lincoln in the Bardo. His dead cemetery dwellers are trapped in a Dantesque limbo. They don’t want to leave where they are, and, for very different reasons, neither do I.
But I am definitely up for time out from the round-the-clock mental processing and deal-making with the Ferryman. Walking down my street today, I sometimes ask myself why it is that I want so badly to live; I interrogate why the will to do so is so strong. Of course it is. In which case, I shouldn’t berate myself for wishing I could stop listening out for the grenade that might come my way any time soon – or never at all.
Milkshakes and Morphine by Genevieve Fox is published by Square Peg, £14.99, and is also available on audible.co.uk. Buy it for £12.74 at theguardianbookshop.com
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Angel Stadium Tickets
Inventory We are a resale marketplace, not a box office or venue. Ticket prices may exceed face value. This site is not owned by Angel Stadium .
2000 Gene Autry Way
Anaheim, CA 92806, United States
Angel Stadium
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is the home of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Angel Stadium box office is located at 2000 Gene Autry Way in downtown Anaheim California. The ballpark originally opened in 1996 but was massively renovated to the tune of $118 million in 1998. Angel Stadium is the fourth oldest active stadium in the MLB and has a seating capacity of 45,389. Angel Stadium tickets have included the 2002 World Series, the 2006 World Baseball Classic, and six American League Division Series. The stadium has been used for many different movies and also has played host to concerts like that of Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw. The stadium took nearly two years to complete because it was designed as a “modern-style” ballpark in the 1960’s. The site of the facility was once agricultural farmland, but with the growth of suburbia the land was an excellent location for a ball park. The field dimensions were actually chosen after a scientific study found that air density and barometric pressure effected the pitching in games.
StadiumAnaheim.com is a privately owned and operated company that concentrates in the sale of all ticket online in the secondary market. We are not affiliated with any primary box office, venue, or official website. Ticket prices may fluctuate above or below face value and can change quickly with market conditions. To order tickets to all Angel Stadium of Anaheim events simply click on the game of interest or call our operators at anytime.
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View All View All
Wim Wenders talks about getting up close and...
Wim Wenders talks about getting up close and personal with Pope Francis for his powerful new documentary
Carl Kozlowski May 23, 2018
Angelus News
Director Wim Wenders and Pope Francis on the set of “Pope Francis: A Man of His Word.” © ARTURO DELLE DONNE
The world has regarded Pope Francis with fascination since his surprising ascendancy to the Chair of Peter in 2013. As the first Jesuit ever elected, as well as the first pope from the Americas and the first from the Southern Hemisphere, Argentina’s Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was certain to bring a different perspective to the complex issues he faced in the world.
With a strong focus on the environment and frequent calls for economic justice, as well as a welcoming attitude toward those distanced from Catholicism, he has stirred plenty of debate throughout his six years as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
In the new documentary “Pope Francis: A Man of His Word,” acclaimed German director Wim Wenders (“Wings of Desire,” “Buena Vista Social Club”) shines a spotlight on the philosophical side of the pontiff, revealing that his choice of name might be the most important key of all to understanding his reign.
Surprisingly, the film didn’t originate from Wenders’ own desire to pursue the pontiff, but rather from a Vatican request for the born-Catholic, “ecumenical Christian” filmmaker to help provide an in-depth platform for Pope Francis’ philosophy.
“One day, a letter by the Vatican arrived in my office. Would I be inclined to discuss a project with them involving Pope Francis?” explained Wenders in an interview with Angelus News.
Wenders said he’d been excited about the new pope from the moment he’d heard his choice of name.
“Francis! Wow! What a promise that was!” Wenders said. “No pope had ever dared to take up this name. … It stood for a radical identification with the poor and the outcast and it was synonymous with a deep care for nature and ‘our sister Mother Earth.’ ”
The German filmmaker eventually met with Msgr. Dario Viganò, then the director of Vatican Television (recently embroiled in a Vatican “fake news” scandal), whom Wenders said promised him that the project would be “an independent production and that the Vatican was not going to interfere.”
“He kept his promise,” Wenders added.
Wenders filmed the pontiff in four two-hour sessions over a two-year period, allowing him to speak in his native Spanish for all the interviews. With the project kept secret until filming was completed, the film just made its worldwide debut at the Cannes Film Festival this month.
Forgoing a traditional documentary structure in which Pope Francis’ life is depicted from childhood through the present, Wenders doesn’t cover his pre-papacy years aside from opening with footage of him speaking to a small crowd in a park while serving as Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1999.
The speech focuses on the simple yet essential principle that all humans are brothers and sisters under God and that brotherly love is the key to a peaceful world and all human interaction.
The film then jumps to the dramatic night in which Pope Francis was introduced to the world from a Vatican balcony, before showing him answering questions from young children soon after.
His interaction with youngsters sets an important precedent for the rest of his teachings in the documentary, as he places extreme emphasis on the importance of family life and parents playing with their children.
In his most stirring comments, Pope Francis expresses his fierce resolve to cure the Church of pedophilia and his determination to remove pedophile priests from their pastoral duties.
These are all comments that any Catholic can agree upon, but the film spends the majority of its time following the pontiff around the world to troubled zones ranging from the poverty-ridden heart of Africa and the hurricane-stricken Philippines to a European prison and a Greek refugee camp amid Europe’s immigration crisis.
These sequences are emotionally affecting, but they also feature Pope Francis commenting about man’s destruction of the environment and economic inequality to a degree that might make politically conservative Catholics a little uncomfortable. Another scene shows the moment when the pope stirred controversy by saying that if homosexuals strive for a relationship with God, “Who am I to judge?”
Ultimately, however, the film is invaluable for understanding Pope Francis’ opinions and inspirations, and should be a great conversation-starter among Catholics trying to understand the role of the Church in the present age.
Wenders serves up a couple of lengthy sequences covering the life of the pontiff’s patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi, describing him as a “revolutionary” who believed that true Christian ministry required embracing poverty over materialism and that proper stewardship of the planet is an essential part of being a believer.
What shines through and transcends any potential controversies in the pope’s comments is the highly intimate approach Wenders took in filming the pontiff.
“What I most wanted to share was the privilege to be eye to eye with the pope. To look into these utterly friendly, kind, curious, open and tender eyes was something I couldn’t just keep for myself!” explained Wenders.
“So I decided to shoot our long and intense talks in a way that Pope Francis is now eye to eye with everybody in the audience. I wanted people to be able to listen to the pope as attentively as possible and to see him as intimately as possible.”
Those talks were filmed using an elaborate “reversed teleprompter” apparatus that allowed the pope to speak directly into a camera-equipped monitor showing Wenders, who was actually a few steps away.
“We were both involved so intensely in our conversation that we totally forgot this technical medium in-between,” recalled the director.
In the end, Wenders felt working on the film deepened his own faith, both in his personal sessions with the pope and especially observing his comments in detail repeatedly throughout the editing process.
“It did have a great impact on me, particularly his positive and optimistic energy, his confidence in God, his humility, his courage, his kindness … they were all contagious and a huge inspiration.”
“Pope Francis: A Man of His Word” opened nationwide Friday, May 18, and is playing in selected theaters throughout the Los Angeles area.
Interested in more? Subscribe to Angelus News to get daily articles sent to your inbox.
Read the latest local and global Catholic News.
Baby you’re a rich man
24 years after the original, ‘Toy Story 4’ unites classic and new
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Family Court — Unconstitutional Judicial Gag Orders- Court Whores and The Rape of American Justice
In domestic law on October 30, 2010 at 10:49 pm
http://whoresofthecourt.com/
Whores of the Court
ISBN #0060391979
ReganBooks
Download the entire book
in fully-searchable
PDF format right now:
In this provocative and well-researched book, Margaret Hagen, Ph.D, reveals how expert psychological testimony is a total fraud, showing how the courts have increasingly embraced not a cutting-edge science but, instead, a discipline that represents a terrifying retreat into fantasy and hearsay; a discipline propelled by powerful propaganda, arrogance, and greed.
Dr. Hagen sounds a clarion wake-up call, offering some startling – and much-needed – recommendations about how we can reclaim our own ability to judge and supplying vital advice on how we can protect ourselves from the ravages of psychological testimony in our own lives.
Margaret A. Hagen
“A damning indictment of the psychologizing – and undermining – of the American legal system. With righteous wrath and devastating wit, this sweeping critique should stir national debate.”
— Publishers Weekly
Family Court — Unconstitutional Judicial Gag Orders
Over the past decade, family court judges routinely have uttered broader and broader gag orders, forbidding parents in custody battles from talking or writing about their cases. The pretext for these orders is that they are needed for the protection of the child. Nevertheless, it’s suspected that more often they are prompted by embarrassed officials who dislike scrutiny and criticism by internet bloggers in the wake of burgeoning out-of-control shoot-from-the-hip “therapeutic jurisprudence” in the family courts. The stated child protection rationale is specious because defamation, obscenity, violations of privacy, harassment, and other unprotected speech appropriately are addressed by the law after the fact when actual or potentially harmful speech can be specifically identified.
These orders are illegal under the First Amendment as violations of the constitutional prohibition against prior restraint. Now one mother, Faith Torres, has contacted the American Civil Liberties Union because of a gag order entered in her case by Judge Debra DeSegna in Providence, Rhode Island, July 29, at the request of the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families. Steven Brown, executive director of the ACLU’s Rhode Island affiliate, called the order a “blatant violation of the First Amendment.” Let’s see some federal lawsuits. http://newsblog.projo.com/2010/08/judge-bars-ri-mother-from-talk.html
Sheila Drake,Cabinet for Health and Family Services Bowling Green, Kentucky–YOU ARE BEING CALLED OUT!! CHILD TRAFFICKING under the veil of Judicial Immunity –Judge Catherine Rice Holderfield- Stop the ABUSE of Christian Coffey
Social Worker who pulled a minor child out from class and questioned the minor without their parent or schools consent! Sheila Drake of Bowling Green,Kentucky. Stop the Abuse of Chrsitian Coffey! And stop harassing his supporters!
Sheila Drake
About Me Basic Info
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky
Employers Cabinet for Health and Family Services September 2006 to present Bowling Green, Kentucky
College Western Kentucky University ’06 Bachelor Social Work
High School Tates Creek High School ’02
JUST SOME GOOD OL BOYS Two hours of questioning of a minor child regarding the ownership of this blogs and many more is really showing how desperate this Judge court whore has become.
Rice-Holderfield sent out her goons Sheila Drake today to many persons homes, including Miss Kentucky International Elaine Bateman. What has become of the justice system that they are hell bent on jailing a mother for others taking the stance on this injustice?!
We hope you are proud of yourself by intimidating a child into submission, falsely accusing her of blogging the TRUTH…CPS worker Sheila and Police Officer Blevins. There is a special little place in hell for those who fail to protect and serve….not sure which level…I will have to get back to you on that. In the meantime I suggest you do some reading…. http://whoresofthecourt.com
Chamber of Secrets
PRESS RELEASE: AMPP Stands Behind Christian Coffey HIS Mother and All Their Supporters
Face Book Page: “Stop The Abuse of Christian Coffey”
VIDEO HERE: Corrupt Judge Catherine Rice Holderfild "Stop the Abuse of Christian Coffey" Bowling Green,
Dombrowski et al v. United States: A petition filed on behalf of 10 protective mothers, one victimized child now grown to adult, and six organizations at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights against the United States for the pattern and practice of courts granting custody and unsupervised visitation to abusers and molesters.
In domestic law on October 30, 2010 at 9:48 pm
Diane Post
Dombrowski et al v. United States (2007) A petition filed on behalf of 10 protective mothers, one victimized child now grown to adult, and six organizations at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights against the United States for the pattern and practice of courts granting custody and unsupervised visitation to abusers and molesters.
Entire Petition HERE
Diane Post On behalf of 10 protective mothers, one adult child, and 6 organizations, Post filed a petition with the Inter American Commission on Human Rights on 11 May 2007. The petition was supported by 17 national and state organizations as well. The petition claims that the U.S. is violating the Declaration of Rights and Responsibilities of Man by the policy and practice of giving child custody or unsupervised visitation to abusers and molesters. To read the petition, go to www.stopfamilyviolence.org
and suggestions
RAPPORTEURSHIP ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN
1889 F St. NW
Abused Mothers’ Mental Health
In domestic law on October 30, 2010 at 2:59 am
The link to the study concerning this at OSU http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/motheripv.htm
This was published by HHS – what do they suggest doing about this problem? Simple solution is to NOT share custody.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/healthbeat/2010/11/20101101a.html
HHS HealthBeat (November 01, 2010)
Listen to Tip
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Nicholas Garlow with HHS HealthBeat.
Even after leaving an abusive relationship, women may still show signs of increased depression and anxiety. A study done at Ohio State University examined the mental health of 2,400 mothers in sustained and broken relationships.
Almost half the mothers who left their abuser still had contact with them on a weekly basis. Claire Kamp Dush is an assistant professor of human development and family study at Ohio State.
“All of the women in our study shared children with these men and so it’s likely that they continued to be abused or to at least face some sort of abuse even after the relationship ended.” (10 seconds)
The study in Social Science Research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Learn more at hhs.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Nicholas Garlow.
Last revised: October, 29 2010
VPC–"When Men Murder Women" Released for Domestic Violence Awareness Month
In 2008, as in years past, the state of Florida did not submit any data to the FBI
Supplementary Homicide Report. Data from Florida was not requested individually because the
difference in collection techniques would create a bias in the study results.
Each year for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October the Violence Policy Center releases the report "When Men Murder Women." This annual VPC publication details national and state-by-state information on female homicides involving one female murder victim and one male offender and ranks the states by this homicide victimization rate. This year, Nevada led the nation in the rate of women killed by men, followed by Vermont, Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas and Missouri (tied), South Carolina, and Georgia.
The study is a key tool used by domestic violence prevention advocates and state and local policymakers in support of domestic violence prevention policies.
See a copy of the study’s press release with a link to the full report at:
http://www.vpc.org/press/1009dv.htm
See a Huffington Post blog I wrote about the study and its findings at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-sugarmann/top-ten-most-murderous-st_b_774021.html
See some of the press coverage the study has received across the nation at:
http://www.vpc.org/inthenews.htm
Watch and share a VPC YouTube video on the gun industry’s most recent marketing effort to women at: http://www.youtube.com/vpcvideos
As we state in the press release that accompanied the study’s release, "These findings alarmingly demonstrate how domestic violence can escalate to homicide. More resources need to be made available to protect women and prevent such tragedies."
Thank you, as always, for your support of the Violence Policy Center and our efforts to stop gun death and injury.
Josh Sugarmann
Follow the VPC on:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/#!/pages/Violence-Policy-Center/284334690298 and
http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/#!/pages/Violence-Policy-Center-Concealed-Carry-Killers/258069527568
Twitter: http://twitter.com/VPCinfo
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/VPCvideos
To contribute to the VPC and help support our important work, please visit https://www.vpc.org/donate.asp.
American Mothers Political Party Show– Today 6 pm EDT 10-28-2010 Call-in Number: (347) 205-9977
Still Standing or listen and or talk from the link—online link http://www.blogtalkradio.com/americanmotherspoliticalparty
www.AmericanMothersPoliticalParty.org
Date / Time: 10/28/2010 5:00 PM CDT 6 pm EDT
Call-in Number: (347) 205-9977
AMPP is a social movement seeking justice and accountability within the family court system which includes DHHS/CPS, psychologists and other so called experts.
We as mothers demand CITIZENSHIP and our Rights to our Children.
We demand that our children not be used as pawns by our abuser in a custody dispute.
We demand that Mothers and Children be equally protected against court ordered visitation with an abuser.
We demand that Mothers and Children be given the same rights, privileges and voice that the abuser gets in family courts!
We demand that our President take action now as can no longer afford to be silent and we won’t.
We demand the same "rights and freedoms" to which all humans are entitled.
Behind the closed doors of the dirty little secret of the family court system, thousands of women each year lose child custody to violent men who beat and abuse Mothers and Children.
Family courts are not family-friendly and betray the best interests of the child. Until Mothers and Children’s voices are heard we will never shut up, give up or go away!
11/4/2010 5:00 PM – Still Standing
11/11/2010 5:00 PM – Still Standing
The Eighth Annual Battered Mothers Custody Conference: BMCC VIII: "The Unity Conference" January 7th, 8th, and 9th, 2011
In domestic law on October 28, 2010 at 11:30 am
www.batteredmotherscustodyconference.org
Battered Women, Abused Children, and Child Custody:
“A National Crisis”
The Eighth Annual Battered Mothers Custody Conference
BMCC VIII: "The Unity Conference”
January 7th, 8th, & 9th, 2011
(Friday evening, 6 p.m. – Sunday afternoon)
Holiday Inn Turf
205 Wolf Road, Albany, NY
(Five minutes away from Albany International Airport)
Reserve early to get the $99 conference rate!
Call: 1-800-HOLIDAY or 518-458-7250
Ask for the Battered Mothers Custody Conference block.
A major focus this year will be to connect battered mothers with organizations working locally, nationally, and internationally to combat unjust family court practices that continue to do untold harm to battered mothers and their children.
For updated details and registration, please visit www.batteredmotherscustodyconference.org
Please reproduce and distribute this announcement and the conference brochure available online at www.batteredmotherscustodyconference.org.
Albany 2010: Hundreds attend 7th Battered Mothers Custody Conference.
http://www.batteredmotherscustodyconference.org/
BMCC VIII: “The Unity Conference”*
January 7th, 8th, and 9th, 2011
Friday evening 6:00 p.m. – Sunday afternoon
Holiday Inn Turf, 205 Wolf Road, Albany, NY
Ask for the Battered Mothers Custody Conference Block
Make reservations early to get the $99 conference rate
Albany 2010: Hundreds attend 7th Battered Mothe…
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION HIGHLIGHTS UNPRECEDENTED COORDINATION ACROSS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Remarks by the President at Domestic Violence Awareness Event TRANSCRIPT
As part of the White House activities today, this was also released. Let’s hope they are serious about this.
As part of ongoing Administration efforts to reduce domestic and sexual abuse, HHS, HUD, DOJ, Treasury, Labor and FDIC announce new initiatives to protect victims of abuse, provide resources to prevent abuse
Today, the Obama Administration is highlighting unprecedented coordination and cooperation across the entire government to protect victims of domestic and sexual violence and enable survivors to break the cycle of abuse. As part of this ongoing government-wide effort, HHS, HUD, DOJ, Treasury, Labor and FDIC today announced new initiatives to protect victims of abuse and provide resources for families and communities to prevent abuse. Violence is still a significant barrier in many women’s lives, and this Administration is committed to taking concrete action to reduce domestic violence in this country. One-in-every-four women experiences domestic violence during their lifetimes and more than 20 million women in the U.S. have been victims of rape. Approximately 15.5 million children are exposed to domestic violence every year. The impact of abuse lingers for years, both for victims and their children.
In response, the President has called on every agency in the Federal government to be part of the solution to ending violence against women. Domestic violence and sexual assault are not just criminal justice issues – the scope and far-reaching effects of violence require a coordinated response across the Federal government.
The initiatives announced and highlighted today demonstrate a broad, comprehensive response to reducing violence against women. Specifically, these concrete actions include steps to:
• Protect Children and Break the Cycle of Violence
• Improve Legal Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence
• Increase Sexual Assault Arrests and Successful Prosecutions
• Help Victims Regain Housing and Financial Independence
Protect Children and Break the Cycle of Violence
Intervening early to reach children and young families experiencing domestic and sexual violence is a crucial element of our strategy to end violence against women. Without intervention, children who witness violence are at greater risk of developing behavioral problems, psychiatric disorders, school failure, and violence against others.
• Through the Affordable Care Act’s new Pregnancy Assistance Fund, 5 states (NC, NM, OR, VA, and WA) will start this month providing help for pregnant women who are victims of domestic and sexual violence. High schools, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) offices, health clinics, and child welfare agencies will have tools to reach vulnerable women and connect them with services. One in twelve adult women are abused during pregnancy and 25-50% of adolescent mothers experience domestic violence before, during, or just after pregnancy. Children born to abused mothers are 30% more likely to require intensive care upon birth.
• The Affordable Care Act’s new Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program provides $1.5 billion over five years to States for evidence-based home visitation services. The law requires every state to consider domestic violence as one of six benchmarks in improving the health and safety of families in at-risk communities. Nurses, social workers, educators, child development specialists or other well-trained staff will promote the health and well-being of children and their families in these communities, intervening early to reduce rates of domestic violence and child abuse.
• The HHS Head Start program is reaching out to pregnant women and parents of young children to prevent and respond to domestic violence. Head Start centers in 6 states (AL, FL, MI, MT, NM, and SC) are launching a community-based Safe Families, Safe Homes early education curriculum. This effort will help Head Start staff and community partners identify and respond to young children exposed to violence. This week, HHS is also sending guidance to thousands of Head Start and other early childhood programs across the country and urging them to address domestic violence by providing these programs with information about the Safe Families, Safe Homes curriculum and other available resources.
• The Attorney General has launched the Defending Childhood Initiative to protect children from the harmful consequences of witnessing violence. The initiative will work to prevent exposure to all types of violence and build children’s resiliency to recover and thrive when violence does occur.
• The new HHS Enhancing Services for Children and Youth Exposed to Domestic Violence program supports innovative, evidence-informed services for children exposed to domestic violence. Starting this month, projects in four states (AK, NJ, ID, and WI) and a national clearinghouse will help children heal from the trauma of abuse and build stronger community services.
Improve Legal Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence
Providing victims with greater access to legal assistance and civil protection orders are essential strategies in reducing abuse. Studies show that access to legal services helps victims escape from abusive relationships, and that access to counsel has reduced domestic violence by as much as 21%. Protective orders are effective in reducing the level of violence and fear of harm for many victims, but they must be properly enforced.
• Today, the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women, in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, is releasing new tools for communities to improve enforcement of protective orders. Civil Protection Orders: A Guide for Improving Practice will keep victims and their children safe by providing guidance to advocates, attorneys, judges, law enforcement officers, and prosecutors to ensure that protective orders are issued, served and enforced throughout the United States.
• Today, the Department of Justice, with assistance from the White House, is launching Access to Justice for Domestic Violence Victims, a pilot project to encourage more commitment from the private bar to provide pro bono legal services to victims of domestic violence. Beginning in New Orleans and Baltimore, private law firms will hire law students who have participated in law school clinics and defer their start dates while they work at domestic violence service providers. The lawyers will help victims secure protective orders, navigate the family courts, and access safe housing. Access to Justice will encourage ongoing pro bono partnerships between private law firms, domestic violence service providers and law school clinics.
Increase Sexual Assault Arrests and Successful Prosecutions
One in six women and one in thirty-three men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetimes, but fewer than 1 in 6 rapes are reported to the police. Women who have been raped have high rates of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and suicide attempts.
• The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) is launching a new national campaign to reduce sexual violence in the United States by improving the criminal justice system response, increasing services for victims, and changing attitudes. Today, the White House Council on Women and Girls and the Department of Justice held the first ever national roundtable on sexual violence at the White House. Over the next six months, OVW will hold regional forums around the country to engage the public in their sexual assault reduction campaign. In the 2011 budget, President Obama has proposed doubling funding for VAWA programs serving victims of sexual assault.
• Reducing the backlog of rape kits can be a powerful way to get rapists off the streets. Today, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is launching a new effort to identify long term solutions to the DNA backlog of sexual assault cases. In up to 5 jurisdictions, the project will team researchers with law enforcement agencies, crime labs, prosecutors, and victim advocates. The teams will identify underlying causes of the backlog, create new systems for tracking, screening and testing DNA evidence, and apply strategies to prevent backlogs from developing in the future. As a result of this project, NIJ aims to eliminate backlogs and develop innovative practices that can be adapted nationwide.
Help Victims Regain Housing and Financial Independence
Perpetrators of domestic violence often create serious obstacles that prevent victims from achieving economic independence and self-sufficiency. Without financial independence and a stable place to live, victims and their children are trapped with nowhere else to go. As a result, victims of domestic violence are often forced to choose between staying in an abusive relationship or facing economic hardship, poverty, and homelessness. But when victims improve their economic stability, they increase their likelihood of living separately from their abusers.
• Today, Secretary Donovan is releasing much-anticipated rules that provide guidance to housing authorities and landlords to evict perpetrators of abuse, keep their properties safe, and make sure victims do not lose their housing due to crimes committed against them. Prior to the passage of the Violence Against Women Act of 2005, victims of domestic violence were afraid to call the police or seek help because their landlords might find out about the assault and evict them. VAWA created new protections for victims in publicly assisted housing, but rules governing these provisions were never finalized.
• Last month, the Department of the Treasury and the White House convened domestic violence organizations, asset-building experts, credit union organizations, and other financial educators to determine ways to help victims build credit, access safe financial products, and save for the future. Treasury is working with the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, its MyMoney.gov website, the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, and its private sector and government partners to connect domestic violence organizations with existing financial education and access resources.
• The FDIC is also helping victims recover from financial abuse by updating their popular Money Smart financial literacy curriculum to include information for victims of domestic violence. The new Money Smart curriculum will be available Friday, October 29th.
• Two weeks ago, HHS launched a new coordinated effort to ensure that more victims of domestic violence file for Federal refundable tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit, use low-cost tax preparation services, and use tax time as an opportunity to access tools like savings bonds that help them save for the future.
• Access to non-traditional job training can be an important tool for victims of domestic violence to rebuild financial stability. In the coming weeks, the Department of Labor Women’s Bureau is releasing A Woman’s Guide to Green Jobs and coordinating with Wider Opportunities for Women and the National Network to End Domestic Violence to make sure that survivors have access to new green jobs.
• Today, in partnership with the Family Violence Prevention Fund, the Office on Violence Against Women is launching a new virtual resource for employers to address the impacts of domestic violence in the workplace. http://www.workplacesrespond.org provides new tools for employers, including interactive training and customized model policies to keep victims safely employed.
Respond to Urgent Needs with the President’s 2011 Budget Request
• In response to the need to strengthen services to victims, the President’s 2011 budget proposed an additional $130 million to help victims find shelter, counseling, legal assistance, transitional housing and other direct services. $100 million of the increase is from the Crime Victims’ Fund, which does not consist of taxpayer dollars; it is self-sustaining and supported by criminal fines, forfeited bail bonds, and penalties for federal offenders.
Victims further victimized by the very agency meant to protect them, said many at the Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties meeting That Abusers get custody of their children
Crime Victims Share All at Town Hall Meeting
They were victims further victimized by the very agency meant to protect them, said many at the Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties meeting.
By Teke Wiggin | Email the author | 6:00am
Your photos, videos & PDFs: Add
In an emotional town hall meeting Tuesday night, crime victims who live in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties told their stories to a wide array of government agency representatives. The crimes themselves were despicable. But there was something else to their stories which was almost equally so: the egregious mistreatment or neglect they received from the government.
In tender voices which sometimes collapsed into heaving sobs, speakers recounted cases of government ineptitude including medical misdiagnoses, police insensitivity, and judicial cruelty. Speakers included the father of a gang-raped daughter and a domestic abuse victim who lost custody of her children to her abuser. Members of the panel included representatives from both counties’ police departments, the State’s Attorney’s Office, Division of Parole and Probation, Sex Offender Registry, and the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention.
The meeting was the fourth of a series of others meant to gather feedback from victims who feel marginalized by the justice system, said Patty Mochel, the communications manager of the Governor’s office of Crime Control and Prevention. Mochel will use the content of the meetings to draft a report which will be used to identify shortcomings in various departments. "It’s to set ourselves up for the next legislative session to find out where there are gaps that we didn’t realize or how our best intentions have maybe fallen short," she said.
The accounts of the different speakers certainly shed light on such gaps. Several speakers told stories that revealed hasty decision-making among medical workers.
One of the first speakers said her daughter, who was declared dead on arrival one night, was quickly judged by EMTs and hospital doctors as having died from a drug overdose. The mother said they based this conclusion on the fact that her daughter was very pale. But what the mother knew and had such a hard time getting across to medical professionals, she said, was that her daughter had just an unusually white skin tone. Only due to her dogged persistence, she said, was a thorough autopsy conducted – one which definitively ruled out drugs. Doctors later concluded her daughter had been murdered.
Like so many others at the meeting, the speaker called for an establishment of more concrete protocol for agencies to follow. In this case she urged authorities to "rule the fact that a crime is out before ruling the obvious."
Another speaker, the father of a rape victim, also expressed a desire for firmer procedure when diagnosing victims. He told the story of his daughter’s rape and the obstacles they faced in their fight to win justice.
He said he originally found his daughter at night after a party in the street whispering for her former abusers to desist. He rushed her to the hospital. That’s when "our nightmare began," he said.
Nurses and doctors quickly ruled out rape, mostly on account of the fact that her clothes were on, he said. But conscious of his daughter’s words from before, he insisted on a more thorough examination. Ultimately, he reached a rape crisis center worker who came and quickly confirmed what he had suspected: his daughter had indeed been brutally raped. Later, it was revealed that three of her classmates had fed her jungle juice at a party until she couldn’t stand at which point they proceeded to rape her, he said.
But their difficulties didn’t end there. Legal incongruities followed.
Though they admitted to first-degree rape, the three perpetrators were ultimately released, and worst of all, said the father, allowed to attend the school where his daughter was still a student. The judge had been outlandishly lenient, he said, and was apparently convinced that the victim had brought the crime upon herself. According to the father, the judge talked about his daughter’s virginity in court. The judge "totally degraded my family and totally degraded the victim," he said.
And the justice system hadn’t only failed his family, said the father. It had also failed the perpetrators: They are now in prison.
"They didn’t understand what they did was horrible and wrong … there was no consequences," he said. "There was no rehabilitation. Now they’re in the adult system."
A later speaker explored what she says is another recurrent judicial shortcoming: unfair treatment of abused mothers and their custody rights. She said fathers convicted of domestic abuse are often still allowed to spend unrestricted time with their children. "Courts are allowing absolutely free access of the abuser to the child," she said.
She said sometimes abused mothers even lose custody of their children to their abusers if abusers put themselves to the task of trying to convince the court that the mother is mentally unstable. The mother might go to court trying to protect her children from their father only to lose them to him, she said. Her conclusion on the state of matters was grim.
"If you think that you’re going to go into court and help your child, you have a better chance of losing custody to that abuser," she said.
She said the legal system needs government workers who specialize in child development to operate in an advisory role in such cases.
At the end of the meeting Herman Ingram, division chief of the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, said he was deeply grateful the speakers had shared their stories with the panel.
"I can assure you what we heard tonight will go right up the ladder and go right to the governor," he said.
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Posts Tagged ‘Abuse’
Abuse, claudine dombrowski photos, coffee table, full custody, the father
Claudine Dombrowski Photos of Abuse (IACHR Petition) Filed on Behalf of Mothers and Their Children Nationally
The Petition known as (Dombrowski et el v US 2007) was filed 2 years after the Gonzales case. http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/info/custody-abuse/legal-documents/petition-to-inter-american-commission-on-human-rights
Lets hope we can move this forward– Batterers getting custody, Domestic Violence is a Human rights Issue.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this matter. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
As you view these photos keep in mind that the court awarded FULL CUSTODY of their daughter to the “man” who did this to Claudine.
To read Claudine’s history that was submitted to the IACHR, click here
If you want to know some of the many reasons women stay in abusive relationships, click here
AFTER THE BIRTH OF HER DAUGHTER, 1994
AFTER EX-HUSBAND BEAT HER WITH A CROW BAR, 1996
AFTER EX-HUSBAND RAPED AND BATTERED HER, 2000
AFTER EX-HUSBAND HIRED SOMEONE TO ASSAULT HER, 2003
THE “COFFEE TABLE” IN THE FATHER’S HOME IS A CHILD’S COFFIN. MOUNTED ON THE WALL ABOVE THE SOFA IS A GUN.
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Abuse, bail, case, denied, fabrizio
Bail denied for FATHER in abuse case. Judge urges DA to pursue indictment Against FATHER for Assaulting son
In domestic law on August 5, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Bail denied for dad in abuse case
Judge urges DA to pursue indictment against man accused of assaulting son
By Julie Manganis
PEABODY — A Salem Superior Court judge yesterday not only denied an appeal for bail but took the unusual step of recommending that the district attorney seek an indictment against a Lynn father accused of repeatedly abusing his son.
Amplify’d from www.salemnews.com
Judge John Lu also said “it’s quite apparent to me” that the state Department of Children and Families has, for various reasons, been unable to keep the 7-year-old son of George Fabrizio safe from his father.
Fabrizio, 33, has been held without bail since his arrest on charges that he struck his son hard enough to knock the boy’s head into the corner of a cabinet while the two were visiting a Peabody home on June 27.
The impact caused a deep gash in the boy’s head, which had to be pulled off the corner, but Fabrizio allegedly refused to take the boy to a hospital for stitches. Hours later, a family friend called police to report the incident.
Fabrizio has pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault and battery on a child causing substantial bodily injury.
Yesterday, he and his attorney, John Ruehrwein, appealed last month’s finding by Peabody District Court Judge Matthew Nestor that Fabrizio poses a “mortal danger” to the child if released under any conditions.
Lu, after hearing from both Ruehrwein and prosecutor Meg Morrissey, and reviewing a stack of police and DCF reports, concluded that Nestor’s decision was correct and that the only way to protect the boy is to keep his father in custody without bail.
The judge agreed with his District Court counterpart that there are no conditions that could ensure the boy’s safety and said he was concerned about a history of “severe physical abuse,” including a prior broken jaw and a skull fracture.
Then, Lu went on to publicly recommend that prosecutors pursue a grand jury indictment in the case, saying “it may be more appropriate for this case to be heard in the Superior Court.”
A trial in Superior Court would open up the potential for prosecutors to seek state prison time for Fabrizio.
The recommendation is just that; judges have no authority to order a prosecutor to present the case to a grand jury.
Carrie Kimball-Monahan, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett, said she cannot comment on a pending case but added, “We take all of these cases seriously. We review every one very carefully and make a decision.”
Fabrizio had recently completed a year of probation after an earlier incident involving his son’s jaw fracture, an injury discovered during a trip to the dentist in August 2009. The case was continued without a finding until this past February, then dismissed.
According to a Lynn police report, staff members at Lynn Dental Health filed a report with the DCF after the boy showed up with his father to have loose baby teeth removed.
ant his teeth removed, and the two left, but as they did, a dental assistant and a hygienist
The boy initially did not want his teeth removed, and the two left, but as they did, a dental assistant and a hygienist noticed Fabrizio grab the back of his son’s neck and push him forward roughly. A short time later, they returned and asked that the boy’s teeth be taken out.
While his father was in a waiting room, the boy told staff that his father would be angry with him, said his father had struck him in the past, and that he was afraid and wanted help.
Police also noted red marks on the boy’s neck and stomach, as well as a bruise on his arm.
Fabrizio, who is being held at Middleton Jail, is due back in Peabody District Court on Monday for a probable cause hearing in his case.
During a hearing last month, the woman who reported the incident to police said that in addition to the physical abuse, Fabrizio would feed the child little besides ramen noodles and that he’d slapped a hot dog out of the boy’s hand during a recent cookout.
He was a regular visitor to the Peabody home where the most recent incident occurred.
Fabrizio’s attorney said yesterday that his client, who has a vocational high school diploma in auto body repair, receives Social Security benefits for a back injury he suffered at 20 and does not work.
The boy was living with his father back at the federally subsidized Curwin Circle apartment complex in Lynn for months prior to Fabrizio’s June arrest.
Proceedings in juvenile court cases are not public, and details of that judge’s decision have not been available.
The boy lived with an aunt and uncle for a year after that, but was subsequently returned to the custody of his father, who had taken a parenting class, by a Lynn Juvenile Court judge, apparently over the objection of DCF workers, police were told.
Investigators also came to learn that the boy’s jaw had been broken and that he had suffered a skull fracture at some point in the past — a fracture blamed on a fall.
Read more at www.salemnews.com
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Abuse, child, cozart, sentenced, walter brown
Man wanted to skip ‘child parenting classes while arguing with the Mother. Sentenced 12 years for aggravated Child Abuse
Amplify’d from www.myjournalcourier.com
Walter A. Brown said he was sorry his 3-month-old daughter was injured last summer when her mother, Amanda Cozart, fell on the baby during an argument between the parents.
But both Judge Richard Mitchell and State’s Attorney Chris Reif said they don’t believe the account Brown gave during his sentencing Tuesday and it shows his lack of taking responsibility for severely injuring the child when he battered her a year ago.
Mitchell sentenced Brown to 12 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections — a sentence Reif offered in exchange for Brown agreeing to proceed with a stipulated bench trial in May.
The judge found the 41-year-old Jacksonville man guilty of one count of felony aggravated battery of a child after reviewing evidence submitted in a 12-page stipulation of facts.
Brown read a statement in which he recounted how the baby was accidentally injured June 24, 2010, while he was arguing with Cozart at the North Clay Avenue home of his ex-wife, April Dawne Brown.
Walter Brown accused Cozart of hitting him during an argument over Cozart wanting him to skip his child-parenting class that night. When he pushed Cozart, she fell on the baby. He ran out of the house not knowing his daughter, Amelia, had been injured until he talked to his daughter, Brittinni Brown, 18, later that night, he said.
The aggravated battery of a child charge was Walter Brown’s third felony conviction. His two prior felony convictions were for aggravated battery in 1989 in Cook County and unlawful delivery of cannabis in 1996 in Morgan County. He also had five misdemeanor and 14 traffic convictions.
Peoria doctor Channing Petrak was prepared to testify injuries to the child’s brain were significant and included a lack of oxygen event, bleeding and skull fractures consistent with “abusive head trauma,” according to the stipulation of facts. The baby had bruising over a large portion of her scalp and forehead, around her eyes, along the nasal bridge near the ears and on the pallet. She also suffered posterior rib fractures the doctor said are rarely seen in infants because of an accidental cause and are highly specific for abuse.
“The mother and father did not get along,” Kesinger said. “It was a very tumultuous relationship.”
Walter Brown was arrested July 25 after Shannon County, Mo., deputies spotted him camping in a wooded area near Eminence, Mo.
Cozart, 27, has denied her daughter’s injuries were accidental. She described the manner in which Walter Brown picked up the child “similar as to how an individual would be grabbing a chicken by the legs.”
Cozart, who is facing charges similar to those filed against Walter Brown, was prepared to testify that he “picked Amelia up by her legs and swung her around, hitting her head on the playpen and then threw Amelia into the playpen,” a court document said.
Cozart also was going to testify “as to … times when she would personally observe the defendant blowing cannabis smoke into Amelia’s face,” the document said
Read more at www.myjournalcourier.com
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Abuse, and Child Custody, Domestic Violence, How We Know that Courts are sending children to live with Abusers
by Barry Goldstein, NOMAS Child Custody Task Group
Mothers and domestic violence advocates have been complaining for many years about problems in the custody court system that have resulted in large numbers of children being sent to live with abusive fathers while safe, protective mothers are denied any meaningful relationship with their children. Courts have tended to dismiss the complaints by referring to the mothers as “disgruntled litigants.” As more concern about the problem has been expressed and more research performed, the mothers’ complaints have been confirmed. Early in 2010, a new book co-edited by Dr. Maureen T. Hannah and Barry Goldstein, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, ABUSE and CHILD CUSTODY will be published and end any doubts that there is a pattern of mistakes made in the custody court system. These mistakes have caused thousands of cases to be mishandled and placed the lives and well being of battered women and their children in jeopardy. The book includes chapters by over 25 of the leading experts in the United States and Canada including judges, lawyers, psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists, journalists and domestic violence advocates. Although these experts come from different disciplines and approached the issue from different directions, there is a remarkable consensus about the problem and the solution. The up-to-date research and information now available makes it clear that the present practices can no longer be justified and the custody court system must create the necessary reforms to protect the safety of children and protective mothers in domestic violence custody cases. This article will discuss ten reasons we know the custody court system is broken and must be reformed.
Mothers’ Complaints: The problem this article seeks to discuss are cases in which a mother who has been the primary caregiver and makes allegations of domestic violence and/or child abuse loses custody to the alleged abuser and receives supervised visitation or no contact with her children. These cases have increased since federal laws designed to increase enforcement of child support orders were passed. Male supremacist groups have encouraged abusive fathers to seek custody as a way to avoid paying child support, to pressure his partner to stay or punish her for leaving. The courts and the often inadequately trained professionals they rely on, glad to see the involvement of fathers in children’s lives often fail to recognize the tactic and motivation. Courts tend to look at each case separately and so fail to see the patterns of mistakes in these cases. Demonizing their victim is a common strategy employed by abusers so a court could believe there was something profoundly wrong with an individual mother to justify the extreme outcome. When experts look at the pattern of these cases it is evident that the unusual circumstances needed to justify a particular outcome cannot be as common as the results would suggest. Women and children make deliberately false allegations of abuse between one and two percent of the time, but the court decisions support the myth that such deliberate false allegations are common. Furthermore, domestic violence allegations are painful and embarrassing to make and require the victims to speak about uncomfortable issues and questions. Research demonstrates that allegations of domestic violence and child abuse make women less likely to obtain custody. We can’t know that an individual case was improperly decided without careful review of the case, but we know the frequency of outcomes that give custody to alleged abusers cannot possibly be based on objective facts.
2. Available Research: The modern movement against domestic violence is only about thirty years old and there was little research available when it started. We now have extensive research to demonstrate common mistakes courts and the often-unqualified professionals they rely on use in domestic violence custody cases. Studies show that while evaluators believe they are considering domestic violence in their investigation of the family, in fact most fail to do so. We have many studies proving widespread gender bias against women in the approaches used by the courts. Evaluators regularly use psychological testing that has little or no relevance to the issues before the court and is gender biased. Psychologists testifying before the courts rarely inform the judges that their results are based upon probabilities so that factors in the case that would reduce those probabilities can be considered. Most important to the present topic is research that considers the accuracy of the actual court decisions. Most custody cases (over 95%) are settled more or less amicably. The problem is with the minority of terrible cases that continue to trial and beyond. Courts often think of them as “high conflict” cases, but in reality these are mostly domestic violence cases. Research studies vary somewhat on the percentage of these cases that involve abusive fathers, but all agree the majority of such cases involve domestic violence. I believe the studies that found 90% of these contested custody cases are caused by abusive fathers because unqualified professionals frequently miss domestic violence. In any event, contested custody cases should be being decided overwhelmingly in favor of protective mothers because most of the fathers are abusive, but 70% of the cases result in custody or joint custody to the father. This does not tell us an individual case was wrongly decided, but does demonstrate that a large percentage of cases are being decided in a way that is harmful for the children.
3. Battered Mothers Testimony Project and Research: Several states including Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, California, Arizona and New York City have done studies based on questionnaires filled out by protective mothers. These surveys have demonstrated widespread problems in the custody court system, many common mistakes and outcomes that fail to protect battered women and their children. This is admittedly not scientific research as the participants are volunteers rather than randomly selected (much of the “research” cited by male supremacist groups comes from interviews with alleged abusers, but is often treated as if it were valid research). Sociologists, Sharon Araji and Rebecca L. Bosek went several steps further for their chapter in DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, ABUSE and CHILD CUSTODY. They performed a similar study in Alaska and then compared the results from the various states that interviewed protective mothers. The authors found the responses similar across the several state surveys. They then compared the results of the surveys filled out by protective mothers to scientific research performed by a variety of researchers using accepted scientific methods. Significantly the findings from the protective mothers are strongly supported by the scientific research. In other words, the complaints by protective mothers that have been so often dismissed as coming from “disgruntled litigants” actually have substantial validity.
4. Courageous Kids: If a court system wanted to determine the validity and value of psychological evaluations, it would look for research that examined how the recommendations and approaches used by the evaluators worked out in the lives of the children. Without such research there is no way to determine if the time, money and results for evaluations are useful. In fact there is no such research and I would certainly recommend obtaining such research if evaluations were to continue to be used in child custody cases. The closest we have to such research is the Courageous Kids Network. The Courageous Kids are young adults who were forced to live with abusers by the decisions of the custody court. They are now old enough to have escaped their abusers and are speaking out about their experiences. The stories are painful to hear because they had to survive such awful abuse, but life affirming as they overcame the obstacles to support each other and help change the broken system. These heroes have spoken at judicial trainings, legislative hearings and domestic violence conferences. Their presentations are effective because it is all too easy to discredit protective mothers, but hard to discredit the children for whom the courts and the professionals are supposedly trying to help. Remember these children were forced to live with and be influenced by the abuser. In most cases they had to endure “therapy” designed to support the abuser and discredit the protective mother. There are many psychological, safety and other reasons to discourage such children from coming forward and speaking out. The fact so many Courageous Kids have spoken out demonstrates the courts are getting large numbers of cases tragically wrong.
5. Review of Bad Cases: The authors of the 25 chapters in the book have carefully reviewed hundreds if not thousands of these cases. In their book, FROM MADNESS TO MUTINY, Dr. Amy Neustein and Michael Lesher reviewed over 1000 cases. The Truth Commission listened to the testimony of 16 women and reviewed records from their cases. Many other experts have studied domestic violence cases where the alleged abuser received custody and the protective mother received little or no contact with her children. In these cases we have found widespread mistakes, bad practices, use of myths and stereotypes, the failure to use up-to-date research, gender bias and outcomes that place children at risk. The legal system works on the assumption that once a case is decided or facts determined that the findings are established and any further consideration should be based upon the assumption the court decided the case properly. This assumption will lead to misinformation and inaccurate research because there is strong evidence that most contested domestic violence custody cases and certainly those that result in custody to the alleged abuser are wrongly decided. We are particularly concerned with the growing court practice of retaliating against protective mothers and professionals trying to help them for exposing court mistakes in these cases. Frequently a mother’s refusal to believe an abuser is safe after the court fails to recognize his abuse is used to justify severe and extreme limitations on her access to her children without regard to the harm such rulings have on the children.
6. Parental Alienation Syndrome: PAS is a bogus theory created based on the personal biases of Dr. Richard Gardner. His books were self-published and never peer reviewed. It is used only in domestic violence custody cases to prevent or shorten investigations of the father’s abuse. PAS assumes that if a child expresses negative feelings about the father or doesn’t want visitation, the only possible explanation is that the mother alienated the child and the solution is to force the child to live with the abuser and have at most supervised visitation with the protective mother who has been the primary attachment figure for the child. PAS is not recognized by any reputable professional organization and does not appear in DSM IV, which contains recognized diagnosis. Dr. Paul Fink, past president of the American Psychiatric Association wrote a chapter for the book in which he demonstrates the invalidity of PAS. Dr. Fink points out that Richard Gardner made numerous statements complaining that society takes child sexual abuse too seriously and that sex between adults and children can be appropriate. This explains why PAS is so often used to give custody to fathers who have sexually abused their children. Dr. Fink points out that psychologists are starting to lose their licenses for using PAS in evaluations. They are, in effect diagnosing something that does not exist. Thousands of the cases in which alleged abusers won custody was based upon the discredited PAS or PAS by a different name. Any case in which “evidence” of PAS was allowed was likely wrongly decided.
7. Gender Bias: The Truth Commission recommended that rather than training professionals with general domestic violence information, all professionals should have training in Gender Bias, Recognizing Domestic Violence and the Effects of Domestic Violence on Children. This is because they found that many of the mistakes made in these cases were caused by a lack of understanding of these basic concepts. At least 40 states and many other districts and communities have created court-sponsored gender bias committees. They have found widespread gender bias and particularly in domestic violence custody cases. Among the common problems were blaming victims for their abuser’s behavior, burdening women with higher standards of proof and giving fathers more credibility than mothers. Other research, including the chapter in the book by Molly Dragiewicz has made similar findings. In one New York case the court gave custody to an abuser and denied the protective mother any contact with the children after the evaluator used and the judge supported a certainty standard for the mother and probability standard for the father. Few litigants could win a case when faced with a certainty standard. At least 15-20 different judges were asked to review this clear example of gender bias (the different standards were stated in the evaluator’s report and repeatedly challenged in the transcript), but every judge failed to correct this obvious error. Lynn Hecht Schafran wrote a brilliant article “Evaluating the Evaluators” that illustrates the problem. The article describes a new psychologist asked to perform an evaluation on a young family. She went to the father’s apartment and found it a complete mess with no food in the refrigerator. She wrote the father lives in a typical bachelor apartment. She went to the mother’s apartment and found it to be somewhat messy, but not as bad as the father’s. She had food in the refrigerator, but not as much as preferable. The evaluator wrote the mother lives in a messy apartment with inadequate food. The evaluator had a supervisor because she was new and the supervisor asked if she saw what she had done. The evaluator could not believe she had engaged in gender bias and quickly corrected the report. The article is valuable because it demonstrates that professionals acting in good faith (including women) can easily engage in gender bias without realizing it because of the sexism and stereotypes so prevalent in our society. How can anyone reasonably believe the courts are reaching fair decisions in domestic violence custody cases when gender bias is so common?
8. Failure to Recognize Domestic Violence: Many of the mistakes custody courts make have to do with failing to recognize domestic violence. In fairness some of the problem is caused because victims or their attorneys fail to present the necessary evidence. Unqualified professionals often discount allegations of abuse based upon information that represents a normal and reasonable response to his abuse. In the book, Judge Mike Brigner writes about training judges in domestic violence. They often ask him how to respond to all the cases where women are lying about domestic violence. When he asks what they mean, they cite cases where women go back to their abuser, withdraw petitions for a protective order, fail to file police complaints or don’t seek medical care. In reality there are safety and other explanations for women’s response to domestic violence and none of these examples should be used to assume her complaints are false. At the same time they use information of limited value to discount domestic violence, professionals fail to use helpful and relevant information to understand the pattern of domestic violence tactics. Too often the professionals are interested only in physical abuse. They fail to consider a variety of controlling and coercive tactics. They don’t understand the significance of a woman’s fear of her partner. Domestic violence advocates are the only professionals that work full time on domestic violence issues. The advocates receive more training and have more knowledge of domestic violence then the professionals relied on by the courts. Domestic violence agencies have very limited resources so they are forced to screen clients before providing services. Accordingly when a woman is receiving services from a domestic violence agency, it is a strong indication that she is a battered woman, but many professionals fail to consider this information. Although seeking custody to pressure a mother to return or punish her for leaving is a common abuser tactic, few courts consider why a father with limited involvement with the children prior to separation suddenly demands full custody. Similarly unqualified professionals often fail to consider evidence that a man believes his partner has no right to leave is a strong indication of his motivation in seeking custody. How can courts be expected to decide domestic violence custody cases appropriately if they don’t know what to look for when determining the validity of domestic violence allegations?
9. Effect of Domestic Violence on Children: Every state has passed laws designed to promote greater consideration of the effects of domestic violence on children. Some states require domestic violence to be considered in making custody and visitation decisions and others create a presumption against custody for abusers (although often the laws or the courts require a level of proof or create other restrictions that limit the effectiveness of these laws). Prior to these laws, when a protective mother asked to limit the father’s contact with the children because of domestic violence, the judge would ask some version of “Does he also abuse the child?” If the answer was no, the court treated the father as if he was just as appropriate for custody and visitation as the mother. The change in laws was based on overwhelming research that children witnessing domestic violence were harmed as much as children directly abused. The research found these children to be at substantially greater risk of a wide range of dysfunctional behaviors when they were older. In other words, domestic violence is a serious form of child abuse. We have found, however that courts frequently place greater reliance on other custody factors that have far less consequences to the safety and well being of children. In fairness, the courts are not solely to blame as legislatures have passed laws like “friendly parent” factors and failed to make domestic violence and safety the primary factors in custody determination. There is no research that “alienating” statements or attitudes by one parent to the children has the kind of serious long-term harm of domestic violence and yet many of the cases reviewed focus far more attention on alleged alienation. When mothers respond normally to their partner’s abuse with fear or attempts to protect the children, courts frequently treat this as the most important issue in deciding custody. This is a common example of what was discussed in gender bias reports in that the mother is held responsible for her reaction to the father’s abuse instead of holding the father responsible for his abuse. This type of mistake is at the heart of the common mistakes made by custody courts and does not serve the best interests of the children. If children are having problems as a result of the father’s abuse, unqualified professionals often blame the divorce and separation instead of his abuse. They often recommend cooperation and interaction between abuser and victim that is the opposite of what is healthy for children, but often benefit the fathers’ cases. When children appear to be doing well, inadequately trained professionals mistakenly assume this means the abuse allegations are false. Some children respond to abuse by trying to be perfect and take on adult responsibilities. Many years later the harm of the father’s abuse comes out in debilitating ways. Similarly children will often behave well with abusers and act out with their mothers because they know she is the safe parent. This is often misunderstood and courts reach the false conclusion that the father is the better parent. As long as the courts fail to understand the long-term harm to children of placing them with abusers, the courts will continue to make decisions that ruin children’s lives.
10. Extreme Results: If a court were to give custody to a protective mother and limit the father to supervised visitation because of his domestic violence, it would be following the recommendations of up-to-date research. In other words there is a scientific basis for such an outcome. The researchers weigh the harm of restricting the children’s contact with their father and the harm the father is likely to cause with unrestricted visitation and the message sent to the children by awarding normal visitation with someone they know abused their mother. Instead what we are seeing is alleged abusers receiving custody and protective mothers having supervised or no visitation. Obviously, in these cases the courts are assuming the mother’s allegations of abuse are false. They justify the visitation restrictions by their concern the mother will continue to believe she was abused and say negative things about the father. Where is the research that the harm to the children of hearing such statements is greater than the harm of being denied a normal relationship with their mother? Even in intact families the children often hear negative comments about the other parent. In other words, these extreme court decisions are based upon the belief systems and biases of court professionals and not up-to-date research. Many children have been denied any contact with their mothers in these cases. Ironically fathers are often granted custody based on the belief they are the friendlier parent and will promote the relationship between the mother and children, but he proceeds to terminate all contact once he has control. Many courts that jumped all over mothers for requesting the court restrict the father’s access have done nothing in the face of the father preventing visitation or other contact between mother and children. Rapists and even murderers frequently receive some supervised visitation and yet mothers who sought to protect their children from an abuser are completely cut off from their children. The extreme outcomes faced by protective mothers are unsupported by any research, but demonstrate serious flaws in the custody system.
Now That We Know the Custody Court System Is Broken
Now is not the time for blame or attacks. As the Schafran article demonstrates, it is all too easy for good and caring people to fail to understand and recognize gender bias and domestic violence. In the book, Judge Hornsby writes that in his 19th year on the bench he finally understood the proper way to handle requests for protective orders. The judge’s humility, integrity and openness should serve as a model to the legal community as it responds to the clear information and research that the present court practices are mistreating protective mothers and their children. I was recently at a domestic violence conference in Hawaii where a court official was asked a question implying serious problems in the court system. She responded by saying if someone didn’t like a decision they could appeal. To her credit she later acknowledged that many people don’t have the money for such an appeal. This official fell into the trap of responding defensively to criticism. The challenge for the custody court system is to be open to the up-to-date research even though it finds the courts have made widespread mistakes in its handling of domestic violence custody cases. The medical community faced a similar situation in responding to research that found avoidable mistakes were responsible for 100,000 deaths each year in our nation’s hospitals. For years, fear of lawsuits, discipline and damaged reputation caused the medical profession to ignore, deny and seek to place blame on others. Finally they realized this was a losing strategy. Doctors, nurses and hospitals have now come together to correct the problems with more openness and accountability. Lives have already been saved from implementation of this approach and the campaign to prevent such avoidable errors. Rather than harm the medical community’s reputation, this campaign has increased the respect for the medical community. I believe if the legal community makes a similar effort to apply the latest research and create a campaign to avoid the kinds of tragic mistakes that have ruined the lives of so many women and children, the campaign will improve the reputation of the legal system. The promotion of the safety of battered mothers and their children is not and should not be considered a partisan issue.
Every state and every court system has rules and laws against domestic violence. Although some fringe male supremacist groups object to these laws, society has spoken and there is no longer any legitimate dispute about whether domestic violence should be tolerated. If a community had a rash of arson fires and the courts and legislature wanted to figure out how to respond they would seek the expertise of the experts. The experts are the firefighting community because they know best how to recognize arson, prevent it and respond to arson. No one would ever accuse the firefighters of being partisan because they are always against arson. In responding to domestic violence the experts are the domestic violence community. They are the only profession working full time on domestic violence issues and know how to recognize domestic violence, the best ways to prevent it and the harm it causes. Too often the courts have failed to take advantage of this community resource because they viewed domestic violence advocates as partisans. The validity for this claim ended when society determined it would no longer tolerate domestic violence and passed laws to enforce this determination. The crimes of arson and domestic violence are treated differently because arson has always been a crime and domestic violence is a relatively new crime and most firefighters are men and most domestic violence advocates are women. In this still sexist society what women say is not treated with the respect and value that what men say is. The domestic violence community is an important and valuable resource that the court system can benefit from as it applies the up-to-date research to practices that are now discredited. The legal system must use this research to launch a re-evaluation of its response to domestic violence custody cases so that custody courts become a safe place for battered mothers and their children. We are ready to work with them to help accomplish society’s goal of ending domestic violence.
Barry Goldstein is the author of SCARED TO LEAVE AFRAID TO STAY. He has been an instructor and supervisor in a NY Model Batterer Program for 10 years. He was an attorney representing victims of domestic violence for 30 years. He now provides workshops, judicial and other trainings regarding domestic violence particularly related to custody issues. He also serves as a consultant and expert witness. His new book, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, ABUSE and CHILD CUSTODY, co edited with Dr. Maureen T. Hannah will be published early in 2010. For more information, visit his web site at Barrygoldstein.net
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Posts Tagged ‘courts’
Case Managers, children, commodity, courts, family court, GAL, Judiciary, kansas, Legal Child Trafficking, profiteers, Social Workers
Nazi Kansas – Parent Coordinators
In domestic law on March 17, 2013 at 1:52 pm
Nazi Kansas – Parent Coordinators http://kansasjudicialsystem-casemanagers.blogspot.com/2013/03/nazi-kansas-parent-coordinators.html
children, courts, Human Rights, iachr press release, rights
MOTHERS FILE INTERNATIONAL COMPLAINT AGAINST UNITED STATES- IACHR
Mother’s day complaint claims United States courts violate human rights of abused women and children.
On the heels of the Jessica Gonzales Ruling at the IACHR (International Commission Human Rights) Comes the following petition.
You can read the Petition in it’s entirety at the Stop Family Violence site.
http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/info/custody-abuse/legal-documents/petition-to-inter-american-commission-on-human-rights/full-text-of-iachr-petition
“The cases in this petition represent the proverbial tip of the iceberg,” says Irene Weiser, executive director of the online organization Stop Family Violence. “We are contacted by an average of three protective mothers each week who have lost custody to fathers accused of child abuse – in many cases with supporting medical evidence. This is a nationwide crisis of enormous proportion.”
“The lives of thousands of children and mothers have been irreparably harmed by family courts across our nation,” says Joyanna Silberg, Ph.D., executive vice-president of The Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence, another national organizations supporting the petition. “The years of trauma and psychological abuse because of the courts’ failings result in lasting emotional damage to the children they are supposed to protect.”
Studies of gender bias in the courts, conducted in the 1980’s and 90’s, found disturbing trends of courts minimizing or excusing men’s violence against women, and favoring the abusers. In 1990 the United States Congress passed a resolution recommending the prohibition of giving joint or sole custody to abusers. Seventeen years later, the practice continues unabated. Ten years ago today, leading national organizations were joined by members of Congress in a protest in Washington D.C. to again raise awareness about the problems in family courts. Today, petitioners say, the problem is systemic and widespread in family law courts across the nation.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights was created in 1959 and is expressly authorized to examine allegations of human rights violations by members of the Organization of American States, which include the United States. It also carries out on-site visits to observe the general human rights situations in all 35 member states of the Organization of American States and to investigate specific allegations of violations of Inter-American human rights treaties. Its charge is to promote the observance and the defense of human rights in the Americas.
Dianne Post, a 1980 graduate of the University of Wisconsin law school, has worked on issues of gender based violence since 1976. In addition to private practice and legal aid, she has taught legal classes and been a consultant working or living in Russia, Cambodia, Hungary and some dozen other countries. She is currently in Vladivostok, Russia.
In addition to The Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence, other national organizations supporting the international lawsuit include: National Organization for Women and the NOW Foundation, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Justice For Children, National Family Court Watch Project, Legal Momentum, Family Violence Prevention Fund, National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, Domestic Violence Report, Sidran Traumatic Stress Institute, and the National Center on Sexual and Domestic Violence. The petition is supported by many state organizations as well.
In December 2005, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a petition against the United States with the Inter American Commission on Human Rights for their failure to protect Jessica Gonzales’ three children from their abusive father, who murdered them. Their petition, the first of its kind, asserted that domestic violence victims have the right to be protected by the state from the violent acts of their abusers.
Claudine Dombrowski Photos of Abuse
See this Amp at http://bit.ly/q2qWPX
children, courts, custody, domestic, violence
Domestic Violence Safe Courts Act
Even when things are going well personally and professionally, you can’t work on protective mother issues without regularly receiving a cruel jolt of reality from the broken court system. I just received such a jolt with the mistaken conviction of a protective mother for perjury regarding her complaints about her abuser’s assault. Surely the jury could have made a better decision if they could have been told of the context that courts routinely fail to recognize domestic violence and avoided the myth most people have heard that women frequently make false allegations of abuse.
Amplify’d from timesupblog.blogspot.com
This is a classic case from the Binghamton area of New York that I used as an example of common mistakes in the custody courts in my chapter for our book. In the chapter by Judge Thomas Hornsby, he explained how in his 19th year on the bench he learned the right way to respond to certain kinds of petitions for protective orders. It takes a great deal of courage and integrity to acknowledge this need for further learning, particularly in domestic violence cases. Instead, the judge in Binghamton said he had been on the bench for fifteen years and didn’t need to hear the testimony of a domestic violence expert (me). He then sent the children to live with their abusive father.
The mother in this case has spoken of the high price she must pay for trying to protect her children. She had suffered the loss of her children and knowing they are continuing to suffer abuse. She has been ruined financially and for the second time faces bogus criminal charges and jail. And so in honor of this dear friend and all the too many other mothers in similar circumstances, I would like to propose legislation to make it safe for battered mothers and their children when they come to court. Repeatedly, protective mothers come to court confident that the judge and other court professionals will protect them from their abusers, since the evidence as far as the well-being of the children is so clear. And repeatedly, the inadequately trained court professionals, relying on outdated information and discredited practices, most of which were adopted 30+ years ago at a time when no research was available, instead helps the abuser to maintain control over his partner and to punish her for revealing his abuse. For years we have debated solutions to these repeated tragedies, but before any reform is possible, we must make the courts safe for battered women and their children.
The Importance of Findings
While findings do not have the force of law, they do explain the purpose of the law and the intent of the legislature. It is totally appropriate and advisable for attorneys and protective mothers to cite such findings in support of their interpretation of the law, and such considerations should be persuasive.
The findings should state very directly that the present court response is working poorly for women and children in domestic violence custody cases and that the intent of the legislature is to create fundamental changes in the way courts respond to such cases. The intent of the legislatures when they passed laws requiring courts to consider domestic violence in custody and visitation decisions was for the courts to take domestic violence seriously, based on the research that demonstrated the severe harm to children of witnessing abuse, but the outdated and discredited practices widely used in the court system have undermined the courts’ ability to provide the protections and safety the legislatures thought they were creating.
The courts frequently fail to recognize valid complaints about domestic violence. Court professionals often do not have adequate training in domestic violence and often rely on mental health professionals who have little or no training or understanding about the dynamics of domestic violence. There are many normal behaviors by battered mothers that inadequately trained professionals use to discredit allegations of abuse that are not probative. At the same time courts often limit their focus to physical abuse and fail to use the evidence available to recognize the pattern of controlling and coercive behavior. Best practices require that professionals without extensive training in domestic violence (which is almost all of the professionals used in the custody courts) should consult with domestic violence advocates or other experts. Courts rarely use such best practices, and many judges, like the judge in the Binghamton case, mistakenly believe that several years on the bench is an adequate substitute for genuine expertise and familiarity with up-to-date scientific research.
The courts’ response to allegations of child sexual abuse is particularly harmful. Sexual abuse is hard to prove because, for obvious reasons, there are rarely any witnesses except for the child. Young children may not have the language to describe what happened; older children are often reluctant to reveal the abuse because of threats or just out of loyalty to their abuser. Inadequately trained professionals often expect physical proof, but many forms of sexual abuse leave no physical evidence, and the delay before a child reveals the abuse may cause physical evidence to be unavailable. These professionals often expect children to discuss very painful and embarrassing events without taking the time to create a trusting relationship and to use play therapy or other techniques that work best with younger children. Experts know that children often recant valid complaints, but recantations are routinely treated as if they were convincing proof the mothers made deliberately false reports.
In an attempt to treat all parties fairly, courts often believe they must treat the parties the same. This is often expressed in the view that when parents come to court they must be treated equally. What is left out is any consideration of PAST PARENTING PRACTICES.. There is a difference between men and women, particularly in a society that continues to provide unearned yet often invisible privileges to men. Considering the differences between men and women is not unfair to men, but failing to consider them is unfair to women. The refusal of courts to speak of these differences, despite widespread gender bias confirmed by commissions sponsored by courts in over forty states and other research, results not in fairness or equality of how the courts treat the parties but in a huge advantage to men, especially abusive men.
Probably the biggest advantage given to fathers in custody cases stems from the widespread myth that women frequently make false allegations of abuse. A recent Department of Justice Study led by Dr. Daniel Saunders shows that evaluators with little training in domestic violence tend to believe this myth and thus make recommendations that work poorly for children. Of course, these false assumptions are often hidden from the judge, but if we don’t speak openly about the difference between men and women, the biases in favor of men will continue to make the courts unsafe for women and children.
At the same time, studies, particularly one led by Nicholas Bala, establish fathers in contested custody cases are sixteen times more likely than mothers to make false allegations against the other parent. I want to be clear that this is not to say women in general are more honest than men; rather, this is limited to what goes on in contested custody cases. A large majority of fathers in such cases are abusers who are using the custody tactic to maintain control over former partners. It is based on the belief that she has no right to leave, so therefore, the use of any tactic, including raising false allegations, is justified. This is particularly important for prosecutors and child protective workers to realize, so that they don’t place the resources and authority of the government on the side of abusers.
This problem is particularly exacerbated by the ability of abusers to manipulate other people, including professionals. Those who believe they have the ability to tell who is lying just by observing them are at even greater risk of being manipulated.
One of the fundamental mistakes made by the court system is treating contested custody cases as “high conflict,” which implies that both parties are acting out their anger towards the other party through the children. In fact, most of these cases are domestic violence cases. The courts have adopted a lot of practices designed to encourage the parents to cooperate and to bring the parties together. Abusers love this, because it means forgetting about past history (his abuse) and gains him access to his victim. When mothers resist cooperating with someone who has hurt her and her child, she is viewed as unfriendly and often is severely punished. This is a prime example of blaming the mother for the actions of the father, something repeatedly uncovered by the state gender bias reports. The research establishes that the only methods that have been shown to change abusers’ behavior are accountability and monitoring, but the courts, which are not used to looking to up-to-date research for answers, are doing just the opposite.
Needed Changes in the Law and Priorities
One of the problems in the court system is that the standard “best interests of the child” standard is subjective and often leads to focusing on less important issues. Most states have laws or case decisions that enumerate issues the court must consider in deciding custody and visitation. Courts often focus and decide custody based on cooperation between the parties, negative statements about the other parent, financial considerations, quality of the house or apartment or other similar issues. It is not that these are not valid issues that should be considered in appropriate cases, but too often these kinds of issues trump issues that are vital to the well being of the children. The first priority must be the safety of the children. DUH! It is frightening how often this is not the priority. When there are safety issues, we need a risk assessment rather than a traditional evaluation that focuses on less important issues and often doesn’t have the understanding to recognize the risks. The second priority should be arrangements that give children the best chance to reach their potential. It is hard to imagine anyone seriously objecting to these priorities, but it is not what the courts are doing today.
The research about primary attachment is not controversial. Whichever parent provides most of the child care during the first couple of years of the baby’s life is the primary attachment figure and this does not change even if the living arrangements do. A child separated from their primary attachment figure is at greater risk of depression, low self-esteem, and suicidality when older. It cannot be right to impose these risks on a child unless the primary attachment figure presents a safety risk, such as someone who is a drug addict or beats the child. Negative statements about the other parent do not pose such a safety risk and have not been shown to create the long term harm of losing the primary attachment figure, but courts routinely place more emphasis on negative remarks because they have been taught to view the cases as “high conflict.”
The range of harm to children from witnessing domestic violence is even greater. Such children are at increased risk for engaging in a wide variety of dysfunctional behaviors that can ruin their lives. Furthermore, domestic violence is based on a belief system so the end of a relationship is not likely to make the abuser safe. He will probably abuse future partners, so the children will witness further domestic violence if he is given custody or unsupervised visitation.
Training in domestic violence for court professionals has been a common component of the courts’ response to domestic violence for many years, yet still the courts are getting a large percentage of domestic violence cases spectacularly wrong. Many judges and other professionals don’t attend such trainings or don’t pay attention out of a belief they already know everything or hostility to the topic. Too often the trainings have included misinformation that makes the situation worse while creating the illusion of addressing the problem.
The research that shows the frequency with which fathers in contested custody cases kill their children, often with the unintentional assistance of the court, or receive custody and unsupervised visitation despite a history of abuse ought to create an urgency for changing the status quo. The Safe Court Act must provide for the retraining of judges and other court personnel. Common misconceptions like the myth women frequently make false complaints, domestic violence ends when the parties separate, children are unaffected by witnessing abuse and mistaking domestic violence cases as “high conflict” must be addressed and corrected. Then, instead of general domestic violence training, specific topics must be taught including Recognizing Domestic Violence, Gender Bias, Effects of Domestic Violence on Children, Critical Thinking About the Use of Mental Health Professionals and More Appropriate Responses to Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse. Finally, such trainings should be sponsored or co-sponsored by an organization whose primary focus is ending domestic violence.
At the start of the movement to end domestic violence, the focus was mostly on physical abuse. But the harm to women and children is not limited to physical abuse, so there is no reason to limit the definition of domestic violence when making custody decisions. Domestic violence should be defined as a pattern of intimidating, controlling and coercive tactics by one party designed to permit that party to control their partner and make the major decisions in the relationship. These abusive actions result in the victim becoming afraid of the abuser.
Domestic violence experts are clear that in cases involving domestic violence as defined above, the best outcome for the children is custody for the non-abusive or less abusive parent and at least initially supervised visitation for the abusive parent. While many states have a presumption for this child-friendly outcome, too often it is limited by higher standards of proof or level of abuse. The harm to children is not limited to what is considered more severe abuse so there is no reason to continue such limitations on protecting children.
Particularly harmful to children is the common practice where the court fails to confirm the mother’s allegations of abuse and then punishes or retaliates against the mother if she continues to believe the father is dangerous despite the court’s finding. We found that when the court confirms a father’s abuse, it does not further penalize him for continuing to deny his abuse, even though his continued denial is far more harmful than the mother’s expressed fear of the father. This practice is bad because of the frequency that courts fail to recognize valid allegations of abuse; the harm of taking the primary attachment figure out of a child’s life is far more harmful than any benefit the court thinks it is creating. The law must provide that parents will not be penalized for good faith allegations, and the practice of denying children a meaningful relationship with safe, protective parents must be discouraged.
Abusers tend to control the family finances and often use the family resources for legal and other resources while denying the same benefits to the victim. This is exacerbated by a common abuser tactic of using aggressive litigation strategies to bankrupt the victim. Courts must be encouraged to act more assertively to level the playing field by making the person controlling the family funds also provide funds for the other parent’s legal needs. This will lead to fairer outcomes and discourage excessive litigation, since the abuser doesn’t benefit from excessive motions if he has to pay for both lawyers.
The research is very clear that women rarely make false allegations of abuse. They do so only one or two percent of the time, but there is a widespread myth that abuse claims are frequently false. At the same time, fathers involved in contested custody cases are sixteen times more likely to make false allegations. Prosecutors, in particular, need to be trained about this common tactic so that they can avoid being manipulated to help an abuser continue his abuse as the prosecutor in the Binghamton case mistakenly did. Similarly, child protective workers, lawyers and judges need training with this information. We have seen many child protective workers refuse to investigate allegations by mothers involved in contested custody cases on the (false) assumption she is trying to gain an advantage in the litigation, but take seriously (false) allegations by fathers involved in contested custody. Obviously, each case must be investigated separately, but they need to be familiar with the research so they can understand the context.
Many communities have developed practices where child protective agencies work together with the local domestic violence agency. They cross-train each others’ staffs and when child protective caseworkers have a case that may involve domestic violence, the worker consults with a domestic violence advocate. This has resulted in a greater ability to recognize domestic violence and respond in ways that benefit children. This should be considered best practices. Similarly, ethical considerations require psychologists and psychiatrists to consult with experts in areas they are not familiar with. Few court-appointed mental health professionals are experts in domestic violence but they rarely consult with domestic violence advocates or experts and courts do not discredit them for failing to do so. The law should require such consultations which must be understood as best practices.
The research shows the widespread use of mental health professionals in contested custody cases is problematical. Psychologists rely on psychological tests that were not created for the populations seen in custody courts and are based on probability, so that under the best of circumstances the results apply to only 55-65% of the parties, but this percentage is even lower in cases involving domestic violence. Frequently, we see mothers discredited because of results that show defensiveness, fear and other normal reactions to their partner’s abuse. When courts fail to recognize the abuse, mothers are pathologized as paranoid or delusional when there is no pathology in other parts of their lives. Accordingly courts must use much more critical thinking in the use of mental health professionals. This expense and delay should only be used when there are genuine mental health issues involved in the case. In cases involving allegations of domestic violence or child abuse, a risk assessment using probation or other investigators and domestic violence experts familiar with lethality risks would be more useful.
Courts can save substantial time and money by having an early evidentiary hearing on allegations of domestic violence. The sole issue is whether the allegations are valid. If they are, the non-abusive or less abusive parent receives custody and the abuser initially receives supervised visitation. There is no need for evaluations, GALs or the consideration of less important issues that often distract attention from issues that most affect children. Cases that now take many months or years can be resolved in a few hours and children will quickly know who they will be living with which allows them to start the transition and healing process more quickly.
We have a court system that is failing to protect battered mothers and their children because they are relying on outdated and discredited practices and beliefs that were developed at a time when no research was available. Every year, the custody courts are sending 58,000 children to abusers for custody or unprotected visitation. And every year abusive fathers involved in contested custody cases kill at least one hundred precious children, often with the unwitting assistance of courts using these standard flawed practices. Legislators and judges cannot justify continuing practices that are working so badly for our children and must operate with an urgency to reform the broken system.
These outdated and discredited practices have allowed abusers to enlist the court system to help them maintain control over their victims after they try to leave and in many cases courts continue the abuse by punishing mothers trying to protect her children. We have examined thousands of disturbing cases like the one in Binghamton where safe protective mothers are severely punished in retaliation for attempting to protect their children. The mothers lose custody and often are restricted to supervised or no visitation. They face financial ruin, court sanctions, contempt and even jail. Many prosecutors like the one in Binghamton are manipulated by abusers to bring bogus charges against protective mothers. A review of these extreme outcomes demonstrates that these decisions are almost always wrong.
Urgently, we need a law to make it safe for protective mothers to come into our courts. Our courts and our laws were designed to provide safety for battered women and we must make this true in practice instead of just theory. We must make sure that the court system can no longer be used and manipulated by abusers to retaliate and punish mothers for the crime of seeking to keep their children safe.
Barry Goldstein is a nationally recognized domestic violence expert, speaker, writer and consultant. He is the co-editor with Mo Therese Hannah of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, ABUSE and CHILD CUSTODY.
WHEREAS: The custody court system is broken resulting in thousands of children being sent for custody or unprotected visitation with abusers and hundreds of children and battered women being murdered because of the frequency with which courts fail to recognize the common abuser tactic of seeking custody in response to their victim leaving as a way to maintain control or punish her for leaving, and
WHEREAS: The custody court system adopted practices to respond to domestic violence when it first became a public issue and no research was available. These standard practices work poorly for children but have become deeply ingrained so that the courts continue to rely on outdated and discredited practices that hurt children, and
WHEREAS, The custody courts routinely fail to recognize valid allegations of domestic violence because they discredit the charges based on normal responses victims made to the abuse and fail to look for the pattern of coercive, intimidating and controlling behavior that experts understand is the hallmark of domestic violence, and
WHEREAS, The custody court system does a particularly poor job in responding to allegations of child sexual abuse rejecting 85% of such allegations although a majority of the allegations are true. These mistakes are caused by the widespread use of poor practices and bias and the reluctance to believe someone successful in other parts of their lives could do something so heinous. The courts exacerbate this common mistake by frequently retaliating against safe, protective mothers who made good faith allegations of abuse by denying the children a meaningful relationship with their mother, and
WHEREAS, Research establishes that court professionals with inadequate training in domestic violence routinely rely on the common myth that women frequently make false allegations of abuse to gain an advantage in the litigation. Courts usually fail to discredit professionals who rely on this harmful myth, and
WHEREAS, Research establishes that a large majority of contested custody cases cannot be settled because they involve abusive fathers, custody courts have been taught to treat these cases as “high conflict” by which they mean both parents are acting out of anger at their ex-partner and hurting the children in the process. This faulty assumption leads to courts failing to recognize the domestic violence and punishment of mothers for trying to protect themselves and their children, and
WHEREAS, Research establishes that fathers in contested custody cases are sixteen times more likely than mothers to make false allegations than mothers, court personnel are usually ignorant of this research and manipulated by abusers to believe false allegations. Prosecutors, judges, child protective caseworkers and other similar professionals need training to avoid being manipulated to help abusers continue to punish their victims, and
WHEREAS, There are real and legitimate differences between men and women particularly with respect to domestic violence and parenting. Repeatedly, courts have misconstrued the policy to treat mothers and fathers equally to mean regardless of past parenting. If one parent has provided most of the child care and is the primary attachment figure or one parent has been abusive, it is not in the best interests of the children to treat the parents equally, and
WHEREAS, As a result of these and many other common mistakes and outdated practices, the court system has made it unsafe for protective mothers and their children to seek assistance of the courts to protect them from abusers. This law is designed to change the failed practices in order to make sure victims of abuse will be safe in our court system and not subject to retaliation for trying to protect themselves and their children.
1. Definition: For purposes of custody and visitation determinations and consistent with the harm caused to children in witnessing domestic violence, domestic violence are tactics one intimate partner engages in against the other intimate partner. The purpose of the tactics is to coerce, intimidate and control the abuser’s partner so that the abuser can make the major decisions in the relationship. Domestic violence is not limited to physical assaults and includes emotional, psychological, financial and litigation abuse. Most domestic violence is legal, but effects children negatively so that the courts should consider these tactics. Domestic violence also includes tactics to isolate the victim from friends, family and professionals who might provide support and assistance. Context is critically important in understanding domestic violence and acts that look the same may be very different because of the context and affect of the tactics. Court professionals must look at the pattern of domestic violence tactics in order to recognize domestic violence and consider which partner is afraid of the other partner as a result of the abusive tactics.
2. The best interests of the child: The first priority in custody and visitation decisions shall be the safety of the child. Risk assessments and lethality studies are more useful in considering a child’s safety than traditional evaluations. The second priority in custody and visitation decisions shall be arrangements that give the child the best opportunity to reach their potential Research establishing the long term harm for children who witness domestic violence or to be separated from their primary attachment figure provide the kind of information needed to properly consider what arrangements are most likely to help children reach their potential.
3. Any court considering custody, visitation, orders of protection, criminal, tort or any other issues that involve a determination of whether domestic violence was committed or the proper response to domestic violence shall look at the specialized body of knowledge and research available such as contained in DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ABUSE and CHILD CUSTODY, co-edited by Mo Therese Hannah and Barry Goldstein, THE BATTERER AS PARENT, written by Lundy Bancroft and Jay Silverman, the Department of Justice Study led by Daniel Saunders, the many books and articles cited in these works, and other similar examples of scientific research about domestic violence particularly in the context of child custody. If a court uses expert testimony or reports in such cases, such experts shall be expected to be familiar with this up-to-date research about domestic violence. Such experts will either possess substantial expertise about domestic violence or consult with someone who has such expertise.
4. Any court professionals with responsibility for cases that involve issues related to domestic violence shall undergo retraining concerning domestic violence. Such retraining will include information about common mistakes made as a result of using the common outdated and discredited practices used in custody and other courts and the harm such practices have caused. The retraining will also focus on avoiding common myths about domestic violence such as the myth women frequently make false allegations to gain an advantage in litigation, that abusers are no longer dangerous after the relationship ends, that only physical abuse affects children and that children always do better with both parents in their lives. The new training shall include how to recognize domestic violence, gender bias, the effects of domestic violence on children, critical thinking in the use of mental health professionals and appropriate responses and practices regarding allegations of child sexual abuse. The required training shall be sponsored or co-sponsored by an organization whose primary function is working to end domestic violence.
5. Based upon the serious harm witnessing domestic violence causes children, most experts recommend that where courts find by a preponderance of the evidence that one party has engaged in a pattern of coercive, intimidating and abusive behavior, the non-abusive or less abusive parent shall receive custody of the children and the abusive parent shall at least initially be limited to supervised visitation. In custody cases in which there are allegations of domestic violence, the court will quickly schedule an evidentiary hearing limited to the issue of domestic violence. There is no need for the appointment of an attorney for the children or an evaluator as the hearing is limited to whether or not the allegations of domestic violence are true. If the allegations are proven by a preponderance of the evidence the non-abusive or less abusive parent shall receive custody and the abusive parent shall initially receive supervised visitation. If the allegations of domestic violence are not proven by a preponderance of the evidence, the court shall remain open to later additional evidence which taken together with the earlier evidence becomes sufficient to establish the allegations of domestic violence.
6. The available scientific research establishes that the only responses that have been shown to change abuser’s behavior are accountability and monitoring. Accordingly, anger management, therapy and substance abuse treatment shall not be used in response to abusive behavior, but may be used for other problems. When the court orders supervised visitation in response to a finding of domestic violence, in order to be considered by the court for unsupervised visitation, the offender must complete a batterer program, acknowledge responsibility for the abuse, promise never to commit domestic violence again and express to the children the wrongness of the abusive behavior. If the offender is granted the privilege of unsupervised visitation and commits any further acts of physical abuse to a partner or children, the unsupervised visitation shall be permanently ended.
7. While both parties should always be treated fairly, there are substantial differences between mothers and fathers and the attempt to treat both parties the same by ignoring these differences has led to widespread mistreatment of protective mothers in custody cases. Numerous flawed surveys by researchers unfamiliar with domestic violence have sought to gauge the relative abuse by men and women by counting the hits. In doing so they have missed the fact that men are generally bigger and stronger, hit harder and cause more serious injury. They have missed the fact that men and women hit each other for different reasons. Men hit to maintain control and to make the major decisions in the relationship and women hit in self-defense and to stop his abuse. There are exceptions, but these are the most frequent reasons. Most important it is very common for women to be afraid their partner will hurt or kill her so that she will do what he wants and it rarely happens that men are similarly afraid of female partners. When courts equate a woman’s assault in anger and frustration from a long history of abuse with the man’s assault as part of a long pattern of coercive and intimidating behavior they misunderstand the case. Similarly in our still sexist society women tend to do most of the child care and are usually the primary attachment figure. When courts ignore these circumstances in an attempt to treat both parties equally, they actually discriminate against the mother. Similarly practices that punish women for their anger or emotion after being abused or allow themselves to be manipulated by abusers further give unfair advantages to men. This is why gender bias committees appointed by courts in over forty states have found widespread favoritism towards men. Courts must be conscious of the difference between men and women and strive to avoid gender bias. As gender bias is often invisible to those engaging in it, judges shall encourage litigants and professionals to express concerns about gender bias and avoid retaliating for such complaints.
8. Financial control and abuse is often an important part of the pattern of abuse. Abusers often maintain an unfair advantage in court by virtue of having control of the family resources. This is often compounded by aggressive litigation strategies designed to bankrupt the victim. Courts shall take appropriate actions to level the playing field so that if one party is using family assets to pay legal and other fees, or has access to other resources, that party shall pay similar expenses for the alleged victim’s legal fees.
9. The courts shall use more critical thinking in determining whether to use mental health professionals as experts and to limit them to their areas of expertise. Courts shall not routinely appoint mental health evaluators in all contested custody cases. Such appointments shall be limited to cases where there is credible information to suggest one of the parents has a mental disorder that may interfere with the care of the children or other issues that require mental health expertise. Psychological testing was not created for the populations seen in custody court and shall not be used to make determinations about domestic violence. In cases involving allegations of domestic violence or child abuse, if courts require a professional investigation they shall use risk assessments and lethality studies rather than evaluations.
10. The only profession that works full time on domestic violence issues is domestic violence advocates. It is the policy of this state and of the courts to work to prevent domestic violence. Accordingly domestic violence advocates shall be treated by the courts as a community resource and not as if they were partisans. Communities that have programs where child protective agencies and domestic violence organizations work together have proven that consultation with domestic violence advocates helps the caseworkers recognize domestic violence and make recommendations that work best for children. Court professionals shall consult with domestic violence advocates when considering cases with allegations involving domestic violence.
11. The myth that women frequently make false allegations of abuse is unsupported by valid scientific research, but has been relied on by unqualified professionals in ways that place children in danger. The courts shall discredit any professionals who rely on this sexist myth and avoid appointing them to represent children or conduct evaluations or other services. Any theories based on this myth shall also be discredited.
12. The use of “friendly parent” theories has proven harmful to children because of its frequent use in domestic violence cases. This theory shall never be used in cases involving allegations of domestic violence. Any use of this theory must be modified so that the “unfriendly behavior” applies not just to actions that mothers would be more likely to engage in but also to behaviors more likely to be committed by fathers. Actions like failure to pay child support, failure to cooperate on immigration and visa issues, refusal to supply medical insurance and other similar behaviors must be considered if courts use “friendly parent” theories.
13. The policy in this state and for the courts is to prevent domestic violence. Courts shall do everything in its power to make it safe for victims of domestic violence and their children to come to court. Courts must avoid being manipulated by abusers or to help abusers control or punish their partners for leaving. Prosecutors must obtain training about the common abuser tactic of making false criminal complaints against their victims. Prosecutors should attempt to speak with both sides if practicable and to use their discretion not to use the powers and authority of their office to help an abuser maintain control over the victim. Courts must seek to avoid retaliatory actions against mothers seeking only to protect the safety of themselves and their children. When courts believe the alleged victim has violated laws or orders it must also consider the benefits and harm to children that any action it might consider would have.
14. Large numbers of children are living with abusive and inappropriate parents as a result of common mistakes custody courts have made in response to domestic violence cases. In particular these courts have not relied on up-to-date research and have often relied on inadequately trained professionals. The new research available and recognition of the frequency of serious mistakes in these cases shall be considered a change of circumstances for purposes of petitions designed to correct the earlier errors even if the time to appeal has expired or the appeal failed. The court system may develop expedited, but fair alternate procedures to hear applications for correction of mistakes in earlier domestic violence cases.
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courts, custody, domestic, professionals, violence
The Pretend World of Custody Courts
The Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) is the part of the US Justice Department that provides grants for programs designed to reduce and prevent domestic violence. They recently sponsored a forum for their staff and other professionals in various parts of the government to learn about the crisis in the custody court system. They heard from seven protective mothers, one very inspiring Courageous Kid and over a dozen of the leading experts in the country. It was a wonderful discussion based upon current scientific research and actual experiences and everyone seems to get it that the courts are routinely making catastrophic mistakes in failing to protect children and domestic violence survivors. The purpose of the forum was to consider the problem, causes and solutions. It was so wonderful to take part in a reality based discussion about domestic violence custody issues and to do so with people who may have the ability to promote the needed changes. And yet the next day if any of us walked into a custody court, the research and the reality that were an unquestioned part of the discussion at OVW would be missing in the pretend world that is the present custody court system
The Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) is the part of the US Justice Department that provides grants for programs designed to reduce and prevent domestic violence. They recently sponsored a forum for their staff and other professionals in various parts of the government to learn about the crisis in the custody court system. They heard from seven protective mothers, one very inspiring Courageous Kid and over a dozen of the leading experts in the country. It was a wonderful discussion based upon current scientific research and actual experiences and everyone seems to get it that the courts are routinely making catastrophic mistakes in failing to protect children and domestic violence survivors. The purpose of the forum was to consider the problem, causes and solutions. It was so wonderful to take part in a reality based discussion about domestic violence custody issues and to do so with people who may have the ability to promote the needed changes. And yet the next day if any of us walked into a custody court, the research and the reality that were an unquestioned part of the discussion at OVW would be missing in the pretend world that is the present custody court system.
Similarly, in December, I had the privilege of participating in a review of grant proposals concerning gender, violence and health. The Canadian Institute of Health brought leading experts in the field together to consider which grant proposals would be most beneficial to fund. This was a high level discussion in which all of the participants were familiar with current scientific research so that we could have a reality based discussion. I found it particularly interesting that the Canadian government could attract knowledgeable experts for $200 a day at the same time the courts pay or require litigants to pay thousands of dollars for a few hours to “experts” completely unfamiliar with up-to-date research who instead provide opinions based on their personal belief system and prejudices.
Our custody courts are a very insular system in which information and ideas that contradict the misinformation routinely relied on by court professionals are unwelcome. Custody courts started relying on mental health professionals at a time when no research about domestic violence was available and many people assumed domestic violence was caused by mental illness, substances abuse and the behavior of the victims. We now know the original assumptions are wrong and mental health professionals rarely have much expertise in domestic violence or child sexual abuse. Nevertheless the courts are so used to relying on professionals with inadequate training that they routinely refuse to hear genuine experts or treat their testimony with tremendous skepticism. Experts, government agencies and academicians relied on to make major decisions in the real world are treated with disrespect by the court system. Repeatedly I have heard judges suggest that when the (inadequately trained) GAL, evaluator and child protective caseworker all agree, it is unreasonable to consider any other view.
Abusers often impose a pretend world on their victims by denying and minimizing their abuse. They often blame their partners by claiming her behavior forced him to abuse her. It is often unsafe for the woman to challenge this pretend existence. Genuine experts agree that dealing with reality is an important part of the healing process after survivors leave their abusers. This makes the common court practice of cooperating with abusers to focus on pretend issues so harmful to battered mothers and their children.
Many years ago I tried to help a teenage girl whose father was sexually abusing her. She finally found a therapist she could trust and the courage to share her secret. He called the child protective agency, but their response was to remove the girl from her home so the father’s life would not be disrupted. They put her in a home for girls that included those there for criminal behavior. While at this home, she was assaulted and robbed. The caseworker refused to permit her to continue working with her therapist just when she needed him most and pressured her to recant her allegations. The caseworker threatened to send her to an even worse facility and she was also concerned about the trouble her father would face. When she recanted her allegations she was sent back to her home and forced to engage in therapy based upon the false assumption her allegations of abuse were wrong. At a time when she needed therapy in response to years of abuse, she was forced to engage in therapy to determine why she made false allegations.
More recently, I worked on a New Jersey case in which a young child reported to her mother that her father and his mother had touched her in the vicinity of her privates. She did not know the words to be more precise. The father immediately denied the allegations and claimed the mother was making deliberate false allegations. The unqualified professionals focused only on whether the child was molested or the mother made false allegations and when they could not find enough evidence of abuse after a flawed investigation assumed the allegations were false. They brought charges against the mother and eventually gave the abusive father custody and the mother supervised visitation. When the court professionals later learned of the father’s history of domestic violence and hired a qualified expert who used current research to recommend custody be restored to the mother, the court professionals ignored the information that undermined their mistaken finding. The mother was forced into therapy in which she had to prove she no longer believed the true allegations if she wanted unsupervised visitation with her daughter. Having escaped the pretend world imposed by her abuser by leaving him, the mother faced another pretend world imposed by the court.
These kinds of mistakes are common in the broken custody court system. Often they are caused by court professionals who use the bogus Parental Alienation Syndrome (sometimes by other names) to give custody to the abuser and deny normal contact with the protective mother. Some courts impose reunification therapy on the children who are taught that their dislike of their father is not because of his history of abusing them and their mother but because of the lies she has told them. Again at a time when they need therapy to heal from their father’s abuse and the separation from their primary attachment figure, they must instead engage in therapy based on pretend alienation issues. These practices work well for the bank accounts of mental health professionals, but poorly for children.
Most court professionals have been trained to view contested custody cases as “high conflict” by which they mean the parents are angry at each other and act out in ways harmful to their children. Current research, however, establishes that most of these cases are actually domestic violence cases. Fathers with a long history of abuse seek custody as a way to gain access to their victim to pressure her to return or punish her for leaving. Court professionals unwittingly assist these tactics by pressuring the mother to interact and cooperate with her abuser instead of pressuring the father to stop his abuse. The normal fear, emotion and reluctance to cooperate with a man they see as dangerous is used to discredit and punish the mother. Using the “high conflict” lens makes it harder for court professionals to recognize the father’s abuse and to take it seriously.
Few court professionals have been taught about the dynamics of domestic violence or how to recognize it. We regularly see court professionals discredit domestic violence complaints for reasons that are not probative such as when women return to their abuser, withdraw protective orders or don’t have police or medical reports. The women do this for safety and other reasons, but if the professionals treat this kind of information as if it were proof of false allegations, they have no chance to recognize valid complaints. At the same time, these professionals are often only looking at incidents of physical abuse. Accordingly they fail to see the patterns of controlling and coercive behavior. They don’t pay attention to economic control, isolating behaviors, emotional abuse, monitoring their partner’s behavior or information about the abusers’ motivation. Once courts determine through these flawed practices that the domestic violence allegations are false, they generally refuse to consider additional evidence or events that support the allegations and severely retaliate against mothers who continue to believe their allegations. Significantly, when courts do recognize the father’s abuse, they rarely if ever penalize him for continuing to deny his abuse.
The pretend world created by the custody courts is supported by the popular myth that women frequently make false allegations of abuse to gain an advantage in the litigation. A new Department of Justice study led by Dan Saunders of the University of Michigan found that court professionals without adequate training in domestic violence are more likely to believe this myth and in turn make recommendations harmful to children. The myth greatly contributes to the frequent mistaken findings we see in custody courts where valid allegations of domestic violence are disbelieved. Widespread gender bias also contributes to the inaccurate decisions.
Custody courts do their worst job in responding to allegations of sexual abuse of children. Although a majority of allegations made by mothers are accurate, 85% of the cases result in custody for the alleged abuser. Even attorneys with little knowledge of domestic violence and child abuse routinely advise clients not to raise sexual abuse allegations, even with strong cases, because the courts are so reluctant to believe a father could commit such a heinous act. Sexual abuse against young children is particularly hard to prove because it is committed in private for obvious reasons and children often do not have the language to describe what their father did to them. Although many court professionals expect physical proof, most assaults do not leave physical evidence and when they do it may be gone by the time the child works up the courage to reveal the abuse. Older children often recant true allegations because the abuser has threatened to hurt them or their mother or because they don’t want someone they still love to get in trouble. Poor investigation methods by often inadequately trained professionals also impede proof of sexual abuse. When allegations are made by mothers the most likely circumstance is the allegations are true. The next most likely is that the accused did not abuse the child but engaged in boundary violations that made the child uncomfortable. Other common possibilities are that the allegations are false, but made in good faith or that the evidence is equivocal, but court professionals routinely focus on deliberately false allegations even though this is the least likely cause for the allegations. The result of these flawed practices is that courts often deny valid allegations of sexual abuse and conduct the rest of the case based upon the fiction that there is something wrong with the mother for trying to protect her child.
These common mistakes in domestic violence and child abuse cases lead to a pretend world promoted by the abuser and supported by the court in which the case is conducted based on the fiction that the mother’s allegations are false. Any attempt by the mother to provide additional information of the father’s abuse is treated as a lack of cooperation for which she is severely punished. Her only hope to have some minimal time with her children is to prove she no longer believes the true allegations she made. In other words she is back in a pretend world that she hoped to escape by leaving her abuser. Even worse, now he has complete control, supported by the court and she is not even near the children to try to protect them when he acts in a dangerous manner.
In the typical contested custody case the mother is the primary attachment figure for the child and complains about the father’s domestic violence and/or child abuse. The father counters with claims of alienation. The primary attachment figure is the parent or other caregiver who provides most of the child care during the first couple of years of a child’s life. When a child is separated from their primary attachment figure, the child is more likely to suffer depression, low self-esteem and to commit suicide when older. Accordingly it makes no sense to do this unless the primary attachment figure is unsafe such as if they were a drug addict or beat the child. At the same time children who witness domestic violence are more likely to engage in a variety of harmful behaviors when they are older and their normal development is impeded which can cause lifetime of harmful effects. Alienation is a nebulous term which is often alleged in a generalized way. The most likely outcome of false negative statements is that it harms the relationship with the parent making the false statements. There is no research that demonstrates long term harm to children from alienating behaviors. Claims of primary attachment are almost always true as in our still sexist society mothers continue to provide most of the child care particularly in the first years of a child’s life. In many cases the father does not contest the issue or the work schedules of the parents make it clear who was the primary attachment figure. Mothers’ allegations of abuse are rarely deliberately false (in cases of child sexual abuse inaccurate complaints could be made based on the behavior of the child), so the complaints tend to be reliable. Alienation claims by fathers in contested custody cases are often part of a standard abuser tactic to deflect claims of abuse. Research such as the study led by Nicholas Bala establishes that fathers in contested custody cases are sixteen times more likely to make deliberately false complaints. The complaints by mothers are more important to the well being of children and far more likely to be true than father’s complaints and yet in contested custody cases fathers receive custody or joint custody between 70 and 83% of the time. Clearly courts are not making decisions based upon the reality experienced by children or approaches that benefit children.
The worst custody decisions provide custody to the alleged abuser and supervised or no visitation to the safe, protective mother who is the primary attachment figure for the child. These decisions are virtually always wrong because they are based on punishing the mother for believing the father is dangerous and not on concerns for the well being of children. The findings are usually wrong because of the flawed practices, but the outcome would be wrong if the findings were correct because courts rarely weigh the harm they are causing with whatever benefit they seek to create. The harm of denying the child their primary attachment figure is far greater than any benefit the court believes it is providing. Significantly, we rarely see evaluation reports or court decisions that weigh the benefits and harm of a decision they are considering. This is the kind of result we see when courts fail to consider current scientific research in their decisions. Judges may believe the mental health professionals involved in the case provide this expertise, but the professionals relied on by the courts are rarely familiar with current scientific research and courts don’t disqualify or even discredit evaluators and other mental health professionals for being unfamiliar with current research.
Mothers partnered with abusive fathers are in an impossible situation. If they fail to protect their children from the dangerous abusers, they can lose custody for failure to protect. The mothers hear repeated messages that they should leave him, but when they do and try to protect their children, they are punished for interfering with the relationship between the children and the abusive father. The result is too many courtrooms in which courts recreate the pretend world the mother sought to escape.
In fairness to the custody courts, they were forced to develop practices to respond to domestic violence cases at a time when no research was available. Many other entities were slow to understand the best ways to respond to domestic violence. Police officers were trained for many years to separate the parties when called to a home and have the abuser walk around the block to calm down. Eventually they switched to a pro-arrest policy after research demonstrated this practice was ineffective. Domestic violence homicides were reduced as communities moved towards practices designed to hold the abuser accountable. Even domestic violence agencies have not always been as supportive of protective mothers as they deserved, but with the increase in Custody-Visitation Scandal Cases and increase in domestic violence homicides as a result of mothers staying with their abusers because of the dangers created by custody courts, the domestic violence community has made child custody an important priority. It has taken a while for academicians to realize the harm in common custody court practices. Initial research supported shared parenting, but more comprehensive research has demonstrated shared parenting is harmful to children even when there is no domestic violence, but too often it is used in domestic violence cases because court professionals have difficulty in recognizing domestic violence. Current scientific research confirms complaints by protective mothers that the custody courts are mistreating them and harming their children. Government agencies now seem to understand the custody courts are harming children. Their understanding is based upon the research now available. The problem is that child custody issues have historically and constitutionally been left to the states and their courts.
Psychologists and other mental health professionals engaged in research have come to understand the harm of the standard practices in domestic violence custody cases. Most mental health professionals are not involved in the custody court system, but have failed to impose ethical standards on mental health professionals involved in questionable practices in the custody courts. The professional associations have permitted ethically challenged psychologists and other professionals to make recommendations unsupported by current scientific research, engage in biased practices that favor abusers and make diagnoses that are not found in the DSM IV because they don’t exist. Although ethical considerations would require the professionals to consult with experts on subjects in which they don’t have expertise, like domestic violence, the professionals in custody courts routinely fail to consult domestic violence experts, wrongly believing they have this expertise. This has led to frequent mistakes in domestic violence custody cases. These unqualified mental health professionals have played an important role in misleading custody courts and creating an illusion that there is a scientific basis for the mistaken practices commonly used in custody courts.
Judge Sol Gothard often trains other judges because of his expertise in domestic violence and child abuse. He was featured in the PBS documentary BREAKING THE SILENCE: CHILDREN’S STORIES. He wrote that if the courts had commissioned a study on how the present practices are working, they would have found the research contained in DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, ABUSE and CHILD CUSTODY. This research demonstrates that the present practices are working poorly for children. The outdated and discredited practices routinely relied on by custody courts lead to the pretend world of custody courts we have discussed in this article. We must encourage judges and other court professionals to be open to the current scientific research and stop closing their eyes and ears to information that undermines their long-held beliefs and assumptions.
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A Cancer Spreading in the Custody Court System
The concept of Custody-Visitation Scandal Cases was developed because of the frequency of extreme results in custody cases in which children are endangered, safe, protective mothers are denied any meaningful relationship with their children and the results appear to be the opposite of what the evidence and the well being of the children would require. The Battered Mothers Custody Conference was started in response to what we believed were too many of these tragic cases to be viewed as exceptions.
When we look at an individual case, it is hard to be sure the decision is wrong without a careful review of the record. In most cases mothers are pathologized or demonized in order to create the appearance of a justification for the extreme actions taken. When the bad decisions backfire in a way that demonstrates even to the courts that the wrong decision was made, the defenders of the courts like to believe these cases constitute the exceptions to the usual good job done by courts. There is now a large body of research about these cases that show there are too many cases with extreme results and flawed practices to be conveniently dismissed as exceptions. To illustrate the problem, I want to look at four of these extreme cases not because they are exceptions, but because they represent the kinds of mistakes the court system routinely makes and will continue to make until it changes practices that were developed at a time when no research was available and have proven to be detrimental to the children the courts are supposed to protect.
In one New Jersey case I have consulted on, the father has a long history of domestic violence and after the separation, the children disclosed sexual abuse. In this as in all the cases I will be discussing, the mother was unquestionably the primary attachment figure for the children. DYFS, the New Jersey child protective agency, investigated the allegations, but failed to confirm them. As a result, the father was given custody and as the protective mother continued to believe the father was dangerous, and challenge the professionals who failed to protect her children, she has been limited to supervised visitation.
In a well known Kansas case that I have discussed with the protective mother, the father has numerous convictions for domestic violence and other crimes and a poor relationship with the daughter. Despite this, the court gave custody to the father and imposed ever greater restrictions on the mother’s access to the daughter. The mother has been active in exposing the broken court system and the court has wasted large amounts of time and money seeking to remove information from the Internet and silence the mother’s concerns. The court has retaliated against the mother with reductions in visitation and a variety of sanctions.
In a California case, the mother left the father because of his abusiveness to the mother. Initially, the mother agreed to give the father unsupervised visitation, but as he continued his abuse and threatened to kill the baby, she sought to restrict him to supervised visitation. The judge decided she was a liar, awarded the father unsupervised visitation and threatened further action against the mother if the judge’s belief she was lying was confirmed.
In a Maryland case the protective mother also sought to leave her abuser and when he made threats to hurt the children sought a protective order. Shortly before the mother appeared in court, she had sex with her husband. The judge, not understanding that it would not have been safe for the mother to refuse, assumed this meant the father could not possibly be dangerous and granted unsupervised visitation for the father.
One of the problems we have seen repeatedly is that when a court makes a mistake and fails to recognize or respond to danger caused by domestic violence, they will rarely admit to these mistakes. Instead we see the kind of retaliation and punitive measures harmful to children that was used in the New Jersey and Kansas cases. Nevertheless, the courts in California and Maryland would now admit they made the wrong decision. The case in California involved Katie Tagle as the protective mother. The father used the access given him by the judge to kill Baby Wyatt and then himself. Similarly, in Maryland, the mother was Dr. Amy Castillo and the father used the access provided by the judge to kill their three children and then himself.
The judges in California and Maryland are deeply disturbed by the outcome and genuinely sorry for their mistake. At the same time, they have defended their decisions saying they couldn’t have known of the father’s danger based upon the evidence in front of them. In one sense they are correct. The judges in these four cases all used the same outdated and discredited practices including the popular myth that women often make false allegations in order to gain an advantage in litigation. This contributes to the widespread inability of custody courts to recognize domestic violence and in turn led to the mistakes in these four cases and other cases endangering over 58,000 children every year.
If all or even a larger portion of the bad decisions led to an immediate and recognizable tragedy like the cases in California and Maryland, the needed reforms would have been adopted long ago and children controlled by custody courts would be protected. Most of the time, however, the cases are more like New Jersey and Kansas where the harm is better hidden and not as dramatic for the public. The children grow up without their primary attachment figure, often suffer private but horrible abuse and many become involved in a wide range of harmful behaviors in response to the direct and indirect abuse inflicted by their abusers. Most will never reach their potential as a result of the mistakes made in the custody courts.
Many communities have developed a practice in which child protective agencies team with the local domestic violence shelter. They cross-train staff and when a possible domestic violence case develops, child protective caseworkers consult with domestic violence advocates. This has resulted in child protective agencies being able to better recognize domestic violence and respond in ways that benefit the children. This should be considered best practices. DYFS recently adopted these best practices, but the New Jersey case was first investigated under the old flawed methods. The protective mother has asked DYFS and the court to take a fresh look at the original findings based upon better practices and the new research, but they adamantly refuse to consider the possibility that they made a mistake while using the old discredited practices. The judge has refused to consider any new evidence based on the up-to-date research and insists on proceeding with the case based on the unlikely conclusion that the mother’s allegations are false.
As with many mistaken decisions, the mother has been pathologized by the unqualified professionals involved in the case. DYFS regularly uses the same mental health professionals who intuitively understand they are more likely to continue to be used by DYFS if they reach conclusions that support DYFS’ findings. There is substantial evidence of confirmation bias in the work of the “neutral” professionals relied on by DYFS and the court. Since they “know” the mother’s allegations are false and she continues to believe them, she must be “delusional” and therefore unfit for anything but supervised visitation. If she were delusional, it would stand to reason that this would present a problem in the rest of her life. These professionals have never stopped to consider how she can be successful professionally, academically and in all other phases of her life. Perhaps the DSM should include a new condition “delusional in the custody courts.”
At this point, the concern is that because she continues to believe the father abused the children (based on substantial evidence) and so if she had unsupervised visitation would say negative things to the children. This is the beginning and the end of the discussion by the unqualified professionals relied on by the courts. The mother is the primary attachment figure to her children, so separating her from the children creates a higher risk of depression, low-self-esteem and suicide. Where is the research that establishes what harm would be caused to the children if she made these statements and they were false? There is no such research, it is just assumed by professionals unused to looking for research to justify their beliefs and recommendations. How can we know if the alleged harm of the mother making statements about the father is greater than the established harm of taking children away from their primary attachment figure?
The Kansas case is similar in that they have long since ignored or minimized the very real danger the abusive father poses to the child and instead concentrate all their attention on the supposed harm the mother can cause by continuing to believe the father is unsafe and posting information on the Internet that helps to expose a broken court system. Judges are ethically required to avoid actions that create the appearance of impropriety or conflict of interest. Although they phrase the demand to remove material as if it benefitted the child, in reality the real purpose is to hide the history of abuse of the father and the failure of the court to act in the child’s best interests. Given the clear conflict of interest (they are seeking to remove materials that criticize the court), at the very least they would need convincing evidence that the mother’s beliefs would create a long-term harm to the child. Similarly, the removal of the mother from the child’s life, although she is the primary attachment figure creates a serious risk of harm to the child that the court has failed to address. Until the court can cite evidence or research to support its assumptions, the extreme actions present at least an appearance of impropriety. Ironically in both cases the courts put a high priority on placing the children with the parent it viewed as most likely to promote a relationship with the other parent, but when the abusive fathers sought to deny the children a meaningful relationship with the parent the children most need (the primary attachment figure), the same priority of keeping both parents in the children’s lives was no longer paramount. This is a common mistake in the custody courts and is one example of the widespread gender bias faced by mothers. In fairness, court professionals are often oblivious to the gender biased approaches they use, but tend to get angry and retaliatory when it is pointed out to them.
I believe it is outrageous that the custody courts have not made children’s safety the first priority. In the California and Maryland cases where there was evidence of a history of domestic violence and threats to kill the children, the court had time for only a brief hearing and refused to protect the children’s safety resulting in their deaths at the hands of their fathers. At the same time, In the New Jersey and Kansas cases the courts seem to have unlimited time and resources to investigate the “danger” the children might hear their mothers’ concern for their safety and well being.
Certainly there are mothers whose contact with the children needs to be limited. This would be in cases where there is a genuine safety risk such as a mother who is a drug addict, physically abuses the children or has a mental illness so severe as to make her unsafe to care of the children. In the absence of such safety issues it is virtually always wrong for courts to take the extreme action of barring unsupervised visitation. This is certainly true when it is done in the context of mothers trying to protect their children from fathers they believe are unsafe. The research establishes that because of the outdated and discredited practices court professionals routinely use, a large majority of findings denying the mothers’ allegations are mistaken. Even when her allegations are untrue, it is unlikely the risk she will make negative comments about the father is more significant than the harm of taking a primary attachment figure out of the children’s lives. In other words the harm to the children of these visitation restrictions is almost always greater than the harm the court thinks it is avoiding.
This was explained by Joan Zorza in her chapter in our book, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ABUSE and CHILD CUSTODY, chapter 14 page 26. “Otherwise as shown in many parts of this book, courts often make mistakes that place the lives and safety of protective mothers and their children in jeopardy. In this context, it is important for courts that rule against alleged victims of DV to be open to the possibility that they made a mistake. Courts should be reluctant to take punitive or retaliatory actions against mothers who continue to believe their partners abused them.” The courts in Kansas and New Jersey could have saved the children a lot of harm (and still can) by following this advice based on the most up-to-date research available.
The elephant in the room is the issue of corruption. Every time courts make decisions that appear to have no relationship to the evidence presented and make orders that cannot possibly benefit the children involved, they create the appearance of corruption. When courts seek to silence protective mothers and retaliate for criticism of the court or their abuser, they are promoting the belief that only corruption could explain these extreme and harmful decisions.
There are cases decided by corruption. The Judge Garson case in Brooklyn, New York is a prime example and his early release from jail after conviction further harmed the courts’ reputation. More commonly mental health professionals and some attorneys have adopted beliefs and practices that favor abusers because that is where the money is. Nevertheless, I believe the research establishes that most of these bad decisions are caused by outdated and discredited practices that are deeply ingrained after all these years. In my career, I have seen many good people who I like and respect use these practices and come to extremely harmful conclusions. It is important, however that the legal system open its eyes to this problem, review the new research and stop acting defensively to the justified criticism.
In the summer of Watergate, John Dean testified that he told Nixon about a cancer on the presidency. His assumption was that the illegal and unethical practices were committed only by Nixon’s aides. It turned out that Nixon himself was the cancer on the presidency and had to be removed. Today there is a cancer on the custody court system. Some children are dying and others have their lives ruined by unjustified and extreme decisions. Rita Smith, Executive Director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence wrote in her Afterward to our new book that once the book is published anyone who continues to use the old practices must be understood to be committing malpractice. The four cases discussed in this article were originally decided based upon the old discredited practices. It is too late to save the children in California and Maryland. This is what happens when inadequately trained professionals rely on the myth that women frequently make false allegations. We can still help the children in New Jersey and Kansas by taking a fresh look at the cases based on the up-to-date research now available. The court system is at a crossroads. It now has the research to reform its training and practices so that they can better protect all the children. I hope they will treat the research as a gift and not an attack and use it to remove the cancer on the court system. In doing so the court system can support my view that the mistaken decisions are not based on corruption.
See this Amp at http://bit.ly/psRXlH
abusers, children, courts, custody, sending
http://www.nomas.org/node/168
Mothers and domestic violence advocates have been complaining for many years about problems in the custody court system that have resulted in large numbers of children being sent to live with abusive fathers while safe, protective mothers are denied any meaningful relationship with their children. Courts have tended to dismiss the complaints by referring to the mothers as “disgruntled litigants.” As more concern about the problem has been expressed and more research performed, the mothers’ complaints have been confirmed.
See this Amp at http://bit.ly/isy69R
courts, custody, custody courts, pretend, pretend world
By Barry Goldstein
See this Amp at http://bit.ly/kWfbwe
americas, collected, courts, Human Rights, small justice-little justice
Small Justice-Little Justice in Americas CourtS
In domestic law on June 16, 2011 at 12:11 pm
URL: http://vodpod.com/watch/1172358-small-justice-little-ju…
Garland Waller Productions
See this Amp at http://bit.ly/94y5aW
children, courts, custody, lost children, washington
MOTHERS DEMAND CHANGE IN FAMILY COURTS DURING PRESS CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
In domestic law on June 16, 2011 at 11:59 am
URL: http://vodpod.com/watch/4581483-mothers-demand-change-i…
See this Amp at http://bit.ly/c0xZ8P
apple pie, courts, father, historical background, rights movement
The “Father’s Right’s” Movement: How to Legally Stalk, Harass,THROUGH THE COURTS
In domestic law on June 2, 2011 at 6:30 pm
The “Father’s Right’s” Movement: How to Legally Stalk, Harass,and Intimidate Victims of Domestic Violence after a Restraining Order has been Issued
STALKING THROUGH THE COURTS by Janet Normalvanbreucher
Amplify’d from kansasfatherhoodinitiatives.blogspot.com
Historical Background of the Father’s Rights Movement
The Quest for Dominance and Control
Mom, Country, and Apple Pie — Why People Help Them
Differentiating Legitimate Fatherhood Groups from Illegitimate “Father’s Rights” Groups
– Ten Tips for Single Dads
IS There Bias in the Courts?
The “Father’s Manifesto” – A Political Platform to Repeal the 19th Amendment
– Father’s Manifesto Signatories
Practicing Law Without A License — A Pro-Se Army
Use of the Internet to Disseminate Information
The Seduction of the Media
Father’s Right’s Advocates in High Places
How the Father’s Right’s Movement Hurts Men with Legitimate Disputes
Mein Kampf — Indoctrination Tactics of The Father’s Rights Movement
Brief History of VAWA and the Restraining Order
Are Restraining Orders Widely Abused by Women as a Tactical Maneuver in a Divorce?
Attacking Her Credibility
DOJ — Profile of an Obsessive Stalker
“She Deserved It” — How the Criminal Process Fails Victims
Malicious Prosecution and Abuse of Process in the Courts
– Victoria D.’s story
Vindictive Custody/Visitation Suits
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Parental Alienation Syndrome
– if Psychologists Discredit this Theory, Why Is it So Widely Accepted by the Courts?
Harassment of Judges, the Legislature, and Potential Jurors
Lawyers Who Knowingly Help Men Harass their Victims
Possible Solutions:
– Screening of Pro-Se Lawsuits, Criminal Charges, Motions for Reconsideration
– Criminal Sanctions for Filing Frivolous Charges with State Administrative Agencies
– Tighter Enforcement of Stalking Laws
– Rule 11-type Pro-Se Sanctions for Abuse of Process
– Prosecuting Groups who are Practicing Law Without A License
– Law School Programs – Helping the Victims Fight Back
– Lawsuits against FR Groups under the VAWA as Unincorporated Associations.
– Legislative Action
A Proposed Constitutional Amendment
Read more at kansasfatherhoodinitiatives.blogspot.com
See this Amp at http://bit.ly/iKgNsa
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BULA NETWORK
CXO/Executive Coaching & Online Peer Advantage Groups For Entrepreneurs
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Excelling At The Next Level – Grow Great Daily Brief #114 – December 4, 2018
Author: Randy Cantrell Published: December 4, 2018
https://media.blubrry.com/bulanetwork/p/bulanetwork.com/audio/2018/DailyBrief/GG114.12.04.2018.mp3
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I live in Dallas/Ft. Worth. This is a pro sports town. This season it’s a pro sports town with 3 sensational rookies, representing 3 different sports.
Dallas Cowboys rookie linebacker Leighton Vander Esch. Age 22. The National Football League.
Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic. Age 19. The National Basketball Association.
Dallas Stars rookie Miro Heiskanen. Age 19. The National Hockey League.
These professional athletes aren’t merely serviceable, they’re outstanding. Leighton Vander Esch played college football for Boise State. He was good, but at the NFL level, he’s great.
Luka with the Mavericks basketball team is a seasoned veteran having played against grown men much of his life, but at the NBA level, he’s fearless, unintimidated and spectacular.
Miro is from Finland where he’s had extensive hockey experience, but at the NHL level, he’s as confident and capable on the ice as anybody.
Three very young, inexperienced (at least at their current level of competition) players who are proving as successful or MORE SO at these highest levels of their sports.
Local sportscasters and sports talk show hosts have marveled at these young athletes playing at such high levels in their first years as professionals in the most competitive leagues in the world. Some have wondered how it’s possible, noting that as good as they were at lower levels of play — they’re even better now.
You just never know.
198 players were selected in the 2000 NFL draft ahead of Tom Brady. At pick number 199 Brady barely cracked the top 200 of players drafted that year. He’s a surefire Hall of Famer, having played 18 seasons at the highest levels possible in his sport. Who knew? Well, everybody knows now.
We know what we know. We think what we think. And what we think is our reality.
For the past couple of years, I’ve been fascinated with the human brain, how we think and how it shapes our reality. I’m no expert, but I think we can all agree that our future reality begins in our how mind. First, we think it. We believe it. Then we behave, act and make decisions according to those beliefs. Our actions bring about the results to make what was once just an idea, thought or belief a reality. It’s more complex than that, but from my simpleton’s point of view that pretty much sums it up.
It means that our ability to excel at the next level – whatever the next level may be for us, or our business – depends largely on our belief that we can excel at the next level. The three rookies here in Dallas have extraordinary skills, but their skills appear more obvious at this highest level than they did even at lower levels. In other words, they seem better at this level. It’s like this toughest of environments is where they shine most.
It begs the questions, “What if you could perform even better at a higher level? What if there are significantly higher levels of performance in your future, but you can only access them if you truly believe you can do it?”
Daily conditioning over the years of our life impacts us. We have a vision of who and what we are. It can very hard to overcome. A man making $40K a year dreams of making $50K, but having never made that much money he can’t truly see himself making that much. So he doesn’t. Sure, it’s more complicated than that, but if he can’t see it or believe it, then the details don’t much matter. Replace those numbers with much bigger numbers and you’ve got the same phenomenon happening. People making $150K a year may struggle to think they could ever earn $200K.
Self-Limiting Beliefs
They’re real. And they don’t exist when people perform at the highest levels. It’d take a lot more than a 10 minute (give or take) daily podcast to delve into the nuances of all that, but for our purposes today…I want to encourage you to give yourself permission to think bigger! Maybe way bigger!
Take a look around. Are there things or people or circumstances in your life that you once dreamed about? Look closely and carefully. You’ll likely find more than a few.
Now go back in your mind and try to remember how you felt when you really wanted those things but didn’t have them. Put yourself right back there. Where were you? What were you doing? How was your life?
If you were able to go from where you once were to where you now are…then what makes you think this is the highest pinnacle of your business achievement?
Start thinking about the next level, or maybe the highest level. What is that? What does that look like?
Why couldn’t you excel at that level? Don’t say because you don’t feel like you’re excelling at this current level. That’s an excuse that may be invalid.
Being world-class where you’re at may not be the path to being world-class at the next, or at the highest level. Sometimes being good enough is the path to the next level. Don’t get stuck in your head thinking wrongly about all this. Business is a game for players, not spectators or dreamers only. It’s a game for people committed to playing as hard as they can. For people who want to play it at the highest levels they want. It’s not up to me, or anybody else to determine the level for you. You decide for yourself.
Some people want to build sustainable, profitable businesses that aren’t complex or very large. They just want large enough. That’s fine. It doesn’t mean you can’t grow and improve. It just means you want what you want and that’s as it should be. Don’t let people talk you out of it.
Some want to build the biggest business possible. They want bigger and bigger and still bigger. That’s cool, too.
Just make sure you want what you want for reasons other than the negative self-limiting beliefs that you can’t go bigger. Don’t buy into the notion that the rockstars are just that much better than you. You don’t know that. You may believe it, but that’s up to you to bash that wall and break it into pieces. Jeff Bezos didn’t start out knowing how to run, operate or lead a multi-billion dollar empire. Neither did any other super-duper entrepreneur. They figured it out along the way. Largely fueled to success because the success happened first in their head. They believed excelling at the next level as possible. They lived accordingly.
Don’t rob yourself of experiencing the next level before you even give yourself the opportunity to find out. Think it. Believe it. Act on it. Realize it.
Be well. Do good. Grow great!
Next post: Innovate For Simplicity – Grow Great Daily Brief #115 – December 5, 2018
Previous post: Hello, December. Good-Bye, 2018! – Grow Great Daily Brief #113 – December 3, 2018
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BWH Bookshelf
“You Can Stop Humming Now: A Doctor’s Stories of Life, Death, and in Between”
By Daniela Lamas, MD
In her first book, BWH’s Daniela Lamas, MD, explores what comes after critical care for those whose lives are extended by days, months or years because of our treatments and technologies. The book provides intimate accounts of the experiences of patients and their families. A grandfather whose failing heart has been replaced by a battery-operated pump; a salesman who found himself a kidney donor on social media; a college student who survived a near fatal overdose and returned home, alive but not the same; and a young woman navigating an adulthood she never thought she’d live to see – these narratives paint a picture of the fragile border between sickness and health.
Dr. Lamas’ book will be available March 27 in the U.S.
“An Introduction to Global Health Delivery”
By Joia S. Mukherjee, MD, MPH
In “An Introduction to Global Health Delivery,” Joia S. Mukherjee, MD, MPH, introduces global health’s origins, actors, interventions and challenges. Informed by her quarter-century of experience fighting disease and poverty in more than a dozen countries, the book delivers an overview of the movement underway to reduce global health disparities and establish sustainable access to care, including details of what has worked so far – and what hasn’t.
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Westchase District targets small businesses to fill older buildings
By Katherine Feser on July 27, 2015 at 6:58 PM
A building at 9900 Richmond owned by Rockwell Management represents one of the Class B office buildings in the Westchase District. (HFF photo)
The Westchase District has introduced a marketing campaign aimed at closing the gap between occupancy rates for Class A and Class B office space.
Westchase, which spans 4.2 square miles centered around Beltway 8 and Richmond Avenue on Houston’s west side, posted an overall occupancy of 90 percent in the first quarter. Class A buildings were 93 percent occupied, while Class B buildings stood at 82 percent.
“As some businesses move up into newly-constructed A space, we knew there would be some backfill opportunities,” Sherry Fox of The Westchase District said in an email.
The district is running an ad, excerpted below, in various real estate publications that tout the region’s “big business amenities for small business budgets”:
There are many big new office buildings in Westchase District perfect for large, international companies. But what if you’re not a giant company? Don’t worry; you can still enjoy all the benefits of the District in a smaller, more affordable multi-tenant building. Many are newly updated. Some offer whole-floor opportunities. And they all offer access to everything you’d expect from the District: great mobility, beautiful surroundings, desirable amenities, close proximity to many of the city’s leading companies, and easy access to our new trail system.
“We want prospective tenants (and their brokers) to know they get all the advantages of being in Westchase District even if they’re not in the most expensive building in Westchase,” Fox said. “We have eight B buildings in Westchase District with whole floor opportunities. There are great opportunities for growing companies.”
One empty building at 10555 Richmond will be occupied later this year by Ignite Restaurant Group. (See story here.) It was among several lease deals handled by PM Realty Group in Westchase for Houston-based Zenith Real Estate.
The Westchase District is home to Phillips 66, which is building a new headquarters campus; BMC Software; Halliburton; and C&J Energy Services.
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Heat Watch: The city’s worst drought ever gets worse, and next week looks hot too
By Eric Berger on August 12, 2011 at 6:31 AM
Lots of stuff today, so let’s get right to it.
With another 100-degree day Houston (102 degrees, actually) has now tied the second-longest streak of 100-degree days in the city’s history (set in 1998).
Next up? The 14-day streak that occurred in 1980. We’ve got a chance to break it, as will be discussed in the forecast below, but might miss on Saturday or Sunday if enough clouds build up over the official station at Bush Intercontinental Airport.
It’s a record I’d be happy not to break.
As part of an excellent update on the city’s drought, the National Weather Service dug up an incredible statistic: Since Feb. 1 Houston has recorded just 5.81 inches of rain. The next driest comparable period – that is, the 191 days from Feb. 1 through August 10 – occurred in 1917 when there were 10.98 inches of rain.
Here’s another way of looking at it: The city has now gone 198 days without a 1-inch rain event. The last day Houston recorded 1 inch of rain came on Jan. 24. This has broken the record of 192 days set during the fall and winter of 1917-1918.
In other words, this dry spell is simply off the charts and it’s going to have myriad consequences for the area, from our trees and wild creatures to home foundations, not to mention the agricultural effects on a larger scale.
Just as it has locally, the statewide drought continues to worsen to historic depths.
The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor was released Thursday and it continues to be brutal for Texas. Now nearly 95 percent of Texas is in at least an extreme drought, with nearly 80 percent in an exceptional drought.
(U.S. Drought Monitor)
Please, make it stop. But will it?
The National Weather Service says the remnants of an upper level disturbance could bring some rain to the Houston metro area on Saturday, and gives it about a 20 percent chance. Not great odds, but better than zero percent.
Here’s the latest detailed outlook from ImpactWeather‘s Fred Schmude, who also sees a slight chance of rain this weekend, and perhaps a modest pattern change by late August:
There’s little change in the forecast as upper level high pressure remains in control of the weather pattern bringing mostly dry and very hot weather conditions to the Houston area.
Even though the upper high may weaken a little over the next few days, temperatures will remain very hot with 100 degree heat over most of the region. Daytime highs for Thursday reached near or just above 100 over most of Harris County and we expect a very similar pattern as we move into today and Saturday with temperatures peaking out in between 100 and 102 over most of northern and western Harris County to 98 to 100 over the southern and eastern parts of the county.
By Sunday through the middle part of next week we are gaining confidence that that the upper level high pressure area will strengthen even more possibly resulting in even hotter weather conditions. Early projections from Sunday through next Wednesday indicate high temperatures will average in between 101-104 over most of northern and western Harris County to 99 to 102 over most of the southern and eastern part of the county.
As for rain chances, expect little if any rain over most of the Houston area through the middle of next week. There will remain a slight chance for morning showers, mainly near the coast on Friday and Saturday. In addition, we will continue to mention a very slight chance for mainly late afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms over most of the Houston area from Saturday through Monday as a weak cold front stalls across northeast Texas. The best chance of rain with this front will remain just north of the Houston from the Lufkin area and points north.
The long range outlook for the remainder of August is still hinting at a significant pattern change during the last week of August as strong upper level high pressure pivots northward toward the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes. Such a pattern shift would bring a deeper fetch of tropical moisture over the region possibly leading to a better chance for shower and thunderstorm activity.
Even though confidence this far out remains on the low side, at least there’s a glimmer of hope for some much needed rain during the last 10 to 12 days of August.
Of course, if this long range forecast verifies, the high would be moving out of the area just as we reach the peak of hurricane season …
After a lull since Tropical Storm Emily died over the mountains of Hispaniola two weeks ago the tropics are showing signs again of reawakening.
The following map from the National Hurricane Center shows four areas of interest in the open Atlantic Ocean, including two in the deep tropics, Invest 92L and Invest 93L.
The 7 a.m. CT update. (National Hurricane Center)
Both of these systems have a good chance to develop in the next week, but of the two it’s Invest 93L (the one furthest to the right) which has the best chance of approaching the Caribbean Sea and threatening the mainland United States.
We’ll definitely have to stay abreast of these systems, but for now they’re still undeveloped and a long way from land.
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Set Your DVRs
By Therese Odell on May 18, 2015 at 9:30 AM
The Bachelorette: Hey, did you hate it when the Bachelorette had too much power over her dating life? Good news, ABC fixed it this season by pitting two Bachelorettes against each other, and letting the men decide which one they want to date. Season premiere. 8 p.m., ABC
The Following: No one is safe in the series finale. 7 p.m., FOX
Mike & Molly: A nasty breakup makes Mike & Molly’s anniversary cruise awkward. Season finale. 7:30 p.m., CBS
Dancing with the Stars: A winner is chosen! Season finale. 8 p.m., ABC
The Voice: A winner is chosen! Season finale. 8 p.m., NBC
Late Night with David Letterman: A late night great takes his final curtain call. 10:30 p.m., CBS
500 Questions: In this new series game show, the “smartest” people in America have to answer 500 of the “hardest” general trivia questions out there. Season premiere. 7 p.m., ABC
Survivor: It’s the final tribal council time. Season finale. 7 p.m., CBS
Masterchef: 40 new chefs show off their best dish in an attempt to impress Gordon Ramsay, et al. Season premiere. 7 p.m., FOX
Modern Family: It’s Alex’s graduation! Season finale. 8 p.m., ABC
Supernatural: Castiel is caught in the middle when Rowena and Crowley face off. 8 p.m., The CW
Red Nose Day: John Legend, Adam Levine, Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Sam Smith, Martin Short, Jennifer Hudson, and Sean “Diddy” Combs are among the stars participating in this fundraiser to raise money for children living in poverty. 7 p.m., NBC
Between: In this new series, a town is struck by a mysterious ailment that kills off everyone over the age of 22. However, unlike your other Netflix addictions, you can’t binge this series. New episodes will be released each week. Netflix
Field of Dreams: If you record it, you can watch. 7 p.m., Ovation
The Grand Budapest Hotel: Watch Wes Anderson’s jewel box of a movie, one of his best to date. 8 p.m., HBOSGe
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: This sequel to Rise of Planet of the Apes is better than it has any right to be. 7 p.m., HBO
Kidnapped: The Hannah Anderson Story: Based on the true story of a 16-year-old girl who was abducted by her mother and brother’s killer, and who was later suspected of having a role in the crime. 7 p.m., Lifetime
Battle Creek: Some startling revelations are made in the series finale, but seeing as it is the series finale, nothing will come of them. 9 p.m., CBS
Game of Thrones: Sansa reaches out to Theon/Reek, and after what happened to them in this week’s episode, he better be willing to help her out. 8 p.m., HBO
Back to the Future Marathon: It still isn’t the day that Marty travels to in Back to the Future II, by the way. 7 p.m., Spike
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Dallas Cowboys and the NFL
Report: Joe Avezzano dead at age 68
By LeAnna Kosub on April 5, 2012 at 1:19 PM
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Photo: EN
SPORTS/ADVANCE -- Cowboys special teams coordinator Joe Avezzano gives direction to the players during training camp in Wichita Falls.
Former Cowboys special teams coach Joe Avezzano (right) chats with offensive line coach Hudson Houck after the morning session of the Dallas Cowboys training camp at the Alamodome on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011. Kin Man Hui/kmhui@express-news.net less
Former Cowboys special teams coach Joe Avezzano (right) chats with offensive line coach Hudson Houck after the morning session of the Dallas Cowboys training camp at the Alamodome on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011. ... more
Photo: SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Special Teams and Tight Ends coach Joe Avezzano, left, talks with linebacker Jamal Brooks, (50) during practice at training camp in Wichita Falls, Texas, Thursday, July 26, 2001. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)
FILE - Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Harvey Martin, left, poses with Cowboys special teams coach Joe Avezzano in May 1999 in Dallas. Martin died Monday, Dec. 24, 2001, in Grapevine, Texas, of pancreatic cancer. (AP Photo/Nan Coulter via The Dallas Morning News) less
FILE - Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Harvey Martin, left, poses with Cowboys special teams coach Joe Avezzano in May 1999 in Dallas. Martin died Monday, Dec. 24, 2001, in Grapevine, Texas, of pancreatic ... more
SPORTS - Special teams coach Joe Avezzano watches his team during Dallas Cowboys camp at the Alamodome on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2002. BILLY CALZADA / STAFF
Fox 4 News in Dallas-Fort Worth is reporting that former Dallas Cowboys special teams coach Joe Avezzano has died at the age of 68.
The report says the Cowboys are stating that Avezzano suffered a heart attack Thursday in Milan, Italy. Avezzano was named the head coach of the Milano Seamen of the Italian Football League in September 2011.
Avezzano was with the Cowboys from 1990 through 2002 and won three Super Bowl rings with the team.
He was the head coach of the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League in 2002 and 2003, then served as the Oakland Raiders’ special teams coach from 2003-05.
He also was an offensive line coach for Texas A&M from 1985-87 and offensive coordinator in 1988 under coach Jackie Sherrill.
After coaching in high school, Avezzano coached on the college staffs at Florida State, Iowa State, Pittsburgh and Tennessee. He was the head coach at Oregan State from 1980-84, before joining the Aggies.
Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson hired him in 1990. During his time with the Cowboys, he was named the NFL’s special teams coach of the year in 1991, ’93 and ’98, becoming the only coach to earn the honor three times.
LeAnna Kosub
Cowboys Scoreboard
Cowboys Schedule
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Canada's Alberta forecasts record budget deficit
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - The Canadian province of Alberta, which has been hammered by falling crude prices, is forecasting a record budget deficit of C$5.9 billion ($4.49 billion) this year, a number that could increase to C$6.5 billion, Finance Minister Joe Ceci said on Monday.
An oil pump jack pumps oil in a field near Calgary, Alberta, July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Todd Korol
Alberta, home to Canada’s oil sands and the largest source of U.S. crude imports, has struggled with a sharp drop in revenue as global oil prices tumbled over the last 12 months.
The province said it forecast revenue of C$44.3 billion - about C$1 billion higher than previously projected, in part because of the newly elected left-leaning NDP government’s decision to increase corporate income tax rates 12 percent from 10 percent.
Spending was also higher than forecast in the first quarter because of climate-related incidents, including agricultural drought relief and wildfire fighting costs, according to the report.
At a news conference, Ceci noted that the numbers were based on oil price projections from the end of July - prior to a further dramatic drop in crude - and could be updated in an upcoming budget, scheduled to be introduced in October.
“We know things are different now and as we go forward to our budget, we’ll be looking at taking all the information to account and bringing that forward with the October budget,” Ceci said.
He added that the government was looking to balance its budget by 2018-2019 and was taking steps to diversify the province’s economy so that it would be less susceptible to volatility in the oil and gas market.
Alberta is not the only Canadian province to be affected by lower oil revenue. Neighboring Saskatchewan on Monday forecast its first deficit in two decades, citing lower oil prices and costly forest fires.
Saskatchewan’s finance minister, Kevin Doherty, forecast a C$292 million deficit for the current 2015/16 fiscal year, compared with a C$106.8 million surplus predicted earlier.
Saskatchewan’s revenue is expected to drop by C$237.8 million, to C$14.04 billion, with expenses climbing by C$161 million, to C$14.33 billion.
Reporting by Nia Williams and Mike De Souza in Calgary, additional reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Cynthia Osterman
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UC Berkeley rated world’s top public school by U.S. News
By Yasmin Anwar, Media Relations
UC Berkeley retains its standing as the world’s No. 1 public and fourth-best university overall in U.S. News & World Report’s latest global rankings.
Harvard, MIT and Stanford claimed the top three spots, with the UK’s University of Oxford trailing Berkeley in fifth place.
The California Institute of Technology came in sixth, with the University of Cambridge, Columbia, Princeton and Johns Hopkins tied with Yale and the University of Washington rounding off the top 10.
As a public university, UC Berkeley ranked first globally, with the University of Washington in Seattle in 10th place and UCLA in 13th. UCSF and UC San Diego placed 15th and 16th.
The U.S. News & World Report’s Best Global University Rankings, made public today, focus on the publication of academic research and on reputation. This year, 1,250 universities in 74 countries were evaluated
In subject areas, UC Berkeley ranked first in chemistry and environment/ecology; second in physics; third in biology and biochemistry and in space science; fourth in plant and animal science; and fifth in economics and business, engineering, materials science and mathematics.
Among other things, the U.S. News global rankings measure a university’s international and regional reputation and its performance in academic research, using such indicators as citations and publications. This year, Berkeley placed fifth for its global research standing and third for regional research reputation.
Using different criteria, U.S. News also issues “America’s Best Colleges” rankings annually. In this year’s national ratings, UC Berkeley topped the list of public universities and ranked 21st overall.
« Campus message on air quality and health
A holiday message from Chancellor Christ »
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Catalog Record: The minor poems of Joseph Beaumont | HathiTrust Digital Library
The minor poems of Joseph Beaumont /
ed. from the autograph manuscript, with introduction and notes by Eloise Robinson.
Beaumont, Joseph, 1616-1699.
Robinson, Eloise.
Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1914.
"The unique manuscript of Dr. Joseph Beaumont's minor poems is the property of Professor George Herbert Palmer, of Harvard University."-Introd.
xliii, 463 p. (1 leaf of plates) : ill. ; 22 cm.
Full view Cornell University
The minor poems of Joseph Beaumont, ..., 1616-1699.
The minor poems of Joseph Beaumont, D.D. : 1616-1699 /
The minor poems.
The complete poems of Dr. Joseph Beaumont (1615-1699) /
The complete poems of Dr. Joseph Beaumont (1615-1699)
The complete poems of Dr. Joseph Beaumont (1615-1699) For the first time collected and edited:
The complete poems of Dr. Joseph Beaumont (1615-1699). For the first time collected and edited: with memorial-introduction, notes, and illustrations, glossarial index, and portrait, &c.,
Original poems in English and Latin, with an appendix. Containing a dissertation, &c. and some remarks on the epistle to the Colossians.
Memoirs :
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Eureka! Inclusive Charter School, Inc.
San Jose, California, 95123 United States
Our Mission is to establish the first intentionally-inclusive and universally designed publicly funded school in Santa Clara County, reflective of the cultural, linguistic, and learning diversity of the students living in the neighborhoods of San Jose Unified School District. Our vision is that Eureka! Inclusive will inspire the growth of intentionally inclusive and universally designed schools in Santa Clara County.
Eureka! Inclusive Charter School is a proposed charter school that seeks to create an integrated school model where all children are served in inclusive classroom settings and learn together to share their own unique gifts as human beings.
Upon approval of its charter petition in 2019, Eureka! Inclusive will serve students within the San José Unified School District located in heart of Silicon Valley . Eureka! Inclusive is a parent initiated school, designed to meet the needs of SJUSD's most marginalized and lowest performing student groups, i.e. Students with Disabilities, English Learners, Low Income, Homeless, and Foster students.
Traditional school models often equate special education with separate education. Many students are segregated into separate classrooms for most of their day, or placed in "pull out programs" to address learning, language acquisition, or mental health needs. Unfortunately, such programs often reinforce differences and interrupt the typical experiences that are necessary for social skill acquisition, life-skill learning, and scholastic success.
Eureka! Inclusive is built on the principles of Full Inclusion, Universal Design for Learning, Equity Based Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, and Relationship Based Teaching. Endorsed by both The CHIME Institute and SWIFT Education Center, Eureka! Inclusive's educational program ensures that all students have access to all aspects of the curriculum. This approach to inclusion creates schools where all students, including those with extensive needs, are fully valued, welcomed, well supported, and meaningfully engaged in learning.
556 North 20Th St
Website https://www.eurekacharter.org/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/eurekainclusivecharterschool/
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RAVEN CHRONICLES
Established in 1991, Raven Chronicles is a Seattle-based literary organization that publishes and promotes work that embodies the cultural diversity of writers and artists living in the Pacific Northwest and other regions. We publish two print journals each year (Summer & Winter), and original work on our website, www.ravenchronicles.org.
Established in 1991, The Raven Chronicles is a Seattle-based literary organization that publishes and promotes artistic work that embodies the cultural diversity and multitude of viewpoints of writers and artists living in the Pacific Northwest and other regions. Raven is dedicated to publishing and disseminating the work of both established and emerging/ underexposed writers/artists. We seek to foster both experimental work and traditional work; to marry the work of traditional storytellers (Native American, Armenian, Latino, etc.) with experimental writers (spoken word/concrete poetry, etc.). With our trans-cultural publications and our website, we attempt to encourage an audience that is hip, literate, informed, and lives in a society that is already multicultural. We promote helping writers and artists reach broader, more diverse audiences in King County, Washington State, the Pacific Northwest, and outside our regional boundaries. Raven is a part of the cultural fabric of the City of Seattle, and Raven endeavors to help enrich the cultural makeup of the City and encourage ongoing discussions about what it means to live in a multicultural city and nation. Raven publishes online, in print, and through our publisher imprint, Raven Chronicles Press.
15528 12Th Ave Ne
Website http://www.ravenchronicles.org
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/raven.chronicles
Twitter @ravenchronic
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World Cup latest – auctions score with 1966 shirts
“They think it’s all over... it is now!”
A reminder of England's 1966 glory came up as part of a collection relating to World Cup-winning full-back George Cohen, consigned by the man himself to Graham Budd's (17.5% buyer's premium) latest sporting memorabilia sale.
The 27 lots included his white No.2 jersey worn in the semi-final against Portugal at Wembley on July 26, 1966. Cohen had swapped it with his opponent Antonio Simoes but the Portugese winger later returned it to him at a charity event in 1999 having signed and inscribed the jersey: 'To G. Cohen, with my best regards, Fev 08 99'.
Born in Kensington in 1939, Cohen - who spent his entire club career at Fulham - was in competition with Jimmy Armfield for the full-back position for the 1966 World Cup but had become Alf Ramsey's first choice by the time the tournament started. Cohen played in every game of the winning campaign. His nephew Ben Cohen later achieved a remarkable family double by winning the Rugby World Cup in 2003.
The semi-final shirt eventually sold for a low-estimate £3000. This was some way behind the £32,000 seen for Cohen's red World Cup Final jersey that sold at Christie's South Kensington in June 2006 and also the reported £80,000 paid by Fulham for his 1966 winners' medal in 1998.
The Cohen collection offered at Graham Budd on May 22-23 was just one of the stand-out items among the many football-related lots being offered in a series of special auctions inevitably being timed to coincide with the current tournament now underway in Brazil, as well as others in recent mixed offerings which have tempted consignors.
Other England shirts sold in the same sale included Geoff Hurst's white England No.10 1970 World Cup jersey worn in the match v Romania at the Estadio Jalisco on June 2, England's opening match at Mexico in defence of their World Cup title. England won the game 1-0 through a goal by Hurst in the 65th minute. This shirt sold for £5500 (est: £3000-5000).
Fontaine Strikes Again
A high-flier shirt came in the form of Just Fontaine's blue France No 17 jersey, worn during the 1958 World Cup, which sold for five times the low estimate to strike £25,000.
Its desirability was simple: Fontaine set a record that stands to this day for the most goals scored during a single World Cup finals tournament: 13 in six matches. France bowed out in a semi-final against Brazil before he thumped in four against Germany in the third-place play-off.
"The Fontaine shirt hammered for £4500 at Bonhams in 2002 so that's a stunning increase," said Mr Budd.
Lots 337 to 455 at Graham Budd focused on World Cup memorabilia, and while a match ball used in the 1962 World Cup in Chile sold for £10,200 (est: £5000-7000), and a 1974 World Cup gold winner's medal - recipient unknown, however - took a low-estimate £10,000, plenty of more affordable items showed how accessible the market is at all levels. For example, nine World Cup pin badges, comprising 1954, two for 1958, 1970, 1974 and four for 2006, sold for £75, and a large official 1966 World Cup stadium flag made £150.
The shirts and the 1974 medal all went overseas, to different buyers.
Shepherdson Medal
A 1966 World Cup winner's medal came up in the sale at Mullock's (17% buyer's premium) of Shropshire on June 4-5. And while the likes of Nobby Stiles' winner's medal netted £160,000 in 2010, this particular example went for a low-estimate £12,000. It does have a rather different history, however.
It was, in fact, awarded posthumously to Harold Shepherdson, reputedly the longest-serving England trainer and physio, holding that role from 1957-74. It is one of the medals issued in 2009 to the remaining England squad after only the starting 11 received medals during the competition.
They were presented to the players and Mrs Shepherdson by the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street in a ceremony organised by the FA on June 10 that year. The medal party headed straight to Wembley Stadium on the England team bus for their match against Andorra, and the medal was offered with a match programme from that game signed by the remaining squad members in 2009 including 1966 cup final goalscorer Hurst.
Beckenbauer Shirt
One upcoming item is Franz Beckenbauer's 1966 semi-final shirt which will be offered at Derbyshire saleroom Hansons in their World Cup sale on June 30, estimated at £4000-£6000.
Beckenbauer's shirt has come to auction after being discovered in a house in the local area - the 1966 West Germany squad stayed at The Peveril of the Peak hotel in Ashbourne, Derbyshire. While most teams preferred to stay in cities, the German team arrived in the small market town on July 14.
He handed his match shirt to policeman Sergeant Walter Turner on July 28, 1966. As Ashbourne became a hunting ground for football fans seeking autographs, Sgt Turner was instructed to stand guard to stop them entering the hotel.
He said at the time: "It was an honour mixing with such great sportsmen and the German players would call me Mr Bobby. The German team simply wanted some peace and quiet in the quaint Derbyshire town of Ashbourne."
He was rewarded when the team left for London before the final. A squad member had tried to press some money into his hand, said Sgt Turner, "but I refused and asked instead for his shirt. The team had just returned from a victorious meeting with the Russians, and I was handed a white shirt still warm and damp with sweat - it was Number 4, Beckenbauer's".
Beckenbauer had actually scored in the game against the Soviet Union (Russia), on July 25 at Everton's ground, Goodison Park, in a 2-1 win.
Graham Budd
Olympic Games brings run of auctions
Stanley Matthews’ FA Cup medal scores new record at £220,000
Franklin medal for sale as wreck is discovered
New high for Olympic torch as Budd sets £420,000 house record
Online bidding now the norm for medals as CGC takes £130,000
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Our board of trustees is essential to the smooth-running of CFG. We value the wide range of expertise and insight they bring from their vast experience across the charity sector.
(Chair)
Nicki Deeson
Nicki joined the Board in September 2012 and succeeded Ian Theodoreson as Chair in October 2017. She is International Finance Director at Amnesty, where she enjoys the challenge of developing financial leadership in an organisation that works across 80 countries. After qualifying with Coopers & Lybrand in 1992 she joined the charity sector, firstly working as a volunteer accountant in Bangladesh and Africa, and then in UK-based roles for overseas development charities. She worked as a virtual FD with a number of smaller charities before becoming Head of Finance at Alzheimer's Society. Nicki was first a member of CFG in 1995 and is keen to use this role to support CFG's developments and the effectiveness of the charity sector as a whole.
(Deputy Chair)
Gary Forster
Gary joined Publish What You Fund as CEO in July 2018 after taking a career break to travel with his wife. Before this he was the CEO of the INGO Transaid from 2011 until 2017 having joined the organisation as a volunteer in 2006. With a background in logistics from his time at Procter and Gamble, and qualifications in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Gary has spent much of his career designing, implementing and evaluating health programmes throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
(Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee)
Sam Husband
Sam is the Director of Finance for North Devon Hospice, joining the Charity in 2004. She is responsible for the financial management of the charity and its subsidiaries, and her responsibilities also include facilities management, IT, and commercial activities of the charity incorporating retail shops and a charity café. Sam is a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants, and has been awarded two third-sector financial management awards during her time at the hospice. Prior to working in the charity sector, she has held various senior financial positions in both global and regional manufacturing companies. Locally, Sam has held a number of governor positions in both academy and independent schools.
Brigid Janssen
Brigid was Director of Global Communications at Oxfam International and has previously been a board member of a charity for the protection of heritage in her native Canada. Her career has taken her from Ottawa to Paris, Washington and London, first as a journalist, and then providing strategic communications to international organisations, the Bank of Canada and most recently, an industry body to promote responsible mining worldwide. She began consulting as a principle of CounterCurrent Communications in early 2016.
John Tranter
John Tranter is Director of Resources at Independent Age. He has a wide experience of the charity care sector having been Director of Finance at Mencap and also at The Children's Trust. He has run his own consultancy providing training and advice to charities on strategic finance and governance. He is a non-executive director of Golding Homes, a social housing provider based in Maidstone. In 2014 he chaired the CFG's Pension Maze Report. Before joining the charity sector, he was a Finance Director in the manufacturing industry.
Liz Fosbury
Liz is COO at the National Theatre (NT), having joined as its Finance Director in 2015. She is responsible for the leadership and management of the NT’s finances to deliver financial sustainability. This includes helping to drive forward income generation, compliance, operational effectiveness and good business practice. She is also responsible for IT, Health and Safety and Security. Prior to the NT, she was CFOO at Shakespeare’s Globe for eight years, and the Director of Finance and Administration at the Royal Albert Hall for six years.
Arati Patel
A Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants, Arati has been at Barts Charity since 2006 and has held the role of Director of Finance and Operations from 2014. Arati has sound financial management experience and has contributed to an increase in the financial and property investments portfolio. Arati has also led the change management programme, including CRM systems implementation and digital projects designed to support teams in being increasingly dynamic and effective. Arati is passionate about using her role as a Trustee to not only serve CFG members and further the aims of the charity, but also to use it as a platform to raise awareness of challenges affecting the sector.
Kerry Shea
Kerry is the Finance Director at Everybody Sport and Recreation, a charity which encourages individuals to improve their health through participation in recreation. Kerry previously worked for VAST, where she established their very successful Community Accountancy project. As a Chartered Management Accountant she trained in industry, then moved over to the public sector before joining the Voluntary Sector in 2008. Kerry is very passionate about charity finance and believes that finance teams are in a unique position to influence and drive their organisations, and so change the shape of the whole sector.
Stella Smith
Stella is an independent consultant specializing in leadership and strategy in the charity sector. Since setting up her practice in 2006, she has worked with a wide range of organisations, from large household names to small community groups in the UK, Europe and Africa.
Her career started as an English teacher first in Greece and then with VSO in China before going on to work in strategy and change management at RNIB and Centrepoint. She has been a trustee with VSO and Chair of Y-Gen, a north London charity focused on developing life skills for young people. She has written numerous articles and guides on charity sector management and is currently a columnist for Third Sector magazine.
Kevin joined the Board in December 2018.
Kevin joined the not for profit sector in July 2016 as Director of Finance & Corporate Resources at CLIC Sargent – the UK’s leading cancer charity for children, young people and their families. Kevin’s key areas of responsibility are finance, technology, property & facilities, risk & assurance and data governance. Before joining the sector, Kevin held various finance roles in several large, global and multinational corporates (in manufacturing, trading and property), most latterly as Head of Finance for Grosvenor’s London Estate across Mayfair and Belgravia. Kevin Is CIMA qualified.
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5 points on the required ‘demonstrated commitment to diversity’
The Consortium’s mission is clear. We aim “to reduce the serious underrepresentation of African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans” in business education and corporate leadership. We reinforce our commitment to that mission by asking Consortium applicants three questions:
What have you done pre-MBA in your business, academic or personal life to demonstrate commitment to this mission?
What will you do while enrolled in your MBA program to demonstrate your commitment to the mission?
What will you do post-MBA with respect to community service and leadership involvement to demonstrate your continued commitment to The Consortium’s mission of diversity and inclusion?
What do we mean by a “demonstrated commitment”? It’s a good question, because we take it very seriously. We outline that requirement on our website, so prospects know about it well before they apply. And we gauge applicants’ commitment through the mission support essay and membership recommendation.
It’s worthwhile to take a step back and try to explain what we mean by a “demonstrated commitment to diversity.”
1) It’s been our mission from the beginning.
The Consortium was established nearly 50 years ago to increase the representation of African American men in business education and corporate leadership. Over time, that mission has extended to women and members of traditionally underrepresented minorities such as Hispanic Americans and Native Americans.
There is a simple principle at work here: These groups of Americans have for generations been disadvantaged throughout countless examples in our history. The Consortium exists in part to create and expand opportunities for these groups and for like-minded corporations that value diversity among their leadership.
2) Consistent mission, expanded membership eligibility.
The phrase “underrepresented minority” is key to our mission, and it is widely recognized to include the core groups named in that mission: African Americans, Native Americans and Hispanic Americans. Yet, there are Asian Americans and Caucasian Americans—MBA prospects from a variety of ethnicities—who are Consortium members because they have demonstrated their commitment to driving diversity among our core communities.
By growing the ranks of corporate leaders who value diversity and inclusion—regardless of their own race or ethnicity—we drive The Consortium’s mission. Our members are not all African, Native or Hispanic Americans. But they all have demonstrated their commitment to diversity in a way that supports our mission.
3) We know “demonstrated commitment” when we see it.
Admission decisions are not built on a rigid algorithm. It’s not a strictly objective process, but our team operates within a common framework when we evaluate applicants’ answers to those three questions.
We’re looking for consistency: Have you shown an ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion? We’re looking for longevity: Have you started something and followed through on it, or shown years of engagement on a related initiative? We’re looking for specificity: Can you describe, in detail, how your work has supported The Consortium’s mission? And we’re looking for how your recommendations back up your work.
4) All social justice work does not align with our mission.
We often hear from applicants who have been involved with organizations such as the Peace Corps. They have served impoverished or oppressed populations overseas. They want to improve their own education in order to return and better serve those populations. It is truly worthy, important work. Work that should and must be done. We have high regard for this sort of social justice work in the world.
But it’s not The Consortium’s mission. Our mission is specifically tailored to affect business education and corporate leadership for U.S. citizens or permanent residents. We certainly value and recognize other social justice work. Our focus must be on work that aligns with and drives our mission.
5) We encourage storytelling.
Tell us a story. How has this work been a part of the way you live your life? Do you actively work with organizations that serve the communities of underrepresented minorities? Have you created a program on your own? Talk about your work. Talk about results. Talk about your ongoing commitment. Be specific.
We love hearing stories from prospective members, describing why this mission is as dear to them as it is to us. In the end, we want members who are committed to working for the day when membership in an organization like ours will no longer be necessary.
Peter Aranda | December 9, 2015
Seizing Opportunity: MBA Students on How to Successfully Secure Internships
When it comes to demonstrating to employers that you’re the right candidate for the internship or job, your resume does a lot of the talking. But while educational background, professional experience and competencies are all important, by themselves they are…
‘Slaying’ it in the Beauty Business
In a little over a year, Kelly Bonilla and Jade Palomino went from being co-workers, to best friends, to business partners. Working together at Endeavor Miami, a nonprofit economic development organization, Bonilla and Palomino helped entrepreneurs by providing them with…
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Stiglitz – When Shall We Overcome?
When Shall We Overcome?
by Joseph Stiglitz – March 12, 2018
In 1968, the year after riots erupted in cities throughout the US, the Kerner Commission, established by President Lyndon B. Johnson, famously concluded that the country was “moving toward two societies, one black, one white – separate and unequal.” Sadly, it is a conclusion that still rings true.
In 1967, riots erupted in cities throughout the United States, from Newark, New Jersey, to Detroit and Minneapolis in the Midwest – all two years after the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles exploded in violence. In response, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed a commission, headed by Illinois Governor Otto Kerner, to investigate the causes and propose measures to address them. Fifty years ago, the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (more widely known as the Kerner Commission), issued its report, providing a stark account of the conditions in America that had led to the disorders.
Click here for the full article: Project Syndicate
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Things to Do and See in Amsterdam
Posted on March 5, 2017 March 11, 2017 by cha
Planning your Amsterdam Visit. How many days should you spend in Amsterdam?
There’s no right answer, but you can get a real feel for the city if you allocate three full days. That will give you enough time to hit the big sights, see the canals, and explore your way through some neighborhoods.
Getting around town
Amsterdam is an easy city to navigate. While the public transport is first class, most visitors find that the city is compact enough to be 100% walkable, safe for the train to and- from Schipol Airport. Plus, you can easily rent a bicycle when the weather’s nice.
How expensive is Amsterdam?
While there are a couple big activities you
will have to pay for like the Anne Frank’s House and the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam is full of street markets and small independent galleries. And the city is so walkable that you won’t need to spend a lot on public transportation.
Good to Know?
Language: Dutch and lots of English
Best Time to Visit?
There’s never be a promise of good weather in Amsterdam, but you can expect milder temperatures and longer days between April and September. April is especially lovely those famous tulips will be blooming, and you can celebrate Holland’s biggest holiday of the year, King’s Day.
Whether you plan to visit one of Amsterdam’s famous muse
ums or check out the cafés and bars of the Jordan District, a 3-hour walking tour through the Dutch capital city will help you get your bearings and allow you to make the most of your stay. Passionate local guides will walk you through the history of Amsterdam, from its start as a muddy village on the River Amstel, to becoming the most important trading city in Europe. You will go where other tours don’t and hear stories you’d never otherwise hear, from the wild history of prostitution and drug decriminalization, to the tragedy of Anne Frank’s story and Nazi occupation. Sure, everyone knows about the coffee shops but what else is fun to do in Amsterdam? Holland’s capital city is a hub for happy cyclists, lazy beers by the canal, and art-lovers. As you start planning what see, here are some activities you can’t miss.
1. Rembrandt House Museum
Explore the life and work of Dutch master, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, at the Amsterdam home where he lived and worked for 20 years until he went bankrupt in 1656, Discover rooms where Rembrandt worked, and see work of art, furniture, and other objects from Rembrandt’s time. The museum also owns an almost complete collection of Rembrandt etchings, and part of the collection is on permanent view. There are frequent temporary exhibitions showcasing the work of his predecessors and contemporaries and modern and current work of art in the museum’s new wing. In addition, demonstrations of how Rembrandt’s etchings were printed in the 17th century are held daily, revealing techniques, processes, and all manner of facts about graphic art for your enjoyment. Amazing museum, Rembrandt was a great artist and visiting his home is awesome. You can find pictures of his students and friends and his own drawings. So much beauty in the world. On the 2nd floor, you can check out how streets of Amsterdam looked like hundred years ago. beautiful collection with a little story about each place, photo from nowadays and reference map.
2. Paradisco and Madame Tussauds Amsterdam
Situated in a prominent monumental building, Paradisco has been a hotspot for decades. This is a place you should have been at least once during your stay in Amsterdam. Come early to avoid the line. Leave yourself to the music and dance.
Get ready for Amsterdam’s most fun and interactive attraction with this VIP fast track entry to Madame Tussauds on Dam Square. To step into an amazing world of wax, located within an easy walking distance of Central Station, and convenient for public transport network. You can be as beautiful as Doutzen Kroes on the catwalk or sing on stage with the outrageous Lady Gaga at Madame Tussauds. Play football with legendary soccer star Rafael van der Vaart, or test your IQ with the brainy Albert Einstein. Meet the stars of the silver screen, music industry and world’s of politics and public life that you’ve dreamed of meeting.
3. Brouwerij ‘t IJ
Best beer in Amsterdam and a great place to enjoy it outdoors on tables under the Windmill.Want to know what was the first? The egg or ostrich? Super funny and interesting tour about one of the best beers brewed in Netherlands. 3:30 pm Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in English, free beer. Order their beer sampler and a mixed Cheese and Salami platter you gonna love it.
4. Van Gogh Museum
When Vincent van Gogh decided to become an artist in 1880, he had no experience of drawing and painting. Neither he knew if he had any talent. A place that must be visited in Amsterdam not only 100 of Van Gogh, you can also enjoy some Gaugin, Monet, Picarro, Angrand etc. When buying a ticket online forget waiting times, instant access the fastest way to get to the museum. As one of most Amsterdam’s attractions, the Van Gogh Museum draws over a million visitors each year. Discover over 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and more than 750 letters from Van Gogh at your own pace.
5. Amsterdam Canal Ring
By boat or by land, you won’t be able to avoid Amsterdam famous canal ring. Go for a stroll, hop on a ferry tour, or people -watch in a canal side bar.Explore the canals of Amsterdam by candlelight on an enchanting 2-hour canal cruise. Sip wine as you sail past the sights of the historic Canal Belt, listening to a fascinating multilingual commentary as you go. Departing from close to central Station, cruise past the dreamy Magere Brug, magical floodlit for the evening. Experience the romance of the house boats and the slender merchant houses reflected in the canals. Along the way, sip wine and snack from a selection of Henri Willig cheeses, French bread, olives, and nuts. The leisurely tour is the most relaxing way to end a day in Amsterdam or the perfect way to start an evening of fun.
6. Anne Franck House
Buy a ticket online to avoid the wait. From the train station, take the bus 170, 171, and 172 to the Westermarker stop take the street car back to the station 13, 14 and 17. The Anne Frank House was condemned to demolition in the 50’s. Fortunately, the building has been protected from demolition and now is one of the most visited spots in Amsterdam.
7. Red light District
Explore the famous Red light District of Amsterdam in a small group. Learn what is happening in the many sex clubs and laugh at one of the bizarre sex shows and theaters. Learn how the prostitute earns their living and look behind the scenes of the Red Light District. Discover Amsterdam’s infamous Red Light District on a humorous 1.5-hour tour guide. Learn how much the average a prostitute earns per night, how many customers they have per shift and which sexual acts pay the largest sums. The 1.5-hour tour highlights all the positive as well as negative aspects of the Amsterdam Red Light District. From the National Monument on Dam Square go to Warmoestraat, one of the most famous Gay streets in Amsterdam. Pass the Condomerie, a condom store that specializes in all kinds of rubbers, then go further into the heart of the district to the Prostitution Information Center(PIC). Former prostitutes are dedicated to educational work at the information center and are trying to dispel prejudices about prostitution. Directly opposites lie the Old Church (Oude Kerk), the oldest church in Amsterdam and probably the only church in the world which is surrounded by prostitution. The special situation of the Old Church helped enforce its great wealth because sinners of the night felt obliged to wash their contaminated souls clean through a generous donation or “sin tax”. Around the square, the church is surrounded by a row of windows flooded by red lights revealing attractive, scantily-clad women.
Discover more about the process of negotiations between customers and prostitutes, about their income and expenses, prices, room rentals, and taxes, but also about women security. Continue wandering the streets of the district and see what’s hiding behind the Casa Rosso, the Moulin Rouge, the Hospital Bar. Visit the street of Genderfluid, who in addition to their voluptuous breasts usually have a big package. Past Amsterdam’s first commercial coffee shop, the city tour leads to a peep show from the 70’s. The visit to the peepshow is a small highlight of the tour. The peepshow was once the most popular establishment of the entire district, today it is a nostalgic gem in a street of absurd sex shows.
The tour will take place in any weather. Don’t forget an umbrella for rainy days. Distance traveled is approximately 1.8 kilometers at a comfortable pace during the city tour. There is enough time for photos, but they should be taken only from the bridges. The places to take pictures are indicated. It is forbidden to take photos of the prostitutes. Participants of 16 years old accompanied by a parent or guardian. Participants can go on this tour unaccompanied from 18 years of age.
5 Tips for a safe visit
Amsterdam’s main red-light district isn’t as dangerous as you might think, partly because its historic quarter offers so much more than the scarlet-hued vice it’s renowned for. Nevertheless, here are a few measures you can take to stay safe.
1. NO Photos
The women in the windows aren’t mannequins. They’re people at work. Failure to show respect may see you forcibly removed from the area.
2. Watch your valuables
De Wallen might be one of the world’s safest red light districts but it’s still a crowded hub of tourists. Keep a tight watch on any valuables you can’t leave at the hotel.
3. Go at Night but stay alerted
The Red Light District is one of the best places in town to see at night, but be wary of drunk tourists as well as pickpockets. Avoid the back alleys if exploring alone.
4. Know your limits
Most of De Wallen’s problems are caused by immature tourists who think Amsterdam liberal attitudes are an excuse to get as drunk as possible. Don’t get carried away.
5. Take a tour
Far less can go wrong in a group led by someone who knows the area. As a bonus, you’ll gain some serious insight into Red Light District’s 14th-century buildings.
8. Canal Cruise and Heineken Experience
“We wanted to bring back the connection with beer-making, and the history of Heineken, to help people see it, touch it, taste it”. described by branding expert Bob Rogers of the Burbank. Admire beautiful, traditional merchant houses, numerous bridges, and typical houseboats as you soak up the unique vibe of Amsterdam on a 75 minutes canal cruise. Then, avoid the lines enter the former Heineken brewery, which now hosts the Heineken Experience, an interactive exhibition where you will learn all about the brewing and bottling process during a fun, 90 minutes.
9. Museumplein
Find your way to the “Museum Quarter” at the heart of the city. Three museums, lunchtime concerts in the Concertgebouw, plenty of shopping, and grassy green space.
10. New Church
A part-time wedding chapel for Dutch monarchs, New Church is Holland’s most important church and a historical cornerstone in Amsterdam. Between coronations, check out their rotating exhibits.
11. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
This is one of the most important museums in Amsterdam. Go here if you want to see works by the Dutch Masters or famous creations such as Vermeer’s. As well as historical artifacts, the Netherland’s national museum boasts much of the country’s best art. With over 2,000 works from the Dutch Golden Age by luminaries like Rembrandt’s, Van Gogh, and Vermeer, here are a few must-sees to help plan your visit.
Top 5 most famous paintings in Rijksmuseum
1. The Milkmaid by Johann Vermeer
A drizzle of milk is the only movement in Vermeer’s exemplary study of a woman engaged in daily routine- as much the artist’s trademark as his exquisite rendering of light.
2. Self Portrait by Vincent Van Gogh
This early self-portrait captures the artist’s transition into the Post-Impressionist style that would define his seminal works. A perfect aperitif for the nearby Van Gogh Museum.
3. The Battle of Waterloo by Jan Willem Pieneman
Through storm clouds linger over Napoleon’s army, a patch of sunlight pierces through to illuminate the Anglo-Dutch heroes. No prizes for guessing which side the artist was on.
4. Early Self Portrait by Rembrandt
Unusual for a self-portrait, Rembrandt’s face is cast in shadow. Is he commenting on the vanity of his contemporaries, or have we just been duped into paying closer attention?
5. The Threatened Swan by Jan Asselijn
Asselijn’s swan adopts an almost kung-fu like stance against an approaching.
ON ARRIVAL
Schiphol Amsterdam Airport is located about 10 kilometers outside central Amsterdam. For a quick, simple and cheap journey in, the train is ideal. If you want door-to-door service, you can take a taxi or a hotel shuttle.
Trains for Amsterdam Centraal railway station depart from Schiphol railway station. You access the station via Schipol Plaza, right outside the arrivals halls. Frequency ranges from 6 trains an hour 7 AM to 11 PM, to an hour 1-5 AM. The one-way fare is around € 4-€7, and the trip takes 15 to 20 minutes.
Another rail route serves Amsterdam Zuid railway station, Amsterdam RAI railway station, and Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA railway station. A one-way, 8-minute ride to Amsterdam Zuid or 11-minute ride to Amsterdam RAI costs around €3-€5. A one-way, 14-minute ride to Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA cost around €4-€6.
Netherlands Railways operates passenger train services both in Amsterdam and across the country. In addition to the Centraal Station hub, there are 7 train stations in the city: Zuid, RAI the city’s main convention center, Amstel in the south, Muiderpoort in the east and Lelylaan, De Vlugtlaan and Sloterdijk in the west.
The connection Hotel Shuttle (+31 88 339 47 41) runs daily every 10-30 minutes from 6 AM to 9 PM. It connects the airport with some 100 Amsterdam hotels. Reservation isn’t necessary, and buses depart from Schiphol Plaza. You can buy tickets from the Connection desk inside Schiphol Plaza or on board from the driver, using either cash or credit card. For one person, the fare is around €17 one-way and €27 round-trip. There are discounts for groups of 3 to 8 people. Children aged 4 to 14 pay around €8 one-way and €13 round-trip.
Schiphol Taxi (+33 20 303 7200) stands can be found in front of Schiphol Plaza. Expect to pay at least €40 to reach the center of Amsterdam, a journey of 20 to 30 minutes. You do not have to tip as a service charge is already included in the fare.
Taxi-bike
Weiler Taxi operates 2-seater taxi-bikes from the Dam. They travel in bike lanes and like regular taxis, can get you to places where public transportation doesn’t reach. The fare for 1 or 2 passengers is €10 for 15 minutes or €20 for 30 minutes. Rates for longer rides are negotiable with the driver.
Ride service
Ride services such as Uber are an alternative to taxis, matching passengers with drivers via a mobile app. A ride from the airport to the city center generally takes about 20-30 minutes and costs between €25 and €40, though rates vary according to vehicle and demand.
Amsterdam’s public transport system is made up of an efficient network of tram, bus, metro and train lines. Single-use fares or travelcards can be used to complete your journey, with the option of buying them on a smart card.
GVB Amsterdam is the city’s public transportation company for trams, buses and the metro. The central point for fare information and ticket sales is in front of Central Station. Most tram and bus shelters and all metro stations display maps showing the entire urban transit network.
Daytime hours of operation for public transport are from 6 AM trams start at 7:30 AM on Sunday to around 12:30 AM. Night buses operate a limited service thereafter, with buses usually on an hourly schedule.
The minimum driving age in the Netherlands is 17. It is illegal for drivers to use a cell phone while driving, but hands-free systems are permitted. Netherlands uses the “priority to the right” system. Motorists on minor side roads have to yield to other vehicles emerging from the right. It is usually clearly marked if you have priority, either by the international yellow diamond sign, and or by white markings on the side road.
Tickets and travelcards
Trams, buses, and metros have a minimum fare of €0.88. Train fares are also calculated according to the distance traveled but are generally more expensive.
You will pay a surcharge of up to €1 for buying a disposable, single-use ticket. So unless you’re only making 1 or 2 journey’s, it’s worth obtaining a travelcard.
Electronic readers on metro and train station platforms, and on board trams and buses, deduct the correct fare. Just hold your card up against the reader at both the start and the end of the ride.
Smartcards
Fares and travel pass for all mode of transport can be loaded onto a “OV-chipkaart” smart card. There are 2 kinds available to non-residents: reloaded “throwaway” cards. A “throwaway” card is loaded with a specific travel product- for example, €2.90 for 1 hour of traveling on trams, buses and the metro. Cheaper cards are available for seniors and children ages 4 to 11. Children 3 and under ride free.
You can purchase smart cards from ticket booths and machines in metro and train stations, and many newsagents and supermarkets. Throwaway single tickets and 1-day cards can be purchased on board trams and buses.
There are 16 trams routes in the city. Several of these begin and end at Central Station, and one line 25 passes through, so you know, you can always get back to that central point if you get lost.
Most trams have arrowed indicators on the outside showing you where to board. To board a tram that doesn’t have arrows, push the button on the outside showing you where to board. To board a tram that doesn’t have arrows, push the button on the outside of the car beside any door. To get off, you may need to push a green button with an open-door graphic or the words “Deur Open”.
Four metro lines – 50? 51? 53 and 54- run partly overground and bring people in from the suburbs. From Central Station, you can use metro trains to reach both Nieuwmarkt and Waterlooplein in the central zone.
An extensive bus network operated by GVB complements the trams. Many bus routes begin and end at Centraal Station. It’s generally faster to go by tram, but many points in the city are served the only bus.
Old-school venues dishing up traditional specialties, plus a growing number of cutting-edge restaurants and bars, make for an exciting dining and nightlife scene, there’s no shortage of suitable places. See Indonesian Feasts, Historic Liquor Houses and other. Top spots list for recommendations of specific restaurants, bar and more.
Traditional Specialties
Traditional Amsterdam cuisine is simple, flavorsome and hearty. The following dishes are the most commonly found in Amsterdam:
– Raw herring – packed in salt after being caught, sold at haringhuis fish stands.
– Thick Dutch pancakes (pannekoeken) with apple syrup.
– Dutch pea soup (erwtensoep, or snert) popular in colder months.
– White asparagus (witte asperges)
– Stroopwafels thin layers of baked dough sandwiching a sticky caramel filling.
– Dutch apple pie or appelgebak served with a big dollop of whipped cream.
– Rijsttafel an Indonesian feast meant to be shared by 2 or more people, consisting of a bed of rice with small plates of meats and vegetables.
Beer and Spirits
Amsterdam is a beer drinker’s paradise. Locally made beers, from pilseners to stouts, are found at specialist craft beer bars or in a bruine Kroeger (brown cafes). The latter unpretentious, no-frills locales filled with camaraderie, like a British pub or an American neighborhood bar. In a proeflokaal or tasting house, you would traditionally drink jenever (Dutch gin, taken “neat” without ice.
Restaurants in Amsterdam run the gamut from elegant 17th-century dining rooms to cozy canalside bistros. Most international cuisines, from Tibetan to Ethiopian, can be enjoyed here.
For unpretentious, low-cost food, look for examples of eetcafé, a Dutch dining institution. Many of these are essential brown cafes (bars) with a kitchen attached.
Middle Eastern snack bars and Surinamese fast-food restaurants are popular for quick bites. The former specialize in shawarma and falafel, and can be found in high concentrations around Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein.
Jordaan, De Pijp and Amsterdam Oost(East) are the places to look for informal and trendy neighborhood hangouts that appeal to Amsterdam’s younger and artistic crowd. They often serve simple meals that blend influences from various global cuisines.
Nightlife in Amsterdam is buzzing, with hundreds of pubs, bars, and clubs. There are a strong rock and jazz scene, too, plus English-language shows at cabarets and theaters along the canals.
Leidseplein is the center of the action, with some of the most popular restaurants and nightspots. The scene at Rembrandtplein is more casual, but with many hip venues. These 2 areas connected by Reguliersdwarsstraat, a street lined with cafes, clubs, and restaurants. The Red Light District serves up its own edgy brand of nightlife while adjoining Nieuwmarkt has a thriving alternative scene.
Farther out, the area around Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena station is home to bars and restaurants, a multi-screen cinema and 2 large concert venues, Ziggo Dome and Heineken Music Hall.
Amsterdam’s shopping districts offer global chain stores and quirky boutiques, with tax-free shopping an incentive for visitors from outside the E.U. You can rummage for antiques and souvenirs in the city’s traditional open-air markets, where you can also enjoy the sight and smell of fresh-cut flowers.
On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, regular store hours are 9 or 10 AM to 6 PM, though some stores don’t open until 1 PM on Monday. On Thursday stores generally open from 9 or 10 AM to 5 PM. Most stores open on Sunday too, usually from noon to 5 PM.
Shopping Districts and malls
Pedestrianized Kalverstraat and Nieuwendijk are the main streets for high-end chain stores, P.C. Hoofstraat and Beethovenstraat offer upscale shopping in the Museum Quarter.
The De Negen Straatjes (9 Streets) area of the Canal Belt is known for quirky stores and upmarket boutiques.
Magna Plaza, housed in the former main Post office on Dam Square, is an upscale mall housing around 50 specialist stores of all kinds.
You can do all your souvenir hunting in one place at Waterlooplein Market, which comprises around 300 stalls. The market is open Monday to Saturday from 9 AM to 6 PM.
At Bloemenmarkt or Flower Market at Muntplein, you’ll find stalls of blossoms, bulbs and potted plants. The market is open Monday to Saturday from 9 AM to 5:30 PM, and on Sunday from 11 AM to 5:30 PM.
Albert Cuyp Markt has hundreds of streets stalls selling food, clothing, flowers, plants and textiles. It’s open Monday to Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM.
Vereniging De Boekenmarkt op Het Spui ( Book Market) on Spui has around 25 booths selling secondhand books and is open Friday from 10 AM to 6 PM.
The Netherlands is part of the European Union and uses the euro as its currency. Banknotes come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 euros. Coins come in denominations of 5? 10? 20 and 50 cents, and 1 euro and 2 euros.
Because the Netherlands does not produce its own 1 and 2 euro cent coins, prices in the country are rounded to the nearest 5 cents.
The Dutch government requires that all taxes and service charges included in the published prices of hotels, restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, salons and sightseeing companies. Even taxi fares include taxes and standard 15% service charge.
To tip like the Dutch do in a cafe or snack bar, leave some small change on the counter or table. In a restaurant, round the bill up, or to reward good service, add a maximum 10% of the tab.
Most hotels have free WI-FI or Internet access either in the rooms or in the public spaces, or both. Some coffee shop chains offer free WI-FI with the purchase just like what now I’m doing blogging here at the starbucks coffee bar I ask an Internet connection.
Amsterdam in general is a beautiful liberated compact place where one can glimpse of the Dutch Masters life like Rembrandt’s, Van Gogh and Anne Frank House. The Red Light District is a place where have to discover how’s the life of women work by night engage in this kind of job a very cool to walk through and you can see plenty of bike parking in every corner of the street as Amsterdam is called a city of bike.
Posted in Amsterdam, Holland
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Free Books / Reference / The American Cyclopaedia /
This section is from "The American Cyclopaedia", by George Ripley And Charles A. Dana. Also available from Amazon: The New American Cyclopædia. 16 volumes complete..
Mersey, a river of England, formed by the union of several small streams, which have their sources in the hills near the borders of Yorkshire, Cheshire, and Derbyshire. The two principal of these, the Tame and the Goyt, after receiving the waters of all the rest, unite at Stockport. Here the river takes the name of Mersey, and flowing W. divides Cheshire from Lancashire, and falls into the Irish sea below Liverpool. The chief affluents of the Mersey are the Irwell and Weaver. At Runcorn, about 17 m. from its mouth, it expands into a large estuary, which varies in breadth from 2 to 3 m., and contracts at its mouth to about three fourths of a mile. The course of this river is mostly through a level country, but its scenery is occasionally very picturesque. The principal towns on its banks are Stretford, Warrington, Hale, Garston, and Liverpool on the right, and Stockport, Runcorn, Ince, and Birkenhead on the left. Its entire length is from 55 to 60 m., and it is navigable to the Irwell.
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A Deep Dive On Culture With Culture Amp CEO Didier Elzinga
Didier Elzinga is CEO of employee feedback platform Culture Amp, a solution that allows businesses to take the pulse of workers and take action quickly, so company culture isn’t just an important aspect of his business—it’s the primary focus.
But it’s important to remember that there’s no one-size-fits all solution that will solve the company culture puzzle for all organizations, according to Elzinga.
“There’s no such thing as a perfect culture,” Elzinga says. “It’s about building a culture that is appropriate for the type of company you’re building. And the way I think about that, if it’s done right, is that good values make you as an individual want to be a better version of yourself.”
Culture Amp draws data from its questions and content from across 1,600 customers globally— a community that’s almost 50,000 strong. Last month, the company announced it had secured $40M in Series D funding, bringing Culture Amp’s total amount of equity funding to about $76M since it was founded eight years ago.
Elzinga told Chief Executive about the importance of employee feedback for CEOs, how to manage relationships with outside investors and how he’s managing his own company’s culture. Here’s what he had to say:
Why employee feedback really matters
Oftentimes as a CEO, you’re ultimately trying to achieve some financial result and have to talk to your shareholders and board members and so on. And most CEOs know that if they’re trying to be profitable, revenue growth or whatever it might be, they’ll ask, “Well, how do I get that? What’s the lead indicator on that thing?” At the end of the day, that’s the score, but what’s going to drive it?
And most people realize that if you want to be financially successful, you have to be customer-centric. And so you really have to focus on the experience that you’re delivering your customers. And that if you do that right, that’ll create the financial results. And then culture comes in as one step back to that, which is, “How do you deliver that experience to customers?” We deliver that experience to customers by putting culture first. We like to say that, “Brand is a promise to a customer, culture is how you deliver that promise.”
And so the first thing, I think, for CEOs to realize is that people and culture is not something that’s just done up on the side. It’s not just yet another thing on your plate that you have to worry about. It’s the thing that, if you focus on it, will lead everything else in the direction you want it to go. And the purpose of employee feedback and all the things around it, it’s giving you tools to actually get in there and do something about it. What is the change that you have to drive at your organization?
Trends in improving company culture
The thing that comes probably through the strongest is the engagement of your staff—how much extra discretionary that people are willing to bring, how long they’re intending to stay at your company, how proud they are, whether they’ll recommend you to other people. The biggest driver of that across all the companies is around learning and development. So do I as an individual see your organization as a place where I can grow in my career? If I do, if I think this is a good place for me to grow, then I’m much more likely to be engaged.
We’ve seen a lot of companies really focusing on this in terms of, “How do we create that environment? How do we allow people to grow when they’re at our company?” And that in itself is a core piece of everything. There are also the different ways that you do that, but that core idea of, “How do we become a place…?” I think Patty McCord from Netflix was on stage at the first event a few weeks ago where she said, “At Netflix, we wanted to be a great company to have come from.” And that’s a truly really powerful idea, that if you can build a company which is a great place to come from, then people will paradoxically stay longer. And so that idea is core.
“True inclusion is very, very hard and something that I think people are only just starting to wrap their brains around.”
The other thing that we’re seeing, which is probably a more recent trend but a really fascinating and important one is around diversity and inclusion. We’ve done a lot of work in terms of helping people understand diversity and inclusion inside their own organization, and particularly around the inclusion component.
What does it mean to create a culture where people feel like they can truly belong no matter who they are or where they come from? And we’re definitely seeing a lot more of that, relatively, for obvious reasons, because people are looking around seeing the sorts of things that have happened when they haven’t been putting that on the agenda. And I think at the board level, that conversation of, “Are we doing what we need to be doing to create the type of organization that we want to be?” You can’t just leave that to chance anymore. And so we’re seeing a lot of people really focusing on that and making it more than a lip service. And it’s not easy. True inclusion is very, very hard and something that I think people are only just starting to wrap their brains around.
Keys to developing and nurturing relationships with outside investors
I think one thing that can be a challenge when you’re the VC-funded world is as you get further on the journey and you get more visibility and people know that you’ve taken money, you get an endless barrage of people that are interested in what you’re doing. And it’s a somewhat self-fulfilling prophecy in that if you’re successful, more people want to know about why you’re successful and potentially want to be part of it. And one of the big challenges as a CEO is actually how you manage your time.
So I’ll probably get inbound investor interests once or twice a day. In the beginning, you kind of take meetings with everybody because you don’t know, and then as you go on, you have to be a lot more judicious. And you have to try and work out good ways of engaging in that. And I’ve tried lots of different techniques but you don’t want to annoy anybody or not give anybody the respect that they deserve, but you also have to remember that at the end of the day taking meetings with people that might give you money doesn’t add any value to the company at all. So you have to be very careful.
And on the flip side, when you do decide to raise money and you go out and you talk to people and you get multiple offers and you choose who you’re going to partner with, you must think about what’s going to happen in both the ups but also the downs. And so when I’m taking money from an investor, one of the things I’m focusing on is I’ll go and talk to other founders that they’ve invested in and I’m always interested in what happens if something didn’t work out, “Have you ever had a period where you’ve missed a quarter? Have you ever had something that went wrong? What did the investor do? How did they react? Did they demand an immediate board meeting and berate you? Did they jump on the line and say, ‘How can I help? I’ve seen this happen before. It happens to all the companies. Keep your head up. Let’s get through this.'”
Company culture at Culture Amp and how it has evolved
I think the biggest forcing function on our culture has been that we went global quite quickly. Ee started in Melbourne, and that’s where most of our engineering still is. But we opened our San Francisco office in 2015, New York in 2016, London in 2017, give or take. So we now have these four offices, and we’re only a 230-person company at this point, but we’re doubling year on year. So just with that focus of having to work across all those different offices and those different time zones, and we strive to be one company in four places and that creates, obviously, an overhead, but also a wonderful diversity and richness. But just dealing with that’s been huge. When we added London, just at a very tactical point, it broke out our format because you now couldn’t find a single time zone that would work across all four offices. So we had to move to a rotating model where we went through the different time zones and had people on and off schedule and so on.
So there was a lot of sort of practical stuff. In terms of what the culture is, I think as we’ve grown we’ve had the opportunity to continue to explore that, which has been really great, too. And for example, I have an “ask me anything” where anyone in the company can write an anonymous question and then I’ll answer that question in #CEOChannel. It’s like a fact channel where I talk about things that are going on at the CEO level. And last night, we spent about 45 minutes having a long conversation on one of our values, which is trust people to make decisions, and what does that mean, and how does that work, and how does that work in what is essentially a team of teams or a network of teams-type model, which is the way we work.
So for me, one of the key parts of what makes culture at Culture Amp is that we truly believe that you need to put culture first if you want to be successful and that part of putting culture is swaying your values and really thinking about, “What is the type of company that we want to be?”
Related: Keys To Improving Company Culture In Times Of Rapid Growth
Patrick Gorman is managing editor of Chief Executive magazine and Corporate Board Member magazine. He is based in Stamford, CT.
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Portonave, a private facility within Brazil’s Itajai Port Complex, handled a record 620,026 teu in 2012, up 13.7% on 2011 which was a deserved birthday present for the company in the year it celebrated its fifth anniversary. What was equally impressive was that the 13.7% gain was achieved against Brazil’s GDP of 1% during the same period.
Birthday present for Portonave
Of especial note was reefer cargoes climbed by 24.5% with exports also doing extremely and up 19.5% on the previous year. Frozen meat remained the main export product followed by timber and tobacco while plastic products accounted for the majority bulk of imports, despite a 3% decline from the previous year.
According to Renê Duarte, Portonave’s chief operational superintendent, during its five years of operation the company has handled a total of 2.4m teu which he attributes to the berthing of larger ships with higher cargo capacity, the capture of new shipping lines and the operational efficiency of the terminal. “In just five years we have become the leading container hander in Santa Catarina,” he added.
Despite Portonave increasing container handling volumes, it correspondingly reduced the number of vessels handled. In the first half of the year an average of 51 ships moored each month but this had fallen to 47 in the second half, reflecting the increasing number of vessels calling with lengths of more than 303 m.
According to the company, manoeuvring and docking tests for larger vessels began on October 4, 2012 with the MSC Luisa. Since then, ships of approximately 304 m long have been calling regularly at Portonave and to date twenty such vessels have been handled.
“Trials are currently being held to verify the technical feasibility of operating ships of this size in the Port Complex’s current manoeuvring basin, reflecting the joint efforts of the Port and Maritime authorities, the Itajaí and Navegantes Pilots and the terminals,” concluded Duarte.
Container Management Newsletter - https://t.co/XcmoFOXgbw 10 hours ago
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Container Management Newsletter - https://t.co/hPGDOT0GeN 2019/07/01
Container Management Newsletter - https://t.co/l8PvRTBZrh 2019/06/24
Container Management Newsletter - https://t.co/vqL0LWfE8Z 2019/06/17
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claytoonz
Nationally Syndicated Editorial Cartoonist
Commissioned Cartoons
What Editors Are Saying
Sharia Republicans
The Republican Party has been struggling to attract members and voters who aren’t white or Christian. Well, they’re not actually struggling because they’re not really trying to attract people who aren’t white Christians. Or if they are, they’re doing a very bad job with it.
Iowa Republican congressman Steve King has a history of racism. Last Thursday, King defended white supremacy in an interview with The New York Times.
In that interview, he said, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive? Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”
In the past, King has compared immigrants to dogs, endorsed a neo-Nazi for office, and has openly flirted with fascism. While Republicans admonish his comments, they don’t do anything to punish him. Instead, Republicans attempted to punish one of their own for his religion.
The vice-chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party in Texas is a Muslim immigrant. Dr. Shahid Shafi came to the U.S. in 1990 and became a naturalized citizen in 2009. After he was appointed to his post, a small faction attempted to oust him. They held a vote to remove him merely because he is a Muslim. The vote failed 49-139.
Republicans may point at the failure to remove Dr. Shafi as proof they’ve come a long way with tolerance. Because they are Republicans, they don’t understand their failure is that they even held the vote.
While Democrats are electing Muslims, Republicans are trying to kick them out of their party. Those who were in favor of Shafi’s removal said he’s unequipped to be vice-chairman because he doesn’t represent all Tarrant County Republicans due to his religion. They’ve also said Islamic ideologies run counter to the U.S. Constitution.
No. Persecuting someone because of their religion runs counter to the U.S. Constitution. While a party isn’t required to ban religious tests, the Constitution clearly does so for public office. A clause in Article Six states, “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”
Maybe they should have said his beliefs run counter to the Texas Constitution, except that’s unconstitutional and only requires officeholders to “Acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.” I don’t know why “supreme being” is capitalized in their state constitution.
Republicans are so afraid of the myth of Sharia Law in the United States; they’ll enact their own Sharia Law to protect us from Sharia Law.
For context, Muslim Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib’s “MF’er” comment got five times more media coverage than Congressman Steve King’s support of white supremacy. We are literally more outraged at a public official saying “motherfucker” than “white power.” We have a president who defends Nazis and then states that Tlaib “shamed her family.” Personally, I’d rather people in my family say “motherfucker” than defend Nazis.
For example; if they said “We need to get rid of these motherfuckers who endorse and defend Nazis,” I’d be OK with that.
Be Complicit
What kind of person would want to be part of something that disparages, slanders, and disrespects Dear Leader and his sycophantic followers? Hopefully, you.
Making a contribution supports my work and keeps the cartoons, columns, and videos coming. My income is from newspapers that subscribe to my work and small contributors. George Soros hasn’t sent me a million dollar check in weeks. Making a contribution of any amount, or buying a print for $40.00, makes you part of this specific resistance, and a member of Team Claytoonz (we’re still working on the name). You are complicit, an accomplice, and in cahoots (and whatever gangster terms we can think of) with this political satire pointing out that the stupid emperor has no clothes. Contributions can be made through PayPal, checks, and wads of cash exchanged in back alleys.
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Posted in Uncategorized and tagged Cartoons, Clay Jones, claytoonz, Editorial cartoons, GOP, Islam, Islamophobia, Muslim, Political Cartoons, Republicans, Steve King, Tarrant County, Texas, Texas Muslim Republican on January 13, 2019 by clayjonz. 3 Comments
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Tag Archive for: Call Me MISTER
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Call Me MISTER Encourages Childhood Reading at Barbershops
January 12, 2018 / in In These Hills / 0 Comments / by: Michael Staton
Tydarius Cobb, 9, poses with Clemson University student Deavin Rencher, a sophomore studying special education and member of the Call Me MISTER program, at the Uptown Barbers barber shop in Central, S.C., after reading the book he’s holding as part of the Razor Readers program.
DeAvin Rencher is a fixture at Uptown Barbers in Central. But he’s not a customer or barber. He’s a special education major at Clemson and Call Me MISTER® student who works with kids through the Razor Readers program.
The Call Me MISTER program is sending its students to local barbershops each week to educate school children and their parents on the importance of reading early and often. These weekly sessions are the focus of Razor Readers, a program funded by the United Way of Pickens County that aims to increase children’s access to reading materials and individuals who can serve as educational role models.
Call Me MISTER works to increase the pool of available teachers from more diverse backgrounds, particularly among the lowest-performing elementary schools. The MISTERs play a key role in Razor Readers as role models, according to Amity Buckner, executive director of Pickens County First Steps. “When you realize that a MISTER may be the first African-American male these young learners meet who values education,” she said, “you realize the potential impact of this program.”
Rencher verified Buckner’s statement with his own experience. “I didn’t see an African-American male teacher until high school, and many of these young kids think it’s cool that I’m doing something positive through education.”
Children can read while waiting in line for haircuts or in their free time. Barbers have punch cards for each child that when filled qualify them for a free haircut. Before and during haircuts, MISTERs guide parents through early education tools that will help parents engage with their children and encourage reading at home and school.
“I like to talk to parents first to get their consent and also get them on board, and many of them have really gotten involved,” Rencher said. “We want to use every tool we can to get kids more engaged with reading, and coaching the parents to encourage it just increases the odds we’ll succeed.”
Smiley Garvin, owner and operator of Uptown Barbers, replaced an unused barber chair with a table and chairs for Rencher and the kids. He believes kids who come in and out of the shop are quicker to embrace reading in a setting that isn’t school, home or library.
Levi “T” Robinson owns D’s Diamond Cuts, another participating barbershop, in Easley. He has created flyers for the program that he distributed via local churches and has been thrilled to see kids returning to the shop not for another haircut, but for more books.
Call Me MISTER began at Clemson in 2000. Since then, the program has graduated 203 MISTERs who are now teaching in South Carolina schools and has expanded to include 19 other universities and technical colleges in South Carolina, as well as programs in eight additional states.
Magnolia Clemson Club supports Call Me MISTER
September 5, 2015 / in Lifelong Tigers / 0 Comments / by: CW Staff
The Magnolia Clemson Club has partnered with the Call Me MISTER® program at Jackson State University, supporting the program and serving as ambassadors for Clemson.
Call Me MISTER® is a nationally acclaimed program started at Clemson to increase the number of African-American male teachers in South Carolina’s public elementary school classrooms. In 2012, the University partnered with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Jackson State University to broaden the program to Mississippi, and an additional gift of $1.3 million from the Kellogg Foundation in 2014 supported the program’s continued success. This effort by the Magnolia Club, supported by a grant from the Alumni Association, is another joint effort of the two universities.
Since both Clemson and Jackson State have Tiger mascots, the group coined themselves “Tigers United.” Events have included a viewing party for the Boston College game last fall where alumni and Jackson State MISTERS gathered to watch the game, eat barbecue and celebrate the partnership.
This spring, the group sponsored a service project to beautify the schools in the Jackson area where Jackson State MISTERS work. Plans for the fall include a conference focusing on career development and effective leadership practices.
My Clemson: Cambridge Gamble ’17
May 5, 2015 / in Alumni Profiles / 0 Comments / by: Nancy Spitler
Since forever, I’ve wanted to be a teacher. But my mom always told me I was going to be a lawyer. Coming to Clemson has meant figuring out that we were both right. Meanwhile, I’ve been able to make the most of my time in a place that truly had everything I was looking for in a college: small campus, great variety of courses, amazing athletics, beautiful campus and a big-family atmosphere.
I came here through the Call Me MISTER® program, majoring in elementary education, but I’ve also been able to pursue a history minor. That’s meant taking some of the political science courses that will serve me well when I go to law school in four or five years — after I’ve had an opportunity to teach and serve in an elementary school setting.
My freshman year, I took part in the Clemson Cup public speaking competition. My topic addressed the transition we were facing between a retiring president and a new one. I won, and that was an amazing opportunity that I will never, ever forget.
For one thing, I was the first freshman to ever win. Also, earning the Cup gave me the chance to speak at Clemson’s commencement, which was incredible, in no small part because it showed me how far I’ve come with my public speaking: When I was in high school, I took part in a Future Business Leaders of America speaking competition. The first year I competed, I came in last place. The second year I was determined to improve, and I won, which allowed me to represent the entire state of South Carolina and place 27th nationally.
I’m sure my public speaking skills will come in handy as an attorney. In the meantime, I’m enjoying every second of college life, whether it’s giving campus tours, cheering on my Tigers as a member of Central Spirit, serving as an Orientation ambassador or just hanging out on Campus Beach on a Friday night.
Call Me MISTER
January 12, 2015 / in Features / 1 Comment / by: Melanie Kieve
Listen to the MISTERs sing “One MISTER”:
http://clemson.world/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/One-Mister.mp3
Providing positive role models in classrooms and communities
TEACHING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL was not the future that Daniel Spencer ’09 envisioned as a high school senior in Swansea, South Carolina. With two brothers having dropped out of high school (one of whom served prison time) and parents who didn’t go to college, postsecondary education wasn’t even on his radar — even though he was in the top 10 percent of his graduating class.
Fortunately, he decided at the last minute to apply to Coastal Carolina University and chose elementary education as his major.
“I didn’t have a clue,” Spencer said. “I thought, ‘Well, I passed elementary school. I should be able to teach it!’”
When Spencer’s English professor learned about his major, he told him about Call Me MISTER®, a program started at Clemson to encourage and place African-American male teachers in South Carolina’s public elementary school classrooms. He advised Spencer to transfer to Clemson to be a part of the program. The rest, he says, is history.
“From the first day, Call Me MISTER changed what I thought would be easy into a lifetime challenge of working with people and shaping the lives of youth,” Spencer said.
This was a challenge observed 15 years ago by Clemson University as well as Benedict College, Claflin University and Morris College, three historically black institutions in the state.
“We found that there were more black men in jail than were sleeping in the dormitories of the colleges in our state,” said Roy Jones, Call Me MISTER director and a faculty member at Clemson’s Eugene T. Moore School of Education. “There were more black men in prisons than were teaching in our state, especially in elementary education. That we saw as a problem.”
And, Jones added, in a state that is one-third African-American and where young black males were being expelled, referred to discipline and dropping out of school at higher rates than any gender or ethnic group, fewer than one percent of the state’s teaching workforce were African-American males.
Leaders at the four institutions saw a connection between those figures. They determined that if you could increase the number of African-American males in the classroom, perhaps there would be more avenues for understanding and tackling the challenges that confront young black boys during their formative years.
“We got together and said, ‘We can do something about this,’” Jones said.
And Call Me MISTER was born.
Clemson — along with Benedict, Claflin and Morris — started Call Me MISTER (Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role Models) in 2000. Clemson provided fundraising and program support, while the remaining three colleges carried out the program on their campuses.
Housed in the Eugene T. Moore School of Education at Clemson, Call Me MISTER combines teacher education with co-curricular programs such as retreats, seminars, academic support, mentoring, a summer institute, internships and volunteer opportunities. Participants, known as MISTERs, also live and study together as cohorts and receive tuition assistance through loan forgiveness programs as well as help with job placement.
Since its inception, the program has grown to 19 colleges/universities in South Carolina, including Clemson and Coastal Carolina. That number also includes several two-year community and technical colleges, a move made to provide greater opportunity and access to the program.
As a result of these efforts, there has been a 75 percent increase in the number of African-American males teaching in South Carolina’s public elementary schools. Of the 150 students who have completed the Call Me MISTER program in the Palmetto State, 100 percent of them remain in the education field.
Understanding that the issue is not South Carolina’s alone — that nationally, the number of male teachers is at a 40-year low, and that African-American males comprise less than 2 percent of the teaching workforce — Call Me MISTER has expanded to include 13 colleges in Florida, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Mississippi, Georgia and the District of Columbia. Including graduates and current students, approximately 425 participants are in the program nationwide.
Since the program’s inception, Call Me MISTER leaders have found that its purpose is being fulfilled: more African-American males are entering elementary classrooms and more African-American children — especially boys — are seeing them as positive role models.
“There’s no doubt about what it means for so many kids to see an African-American male in a position of authority where he is also nurturing, where he is also loving and where he is also mentoring,” said Winston Holton, who leads Clemson’s Call Me MISTER cohort. “Our MISTERs are filling an important void.”
But the program is doing something more — it is exacting a powerful personal influence that transcends race, gender and socioeconomics.
“I believe that Call Me MISTER is making up the difference between what’s not happening in our homes, schools and communities and what needs to happen — and that is the fostering of healthy relationships,” Holton said.
“We don’t have healthy relationships across too many lines,” Holton continued. “You see this playing out every day in schools and playgrounds across South Carolina — and in teacher’s lounges, in businesses, in families, in neighborhoods, everywhere.”
From day one, Call Me MISTER encourages — even requires — its students to pursue healthy relationships, Holton said. Through an intentional yet organic process, MISTERs learn to understand and articulate their life stories and hear each other’s stories with empathy and understanding — and this skill makes all the difference when they enter the classroom and community as teachers.
“The result is that MISTERs have the capacity to empathize with their students, parents, fellow teachers and community members just as they, themselves, have experienced empathy,” Holton said. “They are able to see through the differences, even the maladies, and really see another’s humanity. That’s how learning happens and how students, schools and communities are elevated.”
“It’s all about relationships,” Holton summarized.
I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Countless young people have been influenced by their relationships with Daniel Spencer, including his niece and nephew, the children of his formerly incarcerated brother.
“I was trying to help raise them, and I realized through Call Me MISTER that I wasn’t teaching them; I was just telling them what to do,” Spencer said. “Listening to the MISTERs and learning from them taught me that I can do things differently — and that I can make a difference.”
Spencer’s niece and nephew, now ages 15 and 16, live with him in Seneca — happily adjusted and involved in school and community activities.
Spencer is also making a difference in his classroom at Blue Ridge Elementary, a Title 1 school with a high percentage of children from low-income families. He meets with each child individually and sets goals for the year, based not only on test scores but also the child’s own aspirations. And he holds them accountable to those goals, meeting with them throughout the year.
“I get to know all the kids and strive to meet everyone where they are,” Spencer said. “But I’ve gotten past the ‘I’m here for them to like me’ thing because at the end of the day, I know that they are going to love me — because they respect me, and they know I believe in them.”
What results from this exchange of respect, caring and expectation is academic progress. “The kids are exceeding their own expectations, which translates into authentic learning,” Spencer said.
SPIRIT OF HOPE FOR CHANGE
It is clear that authentic learning is needed for South Carolina’s children. The Palmetto State ranks 43rd in education, according to the 2014 Kids Count Profile, with 72 percent of South Carolina’s fourth graders lacking proficiency in reading, and 69 percent of eighth graders identified as below proficiency in math. Twenty-eight percent of high school students aren’t graduating on time, if at all.
The same report ranks South Carolina 44th in economic well-being and child health — both factors that affect children’s performance in school.
The statistics grow more dire in underserved schools and communities, where employment and other opportunities have increasingly diminished, says Roy Jones.
With these factors in mind, Jones and his colleagues focus on recruiting MISTERs from underserved areas and encouraging them to return to their communities or others with similar challenges.
“Call Me MISTER teachers are at the cutting edge of a new crusade — to ensure quality education in underserved areas by creating a pool of talented teachers who are fiercely loyal to their schools and communities,” Jones said. “Such teachers embody the spirit of hope for change.”
I WANT TO SEE THESE KIDS GROW UP
“Fiercely loyal” could be used to describe Daniel Spencer. Since he started his career at Blue Ridge, he has been offered many opportunities to teach in other school districts, but he is dedicated to remaining at the school and in the community where he has served as a volunteer since his days as a Clemson student.
“The first kids I mentored when they were in the fourth grade are now in the 11th grade,” he said. “I want to see these kids grow up.”
In addition to teaching, Spencer coaches high school basketball and middle school football in Seneca, attends his students’ extracurricular activities, holds free basketball clinics and workouts at Blue Ridge during the summer, and takes students to events such as Clemson’s spring football scrimmage, which many of them have never attended even though they live less than 10 miles away. When he greets former students or players in the grocery store or at school events, they avoid him if their grades aren’t up to par, because they know he’ll ask. “I love being there and talking to the kids because the more they see positive people and consistently have positive people talking to them, the better they are going to do,” he said.
THE INTANGIBLE ‘MORE’
What is it about Call Me MISTER that inspires such dedication and selflessness? If you talk to anyone associated with the program, you’ll find that it’s because it’s more than a program — it’s a lifestyle, a way of being.
The intangible “more” begins with the name of the program. The brainchild of Call Me MISTER founding director Tom Parks, the name is not only an acronym but also a tribute to a famous line by Virgil Tibbs (played by Sidney Poitier) in the 1967 movie “In the Heat of the Night.”
While investigating a murder investigation in a small Mississippi town, Tibbs, an African-American detective from Philadelphia, is asked by the racist sheriff what people in his hometown police force call him. With dignity and assertiveness, Tibbs responds, “They call me ‘Mister Tibbs!’”
It is a line that inspires, even demands, respect.
Respect is a cornerstone of Call Me MISTER, one that is seen as MISTERs receive the program’s signature black blazer upon graduation — and in the way MISTERs refer to each other as “Mister” in formal Call Me MISTER settings.
“Ultimately, our hope is for each MISTER to be self-assured and know himself, and to appreciate and understand the value of building relationships across traditional lines,” Holton said.
Other Call Me MISTER foundational concepts include ambassadorship, stewardship, personal growth and teacher efficacy. “And all of these things together pour into the most important tenet, servant-leadership,” which Holton describes as “living for more than yourself.”
Perhaps no one embodies servant-leadership more than Jeff Davis, former field director for Call Me MISTER, current assistant athletic director of football player relations, and 2001 recipient of Oprah Winfrey’s Use Your Life award.
All MISTERs continue to be challenged each time they recite the vision statement Davis penned, which includes the line, “A title is only important if one’s character and integrity dictate its use.”
The single MISTER who rises to that challenge most valiantly receives the Jeff Davis Spirit Award, one of the most coveted honors bestowed annually upon a MISTER.
According to Clemson junior Michael Miller, a MISTER from Orangeburg and 2014 recipient of the Jeff Davis Spirit Award, servant-leadership has been the key to his Call Me MISTER education.
“My viewpoint about education has changed from ‘What can I tell you or dictate to you?’ to ‘What can I do for you?’” he said.
“I want to be an educator rather than a teacher,” he continued. “A teacher delivers content, and that is important. The word ‘educator’ comes from the Latin word educe, which means to draw from within. That’s what I try to do with my students — to pull out what is already within them. Call Me MISTER has taught me how to do that.”
Melanie Kieve is the public information director for the College of Health, Education, and Human Development and the Eugene T. Moore School of Education.
To learn more about Call Me MISTER director Roy Jones, click here.
Erwins’ continuing investment benefits students
September 1, 2014 / in Clemson Forever / 0 Comments / by: Nancy Spitler
Students will benefit from scholarships, additional experienced faculty and new state-of-the-art classroom space thanks to the continuing investment of Joe Erwin ’79 and his wife, Gretchen.
The co-founders of Greenville-based advertising and marketing firm Erwin Penland gave two new gifts totaling $1.08 million to benefit the University’s Erwin Center for the Study of Advertising and Communication, $800,000 to further the center’s programming and $208,000 to establish the Eugene and Valerie Getchell Scholarship Endowment. Named for Gretchen Erwin’s parents, the endowment allows Clemson to offer two need-based scholarships each year to students studying in the Erwin Center, beginning this year.
The gifts are part of Clemson’s Will to Lead campaign. The Erwin Center was created in December 2012 when the Erwins gave a lead gift of $1.05 million.
Call Me MISTER receives $1.3 million
William Buster, director of the Kellogg Foundation’s Mississippi and New Orleans programs
Clemson’s Call Me MISTER program has received $1.3 million from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Mich., to collaborate with Jackson State University to increase the number of African-American male teachers in Mississippi K-8 classrooms. The three organizations gathered on campus to commemorate the collaboration and grant.
Clemson established the now nationally recognized Call Me MISTER program in 2000 to increase the number of African-American males teaching in South Carolina K-12 schools. MISTER stands for Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role Models. After more than a decade, there is a 75 percent increase in the number of African-American male teachers in South Carolina’s public elementary schools.
The program has expanded to 17 colleges in South Carolina. Nearly 100 students are enrolled in the program in six additional states: Florida, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Mississippi and Georgia.
“The demonstrated success of the Call Me MISTER collaborative model in South Carolina, which has resulted in a significant increase in African-American male teachers in our state, provided confidence that the same result was possible in Mississippi,” Roy Jones, director of Call Me MISTER said. “We simply exported our nearly 15 years of successful experience in recruiting, retaining and developing pre-service teachers to Jackson State, which has a long tradition and history in producing African-American educators.”
Chi Zeta celebrates 40 years, endows scholarship
This spring, the alumni brothers of the Chi Zeta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi fraternity returned to Clemson to celebrate the chapter’s anniversary. Forty years ago, a group of students chartered the first black Greek-lettered organization on campus. Since then, 122 brothers have been initiated, and more than 90 of those returned for the reunion.
Chi Zeta took a leadership role during the 50th anniversary of the ending of segregation at Clemson. The “50 for 50” campaign was designed to celebrate 50 years of integration at Clemson by creating 50 diversity endowments, with a goal of fully funding the endowments within five years. Chi Zeta saw this as an opportunity to create its own endowment to provide financial support for deserving undergraduate students now and for years to come. Chi Zeta met its commitment within four months and awarded the first scholarship in the fall of 2013.
To mark its 40th anniversary as a campus organization, the alumni brothers of Chi Zeta raised another $25,000, which doubles the endowment to $50,000. With these additional donations, the brothers of Chi Zeta, in conjunction with Mrs. Veronica Clinkscales and the Clinkscales family, were able to establish the Dr. William C. Clinkscales Sr. ’74 Diversity Scholarship Endowment honoring her late husband, one of the founding brothers of the fraternity.
Freeman Hall expanding
Freeman Hall is expanding to make room for rapid growth in the industrial engineering department. The $10-million addition will include new offices, conference rooms and a 108-seat auditorium, and will include additional room for a fast-growing online Master of Engineering in industrial engineering with an emphasis on supply chain and logistics that has been supported by Fluor Corporation. The program now has about 120 students and is expected to grow to 160. Growth in the industrial engineering department underscores the power of philanthropy and the importance of Clemson’s long partnership with Fluor. Fluor contributed $1.5 million in 2013 to create the Fluor-Clemson International Capital Projects Supply Chain Partnership to help with the online program’s expansion.
One Clemson event supports scholarships
C.J. Spiller ’09 was one of the more than two dozen legendary Clemson athletes who were in attendance at the One Clemson Main Event, held in April at the ONE Building in downtown Greenville to support athletic and academic scholarships. Auctioned items included a personal “C.J. Spiller Experience” at a Buffalo Bills game and golf with PGA Tour players Charles Warren and Ben Martin. Proceeds benefit the One Clemson scholarship initiative, a part of the Will to Lead campaign.
Circle of Gratitude
January 2, 2014 / in Clemson Forever / 0 Comments / by: Nancy Spitler
Friends and family honor Mayberry’s memory
At the Clemson-Boston College football game, friends and teammates of former Clemson football player Robert P. “Bob” Mayberry Jr. announced that $1 million and 74 dollars has been raised to establish an endowment to honor Mayberry’s memory and values. The endowment will award partial scholarships to football trainers and/or managers.
Mark Richardson ’83, a member of the committee that initiated the effort, said that the scholarship was a fitting tribute. “We are confident it would have been Bob’s dream to honor those who work hard day in and day out with no expectation of recognition beyond that which accrues to the whole team.” The fundraising committee also includes Jubal Early, Steve Horvath, Steve Luquire, Robert P. Mayberry Sr. and Kendall Alley ’83, M ’85.
Mayberry started on the 1981 National Championship team. Following graduation in 1983, he joined his father in the automobile business, married and raised a family, and seized every opportunity to demonstrate his passions for Clemson and for helping others. He died in 2012 after a battle with cancer.
Pledges and gifts in support of the Robert P. “Bob” Mayberry Jr. ’83 Endowed Memorial Grant-in-Aid may be addressed to the Clemson University Foundation and mailed to Connie Sexton, IPTAY Major Gifts, P.O. Box 1529, Clemson, S.C. 29633.
Barker Scholars update
More than $2.8 million has been donated to the Barker Scholars Endowment, established to honor President Barker and his wife, Marcia. The endowment will support need-based scholarships for undergraduates. More than 2,000 contributed to the fund, with more than 80 founding partners who contributed more than $25,000 each.
Donations may still be made online, by check or by gifts of appreciated stock. Make checks payable to Clemson Fund, P.O. Box 1889, Clemson, S.C. 29633, and indicate “Barker Scholars.”
Fort Hill Club looks to the long term
Since 2006, the Fort Hill Clemson Club has funded annual scholarships for students through the money raised from their annual Recruiting Wrap Up. But this year, they decided a change was in order.
The event has more than tripled in attendance to 700 and increased more than 1,000 percent in sponsorships to $21,000. Held the day after recruiting ends, it includes chats with the coaches and players, barbecue and getting the inside scoop on the season to come.
Jerry Handegan and Eric Breazel
This year, club leadership took a look at their profits and their goals. “There were always two schools of thought,” says former club president Jerry Handegan. “Do we give immediate money now, or do we create an endowment? People wanted to do scholarships. So we just gave our $10,000 annually for that.”
According to Eric Breazel, also a past president of the club, “As the event got more and more successful, we began to ask the question, ‘Should we think more long term?’ What pushed us over the edge was a chat with the financial aid and admissions staff, and hearing their perspective on the benefits of endowment — being able to attract students and offer them four-year scholarships. It was a no brainer.”
The club is actually doing both for now, giving an annual scholarship until the endowment reaches a high enough level to support more scholarships. The club invites scholarship recipients to the event each year, and according to Breazel, that makes the day even more special. “Obviously, folks come to see Dabo and the recruits. But while we’re welcoming new student-athletes we’re also celebrating new academic scholarships as well.”
And their message to other groups? “I would strongly like to encourage other groups or individuals to take a second or third look at making a gift that will make an impact for generations to come, not just for one year,” says Breazel. “Clemson’s still young and has centuries to go. An endowment can make a significant difference.”
To learn more about how you can make an impact on the future of Clemson, visit clemson.edu/giving, call 864-656-5896 or email cufund-L@clemson.edu.
Wells Fargo supports Call Me MISTER®, Emerging Scholars
Call Me MISTER and Emerging Scholars have in common their goal of improving educational opportunities for underrepresented populations. They also have in common the support of Wells Fargo, which donated $500,000 last fall to support the programs. Call Me MISTER seeks to place more African-American males in elementary school classrooms as teachers. Emerging Scholars’ mission is to increase the number of college graduates from economically disadvantaged areas and first-generation families. Since 2006, Wells Fargo has given $1.71 million to support the two programs.
Butch and Joy Ferree
Ferrees create trust for scholarships, experiential learning
Maurice “Butch” Ferree ’65, M ’67 and his wife, Joy, have created a charitable remainder trust valued at more than $1 million to benefit students in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences.
Half of the money will establish the Dr. Maurice E. “Butch” Ferree and Joy Culver Ferree Scholarship Endowment to provide scholarships for students in the college. The other half will create an endowment to provide experiential learning opportunities for students.
“We just both love Clemson,” said Butch. “I don’t have anything but good memories of being a student here. Looking back, most of my professors were tough as nails, but they loved their students. They were making men out of boys — that stuck with me. That experience was so valuable for me.”
“Clemson is a place I have loved all my life,” said Joy. “We want to see it continue to grow, and we wanted to help deserving students complete their education here.”
New leaves honor great generosity
The grounds of Fort Hill are home to three new bronze oak leaves sporting the signatures
of the new members of the Fort Hill Legacy Society, whose bequests or testamentary trusts were realized at $1 million or more.
Ethelyn Berry Smith dedicated her life to education. She taught several years in Kershaw County, and continued her devotion to education by establishing the Harry Graves Berry Bioengineering Endowment to honor her brother, a member of the Class of ’41.
Tragedy struck Ernest and Virginia Carroll when their only son, Ernest Jr., was killed in action in June 1944 during the invasion of Normandy, while Ernest Sr. was serving in the Pacific theater. The Carrolls created the Ernest Hill Carroll Jr. Endowed Scholarship Fund at Clemson, where he had attended before enlisting in the Army.
Porter H. and Sara L. Adams have long been tied to Clemson. Porter graduated in 1940, and their son Porter Jr. graduated in 1964. After 26 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, Porter Sr. taught both high school and college, then established the Porter Adams Family Endowed Unrestricted Scholarship.
As part of the inaugural Week of Gratitude held on campus in October, the Student Alumni Council presented a $75,000 check to benefit the Student Alumni Council Scholarship Endowment Fund and the Student Memorial Chapel.
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Tag Archive for: In These Hills
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Two engineering professors named endowed chairs
January 2, 2017 / in In These Hills / 0 Comments / by: CW Staff
Mitch and Carla Norville, Hai Yao, President Clements, Amy Landis, Carolyn and Thomas Hash
Professors Amy Landis and Hai Yao were honored as endowed chairs this past fall in a ceremony where they received endowed chair medallions.
Landis, a nationally respected researcher who came to Clemson in 2015 from Arizona State University, is the Thomas F. Hash SmartState Endowed Chair in Sustainable Development. She coordinates the SmartState Center of Economic Excellence in Sustainable Development, whose researchers are developing technology to collect massive amounts of data that can be deployed to measure everything from water quality in rivers to traffic flow on highways. They hope the data will give policymakers the information they need to manage development sustainably as a growing population and climate change make the task more difficult.
Landis’ hiring was made possible through a $2 million gift from Thomas F. Hash ’69 and matching contribution from the SmartState program, which provides dollar-for-dollar state funding through the S.C. Education Lottery. Hash graduated from Clemson with a degree in mechanical engineering and served as president of Bechtel Systems and Infrastructure before retiring.
Yao, who oversees the Clemson-MUSC Bioengineering Program, is the new Ernest R. Norville Endowed Chair in Biomedical Engineering, based at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. An expert in disorders of the jaw’s temporomandibular joint, commonly known as TMJ, Yao and his team create computer models that predict dynamic changes within the jaw, helping answer critical questions about its pathophysiology for developing new diagnosis and treatment strategies. He also heads up the South Carolina Translational Research Improving Musculoskeletal Health, or SC-TRIMH, which brings together Clemson and MUSC researchers with Greenville Health System clinicians to create models for virtual clinical trials.
The Ernest R. Norville Chair is the result of a $1.5 million gift from Mitch and Carla Norville. Mitch Norville received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1980, and the endowed chair is named after his father. Mitch Norville retired as chief operating officer of Boston Properties and is the owner of Atlantic South Development Inc.
Coming Home to Clemson
January 2, 2017 / in In These Hills / 0 Comments / by: Nancy Spitler
The weather was clear the week of Homecoming 2016 as students spent the week constructing floats for the theme of “Coming Home to Clemson.” While floats were going up, another group of students, faculty and volunteers were on the other end of Bowman Field, building Clemson’s 23rd Habitat for Humanity house built since 1997 and providing a local family with affordable housing.
Chris Heavner, campus pastor for Clemson University and faculty advisor for Clemson Habitat for Humanity, catches a tape measure during the building of a Habitat for Humanity house on Bowman Field, Oct. 5, 2016. (Photo by Ken Scar)
Clemson University students and volunteers construct a Habitat for Humanity home on Bowman Field Oct. 5, 2016. (Photo by Ken Scar)
Clemson University students help construct a home for Habitat for Humanity on Bowman Field, Oct. 5, 2016. Clemson students built a home for the charity every year as part of their homecoming celebrations. (Photo by Ken Scar)
Clemson University students Monica Spritzki, a sophomore studying chemistry from Cincinnati, OH, and Ashley Bonnette, a senior studying chemistry from Columbia, S.C., help lay out the floor for a Habitat for Humanity house on Bowman Field, Oct. 5, 2016. (Photo by Ken Scar)
Volunteers work on a Habitat for Humanity home on Clemson University’s Bowman Field as part of Homecoming week celebrations. Clemson students and volunteers build a home every year during Homecoming week. (Photo by Ken Scar)
Chris Heavner, campus pastor for Clemson University and faculty advisor for Clemson Habitat for Humanity, shares a laugh with other volunteers during the building of a Habitat for Humanity house on Bowman Field, Oct. 5, 2016. (Photo by Ken Scar)
Clemson University legend (Ret) U.S. Army Col. Ben Skardon, 99, a survivor of the Bataan Death March, talks with friends at the Tigerama homecoming event on Bowman Field, Oct. 14, 2016. (Photo by Ken Scar)
Member of Clemson University’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, and the Sigma Nu and Triangle fraternities, construct their float for Tigerama, an annual homecoming celebration that happens on Bowman Field, Oct. 14, 2016. (Photo by Ken Scar)
Clemson University Mills Griffin, a sophomore from Spartanburg, S.C. majoring in mechanical engineering, makes a leaping catch while playing football with some of his brothers from the Sigma Nu fraternity after completing their float for the Tigerama homecoming celebration, Oct. 14, 2016. (Photo by Ken Scar)
Clemson at its Core
This past fall, the project known as Core Campus opened for business, with residence halls for 700 students, a large dining facility, and a new home for the Honors College and the Calhoun Honors Residential College.
Bacteria strain named by Clemson students
January 1, 2017 / in In These Hills / 0 Comments / by: Clinton Colmenares
Clemson University microbiology major Hayley Hassler, a junior from Hartsville, S.C., works with a petri dish containing Legionella clemsonensis, a strand of bacteria named after the University.
The Clemson family has gained a new namesake: Legionella clemsonensis, a novel strain of the Legionella bacteria, the most common cause of waterborne bacterial outbreaks in the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave the honor of naming L. clemsonensis to students in a collaborative research group called CU and the CDC, which includes students from Clemson’s Creative Inquiry (CI) program for undergraduate students and officials in the CDC Legionella lab.
The newly named strain of Legionella was part of a batch of 68 strains the CDC sent to Clemson students to analyze. “While we knew they were Legionella, they didn’t match up to anything in the current database of bacterial species. It’s like knowing their last name but not their first names,” said Tamara McNealy, an associate professor of biological sciences who forged the collaboration with Claressa Lucas, director of the CDC Legionella lab, to characterize unknown Legionella strains.
Undergraduates in the CI group — Joseph Painter, Kyle Toth, Kasey Remillard, Rayphael Hardy and Scott Howard — sequenced two genes at the Clemson University Genomics Institute to identify the species or to find out if they were novel. “One of the strains Joseph was assigned turned out to be novel or not significantly matching anything in the database,” McNealy said.
A second wave of students, including Hayley Hassler, a junior, and Allie Palmer, a master’s student in McNealy’s lab, along with Vince Richards, an assistant professor in the biological sciences department, worked to validate that L. clemsonensis does indeed fall separately from the other known Legionella strains.
A sample of the Legionella clemsonensis bacteria under a ultraviolet light. The bacteria can be seen as small glowing dots in the 12-o-clock area of the petri dish.
“My experience in this CI has really allowed me to explore areas of microbiology that I wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise,” Hassler said. “Thanks to Dr. McNealy and Dr. Richards I now have a real passion for studying infectious diseases and microbial genomics.”
According to the CDC, L. clemsonensis was originally isolated from a patient in Ohio. Preliminary analysis showed it was not L. pneumophila, the most commonly identified pathogen in the group, and that it didn’t fall into any known grouping, McNealy said. Another feature that set this strain apart: When hit with ultraviolet light, many Legionella strains fluoresce blue, red or yellow, but L. clemsonensis fluoresced green.
If Legionella is inhaled by someone who is elderly or immunocompromised it could lead to a treatable form of pneumonia. The bacteria live in biofilms of all manmade water systems and are found in freshwater lakes, streams and rivers. Around 4,000 to 5,000 cases of waterborne bacterial outbreaks are reported annually in the U.S., an estimate that is probably low, McNealy said.
Clemson specialist installing weather stations to help farmers conserve water
December 30, 2016 / in In These Hills / 0 Comments / by: Scott Miller
Clemson irrigation specialist Jose Payero is installing weather stations and soil-moisture sensors at farms across South Carolina and developing the online platform that will allow farmers to use the collected data to conserve water and energy.
Payero received a $75,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to install weather stations at farms in each county of the state. He aims to arm farmers with data that will allow them to make more informed irrigation decisions based on rain forecasts, soil type and crop yield expectations. The sensors and weather stations connect wirelessly to transmitters that will send data to a password-protected website Payero is developing for farmer access. Data from the sensors also could be sent to an automated irrigation system Payero is developing that would activate if soil moisture dips below desired levels.
Over-irrigation can be costly and cause soil erosion, chemical runoff and nutrient leaching, while under-irrigation stresses crops and reduces yield. Periods of drought, meanwhile, have made water availability scarcer, while persuading more farmers to invest in irrigation systems, said Payero, who works at the University’s Edisto Research and Education Center (REC) in Blackville.
“Water is one of our most important issues going forward,” he said. “The population is growing. The demand for food is rising. But we are not making more land, so we need to make our land more productive while protecting our water resources.
“It is not unreasonable to expect that society will continue to demand farmers produce more crops with less water, especially in areas where water resources are scarce and where competition is increasing between irrigation and alternative water users like environmental, municipal and industrial use,” Payero said. “Farmers will only be able to respond to this challenge if they are equipped with the knowledge and the tools to make better water management decisions.”
Bamberg County farmer Richard Rentz approached Payero at a field day in the fall at the Edisto REC to request installation of a weather station on his property. “Right now, we’re just shooting in the dark on our irrigation,” said Rentz, who irrigates roughly 150 acres of a 700-acre farm. “I’d like to save a little water, save a little power and save some money. It’s a significant expense.”
The Edisto REC is developing and demonstrating a variety of new technologies aimed at conserving water and other farm inputs, like fertilizers, to both increase crop yields and minimize the effect of production practices on the environment. These technologies include irrigation scheduling using weather data, irrigation automation, sensor-based irrigation, subsurface drip irrigation and variable-rate irrigation. Application of these technologies could save the state an estimated $7 million annually just in pumping costs while significantly reducing water application.
“Dr. Payero’s project is a critical piece of research for agriculture and water-use management. Water for irrigation is an extremely important component of South Carolina’s agriculture industry, especially in the eastern portion of the state,” said Jeffery Allen, director of the S.C. Water Resources Center. “Using these sensors and data-collection stations will help us understand how water moves through these systems and how farmers can best manage their crops now and into the future.”
Professor, students receive Fulbright awards
December 30, 2016 / in In These Hills / 0 Comments / by: Jeannie Davis and Maggie Masterson ’17
Rick St. Peter
Two recent graduates and an assistant professor of theater are teaching and learning in Europe this year, thanks to the Fulbright Program.
Rick St. PeterAssistant professor Richard St. Peter has been named a Fulbright Scholar as a visiting professor at the University of Craiova in Romania. Throughout the 2016-17 academic year he is teaching contemporary American and British theater as well as Shakespeare performance.
St. Peter hopes his time in Romania will blaze a trail for students who want to study abroad. “We want to provide as many opportunities as possible for our students to go abroad during their time at Clemson,” he said. “It just seems like that’s becoming more and more of a priority for universities. The world is getting smaller and smaller. And there is the opportunity for our students to see that the theater is a global marketplace. Ultimately, they’re going to be able to work anywhere.”
Courtney Fink ’16 and Jenna Kohles ’15 are also in Europe for the 2016-17 academic year as part of the Fulbright Student Program.
Courtney Fink
Fink, of Orland Park, Illinois, graduated with a degree in history, a minor in Spanish and a degree in secondary education. She will be a teaching assistant at the Institute of Secondary Education Manuel Fraga Iribarne in Spain. Her main job will be to prepare students for the model U.N. program.
Kohles, of Cary, North Carolina, earned her degree in wildlife and fisheries biology. She will use her Fulbright grant to begin a master’s program in biology with a focus in ecology, evolution and behavior at the University of Konstanz and Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany. Her research will explore the social lives of a common bat species, which will help predict how bat colonies can persist through emerging environmental stresses such as climate change, habitat destruction and disease.
Jenna Kohles
In existence since 1946, the Fulbright Program, sponsored by the U.S. government, is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.
Former astronaut Mae Jemison speaks on campus
December 29, 2016 / in In These Hills / 0 Comments / by: Nancy Spitler
Former NASA astronaut Mae C. Jemison gave the keynote address in Clemson’s opening convocation in August. Jemison, the first African-American woman to travel to space, flew aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in September 1992. Jemison described her life growing up in Chicago in the 1960s, saying that as a girl she could see unlimited possibilities for herself through the turbulence of those times. “All around me was this world that was filled with ideas and actions and choices that would change the course of human history, and I wanted to be a part of it. I always assumed I would go into space.”
A new dog in town
December 27, 2016 / in In These Hills / 0 Comments / by: Maggie Masterson ’17
After nearly seven years of service, Clemson’s bomb-sniffing dog, Doc, has retired.
Doc began his work at Clemson in 2010, aiding the Clemson University Police Department (CUPD) in their efforts to keep campus safe. The black Labrador retriever has investigated bomb threats at Clemson and also helped sweep such major venues as Memorial Stadium before events. The CUPD was one of the first University police departments in the region to acquire a bomb-sniffing dog.
Doc and his handler, officer Zachary Owen, worked long hours to ensure student and visitor safety at Clemson. The pair typically spent 12 hours at Memorial Stadium each game day, with Doc sniffing out the stadium and continuing to monitor for threats. Doc’s final task before retiring was to sweep the area at a Clemson baseball game against Florida State.
Now there’s a new dog in town. After a rigorous 12-week training program, Woodrow, a 2-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever, has taken over Doc’s duties. He got an opportunity to show his skills during his training, when Owen hid a fake bomb in the stadium. Woodrow searched enthusiastically, sniffing thoroughly until he caught a whiff of the acidic scent. Once the dog located the trigger scent, he sat down in what is known as a passive alert. The reward for detecting the target is a tennis ball and a game of fetch with Owen.
Woodrow has big paws to fill, but he’s on the job, keeping Clemson safe.
Clemson’s footprint expands in the Lowcountry
September 7, 2016 / in In These Hills / 2 Comments / by: CW Staff
It’s a warm, humid morning in Charleston and the call of seagulls has finally replaced the sound of bulldozers and blowtorches. In just over nine months, architects and construction workers erected a building that is more than just a pretty face.
The state-of-the-art 75,000-square-foot facility, an iconic glass and metal structure located on the waterfront of Charleston’s old naval base, will symbolize the joint vision of Clemson University and businesswoman/philanthropist Anita Zucker. The program will serve as the academic anchor in the Clemson University Restoration Institute (CURI) applied technology park, joining the Warren Lasch Conservation Center and the SCE&G Energy Innovation Center. The Zucker Family Graduate Education Center will offer master’s programs in electrical engineering, systems engineering and digital production arts (DPA) and a Ph.D. program in computer science.
“For years our business community has complained that we don’t have enough graduate-level courses in engineering. Well, I feel like that call will finally be answered with this new center,” Zucker said.
“The Zucker Family Graduate Education Center will respond to industry’s demand for an engineering workforce for the future,” said Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, director of business development for CURI. “The center will bring opportunity for personal and professional growth for place-bound engineers who would like to have an advanced degree and expand their opportunities in the job market.”
The idea is that the engineering programs will help keep young talent and expertise from leaving South Carolina for other places that offer opportunities to grow in the industry. Additionally, the DPA program will expand instruction in video game design and content development in hopes of creating a new regional industry. The center will start with a combination of on-site and remote (via video conference) learning with a plan to have the program completely local within three years.
The timing of the opening is ideal as Charleston is quickly becoming one of the nation’s fastest-growing areas for such advanced business and industry sectors as aerospace, transportation, advanced materials, advanced security and biomedical services and manufacturing. According to the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Charleston region is one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the United States, and growth in population and employment is expected to continue to exceed the national average.
But the Zucker center isn’t the only new building for Clemson in Charleston — new to Clemson, that is. In August, the Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston and the Historic Preservation Program were united under one roof when they moved into the Cigar Factory on East Bay Street. The former cigar and textile manufacturing plant was originally built in 1881 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Formerly, the two programs were housed in three separate locations. To better meet existing needs, anticipate planned growth and ensure that Clemson students in Charleston have all the resources they need, a larger, more functional facility was required.
“Clemson is thrilled with this solution to house our allied design programs in Charleston under one roof,” said Richard E. Goodstein, dean of the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities. “It has been a long-time goal of the University’s to integrate the creativity, scholarship and service outreach of these programs in one central location.”
Though completely different aesthetically, the hope is that both these buildings will expand the footprint of Clemson in South Carolina and in turn cement the idea that the University is committed to providing opportunities to students, teachers and industry alike, across the entire state.
Biochemistry and genetics graduate awarded 2016 Norris Medal
Each spring, one Clemson student is chosen as the recipient of the Norris Medal, the highest honor for an undergraduate. Established in the will of Clemson trustee D.K. Norris, the honor is awarded to the graduating senior judged the best all-around student by the Scholarships and Awards Committee.
This spring, that student was Austin Herbst of Easley, who graduated with a dual degree in biochemistry and genetics, with a double minor in microbiology and psychology. Two weeks before graduation, he took home multiple awards from the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, including being named the outstanding senior in genetics and biochemistry and receiving the Martin Award, which honors the student in the life sciences with the highest GPA. The Blue Key Academic and Leadership Award and the Phi Kappa Phi Certificate of Merit rounded out the list. The Blue Key award is given to one senior in each of Clemson’s seven colleges to honor outstanding scholarship, campus leadership and service.
Last spring as a junior Herbst was awarded the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship for excellence in science, mathematics and engineering. He was involved in undergraduate bioengineering research during his first three years at Clemson, and conducted research at both Furman and Emory universities. He published five peer-reviewed articles. He has volunteered in the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua, and was active in Engineers without Borders, Engineering World Health and Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society, of which he was president.
Having been admitted to medical school at Harvard, Johns Hopkins and Vanderbilt, Herbst is planning to attend Harvard this fall. He would like to pursue a career in global health and work internationally.
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I received a copy of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall for Christmas. This has been my summer reading, and I just finished it.
Here is my review: I am giddy over the fact that this is merely the first book of a trilogy.
Upon learning of this novelization of the life of Thomas Cromwell, which is to say, the reign of King Henry VIII told from the point of view of one of his councilors, it occurred to me a shame I had not read it prior to my directing Shakespeare's Henry VIII last summer. However, though the two cover the same ground in history -- which is to say, this first novel does, the next two will tell the story of that which came after -- they tell the story from such differing view points that it may have proved a distraction and in no way improved the choices I made in directing the play.
After all, Shakespeare's Wolsey is the antagonist. Mantel's Wolsey, from the point of view of her protagonist Cromwell, is a much-beloved father figure and mentor. And I worked very hard, and successfully, I believe, to limit the number of definable, named characters in Henry VIII, and as a result there was no one named Cromwell in my production at all, his lines greatly limited and put in the mouths of others.
Bryan Ritchey as Cardinal Campeius ... but also kind of Thomas Cromwell.
It comes as no surprise at all that this book has already been optioned by BBC/HBO as a miniseries. The main character is far too charismatic not to hold a high-profile production together, you could see everyone from Colin Forth to Paul Giamatti vying to play Cromwell, and attract enough stars to play virtually all of the supporting characters. Mantel's dialogue is irresistible, adaptation seems almost unnecessary.
Dad was pleased to hear I enjoyed it so much, he offered to get me Bring Up The Bodies for my 45th birthday, which was four days ago.
Labels: Henry VIII, Hilary Mantel, summer, Wolf Hall (book)
The Connelly Theater
Three weeks from today, our company will be in New York City, holding a technical rehearsal for Double Heart (The Courtship of Beatrice and Benedick) at the historic Connelly Theatre. A former opera house, this 99-seat theater has many attractive features, including its horseshoe-shaped balcony!
The theater space is only one part of a great, Lower East Side institution, the Cornelia Connelly Center, which provides education and a promising future to underprivileged girls.
This space has powerful, positive juju! Three years ago, 34 West Theater Company presented their acclaimed two-person show My Name Is Ruth at the Connelly as part of FringeNYC 2010, where it was given an award for Overall Excellence in Playwriting.
The acting company was comprised of Magdalyn Donnelly and Jeffrey Querin, each a former Great Lakes Theater school residency program actor-teacher. Double Heart (The Courtship of Beatrice and Benedick) features two other former GLT actor-teachers, myself and Annie Hickey!
And Annie is getting married tomorrow, to another actor-teacher! Even more good fortune!
The entire company is very excited to know we will be working in a classy, downtown, proscenium theater, just perfect for presenting this stylish production. Tickets went on sale today, if you are in New York next month, please come and join us.
Labels: Connelly Theater, Double Heart, Great Lakes Theater Festival, My Name Is Ruth, NY Fringe Festival, School Residency Program
For four years now, the female contingent of our little family has gone on an all-girl retreat the second weekend of July leaving the two of us to be dudes on our own for a couple days. I chronicled this last year, and while certain traditions hang, others get created as we go.
Friday evening we made our pilgrimage to Freeway Lanes in Solon, joined once more by Dr. Dean and Mr. Boy and I was killing until halfway through the second game when I just blew it out. The Dr. can attest, I was on fire, but then handed him my mojo which was entirely fair.
Mr. Boy (not to be confused with my son, who is simply "the boy") and I seem to have entirely identical taste in music. He was encouraging the boy to break out some moves but that usually just leads to my son grabbing the nearest boy in the room around the neck and wrestling him to the floor.
I took a picture of my food.
Lately, not just this weekend, we have been dining outside, on the side porch. Some days this is because every available surface in our house is covered with books, bills or fall preparatory materials, but even when they aren't it is a habit we have grown fond of.
Saturday morning I made whole wheat pancakes with (frozen) blueberries, with syrup, a little whipped cream and what was left of the blackberries from City Fresh. The rest of the morning was spent reading and coping with the boy's recent absolute, unabated obsession with Clash of the Clans.
The boy has coach-pitch baseball at noon on Saturdays, which is pretty grueling. In spite of my having remembered to find and apply sunscreen, I still found a slight burn on my scalp from that gap in the back of my ballcap. Geez.
Earlier this week the wife and kids has visited friends out in Chagrin and came home with a bunch of big tomato plants, all ready to put in the earth. After several days of getting mightily watered by recent storms in their little travel cups and boxes, and then wilting in the unforgiving heat, I figured this was as good a time as any for the manly business of gardening.
We worked as a team, ripping up a great, long path of weedy mint, hoeing and mulching and finally planting them in four great towers. The work took longer than it may have as every time the boy found a worm he needed to put it in the compost barrel, which I believe currently has a 1:1 ratio of worms to compost. I don't know. I am afraid to look.
In the meantime, we entirely forgot to eat. Late lunch/early dinner was had at the new Katz Club Diner. We were big fans of the original Dottie's Diner, which was open briefly around the time the girl was born. That was a decade ago, and in the meantime several concerns have tried to make a go of it. I stuck my head in a couple times and the decor alone told me those people had no idea what they were doing.
The rumors are true, the place is beautiful, the food is good, and its entirely too expensive if you are the kind of person who liked to spend hours drinking of coffee and smoking cigarettes at Chucks. This is not that kind of diner.
The boy was entirely taken by the style and structure of the dining car, pointing out the features which told him this was once a real train car, and not just an imitation. His words, "This is a very welcoming place. It's beautiful, makes you want to come back." Really, my eight year-old talks like that.
We were both satisfied with the Reuben I ordered, and the homemade chips and fires, though he chose to add mayo and vinegar to his chicken salad sandwich, which he believes didn't have enough "pop" for his taste. I admit it was mild, but I found it flavorful, not overpowering. We're looking forward to sharing this place with the ladies some time in the near future. I hope it succeeds.
To conclude the evening, we furthered the boy's Marx Brothers education by taking in the bravely plot-free Monkey Business (1931) which features the absolute worst hand-to-hand combat ever recorded on film.
Poor Thelma Todd. She really was hilarious.
Now, it had been my intention to rise this morning at the not unreasonable hour of 6:00 am to do some much-needed writing, but after one slap of the snooze bar I had to ask myself, and I am waking up at 6 am on Sunday because why, and just turned the alarm off.
Sunday has been low-key, as it should be, reading, playing video games, watering tomatoes, feeding gerbils (no really) finally getting down to learning the rules to Ticket To Ride, before heading to the Lantern Theatre for this year's family-friendly, historical fiction drama John Henry, written by colleague and neighbor Eric Schmiedl.
John Henry (center) and friends.
Anybody can enjoy these plays Bill Hoffman and his crew at the Lantern Theatre offer (last year's Boy Camp we saw Singin' On The Ohio, which I am happy to say will be revived starting next month) but I strongly recommend them for my friends with elementary school aged kids. They tell good, interesting stories, with a lot of great history and very enjoyable characters.
And really, that's it. For the weekend, I mean. The boy is off into the neighborhood riding bikes with the local kids and I am going to sit on the sideporch with a beer and book. That's Daddy Camp.
Posted by pengo at 4:11 PM 4 comments:
Labels: Boy Camp, Chagrin and Bear It (blog), City Fresh, Eric Schmiedl, Freeway Lanes, John Henry (play), Katz Club Diner, Lantern Theatre, Marx Brothers, Monkey Business (film)
Double Heart: Talespinner Children's Theatre
Last night we presented Double Heart at Talespinner Children's Theatre, our final performance before heading to FringeNYC. The evening was a rousing success, and quite a celebration.
It has been several months since we last had the opportunity to share this show with an audience, and while reaction had always been positive, it truly felt like this evening's crowd (who included, after all, some dear friends family and close supporters) was in tune with the production on all levels, reveling in the bawdy humor, delighting in the dance and swordplay, and moved by the high emotions.
This set will look very nice at the Connelly.
One of the great challenges for the folks at FringeNYC is to schedule roughly 10 shows in each space (200 shows in 20 spaces) and part of that means being able to tell them exactly how long the show is, with little variation more or less. We need to set up and tear down our show in no more than 15 minutes to make room for the next production.
We told them it runs 60 minutes. Tonight's performance, with lots of audience reaction, ran about 58 minutes! Good call.
Huzzah!
During curtain call we recognized a few of those without whom this entire production would not be possible. Tonight's show couldn't have happened without the great assistance of the entire crew at Talespinner. Their spring production of The Emperor's Ears closed yesterday, and they cleaned up the space and painted stage so we could be there tonight.
Next we thanked Great Lakes Theater, for commissioning the work, producing it, and providing costumes, the set and so much support in our endeavor to give the show new life in New York.
Finally we thanked our Kickstarter backers and others who have provided much-needed financial support and asked them to stand and be recognized. It must have been at least half of the audience who stood, and we thank them and those who could not be present so much for helping us make it this far.
Following the performance, audience member and Kickstarter backer Rob D. went on Facebook to post the following:
Things I really enjoyed about Double Heart after seeing it tonight:
The momentum of the performance was terrific. It made those costume changes look effortless.
The play's masterful blending of traditional Shakespearean theater elements with modern touches
The story's deft handling of delicate subject matter, which added depth and drew the audience in closer to the cast
The cast's energetic and convincing presence on the stage, and especially David's comedic timing
Rob summed up, "NYC is in for a treat."
Thank you, Rob. Last night, that audience was the treat.
Posted by pengo at 10:35 AM 1 comment:
Labels: Double Heart, Great Lakes Theater Festival, Kickstarter, New York International Fringe Festival, Talespinner Children's Theatre
Free performance of DOUBLE HEART this Sunday!
Video stills can be amusing.
This weekend, we will be celebrating our successful campaign to GET DOUBLE HEART TO FRINGENYC by offering a free, one night-only performance. Sunday July 7 at 7 PM (7/7 @ 7) we will present Double Heart (The Courtship of Beatrice and Benedick) at the Reinberger Auditorium -- home to Talespinner Children's Theatre -- 5209 Detroit Avenue in Cleveland. It's free, no reservations required.
Since I last posted on the blog about our impending production at FringeNYC, we have learned a number of details, including where and when we will be performing!
VENUE #6 - The Connelly Theatre, 220 East 4th Street, NYC
SAT 8/10 @ 5 PM
SUN 8/11 @ 2:30 PM
WED 8/14 @ 8:30 PM
THU 8/15 @ 7 PM
SAT 8/17 @ NOON
So if you can't join us this Sunday in CLE, please check us out in Lower Manhattan next month.
Susan Petrone's DOUBLE HEART video interview for CoolCleveland!
Labels: CoolCleveland, Double Heart, New York International Fringe Festival
8 (play)
I was raised a bigot. Pretty much everyone I knew was. It was the 1970s, I lived in suburbia, and hatred and ridicule of homosexuality was the social norm.
There were a few moments of education, like Billy Crystal’s Jodie in Soap -- which we watched religiously (I was nine years-old) and Good Lord, I saw the pilot episode of the TV sitcom Hot L Baltimore. But these were outliers -- as I have described in the past, I experienced A Chorus Line at the age of eight and saw a bunch of freaks.
As an insecure and weak adolescent, I was often tagged with homosexual insults. They were common. I remember when I was a sophomore, and I decided, for a change, to actually take care of my appearance, get a haircut, buy some stylish clothes. The specific reason was two-fold, I had a crush on a cute freshman, and I had just seen Footloose.
There was this complete douchebag who sat behind me in Spanish. That day he appraised my sartorial choices by calling me a “flamer” in front of his friends. You will notice I still remember that.
But that just means I didn’t want to be called that. I have called others worse, and much worse. When it comes to gay epithets, we are all Paula Deen.
Marriage means “one man-one woman” to you if you have only known that since birth. Homosexuality was not necessarily something you were against, but something of which you were ignorant. As with most of my kind, acceptance and understanding has come through familiarity, of association. It helps when you have an earnest desire to learn.
This is why I bristle when folks suggest the President is pandering to special interests or flip-flopped when he says his opinions have “evolved” regarding gay marriage. Any straight, young male born as late as the 1960s and raised in a Judeo-Christian household would have found the idea of two guys marrying incomprehensible, and if any of them grew up to be tolerant, loving, and welcoming to homosexuality, it would have required a significant “evolution”.
This is not a defense. This is an explanation, and it is an apology. People are raised this way, what is important is that people can, in fact, change. However, I will not ape those who espouse, for example, that back in the day people didn’t know any better -- for example, that slavery was a necessary evil. Ask yourself if you want to be enslaved, any human being can figure that one out. It was wrong. Hate is wrong. It is not be excused, but we can move forward.
Rehearsal on the stage of the Allen
(Photo: Kory)
On Sunday, I was privileged to be in the ensemble for a performance of Dustin Lance Black’s docudrama 8, a dramatization of the un-broadcast court proceeds of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the case which struck down Proposition 8, California’s anti-marriage equality amendment. The Perry v. Schwarzenegger case was upheld by the Supreme Court last Wednesday, paving the way for a continuation of gay marriage in that state, and so this staged reading of 8 was considerably auspicious.
I played the role of David Blankenhorn, founder and president of the Institute for American Values, and a sadly deluded man. He had the great misfortune to evolve his positions on marriage equality while on the stand in a court of law while presumably the star witness … well, the only witness, really, defending Proposition 8.
In brief, he has spent his life arguing single parenting as one of the great ills of modern society, and championing two-parent marriage. When asked, under oath, if two gay parents were better for children than one parent, he had to say yes. He knew it to be true that adoptive parents can often -- due to the fact that while anyone can fuck, not everyone qualifies to adopt -- be not merely as good as, but better than biological parents. (He didn't use those exact words.)
Following the performance I was praised for being a right clown in last night’s show, a complete airhead. One man called me a dumb blonde. My walk of shame from the witness stand was called by one a “Charlie Brown” walk. Such compliments were the capstone to a tremendous, if brief experience working with a large number of Cleveland artists I truly admire.
Someone else who made the evening powerful was Dan Moulthrop, CEO of the City Club. God, he does his job well, namely to facilitate civil, open discussion. He is not afraid to ask the challenging questions, but he’s just so good at keeping everyone on track, and respectful.
I do not like post-show discussions, as a rule. Following the public reading of a new work, they can be entirely counter-productive. Following an issue-oriented play, they generally sound like a roomful of people saying “I agree” and patting each other on the back for over twenty-minutes.
So I was intrigued to hear that The Reverend Jimmy Hicks would be a member of the panel. In 2003, as a member of Cleveland Heights City Council, he sat in opposition to our creating a domestic partner registry (and doesn’t that term sound arcane.) Four days after the Supreme Court ruled on DOMA and Prop 8 and we were going to have an actual voice of opposition in the house!
To everyone’s credit, especially the Reverend’s, opinions were aired without rancor. There was one point where Rev. Hicks suggested recent school massacres were the direct result of prayer no longer being permitted in schools, a moment of great tension which was diffused with ease and humor by Mr. Moulthrop who, as I said, is really good at his job.
The night ended with Rev. Hicks standing his ground -- he cannot interpret the Bible his way and sanction gay marriage. That evening’s production included video of actual Vote Yes on 8 television advertisements from 2008. That term, “Religious Liberty” was used, one which became more familiar during the 2012 as it pertained to birth control of all things during the Presidential race.
Religious Freedom, as I see it, is the codification of religious doctrine into secular law. Love of God can be a powerfully positive thing, I see it in the people closest to me who believe. But the laws of God bind us to ancient hierarchies, which put certain classes of people in their place, including women and homosexuals. For years the Bible was used to justify and in fact enshrine slavery.
As the American experiment continues, the people work to undo the binds of ancient hierarchy, that is what freedom truly means. If establishing new, expanded freedoms threatens religious teachings, perhaps it is because the Bible isn’t about freedom.
I mean, really ... who ever said the Bible was about freedom?
The comparisons between Loving v. Virgina and Perry v. Schwarzenegger were on full display last night, though there are those who are unhappy with the comparison. I remember a Doonesbury cartoon from the mid-1970s where it is discovered that Andy is gay. Clyde says, “I hear you’re gay,” and Andy responds, “That's right, and I hear you’re black.”
Clyde explodes, “Yeah, but that’s normal!”
Andy says, “Didn’t used to be.”
Click on to enlarge.
The gay rights revolution has not been without horrible violence -- nothing filmed or put on video like schoolgirls denied access by National Guardsmen or crowds being hit with water cannons, but more often secret murders and lonely suicides and assaults too numerous to be known. But sitting onstage, the Allen Theater nearly full, knowing the audience had gathered to see and support a play not just about gay rights but about gay marriage, I truly felt we were reaching the climax of -- though by no means the conclusion to -- America’s Lavender Civil War.
The day after Election Day 2004, I overheard a colleague on the phone to a friend. He was truly unhappy -- not just because Bush defeated Kerry, this was much more personal. An anti-gay marriage amendment (Ohio Issue 1) had passed in the state of Ohio, one which stands today. It passed by 62% of the vote.
“It’s like they hate us,” he said. He sounded like he was about to cry. That’s what it feels like to be in the minority. I am trying to imagine what it might have been like back in 2004, if last night’s roles were reversed and it was Dustin Lance Black in a theater full of Ohio Issue 1 supporters, as the lone voice of marriage equality among a few hundred proponents of “religious freedom”. You will excuse me for finding it difficult to believe he would have been treated with the deference and respect Rev. Hicks received in the Allen last night.
Posted by pengo at 9:50 AM 3 comments:
Labels: 8 (play), Allen Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Dan Moulthrop, Doonesbury, Dustin Lance Black, homosexuality, prejudice, racism
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Home Regulation Thailand to Adopt a More Measured Approach to Cryptocurrency Regulations
Thailand to Adopt a More Measured Approach to Cryptocurrency Regulations
The Thai government is finally going to take steps to regulate the cryptocurrency market in the country. In recent years, the state has become a hotbed for local bitcoin companies in what can best be described as a sandbox environment. Throughout the emergence the cryptocurrency market in the country, there has always been the question of the sort of approach that the government will employ concerning regulating the industry.
The Financial Regulatory Narrative in Thailand
It appears the country’s ambivalent stance is at an end as the Thai Deputy Prime Minister, Somkid Jatusripitak has called for the necessary laws that will regulate the cryptocurrency market in Thailand to be passed within the month.
In February 2018, BTCManager reported that the ICO regulations were imminent in Thailand.
Both the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (TSEC) as well as the Stock Exchange body have been collaborating to prepare a comprehensive legal framework to regulate the ICO market in Thailand.
An important part of the process of establishing regulatory measures to prevent fraud, according to the country’s SEC, has also been striving to stimulate growth in the market.
Two years prior, BTCManager reported that the Bank of Thailand was creating a regulatory sandbox for the emerging fintech market.
One of the essential aims of that move was also to ensure best practices in the industry while not affecting the growth of fintech companies.
Regulating the Thai Cryptocurrency Market
According to the news outlet Thai Rath, a unique set of laws to regulate the cryptocurrency market in Thailand were being formulated. This announcement was made known by the Secretary-General of TSEC, Rapee Sucharitakul.
The Secretary-General said that a number of committees were working on a regulatory framework to govern all areas of the cryptocurrency market.
Sucharitakul also revealed that the TSEC would be in charge of overseeing the regulation of the crypto market in the country.
The country’s Minister of Finance, Aphisak Tantiworawong also told reporters that the government is also considering a tax framework for the cryptocurrency market.
The Minister revealed that the Depart of Revenue already has four units carrying out independent studies on how to go about taxing the cryptocurrency market.
The four groups involved are the Ministry of Finance, the Anti-Money Laundering office, the Bank of Thailand, and TSEC.
No Need for “Section 44”
When the talk of an imminent cryptocurrency regulation first came up in Thailand, there were fears that “section 44” would be used to regulate the market immediately.
Allaying these fears, the deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-Ngam under General Prayut Chan-o-cha, told reporters on March 9, 2018, said that the infamous “section 44” was not required.
He went on to state that standard procedures will be followed while drafting the crypto regulations.
Section 44 is a controversial section of the interim Thai constitution that was created by the junta government of Thailand in 2014. It gives the Prime Minister absolute powers to make binding, final decisions on matters of state.
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Thailand Endorses Four New Crypto Service Providers to Operate in Country Legally!
Committee Democrats Call on Facebook to Halt Cryptocurrency Plans – Los Angeles Sentinel
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Ana Alexandre
Austria Considers Establishment of Fintech Regulatory Sandbox
The Ministry of Finance in Austria is considering the establishment of a regulatory sandbox for the fintech industry.
The Ministry of Finance in Austria is considering establishing a regulatory sandbox for the fintech sector
The Ministry of Finance in Austria is considering establishing a regulatory sandbox for the fintech industry, Cointelegraph auf Deutsch reports on April 26.
The country’s Finance Minister Hartwig Loeger said that the FinTech Advisory Council — which was formed by the Ministry of Finance last year — will aid in the development of relevant rules to steer the “young financial market around digitized financial services,” including initial coin offerings (ICOs) and digital currencies to facilitate their growth. State Secretary Hubert Fuchs said:
“For some companies in the fintech industry, it is particularly difficult to keep track of all regulatory requirements and developments right from the start. Many of them give up and discard their business models. We want to take countermeasures against this.”
In the regulatory sandbox, fintech companies will purportedly be able to test and train their business models for a limited period under the supervision of the FMA. The announcement refers to the concept of a regulatory sandbox developed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, and reveals that an expert from the FCA was therefore also involved in the development of the Austrian sandbox.
To become a participant of the sandbox, companies will have to fulfill certain requirements, such as the development of a business model based on information, communication, or blockchain technology, among others.
Loeger also stated that “the digitization of the financial services sector is one of the most crucial areas for the future of Austria. In the future, fintechs will be able to test their innovative business models in a sandbox.”
Earlier this week, Cointelegraph reported that Moscow and three other Russian regions will legally pilot the use of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology in regulatory sandboxes.
In February, Bahrain’s central bank revealed plans to launch a regulatory sandbox to allow blockchain and crypto companies to work in the country, pending formalized regulations. The initiative will purportedly enable firms "to test their solution on a limited number of users, with a limited number of transactions.”
#Government
#ICO
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Addiction, Wellness and Martial Arts
photo credit: Helen Cho
In the movies martial artists win their battles. Early losses, inserted into a script for the purposes of “character development,” are redeemed in a climatic final scene. Those of us who train, however, know that this formula is often backwards. In real life defeats follow initial victories. At 59 years of age, and reflecting on his own experience in the martial arts, Anthony Bourdain observed that time and injury take an inevitable toll.
“I tape my fingers (in the forlorn hope that it might mitigate the osteoarthritis and Heberden’s nodes associated with grip fighting). I will never be a black belt. I will never successfully compete against similarly ranked opponents half my age, I will never be great at Brazilian jiu jitsu. There is an urgency to my training because I’m sure as shit not getting any younger, or more flexible. I’m certainly not getting any faster.”
Some systems of training are easier on the body than others, but the cold truth is that the practice of any fighting art inevitably cannibalizes much of the physical capital that it seeks to create. All of us reach a point in life when we begin to grimly calculate how many “good training years” we have left, and how much more we might reasonably seek to master. Through careful practice and good luck we might forestall the inevitable, but this is a battle that we all must lose. To train as a martial artist is to learn to face defeat with a degree of equanimity. I would suggest that this lesson is not peripheral to our practice. It is intrinsic to any quest for embodied knowledge.
The tragic ending of Bourdain’s own battle against his inner demons has launched a wave of public reflection, as well as celebrations of his life. I was struck by how many of these obituaries, reviews and think pieces have focused on his passionate engagement with the martial arts. Indeed, his enthusiasm for Brazilian Jiujitsu was often brought up in practically the same sentence as praise for his willingness to talk about his past struggles with drug addiction. The subtle implications of this pairing are, of course, clear. Bourdain had found a higher power in the monastic discipline of serious martial arts practice and was drawing on this to combat a history of heroin and crack cocaine usage. Even if he ultimately lost his battle, surely his martial arts practice helped him to hold out as long as he did.
Some of Bourdain’s own writings seem to wink at a connection between these two episodes in his life. He noted:
“I used to hang around cold stairwells first thing in the morning waiting for dope. Now I hang around cold stairwells waiting for Jiu Jitsu.”
Very few of his casual viewers could probably guess what Bourdain actually felt waiting in that stairwell, anticipating a grueling workout. Yet I would guess that this line of narrative nevertheless sparked of a wave of recognition within his audience. After all, martial arts and drug addiction have long formed an oppositional pair in the public consciousness.
On strictly empirical grounds this is actually somewhat odd. The many elite fighters who are caught using banned substances for either recreational or performance enhancing reasons (or in Bruce Lee’s case, both) are quickly forgotten. They do not conform to what we think we know about the martial arts, or the elite athletes who are lucky enough to pursue them. Political psychologists would be quick to remind us that when a piece of new information does not comport with our prior theories or beliefs, its all too easy to find a reason to dismiss it. The end result is that experienced “reality” is a highly individualized phenomenon.
Yet accounts of celebrities who have turned to the martial arts in a bid to increase their personal wellness or combat drug addiction are amplified and echoed throughout the media. The release of the initial Ip Man movies certainly brought some curious new students into my teacher’s school in Salt Lake City back in 2008 and 2010. Even more impressive were the crowds which would appear following Robert Downy Jr.’s periodic discussions of the many ways that Wing Chun had helped him to get his life back on track.
There is no denying Downy’s star power. And the ease with which Sherlock Holmes’ Japanese inflected Bartitsu was replaced with a Wing Chun inspired interpretation of bare knuckles boxing was striking. Still, I suspect that Downy’s story (and endorsement) had such staying power within the public imagination as it conformed to a self-help narrative that was already widely accepted. Rather than being a complex social, medical and economic phenomenon, in this view substance abuse reflects some sort of deficit in the national (or personal) character. As such, something that teaches “self-control” and “discipline” is exactly what individuals struggling with addiction (or even underlying mental health problems) need.
This is an area where we must tread carefully, both as martial artists and scholars. On the one hand, we know that practically any type of regular vigorous exercise has undeniable physical and psychological benefits. And certain types of martial arts training may have an edge when it comes to teaching “mindfulness” and developing self-discipline. It is also clear that an increasing number of addiction recovery programs are turning to the martial arts as one aspect of a wider treatment plan.
Still, I haven’t seen any clinical research suggesting that martial arts practice can fundamentally change the brain chemistry of someone struggling with a serious mental illness, or that individuals are more likely to become addicted to their prescription opioids because they somehow suffer from “weak characters.” Indeed, one of the dangers in these sorts of discourses is that as we personalize the struggle for wellness and recovery, we simultaneously ignore the larger societal trends that lead to massive waves of addiction in the first place. An exclusive focus on “individual responsibility” risks falling prey to a pernicious species of policy blindness.
The Sick Man of Asia
Then there is the overwhelming sense of deja vu. As a student of modern Chinese social history, it is hard not to draw the obvious parallels between the current (North American) opiod crisis and the one that gripped Southern China in the closing years of the Qing dynasty, stubbornly persisting through the Republic.
One wants to avoid facile equivalencies. Shanghai in the 1920s was a vastly different place than San Francisco today. If nothing else modern Americans do not have to contend with a trade system that allows the Japanese to export a limitless number of their notorious “red pills.” Our own pharmaceutical industry has stepped into that breech, replacing old fashioned economic imperialism with an updated species of predatory medical capitalism. Still, structural factors such as rapid social displacement, growing inequality and erratic policy making certainly compounded the problem in both eras.
And then there are the martial artists. Again, one must be careful to avoid overly broad generalizations. Both the martial arts and substance abuse were such widely distributed social phenomenon in Republican China that they tended to overlap in strange, and sometimes surprising, ways.
Many martial artists were staunch opponents of opium use. But those who worked as security officers for the state (which claimed to have a legal monopoly on the sale of opium) or as enforcers for various criminal gangs (who contested said monopoly), likely found themselves actively supporting the trade. We also tend to forget that while Chinese social opinion saw opium use by marginal people (peasants, common laborers, soldiers) as a serious problem, the “better classes” were thought to be immune to many of the problems associated with long term drug use due to their innately “superior moral character.” Hence it should not really be a surprise to learn that Ng Chung So’s Wing Chun school (catering to the sons of wealthy local business owners) operated out of the back room of a fashionable “opium den” in Foshan.
Still, there was enough opposition to opium usage within the martial arts community that a fairly recognizable discourse could emerge. One of the more unvarnished accounts of this era can be found in the reminisces of the well known Taijiquan teacher T. T. Liang, as recorded and published by his student Stuart Alve Olson. Liang provides the reader with colorful retellings of what it was like to be a Custom’s Officer caught in the crosshairs of competing opium interests during the “roaring 20s.” But his personal journey within the martial arts really begins in a hospital bed in 1945 when, forced to confront his own imminent mortality, he resolved to save himself by finding a Taijiquan teacher. His was hardly a unique story during that era. I suspect that at least some of the discussions of personal and “national health” that pepper the period’s martial arts manuals are veiled references to the scourge of addiction.
The more nationally focused movements didn’t bother to shroud their criticism of opium use, and proudly argued that the martial arts were a means to individual and national salvation. As in so many other areas, the Jingwu Association seems to have pioneered this message in their publications. Of course the group also had long standing campaigns to promote better public hygiene and education as well as the martial arts.
Their ten year anniversary book, discussed at length by Kennedy and Guo, even included political cartoons (titled in English) editorializing on detrimental national effects of individual drug use. They made their argument by juxtaposing the image of a young and healthy Jingwu student, capable of working or fighting for his nation, with an image of loafers and weaklings of “low character” who could only cluster around an opium pipe.
This returns us to one of the major differences between Republican China and the current situation in the United States. While reformers in both places have promoted the martial arts as the key to recovery, character building and wellness, the end goal of this process is not always the same. When reading through the front matter of various TCMA training manuals from the 1920s, it quickly becomes apparent that the health and recovery of citizens was being promoted precisely because it was believed that this would lead to the strengthening of the Chinese state in the global arena. Individual wellness was not a goal in itself so much as it was portrayed as a means to a much greater end. This promotion of middle class and urban martial arts was not a matter of “post-modern” values. Indeed, the nation’s martial arts teachers were expected to produce physical capital that could then be fed directly into China’s rapidly modernizing industrial sector.
In contrast, the current Western discourse linking wellness and the martial arts is an almost perfect example of what Ronald Inglehart would characterize as postmodern values. These focus on the welfare of individuals (rather than the state or the economy) and emphasize the critical importance of the “intangible” aspects of life. While a surface reading might suggest a great deal of rhetorical continuity within the ongoing medicalization of the Chinese martial arts over the last 100 years, a closer examination reveals that these efforts have actually been tied to substantially different sets of values.
Anthony Bourdain and jiu-jitsu trainer Kurt Osiander in San Francisco in 2015. Photo Credit: Helen Cho.
Why Practice?
So what actually motivates individuals who take up the martial arts today, especially those who do so later in life? Anthony Bourdain’s autobiographical accounts are suggestive. Initially the pull of “social networks” seems to have had more to do with his choice than any lingering need to fight heroin addiction. By most accounts he had ended his relationship with that drug in the 1980s. It wasn’t until 2014 that Ottavia Bourdain, his first wife and an avid martial artist, convinced him to sign up for classes in Renzo Gracie’s gym in Manhattan, where she conducted much of her training.
It is clear from his writings that Bourdain quickly got “hooked” on his new hobby. Soon he was training multiple hours a day whenever he was in NY and visiting schools around the globe as he traveled to shoot on location. While he jokingly described his new found passion as “an addiction,” his public discussions of the art rarely touched on, or even alluded to, his own history with substance abuse. That is interesting as this was a topic that Bourdain freely discussed.
His public discussion of BJJ seemed to focus instead on its all consuming nature. He loved the physical and tactical challenges that it posed. Bourdain seems to have been interested in the conceptual basis of his physical practice, repeatedly characterizing BJJ as a chess match. And a brutal training schedule may have been quite helpful in his role as a television personality who needed to both eat and drink for a living while gaining no weight.
Another point that Bourdain repeatedly came back to was the emotional experience of engaging in something totally new. His professional worlds had previously included kitchens, restaurants and writing desks. He had never been one for the gym, let alone the training hall. He described with awe the sensation of becoming an absolute beginner, of going back to square one and admitting that he knew nothing.
“It’s like being the newest, worst cook in the kitchen all over again, looking up that impossibly steep learning curve to the broiler station. I liked that feeling then. I like it now.
The first day, all those years ago, when my chef addressed me by name at the end of the shift, was a golden moment.”
One can hear echoes in this quote of Dan Inosanto’s famous extortion to always be a white belt in something. Becoming that white belt is not just a technical process, it is an emotional one as well. This quote suggests that it unleashed a wave of nostalgia in Bourdain for a much earlier point in his career, a period when everything was still touched by mystery. To become a white belt is not just to accept a new teacher, or a new system. It recaptures part of the inexperience of one’s own youth. I still vividly recall my excitement as a new Wing Chun student, and the strange sense of freedom (even possibility) that arose from simply being a new student in the back of a class after having spent the better part of a decade performing at the front of lecture halls.
When discussing the connection between martial arts practice and addiction recovery most professionals are very careful to point out that this is a supplement to, rather than substitute for, other sorts of treatment (particularly if there are underlying mental health issues). Yet regardless of how you come to them, the martial arts can be an invaluable tool for restoring one’s physical health and mental calm. They allow individuals to gain new social skills and an increased sense of psychological resilience. And everyone enjoys a healthy self-esteem boost when discovering “My body can do what?”
In reading Bourdain’s accounts of his own training, and reflecting on my own experience, I think that there is something else. There is just so much nostalgia in his final quote. Of course the Asian martial arts have always traded in romantic images and feelings of nostalgia. Nostalgia can be a double edged sword, particularly if its strongly felt but not linked to any sort of action. In those cases it risks turning into a form of toxic resentment for that which is new or different. Yet by linking these powerful emotions to healthy activities, increased engagement with a community and a general desire to expand and improve ourselves, the martial arts can be an extraordinary vehicle for positive change.
At the start of this essay Bourdain observed (with a tragic degree of foresight) that as a 59 year old BJJ novice he would never compete at the level he desired. He would never earn a black belt. He would probably never be faster or stronger than he already was at that moment. So why should a middle aged person, or senior citizen, start a martial art that they will probably never master? Because simply setting out on the journey can unlock both social and psychological forces that put us on a pathway to personal wellness.
If you enjoyed this essay you might also want to read: A Brief History of Nostalgia and the Future of the Martial Arts.
Biography, Chinese Martial Studies, Current Events, Martial Studies
Addiction, Anthony Bourdain, BJJ, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Chinese Martial Arts, Chinwoo, Health, Jingwu, Kung Fu, Martial Arts Studies, recovery, Wellness, Wushu
6 thoughts on “Addiction, Wellness and Martial Arts”
Guy Takamatsu
I wonder if Bordain would have been better off taking Tai Chi? On the other hand maybe Tai Chi would have been too boring..
taichinotebook
I’m still very sad about Anthony. It seems a relationship gone bad mixed with social media was what tipped him over the edge. I started BJJ at 39, younger than him, but still well past my physical peak. I don’t entirely like his quote:
“I will never be a black belt. I will never successfully compete against similarly ranked opponents half my age, I will never be great at Brazilian jiu jitsu. There is an urgency to my training because I’m sure as shit not getting any younger, or more flexible. I’m certainly not getting any faster.”
I would have sat him down and told him to not be so silly. Firstly, he looked like he was in excellent physical shape. Secondly, as physical abilities decline, skill rises in equal measure. You learn the ability to pace yourself. You don’t need to be so physical any more. Sure, you can’t go at the speed of the 20 year olds, but you don’t always need to. You just have to change your approach to jiujitsu.
I would have told him – one day you will be a black belt, Anthony. You just have to not give up. At the end of the day it’s not about who has all the talent – it’s about who’s left.
Rest in Power, Anthony Bourdain | The Tai Chi Notebook
Research Notes: Judo’s Triple Transformation in The China Press (1932) – Kung Fu Tea
Events and Trends that Shaped the Chinese Martial Arts in 2018 – Kung Fu Tea
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The Euro's Future in the Balance
Ibrahim Oweiss, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Georgetown University, delivered a lunch time lecture on February 10, 2011 on the subject of “The Euro’s Future in the Balance.” Oweiss was one of the founding members of Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, and also spent four years on the faculty of the School of Foreign Service in Qatar.
Basing his lecture on the question “what are the possible scenarios for the Euro’s future?” Oweiss explored the ways in which the Euro has shaped and will continue to shape the economies of the European Union countries. Although the Eurozone is a significant economic region of the world and has a combined population that exceeds that of the United States, the recent bailouts of Ireland and Greece by Germany have indicated a serious weakness in the zone’s strategy. “The future of the European unification project is on life support, while Germany’s fingers are on the power switch,” he said. Indeed, because “Germany has the only healthy economy in Europe,” Oweiss argued, “either all of the sovereign debts of Europe become German public debt or the Euro will collapse.”
Many of the Eurozone countries have adopted the Euro as their sole legal tender, while others, such as the UK, are members of the European Union, but have opted out of the Euro. “The Monetary policy of the Eurozone is the responsibility of the European Central Bank, though there is no common representation, governors, or fiscal policy for the currency union.” There needs to be cooperation between these elements “in order to help smooth fluctuations in the business cycle” and so this is represents a major weakness related to the Euro. “There is,” however, “some cooperation which takes place through the Euro Group, which makes political decisions regarding the Eurozone and the Euro.”
Before taking questions from the audience, Oweiss concluded that regardless of the negative of the economies of the Eurozone, the Euro will remain one of the world’s key currencies. When asked whether or not Eurozone countries could opt out of the Euro and return to their former currencies, Oweiss argued that although it was possible, it is unlikely. Finally, he argued that he does not expect the Euro to collapse as long as Germany holds onto the Euro and doesn’t return to the Deutsch mark.
As an international economic advisor, Oweiss worked for several governments and multinational corporations. He has authored over fifty scholarly publications including:Petrodollar Surpluses, Arab Civilization, and The Political Economy of Contemporary Egypt.
Article by Suzi Mirgani, CIRS Publications Coordinator
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Home / Government / Local, State, and Federal Representatives
You can easily search for your federal, state, and local representative by utilizing the search tools below:
Additional information regarding your elected Local, State, and Federal Representatives can be researched through the following helpful resources:
Local Representatives:
City of Semmes – The City of Semmes operates under a Mayor and Council form of government. A six-member City Council comprised of a Mayor and five Council members are each elected to serve four-year terms.
View Our Currently Elected Officials
Mobile County – Mobile County is governed by a three-member County Commission. Each commissioner represents a single-member district and is elected by the voters of that district to serve a four-year term. The City of Semmes is located in District 2 which is represented by County Commissioner, Connie Hudson. Connie Hudson has been a strong and vocal supporter of the Semmes Community and it’s various local organizations since she assumed the position of Mobile County Commissioner for District 2 in 2010. Her contributions to the Semmes community continued in 2017 when she worked diligently with the City of Semmes Mayor, City Council, community organization leaders, and County Attorneys to find a resolution to save the Mobile County Library-Semmes Branch. The effort to save the Semmes Library led by Connie Hudson was successful when on June 26, 2017, the Mobile County Commission voted 2-1 to purchase the Semmes Library building from CVS for 1.3 million.
For more information concerning your District 2 Commissioner visit website
As of January 2014, The Mobile County Commissioners are:
District 1 (Northern County)- Merceria L. Ludgood (D) (Current Commission President)
District 2 (Western and Central County)- Connie Hudson (R)
District 3 (Southern County)- Jerry Carl (R)
State Representatives:
Under the Alabama constitution, the state legislature maintains considerable power over County affairs. Mobile County is represented in the Alabama Legislature by three Senators and nine Representatives. A Semmes resident, Rusty Glover, is one of the three Senators serving in the Alabama Legislature representing the 34th District. To browse through information regarding the Alabama State Government visit The Alabama Legislature website.
Alabama House of Representatives
The Alabama House of Representatives is comprised of 105 members. Each member represents a district of approximately 40,000 people. The members of the House are elected to four-year terms. Members must be 21 years of age at the time of their election, and must have been citizens of Alabama for three years, having lived in their districts for at least one year prior to their election as a representative. Visit www.house.gov
Alabama State Senate
The Alabama State Senate is composed of 35 Senators, and each Senator represents a district of approximately 137,000 Alabama residents. Senators are elected for four year terms like their counterparts in the Alabama House of Representatives. Visit www.senate.gov
The Alabama Supreme Court is comprised of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. The Alabama Supreme Court has both administrative and judicial responsibilities since it is the highest state court. The Supreme Court has the authority to review decisions rendered by other courts of the state and to determine certain legal matters over which no other court has jurisdiction and to render orders necessary to overturn decisions rendered by other courts in Alabama. Visit Alabama Supreme Court
U.S. House of Representatives-There are 435 elected representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives, which are divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population. There are additional non-voting delegates who represents the District of Columbia and the territories. A representative serves a two-year term, and there is no limit to the number of terms an individual can serve. Click Here For More Information Regarding Your Federal Representatives
U.S. Senate- There are two-elected senators per state in the U.S. Senate, totaling 100 Senators. A Senate term is six years. There is no limit to the number of terms an individual can serve. Click here for more Information regarding U.S. Senate.
U. S. Supreme Court- The U.S. Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and the number of associate justices are fixed by Congress. The number of associate justices is currently fixed at eight. Power to nominate the justices is vested in the President of the United States, and appointments are made with the consent of the U.S. Senate. Learn More About U.S. Supreme Court by Clicking Here.
Ordinances/Annexations
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Category: apeks
2015, apeks, johnstown, johnstownindependent, ThisWeek, ThisWeekNews
Students, others can get hands-on manufacturing experience
September 29, 2015 Debbie
Monday September 28, 2015 11:04 AM
Johnstown’s Apeks Supercritical is hosting a Manufacturing Day, also known as MfgDay, Oct. 2 for students and the public at 150 Commerce Blvd.
Student participants will have an opportunity to work hands-on with one manufacturing area of their choice — welding, pipe and tube fitting and bending, machining or electrical controls assembly.
“It’s a great opportunity for parents, teachers, students or anyone who wants to learn about manufacturing,” said Andy Joseph, Apeks owner and president.
“It’s not a course,” Joseph said. “It’s a hands-on experience. There’s nothing better than creating something with your own two hands.”
This is the first year Apeks Supercritical is participating in MfgDay, a nationwide event where manufacturers open their doors to high school and middle school students to promote engineering and manufacturing careers.
“Previously, we didn’t have the physical space to host students,” Joseph said.
“We’ve been wanting to do this for a long time and now in our new manufacturing facility, we have the space,” Joseph said.
Apeks Supercritical will host students from noon to 4 p.m. and open the doors to the rest of the public at 2 p.m.
At 1 p.m. Mayor Sean Staneart and Village Manager Jim Lenner will speak to students about what manufacturing means in terms of bringing tax dollars to the village, thus allowing for new roads and infrastructure to be built.
Joseph said they are expecting more than 200 students so far from Johnstown-Monroe schools and Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County.
“The point is to promote manufacturing for tomorrow’s employers,” Joseph said.
“A lot of other companies that participate focus on computers and automation and we wanted to focus on the hands-on basic practices of manufacturing,” he said.
“You need to understand the core basic fundamentals of manufacturing in order to be competitive.”
Apeks Supercritical will have several stations set up for the students to get real world, hands-on exposure to manufacturing processes.
Students will learn the basics of arc welding from experienced professional welders and will be able to make an arc weld on a stainless steel coupon which they can then keep.
“I’m betting 99 percent of these students have never welded before,” Joseph said.
“That’s okay. This an opportunity to weld something, keep it and show friends or family what they made,” he said.
When he was younger, Joseph had the chance to shadow at his dad’s company when there was an open house. It was his first experience with manufacturing and he said it influenced the rest of his life.
Additionally, two stations will be set up to give students an opportunity to learn about machinery to drill, tap, debur and inspect a threaded hole in stainless steel.
“Students will get to drill a hole in metal and feel what handling the machine is like,” Joseph said. “It won’t just be pressing a button.”
For those who want to learn about mechanical tube fitting and assembly, they can learn bending applications from seasoned experts and will get to measure, cut, bend and assemble tubing according to a sample part.
To get more information about electrical controls assembly, students can learn the basics of programmable logic controls from an automation expert.
Students will assemble control wires and program the PLC to put a “Knight Rider-esque” light bar in action.
Visitors should wear appropriate attire for a manufacturing facility, such as long pants, closed toed shoes, no loose clothing, and no headphones. Safety glasses, food and refreshments will be provided.
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/johnstown/news/2015/09/28/apeks-supercritical-students-others-can-get-hands-on-manufacturing-experience.html
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ABOUT YOU Awards 2019: The biggest influencer award show of the year features lots of emotions, top-class guests and a tremendous amount of glamor
On 18 April 2019, ABOUT YOU honored the most important social medial personalities of the year for the third time in a row with the ABOUT YOU Awards
For the second time, ProSieben broadcast the show in a TV format at the best airtime for the young target group
The jury consisting of amongst others Jérôme Boateng, Cro, Lena Gercke, and Doutzen Kroes hosted the spectacular show and presented the winners with awards on behalf of the newly founded ABOUT YOU Awards Academy
This year’s winners of the seven new categories include Riccardo Simonetti, Sarah Harrison, Eunique and Sandra Lambeck
Supermodel Heidi Klum received the first-ever Special Award for her unparalleled career success
Around 1,500 guests watched the show live on location, including for the first time 200 social media community fans
For the third time in a row, the online fashion shop acknowledged the most relevant social media personalities of the year with an influencer award show. Some 1,500 invited guests basked in the thrilling atmosphere live at Bavaria Studios in Munich, including international superstars such as model icon Heidi Klum, star twins Bill and Tom Kaulitz, host Sylvie Meis, supermodel Karolína Kurková, Victoria’s Secret angel Lorena Rae, rapper Ace Tee, actor Janin Ullmann, star choreographer Nikeata Thompson, while the prominent jurors – Jérôme Boateng, Cro, Lena Gercke, and Doutzen Kroes – hosted the evening with the utmost elegance. Renowned decision makers in the digital and media industry as well as editors-in-chief and business representatives were also among the audience. And for the first time, 200 fans were also allowed to experience the show up close and personal with unbridled emotions.
ProSieben broadcast the award show again in a TV format at the best airtime, following “Germany’s next Topmodel”. Digitally savvy viewers were able to watch the show via live stream on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The approximately 1,000 social media stars, nominees, and VIPs also publicized the show on their own channels and allowed their followers to take part in the event with emotional stories and behind-the-scenes material. The red-carpet event was accompanied by lifestyle- and star-magazine “red.” and “taff”, broadcast live by Gala.de, and reported on by all relevant media. Information about reaches will be published on Tuesday, April 23.
“We look forward to reinventing the ABOUT YOU Awards every year. With the success of our new show concept as well as our unique nominees, top-class jurors, and prominent guests, we’ve demonstrated that we have managed once again to respond to the fast-paced market of the social media world,” say Julian Jansen and Chris Nickel, the initiators of the ABOUT YOU Awards and Content Directors at ABOUT YOU.
For the third ABOUT YOU Awards ceremony, the organizers not only incorporated the successes of past years, but also reinvented some of the show concept: the prominent jurors – Jérôme Boateng, Cro, Doutzen Kroes, Lena Gercke, Paul Ripke, Bonnie Strange, Stefanie Giesinger, and Riccardo Simonetti – accompanied the enthusiastic audience through the evening this time as presenters. Each of the jurors acted as an expert for one of the seven categories – Style, Comedy, Music, Empowerment, Newcomer, Health, and Idol of the Year – and, on behalf of the ABOUT YOU Awards Academy, presented this year’s winners with awards. These were secretly selected in advance by the jurors and the newly founded ABOUT YOU Awards Academy, which as a committee consists of all top 10 nominees, winners, and laudators of previous years.
The lucky winners of this year’s awards are Sandra Lambeck (Style), Sarah Harrison (Health), Natasha Kimberly (Comedy), and Eunique (Music). Brian Havarie was also acknowledged as the most successful newcomer in the social media world. The organizers managed to surprise everyone when presenting in the Idol of the Year category: with emotions flowing, none other than Riccardo Simonetti received the well-established honorary award from his cojuror Stefanie Giesinger. The second honorary award in the category of Empowerment was presented to two recipients: climate activist Greta Thunberg was honored for her dedication as the initiator of the “Fridays for Future” movement and Viva con Agua CEO Michael Fritz and Nikeata Thompson accepted the award on behalf of the nonprofit organization Viva con Agua de Sankt Pauli e.V. based in Hamburg, which with its creative campaigns and prominent supporters raises awareness of clean drinking water among people beyond the borders of social media.
But it was Lena Gercke who was behind the surprise of the evening. With an emotional laudatory speech, she presented the first-ever Special Award to her role model and the person who discovered her: model icon Heidi Klum was acknowledged for her “Business Achievement” referring to her impressive and unparalleled career success. For 20 years, the German supermodel has been an important figure in the international media landscape and throughout her career has not only achieved an impressive social media reach of over 7 million followers, but has also built a successful business empire.
The award ceremony also featured a variety of spectacular performances, including one by show DJ ESKEI83 and a surprise act by rapper Badchieff. The top 3 nominees in the Music category also performed live on stage: Mike Singer and Euniqe won over the audience with a duet, while Lea raised the bar with an impressive solo. The aftershow party kept the fun going in a relaxed atmosphere, presenting guests with another highlight of the evening: up-and-coming hip- hop artist Kelvyn Colt and singer Mogli performed their song Pangea for the first time. The song, which was created together with producer and DJ Thor Rixon. The captivating hit is the official single of the ABOUT YOU PANGEA Festival, where it celebrated its world premiere – the official release of the song is on 3 May 2019.
“With the ABOUT YOU Awards 2019, we’ve demonstrated once again that we can reach our target group across multiple media, provide inspiration, and generate real emotions – whether it’s with authentic stories, unique personalities, or extraordinary live acts,” says Tarek Müller, co-founder and co-CEO of ABOUT YOU.
In recent years, the ABOUT YOU Awards have evolved into the most important awards for influencers and social media personalities throughout Europe. That’s due in part to the unprecedented fusion of digital and TV, with which ABOUT YOU has reached more than 8 million viewers and over a billion media contacts over the years.
High-resolution images of the ABOUT YOU Awards 2019 can be downloaded here or access by getty: https://www.image.net/About_You_Award_2019
#AYA2019
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Gold | Pictorial
Orange Car Crash 14 Times
A man stands in front of Andy Warhol's work titled 'Orange Car Crash 14 Times' at the Museum of Modern Art. New York, NY. 5.5.05.
Elyse Butler (Brooks Institute of Photography)
Silver | Pictorial
Walking in Heaven
Tourists wander through Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. Salar de Uyuni is a vast salt desert stretching for hundreds of miles and in the rainy season, rain sits atop the salt mounds making the sky and earth meet.
Andrew Henderson (Western Kentucky University)
Bronze | Pictorial
Bobby Parish, of Bowling Green, KY, talks in his bedroom, which is lit by a candle. Parish's electricity was turned off because his Social Security check did not arrive in time for him to pay the bill.
Matt Eich (Ohio University)
Honorable Mention | Pictorial
The photographer's shadow snakes around a corner on Court Street in Athens, OH. The pink dots on the ground were part of an exhibition piece by the Ohio University art department that was intended to highlight litter left on the sidewalk by students.
Danny Ghitis (University of Florida)
Hardly Uniform
Catholic schoolgirls in the rural outskirts of Jinotepe, Nicaragua, who are required to wear identical uniforms to school, express themselves through personality.
Woo Chan Joo (Western Kentucky University)
Twin sisters Myra Hartman, right, a physical therapist assistant, and Marsha Hartman, who teaches English as a second language, watch animation in the Walker Art Center on Hennepin Avenue on Wednesday. The Hartmans, 55, of St. Paul, work at the same school for special-needs children and wanted to visit the newly redesigned and remodeled center before summer break was over.
Michael P. King (Ohio University)
Alex Hamburger of Old Bridge, N.J., walks past a memorial constructed in Staten Island, N.Y., in remembrance of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attack, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2004. The memorial, entitled 'Postcards' and designed by Masayuki Sono, contains the profiles of over 250 Staten Island residents who perished. Each crafted profile is unique to the victim it memorializes.
Kevin Benedict (University of Missouri)
Metro commuters leave Judiciary Square station near 3rd Street prior to the inauguration of President George W. Bush on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005, in Washington, D.C.
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Union Pacific announces $87 million in Louisiana rail projects
Gov. John Bel Edwards
BATON ROUGE – Union Pacific Railroad, the nation’s largest rail carrier, announced it will complete $87 million in new Louisiana rail improvements this year, capping a more than half-billion-dollar investment inside the state that has tracked Louisiana’s industrial renaissance.
Since 2012, Louisiana has attracted company expansion announcements totaling more than $178 billion in capital investment and associated with over 115,000 permanent new jobs. Over $85 billion of that capital investment is completed or underway, with the remainder in financing, engineering and permitting phases. At the beginning of that period, Union Pacific announced $200 million in initial Louisiana capital improvement projects, with the total now growing beyond $500 million.
“We’re excited to receive Union Pacific’s continuing vote of confidence in Louisiana’s economy,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said. “A state-of-the-art rail network is crucial to our industrial economy and to the hundreds of thousands of Louisiana jobs supported by rail logistics. A high-performing intermodal network, supported by transportation leaders like Union Pacific, means that Louisiana’s goods and commerce can reach national and global markets in a seamless fashion. That keeps our people employed in competitive jobs and secures the future of those jobs.”
This year, Union Pacific expects to complete major upgrades as part of a more than $20 million rail project at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, where major tenants, such as Louis Dreyfus Commodities and Drax Biomass, will be able to ship goods via 80-car trains, an increase from the previous port capacity of 45-car trains.
For the Union Pacific rail line between Alexandria and Shreveport, the company will replace nearly 150,000 railroad ties and install over 56,000 tons of rock ballast, part of a $16 million project.
Along the Mississippi River, Union Pacific will replace over 82,000 railroad ties and install nearly 40,000 tons of rock ballast as part of a $12 million project from Luling to Livonia. An additional $18 million spent by the company this year will improve railroad bridges in Louisiana. Union Pacific’s Louisiana investments are privately funded and do not include taxpayer funds.
“Our targeted investments support customers and enhance our efficiency to deliver the goods American businesses and families use daily,” said Brenda Mainwaring, who is Union Pacific’s assistant vice president for public affairs in the company’s Southern Region.
All told in 2018, Union Pacific plans to spend $3.3 billion across its 23-state network that covers the western two-thirds of the United States.
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Peter Johnson
Peter Johnson - Pete Johnson wurde 1965 in Winchester geboren und arbeitete als Englischlehrer und Journalist, bevor er seinen langgehegten Traum wahr machte und Autor wurde. Er. Born in Michigan, Peter spent his youth living in Key West, Manhattan, Paris and London. At 18 he took a job as an apprentice at a package design firm in Manhattan, while studying advertising & design at F.I.T.. View the profiles of people named Peter Johnson. Join Facebook to connect with Peter Johnson and others you may know. Facebook gives people the power to.
Peter Johnson is a partner and member of our solicitor’s group. Peter graduated with his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of British Columbia in 1988.. Peter Johnson is an internationally recognized leader in superconductivity and photoelectron spectroscopy. He joined the Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1982 and rose through the ranks to become a senior physicist in 2000, and Associate Chair of Brookhaven's Physics Department from 2003 to. MRC's president of television development Peter Johnson is departing after two years in the role..
Pete Johnson was one of the three great boogie-woogie pianists (along with Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis) whose sudden prominence in the late '30s helped make the style very popular.. Fingerprint Fingerprint is based on mining the text of the person's scientific documents to create an index of weighted terms, which defines the key subjects of each individual researcher.. Join LinkedIn Summary. Peter Johnson was appointed as General Manager in 2004 and CEO of the Cotton On Group in 2008. Peter began his career in the banking and IT.
Johnson & Johnson, Family of Companies in Switzerland, ist ein weltweites Gesundheitsunternehmen im Bereich Konsumgüter, Arzneimittel und Medical Devices.
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Gwar ticket give away
While much of the holiday season seems to revolve around materialism I’d like to remind you what is really important about this time of year: GOING TO SEE GWAR!!!! That’s right, our alien scumdog overlords are blessing us with a performance at the 9:30 Club on Saturday, December 29th! To get you all in the holiday spirit, we’re giving away the ultimate holiday gift to one of you lucky DCHM readers: a free pair of tickets to this very show! To enter: just leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite song to drown out all that annoying holiday music they’re playing everywhere right now. Then at 5pm EST this Tuesday, December 18th, a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries to win the tickets. Be sure to use a valid email you check regularly so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won’t add you to any spam lists or sell your info or anything sleazy like that. If I haven’t heard back from the winner in 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from Ticket Fly here.
Nothing gets you more in the holiday spirit than getting covered in blood and other bodily fluids at a Gwar concert! I expect to see everyone on Santa’s naughty list at this show. And get there early because no matter your denomination you’ll enjoy the crossover thrash of support band Iron Reagan. And everyone is getting their stockings stuffed with the dirty speed-rock of Detroit’s Against The Grain when they open the show. Now check out these videos of the bands below and leave a comment saying what your favorite song is to drown out holiday music (seriously, I need some good suggestions).
Christmas caroling with GWAR
Iron Reagan – Fuck The Neighbors
Against The Grain – Cheated Death
Categories: Contests, Nightclub 9:30 . Tags: 9:30 Club, Against The Grain, Gwar, Iron Reagan . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 24 Comments
Ministry ticket give away
Al Jourgensen is bringing Ministry to the Fillmore Silver Spring on Wednesday, December 5th, for a night of industrial metal! We’re so excited about this show that we are going to give away a pair of tickets to this show. To enter: just leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite metal album of 2018 is. Then on Monday, December 3rd at 5pm EST the contest will close and a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries. The winner will get two free tickets the show! Be sure to enter using an email address you check regularly so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won’t add you to any spam lists or sell your info or anything sleazy like that, I hate spam too. If I haven’t heard back from the winner in 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from Live Nation here.
Ministry has been an innovator of the industrial metal subgenre for decades. On the band’s latest album, “AmeriKKKant,” Al Jourgensen voices his frustration with Trump’s America. Performing as Ministry’s direct support will be French synthwave artist Carpenter Brut. The opening band is an up and coming melodic thrash band from New Zealand, Alien Weaponry. Now check out these videos below of the bands playing and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite metal album of 2018 is!
Ministry – Victims of a Clown
Carpenter Brut – Turbo Killer
Alien Weaponry – Kai Tangata
Categories: Contests, Fillmore Silver Spring, Industrial . Tags: Carpenter Brut, Igorrr, Ministry . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 16 Comments
Behemoth ticket give away
Poland’s masters of the dark arts, Behemoth, return to the Fillmore Silver Spring on Friday, November 2nd, with a killer line up that includes At The Gates and Wolves In The Throne Room. We’re so excited about this show here at DCHM that we’re going to give away a free pair of tickets to one of you lucky readers. To enter: just leave a comment on this post telling me which of the three bands playing you’re most excited to see. On Wednesday, October 17th at 5pm EST the contest will close and a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries. The winner will get two free tickets the show! Be sure to enter using an email address you check regularly so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won’t add you to any spam lists or sell your info or anything sleazy like that, I hate spam too. If I haven’t heard back from the winner in 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from Live Nation for $29.50 here.
Behemoth just released a new album, I Loved You at Your Darkest, on Nuclear Blast Records this month. Now, after a successful summer performing as one of the support acts for Slayer’s farewell tour in North America, they’re returning to the US for a proper headlining tour. At The Gates is one of the most important bands from the famous Swedish Gothenburg death metal scene. They will probably always be most remembered for their masterpiece album Slaughter of the Soul but they also put out a new album this year, To Drink from the Night Itself. The opening band is probably the most influential US black metal band, Wolves In The Throne Room. They’re from Washington state and are one of the bands that helped make atmospheric black metal popular with a wider audience. Now go check out the videos below by these bands and leave a comment telling me which one you’re most excited to see at the Fillmore Silver Spring on November 2nd!
Behemoth – Wolves ov Siberia
At The Gates – To Drink From The Night Itself
Wolves In The Throne Room – Born From The Serpent’s Eye
Categories: Black Metal, Blackened Death Metal, Contests, Fillmore Silver Spring, Gothenburg Sweden, Melodic Death Metal . Tags: At The Gates, Behemoth, Fillmore Silver Spring, WITTR, Wolves In The Throne Room . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 50 Comments
Paradise Lost ticket give away
The legendary Paradise Lost is coming to Baltimore Soundstage on Tuesday, October 2nd, along with Sólstafir and The Atlas Moth. Their dark style of doom metal is perfect for this season where the weather starts to turn so we’re giving away a pair of tickets to this show to a lucky one of you DCHM readers. To enter: leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite metal band to listen to in the Autumn months. Then on Friday, September 28th at 5pm EST the contest will close and a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries. The winner will get two free tickets the show! Be sure to enter using an email address you check regularly so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won’t add you to any spam lists or sell your info or anything sleazy like that, I hate spam too. If I haven’t heard back from the winner in 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from Ticket Master for $27.50 here.
Paradise Lost formed in Halifax, England, in the late 80’s and is one of the Peaceville Three, along with Anathema and My Dying Bride, who all formed a much darker take to doom metal in the early 90s while all signed to Peaceville Records. In fact it was Paradise Lost’s sophomore album, Gothic, that the genre of gothic metal gets its name from. They’ve influenced countless bands yet somehow Paradise Lost, who still features all their original members aside from the drummer, manage to put out solid material. This isn’t an old band that just plays their old classics, they still put out solid material, including their 2017 album Medusa, which was #1 on Decibel Magazine’s top 40 albums of 2017. In addition to the rare chance to see Paradise Lost in the US the tour has some excellent support acts. Sólstafir from Iceland blends post rock with viking metal, adds a pinch of country western and a heavy dose of melancholy. The opening band is The Atlas Moth, a post metal band from Chicago that has been getting better and better with every album. Now check out these videos of the bands below and leave a comment letting me know what your favorite metal band to listen to in the Autumn is.
Paradise Lost – Blood And Chaos
Sólstafir – Silfur-Refur
The Atlas Moth – Holes In The Desert
Categories: Baltimore Soundstage, Contests, Doom Metal, Gothic, Peaceville Three . Tags: Baltimore Soundstage, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Paradise Lost, Peaceville Three, Sólstafir, The Atlas Moth . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 22 Comments
Review of Damnatio Memoriae by Grethor
Band: Grethor
Album: Damnatio Memoriae
Record Label: Edgewood Arsenal Records
Buy on CD ($10) or vinyl ($19) or digital ($10) from: Bandcamp
We’re a bit behind on getting some of our local album reviews posted here on DCHM but we’re working to get back up to speed. This one is about an album released by Grethor back in January, but it’s still worth noting in case you missed it. Vivek wrote this detailed piece about it and as always you can stream a few songs at the end of this post to give it a listen.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed the hell out of Star Trek. When I found out there is a local blackened death metal band named Grethor, the klingon word for hell, it grabbed my interest. Albeit, its spelled differently than the actual name, Gre’thor. In late January, Grethor released their debut full-length album, Damnatio Memoriae. Grethor are composed of four members. Marcus Lawrence handles the vocals and wrote all of the lyrics. Brian Frost is on the guitar and Tony Petrocelly handles both guitar and bass duties as well. The lineup for this album is completed with Anthony Rouse on drums. On Damnatio Memoriae, Grethor showcase a variety of complex and simple death metal riffs with varied drum patterns and a strong blend of black metal mixed in as well. Lyrically this album is also varied, there are social issues discussed as well as plain fantasy stories thrown in.
Throughout the album the listener is treated to a variety of riffs that have strong influences from Obscura-era Gorguts and Altars of Madness-era Morbid Angel. Some examples of this include the tracks “The Last Manifesto,” “Enantiodromia,” and “From this Rot so Shall We Be Remade.” There is also an interesting black metal influence throughout the album. Think Deathspell Omega, very avant-garde and using weird elements. Some examples would be in several sections of songs, such as, “The Imminent Unknown” and “Requiem for a Strawman.” While this can go very wrong, Grethor keep all of these factors cohesive. They make sure none of these elements outweigh each other. One track where this is highlighted very well would be the third track, “The Last Manifesto.” In this track, it begins with a complex and blasting intro riff. The song transitions into the main riff, which is a simple, mid-paced, and slightly melodic black metal riff. This is a nice contrast between the more death metal riffs that are present throughout most of the album. Rouse speeds the drums up by using a skank-beat and then everything else gets faster, before transitioning into a more death metal oriented riff. This is a nice transition into the first guitar solo. The solo in this song is simple and effective, it fits the purpose of this part of the song and does not try to do more. The solo isn’t too long or too complicated. The song has a quick breakdown, which transitions to the main riff again, but this time, the main riff is played even faster. The main riff develops more of a melody which, to my surprise, enhances the song and gives it a stronger punch for the listener. Eventually, another solo begins and this time it’s accompanied with complex blasting. This solo is complex and shows off that Luc Lemay influence. It’s a great solo too, it’s complex without being overbearing and is not too fast. The listener can absorb all of the notes from the solo and experience it as opposed to just hearing it. It’s a great way to close a great song. Lyrically, this song is also a rallying cry against many of the common injustices and hypocritical rhetoric that is relevant in society.
Marcus Lawrence, uses plenty of descriptive language to get his message across. It’s simple descriptive language too, which makes his point easier to understand. One example would be in the song: “Embracing Oblivion,” the lyrics “Besieged by a pointless devotion. To one’s own ethnicity. When there is nothing special about you. You must feign authenticity. You value nothing beyond. Your empty desire for validation.” showcase this. In that, they provide a criticism of nationalism and show how such an ideology is flawed. As I mentioned earlier, the lyrical content of the album discusses social issues and other topics. Throughout the album, whenever a political or social topic is discussed, the lyrical delivery of said topics is an interesting blend. It is straightforward, for the most part. It is very descriptive and understandable, while being cerebral as well. It gets me to see another person’s perspective on things. Lawrence also keeps the language in the lyrics broad enough, so that you understand his perspective and it doesn’t become preachy. Both the music and vocals feed off of each other and give the tracks have a strong punch to them. Lawrence’s vocals are a more traditional black metal snarl and shriek. However, there are times when the Lawrence’s vocals become too snarl-like. In that, his vocals are so snarl-like that they sound like an elderly cat screaming at their owner. One example where this happens would be in the song “Tongue of Argent.” These snarls appear at the 1 minute and 17 second mark. When these particular snarl-like vocals appear, they sound so saturated to the point where it is nauseating. Whenever they appear, the overbearing snarls can bring down the section of the song that they are in. They bring down the whole momentum of the song and as a result, it weakens the song as a whole. However, this only happens about two or three times throughout the album, I mentioned one of those times, the other times where this happens are in the tracks, “The Last Manifesto” and “Weaponized Madness.”
Damnatio Memoriae is the most complex local release I have heard in a very long time. It is technical, avant-garde, simplistic, and has hints of melody at times. Despite all of these complications present, Grethor manage to juggle them in a proficient manner. Grethor manages to balance each of these elements giving them the right amount of attention. There is a strong blend of cohesion between the black metal and the death metal elements on this album. Grethor manage to combine these parts along with some direct and thoughtful lyrics, which makes for a very complete and fulfilled album. There are a lot of great moments on this album and I can see Damnatio Memoriae, opening many, many doors for Grethor. It’s a great debut album from a focused band.
The Last Manifesto:
Categories: Album Reviews, Death Metal, Local Band Info, Washington DC / Maryland / Virginia Metal Scene . Tags: Damnatio Memoriae, Death Metal, Grethor, Vivek . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment
Lamb of God ticket give away
This coming Monday, July 30th, Richmond based Lamb of God will be headlining the Fillmore Silver Spring! This show has an all star line up of metal bands including Anthrax, Testament and Napalm Death. We’re so damn excited about this show that we’re giving away a free pair of tickets to this concert to one lucky reader! To enter: just leave a comment on this post telling me which of the four bands playing you are most excited to see! Then on Wednesday, July 25th at 12pm EST the contest will close and a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries. The winner will get two free tickets the show! Be sure to enter using an email address you check regularly so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won’t add you to any spam lists or sell your info or anything sleazy like that, I hate spam too. If I haven’t heard back from the winner in 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from Live Nation for $45 here.
Lamb of God is coming hot off their tour as direct support on Slayer’s farewell tour. Anthrax, one of the big four of thrash metal, will be direct support for this show with Bay Area thrashers Testament performing as well. The opening band is none other than the still reigning kings of grindcore, Napalm Death. Top to bottom that’s a pretty stacked line up! Now check out these videos by the bands performing and leave a comment telling me which band you are most excited to see at this show!
Lamb of God – 512
Anthrax – Only
Testament – The Pale King
Napalm Death – Standardization
Categories: Contests, Fillmore Silver Spring, Grind, Thrash Metal . Tags: Anthrax, Fillmore Silver Spring, Lamb Of God, Napalm Death, Testament . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 58 Comments
Interview with Matt Pike of Sleep and High on Fire
On Thursday, July 5th, I got the opportunity to interview famed guitarist Matt Pike of the bands Sleep and High on Fire. In this 28 minute interview we cover topics such as Sleep’s upcoming shows at the 9:30 Club, the stories behind various Sleep songs, details about the next High on Fire album and other songs that were supposed to be on the Dopesmoker album. You can download the entire interview as an mp3 for free here, stream it by clicking the orange play button below or read the full transcription under that. As always my words are in bold.
This is Metal Chris of DCHeavyMetal.com and today I’ve got Matt Pike of the bands Sleep and High on Fire on the phone with me. Sleep has 2 upcoming shows at the 9:30 Club right now. The first is going to be on Sunday, July 22nd and the second is the following night, Monday, July 23rd. The Sunday night show is already sold out however tickets are still available (here) for the Monday night show that was added recently. To start things off Matt, can you tell me what will be different about the set Monday night?
We’re playing Holy Mountain which, that’s always a great thing. We do it every great while someone will ask this but we can do it. I just gotta rent and acoustic [guitar]. Yeah, the difference is it’s shorter but we’re playing a pretty arcane album. It’s old music that we know very well cause we played it over a million times but yeah, I love playing that album and Al [Cisneros, bass/vocals of Sleep] and Jay [Jason Roeder, drummer of Sleep] do too. It’s kind of easy for us actually. Haha. So we’re good at it. If you know Holy Mountain you know that it’s before we got too weird.
Will you be playing any songs from The Sciences or anything else during that set on Monday night?
I’m not sure. The set’s probably about 50 minutes. The shortest Sleep usually plays is like an hour and that’s at a festival and then this is not a festival it’s our show so we’ll probably add something else but I don’t want to ruin the surprise if it’s something weird. It’s gonna be a full set is what I’m saying, hahaha.
Matt Pike photo by Jason Roeder
Ok, cool. Alright now back in April on 4/20 actually, Sleep released their first album in 15 or 20 years, depending on when you count Dopesmoker as actually having been released. The album is titled The Sciences and it really lived up to expectations to both fans and critics. On it we finally have studio versions of songs like “Sonic Titan” and “Antarcticans Thawed” and those are songs that you’ve played live for some time since you reformed in 2009. Were there other songs that were older on this album or was the rest of it written more recently?
Well what we did, it’s a reprise of music that Al and I had but we had to restructure and work with Jason. Obviously Jason’s a different drummer than Chris [Hakius, Sleep’s drummer in the 90’s] so the only drums we ever had on the songs that we were playing were Chris Hakius’s versions and we had to retime it, figure out BPMs, figure out time signatures. We basically recreated something that we did twenty years ago. That’s only for some of the songs. Some of them are brand new and original and some of them we took skeletons of what we had and redid them. Made them brand new for us just because I think we’re a little more experienced than we were when we were just kids which you lose some of the magic from when you were a kid but at the same time you actually understand things like timing and what you’re doing music theory wise. So it was a big chore for us to go through but we had been playing some of those songs live for a long time and I think it helped us kind of rewrite them just having that in our muscle memory or whatnot. I don’t know how to explain it but if you’ve been playing a song for a long time you’re all “ok let’s get serious. We’re going to record this. Maybe we should think about all the little things in it.” If that explains anything. I’m sorry. I’m just waking up having coffee.
Haha no, no, it does. So what’s an example of one of the songs on The Sciences that’s actually a new song that was written for this album?
Oh I wrote “The Sciences” for this album. That’s my version of a Vietnam vet meltdown, heh heh heh, and I was thinking of like Jimi Hendrix, haha, and I didn’t want make it a lead at all. I just wanted to make it a rhythm solo which it’s just so fucking weird, hahaha.
I actually like it a lot. That’s one song I put on to people, I’m like, you can listen to this and I’m like, if you like stoner metal you will like this and if you do not you will not like this, haha.
Yeah, no, yeah, haha. It definitely critiques towards a certain type of person, hahaha.
Well in 2014 Sleep released the song “The Clarity” through the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim summer singles series and this was the fist new Sleep song, at least to be studio recorded and released to the public, after the 2009 reformation of the band. How did this song come about? Was it one of the old songs that you had from the 90’s or something and kind of redid like some of these other songs or was this a new thing you did specifically for the Adult Swim release?
Well since we had the opportunity to write a new song, “The Clarity” was us putting together new music and seeing if we could do it without killing each other. All of us are in other bands that write. We hadn’t put together charts and things of that nature and truly tried to arrange something, and then Al just sent us the intro to the song which is just like “wah wah, wah wah, wah wah.” It’s like a horrible keyboard. Well that’s how Al wrote the riff and sent it to me and Jason. Me and Jason were looking at each other and just laughing like, what the fuck?
What the fuck are we gonna do with this? But if you know anything about Al, if he sends you something like that there’s method to it, so me and Jay are staring at each other like trying to figure out how to make a riff out of this thing but we knew that Al had already fucking thought the whole thing through. He’s a chess player so if he does something like that it’s thought through it’s just the presentation was that horrible keyboard part at the beginning that we rock out to and hahaha, there’s a derogatory thing to that. It’s like, this is how it was presented and then we made a song around it you know and then when the song kicks in you understand. It’s kind of like how “Dopesmoker” was too. It’s like, what the fuck is this guitar intro and then when everything comes in it makes sense. So that was Al just getting stuff started with a riff that was recorded like, horrifying, hahaha, and then we decided to keep it cause that was the beginning of it and then we all just added onto it. Since Al had it planned out he left space for me to write a riff and left space for Jason to do things with and yeah, that was the first thing we really wrote together since we had gotten back together. It’s a special song. I love playing that thing. It’s fun. It was one of those things where we were forced to write together and it’s the first time we did it and it was successful cause we did it in like a weekend which is unheard of for the three of us. We’re all so picky and anal and weird, and me included. I’m not talking shit. I’m saying, it’s kind of amazing how that band puts its stuff together and what we do. It was the first time we had written something just off the cuff from scratch. It’s like we’re making a pie from scratch and it worked really fast and yeah, I’m in love with that song. It’s really cool. There’s never a dull moment when you’re playing with those guys and you’re Matt Pike I guess but I hope they would say the same about me, heh heh heh.
Well you guys also recorded and released another song with Adult Swim recently that’s called “Leagues Beneath.” It really sounds like it really fit in with the rest of The Sciences and in fact when I usually play The Sciences digitally on my computer I actually edited the ID tags to make it like a bonus track basically, to the album. Was this recorded at the same time or was this another one that you guys kind of wrote together just for the Adult Swim release?
No it was just for the Adult Swim. It turned out really cool. That one is the craziest. I’m glad I learned it in the 1990’s. Me and Al had that song, which, of course Al, he wrote most of the intro to that whole thing and I remember [saying] you know, “Ok Al, we gotta turn it into a song where you sing now.” You know?
The whole intro you’re just picturing this barge on huge hurricane seas with stuff going over the side. Then it’s all, “Ok, where do we go from there?” At the time we were really influenced by [Black] Sabbath. We’re always really influenced by Sabbath, but it’s just all kick drum. You hit every odd note in between the kick drum to make the riff and then when the riff comes in it makes sense so it’s another Al… I don’t know. That guy’s pretty amazing, man. And it’s not like I don’t contribute it’s just he thinks differently than most people you ever met. It’s pretty crazy, hahaha. But yeah that song turned out amazing too. It’s one of those things where, when we get together and write all this magic shit happens cause everybody’s so fucking pissed off at the world that you get all these weird things. And that one though we did have the whole intro and we had the main body of the riff and then other than that we had a couple other parts and then my job in Sleep is to kind of add weird details but then have Jay time ideas I have because if I don’t have timing I’ll just wank so that band tries to teach me how to be patient, heh heh heh. So I’m learning how to be patient and wait for my part to come up. It’s hard to explain unless you’re in the room. It’s weird but we had that song for fucking I swear to god twenty years. That should have been on Dopesmoker and it just never happened like that and the same thing with “Antarcticans Thawed.” It should have been on Dopesmoker. Those two songs were written about the same time but then we just changed the tuning and Al wanted to use a five string so I had to figure out the theory behind– I am not going to buy a seven string guitar cause I think that’s fucking lame. I figured out a drop tuning that would keep up with him in B, which means I actually have to tune every other string up a half step and then drop my tuning. It was weird but it’s cool experimenting like that cause we get used to something too long and then we try something different [and] sometimes it works out.
So another thing I wanted to ask about was the whole issue with Dopesmoker like you were saying, which was originally released in ’98 as Jerusalem and had been kind of chopped up into different parts by the label and I know the band wasn’t really pleased with that version.
No. I took action cause Al was missing in action. He took like eight years off of music altogether. Chris went into the mountains and wasn’t doing anything. I got together with Al and Chris for the first time in like eight years and I was like, “hey dudes, we have a chance to get this back and release Jerusalem as Dopesmoker how we intended it with different masters and a different version” cause Al had one that had desert lyrics and Al had one that had space lyrics and so we went with the desert theme on the second release but the first one was chopped up because at that point in time there was not downloads, there wasn’t streaming, there was barely internet and they needed a radio version and that’s what they were trying to sell it as. “You just aren’t seeing the future here” and so we had to go into hiding before people discovered that it was a piece of work.
It reminds me a lot of what Rush said happened [to them] around the recording of their 2112 album.
Yeah well they were looking to drop us too and they did. They shelved it and I was like, “what a waste of a good piece of music” so I was pushing to get it out but then one dude wanted to bootleg and I’m like, “that’s on you, man. If you get sued or something like that, that’s on you, that’s not on us” but he tried to pay us or whatever and that got shut down. And then we finally got back together, got a lawyer [and] got the rights to that record back and then we could release it with Southern Lord properly. So that was all done legally, you know? Before that, that record label went bankrupt so no one knew anything about anything.
One thing you said though, it got released properly but then you said earlier that “Leagues Beneath” and “Antarcticans Thawed” should have been on that album too. Were there other recordings of these?
We tried but I just think all of us were smoking too much weed and it was hard enough to get the one 72 minute version of Jerusalem done, you know what I mean? It was hard enough to get that song done. It was the first time I think a band tried to do something that long that wasn’t improv. We had it written and it took us four years to write and having that much information in your head and then trying to do other songs, that wasn’t even doable. That’s too much to ask anybody to fucking memorize. After that whole album happened we were all kind of burnt on being around each other or anything. Me and Al weren’t but I think Al and Chris, that separated them for a minute and then they got back together and they started playing music together again. That’s where Om came from and then [I] think Chris just decided that he would rather hide in the woods and not be on tour, which I don’t blame him. [It] takes a special kind of person to be on tour and deal with all that kind of stuff and so I think the evolution of Sleep has happened properly the way that it should have. It just takes time. It’s a very patient band and it waits for its members to be ready to do things and it’s a special band. It’s definitely different. We got our own thing going on.
After the break up around then you went off and did the High on Fire thing, Al and Chris did the Om thing and it’s always kind of made me wonder what led you guys to come back around 2009?
Well cause we got offered one show that was in England. Or it was actually two nights and it was with Jesus Lizard and I just think that the band grew while we were taking a hiatus and when we saw the reaction to us walking out on stage after that long of [a] period of time, none of us had played together in that long and we played some pretty good shows. The two sets we did were amazing and then I think all of us realized that when we were kids we had a lot of magic but then we’re getting older and there’s something to all this. People love it. We have a cult following and it was like, oh wow, man, we can do something with this and all of us enjoy playing with each other but Chris didn’t want to be on tour and Jason, we grew up, me and Al, just kind of worshiped Neurosis [Jason’s other band] and the Melvins and like all the shows we’d go to in Berkeley. That was Gilman’s Street and that’s where we grew up as kids just tripping out on all these crazy bands like Nomeansno and Nausea and Glycine Max and Neurosis and the Melvins and all the good shit that was going on there so Jason knew us since we were little kids like that and Jason just knows all our music because, shit, quite frankly Sleep wouldn’t have ever done anything without Neurosis taking us out and believing in us so they’re like family to us cause we’ve known them our them our whole lives.
That’s pretty cool.
Yeah, yeah.
Sleep 2009 reunion shows poster art by Malleus
You were talking about that show in London which I think was the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival.
Yeah it wasn’t in London though. It was out on the Southwest coast and it was at the place, Butlin’s. And Butlin’s was a place for English working class families to go while dad gambles, mom gambles, and the kids run around and there’s like an amusement park for pasty, white English people that don’t have anywhere else to go. It’s cold and wet and it’s weird, heh heh heh. I think that’s where werewolves came from, I don’t know.
Well I know that show is pretty much the only one, or the shows there that you played, were the only ones with Chris back on drums since the reunion, right? After that Jason I think took over everything.
Yeah well cause Chris didn’t want to really do it. He was real hesitant and although he had been touring with Al but I think Chris just isn’t cut out to tour. He’s a great drummer. He doesn’t like the limelight. He doesn’t want to be famous. It takes a certain type of person. Like Al and I for myself, we really care about what we do. We want to leave a legacy a little bit. It’s not like we’re narcissists or something like that we just want to leave a legacy because we care about our playing and we spend a lot of time getting good at what we do and Jay has just known us since we were little kids so he totally understands why Sleep does what it does and ever did what it did. It’s about amplifiers and tone and loud and fucking with people because we got that from Neurosis and the Melvins. Fucking with people through music is like a great thing. Whether it’s derogatory, funny or very serious, we cover all those aspects. I mean I can improv all day with those dudes but then when it comes down to serious arrangements, we don’t want it to be what people expect. We want it to fuck with people’s heads a little bit. Like why? Why did they do that that way? Fuck, why do I like that? You know, question why they like what they’re listening to. That approach works for us.
So do you think you’ll ever play again with Chris? Even like a one off or a festival somewhere?
With respect for Jason, if Chris wanted to do a weird set with us or something, I wouldn’t be opposed. I love Chris Hakius but I love Jay too and Jason’s like our main dude so with respect if Jason said, “yeah, you should do a show with Chris” I’d be like, “dude I’m not opposed to playing with anyone.” It’s like the old jazz blues bands. Everybody moonlighted in between each other’s bands so I’m not opposed to anything. I just enjoy playing. I try to leave politics and head trips out of what we do.
Alright so shifting gears a little I would like to talk to you about your other band a little bit and one thing I’d like to know is, how did you form High on Fire? Like how did you find the other members and kind of pull that all together after Sleep was kind of on hiatus there?
Well I got out of Sleep and I had a bunch of fucking songs that I wrote that I was going to show them to Al or whatever if he ever got out of being depressed about music, which he ended up doing. I knew it would happen. So the first song I wrote I was actually just trying to start a band with anybody so I got a friend of mine, Karl [Larson], who was more of a Soundgarden-y guitar player, and later on I figured out I don’t work with other guitar players well usually, unless they’re my bass player, so yeah, I started a band and I met Karl and he had some stuff to contribute but I had all these riffs that were kind of Sleep-ish riffs and then I met Des Kensel who’s an East Coast hardcore drummer. And then when I started trying to play some of the Sleep riffs to the hardcore drummer it like clicked. We were like married and then Des didn’t like another guitar player either. Even though I love Karl who started that band with me, we moved on and we had a friend of mine, George Rice, come down to start singing. I thought he sucked at singing but he’s a great guitar player/bass player, so he just started playing bass and I started singing. I was a shitty singer for like ten years and then I started figuring it out. Started going my way a little bit more but it’s cause I met this total little super drummer, but he was very different than what I was used to. But I always liked thrash metal. I love my like Black Flag, Circle Jerks, that sort of thing so it works. So basically High on Fire is a metal band but it’s a weird metal band. It’s just strange what we do. But I just finished doing an album which is coming out in September.
Yeah I wanted to ask you about that. Do you have any other details? You said it’s going to be out in September. Do you know the album title yet?
Yeah it’s called Electric Messiah.
Yeah and it’s the best album we’ve ever done, by far. It’s ridiculous. And I’m really proud of that. So to do Sleep The Sciences and that album, between 2017 [and] 2018 that’s two albums that I’m really fucking proud of in one year. I’ve been working hard. I haven’t had any time to myself til recently. This is my month off and then pretty much I’m on tour all the way up til next year. And then I’m sure I’ll be making plans for next year in the next week here or something. It is by far the best High on Fire record ever which is hard to believe but it’s fucking bad ass, heh heh heh.
That’s cool man. I can’t wait to hear it. How many tracks?
I think there’s ten tracks, eleven tracks. It depends cause there’s a bunch of songs, like I wrote a Sumerian anunnaki rock opera that actually is two songs but they’re separate tracks. And then there’s a lot of slash songs. There’s a lot of songs that– you know [how] Opeth will have like one song but it makes like three songs if you really think about it?
Yeah, yep.
It’s kind of a bunch of shit like that because we’ve had this conscious stream of riffs and we put it together. I like when I do High on Fire records to have a lot of interludes and weird shit going on so you never lose focus but it’s constantly changing. It’s a lot like, Death Is This Communion is like that. There’s tracks that don’t have names but, they’re there. It’s just one stream of High on Fire consciousness and it’s fucking good, that’s all. I’m really stoked on that record.
So I suppose you’ll be touring to support that at some point, probably in the fall or something?
I think we’re going to be on tour with Municipal Waste. Cause we’ve been kind of beating a dead horse, dead in the water for a while so we’re doing a co-headline [tour]. Municipal Waste dudes are our good friends so we figured we’ll just punch the country together, swap spots and no one gets tired and all that stuff and yeah, it should be good. I want to get High on Fire rolling again so it’s full throttle. We took a lot of time to write this record, really make it good.
I’ve always kind of wondered, which band do you like performing with more, Sleep or High on Fire?
They’re apples and oranges. It’s so different and so the same. It’s weird but the common link between High on Fire and Sleep is obviously my guitar playing. I like having my own voice and being able to sing my lyrics. High on Fire is my baby like that. But Sleep definitely, I am a third of that thing’s heart and I get to express myself in different ways that I don’t get to in High on Fire. It’s very visceral. It’s super tight and visceral and very detailed but it has its own soul and I can do different things. Sleep’s like a weird science experiment because I learn about tones. You know if I used my rig from Sleep for High on Fire you wouldn’t even be able to tell what we were playing. It’s too fast, heh heh heh. Sleep’s one of those bands you’re supposed to play loud because you hit one note every fucking five minutes, you know.
It’s a tone experiment and High on Fire I have to be very, very– both of them I have to be very careful about the controlability of my rig. But I like singing too so that’s the other part of it that I love High on Fire for is I like singing. It’s like a part of my playing. It’s fun to see what I can pull off and between Jeff [Matz, current High on Fire bass player] and Des, they’re constantly pushing me to be able to sing and play more shit than James Hetfield would when Metallica came out. It’s hard, heh heh heh. And it being hard is a good thing for me cause I like challenges and I usually like rising to the occasion.
Alright well, this is Washington, D.C. and so I really want to make sure I ask you about all these Matt Pike for President stickers that I’ve seen around [get them here]. Do you think you might actually run for president in 2020?
I’ll run for president, I don’t give a shit, if you guys really want. You know I think I’d be more popular than Trump instantly.
I’d be a great diplomat. I am so unorganized and I have ADD so bad I think I’d either be a awesome president by luck or a horrible president that has a lot of resistance, you know?
Heh heh.
Hahaha. No I’d be a great diplomat. I think I could bring world peace but I think I’d fuck up our infrastructure. I have no idea how that would go but I hear it at every show and it was like a gimmick and the fantasy of being president in some sort of alternate universe, I’d like to see that on film just to see what [would] really happen. Hahaha. It’s a funny notion. That was a great idea. Shit, I don’t even get money from that or anything. I didn’t do that. It’s just some kid made something funny up and it just started going ape shit. And they did it for Frank Zappa and Ozzy Osbourne in the 80’s so I felt kind of flattered I guess.
Well I think we all know that Tony Iommi and Black Sabbath are major influences on you but I’d like to know some of the other bands and musicians that are also influences on you.
Well, kind of everything. You know second to Tony Iommi I always loved David Gilmour from Pink Floyd. I always loved John McLaughlin you know in Mahavishnu Orchestra and just everything that guy’s done. He’s just [an] amazing guitar player. And I’m influenced by a lot of early punk. I grew up in the 80’s and I was exposed to the Dead Kennedys and the Exploited and Black Flag, all the classic punk shit when I was a really little kid cause I had a babysitter that, she’d just do bong hits and show me punk rock music. And when Mötley Crüe came out, MTV came out and I always liked ZZ Top. I always liked, you know all the classic stuff. I love W.A.S.P. I love a bunch of cheesy ass shit and I like so much stuff in my playing. I went to school for– I never went to like Juilliard or something. I went to a community college cause I felt that I needed to learn music theory and my art a lot better. I actually went to college for jazz for a couple years so I learned jazz improv and I always played blues, I always played classical so, I could play guitar very well before I even knew what I was doing. You know what I mean? I just have an ear for it. And then, as I went through that, it just kind of made me better and better so my influences come from all over the map. I love fucking Angus Young and Malcolm Young [of AC/DC]. I love K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton [of Judas Priest]. I love Slayer. I love all the things that I got to grow up on and I was spoiled with.
Well D.C. is known for its harDCore scene as well and we also are known for a lot of the doom bands that came out of here. Are there bands from the D.C. area that you would say are influences to you at all?
Oh dude yeah. Fucking Alfred Morris III [of Iron Man], rest in peace. Bless his heart. Me and Al loved the shit out of that guy. He was the greatest fucking guitar player. It’s a shame that his death had to come. Sleep had Iron Man play a couple different shows when we were in your area with us because we were big fans of that. Wino is from out of that thing. I really love the Spirit Caravan thing. You know I kind of knew Wino before that with the Obsessed but then the Spirit Caravan, he was doing that and High on Fire was raging about that time so I got to know that dude around then. There’s a lot that comes out of there and it is definitely doom. Yeah Washington D.C. has definitely got a doom thing to it.
[Do] you like Clutch at all?
Oh yeah dude. I’ve been on tour with them. They took High on Fire out for a bunch. They have one of the coolest crowds ever. Those are some of the better tours that High on Fire had cause they were really cool to us. And that drummer, fucking J.P. is fucking retarded. It’s so good, hahaha. And I like anything with [Clutch vocalist Neil] Fallon.
Are there any new bands or albums that you’ve been listening to lately?
Well I’ve been so wrapped up in trying to get the masters done for Sleep and High on Fire [that] all I’ve listened to is my own band for a while and then, haha, I have a girlfriend who’s substantially younger than me so I get all my new bands through her. She’s an artist and she’ll just sit here– she’s also a musician but she’ll sit here and draw and then put on weird shit and occasionally I’ll walk through. I’ll be all, “what the fuck is this?” she’s all “you mean you never heard Portal?” Portal’s fucking awesome, hahahahahaha, but it’s so fucking dramatic and extreme I love the shit. I really like Lana Del Rey cause she’s creepy. I don’t know. I listen to all sorts of shit that comes my way. It just depends. I don’t listen to metal all day but when I do like metal I go deep. I get into like obscure metal quarterly because I have a millennial girlfriend that knows about it, you know.
Alright well, that’s about the end of my questions here. I thank you a lot for taking the time out to do this interview with me. I’m pretty excited about the show you’re going to be playing here with Sleep– the two shows on July 22nd and 23rd. Those should both be pretty cool and it’s cool you’re playing different sets each night so people can go to both and see something different each night.
Thank you for trying to sell tickets for us man. I appreciate it. And yeah, I’ll see you at the show huh? Come up and say hi. I’m pretty approachable.
Yeah, sure man.
You have a great day and thank you for the interview. I appreciate it.
Yeah no problem man. Thank you.
Alright man, have a good one.
Alright, bye.
Categories: Doom Metal, Interviews, Nightclub 9:30, Sludge Metal, Stoner . Tags: Electric Messiah, High On Fire, Holy Mountain, Matt Pike, Matt Pike For President, Sleep, Weedian . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 9 Comments
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Steven Spielberg Among Finalists In Wide Open Motion Picture Academy Board Of Governors Race
@DeadlinePete
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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences moves forward today with notification to all branches of the finalists in the 2016 Board Of Governors election, in most cases four final contenders in each of the 17 branches. As Deadline was first to report exclusively on April 7, the Academy made a major sea change in the way these elections are conducted, for the first time opening up the contest to every one of the 6,000-plus voting members of the organization.
Previously, it was generally a nominating committee within each branch that selected candidates to run for Board seats. Now, democracy has taken over, as the Academy encouraged all members to get involved, and many more did put their hat in the ring resulting in a vote from each branch for today’s finalists. The Academy elects one-third of its Board each year, with winners serving three-year terms and eligible to run three times before being termed out for a year.
'West Side Story': Fox Releases First Look At Updated "Anita" From Reboot
Among notables on the list of candidates is the highest profile name, Steven Spielberg, who is running for Kathryn Bigelow’s seat in the Directors Branch (she is not going for re-election). He’ll compete against John Badham, Thomas Carter and Lisa Cholodenko. Past President Hawk Koch, who may have eyes on running again for President when Cheryl Boone Isaac’s presumed fourth term is up in 2017, is trying to return to the Board’s Producers Branch just as he attempted in last year’s election. He faces incumbent and chair of the Foreign Language Committee Mark Johnson, Paula Wagner and Stephanie Allain, the latter one of the very few African
Americans who made the cut despite the well-publicized diversity push by the Academy for more minority representation in the group. Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams, whose new film Life, Animated is a must see for anyone who cares about great documentaries, is another African American in the running, competing against past Documentary Branch board members Michael Apted and Rob Epstein along with one of this year’s Doc Feature nominees Liz Garbus (What Happened Miss Simone?). Williams became the first African American director to actually win an Oscar in 2010 for his doc short Music By Prudence. In an effort to increase diversity on the Board, the Academy’s current BOG voted to create three new Governor positions which were announced recently that went to African American Reginald Hudlin, Latino Gregory Nava and Asian Jennifer Yuh Nelson. It’s a good thing because this year’s group of candidates doesn’t promise to make a significant difference in that regard although there continues to be a significant influx of female candidates which can only be counted as some nice progress on the Acad’s part.
If there was an effort to mirror this year’s Presidential election where the establishment appears to be on the ropes, at least in the primary process, the Academy isn’t throwing out the incumbents – at least not yet. Ten incumbents are back in the running for the Board including Ed Begley Jr. (Actors), John Bailey (Cinematographers), Judianna Makovsky (Costume Designers), Jan Pascale (Production Designers), Amy Pascal (Executives), Bill Corso (Makeup and Hair Stylists), Mark Johnson (producers), Nancy Utley (Public Relations), Jon Bloom (Short Films And Feature Animation) and Robin Swicord ( Writers). The latter is competing with past Governor James L. Brooks, James Schamus and Larry Karaszweski (who narrowly lost a seat last year to Billy Ray in a rare run-off).
One of the most interesting races will be in the Public Relations branch where Fox Searchlight co-President Nancy Utley will be vying for a second three year term against former Board member and presidential candidate Rob Friedman , now co-Chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. He could also be vying to return to the BOG with presidential ambitions next year. Both Utley and Friedman are former marketers who made their way into the PR branch with those credentials but now run major film companies. They will be vying with PR veteran Tony Angellotti (among other clients he is the consultant for Universal live action and Pixar/Disney animation awards campaigns) who could become a first-timer to the BOG after serving many years on the PR Executive Committee. Finally there is Bruce Feldman, a PR veteran who now consults as well as runs a specialty gift business, perhaps the most outspoken candidate of all. He has aggressively run for this position, spelling out on a platform specific things he would do, and sometimes vocally opposing Board actions in the past. In a way he is the Trump card in the PR race, an anti-establishment candidate looking to shake things up. By making it this far (there were reportedly over 40 contenders in the PR branch alone) he is proving that making a little noise can have an effect. It got Feldman all the way to this point.
Voting among each branch for their new – or returning – Governor starts June 29 with ballots due on July 12. Final results will be announced on July 21. The election for Academy President where Boone Isaacs will be running for her fourth and final one-year term will be in August. Further, names of the first new batch of Academy members accepted since the organization launched an international search to significantly increase the numbers of minority and women members (following the latest #OscarsSoWhite controversy) is expected later this month.
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Home/Podcast/The Ways We Shame Our Children (And Don’t Know It)
The Ways We Shame Our Children (And Don’t Know It)
Children-shaming is more common than you think...
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/caroltuttle/2018/06/25/the-ways-we-shame-our-children-and-dont-know-it.mp3?localembed=showpage&guid=3df7af15-9a9a-4e51-8841-f8fc2efeadc1#.mp3
We love our children. Let’s make sure they know it.
Carol and Anne discuss a common practice in parenting culture that has been amped up by social media. Listen in to hear if you unknowingly shame your children—and how to stop.
This episode includes helpful tips to reframe your negative judgments of all 4 Types of children.
This week’s Parenting Practice
This week, notice your words. How do you talk about your children—both in conversation and on social media? Commit to stop speaking in any ways that shame them. Reframe how you talk about your children to honor their gifts! (This episode gives examples for all 4 Types. Listen in.)
Transcript of podcast episode
Anne: I’m on “The Child Whisperer” podcast. I should know better, but I think you just kind of get in those scenarios and this is what you do. So, why do we bash our children, why do we come up with these negative labels?
Carol: Welcome to “The Child Whisperer” podcast. I’m your host Carol Tuttle, author of the bestselling parenting book “The Child Whisperer”. I’m with my co-host, Ann Tuttle Brown. Rather than a question this week, we have a situation that we feel very passionate about that we’d like to chat with you about. And this involves the age of social media, and a common practice that’s been happening within the parenting culture, I think for many decades. It’s just social media presents it as a new level of opportunity to be mindful of.
And the scenario is, are you shaming your child unknowingly? And this occurs when you talk about your child in the adjectives and labels you put on them. I see in the social media world, which I’m on every day, I am an influencer online, and so I’m on Instagram, I’m on Facebook, I’m on these different platforms that I’m seeing what others are doing. And there seems to be a trend and the age group that you’re in, Ann, of the millennial mother basically that’s sharing their story, their passion, their experience, particularly on Instagram. And that’s where we see a lot of hashtags.
And this came to my attention when a recent, as I was…I’ve stopped following this person because they kept hashtagging their child with a really negative reference. And I’m not going to say, I don’t want to point fingers and that, I felt it was so unfortunate that it was done so mindlessly to say, “You’re really shaming your child every time you use that hashtag. You know, they might be three, but there’s an energy you put out and a perception you project on them, and you’re inviting everyone else to see that.” It’s not cute, it’s not fun, it’s in a form of parent bullying, in my opinion to say. Don’t put your children down in social media. Now, there’s that kind of blatant, “My child is the…” And ironically, guess what type the child is?
Anne: Type three.
Carol: Exactly. Type three child, that’s very hands-on, he’s a toddler getting into things, very…
Anne: What are some labels that they might use? Bad, defiant, naughty.
Carol: Naughty, defiant. And they do that repeatedly, it’s like the child has this hashtag now. And it’s like that’s really put your child down, not understanding their determined, take on the challenge nature. Now, you have a scenario where I think this has been happening for decades, where it’s the social conversations, when you will get together with another mother and talk about kind of the difficult kid and how hard they are and even have…well, you had an experience recently.
Anne: Yeah. I mean you’ll talk about your kids, you’ll talk about how they sleeping or all the cute things they’ve done and all [crosstalk 00:03:15].
Carol: Your frustrations.
Anne: Yeah. For sure, your frustrations.
Carol: Your stresses.
Anne: Or just the kind of their quirks. And so, we had some friends over and their daughter is just a couple years younger than my type three daughter and they were playing really well together and the other mom said, “Well, she’s kind of bossy,” and I said, “Well, so is my daughter. She’s bossy too. So, they get along great.” Later that evening, I was like, “I shouldn’t have said that. I should have said instead to portray the same behavior, Katie loves to be in charge. So she plays really well with younger kids.”
Carol: Because that’s just sort of order of allowing her to be more in charge and not have to fight for that role.
Anne: Yeah. She loves to be in charge. She loves to take the lead. She has a great gift to take the lead, and I admire that in her, and it serves her well. And when she plays with kids, she likes to take the lead. And so, labeling that as if that’s a better way to say it than, “She’s bossy,” because with that, I mean, that’s negative, right? That’s just like, “She’s bossy. She’s telling everyone what to do.”
Carol: She’s annoying.
Anne: She’s annoying, right? So, these two little bossy girls…
Carol: She has this problem.
Anne: Yeah. And, I mean, I’m on “The Child Whisperer” podcast, I should know that, I should know better. But I think you just kind of get in those scenarios and this is what you do. So, why do we bash our children? Why do we come up with these negative labels? I think sometimes you want to fit in. I think it’s a little bit like humorous sometimes, that pressure release.
Carol: What’s that mean? Yeah, I know what you’re feeling. So, there is some empathy exchange, like, “Yeah. I get it. I have that scenario too.” And you kind of line up with the way a child is being referenced by just joining the conversation from that perspective and just using negative labels for a child. Looking at your motive, I think the motive is fair. There’s a stress involved with a child that requires more of your effort, more of your time, more strategy, more trial and error. There’s a stress involved with that, so that’s fair. You want to be supported in knowing you’re not alone, other parents are going through this. It’s just that tweaking of, in your story for example, they go, “I get what you’re saying. I have that experience too.” That’s fair. That’s good source support, to have empathy, to feel like, “I’m not alone in this. This parent gets me and my situation.” That relieves some of the stress, it’s just modifying their references. It’s that simple.
Anne: And having those open and honest conversations can be supportive rather than just giving your kid a label like, “She’s always bossy. They’re so difficult. They’re so defiant.” I’ve had conversations with my husband where, “She’s not listening to me, she’s talking back. Like, it’s really annoying. What do I do?” And just getting that support like, “It’s okay.” Okay, maybe there’s some modifications we need to make and just rather than lashing out at her or calling her, you know, telling her, giving her a label or going to a friend and just kind of making light of it.
If there’s really an issue, talk to someone openly about the challenge. I’m glad you’re here on “The Child Whisperer” podcast that you can get those insights and inspiration that you need to solve the problem. But I think every type of child has kind of a label that they come with, and you talk about this in “The Child Whisperer”. So, let’s go over each type of child and how that bossy label that I used to describe my type three could be turned into a positive reference.
Carol: After we do that, I want to talk about, because I think it’s parents listening to us are very proactive in making these changes. The real touchy area is when a relative starts labeling your child in these negative ways and what do you do about that. Because actually that came up in our lifestyle group where someone posted a scenario without details, just saying, “I have a situation where someone is now using these negative labels without the information. What do I do?” And so, let’s look at that as well. So the type one child can get labelled as the scattered, less responsible, yeah, movement…
Anne: Hyper.
Carol: Hyper, “Your child is so hyper. Yeah. They’re so hyper. They never sit still.”
Anne: ADHD. Even if it’s not, like, obviously that’s a real diagnosis.
Carol: That’s a real diagnosis.
Anne: But I think it can get thrown around.
Carol: Yeah. In the world of a very type four environment, the child could look overly hyper and it could be just their movement is out of balance in the situation they’re in. The type two child gets called whiny. And that they’re just, “My child is so whiny.”
Anne: So needy.
Carol: Needy.
Anne: Too sensitive.
Carol: They’re too sensitive. And the type three child, that determined nature gets called defiant. They’re just, you know, they get, I think they get hit with some of the more extreme labels because the toddler phase is so challenging. Because the…
Anne: Or the mother like, “He’s out to get me. Like my child really is defiant.” And it’s like, “No. He’s three years old.”
Carol: I’ve said I’ve said this many times on previous podcasts in the former format. Your three-year-old never wakes up and goes, “How can I get my mother today?” They don’t have ill intent. It’s just a misunderstanding of their nature or there’s a lot of variables that’s what we address every week, we’ve got support for you. And then the type four child is just, they’re extreme in their seriousness. They’re not light enough. They are know-it-alls, “You’re such a know it all. You know, you always have to be right.”
Anne: So what are some more positive phrases you could use, even if you are dealing with the, a very [crosstalk 00:08:48] type one?
Carol: We’ve got the fun-loving child, the sensitive child, the determined child, and the more serious child. That’s one reason I gave those labels in each of the sections on each of the four types of children was to present a label that honored their movement rather than change it.
Anne: In reference, “The Child Whisperer” book, four handy phrases to use, lots of great vocabulary in there to describe and honor your child and use those words. I love that you take charge, Katie. I love that about you, I really do. And [crosstalk 00:09:21].
Carol: Well, and you found a solution where you found that actually her playing with a child a year or two younger than her sets her up for success. So we’re not saying to excuse misbehaving, or letting the children do whatever they want. It’s up to you as parent to set up scenarios that supports their true nature so success is a more natural, effortless outcome. You’ve come up with the strategy for that. She does fine in school though because she’s now putting, she’s in a structure bigger than her and the teacher’s in charge and she respects that.
Anne: I would say too, if you have read “The Child Whisperer” and you’re getting, or if you haven’t, but if it’s been while, and you’re getting kind of frustrated with your child, read back through the, you know, that type section. I’ve done this recently with my type three because it was like, “Okay. I need to remember what this looks like and honor that.” And it brought a lot of peace and ah-ha’s as I went through it again. So if it’s been a while, go through “The Child Whisperer” again.
Carol: So what do you do if a relative is calling your child…
Anne: It’s funny…
Carol: …one of these negative labels and they are referring to their energy type in the negative label but they don’t have the information to understand that’s how they move through life and you have a false expectation of who you think they should be?
Anne: Well, it’s interesting because obviously in our family group, everyone’s aware of the types and there’s an expectation of the high movement, the low movement, and the sensitive nature. And it’s interesting to me when we go out with other family or even just with friends in the neighborhood, they pick up on that so quickly, “Your little Sam, he’s so sweet,” is a word they often use. “Katie is so full of life,” we hear so many, they’ll just meet at church or a neighbor across the street, “She is so full of life.”
Carol: Even the word passionate can apply.
Anne: I’m like, “You’ve known her for five minutes.” That really comes across, I guess, or with family, she really moves a lot, and I’m like, “I guess she does.”
Carol: So, what if you were in a setting and someone said, “Man, she’s so, like, she just is so bossy, like, she’s annoying.” It’s presented like this kid needs to be disciplined here, you know, you need to change this.
Anne: Honestly, I probably wouldn’t say anything but I know I’d wish I would have. So, we’re gonna give you some good comebacks right now.
Carol: What would I say…
Anne: Well, I think in that scenario, now, that I’ve been through it, she’s so bossy, she loves to take charge.
Carol: Yeah. You could say, “Yeah. She’s a very passionate little girl. She loves to take charge.” You could put your own positive on it.
Anne: Yeah. You could say, “I love that about her.”
Carol: I know my child.
Anne: As a parent, you’re teaching them how to manage these gifts that can turn into challenges. And I love that about her and we’re working on it, I don’t know. What would you say? You’re so sensitive [crosstalk 00:12:07]
Carol: Well, I think you go to those four very specific, positive labels that are presented. You know, so if a negative reference is made about a type one child with someone that is uninformed, “Yes, my child is very fun loving. They have very buoyant energy and we’re there to support them.”
Anne: And there to support her, that’s [inaudible 00:12:30].
Carol: Yes. My child is sensitive. They have some really strong emotional needs, and we’re really learning how to support them, that you’re in process.
Anne: I could see with the type two, do they always pray like that? What do they need, are they hungry?
Carol: You need to stop your child from whining. They’re very sensitive, it can come out that way at times and we’re really learning how to support them. Type three, we’ve covered. Just say, “Yep. They love to take charge, and we’re really learning how to direct that energy, how to support them and that big energy they have.” Type four, “Yeah. My child is more serious about life and more private.” One of my pet peeves in the whole parenting world is to force a type four child to look at an adult that they don’t even know, and trying to engage and say, “Hi.” You’re forcing them.
Anne: Go give grandma a hug.
Carol: Yeah. I’m like, “Oh, no. Don’t make him do that.” You know, recognize there’s a, even a type two child, there’s a level of familiarity that needs to occur. There’s a privacy factor for a type four. There is a lack of familiarity factor for a type two child. So, you know, those forced connections, I’m like, “Don’t do it.”
Anne: Calista, [SP] our type four expert shared a story that when her great-grandma came over, her mom would let her go out to the hay bales. I guess she grew up on a farm, and she said you don’t have to interact because she knew, she didn’t know Calista’s type, but she knew that she was more private, didn’t like to be forced in those interactions. And so, Calista just has really fond memories of when great grandma came over, she got to go hide in the hay bales and read. [crosstalk 00:14:01].
Anne: I’ve got it. I’ve got it. That just prompted a practice for grandparents because there’s a tendency for a grandparent to say, “Give grandma a hug.” I never say that. I never force the hug. I feel it’s not, it’s not giving a child a choice, and I wouldn’t want someone to say that to me. Like, well, maybe I don’t feel like hugging you.
Anne: Yeah. That’s the type three part. [inaudible 00:14:24].
Carol: So, I always say to my grandchildren, “Can I give you a hug?” And if they say no to me, or they’re not really there to do that, it’s just that they’re not feeling it right now, I don’t take it personal. I respect the fact that’s they’re small. You know, in my type four grandson, who’s soon to be eleven, he will only give side to side kind of, you know, arm around each other. He doesn’t like a front on hug. I could take that personal and think, “I could force him.” No. He’ll even give me that because I respect the fact that he’s not comfortable with another form of connection at this point.
Anne: This could be a whole another podcast. I’m thinking as a parent, I mean, I know when Katie has kind of been like, “No, no, Grandma,” and run away, and then I take it personal, I’m like, “I’m sorry.” I feel like I have to apologize but I’m like, “You get it.”
Carol: Let’s bring it back to where we started with, “Are you shaming your child unknowingly?” You know, I think your intentions are well served that you’re looking for support. You’re not intentionally…now, unless you’re using hashtags with shaming labels and that’s you know pretty intentional.
Anne: Or run over [crosstalk 00:15:32].
Carol: That just needs to stop. Are you talking about your children in social media in a negative way? Choose to get support from family members you trust, close friends and conversations that are productive to say, “I’m stressed out by this,” go back to the book, get out of the stress rather than trying to relieve the stress in these very superficial ways of putting it on social media, using it as a tool to get empathy or attention. That’s not effective, it’s not supportive to a true outcome of change, and it’s certainly projecting a negative energy onto your child that overall, is not what you want. So put that to practice this week.
Anne: And then, more specifically, how could you in those moments of, like I did with the bossy to the in charge, how can you rephrase in those conversations to share your child’s nature and their wonderful gifts?
Carol: Thanks for listening. For more support, go to thechildwhisperer.com where you can purchase the book, subscribe to our weekly parenting practice email, and find a transcription and audio of “The Child Whisperer” podcast.
Anne: If you’re listening on iTunes, thank you for leaving a review. If you have a parenting question, please send it to [email protected].
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My Teen Wants to Try Alcohol—What Do I Say?
Why Parents Need to Stop Saying “You’re Making Me…”
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When You Just Can’t Connect With Your Child
Your Host: Carol Tuttle
Mother of 5. Grand-mother of 10. Author of the best-selling book. Her insights will bring more joy and cooperation into your family.
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To the Parents of the Overly Sensitive Boy
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Home / Disney A to Z / R / Runaway Bride (film)
Runaway Bride (film)
Runaway Bride (film) Touchstone Pictures and Paramount jointly produced for release on July 30, 1999, this story of Maggie Carpenter, a Maryland woman who has a penchant for leaving grooms at the altar. Ike Graham is a reporter who tries to uncover Maggie’s story, with the two fated to end up together. Directed by Garry Marshall. Stars Julia Roberts (Maggie Carpenter), Richard Gere (Ike Graham), Joan Cusack (Peggy), Hector Elizondo (Fisher). 116 min. This film reunited Roberts, Gere, Elizondo, and director Marshall for the first time since their hit Pretty Woman, in 1990. Most of the filming took place in and around Baltimore, Maryland, with the small Eastern Shore town of Berlin portraying the fictitious Hale. Released on video by Paramount in 2000.
Runaway Brain (film) Runaway on the Rogue River (television)
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315 reasons why I’m sooo glad I didn’t vote for Obama
Note: A longer, more recent version of this list can be found at https://danfromsquirrelhill.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/obama-252/
1) Carried out military interventionism in Libya without Congressional approval
In June 2011, U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) said that Obama had violated the Constitution when he launched military operations in Libya without Congressional approval.
2) Gave a no-bid contract to Halliburton – just like Bush did
In May 2010, it was reported that the Obama administration had selected KBR, a former subsidiary of Halliburton, for a no-bid contract worth as much as $568 million through 2011, just hours after the Justice Department had said it would pursue a lawsuit accusing the Houston-based company of using kickbacks to get foreign contracts.
3) Has an administration full of lobbyists, after promising he wouldn’t have any
While running for President, Obama had promised that, unlike Bush, he would not have any lobbyists working in his administration. However, by February 2010, he had more than 40 lobbyists working in his administration.
4) Has close ties to Wall St., but pretends to support Occupy Wall St.
Although Obama claims to support the Occupy Wall St. movement, the truth is that he has raised more money from Wall St. than any other candidate during the last 20 years. In early 2012, Obama held a fundraiser where Wall St. investment bankers and hedge fund managers each paid $35,800 to attend. In October 2011, Obama hired Broderick Johnson, a longtime Wall Street lobbyist, to be his new senior campaign adviser. Johnson had worked as a lobbyist for JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Fannie Mae, Comcast, Microsoft, and the oil industry.
5) Broke his promise to close Guantanamo Bay
Obama broke his promise to close Guantanamo Bay.
6) Supported the $700 billion TARP corporate-welfare bailout just like Bush
While Senator, Obama voted for the $700 billion TARP bank bailout bill. The bailout rewarded irresponsible and illegal behavior. It redirected resources from more productive uses to less productive uses. It punished the hard working taxpayers who had played by the rules and obeyed the law. It created horrible incentives, and sent the wrong message. The bailout was evil because it rewarded the bad people and punished the good people. No society that does this can expect to remain free or prosperous. Instead of bailing out these corrupt corporations, we should have let them cease to exist, like we did with Enron.
7) Waged the biggest war against medical marijuana of any president, which was the opposite of what he had promised
In May 2008, Obama campaign spokesperson Ben LaBolt said that Obama would end DEA raids on medical marijuana in states where it’s legal. Also in 2008, Obama said that he supported the “basic concept of using medical marijuana for the same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs” and that he was “not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws.”
However, in February 2010, DEA agents raided a medical marijuana grower in Highlands Ranch in Colorado, a state where medical marijuana is legal. Also in February 2010, DEA agents raided a medical marijuana dispensary in Culver City in California, a state where medical marijuana is legal. In July 2010, the DEA raided at least four medical marijuana growers in San Diego, California. Also in July 2010, the DEA raided a medical marijuana facility in Covelo, California. Then in September 2010, the DEA conducted raids on at least five medical marijuana dispensaries in Las Vegas, Nevada, where medical marijuana is legal. In 2011, the DEA conducted raids on medical marijuana in Seattle, Washington, West Hollywood, California, and Helena, Montana, all places where it is legal. In April 2012, the DEA carried out several raids on medical marijuana in Oakland, California.
In February 2012, Rolling Stone magazine wrote that Obama’s war against medical marijuana went “far beyond anything undertaken by George W. Bush.” In April 2012, Mother Jones magazine wrote: “The president campaigned on the promise that he’d stop federal raids on medical marijuana operations that were in compliance with state laws, a vow that Attorney General Eric Holder repeated after the election. But then the Obama administration raided more than 100 dispensaries in its first three years and is now poised to outpace the Bush administration’s crackdown record.” In May 2012, the Washington Post wrote: “Obama has become more hostile to medical marijuana patients than any president in U.S. history.” In May 2012, U.S. Congressperson Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said she had “strong concerns” about Obama’s forced closure of five medical marijuana facilities in Pelosi’s congressional district. In April 2012, commenting on Obama’s crackdown on medical marijuana, U.S. Congressman Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) said, “I’m very disappointed… They look more like the Bush administration than the Clinton administration.”
In July 2012, federal prosecutors filed civil forfeiture actions against Harborside Health Center, a medical marijuana dispensary in Oakland, CA, which claims to be the world’s largest, and which claims to serve more than 100,000 medical marijuana patients. In April 2012, federal agents raided Oaksterdam University, an educational institution in Oakland, CA, which teaches people about medical marijuana. In April 2012, federal agents raided a medical marijuana facility which had been serving 1,500 patients near Lake Elsinore, CA. In June 2012, the Obama administration filed asset-forfeiture lawsuits against two landlords who rented their buildings to medical marijuana stores in Santa Fe Springs, CA. The Obama administration also sent warning letters which threatened similar legal action to dozens of other, nearby landlords. During the first seven months of 2012, the DEA shut down 40 medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado, all of which had been operating in compliance with state and local law.
In July 2013, the DEA conducted multiple medical marijuana raids in Washington state, including the cities of Olympia, Tacoma, and Seattle.
In May 2012, ABC News reported that during Obama’s youth, he often smoked large quantities of recreational marijuana. Obama’s marijuana smoking wasn’t even medical – it was recreational. And yet now, he is taking large scale, widespread action to prevent people with AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, and other illnesses, who have prescriptions from their doctors, from using their prescription medicine – how cold hearted can a person be?
8) Nominated a six-time tax cheater to head the government agency that enforces the tax laws
Obama nominated Timothy Geithner, a repeat tax cheater, to head the government agency that enforces the tax laws.
Prior to his nomination, Geithner had:
1) Illegally failed to pay more than $34,000 in social security and medicare taxes
2) Illegally declared the cost of his children’s summer camp as a form of day care.
3) Illegally failed to pay the early withdrawal penalty when he took money out of his retirement plan
4) Illegally declared non-eligible items as a charitable deduction
5) Illegally declared something which was ineligible as a small business deduction
6) Illegally declared utility expenses which had actually been for his personal use
9) Gave tax dollars to AIG executives, then pretended to be outraged about it
Obama signed a stimulus bill that spent money on bonuses for AIG executives. Prior to signing this bill, Obama had said, “when I’m president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely.” However, after reading “line by line” and signing the stimulus bill that protected the AIG bonuses, Obama pretended to be shocked and outraged at the bonuses, and said, “Under these circumstances, it’s hard to understand how derivative traders at A.I.G. warranted any bonuses at all, much less $165 million in extra pay… How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?” and also said that he would “pursue every single legal avenue to block these bonuses.”
10) Expanded Bush’s unconstitutional government faith based programs
Obama expanded the federal government’s faith based programs which had been started by President George W. Bush.
11) Supported Bush’s unconstitutional Patriot Act
In May 2011, Obama signed a renewal of the Patriot Act.
12) Increased the national debt more in one term than Bush did in two
The national debt increased more during Obama’s first three years and two months than it did during all eight years of George W. Bush’s presidency.
13) Agrees with Bush’s support of unconstitutional, indefinite detention of U.S. citizens without filing any charges
In December 2011, ACLU executive director Anthony D. Romero criticized Obama for signing a bill that gave the U.S. government the power to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens without any charges being filed or any trial taking place.
14) Agrees with Bush’s support of unconstitutional, warrantless wiretapping
President Obama has defended warrantless wiretapping.
15) Avoided prosecution of Wall. St criminals
Although Obama had promised to prosecute Wall St. criminals, during his entire first term, his administration did not file any criminal charges against any of the top financial executives.
16) Had four U.S. citizens killed without judicial process
Obama had four U.S. citizens killed without judicial process.
The ACLU accused Obama of violating the U.S. Constitution for doing this.
U.S. Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) said that Obama’s actions might be an impeachable offense.
17) Ordered private company to fire 1,000 employees
In 2011, after Boeing had hired 1,000 new employees to work at its new factory in South Carolina, the Obama administration ordered Boeing to shut down the factory, because the factory was non-union.
18) Stole money from retired teachers and police officers
During the Chrysler bankruptcy, Obama violated the Fifth Amendment and more than 150 years of bankruptcy law by illegally treating secured creditors worse than unsecured creditors. Some of these secured creditors were retired teachers and police officers from Indiana. Richard A. Epstein, a law professor at New York University School of Law, wrote, “Upsetting this fixed hierarchy among creditors is just an illegal taking of property from one group of creditors for the benefit of another, which should be struck down on both statutory and constitutional grounds.” Todd Zywicki, Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law, wrote that Obama’s treatment of secured creditors was “dangerous to the rule of law.” The Economist wrote that Obama’s actions could “establish a terrible precedent. Bankruptcy exists to sort legal claims on assets. If it becomes a tool of social policy, who will then lend to struggling firms in which the government has a political interest?” Francis Cianfrocca, the CEO of Bayshore Networks, wrote that Obama’s actions were “an astonishingly reckless abrogation of contract law that will introduce a new level of uncertainty into business transactions at all levels, and make wealth generation more difficult going forward… An extraordinary uncertainty has been created when the most powerful man in the world can rewrite contracts and choose winners and losers in private negotiations as he sees fit. Since this is an unquantifiable uncertainty, and not a quantifiable risk, its effect on business and investor confidence will be large and unpredictable. As in the 1930s, a time when government also cavalierly rewrote private contracts, the prudent approach for business will be to invest minimally and wait for another administration.”
19) Supported release of convicted mass murderer
In 2010, Obama supported releasing Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi (who had been convicted of murdering 270 people) from prison.
20) Illegally put thousands of guns into hands of criminals
In Operation Fast and Furious, the Obama administration ordered gun storeowners to illegally sell thousands of guns to criminals.
21) Fired Inspector General for discovering that Obama’s friend had embezzled government funds
In June 2009, Obama fired Inspector General Gerald Walpin, after Walpin accused Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, an Obama supporter, of misuse of AmeriCorps funding to pay for school-board political activities. In a letter to Congress, the White House said that Walpin was fired because he was “confused, disoriented, unable to answer questions and exhibited other behavior that led the Board to question his capacity to serve.” A bipartisan group of 145 current and former public officials, attorneys, and legal scholars signed a letter that was sent to the White House, which defended Walpin, said the criticisms of him were not true, and said that his firing was politically motivated. The letter can be read here.
22) Lied about putting health care negotiations on C-SPAN
Although Obama had made a campaign promise to have all of the health care reform negotiations broadcast on C-SPAN, he broke that promise after he was elected.
The secrecy of these negotiations was so strong that U.S. Congresswoman and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”
23) Lied about letting people keep their health insurance
Before Obamacare was passed, Obama said:
“No matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people… If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.”
Also before Obamacare was passed, Obama said:
“Here is a guarantee that I’ve made. If you have insurance that you like, then you will be able to keep that insurance.”
However, after Obamacare was passed, the Congressional Budget Office said that the law would cause seven million people to lose their employer provided insurance.
After Obamacare was passed, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East announced that it would drop health insurance for the children of more than 30,000 low-wage home attendants. Mitra Behroozi, executive director of benefit and pension funds for 1199SEIU stated
“… new federal health-care reform legislation requires plans with dependent coverage to expand that coverage up to age 26… meeting this new requirement would be financially impossible.”
Also, after Obamacare was passed, the Franciscan University of Steubenville dropped its coverage in response to the law.
Universal Orlando dropped its coverage for part time employees in response to Obamacare.
In addition, after Obamacare was passed, Forbes reported
“The House Ways and Means Committee has released a new report that sheds light onto how Obamacare incentivizes companies to dump their workers onto the new law’s subsidized exchanges.”
Also after Obamacare was passed, MSN reported
“The Affordable Care Act mandate most commonly known as Obamacare has some tight stipulations that, CNN says, are forcing health care companies to rip up most of their current plans and draft new ones that comply. According to a University of Chicago study, just about half of the individual health care plans currently on the market won’t cut it once key provisions of the Affordable Care Act kick in next year.”
Furthermore, it was reported that Obamacare would cause 58,000 Aetna and UnitedHealth Group customers in California to lose their insurance.
In response to Obamacare, some employers have dropped coverage for their employees’ spouses. In August 2013, it was reported that UPS had announced that it would be dropping 15,000 spouses of its employees from its health insurance, and that it had cited Obamacare as the reason it was doing this.
The chain of Wegmans supermarkets cancelled the policies of its part time employees in response to Obamacare.
In July 2013, leaders of the Teamsters, UFCW, and UNITE-HERE sent a letter to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi which said that Obamacare
“will shatter not only our hard-earned health benefits… these restrictions will make non-profit plans like ours unsustainable… we can no longer stand silent in the face of elements of the Affordable Care Act that will destroy the very health and wellbeing of our members along with millions of other hardworking Americans”
In August 2013, it was reported that 106,000 New Jersey citizens would lose their health insurance because of Obamacare.
In September 2013, IBM announced that it would be switching 110,000 of its retirees from their current IBM-provided health insurance to the Obamacare exchanges.
In September 2013, Trader Joe’s announced that, in response to Obamacare, it would stop providing insurance to its part time employees.
24) Lied about the cost of Obamacare
Before Obamacare was passed, Obama promised
“I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits – either now or in the future. I will not sign it if it adds one dime to the deficit, now or in the future, period. And to prove that I’m serious, there will be a provision in this plan that requires us to come forward with more spending cuts if the savings we promised don’t materialize.”
However, after Obama signed it, the Washington Post reported that it would add more than $340 billion to the budget deficit over the next decade.
In March 2012, the Congressional Budget Office said that over the next decade, Obamacare would cost twice as much as what Obama had promised.
In May 2013, it was reported that Obamacare’s program for high risk patients was more expensive than what Obama had promised.
25) Gave tax dollars to campaign contributors and lobbyists, and falsely claimed the money was for “green energy”
In 2009 the Obama administration gave $535 million to Solyndra, claiming that it would create 4,000 new jobs. However, instead of creating those 4,000 new jobs, the company went bankrupt. It was later revealed that the company’s shareholders and executives had made substantial donations to Obama’s campaign, that the company had spent a large sum of money on lobbying, and that Solyndra executives had had many meetings with White House officials.
It was also revealed that the Obama administration had already been aware of Solyndra’s financial troubles. For example, according to the company’s security filings in 2009, the company had been selling its product for less than the cost of production. In 2010, Obama visited the Solyndra factory and cited it as a role model for his stimulus program, saying “It’s here that companies like Solyndra are leading the way toward a brighter and more prosperous future.” The Washington Post wrote of this, “Administration officials and outside advisers warned that President Obama should consider dropping plans to visit a solar startup company in 2010 because its mounting financial problems might ultimately embarrass the White House.” Solyndra was a private company, but had been planning to use its government loans as a means of going public – so when Obama knowingly overstated the company’s condition in order to help his friends at Solyndra, he broke the same law that Martha Stewart had been sent to prison for breaking.
In September 2011, federal agents visited the homes of Brian Harrison, the company’s CEO, and Chris Gronet, the company’s founder, to examine computer files and documents. Also in September 2011, the U.S. Treasury Department launched an investigation.
On September 13, 2011, the Washington Post reported on emails which showed that the Obama administration had tried to rush federal reviewers to approve the loan so Vice President Joe Biden could announce it at a September 2009 groundbreaking for the company’s factory. The company was a hallmark of President Obama’s plan to support clean energy technologies.
The New York Times reported that government auditors and industry analysts had faulted the Obama administration for failing to properly evaluate the company’s business proposals, as well as for failing to take note of troubling signs which were already evident. In addition, Frank Rusco, a program director at the Government Accountability Office, had found that the preliminary loan approval had been granted before officials had completed the legally mandated evaluations of the company.
The New York Times quoted Shyam Mehta, a senior analyst at GTM Research, as saying “There was just too much misplaced zeal at the Department of Energy for this company.” Among 143 companies that had expressed an interest in getting a loan guarantee, Solyndra was the first one to get approval. During the period when Solyndra’s loan guarantee was under review, the company had spent nearly $1.8 million on lobbying. Tim Harris, the CEO of Solopower, a different solar panel company which had obtained a $197 million loan guarantee, told the New York Times that his company had never considered spending any money on lobbying, and that “It was made clear to us early in the process that that was clearly verboten… We were told that it was not only not helpful but it was not acceptable.”
The Washington Post reported that Solyndra had used some of the loan money to purchase new equipment which it never used, and then sold that new equipment, still in its plastic wrap, for pennies on the dollar. Former Solyndra engineer Lindsey Eastburn told the Washington Post, “After we got the loan guarantee, they were just spending money left and right… Because we were doing well, nobody cared. Because of that infusion of money, it made people sloppy.”
On September 29, 2011, the Washington Post reported that the Obama administration had continued to allow Solyndra to receive taxpayer money even after it had defaulted on its $535 million loan.
On October 7, 2011, The Washington Post reported that newly revealed emails showed that Energy Department officials had been warned that their plan to help Solyndra by restructuring the loan might be illegal, and should be cleared with the Justice Department first. However, Energy Department officials moved ahead with the restructuring anyway, with a new deal that would repay company investors before taxpayers if the company were to default. The emails showed concerns within the Obama administration about the legality of the Energy Department’s actions. In addition, an Energy Department stimulus adviser, Steve Spinner, had pushed for the loan, despite having recused himself because his wife’s law firm had done work for the company.
In January 2012, CBS News reported that Solyndra had thrown millions of dollars worth of brand new glass tubes into garbage dumpsters, where they ended up being shattered. Solyndra told CBS that it had conducted an exhaustive search for buyers of the glass tubes, and that no one had wanted them. However, CBS discovered that Solyndra had not offered the glass tubes for sale at either one of its two asset auctions that took place in 2011. In addition, David Lucky, a buyer and seller of such equipment, told CBS that he would have bought the tubes if he had had a chance to do so. Greg Smestad, a solar scientist who had consulted for the Department of Energy, also agreed that the tubes had value, and had asked Solyndra to donate any unwanted tubes to Santa Clara University. Smestad stated, “That really makes me sad… Those tubes represent intellectual investment. These could have had a better value to do public good. I think they owed the U.S. taxpayer that.”
In April 2012, CBS News reported that Solyndra had left a substantial amount of toxic waste at its abandoned facility in Milpitas, California.
Solyndra was not the only “green energy” company involved in this type of fraud. After Obama gave Raser Technologies $33 million to build a power plant, the company declared bankruptcy, and owed $1.5 million in back taxes. After Obama gave Abound Solar, Inc. a $400 million loan guarantee to build photovoltaic panel factories, the company halted production and laid off 180 employees. After Obama gave Beacon Power a $43 million loan guarantee to build green energy storage, the company filed for bankruptcy. After Obama approved $2.1 billion in loan guarantees for Solar Trust of America so it could build solar power plants, the company filed for bankruptcy.
Although Obama stated that all of the “green energy” companies that received taxpayer money were chosen “based solely on their merits,” the truth is that 71% of these grants and loans went to Obama donors and fundraisers, who raised $457,834 for his campaign, and were later approved for grants and loans totaling more than $11 billion. By November 2011, the Energy Department’s inspector general had begun more than 100 criminal investigations related to Obama’s stimulus. Although an “independent” review said that Obama had not done anything wrong, it was later reported that Herbert M. Allison Jr., the person who had conducted this “independent” review, donated $52,500 to Obama’s campaign.
26) Had “off the record” meetings with lobbyists
In June 2010, the New York Times reported that Obama administration officials had held hundreds of meetings with lobbyists at coffee houses near the White House, in order to avoid the disclosure requirements for White House visitors, and that these meetings “reveal a disconnect between the Obama administration’s public rhetoric — with Mr. Obama himself frequently thrashing big industries’ ‘battalions’ of lobbyists as enemies of reform — and the administration’s continuing, private dealings with them.”
27) Falsely claimed to believe in public education
Although Obama said, “We need to uphold the ideal of public education,” he expressed his true opinion of America’s public education system by sending his own children to private schools while living in Chicago and Washington D.C.
28) Had armed SWAT agents raid a law-abiding guitar factory because it was owned by a Republican
President Obama had armed SWAT agents raid the Gibson guitar factory, ordered the employees to leave, and seized guitars and other property from the factory – and all of this happened without any charges being filed.
It was later reported that Gibson had not broken any U.S. laws.
Obama’s so-called justification for the raid was that Gibson had broken environmental laws from India regarding the imported wood that Gibson had been using.
However, Gibson claimed that it had not broken any Indian laws – and no charges were filed against it.
In addition, it was also reported that Henry E. Juszkiewicz, the CEO of Gibson, was a Republican donor.
Meanwhile, C.F. Martin & Company, Gibsons’s competitor, had used the exact same imported wood, but had not gotten raided. Chris Martin IV, the CEO of Martin, was a Democratic donor.
29) Shut down Amish farm
In February 2012, Obama shut down an Amish farm for selling unpasteurized milk across state lines, even though the customers were happy with what they were buying.
30) Rewarded his fundraisers by giving them federal jobs
Although Obama had promised to have “the most sweeping ethics reform in history,” and had often criticized the role of money in politics, the truth is that after he was elected, he gave administration jobs to more than half of his 47 biggest fundraisers.
31) Ignored constitutional requirements for appointees
In February 2009, U.S. Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) expressed concern that Obama’s dozens of czars might violate the U.S. Constitution, because they were not approved by the U.S. Senate. U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) expressed a similar concern in September 2009.
32) Gave tax dollars to corrupt private contractors
While Obama was a state Senator in Illinois, he used tax dollars to build 504 units of slum housing, which had mice and backed up sewage. Federal inspectors graded the condition of the housing so bad that the buildings faced demolition.
33) Used tax dollars to glorify murderers
The Obama administration spent $1.6 million to restore graffiti that glorified communist murderers Che Guevara and Fidel Castro.
34) Falsely claimed that the U.S. Supreme Court had never overturned any laws that had been passed by Congress
Despite having taught constitutional law at one of the most prestigious law schools in the country, in April 2012 Obama falsely claimed that the U.S. Supreme Court had never overturned any laws that had been passed by Congress.
35) Supported new bailouts for speculators who caused housing bubble
In March 2012, Obama announced a new set of bailouts for speculators who had caused the housing bubble.
36) Spent $205,075 of taxpayer money on a shrubbery which nurseries sell for $16
As part of his economic stimulus, Obama spent $205,075 of taxpayer money to relocate and care for a single specimen of Arctostaphylos franciscana, a shrubbery which nurseries sell for $16.
37) Spent taxpayer money to see if using cocaine helped rats to enjoy the music of Miles Davis
Obama’s administration funded a study to see whether or not rats’ enjoyment of the music of Miles Davis was increased when the rats were high on cocaine.
38) Tried to outlaw family farms
In April 2012, the Obama administration proposed new regulations which would prohibit farm children under 18 from working at grain elevators, silos, feed lots, stockyards, and livestock auctions, as well as from storing, marketing and transporting farm product raw materials. Critics claimed that this would prevent children from the common practice of working on their friends’ and relatives’ farms, and that farm children did not need “help” from a community organizer in Washington.
39) Auctioned off ambassadorship to the Netherlands
In April 2012, Obama nominated Timothy Broas, who had “bundled” more than $500,000 for Obama’s 2012 campaign, to be U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands.
40) Claimed that written tests are a form of “racial discrimination”
The Obama administration accused fire and police departments in Jacksonville, Florida, New York City, and Dayton, Ohio of “racial discrimination” because they required potential firefighters and police officers to take a written test. Ten real examples of these “racist” questions from the New York test can be read here.
41) Made the TSA even more abusive and ridiculous than it had been under Bush
The Obama administration gave a very invasive patdown to a three-year-old boy in a wheelchair, which caused the boy to tremble in fear. The Obama administration gave an aggressive patdown to a seven-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. The Obama administration said that a four-year-old girl was a “high security threat.” The Obama administration placed an 18-month-old girl on its no fly list. The Obama administration gave a patdown to Henry Kissinger. The Obama administration forced a 95-year-old cancer patient to remove her adult diaper and fly without it. The Obama administration ripped open the urostomy bag of a 61-year-old bladder cancer survivor, and forced him to fly covered in his own urine.
42) Illegally demanded monetary payment for Freedom of Information Act request
The Obama administration demanded that the Goldwater Institute pay $78,935.80 before it would share public records which it had requested under the Freedom of Information Act.
43) Fined public school $15,000 for selling soda
The Obama administration fined a high school $15,000 for selling soda to students during lunch.
44) Conducted dangerous and illegal scientific experiments on people
From January 2010 through June 2011, the Obama administration conducted illegal scientific experiments which exposed 42 people to dangerous levels of toxins.
45) Gave middle finger to Vietnam veterans, their families, and their friends
On Memorial Day 2012, Obama prevented Vietnam veterans and their friends and families from visiting the Vietnam memorial for seven hours, so Obama could have his picture taken.
46) Had the government take 60.8% ownership of General Motors
In July 2009, Obama had the government take 60.8% ownership of General Motors, and fired the CEO.
47) Forced banks to give mortgages to people who could not afford to pay them back
While working as a “community organizer,” Obama filed lawsuits which forced banks to give mortgages to people with bad credit and low incomes. As a result, many of these people ended up defaulting on their mortgages. As their attorney, Obama collected $23,000 in legal fees for himself.
Then in April 2013, during Obama’s second term as President, the Washington Post reported that President Obama was still pressuring banks “to make home loans to people with weaker credit.”
48) Stole money from retired Delphi employees
In 2009, Obama eliminated the pensions of 20,000 retired Delphi employees.
49) Used taxpayer money to buy soda for $3.40 per can
During Obama’s presidency, the federal government repeatedly purchased soda for a cost of $3.40 per can. Obama did not express any desire to switch to a cheaper seller, such as Costco, amazon.com, or Wal-Mart – or to an even still cheaper seller such as a wholesaler. Instead, Obama repeatedly forced taxpayers to pay these outrageous prices for soda.
50) Paid $7 million per household to connect people to the internet
Obama’s stimulus paid to connect some households in Montana to the internet, at a cost of $7 million per household.
51) Had a double standard for Bain Capital
Although Obama criticized Mitt Romney for his involvement with Bain Capital, Obama hired Jeff Zients, a former consultant at Bain (and who had an estimated personal wealth of $200 million) to be his budget director.
52) Broke promise to teen campaign volunteers
Obama had promised to his teen campaign volunteers that if they each spent nine hours going door to door on Obama’s behalf, he would invite them to attend his speech of September 6, 2012. However, after the teens did the volunteer work, Obama broke his promise. One of these volunteers, Madeline Frank, age 16, of Charlotte, North Carolina, said of this “I’ve been looking forward to this for a really long time. I am just feeling really let down and like bummed. It was kind of my dream to see him speak, so definitely really sad.”
53) Falsely claimed to know more about Judaism than any other President
Obama falsely claimed to know more about Judaism than any other President.
54) Exempted wind farms from the penalties that other electric producers get for killing birds
In May 2013, NPR reported:
The Obama administration has charged oil companies for drowning birds in their waste pits, and power companies for electrocuting birds on power lines.
But the administration has never fined or prosecuted a wind-energy company, even those that flout the law repeatedly.
“What it boils down to is this: If you electrocute an eagle, that is bad, but if you chop it to pieces, that is OK,” said Tim Eicher, a former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforcement agent based in Cody.
More than 573,000 birds are killed by the country’s wind farms each year, including 83,000 hunting birds such as hawks, falcons and eagles, according to an estimate published in March in the peer-reviewed Wildlife Society Bulletin.
Nearly all the birds being killed are protected under federal environmental laws, which prosecutors have used to generate tens of millions of dollars in fines and settlements from businesses, including oil and gas companies, over the past five years.
Wind farms are clusters of turbines as tall as 30-story buildings, with spinning rotors as wide as a passenger jet’s wingspan. Though the blades appear to move slowly, they can reach speeds up to 170 mph at the tips, creating tornado-like vortexes.
Flying eagles behave like drivers texting on their cellphones; they don’t look up. As they scan for food, they don’t notice the industrial turbine blades until it’s too late.
The rehabilitation coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program, Michael Tincher, said he euthanized two golden eagles found starving and near death near wind farms. Both had injuries he’d never seen before: One of their wings appeared to be twisted off.
“There is nothing in the evolution of eagles that would come near to describing a wind turbine. There has never been an opportunity to adapt to that sort of threat,” said Grainger Hunt, an eagle expert who researches the U.S. wind-power industry’s deadliest location, a northern California area known as Altamont Pass. Wind farms built there decades ago kill more than 60 per year.
Under both the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the death of a single bird without a permit is illegal.
But under the Obama administration’s new guidelines, wind-energy companies — and only wind-energy companies — are held to a different standard.
Eagles take five years to reach the age when they can reproduce, and often they only produce one chick a year.
55) Falsely claimed that he had never belonged to the New Party
Obama falsely claimed that he had never belonged to the New Party, which is a third political party.
56) Supported punishing students based on their race instead of on their behavior
Obama expressed support for a proposal which would punish students based on their race instead of on their behavior.
57) Used “off the books” funding for military interventionism
In April 2009, antiwar activists who helped elect Obama accused him of using the same “off the books” funding as his predecessor George W. Bush when Obama requested an additional $83.4 billion from Congress for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – a provision which Obama had voted against when he was a Senator.
58) Tried to silence criticism of auto-bailouts
The Obama administration pressured Ford Motor Company to stop airing a TV ad that criticized Obama’s bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler.
59) Dismissed charges of voter intimidation, despite video evidence
In May 2009, the Obama administration dismissed charges that had been filed by the Bush administration against members of the New Black Panther Party who had been videotaped intimidating voters and brandishing a police-style baton at a Philadelphia polling station during the November 2008 election. In August 2009, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights demanded that the Justice Department explain why it dismissed the charges. In July 2010, J. Christian Adams, a former lawyer for the Justice Department, testified before the Commission on Civil Rights that the case was dropped because the Justice Department did not want to protect the civil rights of white people.
60) Falsely claimed to support the second amendment
Although Obama stated, “I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms,” the National Rifle Association gave Obama a rating of ‘F’ based on his voting record.
61) Nominated a communist who said 9-11 was an inside job
In September 2009, Obama’s green czar Van Jones resigned after it was reported that he was a self described “communist” and had blamed George W. Bush for the September 11 attacks.
62) Falsely said he would not raise taxes on the poor and middle class
On September 12, 2008, Obama promised, “I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.” However, less than three months into his Presidency, he broke that promise when he raised the cigarette tax. Studies show that poor people are more likely to smoke than rich people.
63) Falsely said he wanted to simplify the tax code, when he actually wanted to make it more complex
Although Obama said that he wanted to simplify the tax code, his proposals would actually add thousands of pages to the tax code.
64) Oversaw some of the world’s worst increases in corruption
In December 2010, Transparency International reported that corruption was increasing faster in the U.S. than anywhere else except Cuba, Dominica, and Burkina Faso.
65) Falsely said “This is the most transparent administration in history.”
In February 2013, Obama said, “This is the most transparent administration in history”
However, that same month, ABC News White House reporter Ann Compton, who covered Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, both Bushes, and Obama, said “The president’s day-to-day policy development… is almost totally opaque to the reporters trying to do a responsible job of covering it. There are no readouts from big meetings he has with people from the outside, and many of them aren’t even on his schedule. This is different from every president I covered. This White House goes to extreme lengths to keep the press away.”
In July 2009, White House reporter Helen Thomas criticized the Obama administration for its lack of transparency.
Also, this list contains a huge number of things that Obama has done which contradict his statement.
66) Falsely claimed he would wait five days before signing bills
Although Obama had promised to wait five days before signing all non-emergency bills, he broke that promise at least 10 times during his first three months in office.
67) Falsely claimed stimulus spending would be transparent
Although Obama had promised that the website recovery.gov would list all stimulus spending in detail, a 400 page report issued by the Government Accountability Office stated that only 25% of the projects listed on the website provided clear and complete information regarding their cost, schedule, purpose, location and status.
68) Announced plans to send military to Australia
In November 2011, Obama announced that he would send 2,500 Marines to Australia.
69) Falsely promised to accept public campaign financing and spending limits
During the 2008 campaign, Obama broke his promise to accept public campaign financing and the spending limits that came with it.
70) Tried to silence video on YouTube
In June 2011, Obama asked a Jewish singing group to remove its video from the internet.
71) Rejected international help to clean up BP oil spill
After the BP oil spill, Obama rejected offers of cleanup help from Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations.
72) Falsely said he opposed government waste, when he actually loves it
On September 22, 2008, Obama said, “I am not a Democrat who believes that we can or should defend every government program just because it’s there… We will fire government managers who aren’t getting results, we will cut funding for programs that are wasting your money and we will use technology and lessons from the private sector to improve efficiency across every level of government… The only way we can do all this without leaving our children with an even larger debt is if Washington starts taking responsibility for every dime that it spends.” However, Citizens Against Government Waste gave Obama a 2007 rating of only 10%, and a lifetime rating of only 18%.
73) Nominated past frequent user of illegal drugs to keep illegal drugs out of schools
In September 2009, it was reported that Kevin Jennings, Obama’s Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, had written about Jenning’s own past frequent illegal drug use in his 2007 autobiography.
74) Avoids firing aides who owe back taxes
In January 2012, it was reported that 36 Obama aides owed a combined total of $833,000 in back taxes.
75) Used Abbott and Costello style economics as a basis for national policy
In 2010, Obama gave $16.3 million to First Solar, a company that manufactures solar panels, so the company could sell solar panels to itself.
76) Sent U.S. troops to Africa
Obama sent U.S. troops to Uganda, Congo, South Sudan and the Central African Republic.
77) Made secret plans for his second term
In March 2012, when Obama was talking to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and did not know that the microphone was turned on, Obama stated, “On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it’s important for him to give me space… This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.”
78) Holds double standard for people who use crude and vulgar language toward women
Concerned Women for America accused Obama of hypocrisy after Obama criticized Rush Limbaugh for using crude and vulgar language to describe Sandra Fluke, but Obama did not criticize Bill Maher (who had donated one million dollars to an Obama PAC) for using the same kind of crude and vulgar language to describe Sarah Palin.
79) Illegally gave Obamacare exemptions to unions that supported the passage of Obamacare
Obama gave some organizations an exemption from some of the requirements of Obamacare. Many of these organizations were unions that had supported the passage of Obamacare, but now wanted exemptions from the very same law that they wanted to force everyone else to obey. This reveals an extreme level of hypocrisy among many of the supporters of Obamacare.
In addition, these exemptions are illegal, because the Constitution requires the law to treat everyone the same.
The Washington Times wrote of this:
“Selective enforcement of the law is the first sign of tyranny. A government empowered to determine arbitrarily who may operate outside the rule of law invariably embraces favoritism as friends, allies and those with the best-funded lobbyists are rewarded. Favoritism inevitably leads to corruption, and corruption invites extortion. Ultimately, the rule of law ceases to exist in any recognizable form, and what is left is tyranny.”
“The now-familiar monthly trickling down of new waivers is, at best, a tacit admission that Obamacare is a failure. So far, seven entire states and 1,372 businesses, unions and other institutions have received waivers from the law. The list includes the administration’s friends and allies and, of course, those who have the best lobbyists.”
“More than 50 percent of the Obamacare waiver beneficiaries are union members, which is striking because union members account for less than 12 percent of the American work force. The same unions that provided more than $120 million to Democrats in the last two elections and, in many cases, openly campaigned in favor of the government takeover of your health care, now celebrate that Obamacare is not their problem.”
80) Defended Bush administration’s unconstitutional, unwarranted use of GPS device
In January 2012, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Bush administration for having put a GPS tracking device on someone’s car without having a warrant, the Obama administration opposed the court ruling
81) Opposes newspapers reporting the news
Obama spokesman Jay Carney criticized the Los Angeles Times for publishing photographs of U.S. soldiers posing with corpses in Afghanistan.
82) Supported Bush administration for fining CBS for showing Janet Jackson’s breast
Obama came out in favor of the FCC’s fining of the CBS TV network $550,000 for showing Janet Jackson’s breast during the 2004 Super Bowl.
83) Allowed campaign contributors to bring lobbyists into White House
In April 2012, the New York Times reported, “Although Mr. Obama has made a point of not accepting contributions from registered lobbyists, a review of campaign donations and White House visitor logs shows that special interests have had little trouble making themselves heard. Many of the president’s biggest donors, while not lobbyists, took lobbyists with them to the White House…”
84) Falsely said that criminal background checks constituted “racial discrimination”
In 2012, the Obama administration accused Pepsico of “race discrimination” because it used criminal background checks to screen out job applicants.
85) Was cited by nine states for committing 21 illegal acts
Attorneys General from nine states issued a report, titled “A Report on Obama Administration Violations of Law,” which cited 21 illegal acts which had been committed by the Obama administration.
86) Tried to seize hotel because some of its customers had used illegal drugs
The Obama administration tried to seize a mom-and-pop bed-and-breakfast because some if its guests had used illegal drugs.
87) Falsely said his campaign was not funded by large donors
Although Obama has received many large campaign donations from corporate executives and Hollywood celebrities, his spokesperson said that his campaign was funded “not from huge donors at all.”
88) Holds double standard for subsidizing solar power companies
Although Obama gave taxpayer money to numerous American solar power companies, he placed a 30% tariff on solar panels imported from China, because he was against the Chinese government giving subsidies to its own companies.
89) Tried to create an administration full of tax cheaters
Obama nominated tax cheater Tom Daschle to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. After Daschle said he didn’t want the job, Obama then nominated tax cheater Kathleen Sebelius for the same position. Obama nominated tax cheater Nancy Killefer to be his administration’s Chief Performance Officer. Obama nominated tax cheater Hilda Solis to be the Secretary of Labor. Obama nominated tax cheater Ron Kirk be the White House Chief Trade Representative.
90) Hired a Communications Director who admires a mass murderer
Anita Dunn, Obama’s White House Communications Director, said that one of her favorite political philosophers was Mao Tse-tung, the Chinese dictator who murdered tens of millions of innocent civilians.
91) Tried to replace science with political correctness
In July 2010, Charles Bolden, the administrator of NASA, said that Obama had told him that the primary purpose of NASA was “to reach out to the Muslim world.”
92) Made recess appointments when Congress was not in recess
In January 2012, Obama violated the Constitution by making four recess appointments when Congress was not in recess. Recess appointments themselves are constitutional, but only if they are made when Congress is actually in recess.
In January 2013, a federal appeals court ruled that Obama’s appointments had violated the Constitution.
In May 2013, a second federal appeals court also ruled that Obama’s appointments had violated the Constitution.
In July 2013, a third federal appeals court also ruled that Obama’s appointments had violated the Constitution.
93) Said the health insurance mandate was not a tax, but later told the Supreme Court that it was
Before Obama’s health care reform was passed, he said that the mandate was not a tax. However, after it was passed, the Obama administration argued in front of the Supreme Court that the mandate really was a tax.
94 ) Lied about being his “brother’s keeper”
Although Barack Obama likes to cite the Bible phrase “We are our brother’s keeper,” when his real life poverty stricken brother George Obama needed $1,000 for health care bills, Barack Obama refused to pay it, so conservative author Dinesh D’Souza paid it.
95) Punishes hospitals for saving the lives of patients with heart disease
Obama’s health care reform contains a provision that reduces Medicare payments to hospitals with high 30-day readmission rates. Sunil Kripalani, MD, a professor with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said of this, “Among patients with heart failure, hospitals that have higher readmission rates actually have lower mortality rates. So, which would we rather have — a hospital readmission or a death?”
96) Supports guns for himself and his wife, but opposes them for everyone else
On January 10, 2013, President Obama signed a bill that provides armed guards to himself and his wife for the rest of the lives.
However, in 2004, when Obama was an Illinois state Senator, he voted against allowing people in their own homes to use guns to protect themselves and their families from rapists and murderers.
97) Falsely claimed that he “cut spending by over a trillion dollars in 2011”
On “Meet the Press” on December 30, 2012, Obama said:
“I cut spending by over a trillion dollars in 2011″
In reality, spending during that time period was not cut at all, and was actually increased by $147 billion.
98) Practices environmental hypocrisy
In May 2008, Obama said, “We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times … and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK.”
However, just one week later, Obama was photographed exiting an SUV.
In addition, Obama keeps the White House thermostat turned up so high that David Axelrod, Obama’s senior adviser, said, “He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there.”
Environmentalists criticized Obama for eating Wagyu beef, which was called “the Hummer of beef.”
Obama had a chef fly round trip from St. Louis to Washington D.C. so he could make Obama’s favorite pizza.
99) Pressured public schools to replace Catcher in the Rye with a book on window insulation
The Huffington Post reported that Obama’s education policies
“are increasingly worrying English-lovers and English teachers, who feel they must replace literary greats like The Great Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye with Common Core-suggested ‘exemplars,’ like the Environmental Protection Agency’s Recommended Levels of Insulation.”
100) Approved giving 20 F-16 fighter jets to a Sharia dictatorship
Obama approved giving 20 F-16 fighter jets to Egypt, which is a Sharia dictatorship.
101) Falsely claimed that his “Cash for Clunkers” program would help the environment
Although Obama claimed that his “Cash for Clunkers” program would help the environment, it actually caused net harm to the environment. Because the program required cars to be shredded instead of recycled, it wasted 24 million barrels of oil. Many of the cars that were destroyed were in perfectly good condition. Because the program’s minimum requirement for so-called “fuel efficiency” was only 22 mpg, the reduction in pollution was negligible.
102) Violated the very same campaign finance laws that he claims to support
In January 2013, it was reported that Obama’s campaign had been fined $375,000 by the Federal Election Commission for violating campaign finance laws.
103) Lied about how he had answered a questionnaire on gun control
In 1996, when Obama was answering a questionnaire on his political views, one of the questions was “Do you support state legislation to: ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns?”
Obama’s answer to the question was “Yes.”
However, in 2008, Obama said “My writing wasn’t on that particular questionnaire.”
However, ABC News later reported that the questionnaire “appears to have Obama’s handwriting.”
104) Falsely claimed that his 2013 inauguration was not funded by lobbyists
Although Obama claimed that his 2013 inauguration was not funded by lobbyists, its sponsors had actually spent $160 million on lobbying during Obama’s first presidential term.
105) Encouraged medical device manufacturers to lay off employees
In response to the medical device tax that is part of Obamacare, some medical device manufacturers have announced plans to layoff employees, including Welch Allyn (275 planned layoffs), Stryker (1,170 planned layoffs), and Medtronic (1,000 planned layoffs).
In December 2012, Al Franken, Elizabeth Warren, John Kerry, and 15 other Democrats who supported the passage of Obamacare wrote a letter to Harry Reid, asking him to delay the tax on medical devices, claiming that the tax would hurt job creation in their districts.
106) Encouraged employers to switch their employees from full time to part time
The New York Times reported that Obamacare
“sharply penalizes full-time employment in favor of part-time employment.”
In response to the employer mandate of Obamacare, some restaurants have announced plans to switch some of their employees from full time to part time, including some franchises of Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, White Castle, and Fatburger.
Community College of Allegheny County switched 200 professors and 200 other employees from full time to part time in response to Obamacare. Clint Benjamin, an English professor at Community College of Allegheny County, said that this would reduce his own monthly pay by $600.
Also in response to the employer mandate of Obamacare, other colleges have announced plans to switch some of their employees from full time to part time, including Florida’s Palm Beach State College, Ohio’s Youngstown State University, and New Jersey’s Kean University.
In Virginia, thousands of government employees had their hours reduced because of Obamacare.
The Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh reduced the hours of 48 of its employees in response to Obamacare.
Regal Entertainment Group, the largest chain of movie theaters in the country, announced that it would be switching thousands of its employees from full time to part time in response to the Obamacare mandate.
Utah’s Granite School District reduced the hours of 1,200 of its employees in response to Obamacare.
In response to Obamacare, many Wal-Mart stores have stopped hiring full time workers.
In July 2013, leaders of the Teamsters, UFCW, and UNITE-HERE sent a letter to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi which said that Obamacare will
“destroy the foundation of the 40 hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class… the law creates an incentive for employers to keep employees’ work hours below 30 hours a week. Numerous employers have begun to cut workers’ hours to avoid this obligation.”
In response to Obamacare, Forever 21 reduced its employees’ hours.
As of September 2013, more than 200 public-sector employers had reduced their employees’ hours in response to Obamacare.
Sea World reduced the weekly hours of its part time employees from 32 to 28 in response to Obamacare.
Lands’ End limited its part time employees to 29 hours per week in response to Obamacare.
As of September 2013, at least 34 universities and colleges had reduced some of their employees’ hours in response to Obamacare.
107) Broke his promise to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term
On February 23, 2009, Obama said “Today, I’m pledging to cut the deficit we inherited in half by the end of my first term in office.” Obama broke that promise.
108) Had Freedom of Information Act record worse than Bush’s
In September 2012, it was reported that when it came to honoring requests under the Freedom of Information Act, Obama’s record was worse than that of George W. Bush.
109) Supports installation of hidden cameras on private property without a search warrant
In October 2012, Obama’s Justice Department argued in favor of installing hidden cameras on private property without a search warrant.
110) Used “stimulus” money to pay people to play cards, board games, and video games
In October 2012, it was reported that LG Chem, a lithium-ion battery plant in Holland, Michigan, was using money from Obama’s “stimulus” to pay its employees to play cards, board games, and video games.
111) Spent half a million tax dollars on “Prom Week” video game
In 2012, the Obama administration spent $516,000 on a video game called “Prom Week.”
112) Hypocritically pays his female employees less than his male employees
Although Obama claims to support equal pay for men and women, his own adminstration pays its female employees 18% less than its male employees.
113) Falsely said that Romney’s pension was bigger than his own
During a debate in October 2012, Obama falsely stated that Mitt Romney’s pension was bigger than his own.
114) Has a double standard for investing in China and the Cayman Islands
Although Obama criticized Mitt Romney for having investments in China and the Cayman Islands, Obama himself has investments in both of those places.
115) Spent $27 million on “ineffective” pottery classes in Morocco
Obama spent $27 million on pottery classes in Morocco. The class used an American teacher, but the translater who was hired did not actually know how to speak English fluently, and made many mistakes. The instructor often did not bring the right materials to class. The dyes and clays that the instructor did use were not available in Morocco, which prevented the students from being able to copy what they had learned. It was concluded that the classes were “ineffective.”
116) Caused large amounts of perfectly good food to be thrown into the garbage
In one year, Obama’s new school lunch program caused the schools in Lake County, Florida, to throw away $75,000 of perfectly good fruits and vegetables.
117) Accepted illegal campaign contributions from foreign citizens
During an experiment, a non-U.S. citizen attempted to make two $5 donations to both Obama’s campaign website and Mitt Romney’s campaign website. While the Romney website rejected both donations, the Obama website accepted them.
118) Labels opponents of TSA sexual harassment as “domestic extremists”
The Obama administration labels anyone who objects to the TSA’s sexual harassment as a “domestic extremist.”
119) Lied about the Benghazi attack
In September 2012, after four U.S. citizens were killed in a terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, the Obama administration falsely said that the attack was a spontaneous protest against an anti-Muslim video at YouTube.
CBS News reported that although it was obviously a terrorist attack, it took an entire week before the Obama administration was willing to acknowledge it as such.
The Washington Post reported that Obama had falsely said that he had called it a terrorist attack from the very start.
After the attack began, someone (there is a debate over who this someone was) ordered the nearby U.S. military to “stand down,”, i.e., not offer any assistance. Obama is the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. military. Obama later falsely claimed that the “stand down” order had not been made.
Although the Obama administration made a dozen revisions to its talking points on this incident, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney falsely stated that only a “single adjustment” had been made, and that it simply involved changing the wording of “consulate” to “diplomatic facility.” ABC News published a complete list of all the changes to the talking points, which can be read here.
Among the changes was the deletion of this entire paragraph:
“The Agency has produced numerous pieces on the threat of extremists linked to al-Qa’ida in Benghazi and eastern Libya. These noted that, since April, there have been at least five other attacks against foreign interests in Benghazi by unidentified assailants, including the June attack against the British Ambassador’s convoy. We cannot rule out the individuals has previously surveilled the U.S. facilities, also contributing to the efficacy of the attacks.”
Victoria Nuland, a State Department spokeswoman, played a key role in the editing of the talking points. But instead of firing her for this, Obama offered her a promotion.
120) Paid a train carrying biofuel to cross the U.S.-Canadian border 24 times without unloading
As part of Obama’s “green energy” program, Obama used tax money to pay for a train full of biofuel to cross the U.S.-Canadian border 24 times without unloading its cargo.
121) Falsely said that “we got back every dime” of the bailout
In October 2012, Obama said that “we got back every dime” of the bailout. However, at the same time, the Congressional Budget Office that said there was still $24 billion that had not been paid back.
122) Spent $50,000 of taxpayer money on a George S. Patton impersonator
In the summer of 2011, the Obama administration spent $50,000 on a George S. Patton impersonator
123) Spent $75,000 of taxpayer money on a bicycle
The Obama administration spent $75,000 of taxpayer money on a bicycle.
124) Complained to YouTube about an anti-Muslim video
In September 2012, the Obama administration phoned YouTube to complain about an anti-Muslim video.
Ben Wizner of the ACLU said that of this, “It does make us nervous when the government throws its weight behind any requests for censorship.”
Eva Galperin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said of this, “I am actually kind of distressed by this… Even though there are all these great quotes from inside the White House saying they support free speech….by calling YouTube from the White House, they were sending a message no matter how much they say we don’t want them to take it down, when the White House calls and asks you to review it, it sends a message and has a certain chilling effect.”
125) Falsely said that Fast and Furious was started when Bush was President
In September 2012, Obama said that Fast and Furious had “begun under the previous administration.” In reality, Fast and Furious began in October 2009.
126) Is a “war criminal” who is “more aggressive, more illegal worldwide” than Bush, according to Ralph Nader
In September 2012, Ralph Nader said that Obama was a “war criminal” who was “more aggressive, more illegal worldwide” than George W. Bush.
127) Illegally refused to fire Kathleen Sebelius after she violated campaign finance laws
In February 2012, Kathleen Sebelius, Obama’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, violated campaign finance laws. Although federal law required Obama to fire Sebelius for her illegal activity, he refused to do so.
128) Supports policies that hurt small businesses
In September 2012, a survery of small business owners showed that 69% of them said that Obama’s regulatory policies have hurt small businesses. 55% said that they would not start a business under the current environment.
129) Spent $102,000 per year of taxpayer money on a “dog handler”
In September 2012, it was reported that Obama spent $102,000 of taxpayer money each year on a “dog handler.”
130) Refused to fire federal employee who sent email to 17,000 people praising terrorist who wanted to destroy U.S.
In 2012, an employee of Obama’s administration sent an email to more than 17,000 federal employees which praised Che Guevara, a terrorist who had wanted to destroy the U.S. Obama refused to fire the employee.
131) Called Fort Hood shooting “workplace violence” instead of “Islamic terrorism”
After Nidal Malik Hasan shouted “Allahu Akbar!” and murdered 13 people on U.S. soil, instead of referring to it as “Islamic terrorism,” Obama said that it was “workplace violence.”
132) Falsely said that switching to electronic medical records would make health care cheaper
Although Obama claimed that switching to electronic record keeping as part of Obamacare would make health care cheaper, it actually made it more expensive.
133) Spent $495,000 of “stimulus” money for ads on MSNBC
Obama spent $495,000 of “stimulus” money for commercials on MSNBC.
134) Lied about the cost of federal regulations
In September 2012, it was reported that the cost of federal regulations to citizens and business owners was more than 20 times as much as what Obama had said it was.
135) Broke his promise to pass immigration bill, and then lied about why he broke it
In 2008, Obama promised that he would pass an immigration bill during his first year in office. He broke that promise. He then blamed this on Republicans, even though both the House and Senate were controlled by Democrats during Obama’s first year.
136) Made it much harder for start ups to raise capital and create jobs
In July 2010, Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Act. The Wall St. Journal wrote of this:
“Senator Chris Dodd’s 1,400-page financial reform bill contains many economic land mines, and here’s one of the worst: Provisions that would make it harder for business start-ups to raise seed capital.”
“Currently, wealthy individuals who want to invest directly in a new business can do so with minimum interference from regulators. The law requires only that the investor be “accredited” by meeting thresholds for net worth ($1 million) or income ($250,000). Entrepreneurs depend on these “angel” investors, since many new businesses lack the collateral for bank loans and are too small to interest venture capitalists. “
“Amazon, Yahoo, Google and Facebook all benefited from angel investors, who typically target companies under five years old. According to a 2009 Kaufman Foundation study, such firms are less than 1% of all companies yet generate about 10% of new jobs. Between 1980 and 2005, companies less than five years old accounted for all net job growth in the U.S. In 2008, angels invested some $19 billion in more than 55,000 companies. “
“Mr. Dodd’s bill would change all this for the worse. Most preposterously, it would require that start-ups seeking angel investments file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and endure a 120-day review. Rare is the new company that doesn’t need immediate access to the capital it raises, and a four-month delay is the kind of rule popular in banana republics that create few new businesses. “
“The Dodd bill also raises the net worth and income thresholds to $2.3 million and $450,000, respectively. The Angel Capital Association, a trade group, estimates that these provisions would disqualify about 77% of current accredited investors.”
137) Paid six figure salaries to federal employees so they could watch pornography all day long
In April 2010, ABC News reported:
“On a day when President Obama argued for more government regulation over the financial industry, a new government report reveals that some high-level regulators have spent more time looking at porn than policing Wall Street. “
“The Securities and Exchange Commission is supposed to be the sheriff of the financial industry, looking for financial crimes like Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. But the new report, obtained by ABC News, says senior employees of the SEC spent hours on the commission’s computers looking at sites like naughty.com, skankwire, youporn, and others. “
“The investigation, which was conducted by the SEC’s internal watchdog at the request of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, found 31 serious offenders over the past two and a half years. Seventeen of the offenders were senior SEC officers with salaries ranging from $100,000 to $222,000 per year. “
“Eight Hours a Day Spent on Porn Sites”
“One senior attorney at SEC headquarters in Washington spent up to eight hours a day accessing Internet porn. When he filled all the space on his government computer with pornographic images, he downloaded more to CDs and DVDs that accumulated in boxes in his offices. “
“An SEC accountant attempted to access porn websites 1,800 times in a two-week period and had 600 pornographic images on her computer hard drive.”
“Another SEC accountant attempted to access porn sites 16,000 times in a single month.”
138) Spent tax dollars on a “mindreader”
Obama used taxpayer money to hire a “mindreader.”
139) Used tax dollars to build a million dollar bus stop
Obama spent federal tax dollars to pay for part of the cost of a million dollar bus stop which opened in Arlington, Virginia in March 2013. Despite its huge cost, the bus stop can only accommodate 15 people, and does not even protect them from the wind and rain.
140) Filed a lawsuit against a non-existent “monopoly” in the beer industry
Although the number of breweries in the U.S. increased from 89 to 2,336 between 1978 and 2013, the Obama administration sued Anheuser-Busch InBev, which already owned half of Mexico’s Grupo Modelo, to prevent if from buying the other half, despite the fact that there were no laws on the books against such a purchase. The Obama administration’s so-called justification for this lawsuit against a law abiding company was that the company might, possibly, maybe, break some unspecified law, at some unspecified, distant point in the future.
141) Falsely said the sequester would cause janitors to take a pay cut
In February 2013, while talking about the sequester, Obama said
“The folks who are cleaning the floors at the Capitol — now that Congress has left, somebody is going to be vacuuming and cleaning those floors and throwing out the garbage — they’re going to have less pay… The janitors, the security guards, they just got a pay cut, and they’ve got to figure out how to manage that. That’s real.”
CBS News reported that Obama’s statement was false.
142) Falsely said that he goes skeet shooting “all the time”
At the beginning of Obama’s second term, he said that he goes skeet shooting “all the time.” However, a witness said that when he saw Obama go skeet shooting, Obama acted as if he had never fired a gun before, that he appeared to be uncomfortable with a gun, and that he only stayed for five minutes. In addition, during his first term, the media had never reported on his alleged skeet shooting, although it never failed to cover the more than 100 rounds of golf that he played during his first term.
143) Gave special access to people who raised or donated $500,000
In February 2013, the New York Times reported that people who raised or donated at least $500,000 to Organizing for Action, a political group that supported Obama, would be given “the privilege of attending quarterly meetings with the president, along with other meetings at the White House.”
144) Said the deficit had gone down when it had actually gone up
In February 2013, Obama said that the federal deficit had gone down by $2.5 trillion since he had taken office. In reality, it had actually increased by $5.9 trillion during that time.
145) Refused to make available necessary tax forms to taxpayers
On February 21, 2013, CBS News reported that the Obama administration had not yet made available dozens of different tax forms that taxpayers would need in order to meet the legal deadline of April 15 for filing their taxes.
146) Nominated someone to be Secretary of the Treasury who had participated in “the biggest tax scam on record”
Obama nominated Jack Lew to be Secretary of the Treasury. Lew had previously invested in the Cayman Islands, which Obama had referred to as “the biggest tax scam on record.”
147) Adopted harmful new restrictions on prescription painkillers – even though the House had already voted against them
After the U.S. House voted against new restrictions on prescription painkillers, the Obama administration ignored the House’s vote, and adopted the new restrictions anyway. Dr. Lynn Webster, president-elect of the American Academy of Pain Medicine said of these new restrictions, “It will have an impact on a lot of patients who have been receiving them for some time for legitimate purposes.”
148) Rolled back union transparency rules
The Obama administration rolled back union transparency rules, which had been created so that union members could find out how their union was spending their union dues.
149) Tried to eliminate workers’ right to a secret ballot when voting on whether or not to unionize
Obama supported the elimination of workers’ right to a secret ballot when voting on whether or not to form a union
150) Gave “supervised release” to a convicted criminal who later went on to murder a nun
Obama gave “supervised release” to a convicted criminal, who then went on to murder a nun.
151) Falsely said that he did not propose the sequester
On October 22, 2012, Obama said, “The sequester is not something that I’ve proposed.” However, on February 22, 2013, the Washington Post reported that “the automatic spending cuts were initiated by the White House” and that “Obama personally approved of the plan.”
152) Illegally refused to submit a budget on time during four of his first five years
The President is legally required to submit a budget by the first Monday in February. Obama broke this law during four of his first five years in office. Since 1921, no President had missed this deadline more than once.
153) Canceled White House tours for thousands of people so he could use the money to play golf with Tiger Woods
During the sequester in early 2013, the Obama administration said it would save $18,000 per week by cancelling all White house tours, despite the fact that thousands of people had planned their vacations far in advance. However, Obama had no problem with spending more than $1 million in tax money so he could go golfing with Tiger Woods for one weekend.
154) Falsely said the Newton shooter used a “fully automatic weapon”
In April 2013, four months after Adam Lanza murdered 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Obama falsely stated that the shooter had used a “fully automatic weapon.”
155) Broke his own deadline for creating healthcare exchanges
Three years after Obama signed Obamacare, the New York Times reported that Obama would miss his own deadline for creating some of the insurance exchanges for small businesses.
156) Falsely said that surgeons get paid between $30,000 and $50,000 for amputating a leg
In August 2009, while trying to justify the passage of Obamacare, Obama stated
“Let’s take the example of something like diabetes, one of — a disease that’s skyrocketing, partly because of obesity, partly because it’s not treated as effectively as it could be. Right now if we paid a family — if a family care physician works with his or her patient to help them lose weight, modify diet, monitors whether they’re taking their medications in a timely fashion, they might get reimbursed a pittance. But if that same diabetic ends up getting their foot amputated, that’s $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 — immediately the surgeon is reimbursed. Well, why not make sure that we’re also reimbursing the care that prevents the amputation, right? That will save us money.”
The American College of Surgeons responded to this by saying
“President Obama got his facts completely wrong. He stated that a surgeon gets paid $50,000 for a leg amputation when, in fact, Medicare pays a surgeon between $740 and $1,140 for a leg amputation. This payment also includes the evaluation of the patient on the day of the operation plus patient follow-up care that is provided for 90 days after the operation. Private insurers pay some variation of the Medicare reimbursement for this service.”
157) Falsely said that doctors perform unnecessary tonsillectomies to make more money
In July 2009, Obama said
“Right now, doctors, a lot of times, are forced to make decisions based on the fee payment schedule that’s out there. So if … your child has a bad sore throat, or has repeated sore throats, the doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say to himself, ‘You know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid’s tonsils out.'”
“Now, that may be the right thing to do. But I’d rather have that doctor making those decisions just based on whether you really need your kid’s tonsils out or whether it might make more sense just to change — maybe they have allergies. Maybe they have something else that would make a difference.”
The American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery responded by saying
“The AAO-HNS is disappointed by the President’s portrayal of the decision making processes by the physicians who perform these surgeries. In many cases, tonsillectomy may be a more effective treatment, and less costly, than prolonged or repeated treatments for an infected throat.”
158) Purchased 2,717 mine resistant armor protected vehicles for use on civilian streets in the U.S.
In March 2013 it was reported that the Obama administration had purchased 2,717 mine resistant armor protected vehicles for use on civilian streets in the U.S.
159) Spends $277,050 per year for three professional calligraphists
In March 2013, it was reported that Obama was spending $277,050 of tax money per year for three professional calligraphists. It was also reported that cheap computer software could produce the exact same calligraphy for a tiny fraction of that cost.
160) Allowed 311,566 federal employees and retirees to get away with $3.5 billion in unpaid federal taxes
In 2011, Obama allowed 311,566 federal employees and retirees to get away with $3.5 billion in unpaid federal taxes.
161) Spent $2.6 million to teach Chinese prostitutes how to drink responsibly on the job
Obama spent $2.6 million to teach Chinese prostitutes how to drink responsibly on the job.
162) Fined UPS $40 million because some of its customers had used UPS to ship illegal drugs
In March 2013, Obama forced UPS to pay $40 million because some of its customers had used UPS to ship illegal drugs.
163) Added 20,000 extra pages to Obamacare without Congressional approval
After Obamacare was passed, Obama added 20,000 extra pages to it, even though those extra 20,000 pages had not been voted on by Congress.
164 ) Signed health care reform law whose own authors called it a “huge train wreck” that was “beyond comprehension”
U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana), one of the authors of Obamacare, said of it, “I just see a huge train wreck coming down.”
U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia), another author of the law, said it was “beyond comprehension.”
165) Eliminated disclosure requirements for most federal employees in the executive and legislative branches
In April 2013, Obama eliminated the disclosure requirements for most federal employees in the executive and legislative branches.
166) Waited until after the 2012 election to release unpopular Obamacare rules
In April 2013, the New York Times reported:
… even fervent supporters of the law admit that things are going worse than expected.
… the Obama administration didn’t want to release unpopular rules before the election.
Everything is turning out to be more complicated than originally envisioned.
A law that was very confusing has become mind-boggling… Americans are just going to be overwhelmed and befuddled. Many are just going to stay away, even if they are eligible for benefits.
167) Made it easy for people to fraudulently collect $50,000 by falsely claiming to be “farmers”
In April 2013, the New York Times reported
the Obama administration’s political appointees at the Justice and Agriculture Departments engineered a stunning turnabout: they committed $1.33 billion to compensate…
The deal… was fashioned in White House meetings… the $50,000 payouts to black farmers had proved a magnet for fraud.
the claims process prompted allegations of widespread fraud and criticism that its very design encouraged people to lie… Agriculture Department reviewers found reams of suspicious claims, from nursery-school-age children and pockets of urban dwellers, sometimes in the same handwriting with nearly identical accounts of discrimination.
As a senator, Barack Obama supported expanding compensation for black farmers, and then as president he pressed for $1.15 billion to pay those new claims.
In 16 ZIP codes in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and North Carolina, the number of successful claimants exceeded the total number of farms operated by people of any race in 1997, the year the lawsuit was filed. Those applicants received nearly $100 million.
In Maple Hill, a struggling town in southeastern North Carolina, the number of people paid was nearly four times the total number of farms. More than one in nine African-American adults there received checks. In Little Rock, Ark., a confidential list of payments shows, 10 members of one extended family collected a total of $500,000, and dozens of other successful claimants shared addresses, phone numbers or close family connections.
In Arkansas, prosecutors rejected a test case against a Pine Bluff police officer who had admitted lying on his claim form.
in one ZIP code in Columbus, Ohio, nearly everyone in two adjoining apartment buildings had filed, according to the former high-ranking agency official.
She cinched the claim, he said to a ripple of laughter, by asserting that her father had whispered on his deathbed, “I was discriminated against by U.S.D.A.”
168) Tried to rig federal auctions of radio spectrum space
In April 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration was trying to rig federal auctions of radio spectrum space in a manner that would favor Sprint and T-Mobile, and make it harder for AT&T and Verizon.
169) Put someone in jail for making an anti-Muslim video
In May 2013, Politico reported:
“Nakoula Basseley Nakoula deserves a place in American history. He is the first person in this country jailed for violating Islamic anti-blasphemy laws.”
“You won’t find that anywhere in the charges against him, of course. As a practical matter, though, everyone knows that Nakoula wouldn’t be in jail today if he hadn’t produced a video crudely lampooning the prophet Muhammad.”
“In the weeks after the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others, the Obama administration claimed the terrorist assault had been the outgrowth of a demonstration against the Nakoula video. The administration ran public service announcements in Pakistan featuring President Barack Obama saying the U.S. had nothing to do with it. In a speech at the United Nations around this time, the president declared — no doubt with Nakoula in mind — ‘The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.'”
“After Benghazi, the administration was evidently filled with a fierce resolve — to bring Nakoula Basseley Nakoula to justice. Charles Woods, the father of a Navy SEAL killed in Benghazi, said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told him when his son’s body returned to Andrews Air Force Base: ‘We will make sure that the person who made that film is arrested and prosecuted.'”
“Lo and behold, Nakoula was brought in for questioning by five Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies at midnight, eventually arrested and held without bond, and finally thrown into jail for a year. He sits in La Tuna Federal Correctional Institution in Texas right now, even as the deceptive spin that blamed his video for the Benghazi attack looks more egregious by the day.”
170) Oversaw IRS whose employees illegally targeted conservative groups
In May 2013, the Washington Post reported that the IRS had illegally targeted conservative groups for additional reviews. Organizations with the words “tea party” or “patriot” were singled out for harassment, such as requiring them to provide a list of donors, details about their internet postings on social networking websites, and information about their family members.
When this was first reported by the media in May 2013, Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that had conducted these illegal activities, claimed that only low level employees had known about it, and that no high level IRS officials had known about it. However, soon afterward, NPR reported that an Inspector General report showed that Lerner had been lying, and that she herself had actually been aware of it since June 29, 2011. Even worse, during March and April of 2012, Lerner herself had actually written such letters to fifteen different conservative groups. One of these letters can be read here.
While testifying in May 2013, Lerner said, “I have not done anything wrong. I have not broken any laws. I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations. And I have not provided false information to this or any other congressional committee.” However, afterward, she invoked her fifth amendment right to remain silent. The Washington Post reported that there was disagreement as to whether or not Lerner’s statement constituted a waiving of her fifth amendment right to remain silent. Soon afterward, she was placed on paid administrative leave.
In September 2013, a House committee released several of Lerner’s emails, which showed that she had targeted tea party groups, and that she had asked that their applications be delayed. In one of the emails from 2011, she had written “Tea Party Matter very dangerous.”
In September 2013, after having been on paid leave for four months, Lerner had still not been fired by Obama.
The Washington Post reported that IRS officials at the IRS headquarters in Washington D.C. had sent such letters to conservatives groups. Reuters reported that higher level IRS officials had taken part in discussions about it as early as August 2011. However, 21 months later, on May 10, 2013, the Washington Post reported that President Obama had not done anything to investigate or fire the IRS employees who had engaged in this illegal harassment. As of May 14, 2013, none of the IRS employees who engaged in any of this illegal behavior had been disciplined, despite the fact that higher level IRS officials had known about their illegal behavior at least since August 2011.
On May 15, 2013, it was reported that Steven Miller, the acting IRS commissioner, had resigned. However, it was also reported that his assignment would have ended in early June anyway. He resigned – Obama did not fire him.
The IRS gave out confidential information about conservative groups. ProPublica wrote:
“The same IRS office that deliberately targeted conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status in the run-up to the 2012 election released nine pending confidential applications of conservative groups to ProPublica late last year.”
“In response to a request for the applications for 67 different nonprofits last November, the Cincinnati office of the IRS sent ProPublica applications or documentation for 31 groups. Nine of those applications had not yet been approved—meaning they were not supposed to be made public.”
“No unapproved applications from liberal groups were sent to ProPublica.”
President Obama either lied about when he first knew about this – or was too busy playing golf and attending fundraisers to read the memos that were sent to him. The Daily Caller wrote:
“White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a press conference Tuesday that the White House was notified about the IRS targeting tea party groups ‘several weeks ago.’ This comes a day after President Obama said he found out about it from news reports on Friday of last week.”
“During a press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday, President Obama was asked about the IRS scandal. He responded, ‘I first learned about it from the same news reports that I think most people learned about this. I think it was on Friday.’ “
“However, Carney said Tuesday that first a report had to be compiled by the IRS’s inspector general and then when it was completed, it was passed on to the administration.”
“‘A notification is appropriate and routine and that is what happened and that happened several weeks ago,’ Carney said.”
When Media Trackers, a conservative organization, applied to the IRS for non-profit status, after waiting 16 months, it got no response. But when it reapplied with a liberal sounding name, it got approval in just three weeks. Yahoo wrote:
“In May 2011, Drew Ryun, a conservative activist and former Republican National Committee staffer, began filling out the Internal Revenue Service application to achieve nonprofit status for a new conservative watchdog group.”
“When September 2012 arrived with still no word from the IRS, Ryun determined that Media Trackers would likely never obtain standalone nonprofit status, and he tried a new approach: He applied for permanent nonprofit status for a separate group called Greenhouse Solutions, a pre-existing organization that was reaching the end of its determination period.”
“The IRS approved Greenhouse Solutions’ request for permanent nonprofit status in three weeks.”
Politico reported:
“The same Internal Revenue Service office that singled out Tea Party groups for extra scrutiny also challenged Israel-related organizations, at least one of which filed suit over the agency’s handling of its application for tax-exempt status.”
“The trouble for the Israel-focused groups seems to have had different origins than that experienced by conservative groups, but at times the effort seems to have been equally ham-handed.”
The IRS asked conservative groups what books they were reading.
Although the IRS went 18 months or longer without responding to conservative organizations’ applications, the IRS demanded that these same organizations answer the IRS’s intrusive questions within a few weeks.
After the Waco Tea Party sent an application to the IRS, the IRS waited 19 months to respond. In its response, the IRS asked for printouts of its web page and social networking sites, copies of all of its newsletters, bulletins and fliers, and copies of all stories written about it. The IRS also asked for transcripts of its radio interviews.
As one example of how the IRS treated conservative organizations differently from liberal ones, Politico reported:
“Chris Littleton, one of the co-founders of the Ohio Liberty Coalition, said the group got a grilling from the IRS when it submitted its application, in letters the group has posted on its website. The IRS also gave him so much grief when he tried to apply for tax-exempt status for another group, American Junto, that ‘we just gave up on it,’ he said.”
“But when he submitted an application for a third group — Ohioans for Health Care Freedom, now renamed Ohio Rising — ‘it went through just fine,’ Littleton said. ‘They never asked a single set of questions.'”
After the Greater Phoenix Tea Party Patriots sent in their application, it took two years for the IRS to respond. The IRS response included 35 questions. When the group’s cofounder called the IRS, the IRS agent claimed that he had their group’s file right in front of him. But when the group’s confounder asked the IRS agent a question, the IRS agent asked, “What’s your group’s name again?”
Tea Party groups who spoke with each other said they were all getting the same questions from the IRS.
The Washington Post reported that some IRS employees were “ignorant about tax laws, defiant of their supervisors, and blind to the appearance of impropriety.”
In 2012, the IRS leaked confidential information about Mitt Romney to the co-chairman of President Obama’s re-election committee.
For a 27 month period that began in February 2010, the IRS gave exactly zero approvals to Tea Party organizations that had sent in applications. During that same time period, numerous liberal organizations with names including words such as “progress” or “progressive” did get approval.
After True the Vote, a conservative organization which was founded by Catherine Engelbrecht, sent its application to the IRS, the IRS went three years without responding. During that three year period, Engelbrecht and her family’s small manufacturing business were audited by the IRS, and were investigated by OSHA, the ATF, and the FBI.
Democratic U.S. Senators pressured the IRS to target conservative groups. In May 2013, U.S. News & World Report wrote:
“Over the last three years, Democratic senators repeatedly and publicly pressured the IRS to engage in the very activities that they are only now condemning today. At the same time, Republicans repeatedly and publicly warned against this abuse of government power and pointed to a series of red flags that strongly suggested conservative political organizations were being targeted by the IRS. Those warnings were deliberately ignored by the Obama administration and Democratic leaders in Congress.”
“From Max Baucus to Chuck Schumer to Jeanne Shaheen, key Senate Democrats publicly pressured the IRS to target groups that held differing political views and who, in their view, had the temerity to engage in the political process. The IRS listened to them and acted.”
In order to get approval, the IRS required members of Coalition for Life of Iowa, a pro-life organization, to sign a promise to avoid protesting in front of Planned Parenthood.
The IRS asked Christian Voices for Life, a pro-life organization, questions about its prayer vigils.
According to the official White House visitor’s log, during Obama’s first four years as President, IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman made 157 visits to the White House. This is more visits to the White House – by a very large margin – than any other cabinet member during Obama’s first term. By comparison, during the four years that Mark Everson was IRS commissioner when Bush was president, Everson made only one visit to the White House.
Shulman donated $500 to the Democratic National Committee in October 2004.
During Congressional testimony that had taken place in March 2012, Shulman falsely said that the IRS had not targeted conservative groups.
Shulman’s wife, Susan L. Anderson, is the senior program advisor for Public Campaign, a liberal organization. The Dailer Caller wrote of this group:
Public Campaign receives “major funding” from the pro-Obamacare alliance Health Care for America NOW!, which is comprised of the labor unions AFL-CIO, AFSCME, SEIU, and the progressive activist organization Move On, among others.
Public Campaign also receives funding from the liberal Ford Foundation, the Common Cause Education Fund, and Barbra Streisand’s The Streisand Foundation, among other foundations and private donors.
Stephen Seok was one of the IRS agents who wrote threatening letters to conservative groups. After doing so, he was given a promotion.
In June 2013, it was reported that two IRS employees had violated government ethics rules at a 2010 conference when they received $1,100 in free food and other items. One of them was Fred Schindler, the director of implementation oversight at the IRS Affordable Care Act office. The other was Donald Toda, a California-based employee. Obama did not fire them. Instead, he gave both of them paid leave. By comparison, in 1981, President Reagan fired 11,359 air-traffic controllers who had been illegally striking.
In June 2013, it was reported that The National Organization for Marriage, a conservative organization, had forensic evidence which proved that its donors’ private information had been illegally leaked by the IRS. The IRS employee(s) who illegally leaked this private information could get five years in prison.
In July 2013, it was reported that Obama had met with a key IRS official who was involved in the targeting just two days before the key official had told his colleagues how to target tea party groups. The Daily Caller reported:
The Obama appointee implicated in congressional testimony in the IRS targeting scandal met with President Obama in the White House two days before offering his colleagues a new set of advice on how to scrutinize tea party and conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
IRS chief counsel William Wilkins, who was named in House Oversight testimony by retiring IRS agent Carter Hull as one of his supervisors in the improper targeting of conservative groups, met with Obama in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on April 23, 2012. Wilkins’ boss, then-IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman, visited the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on April 24, 2012, according to White House visitor logs.
On April 25, 2012, Wilkins’ office sent the exempt organizations determinations unit “additional comments on the draft guidance” for approving or denying tea party tax-exempt applications, according to the IRS inspector general’s report.
Jon Stewart said of this:
“Well, congratulations, President Barack Obama. Conspiracy theorists who generally can survive in anaerobic environments have just had an algae bloom dropped on their f***ing heads, thus removing the last arrow in your pro-governance quiver: skepticism about your opponents.”
Michael Macleod-Ball, chief of staff at the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office, said of this:
“Even the appearance of playing partisan politics with the tax code is about as constitutionally troubling as it gets. With the recent push to grant federal agencies broad new powers to mandate donor disclosure for advocacy groups on both the left and the right, there must be clear checks in place to prevent this from ever happening again.”
171) Spent $402,721 on underwear that detects the presence of cigarette smoke
In May 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration had spent $402,721 on underwear that detects the presence of cigarette smoke.
172) Rewarded one of his biggest campaign fundraisers by nominating him for the ambassadorship to Canada
In April 2013, it was reported that Obama had nominated Bruce Heyman to be the ambassador to Canada. During Obama’s election campaign, Heyman had raised more than $1 million for Obama.
173) Hired a retarded man to sell illegal drugs and guns, and then arrested him for doing so
In April 2013, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported:
“ATF agents running an undercover storefront in Milwaukee used a brain-damaged man with a low IQ to set up gun and drug deals, paying him in cigarettes, merchandise and money, according to federal documents obtained by the Journal Sentinel.”
“For more than six months, federal agents relied on Chauncey Wright to promote ‘Fearless Distributing’ by handing out fliers as he rode his bike around town recommending the store to friends, family and strangers, according to federal prosecutors and family members.”
“Wright, unaware that the store was an undercover operation being run by agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, also stocked shelves with shoes, clothing, drug paraphernalia and auto parts, according to his family.”
“Once authorities shut down the operation, they charged the 28-year-old man with federal gun and drug counts.”
“Wright’s IQ measures in the 50s, about half of a normal IQ, according to those familiar with him. Wright’s score is classified as mildly or moderately disabled, depending on the IQ scale used.”
174) Secretly obtained phone records from Associated Press reporters and editors
In May 2013, Associated Press reported:
The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative’s top executive called a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into how news organizations gather the news.
The records obtained by the Justice Department listed outgoing calls for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and the main number for AP reporters in the House of Representatives press gallery, according to attorneys for the AP. It was not clear if the records also included incoming calls or the duration of calls.
In all, the government seized the records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to AP and its journalists in April and May of 2012. The exact number of journalists who used the phone lines during that period is unknown but more than 100 journalists work in the offices where phone records were targeted, on a wide array of stories about government and other matters.
In a letter of protest sent to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday, AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt said the government sought and obtained information far beyond anything that could be justified by any specific investigation. He demanded the return of the phone records and destruction of all copies.
“There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters. These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP’s newsgathering operations, and disclose information about AP’s activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know,” Pruitt said.
Soon afterward, it was reported that obtaining these phone records had required approval from Eric Holder, Obama’s Attorney General.
This has had a very dangerous and harmful effect on the media’s ability to report the news. In June 2013, Gary Pruitt, the president and chief executive of Associated Press said:
“Some longtime trusted sources have become nervous and anxious about talking with us… In some cases, government employees we once checked in with regularly will no longer speak to us by phone. Others are reluctant to meet in person … This chilling effect on newsgathering is not just limited to AP… Journalists from other news organizations have personally told me that it has intimidated both official and nonofficial sources from speaking to them as well.”
175) Asked contractors to disclose their political donations before bidding on government contracts
In April 2011, Obama asked contractors to disclose their political donations before bidding on government contracts.
176) Tried to deport German family that had fled Germany over Hitler’s ban on homeschooling
In Germany in 1938, Adolf Hitler outlawed homeschooling. He said “Give me a child when he’s seven and he’s mine forever.”
Hitler’s ban on homeschooling is still in effect today. In 2006, Katharina Plett was arrested for homeschooling her own children. Her husband and their children fled the country. In 2008, Juergen and Rosemary Dudek were sentenced to 90 days in jail for homeschooling their own children.
Uwe and Hannelore Romeike and their homeschooled children fled Germany after the police showed up at their house to enforce Germany’s ban on homeschooling. They came to the United States in 2010 and were granted political asylum, which gave them legal permission to live in the U.S. as political refugees However, in March 2013, the Obama administration argued in federal court in favor of deporting them and sending them back to Germany. This means that Obama does not consider them to be political refugees, and that he does not consider Germany’s policy of jailing homeschooling parents to be a form of persecution.
177) Said, “We’re gonna punish our enemies, and we’re gonna reward our friends”
Obama said (the bolding is mine)
“If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, ‘We’re gonna punish our enemies, and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us’ — if they don’t see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election — then I think it’s going to be harder. And that’s why I think it’s so important that people focus on voting on November 2nd.”
This is a rare instance of a promise that Obama has actually kept instead of broken. A huge number of the things on this list can be explained by that one simple sentence that Obama said.
178) Falsely accused a law abiding news reporter of being “an aider and abettor and/or co-conspirator” in a criminal investigation
James Rosen is a law abiding reporter for Fox News. However, the Obama administration falsely labeled him as “an aider and abettor and/or co-conspirator” in a criminal investigation when it applied for a warrant to read his emails.
The New York Times wrote of this:
With the decision to label a Fox News television reporter a possible “co-conspirator” in a criminal investigation of a news leak, the Obama administration has moved beyond protecting government secrets to threatening fundamental freedoms of the press to gather news.
Leak investigations usually focus on the source, not the reporter. But, in this case, federal prosecutors also asked a federal judge for permission to examine Mr. Rosen’s personal e-mails, arguing that “there is probable cause to believe” Mr. Rosen is “an aider and abettor and/or co-conspirator” in the leak.
Though Mr. Rosen was not charged, the F.B.I. request for his e-mail account was granted secretly in late May 2010. The government was allowed to rummage through Mr. Rosen’s e-mails for at least 30 days.
Michael Clemente, the executive vice president of Fox News, said on Monday that it was “downright chilling” that Mr. Rosen “was named a criminal co-conspirator for simply doing his job as a reporter.” Bruce Brown, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, added on Tuesday that treating “routine news-gathering efforts as evidence of criminality is extremely troubling and corrodes time-honored understandings between the public and the government about the role of the free press.”
Obama administration officials often talk about the balance between protecting secrets and protecting the constitutional rights of a free press. Accusing a reporter of being a “co-conspirator”… shows a heavy tilt toward secrecy and insufficient concern about a free press.
The Washington Post wrote of this:
The Rosen affair is as flagrant an assault on civil liberties as anything done by George W. Bush’s administration, and it uses technology to silence critics in a way Richard Nixon could only have dreamed of.
To treat a reporter as a criminal for doing his job — seeking out information the government doesn’t want made public — deprives Americans of the First Amendment freedom on which all other constitutional rights are based. Guns? Privacy? Due process? Equal protection? If you can’t speak out, you can’t defend those rights, either.
Beyond that, the administration’s actions shatter the president’s credibility and discourage allies who would otherwise defend the administration against bogus accusations such as those involving the Benghazi “talking points.” If the administration is spying on reporters and accusing them of criminality just for asking questions — well, who knows what else this crowd is capable of doing?
My Post colleague Ann E. Marimow, who broke the Rosen story, obtained the affidavit by FBI agent Reginald Reyes seeking access to Rosen’s private e-mails. In the affidavit, Reyes stated that “there is probable cause to believe that the reporter has committed or is committing a violation” of the law against national security leaks. The affidavit detailed how the FBI had monitored Rosen’s comings and goings from the State Department and tracked his various phone calls with the suspected leaker, analyst Stephen Jin-Woo Kim.
Rosen’s supposed crime? Reyes got his evidence from an e-mail from the reporter: “I want to report authoritatively, and ahead of my competitors, on new initiatives or shifts in U.S. policy, events on the ground in [North Korea], what intelligence is picking up, etc. . . . I’d love to see some internal State Department analyses. . . . In short: Let’s break some news, and expose muddle-headed policy when we see it, or force the administration’s hand to go in the right direction, if possible.”
That is indeed compelling evidence — of good journalism.
Obama is establishing an ominous precedent.
179) Asked Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate himself for lying under oath
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder lied under oath. He said that he had nothing to do with monitoring the emails of Fox News reporter James Rosen. But it turns out that it was Holder’s own signature on the search warrant.
Even the liberal Huffington Post said that Holder should be fired over this.
Holder could get five years in prison.
So, did President Obama fire Holder?
Of course not!
Instead, Obama asked that Holder be investigated – not by an independent investigating committee – but by Holder himself!
I can see it now…
Obama: “Did you lie?”
Holder: “No.”
Obama: “OK. That’s good enough for me. You’re cleared of any wrongdoing.”
180) Used Obamacare to illegally give the IRS additional powers without approval from Congress
In May 2013 the Washington Post wrote:
The law allows the Department of Health and Human Services to set up federal health exchanges in the holdout states. But the statute makes no mention of the IRS providing credits and subsidies through federal exchanges.
The IRS resolved this conundrum by denying its existence. In a May 2012 regulatory ruling, it asserted its own right to provide credits outside the state exchanges as the reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous law. But the language of the law is not ambiguous. And health scholars Jonathan Adler and Michael Cannon, in an exhaustive recent analysis, find no justification for the IRS’s ruling in the legislative history of Obamacare. “The statute,” they argue, “and the lack of any support for the IRS rule in the legislative record put defenders of the IRS rule in the awkward position of arguing that it was so obviously Congress’ intent to offer tax credits in federal exchanges that despite a year of debate over the PPACA, it never occurred to anyone to express that intent out loud. A better explanation is that the PPACA’s authors miscalculated when they assumed states would establish exchanges.”
So: The IRS seized the authority to spend about $800 billion over 10 years on benefits that were not authorized by Congress. And the current IRS scandal puts this decision in a new light. What was the role of politics in shaping this regulatory decision? What pressure was applied?
181) Used environmental regulations to shut down an ambulance while it was taking a patient to the hospital
In May 2013 the Washington Post reported:
A Wednesday shootout on the streets of Washington Highlands left a cop injured and a carjacking suspect dead. But before the suspect expired, he went on an unusual ambulance ride that involved moving him from one vehicle to another on the shoulder of Interstate 295. While this might appear to be another story of Fire and Emergency Medical Services dysfunction, the story is rather more complicated. As WUSA-TV explains, newer-model diesel engines are required by federal regulations to have emission-control features that, in some circumstances, require the motor to shut down for “regeneration” — a process in which the exhaust system burns off trapped soot. The need for regeneration can be unpredictable. The transfer to a second ambulance delayed 34-year-old Nathaniel McRae’s arrival at a hospital by seven minutes. FEMS insists the wait did not play a role in his death.
182) Had “a serious management problem” with his refusal to fire bad workers
A 2011 USA Today article on federal employees states:
“The federal government fired 0.55% of its workers in the budget year that ended Sept. 30 — 11,668 employees in its 2.1 million workforce.”
“White-collar federal workers have almost total job security after a few years on the job. Last year, the government fired none of its 3,000 meteorologists, 2,500 health insurance administrators, 1,000 optometrists, 800 historians or 500 industrial property managers.”
Wow! Those must be excellent workers, right?
Actually, no. The article also says:
“San Francisco State University management professor John Sullivan, an expert on employee turnover, says the low departure rates show a failure to release poor performers and those with obsolete skills. ‘Rather than indicating something positive, rates below 1% in the firing and layoff components would indicate a serious management problem,’ he says.”
A serious management problem?
So who exactly is the highest ranking manager of the federal government?
It’s President Obama.
183) Illegally solicited donations from health insurers
In May 2013, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius solicited donations from health insurers to help pay for Obamacare. Such soliciting is illegal.
184) Chose an economic advisor who wanted roads and bridges to be built by unqualified workers
Obama chose to have Robert Reich be his economic advisor. Regarding Obama’s stimulus, Reich said:
“I am concerned, as I’m sure many of you are, that these jobs not simply go to high skilled people… And therefore, in my remarks I have suggested to you, and I’m certainly happy to talk about it more, ways in which the money can be — criteria can be set so that they money does go to others… people who are not necessarily construction workers or high-skilled professionals.”
185) Pressured unions to reduce the amount of health insurance coverage for their employees
In May 2013, the New York Times reported:
Say goodbye to that $500 deductible insurance plan and the $20 co-payment for a doctor’s office visit. They are likely to become luxuries of the past.
Expect to have your blood pressure checked or a prescription filled at a clinic at your office, rather than by your private doctor.
Then blame the so-called Cadillac tax, which penalizes companies that offer high-end health care plans to their employees.
Although the tax does not start until 2018, employers say they have to start now to meet the deadline and they are doing whatever they can to bring down the cost of their plans. Under the law, an employer or health insurer offering a plan that costs more than $10,200 for an individual and $27,500 for a family would typically pay a 40 percent excise tax on the amount exceeding the threshold.
Tom Leibfried, a legislative director for the A.F.L.-C.I.O., one of the unions whose plans are vulnerable to the tax, says the demands that workers pay more for their care is a perennial aspect of labor negotiations. “We’re very concerned about the hollowing out of benefits in general,” he said. “What the excise tax will do is just fuel that.”
186) Falsely said “We believe in the free market”
In June 2013, Obama said,
We don’t think that top-down solutions are the right way to go. We believe in the free market. We believe in a light touch when it comes to regulations. – See more at: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-we-dont-want-tax-all-businesses-out-business#sthash.NDb17lc6.dpufWe believe in the free market. We believe in a light touch when it comes to regulations.
“We believe in the free market.”
Obama was lying. The free market means that in the business world, it is the customers, not the government, who pick winners and losers. But this list contains a huge number of instances where Obama tried to use the government to pick winners and losers in the business world.
187) Falsely said “We believe in a light touch when it comes to regulations”
In June 2013, Obama said, “We believe in a light touch when it comes to regulations.”
He lied. For example, after Obamacare was passed, Obama added 20,000 extra pages of regulations to to it.
188) Said Catholic schools are “divisive” but did not say the same thing about other religious schools
In June 2013, Obama said:
“If towns remain divided – if Catholics have their schools and buildings and Protestants have theirs, if we can’t see ourselves in one another and fear or resentment are allowed to harden – that too encourages division and discourages cooperation.”
I can understand why a person might criticize religious schools in general – although I myself happen to think that religious schools are a superior alternative to public schools. But for Obama to single out one religion in particular as being divisive, while not saying the same thing about all religious schools in general, is a double standard.
189) Favored a new tax on Christmas trees so the money could be used to subsidize Christmas trees
In November 2011, Obama proposed a new tax on Christmas trees, so that the money could be used to subsidize Christmas trees. If this had been a Rube Goldberg cartoon it would have been funny. But to suggest it as an actual government policy is absurd.
190) Betrayed the people of the city that helped him launch his political career
As part of his effort to get Obamacare passed, Obama repeatedly promised that people could keep their current health insurance if they liked it.
More than any other city, the people of Chicago helped to get Obamacare passed. Chicago is where Obama chose to live when he first got into politics. The people there launched his political career and voted him into office.
And this is how Obama repays them. In May 2013, the Chicago Tribune reported:
Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to start reducing health insurance coverage next year for more than 30,000 retired city workers and begin shifting them to President Barack Obama’s new federal system.
The move is aimed at saving the city money
Once the phaseout is complete, those retired workers would have to pay for their own health insurance or get subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. The city-subsidized coverage is particularly important to retired workers who aren’t yet eligible for Medicare
Henry Bayer, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, said the uncertainties of the Affordable Care Act and the state insurance exchanges they would create make the city’s plan hard to assess.
“This uncertainty will cause anxiety and fear for tens of thousands of seniors who gave their working lives to public service — men and women whose retirement savings are already under attack in the name of ‘pension reform.'” Bayer said.
191) Proposed military interventionism in Syria
In June 2013, Obama proposed that the U.S. get involved in Syria’s military conflicts.
192) Planned to use military snipers to shoot innocent lions and cheetahs in the wild
In June 2013, Obama was planning to use military snipers to shoot innocent lions and cheetahs in the wild.
However, after the media reported on his plans, Obama got embarrassed, and cancelled his plans.
193) Refused to fire or prosecute more than 1,000 IRS employees who illegally used their IRS credit cards for their own personal use
During Obama’s first term, more than 1,000 IRS employees illegally used their IRS credit cards for personal purchases, but Obama refused to fire or prosecute them.
194) Defended intelligence chief who lied under oath
In March 2013, James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, falsely stated under oath that the NSA was not gathering data on millions of U.S. citizens. In June 2013, after it was reported that Clapper had lied under oath, Obama defended him, instead of firing him.
195) Had the Secret Service visit a law abiding citizen who had criticized his policies on Twitter
In April 2013, Obama sent the Secret Service to visit the home of Tom Francois, a law abiding citizen who had criticized Obama’s policies on Twitter.
The Secret Service admitted that Francois had not made any threats against Obama.
196) Had the IRS grant special, illegal favors for his brother’s so-called “charity”
In May 2013, the Dailer Caller reported that the IRS had taken the “unprecedented” step of approving a non-profit application within just one month. In this particular case, the application was from the Barack H. Obama Foundation, a so-called “charity” which was headed by Malik Obama, Barack Obama’s brother.
In addition, the IRS illegally gave retroactive approval for the organization’s tax exempt status. Prior to getting this approval, the organization had illegally solicited tax deductible donations even though it did not have legal approval to do so.
197) Raised the interest rate on student loans to pay for Obamacare
Obamacare raised the interest rate on students loans from 5.3% to 6.8%. The money is used to fund Obamacare.
198) Refused to fire or prosecute 15 IRS agents who illegally seized the medical records of 10 million people
In March 2011, 15 IRS agents illegally seized the medical records of 10 million people without a warrant. Obama refused to fire or prosecute them.
199) Hired 16,500 new IRS agents to run Obamacare
In June 2013, it was reported that Obama had hired 16,500 new IRS agents to run Obamacare.
200) Tried to reward wasteful IRS spending with an increase in funding
In June 2013, Danny Werfel, Obama’s new nominee to head the IRS, asked Congress for an increase in funding. At the same time, NPR reported on this waste of taxpayer money at an IRS conference:
Some of the 2,600 attendees received benefits, including baseball tickets and stays in presidential suites that normally cost $1,500 to $3,500 per night. In addition, 15 outside speakers were paid a total of $135,000 in fees, with one paid $17,000 to talk about “leadership through art,” the committee said.
Considering how the IRS wasted all that money on luxury hotel rooms and worthless speeches, Werfel really had some nerve asking Congress for more money. By proposing to reward wasteful spending with a budget increase, Werfel proved that he is incompetent to head the IRS. The fact that Obama nominated such an incompetent person does not surprise me one bit.
201) Illegally bypassed Congress to delay Obamacare’s employer mandate
As the Obamacare law was written, the employer mandate was to begin in January 2014. This is what the law said when it was passed by the House and Senate, and signed by President Obama.
However, in July 2013, Obama delayed the employer mandate part of Obamacare until January 2015. Obama did this without approval from Congress.
For Obama to change a law that was passed by Congress, without first getting approval from Congress, is a violation of the Presidential oath that Obama took to uphold and defend the Constitution.
What Obama did here is an action of a dictator, not an action of a President whose power is limited by a written constitution.
If Obama can get away with this, then it sets a horribly dangerous precedent, and means that the President can arbitrarily make any change to any law that has been passed by Congress, without first getting approval from Congress.
202) Made it too hard for some doctors to continue their practices
In July 2013, ABC News reported that some doctors were shutting down their practices in response to Obamacare.
Dr. Robert WcWilliams, an obstetrician/gynecologist with more than 5,000 patients, said:
“It’s going to be run by bureaucrats – and it’s going to be run by politicians – who have no idea what is in your best interests, then I’m getting out.”
203) Falsely told Africans that contaminated water is a smaller problem than global warming
In July 2013, while speaking in Johannesburg, South Africa, President Obama said that global warming was “the biggest challenge we have environmentally” and that it was worse than “dirty water, dirty air.”
However, according to the World Health Organization, while global warming kills 140,000 people each year, air pollution kills 3 million people per year.
According to UNESCO, each year, contaminated water causes 4 billion cases of diarrhea, 120,000 cases of cholera, 300 million cases of malaria, 12 million cases of typhoid, 6 million cases of trachoma, 200 million cases of schistosomiesis, and more than 1 billion incidents of intestinal parasites.
You know what’s worse than global warming? How about living your entire life without ever having access to a toilet?
The World Health Organization says that dirty water is “the leading cause of disease and death around the world.”
That Obama would downplay these problems shows how scientifically illiterate he is.
That he would do so while giving a speech in Africa, which has the highest rate of water borne illness of any continent, shows how thoughtless and insensitive he is.
204) Spent $630,000 of taxpayers’ money to get more Facebook “likes”
In July 2013, it was reported that Obama had spent $630,000 of taxpayers’ money in order to get more Facebook “likes.”
205) Declared that hacking was an act of war, then hacked the EU
In 2011, the Obama administration issued a statement which said that when one country hacked another country’s computers, the hacking constituted an “act of war.”
In July 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration had hacked computers which were owned by the European Union.
206) Said “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon”
In Florida, after a school security camera showed Trayvon Martin marking graffiti, a search of his backpack showed that it contained 12 pieces of women’s jewelry, including silver wedding rings, and earrings with diamonds. The backpack also had a screwdriver, which is often used as a tool by burglars. Martin said that the jewelry belonged to a friend, but refused to say who that friend was.
Why would a teenage boy bring a backpack full of silver wedding rings and diamond earrings to school? Do Martin’s millions of defenders really think that he was not a burglar?
The fact that Martin was in possession of stolen jewelry at school is perfectly in line with George Zimmerman’s claim on the 911 call that Martin was acting suspiciously. And there had been quite a few burglaries in the area recently.
Also on the 911 call, Zimmerman had said that Martin was acting as if he was on drugs. Martin’s autopsy showed that there was THC in his system. And while other parts of marijuana can stay in the system for weeks after it’s smoked, the THC only stays in the person’s system for a few hours. Therefore, Martin was indeed high when Zimmerman saw him.
So Trayvon Martin was a burglar, used illegal drugs, broke Zimmerman’s nose, and smashed Zimmerman’s head against the concrete.
And how does Obama respond to all of this?
Obama said:
“If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”
207) Falsely said that Secretary of State John Kerry had not been on his yacht during the regime change in Egypt
In July 2013, the Obama administration falsely said that Secretary of State John Kerry had not been on his yacht during the regime change in Egypt.
Evan after CBS news presented the Obama administration with photographic evidence that Kerry had been on his yacht during that time, the Obama administration still continued to falsely claim that Kerry had not been on his yacht.
CBS News reported:
On Thursday night, CBS News obtained a photo of Kerry on his boat and sent it to the State Department, asking whether they still stand by their denial that Kerry was on a boat.
The response: “Yes.”
208) Said “the planet will boil over” if African citizens adopt a first world standard of living
In July 2013, Obama said “the planet will boil over” if African citizens adopt a first world standard of living.
“the planet will boil over
209) “Among those who Strongly Approve of the president, more fear the Tea Party than radical Muslims.”
In June 2013, Rasmussen conducted a poll to find out what people considered to be the “nation’s top terror threat.”
Reporting on the results of the poll, Rasmussen wrote:
“Among those who Strongly Approve of the president, more fear the Tea Party than radical Muslims.”
210) Illegally forced 2,200 privately owned auto dealerships to close, which destroyed 120,000 jobs
In 2009, Obama illegally forced 2,200 privately owned auto dealerships to close. These dealerships had employed 120,000 people.
211) Subsidized the production of alcoholic beverages
In June 2013, Breitbart reported:
The USDA Rural Development agency also touted a program to subsidize the Wine Barn LLC in “marketing and increasing production of its Kansas produced wine.” That cost $25,000. The USDA Rural Development also said it would hand $300,000 to the Mackinaw Trail Winery in Michigan, $100,000 for the Appleton Creek Winery in New York, $162,500 for the Old Westminster Winery in Maryland, and tens of thousands of dollars to wineries in Nebraska and Iowa.
Liquor is the name of the game for the USDA, apparently – they’re also subsidizing the production of vodka in North Carolina, Bloody Mary mix in West Virginia, and hard cider in Virginia.
212) Gave 23,994 tax refunds worth a total of $46,378,040 to illegal aliens who all used the same address
In 2011, the IRS gave 23,994 tax refunds worth a total of $46,378,040 to illegal aliens who all used the same address in Atlanta, Ga.
213) Sued private businesses for using “racist” criminal background checks to screen employees
In June 2013, the Obama administration filed lawsuits against Dollar General and BMW for using criminal background checks to screen employees. The Obama administration claimed that such background checks were “racist.”
214) Used tax money to pay federal employees to organize protests against George Zimmerman
In March and April of 2012, Obama used tax money to pay federal employees to organize protests against George Zimmerman.
215) Illegally continued giving foreign aid to Egypt after it had a coup
Federal law requires that U.S. foreign aid to Egypt be ended if and when Egypt has a coup. However, after Egypt had a coup in July 2013, the Obama administration said that it would continue giving foreign aid to Egypt.
216) Broke promise to end Bush’s surveillance of U.S. citizens who were not suspected of committing a crime
In August 2007, Obama promised that he would end Bush’s surveillance of U.S. citizens who were not suspected of committing a crime. However, in June 2013, such surveillance was still being conducted.
217) Spent $3 million to study the health risks of dating Mexican prostitutes
In July 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration had spent $3 million to study the health risks of dating Mexican prostitutes.
218) Lied about the cost of IRS conferences
In June 2013 it was reported that the Obama administration had lied about the cost of IRS conferences. While the actual cost was $50 million, the Obama administration had claimed that the cost was only 1% of that mount.
219) Spent $890,000 per year on service fees for bank accounts that had no money
In April 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration was spending $890,000 each year on service fees for bank accounts that did not have any money in them. At the time, the government had 13,712 empty accounts which it was supposed to have closed, but which it had kept open anyway.
220) Spent $34 million to construct a new military headquarters in Afghanistan after U.S. military commanders said they did not want it
After U.S. military commanders said in 2010 that they did not want a new headquarters in Afghanistan, the Obama administration spent $34 million to build it anyway.
221) Falsely said that his scandals were “phony”
“With an endless parade of distractions, political posturing and phony scandals, Washington has taken its eye off the ball.”
These scandals are not “phony.” I have cited a huge number of sources in this list to show that these scandals are real.
222) Falsely guaranteed that people could keep their doctor
“Here is a guarantee that I’ve made… If you’ve got a doctor that you like, you will be able to keep your doctor.”
However, in July 2013, the Obama administration said that people “may” be able to keep their doctor.
223) Falsely said the auto bailouts prevented Detroit from going bankrupt
Obama falsely stated that the auto bailouts prevented Detroit from going bankrupt.
224) Illegally seized a privately owned gun from a law abiding citizen
After a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty, the Obama administration announced that it would seize his gun. This violated the double jeopardy clause of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the takings clause of the fifth amendment.
225) Broke his promise to have real time verifiability of Obamacare subsidies
In July 2013, Investor’s Business Daily wrote:
Meanwhile, the administration tacitly admitted last week that its promise of real-time verification of a consumer’s eligibility to buy subsidized coverage at an ObamaCare exchange wasn’t exactly panning out.
Under ObamaCare, only those who don’t have access to “affordable” insurance at work can buy coverage in an exchange, and only those below certain income levels are eligible for tax subsidies.
Rather than a high-tech instant check, the administration told states they could simply take the applicants’ word for it when it comes to their employer-provided coverage, as well as their “projected annual household income,” without the need for “further verification.”
226) Signed health care reform whose rules contradicted each other
Obamacare allows insurance companies to charge higher premiums for smokers. At the same time, it prohibits insurance companies from charging more than three times as much for older people as it does for younger people. In June 2013, Obama’s computer programmers said that they had been unable to write a computer program that simultaneously agreed with both of these rules.
227) Signed a health care reform plan that is so horrible that even the IRS agents who run it don’t want to participate in it
Obama hired 16,500 new IRS agents to run Obamacare.
But Obamacare is so awful that even the IRS agents who run it don’t want to participate in it.
In July 2013, the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents the IRS employees who will be running Obamacare, provided a form letter to its members to send to their Congressmen. The letter stated:
“I am very concerned about legislation that has been introduced by Congressman Dave Camp to push federal employees out of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and into the insurance exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act.”
When asked about this, IRS chief Daniel Werfel responded by saying:
“I don’t want to speak for the NTEU, but I’ll offer a perspective as a federal employee myself and a federal employee at the IRS. And that is, we have right now as employees of the government, of the IRS, affordable health care coverage. I think the ACA was designed to provide an option or an alternative for individuals that do not. And all else being equal, I think if you’re an individual who is satisfied with your health care coverage, you’re probably in a better position to stick with that coverage than go through the change of moving into a different environment and going through that process. So I think for a federal employee, I think more likely, and I would — can speak for myself, I would prefer to stay with the current policy that I’m pleased with rather than go through a change if I don’t need to go through that change.”
228) Tried to tax small businesses at a higher rate than corporations
Obama raised the top tax rate on small businesses to 39.6%, and tried to lower the top tax rate on corporations to 28%.
229) Illegally prevented individual employees of small businesses from choosing their own plan during the first year of Obamacare
Obamacare requires that individual employees of small businesses be allowed to choose their own insurance plan during the first year of Obamacare. However, in March 2013, the Obama administration announced that it would not be allowing them to make this choice during the first year.
230) Falsely said that Obamacare had not hurt jobs
In July 2013, the Obama administration said that Obamacare had not hurt jobs.
However, in the real world, in response to the medical device tax that is part of Obamacare, some medical device manufacturers have announced plans to layoff employees, including Welch Allyn (275 planned layoffs), Stryker (1,170 planned layoffs), and Medtronic (1,000 planned layoffs). In December 2012, Al Franken, Elizabeth Warren, John Kerry, and 15 other Democrats who supported the passage of Obamacare wrote a letter to Harry Reid, asking him to delay the tax on medical devices, claiming that the tax would hurt job creation in their districts. The New York Times reported that Obamacare “sharply penalizes full-time employment in favor of part-time employment.” In response to the employer mandate of Obamacare, some restaurants have announced plans to switch some of their employees from full time to part time, including some franchises of Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, White Castle, and Fatburger. Community College of Allegheny County switched 200 professors and 200 other employees from full time to part time in response to Obamacare. Clint Benjamin, an English professor at Community College of Allegheny County, said that this would reduce his own monthly pay by $600. Also in response to the employer mandate of Obamacare, other colleges have announced plans to switch some of their employees from full time to part time, including Florida’s Palm Beach State College, Ohio’s Youngstown State University, and New Jersey’s Kean University. In Virginia, thousands of government employees had their hours reduced because of Obamacare. The Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh reduced the hours of 48 of its employees in response to Obamacare. Regal Entertainment Group, the largest chain of movie theaters in the country, announced that it would be switching thousands of its employees from full time to part time in response to the Obamacare mandate. Utah’s Granite School District reduced the hours of 1,200 of its employees in response to Obamacare. In response to Obamacare, many Wal-Mart stores have stopped hiring full time workers. In response to Obamacare, Forever 21 reduced its employees’ hours. As of September 2013, more than 200 public-sector employers had reduced their employees’ hours in response to Obamacare. Sea World reduced the weekly hours of its part time employees from 32 to 28 in response to Obamacare. Lands’ End limited its part time employees to 29 hours per week in response to Obamacare. As of September 2013, at least 34 universities and colleges had reduced some of their employees’ hours in response to Obamacare. In September 2013, it was reported that in response to Obamacare, Indiana University would be laying off 50 of its employees and switching them to a temp agency. In July 2013, leaders of the Teamsters, UFCW, and UNITE-HERE sent a letter to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi which said that Obamacare will “destroy the foundation of the 40 hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class… the law creates an incentive for employers to keep employees’ work hours below 30 hours a week. Numerous employers have begun to cut workers’ hours to avoid this obligation.”
231) Falsely said that health insurance premiums would be reduced by $2,500 per family by the end of his first term
In February 2008, Obama said:
“We are going to work with you to lower your premiums by $2,500. We will not wait 20 years from now to do it, or 10 years from now to do it. We will do it by the end of my first term as president.”
However, by the time his first term was over, family premiums had gotten bigger, not smaller. The increase was $3,065 per family.
232) Illegally gave Obamacare waiver to Massachusetts
In August 2013, Obama gave an Obamacare waiver to Massachusetts.
This waiver was illegal for two reasons. First, the waiver was not approved by the U.S. Congress. Second, the U.S. Constitution requires that the federal government treat all states the same.
233) Betrayed the unions that helped him to get elected
In January 2013, the Wall Street Journal reported:
Some Unions Grow Wary of Health Law They Backed
Labor unions enthusiastically backed the Obama administration’s health-care overhaul when it was up for debate. Now that the law is rolling out, some are turning sour.
Union leaders say many of the law’s requirements will drive up the costs for their health-care plans and make unionized workers less competitive. Among other things, the law eliminates the caps on medical benefits and prescription drugs used as cost-containment measures in many health-care plans. It also allows children to stay on their parents’ plans until they turn 26.
Some 20 million Americans are covered by the health-care plans at issue
Top officers at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the AFL-CIO and other large labor groups plan to keep pressing the Obama administration to expand the federal subsidies to these jointly run plans, warning that unionized employers may otherwise drop coverage. A handful of unions say they already have examined whether it makes sense to shift workers off their current plans
“We are going back to the administration to say that this is not acceptable,” said Ken Hall, general secretary-treasurer for the Teamsters, which has 1.6 million members and dependents in health-care plans. Other unions involved in the push include the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and Unite Here
Sheet Metal Workers Local 85 in Atlanta, which has about 1,900 members. Next year it must lift the $250,000 annual cap on the amount it will pay for medical claims. The law’s requirements will add between 50 cents to $1 an hour to the cost of members’ compensation package
234) Illegally changed Obamacare to benefit members of Congress and their staff
Obamacare was passed by the House and Senate, and signed by President Obama.
Three years later, members of Congress and their staff complained that Obamacare was going to cost them a lot of money, and said that this would likely cause a brain drain among their staff. In response to this, Obama made changes to Obamacare so that these things would not happen. However, Obama’s actions were illegal, because he made these changes without Congress voting on them first.
235) Told General Mills to stop making true claims about Cheerios
For quite some time, advertisements for the breakfast cereal Cheerios made the true and accurate claim that eating Cheerios lowers a person’s cholesterol.
However, even though this claim is true and accurate, in May 2009, the Obama administration ordered General Mills, the maker of Cheerios, to stop making this claim in its commercials.
236) Illegally avoided enforcing the required income verification of people who receive subsidies for Obamacare exchanges
Even though Obamacare requires the government to verify the income of people who receive subsidies for Obamacare exchanges, in August 2013 it was reported that Obama would not be verifying their incomes.
237) Placed a 40% tax on so-called “Cadillac” insurance plans
Obamacare includes a 40% tax on so-called “Cadillac” insurance plans. In August 2013, unions that supported the passage of Obamacare complained about this tax.
238) Made medical care for special needs children more expensive
In August 2013, it was reported that Obamacare would make it more expensive for the parents of special needs children to pay for their children’s medical equipment and specialized private schools that cater to their medical needs.
239) Responded to the Benghazi attack by going back to bed, and then later got up and headed off to Las Vegas for a fundraiser
In September 2012, after Obama found out that U.S. citizens were being killed in Benghazi, Libya, he went back to bed. After he got up in the morning, he went off to Las Vegas for a fundraiser.
240) Illegally delayed the caps on out of pocket health care payments without Congressional approval
As it was passed by the House and Senate and signed by Obama, Obamacare sets caps on the out of pocket payments that people pay for health care, and these caps were legally required to take effect in January 2014.
However, in August 2013, Obama delayed these caps until January 2015.
Because Obama imposed this delay without it first being approved by Congress, Obama’s action was illegal. The President does not have the legal authority to change an Act that was passed by Congress, without that change first being approved by Congress. What Obama did here is not the act of a President whose power is limited by a written constitution, but is, instead, the action of a dictator.
241) Holds a double standard when it comes to supporting “gun free” zones
In December 2012, a petition at whitehouse.gov stated:
“Eliminate armed guards for the President, Vice-President, and their families, and establish Gun Free Zones around them”
“Gun Free Zones are supposed to protect our children, and some politicians wish to strip us of our right to keep and bear arms. Those same politicians and their families are currently under the protection of armed Secret Service agents. If Gun Free Zones are sufficient protection for our children, then Gun Free Zones should be good enough for politicians.”
The Obama administration rejected the proposal.
242) Outlawed the low-premium, high-deductible health insurance that some people prefer
Obamacare bans to the low-premium, high-deductible health insurance that some people prefer.
243) Lied about how many people he had helped to protect from mortgage fraud
In August 2013, it was reported that less than one month before the 2012 election, the Obama administration had lied about the number of people that it had helped to protect from mortgage fraud, as well as the total amount of money involved. In August 2013, when the truth was revealed, Newsbusters reported:
“Thus, the number of defendants fell by 80% from what DOJ claimed less than a month before the presidential election. The number of victims fell by 76%. The amount of losses involved dropped by over 90%.”
244) Falsely said the NSA review was being conducted by an “independent” body
In August 2013, Obama said that he would establish an “independent” investigation of NSA surveillance.
However, three days later, it was reported that this so-called “independent” investigation would be run by James Clapper, who had falsely testified to Congress that the NSA was not collecting information on U.S. citizens.
245) Used tax money to pay for a separate flight just for his dog
In August 2013, Obama forced taxpayers to pay for a separate airplane flight just for his dog Bo.
246) Closed off public roads so he could buy books
In August 2013, Obama had public roads closed to the public so he could go to a bookstore. Why didn’t he just order the books online?
247) Gave illegal EPA exemption to one oil refinery, and would not say which refinery it was
The EPA has a very expensive ethanol mandate that applies to all oil refineries. However, in August 2013, it was reported that Obama had given one oil refinery an exemption from this mandate.
This exemption is illegal for two reasons. First, the exemption was not approved by Congress. And secondly, the Constitution requires that federal laws apply equally to everyone.
In addition, Obama refused to say which refinery it was that received this exemption, which is completely contrary to his repeated promises of “transparency.”
248) Created new fines for charitable hospitals that give treatment to uninsured people
In August 2013, it was reported that Obamacare creates new fines for charitable hospitals that give treatment to uninsured people.
249) Blamed poverty on zip codes instead of on behavior
In July 2013, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said:
“Unfortunately, in too many of our hardest-hit communities, no matter how hard a child or her parents work, the life chances of that child, even her lifespan, is determined by the ZIP Code she grows up in. This is simply wrong.”
However, let’s consider two groups of people in the U.S. The first group has a poverty rate of 2%. The second group has a poverty rate of 76%.
The first group consists of people who followed all three of these steps:
1) Finish high school.
2) Get a full-time job.
3) Wait until age 21 and get married before having children.
The second group consists of people who followed zero of those three steps.
Among people who follow all three of these steps, the poverty rate is 2%.
Among people who follow zero of these steps, the poverty rate is 76%.
(My source for that information is this article, which refers to this PDF, and the relevant data is on page 15 of the PDF. The study uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau.)
250) Nominated a telecommunications lobbyist and Obama fundraiser to head the FCC
In May 2013, Obama nominated Tom Wheeler to head the FCC. Wheeler had previously been the head of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, which is a lobbying organization for the cable TV industry. He had also been the head of CTIA, a lobbying organization for cellphone carriers. In addition, he had also been a fundraiser for Obama.
251) Tried to violate defendants’ right to a fair trial
In August 2013, Reuters reported:
A secretive U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration unit is funneling information from intelligence intercepts, wiretaps, informants and a massive database of telephone records to authorities across the nation to help them launch criminal investigations of Americans.
Although these cases rarely involve national security issues, documents reviewed by Reuters show that law enforcement agents have been directed to conceal how such investigations truly begin – not only from defense lawyers but also sometimes from prosecutors and judges.
The undated documents show that federal agents are trained to “recreate” the investigative trail to effectively cover up where the information originated, a practice that some experts say violates a defendant’s Constitutional right to a fair trial. If defendants don’t know how an investigation began, they cannot know to ask to review potential sources of exculpatory evidence – information that could reveal entrapment, mistakes or biased witnesses.
“I have never heard of anything like this at all,” said Nancy Gertner, a Harvard Law School professor who served as a federal judge from 1994 to 2011. Gertner and other legal experts said the program sounds more troubling than recent disclosures that the National Security Agency has been collecting domestic phone records. The NSA effort is geared toward stopping terrorists; the DEA program targets common criminals, primarily drug dealers.
“It is one thing to create special rules for national security,” Gertner said. “Ordinary crime is entirely different. It sounds like they are phonying up investigations.”
252) Threatened internet service providers with contempt of court if they did not install surveillance software
In August 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration had pressured internet service providers to install surveillance software, so that it could monitor internet traffic without a warrant. Internet service providers who did not cave in to this pressure were threatened by the Obama administration with contempt of court. This violated the Constitution’s ban on warrantless searches. In addition, the executive branch does not have the legal authority to declare contempt of court, as this power is reserved exclusively for the judicial branch.
253) Sued Louisiana to keep low income blacks trapped in bad schools, and lied about why he did it
In August 2013, the Obama administration sued Louisiana to try to bring an end to its school voucher program – a program which had just been passed in 2012.
Under the Louisiana program, both of the following criteria had to be met in order for a student to get a school voucher. First, the student must come from a family whose income is below 250% of the poverty level. And second, the current public school that the student is attending must be rated as “C” or below.
86% of students who received vouchers had used those vouchers to flee from public schools which had been rated as “D” or “F.”
Only the most vulnerable children were eligible for the vouchers – the poorest students attending the worst schools.
Obama’s reason for filing the lawsuit was that “many of those vouchers impeded the desegregation process.”
However, in response to Obama’s claim that the vouchers discriminated against blacks, Louisiana Education Superintendent John White pointed out that almost all of the students using the vouchers were black, and said that “it’s a little ridiculous” for Obama to claim that these vouchers caused discrimination against blacks. The Washington Post reported that 90% of the students who receive the vouchers are black.
It’s also worth noting that only students whose parents request such vouchers are eligible to participate in the voucher program. Obama is therefore claiming that parents want their own children to be discriminated against. Obama is extremely wrong on this. These parents do not want their children to be discriminated against. In reality, what these parents want is for their children to have a chance at a better education.
This also makes Obama a hypocrite, because while he was living in both Chicago and Washington D.C., he always sent his own children to private schools. Does Obama really want us to believe that he subjected his own children to racial discrimination by sending them to private schools?
254) Encouraged 40,000 longshoremen to quit the AFL-CIO
In September 2013, it was reported that 40,000 longshoremen had quit the AFL-CIO, and that they had cited Obamacare as one of their reasons for doing so.
255) Paid $67 million to so-called “volunteers”
In August 2013, it was reported that Obama has paid $67 million to so-called “volunteers” to teach people about Obamacare.
256) Illegally used Obamacare to fund pre-K education without approval from Congress
In August 2013, it was reported that Obama had illegally used Obamacare to fund pre-K education without approval from Congress.
257) Signed so-called “hunger-free” act that left students feeling hungry
In December 2010, Obama signed the “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act,” which limited school lunches to a maximum of 850 calories. Students complained that this so-called “hunger-free” program left them feeling hungry.
Meanwhile, the lunch that Obama served to his guests at his 2013 inauguration contained more than 3,000 calories.
258) Signed health care reform that is so terrible that less than 3% of federal employees want to join it
In August 2013, it was reported that less than 3% of federal employees wanted to participate in Obamacare.
259) Avoided doing background checks on Obamacare “navigators”
In August 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration would not be doing background check on Obamacare “navigators,” despite the fact that these “navigators” would have access to people’s personal, private, and financial information.
260) Illegally paid White House interns less than minimum wage
In June 2013, a federal court ruled that Fox Searchlight Pictures had violated the minimum wage law by using unpaid interns. Two months later, it was reported that the Obama administration was using unpaid interns. In addition to this being illegal, it also makes Obama a hypocrite, because he had previously spoken out in favor of a raising the minimum wage.
261) Said broccoli was his favorite food
In July 2013, Obama said that broccoli was his favorite food. However, before he made this claim, even though the media showed many pictures of him eating, and even though there were many articles published about the foods that he ate, as far as I know, none of those pictures or articles ever showed or mentioned him eating broccoli. While this may seem trivial, it shows that there is nothing – absolutely nothing at all – that Obama is not willing to lie about.
262) Illegally missed half of Obamacare’s deadlines
In August 2013, it was reported that Obama had illegally missed 41 of Obamacare’s 82 deadlines.
263) Tried to give illegal Obamacare subsidies to unions without Congressional approval
In August 2013 it was reported that Obama was trying to give illegal Obamacare subsidies to unions, without approval from Congress.
264) Made it harder for writers, actors, artists, and musicians to obtain health insurance
In September 2013, the Weekly Standard reported:
Nancy Pelosi waxed rhapsodic in 2010 as she imagined the benefits of Obamacare: “Think of an economy where people could be an artist or a photographer or a writer without worrying about keeping their day job in order to have health insurance.”
But as Obamacare begins to kick in, artists, photographers, writers, and other members of the “creative class” who have access to health insurance programs through numerous professional organizations will lose that coverage.
Up until now professional organizations have worked with insurance providers to craft reduced-rate plans for their members. But thanks to the fine print in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), on January 1, 2014, many of these plans will fail to pass legal muster.
The College Art Association website posted a notice this month: “The New York Life Insurance Company recently informed CAA that it will no longer offer catastrophic healthcare coverage previously available to CAA members.”
The Entertainment Industry Group Insurance Trust (TEIGIT) website posts the following notice: “All individual and/or Sole Proprietor Health Insurance will terminate January 1, 2014. This includes plans acquired as Members of our Affiliated Associations & their groups.” Those affiliated associations include the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the Dramatists Guild, the Graphic Arts Guild, NY Women in Film and Television, and many others.
This will affect huge numbers of freelance artists, musicians, disc jockeys, and so forth.
freelance artists, designers, and musicians forced to enter the state-run exchanges are far more likely to see their rates go up
Pelosi’s vision of a world full of carefree artists, musicians, and writers is a mirage and becoming fainter the closer we get to January 1.
265) Banned the sale of flavored cigarettes, but gave an exemption to the most dangerous flavor
In September 2009, the Obama administration banned the sale of flavored cigarettes, but exempted menthol from the ban. Although I am opposed to this ban, it’s this exemption that I find to be the most troubling. If Obama thinks that flavored cigarettes are so dangerous that they deserve to be banned, then why did he exempt one particular flavor?
The Obama administration later announced that menthol cigarettes were more dangerous than other flavors such as cherry, cloves, chocolate, coconut, and cinnamon, but still continued to exempt menthol from the ban. If Obama thinks that flavored cigarettes are so dangerous that they should be banned, then why did he knowingly continue to give an exemption to the most dangerous flavor?
266) Tried to censor the Washington Post
In August 2013, the Washington Post reported:
The Obama administration referred all questions for this article to John DeLong, the NSA’s director of compliance, who answered questions freely in a 90-minute interview. DeLong and members of the NSA communications staff said he could be quoted “by name and title” on some of his answers after an unspecified internal review. The Post said it would not permit the editing of quotes. Two days later, White House and NSA spokesmen said that none of DeLong’s comments could be quoted on the record and sent instead a prepared statement in his name. The Post declines to accept the substitute language as quotations from DeLong.
267) Dumbed down math education to make wrong answers acceptable
In August 2013, the Daily Caller reported:
Quick: what’s 3 x 4?
If you said 11 — or, hell, if you said 7, pi, or infinity squared — that’s just fine under the Common Core, the new national curriculum that the Obama administration will impose on American public school students this fall.
In a pretty amazing YouTube video, Amanda August, a curriculum coordinator in a suburb of Chicago called Grayslake, explains that getting the right answer in math just doesn’t matter as long as kids can explain the necessarily faulty reasoning they used to get to that wrong answer.
“Even if they said, ’3 x 4 was 11,’ if they were able to explain their reasoning and explain how they came up with their answer really in, umm, words and oral explanation, and they showed it in the picture but they just got the final number wrong, we’re really more focused on the how,” August says in the video.
268) Broke his promise to label genetically modified food
Before the 2008 election, Obama promised to require labeling of genetically modified food. He broke that promise.
269) Asked the Supreme Court to allow warrantless cell phone searches
In August 2013, the Obama administration asked the U.S Supreme Court to allow warrantless cell phone searches.
270) Used an armed SWAT team to check for water pollution
In September 2013, the Alaska Dispatch reported:
When agents with the Alaska Environmental Crimes Task Force surged out of the wilderness around the remote community of Chicken wearing body armor and jackets emblazoned with POLICE in big, bold letters, local placer miners didn’t quite know what to think.
Did it really take eight armed men and a squad-size display of paramilitary force to check for dirty water? Some of the miners, who run small businesses, say they felt intimidated.
Miners suggest it might have been better all around if officials had just shown up at the door — as they used to do — and said they wanted to check the water.
The EPA has refused to publicly explain why it used armed officers as part of what it called a “multi-jurisdictional” investigation of possible Clean Water Act violations in the area.
271) Purchased 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition for the Department of Homeland Security to use in the U.S.
In March 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration had purchased 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition for the Department of Homeland Security to use in the U.S.
272) Released 2,837 convicted sex offenders from prison
In September 2013, the Obama administration released 2,837 convicted sex offenders from prison.
Although the Obama administration had released these sex offenders in response to a court order to alleviate prison overcrowding, it could have released non-violent drug offenders instead. See #7 on this list for how Obama has carried out the biggest war against medical marijuana of any President in history.
Apparently, Obama thinks that people with doctors’ prescriptions for medical marijuana are a bigger threat than rapists and child molesters.
273) Refused to fire or prosecute Obamacare employee who released private info of 2,400 people
In September 2013, it was reported that an Obamacare employee had released the private information of 2,400 people. Obama refused to fire or prosecute this Obamacare employee.
274) Tried to monitor 80% of all credit card transactions
In September 2013, it was reported that the Obama administration was trying to monitor 80% of all credit card transactions.
275) Tried to censor the AFL-CIO
In September 2013, Associated Press reported:
The AFL-CIO on Wednesday approved a resolution critical of parts of President Barack Obama’s health care law in spite of efforts by White House officials to discourage the labor federation from making its concerns so prominent.
The strongly worded resolution says the Affordable Care Act will drive up the costs of union-sponsored health plans to the point that workers and employers are forced to abandon them. Labor unions still support the law’s overall goals of reducing health costs and bringing coverage to all Americans, the resolution says, but adds that the law is being implemented in a way that is “highly disruptive” to union health care plans.
Some individual unions have complained about the law’s impact for months. The resolution marks the first time the nation’s largest labor federation has gone on record embracing that view. Unions were among the most enthusiastic backers of the law when it passed in 2010.
A labor official told The Associated Press that White House officials had been calling labor leaders for days to urge them not to voice their concerns in the form of a resolution.
276) Falsely said that he had not declared a “red line” on Syria
In August 2012, while talking about Syria, Obama said:
“A red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized.”
However, in September 2013, while talking about Syria, Obama said:
“I didn’t set a red line.”
277) Falsely gave himself credit for John Kerry’s idea about Syria
In September 2013, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested that Syria turn over all of its chemical weapons to an international body.
The Obama’s administration initially responded to Kerry’s statement by saying that Kerry had not been serious, and that his statement had just been a “rhetorical” answer to a hypothetical question.
However, after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Kerry’s idea made sense, Obama falsely stated that he had talked about the idea a week earlier.
278) Made it more difficult and bureaucratic for restaurant employees to collect automatic tips from parties of eight or more
In September 2013, the Obama administration announced new paperwork requirements for restaurants that collect automatic tips from parties of eight or more. These new regulations create additional paperwork for restaurants each and every time a party of eight or more leaves an automatic tip. It also means that restaurant employees would have to wait extra time to receive these automatic tips from parties of eight or more. In addition, in some cases, restaurant employees might not get any tip at all from some parties of eight or more, because their employer might decide that the paperwork is too burdensome, and stop collecting automatic tips altogether.
There’s also the fact that Obama imposed these new regualations without approval from Congress, which means that Obama’s actions were illegal.
279) Secretly and illegally reversed NSA restrictions without approval from Congress
In September 2013, the Washington Post reported:
The Obama administration secretly won permission from a surveillance court in 2011 to reverse restrictions on the National Security Agency’s use of intercepted phone calls and e-mails, permitting the agency to search deliberately for Americans’ communications in its massive databases, according to interviews with government officials and recently declassified material.
In addition, the court extended the length of time that the NSA is allowed to retain intercepted U.S. communications from five years to six years — and more under special circumstances, according to the documents, which include a recently released 2011 opinion by U.S. District Judge John D. Bates, then chief judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Together the permission to search and to keep data longer expanded the NSA’s authority in significant ways without public debate or any specific authority from Congress. The enlarged authority is part of a fundamental shift in the government’s approach to surveillance: collecting first, and protecting Americans’ privacy later.
The court decision allowed the NSA “to query the vast majority” of its e-mail and phone call databases using the e-mail addresses and phone numbers of Americans and legal residents without a warrant, according to Bates’s opinion.
The court in 2008 imposed a wholesale ban on such searches at the government’s request, said Alex Joel, civil liberties protection officer at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The government included this restriction “to remain consistent with NSA policies and procedures that NSA applied to other authorized collection activities,” he said.
280) Encouraged employers to use temp agencies
In September 2013, it was reported that in response to Obamacare, Indiana University would be laying off 50 of its employees and switching them to a temp agency.
In June 2013, Time magazine wrote:
Why Temp Agencies Are Learning to Love the Affordable Care Act
Staffing companies like Robert Half International and On Assignment have seen their stock prices soar since President Obama’s reelection in November, as the election made it nearly certain that the implementation of the law would continue as planned. “In general [Obamacare] is viewed as something that will lead to increases in the penetration rate of temporary workers,” says Tobey Sommer, an analyst with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. Firms like Robert Half International are especially well positioned to benefit from the law, Sommer says, because they specialize in small and medium-sized companies, the very sort that may be using temporary workers to help them stay below that all-important 50-worker mark.
There’s also an opening for staffing companies to present themselves as experts in the labor rules of the Obamacare law, and as a resource that other businesses can turn to for help with its many rules and regulations. “The increasing burden of these regulations will cause some clients to throw up their hands and say, ‘I can’t deal with all of this,” says Sommer. And when that happens, a full-service staffing company could be the perfect place to seek help navigating the unknown waters of Obamacare.
281) Encouraged layoffs of health care workers
In September 2013, it was reported that in response to Obamacare, Emory Healthcare, which is in Georgia, would be laying off more than 100 of its employees.
In September 2013, it was reported that in response to Obamacare, the Cleveland Clinic would be laying off some of its employees.
282) Encouraged insurance companies to reduce their customers’ choices of doctors and hospitals
In September 2013, the Los Angeles Times reported:
The doctor can’t see you now.
Consumers may hear that a lot more often after getting health insurance under President Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
To hold down premiums, major insurers in California have sharply limited the number of doctors and hospitals available to patients in the state’s new health insurance market opening Oct. 1.
New data reveal the extent of those cuts in California, a crucial test bed for the federal healthcare law.
These diminished medical networks are fueling growing concerns that many patients will still struggle to get care despite the nation’s biggest healthcare expansion in half a century.
Consumers could see long wait times, a scarcity of specialists and loss of a longtime doctor.
In September 2013, the New York Times reported:
… under President Obama’s health care law… many insurers are significantly limiting the choices of doctors and hospitals available to consumers.
From California to Illinois to New Hampshire, and in many states in between, insurers are… restricting the number of providers who will treat patients in their new health plans.
… insurers… have created smaller networks of doctors and hospitals than are typically found in commercial insurance.
Consumers should be prepared for “much tighter, narrower networks” of doctors and hospitals, said Adam M. Linker, a health policy analyst at the North Carolina Justice Center, a statewide advocacy group.
In a new study, the Health Research Institute of PricewaterhouseCoopers, the consulting company, says that “insurers passed over major medical centers” when selecting providers in California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, among other states.
Juan Carlos Davila, an executive vice president of Blue Shield of California, said the network for its exchange plans… did not include the five medical centers of the University of California.
Daniel R. Hawkins Jr., a senior vice president of the National Association of Community Health Centers, which represents 9,000 clinics around the country, said: “… insurers have shown little interest in including us in their provider networks.”
Dr. Bruce Siegel, the president of America’s Essential Hospitals, formerly known as the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, said insurers were telling his members: “We don’t want you in our network. We are worried about having your patients, who are sick and have complicated conditions.”
In New Hampshire, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, a unit of WellPoint, one of the nation’s largest insurers, has touched off a furor by excluding 10 of the state’s 26 hospitals from the health plans that it will sell through the insurance exchange.
283) Encouraged a hospital to close
In September 2013, WCYB reported:
Jonesville, Va. – A local hospital is closing its doors.
Wellmont Health System is citing unprecedented changes in health care as the reason for closing Lee Regional Medical Center.
Company officials say three reasons led to the decision reimbursement cuts associated with the Affordable Care Act, extremely low community use of the hospital and a lack of consistent physician coverage.
Lee Regional will cease all operations on October 1.
284) Required doctors to ask patients sexual questions and put their answers in an electronic database
In September 2013, it was reported that Obamacare requires doctors to ask patients personal questions about their sex lives, and to put their answers into an electronic database. Doctors who avoid doing this will be penalized.
Dr. Adam Budzikowski, a New York cardiologist, said these sex question were “insensitive, stupid and very intrusive,” and that he could not think of any reason why a cardiologist would need such information.
Dr. Richard Amerling, an associate professor of medicine at Albert Einstein Medical College, said that a patient’s medical record should be “a story created by you and your doctor solely for your treatment and benefit,” and that Obamacare turns doctor appointments “into an interrogation, and the data will not be confidential.”
The New York Civil Liberties Union said that these requirements were a violation of patients’ privacy.
The Obama administration said that patients who wished to keep their information out of the electronic database should pay in cash.
285) Listed wrong prices for Obamacare
On September 20, 2013, just 10 days before the Obamacare exchanges were legally required to be ready, it was reported that they had the wrong prices.
286) Made it easier for people to commit health care fraud
In September 2013, CNBC reported:
Deep staff cuts are hitting a federal agency responsible for investigating health care fraud just as Obamacare is due to kick in, leaving less people to investigate an ever-growing crime that costs taxpayers billions of dollars.
And in a perverse twist, the funding cuts at the Health and Human Services Department’s Inspector General’s Office might save money in the short term for the U.S. taxpayer. But over the long run, more money that could have been recouped from the fraud cases now going unpursued, is being left on the table, the agency said.
For every $1 spent on health-care fraud probes, nearly $8 is recouped in fines, restitution or settlements, according to HHS.
287) Included a so-called “family glitch” in his health care reform
In September 2013, USA Today reported:
A so-called “family glitch” in the 2010 health care law threatens to cost some families thousands of dollars in health insurance costs and leave up to 500,000 children without coverage, insurance and health care analysts say.
That’s unless Congress fixes the problem, which seems unlikely given the House’s latest move Friday to strip funding from the law, which is also called the Affordable Care Act.
Congress defined “affordable” as 9.5% or less of an employee’s household income, mostly to make sure people did not leave their workplace plans for subsidized coverage through the exchanges. But the “error” was that it only applies to the employee — and not his or her family. So, if an employer offers a woman affordable insurance, but doesn’t provide it for her family, they cannot get subsidized help through the state health exchanges.
That can make a huge difference; the Kaiser Family Foundation said an average plan for an individual is about $5,600, but it goes up to $15,700 for families.
288) Made it harder for Canadian politicians to get health care
Canada has had so-called “universal health care” for a long time.
However, when Robert Bourassa, the premier of Quebec, Canada, needed cancer treatment, he came to the United States and paid for his health care with his own money.
And when Canadian Liberal MP Belinda Stronach needed cancer treatment, she also came to the United States and paid for her health care with her own money.
And when Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams needed heart surgery, he, too, came to the United States and paid for his health care with his own money.
Now that Obama has given the U.S. so-called “universal health care,” where will Canadian politicians go when they get sick?
289) Gave married couples an annual tax of up to $11,028 for being married instead of single
In front of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Obama administration argued that Obamacare is a tax.
According to the Obamacare calulator, Obamacare places an annual tax on married couples for being married instead of single. The amount of this tax depends upon the ages, incomes, and parental status of the married couple.
According to the Obamacare calculator, the extreme case of this tax occurs with a 60-year-old married couple with no children, where the two spouses have identical incomes totaling $62,041 per year. Under this scenario, according to the Obamacare calculator, Obamacare gives them an annual tax of $11, 028 for being married instead of single.
290) Gave people an annual tax increase of up to $12,214 for earning one more dollar of income
Obamacare gives some people a tax increase if they increase their income by one dollar. The amount of this tax increase depends upon the person’s age, income, and marital status.
According to the Obamacare calculator, the extreme case of this occurs with a 64-year-old married couple with a combined income of $62,041. Under this scenario, according to the Obamacare calulator, Obamacare gives them an annual tax increase of $12,214 when their income increases by one dollar, in the case of their income going from $62,040 to $62,041.
This amounts to a marginal tax rate of 1,221,400%. That’s not a typo – the marginal tax rate on that one dollar of additional income is more than one million per cent.
291) Refused to fire IRS employees who “lost” $67 million from Obamacare “slush fund”
In September 2013, it was reported that IRS employees had “lost” $67 million from a “slush fund.” Obama refused to fire those employees. Obama had created the “slush fund” as part of Obamacare.
292) Refused to fire ATF employees who “lost” 420 million cigarettes
In September 2013, it was reported that ATF employees had “lost” 420 million cigarettes. Obama refused to fire them.
293) Falsely said his mother’s insurance company had refused to pay for her cancer treatment
During the 2008 election campaign, Obama falsely said that his mother’s health insurance company had refused to pay for her cancer treatment.
294) Had 19.5 million fake Twitter followers
As of September 2013, Obama had 19.5 million fake Twitter followers.
295) Illegally delayed online registration of Obamacare for small businesses
Obamacare requires that the online registration for small businesses be ready by October 1, 2013. However, five days before that date, Associated Press reported that this deadline would not be met.
296) Encouraged 30,000 Puget Sound grocery workers to vote in favor of authorizing a strike
In September 2013, a union representing 30,000 employees at Safeway, Fred Meyer, QFC, and Albertson’s in the Puget Sound area of Washington state voted in favor of authorizing a strike. Union members said that one of their reasons for voting in favor of the strike was that their employers were trying to switch their part time employees form employer provided insurance to the Obamacare exchanges.
297) Waived the U.S. ban on arming terrorists
In September 2013, the Washington Examiner reported:
Obama waives ban on arming terrorists to allow aid to Syrian opposition
President Obama waived a provision of federal law designed to prevent the supply of arms to terrorist groups to clear the way for the U.S. to provide military assistance to “vetted” opposition groups fighting Syrian dictator Bashar Assad.
Some elements of the Syrian opposition are associated with radical Islamic terrorist groups, including al Qaeda
The law allows the president to waive those prohibitions if he “determines that the transaction is essential to the national security interests of the United States.”
298) Caused a family’s monthly insurance premium to increase from $333 to $965
Andy and Amy Mangione and their two sons live in Louisville, Kentucky. In September 2013, they received a letter from Humana, their insurance company, which said that Obamacare would be causing their monthly premium to increase from $333 to $965.
299) Caused Michelle Malkin’s family to lose their health insurance policy
In September 2013, conservative writer Michelle Malkin, who has always opposed Obamacare, wrote:
Like an estimated 22 million other Americans, I am a self-employed small-business owner who buys health insurance for my family directly on the individual market. We have a high-deductible PPO plan that allows us to choose from a wide range of doctors.
Or rather, we had such a plan.
Last week, our family received notice from Anthem BlueCross BlueShield of Colorado that we can no longer keep the plan we like because of “changes from health care reform (also called the Affordable Care Act or ACA).” The letter informed us that “(t)o meet the requirements of the new laws, your current plan can no longer be continued beyond your 2014 renewal date.”
This isn’t just partisan business. It’s personal. Our cancellation letter states that Anthem is “not going to be selling new individual PPO plans.” When we asked whether we could keep our children’s doctors, an agent for Anthem told my husband and me she didn’t know.
300) Tried to force Little Sisters of the Poor and other Catholic organizations to violate their religious principles
In September 2013, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty sued the Obama administration on behalf of Little Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic charity. Other Catholic organizations were also represented in the lawsuit.
Sister Loraine Marie said of this lawsuit:
“We cannot violate our vows by participating in the government’s program to provide access to abortion-inducing drugs.”
Mark Rienzi, one of the lawyers representing these Catholic organizations, said:
“These women just want to take care of the elderly poor without being forced to violate the faith that animates their work. The money they collect should be used to care for the poor like it always has — and not to pay the IRS.”
301) Signed health care reform that broke his promise not to increase taxes on families making less than $250,000 a year
On September 12, 2008, Obama promised:
“I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”
In 2010, Obama signed Obamacare.
In 2012, in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Obama administration argued that Obamacare is a tax.
302) Pushed millions of working people “into a regulatory health coverage no man’s land”
In February 2013, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (Democrat-Oregon) said:
“We’ve got millions of people — working-class, middle-class people — who are going to be pushed into a regulatory health coverage no man’s land. They are unable to afford the family coverage through their employer and ineligible for the subsidy that could be used by dependents on the exchange.”
303) “Unfairly” forced federal lawmakers and their aides to participate in the same health care reform as everyone else
In June 2013, U.S. Congressman John Larson (Democrat-Connecticut) said that it is “not fair” to force federal lawmakers and their aides to participate in the same health care reform as everyone else.
304) Encouraged SEIU union to go on strike
The Service Employees International Union supported Obama in both elections, and also supported the passage of Obamacare.
However, in September 2013, member of the Chicago chapter of the SEIU went on strike over jobs cuts that were caused by Obamacare.
305) Removed promise of “free” health care from Obamacare website
In September 2013, the Obamacare website removed its promise of “free” health care.
306) Exposed the hypocrisy of MSNBC host Ed Schultz
After Obamacare was passed, MSNBC host Ed Schultz praised it almost every day for three years. However, on Sepotember 26, 2013, just five days before the Obamacare exchanges were to begin, Schultz said that unions should be exempt from it.
307) Punished people who were unable to accurately predict their income a year in advance
Obamacare requires people to predict their income a year in advance. If their prediction is wrong, they can be punished by the IRS.
308) Created Obamacare website where less than 1% of the people who visited on its first day actually registered for Obamacare
U.S. Congressman Congressman Jim Himes (Democrat-Connecticut) said that out of the 28,000 people from Connecticut who had visited the Obamacare website on its first day, only 167 had actually signed up for Obamacare.
309) Falsely said the government did not know how many people had enrolled in Obamacare
On October 3, 2013, the third day that the Obamacare website was in operation, White House spokesman Jay Carney said that “7 million” people had visited the Obamacare website so far. However, when asked how many of those people had actually enrolled in Obamacare, he said, “We don’t have that data.”
Carney was lying. Of course they have that data. The real reason he didn’t answer the question is because the number of people who had actually registered for Obamacare was very low. For example, KUSI reported that of the first 645,000 people from California who visited the Obamacare website, zero of them had actually enrolled in Obamacare. As another example. U.S. Congressman Congressman Jim Himes (Democrat-Connecticut) said that out of the 28,000 people from Connecticut who had visited the Obamacare website on its first day, only 167 had actually signed up for Obamacare.
The federal government knows exactly how many of those first 7 million visitors to the Obamcare website actually registered for Obamacare. But that number is so low, that the government is afraid to reveal it.
310) Broke promise that Obamacare “navigators” would not go door to door
On October 1, 2013, the very first day that Obamacare registration was taking place, the Obama administration broke its promise that Obamacare “navigators” would not go door to door.
311) Created Obamacare website where reporters from various news agencies were unable to register on its first day
On October 1, 2013, a CNN reporter was unable to register at the Obamacare website.
On October 1, 2013, an MSNBC reporter was unable to register at the Obamacare website.
On October 1, 2013, a reporter from the Tennessean was unable to register at the Obamacare website.
312) Created Obamacare phone line that was answered by “navigators” who had no training
President Obama signed Obamacare in March 2010. The Obama administration had three and a half years to hire and train the “navigators” who answer the Obamacare phone line.
However, on October 1, 2013, one of the “navigators” who answered the Obamacare phone line said “We have not been trained yet.”
313) Created Obamacare website that can’t handle as much traffic as a website which is run by one guy in his pajamas from his apartment
drudgereport.com is run by Matt Drudge, who runs the website in his pajamas from his apartment. I’ve visited his website just about every day since the late 20th century. It runs very well. His website has gotten as many as 45 million hits per day.
On the first day of the Obamacare website, it had 5 million visitors. It could not handle that amount of traffic.
314) Created Obamacare phone line where “navigators” told people to go to a building that turned out to be empty
Obamacare “navigators” who answered the Obamacare phone line told people to go to a building that turned out to be empty.
315) Created Obamacare phone line with a number that when spelled out is “F*** YO”
When spelled out, the Obamacare phone number is “F*** YO.”
This is not a complaint on my part. On the contrary, I consider this to be truth in advertising. For once, the Obama administration is telling us the truth about Obamacare.
October 5, 2013. Tags: Barack Obama, corporate welfare, Government waste, Green Party, Libertarian Party, Medical marijuana, Obama, Obamacare, occupy-wall-street, Police state, Politics, Rule of law, Solyndra, U.S. Constitution. Barack Obama, Politics.
onevoiceinamerica replied:
Great job! This is a very good start on a list of audacity in its’ purest form.
I was trying to calculate this last night: If a lie can get around the world before the truth gets his pants on, how much faster can Obama break the law than the wheels of justice can turn?
October 7, 2013 at 4:07 pm. Permalink.
danfromsquirrelhill replied:
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Markus Kainu
Introduction – Open Research Methods
The debate on open science in the context of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) has been predominantly focusing on open access to research publication and opening up the various types of digital research data (open research data). The openness of research methods has received less attention.
I can think of two main reasons for that. On the one hand, research methods in SSH have predominantly been qualitative where software has played only a supporting role. Such research methods, let’s take discourse analysis, have always been open, free to use and to modify and redistribute. On the other hand, the quantitative fields of SSH have mostly used statistics or survey and register data, or other, often closed, tailor-made data that custom proprietary data analysis tools such as SPSS, Stata or Excel are well suited for. However, the future of SSH looks somewhat different as the quantity and multiplicity of sources of digital data are challenging both traditional approaches in SSH the field, the purely qualitative approach and custom tools approach in quantitative analysis. The future that Gary King (2014, p. 166), the director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University describes as:
An important driver of the change sweeping the field is the enormous quantities of highly informative data inundating almost every area we study. In the last half-century, the information base of social science research has primarily come from three sources: survey research, end-of-period government statistics, and one-off studies of particular people, places, or events. In the next half-century, these sources will still be used and improved, but the number and diversity of other sources of information are increasing exponentially and are already many orders of magnitude more informative than ever before.
In the data rich future of SSH research, as the role of software and computation becomes more central, the questions of licensing, ownership, modification and distribution of that software will become increasingly important. This chapter will introduce one viable option for analysing your data called R.
What is R?
R is one of the most popular platforms for data analysis and visualization currently available. R is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License so it is free and open source and it can be distributed under those conditions. R is available from Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN). The name R comes from the first names of two New Zealand statisticians, Ross Ihaka and Robert Gentleman, who created the language in the late 1990s.
R can be regarded as an implementation of the S language which was developed at Bell Laboratories in the 1970s by Rick Becker, John Chambers and Allan Wilks (Venables, Smith, and Team 2013). R is an object-oriented programming language which means that unlike in SPSS or SAS that give you abundant information on a particular model you implement, R creates objects in memory that can be used in subsequent analysis. This structure of R directs the user to implement the data-analysis as stepwise process which becomes very useful later on when solving complex research problems using vast and messy data typical for emerging computational SSH research.
R user-interfaces
R runs in Windows, Mac OS X and GNU/Linux operating systems on a local computer, but different server implementations are becoming increasingly popular, such as R-Fiddle or rnotebook. The most basic user interface for R is console, which allows the user to type in commands and outputs the results of the analysis. If the results is a plot a pop-up graphical window is opened. There are several graphical user interfaces (GUI) in R that may be helpful in the beginning, like RCommander or Deducer. Perhaps the most productive way for using R is through an integrated development environment (IDE) that provides the user, in addition to console, several useful functionalities for controlling the whole research project. RStudio has gained a lot of popularity in the last couple of years and is also my personal favourite IDE. It combines the console with script editor, plot browser, file browser and environment window. If the user uses plain text (latex or markdown) for typesetting the texts, RStudio has a tailored text editor and support for version control either in git or in subversion. In addition, RStudio has native support for html-based presentation graphics using reveal.js-framework. All these operations makes it possible to squeeze the whole research process within a single software environments from planning to publishing. Rstudio can also be run on a remote server through a web browser. The RStudio company has another exciting open source tool for R called shiny that can be used for creating interactive web applications such as this experimental gadget of mine.
Structure of R-project
For someone new to R, the peculiar structure of the language creates a very steep learning curve. The same applies to learning how the whole project is organised.
The official name The R Project for Statistical Computing refers both to the centrally maintained core as well as R’s distributed structure of contributed extensions, called packages. Packages in R are collections of functions and/or data that are packaged for convenience. Installing a package broadens the functionality of your R installation. Basic R installation consists of so called base installation that includes the core with some 25 additional packages for the most basic functionality. The core of the language is maintained by R Development Core Team, but the additional packages are developed and maintained by individual developers and research institutes. R users often create packages for themselves, but if one thinks the package could be useful for other users too, the packages can be distributed through repositories.
CRAN is the ”official” repository for contributed packages and currently hosts 5,150 packages that can be used to extend R. In the last couple of years various code hosting sites such as GitHub have become increasingly important resources especially for collaborative development of new packages. Github currently hosts roughly 1,500 packages for R. Bioconductor is another separate package repository, but can be regarded as domain specific for it hosts packages for the analysis and comprehension of high-throughput genomic data. Other such domain specific projects are for example rOpenSci and the emerging rOpenGov that provide tools for open science and open government data, respectively.
As the internet has brought together the vast community around R, the internet has become the main channel for delivering instructions for R. The official Introduction to R by Venables, Smith, and Team (2013) is an important document to master when getting into the language. Besides this general introduction R-project has also a domain specific structure where you can start learning from so called task views. For SSH researchers the social sciences and natural language processing task views are good places to begin with.
Discussions and announcement on R happen mainly through R official mailing lists that have their own lists for development and user help. R help is the main list for general help and receives tens of mails per day. Most of the individual packages have their own mailing list for development where anyone can join if wanting to contribute to the packages.
The official mailing lists have recently been challenged by so called Question & Answer -sites like Stack Overflow in delivering solutions for one-off user questions. Stack Overflow has currently almost 47,000 questions tagged with R. In comparison to proprietary software, there are 2,014 questions tagged with SAS, 616 with Stata and 362 with SPSS. These figures are used as one indicator of the increasing popularity of R. Besides the Question & Answer sites, there are hundreds of blogs discussing specific analytical problems using R and feeds from the blogs are aggregated in R-bloggers-website.
Another, more formal channel for distributing and communicating R have become the so called massive open online courses (MOOC). MOOCs seem to work well for teaching programming and many courses in Coursera and EdX have become hugely popular, attracting tens of thousands of students each year. The free licensing of R has made it the primary language on these courses as it is basically the only viable alternative for teaching statistical programming for massive crowds.
Aside with vibrant internet community more and more books are being published on R. Books can be put in three categories. First are the general introductions to statistics using R. Discovering Statistics Using R by A. Field, Miles, and Field (2012) and R in Action: Data Analysis and Graphics With R by Robert Kabacoff (2013) are popular examples of that category. Second there are more and more books addressing how to solve some specific analytical problems using R. A prime examples of books in this category are Complex Surveys: A Guide to Analysis Using R by Thomas Lumley (2011), Text Analysis with R for Students of Literature by Matthew M. Jockers (in press), R Graphics Cookbook by Chang (2012) and Dynamic documents with R and knitr by Yihui Xie (2014). A third category are the books that focus on specific theoretical issues in statistics and use R as a primary language to demonstrate this. Such books are for instance Bayesian Data Analysis by Gelman et al. (2013) or Multilevel Analysis: An Introduction to Basic and Advanced Multilevel Modeling by Snijders and Bosker (2011).
Use of R language
Throughout its existence the main use of R has been implementation of new statistical methods. This is still the case and implementations of new statistical methods are usually first available in R. However, various fields of applied statistics have become more active as researchers across disciplines have started to migrate into R. Bioconductor was already mentioned as an example of a domain specific initiative to apply R in their analysis, for genome data in this case. Natural sciences in general have been early adopters and for example in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) the R has started to rival proprietary GIS-software. In the case of GIS in R it is possible to combine traditional statistical methods and programming with spatial data and statistics in one environment. In SSH this is useful as there are a lot of spatial data available and researchers may want to cluster the data thematically, but also visualize it as maps. As for humanities, Matthew M. Jockers (in press) book is one of the first attempts to foster use of R. In the digital humanities blogosphere there are a few others besides Jockers blog that are worth reading, namely W. Caleb McDaniel from Rice University and Quantifying Memory blog by Rolf Fredheim from Cambridge.
In addition to academic applications, R has become a major player in business analytics. This is largely due to R’s capabilities in visualisation and analysing so called big data, but also due to companies like Revolution Analytics that have started providing consultation and creating tailored application for enterprise needs. The annual R/Finance 2014-conference gives nice overview of adoption of R in banking and insurance sectors. For example Google uses R in-house and also provides packages as r-google-analytics or rgooglevis. One emerging field is so called data journalism where major players like New York Times or Guardian use R in data-driven stories such as this.
R is certainly not the only alternative for proprietary data analysis software or for analysis of complex digital data. For example, Python is another viable option especially for someone looking for a more general purpose language that also masters data analysis. Whether Python is going to displace R has recently been debated in the data science blogosphere. The data analysis is becoming mainstream in many fields, not just in academic research, but R is still remaining hard to learn and very much research oriented. Programmers rather want to extend the language they already know than learn a new one and python is a lot more common than R. For very intensive computation Julia is becoming a popular open source option, too. It is still in an early phase of development, but is already a viable option if processing time is important.
But for scientific work I would emphasize the licensing of the software more than the name of the particular technology. It is well possible that the recent buzz around digital data in SSH marks only the beginning of a data intensive research tradition. For someone wanting to gain success in that game it will be equally important to develop the substantial understanding of the research topics as well as technological understanding of the new emerging tools. R is a prime example of this development where academics have taken a major role in software development and created tools that are better suited for their research problems than proprietary software.
This development will go on and therefore it is advisable for someone who is interested in learning these techniques to carefully look at the licensing before investing time and effort in learning the technology. Free and open source tools are great in this respect as once you can pick up the skills to use the technology, you soon will find that it needs to be improved for your purposes. In free and open source technology you can learn how the code works, write improvements and then publish them for the wider research community for use and for further development. In addition, free licensing also allows you to teach the technology, apply it in any purpose, including commercial, and to distribute it. Open source research software is not always the easiest and quickest way to get the job done, but in the long run they are often worth the time invested.
In addition, the openness of the computational research methods is important from the reproducibility of your research. Along with demands for open access of research publications there are tendencies that more and more journals in computational sciences will require both the data and algorithms behind the results to published together with the article. As SSH scholars are moving towards computational analysis this issue of reproducibility should also be taken into account. R is a great tool that fulfills all these conditions, but there are several others out there, too. After all, it is not necessary for all to become software developers, but to have basic understanding and to pair with developers who know more.
Steve Lohr (2013) interviewed some leading digital humanists in the New York Times article Literary History, Seen Through Big Data’s Lens on the future of SSH and posed a question whether these emerging computational technologies will undermine the role of qualitative research in the field. Matthew Jockers, whose book Macroanalysis: Digital Methods and Literary History (2013) was central in the article, emphasized that finding the right questions and flaws in the analysis still requires deep, both qualitative and quantitative, understanding of the field:
But we’re at a moment now when there is much greater acceptance of these methods than in the past. There will come a time when this kind of analysis is just part of the tool kit in the humanities, as in every other discipline.
And that:
Quantitative tools in the humanities and the social sciences, as in other fields, are most powerful when they are controlled by an intelligent human. Experts with deep knowledge of a subject are needed to ask the right questions and to recognize the shortcomings of statistical models.
The quest for new kind of collaboration between scholars and fields of research is also emphasized by professor Gary King (2014). He claims that the analysis of large digital data requires skills that can’t be found from traditional fields of social sciences.
Through collaboration across fields, however, we can begin to address the interdisciplinary substantive knowledge needed, along with the engineering, computational, ethical, and informatics challenges before us.
In addition, King (2014) assumes that this collaboration will eventually blur the dichotomy between qualitative and quantitative analysis, and he portrays a future where both traditions have merged into social sciences where the important research problems are solved in collaboration.
Instead of quantitative researchers trying to build fully automated methods and qualitative researchers trying to make do with traditional human-only methods, both now are heading toward, using, or developing computer-assisted methods that empower both groups. This development has the potential to end the divide, to get us working together to solve common problems, and to greatly strengthen the research output of social science as a whole.
This may well be true for humanities as well if we dare to take upon the challenge.
Chang, Winston. 2012. R Graphics Cookbook. O’Reilly.
Field, Andy, Jeremy Miles, and Zoë Field. 2012. Discovering Statistics Using R. SAGE.
Gelman, Andrew, John B. Carlin, Hal S. Stern, David B. Dunson, Aki Vehtari, and Donald B. Rubin. 2013. Bayesian Data Analysis, Third Edition. CRC Press.
Jockers, Matthew. In press. Text Analysis with R for Students of Literature. Quantitative Methods in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Springer.
Jockers, Matthew L. 2013. Macroanalysis: Digital Methods and Literary History. University of Illinois Press.
Kabacoff, Robert. 2013. R in Action: Data Analysis and Graphics With R. MANNING PUBN.
King, Gary. 2014. “Restructuring the Social Sciences: Reflections from Harvards Institute for Quantitative Social Science.” PS: Political Science and Politics 47: 165–172. http://journals.cambridge.org/repo_A9100Nlq.
Lohr, Steve. 2013. “Literary History, Seen Through Big Data’s Lens.” The New York Times (January). http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/technology/literary-history-seen-through-big-datas-lens.html.
Lumley, Thomas. 2011. Complex Surveys: A Guide to Analysis Using R. John Wiley & Sons.
Snijders, Tom A. B., and Roel Bosker. 2011. Multilevel Analysis: An Introduction to Basic and Advanced Multilevel Modeling. Second Edition. Sage Publications Ltd.
Venables, William N., David M. Smith, and R. Development Core Team. 2013. An Introduction to R. Network Theory. http://www.math.vu.nl/sto/onderwijs/statlearn/R-Binder.pdf.
Xie, Yihui. 2014. Dynamic Documents with R and Knitr. CRC Press.
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World Regions 1 Countries 1 U.S. States 2 Counties 2
Title: JNDS, Volume 10, Number 4 Type: Article Clear All Filters
Guest Editorial: The Resurrection as Near-Death Experience
Description: Article suggesting that Jesus Christ was not clinically dead but in a deep coma when he was taken down from the cross. He was revived by Joseph of Arimathea, who was permitted to take Jesus's body into his care. By Pentecost, seven weeks later, Jesus had finally recovered from his wounds, and his reappearance convinced his followers that he was the Son of God. The author suggests that the Resurrection was not a physical happening, but a near-death experience. As such, it was totally real to Christ himself, and it also confirmed his belief that he could, by proxy, discharge humanity's sins.
Date: Summer 1992
Creator: Cook, Roger B.
Motifs of Passage into Worlds Imaginary and Fantastic
Description: Article matching phenomena associated with the passage into otherworlds as reported during out-of-body and near-death experiences, with imagery associated with the passage into otherworlds as depicted in classic modern fantasies and fairy tales.
Creator: Greene, F. Gordon
The Phantom Leaf Effect and Its Implications for Near-Death and Out-of-Body Experiences
Description: Article concerning the phantom leaf effect seen in Kirlian photography, which may help researchers better understand near-death and out-of-body experiences.
Creator: Pace, James C. & Drumm, Deborah L.
California 1 1 Tennessee 1 1
Davidson County, TN 1 1 Sacramento County, CA 1 1
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Which Pre-2010 Medicaid-Oriented Transfers of Homes Get a Step-up in Basis under the Modified Carryover Basis Rules?
tags: Internal Revenue Code section 1022, joint tenancy, life estate, modified carryover basis rules, power of appointment, step-up in basis
Having written and spoken quite a bit in the past 20 years about how to transfer a person’s home for Medicaid and tax planning purposes, I’ve been getting calls and emails about how the new 2010 tax law affects common lifetime transfers of a senior citizen’s home. Thanks to political games played during the first year George W. Bush’s presidency, we now have a tax law that only affects the estates of persons who die during 2010. Under pre-2010 law, which comes back into effect after 2010, the tax goal in Medicaid planning was usually to render the home includable in the decedent’s gross estate for federal estate tax purposes. Some of the methods used by estate planning and elder law attorneys may not be eligible in 2010 for a post-death adjustment in the basis for capital gains tax purposes, so some persons are trying to determine whether a change should be made in the ownership of the home.
Unless a person who made a transfer of the home is expected to die well before the end of 2010, it may be that the best course of action would be to do nothing. We’re going through a temporary change in the law, and there have been indications from Congress that the federal estate tax laws and accompanying capital gains tax laws may be returned to 2009 law and made retroactive to the beginning of 2010. For someone is expected to die soon, however, perhaps a change should be made. (Clients of mine in this situation should contact me immediately.)
Under the applicable 2010 tax law, known as the modified carryover basis rules, an estate can opt for a step-up in basis for certain assets, and to see whether these are eligible, Internal Revenue Code section 1022 applies. The most common types of transfers of the home that were made for Medicaid planning purposes in the past were (1) joint tenancy with right of survivorship, (2) a reserved power of appointment in a deed, (3) an irrevocable income-only trust, which often includes a reserved power of appointment, and (4) a reserved life estate, use-and-occupancy agreement or informal understanding. To qualify for the step-up in basis, an asset must be owned under Section 1022(d) and acquired under Section 1022(e), so each type of transfer must be analyzed.
Internal Revenue Code section 1022 (d)(1)(B)(i) allows at least a partial step-up for some joint tenancies; (d)(1)(B)(iii) denies the step-up for a reserved power of appointment, presumably only in a deed. Section 1022(e)(2)(B) allows the step-up for some irrevocable trusts, including a power to alter or terminate the trust, which would seem to include a reserved power of appointment in an irrevocable trust.
It has been questioned whether a life estate is entitled to a step-up in basis. Several blog commentators have written that a life estate is not eligible for the step-up, but many of them seem to be parroting each other and not displaying their analysis. Section 1022(e)(3) seems to include a reserved life estate but not a use-and-occupancy agreement or informal understanding. The language in (e)(3) includes “property passing from the decedent by reason of death to the extent that such property passed without consideration,” and where the property passes to the remainderpersons upon the life tenant’s death, that description could include a reserved life estate. Further, under Massachusetts law, the life tenant has exclusive possession of the entire property during the life tenant’s lifetime, and may therefore fit the ownership test in Section 1022(d). Thus, it appears to me that a Massachusetts life estate can be eligible for a step-up in basis.
The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys has written to the IRS for clarification about whether a life estate or an income-only irrevocable trust is entitled to a step-up in basis under Section 1022. http://www.naela.org/MemberPages/documents/IRC_1022_letter_3_31_10.pdf It’ll be interesting to see if NAELA receives an answer, but my general feeling is that Congress will eventually act, and that this modified carryover basis issue will eventually become a non-issue.
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from → Alerts for Clients, Capital Gains Taxation, Elder Law, Estate & Gift Taxation, For Lawyers & CPAs, Internal Revenue Code Section 1022, Taxation, Trusts
← Massachusetts Probate Court Judge Orders 2 Lawyers to Pay $328,770.97 Back to Estate
Why DOESN’T a Reserved Life Estate Get a Step-up in Basis under Internal Revenue Code Section 1022? →
2010 Tax Basis Rules and Medicaid Planning - What happens to my Life Estate? | New Jersey Estate Planning & Elder Law
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Remove this filter Infectious disease: Respiratory diseases
Prevention and control (10)
Public health education (1)
Antimicrobial consumption (1)
E-learning course (1)
E-learning course: Influenza vaccination campaigns targeting healthcare workers
This online course aims to support the EU/EEA Member States in their planning of annual seasonal influenza vaccination campaigns targeting healthcare workers.
Public health education
WHO recommendations for influenza virus vaccine composition for the 2018-2019 Northern hemisphere season
News, ECDC comment - 26 Feb 2018
On 19-21 February 2018 the World Health Organization (WHO) agreed on the recommended composition of the trivalent influenza vaccine for the northern hemisphere 2018-2019 influenza season.
Influenza vaccination coverage rates insufficient across EU Member States
News story - 18 Dec 2018
None of the European Union (EU) Member States could demonstrate that they reach the EU target of 75% influenza vaccination coverage for vulnerable groups, according to a new report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
WHO recommendations for influenza virus vaccine composition for the 2019–2020 northern hemisphere season
On 18–20 February 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) agreed on the recommended composition of the quadrivalent influenza vaccine for the northern hemisphere 2019–2020 influenza season: an A/Brisbane/02/2018 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus, an A(H3N2) virus component to be announced on 21 March 2019, a B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus (B/Victoria/2/87 lineage) and a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus (B/Yamagata/16/88 lineage).
The use of vaccines for prevention of seasonal and pandemic influenzaArchived
On 3 October 2011 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and representatives of the European Vaccine Manufacturers met at ECDC in Stockholm for a regular scheduled meeting about the use of vaccines for prevention of seasonal and pandemic influenza. ECDC Director Marc Sprenger opened the meeting and ECDC influenza experts held different presentations, such as burden of influenza disease in the EU, risk groups for severe influenza disease, personal protective measures, pandemic influenza preparedness, seasonal influenza vaccines, communication.
The Declarations of Interest for ECDC Influenza Staff and the ECDC Director are available here under ECDC Transparency.
Influenza Workshop WeekArchived
ECDC has organised the “Influenza Workshop Week” to support Member States and the European Commission in implementing the 2009 EU Council Recommendation on Seasonal Influenza Immunisation.
Workshop on Seasonal Influenza VaccinationArchived
European Parliament, Brussels
The workshop focused on seasonal influenza vaccination in the EU and the December 2009 Council Recommendations on this subject.
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Remove this filter Infectious disease: Influenza A(H7N9) virus
Influenza A(H7N9) virus (12)
Zoonosis (12)
Avian influenza virus (12)
Zoonotic influenza (12)
Influenza in humans, avian origin (11)
Avian influenza in humans (11)
Influenza in humans, swine origin (10)
Epidemiological update (12)
Epidemiological update: A(H7N9) influenza virus, China, 19 December 2013
Epidemiological update - 19 Dec 2013
In March 2013, Chinese authorities announced the identification of a novel reassortant A(H7N9) avian influenza virus in patients in eastern China.
Influenza A(H7N9) virus
Epidemiological update A(H7N9) influenza, 6 February 2014
Epidemiological update - 6 Feb 2014
In March 2013, Chinese authorities announced the identification of a novel reassortant A(H7N9) influenza virus in patients in eastern China. Since then, human cases have continued to be reported, and as of 7 February 2014 (Figure 1), there have been 308 laboratory-confirmed cases: Zhejiang (122), Guangdong (54), Shanghai (42), Jiangsu (36), Fujian (19), Hunan (7), Jiangxi (5), Henan (4), Anhui (4) ,Beijing (3), Shandong (2), Hebei (1), Guangxi (2), Guizhou (1), Hong Kong (4) and Taiwan (2). In addition, the virus has been detected in one asymptomatic case in Beijing.
Epidemiological update: Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus, China
Epidemiological update - 11 Feb 2015
On 4 February 2015, the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) of China notified WHO of 83 additional laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus. Onset dates ranged from 20 December 2014 to 27 January 2015.
Epidemiological update: Seven new confirmed cases of novel influenza A virus, A(H7N9) in China, 5 April 2013
Epidemiological update - 5 Apr 2013
Since the last epidemiological update of 3 April, seven additional cases including two fatalities were reported by Chinese authorities. For the first time a child, aged four years, was reported.
Epidemiological update: Novel influenza A virus A(H7N9) in China
As of 8 April 2013, 24 human cases of infection with influenza A(H7N9) virus have been reported in four provinces of China: Shanghai (11), Anhui (2), Jiangsu (8) and Zhejiang (3). Of these patients, seven people have died, fourteen show severe and three mild symptoms.
Epidemiological update of 10 April: novel influenza A virus A(H7N9) in China
As of 9 April 2013, 26 human cases of infection with influenza A(H7N9) virus have been reported in four provinces of China: Shanghai (13), Jiangsu (8), Zhejiang (3) and Anhui (2). Of these patients, 8 people have died, 15 are severe cases and 3 are mild cases. No epidemiological link has been identified among cases.
Epidemiological update - 10 Apr 2013
As of 10 April 2013, 33 human cases of infection with influenza A(H7N9) virus have been reported in four provinces of China: Shanghai (15), Jiangsu (10), Zhejiang (6) and Anhui (2). Of these cases, nine people have died, 21 are severe cases and three are mild cases. No epidemiological link has been identified among cases.
Epidemiological update of 12 April: avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in China
As of 11 April 2013, 38 human cases of infection with influenza A(H7N9) virus have been reported in four provinces of China: Shanghai (18), Jiangsu (12), Zhejiang (6) and Anhui (2). Of these cases, ten people have died, 25 are severe cases and three are mild cases. No epidemiological link has been identified among cases.
As of 12 April 2013, 40 human cases of infection with influenza A(H7N9) virus have been reported in four provinces of China: Shanghai (20), Jiangsu (12), Zhejiang (6) and Anhui (2). Of these cases, 11 people have died, 27 are severe cases and three are mild cases. No epidemiological link has been identified among cases.
Since the previous ECDC epidemiological update, 20 new cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) have been reported, including two fatalities in previously confirmed cases. The geographical spread includes two additional provinces: Beijing and Henan.
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Updated: 06/02/2017 06:06 PM | First Published: 02/19/2017 06:15 PM
Nathan Fillion & Stana Katic have been on highlights since the show 'Castle' premiere
Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic! Well, this a couple, Castle viewers didn’t want to see getting separated since they started seeing their well-matched chemistry in the show in 2009. The couple played husband and wife till the show’s 8th season completion.
When the show came on the air, people talked about the palpable chemistry between Fillion, a mystery novelist Richard Castle and Katic, NYPD Detective Kate Beckett. Since their on-screen connection seemed so genuine, people also believed that the reel life couple were together in real life too.
When fans questioned Katic about their off-screen relationship, she stated: “I think Nathan and I have a really great chemistry as friends and as coworkers.” Perhaps, she was trying to say that they were nothing more than friends and on-screen coworkers.
However, paparazzi didn’t leave chasing the duo, as they were said to be in the relationship with each other from 2009 till 2012. Recently, the couple doesn’t seem to be in friendly relation too. After 8th season completion, Katic announced her exit from the show.
In reaction to his long-time co-stars’ announcement about leaving show, he said, “Stana has been my partner all this time, and I thank her for creating the character if Beckett who will live on all of us as one of the greatest police officers on television, I wish her well, and have no doubts she will succeed in everything she pursues. She will be missed.”
Played married couple onscreen, but they were believed to have had major friction behind the scene for a quite long time. They were allegedly not talking to one another except while filming. Sources claimed, not only Stana but, several other cast members of the show didn’t like Nathan.
Nathan was seen frequently bullying Katic on set, quite often leaving her in tears. But the actress’s rep denied that saying, she had no any issues with Fillion. The show’s 9th season is yet to be premiered and the actress has claimed she won’t return. From close friends and the on-screen couple, they are now believed to be hating one another.
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World should not open 'Pandora’s Box' in M.East
China's foreign minister warned on Tuesday against the opening of a "Pandora’s Box" in the Middle East, calling on all to show restraint, according to a press release from the country's foreign ministry.
Axar.az reports citing Anadolu News Agency.
Speaking at a joint press conference after receiving his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem in Beijing to discuss issues in the region as well as the Iran nuclear deal, Wang Yi expressed concern and called on all actors to ease tensions and not let disputes enter a vicious cycle and slip into conflict.
Referring to the Iranian nuclear issue, Wang stressed that the decision of the UN Security Council should be strictly implemented, and that this would be the only realistic and effective way to resolution.
He underlined China’s unwavering stance on the 2015 agreement, saying it would continue to cooperate with all parties to make progress on the transformation of one of Tehran's heavy water reactor, used in nuclear research.
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Airborne Outback
Ultralight trike
National origin
Airborne Windsports
Production completed
Airborne XT
The Airborne Outback is an Australian two-seat flying wing ultralight trike that was designed and produced by Airborne Windsports in the mid-2000s.[1]
Design and development[edit]
The Outback was developed as an off-airport aircraft, with a carriage that lacks a fairing and other encumbrances to "all-terrain" operations. It features a cable-braced hang glider-style high-wing, weight-shift controls, a two-seat, open cockpit, tricycle landing gear and a single engine in pusher configuration.[1]
The aircraft single surface Wizard model wing is made from bolted-together aluminium tubing, covered in Dacron sailcloth. Its 9.96 m (32.7 ft) span wing is supported by a single tube-type kingpost and uses an "A" frame control bar. The landing gear has optional tundra tires. The standard engine factory-supplied was the Rotax 582 liquid-cooled two-stroke powerplant of 48 kW (64 hp). The aircraft has demonstrated operations from sand dunes.[1]
The basic Outback model was later developed into the Airborne XT series that still dominates the company's product line in 2012.
Specifications (Outback)[edit]
Data from Bertrand[1]
Crew: one
Capacity: one passenger
Wingspan: 9.96 m (32 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 17.6 m2 (189 sq ft)
Empty weight: 165 kg (364 lb)
Gross weight: 401 kg (884 lb)
Fuel capacity: 48 litres (11 imp gal; 13 US gal)
Powerplant: 1 × Rotax 582 twin cylinder, two-stroke, liquid-cooled aircraft engine, 48 kW (64 hp)
Maximum speed: 93 km/h (58 mph; 50 kn)
Cruise speed: 67 km/h (42 mph; 36 kn)
Stall speed: 52 km/h (32 mph; 28 kn)
Rate of climb: 4 m/s (790 ft/min)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Airborne Windsports.
^ a b c d Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04, pages 22-23. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X
Airborne Windsports aircraft
Ultralight trikes
T-Lite
V-Lite
Hang gliders
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Airborne_Outback&oldid=896031778"
2000s Australian ultralight aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Single-engined pusher aircraft
Commons category link is on Wikidata using P373
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The EU has a critical role in empowering marginalised older women
Enrique Guerrero / Oct 2016
Gender inequality is widely recognised as a barrier to women’s empowerment in both the developing and developed world. The fact there is a specific goal on gender equality in the Sustainable Development Goals, and the mainstreaming of gender throughout the 17 goals reflects the strong focus on girls and women of all ages in global sustainable development worldwide.
Yet this focus, coupled with the commitment to leave no one behind, must consider the specific needs of older women. This is a demographic that is subjected to age discrimination in addition to the gender-based discrimination they have experienced throughout life. The two intersect in later life and lead to severe marginalisation of older women, greatly hindering development efforts.
Already 23.6% of the world’s female population are aged 50 or over, and rapid population ageing across the world means we can expect this proportion to grow. If all countries are to honour the commitments made in Agenda 2030, the situation of older women cannot be overlooked.
Recently I hosted an event at the European Parliament with the HelpAge EU network to mark International Day of Older Persons. I was alarmed to hear stories of the shocking violence older women face as a result of witchcraft accusations and other injustices in Tanzania. Through EU-funded projects, older women are learning about their human rights for the first time and receiving legal advice and access to justice for these atrocities.
Gender equality is a fundamental value enshrined in the EU’s core legislative frameworks, both within the EU itself and in its external actions. Its Gender Action Plan 2016-2020 commits to supporting gender equality and the empowerment of girls and women of all ages. Through the implementation of this plan, the EU is well positioned to make a valuable contribution to the realisation of the SDGs.
Nevertheless, the woeful lack of data for older age groups and the lack of evidence relating to gender issues in later life acts as a significant barrier to implementing these EU and global frameworks effectively. Surveys on violence against women, for example, do not collect data on women aged 50 and above. It means around a third of a woman’s life is invisible.
In terms of humanitarian action, ECHO recognises that the impact of crises is neither gender nor age-neutral and that, to ensure aid is effective, humanitarian assistance must address the specific needs of each subset of the population through the implementation of the Gender-Age Marker.
This is a tool to assess the level to which humanitarian interventions are sensitive to gender and age. It recognises that age cannot be treated in isolation from gender in the assessment, implementation and monitoring of humanitarian interventions, and this is an important step forward in the EU’s external policy.
The EU and its member states must use all the tools available to them in order to ensure the effective implementation of the commitments made on gender equality and the empowerment of girls and women of all ages in its external action.
The work to revise the current European Consensus on Development, the guiding policy framework for the EU’s development cooperation, presents an opportunity to set out even more ambitious goals to build on those included in the Gender Action Plan 2016-2020.
In doing so, the EU can be a true global champion of gender equality and women’s empowerment in sustainable development, ensuring that nobody, regardless of their age or gender, is left behind.
Enrique Guerrero
About this author ︎►
►Racial profiling at borders will not help counter terrorism
Michael Privot / February 2016
►Are equality and non-discrimination still core EU values?
Simon Usherwood / February 2016
‘Constructive ambiguity’
Constructive ambiguity
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Let the McNabb trade talk begin
It's pretty difficult to imagine a scenario where the newly retired Kurt Warner will not be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. If they haven't begun casting the mold for his bust yet, maybe it's time to start pretty soon. Sure, the sculptor has some time but why procrastinate? Go ahead and knock it out already.
And perhaps while folks are mulling over Warner's body of work as a quarterback of the Cardinals, Rams, and in the Arena Football League, as well as a stock boy at some grocery in Iowa, maybe the speculation can begin in earnest regarding his replacement in Arizona.
Is it time to start the Donovan McNabb trade watch already? We don’t have to wait for Brett Favre to decide something, do we?
Long before the Eagles were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in Dallas way back at the beginning of the month, it appeared the best fit for McNabb just might be as a replacement for Warner or Favre rather than with the Eagles. With the Cardinals McNabb could step right in as the veteran leader with a high-powered offense that thrived with Warner. Better yet, after games and practices McNabb could turn his off-season home into his year-round pad. That certainly makes it a win-win.
With the Vikings McNabb could reunite with coach Brad Childress, who was the offensive coordinator with the Eagles during the quarterback’s best seasons. Where could he go wrong? The Cardinals are a season removed from nearly winning the Super Bowl followed by a solid playoff run, while the Vikings were a late-game meltdown away from winning the NFC Championship over the Saints.
It’s either go somewhere else with a talented team looking to take the proverbial next step or stay in Philadelphia where he can continue pounding his head against the wall like we all have for the past decade.
It’s an easy decision for everyone, right? The Vikings or Cardinals can plug in a seasoned All-Pro and the Eagles can focus on the future with Kevin Kolb, the quarterback they drafted in the second round in 2007. With McNabb in the last year of his current deal with the Eagles and asking for an extension, all that’s left is to figure on the partner, the price and then send out the press release.
Let’s get moving already…
As we know all too well it’s the easy decisions that are often the trickiest and most troublesome. Of course, as we also have seen over the past decade, any decision for the Eagles always dissolves into a circus wrapped manically inside of a soap opera. Can Joe Banner or Andy Reid ever come to a conclusion without everyone overreacting? Are we that sensitive or is it that we just can't help ourselves? Or maybe it's because we don't trust them. Sure, most of the decisions to let players go have been the right ones, but they still don't have much to show for it.
Besides, even when the Eagles make the most mundane decision it’s like watching the clown car crash into the bearded lady.
Of course the report that the Cardinals are going to turn over the quarterback gig over to Matt Leinart as well as McNabb’s consultation with his psychic only adds to the intrigue. After all, just because a pro sports general manager and Miss Cleo say something doesn’t make it completely true. We’re working from years of experience here and have learned that whatever becomes McNabb’s fate for the 2010 season, it will occur slowly and sloppily.
Yes, we read McNabb’s comments in the Inquirer claiming he would return to Philadelphia because coach Andy Reid told him so.
“That’s all that matters,” McNabb told The Inquirer. “I heard it when he said it to you guys, but I heard it before anyway. I think a lot of people look too far into things with all the assumptions and this could happen. He told everybody I'm going to be there, and I'm his guy. I don’t see anything that anybody should look into.”
Nobody believes McNabb is as naïve as that last sentence sounds. He knows all too well how people around these parts act when it comes to the football team. Considering it’s been a half-century since the Eagles have won a championship, what else is there to look into?
Arizona, Minnesota, Philadelphia? Yeah, this is just getting started.
Posted at 05:46 PM in Arizona Cardinals, Brett Favre, Donovan McNabb, Kurt Warner, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Home FleetWatch 2013 Newsflash Motor industry loses R20-billion , and could rise further as result of...
Motor industry loses R20-billion , and could rise further as result of strikes
The NBCRFI with its incredible wellness clinic provided drivers with info on HIV&AIDS.
Aggregate production losses to date at vehicle manufacturing level as a result of the three week strike by the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa had amounted to over 45 000 vehicles which translated into a production revenue loss of about R20-billion.
This is according to Dr Johan van Zyl, president of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA), who states that production resumed earlier this week at the seven major vehicle manufacturing plants affected by the strike.
The plants affected were: BMW South Africa, Ford Motor Company SA, General Motors South Africa, Mercedes-Benz South Africa, Nissan South Africa, Toyota SA Motors and Volkswagen Group South Africa. Two manufacturers had endured a four week stoppage.
Dr Van Zyl warned, however, that these figures would rise further as a result of the current strike in the automotive component manufacturing industry which started last Monday.
“By the end of this week, all the major vehicle producers will again be unable to operate as a result of the unavailability of locally produced original equipment components. In fact, the Mercedes-Benz South Africa plant in East London already had to stop production at midday on Monday this week due to strike action at its suppliers,’ he said.
Commenting on the wider effects of the strike action, Dr Van Zyl said that with the vehicle and automotive component manufacturing sectors accounting for approximately 30% of South Africa’s manufacturing output, the strike would inevitably result in lower economic growth, lower domestic and export production and sales, reduced industry profitability, loss of income to workers, loss of revenue to the fiscus, lower foreign direct investment into South Africa and ultimately, less employment as producers opted for higher levels of mechanisation/automation.
As pointed out by NAAMSA in a previous statement, the strike action had served to damage South Africa’s status as a reliable supplier to international export markets and could well negatively affect future export contracts being awarded to South African automotive manufacturers.
“Labour stability is one of the most important considerations in the decisions by multinational corporations to allocate vehicles for production in South Africa. Frequent and prolonged industrial action portrayed South Africa as an unreliable base for manufacturing of vehicles for the world market,’ said Van Zyl.
NAAMSA was aware that various European and Asian automotive manufacturers were currently undertaking feasibility studies into the possibility of establishing vehicle manufacturing operations in South Africa to supply the South African and African markets.
“The rising incidence of strike action in South Africa was likely to impact the ultimate decision whether or not to invest. At the same time, African countries such as Morocco, Kenya and Nigeria are aggressively competing for new automotive investments,’ he pointed out, adding that as a result of the counterproductive and unnecessary strike actions, South Africa’s increasingly politicised and militant trade union movement was undermining the country’s official industrial policy objectives of facilitating investment, encouraging growth and employment creation.
Before the current wave of automotive industry strikes, total aggregate industry exports and domestic production had been on target to reach record levels of 336 000 and 610 000 respectively. According to NAAMSA, these figures were no longer attainable and the 2013 projections would be revised downwards.
Dr van Zyl added that the current model of industry level bargaining – based on a one size fits all approach – was clearly not delivering the labour stability and productivity so essential to ensure continued international investment and industry competitiveness.
Moreover, the current situation, where different sectors in the automotive manufacturing value chain bargained at different times, would also have to be reviewed as it was not conducive to fostering a stable industrial relations environment so necessary to support the realisation of the official vision for the industry, namely, the annual production of 1.2 million vehicles by 2020.
“Ultimately,’ he said, “the industry’s trade union would have to accept responsibility for any lasting negative consequences from the prolonged strike. South Africa’s turbulent industrial relations environment is undermining the interests of the country, the automotive industry and official industrial policy.’
Unless the strike action in the component industry was settled in the next few days, the damage to the prospects of the automotive industry and on foreign investment sentiment would be immeasurable and would take years to re-address.
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Engineering at the Limits of the Nanoscale
Seminar | March 23 | 4-5 p.m. | Soda Hall, HP Auditorium (306)
Speaker: Farnaz Niroui, Ph.D. Candidate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sponsor: Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS)
At the nanoscale, unique properties and phenomena emerge that can lead to scientific and technological paradigms beyond those classically envisioned. Exploring these opportunities at the few-nanometer regime requires unprecedented precision, resolution and control, not readily feasible through conventional processing and metrology techniques. In particular, the dynamic, reliable and reversible structural tuning of such small dimensions remains a great challenge, yet a promising platform to enable nanosystems of new and improved functionalities.
This talk will introduce an approach to achieve nanometer precision, resolution and control in fabrication and tunability by engineering surfaces and surface adhesive forces. In this scheme, molecular layers are utilized as nanoscale springs in which conformational changes in response to an applied electrostatic force allow controlled and reversible tuning of the architecture. As a case study, the use of this mechanism in developing tunneling-based nanoelectromechanical switches composed of an electromechanically tunable metal-molecule-metal switching gap will be discussed. With the potential to achieve stiction-free and low-voltage operation, these devices address two of the main challenges commonly faced by electromechanical switches. Conformational changes in such precisely defined tunable molecular junctions can also modulate light-matter interactions. This effect is leveraged to design a dynamic plasmonic ruler, a much desired metrology tool to study motion and mechanical properties at the nanoscale. The processing and tunability techniques developed in this work extend in applications beyond the examples provided here, introducing versatile platforms to enable engineering at the limits of the nanoscale.
Farnaz Niroui is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she works with Professors Vladimir Bulović and Jeffrey Lang. She received her Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from MIT in 2013 and completed her undergraduate studies in Nanotechnology Engineering at University of Waterloo in 2011. Her research interest lies at the interface of device physics, nanofabrication, and materials science to study, manipulate and engineer devices and systems with unique functionalities at the nanoscale. Farnaz is a recipient of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Scholarship for graduate studies and the Miller Fellowship, and has been selected to the Rising Stars in EECS program in 2015 and 2016.
Event contact: jeanrichter@berkeley.edu, 510-643-8208
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State/International Reviews
ED Directory
Request/Manage ED Listing
State, Provincial and International Reviews
Mississippi: Where the World's Most Advanced Manufacturing Takes Flight
Global aerospace leaders are calling Mississippi home in growing numbers. Compelling business advantages like the state’s low operating costs, minimal tax burden, easy access to U.S. and international markets and proximity to important military installations have attracted numerous aviation companies to the state, and they are thriving as a result Mississippi’s productive, well-trained workforce.
The state works with its network of 15 community colleges and universities to create customized training programs to meet companies’ specific needs. These programs equip employees with the skills they need to ensure the success of aerospace companies in the state. Mississippians are now engaged in the production everything from helicopters to unmanned aerial vehicles to composite jet engine components.
In fact, Mississippi has played an integral role in the continued growth and success of aviation leaders like GE Aviation, Rolls-Royce, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Airbus Group, Northrop Grumman, Aurora Flight Sciences, and Stark Aerospace.
Posted by: Expansion Solutions Magazine AT 11:21 am | Permalink | Email
Winning Competitive Projects and Bringing Jobs to the State
Florida understands what it takes to do business and stands ready to welcome businesses with a talented workforce, top-ranked infrastructure, global connectivity and great quality of life. Its business-friendly legislature, favorable tax climate, and large market can help businesses get up-and-running quickly. The state supports a multi-modal infrastructure for more than 19.5 million residents and nearly 95 million tourists each year. Also, Florida consistently ranks among the best states for business, thanks to its pro-business state tax policies, competitive cost of doing business and streamlined regulatory environment.
Florida’s government and economic development leaders work together to ensure that the state’s business climate remains favorable to companies of all sizes, including some of the nation’s leading corporations. Florida is working on legislative, fiscal and marketplace initiatives such as insurance tort reform, targeted industry incentives and many more. The state is also one of only a few right-to-work states in the U.S.
Great Things are Happening in Kansas
Businesses have created more than 50,000 new private sector jobs in the state during the past four years. Over the past three years, state exports have risen more than 26 percent. New business formations have set state records for two consecutive years. Entrepreneurs and businesses across a wide range of industries are thriving in the Sunflower State.
An outstanding business environment has helped build this momentum. From tax policy to infrastructure to the workforce, Kansas has the policies and resources designed to help businesses succeed, grow, invest and create jobs.
Kansas is an affordable place to start and operate a business. Most small businesses pay no state income tax, allowing them to invest more money and take advantage of opportunities for future growth. The state has no personal property tax, no inventory tax and no franchise tax. Kansas also features a payroll withholding tax retention program and sales tax exemptions.
Kentucky's Aerospace Industry Shooting for the Moon... Literally
"Are we science fiction fans? Oh yeah,” answers Dr. Benjamin Malphrus, laughing. Malphrus is director of the Space Science Center at Morehead State University in eastern Kentucky. He and his team are helping turn science fiction into fact as they design an entire new generation of micro and nano-satellites. And they’re not just designing satellites; they’re also building them—every part—on campus. More than half the construction work is done by undergrads.
Malphrus and his team have ambitious plans for these satellites. In fact, they hope to launch some of them to the moon to scan its dark side for water. “We know there’s water there,” he says. “Where it is and how did it get there? We don’t really know.”
These satellites aren’t your typical behemoths floating through our solar system. They can be as tiny as microwave ovens or as large as dishwashers. So far, Morehead State has launched five satellites with hopes of many more. That’s the point: the satellites work best when a few dozen function as a team. Then they can form various constellations and get to any spot in the planet in 10 minutes.
Utah Lays Foundation for Future Growth
The news is hard to miss: Utah is a consistently excellent and predictable place for business.
GOED's Vision
The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) is the business arm of the Governor’s Office, and is tasked with executing on Governor Gary R. Herbert’s vision that “Utah will lead the nation as the best performing economy and be recognized as a premier global business destination.” With education prioritized and an emphasis placed on innovation, entrepreneurship and investment, the State of Utah has ideally positioned itself to achieve its objectives.
Utah’s workforce is growing as a result of natural growth and in-migration. But it is also growing with the changing global economy. A concerted public-private effort is working to fill the demands of the state’s strongest “targeted” economic clusters, such as IT, Life Sciences, and Aerospace and Defense.
Nebraska Innovation Campus Poised for Next Phase of Growth
Nebraska Innovation Campus (NIC) is connecting the talents of experts, companies and the university to create a unique culture of innovation. NIC is a research campus designed to facilitate new and in-depth partnerships between the University of Nebraska and private sector businesses. NIC is adjacent to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) and strategically provides access to research faculty, facilities and students. At full build-out, NIC will be a 2.2-million square-foot campus with uniquely designed buildings and amenities that encourage people to create and transform ideas into global innovation.
Phase I of development at Nebraska Innovation Campus is ahead of schedule, with facilities taking shape that will attract talent, open new opportunities for students and faculty and grow Nebraska’s economy.
Mexico Site Selection Offers Broad Choices for Manufacturers
Although the industrial landscape was appreciably different at the turn of the millennium, over the last several years, Mexico’s prominence on the global economic stage has become highly visible and indisputable. In terms of where to locate a manufacturing facility, today’s Mexico offers broad choices within a user-friendly business environment and a varied geography.
During the opening years of the last century, companies were flocking to what was then being widely hailed as the “world’s workshop.” China enjoyed a definitive and sizable advantage in regard to Mexico's substantial manufacturing wage differential. In 2003, for example, wages paid to workers in factories in Mexico, known as maquiladoras, were 188 percent higher when compared to those paid to their Chinese counterparts. During that time, the Asian powerhouse was well on its way to supplanting Mexico as the United States’ foremost supplier of low-cost manufacturing labor. From 2001-2003, five hundred of Mexico’s approximately thirty-seven hundred maquiladoras were shuttered, as a direct result of competition from proliferating Chinese factories. Mexican government estimates from that period indicate that 218,000, mostly low-skill jobs in low-tech industries such as textiles and toy manufacturing, ventured across the globe chasing the “China price." Today that advantage has reversed itself. Because of this turn of economic events, Mexico site selection offers broad choices for companies seeking to expand their global footprint in an economically and strategically-intelligent fashion.
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(Redirected from Common tongue)
For other uses, see Lingua franca (disambiguation).
languages used to facilitate trade between groups without a common native language
1839 – Trilingual Chinese–Malay–English text – Malay was the lingua franca across the Strait of Malacca, including the coasts of the Malay Peninsula (now in Malaysia) and the eastern coast of Sumatra (now in Indonesia), and has been established as a native language of part of western coastal Sarawak and West Kalimantan in Borneo.
A lingua franca (/ˌlɪŋɡwə ˈfræŋkə/ ( listen); lit. Frankish tongue),[1] also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language is a language or dialect systematically used to make communication possible between groups of people who do not share a native language or dialect, particularly when it is a third language that is distinct from both of the speakers' native languages.[2]
Lingua francas have developed around the world throughout human history, sometimes for commercial reasons (so-called "trade languages" facilitated trade), but also for cultural, religious, diplomatic, and administrative convenience, and as a means of exchanging information between scientists and other scholars of different nationalities.[3][4] The term is taken from the medieval Mediterranean Lingua Franca, a Romance-based pidgin language used (especially by traders and seamen) as a lingua franca in the Mediterranean Basin from the 11th to the 19th century. A world language – a language spoken internationally and by a large number of people – is a language that may function as a global lingua franca.
1 Characteristics
Characteristics[edit]
Lingua franca refers to any language used for communication between people who do not share a native language.[5] It can refer to hybrid languages such as pidgins and creoles used for communication between language groups. It can also refer to languages which are native to one nation (often a colonial power) but used as a second language for communication between groups.[6] Lingua franca is a functional term, independent of any linguistic history or language structure.[7]
Lingua francas are often pre-existing languages with native speakers, but they can also be pidgin or creole languages developed for that specific region or context. Pidgin languages are rapidly developed and simplified combinations of two or more established languages, while creole languages are simply pidgins that evolve and are passed onto later generations.[8] Pre-existing lingua francas such as French are used to facilitate intercommunication in large-scale trade or political matters, while pidgins and creoles often arise out of colonial situations and a specific need for communication between colonists and indigenous peoples.[9] Pre-existing lingua francas are generally widespread, highly developed languages with many native speakers. Conversely, pidgin languages are very simplified means of communication, containing loose structuring, few grammatical rules, and possessing no native speakers. Creole languages are more developed than their ancestral pidgins, utilizing more complex structure, grammar, and vocabulary, as well as having native speakers.[8]
Whereas a vernacular language is the native language of a specific geographical community, a lingua franca is used beyond the boundaries of its original community, for trade, religious, political, or academic reasons. For example, English is a vernacular in the United Kingdom but is used as a lingua franca in the Philippines. Arabic, French, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindustani, and Russian serve a similar purpose as industrial/educational lingua francas, across regional and national boundaries.
International auxiliary languages created with the purpose of being lingua francas such as Esperanto and Lingua Franca Nova have not had a great degree of adoption globally so they cannot be described as global lingua francas.[10]
The term lingua franca derives from Mediterranean Lingua Franca, the pidgin language that people around the Levant and the eastern Mediterranean Sea used as the main language of commerce and diplomacy from late medieval times, especially during the Renaissance era, to the 18th century.[11][6] At that time, Italian-speakers dominated seaborne commerce in the port cities of the Ottoman Empire and a simplified version of Italian, including many loan words from Greek, Old French, Portuguese, Occitan, and Spanish as well as Arabic and Turkish came to be widely used as the "lingua franca" (in the generic sense) of the region.
In Lingua Franca (the specific language), lingua means a language, as in Portuguese and Italian, and franca is related to phrankoi in Greek and faranji in Arabic as well as the equivalent Italian. In all three cases, the literal sense is "Frankish", leading to the direct translation: "language of the Franks". During the late Byzantine Empire, "Franks" was a term that applied to all Western Europeans.[12][13][14]
Through changes of the term in literature, Lingua Franca has come to be interpreted as a general term for pidgins, creoles, and some or all forms of vehicular languages. This transition in meaning has been attributed to the idea that pidgin languages only became widely known from the 16th century on due to European colonization of continents such as The Americas, Africa, and Asia. During this time, the need for a term to address these pidgin languages arose, hence the shift in the meaning of Lingua Franca from a single proper noun to a common noun encompassing a large class of pidgin languages.[15]
As recently as the late 20th century, some restricted the use of the generic term to mean only hybrid languages that are used as vehicular languages, its original meaning.[16]
The Douglas Harper Etymology Dictionary states that the term Lingua Franca (as the name of the particular language) was first recorded in English during the 1670s,[17] although an even earlier example of the use of Lingua Franca in English is attested from 1632, where it is also referred to as "Bastard Spanish".[18]
The term is well established in its naturalization to English, which is why major dictionaries do not italicize it as a "foreign" term.[19][20][21] Its plurals in English are lingua francas and linguae francae,[20][21] with the former being first-listed[20][21] or only-listed[19] in major dictionaries.
Examples[edit]
Main article: List of lingua francas
The use of lingua francas has existed since antiquity. Latin and Koine Greek were the lingua francas of the Roman Empire and the Hellenistic culture. Akkadian (died out during Classical antiquity) and then Aramaic remained the common languages of a large part of Western Asia from several earlier empires.[22][23][full citation needed]
The Hindustani language (Hindi-Urdu) is the lingua franca of Pakistan and Northern India.[24][self-published source?][25][page needed] Many Indian states have adopted the Three-language formula in which students in Hindi speaking states are taught: "(a) Hindi (with Sanskrit as part of the composite course); (b) Urdu or any other modern Indian language and (c) English or any other modern European language." The order in non-Hindi speaking states is: "(a) the regional language; (b) Hindi; (c) Urdu or any other modern Indian language excluding (a) and (b); and (d) English or any other modern European language."[26] Hindi has also emerged as a lingua franca for the locals of Arunachal Pradesh, a linguistically diverse state in Northeast India.[27][28]It is estimated that 90 percent of the state's population knows Hindi.[29]
Swahili developed as a lingua franca between several Bantu-speaking tribal groups on the east coast of Africa with heavy influence from Arabic.[30] The earliest examples of writing in Swahili are from 1711.[31] In the early 1800's the use of Swahili as a lingua franca moved inland with the Arabic ivory and slave traders. It was eventually adopted by Europeans as well during periods of colonization in the area. German colonizers used it as the language of administration in Tanganyika, which influenced the choice to use it as a national language in what is now independent Tanzania.[30]
In the European Union, the use of English as a lingua franca has led to the emergence of a new dialect called Euro English.[32]
In Qatar, the medical community is primarily made up of workers from countries without English as a native language. In medical practices and hospitals, nurses typically communicate with other professionals in English as a lingua franca.[33] This occurrence has led to interest in researching the consequences and affordances of the medical community communicating in a lingua franca.[33]
Indonesian – which originated from a Malay language variant spoken in Riau – is the official language and a lingua franca in Indonesia, although Javanese has more native speakers. Still, Indonesian is the sole official language and is spoken throughout the country. Persian is also the lingua franca of Iran and its national language.
Hausa can also be seen as a lingua franca because it is the language of communication between speakers of different languages in Northern Nigeria and other West African countries.
The only documented sign language used as a lingua franca is Plains Indian Sign Language, used across much of North America. It was used as a second language across many indigenous peoples. Alongside or a derivation of Plains Indian Sign Language was Plateau Sign Language, now extinct. Inuit Sign Language could be a similar case in the Arctic among the Inuit for communication across oral language boundaries, but little research exists.
Hall, R.A. Jr. (1966). Pidgin and Creole Languages. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-0173-9.
Heine, Bernd (1970). Status and Use of African Lingua Francas. ISBN 3-8039-0033-6.
Kahane, Henry Romanos (1958). The Lingua Franca in the Levant.
Melatti, Julio Cezar (1983). Índios do Brasil (48 ed.). São Paulo: Hucitec Press.
Ostler, Nicholas (2005). Empires of the Word. London: Harper. ISBN 978-0-00-711871-7.
Ostler, Nicholas (2010). The Last Lingua Franca. New York: Walker. ISBN 978-0-8027-1771-9.
Languages portal
Linguistics portal
Global language system
Koiné language
List of languages by number of native speakers
List of languages by total number of speakers
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Mutual intelligibility
Interlinguistics
^ "lingua franca – definition of lingua franca in English from the Oxford dictionary". Oxforddictionaries.com. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
^ Viacheslav A. Chirikba, "The problem of the Caucasian Sprachbund" in Pieter Muysken, ed., From Linguistic Areas to Areal Linguistics, 2008, p. 31. ISBN 90-272-3100-1
^ Nye, Mary Jo (2016). "Speaking in Tongues: Science's centuries-long hunt for a common language". Distillations. 2 (1): 40–43. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
^ Gordin, Michael D. (2015). Scientific Babel: How Science Was Done Before and After Global English. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226000299.
^ "vehicular, adj." OED Online. Oxford University Press, July 2018. Web. 1 November 2018.
^ a b "LINGUA FRANCA:CHIMERA OR REALITY?" (PDF). ISBN 9789279189876.
^ Intro Sociolinguistics – Pidgin and Creole Languages: Origins and Relationships – Notes for LG102, – University of Essex, Prof. Peter L. Patrick – Week 11, Autumn term.
^ a b "The Difference Between Lingua Franca, Pidgin, and Creole Languages". Teacher Finder. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
^ "Lingua Franca, Pidgin, and Creole". 3 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
^ Directorate-General for Translation, European Commission (2011). "Studies on translation and multilingualism" (PDF). Europa (web portal). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2012.
^ "lingua franca | linguistics". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
^ Lexico Triantaphyllide online dictionary, Greek Language Center (Kentro Hellenikes Glossas), lemma Franc ( Φράγκος Phrankos), Lexico tes Neas Hellenikes Glossas, G.Babiniotes, Kentro Lexikologias(Legicology Center) LTD Publications. Komvos.edu.gr. ISBN 960-86190-1-7. Retrieved 18 June 2015. Franc and (prefix) franco- (Φράγκος Phrankos and φράγκο- phranko-
^ "An etymological dictionary of modern English : Weekley, Ernest, 1865–1954 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive". Archive.org. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
^ [1] Archived 12 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine
^ Brosch, C. (2015). "On the Conceptual History of the Term Lingua Franca". Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. 9 (1): 71–85. doi:10.17011/apples/2015090104.
^ Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, Simon and Schuster, 1980
^ "Online Etymology Dictionary". Etymonline.com. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
^ Morgan, J. (1632). A Compleat History of the Present Seat of War in Africa, Between the Spaniards and Algerines. p. 98. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
^ a b Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford Dictionaries Online, Oxford University Press.
^ a b c Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
^ a b c Merriam-Webster, MerriamWebster's Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster.
^ Ostler, 2005 pp. 38–40
^ Ostler, 2010 pp. 163–167
^ Mohammad Tahsin Siddiqi (1994), Hindustani-English code-mixing in modern literary texts, University of Wisconsin, ... Hindustani is the lingua franca of both India and Pakistan ...
^ Lydia Mihelič Pulsipher; Alex Pulsipher; Holly M. Hapke (2005), World Regional Geography: Global Patterns, Local Lives, Macmillan, ISBN 0-7167-1904-5, ... By the time of British colonialism, Hindustani was the lingua franca of all of northern India and what is today Pakistan ...
^ "Three Language Formula". Government of India Ministry of Human Resource Development Department of Education. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
^ Chandra, Abhimanyu (22 August 2014). "How Hindi Became the Language of Choice in Arunachal Pradesh." Scroll.in. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
^ http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-17.html
^ Roychowdhury, Adrija (27 February 2018). "How Hindi Became Arunachal Pradesh's Lingua Franca." The Indian Express. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
^ a b "Swahili language". Encyclopædia Britannica. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
^ E. A. Alpers, Ivory and Slaves in East Central Africa, London, 1975.., pp. 98–99 ; T. Vernet, "Les cités-Etats swahili et la puissance omanaise (1650–1720), Journal des Africanistes, 72(2), 2002, pp. 102–105.
^ Mollin, Sandra (2005). Euro-English assessing variety status. Tübingen: Narr. ISBN 382336250X.
^ a b Tweedie, Gregory; Johnson, Robert. "Listening instruction and patient safety: Exploring medical English as a lingua franca (MELF) for nursing education". Retrieved 6 January 2018.
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Glycolysis
(Redirected from Glucose oxidation reaction)
G6P
F1,6BP
GADP
DHAP
1,3BPG
PGI
GAPDH
The metabolic pathway of glycolysis converts glucose to pyruvate by via a series of intermediate metabolites. Each chemical modification (red box) is performed by a different enzyme. Steps 1 and 3 consume ATP (blue) and steps 7 and 10 produce ATP (yellow). Since steps 6-10 occur twice per glucose molecule, this leads to a net production of ATP.
Summary of aerobic respiration
Glycolysis (from glycose, an older term[1] for glucose + -lysis degradation) is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose C6H12O6, into pyruvate, CH3COCOO− + H+. The free energy released in this process is used to form the high-energy molecules ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and NADH (reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide).[2][3] Glycolysis is a sequence of ten enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Most monosaccharides, such as fructose and galactose, can be converted to one of these intermediates. The intermediates may also be directly useful rather than just utilized as steps in the overall reaction. For example, the intermediate dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) is a source of the glycerol that combines with fatty acids to form fat.
Glycolysis is an oxygen-independent metabolic pathway. The wide occurrence of glycolysis indicates that it is an ancient metabolic pathway.[4] Indeed, the reactions that constitute glycolysis and its parallel pathway, the pentose phosphate pathway, occur metal-catalyzed under the oxygen-free conditions of the Archean oceans, also in the absence of enzymes.[5]
In most organisms, glycolysis occurs in the cytosol. The most common type of glycolysis is the Embden–Meyerhof–Parnas (EMP pathway), which was discovered by Gustav Embden, Otto Meyerhof, and Jakub Karol Parnas. Glycolysis also refers to other pathways, such as the Entner–Doudoroff pathway and various heterofermentative and homofermentative pathways. However, the discussion here will be limited to the Embden–Meyerhof–Parnas pathway.[6]
The glycolysis pathway can be separated into two phases:[2]
The Preparatory/Investment Phase – wherein ATP is consumed.
The Pay Off Phase – wherein ATP is produced.
3 Sequence of reactions
3.1 Summary of reactions
3.2 Preparatory phase
3.3 Pay-off phase
3.4 Biochemical logic
3.5 Free energy changes
3.6 Regulation of the rate limiting enzymes
3.6.1 Hexokinase and glucokinase
3.6.2 Phosphofructokinase
3.6.3 Pyruvate kinase
4 Post-glycolysis processes
4.1 Anoxic regeneration of NAD+
4.2 Aerobic regeneration of NAD+, and disposal of pyruvate
4.3 Conversion of carbohydrates into fatty acids and cholesterol
4.4 Conversion of pyruvate into oxaloacetate for the citric acid cycle
5 Intermediates for other pathways
6 Glycolysis in disease
6.1 Diabetes
6.2 Genetic diseases
6.3 Cancer
7 Interactive pathway map
8 Alternative nomenclature
The overall reaction of glycolysis is:
D-Glucose
+ 2 [NAD]+
+ 2 [ADP]
+ 2 [P]i
2 × Pyruvate
+ 2 [NADH]
+ 2 H+
+ 2 [ATP]
+ 2 H2O
The use of symbols in this equation makes it appear unbalanced with respect to oxygen atoms, hydrogen atoms, and charges. Atom balance is maintained by the two phosphate (Pi) groups:[7]
Each exists in the form of a hydrogen phosphate anion (HPO42−), dissociating to contribute 2 H+ overall
Each liberates an oxygen atom when it binds to an ADP (adenosine diphosphate) molecule, contributing 2 O overall
Charges are balanced by the difference between ADP and ATP. In the cellular environment, all three hydroxyl groups of ADP dissociate into −O− and H+, giving ADP3−, and this ion tends to exist in an ionic bond with Mg2+, giving ADPMg−. ATP behaves identically except that it has four hydroxyl groups, giving ATPMg2−. When these differences along with the true charges on the two phosphate groups are considered together, the net charges of −4 on each side are balanced.
For simple fermentations, the metabolism of one molecule of glucose to two molecules of pyruvate has a net yield of two molecules of ATP. Most cells will then carry out further reactions to 'repay' the used NAD+ and produce a final product of ethanol or lactic acid. Many bacteria use inorganic compounds as hydrogen acceptors to regenerate the NAD+.
Cells performing aerobic respiration synthesize much more ATP, but not as part of glycolysis. These further aerobic reactions use pyruvate and NADH + H+ from glycolysis. Eukaryotic aerobic respiration produces approximately 34 additional molecules of ATP for each glucose molecule, however most of these are produced by a vastly different mechanism to the substrate-level phosphorylation in glycolysis.
The lower-energy production, per glucose, of anaerobic respiration relative to aerobic respiration, results in greater flux through the pathway under hypoxic (low-oxygen) conditions, unless alternative sources of anaerobically oxidizable substrates, such as fatty acids, are found.
Metabolism of common monosaccharides, including glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, glycogenesis and glycogenolysis
The pathway of glycolysis as it is known today took almost 100 years to fully discover.[8] The combined results of many smaller experiments were required in order to understand the pathway as a whole.
The first steps in understanding glycolysis began in the nineteenth century with the wine industry. For economic reasons, the French wine industry sought to investigate why wine sometime turned distasteful, instead of fermenting into alcohol. French scientist Louis Pasteur researched this issue during the 1850s, and the results of his experiments began the long road to elucidating the pathway of glycolysis.[9] His experiments showed that fermentation occurs by the action of living microorganisms; and that yeast's glucose consumption decreased under aerobic conditions of fermentation, in comparison to anaerobic conditions (the Pasteur effect).[10]
Eduard Buchner. Discovered cell-free fermentation.
While Pasteur's experiments were groundbreaking, insight into the component steps of glycolysis were provided by the non-cellular fermentation experiments of Eduard Buchner during the 1890s.[11][12] Buchner demonstrated that the conversion of glucose to ethanol was possible using a non-living extract of yeast (due to the action of enzymes in the extract).[13] This experiment not only revolutionized biochemistry, but also allowed later scientists to analyze this pathway in a more controlled lab setting. In a series of experiments (1905-1911), scientists Arthur Harden and William Young discovered more pieces of glycolysis.[14] They discovered the regulatory effects of ATP on glucose consumption during alcohol fermentation. They also shed light on the role of one compound as a glycolysis intermediate: fructose 1,6-bisphosphate.[15]
The elucidation of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate was accomplished by measuring CO2 levels when yeast juice was incubated with glucose. CO2 production increased rapidly then slowed down. Harden and Young noted that this process would restart if an inorganic phosphate (Pi) was added to the mixture. Harden and Young deduced that this process produced organic phosphate esters, and further experiments allowed them to extract fructose diphosphate (F-1,6-DP).
Arthur Harden and William Young along with Nick Sheppard determined, in a second experiment, that a heat-sensitive high-molecular-weight subcellular fraction (the enzymes) and a heat-insensitive low-molecular-weight cytoplasm fraction (ADP, ATP and NAD+ and other cofactors) are required together for fermentation to proceed. This experiment begun by observing that dialyzed (purified) yeast juice could not ferment or even create a sugar phosphate. This mixture was rescued with the addition of undialyzed yeast extract that had been boiled. Boiling the yeast extract renders all proteins inactive (as it denatures them). The ability of boiled extract plus dialyzed juice to complete fermentation suggests that the cofactors were non-protein in character.[14]
Otto Meyerhof. One of the main scientists involved in completing the puzzle of glycolysis
In the 1920s Otto Meyerhof was able to link together some of the many individual pieces of glycolysis discovered by Buchner, Harden, and Young. Meyerhof and his team were able to extract different glycolytic enzymes from muscle tissue, and combine them to artificially create the pathway from glycogen to lactic acid.[16][17]
In one paper, Meyerhof and scientist Renate Junowicz-Kockolaty investigated the reaction that splits fructose 1,6-diphosphate into the two triose phosphates. Previous work proposed that the split occurred via 1,3-diphosphoglyceraldehyde plus an oxidizing enzyme and cozymase. Meyerhoff and Junowicz found that the equilibrium constant for the isomerase and aldoses reaction were not affected by inorganic phosphates or any other cozymase or oxidizing enzymes. They further removed diphosphoglyceraldehyde as a possible intermediate in glycolysis.[17]
With all of these pieces available by the 1930s, Gustav Embden proposed a detailed, step-by-step outline of that pathway we now know as glycolysis.[18] The biggest difficulties in determining the intricacies of the pathway were due to the very short lifetime and low steady-state concentrations of the intermediates of the fast glycolytic reactions. By the 1940s, Meyerhof, Embden and many other biochemists had finally completed the puzzle of glycolysis.[17] The understanding of the isolated pathway has been expanded in the subsequent decades, to include further details of its regulation and integration with other metabolic pathways.
Sequence of reactions[edit]
Summary of reactions[edit]
Glucose 6-phosphate
isomerase
Fructose 6-phosphate
phosphofructokinase-1
Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate
Fructose-bisphosphate
Dihydroxyacetone phosphate
Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate
Triosephosphate
2 × Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate
Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
NAD++ Pi
NADH + H+
2 × 1,3-Bisphosphoglycerate
Phosphoglycerate kinase
2 × 3-Phosphoglycerate
Phosphoglycerate mutase
Phosphopyruvate
hydratase (Enolase)
2 × Phosphoenolpyruvate
Preparatory phase[edit]
The first five steps are regarded as the preparatory (or investment) phase, since they consume energy to convert the glucose into two three-carbon sugar phosphates[2] (G3P).
D-Glucose (Glc) Hexokinase (HK)
a transferase α-D-Glucose-6-phosphate (G6P)
ATP H+ + ADP
The first step in glycolysis is phosphorylation of glucose by a family of enzymes called hexokinases to form glucose 6-phosphate (G6P). This reaction consumes ATP, but it acts to keep the glucose concentration low, promoting continuous transport of glucose into the cell through the plasma membrane transporters. In addition, it blocks the glucose from leaking out – the cell lacks transporters for G6P, and free diffusion out of the cell is prevented due to the charged nature of G6P. Glucose may alternatively be formed from the phosphorolysis or hydrolysis of intracellular starch or glycogen.
In animals, an isozyme of hexokinase called glucokinase is also used in the liver, which has a much lower affinity for glucose (Km in the vicinity of normal glycemia), and differs in regulatory properties. The different substrate affinity and alternate regulation of this enzyme are a reflection of the role of the liver in maintaining blood sugar levels.
Cofactors: Mg2+
α-D-Glucose 6-phosphate (G6P) Phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI)
an isomerase β-D-Fructose 6-phosphate (F6P)
G6P is then rearranged into fructose 6-phosphate (F6P) by glucose phosphate isomerase. Fructose can also enter the glycolytic pathway by phosphorylation at this point.
The change in structure is an isomerization, in which the G6P has been converted to F6P. The reaction requires an enzyme, phosphoglucose isomerase, to proceed. This reaction is freely reversible under normal cell conditions. However, it is often driven forward because of a low concentration of F6P, which is constantly consumed during the next step of glycolysis. Under conditions of high F6P concentration, this reaction readily runs in reverse. This phenomenon can be explained through Le Chatelier's Principle. Isomerization to a keto sugar is necessary for carbanion stabilization in the fourth reaction step (below).
β-D-Fructose 6-phosphate (F6P) phosphofructokinase (PFK-1)
a transferase β-D-Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (F1,6BP)
The energy expenditure of another ATP in this step is justified in 2 ways: The glycolytic process (up to this step) becomes irreversible, and the energy supplied destabilizes the molecule. Because the reaction catalyzed by Phosphofructokinase 1 (PFK-1) is coupled to the hydrolysis of ATP (an energetically favorable step) it is, in essence, irreversible, and a different pathway must be used to do the reverse conversion during gluconeogenesis. This makes the reaction a key regulatory point (see below). This is also the rate-limiting step.
Furthermore, the second phosphorylation event is necessary to allow the formation of two charged groups (rather than only one) in the subsequent step of glycolysis, ensuring the prevention of free diffusion of substrates out of the cell.
The same reaction can also be catalyzed by pyrophosphate-dependent phosphofructokinase (PFP or PPi-PFK), which is found in most plants, some bacteria, archea, and protists, but not in animals. This enzyme uses pyrophosphate (PPi) as a phosphate donor instead of ATP. It is a reversible reaction, increasing the flexibility of glycolytic metabolism.[19] A rarer ADP-dependent PFK enzyme variant has been identified in archaean species.[20]
β-D-Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (F1,6BP) fructose-bisphosphate aldolase (ALDO)
a lyase D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (GADP) Dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP)
Destabilizing the molecule in the previous reaction allows the hexose ring to be split by aldolase into two triose sugars: dihydroxyacetone phosphate (a ketose), and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (an aldose). There are two classes of aldolases: class I aldolases, present in animals and plants, and class II aldolases, present in fungi and bacteria; the two classes use different mechanisms in cleaving the ketose ring.
Electrons delocalized in the carbon-carbon bond cleavage associate with the alcohol group. The resulting carbanion is stabilized by the structure of the carbanion itself via resonance charge distribution and by the presence of a charged ion prosthetic group.
Dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) triosephosphate isomerase (TPI)
an isomerase D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (GADP)
Triosephosphate isomerase rapidly interconverts dihydroxyacetone phosphate with glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (GADP) that proceeds further into glycolysis. This is advantageous, as it directs dihydroxyacetone phosphate down the same pathway as glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, simplifying regulation.
Pay-off phase[edit]
The second half of glycolysis is known as the pay-off phase, characterised by a net gain of the energy-rich molecules ATP and NADH.[2] Since glucose leads to two triose sugars in the preparatory phase, each reaction in the pay-off phase occurs twice per glucose molecule. This yields 2 NADH molecules and 4 ATP molecules, leading to a net gain of 2 NADH molecules and 2 ATP molecules from the glycolytic pathway per glucose.
glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (GADP) glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH)
an oxidoreductase D-1,3-bisphosphoglycerate (1,3BPG)
NAD+ + Pi NADH + H+
The aldehyde groups of the triose sugars are oxidised, and inorganic phosphate is added to them, forming 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate.
The hydrogen is used to reduce two molecules of NAD+, a hydrogen carrier, to give NADH + H+ for each triose.
Hydrogen atom balance and charge balance are both maintained because the phosphate (Pi) group actually exists in the form of a hydrogen phosphate anion (HPO42−),[7] which dissociates to contribute the extra H+ ion and gives a net charge of -3 on both sides.
Here, Arsenate (AsO43−), an anion akin to inorganic phosphate may replace phosphate as a substrate to form 1-arseno-3-phosphoglycerate. This, however, is unstable and readily hydrolyzes to form 3-phosphoglycerate, the intermediate in the next step of the pathway. As a consequence of bypassing this step, the molecule of ATP generated from 1-3 bisphosphoglycerate in the next reaction will not be made, even though the reaction proceeds. As a result, arsenate is an uncoupler of glycolysis.[21]
1,3-bisphosphoglycerate (1,3BPG) phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK)
a transferase 3-phosphoglycerate (3PG)
ADP ATP
phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK)
This step is the enzymatic transfer of a phosphate group from 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate to ADP by phosphoglycerate kinase, forming ATP and 3-phosphoglycerate. At this step, glycolysis has reached the break-even point: 2 molecules of ATP were consumed, and 2 new molecules have now been synthesized. This step, one of the two substrate-level phosphorylation steps, requires ADP; thus, when the cell has plenty of ATP (and little ADP), this reaction does not occur. Because ATP decays relatively quickly when it is not metabolized, this is an important regulatory point in the glycolytic pathway.
ADP actually exists as ADPMg−, and ATP as ATPMg2−, balancing the charges at -5 both sides.
3-phosphoglycerate (3PG) phosphoglycerate mutase (PGM)
a mutase 2-phosphoglycerate (2PG)
Phosphoglycerate mutase isomerises 3-phosphoglycerate into 2-phosphoglycerate.
2-phosphoglycerate (2PG) enolase (ENO)
a lyase phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP)
enolase (ENO)
Enolase next converts 2-phosphoglycerate to phosphoenolpyruvate. This reaction is an elimination reaction involving an E1cB mechanism.
Cofactors: 2 Mg2+: one "conformational" ion to coordinate with the carboxylate group of the substrate, and one "catalytic" ion that participates in the dehydration.
The intermediates of glycolysis
phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) pyruvate kinase (PK)
a transferase pyruvate (Pyr)
ADP + H+ ATP
A final substrate-level phosphorylation now forms a molecule of pyruvate and a molecule of ATP by means of the enzyme pyruvate kinase. This serves as an additional regulatory step, similar to the phosphoglycerate kinase step.
Biochemical logic[edit]
The existence of more than one point of regulation indicates that intermediates between those points enter and leave the glycolysis pathway by other processes. For example, in the first regulated step, hexokinase converts glucose into glucose-6-phosphate. Instead of continuing through the glycolysis pathway, this intermediate can be converted into glucose storage molecules, such as glycogen or starch. The reverse reaction, breaking down, e.g., glycogen, produces mainly glucose-6-phosphate; very little free glucose is formed in the reaction. The glucose-6-phosphate so produced can enter glycolysis after the first control point.
In the second regulated step (the third step of glycolysis), phosphofructokinase converts fructose-6-phosphate into fructose-1,6-bisphosphate, which then is converted into glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate. The dihydroxyacetone phosphate can be removed from glycolysis by conversion into glycerol-3-phosphate, which can be used to form triglycerides.[22] Conversely, triglycerides can be broken down into fatty acids and glycerol; the latter, in turn, can be converted into dihydroxyacetone phosphate, which can enter glycolysis after the second control point.
Free energy changes[edit]
Concentrations of metabolites in erythrocytes[23]
Concentration / mM
Glucose 5.0
Glucose-6-phosphate 0.083
Fructose-6-phosphate 0.014
Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate 0.031
Dihydroxyacetone phosphate 0.14
Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate 0.019
1,3-Bisphosphoglycerate 0.001
2,3-Bisphosphoglycerate 4.0
3-Phosphoglycerate 0.12
Phosphoenolpyruvate 0.023
Pyruvate 0.051
ATP 1.85
ADP 0.14
Pi 1.0
The change in free energy, ΔG, for each step in the glycolysis pathway can be calculated using ΔG = ΔG°' + RTln Q, where Q is the reaction quotient. This requires knowing the concentrations of the metabolites. All of these values are available for erythrocytes, with the exception of the concentrations of NAD+ and NADH. The ratio of NAD+ to NADH in the cytoplasm is approximately 1000, which makes the oxidation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (step 6) more favourable.
Using the measured concentrations of each step, and the standard free energy changes, the actual free energy change can be calculated. (Neglecting this is very common - the delta G of ATP hydrolysis in cells is not the standard free energy change of ATP hydrolysis quoted in textbooks).
Change in free energy for each step of glycolysis[24]
ΔG°' / (kJ/mol)
ΔG / (kJ/mol)
1 Glucose + ATP4− → Glucose-6-phosphate2− + ADP3− + H+ -16.7 -34
2 Glucose-6-phosphate2− → Fructose-6-phosphate2− 1.67 -2.9
3 Fructose-6-phosphate2− + ATP4− → Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate4− + ADP3− + H+ -14.2 -19
4 Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate4− → Dihydroxyacetone phosphate2− + Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate2− 23.9 -0.23
5 Dihydroxyacetone phosphate2− → Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate2− 7.56 2.4
6 Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate2− + Pi2− + NAD+ → 1,3-Bisphosphoglycerate4− + NADH + H+ 6.30 -1.29
7 1,3-Bisphosphoglycerate4− + ADP3− → 3-Phosphoglycerate3− + ATP4− -18.9 0.09
8 3-Phosphoglycerate3− → 2-Phosphoglycerate3− 4.4 0.83
9 2-Phosphoglycerate3− → Phosphoenolpyruvate3− + H2O 1.8 1.1
10 Phosphoenolpyruvate3− + ADP3− + H+ → Pyruvate− + ATP4− -31.7 -23.0
From measuring the physiological concentrations of metabolites in an erythrocyte it seems that about seven of the steps in glycolysis are in equilibrium for that cell type. Three of the steps — the ones with large negative free energy changes — are not in equilibrium and are referred to as irreversible; such steps are often subject to regulation.
Step 5 in the figure is shown behind the other steps, because that step is a side-reaction that can decrease or increase the concentration of the intermediate glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate. That compound is converted to dihydroxyacetone phosphate by the enzyme triose phosphate isomerase, which is a catalytically perfect enzyme; its rate is so fast that the reaction can be assumed to be in equilibrium. The fact that ΔG is not zero indicates that the actual concentrations in the erythrocyte are not accurately known.
Regulation of the rate limiting enzymes[edit]
The four regulatory enzymes are hexokinase (or glucokinase in the liver), phosphofructokinase, and pyruvate kinase. The flux through the glycolytic pathway is adjusted in response to conditions both inside and outside the cell. The internal factors that regulate glycolysis do so primarily to provide ATP in adequate quantities for the cell’s needs. The external factors act primarily on the liver, fat tissue, and muscles, which can remove large quantities of glucose from the blood after meals (thus preventing hyperglycemia by storing the excess glucose as fat or glycogen, depending on the tissue type). The liver is also capable of releasing glucose into the blood between meals, during fasting, and exercise thus preventing hypoglycemia by means of glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis. These latter reactions coincide with the halting of glycolysis in the liver.
In animals, regulation of blood glucose levels by the pancreas in conjunction with the liver is a vital part of homeostasis. The beta cells in the pancreatic islets are sensitive to the blood glucose concentration.[25] A rise in the blood glucose concentration causes them to release insulin into the blood, which has an effect particularly on the liver, but also on fat and muscle cells, causing these tissues to remove glucose from the blood. When the blood sugar falls the pancreatic beta cells cease insulin production, but, instead, stimulate the neighboring pancreatic alpha cells to release glucagon into the blood.[25] This, in turn, causes the liver to release glucose into the blood by breaking down stored glycogen, and by means of gluconeogenesis. If the fall in the blood glucose level is particularly rapid or severe, other glucose sensors cause the release of epinephrine from the adrenal glands into the blood. This has the same action as glucagon on glucose metabolism, but its effect is more pronounced.[25] In the liver glucagon and epinephrine cause the phosphorylation of the key, rate limiting enzymes of glycolysis, fatty acid synthesis, cholesterol synthesis, gluconeogenesis, and glycogenolysis. Insulin has the opposite effect on these enzymes.[26] The phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of these enzymes (ultimately in response to the glucose level in the blood) is the dominant manner by which these pathways are controlled in the liver, fat, and muscle cells. Thus the phosphorylation of phosphofructokinase inhibits glycolysis, whereas its dephosphorylation through the action of insulin stimulates glycolysis.[26]
In addition hexokinase and glucokinase act independently of the hormonal effects as controls at the entry points of glucose into the cells of different tissues. Hexokinase responds to the glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) level in the cell, or, in the case of glucokinase, to the blood sugar level in the blood to impart entirely intracellular controls of the glycolytic pathway in different tissues (see below).[26]
When glucose has been converted into G6P by hexokinase or glucokinase, it can either be converted to glucose-1-phosphate (G1P) for conversion to glycogen, or it is alternatively converted by glycolysis to pyruvate, which enters the mitochondrion where it is converted into acetyl-CoA and then into citrate. Excess citrate is exported from the mitochondrion back into the cytosol, where ATP citrate lyase regenerates acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate (OAA). The acetyl-CoA is then used for fatty acid synthesis and cholesterol synthesis, two important ways of utilizing excess glucose when its concentration is high in blood. The rate limiting enzymes catalyzing these reactions perform these functions when they have been dephosphorylated through the action of insulin on the liver cells. Between meals, during fasting, exercise or hypoglycemia, glucagon and epinephrine are released into the blood. This causes liver glycogen to be converted back to G6P, and then converted to glucose by the liver-specific enzyme glucose 6-phosphatase and released into the blood. Glucagon and epinephrine also stimulate gluconeogenesis, which coverts non-carbohydrate substrates into G6P, which joins the G6P derived from glycogen, or substitutes for it when the liver glycogen store have been depleted. This is critical for brain function, since the brain utilizes glucose as an energy source under most conditions.[27] The simultaneously phosphorylation of, particularly, phosphofructokinase, but also, to a certain extent pyruvate kinase, prevents glycolysis occurring at the same time as gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis.
Hexokinase and glucokinase[edit]
Yeast hexokinase B (PDB: 1IG8)
All cells contain the enzyme hexokinase, which catalyzes the conversion of glucose that has entered the cell into glucose-6-phosphate (G6P). Since the cell membrane is impervious to G6P, hexokinase essentially acts to transport glucose into the cells from which it can then no longer escape. Hexokinase is inhibited by high levels of G6P in the cell. Thus the rate of entry of glucose into cells partially depends on how fast G6P can be disposed of by glycolysis, and by glycogen synthesis (in the cells which store glycogen, namely liver and muscles).[26][28]
Glucokinase, unlike hexokinase, is not inhibited by G6P. It occurs in liver cells, and will only phosphorylate the glucose entering the cell to form glucose-6-phosphate (G6P), when the sugar in the blood is abundant. This being the first step in the glycolytic pathway in the liver, it therefore imparts an additional layer of control of the glycolytic pathway in this organ.[26]
Phosphofructokinase[edit]
Bacillus stearothermophilus phosphofructokinase (PDB: 6PFK)
Phosphofructokinase is an important control point in the glycolytic pathway, since it is one of the irreversible steps and has key allosteric effectors, AMP and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (F2,6BP).
Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (F2,6BP) is a very potent activator of phosphofructokinase (PFK-1) that is synthesized when F6P is phosphorylated by a second phosphofructokinase (PFK2). In the liver, when blood sugar is low and glucagon elevates cAMP, PFK2 is phosphorylated by protein kinase A. The phosphorylation inactivates PFK2, and another domain on this protein becomes active as fructose bisphosphatase-2, which converts F2,6BP back to F6P. Both glucagon and epinephrine cause high levels of cAMP in the liver. The result of lower levels of liver fructose-2,6-bisphosphate is a decrease in activity of phosphofructokinase and an increase in activity of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase, so that gluconeogenesis (in essence, "glycolysis in reverse") is favored. This is consistent with the role of the liver in such situations, since the response of the liver to these hormones is to release glucose to the blood.
ATP competes with AMP for the allosteric effector site on the PFK enzyme. ATP concentrations in cells are much higher than those of AMP, typically 100-fold higher,[29] but the concentration of ATP does not change more than about 10% under physiological conditions, whereas a 10% drop in ATP results in a 6-fold increase in AMP.[30] Thus, the relevance of ATP as an allosteric effector is questionable. An increase in AMP is a consequence of a decrease in energy charge in the cell.
Citrate inhibits phosphofructokinase when tested in vitro by enhancing the inhibitory effect of ATP. However, it is doubtful that this is a meaningful effect in vivo, because citrate in the cytosol is utilized mainly for conversion to acetyl-CoA for fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis.
TIGAR, a p53 induced enzyme, is responsible for the regulation of Phosphofructokinase and acts to protect against oxidative stress.[31] TIGAR is a single enzyme with dual function that regulates F2,6BP. It can behave as a phosphatase (Fructuose-2,6-Bisphosphatase) which cleaves the phosphate at carbon-2 producing F6P. It can also behave as a kinase (PFK2) adding a phosphate onto carbon-2 of F6P which produces F2,6BP. In humans, the TIGAR protein is encoded by C12orf5 gene. The TIGAR enzyme will hinder the forward progression of glycolysis, by creating a build up of fructose-6-phosphate (F6P) which is isomerized into glucose-6-phosphate (G6P). The accumulation of G6P will shunt carbons into the pentose phosphate pathway.[32][33]
Pyruvate kinase[edit]
Yeast pyruvate kinase (PDB: 1A3W)
Main article: Pyruvate kinase
Pyruvate kinase enzyme catalyzes the last step of glycolysis, in which pyruvate and ATP are formed. Pyruvate kinase catalyzes the transfer of a phosphate group from phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) to ADP, yielding one molecule of pyruvate and one molecule of ATP.
Liver pyruvate kinase is indirectly regulated by epinephrine and glucagon, through protein kinase A. This protein kinase phosphorylates liver pyruvate kinase to deactivate it. Muscle pyruvate kinase is not inhibited by epinephrine activation of protein kinase A. Glucagon signals fasting (no glucose available). Thus, glycolysis is inhibited in the liver but unaffected in muscle when fasting. An increase in blood sugar leads to secretion of insulin, which activates phosphoprotein phosphatase I, leading to dephosphorylation and activation of pyruvate kinase. These controls prevent pyruvate kinase from being active at the same time as the enzymes that catalyze the reverse reaction (pyruvate carboxylase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase), preventing a futile cycle.
Post-glycolysis processes[edit]
The overall process of glycolysis is:
Glucose + 2 NAD+ + 2 ADP + 2 Pi → 2 Pyruvate + 2 NADH + 2 H+ + 2 ATP
If glycolysis were to continue indefinitely, all of the NAD+ would be used up, and glycolysis would stop. To allow glycolysis to continue, organisms must be able to oxidize NADH back to NAD+. How this is performed depends on which external electron acceptor is available.
Anoxic regeneration of NAD+[edit]
One method of doing this is to simply have the pyruvate do the oxidation; in this process, pyruvate is converted to lactate (the conjugate base of lactic acid) in a process called lactic acid fermentation:
Pyruvate + NADH + H+ → Lactate + NAD+
This process occurs in the bacteria involved in making yogurt (the lactic acid causes the milk to curdle). This process also occurs in animals under hypoxic (or partially anaerobic) conditions, found, for example, in overworked muscles that are starved of oxygen. In many tissues, this is a cellular last resort for energy; most animal tissue cannot tolerate anaerobic conditions for an extended period of time.
Some organisms, such as yeast, convert NADH back to NAD+ in a process called ethanol fermentation. In this process, the pyruvate is converted first to acetaldehyde and carbon dioxide, and then to ethanol.
Lactic acid fermentation and ethanol fermentation can occur in the absence of oxygen. This anaerobic fermentation allows many single-cell organisms to use glycolysis as their only energy source.
Anoxic regeneration of NAD+ is only an effective means of energy production during short, intense exercise in vertebrates, for a period ranging from 10 seconds to 2 minutes during a maximal effort in humans. (At lower exercise intensities it can sustain muscle activity in diving animals, such as seals, whales and other aquatic vertebrates, for very much longer periods of time.) Under these conditions NAD+ is replenished by NADH donating its electrons to pyruvate to form lactate. This produces 2 ATP molecules per glucose molecule, or about 5% of glucose's energy potential (38 ATP molecules in bacteria). But the speed at which ATP is produced in this manner is about 100 times that of oxidative phosphorylation. The pH in the cytoplasm quickly drops when hydrogen ions accumulate in the muscle, eventually inhibiting the enzymes involved in glycolysis.
The burning sensation in muscles during hard exercise can be attributed to the release of hydrogen ions during the shift to glucose fermentation from glucose oxidation to carbon dioxide and water, when aerobic metabolism can no longer keep pace with the energy demands of the muscles. These hydrogen ions form a part of lactic acid. The body falls back on this less efficient but faster method of producing ATP under low oxygen conditions. This is thought to have been the primary means of energy production in earlier organisms before oxygen reached high concentrations in the atmosphere between 2000 and 2500 million years ago (see diagram above right), and thus would represent a more ancient form of energy production than the aerobic replenishment of NAD+ in cells.
The liver in mammals gets rid of this excess lactate by transforming it back into pyruvate under aerobic conditions; see Cori cycle.
Fermentation of pyruvate to lactate is sometimes also called "anaerobic glycolysis", however, glycolysis ends with the production of pyruvate regardless of the presence or absence of oxygen.
In the above two examples of fermentation, NADH is oxidized by transferring two electrons to pyruvate. However, anaerobic bacteria use a wide variety of compounds as the terminal electron acceptors in cellular respiration: nitrogenous compounds, such as nitrates and nitrites; sulfur compounds, such as sulfates, sulfites, sulfur dioxide, and elemental sulfur; carbon dioxide; iron compounds; manganese compounds; cobalt compounds; and uranium compounds.
Aerobic regeneration of NAD+, and disposal of pyruvate[edit]
In aerobic organisms, a complex mechanism has been developed to use the oxygen in air as the final electron acceptor.
Firstly, the NADH + H+ generated by glycolysis has to be transferred to the mitochondrion to be oxidized, and thus to regenerate the NAD+ necessary for glycolysis to continue. However the inner mitochondrial membrane is impermeable to NADH and NAD+.[34] Use is therefore made of two “shuttles” to transport the electrons from NADH across the mitochondrial membrane. They are the malate-aspartate shuttle and the glycerol phosphate shuttle. In the former the electrons from NADH are transferred to cytosolic oxaloacetate to form malate. The malate then traverses the inner mitochondrial membrane into the mitochondrial matrix, where it is reoxidized by NAD+ forming intra-mitochondrial oxaloacetate and NADH. The oxaloacetate is then re-cycled to the cytosol via its conversion to aspartate which is readily transported out of the mitochondrion. In the glycerol phosphate shuttle electrons from cytosolic NADH are transferred to dihydroxyacetone to form glycerol-3-phosphate which readily traverses the outer mitochondrial membrane. Glycerol-3-phosphate is then reoxidized to dihydroxyacetone, donating its electrons to FAD instead of NAD+.[34] This reaction takes place on the inner mitochondrial membrane, allowing FADH2 to donate its electrons directly to coenzyme Q (ubiquinone) which is part of the electron transport chain which ultimately transfers electrons to molecular oxygen (O2), with the formation of water, and the release of energy eventually captured in the form of ATP.
The glycolytic end-product, pyruvate (plus NAD+) is converted to acetyl-CoA, CO2 and NADH + H+ within the mitochondria in a process called pyruvate decarboxylation.
The resulting acetyl-CoA enters the citric acid cycle (or Krebs Cycle), where the acetyl group of the acetyl-CoA is converted into carbon dioxide by two decarboxylation reactions with the formation of yet more intra-mitochondrial NADH + H+.
The intra-mitochondrial NADH + H+ is oxidized to NAD+ by the electron transport chain, using oxygen as the final electron acceptor to form water. The energy released during this process is used to create a hydrogen ion (or proton) gradient across the inner membrane of the mitochondrion.
Finally, the proton gradient is used to produce about 2.5 ATP for every NADH + H+ oxidized in a process called oxidative phosphorylation.[34]
Conversion of carbohydrates into fatty acids and cholesterol[edit]
The pyruvate produced by glycolysis is an important intermediary in the conversion of carbohydrates into fatty acids and cholesterol.[35] This occurs via the conversion of pyruvate into acetyl-CoA in the mitochondrion. However, this acetyl CoA needs to be transported into cytosol where the synthesis of fatty acids and cholesterol occurs. This cannot occur directly. To obtain cytosolic acetyl-CoA, citrate (produced by the condensation of acetyl CoA with oxaloacetate) is removed from the citric acid cycle and carried across the inner mitochondrial membrane into the cytosol.[35] There it is cleaved by ATP citrate lyase into acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate. The oxaloacetate is returned to mitochondrion as malate (and then back into oxaloacetate to transfer more acetyl-CoA out of the mitochondrion). The cytosolic acetyl-CoA can be carboxylated by acetyl-CoA carboxylase into malonyl CoA, the first committed step in the synthesis of fatty acids, or it can be combined with acetoacetyl-CoA to form 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) which is the rate limiting step controlling the synthesis of cholesterol.[36] Cholesterol can be used as is, as a structural component of cellular membranes, or it can be used to synthesize the steroid hormones, bile salts, and vitamin D.[28][35][36]
Conversion of pyruvate into oxaloacetate for the citric acid cycle[edit]
Pyruvate molecules produced by glycolysis are actively transported across the inner mitochondrial membrane, and into the matrix where they can either be oxidized and combined with coenzyme A to form CO2, acetyl-CoA, and NADH,[28] or they can be carboxylated (by pyruvate carboxylase) to form oxaloacetate. This latter reaction "fills up" the amount of oxaloacetate in the citric acid cycle, and is therefore an anaplerotic reaction (from the Greek meaning to "fill up"), increasing the cycle’s capacity to metabolize acetyl-CoA when the tissue's energy needs (e.g. in heart and skeletal muscle) are suddenly increased by activity.[37] In the citric acid cycle all the intermediates (e.g. citrate, iso-citrate, alpha-ketoglutarate, succinate, fumarate, malate and oxaloacetate) are regenerated during each turn of the cycle. Adding more of any of these intermediates to the mitochondrion therefore means that that additional amount is retained within the cycle, increasing all the other intermediates as one is converted into the other. Hence the addition of oxaloacetate greatly increases the amounts of all the citric acid intermediates, thereby increasing the cycle's capacity to metabolize acetyl CoA, converting its acetate component into CO2 and water, with the release of enough energy to form 11 ATP and 1 GTP molecule for each additional molecule of acetyl CoA that combines with oxaloacetate in the cycle.[37]
To cataplerotically remove oxaloacetate from the citric cycle, malate can be transported from the mitochondrion into the cytoplasm, decreasing the amount of oxaloacetate that can be regenerated.[37] Furthermore, citric acid intermediates are constantly used to form a variety of substances such as the purines, pyrimidines and porphyrins.[37]
Intermediates for other pathways[edit]
This article concentrates on the catabolic role of glycolysis with regard to converting potential chemical energy to usable chemical energy during the oxidation of glucose to pyruvate. Many of the metabolites in the glycolytic pathway are also used by anabolic pathways, and, as a consequence, flux through the pathway is critical to maintain a supply of carbon skeletons for biosynthesis.
The following metabolic pathways are all strongly reliant on glycolysis as a source of metabolites: and many more.
Pentose phosphate pathway, which begins with the dehydrogenation of glucose-6-phosphate, the first intermediate to be produced by glycolysis, produces various pentose sugars, and NADPH for the synthesis of fatty acids and cholesterol.
Glycogen synthesis also starts with glucose-6-phosphate at the beginning of the glycolytic pathway.
Glycerol, for the formation of triglycerides and phospholipids, is produced from the glycolytic intermediate glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate.
Various post-glycolytic pathways:
Fatty acid synthesis
Cholesterol synthesis
The citric acid cycle which in turn leads to:
Amino acid synthesis
Nucleotide synthesis
Tetrapyrrole synthesis
Although gluconeogenesis and glycolysis share many intermediates the one is not functionally a branch or tributary of the other. There are two regulatory steps in both pathways which, when active in the one pathway, are automatically inactive in the other. The two processes can therefore not be simultaneously active.[38] Indeed, if both sets of reactions were highly active at the same time the net result would be the hydrolysis of four high energy phosphate bonds (two ATP and two GTP) per reaction cycle.[38]
NAD+ is the oxidizing agent in glycolysis, as it is in most other energy yielding metabolic reactions (e.g. beta-oxidation of fatty acids, and during the citric acid cycle). The NADH thus produced is primarily used to ultimately transfer electrons to O2 to produce water, or, when O2 is not available, to produced compounds such as lactate or ethanol (see Anoxic regeneration of NAD+ above). NADH is rarely used for synthetic processes, the notable exception being gluconeogenesis. During fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis the reducing agent is NADPH. This difference exemplifies a general principle that NADPH is consumed during biosynthetic reactions, whereas NADH is generated in energy-yielding reactions.[38] The source of the NADPH is two-fold. When malate is oxidatively decarboxylated by “NADP+-linked malic enzyme" pyruvate, CO2 and NADPH are formed. NADPH is also formed by the pentose phosphate pathway which converts glucose into ribose, which can be used in synthesis of nucleotides and nucleic acids, or it can be catabolized to pyruvate.[38]
Glycolysis in disease[edit]
Diabetes[edit]
Cellular uptake of glucose occurs in response to insulin signals, and glucose is subsequently broken down through glycolysis, lowering blood sugar levels. However, the low insulin levels seen in diabetes result in hyperglycemia, where glucose levels in the blood rise and glucose is not properly taken up by cells. Hepatocytes further contribute to this hyperglycemia through gluconeogenesis. Glycolysis in hepatocytes controls hepatic glucose production, and when glucose is overproduced by the liver without having a means of being broken down by the body, hyperglycemia results.[39]
Genetic diseases[edit]
Glycolytic mutations are generally rare due to importance of the metabolic pathway, this means that the majority of occurring mutations result in an inability for the cell to respire, and therefore cause the death of the cell at an early stage. However, some mutations are seen with one notable example being Pyruvate kinase deficiency, leading to chronic hemolytic anemia.
Cancer[edit]
Malignant tumor cells perform glycolysis at a rate that is ten times faster than their noncancerous tissue counterparts.[40] During their genesis, limited capillary support often results in hypoxia (decreased O2 supply) within the tumor cells. Thus, these cells rely on anaerobic metabolic processes such as glycolysis for ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Some tumor cells overexpress specific glycolytic enzymes which result in higher rates of glycolysis.[41] Often these enzymes are Isoenzymes, of traditional glycolysis enzymes, that vary in their susceptibility to traditional feedback inhibition. The increase in glycolytic activity ultimately counteracts the effects of hypoxia by generating sufficient ATP from this anaerobic pathway.[42] This phenomenon was first described in 1930 by Otto Warburg and is referred to as the Warburg effect. The Warburg hypothesis claims that cancer is primarily caused by dysfunctionality in mitochondrial metabolism, rather than because of the uncontrolled growth of cells. A number of theories have been advanced to explain the Warburg effect. One such theory suggests that the increased glycolysis is a normal protective process of the body and that malignant change could be primarily caused by energy metabolism.[43]
This high glycolysis rate has important medical applications, as high aerobic glycolysis by malignant tumors is utilized clinically to diagnose and monitor treatment responses of cancers by imaging uptake of 2-18F-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) (a radioactive modified hexokinase substrate) with positron emission tomography (PET).[44][45]
There is ongoing research to affect mitochondrial metabolism and treat cancer by reducing glycolysis and thus starving cancerous cells in various new ways, including a ketogenic diet.[46][47][48]
Interactive pathway map[edit]
Click on genes, proteins and metabolites below to link to respective articles. [§ 1]
[[File:
|{{{bSize}}}px|alt=Glycolysis and Gluconeogenesis edit]]
Glycolysis and Gluconeogenesis edit
^ The interactive pathway map can be edited at WikiPathways: "GlycolysisGluconeogenesis_WP534".
Alternative nomenclature[edit]
Some of the metabolites in glycolysis have alternative names and nomenclature. In part, this is because some of them are common to other pathways, such as the Calvin cycle.
Alternative nomenclature
1 Glucose Glc Dextrose
2 Glucose-6-phosphate G6P
3 Fructose-6-phosphate F6P
4 Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate F1,6BP Fructose 1,6-diphosphate FBP, FDP, F1,6DP
5 Dihydroxyacetone phosphate DHAP Glycerone phosphate
6 Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate GADP 3-Phosphoglyceraldehyde PGAL, G3P, GALP,GAP,TP
7 1,3-Bisphosphoglycerate 1,3BPG Glycerate-1,3-bisphosphate,
glycerate-1,3-diphosphate,
1,3-diphosphoglycerate PGAP, BPG, DPG
8 3-Phosphoglycerate 3PG Glycerate-3-phosphate PGA, GP
9 2-Phosphoglycerate 2PG Glycerate-2-phosphate
10 Phosphoenolpyruvate PEP
11 Pyruvate Pyr Pyruvic acid
Metabolism portal
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Glycolysis Pathway.
Carbohydrate catabolism
Citric acid cycle
Cori cycle
Fermentation (biochemistry)
Glycolytic oscillation
Pentose phosphate pathway
Pyruvate decarboxylation
Triose kinase
^ Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language, 2nd ed. (1937) Merriam Company, Springfield, Mass.
^ a b c d Glycolysis – Animation and Notes
^ Bailey, Regina. "10 Steps of Glycolysis".
^ Romano, AH; Conway, T (1996). "Evolution of carbohydrate metabolic pathways". Res Microbiol. 147 (6–7): 448–55. doi:10.1016/0923-2508(96)83998-2. PMID 9084754.
^ Keller; Ralser; Turchyn (Apr 2014). "Non-enzymatic glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway-like reactions in a plausible Archean ocean". Mol Syst Biol. 10 (4): 725. doi:10.1002/msb.20145228. PMC 4023395. PMID 24771084.
^ Kim BH, Gadd GM. (2011) Bacterial Physiology and Metabolism, 3rd edition.
^ a b Lane, A. N.; Fan, T. W. -M.; Higashi, R. M. (2009). "Metabolic acidosis and the importance of balanced equations". Metabolomics. 5 (2): 163–165. doi:10.1007/s11306-008-0142-2.
^ Barnett JA (April 2003). "A history of research on yeasts 5: the fermentation pathway". Yeast. 20 (6): 509–543. doi:10.1002/yea.986. PMID 12722184.
^ "Louis Pasteur and Alcoholic Fermentation". www.pasteurbrewing.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
^ "Yeast, Fermentation, Beer, Wine". www.nature.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
^ Kohler, Robert (1971-03-01). "The background to Eduard Buchner's discovery of cell-free fermentation". Journal of the History of Biology. 4 (1): 35–61. doi:10.1007/BF00356976. ISSN 0022-5010. PMID 11609437.
^ "Eduard Buchner - Biographical". www.nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
^ Cornish-Bowden, Athel (1997). "Harden and Young's Discovery of Fructose 1,6-Bisphosphate". New Beer in an Old Bottle: Eduard Buchner and the Growth of Biochemical Knowledge. Valencia, Spain. pp. 135–148.
^ a b Palmer, Grahm. "Chapter 3". Bios 302. http://www.bioc.rice.edu/~graham/Bios302/chapters/.
^ "Otto Meyerhof - Biographical". www.nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
^ a b c Kresge, Nicole; Simoni, Robert D.; Hill, Robert L. (2005-01-28). "Otto Fritz Meyerhof and the Elucidation of the Glycolytic Pathway". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 280 (4): e3. ISSN 0021-9258. PMID 15665335.
^ "Embden, Gustav – Dictionary definition of Embden, Gustav | Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
^ Reeves, R. E.; South D. J.; Blytt H. J.; Warren L. G. (1974). "Pyrophosphate: D-fructose 6-phosphate 1-phosphotransferase. A new enzyme with the glycolytic function 6-phosphate 1-phosphotransferase". J Biol Chem. 249 (24): 7737–7741. PMID 4372217.
^ Selig, M.; Xavier K. B.; Santos H.; Schönheit P. (1997). "Comparative analysis of Embden-Meyerhof and Entner-Doudoroff glycolytic pathways in hyperthermophilic archaea and the bacterium Thermotoga". Arch Microbiol. 167 (4): 217–232. doi:10.1007/BF03356097. PMID 9075622.
^ Garrett, Reginald H.; Grisham, Charles M. (2012). Biochemistry. Cengage Learning; 5 edition. ISBN 978-1-133-10629-6.
^ Berg, J. M.; Tymoczko, J. L.; Stryer, L. (2007). Biochemistry (6th ed.). New York: Freeman. p. 622. ISBN 978-0716787242.
^ Garrett, R.; Grisham, C. M. (2005). Biochemistry (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. p. 584. ISBN 978-0-534-49033-1.
^ Garrett, R.; Grisham, C. M. (2005). Biochemistry (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. pp. 582–583. ISBN 978-0-534-49033-1.
^ a b c Koeslag, Johan H.; Saunders, Peter T.; Terblanche, Elmarie (2003). "Topical Review: A reappraisal of the blood glucose homeostat which comprehensively explains the type 2 diabetes-syndrome X complex". Journal of Physiology. 549 (Pt 2): 333–346. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2002.037895. PMC 2342944. PMID 12717005.
^ a b c d e Stryer, Lubert (1995). "Glycolysis.". In: Biochemistry (Fourth ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. pp. 483–508. ISBN 0-7167-2009-4.
^ Stryer, Lubert (1995). Biochemistry (Fourth ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. p. 773. ISBN 0-7167-2009-4.
^ a b c Voet, Donald; Judith G. Voet; Charlotte W. Pratt (2006). Fundamentals of Biochemistry, 2nd Edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. pp. 547, 556. ISBN 978-0-471-21495-3.
^ Beis, I.; Newsholme, E. A. (1975). "The contents of adenine nucleotides, phosphagens and some glycolytic intermediates in resting muscles from vertebrates and invertebrates". Biochem J. 152 (1): 23–32. doi:10.1042/bj1520023. PMC 1172435. PMID 1212224.
^ Voet D., and Voet J. G. (2004). Biochemistry 3rd Edition (New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.).
^ Lackie, John (2010). TIGAR. Oxford Reference Online: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199549351.
^ Bensaad, Karim (July 16, 2006). "TIGAR, a p53-Inducible Regulator of Glycolysis and Apoptosis". Cell. 126 (I): 107–120. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2006.05.036. PMID 16839880 – via www.cell.com.
^ "TIGAR TP53 induced glycolysis regulatory phosphatase [Homo sapiens (human)] - Gene - NCBI". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
^ a b c Stryer, Lubert (1995). "Oxidative phosphorylation.". In: Biochemistry (Fourth ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. pp. 537–549. ISBN 0-7167-2009-4.
^ a b c Stryer, Lubert (1995). "Fatty acid metabolism.". In: Biochemistry (Fourth ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. pp. 603–628. ISBN 0-7167-2009-4.
^ a b Stryer, Lubert (1995). "Biosynthesis of membrane lipids and steroids.". In: Biochemistry (Fourth ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. pp. 691–707. ISBN 0-7167-2009-4.
^ a b c d Stryer, Lubert (1995). "Citric acid cycle.". In: Biochemistry (Fourth ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. pp. 509–527, 569–579, 614–616, 638–641, 732–735, 739–748, 770–773. ISBN 0-7167-2009-4.
^ a b c d Stryer, Lubert (1995). Biochemistry (Fourth ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. pp. 559–565, 574–576, 614–623. ISBN 0-7167-2009-4.
^ Guo, Xin; Li, Honggui; Xu, Hang; Woo, Shihlung; Dong, Hui; Lu, Fuer; Lange, Alex J.; Wu, Chaodong (2012-08-01). "Glycolysis in the control of blood glucose homeostasis". Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B. 2 (4): 358–367. doi:10.1016/j.apsb.2012.06.002. ISSN 2211-3835.
^ Alfarouk, KO; Verduzco, D; Rauch, C; Muddathir, AK; Adil, HH; Elhassan, GO; Ibrahim, ME; David Polo Orozco, J; Cardone, RA; Reshkin, SJ; Harguindey, S (2014). "Glycolysis, tumor metabolism, cancer growth and dissemination. A new pH-based etiopathogenic perspective and therapeutic approach to an old cancer question". Oncoscience. 1 (12): 777–802. doi:10.18632/oncoscience.109. PMC 4303887. PMID 25621294.
^ Alfarouk, KO; Shayoub, ME; Muddathir, AK; Elhassan, GO; Bashir, AH (22 July 2011). "Evolution of Tumor Metabolism might Reflect Carcinogenesis as a Reverse Evolution process (Dismantling of Multicellularity)". Cancers. 3 (3): 3002–17. doi:10.3390/cancers3033002. PMC 3759183. PMID 24310356.
^ Cox, David L. Nelson, Michael M. (2005). Lehninger principles of biochemistry (4th ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman. ISBN 978-0-7167-4339-2.
^ Gold, Joseph (October 2011). "What is Cancer?". Retrieved September 8, 2012.
^ "4320139 549..559" (PDF). Retrieved December 5, 2005.
^ "PET Scan: PET Scan Info Reveals ..." Retrieved December 5, 2005.
^ Schwartz, L; Seyfried, T; Alfarouk, KO; Da Veiga Moreira, J; Fais, S (April 2017). "Out of Warburg effect: An effective cancer treatment targeting the tumor specific metabolism and dysregulated pH". Seminars in Cancer Biology. 43: 134–138. doi:10.1016/j.semcancer.2017.01.005. PMID 28122260.
^ Schwartz, L; Supuran, CT; Alfarouk, KO (2017). "The Warburg Effect and the Hallmarks of Cancer". Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry. 17 (2): 164–170. doi:10.2174/1871520616666161031143301. PMID 27804847.
^ Maroon, J; Bost J; Amos A; Zuccoli G (May 2013). "Restricted Calorie Ketogenic Diet for the Treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme". Journal of Child Neurology. 28 (8): 1002–1008. doi:10.1177/0883073813488670. PMID 23670248.
A Detailed Glycolysis Animation provided by IUBMB (Adobe Flash Required)
The Glycolytic enzymes in Glycolysis at RCSB PDB
Glycolytic cycle with animations at wdv.com
Metabolism, Cellular Respiration and Photosynthesis - The Virtual Library of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Cell Biology at biochemweb.net
The chemical logic behind glycolysis at ufp.pt
Expasy biochemical pathways poster at ExPASy
MedicalMnemonics.com: 317 5468
metpath: Interactive representation of glycolysis
Library resources about
Resources in your library
Metabolism, catabolism, anabolism
Metabolic network
Primary nutritional groups
Aerobic respiration
Glycolysis → Pyruvate decarboxylation → Citric acid cycle → Oxidative phosphorylation (electron transport chain + ATP synthase)
Anaerobic respiration
Electron acceptors are other than oxygen
Glycolysis → Substrate-level phosphorylation
Catabolism
(carbohydrate catabolism
and anabolism)
Glycolysis ⇄ Gluconeogenesis
Glycogenolysis ⇄ Glycogenesis
Fructolysis
Galactolysis
N-linked
O-linked
Anoxygenic photosynthesis
Carbon fixation
Xylose metabolism
Radiotrophism
(lipolysis, lipogenesis)
Fatty acid metabolism
Fatty acid degradation (Beta oxidation)
Sphingolipid metabolism
Eicosanoid metabolism
Reverse cholesterol transport
Urea cycle
Purine metabolism
Nucleotide salvage
Pyrimidine metabolism
Metal metabolism
Ethanol metabolism
Metabolism map
Pentose
Citric
acid cycle
Glyoxylate
Peroxisomal
Glyco-
genolysis
lysis
Gluconeo-
decarb-
oxylation
feeders to
Direct / C4 / CAM
carbon intake
Light reaction
Oxidative
deamination
Lipogenesis
Steroidogenesis
MVA pathway
MEP pathway
Shikimate
Transcription &
Glycosyl-
ation
Double/multiple
sugars & glycans
Inositol-P
Amino sugars
& sialic acids
Nucleotide sugars
Hexose-P
Triose-P
P-glycerates
Pentose-P
Tetrose-P
Propionyl
-CoA
Succinate
Acetyl
Photosystems
Oxalo-
Succinyl
α-Keto-
glutarate
Serine group
Branched-chain
Aspartate
& lysine
& proline
& polyamines
Ketogenic &
glucogenic
Aromatic amino
acids & histidine
Ascorbate
(vitamin C)
δ-ALA
Hemes
Cobalamins (vitamin B12)
vitamin Bs
Calciferols
(vitamin D)
Retinoids
(vitamin A)
Quinones (vitamin K)
& carotenoids (vitamin E)
Cofactors
& minerals
Nucleotides
Nucleic
& proteoglycans
Chlorophylls
Polyketides
Terpenoids
& carotenoids (vitamin A)
Glycero-
Glycerolipids
Acyl-CoA
sphingolipids
Polyunsaturated
& thyroid hormones
Endo-
Major metabolic pathways in metro-style map. Click any text (name of pathway or metabolites) to link to the corresponding article.
Single lines: pathways common to most lifeforms. Double lines: pathways not in humans (occurs in e.g. plants, fungi, prokaryotes). Orange nodes: carbohydrate metabolism. Violet nodes: photosynthesis. Red nodes: cellular respiration. Pink nodes: cell signaling. Blue nodes: amino acid metabolism. Grey nodes: vitamin and cofactor metabolism. Brown nodes: nucleotide and protein metabolism. Green nodes: lipid metabolism.
Metabolism: carbohydrate metabolism: glycolysis/gluconeogenesis enzymes
Hexokinase (HK1, HK2, HK3, Glucokinase)→/Glucose 6-phosphatase←
Glucose isomerase
Phosphofructokinase 1 (Liver, Muscle, Platelet)→/Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase←
Fructose-bisphosphate aldolase (Aldolase A, B, C)
Triosephosphate isomerase
Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase
Pyruvate kinase (PKLR, PKM2)
Gluconeogenesis only
to oxaloacetate:
Pyruvate carboxylase
Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase
from lactate (Cori cycle):
from alanine (Alanine cycle):
Alanine transaminase
from glycerol:
Glycerol kinase
Glycerol dehydrogenase
Fructose 6-P,2-kinase:fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase
PFKFB1, PFKFB2, PFKFB3, PFKFB4
Bisphosphoglycerate mutase
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Glycolysis&oldid=906168029"
Cellular respiration
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Hendrick ter Brugghen
(Redirected from Hendrik ter Brugghen)
Pieter Bodart's Portrait of Henric Ter Brugghen (1708), engraving after a lost drawing by Gerard Hoet, 15.8 x 10.6 cm
1 November 1629 (aged 40–41)
The Denial of Saint Peter
The Crucifixion with the Virgin and St. John
Hendrick Jansz ter Brugghen (or Terbrugghen) (1588 – 1 November 1629) was a Dutch painter of genre scenes and religious subjects. He was a leading member of the Dutch followers of Caravaggio – the so-called Utrecht Caravaggisti. Along with Gerrit van Hondhorst and Dirck van Baburen, Ter Brugghen was one of the most important Dutch painters to have been influenced by Caravaggio.[1]
2 Work and impact
3 Selected works
Biography[edit]
Bacchante with an Ape (1627), 100 x 90 cm, Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Christ Crowned with Thorns (1620), 240 x 207 cm, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
The Supper at Emmaus (1621), 109 x 141 cm, Sanssouci Picture Gallery, Berlin
The Incredulity of St. Thomas (c. 1621—1623), 108.8 x 136.5 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
No references to Ter Brugghen written during his life have been identified.[2] His father Jan Egbertsz ter Brugghen, originally from Overijssel, had moved to Utrecht, where he was appointed secretary to the Court of Utrecht by the Prince of Orange, William the Silent. He had been married to Sophia Dircx. In 1588 he became bailiff to the Provincial Council of Holland in The Hague, where Hendrick was born.[1]
The earliest brief reference to the painter is in Het Gulden Cabinet (1661) of Cornelis de Bie, where he is mistakenly referred to as Verbrugghen.[3] Another short account is found in the Teutsche Academie (1675) by Joachim von Sandrart, where he is referred to as Verbrug. Here we learn that he studied with Abraham Bloemaert, a Mannerist painter. Sandrart also refers to the painter's "tiefsinnige, jedoch, schwermütige Gedanken in seinen Werken" [profound, but melancholic thoughts in his works].[4]
From this unsure footing, the artist's son Richard ter Brugghen sought to rehabilitate his father's reputation as a painter in the early 18th century. He secured a letter, dated 15 April 1707, from Adriaen van der Werff in Rotterdam, attesting to his appreciation of Hendrick's work. Later that year, on 5 August 1707, Richard presented the government council of Deventer with four paintings of the Evangelists, to be hung in the Town Hall as a permanent memorial to his father.[2]
An engraving, in all likelihood commissioned by Richard ter Brugghen from Pieter Bodart, and based on an earlier drawing by Gerard Hoet, was put about in 1708. It shows an idealised portrait of Hendrick, the family coat-of-arms, and a printed caption translated from the Dutch as:
Born in Overijsel in 1588, travelled from Utrecht to Rome, and ten years later returned to Utrecht, married there, lived there interruptedly, and died at the age of 42 on 1st Nov. 1629; he was a great and famous history painter from life, painting life-size figures in the Italian manner, so very superior to all others that the famous P. P. Rubens on travelling through the Netherlands declared on coming to Utrecht that he had found only one painter, namely Henricus ter Brugghen. G. Hoet del. P. Bodart, fec.[2]
Cornelis de Bie, in his Spiegel vande Verdrayde Werelt (1708),[5] and Arnold Houbraken, in his De Groote Schouburgh (1718-1721),[6] produced biographies where they repeated Richard's claims that the painter met Rubens in Rome and also worked in Naples.[7] There was a cadet of the same name serving in the army of Ernst Casimir of Nassau-Dietz in the spring of 1607, and for this reason, Ter Brugghen is thought to have been in Italy, but only in that year, rather than as previously believed in 1604 (inferred as it was from the inscription on the Bodart print). This would certainly mean that he never met Caravaggio in Rome; that artist had fled Rome on a murder charge in 1606. However, it is certain that he was the only Dutch painter in Rome during Caravaggio's lifetime.[1]
By 1614, Ter Brugghen was in Milan, on his way home. On 1 April 1615, Thyman van Galen and Ter Brugghen are witnesses before the court in Utrecht.[2] He is already listed as a member of the Utrecht painter's guild in 1616, and on 15 October of that year he married Jacomijna Verbeeck, his elder brother Jan's stepdaughter.[1]
Ter Brugghen died in Utrecht on 1 November 1629, possibly a victim of the plague. The family had been living in the Snippenvlucht. Ter Brugghen's last child of eight, Hennickgen, was born four months later on 14 March 1630.[2]
Work and impact[edit]
He certainly studied Caravaggio's work, as well as that of his followers–the Italian Caravaggisti–such as Orazio Gentileschi. Caravaggio's work had caused quite a sensation in Italy. His paintings were characteristic for their bold tenebroso technique–the contrast produced by clear, bright surfaces alongside sombre, dark sections–but also for the social realism of the subjects, sometimes charming, sometimes shocking or downright vulgar. Other Italian painters who had an influence on Ter Brugghen during his stay in Italy were Annibale Carracci, Domenichino and Guido Reni.
Upon returning to Utrecht, he worked with Gerard van Honthorst, another of the Dutch Caravaggisti. Ter Brugghen's favourite subjects were half-length figures of drinkers or musicians, but he also produced larger-scale religious images and group portraits. He carried with him Caravaggio's influence, and his paintings have a strong dramatic use of light and shadow, as well as emotionally charged subjects. Even though he died young, his work was well received and had great influence on others. His treatment of religious subjects can be seen reflected in the work of Rembrandt, and elements of his style can also be found in the paintings of Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer. Peter Paul Rubens described ter Brugghen's work as "...above that of all the other Utrecht artists".
Selected works[edit]
Works include:
Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene (1625)
The Crucifixion with the Virgin and St. John, (c. 1625)
The Denial of St. Peter (1628)
The Adoration of the Magi (1619), 132.5 x 160.5 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Calling of St. Matthew (1621), 102 × 137 cm, Centraal Museum, Utrecht
David Saluted by the Israelite Women (1623), North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh
Unequal Couple, c. 1623
The Card Players, 1623
The Liberation of Peter (1624), 104.5 × 86.5 cm, Koninklijk Kabinet van Schilderijen Mauritshuis, The Hague
The Annunciation (1624), 134 x 85 cm, Whitfield Fine Art, London, London
The Crucifixion with the Virgin and St. John, (c. 1625), 154.9 x 102.2 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene (1625), 149 x 119.4 cm, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin
King David Playing the Harp, Warsaw National Museum, Warsaw
Esau Selling His Birthright (1625), 84.9 x 116.3 cm, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
Jacob Reproaching Laban (1627), National Gallery, London
The Concert (1627), 99.1 x 116.8 cm, National Gallery, London
A Laughing Bravo with his Dog (1628)
The Denial of St. Peter (1628), 132.3 x 178 cm, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
Mars Asleep (1629), 152 x 140 cm, Centraal Museum, Utrecht
^ a b c d Liedtke, Walter (2007). Dutch Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Volumes 1-2. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9781588392732.
^ a b c d e Nicolson, Benedict (1958). Hendrick Terbrugghen. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
^ de Bie, Cornelis (1661). Het gulden Cabinet vande edel vry schilder const, inhoudende den lof vande vermarste schilders, architecte, beldthowers ende plaetsnyders van dese eeuw. Belgium: Jan Meyssens. p. 132.
^ Von Sandrart, Joachim (1675). Teutsche Academie der Edlen Bau, Bild- und Mahlerey-Künste. pp. 303, 308.
^ De Bie, Cornelis (1708). Den spiegel vande verdrayde werelt: te sien in den bedriegelijcken handel, sotte, en ongeregelde manieren van het al te broos menschen leven. Joannes Paulus Robyns.
^ Houbraken, Arnold (1718–1721). De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen. Arnold Houbraken. pp. 134–136.
^ Slatkes, Leonard; Wayne Franits (2007). The Paintings of Hendrick ter Brugghen (1588-1629): Catalogue Raisonné. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. ISBN 9789027249616.
Media related to Hendrick ter Brugghen at Wikimedia Commons
7 Paintings by or after Hendrick ter Brugghen at the Art UK site
Works at WGA
Works and literature at PubHist
Allen Museum
Whitfield Fine Art, London
www.hendrickbrugghen.org Images by Hendrick ter Brugghen
Did Hendrick ter Brugghen revisit Italy? Notes from an unknown manuscript by Cornelis de Bie
Vermeer and The Delft School, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Hendrick ter Brugghen
Dutch and Flemish paintings from the Hermitage, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Brugghen (cat. no. 6)
Artists in biographies by Giovanni Baglione
Paintings attributed to Caravaggio
Dutch Caravaggisti
Dirck van Baburen
Jan van Bijlert
Paulus Bor
Andries Both
Hendrick Bloemaert
Jan Gerritsz van Bronckhorst
Wouter Crabeth II
Gerard van Honthorst
Matthias Stom
Flemish Caravaggisti
Flemish Baroque painting
Nicolas Régnier
Theodoor Rombouts
Gerard Seghers
French Caravaggisti
Trophime Bigot
Valentin de Boulogne
Georges de La Tour
Jean LeClerc
Nicolas Tournier
Claude Vignon
Simon Vouet
Italian Caravaggisti
Giovanni Baglione
Marco Antonio Bassetti
Orazio Borgianni
Battistello Caracciolo
Cecco del Caravaggio
Bernardo Cavallino
Bartolomeo Cavarozzi
Paolo Domenico Finoglia
Giovanni Antonio Galli
Artemisia Gentileschi
Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri
Ottavio Leoni
Bartolomeo Manfredi
Mario Minniti
Pietro Paolino
Mattia Preti
Orazio Riminaldi
Carlo Saraceni
Bartolomeo Schedoni
Giovanni Serodine
Carlo Sellitto
Leonello Spada
Massimo Stanzione
Giuseppe Vermiglio
Spanish Caravaggisti
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
Francisco Ribalta
Juan Ribalta
Jusepe de Ribera
Francisco de Zurbarán
Gerrit Dou
BNF: cb13328344w (data)
BPN: 18993512
KulturNav: 80e71f6c-8689-45dc-b145-0255fdcaa175
SNAC: w64b6kg3
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hendrick_ter_Brugghen&oldid=838789702"
Dutch Golden Age painters
Dutch male painters
Artists from Utrecht
Pages using infobox artist with unknown parameters
Pages with Art UK bio with locally-specified ID
Wikipedia articles with BPN identifiers
Wikipedia articles with KULTURNAV identifiers
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The Buoys
This article is about the U.S. pop-rock band. For other uses, see buoy (disambiguation).
The Buoys were a US-American pop/rock band from the early 1970s. Its membership included Bill Kelly, Fran Brozena, Jerry Hludzik, Carl Siracuse and Chris Hanlon, based in the Wilkes-Barre-Scranton, Pennsylvania area. Bob Gryziec was the original bass player and a member of the group when they recorded "Timothy."
1 Hits by Rupert Holmes
2 Additional songs
3 Style
4 Then and Now
Hits by Rupert Holmes[edit]
They are most famous for their recording of Rupert Holmes's "Timothy", a song deliberately written to get banned, based on the theme of cannibalism. Holmes himself selected the group to record the song, although The Glass Prism had been his first choice. Because The Glass Prism were under contract to RCA, Holmes and C. Michael Wright had to go to their Plan B. Recorded at Scepter Recording Studios in New York City and released by Scepter Records in December 1970, with whom the Buoys had been signed but previously ignored, the song hit No. 17 on US charts in 1971. In 1963, there had been a mine cave-in in Sheppton, PA, a small mining community outside of Hazleton, PA. Rupert Holmes told rock journalist Maxim Furek, “I learned about the Sheppton Mine Disaster after Timothy was on the charts. If I had known about that at the time, I probably never would have written the song because I don’t want to make fun of something that’s tragic.”[1] Scepter executives did not catch what the song was about until after it started climbing the charts, after which they claimed that Timothy was a mule. Holmes rejected this attempt to change the premise of his song; he had intended it to be offensive. Holmes, with D. Jordan, wrote a less-successful hit for them titled "Give Up Your Guns" (1972), an epic narrative dealing with an escaped bank robber. Much more serious in tone than their previous hit, "Give Up Your Guns" reached only No. 84. By contrast it was a massive hit twice in mainland Europe, when originally released, and when re-released in 1979. Holmes wrote a number of other songs for the band, including "The Prince of Thieves", "Bloodknot", and "Tomorrow", most of which had much of the darkness but little of the humor of "Timothy". Like "Give Up Your Guns", they are complaints by criminals. Holmes now writes Broadway musicals. Rock journalist Maxim Furek later wrote a book connecting Sheppton to what he called The Sheppton Mythology [2]
Additional songs[edit]
Their other songs, written by the band without Holmes, include the following:
"Sunny Days/Memories"
"Tell Me Heaven Is Here"
"Castles"
"Streams Together"
"Good Lovin'"
"Pittsburgh Steel"
"Absent Friend"
"Sunny Days"
"Look Back America"
"Liza's Last Ride"
In addition, the songs "Don't Try to Run" and "Dreams" were written by Brozena, Kelly, and Hludzik only.
Style[edit]
Musically The Buoys combined CSN-style harmonies blended with assorted musical approaches. Their eclectic style combines piano as a major instrument, with guitar, drums, strings, winds, brass, and harp, but tends to vary in sound heavily from the 1950s rock 'n' roll sound ("Good Lovin'", "Sunny Days") to more 1960s-influenced songs of protest ("Look Back America", "Pittsburgh Steel"), 1930s-style pop like "These Days", to Renaissance-influenced prog like "Castles". Without Holmes, the darker lyrical aspects largely went away, though "Pittsburgh Steel" contains more dark humor; Pittsburgh steelworkers plot to kill their foreman by dumping him in a vat of ore.
Then and Now[edit]
After The Buoys, Bill Kelly and Jerry Hludzik teamed up as The Jerry-Kelly Band. In 1980, they formed a band called Dakota. Dakota toured the country as the opening act for Queen. The national sold-out tour took them to places such as Baton Rouge, Montreal, Toronto, Philadelphia, Houston and Atlanta. Danny Seraphine of Chicago produced several albums for them. The group reformed again in the 1990s with several new members, playing folk-country influenced rock. An album on compact disc of eighteen of The Buoys' songs was released in 1993 by Movieplay S.A., Intermusic, Inc., and Remember Records, in some markets as Give Up Your Guns and in others as Timothy: Golden Classics. Both albums contained the same cover image: a vintage photograph by Michael Ochs of the five core band members standing before the entrance of a building, under an awning that says "Timothy". On the right, "Give Up Your Guns" is spraypainted on the wall of the building. This collection includes most of their pressed recordings, although an alternate B-side take of "Liza's Last Ride" did not make it on. According to Rupert Holmes's webmaster, this pressing is unauthorized and neither Holmes nor the Buoys receive any royalties from its sales. The band Dakota disbanded in 1987. Bill Kelly has relocated to Nashville, where he operates Sweet Suite Music. Jerry Hludzik moved to Philadelphia, where he operates the cryptic Last Man Standing. Kelly and Hludzik have regrouped several times as The Buoys, but with a different lineup of musicians.
^ Furek, Maxim W. "The Pina Colada Man: Northeastern PA's Adopted Son Comes Home to Crow." Timothy, 1981.
^ Furek, Maxim W. Sheppton: The Myth, Miracle & Music, 2015.
Nash, Bruce, and Allan Zullo. The Wacky Top 40: The Most Outrageous, Hilarious, and Unforgettable Songs in Pop History. Holbrook, Massachusetts: Bob Adams, Inc., 1993.
Chisak, Richard. Is There Life After the Garden? The Dakota-Queen Tour. Timothy. March, 1981.
MusicBrainz: dd1d5e59-5ea9-4e48-a49a-1823fa19906b
WorldCat Identities (via LCCN): no2006-054085
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Buoys&oldid=903966802"
Rock music groups from Pennsylvania
Scepter Records artists
Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-LCCN identifiers
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Unlocking the Air and Other Stories
Find sources: "Unlocking the Air and Other Stories" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
HarperCollins (hardback)
Unlocking the Air and Other Stories is a 1996 collection of short stories by Ursula K. Le Guin. Like Searoad and Orsinian Tales, most of the included stories are neither science fiction nor fantasy. It was a finalist for the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Contents[edit]
"Half Past Four" (1987, The New Yorker)
"The Professor's Houses" (1982, The New Yorker)
"Ruby on the 67"
"Limberlost" (1989, Michigan Quarterly Review)
"The Creatures on My Mind" (1990, Harper's)
"Standing Ground" (1992, Ms.)
"The Spoons in the Basement" (1982, The New Yorker)
"Sunday in Summer in Seatown" (1995, Thirteenth Moon)
"In the Drought" (1993, Xanadu II)
"Ether, OR" (1995, Asimov's Science Fiction)
"Unlocking the Air" (1990, Playboy)
"A Child Bride" (1987, Terry's Universe, as "Kore 87")
"Climbing to the Moon" (1992, American Short Fiction)
"Daddy's Big Girl" (1987, Omni)
"Findings" (1992, Ox Head Press chapbook)
"Olders" (1995, Omni)
"The Wise Woman" (1995, The Sound of Writing (broadcast))
"The Poacher" (1992, Xanadu)
Cadden, Mike (2005). Ursula K. Le Guin Beyond Genre: Fiction for Children and Adults (1st ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-99527-2.
"Ursula K. Le Guin - Summary Bibliography".
Works by Ursula K. Le Guin
Earthsea
A Wizard of Earthsea (1968)
The Tombs of Atuan (1971)
The Farthest Shore (1972)
Tehanu (1990)
The Other Wind (2001)
"The Word of Unbinding" (1964)
"The Rule of Names" (1964)
"Dragonfly" (1997)
"Darkrose and Diamond" (1999)
"The Daughter of Odren" (2014)
"Firelight" (2018)
Tales from Earthsea (2001)
The Books of Earthsea (2018)
Earthsea (miniseries) (2004)
Tales from Earthsea (film) (2006)
Tehanu
Earthsea Revisioned (1993)
Hainish
Rocannon's World (1966)
Planet of Exile (1966)
City of Illusions (1967)
The Left Hand of Darkness (1969)
The Dispossessed (1974)
The Word for World Is Forest (1976)
Four Ways to Forgiveness (1995)
The Telling (2000)
"The Dowry of the Angyar" (1964)
"Winter's King" (1969)
"Vaster than Empires and More Slow" (1971)
"The Day Before the Revolution" (1974)
The Shobies' Story (1990)
"The Matter of Seggri" (1994)
"A Man of the People"
"Coming of Age in Karhide" (1995)
"Mountain Ways" (1996)
"Old Music and the Slave Women" (1999)
Gethen
Werel (Alterra)
Werel (Voe Deo)
Shing
The Lathe of Heaven (1971)
The Eye of the Heron (1978)
Malafrena (1979)
The Beginning Place (1980)
Always Coming Home (1985)
Annals of the Western Shore (Gifts (2004)
Voices (2006)
Powers (2007))
Lavinia (2008)
"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" (1973)
"The Wife's Story" (1982)
Paradises Lost (2002)
The Wind's Twelve Quarters (1975)
Orsinian Tales (1976)
The Compass Rose (1982)
Buffalo Gals and Other Animal Presences (1987)
A Fisherman of the Inland Sea (1994)
Unlocking the Air and Other Stories (1996)
The Birthday of the World (2002)
Changing Planes (2003)
Catwings (series) (1988–1999)
The Language of the Night (1979)
Dancing at the Edge of the World (1982)
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching (1997)
Steering the Craft (1998)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Unlocking_the_Air_and_Other_Stories&oldid=857346321"
Short story collections by Ursula K. Le Guin
1996 short story collections
HarperCollins books
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KG-DWN-98/2
KG basin
Govt probes prior info of ONGC gas migrating to RIL block: Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
ONGC had in late 2013 stated that it suspects extension of reservoirs from its blocks in the Bay of Bengal into RIL's KG-D6. This was based on seismic data available to it at least since 2007. RIL, on the other hand, seems to have an inkling as early as in 2003.PTI | Updated: December 07, 2016, 19:32 IST
New Delhi: The government has initiated a probe into Reliance Industries and Oil and Natural Gas Corp having knowledge as early as in 2003 of state-owned firm's natural gas flowing into adjoining fields of RIL in KG Basin.
ONGC had in late 2013 stated that it suspects extension of reservoirs from its blocks in the Bay of Bengal into RIL's KG-D6. This was based on seismic data available to it at least since 2007. RIL, on the other hand, seems to have an inkling as early as in 2003.
"Government has decided that Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas will conduct an enquiry into the acts of omission and commission on the issue of prior knowledge about the continuity of the reservoirs," Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said today.
In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, he said the government had constituted a Committee under Justice (Retd) AP Shah to look into the dispute of gas migration from ONGC's Blocks KG-DWN-98/2 and Godavari PML to RIL's Block KG- DWN-98/3 (KG-D6) in KG Basin.
"The terms of reference of the Committee also included consideration of the acts of omission and commission, if any, on part of the stakeholders including RIL, ONGC, DGH and Government and give recommendations on them," he said.
Committee has submitted its report, and its recommendations have been accepted by the Government.
"The Committee, in its report has observed that the 2003 Appraisal Report prima facie reveals that RIL had prior knowledge about connectivity and continuity of reservoirs, and did not bring the contents and findings of the 2003 Appraisal Report to the notice of DGH," he said.
Pradhan said the Report also notes that ONGC, on its part, also had some form of prior knowledge about possible continuity in 2007, but did not act promptly or with due diligence, and took up the matter only six years after it first obtained relevant information.
"The Committee believes that the allegations of prior knowledge on the part of both RIL and ONGC must be enquired into further, with particular emphasis laid upon the failure of both parties to present the information they had to the DGH," he said.
His ministry had on November 3 issued a notice to RIL, Niko and BP plc seeking USD 1.47 billion for producing in the seven years ended March 31, 2016 about 338.332 million British thermal unit of gas that had seeped or migrated from state- owned ONGC blocks into adjoining KG-D6.
After deducting USD 71.71 million royalty paid on the gas produced and adding an interest at the rate of Libor plus 2 per cent, totalling USD 149.86 million, a total demand of USD 1.55 billion was made on RIL, BP and Niko.
Tags : Oil & Gas, ONGC, Reliance Industries, Oil and Natural Gas, Natural gas, KG-DWN-98/2, KG basin
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Economy » News » Galardi Group: Hot Dog Chain names new president
Galardi Group Hot Dog Chain names new president
Photo: Wienerschnitzel
fleischwirtschaft.com — USA, Irvine, California. J.R. Galardi has assumed the role of president of Galardi Group (GGI), the parent company of Tastee-Freez, Hamburger Stand and Wienerschnitzel, the iconic Southern California-based hot dog chain with 331 restaurants in ten states and Guam. This was reported by the Digital Journal.
Formerly executive vice president, the junior Galardi will now be responsible for growing same-store sales and building the Wienerschnitzel, Tastee-Freeze and Hamburger Stand store networks while maintaining his role as the primary marketing support for the brand’s fast-growing franchisee family. He will continue to work closely with Galardi Culpepper and the Management Team to position the brands for future growth, especially among younger audiences.
As executive vice president, J.R. supported operations, marketing, franchise development and community relations for GGI. He was also previously director of administration, and created the Wienerschnitzel Visionary Department, dedicated to building brand loyalty with a younger audience through digital marketing, interactive experiences and event and charity partnerships.
Founded by John Galardi in 1961 with a single hot dog stand in Wilmington, Calif., Wienerschnitzel is one of the real pioneers of the quick-service food industry. Having successfully carved out a niche with hot dogs, The World’s Largest Hot Dog Chain serves more than 120 mill. hot dogs annually. It is part of the Galardi Group, which is also the parent company of Hamburger Stand and Tastee-Freez LLC.
Source: Digital Journal
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LeadershipAirbnb
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky: Going Public Is a ‘Two-Year Project’
Polina Marinova
Don’t hold your breath for an Airbnb IPO.
Airbnb just closed a billion-dollar funding round, and CEO Brian Chesky said he is no rush to take his home-sharing startup public. “Our investors are very patient,” he said at a New York Stock Exchange luncheon on Monday. “We are working on making sure the company is ready to go public.”
Chesky said it’s a two-year project to get the company IPO-ready, and “we’re probably halfway through this project.” In other words, Airbnb could potentially consider going public in 2018.
Take this with a grain of salt, however, because Chesky made a similar statement back in 2015. “If we decided we wanted to go public, we’d want to give ourselves a couple years to really prepare, to have that runway,” he told Fortune at the time. “I always thought of it as a two-year project. And we won’t start thinking of that for at least a year, and maybe two years.”
The 35-year-old CEO said remaining private allows the startup to take big bets. In February, Airbnb acquired high-end rental company Luxury Retreats for a reported $300 million in cash and stock. It also finalized a deal last month to buy Tilt, a group payments startup. The recent acquisitions are part of Airbnb’s aggressive global expansion plan.
Chesky also announced on Monday that the company will launch a Living Wage Pledge, allowing hosts to advertise that they pay the people who clean their property at least $15 per hour.
“We want to make sure that if we’re going to create jobs, they will be good jobs,” he said.
Related: How Airbnb Found a Mission—and a Brand
Founded in 2008 as an air mattress bed and breakfast rental platform, Chesky and his team have built Airbnb into a sharing economy behemoth now valued at $31 billion. It is the second most valuable startup after ride-sharing app Uber, which is valued at $69 billion.
Chesky and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick are relatively close, and they reportedly used to have a running dinner date to talk shop. The two sharing-economy pioneers have navigated similar challenges regarding regulations, security, and privacy.
Now, Uber is facing sexual harassment allegations amidst other scandals, and Kalanick has publicly stated he needs “leadership help.”
“I think he’s doing everything he probably should be at this point,” Chesky said of Kalanick. “He’s owned up to every problem. Every time there was a challenge that broke out, he apologized. He’s owned it, and he seems to have established a step forward.”
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By Elizabeth Johnson | September 2002
Patron saint of girl power: Joan of Arc
Long before Buffy slew a vampire or Xena battled bad guys, a teenager showed the world that girls can do anything – with God’s help. Her story has been told hundreds of times in books, plays, and movies, and she continues to be a popular heroine nearly 600 years after her death.
Joan of Arc was born Jan. 6, 1412, the youngest of five children in a French peasant family. She lived in the village of Domremy, near the province of Lorraine. When she was 13, Joan began hearing voices which told her they were messengers from God. At first, the messages were simple: be good, go to Church often, and God would help her. But when Joan was 17, the voices – which now identified themselves as St. Catherine, St. Margaret and St. Michael the Archangel – told Joan to go to the king of France and help him regain his throne.
Now, the French political scene during the 15th century was pretty complicated. The situation Joan was being asked to fix involved helping the Dauphin, Charles, take back his kingdom from the English king who was taking over French territory with the help of the Duke of Burgundy, a French noble who was a rival of the Dauphin.
Joan didn’t understand why she, a peasant girl with no knowledge of military tactics, should be the one to help the king, but she was obedient to her voices. She traveled to the Dauphin’s court and proclaimed to him, “I am called ‘Joan the Maid.’ Give me soldiers and I will raise the siege of Orleans.” After she was examined by a Church council who decided that Joan really was sent by God, Charles had armor made for her and gave her 3,000 soldiers. With guidance from her voices, Joan led the battle that raised the siege of Orleans in May 1429.
From there, Joan and her army fought and won several more battles against the English and the Burgundians, enabling Charles to enter the cathedral in the city of Reims and be anointed Charles VII, King of France, in July 1429.
Joan continued to stay with the king and offer him counsel based on her voices. Charles didn’t listen to her, though. She left the court and led one last battle against the Burgundians at Compeigne, and was captured May 23, 1430. The Burgundians turned her over to the English. Charles VII did nothing to try and save her.
After a year in prison, Joan was found guilty of heresy and witchcraft and sentenced to die. Until the end, she continued to state that God’s saints had commanded her to do everything she had done. On May 30, 1431, she was burned alive at the stake, gazing at a crucifix held before her eyes. She was only 19 years old. The results of her trial were overturned several years later, but Joan of Arc was not named a saint until 1920. She is the patron of soldiers and of France. Her feast day is May 30.
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Using Fear: The Giu91an1 Awards
Fear is a powerful motivator.
Demagogues, those who invoke the human fear response for political gain, have long known this.
With that in mind, I'm just going to come right out and say that, first off, I think there are generally two types of Republicans: rich people and suckers. How Republican elites garner support from the common folk is often through demagoguery.
Whether it's Republicans covertly (or overtly) sending the message that Obama is a secret Muslim or the "family values" crowd appealing to popular prejudices of gay people, both tactics are used to garner votes. When I see these tactics being used, the only thing it tells me about a candidate is that he, or she (but probably he), must be so unqualified that he cannot win on his own merits. It tells me that, despite the crappiness of this candidate, a group of people nonetheless desperately want this candidate to win. Most disturbingly, it tells me that a group of people doesn't trust us- the common folk- to make the "correct" choice if we the people are given only the information relevant to each candidate's merits.
The propaganda suggests that some people aren't being completely clear about who this candidate is really benefiting.
For the sake of disclosure here, I don't identify with Democrats or Republicans. I will vote for Obama because I find him to be a better choice than McCain. There. That being said, I find that it's Republicans or supporters of Republicans who use the particularly reprehensible scare tactics of invoking hyper-nationalism, using red scare tactics, and alluding to the spectre of another 9/11 to gain support not on the merits of their candidate but by trying to invoke the fear response.
During the primary season, many pundits mocked Republican candidate Rudy Gui91an1 for mentioning 9-11 in virtually every speech he gave no matter the topic. His idea in doing so was, I believe, to invoke fear at the prospect of another terrorist attack, to let voters know that he had been there before and knew how to deal with these scary times, and to try to capture some of the patriotic sentiment that surely was responsible for President Bush's sky-high approval ratings.
And thus a Fannie's Room Award was born: The Giu91an1 Awards. This has the potential to be a recurring feature during the 2008 election season. Anyway, the first annual Giu91an1 Awards winners, those who have opportunistically and exaggeratedly invoked fear for attempted political gain, are as follows:
1. In the "Please Stop Using 9-11 for Political Purposes" Category
In Florida, one businessman has exploited the 9-11 tragedy for monetary gain and for attempted political gain for the Republican Party. The propaganda? A ginormous billboard featuring the twin towers still smoking from the terrorist attack. The caption? "Please Don't Vote for a Democrat." The implication is obvious: Oh dear god, we better not vote for a Democrat if we don't want another terrorist attack to happen!
Yet, rather than helping his cause, this foolish, desperate businessman is probably doing more harm to Republicans. I mean, supposedly, the Republican party in Florida has even called the billboard "inappropriate."
2. In the "Barack Hussein Obama" Category
We certainly can't forget the numerous allusions to Obama's alleged Muslim faith and all the scary implications that brings with it. The New Yorker recently caught a lot of flak for its satirical photo of Michelle and Barak Obama decked out in Muslim gear, doing a "terrorist fist jab," and burning an American flag. Well, South Carolina Senator Kevin Bryant recently posted something similar on his Senate blog. Except, I don't think it was meant to be a satire.
The fear-mongery propaganda? A t-shirt with a photo of Osama bin Laden and Barack Obama. The caption read "The difference between Obama and Osama is just a little B.S." Hardy-fuckin-har-har, right?
Like, the best this sorry politician can do against another politician is to falsely allude that he's in cahoots with a major international terrorist? I wonder if Bryant has any actual, you know, critique of Obama's policy positions or if he's just into defamation.
The thing is, it's these types of "funny" little slogans that get forwarded in emails all across our nation. Being from where I'm from, blue-collar America, I sometimes receive these Obama/Muslim forwards from people who don't know that I don't think like them. Peruse some conservative "common folk" blogs and websites and see for yourself how prevalent the idea that Obama is a secret Muslim is. Many of these people will vote for John McCain, not because they like John McCain or particularly know much about his policy positions, but rather because they believe Something Really Bad will happen to American if Obama-the-Secret-Muslim is elected president.
3. In the "Hot Mess of Asininity" Category
And no demagoguery award show is complete without at least one piece from the professional anti-gay crowd. The following example is a nice two-for-one combo package of anti-gay and anti-Obama propaganda. Professional Christian Janet Folger, who is under the delusion that the imprisonment of Christians is imminent, recently opined in her article "A jail cell with your name on it":
"I can argue why marriage matters for the continuation of civilization. I can tell you about every study that shows without a doubt that children do best with both a mother and a father. But let me cut to the chase: If we don't win the marriage battle, now on the ballot in California, Florida and Arizona, people who disagree with homosexual behavior will ... go to jail."
The elipses in the last sentence were in the original piece. Did you catch the dramatic effect? Anyway, listen up, Folger continues her dire warning:
"People in California are starting to understand just what is at stake in the battle for marriage – freedom itself.... If you care about America's freedoms, muster the courage to stand up, sign up and speak up for marriage and McCain. Because if we have a few more months like this one, and four years of a Barack Obama administration in lockstep with the homosexual agenda, we won't have our freedoms and we won't recognize our country."
Eee-gad!
At the risk of taking this fear-monger seriously, I just want to point out that Obama does not, actually, support the right of same-sex couples to marry. In fact, when it comes to the marriage issue, Obama and McCain are pretty similar. Both candidates have opposed a Federal Marriage Amendment and neither favor same-sex marriage. Details shmetails, what matters is oh dear god the world is a scary scary place in which our very freedoms are at stake! (and while you're casting your anti-gay-marriage vote don't forget to vote for John McCain!)
But seriously, with these inconvenient facts in mind, my only question is whether Folger is out to deliberately lie to her readers or whether she's merely ignorant. In any event, the result is the invocation of fear for political and/or monetary gain.
How Christian.
To end, I believe that many people can see when candidates and/or supporters are motivating people to vote for them by trying to invoke fear. When such tactics are transparent, they are laughable and ridiculous. Yet, it would be giving people too much credit to assume that all potential voters are capable of laughing off absurd messages. When people use fear, rather than the merits of their candidate, to garner support, I can't help but to wonder what it is these people are hiding about their candidate. If they have to try to trick masses of people into voting for someone who they would not, without this fear, otherwise vote for I also wonder if this candidate is really the best person for our nation.
Could it be that the only thing our nation has to fear really is fear itself?
Labels: Anti-Gays, Election 2008, Politics, Propaganda Watch, Straight People Obsessed with Gay Sex, We the People
"Deep" Thought #20: Description of What Anti-Gay Initiative Does Might Prejudice People Against Voting For What Initiative Does
California's Attorney General has changed the wording of the state's ballot initiative that would amend the state's constitution to take away the right of same-sex couples to marry. While the "marriage defenders" wanted the language on the ballot to read that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California," the new language on the ballot will state that the initiative will "eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry."
This new statement is completely accurate, of course. Same-sex couples currently have the right to marry in California and the constitutional amendment would eliminate that right. Yet, marriage defenders aren't happy about this new accurate wording. For instance, Jennifer Kerns of the Protect Marriage coalition believes that the new wording "is so inflammatory that it will unduly prejudice voters against the measure."
See, in the realm of Earthly logic, one would think that the proponents of an initiative would want voters to know exactly what it was they were voting for. In the case of this new wording, it lays out exactly what it is the initiative will tangibly do-- eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. But no. Accurate messaging? We shan't have that now.
Here's a little hint, people. If you are scared that an accurate description of your initiative might be so "inflammatory" so as to "prejudice" people against voting for it, you should probably come up with an initiative that isn't so repugnant when it's accurately described. Amending a constitution is serious business and if the only way for you to succeed is if you are in control of the messaging, well, then maybe your little amendment doesn't deserve to be in anyone's constitution.
But that's okay. We understand what this latest drama is all about, don't we? Now that voters will have to come face-to-face with the fact that they're taking something away from gay couples, some people's consciences might get the better of them. That's what the anti-gay crowd is fearing here. And that's why Kerns' statement is worthy of a "deep" thought. Kerns and the other members of this movement are objecting to accurate descriptions of what their initiative will do. They don't have faith in the average voter to do what's "right" unless the people can be persuaded that they are bravely and justly "defending" an institution rather than taking something important away from a minority group. The Attorney General has brought this movement back down to Earth, out of the realm of grandiose hyperbolic predictions of Great Harm to Society, and has shined a light on the reality of what this initiative tangibly means.
Now that the light is shining, take a good long look America. Look at this movement that is desperate to control the messaging, see how it fears truth, and ask yourself what side you want to say you were on when the history books are written.
Yeah, Kerns. A description of what your bigoted initiative actually does just might prejudice people against voting for what it actually does. Ya think?
"Deep" thoughts.
Labels: "Deep" Thoughts, Blawgs, I See Gay People, Language, We the People
Some Fundamentalist Christian Responses to the Tennessee Shooting
Perhaps by now you've already heard of the horrifying shooting at a church in Tennessee. An unemployed man with a self-described "hatred of the liberal movement" is being charged with first-degree murder after shooting and killing two members of the liberal gay-welcoming Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.
To begin, it should go without saying that this man isn't representative of all people who are opposed to liberals and gay people. I mean, you know a person's more than a little unhinged when he believes shooting up a church is justified because it's a gay-affirming liberal one. That being said, I have found some of the anti-gay reactions to this incident odd, to say the least.
1. On Responsibility
In any incident of this type, one has to wonder how anti-gay/anti-liberal writings and rantings factor into the equation. While I don't think the violence can be attributed solely to anti-gay propaganda, I don't think it's unreasonable to believe that the recurring message that gays/liberals are ruining everything contributes to incidents such as these. After all, it's not like the the killer wrote his manifesto outlining his hatred of liberals and gays in a society brimming with unconditional love and acceptance of liberals, gay people, rainbows, and ponies.
While some anti-gay groups have gone on the defensive and wiped their collective hands clean of this incident, Good As You observes that the anti-gay "news" source OneNewsNow's coverage of the incident is ironically surrounded by articles criticizing gay people and the churches that support them.
Anti-gay/pro-family (whatever you choose to call them) regularly send out messages like how gay-affirming churches are not "in line with biblical teachings" and that allowing gays in the military is a key step leading to the, wait for it wait for it, "moral unraveling of society." I'm not advocating censorship here, but I don't think it's unreasonable to believe that these messages, in the mind of a desperate, unhinged person, could lead to violence.
Freedom of speech demands greater responsibility than what many anti-gay propagandists show via their demagoguery and fear-mongering opinion pieces.
2. The Unitarian "Church"
After perusing some of the reactions among the anti-gay crowd, what I found interesting were references to the "fact" that Unitarianism is not "real" Christianity. Now, am I the only one having trouble connecting the dots between how noting this "fact" is in any way relevant to noting that the shooting was heinous?
But alas, this odd juxtaposition goes along the lines of "Now, I don't condone this killer's actions, but can I just say that Unitarians are NOT real Christians!" Okay, neat-o. Like, you just had to throw that passive-aggressive little FYI in there for shits and giggles?
I mean, you can pretty much guarantee that had the shooting occurred at an Evangelical Church, some folks would be the first to cite the incident as yet more "proof" of Christian persecution.
I just find it really uncouth that, in the context of this shooting, people actually think it's an appropriate time to chime in that hey by the way Unitarians aren't "real" Christians. (And by the way, have any fundamentalists ever thought about taking a comparative religion course? I mean, seriously, this pastor didn't even know what Unitarianism was until he heard about this shooting and went and looked it up. But again, I digress.) Observe how this pastor opines in his article that is inaccurately entitled "Thoughts on the Tennessee Valley Shooting":
"My primary reason for writing this post is to answer the question: "What is the Unitarian Universalist church?" I was asked this yesterday and couldn't give a clear answer. All I knew is that they are a very liberal group, but I didn't know really what they believed."
Thus, contrary to the title of his post, his article is more about "What is the Unitarian Universalist church" and less about the actual shooting. For, after strongly condemning the shooting the scare quoting begins:
"[Y]ou can see for yourself on their own web site that the Unitarian Universalist 'church' is obviously not a true, biblical church by any means. They have no doctrinal belief about God. He/She/It can be whatever you want he/she/it to be. Or you can choose to not believe in a god at all. Or you can believe in many gods. It doesn't really matter....I could continue indefinitely describing this so-called "church" as a false church. Again, for more details see this helpful site for information on a wide range of religions, cults and denominations."
In addition, this blogger defensively predicts that oh dear god this horrible incident just might benefit the homaseckshuls and hurt the anti-gay Christian movement:
"Homosexual activists will try to persuade the public and legislators alike that speech and/or action taken against the pro-homosexual views of this "church" must be silenced. They will attempt to create an atmosphere of fear among the public. They will try show that conservatives on this issue are violent and must be stopped."
So, let me get this straight. Two Unitarians were murdered by a crazed gunman and this pastor's messages are (1) That this incident will probably hurt the anti-gay movement and (2) That the Unitarian church, excuse me "church," is a false one.
How loving and compassionate.
3. A Christian Message of "Peace"
Then, of course, there is professional anti-gay Peter LaBarbera's Christian message of "peace" concerning the incident. In an article entitled "Tennessee Church Murderer Deserves Death Penalty if Found Guilty," LaBarbera rebukes the incident and asks us to pray for the victims and their families.
While I appreciate the fact that the leader of an arguable anti-gay hate group decries this act of violence, I take no solace in his defensive message of violent vengeance. For, right after he asks us to do the Christian-y thing and pray he expounds:
"Of course, pro-homosexual activists will seek to exploit this case to win passage of a federal 'hate crimes' law, but as I told an American Family Association reporter today, surely justice can and will be done in this case — including the death sentence this murderer deserves — without the extra help of special 'hate crimes' prosecution."
Without getting into a full-on debate about the death penalty, this statement that LaBarbera mailed to a "homosexual" newspaper is simply inflammatory. He both accuses "pro-homosexual activists" of being exploitative and he describes hate crimes laws as "special" rights. If he himself were not being exploitative and opportunistic with respect to this tragedy he would have simply requested his followers to pray for the victims and their families and left it at that. Instead, he is politicizing this event to further his own anti-gay agenda.
In fact, I predict that, in the future, LaBarbera will point to this article and his cry for vengeance to "prove" to the world that he doesn't hate gay people and he doesn't run a hate group. You heard it here first.
Keeping in mind the rhetoric that many so-called Christian and anti-gay groups put out, I am not surprised that they are now defensively wiping their hands clean of this shooting. Perhaps most of those who lead the anti-gay movement do not wish harm on gay people or liberals. Yet, while watching them decry this act of violence while they simultaneously go into off-topic rants about how Unitarians are not "real" Christians and how gay rights activists could use this incident to their advantage, the above folks demonstrate how clumsy and reckless they are with their words.
By refusing to accept any semblance of responsibility for their intolerant, bigoted, and often hateful utterances and, in fact, refusing to even acknowledge that their words are intolerant, bigoted, and hateful I am not at all surprised that they see no link between themselves and those who commit violent acts against those they so frequently demonize.
Our words and actions always have consequences beyond what is foreseeable to us. That our words may affect someone as unhinged as the gunman in Tennessee is a risk we assume in a free country. It is a risk I wish those on the anti-gay side would at least acknowledge.
Labels: Church and State Should Separate, Religion, Straight People Obsessed with Gay Sex, We the People
DADT "Expert" Embarasses Self Before Congress
The House Armed Services Personnel Committee held the first hearing in 15 years on the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. The committee invited veterans as well as Elaine Donnelly to testify. For some background, Donnelly is neither a veteran nor does she have any particular training or expertise in the area of military readiness. It just so happens, however, that she runs the Center for Military Readiness which opposes gays in the military and, rather than conducting original research of its own, merely writes various opinions about issues like women and gays in the military.
I'm sorry, but writing op-eds about military stuff doesn't make one a military expert. In fact, a Duke University law review is publishing a critique of Donnelly's "expertise" because her testimonies are "riddled with errors" due to her ignorance and misunderstanding of research methods.
How. Surprising.
According to Washington Post writer Dana Milbank, here's a sampling of what Donnelly opined before Congress:
"She warned of 'transgenders in the military.' She warned that lesbians would take pictures of people in the shower. She spoke ominously of gays spreading 'HIV positivity' through the ranks.....Her written statement added warnings about 'inappropriate passive/aggressive actions common in the homosexual community,' the prospects of 'forcible sodomy' and 'exotic forms of sexual expression,' and the case of 'a group of black lesbians who decided to gang-assault' a fellow soldier."
What a confused woman. Not surprisingly, her "arguments" resemble those of so many other anti-gays who foam at the mouth at the thought of two guys or girls getting it on. Perhaps it's the mere thought of gay men and lesbians that so flusters this woman that renders her incapable of making anything other than laughable irrational statements. I mean, why the alleged behavior of gays and lesbians constantly has to be an issue with these people when the behavior of heterosexuals is not similarly challenged demonstrates that some people really do just dislike and/or fear gay people. "Exotic" sexual behavior? Pretty sure heteros engage in that too. "Passive/aggressive" behavior? Pretty sure heteros can be that as well.
Oh, and while we're at it, let's do talk about "forcible" sex. Is forcible sex only wrong in Donnelly's eyes when it's forcible man-on-man sodomy?
See, some have observed that Donnelly's "real concern is forwarding a traditional values agenda that has nothing to do with military readiness."
Indeed. For someone who supposedly cares so very very much about the rape or sexual assault of all those poor heterosexuals in the military, one would think she would devote at least as much time, energy, and effort into asking Congress to do something about the much, much higher rates of women in the military who are sexually assaulted by heterosexual men. But no, she chooses to testify before Congress about a rare incident from 1974 in which a woman was allegedly assaulted by a group of lesbians. Break out your microfiche, ladies and gents, it's time to find obscure incidences of homasexul assault to use for political purposes!
To wrap up here, it's a joke that Donnelly fancies herself to be in any way a credible speaker or any sort of expert on the topic of military readiness. Unfortunately for the anti-gay movement, what passes for "expertise" is usually nothing more than a mere shared desire to advance a "traditional values" agenda. You see this attitude in various conservative "institutes" and "group blogs" in which the writers carry no expertise in anything relevant to political or legal thought but who nonetheless mistakenly believe that their good ol' conservative "common sense" renders them subject matter experts on anything having to do with politics, marriage, family, society, law, policy, morality, and ... well...pretty much everything.
Anyway, it was refreshing to see that members of Congress refused to take Donnelly seriously. There were actual guffaws at some of her statements:
"Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.) labeled her statement 'just bonkers' and 'dumb,' and he called her claims about an HIV menace 'inappropriate'.... Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.), a veteran of the war in Iraq, called Donnelly's words 'an insult to me and many of the soldiers' by saying they 'aren't professional enough to serve openly with gay troops while successfully completing their military mission....Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) said she was 'embarrassed.' Shays said it was 'scurrilous' of Donnelly to talk about the menace of homosexual misconduct, because it would be punished the same way the military punishes heterosexual misconduct."
If Donnelly presents the "best" that the anti-gays-in-the-military side has to offer, I hope she keeps on talking. Everytime she opens her mouth, it seems that she discredits her side a little bit more.
Labels: Blawgs, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Politics, Propaganda Watch, Straight People Obsessed with Gay Sex
New Color Scheme!
This is still Fannie's Room, I've just done some redecorating. It's very..... green... now.
Labels: Random Fun
Book Review: Envisioning Power
I would first like to thank my friend and occasional Fannie's Room commenter Vieve for recommending anthropologist Eric Wolf's book Envisioning Power. She recommended it to me awhile ago, but I finally got around to finding a cheap copy, ordering it, and reading it.
The general purpose of this book is to examine the role of culture, ideas, and power by examining case studies of three societies characterized by strong ideologies and power imbalances. Now, since anthropology is not my area of expertise, I will save the "deep" anthropological analyses for actual anthropologists. Rather, I want to focus on Wolf's chapter examining the conditions and interplay of ideas surrounding Nazi Germany.
See, it is an unfortunate fact of internet life that over-the-top Hitler/Nazi analogies are overused. The true purpose of the Hitler/Nazi analogy is often to invoke guilt by association. Because Hitler/Nazis are so thoroughly discredited, linking a person's idea with Hitler/Nazis supposedly discredits that idea and/or person. Yet, those who make such analogies usually lack a thorough, nuanced, and complex understanding of Nazi Germany. Unsurprisingly, these analogies usually fail because they are so over-simplified, which makes them ludicrous. What ends up happening is that the mere existence of the analogy automatically discredits the person making the analogy. Yet, perhaps more importantly, these faulty and exaggerated Hitler/Nazi analogies rob valid comparisons of their impact. I know, I know. Everyone thinks that their analogy is valid. Chances are, however, it's not. Especially if you're talking about something not even remotely close to the horror that was the Holocaust. Deal with it. Buck up and at least try to craft a legitimate argument.
1. National Socialism
First off, although it was called National Socialism, the Nazi movement was not actually rooted in the ideology of socialism. The Third Reich "did not alter the capitalist relations that had guided the country's mobilization of social labor throughout its forward thrust into industrial capitalism after the mid-nineteenth century" (278- all numbered citations are from Envisioning Power)
Taking this overview from Wikipedia for ease of reference "Nazism is generally considered by scholars to be a form of fascism. While not directly linked to any school of western conservative thought, like all strains of fascism, it drew many elements from and formed solid alliances with the political right." In other words, although National Socialism has the word "socialism" in its name, it is more associated with the Rightist movements than with Leftist movements. Because of the "Socialism" label, Nazi analogies are sometimes inaccurately used to try to discredit all forms of socialist/leftist thought.
2. Culture, Language, and Power
To put it broadly, the three societal case studies presented in Wolf's book are observations in how culture, language, and power inter-relate. Again, the book is pretty dense and any book review could take a variety of directions. So, if you're really interested in these topics, I urge you to read the book itself. My review is but one way of looking at these concepts.
Generally, I tend to agree with Pierre Boudieu that "language is not only an instrument of communication or even of knowledge, but also an instrument of power. One seeks not only to be understood but also to be believed, obeyed, respected, distinguished" (55). Wolf presents how this concept played out in Germany during the rise of National Socialism.
The rise of National Socialism, of course, implicates broader German history. Germany's defeat in World War I led to inflation, hunger, crisis, territorial losses, and exactions of reparations to be paid on the victorious Allies (221). During a time of upheaval and crisis, "National Socialism projected the imagery of a new society, a 'community of the Volk'" (235). In short, Hitler's message was that Nazism-National Socialism- would restore national pride to Germany and to the Volk.
The concept of Volk is roughly translated as "people" or "nation" but as Wolf explains "it stands for far more than that" (Ibid.). It was a "social entity rooted in space and time and characterized by an enduring inner essence" (Ibid.). Using the authority and power of the National Socialist party, Hitler promoted his vision of the Volk-community as a "project to be realized" by "purifying its racial composition" (236). In other words, in order restore Germany and the Volk, Hitler created and promoted the message that racial purification was necessary.
By building upon already-existing anti-Semitic ideas, Hitler used the message that Jews and other "undesirables" were the cause of nearly every social ill facing Germany. Citing Mein Kampf, Wolf describes how Hitler framed the "Aryan race" as those who create culture whereas he framed "the Jews" as those who destroy culture (237). The general idea was that Germany and the Volk could not be restored so as long as Jews, those "culture-destroyers," were around.
This message of racial purification combined with another message that the National Socialist party seized upon: That a post World War I Germany was reeling from its embarrassing loss and subsequent "world turned upside down" (270). Hitler "forged an ideology" out of these ideas and presented the National Socialist party as one involved in a "heroic effort" to restore society and, of course, the Volk. Thus, the state became an instrument for destroying the "weakness" and the "enemies within" Germany- "socialists, communists, Jews, and Gypsies" (271). And others, of course. Through the interaction of German culture, crisis, and Nazi power, Hitler's ideology was believed, obeyed, respected, and distinguished.
3. "The Orchestration of Brutality"
It is often asked how normal, everyday people could have gone along with and carried out such a brutal ideology. How and why could human beings have committed these atrocities? Wolf, citing social psychologist Herbert Kelman gives us a framework for understanding this. Promoting the Volk/racial purity ideology and using the power of his office, Hitler created the conditions required to "remove the customary restraints on open violence against individuals and groups" (253). First, the state- via its power and authority as such- authorized violence (254). Violence was legal, official, and encouraged. Secondly, a state bureaucracy was developed and perfected to "deploy violence 'by the book'" (Ibid.) Officers were "merely" following orders and doing their jobs. Third, the victims were dehumanized (Ibid.). Conceptualizing human beings as "others," "disease organisms," or "evil becomes abstract and powerful enough to justify not merely severance but destruction" (Ibid.).
To end, I want to acknowledge that various theories and explanations regarding the rise of Nazism exist. I'm not claiming to be a historian or an anthropologist, but rather, a student of history searching with an open mind for legitimate explanations for past atrocities. That being said, it should never be denied that the circumstances leading up to the rise of Nazism and the carrying out of a state-sanctioned system of "racial purification" involved a complex interplay of culture, power, crisis, and communication. Analogies to this scenario should not be made lightly, cheaply, or without adequate historical knowledge.
We should all be wary of and object to ludicrous Hitler/Nazi analogies made by ignorant people for mere hyperbolic political purposes rather than genuine concern that the past is repeating itself.
Labels: Argumentum Ad Nazium Watch, Media Reviews, Violence
Carnival of Feminists No. 61
The latest Carnival of Feminists is up at Diary of a Freak Magnet. There's lots of good stuff in this one, so check it out for some feminist reading today!
Also, my criticism of Time magazines "Making of America" series was featured.
On a random lesbian note, I just want to say that I think Rachel Maddow is fabulous. She's smart, well-spoken, and capable of regularly flustering tool-y conservatives in the male-dominated field of professional punditry.
Leftist Gender Warrior says "ohhhhhhhh yeah!" to that.
Labels: Leftist Gender Warrior Chronicles, Well-behaved women
Sporty Soap Operas: Danica's "Catfight" Edition
I have long believed that collegiate and professional sports serve as soap operas for men. Yes, lots of women like sports too, myself included. But while it's okay for women to watch sports, it's not really socially acceptable for men to watch girly shows like soap operas. Thus, men get their "soap opera" fix via sports.
Thus, while reveling in sports as one of the few remaining bastions of hyper-masculinity, many male sportswriters are nonetheless as gossipy about athletes as any US Weekly writer is about movie stars. The subject matter is different, of course, but the drama is all there. [Insert athlete] is so over-rated. No way! Can you believe [insert good/bad athlete] just got traded by [insert foolish/smart team]?! In fact, some of the longest articles in Sports Illustrated are the behind-the-scenes-type stories of star athletes showcasing their personal lives and the various challenges these athletes have overcome in their lives.
Mostly, I find this amusing.
Unfortunately, though, when it comes to writing about female athletes, the sportswriting is especially dramatic, subjective, and imbued with unsupported opinions presented as "fact." Recently, for instance, I took a tour of reactions to Indy Racing League (IRL) driver Danica Patrick's "encounter" with another female IRL driver. In short, Patrick walked over to fellow female driver Milka Duno and confronted her about some on-track driving behavior she didn't approve of. According to NBC Sports, "the confrontation lasted only about a minute, but witnesses said it grew heated and that Duno flung a towel in Patrick’s direction at one point as the two exchanged words. Patrick eventually walked away."
I think the whole incident is sort of funny, in all honesty. Especially how Milka Duno tried to shoo Patrick away by snapping a towel near Patrick's face. I don't care if we're watching men or women, that shit's funny.
Unfortunately, we can always count on articles about incidents like these to be imbued with references to the female athlete's gender, over-dramatized, and gossipy. Meanwhile, the trashy-magazine tone of such articles goes unchallenged because, after all, these are sporty articles about manly sporty things.
1. Female Athletes versus Regular Athletes
Rather than presenting the situation as one in which two IRL drivers exchanged words, some sportswriters couldn't resist reminding everyone that these were two female IRL drivers. This characterization follows a trend in articles about Women in Sports: In major sports media, mention is almost always made of their female-ness- their "other-ness." If not in the article itself, then definitely in the asinine comment section following the article. If an athlete's gender is not mentioned in an article, you can almost guarantee that the article is about a male athlete- aka, a regular athlete.
FOXNews sportswriter Kevin Hench, for instance writes:
"What the IRL has in Patrick is 100 pounds of TNT (T, I said, TNT) with an anger management problem. The diminutive Danica — mini driver?..."
Hardy-har-har. Embedded within two passive-aggressive sentences are a reference to Patrick's smaller-than-male frame, an attempted ass-n-titties joke, and a questioning characterization of Patrick as a "mini driver?" rather than a real/male driver. In fact, if you read the entire article you will see that it's a hot mess of gossip and cheap shots. How manly.
The trend continues in another piece written by "FOXNews.com":
"Danica Patrick's now famous temper has flared once again. And this time, it led to a PG-rated version of 'Girls Gone Wild' in the pits during a practice session for the Honda Indy 200."
So, two female race drivers having a verbal spat is pretty much a toned-down version of vacationing college girls flashing their boobs? Erm, okay FOXNews. If you say so. Thanks for letting us all know that you take female athletes about as seriously as Jimmy Dugan does at the beginning of A League of Their Own:
"Girls are what you sleep with after the game. Not what you coach during the game."
See, the constant drawing of attention to the female-ness, the "other"-ness, in the context of every. single. article. about female athletes sends the message that women are so rare in the sacred domain of masculinity that is sports that limiting a to their actual athletic ability or accomplishments is simply impossible. This message comes with the implicit question: Are women even welcome in this domain, if people can't even get past the fact that these athletes are women? For the answer to that question, peruse the comments left by FOXsports fans after any article about female athletes.
2. "Boorish-ly" Exaggerated Behavior
Secondly, female athletes are often held to higher behavioral standards than male athletes. For instance, male drivers have regularly had spats and even fistfights with other male drivers. We've all seen ESPN clips of male drivers jumping out of their cars and socking some other driver in the face. Rarely, however, is such behavior given much attention or labeled as "boorish," as Hench called Patrick's non-physical confrontation. Rather than numerous op-ed pieces bemoaning a man-on-man incident, we might get a couple clips of the incident presented while the sportscasters chuckle about it. Boys will be boys, after all. When a woman even shows hints of similar behavior, the reactions are exaggerated and full of disapproving tsk-tsks.
Pam Gaulin notes both the double-standard and sports media's dramatic exaggeration of the incident:
"Milka Duno and Danica Patrick did not get in a fight at an Indy Racing League race on Saturday. They were in an argument where the only thing thrown was a towel. This type of heated argument happens a lot in NASCAR racing, between the male racers....Danica Patrick, like any other race car driver in the Indy Racing League or in NASCAR should be allowed to have outbursts like any of the male drivers. She simply gets more press mileage out of it because she is a woman."
Indeed, while the two women did not actually get into a fistfight, male sportswriters have been presenting hyperbolic accounts of the incident. One headline, for instance, alarmingly says "IndyCar Drivers Danica Patrick, Milka Duno Get into Brawl" even though exchanging a few words is hardly qualifies as a "brawl." Elsewhere, other words associated with the incident have been "tantrum," "enraged," and "heated."
I have no doubt that Patrick was angry, but only in the context of something seriously f-ed up, like, Mike Tyson ear-biting are men similarly characterized as juvenile, out-of-control, and enraged. I mean, come on people. The two women didn't even make bodily contact. Get a grip.
[Insert mud-wrestling/super-soaker lezbo-action allusion.]
3. The "Attention-Seeking" Female
Sportswriters also absolutely love to write gossip about Patrick and profit off of stories about her while simultaneously criticizing her for "seeking attention."
FOXNews' Hench, for instance, presents the recent incident as Patrick's "latest it's-really-all-about-me drama." One blogger similarly writes, "It seems that in IndyCar Racing these days Danica Patrick is trying to grab headlines any way she can."
The "attention-seeking woman" critique is one of my favorites. Basically, it's a psychic endeavor into another person's mind which serves as a way for a critic to pretend to know someone's intentions for behaving a certain way. These critics don't actually know why Patrick acts the way she does, but with their "authoritative" voices, these all-knowing men declare to the world that they do know such things. Frankly, I could do some psychic networking of my own and say that such men are just threatened by the prospect of strong women able to do "manly" things better than most men, but I would at least acknowledge that such an opinion is mere conjecture.
Anyway, let's just believe for a moment that Patrick is acting out in order to get attention. If such were actually the case, I would have trouble scrounging up sympathy for sportswriters who moan about the level of attention Patrick receives while simultaneously bestowing attention upon her.
See, what tops Hench's criticism that Patrick's "extracurricular activities antics were detracting from the results on the track" is that, within his story, is a prominent embedded link to a video of the "spat" along with a montage of the "best images" of Danica Patrick from the "eventful weekend." For one who ridicules Patrick for making things all-about-her, Hench and FOXNews certainly love making things all about Danica Patrick.
What drama queens.
As male sportswriters regularly lift their legs to mark sports as the last remaining bastion of masculinity, where male domination is both the expected and "natural" state of affairs, it's these day-to-day insults that let female athletes know they are to be ridiculed and/or not taken seriously. This isn't to say that female athletes should not be criticized. They should be. But holding female athletes to higher moral standards than male athletes, constantly referencing the gender of female athletes, and mis-characterizing female athletes is unacceptable.
Labels: Sports, Well-behaved women
RightWing Roundup: Theocracies, Confused Bigots, and Vegans
1. Another Reason We Don't Want an American Theocracy
What I find ironic about Christian dominionists is that they use the American principle of freedom of religion as a tool to attempt to prevent other religions from flourishing in our nation. They see no problem with the concept of theocracy. Such a form of government is, in fact, their ultimate goal. Thus, their main objection to oppressive Muslim theocracies in the Middle East is not that these nations are theocracies, but rather that it's the "wrong" "god" via the "wrong" religion that's in charge.
The comparisons between fundamentalist factions of the three major Abrahamic faiths are numerous, in fact. What immediately comes to mind is the common condemnation of homosexuality and the oppression of women all, of course, which hinge on the alleged word of a "god."
Thanks but no thanks.
A most intolerant tenet of Christian dominionism is to have a legal system calling for the execution of homosexuals (via stoning or burning) in accordance with "biblical law." The Middle Eastern nation of Dubai doesn't go that far, but here is a little taste of what we could look forward to in an American theocracy:
The pseudo-Western nation of Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), recently detained 17 foreigners who "allegedly displayed homosexual behavior in malls and other public places." Unfortunately for these men, "outward homosexual behavior" is banned in the UAE.
The only question I can muster at this situation is what sort of "homosexual behavior" did these men exhibit in a shopping mall? Ridiculing someone's shoes?
2. "Genital Drives"?...... Weird.
Marriage defenders often like to joke that gay people are gay because they're just "confused." What follows sort of demonstrates that that claim is sort of a projection. Straight people obsessed with gay sex come off, actually, quite confused themselves. I think that the idea of two men together so flusters, enrages, or arouses some of these anti-gays so much that they lose all ability to think rationally.
Recent winner of the Box Turtle Bulletin's LaBarbera Award, Arizona Republican candidate for Congress Joe Sweeney confounds us all in an interview:
"Q: So, again I’m going to ask the same question I asked Mr. Chewning. Basically, a secular reason why two consenting adults of the same sexual orientation should not be married or allowed to be married.
Sweeney: Well because it’s addictive and it creates social chaos, social problems.
Q: Just out of curiosity, what would you base that on?
Sweeney: Well I would base that on the fact that people come together with their genital drives, and they either bridle their genital drives — and that’s what a marriage contract is supposed to be about — or they just go around acting like they can go whoring down in Nogales or prostituting anywhere they want, they can do whatever they want with their bodies. They don’t have any higher responsibility other than their own gratification. Hedonism, which is maximizing pleasure over pain. And that’s what happens at Nogales every night when they go down there whoring and causing all the social strife. Now they got those kids in the whorehouses in Nogales coming up here to Tucson to be anchor babies. You know I’ve witnessed that stuff.
Q: Okay, so there’s another question following that. You guys both have said marriage should be between a man and a woman. What about a transgender person who used to be a man, now became a woman and wants to marry a man.
Sweeney: Well, I’ve got a friend like that. And… you know… That’s what he wants to do with his social activity and his life, his social functioning, that’s up to him, you know? But to say that we have to validate that, the rest of society has to validate that kind of behavior, you know, let him conduct his behavior the way that he’s going to conduct his behavior. You know, I don’t agree with prostitution in Mexico, but they have laws that say it’s a way of functioning, socially functional society five feet the other side of the border that allows that to happen. We think the repercussions of that totally outweigh the responsibilities.
Q: Just out of curiosity, what do you think that homosexuals have to do with whorehouses in Mexico?
Sweeney: Oh, I don’t know. We’ve got the only Southwest weekly newspaper, we’ve got more homosexuals down here than we’ve got a lot of other kinds of people.
Q: Again, what does that got to do with whorehouses in Mexico?
Sweeney: Well, what happens is you get what I call a hedonistic attractiveness to do anything and everything with your genital drive . ….
Q: Again, are the homosexuals frequenting the whorehouses?
Sweeney: I wouldn’t be surprised. Anything can happen around this town. We’ve got gay bars down on Fourth Avenue …"
It's certainly an, um, interesting tactic to talk about "homosexuals," prostitution in Mexico, and "genital drives" as many times as you can within the confines of a incoherent hot mess of an interview hoping some of those concepts stick.
What a confused man.
3. Who Are You Calling a Vegan?
Speaking of the Peter (LaBarbera), our favorite anti-gay was recently outraged that the mainstream media failed to cover his "pro-family" boycott of the McDonald's headquarters he held in Oak Brook, Illinois. Apparently, McDonald's is too pro-gay or some shit for the Peter's liking.
While only a handful of people attended the Peter's latest boring anti-gay event, a lot of entertaining things are going on his latest hissy fit of an article describing it. For one, he uses one of my favorite words- "bawdy"- to describe Chicago's Pride Parade. Secondly, he refers to the mainstream media as the "secular media," as though the media would be less biased if it were "Christian."
What really takes the cake, though, is this statement:
"The people involved in this boycott of McDonald’s are good family people — not vegans, America-hating leftists, or some other fringe group."
That was way harsh, Peter.
I can see how "Christians" might want to demonize so-called leftists and other fringe groups. But what's so bad about vegans?
I mean, I know some of them can be self-righteous moralists who make you feel guilty for biting into that delicious juicy Quarter Pounder, but I'm pretty sure that many vegans are also "good family people" too.
Labels: Church and State Should Separate, Propaganda Watch, Religion, Rightwing Roundup, Straight People Obsessed with Gay Sex
The Death Trap
So, yesterday I received what I at first thought to be a fun, thoughtful gift for my birthday- a foam roll thingy to help me stretch after I work out. Don't be fooled. Although it appears benign enough, clearly it is no such thing.
See, upon further inspection, I found this little notice in the foam roll's box:
Note the first sentence: "The risk of injury from participating in this or any fitness regimen and/or from the performances of these exercises or similar exercises is significant and includes the potential for catastrophic injury or death."
Yes, these labels are on everything. But you have to admit that trying to imagine what sort of position a person would be in on this little foamy thing to be able to induce "catastrophic injury" or death kind of puts a damper on wanting to use it. I mean, these warning labels on every piece of exercise machinery fit right in with other "helpful" scary health news that's bombarded at us daily. Hey, you better work out so you don't suffer a premature death. But hey, if you use these exercise machines they might seriously maim you or cause premature death!
If I didn't work out I would totally blame scary health news and hyperbolic warning notices.
Also, what's up with the notice's odd deity-like capitalization of "You"?
Labels: Random Fun, ScArY hEaLtH NeWs
Friday Fun: I'd Be a "Failure" as a 1930s Wife
But on the upside, I would make an "average" 1930s husband. I think much of my failure as a wife has to do with the fact that I don't wear a nightgown, that I walk around the house in stockings, and that don't ask my husband's opinion before making important decisions (or even have a husband for that matter!).
As a 1930s wife, I am
Very Poor (Failure)
Take the test!
As a 1930s husband, I am
Okay, so as I was going through this, my mind kept going back to how contrived these "acceptable" behaviors for husbands and wives are. Yet, these ridiculous and exaggerated ideas regarding sex-appropriate behavior are built upon the theory that all men and women are inherently very different from each other. That's why they their roles in marriage are so different! This same assumption, of course, is one argument against same-sex marriage and parenting. You know it, it's the "marriage demands a man and a woman" (circular) argument.
After all, it is "necessary" for a man to fill the "husband" slot because men are super-duper different than women. And, it is "necessary" for a woman to play the "wife" because women are very different from men. This little quiz, while entertaining, can also serve the important purpose of teaching us all how men and women are different and, therefore, how marriage is only for a man and a woman.
So... I guess my burning question is this: Since I way more resemble a 1930s husband than a 1930s wife, technically, wouldn't it be more proper for me to marry a woman than a man? I mean, if I were to marry a man that would give us two "husbands" in the marital relationship, and we shan't have that shall we?
Labels: Random Fun, Well-behaved women
College Cost Reduction and Access Act Updates
A while ago, I wrote about the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRA). Due to recent developments, here is an update:
1. Re-Consolidating into the federal Direct Program
Part of my original critique of the CCRA was that, although graduates working in public service may have their loans forgiven after 10 years of making payments, the only loans eligible for this benefit are federal Direct loans. One problem with this provision is that many graduates hold other types of student loans, such as loans from private companies that usually charge much higher interest rates, that are not eligible for forgiveness. Another problem is that, prior to the CCRA, many graduates had already consolidated their federal loans out of the federal Direct program- thus rendering themselves ineligible for the loan forgiveness program.
However, as of July 1, 2008 borrowers have the right to re-consolidate their federal loans into the federal Direct consolidation program. Thus, those who had already consolidated their federal loans into a non-Direct program can now qualify for public service forgiveness if they meet the other requirements of the program.
Now, on July 1, I certainly didn't get a letter from Sallie Mae (or the Department of Education for that matter) informing me of my right to re-consolidate into the Federal Direct loan program, but alas. Apparently we do have that right. I'm sure glad I'm on top of these things. Kudos to organizations like the Project on Student Debt who keep us abreast of these intricacies.
I'm going to fill out an application, send it to the bureaucracy that is the Department of Education, and see what happens. If I run into hassles I will certainly blog about it.
2. What is Public Service?
Another part of my critique was that the definition for "public service" is vague and very broad. What this means is that graduates are in the dark as to whether or not their employment will end up qualifying as "public service" at the end of their 10 years of service. The proposed regulations to "clarify" this section of the law will basically require graduates to verify that they've worked in qualifying public service for 10 years, submit this verification to the Department of Education, and "hope for the best."
The Project on Student Debt has an action alert out requesting the Department of Education to:
"Please fix this problem by developing a system that lets borrowers confirm and track their eligibility for this form of loan forgiveness, so that they have a clear incentive to enter and continue in public service, and a sense of security while doing such important work."
If this is something you think is important, sign on.
Labels: Aunt Sallie Mae, Blawgs
HPV Vaccine: More "Helpful" Health News!
I have blogged before about my annoyance with unhelpful, uninformative, and intentionally over-dramatic health "information."
Well, as my friend Jane recently blogged about, CNN ran a story about the HPV vaccine entitled "Should parents worry about the HPV vaccine?" The only problem with the story? It doesn't give us an answer as to the very important question it poses.
But that's okay. We get it. Vaccines are controversial. And that's good.
Observe, from the article:
"Girls and women have blamed the vaccine for causing ailments from nausea to paralysis -- even death. Fifteen deaths were reported to the FDA, and 10 were confirmed,"
Eeep. Vaccines are scary.
"but the CDC says none of the 10 were linked to the vaccine."
So, in breaking news, 15 deaths were blamed on the HPV vaccine. But in less exciting news, only 10 deaths were confirmed. And, in even less in exciting news, none of the 10 deaths were linked to the vaccine.
The "scary" health news continues:
Out of 26 million distributed vaccines,
"Gardasil has been the subject of 7,802 'adverse event' reports from the time the Food and Drug Administration approved its use two years ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
Oh dear, adverse event! That's scary!
But on the other hand,
"[Merck] said in a statement that an adverse event report 'does not mean that a causal relationship between an event and vaccination has been established -- just that the event occurred after vaccination.'"
Of course the existence of an "adverse event" does not automatically mean that the vaccine caused the adverse event! However, that's less exciting to report. And, that fact, no matter how rational or logical it's presented to parents, will never convince some of them that the vaccine did not cause the adverse event.
So now, after reading this story, do you think parents should worry about the vaccine?
But now they are going to.
Labels: Health, Propaganda Watch, ScArY hEaLtH NeWs, We the People
LOMMS and Moronic Doood Sports' Questions
Have you ever had a case of the LOMMS? Do you know what that is? Check out my latest Stuff Lesbians Like post over at Grace the Spot.
In other random news, Feminist law professor Bridget Crawford describes an annoying experience at Major League Baseball's All-Star Fanfest, where she happened to catch an appearance by four former players in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL):
"The interviewer’s 'big' question to the former AAGPBL players was, 'Which of you was Madonna [portraying]?'
And with that I have to echo Professor Crawford's view that "hearing more about the players’ perspective on the continued exclusion of women from so many levels of professional sports" would have been infinitely more interesting a question.
As so many male sports' fans and members of the media are unable to take female athletes seriously, I appreciated Crawford's slight:
"But 'Fanfest' must be code for 'let’s pretend,' judging by the number of grown men dressed in baseball caps, baseball shirts and carrying their gloves around the Javits Center."
Now that's funny.
Labels: Sports, Stuff Lesbians Like, Well-behaved women
David Benkof Calls it Quits
I hesitate to give this guy any more attention. But, in "breaking" news David Benkof announced the other day that he "must withdraw from openly supporting man-woman marriage in the United States" due to recently learning "quite a bit of disturbing information that makes it impossible for me to continue supporting a movement I no longer respect." Thus, he no longer advocates "that people give time or money to the Proposition 8 campaign in California."
The willingness to change one's position in light of new information is admirable. Prior to this announcement, Mr. Benkof was no friend of the LGBT community. At least, not in the eyes of those he regularly vilified. And, this move will now likely alienate Mr. Benkof from his "marriage defense" allies just as his previous statements have alienated him from many LGBT people.
So, I suppose now we're left with the $5 question: What is it that David Benkof found out about the marriage defense movement, particularly the Propostion 8 movement in California, that caused him to withdraw his support from it?
Does anyone even care or think it's odd that he would denounce the entire "marriage defense" movement because of the wrongdoings of some members of this movement? Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled if Benkof is sincerely quitting the marriage defense movement. But, lest anyone be mistaken, Benkof still opposes same-sex marriage. Apparently, he just refuses to support a movement whose members he can no longer respect in light of some new "disturbing information." For, elaborating on his recent switch-a-roo in Pam's House Blend, Benkof writes "I have realized that I do not want to be associated with the people defending man-woman marriage."
That he would quit a movement which supports a position he still strongly believes in speaks to a tendency he has shown in his previous articles (which he is now erasing from his blog) to over-generalize-- to hold all members of a group or identity accountable for the actions of some. For, we know all too well that when he writes of the "gay community" or the "LGBT community" he does so as though it is a monolithic entity in which all members hold the same beliefs and are guilty of the same wrongdoings. So, that he now chooses to no longer support a "movement" because of information he's allegedly found out about some members of this marriage defense movement is not surprising to me.
At this point I could Benkof my article and chalk this new "disturbing information" up to proof that all marriage defenders are repugnant just because some of them are. But alas, even though saying what I'm about to say won't garner me any op-eds in "major newspapers," in the interest of not creating even more propaganda in this sound-bite world I'll decline from making such a huge generalization.
That being said, the "sins" of the people who comprise a social movement do not, in and of themselves, make the aims of that movement "wrong." Yes, it sucks that so many "marriage defenders" are homobigots. But the fact that so many are homobigots, in and of itself, doesn't make them wrong about marriage defense. It just so happens that they're wrong about marriage defense for other reasons and they're also homobigots. Which sort of sucks for them.
Always, we must look at the issue itself and form our opinions on that basis. Yet, at the same time, I can see how the "wrongdoings" of some members of a movement would repel some members from that movement. I have no special insight into why Benkof has allegedly renounced the movement. But I have a couple of theories as to why one in his position might do so.
1. Is it because some of the leaders of the movement are at least bordering on anti-semitism?
The majority of the organizations in support of California's Proposition 8 consists of evangelical and/or fundamentalist Christian groups.
The relationship between such Christians and Jews is complex. On the one hand, many evangelical Christians and congregations strongly support Israel. Yes, much of this support is grounded in the belief that "the return of Jews to the promised land will trigger the Second Coming of Jesus, the battle of Armageddon and mass conversion." But.... oh. On that note, I'm not sure that supporting Israel under the belief that by doing so Jews will eventually no longer exist is a notion all that supportive of Jews. And, of course, let's not forget what happens before this mass "conversion." By the very nature of their religious beliefs, evangelical Christians see it as their religious duty to convert non-Christians, such as Jews, to Christianity.
Are these beliefs anti-semitic?
It looks like it, although I'm sure evangelicals would strongly disagree. So, slap whatever label on this belief you want, but I would imagine that hoping that someday there will be no more Jews is quite offensive to Jewish people. I mean, as a non-Christian myself, the belief that the ideal world will be free of non-Christians is highly offensive to me. (And sounds rather boring to boot).
Yet, these are the beliefs of many organizations, individuals, and churches who support Proposition 8 and the marriage defense movement in general.
According to media watchdog MediaMatters, the American Family Association (AFA), which is one of the supporters of Proposition 8, "has long served as a platform for anti-Semitic theories and innuendo." Turnabout, however, is not fair play. In true Christian persecution manner, AFA Chairman Donald Wildmon has suggested that the Christian right would withdraw its support for Israel if the Anti-Defamation League continued to criticize the Christian right.
According to its website, the AFA has over 2.6 million supporters.
While the alleged anti-semitism of some of the marriage defense movement's leaders does not make this movement's position on marriage defense "wrong," I think it's plausible that a Jewish man would be uncomfortable being in cahoots with some of these groups.
2. Is it because many of the leaders of the movement seek to Christianize America?
To those paying attention to the so-called "culture wars," it is apparent that certain members of the Christian right are seeking to "re"-Christianize America by imposing their own brand of fundamentalist Christianity on our entire nation while claiming that, no, it's everyone else who seeks to impose their beliefs on Christians. Abraham Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, writes:
"In 1994, we sounded an alarm. In our book, The Religious Right: The Assault on Tolerance and Pluralism in America, we said that 'an exclusionist religious movement in this country has attempted to restore what it perceives as the ruins of a Christian nation by more closely seeking to unite its version of Christianity with state power.'
Alas, our call was not well heeded and we are beginning to see some of the consequences of what we identified.
As a result, today we face a better financed, more sophisticated, coordinated, unified, energized, and organized coalition of groups in opposition to our policy positions on church-state separation than ever before. Their goal is to implement their Christian worldview. To Christianize America. To save us!
Who are the major players? They include Focus on the Family, Alliance Defense Fund, The American Family Association and the Family Research Council. They and other groups have established new organizations and church-based networks, and built infrastructures throughout the country designed not just to promote traditional 'Christian values,' but to actively pursue that restoration of a Christian nation."
As a non-Christian myself, I can see how such efforts to "restore" American back to its mythical status as a "Christian Nation" are quite threatening to other non-Christians. I can see how it could be troubling for Mr. Benkof to ally himself with the above Christian dominionists who view him both as morally flawed due to his gayness and spiritually flawed due to his religious beliefs. Yet, "defending" marriage, for many Christian dominionist groups, is the most important battle of the Secular versus Religious RightWing Christian culture war.
This belief allows such groups to justify raising and spending millions of dollars not for the more Christ-like endeavors of feeding the hungry, aiding the poor, or providing health care to the uninsured, but rather for ensuring that gay people can no longer marry in California. That, to me, is what is most repugnant about the movement. Although they are capable of raising enormous amounts of money, we rarely hear of many of these "Christian" groups taking tangible steps to help people, for instance, through distributing food, assistance, or emergency funds to the needy. Instead, we get divisive rhetoric painting the current state of affairs as some sort of vague enormous battle between good and evil. We get a movement in which a Christian theocracy is the end goal, with little or no room for other religions or moral systems, including Judaism, to flourish. For, by their very nature, dominionists are antithetical to tolerance, diversity, and religious pluralism.
To end, I'm not claiming to know why Benkof called it quits. I'm just saying here that it's understandable to me why a Jewish gay/bisexual man might want to distance himself from some of these folks. If we come out victorious in the end, and I do believe we will eventually, groups like the AFA will go down in history as having once been a threat to what is great about our nation: That many religions and types of families are able to thrive, rather than one "correct" type of each.
But, if Mr. Benkof knows anything more disturbing or sinister than the above about the marriage defense movement, and the Proposition 8 campaign in particular, I certainly hope he decides to share it.
Labels: Bisexuality, Church and State Should Separate, Election 2008, I See Gay People, Propaganda Watch, Proposition 8, Religion, Straight People Obsessed with Gay Sex
A Brief Message From Grace
My friend Grace from Law with Grace (as opposed to the Graces from Grace the Spot, confusing I know) has asked me to send a note to my readers- some of whom are also her readers:
She is okay and will resume blogging again in a week or so.
Labels: Blogs I Like
H Hall of Shame: The "Advocate"
What's more hypocritical than a marriage defender visiting a prostitute?
A male "feminist" blogger and dormitory resident advisor who "claimed to use activism and education to promote 'a more just and life-affirming culture of sexuality' for women, especially those women who have been victims of sexual violence" who pleads guilty to this:
"with an intent to arouse my sexual desire, I photographed and filmed Jane Doe and her breast without her consent."
His name? Kyle Pane. His pleading stems from his arrest back in February 2008:
"A search warrant was executed at Pierce Hall room #B10 on April 26th of last year. Authorities seized a computer and a digital camera from 22-year-old Kyle Payne's room. A search of the Ida Grove man's car turned up photographs described as personal in nature that also showed the woman may have been assaulted physically without knowing it.
A search of Payne's Ida Grove home turned up more evidence including another computer. All items were sent to the DCI Crime Lab for forensic analysis.
Through investigation it was found that Payne, on January 3rd of 2007, was serving as RA for Buena Vista University when he attended to an intoxicated 18-year-old female student in her dorm room. He allegedly physically assaulted her while she was unconscious and video taped the act and downloaded the images onto his laptop." [emphasis added]
Takes on this incident are making rounds throughout the feminist blogosphere, and rightly so. As a resident advisor, he abused a position of trust and authority. As a "feminist" man, he abused the access to women that that label gave him.
Frankly, I don't care what the fuck label a guy slaps on himself. I'm far more interested in (a) whether he sees me, and other women, as his true equal and (b) whether he's capable of acknowledging that men have certain privileges in the world that women do not have. For, I've seen far too many men use the "feminist" label in order to gain access to women and make them think they're Nice Guys (TM) who "get it." While I think men are capable of being feminists, it's men like Payne who make many of us pause before accepting a man's feminist cred.
See, what I've learned is that those who are secure that their inner beliefs match their outer ones don't have to constantly shout their self-label from the rooftops in order to convince the rest of the world that they are what they say they are. A fitting analogy is the marriage defender who casually mentions his devout religious beliefs in nearly every article he writes just so we all know he's a religious, and therefore, "moral" man.
So to all the feminist men out there I can only say this.
Don't tell me that you're a feminist. Be one.
Labels: Hypocrisy and Double Standards, Rape Culture, Violence
RightWing Roundup: Lindsay, "Wrestling," and DADT
Sometimes, you have to take step back from the immersion into RightWing Asininity. That's sorta the theme of today's Roundup.
1. I Was Hoping For Natalie Portman But I Guess This Will Do
Okay, I don't know that the stories about Lindsay Lohan's recent birthday speech actually confirm her lesbian status or her alleged romance with another lady (wait, does anyone even care about this?) but if the rumors are true, I'd like to take a non-RightWing moment to congratulate the happy couple.
Too gay to function?
2. It's All About Channeling Our Urges Into Acceptable Behavior
Professional "wrestling" has always been bizarre to me. Back where I'm from, a lot of guys love watching ripped, pretty men in tights and make-up pretend to fight. They seriously get really into it. That's why I like to think of pro wrestling as soap operas for men: Drama, suspense, and action all wrapped up in macho blue-colored wrapping paper to make it acceptable for men to like.
Humorously, like the idolization of male athletes in general, pro wrestling is also especially homo-erotic. Small contingents of grown men and adolescent boys are absolutely and inexplicably enthralled by the "sport" to the point where you sort of think they have unknowingly have crushes on their favorites wrestlers. With all this in mind, I could only laugh at one recent Arkansas "cage fight." If the audience members weren't already standing at attention, one utterly hilarious homo prank certainly got a rise out of them:
"The day after the June 5 Texarkana bout, Fort Smith's convention center hosted 'Blue Collar Brawlin.' Fort Smith police Sgt. Adam Holland said organizers told him a character named 'Straight Dave' would goad a planted audience member into the ring for a fight.
The two men would then wrestle, rip away some of their clothes and share a brief kiss reminiscent of one between Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell in the film "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby....
The audience, as well as local fighters drawn to take part in the show, became enraged. 'It set the crowd off lobbing beers,' Holland said. 'They had beers in plastic cups. Those things can get some distance on them actually.'
Holland said it took officers about 45 minutes to clear the convention center, as the two actors sprinted away through a specially set-aside tunnel."
Apparently, two sweaty men rolling around together in a cage is for fightin' purposes only!
3. Don't Ask Don't Tell Update
A nonpartisan group of four retired officers from different branches of the military studied the effectiveness of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" (DADT) and recently issued a public report (PDF). Based on its findings (below), the group made several recommendations, including the repeal of DADT.
"Finding one: The law locks the military's position into stasis and does not accord any trust to the Pentagon to adapt policy to changing circumstances
Finding two: Existing military laws and regulations provide commanders with sufficient means to discipline inappropriate conduct
Finding three: "Don't ask, don't tell" has forced some commanders to choose between breaking the law and undermining the cohesion of their units
Finding four: "Don't ask, don't tell" has prevented some gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members from obtaining psychological and medical care as well as religious counseling
Finding five: "Don't ask, don't tell" has caused the military to lose some talented service members
Finding six: "Don't ask, don't tell" has compelled some gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members to lie about their identity
Finding seven: Many gays, lesbians, and bisexuals are serving openly."
Interestingly, "not a single expert who opposes gays in the military was willing to meet" with the study group. I wonder if this unwillingness to participate in a non-partisan study had to do with these experts' unwillingness to go on the record, and down in history, as continuing to support DADT as late as 2008. Or, perhaps, these experts had a hunch that attitudes about gays in the military had shifted since 1993 and didn't want to put their name on some sort of faulty "unit cohesion" argument and go down in history as being on the wrong side of history.
Labels: Don't Ask Don't Tell, I See Gay People, Rightwing Roundup
A Benkof "Apology" and More Propaganda
I have to admit that whenever I read a David Benkof article I'm usually more shocked than anything. I take him at his word that he's concerned with non-gay-marriage issues like prison rape and the lack of lesbian health research. But at the same time, here is a man who parades his devoutly religious nature while simultaneously making huge, usually inaccurate, vilifying generalizations about "the gay community" without offering much, if any, evidence to support his bold claims. I'm not here to attack Benkof as a person, I'm here to demonstrate how asinine one of his latest pieces is. I mean, just rebutting this man's anti-gay claims could be a full-time job in itself. And that's not a compliment. It's just a fact that it usually takes several paragraphs to rebut just one single lie or inaccurate statement.
See, when I read one of Benkof's latest truly bizarre pieces, I was dumbfounded. The title was "I'm really, really sorry." Immediately, I wondered what it was that Benkof did that would cause him to write an article both admitting that he did something wrong and apologizing for it.
Don't be mistaken, however. Benokf, writing from the usual gay-male-centric perspective, is not actually apologizing for his behavior. He's apologizing for the "cruel" behavior of the rotten gay community that he so often disparages. His format is to recite a list of but a few alleged sins of the gay (male?) community that he claims to be a part of and then to apologize for these sins that he himself didn't commit but which other gays supposedly did.
There is much to take issue with in Benkof's piece. For starters, is an apology really an apology if one is "apologizing" for acts that others have supposedly committed? Is an apology really an apology when it's a tattle-tale list of alleged wrongs done, not by him of course, but by "the gay community"?
Yet, what really struck me about this piece was the odd, confused first sin of the gay community. In his own words, Benkof "apologized" for:
"1) Heterosexual AIDS
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, gay activists insisted that a wave of 'heterosexual AIDS' was just around the corner in the United States, even though no data existed proving that was going to happen, and even though HIV spread through heterosexual sex has always been and continues to be a small percentage of the American transmissions of the virus. Out of fear that Americans would not devote energy to treating and curing a disease spread mostly through gay sex and drug use, AIDS activists consciously lied about the size of the miniscule threat to Americans who did not use drugs or have gay sex. As a result, huge sums of money were spent to educate about and prevent a 'coming health epidemic' that would never materialize. People made major lifestyle changes to protect themselves from what was essentially a phantom menace. Now, I wasn’t openly gay until 1989, but I do remember raising a ruckus about 'AIDS is not a gay disease,' despite the overwhelming evidence that AIDS was, and is, pretty much a gay disease, at least in America. I’m sorry. I was wrong."
At first, I thought I knew where he was going with this from the title "Heterosexual AIDS." Thus, I braced myself for a blame-session in which Benkof was surely going to apologize for heterosexual HIV infections "caused" by gay men. But nope. It's actually a bizarre apology for the "fact" that early "AIDS activists consciously lied about" the threat that HIV/AIDS posed to heterosexuals. You know, if one is going to make an extremely bold and over-generalizing claim like that, one needs to back it up with evidence and distinguish who exactly among "early AIDS activists" supposedly lied and did not lie about HIV/AIDS. I'm talking valid and legitimate sources for such a claim, not hearsay. Not Benkof's "personal experience." But alas. Like so many of this man's claims about the "gay community," this one is not supported by actual evidence.
When one has as little credibility as this man does, he can't expect many people to take his word on things just because he is or was gay or bisexual. Or whatever.
But let's explore Benkof's theory a little further. He writes that because of this alleged lie, "huge sums of money were spent to educate about and prevent a 'coming health epidemic' that would never materialize. People made major lifestyle changes to protect themselves from what was essentially a phantom menace." In other words, the alleged lie made the heterosexual community take extra precautions which subsequently made that community....... safer! Um, "sorry" for that?
Yet, I'm not convinced that "AIDS activists" (Benkof should be specific here on who he's talking about, by the way) were out to consciously lie about the threat HIV/AIDS posed to heterosexuals during the early years of the HIV/AIDS crisis. For starters, at the beginning of the epidemic (the early 1980's) we knew very little compared to what we know now. In 1982, the CDC was gathering a little data on groups of gay men, hemophiliacs, IV drug users, and Haitians who were quietly dying of "gay cancer" and "GRID." There weren't clear answers on how it was transmitted, there was great concern about contagion, and what we were learning was changing very quickly. To chalk these complex circumstances up to a "gay community" set on deceiving "innocent" heterosexuals is asinine. I'm sorry, but it really is. (I encourage anyone interested in the history of the response
to the HIV/AIDS epidemic to read And the Band Played On but for ease of reference a timeline of the epidemic can be seen here)
Most importantly, though, it is simply inaccurate to describe the threat of HIV/AIDS to heterosexuals in the US as a "phantom menace." Currently, the epidemic is raging through Africa at rates much higher than in the US. This disease affecting millions of African heterosexuals is the same disease that some in the US, including David Benkof, wrongly call a "gay disease." Many inter-related factors explain the high rates of HIV/AIDS in Africa (poverty; economic disparity; social instability; gender inequality; sexual violence; other sexually transmitted infections; lack of male circumcision; high mobility; rapid urbanisation and modernisation; and ineffective leadership during critical periods in the epidemic’s spread). Say, you know what? Some of these factors also touch certain heterosexual populations in the US. Remember this in a couple of seconds.
See, whether HIV/AIDS is called a "gay disease" or not doesn't change the fact that here in the US, women now make up one-quarter of all new diagnoses with HIV/AIDS being the leading cause of death for black women aged 25-34. And further, heterosexual contact is the mode of transmission for 80% of new infections among women. I dare Mr. Benkof to tell these women that their disease is "gay" or that they don't really have it because contrary to what gay people say, AIDS is a gay disease. Clearly, health disparities and numerous factors are at play with respect to high HIV/AIDS infection rates among black heterosexual women. Continuing to wrongly frame HIV/AIDS as a "gay disease" renders all others with the disease invisible and it is simply an erroneous public health message.
Which brings me to my next point. Whenever we're studying sexual behavior and disease, especially a disease with as much stigma as HIV/AIDS, the picture is always complex. I know that Benkof's op-ed pieces have word limits but if he can't do justice to a topic within the confines of the space restraints he's given, he should think twice about being the carrier of misinformation.
That being said, it would be nice if Benkof would refine, back up, acknowledge, or correct his inaccurate statement regarding HIV/AIDS and the gay community. I could care less about an apology. I just want the lies to stop. It is amazing to me how so many religious folk have so little respect for the truth.
I can only re-iterate something I've told him before: If you really want to mobilize the gay community behind your "gay agenda" you won't get very far by doing what you're doing.
It's the oddest community organizing tack I've ever seen. But good luck with that.
Labels: I See Gay People, Propaganda Watch
The (White Man's) "Making of America"
In addition to reading the occasional US Weekly, I also read Time magazine. The latest issue of Time was part of its annual "Making of America" series which "celebrates history by offering provocative insights into the lives of those who shaped the American experience."
Cool, I thought, upon seeing that humorist and political commentator Mark Twain was on the cover of this year's issue. Yet, upon opening the issue and looking at past honorees, I quickly became troubled. Yes, I realize what I'm about to write will cause some people to rally their defensive "unfair identity politics" cry. But you know what? The thing I've learned is that those who make such a cry are also usually the ones whose identities, and yes we all have them, render them the good fortune of not being oppressed in some way on the basis of their particular identities. If you disagree, I should forewarn you that you probably won't like much else of what I say here.
Here we go. Time presents the past honorees who have made America:
Lewis and Clark. Ben Franklin. Jefferson. Lincoln. Teddy Roosevelt. Mark Twain.
See, what troubles me is not who Time chose to honor in previous years. I am not here to deny that the above dead white men made significant contributions to our nation. Rather, I want to ponder who the magazine could have honored but chose not to when it created this very vague and subjective "Making of America" series. By thus far choosing to honor only white men, Time reinforces the common belief that only white men were major players in the making of America.
I mean, seriously guys? This is 2008. Why are major publications still reinforcing this outdated notion?
And by the way, Time, please don't give us a future special on Betsy Ross, the only woman I remember learning about in grade school history. The contributions of women and non-white men are greater, more important, than the feminine sewing of a flag.
Harriet Tubman. Cesar Chavez. George Washington Carver. Jane Addams. Frederick Douglass. Aren't these but a few men and women who also helped "make America"- whatever that vague phrase even means? Once the great white men of the past secured their freedoms and admirably made this new nation, albeit often on the backs of women and non-white men, the work of "Making America" was far from over. I would even go so far as to argue that where the "neutral" and "objective" ideologies of great white men have fallen short, it has often been non-white men and women (and yes some white men too) who have furthered our nation along its path toward greatness and toward fulfilling the promises it makes to its citizens.
And, lest we forget, the accomplishments of dead white men should not be discussed without also mentioning the circumstances as to why white guys have so often played such prominent roles in history. For instance, professor Roger McCain discusses how historically, wealthy white men in particular have had better access to resources than non-white males and all women and how this access has led to their accomplishments:
"Before the 20th century, only the privileged white and male, mostly in Europe and to some extent in North America with very few elsewhere, have had access to those resources. That is wrong and regrettable, but nevertheless a fact about the past. Consider, in a different field, Charles Darwin. Darwin, an heir to the Wedgwood China fortune - one of the vast fortunes of the early 19th century - had the wealth and connections that enabled him to sail around the world and spend his life doing the research that defined the modern biological worldview. He did much of his research at home at his own expense. There may have been others, poor, nonwhite, female, living in areas remote from Europe's great cities, who could have done even more with the same resources. But in point of historic fact, they did not have the resources and so did not do the work."
Combined with the the privileges inherent in male-ness and white-ness, one has to wonder how any white man born into wealth could not be successful? Yes, there have been great white men who have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. I'm not denying that. Life isn't all fun and games for poor and working-class white men. And by the way, here's where Marxist arguments could come in handy for these men, since class is largely invisible in America. Unfortunately, these folks are often too blinded by the "commies are bad" propaganda to realize that class structures need to be challenged and discussed.
But, even without class privilege, poor men are still men and white men still have their whiteness to fall back on. Those traits alone have opened many doors, from a career and education standpoint, that were not and still sometimes are not available to those in our nation lacking such traits. That men have created the myth that it is the unique role of "woman" to raise children and stay out of public life while men attend to the more important task of becoming fully realized human beings undoubtedly accounts for innumerable historical successes and accomplishments of men.
Is it any wonder, then, under these historical circumstances that non-white men and women would organize and engage in "identity politics" in order to gain access to denied opportunities and rights?
But, of course, Virginia Woolf already wrote this story. It's the story of Shakespeare's Sister, the essay in which Woolf ponders whether a woman with the same gifts as Shakespeare would have been denied the opportunities to develop and use them. Think about these issues when you think about the latest Time magazine "Making of America" series.
I, for one, think the following questions would have been infinitely more probing, interesting, and perhaps honest than yet another dead white male circle-jerk celebration:
Would it have been possible for a Marge Twain to have been as successful a writer as a Mark Twain? Would the public have taken her words as seriously as it took Mr. Twain's? Would she have been able to travel as freely throughout the world and without as much fear for her personal safety as Mr. Twain was able to do? In short, would it have even been possible for a "Miss" Twain to "make America" in the way that Mr. Twain supposedly has?
I know what I think.
Labels: Identity, Propaganda Watch, Race, We the People, Well-behaved women
"Deep" Thought #20: Description of What Anti-Gay I...
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Sweden Toy Store Offers Gender-Neutral Catalog
A toy store in Sweden has published a gender-neutral toy catalog. From the Wall Street Journal:
"On some pages, girls brandish toy guns and boys wield blow-dryers and cuddle dolls. Top-Toy, a privately-held company, published 12 million catalogs and owns the BR Toys chain, with 303 stores in Northern Europe."
The store has also trained employees to avoid gender stereotypes. As a salesperson explains:
"If someone asks for a present for a 5-year-old girl, we don't automatically take them to the dolls sectio. Instead, we ask them what her interests are."
Well, yes, that would be the logical thing to do, wouldn't it? But, let's just go ahead and cue the fainting couch cries of "political correctness gone awry!!" (Annnnnnd, yep, read the WSJ comments. Or not.)
When I was about 5, my mother brought home a He-Man toy for me that she had picked up from a garage sale. When she gave it to me, I said something along the lines of, "That's for boys!" When she told me that it was okay for girls to play with "boys'" toys (not to be confused with boy-toys), it was like a whole new world opened up for me right then and there.
Up until then, I was playing only with "girl" toys because I thought those were the only toys girls were, like, legally "allowed" to play with. After this belief was revealed to be a myth, my gaggle of childhood friends and I had made our toys have many cross-GI Joe/Barbie/Popple/Transformers adventures, wars, and romances.
That's apparently really scary to defenders of "traditional gender roles."
Labels: Gender Complementarity Myth, Random Fun
SPLC Sues Conversion Therapy Provider
“People who are told repeatedly that they are innately defective are being abused and traumatized. The cost of conversion therapy to gay men and lesbians may be nothing less than emotional devastation. They may spend years recovering from the trauma inflicted upon them.” -Laura Booker, LCSW
Booker was quoted in a Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) article announcing that the SPLC has filed a lawsuit charging Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH) of violating New Jersey's Consumer Fraud Act for providing "conversion therapy" to lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients.
The SPLC's complaint, which can be found here (PDF), details the bases of conversion therapy and methods purported to prevent and cure homosexuality including having boys shower with their fathers, having boys beat a pillow "meant to represent the patient's mother," having clients removing their clothing during individual and group therapy sessions, cuddling others of the same sex, and being "subjected to ridicule as 'faggots' and 'homos' in mock locker room and gym class scenarios."
One of the plaintiffs, a former client, alleges that he suffered depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and other emotional harm both as a result of the therapy itself and when he was subsequently unable to change his sexual orientation after using these services.
In addition to restitution to the plaintiffs, SPLC is requesting the revocation of JONAH's business license.
Cross-posted: Family Scholars Blog
Labels: Gender Complementarity Myth, Gender Identity, Hellmouths, I See Gay People, Identity, Nope No Bigotry Here, Oogedy Boogedy, The Cake Is A Lie, Violence, We the People
Playing At Logic
I guess I'm on a women's ordination kick this week, so here we go.
Following this article about Mormon and Catholic women seeking ordination, I encountered a number of mansplainy comments absolutely brimming with unquestioned male supremacy. (Not surprising, really, as I would posit that one's tendency to mansplain correlates highly with one's belief, whether implicit or explicit, that men possess superior reasoning faculties).
One in particular stood out as being both condescending and telling. It begins:
“My brothers and I used to 'play priest' when we were growing up. As there is no such thing as a women Catholic bishop, priest or deacon, these women are merely playing too. If a horse is standing in a field and I go up to it and hang a sign around its neck that reads 'cow,' it remains just a horse! Giving a woman a name 'bishop,' 'priest,' or 'deacon' and claiming that she is validly ordained in the Catholic Church is no different. Blessed Pope John Paul II closed the door on this entire issue in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis on 5/22/94, confirmed on 10/28/95 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Responsum to a Dubium...."
The first general theme of note here is that, apparently, if enough people believe that a very important man says that something is true than that something is, indeed, true, even if that something is in no way provable and is, in fact, a human construction. In this case, the commenter notes that only men can be priests because some other man said that only men can be priests.
I guess where "faith" comes in, is where the faithful collectively ignore the circular reasoning process involved and believe that it's not "just a man" proclaiming this truth, it's The Importantest Man Of All who is proclaiming this truth.
Two, notice how the commenter compares women priests to children playing at being priests. Compare this statement to the reasoning process for excluding women from the priesthood that posits that, unlike women, men possess the same kind of body that Jesus had and that, therefore, men are uniquely closer to god than women are.
Both notions infantalize women, suggesting that women are not full human beings in the way that men are. Unlike men, we are told we lack certain things (or a certain super special something?) that preclude us from positions of leadership and authority.
I think back to the way so many conversations with men, about abortion, have gone in my life. They often, but not always, carry a quite different tone than my conversations with women about the issue.
Many "pro-life" religious men, when speaking at women about the issue, speak as though they are uniquely qualified to render information, advice, and opinions about the bodies of people with uterii. They assume their words, and silly, uterus-negating moral analogies like "if someone owes me a debt, I can't just kill him," carry an extra special weight of authority in the conversation. I sense this assumption when they become genuinely befuddled to find they are engaging in a debate with a woman for whom A Man Said It, I Believe It isn't an operating philosophy of life.
My point here is that I reckon that a religion's tendencies to infantilize women, even if it pretends to pedestalize women, is likely related to its tendency to reject the notion that women are full human beings, with actual, full reasoning powers and the right to retain autonomy of our own bodies.
Labels: Bigotry For Jesus, Fauxbjectivity, Gender Complementarity Myth, Gender Identity, Men Are Human While Women Are Women, We the People, Well-behaved women
Superior Bigots In Need of Protections
As a critic of male supremacist religions, I have been following the Church of England's recent decision to reject the introduction of female bishops. For some background, the House of Bishops and the House of Clergy approved the measure, but the House of Laity did not garner the required 2/3 vote to approve the measure.
Yes, in 2012, people are still having this quaint little debate about Women In Religious Leadership and are warning of Very Dire (yet unspecified) Things happening as a result of women's increased leadership.
Some of the reasons put forth for rejecting female bishops have been frustratingly amusing. From the BBC:
"The key concerns of opponents within the Church are over provisions for traditionalist parishes opposed to women bishops to request supervision by a stand-in male bishop.
Critics of the legislation said it did not provide enough safeguards for the objectors."
Safeguards.
I find that amusing because, so rarely, do we see people so explicitly admit how fragile the notion of men being the super-duper-est, most special gender is and how, due to this fragility, this notion of allegedly inherent male superiority needs to be very carefully protected from the competing notion that women are not, actually, second-class creations.
I'm reminded of that high school kid in Iowa who refused to wrestle his female high school opponent in the state tournament. In his case, I somewhat excused his behavior on account of his age, suggesting that he was likely echoing his religion and society's teachings about the "proper" roles of boys and girls-- which doesn't make it okay, but does give him a benefit of the doubt that he hasn't had much opportunity yet to think critically about gender.
I do not grant the same benefit of the doubt to the adults who willfully and consciously reject women in leadership positions- whether secular or religions. Such people reject the class of all women from various positions, and they do so not because of the content of our character, intellect, or actual ability, but because we are women. Just women. And that, apparently, tells them all they need to know about our capabilities.
This treatment of women, we are to believe, is still okay, moral, commonsensical, true, and righteous. In 2012.
The lackadaisical acceptance of male supremacy under the banner of religious freedom, unity, and tolerance is why I am increasingly frustrated by newfangled "feminist"/gender egalitarian claims that "men and women are oppressed in equal and opposite ways." In seeking to attract men to feminism, I fear we sometimes concede far too much.
Labels: Bigotry For Jesus, Gender Complementarity Myth, Gender Identity, Illusory Superiority, Religion, We the People, Well-behaved women
"Everyone" Will Support Marriage Equality By 2030
Wait, everyone?
Sure, why not. It's Friday, I'm feeling okay with absolutes. Or Absolut.
My point is that this article kind of posits that Willow and Tara are largely responsible for the Millenial generation's acceptance of same-sex marriage in particular and homosexuality in general.
I swear this is not a drunk post. I think I'm mostly experiencing end-of-election-cycle fatigue where I don't have any spare ounces of sooper seriousness left in me at the moment, if you can believe it.
Talk about stuff now. Preferably stuff like our favorite fictional and non-fictional lesbian and bisexual women on television. In general, I miss Willow and Tara being on TV, and I'm still not okay with how that all turned out.
Labels: Politics, Random Fun, Stuff Lesbians Like
Fun With Shopping
So I was browsing through the J. Crew catalog that inexplicably gets delivered to us and I became fascinated by the the varied names of clothing colors. (I get this way with respect to wall paint colors as well).
Did you know that men's pants come in a color called "charcoal herringbone," a color which I interpret to be "dark grey," and that in the women's pants section seems to be called "dark charcoal"?
Other favorite "men's colors" that were entirely missing from the women's pants color selection include "raw steel" and "grey crow's foot." OMG, so manly!
But don't worry, the women get "bright poppy" and "vibrant fuchsia" to make up for it.
All of these colors, by the way, are totally fine in my opinion. It's just a reflection of prevailing gender stereotypes that these colors get segregated into separate men's and women's sections and that simple colors like "pink" and "grey" likewise get paired with "masculine" and "feminine" qualities like steel and flowers.
And can we also talk about "boyfriend shirts" and "boyfriend pants" for a minute?
So.... we, like, buy these items of clothing and pretend they are our "boyfriend's" clothes? They seem to be, I don't know, "girly versions" of man clothes that women can wear and still dress mostly adhere to the proper standards of femininity. Will the fashion police arrest me if I buy "boyfriend pants" even though I don't have a boyfriend? What if a gal wants to shop from the men's section, can she still do that?
And, is it okay if boys wear these "boyfriend" clothes?
Shopping is hard.
Labels: Gender Complementarity Myth, Gender Identity, Has Anybody Seen My New Red Hat?
Tips For Hostile Internet Emailers
Just as a helpful hint for the day, here's how commenters who think I'm a Very Bad Person can have more productive offline conversations with me.
First, and most importantly, it would be extremely helpful if one operates from the assumption that I'm operating from a place of good faith and that we, therefore, might be having a miscommunication issue rather than a "Fannie is SO mean" issue.
Since that's an assumption that some people are utterly incapable of granting to anyone not in their cadre of like-minded folks, preferring instead to see villains and monsters in every simple Internet disagreement, let's continue.
When writing one's email tirade to me, one must remember that it's simply not an omen of good things to come when the command "don't be offended" prefaces one's commentary. When I see that order, I just know someone's about to say some really mean shit.
Secondly, when writing one's email tirade, also be aware that I rarely think (or care) about all the minute details of Internet conversations that are, say, more than a week old. No, I don't remember what "H" said at 4:52 pm 2 months ago and how when "R" responded at 5:07 pm that was totally mean but I didn't even say anything about that mean comment when I called out "S's" comment at 3:34.
It's like, at some point, you just have to move on with life, you know, and let things go.
A month is like 12 years in Internet time and while dude might remember every real and imagined harm that has ever happened to him on Internet, the truth is, I don't exist to Answer For his Totally Objective belief that my boundary-setting statements about his particular boorish behavior are "distasteful" and unfairly applied to him while I purportedly let "everyone else" off the hook for doing "the same thing." (Hint: It's probably not the "same thing," actually).
When I see particularly asshole-ish behavior I often will call it out, and if I don't call out other crappy behavior happening on the same forum or even my own blog, well I'm not sure what to say other than that I'm not, like, the Hall Monitor of Internet, I don't get paid for any of this, and I can't and won't "catch" every instance of People Being Mean On Internet and, hell, I won't even try to do so just for the sake of being morally consistent.
I don't have the time, I don't have the energy, and I actually do have other things to do in life.
If dude wants to start paying me a salary to do that, I might consider it, but until then, I don't know, maybe he can start his own blog and come up with, like, the Perfect Commend Moderation System and tell us all what the secret to being perfect is.
Along those lines, I'm also not interested in reading line-by-line, bold-faced, and bracketed accusations, "rebuttals," and paranoid responses to my weeks'-old comments, especially if he, in emails to me, shifts from condescendingly writing about me in the 3rd person rather than to me. That's such a strange phenomenon I've encountered other times on the Internet. Some bigoted men will, without further ado, stop directly talking with me in a comment thread and instead start talking about me, as though they're Totally Objective Observers having a private monologue moment about me to "the audience."
It's very bizarre and entitled behavior to just shut out a person from a conversation within a conversation about that person's rights.
Anyway, I do think this particular dude, the Angry Emailer that is, is kind of new to Internet conversations and blogging, so I'm deliberately not linking to the forum in which this weeks-old convo took place. It would feel kind of like making fun of a toddler who is still in that self-centric phase where ze thinks that covering hir eyes means that other people can't see hir. It also seems like lots of people, including myself at one point, just kinda have to go through that "I think someone is wrong on Internet and if I don't rebut each and every point I think that person is wrong about, no matter how trivial, I might die!!!" phase.
My point is that I hope in time people like this guy learn that, believe it or not, lots of people who participate in blogging don't exist solely, or even at all, to be mean to people like him. It's actually quite self-centered to think that I sit around thinking of ways to be so unfair to him, or to anyone really, through my blogging and commentary. And, it's just not productive to continually assume the worst about other people's motives on Internet.
On a related note about vilifying one's political opponents, I'm still figuring out ways to effectively engage with those who are unable to see their opponents as anything but aggressive villains. The other day, for instance, I had the experience of telling an opponent of same-sex marriage that his argument was confusing to me, asking him to clarify, and then asking him if he could provide some practical solutions to his stated concerns.
I shit you not, this guy described my comment as a "new line of attack" and dropped a couple names of logical fallacies that he thought I was"committing" by.... asking him to clarify his position because I didn't understand his argument.
It can be difficult to even know what to say to that, really, other than, "Wut?
I've learned that it's far easier for some people to accuse rather than to engage. To engage means that one sees one's political opponents as human, and however imperfect, worthy of dialoguing with. If one insists on accusing, no matter how much evidence of good faith the other person renders, one is quite literally acting obstinately devoted to one's own opinions and prejudices about what kind of person the political opponent is.
Dare I say it, it's the very definition of bigotry.
Labels: Anti-Gays, Blogging, Civility, Fauxbjectivity, We the People
Giving Him Airs
I was reading an article in The Smithsonian the other day and came across the following description:
"Amone, a tall, bespectacled physician with a baritone voice and an air of quiet authority...."
An air of quiet authority.
I see that phrase sometimes in various novels, articles, and descriptions of people and am never sure what it means. I think it's a lazy phrase, if I may nitpick. A writer or reporter should show the person being quietly authoritative rather than just telling us that this person has a mysterious, amorphous, and unspecified air of quiet authority about him and expecting us to take the writer/reporter's word on that.
And yes, I've never actually seen a woman, or a person with, say, a soprano voice, described as having an air of quiet authority.
Julia Serrano, in her book Whipping Girl, talks extensively about how even though she acted the same way before and after she transitioned from male to female, people treated her much differently based on her gender presentation. She writes, "[As a woman my] behaviors are still the same; it is only the context of my body (whether people see me as female or male) that has changed."
Likewise, I would reckon that when most people say that a person has an air of quiet authority, that air of quiet authority is less a thing that a person has and more of perception that other people have of him. It is something that is granted to him, if you will, not primarily because of things he actually does, but primarily because of his maleness, and particular physical traits and characteristics that he possesses in conjunction with that.
Labels: Gender Identity, Illusory Superiority, Language, We the People
Will the Demographics of the Republican Base Change?
During the run-up to this year's election and afterwards, I've read many articles suggesting that, due to the US's changing demographics, the Republican party will not be able to be successful in the future if it continually relies on primarily catering to its base of white (male, I would add) voters.
For one instance of this argument, see Thomas Edsall in The New York Times opinion blogs:
"The demographic threat to the Republican Party grows out of the fact that every four years the electorate becomes roughly two percent less white and two percent more minority, primarily as a result of the increase in the Hispanic and Asian-American populations and the relatively low birth rate among whites. By my computation, this translates into a modest 0.85 percentage point gain for Democrats and 0.85 percentage point loss for Republicans every four years. In other words, the changing composition of the electorate gives Democrats an additional built-in advantage of 1.7 percentage points every four years."
Any theories, predictors, or thoughts on who the Republicans will try to recruit to make up for the loss of those white fonts of unexamined privilege (at best) and dignity-denying moralizers who comprise its base?
What strategies will Republicans employ to attract new voters?
'Member when they tried to capture the lady vote in 2008 with the Sarah Palin schtick? I predict something similarly tacky and out of touch. Maybe an increase in dorky white guys rapping at political rallies or, on a more sinister level, the creation of more divisions between marginalized groups that the white Republican base has traditionally not given a shit about and, in fact, whose rights they have historically opposed.
Relatedly, I've seen many post-election incarnations of white homophobic, anti-feminist conservative dudes squawking statements like, "The end/armageddon/judgment/apocalypse is near!!" and "That's it, I'm checking out. This country is on its own!" which I think is just downright hilarious. (I also think Internet is calling it the Democalypse?)
The message there is that if a white base no longer controls who gets elected, a black guy gets re-elected, and if white guys check out of the system, then women, people of color, immigrants, LGBT people, and other Others will of course be so incompetent at running things that the Entire System will collapse. White guys created their own formal and informal affirmative action programs in the public sphere for themselves throughout much of US history, and now many of them are still operating under the assumption that this historical dominance of white men was due primarily to them.... actually being superior at public sphere stuff than women and people of color.
They really think highly of themselves, some of these white male (and some female) Republicans.
The end of their gender, race, and class privileges are possibly nearing, sure, and that's a good thing.
Unfortunately, some of these guys are so mired in fauxbjective egocentricity that they can't help mistaking their impending loss of unearned privilege for a worldwide cataclysm for all people everywhere.
And then, others are so out of touch and hellbent on preserving their privilege that they seem to think the Republicans' Big Problem is that they just weren't homophobic, xenophobic, anti-woman, and anti-choice enough!
Sure, players, go with that strategy in 2016. Or better yet, keep shrugging yourselves, and your supremacist opinions, into indifference and irrelevancy.
Labels: Fauxbjectivity, Illusory Superiority, Politics, Race, We the People
If a straight person really truly "doesn't care" what out lesbian, gay, and bisexual politicians, leaders, and celebrities "do in their bedrooms," then one likewise doesn't get all huffy-puffy resentful of the fact that they talk openly about being lesbian, gay, or bisexual and publicly identify as such.
It seriously grates on my "I don't even see race" nerves when people act like they "don't even care about people's sexual orientation" when (a) they so obviously can't handle being reminded of non-heterosexuality's existence and (b) the fact is, lots of people do still care, and not in a good way, that some people are not heterosexual and they would love nothing more than for us to either become 100% hetero, become "ex-gay," die out, or retreat silently and defeated back into the closet.
Leftist Gender Warrior gives a special lesbian fist bump to Tammy Baldwin:
Talk about the election today, or whatevs.
Labels: I See Gay People, Identity, Leftist Gender Warrior Chronicles, Politics, Well-behaved women
On "Genderless Institution"
Circling back to yesterday's post, I want to talk today about that strange phrase "genderless institution," that some anti-equality advocates have invented to describe same-sex marriage.
(This phrase is similar to the less-frequently used "neutered marriage" that the inhabitants of one marginal, bizarre "marriage defense" blog use).
The reasoning behind "genderless institution" seems to be that same-sex marriage will purportedly demonstrate that "gender doesn't matter" with respect to marriage and that, quite possibly, the persons within the institution are or could become devoid of gender. And, on one point, I somewhat agree: Same-sex marriage being legal does demonstrate that gender doesn't matter as much as many traditionalists and gender essentialists claim it does.
Most biological sex differences between men and women have been greatly exaggerated, and women are certainly not the "opposite" of men. Indeed, given that I would question if even two people are truly complete opposites or complements, how strange it is that humanity is so thoughtlessly treated as though any random woman will be the opposite/complement of any random man by sheer virtue of their purportedly Inherent Gender Essences.
This point is not to say that all people are or should be inherently androgynous, but that society needs to become more accepting of the reality that lots of different ways exist to be authentic men and women- including identifying outside of that binary - and that some of us who do identify as men or women can simultaneously differentiate for ourselves when and how much "gender matters" or doesn't matter in different contexts of our lives.
I mean, wow, that seems weird to have to articulate that people have different experiences of gender, but I also know that concept is difficult for sound-bitey thinkers who insist that one has to choose one, and only one, totally-concordant, grand, sweeping theory about gender wherein either "gender always matters, therefore men and women are total opposites" or "gender never matters, therefore we must live in a gender neutral society."
I guess it's difficult for some to acknowledge that reality is not often neatly-contained and summarized by bumper sticker phrases and uninspired gender stereotypes.
So, where was I?
Oh, right. Here's the thing about "genderless institution." The phrase suggests that same-sex marriage is an institution devoid of gender- as though if a woman marries a woman, then the institution is androgynous, and as though "gender" is a thing that is created only by a combination of a man and woman, and that therefore a group of women or a group of men by themselves do not have genders.
I guess that kind of conclusion is a logical result when one thinks of men and women as opposites wherein men and women, apparently, only find meaning in being a man or a woman in terms of how that identity relates to, and is above or below, the "opposite" gender." Under this thinking, men and women are not identities that stand on their own terms, they are relational identities, always dependent upon the existence of an "opposite."
Basically, my point here is to say that I just don't think the anti-SSM folks have really thought this "genderless institution" thing through.
I mean, if they're going to be all, "words like marriage mean things," then the least Team Ultimate Word Deciders could do is stop making up words that aren't even accurate.
I am a woman. As is my partner. We both have a gender, and that remains true even though we are married to each other and not to men. Neither our partnership, nor the institution that recognizes it, is "genderless."
Labels: Gender Complementarity Myth, Gender Identity, Identity, Marriage and Family, Oogedy Boogedy
Parallels in Invisibility
From a recent New York Times article about gays in Pakistan:
"Homosexual acts remain illegal in Pakistan, based on laws constructed by the British during colonial rule. No civil rights legislation exists to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination.
But the reality is far more complex, more akin to 'don’t ask, don’t tell' than a state-sponsored witch hunt. For a long time, the state’s willful blindness has provided space enough for gays and lesbians. They socialize, organize, date and even live together as couples, though discreetly.
One journalist, in his early 40s, has been living as a gay man in Pakistan for almost two decades. 'It’s very easy being gay here, to be honest,' he said, though he and several others interviewed did not want their names used for fear of the social and legal repercussions. 'You can live without being hassled about it,' he said, 'as long as you are not wearing a pink tutu and running down the street carrying a rainbow flag.'”
As I read this article, I kept thinking that all of the anti-gay rhetoric I've encountered over the years suggests that many people in the US would like to see a society much like what's described herein.
Some people want to see gay sex re-criminalized. Some are resentful of gay pride parades and can't stand it when the reality that homosexuality, and non-heterosexual people, exist in the real world is "shoved down their throats" by, say, two men or two women walking hand in hand or being represented in school textbooks like how Regular People are represented in textbooks.
Anti-SSM campaigns often trade on this resentment and desire to invisibilize lives.
For instance, the anti-SSM Maryland Marriage Alliance's "Consequences of Redefining Marriage" list warns:
"Whenever schools educate children about marriage, which happens throughout the curriculum, they will have no choice but to teach this new genderless institution. In Massachusetts, kids as young as second grade were taught about gay marriage in class."
Aside from the strange lingo "genderless institution," this dire warning, which was also used extensively in California's Prop 8 battle in 2008, suggests that merely learning about the existence of gay marriage is some sort of threat to children and to society. And, well, I'm not sure what the appropriate compromise on this point would even be. Would these opponents be more willing to support SSM if they could be assured that its existence would never be referenced or acknowledged in public schools?
What I find to be rather remarkable is that it's often opponents of equality who lambast liberal so-called "political correctness" that purportedly prevents people from talking about the truth and reality, yet here is an actual political campaign seeking to prevent people from talking about the truth and reality.
With recent court trends showing a judicial willingness to acknowledge animus-based motivations for anti-equality laws, propositions, and amendments, a big post-Prop-8 anti-SSM talking point has been that opponents of SSM are not bigots and that they like gay people well enough.
If that's the case, they might want to consider how denigrating to one's dignity it can be, and how bigoted it appears, to suggest that children and society are better off if homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and/or lesbian, gay, and bisexual people are discreet, invisible, and erased from reality.
[Cross-posted: Family Scholars Blog]
Labels: Anti-Gays, Bigotry 101, Civility, Marriage and Family, Proposition 8, We the People
Pssst, ladies....
Doesn't this pamphlet totally convince you not to vote?
In case this image is difficult to read, here's a transcript (emphases in original, obvi):
"Vote NO On Woman Suffrage
BECAUSE 90% of the women either do not want it, or do not care.
BECAUSE it means competition of women with men instead of co-operation.
BECAUSE 80% of the women eligible to vote are married and can only double or annul their husbands' votes.
BECAUSE it can be of no benefit commensurate with the additional expense involved.
BECAUSE in some States more voting women than voting men will place the Government under petticoat rule.
BECAUSE it is unwise to risk the good we already have for the evil which may occur."
Now, dear readers, all of these "reasons" are gems, aren't they? From the sooper-sciuntific percentages that definitely bolster this document's credibility, to the still-used-today reason that we shan't grant rights to minorities because because because... VeRy BaD ThInGs might happen down the road!
What's most interesting, I think, is the contradictory overall tone of the piece wherein allowing women to vote is at once No Big Deal since women can "only" double or annul the vote of their hubbies and yet allowing women the vote is Very Dangerous because it will place the government under Petticoat Rule!!
It's like, the folks who wrote this pamphlet were incredibly threatened at the prospect of women gaining this basic democratic right, but they were trying to act like they weren't threatened at all.
Fun Fact: In 1874, the Supreme Court of the United States implicitly found that women were neither "persons" nor full "citizens" under the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.
In Minor v. Happersett, the Court cited the 14th Amendment's order that:
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law, which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States. Nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction, the equal protection of the laws."
After a lengthy and (in my opinion unnecessary, given their determination to affirm their already-held view on suffrage) discussion of citizenship, the men of the Supreme Court unanimously said out of one side of their collective mouth that women were citizens, and out of the other side of their mouth they "explained" that women just weren't the types of citizens who got to vote.
That is, they weren't the right types of "persons" that the 14th Amendment actually granted important rights to.
Labels: We the People, Well-behaved women
Christian Men on Marginal Females
So I got into a Facebook convo with a fresh-from-undergrad 20-something-year-old Christian guy who has Big Ideas about how to stop abortion. Namely, he thinks "we" should tell people not to have sex if they don't want to get pregnant, and abortions will mostly stop.
I wish that were a straw version of his argument, but that's really it.
This font of unparalleled wisdom likewise suggested this public health strategy to two very intelligent women at least a decade older than him who also devote pretty much every day of their lives to gender issues and social justice, as though he had lots to teach these women about the abortion debate.
So, as you can imagine, this dude quickly became my favorite!
During this conversation, he continually referred to men as men and to women as "females," as though females, rather than "women," were the proper equivalent to the word "men."
Now, you may notice that I made note of this guy's religion- Christianity. He is a friend of a friend, but his Facebook profile suggested that this guy is Evangelical. His profile picture is of himself and his wife. In the photo, he is centered and she is standing behind him, a bit to the... margin.
I didn't delve into this analysis on Facebook in my conversation with him. For, in my experience, even suggesting that a non-feminist Christian man's worldview of himself possessing intellectual and objective superiority over women might be a bit biased by his male-centric religion, and that this worldview is likewise reflected in his, say, photos and language usage mostly brings about reflexive, projecty "yeah well you're the real sexist" accusations.
As we all know, pointing out how some men are male supremacist and sexist is actually worse than them being male supremacist and sexist.
So, naturally, I turn to the wonderful denizens of Internet Feminism to engage my analysis.
It's indicative, right, of seriously problematic (dare I say? yep!) patriarchal views when a man calls men "men" while calling women "females," especially in a debate in which he is opposing women's right to control their own bodies?
Indeed, I contend that this guy's clinical labeling of women suggests a worldview in which men are autonomous, uniquely-enlightened, and central beings with Sooper Dooper Big Ideas under which "females," in our zoo-animal-like non-autonomous-consent-lacking state, must submit.
Labels: Bigotry For Jesus, Church and State Should Separate, Gender Identity, Hellmouths, Illusory Superiority, Language, Men Are Human While Women Are Women, Nope No Bigotry Here, We the People, Well-behaved women
Will the Demographics of the Republican Base Chang...
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The Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation (Fedoruk Centre) invites eligible Project Leaders to submit proposals for research projects, which have the potential to advance the Fedoruk Centre's purpose and to achieve a positive societal and economic impact in one or more of the Centre's key impact areas.
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Duane Bratt, PhD
Chair, Department of Policy Studies, Mount Royal University
Duane Bratt is Chair and Professor in the Department of Policy Studies at Mount Royal University (Calgary, Alberta). He was educated at the Universities of Windsor (BA 1991, MA 1992) and Alberta (Ph.D 1996). He teaches in the area of international relations and Canadian public policy, with specialty in the sub-field of Canadian foreign policy. His primary research interest is in the area of Canadian nuclear policy. Recent publications include: co-editor, Readings in Canadian Foreign Policy: Classic Debates and New Ideas 2nd edition (Oxford University Press: Toronto, 2011). Prairie Atoms: The Opportunities and Challenges of Nuclear Power in Alberta and Saskatchewan (Canada West Foundation, 2008), and The Politics of CANDU Exports (University of Toronto Press: Toronto, 2006). His most recent book is Canada, the Provinces, and the Global Nuclear Revival which is published by McGill-Queen’s University Press and will be available in Fall 2012. Duane is also a regular commentator on political events.
John C. Luxat, PhD, PEng, FCAE
NSERC/UNENE Industrial Research Chair in Nuclear Safety Analysis, McMaster University
John Luxat is a Professor in the Department of Engineering Physics and holds the NSERC/UNENE Industrial Research Chair in Nuclear Safety Analysis at McMaster University. He obtained his B.Sc. (Eng.) and M.Sc. (Eng.) degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town, South Africa in 1967 and 1969, respectively. In 1972 he obtained his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Windsor, Ontario. He has been a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario since 1974. Prior to joining McMaster University in 2004 he had 32 years experience working in many areas of nuclear safety and nuclear engineering in the Canadian nuclear industry, as Vice President, Technical Methods at Nuclear Safety Solutions Limited in Toronto and, prior to that, as Manager of Nuclear Safety Technology at Ontario Power Generation.
In 2004 he was awarded the Canadian Nuclear Society/Canadian Nuclear Association Outstanding Contribution Award for his significant contributions to safety analysis and licensing of CANDU reactors. In 2011 he received the Technical Achievement Award of the American Nuclear Society Thermal Hydraulics Division, a national award of the Society. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.
John is a member of the Advisory Board of the International Association for Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology (IASMiRT); and a Board member of the American Association for Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology (AASMiRT). He is a member of the Advisory Board of Terrestrial Energy Inc. a private company developing the IMSR molten salt reactor concept. In 2012 he was elected a member of the International Nuclear Energy Academy and currently serves as chair of the Academy. He is the 2018/2019 President of the Canadian Nuclear Society, a position he previously held in 2005/2006.
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Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine and Radiology, McMaster University
Katherine Zukotynski is an Associate Professor in the Departments fo Medicine and Radiology at McMaster University. After completing an undergraduate degree in Engineering Science at the University of Toronto, Dr. Zukotynski completed medical training followed by residency in radiology, also at the University of Toronto. She completed nuclear medicine training through the Joint Program in Nuclear Medicine at Harvard in 2009. She is board certified in nuclear cardiology as well as in nuclear medicine and radiology in both the United States and Canada.
Dr. Zukotynski is Secretary/Treasurer of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), President of the SNMMI PET Center of Excellence, President of the SNMMI Eastern Great Lakes Chapter, Chair of the Nuclear Medicine Section Instructional Courses at the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) as well as Chair of the RSNA Research and Education Public Relations Committee. She is actively involved with Nuclear Medicine outreach programs.
Dr. Zukotynski’s main areas of research are in PET/CT, particularly as it relates to oncology and neurodegenerative disease. She received the RSNA Research and Education Foundation Roentgen Resident/ Fellow Research Award first as a radiology resident and then as a nuclear medicine resident. She held an RSNA Research Scholar Grant from 2012-2014 and currently holds research grants for molecular imaging and therapy in prostate cancer of over $5 million. She has published 67 papers, 18 book chapters and is co-editor for a book on SPECT/CT.
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Cinema in a Good Cause
Tags: Action Breast Cancer, Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Cadbury, Cadbury Flake, Cadbury Flake Film Festival, Casablanca, Cineworld, Claude Rains, Dirty Dancing, FlashForward, George Peppard, Holly Golightly, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Irish Cancer Society, Jerry Orbach, Jim O'Malley, Joseph Fiennes, Julia Roberts, Law & Order, Mickey Rooney, Patrick Swayze, Paul Henreid, Petra Ryan, Pretty Woman, Richard Gere, Star Wars, Truman Capote, Wicklow
A very special film festival will take place at Cineworld from Thursday the 7th to Saturday the 10th of October with all proceeds raising going to Action Breast Cancer. There is no set ticket price for any of the films, instead you’ll be asked to donate whatever you feel is appropriate.
The Cadbury Flake Film Festival organised by Cadbury and the Irish Cancer Society will showcase four iconic movies. If you’re booking seats you’ll be asked to make a donation to the Irish Cancer Society through dedicated fundraising pages on www.mycharity.ie while further information is available from www.cancer.ie or www.cadbury.ie. FlashForward star Joseph Fiennes, currently filming in Wicklow, is supporting the campaign saying: “I have been a supporter of Breakthrough Breast Cancer and other fundraisers for many years, after losing my mother to the disease. I prefer to be involved behind the scenes – working with major donors to generate funding or attending events and providing auction prizes. I am very happy to lend my support to Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Cadbury Flake Film Festival in aid of Action Breast Cancer. I would like to thank all of those who continue to donate their time, money and energy for the benefit of those affected by cancer”.
As well as the film festival Cadbury will donate 5 cent for each Limited Edition Pink Flake for Breast Cancer Awareness Month sold, potentially raising €70,000 for Action Breast Cancer. Petra Ryan, Brand Manager for Cadbury Flake, said “We hope to raise significant funds from these initiatives so that Action Breast Cancer can continue to provide much needed care and support to everyone affected by breast cancer”, while Jim O’Malley, Partnership Manager for the Irish Cancer Society said “Women living in Ireland have a 1 in 10 chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime so it is imperative that we continue to raise vital funds enabling Irish scientists to find new therapies to prevent breast cancer, better techniques to diagnose it accurately and ultimately new treatments which will cure it.” The charity web-pages are linked to below:
Casablanca: October 7th @ 8pm Tickets available: www.mycharity.ie/event/casablanca_cadbury_flake_film_festival
In a previous blog I dubbed this the film that summed up the 1940s. Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains and Paul Henreid star in one of the greatest films ever made. Quotable to a fault, this wartime tale of lost love and political intrigue still packs a hefty emotional punch. “Here’s looking at you kid.”
Dirty Dancing: October 8th @ 8pm Tickets available: www.mycharity.ie/event/dirty_dancing_cadbury_flake_film_festival
The female equivalent of Star Wars for a generation stars the late Patrick Swayze as the summer camp dance instructor who helps Jennifer Grey’s naive ‘Baby’ rebel against her stifling father (a pre-Law & Order Jerry Orbach). Altogether now: “Nobody puts baby in the corner…”
Pretty Woman: October 9th @ 6pm Tickets available: www.mycharity.ie/event/pretty_woman_cadbury_flake_film_festival
The film that catapulted 22 year old Julia Roberts onto the A-list remains the gold standard for modern rom-coms. Roberts’ unlikely hooker is hired by Richard Gere’s wealthy business man to be his escort for several business and social functions, but soon some My Fair Lady style transformations start to occur.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s: October 10th @ 6pm Tickets available: www.mycharity.ie/event/breakfast_at_tiffanys_cadbury_flake_film_festival
Audrey Hepburn’s most iconic poses and costumes feature in this adaptation of Truman Capote’s scandalous novella. Holly Golightly’s naive eccentricity bedazzles George Peppard’s struggling writer when he moves into her apartment building. Try to ignore Mickey Rooney’s outrageously racist Japanese character…
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What I Love Most about Sacramento
"This city has so many great attributes, but the one thing that makes it unique is the people. It's the people and the fans that we come into contact with. It's their passion!
Sacramento is just right. It's not too big. It's not too small. It's got a diverse population and there are so many young people. There are people from the government, people from industry, people from university and healthcare. It's a city that's just right."
Keeping the Kings in Sacramento
"I came to California with nothing, so everything I have I owe to the state of California and Sacramento is our state's capital. Without the team, it would really be like ripping the heart out of the city. The Kings are like the whole deal for the city of Sacramento. I saw that firsthand and fell in love with the fans and the city and I thought, 'Maybe this is something that this immigrant is meant to do, is to step in and help keep the team in Sacramento.'
Then from there, we invested over $1B in Downtown and we built Golden 1 Center and built up the surrounding area, so this is truly a city that's built on basketball."
Investing in Downtown
"We have the opportunity to create the Next Great American City. I think of Sacramento as the city of the future. Our arena is the communal fireplace for the city, and it's our ground zero for the city of the future. It's where people will come and celebrate and connect with other people. We're using the arena as the catalyst and we've built other things around it. We're entering a new era, where people are moving back into the cities, where cities have the potential to be for people to work and to live and to watch sports and enjoy art, culture and food and music. All of that is happening in our downtown, right now, and it's just the beginning. There is a lot more to come!"
My Advice for Others
"When I speak with entrepreneurs, I say three simple things.
First, everything that's been done can be done better. When my friend Steve Jobs decided to build a cell phone, people were tripping over themselves trying to make cheaper and cheaper cell phones and it was a highly commoditized business. Any rational businessman would have told him, 'What, are you crazy? You've never built a cell phone before and there are big companies that are already doing that.' Then, within three years, the iPhone business was bigger than Microsoft and Google combined! When Phil Knight started Nike, people had been making shoes for thousands of years. So my first piece of advice is that anything that's been done can be done better.
The second thing is to surround yourself with people that are smarter than yourself. When I've built businesses in the past, I was always lucky enough to convince people to come join me that were ten times smarter than me. That's number two, to surround yourself with people that are smarter than you.
The third thing is that, as an entrepreneur, the journey can have obstacles and it can have challenges, but just never ever give up. You know, just keep persevering and no matter what the pain, you'll get to your destination."
My Sacramento Recommendations
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Zimmerman: Oh the Irony of it All!
image by DonkeyHotey on creative commons, flickr
W9 is George Zimmerman’s cousin. On Monday, July 16th at 11 am, the prosecution released her tape recorded statements to the media in which she accused George Zimmerman and his family of being racially prejudiced against African Americans and George Zimmerman specifically of sexually molesting her multiple times during a 10-year period that began when she was 6 years old and he was 8. She is now 26 and he is 28. The two families have lived in the same community and socialized together often during that period.
She said the molestation incidents involved fondling and digital penetration of her vagina. She said she finally ended the sexual abuse by getting away from him and running out of the house. She told her parents and they told his parents. Due to pressure from her parents and because she feared Zimmerman would hurt her, she decided not to report the sexual abuse to the police. After that Zimmerman was no longer invited to family social events.
She first contacted the police anonymously two days after Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin, She told them he was racially prejudiced and capable of hurting people.
They interviewed her a second time after he was in jail charged with second degree murder. When they asked her why she had waited so long to report the sexual abuse, she said it was the first time she felt safe.
A virtual tsunami of outrage and disgust swept the country and the world after the media reported W9’s accusations and various news organizations posted her two tape recorded statements on their websites.
Anticipating the public furor that would follow the release of the tape recorded statements, Zimmerman’s defense attorney, Mark O’Mara, posted the following statement on his website:
The defense moved to block the public release of Witness #9’s statement in a motion filed on June 18, 2012 contending “The content of this statement is not relevant to the issues of this case, and it would not be admissible in the State’s case in chief.” The motion further contends that this irrelevant statement should be withheld from public dissemination [pursuant to Florida’s Sunshine Law] because of the substantial risk that public disclosure will lead to widespread hostile publicity which would substantially impair the Defendant’s fair trial rights, and would pose a serious threat to the administration of justice.
That request was denied on July 13, 2012 by Judge Lester. Because there is a [defense] Motion for Disqualification [of Judge Lester] pending, this morning [Monday, July 16th], we asked the prosecution not to release Witness #9’s statement until there was a ruling on the Motion for Disqualification. This is an appropriate request as, should the motion for disqualification be granted, reconsideration of recent rulings by the judge is appropriate. However, the prosecution elected to make the public disclosure anyway.
Did Mark O’Mara handle this matter appropriately, or did he fumble the ball?
For the following reasons, I contend that he fumbled the ball prejudicing his client.
Let’s review the facts, keeping in mind that W9 made two statements. Statement 1 was about race and Statement 2 was about sexual molestation.
1. 05/24/2012: State files a Request for a Protective Order seeking non-disclosure of W9’s statement;
2. 05/24/2012: Defendant’s concurrence;
3. 06/01/2012: Hearing on the Request for a Protective Order;
4. 06/13/2012: Order Denying Request for Protective Order;
5. 06/18/2012: Defendant’s Motion for Reconsideration specifically mentioning W9’s second statement (accusing defendant of sexual molestation), but not describing the subject matter;
6. 06/29/2012: State’s Response to Motion to Reconsider Disclosure;
7. 07/13/2012: Defendant’s Motion to Disqualify (filed at 11:20 am);
8. 0713/2012: Order Denying Motion for Reconsideration (filed @ 12:02 pm). Judge Lester says W9’s statement is admissible and should be released to the media because race may be an issue at trial;
9. 07/16/2012: Defendant’s Motion for Stay of Order Denying Reconsideration (filed at 10:56 am) arguing that the order must be stayed until the Motion to Disqualify is decided because it was filed first.
10. State releases W9’s two tape recorded statements at 11 am.
Keep in mind that neither side wanted to disclose the sex statement in a pleading that could be viewed by the public. Instead, O’Mara referred to statements 1 and 2, without clarifying that they involved different subject matter.
What we got here is . . . failure to communicate.
Judge Lester apparently thought both statements referred to race because he specifically said the statement might be admissible since race might be an issue. I am not surprised that he assumed both statements referred to race because the discovery released to date contains multiple recorded statements by witnesses concerning the same incident or subject matter.
The order was filed at 12:02 pm on Friday the 13th (oh, the irony), approximately 30 minutes after O’Mara filed his Motion to Disqualify. Therefore, he had Friday afternoon, the weekend, and Monday morning until 11 am to obtain an order directing the prosecution to hold off on releasing W9’s statement 2 until the matter could be reconsidered, but he did not git ‘r done.
He also did not appeal the order to the Court of Appeals.
The problem was further complicated by the judge going on vacation this past week and next week. Therefore, O’Mara had to act Friday afternoon. However, even if Judge Lester had been available Monday, he could not have acted on the motion to stop the release of W9’s statement before the prosecution released it, since the motion was filed only 4 minutes before the statement was released.
What should have been done?
An emergency oral motion and argument via conference telephone call on Friday afternoon seems to be the most obvious solution, but it did not happen. Alternatively, an emergency request for a stay before the presiding judge on Monday morning might have worked, or an emergency appeal to the Court of Appeals.
O’Mara did not attempt any of these options.
Will the evidence be admissible at trial?
Not during the State’s case in chief because it does not fall into one of the categories of admissible uncharged misconduct evidence that is admissible pursuant to Rule 404(b). If and only if the defendant were to open the door by introducing evidence that he has a law abiding, peaceful and non-violent nature, would the prosecution be able to march through the open door and confront him with W9’s accusation that he was a child molester. That is extremely unlikely to happen.
Therefore, there is no good reason to believe the evidence will be admitted at trial.
Should W9’s statement have been released to the media?
Probably not, under Florida Freedom Newspapers Inc., v. McCrary, 520 So.2d 32, 35 (Florida 1988) because:
(a) restricting public access to it was necessary to prevent a serious and imminent threat to the administration of justice;
(b) no alternative, other than a change of venue would protect Zimmerman’s right to a fair trial; and
(c) closure would be effective to protect Zimmerman’s right to a fair trial, without being broader than necessary to accomplish that purpose.
How much damage has been caused by the release of the statement?
How does one unring a bell rung round the world? The damage to Zimmerman’s defense is incalculable and the parties will not know how far and wide it may have spread until they attempt to select a jury.
Will they be able to select a jury?
Yes, I believe they will be able to eventually seat a jury of people who claim not to know about W9’s allegation or, if they do, they will claim to be able to disregard it in deciding whether the State has proven Zimmerman guilty of murder in the second degree beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sayin’ it’s so, don’t mean it’s so.
If he is convicted, will this be an issue on appeal?
Not likely. If they are able to seat such a jury and it convicts Zimmerman, a reviewing court will assume the jury followed the law and did not consider W9’s allegation in deciding the case.
If he is convicted, could this be an issue raised as an ineffective assistance of counsel claim in a state or federal habeas petition?
No, for the same reason.
This was an avoidable mishap that never should have happened. Mark O’Mara bears the responsibility for letting this issue slip through his fingers. But for being so busy cranking out his groundless Motion to Disqualify Judge Lester, he might have had the time and the energy to correct the problem before 11 am on Monday morning.
The convergence of coincidences is remarkable, however, almost as if this happened according to “God’s Plan.”
206 Comments | Crime, Evidence, George Zimmerman, Murder 2, Trayvon Martin, Uncategorized, Uncharged Misconduct | Tagged: -sexual molestation, Florida Sunshine Law, George Zimmerman, right to a fair trial, Rule 404(b), Trayvon Martin, uncharged misconduct, unringing the bell | Permalink
Zimmerman: I Love the Smell of Napalm in the Morning
The you-know-what hit the proverbial fan today in the George Zimmerman case.
The prosecution released W9’s damning account of being raped and molested by George Zimmerman over a 10 year period that began when she was 6 years old. W9 is his cousin. She is two years younger than him. The rapes she endured involved digital penetration of her vagina and the molestations involved fondling.
She submitted out of fear. She feared him physically and she feared her family would not believe her because he was so good at charming everyone. She finally mustered up the courage to terminate the abuse by running away from him and leaving the house. She told her parents, who told his parents, but nothing happened except he stopped attending joint family get-togethers. Her parents discouraged her from reporting the crimes to the police and she did not do so until he was in custody after he shot and killed Trayvon Martin. When asked by police investigators why she waited until then to report the crimes, she said she finally felt safe to do so.
I listened to her account and I thought it was very credible. Don’t kid yourselves, child victims of sex abuse rarely report the abuse because they are afraid they will not be believed and afraid of reprisals. This lady has a lot of guts and courage to come forward with these allegations knowing as she must have known that the information might become public.
Question: What impact will this have on selecting a jury in the murder case?
Answer: It will definitely complicate seating a fair and impartial jury, but the State of Florida was able to do that in the Casey Anthony case and I have no doubt they will be able to do so in the Zimmerman case.
We are immersed in this case, but many people are barely following it, if at all. The court will deal with the pretrial publicity issue by moving the trial to another county or importing a jury from another county, which is what happened in the Casey Anthony case. By questioning prospective jurors individually (i.e., out of the presence of other prospective jurors), the judge and the lawyers will be able to find out how much each juror knows about the case and whether a juror has formed an opinion about GZ’s guilt or innocence.
This precaution has worked in the past and it will work again.
Question: Is the evidence admissible at trial?
Answer: Not unless the defense opens the door by introducing evidence that GZ is a person of good character. If the defense opens the door, you will be able to hear a garbage truck backing up to the courtroom door with a load of bad character evidence to be provided in damning detail by W9 and anyone else they can find between now and the trial. According to W9, btw, there is another victim, but she is reluctant to come forward. Who knows, she might change her mind. For example, think of the recently concluded Sandusky case.
The rule in question is Rule 404(b) which prohibits the admissibility of uncharged misconduct unless it is probative of the defendant’s intent, knowledge, motive or opportunity, common scheme or plan, consciousness of guilt or absence of mistake or accident.
The evidence is inadmissible since it does not fall into any of these exceptions, unless the defense opens the door by introducing evidence of good character.
Like I said, Katie bar the door, if that happens.
While we are on the subject of uncharged misconduct evidence, let us not forget Shellie Zimmerman’s perjury and GZ’s role in putting her up to it and assisting her to conceal the Peter Pan account and lie about it in court (i.e., the internet donation account).
As Judge Lester said in his recent order setting bail, it would not have been unreasonable for the Court to have concluded that, but for the GPS bracelet, the defendant would have used his second passport to flee the country with $130,000 of other people’s money after he bailed out the first time.
If that was his intent, evidence of his role would be admissible under rule 404(b) as consciousness of guilt, for the same reason that evidence of flight to avoid prosecution is admissible to show consciousness of guilt.
I have written about this possibility before and, as I stated then, the prosecution probably will need Shellie Zimmerman’s cooperation and testimony against GZ to make that case.
Will W9’s statement be the straw that breaks Shellie Zimmerman’s back and sends her knock knock knockin’ on the door to the prosecutor’s office?
Who knows, she might even throw in an admission that GZ did not kill TM in self-defense.
Question:What about W9’s statements about racism in the Zimmerman family. Are they admissible?
Answer: No. W9’s testimony about family racism is not admissible because it’s not specific to GZ. She did not mention any specific instances where he expressed racist beliefs or epithets. and even if he had done so, it still would likely be inadmissible. Otherwise, it might be admissible under rule 404(b) to show evidence of motive.
Question: Are there any other foreseeable consequences?
Answer: Yes. The most immediate and probable consequence of this revelation today, other than a dramatic world-wide increase in disgust for George Zimmerman, should be a dramatic collapse of financial support via internet contributions to his defense fund.
Should be interesting to see what his supporters come up with to defend him. Are they vile enough to mount a full-fledged attack against W9 the way Rush Limbaugh attacked Sandra Fluke?
Will Fox News reach a new low in entertainment reportage?
Question: What’s up with his lawyers?
Answer: The not-ready-for-prime-time defense team still isn’t ready. They should have filed an appeal on Friday or first thing this morning in the Court of Appeals along with a request for an emergency stay ordering the prosecution to not release the information pending the outcome of the appeal.
This inexplicable failure coming on the heels of the reckless and legally groundless motion to disqualify Judge Lester looks really bad.
Apparently, O’Mara has asked for reciprocal discovery on W9 and that is not a good move at this time because it looks so thuggish.
Why posture like that when she is unlikely to testify?
Question: Did Judge Lester really have to release W9’s statement to the media under the Sunshine Law?
Answer: I do not know, but if so, this is a perfect case to get before the State Supreme Court to carve out a privacy exception to protect victims of uncharged crimes, especially sexual crimes, from having their stories published for all the world to see when it is not likely that they will ever testify.
I am appalled by their failure to file a timely appeal.
135 Comments | Crime, George Zimmerman, Injunctive Relief, Motion To Seal Or Unseal Court File, Murder 2, Perjury, Representing the Difficult Client, Self-defense, Shellie Zimmerman, Stand Your Ground, Trayvon Martin, Uncategorized, Uncharged Misconduct, Voir Dire | Tagged: Flight to avoid prosecution as admissible evidence of consciousness of guilt, George Zimmerman, Perjury, Rule 404(b), Shellie Zimmerman, Witness 9 sexual molestation | Permalink
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Scientists May Have Just Created the Most Absorbent Solar Cell Ever
The innovative technology harnesses nearly all the energy in light by using a stacked series of solar 'sieves'.
Chelsea GohdJuly 17th 2017
/ Green Energy
/ Material
/ Solar Power
/Green Energy
/Material
/Solar Power
The Solar Panel of the Future
Scientists have developed a solar cell that is capable of converting direct sunlight into electricity with 44.5 percent efficiency — making it, potentially, the most efficient solar cell in the world. Current solar technology only converts electricity with a maximum efficiency of about 25 percent. The impressive cell works by stacking multiple layers of solar hardware into a single cell, each of which absorbs a different aspect of the solar spectrum.
This new tech is innovative compared to other cells in two regards. First, it uses transfer printing, which allowed the scientists to assemble the component parts with a high degree of precision. Second, it uses materials derived from gallium antimonide (GaSb) substrates, which are usually reserved for infrared lasers and photodetectors, in order to absorb every part of the direct sunlight.
Matthew Lumb, lead author on the study, stated that “our new device is able to unlock the energy stored in the long-wavelength photons, which are lost in conventional solar cells, and therefore provides a pathway to realizing the ultimate multi-junction solar cell.”
The Solar Revolution
As with any piece of energy converting technology, in order to maximize the amount of energy produced, one can either increase the quantity of converters, or improve the efficiency of the converters themselves. If this technology is scaled up, solar panels would require roughly half the space to produce the same amount of energy as the systems in place today due to their greater efficiency.
Although producing the initial was expensive, this experiment — and others like it — are crucial to show the upper limits of what is possible in solar technology. It has established a precedent, and the space in the market for another individual to make the cell cost effective.
Solar power already accounts for an increasing amount of energy produced worldwide, and it is becoming ever cheaper. Therefore, it is important to continue to find ways that make solar energy more and more effective so that it can surpass fossil-fuel based energy and become a green energy source capable of helping our planet (and us) to survive the harm we have caused it.
Report: The U.S. Will Exceed Its Paris Accord Goals Despite Trump’s Official Withdrawal
The Cost of Solar Will Drop Another 25% by 2022
Wind Energy Has Officially Become Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels
Renewable Energy in the U.S. Broke Energy Records for the First Time
A New “Solar Paint” Lets You Transform Your Entire House Into a Source of Clean Energy
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I speak as an experienced activist myself. I have supported an actual sane presidential candidate, and been mocked for it. I have reached out to my fellow citizens, and been summarily ignored. I have shut down access to a BP gas station. For that, the cops threw me in jail for sixteen hours, surrounded by shit, vomit, and horribly bright lights. I have even tried to get cars off of our sidewalks and run into roadblocks every step of the way. So, sure, there are many activists who are more experiences than me, but I do write from a position of experience.
As discussed earlier, the first step to combating AIDS is prevention: don’t get the disease in the first place. Our particular culture, the dominant culture, is so clearly diseased that prevention will not work with us. But prevention is still important, because there are still a very few cultures which civilization has not infected yet, and we must take care to protect these cultures. Unfortunately, the main vector of infection of another culture is via rape, which is the hardest to protect against, just as the same is true of AIDS. Once civilization has completed the exploitation of another culture for their natural and human resources, another diseased culture will result. For examples, see almost every indigenous culture in the history of the world, which after being forcefully brought into the culture of civilization does not respect life in the same ways in which it had.
I speak as an experienced activist myself. I have supported an actual sane presidential candidate, and been mocked for it. I have reached out to my fellow citizens, and been summarily ignored. I have shut down access to a BP gas station. For that, the cops threw me in jail for sixteen hours, surrounded by shit, vomit, and horribly bright lights. I have even <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #ff0000;">tried to get</span> cars off of our sidewalks and run into roadblocks every step of the way. So, sure, there are many activists who are more experiences than me, but I do write from a position of experience. I speak as an experienced activist myself. I have supported an actual sane presidential candidate, and been mocked for it. I have reached out to my fellow citizens, and been summarily ignored. I have shut down access to a BP gas station. For that, the cops threw me in jail for sixteen hours, surrounded by shit, vomit, and horribly bright lights. I have even <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #ff0000;">tried to get</span> cars off of our sidewalks and run into roadblocks every step of the way. So, sure, there are many activists who are more experienced than me, but I do write from a position of experience.
As discussed earlier, the first step to combating AIDS <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;">is</span> prevention: don't get the disease in the first place. Our particular culture, the dominant culture, <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;">is</span> so clearly diseased that prevention will not work with us. But prevention <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;">is</span> still important, because there <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;">are</span> still a very few cultures which civilization has not infected yet, and we must take care to protect these cultures. Unfortunately, the main vector of infection of another culture is via rape, which is the hardest to protect against, just as the same is true of AIDS. Once civilization has completed the exploitation of another culture for their natural and human resources, another diseased culture will result. For examples, see almost every indigenous culture in the history of the world, which after being forcefully brought into the culture of civilization does not respect life in the same ways in which it had. As discussed earlier, the first step to combating AIDS <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;">is</span> prevention: don't get the disease in the first place. Our particular culture, the dominant culture, <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;">is</span> so clearly diseased that prevention will not work with us. But prevention <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;">is</span> still important, because there <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;">are</span> still a very few cultures which civilization has not infected yet, and we must take care to protect these cultures. Unfortunately, the main vector of infection of another culture is via rape, which is the hardest to protect against, just as the same is true of AIDS. Once civilization has completed the exploitation of another culture for their natural and human resources, another diseased culture will result. For examples, see almost every indigenous culture in the history of the world, which after being forcefully brought into the culture of civilization does not respect life in the same ways in which it had, if it is allowed to exist at all.
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Dad says trusted ex-girlfriend charged in killing of his son
Posted 5:26 pm, November 3, 2018, by AP Wire
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A man whose ex-girlfriend is charged in the killing of his 4-year-old son in Missouri says he believed she would take care of his child while he visited his ailing mother in Chicago.
Kijuanis Gray told WLS-TV in Chicago that he “trusted” Quatavia Givens, 26, to look after his son, Darnell Gray, at his home in Jefferson City, and that he “wasn’t expecting her to do this.”
Givens was charged Wednesday with neglect or abuse of a child resulting in death. No attorney who can speak on her behalf is listed in online court records.
After Givens reported Darnell missing on Oct. 25, authorities went door-to-door, drained a retention pond and used a helicopter in the search for the boy. Givens didn’t tell authorities where his body was until after it was found Tuesday in a wooded area in Jefferson City, according to charging documents. An autopsy determined he had suffered blunt and sharp force trauma.
“That’s my only child that I had, my only child,” said Gray, who described his son as smiley and “goofy.” ”He loved to run around with me. He loved to play basketball.”
Caregiver charged in death of 4-year-old Missouri boy she reported missing
Gray told the TV station he moved from Chicago to Missouri a few years ago because he “wanted a better life,” and brought his son to Missouri six months ago. Gray said he’s no longer with Darnell’s mother, who still lives in Chicago.
Police Lt. David Williams declined to identify Darnell’s parents or specify the relationship between Givens and Darnell’s father, saying the department doesn’t identify parents of juvenile victim. But he did say Givens and the father had separate addresses about one block apart at the time Darnell’s disappearance. Williams said the father wasn’t in Jefferson City when he was contacted about his son’s disappearance.
Charging documents said Givens initially told officers that Darnell either was abducted or ran away during the night. She later told police that she hurt the child, saying “I may have hit him wrong,” the statement said. It also said Givens, who is jailed without bond, had told investigators she planned to travel to Florida “to get out of the area.”
Williams said the investigation is ongoing and that he couldn’t rule out additional charges against Givens or another suspect. “By no means do we think we are done,” he said.
Court records show that a man identified as a having had a “romantic/intimate social relationship” with Givens filed an order of protection against her in May 2016. No details were offered about why the order was sought. The man doesn’t have a listed phone number.
At the time of her arrest, Givens was on probation for stealing leased or rented property. Court documents said she owed money to Rent-A-Center for a four-piece bedroom set and mattress, which she hadn’t returned. Also, a court ruling issued last week ordered that Givens’ wages from First Group America Inc., which runs the school bus operator, First Student, to be garnished over the failure to make payments on a vehicle.
Jay Brock, a spokesman for First Group America, said Givens applied with the company in July but never completed training and was not offered a job. He said applicants who are undergoing training never interact with students.
Body of missing 4-year-old Missouri boy is found
Man sentenced to 54 years in prison for killing ex-girlfriend while 2-year-old was in home
Convicted pedophile charged in 1993 killing of Missouri girl
UN expert urges probe of Saudi prince over Khashoggi killing
Prosecutor will seek beyond maximum sentence for Shawnee couple accused of abusing 5-year-old
Baby dies weeks after being cut from his mother’s womb in Chicago
Parents charged with child abuse for missing follow-up appointments after baby had liver transplant
Shawnee daycare shut down after parents find 6-month-old son was possibly abused
Mom of man killed in Gladstone hit-and-run says her son was killed by a friend
Kansas City couple files wrongful death lawsuit in son’s 2016 killing
KC man sentenced to 21 years in prison in beating death of girlfriend’s 1-year-old son
Metro mother vows for justice after son unintentionally shoots, kills 9-year-old brother
Five years later, man charged in 2014 killing at Kansas City apartment
3 charged after Facebook post asking for baby supplies leads police to missing pregnant woman’s body
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What Happened to the X-Men in Logan?
Barry W Stanton
If you saw the 2017 superhero film you might have been struck by the noticeable absence of mutants. Strange considering that the Marvel universe is full of them, and with both Wolverine and Charles Xavier front and center, the lack of any other X-Men left some scratching their heads. The film does not go out of its way to tell you what happened, but there are a number of hints throughout the film that allow us to extrapolate the timeline.
So let’s break down the evidence.
Logan is broadly based on an excellent comic book, called Old Man Logan, and it shares a number of plot points with the hit film. The absence of the X-Men is one of them. In the original story, Wolverine is rushing to defend the X-Mansion from an attack, unable to find any of the X-Men on site he single-handedly demolishes all comers. It is revealed shortly after that there was no attack, or rather he was the attack. The enemies he had just viciously slaughtered were the X-Men, glamoured by one of Mysterio’s illusions. It is important in developing the now downtrodden Wolverine we see in that story, but it’s not quite the direction they went within the film.
Professor Xavier took out the X-Men in the film, during one of his mind destroying fits. The decaying mind of Professor X is classified as a Weapon of Mass Destruction and is a focal point of the film. There is a reference to what he did “Out East”, easily in the film, a hint at the what happened to the X-Men. Logan and X-23 are both able to weather the damage, due to their powers, which is why he is doing what he can to get Xavier out and away from the general populous.
It is shortly after the casino scene, were Xavier’s dangers are revealed, that we hear of a similar accident in Westchester, where hundreds of people were paralyzed or injured, including some X-Men, and Westchester is where the X-Mansion is located. Xavier, of course, doesn’t know any of this. Throughout the film, Logan keeps it from him. But he isn’t entirely to blame for the lack of mutants in the setting.
In the setting, Dr. Zander Rice created a formula that suppresses the mutant gene. It was his attempt at controlling the growing mutant population. It was added to genetically altered corn syrup and distributed among the population. The results were a little more erratic than the good doctor, or the bad doctor had originally intended. It led to a near extinction of the mutant population. There are a few stragglers unaffected by both Dr. Rice and Professor X, most notably Stephen Merchant’s Caliban, not to be confused with Kaliban.
So there we are. Logan is supposed to be the final appearance of Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman in the roles of Xavier and Wolverine respectively, and while I am sad to see them move on from the roles, they could not have picked a better film to do it on.
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Irish born writer who drinks too much caffeine and reads too much Terry Pratchett. I enjoy long walks on the server and Korean cuisine.
Kids Spend Nearly $700 On FIFA Packs, Parents Get Good News...
Four kids went on a shopping spree in football game FIFA, which offers microtransactions in its popular game mode Ultimate Team. The father, Thomas...
Greece Now Recognizes Venezuela’s Juan Guaido
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5 ideas about a movie: Renegades
Welcome to a review of a film that I had no intentions of seeing but somehow ended up actually entertained by. This is the review of Renegades!
IMDb summary: A team of Navy SEALs discover an underwater treasure in a Bosnian lake.
If you have never heard about this movie, I’m not surprised. It comes from the Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp company that has been struggling a lot with the release of its films, both in its native Europe but especially in the US (Renegades has even been taken off the release schedule in the USA, but it did already premiere in some European countries and will expand the market throughout September). Not only has this film been made by Besson’s company but he actually produced it and penned its script, together with Richard Wenk (who wrote The Expendables 2, The Equalizer, Jack Reacher 2, and The Magnificient Seven). Besson has already lost a ton of money on Valerian and I don’t really see Renegades being super profitable either.
In general, the writing for the film wasn’t bad: it also wasn’t the most original, smart or believable but it was still somewhat entertaining. The jokes and the funny banter between the soldiers were funny, while the details of their plan to get the gold out of the lake were actually quite interesting. I also liked how the movie incorporated the idea that some people, during the times of war, would rather destroy their home than see it fall into the enemy’s hands. Lastly, Renegades also had a surprising philanthropic message, although, it was advertised as, more or less, a selfish robbery story.
Steven Quale directed Renegades and did an okay job. This might actually be his best movie to date, as his previous films include Final Destination 5 and Into the Storm. Before his solo directing projects, he was a second unit director on James Cameron’s pictures. The pacing of Renegades was fine, while the action – okay too. The underwater sequences were a bit hard to follow, though.
The 5 leads of the movie were played by mostly unknown actors. They were basically The Expendables without the years of glory, consisting of: Sullivan Stapleton (300: Rise of an Empire is probably his best known previous film), Charlie Bewley (has worked on mostly young adult TV shows and movies), Diarmaid Murtagh (TV actor), Joshua Henry (Broadway actor), and Dimitri Leonidas (a few small roles in indie films). They had good enough chemistry and were believable as crazy Americans, wrecking havoc in Europe (though the majority of them are not actually Americans).
The supporting cast of the picture had a few recognizable stars, like J.K. Simmons (La La Land, Patriot’s Day, The Accountant, Terminator Genisys), whose reaction faces were hilarious (still, I’m not sure how he wandered onto the set of this movie), and Ewen Bremmer, who played a combined version of his two previous characters from Trainspotting 2 and Wonder Woman. A Dutch actress Sylvia Hoeks was the lone female in the film and she did a good job. Still, since she played a Bosnian local, I’d have loved to see a native of the region taking on the role and being exposed to a wider audience. Hoeks’s career is also on a rise, as she is next appearing in Blade Runner 2049.
In short, Renegades is a perfectly forgettable and expendable actioner that isn’t worth the full cinema ticket price but is absolutely serviceable as a rental or a TV rerun.
Trailer: Renegades trailer
September 6, 2017 Lou Tagged 300, action, action film, action movie, actioner, blade runner, blade runner 2049, charlie bewley, cinema, diarmaid murtagh, dimitri leonidas, europacorp, european blockbuster, ewen bremmer, film, film review, film reviews, filming, films, final destination, into the storm, j.k. simmons, jack reacher, jack reacher never go back, james cameron, jk simmons, joshua henry, la la land, luc besson, lucy, motion picture, motion picture review, motion pictures, movie, movie film, movie preview, movie review, movie reviews, movies, patriot's day, renegades, renegades movie, renegades review, review, richard wenk, steven quale, sullivan stapleton, sylvia hoeks, t2, terminator genisys, the accountant, the equalizer, the expendables, the magnificent seven, trainspotting, valerian, valerian and a city of a thousand planets, wonder woman, writing 3 Comments
Movie review: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Welcome to another birthday movie review! For the past 3 years, I have spent my birthdays at the cinema, always watching a comic book movie. In 2014, it was Guardians of the Galaxy, in 2015 – Ant-Man, and just last year – Suicide Squad. Well, this year, neither DC nor Marvel are releasing films in August, so, I’m branching out and giving a chance to Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets – a film, based on a French comic book Valerian and Laureline, advertised by the director Luc Besson as ‘the ‘it’ European blockbuster’, that is as good as its Hollywood counterparts.
IMDb summary: A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
The French filmmaker, known for 1990s’ classics Léon: The Professional and The Fifth Element and that Scarlett Johansson Black Widow addition film – Lucy, both wrote and directed Valerian. Besson was a fan of the comic book by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières growing up but didn’t seriously consider adapting the property until Avatar showed him what can be done with CGI. I, personally, was quite interested in the film as I love the sci-fi genre as well as the previous work of the director. However, I seemed to have been the only one, as Valerian didn’t really click with the critics, nor the audiences. To be fair, even if the audiences liked the movie, no amount of the box office money could have justified the insanely huge budget. The decision to cast financially unproven leads didn’t help the film either.
The writing for the film was quite a mixed bag. The story itself was actually quite interesting, however, it was way too drawn out. A lot of the plotlines truly felt like an excuse for the CGI team and the director to showcase more of the spectacular effects. If a lot of the scenes of the characters, aimlessly wandering around, would have been cut, the final product would have had a much tighter and more exciting adventure narrative. I didn’t hate the expositional scenes, though. I actually quite liked the silent opening of the film – the establishment of Alpha – and I did appreciate that the characters spelled out the plot points to the audience during the third act because the walking (or running) around scenes made me kinda lose track of the purpose of their journey.
Thematically, the two leads weren’t bad. I enjoyed the fact that the two of them represented different ideas – Valerian was all about the rules, while Laureline was more rebellious. Nevertheless, the character of Valerian bugged me because of how inconsistent he seemed. Although all the promotional booklets that I received prior to this film (one at the cinema and one during the Free Comic Book Day) introduced Valerian as super ambitious and career-driven major, in the picture, he seemed more interested in advancing his relationship with Laureline rather than getting to a higher career level. In truth, the whole romantic aspect of the movie wasn’t fully working for me and seemed a bit pushed.
The visuals have been the most universally praised part of the film and I feel confident in seconding those praises. Valerian looked magnificent – from the character and the location designs to the scope, the CGI was both inventive and of good quality. It didn’t look photo-realistic, but it was a brilliant realization of a vision of fantasy. The sweeping shots of the market at the begging as well as the sequence of Valerian’s chasing the intruders through the Alpha station were two of my favorite parts of the film. The scene with Rihanna – her performance – was too long. Also, I wanted it to have more of the amazing transformations and fewer elements of a strip club-like dance. Lastly, the runtime (which I already mentioned) – Valerian was way way way too long. Honestly, halfway through the film, I could already feel its self-indulgence.
However unproven this cast was as the box office draws, I still mostly enjoyed them in the roles. I’ve been a fan of Cara Delevigne (Paper Towns, Suicide Squad) before she started acting and I always believed that she had a natural kind of charisma that shines through her acting. That might be because a lot of the characters are extensions of herself (rebellious, charming, and beautiful). Even though I think she is quite charismatic on her own, her chemistry with the co-star Dane DeHaan was not to be found. On his own, DeHaan hasn’t really blown me away as of yet and I still feel the same after Valerian. He was bearable in the role and I doubt that his career will get much of a boost. More importantly, if his box office numbers don’t improve, he might not get another chance. He might actually be better off sticking with smaller dramas than big actioners.
The involvement of more serious, indie and niche actors, like Clive Owen, Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), and Sam Spruell (Sand Castle) was supposed to give this movie more gravitas, but I’m not entirely sure that that plan worked. These serious actors did seem a bit like caricatures of themselves, acting with all that green screen. Rihanna (Battleship, soon Ocean’s Eight) was fine in the brief cameo performance. (Fun fact: I saw her live at a concert almost exactly a year ago). However, her appearance in the film should have been played up way more – that might have been the only saying grace of this movie’s ad campaign. Speaking about the things that still might save this film – that’s Chinese audiences and the Chinese star Kris Wu, who has a small yet stereotypically crucial (plot-wise) role in the film. He made his Hollywood debut just earlier this year, in XXX: Return of Xander Cage.
In short, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a grand and gorgeous film, with a runtime (and story) that’s even longer than the film’s name.
Trailer: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets trailer
August 1, 2017 August 1, 2017 Lou Tagged a cure for wellness, action, action film, action movie, aplha, battleship, blockbuster, box office, boyhood, budget, cara delevigne, cgi, cinema, cinema review, clive owen, comic book, comic book movie, comic books, comics, dane deehan, dane dehaan, ethan hawke, europe, european blockbuster, european film, film, film review, film reviews, filming, films, france, free comic book day, french film, king arthur, kris wu, leon the professional, luc besson, lucy, motion picture, motion picture review, motion pictures, movie, movie film, movie preview, movie review, movie reviews, movies, ocean's eight, paper towns, return of xander cage, rihanna, sam spurell, sand castle, summer movies, the amazing spider man, the fifth element, transformations, valerian, valerian and laureline, valerian and the city of a thousand planets, valerian film, valerian movie, valerian review, visual film, visuals, xxx 6 Comments
Movie review: Interstellar
On Monday, I went to see Interstellar – the newest film by the genius Christopher Nolan and this is going to be my review. Sorry that it comes out 4 days later than it should have – my PC crashed once again. SPOILERS AHEAD.
IMDb Summary: A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in an attempt to find a potentially habitable planet that will sustain humanity.
First of all, let’s begin by saying that I knew almost absolutely nothing about the film before going to see it. I have watched the trailer but deliberately didn’t read any of the reviews or articles about it. Only piece of information I had was that this was a Nolan movie and that was enough for me to get excited. Moreover, I enjoyed last year’s Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity (you cannot not talk about Gravity when talking about Interstellar; everybody will compare them because they came out so close to each other). I also wanted to see if McConaissance is continuing and was curious, whether this was Anne Hathaway‘s role that will finally stop all the hate she is getting.
As I have previously said and you have already probably known if you live on this Earth and go on the Internet regularly, this movie is directed by Christopher Nolan. I called him genius in my introduction because I really admire his work, The Dark Knight is a peak of superhero movies and simply a masterpiece, Inception is a psychological mystical thriller that questions reality and Interstellar is a bit of both. It has the ability to question people’s existence like Inception and also an emotional impact of The Dark Knight. I really want to watch other, older Nolan movies, like Memento, Following, and Insomnia. He is probably the only director that big studious trust with huge amounts of money (Interstellar has cost $165 million) and a lot of creative freedom. This movie is an original idea in a reboot, sequel and spin-off world. I hope that this Warner Bros-Nolan relationship will continue because it has been working great so far.
Matthew McConaughey was amazing in his role as Cooper. The McConaissance continues. I hope he will receive at least an Oscar nomination. While I might think that the whole movie won’t get a Best Picture nomination (more about that later) he definitely deserves another Best Actor nomination and/ or another win (however, the competition is really strong this year – actually, it is getting stronger every year). The reason why I believe he should be nominated is that he sold the emotional connection between the father and daughter. You were really rooting for him to come back to his family. His scenes in space while piloting a ship or crashing one were also really well acted and believable.
Anne Hathaway’s character Brand wasn’t my favorite in the film and you know why? Because she just reminded me so much of Sandra Bullock. They both even look kind of the same. And I didn’t really understand some of her decisions when they were in space, they seemed a bit stupid. Although, her character was right in the end: They should have gone to the third planet because that one was survivable. I love Anne as an actress (even did a whole post about her), but they could have casted someone else instead of her.
Mackenzie Foy, who you might remember as Renesmee from Twilight saga, was really good in her role as young Murph. She sold the other part of the father- daughter relationship and I believe that she will go far as an actress. Jessica Chaistan who played the adult Murph was also really good; I could believe that Foy could grow up looking someone like Chaistan, so good casting of that role. I wasn’t familiar with Chaistan’s work before but I really want to know more about her and to watch more of her work – she got me hooked.
Michael Caine wasn’t a particularly likeable character and I didn’t really connect with him much. He wasn’t used enough as in his other recent film – Stonehearst Asylum (review).
TARS voiced by Bill Irwin was such a likeable robot, I loved his humor.
Wes Bentley was quite good in his role as well but, when SPOILER they killed him off, I wasn’t really surprised. They definitely weren’t planning to kill off Oscar winners or fan boy favorites in the first hour of a 3 hour film.
Murph’s science partner/ love interest (?) was also a so-so character; he kind of appeared out of nowhere two hours into the film. He was played by Topher Grace and, after googling him, I had found out that he was Murph’s husband,.
Cooper’s son played by “the other Affleck” (Casey Affleck) was also an undeveloped character. It seemed that his father forgot all about him or even didn’t care much in the first place.
Matt Damon as Doctor Mann was really good in his role but his intention were unclear to me.
Addressing the longevity of the film, it didn’t seem too long for me because I was really engaged in the story. However, I do believe that the first two hours felt quite disconnected from the final act.
The film tried to connect 2 different plotlines: family drama and astronomy/end of the world crisis. I believe that they really succeed for the bigger part of the film. At first, they started with a family story that quite coincidentally turned into a space odyssey. Then they moved to a science fiction part of the film and exposed the viewers to a tremendous amount of real scientific facts about the universe. But then, the movie kind of lost it for me because it ventured into mystical and supernatural territory. Everybody, who has seen the movie, knows which part I am talking about. While I do love physics and astronomy and believe that people will be able to understand dimensions and space-time as physical elements and will reach huge scientific heights someday, I couldn’t wrap my head around it at that very moment. I had the same problems with Luc Besson’s Lucy with Scarlet Johansson. Do you remember the scene where she is transferring her brain, which is working 100 percent, into a computer? And that computer turns into…. I don’t even know how to describe it. But in both cases, I felt that the ending was too detached, too unrealistic and too unimaginable for a human mind and even a bit illogical. And the concluding idea that love is the most powerful and, moreover, a quantifiable element tried to turn movie back to a family drama storyline but didn’t succeed. It sounds like I am nitpicking the movie but I actually really liked it and I am only thinking how Nolan could have made it even better. I had the same problem with another Nolan movie The Prestige
– the mivie was so grounded and the ending was completely out of the ordinary. Still, it’s a great film that messed my mind up (in a good way.)
I don’t have a favorite scene of the film because there were just so many great ones both visually and story wise; I do have a favorite scientific part of the motion picture – relativity theory. The running of time and different speeds of it fascinate me. I like to imagine that people will learn how to manipulate time and that we will learn how to live forever by travelling to places were time runs slower.
The visuals of the space were breathtaking and that flying thought the wormhole scene was one of the most beautiful shot scenes I have ever seen. They also did an amazing job with Earth’s scenes and really established it as a horrible place to live.
I loved the musical score of the film by Hans Zimmer. It was even more memorable for me than Inception’s dunnnnn (Inception sound effect).
All in all, I had a great time watching this film, though some people didn’t like it as much (it has the lowest score of all Nolan movies on Rotten Tomatoes and critics aren’t super nice – that’s why I think it won’t get a Best Picture nomination). Personally, it appealed to me with the portrayal of unbreakable bond between father and daughter because I have a strong relationship with my dad. It satisfied the nerd side of me with the whole scientific stuff and once again made me believe in humanity and showed that we can go far as a species if we just work hard. I had issues with a few actors but the great performances of McConaughey and Chaistan as well as Foy made up for all the problems. Lastly, while the conclusion of the story was unbelievable and a bit insane, I really do hope that we will find a way to achieve inter-dimensional communication one day.
Trailer: Interstellar trailer
(Google Images)
November 13, 2014 November 24, 2014 Lou Tagged acting, actors, actres, actress, alfonso cuaron, anne hathaway, astronomy, batman begins, ben affleck, bill irwin, blockbuster, casey affleck, christopher nolan, cinematophraphy, cooper, directing, director, family drama, father daughter relationship, film, film review, filming, following, gravity, hans zimmer, heath ledgerthe dark knight rises, imdb, inception, insomnia, interstellar, jassica chaistan, joker, luc besson, lucy, mackenzie foy, matt damon, matthew mcconaughey, memento, michael caine, motion, motion picture, movie, movie review, music, music score, original idea, physics, plotlines, reboot, relationship, renesmee, review, sandra bullock, scarlet johansson, scroe, sequel, space, spin iff, spin off, stonehearst asylum, the dark knight, the fault in our stars, the prestige, topher grace, twillight, visuals, warner bross, wes bentley 15 Comments
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The EPL And Other European Leagues Kicks Off Nowadays.
by Morgan Mursch on December 25, 2017 in Sports Today
Jayne Kennedy first came onto the Hollywood scene as a dancer for Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In, alongside Goldie Hawn. Possibly if all parents would do that, the butt slapping in sports will be gone at final. In a sporting globe dominated by men’s athletics, media producers and advertisers have had to search for specific marketable qualities they can emphasize to produce a lot more consideration in women’s sports. There are other Aliquippa NFL players we tend to neglect Bob Liggett-Kansas City Chiefs. With the begin of the NFL football season, that seems to be the sport/recreational activity that folks are most interested in proper now, at least in this forum.
Some 10-year old boys nonetheless have powerful interests in certain characters (e.g. Harry Potter or Percy Jackson) or distinct sports teams or leagues. Paige Sherrard and Sam Draut…frequent contributors to The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour…also do a fine job of writing about UofL sports. Her long profession with ABC sports is testament to her recognition and long-standing trust with her viewing audience. Center Mike Webster is in the Hall Of Fame and is regarded as a single of, if not the, best center in NFL history.
There is a Thursday night game in the NFL (Chiefs at Raiders), 3 NBA games, nine NHL games and an MLB playoff game, with the Cubs trying to maintain their season alive in Game 5 of the NLCS vs. the Dodgers. And tackling is incredibly aggressive as befits one of the toughest sports in the world. Let us know what news and updates you want to hear about and we’ll send them straight to your inbox. I’ve grouped a range of gift tips for 10-year old boys into numerous categories below: (1) sports (two) technologies (three) practical gifts (four) gaming tips and (five) entertainment.
Chuck Bednarik was the last NFL player to play on both sides of the ball for each and every play, attaining the feat in 1960. The NFL has carried out a marvelous job making use of diverse platforms to market place its product to a society with minuscule focus spans on the 1 hand and stats geeks on the other. In 1975 this line only permitted eight sacks for the complete year, a then NFL record. However, on September 24, 2017, I watched the unfolding show by U.S. football teams concerning the U.S. national anthem, which is sung ahead of every single sports game.
Lastly, we reviewed almost everything we had discovered by completing our extremely own mini-book about the Summer Sports. Our so referred to as president (he doesn’t deserve a capital p) is attempting to force NFL owners into firing players who kneel throughout the playing of the National Anthem as a way of protesting their belief that police forces discriminate against African American males. Here are a couple of stand-out idiosyncracies that exist in the contemporary kind of both sports today. And politics, greed, and lust for power figure way as well prominently in sports, specifically in pro sports and, sadly, in my beloved college football.
Tags:european kicks leagues nowadays other
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Roundtable Session Themes and Government Teams
The themes addressed in the GFMD have evolved since its first meetings, showing both continuity on issues of continuing concern and the ability to incorporate new issues as they arise. The overarching theme of the Turkish Chairmanship was “Strengthening Partnerships: Human Mobility for Sustainable Development.” This theme signals recognition that international migration cannot be addressed effectively by any one country alone, or by states without the cooperation of other stakeholders—including international organizations, civil society, the private sector and migrants themselves. It also emphasizes that mobility within the right policy framework is a positive factor for development.
Three roundtables, each with two sessions, elaborated upon the overarching theme; in addition, three thematic meetings on cross-cutting issues were held to provide more evidence-based inputs into the RT discussions. The proposed themes for the roundtables and associated thematic meetings were as follows:
Roundtable 1: Human mobility and the well-being of migrants
The objective of this roundtable could be to identify specific forms of cooperation among states, and between states and other stakeholders, to a) protect and promote human rights in the context of mobility and b) to increase transparency and lower fees associated with recruitment and money transfer.
Session 1.1. Partnerships to promote inclusion and protect the human rights of all migrants in order to achieve the full benefits of migration
Co-Chairs: El Salvador, Philippines
Coordinators: Mr. Hasan Er and Mr. Can Aygül, Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities
Team Members: Algeria, Cameroon, Comoros, Cyprus, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, Holy See, Honduras, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Panama, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, United States
Non-state partners: ACP EU Migration Action, IFRC, ILO, IOM, KNOMAD, OHCHR, UNHCR, World Bank
Session 1.2. Reducing the human and financial costs of international migration, particularly labor migration: Cooperative approaches to fair recruitment practices and lower remittance fees
Co-Chairs: Russia, United Arab Emirates
Coordinator: Ms. Elif Algın, Ministry of Interior
Team Members: Angola, Bangladesh, Belgium, Cyprus, Egypt, France, India, Mauritius, Moldova, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Sweden, Switzerland
Non-state partners: IFAD, ILO, IOM, KNOMAD, OECD, World Bank
The importance of protecting the human rights of all migrants has been emphasized at every GFMD, with a particular focus on labor and social rights. Although awareness of the difficulties that migrants have in realizing their rights has been growing steadily, abuses are still far too common. Specific, pragmatic partnerships among countries of origin, transit, and destination, as well as non-governmental partners, may contribute in very tangible ways to the well-being of migrants and enhance their contributions to the development of their countries of origin and countries of destination. Partnerships for inclusion and the protection of migrants’ rights are particularly important in the light of emerging challenges associated with the relationship between mobility and security issues, and should be guided by the principle of shared responsibility and a development-based approach. All countries in the migratory cycle should promote and protect the human rights of all migrants irrespective of their migratory status.
Greater well-being flows from and contributes to the enhancement of migrants’ economic and social capabilities. One way of doing this is by making it possible for migrants to keep more of the money that they earn by lowering the transaction costs associated with mobility. Progress has been made in two areas that are central to the experience of many migrants: money transfer and labour recruitment. This roundtable may take stock of ongoing initiatives to reduce the costs of migration in these and other areas, implemented directly by states or through international organizations such as IOM, the World Bank and the ILO.
Migrants often pay high fees to recruitment agencies to gain access to a job abroad. In some cases, the job turns out to be much less rewarding or more dangerous than was promised, or does not exist at all. Control of recruitment is difficult, with many small operators and subcontractors who easily evade regulators. Recruitment processes have been analyzed in many parts of the world and principles have been articulated; the issue is ripe for policy development. Exposure of the problems, experiences and successes in various countries and in cooperative efforts among stakeholders, including governments, recruitment agencies, trade unions, private employers, civil society organizations and public services could illuminate the possibilities for promulgating fair recruitment practices.
The GFMD may give new impetus to efforts to reduce the costs to migrants of sending remittances to their countries of origin, through emphasizing the need for stronger partnerships between states, regulatory bodies and the private sector. All these partners need to work together to promote greater transparency and competition among money transfer agencies as well as the use of new technologies and products.
Roundtable 2: Migration as a factor in development
The outcome of this roundtable could be an in-depth exploration of sector-level integration of migration in planning, and a menu of strategies for implementing migration targets and indicators that may appear in the SDGs.
Session 2.1. Mainstreaming migration into planning at the sectoral level
Co-Chairs: Ecuador, Morocco
Coordinator: Ms. Melek Özgür Duman, Ministry of Development
Team Members: Australia, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Indonesia, Jamaica, Moldova, Philippines, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia
Non-state partners: ILO, IOM, KNOMAD, OECD, UNDP, World Bank
Session 2.2. Making migration work post-2015: implementing the SDGs
Co-Chairs: Bangladesh, Greece, Mexico
Team Members: Cameroon, Holy See, Honduras, Jamaica, Moldova, Philippines, Senegal, Sweden, Switzerland, Zimbabwe
Non-state partners: ACP EU Migration Action, IFRC, ILO, IOM, KNOMAD, OECD, OHCHR, UNDESA, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, World Bank
Assessing the impacts and the effects of migration in different sectors is of growing importance in many emerging economies. Migration considerations should be integrated into sector-specific development policies. Mainstreaming migration into deliberations across a wide range of policy fields in destination countries is also a significant factor in coherence among immigration policies, employment policies that address labor market needs, and development cooperation policies. The Turkish Chair-in-Office will build upon the outcomes of the second High Level Dialogue as well as GFMD discussions on mainstreaming.
The ability to retain and attract skilled labor, and to draw on the skills that reside in the diaspora, are essential to a country’s ability to remain competitive in the global economy. In globalized, skill-dependent sectors such as information technology, engineering, biotechnology, international finance and others, migration policy needs to be part of the national strategy. Case studies of the role of mobile talent in the development of particular sectors could provide some good practices for adaptation to other settings. The need for labour market and migration policies to recognize the demand for lower-skilled labour in sectors such as agriculture and care work, as well as the corresponding need to improve protections for these workers and enforcement of their rights, also needs further discussion.
By the time the 8th GFMD meets in Istanbul, the post-2015 development agenda will have taken shape. The immediate next steps will be to analyze the place of migration in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to explore ways of achieving the migration-related targets mentioned in the post-2015 agenda and the possible GFMD contribution to this effort. This roundtable might also consider implementation of migration-related SDGs that do not mention migration but that nonetheless will be strongly affected by trends in international mobility. It will also discuss how the GFMD could respond to the suggestion made in the Synthesis report of the Secretary-General on the post-2015 sustainable development agenda to look at voluntary, state-led, participatory, evidence-based, and multi-tiered processes to monitor progress, including through thematic reviews at a global level at regular intervals.
Roundtable 3: Enhancing international cooperation on emerging issues in migration and mobility
The purpose of this roundtable is to refresh the GFMD agenda to assure that it is relevant to events unfolding in the world today, by introducing or continuing the exploration of new and emerging issues in international migration.
Session 3.1. Enhancing human development and human security for forced migrants, who are compelled to cross international borders, through international cooperation on labor market access, educational opportunity, family reunification, and other avenues of mobility
Co-Chairs: Eritrea, Moldova
Coordinators: Mr. Mehmet Doğan and Ms. İnci Doğan, Ministry of Labour and Social Security
Team Members: Algeria, Bangladesh, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Germany, Greece, Philippines, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates
Non-state partners: ICMPD, IFRC, ILO, IOM, KNOMAD, OHCHR, UNDP, UNHCR, World Bank
Session 3.2. Private sector-government partnerships to support migrant/diaspora entrepreneurship and job creation, with a focus on small and medium enterprises
Co-Chairs: Canada, France
Team Members: Belgium, Benin, Comoros, Ghana, Moldova, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Switzerland, Zimbabwe
Non-state partners: ICMPD, IFAD, ILO, IOM, KNOMAD, OECD, The Hague Process, UNDP, UPU, World Bank
Human mobility is a dynamic field of inquiry and of policy. New issues arise and existing ones are given greater prominence as circumstances change. Therefore the Turkish Chair of the GFMD will work to enlarge the space for international cooperation on new and emerging issues in migration. The role of people who are compelled to cross international borders to escape the effects of man-made or natural disasters—arising from forces such as environmental degradation, armed conflict or political turmoil—as agents and beneficiaries of development is one such issue. Another is the potential for public-private partnerships to support migrant and diaspora entrepreneurs to create or expand businesses.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees declared 2014 to be the worst year for human displacement since World War II. With government budgets under stress almost everywhere, and particularly in refugee-hosting countries, it is clear that the traditional “care and maintenance” model for refugees and other forced migrants, including those affected by natural disasters and environmental degradation, is unsustainable. Moreover, it deprives them of the opportunity to use their energies and talents to support themselves and their families, which is a source of dignity and satisfaction for people everywhere. The waste of human potential that results when displaced people are forced to be idle or to work in the underground economy is nothing short of tragic, and has severe consequences for host communities.
Humanitarian agencies are exploring developmental approaches to address the needs of migrants who are compelled to move across borders, but development agencies and migration authorities, along with other stakeholders, also need to be involved in this debate. A migration-and-development approach could be advanced at the GFMD, considering that the immobility of these populations (including the inability to return to their countries of origin) could have a negative impact on their already difficult situations. It should be noted that UNHCR has welcomed the inclusion of this topic on the GFMD agenda. The 2015 GFMD therefore should discuss avenues for international cooperation on mobility and labor market access for these migrants as a winning approach to burden sharing beyond traditional humanitarian approaches. Thinking of displacement in a migration-and-development framework may lead to approaches that can benefit migrants who have been compelled to leave their countries of origin, as well as countries of asylum, and the countries that are in need of migrants’ energy and skills. It is especially important for countries that have hosted huge populations of migrants who are unable to return home for protracted periods. International mobility may play a role in relieving the stresses on these countries.
As a highly pertinent example, Turkey today shelters close to two million Syrians under temporary protection, of whom some 250,000 live in accommodation centers. The government of Turkey has spent more than US$5 billion to care for them, and the Turkish people much more. The massive displacement continues. Other countries hosting large refugee populations face similar concerns. We urgently need to find sustainable, long-term arrangements for Syrians and other forced migrants, and this will require innovative policies involving development and mobility as well as humanitarian relief.
The topic is expected to be on the agenda for the World Humanitarian Summit, which Turkey will host in 2016. The GFMD presents an opportunity for the international community to develop policy approaches that can be the basis for solid accomplishments at the World Humanitarian Summit.
A second issue that is gaining more attention at the GFMD and more widely is the potential for public-private partnerships to support migrant and diaspora entrepreneurs to create or expand businesses, thereby, in many cases, achieving self-sufficiency and creating jobs for others. The private sector and government authorities both have critical roles in creating the conditions for these entrepreneurs to flourish, yet have little communication or collaboration in this arena. Small and medium-sized enterprises are the most potent job-creators in market economies, and many migrants are drawn to entrepreneurship in the SME sector, both as investors in their countries of origin and in countries of residence. However, they often lack the experience and connections to gain access to credit, markets and technology. This roundtable would explore the track record and the potential of cooperation between the private and public sectors in support of entrepreneurs in communities of migrant origin, with the objective of giving particular attention to the growth and job creating potential of diaspora entrepreneurs, and to promote necessary tools on how both the government and the private sector actors can work together to support them.
GFMD 2014-2015 Concept Note
GFMD 2014-2015 Roundtables Session Themes and Government Teams
Roundtable 1.1 [ EN | ES | FR ]
Partnerships to promote inclusion and protect the human rights of all migrants in order to achieve the full benefits of migration
Roundtable 1.2 [ EN | ES| FR ]
Reducing the human and financial costs of international migration, particularly labour migration: Cooperative approaches to fair recruitment practices and lower remittance fees
Mainstreaming migration into planning at the sectoral level
Migration in the context of the 2030 Development Agenda – Implementing a diverse and cross-cutting issue through follow-up and review
International cooperation and responsibility sharing to enhance human development and human security for people forcibly displaced across international borders
Private sector-Government Partnerships to support migrant/diaspora entrepreneurship and job creation, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises
GFMD Meetings
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