Dataset Preview
The full dataset viewer is not available (click to read why). Only showing a preview of the rows.
The dataset generation failed
Error code: DatasetGenerationError
Exception: ArrowInvalid
Message: JSON parse error: Missing a closing quotation mark in string. in row 42
Traceback: Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 153, in _generate_tables
df = pd.read_json(f, dtype_backend="pyarrow")
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 815, in read_json
return json_reader.read()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1025, in read
obj = self._get_object_parser(self.data)
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1051, in _get_object_parser
obj = FrameParser(json, **kwargs).parse()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1187, in parse
self._parse()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1403, in _parse
ujson_loads(json, precise_float=self.precise_float), dtype=None
ValueError: Trailing data
During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1997, in _prepare_split_single
for _, table in generator:
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 156, in _generate_tables
raise e
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 130, in _generate_tables
pa_table = paj.read_json(
File "pyarrow/_json.pyx", line 308, in pyarrow._json.read_json
File "pyarrow/error.pxi", line 154, in pyarrow.lib.pyarrow_internal_check_status
File "pyarrow/error.pxi", line 91, in pyarrow.lib.check_status
pyarrow.lib.ArrowInvalid: JSON parse error: Missing a closing quotation mark in string. in row 42
The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/src/worker/job_runners/config/parquet_and_info.py", line 1529, in compute_config_parquet_and_info_response
parquet_operations = convert_to_parquet(builder)
File "/src/services/worker/src/worker/job_runners/config/parquet_and_info.py", line 1154, in convert_to_parquet
builder.download_and_prepare(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1029, in download_and_prepare
self._download_and_prepare(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1124, in _download_and_prepare
self._prepare_split(split_generator, **prepare_split_kwargs)
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1884, in _prepare_split
for job_id, done, content in self._prepare_split_single(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 2040, in _prepare_split_single
raise DatasetGenerationError("An error occurred while generating the dataset") from e
datasets.exceptions.DatasetGenerationError: An error occurred while generating the datasetNeed help to make the dataset viewer work? Make sure to review how to configure the dataset viewer, and open a discussion for direct support.
pred_label
string | pred_label_prob
float64 | wiki_prob
float64 | text
string | source
string |
|---|---|---|---|---|
__label__wiki
| 0.684289
| 0.684289
|
Five years ago today: where were you when the roof went down?
(Originally published Jan. 5, 2011)
Where were you on Jan. 5, 2007?
It was a cold day with occasional drizzle, even wet snow. I was watching the World Junior Hockey Championship final broadcast when a friend frantically called and told me to turn on CKNW, because the B.C. Place Stadium roof collapsed. (This is how it all went down.)
I did, then hastily called a source who might know what really happened. What an embarrassment for the 2010 Olympic stadium! I was told the roof had numerous patches and that management cut back on use of the snow melting system. For the next week, B.C. Place management denied snow was a factor, despite the evidence I was supplied.
Reporters allowed into the east airlock of the dome were speechless at the downed roof, damaged equipment, puddles of water and piles of snow. Here is my report from Jan. 5, 2007.
A year later, a Geiger Engineers report (dated Oct. 12, 2007) was issued that confirmed it was preventable. Snow had accumulated and five snow alarms ignored. Finally the air pressure was frantically increased, the snow avalanched and ripped the roof. PavCo called it a controlled deflation but my sources told me that chaos reigned while the big top came down. There is even more in this report by the B.C. Place joint health and safety committee.
On Jan. 19, 2007, the patched roof was reinflated. A major renovation, including the new roof, was announced by Premier Gordon Campbell on May 18, 2008. A heavy-duty roof heating system by Genivar was installed before the 2010 Winter Olympics. If you went to B.C. Lions' games in 2009, you may have spotted those big, white bent finger pipes in each of the corners. The roof barely made it through the Olympics. The weight of lights and speakers caused it to flatten. Crews were stationed atop the roof around the clock to prevent big puddles that could have ripped the roof. That almost happened on Jan. 14, 2010.
The roof was finally deflated for good on May 4, 2010. 24 Hours' videographer Mark Yuen shot the definitive time-lapse video of the historic morning. Some of the material was shipped to Celista, a community near Kamloops, where it is now a liner for an outdoor hockey rink. The rest went to Minnesota for repurposing. Some of the material was kept for a B.C. Sports Hall of Fame fundraiser.
A German-engineered retractable system is being installed. Fall and winter winds have not been kind to the construction schedule. All 36 cable-support towers were supposed to be installed by the end of 2010, but the last three may not be done until Jan. 9. B.C. Pavilion Corporation is sticking to its "early fall" completion and subsequent opening. Chairman David Podmore said in November he'd have a better idea in March. An Aug. 20 construction committee document, however, says Nov. 1, 2011 is the estimate for "substantial completion." The Vanier Cup (Nov. 25) and Grey Cup (Nov. 27) are the only confirmed events.
The B.C. Lions and Vancouver Whitecaps are at the mercy of PavCo, which is ultimately at the mercy of construction-safe weather conditions. The Caps and Leos will both start their seasons at Empire Field but are selling tickets based on moving into B.C. Place in September.
UPDATE: B.C. Place reopened on Sept. 30, 2011. Documents show the stadium remained a construction site when 50,213 people were there. Area neighbours continue to complain about the bright lights from the Telus-installed advertising video screen at Terry Fox Plaza. The budget for the renovation was $563 million, but PavCo is stalling the release of several Freedom of Information requests that would show whether there are indeed major overruns. Two key contractors are suing each other for millions of dollars and, in the process, exposing the troubles of the renovation.
As for the roof? I shot photographs during the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' Grey Cup week practice on Nov. 25, 2011 -- the day after heavy rains hit the Vancouver area and caused more leaks. Notice the makeshift barriers of the area drenched by leaks from the new roof.
Vancouver was hit by heavy rains again Jan. 3-4. The same area of the B.C. Place field's east end was again cordoned off when I visited the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame on Jan. 5 (below). Construction workers in hardhats and safety vests were seen on the roof and ring beam around 11 a.m.
Similar leak problems dogged Frankfurt, Germany's Commerzbank Arena for many months after it opened in 2005 with a retractable roof system that inspired the B.C. Place renovation.
Labels: B.C. Pavilion Corporation, B.C. Place Stadium, roof collapse, snow, Vancouver
Easily Boost Your ClickBank Commissions And Traffic
Bannerizer makes it easy for you to promote ClickBank products with banners, simply visit Bannerizer, and grab the banner codes for your chosen ClickBank products or use the Universal ClickBank Banner Rotator Tool to promote all of the available ClickBank products.
After 204 days, the wait is over!
2010 Games live forever at B.C. Sports Hall of Fame
Five years ago today: where were you when the roof...
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line0
|
__label__wiki
| 0.723842
| 0.723842
|
Barrie Linklater was an established international artist with many paintings in the Royal Collection and numerous watercolours and drawings in royal ownership.
An award winning artist, Barrie Linklater received the Presidents Medal of the "Most Meritorious Group of Paintings" in the Silver Jubilee Exhibition of the Society of Equestrian Artists 2004 and the Best Oil Painting 2006.
Click on images to enlarge
Barrie Linklater's work in portraiture advanced strongly during his first London exhibition in 1972. Significant amongst the many commissions was a request from The Baltic Exchange to paint their chairman Hugh Granger and a request from a Lieutenant Colonel in the Welsh Guards for a portrait of himself in full dress uniform. On completion of this portrait the Welsh Guards High Command commissioned Barrie to paint the Colonel of the Regiment, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. As it included the ceremonial horse "Batchelor", this portrait began a whole series of paintings of people with their horses that continues to develop and grow. An impressive example of this is Barrie's painting of the Garter Procession with the Royal Coach, HM The Queen, HRH Prince Philip, HRH Prince Charles and HRH The Princess Royal in the foreground and ten other distinguished Knights of the Garter recognisable in attendance on the steps of St Georges Chapel.
His single portraits varied from HRH the Duchess of Gloucester commissioned by Queens Tennis Club to family portraits of children capturing some aspect of their life and interests for posterity.
A nicely framed portrait drawing by Barrie of HRH Prince Philip now hangs in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle for the Order of Merit Collection commissioned by Her Majesty The Queen.
HRH Duke of Edinburgh
Sophia and Bubbles
Knock Hill
Defender of the Realm
Equestrian Paintings
Barrie Linklater was an acclaimed equestrian artist who especially enjoyed racing scenes and free action studies of horses and riders in oils and watercolour.
His first equestrian commission came from HRH Duke of Edinburgh during sittings for a portrait commissioned by the Welsh Guards when Barrie was requested to include his ceremonial horse in the painting. Prince Philip himself then commissioned Barrie to paint The Queen's favourite Mares and Foals as his Silver Jubilee present to Her Majesty the Queen.
Barrie's most recent accolade was winning the Presidents Medal for the "Most Meritorious Group of Paintings" in the Silver Jubilee Exhibition of the Society of Equestrian Artists in 2004 and the Best Oil Painting in 2006.
Barrie has painted a number of renowned horses including Best Mate, Supreme Rock, Shirley Heights, Bustino, Desert Orchid, Mtoto and Charter Party. His work has also included a commemorative portrait of Frankie Dettori's historic seven wins at the Ascot Festival.
His equine style encompasses both formal portraits and the elegant, rhythmic forms of horses at home in their natural environment.
He was a long-standing member of The Society of Equestrian Artists.
Best Mate
Her Majesty The Queen's Favourite Mares and Foals
Supreme Rock
Major James Innes
Commemorative Paintings
Barrie Linklater has painted a number of important commemorative works covering royal occasions, moments of equestrian history and other memorable events.
His commemorative portraits have allowed him to record some of the significant historical events of our times, from Her Majesty the Queen's Golden Jubilee, to the splendid depiction of the Royal Procession to Ascot through Windsor Great Park. He has also recorded the Garter Procession, the presentation of colours by HM The Queen to The Royal Welsh Fusiliers and HM The Queen's visit with Prince Philip to The Royal Engineers.
When plans were announced for the Thanksgiving Service at St Paul's Cathedral to mark The Queen's Golden Jubilee, the Honourable Artillery Company
commissioned Barrie to depict the Queen's arrival in the gold coach, flanked by members of their regiment.
In 1996 Frankie Dettori made history by winning all seven races at the Ascot Festival. The Ascot Authority commissioned Barrie to record the event with a painting.
The Queen's Golden Jubilee
First Day, Royal Ascot
Portraits of Dogs
"Dogs seem to me to be the most natural animal companion for human beings. As a boy my first choice of animal campanion was a wire haired terrier called Punch.
A lovely subject for a painting, they make a nice addition to family group portraits and children tend to be more interested in sittings if their dog or cat is included in the painting"
Barrie Linklater has painted many magnificent and charming canine portraits.
Portrait of Alsatian
Study of Fox Hounds
The family group in Wiltshire
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line3
|
__label__wiki
| 0.865911
| 0.865911
|
Flagship Blog
Shows America Tonight The Flagship America Tonight
Dec 2 9:00 PM
Kenya slum embraces alternative currency
by Claire Gordon @clairedon Google+
Badi Twalib, a member of the Kenyan parliament, receives a ceremonial note of the community currency Bangla-Pesa.
Will Ruddick
Eight years ago, Will Ruddick was doing graduate work in high energy physics at the University of Colorado-Boulder. In May, he was sleeping on the floor of a jail cell outside Mombasa, Kenya, with human feces everywhere and clouds of mosquitos overhead. Police had accused Ruddick of masterminding a radical secessionist terror plot.
Ruddick’s actual crime was starting an alternative currency, issuing colorful vouchers to cash-poor businesses in Mombasa’s largest slum. After several months of postponed trials, thousands of dollars in lawyer's fees, a petition from the Hague and an intervention by Kenya’s attorney general, the charges were finally dropped.
And in November, Ruddick relaunched his currency, in partnership with the Kenyan government.
An enormous waste
A Bangladesh shopkeeper points to the sticker that shows he accepts Bangla-Pesa.
Five years ago, Ruddick, then 29, came to Kenya as a math and science teacher with the Peace Corps. But he quit in frustration after a year. “I met the brightest students,” he told America Tonight, “but the chance that they were actually going to get a job in a country like Kenya was slim.”
He was maddened by what he saw as an enormous amount of wasted human capital: the bike taxi drivers, who could manage 30 passengers a day, but got three; the families that are bankrupted by school feels every January, grinding local economies to a halt; the kids who do nothing all day.
In 2008, Kenya’s unemployment rate was 40 percent, according to the CIA, one of the highest in the world. The country's GDP per capita last year was $1,800.
“You first get here, and you’re just overwhelmed by the amount of people who are idle,” Ruddick explained. “There are women who are doing work constantly everyday, supporting huge families. At the same time, you have millions of idle teenage youth, postsecondary youth, who have no idea what to do with their lives.”
As a physicist, Ruddick has been trained to break things down into their most basic parts. And he broke down Kenya’s chronic underemployment and poverty down to credit. The people in the poor communities around the Kenyan capital had plenty of goods and services to give, but lacked the money to buy them from each other.
A local businesswoman who sells samosa for Bangla-Pesa.
A missing puzzle piece
But money is simply an agreement that a particular thing is a medium of exchange. “There’s this monopoly by private banks and credit companies,” said Ruddick, “and it’s taken for granted by the entire world that they’re the only ones allowed to make credit.”
Ruddick thought there was no reason that a community of families and businesses couldn’t agree on something other than the Kenyan shilling. They could get some nonprofit backing, generate a large amount of this new currency, give it to the community and let its value multiply as members spent amongst each other. Productivity would spike, wealth would climb and hunger and hopelessness would fade, he imagined. And all without setting foot in a bank.
“That’s why we’re in such crap around the world, because the banks have little contact with the people with the goods and services,” Ruddick said. “We want to invert the pyramid.”
In May 2010, Ruddick introduced the “Eco-Pesa” into three villages in Kongowea Location on Mombasa’s north coast. Businesses agreed to trade with the vouchers, and community members could earn extra by taking part in monthly service projects. Every month, people could give the vouchers back to the project’s donor, the Green World Campaign, an anti-poverty, environmentalist group, in exchange for cold, hard, government-sanctioned cash.
“They really got it almost instantly,” Ruddick said. “It was almost like a missing puzzle piece.”
The seven-month experiment was an overwhelming success. Participating businesses saw an average income increase of 22 percent, community members picked up 20 tons of trash and created three tree nurseries, according to Ruddick’s final analysis, published in the International Journal of Community Currency Research. Only $352 worth of Eco-Pesa were distributed, but it resulted in more than $4,000 worth of trading. Adding in supplies, training and implementation, the entire project cost the Green World Campaign less than $4,700.
A movement
Two Depression-era alternative currencies, or "scrips."
Community currencies have popped up through history in cash-tight times. They ballooned in Japan after the country's crash in 1990. When Argentina's unemployment spiked at over 20 percent in 2002, 7 percent of the population was trading in the homegrown mint créditos, according to a Harvard University analysis.
The Great Depression was the golden age for alternative currencies in the U.S., but the oldest one still in circulation is the Ithaca HOUR, created during the recession of the early 1990s. Its founder Paul Glover was frustrated that so many of his neighbors in Ithaca, N.Y., were underpaid and underemployed, and he hoped to stimulate neighborhood sales.
But Glover also believed a local-money system would be fairer and greener. "We printed our own money because we watched Federal dollars come to town, shake a few hands, then leave to buy rainforest lumber and fight wars," Glover wrote on his website.
Founded in 1991 in Ithaca, N.Y., the Ithaca HOUR is the oldest and largest alternative currency in the U.S. It was founded by a resident who was frustrated that so many of his neighbors were underemployed and underpaid, and he wanted to build a local economy resistant to national slumps, and a community more sustainable and eco-friendly. Unlike many other local currencies, Ithaca HOURS cannot be exchanged freely for normal dollars (although you could convince someone to buy them). Paul Glover
Thirteen bank branches and more than 400 businesses in the Berkshires region of Massachusetts currently accept BerkShares, according to the currency’s website. The currency was founded in 2006 to encourage residents to buy local, and those who use BerkShares receive a five percent discount. Instead of the phrase, “In God we Trust,” seen on federal reserve notes, BerkShares are printed with the values: “Community, Economy, Ecology, Sustainability.”
Japan has the fastest aging population in the world, and Fureai Kippu (“caring relationship tickets”) were founded in 1994 as a way to incentive elder care. A person earns Fureai Kippu by giving an hour of service to an elderly person. The recipient can then save those vouchers for when they’re older, or give them to an elderly friend or relative. Fureai Kippu are part of a larger “time banking” movement that rewards people for good works.
As a city that runs on oil and high finance, Calgary, Canada is marked by great wealth and great poverty, and the Calgary Dollar was founded in 1995 to inject a greater sense of community into the money system. There are currently more than $80,000 worth of Calgary Dollars in circulation, according to its website, accepted by hundreds of businesses and at monthly Calgary Dollars market and potlucks.
The Chiemgauer was founded in 2003 as a class project by a high school teacher in Prien am Chiemsee in south Germany. Since then, it has grown into Europe’s most successful alternative currency, according to one German newspaper. There are now around half a million Chiemgauer in circulation, which equals the equivalent amount in Euros, and the former circulates more than twice as fast as the latter. Chiemgauer
The Bristol Pound was founded last year to encourage residents to buy from local, independent businesses. Run by the Bristol Credit Union and a local community interest nonprofit, the Bristol Pound is the first city-wide alternative currency in the U.K. and it’s value is equivalent to a Sterling Pound. The city’s mayor receives his salary in the currency, and residents can pay their taxes in it too.
The all-white community Orania in the Northern Cape of South Africa launched the Ora in 2004. The town has around 700 inhabitants, including the grandson of Henrik Vorwoerd, the architect of apartheid, and its goal is white Afrikaner self-determination. The local currency, which is pegged to the South African rand, is also a way to deter potential thieves. Many residents of Orania told the BBC that they came to the enclave to escape the crime that plagues much of the rest of the country. Bid or Buy
Bitcoin is a digital currency developed in 2009 by an anonymous developer known only as “Satoshi Nakamoto.” Like Ithaca Hours or BerkShares, Bitcoin is a protest against the idea that a central government should have control of the money system. But unlike community currencies, Bitcoin isn’t about promoting local buying or community. In fact, its popularity stems from its global reach and anonymity. Marc van der Chijs
Alternative currencies have proliferated in the U.S. over the last decade, hand-in-hand with the buy-local food movement. But the 2008 recession took the concept mainstream. As faith in the banking system bottomed out, Utah and Arizona officially recognized gold and silver coins -- the only alternative currency the Constitution permits states to issue -- and more than a dozen states mulled over the idea. Many economists, however, saw this as more of a symbolic indictment against the federal government and its piling debt than as functional day-to-day tender.
Last year, the Greek port city of Velos minted a local alternative for itself, as did Bristol, U.K. There are now more than a half dozen community currencies in California alone. And BerkShares, which have been circulating throughout the Berkshires region of Massachusetts since 2006, have generated international buzz. Last month, a Dutch nonprofit handed the project a $500,000 grant.
In the developing world, there have been a handful of experiments with alternative currencies. Since 1998, a community bank in a slum neighborhood of the Brazilian resort town Fortaleza has issued micro-loans to residents in a local currency. After 10 years, sales by local merchants had increased 30 to 40 percent. By 2012, the model had been replicated at 78 banks across 16 Brazilian states.
A threat to national security
Bangladesh, Mombasa's largest slum.
Inspired by the success of the Eco-Pesa, Ruddick decided to think bigger. He selected Bangladesh, Mombasa’s largest slum. The community of around 8,000 people ballooned because of the factories and industries in the area. The residents don’t own their land, the pay is lousy and when those industries need less labor, the men stop bringing shillings home, causing the slum’s whole economy to go into shock.
“Sometimes, I have maybe only 10 shillings, so I just work hard so I can feed these children and take them to school,” Emma Onyango, a 40-year-old widow who supports one biological child and seven orphans in the slum, said in a short documentary Ruddick made about the project. “Sometimes, I find that I don’t have a single shilling to save.”
Ruddick started talking with elders in the slum in December 2012, and the Bangladesh Business Network, a coalition of local enterprises, was soon holding workshops with colored paper in church basements and community centers. On May 11, 2013, the Bangla-Pesa went live, with 200 participating businesses, 75 percent of them owned by women. A local artist drew the pictures for the notes, depicting women doing typical jobs like grinding corn and sewing.
Women in Bangladesh, Kenya discuss designs for the Bangla-Pesa over lunch.
Then, on May 29, an article came out in a Swahili newspaper accusing Ruddick and the Bangla-Pesa users of seeking to undermine the Kenyan shilling in service of a secessionist terror group linked to al-Shabaab.
Police threw Ruddick in jail, along with Onyango and four other business owners, including a youth activist and a grandmother. Ruddick tried to give the police a PowerPoint demonstration about the program, but at the third slide -- “Community currencies are ubiquitous in Brazil these days!” -- the police confiscated his laptop as evidence. Ruddick slept on the floor of a cell that night, and the next day they were hauled into court.
Bangladesh community members gather for a workshop on Bangla-Pesa
“It was just super traumatic,” Ruddick said. “They lined us up, media cameras everywhere, calling me an American terrorist.”
“It was just like [I was] someone who had killed,” Onyango told a reporter with the Rockefeller Foundation. “They didn’t even tell us the charges.”
Police boss Joseph Muthee for the Changamwe constituency, where the Bangledesh slum lies, told the Kenyan newspaper The Standard in June that police had been pursuing all possible leads, "including a threat to national security." Ultimately, the group was charged with forgery, carrying a potential prison sentence of seven years.
Ruddick protested that the Bangla-Pesa isn’t meant to impersonate or replace shillings, but to simply serve as a complementary currency, for when there aren’t enough shillings around. “People really, really still use Kenyan shillings,” Ruddick said. “The idea is counter-cyclical. When there are lots of Kenyan shillings, they don’t use Bangla-Pesa.”
Community members hold up a sign mapping out the participating businesses.
In the following months, Ruddick and the community members spent more money on bail, lawyers and fees for bureaucrats to re-find their files, which mysteriously kept getting lost, than the cost of entire Bangla-Pesa program. Ruddick’s passport was confiscated and then disappeared. The trial date was pushed back again and again. Ruddick’s Kenyan wife Jacqualine Kiuwa had also just given birth at time.
“The trying moments have resulted in our six-week-old daughter having little parental care,” she told The Standard.
The comeback currency
A member of the Bangla-Pesa business network.
But Ruddick had some connections in high places. The President of the International Reciprocal Trade Association and a representative from the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Office appealed to the Kenyan authorities to drop the charges. The Hague submitted a petition signed by more than 200 academics, practitioners and policymakers connected to the community currency movement. His plight was even forwarded around the inboxes of Burning Man enthusiasts across the world. (Ruddick is a longtime "burner," and in 2008 started a program to teach street kids around Mombasa how to poi, or fire dance, a mainstay at the Nevada festival.)
It didn't take long for Kenya’s attorney general to intervene, and the country’s director of public prosecutions plucked the case from the local prosecutor and took it straight to the Kenya Revenue Authority. As it turns out, Ruddick’s slum empowerment project was completely legal. The charges were dropped in August.
“At that point, there was a lot of embarrassment,” Ruddick said. “Obviously, we weren’t terrorists in any way.”
At the Bangla-Pesa relaunch, the chief of police poses with a mock-up of the currency.
Since then, Ruddick has been actively courting local politicians and discussing the project with Kenya’s central bank. In late November, the currency was officially relaunched.
At the ceremony, Badi Twalib, a member of the Kenyan parliament, posed for photos, holding a giant Bangla-Pesa mock-up. Community members performed dances and songs and recited poetry. The speaker for the Mombasa county assembly was there, as was the chief of police. Ruddick said he’s received a unanimous request from government representatives to replicate the Bangla-Pesa in other parts of the county.
With a terrorism investigation and the specter of a prison sentence, the last six months have been trying for Ruddick, his wife and newborn child. But at least it’s become much easier to explain the concept of his currency, as he tries to expand it.
“If anyone hadn’t heard of Bangla-Pesa in Kenya,” said Ruddick, “they have now.”
MORE CURRENCY STORIES
How to create millions of jobs
A Massachusetts local currency gets international attention
The billion-dollar Bitcoin roller coaster
Bitcoin in government crosshairs
Tweets by @AmericaTonight
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line5
|
__label__wiki
| 0.763436
| 0.763436
|
KISS and Def Leppard
Kiss & Def Leppard Playing the 2014 ‘Heroes Tour’
A 40-night once in a lifetime experience is coming to a city near you. If you are a rock and roll fan, there is no chance that you will want to miss the likes of Kiss and Def Leppard taking stage together. Originally announced in March, the first show kicked off on June 23rd and the final show will be on the 31st of August. The fans have spoken, and the ‘Heroes Tour’ is seen as a classic tribute to rock and roll and a must-see from everyone that has currently seen the show.
Playing for the world to hear for nearly 40 years, Def Leppard hits the stage to roars from the crowd. The band will play a lot of your favorites during an 11-song set with a usual encore being played to add another song or two. The songs that fans will recognize include “Animal,” “Hysteria” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me.”
KISS will take stage next, and this is a very special year for the band. Celebrating 40 years of amazing success, KISS is happy to announce that $1 of every ticket sold will be going to their Wounded Warrior foundation.
The setlist seen at most shows is 15 songs long with an amazing bass solo and all of the greatest hits over the band’s 40 year dominance over rock music. “Deuce,” “Shout It Out Loud” and “Hotter Than Hell” will all be heard before the night is over. Fans that have been to shows in the past will be excited to know that Gene is still up to his old antics and will breathe fire during “Hotter Than Hell.”
The night is truly one to remember with two of the biggest names ever to hit the stage joining together for a tour that has been described as epic and an instant classic.
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line7
|
__label__cc
| 0.622085
| 0.377915
|
Buy PTIX @ $2.70
BUY EXTR
SELL HPOL @ $1.35--- 30% gain
Sell MGIC @ $3.00 82% Gain
BUY BVSN @ $13.50
Chordiant Buy-out
Up 1.5% last week, while the averages were up .3 to 1 percent.
We are now up 19.9% for the year.
EXTR, BVSN, AVSO, IPAS, NINE, and PTIX are our favorites.
The DOW was up .7%, NASDAQ was up .3% and the S+P 500 was up 1%. The Russell 3000 and the Wilshire 5000 were up 1%. For the year the DOW is up 4.8%, NASDAQ is up 5.9% and the S+P 500 is up 5.7%. The Wilshire is up 6.6% and the Russell is up 5.2%.
Last week we went 11 stocks up and 7 down. Since inception we are now 47 stocks up and 10 down for a 80%+ winning percentage (which is our target win %).
2010-CHRD +37% Buyout
For the 39 stocks that we closed out since 2006 the average net gain was 33%.
Down 2% BUY
UP 2% BUY
Valuation-$27.15
$13.94 per share in cash, profitable.
Closed up $.58 at $14.08.
UP 4%. BUY
Nice mention at "Seeking Alpha" last week.
Still trading below cash value ($2.17 per share).
Closed down $.03 at $.80.
Earnings out in March. Excluding the $30 million in deferred revenue from the canceled Sandofi deal, sales were $9.8 million. Looks like they lost about $10 million of cash earnings in the quarter. Still they have $38 million in cash and a good pipeline of products. Speculative for sure.
With a 52 million market cap, $38 million in cash and say close to $40 million in revenue, this stock still looks cheap--as long as they don't run out of cash from their losses!
AEZS's shelf registration statement for up to $60 million in equity raise went effective in mid-March. Nice to have some insurance, but at this price the dilution will be significant--unless they can get the share price up. We hope they do.
Their pipeline and the related announcements will be what drives this stock.
Just waiting for some more good developement news here.
Earnings out in February. Record sales of $29.7 million, up 11% from last year. The litigation is behind them with a $5 million P+L hit in Q4. Another $1.1 million write down of their auction rate securities and a total net loss for the quarter of $5.5 million. Excluding all the abnormal stuff, they actually made about $600,000!
Guidance was tepid. Looks like maybe a 10% sales increase, a Q1 loss and a profitable year. SPNC has always been very conservative in their guidance. 2010 is their year to show us what they can do--assuming they don't step on their .....'s again.
Wells Fargo filed a 13G in early February disclosing that they had upped their stake to 5.3 million shares or about 16%--up from their previously disclosed position of about 11.6%.
Canaccord Adams upgraded SPNC on the settlement announcement in December. Target price is $11.
The company has $30 million in cash ($.90 per share), no debt and is growing about 10% a year.
Up 27%. HOLD.
DataWatch Corp. (DWCH-Recommended 2/12/2006)
Buy price $2.41 (was $3.02 before adding another $10,000,was $3.21 before adding another $10,000, averaged down from $3.66),
Valuation $5.86 (was $7.17, $7.46, $8.12, $8.07, $8.12, $8.64, $8.47, $8.47, $10.30, $9.28, $9.20, $8.32, $7.50, $7.63, $9.31)
Earnings out in February. The economy finally caught up to DWCH. Revenue down 19% as you would expect this year, but they slipped into a loss of $.03 a share (only $200,000 though). Cash rose to $.99 a share, but sales and margins fell and so did our valuation--to $5.86 per share. Stil trading at only 41% of our valuation.
KVO Capital management filed a 13D in September 2009. They own 402,000 shares (just under 7% of the company). Purchases were all in the second half of August from $1.66 to $2.74 per share.
Valuation $12.13 (was $12.57, $12.29, $11.90, $11.30, $11.48, $11.47 $10.99, $10.28, $13.32, $12.89, $13.40)
Down $.33 at $8.75.
Earnings out in February. Sales were up 8% and EPS more than doubled to $.10 per share. Cash is $2.23 per share. Our valuation fell $.44 to $12.13 per share, but we think that when they get a full quarters revenue from the acquisitions that reduced cash, this will rebound.
Constellation Software filed a 13D/A in late August 2009. Bought 290,000 shares at $5.20 raising their stake to 21.8%. When is the take-over offer??
Buy Price $1.63 (Was $2.38 before adding another $20,000, $2.62 before another $10,000 and was $3.00 before double up),
NEW Valuation $2.51 (was $2.17, $1.65, $1.89, $5.61, $6.42, $6.84, $7.58, $7.59)
Up $.01 at $.45.
Earnings out in March. Actually kind of good! Sales were $8 million, they had positive EBITDA of $400,000 and made $.02 a share. Cash was $4.8 million.
Our valuation rose to $2.51 per share. If they can keep going and grow revenues and earnings, we might see that price some day, but that is a big "IF".
We have no hope that we will ever make money on this one, nor are we sure they will survive at all.
IPASS. (IPAS-Recommended 6/1/2008)
Buy Price-$1.42 (adjusted for $.32 and $.16 dividends) (Was $2.07 before another $10,000 added and $2.15 before double up
Valuation $3.34 (was $4.17, $4.73, $4.75, $4.12, $4.99, $4.30, $4.09)
Down $.01 at $1.12
Earnings out in February So-so at best. Sales down 12%, but were only down 3% if you exclude their legacy dial-up revenues. On a Non-GAAP basis they lost $700,000 or $.01 per share. Aside from their $3.8 restucturing charge, they also had a $1.2 million charge to fix "historical billing errors". This on top of their sales tax charges, make it look like they had some pretty shoddy accounting going on. Hopefully this is the last shoe they drop on us. Seems like they are cleaning the books up though--for a sale maybe? Our valuation dropped to $3.34 per share as cash dropped ($.16 from their last dividend), margins dropped and sales fell. Still, at this price IPAS is only trading at 31% of our valuation. Cheap.
Foxhill ownership is 6.7%. Millenium owns 9.9% and Federated, 5.5%.
CCA Industries. (CAW-Recommended 8/4/2008)
Buy Price-$5.51 (was $6.14 before $10,000 added, $6.66 before $10,000 added, $7.00 before $10,000 added) (5% dividend yield)
Valuation $13.80 (Was $18.89, $17.09, $17.05, $14.51, $17.23, $18.36)
Up $.48 at $5.93.
Earnings out in February. Revenues were up 5% to $12.6 million and they earned $.14 per share compared to a loss of $.12 last year. They made $.49 per share for the year. They also declared their $.07 quarterly dividend. Our valuation dropped to $13.80 per share.
Valuation $11.29 (was $11.73, $11.47, $11.16, $9.53, $13.30, $13.03)
Zacks actually recommended ANGN in early March with a short term price target of $6.
Earnings also out in March. Sales up 5% to $6.6 million (about flat with last quarter) and they lost $800,000 or $.20 per share. Cash decreased to $2.53 per share, and our valuation fell to $11.29 (still about 3 times the current share price).
Blueline Partners filed a 13D on ANGN on June 23, 2008. They own 216,000 shares or about 5.3% of the company. All of their purchases were well North of the current price.
Global Shipping . (GSL-Recommended 10/12/2008)
Buy Price $2.16-(Was $2.59, $3.69 before adding another $10,000 each time)
Valuation NA-Dividend yield play
Current dividend yield--suspended
Container rates are rising and CGM appears to be getting its feet back under them.
Earnings out in March. Good again. Revenues up 52% to $39.9 million. Made $7.3 million or $.13 per share excluding a $8 million "mark-to-market" derivative gain. Everything else seems good.
CGM (their main customer continues to struggle. Trying to restructure their debt, get funding from the French goverment etc. We would think that GSL would be the last "supplier" to CGM to feel any effects of this due to CGM's equity ownership in GSL.
Big announcements in late August 2009. They finally made a deal with their bank and survived the ordeal. They had the rest of their credit line canceled, were allowed to take delivery of a used ship, no dividend until the loan to ship value is less than 75% and they have to start prepaying their loans. CGM has to stay in as an equity holder until at least November 30, 2010.
Could be the buy of a lifetime if the ecomomy--and ship prices recover.
Their average ship charter life is around 10 years and the closest-in renewal is at the end of 2012.
Valuation $5.54 (was $5.74, $5.96, $4.72, $5.19, $5.66, $5.63, $5.61, $5.71, $5.49, $5.34, $5.03, $5.28, $5.28, $5.21)
Closed at $.85 up $.10.
Earnings out in March. Sales up 35% to $5.4 million, 82% gross margins and they made $.02 a share.
Our valuation backed off a bit to $5.54 per share.
No one cares.
Wake up management--you have a great little company here worth 5-6X what it is selling for.
Avatech Solutions Inc. (AVSO.ob-Bought November 28, 2005)
NEW Valuation $3.03 (was $2.38, $2.57, $2.81, $2.78, $3.30, $3.76, $4.00 $3.41, $3.05, $2.53, $3.25, $3.29 $2.69, $3.36, $3.81)
Stock closed at $1.00, up $.17
13D filing in early March. A group of investors including a prior CEO of AVSO that controls 14.5% of the stock, is clamoring for an increase in shareholder value. Basically they are hanging out a "for sale" sign. Last week the same group filed a 13D/A adding more members to the group. With the way the filings are prepared, their is double counting in the ownership % of the group which is stated at about 34%. I reckon that the actual % is about 31%--still an impressive ownership share. I hope they are successful! Management of AVSO came out with a press release disavowing any discussions or interaction with the group. Too bad, with a few morw members they may control the company soon. We would suggest all shareholders to join the group.
Earnings out in February. Sales fell 19% to $7.7 million, and they made $600,000 or $.02 per share. Net cash rose to $.14 per share. Our valuation surged to $3.03. Market cap is about $15 million, sales are about $30 million, with decent margins, profitable and with $.14 in net cash.
Up 26%. BUY.
Valuation $.96 (Was $.93, $.75, $.85, $1.57, $1.40, $1.29, $1.38, $1.31, $1.38, $1.29, $1.42, $1.28 $1.13, $1.05, $.82)
Ask price $.08 up $.03. Closed at $.08.
The "ask" price is showing at $.29 on TD Ameritrade and Yahoo. We wish, but that just ain't right. So we will use the last trade price.
About 170,000 shares traded last week--huge compared to normal volume.
Earnings out last week. Sales rebounded to $4.1 million, and they actually made $200,000 of income (almost a penny!). Their VOIP business continues to drain the company. Q4 sales were a whopping $152,000 and it lost $686,000. Other than saying Q4 sales were up and we made a profit, none of the Q4 numbers were in the press release, or the 10K. Amazing. It seems like they want to keep their results a secret.
At a $1.5 million market cap, this is stupidly cheap. Their itellectual property is probably worth 10 times this price. They need to liquify this value somehow.
Our valuation rose to $.96 ( 19 times the current selling price).
Buy price $.84 (Was $.95 before $10,000 adder, $1.08 before double-up)
NEW Valuation-$1.91 (Was $2.00, $1.84, $1.56, $1.99, $2.22, $1.61, $1.06, $2.28, $2.08)
Closed at $1.25, down $.18.
Earnings out this week. We thought they were pretty good, but the stock got hammered down $.30 on Friday on almost 2.5 million shares. They reported EPS of $.33 after about a $.04 write-off of their old building. So call it $.37 per share. No quarterly info disclosed in the press release. Way to go, new CFO.
Likely short term holders bailed out on the news. They projected 15-20% EBIT growth for 2010. So maybe we "only" make $.45 this year. If this traded like the growth stock it is, this should trade at more than $4.50 per share. We will probably buy more LTUS ourselves next week if it stays in the $1.20's. Our valuation fell to $1.91, but this is still only selling at less than 4 time last years earnings.
LTUS celebrated the groundbreaking of their Mongolian facility in early March. They expect to finish by July and be certified for production by December. Looks like they are really going to do it! They also said they expect to reach $150 million in sales in the first year after the facility is "fully operational". They did not say 2011, so this could mean 2012. No matter, if they get even near this level this stock will be over $5, in our opinion.
Early in March LTUS disclosed a deal to sell up to 10 million dollars of stock from time-to-time at about a 7% discount to market. While under no obligation to sell any shares, they paid YA Global (the purchaser) 228,000 shares as a committment fee. This company does things without explaning to investors why. Annoying, but as long at they keep cranking out the good earnings reports, we don't care.
Lotus announced in February 2009 that it bought the land use rights in Mongolia for $26 million, subject to contruction approvals etc. If the project is not approved, they get the money back. They paid for this out of internally generated funds. Pretty impressive. 3 years and $58 million to go to build this plant. They are also looking to sell or rent up to 80% of the land to other pharma companies to create a pharma industrial park.
This may work out ok. Unusual legal structure, $58 million construction project all hang over this company.
posted by Cheap Stock Investor | 4:15 PM
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line8
|
__label__cc
| 0.555746
| 0.444254
|
SELL IPAS @ $1.64
Buy Recommendation-Harris Interactive (NASDAQ-HPOL...
BUY Recommendation-Rosetta Stone-RST-$12.62
We lagged the market last week, but still posted a .7% gain despite a 31% loss in LTUS (see update below).
AVSO, SUPG, EXTR, and LTUS.ob are our favorites.
The DOW was up 1.3% last week, NASDAQ was up 1.7% and the S+P 500 was up 1.%4. The Russell 3000 and the Wilshire 5000 were both up about 1.6%.
For the year so far, we are up 6.6%. The DOW is up 6.9%, NASDAQ is up 5.2%, S+P 500 is up 6%, Russell 3000 up 6.5% and the Wilshire is up 6.2%.
Last week we went 11 stocks up, 5 down and 2 even. Since inception we are now 51 stocks up and 12 down for a 81% winning percentage (80% is our target win %).
Rosetta Stone Inc. (NYSE-RST)-Recommended 3/3/2011)
Valuation $31.14
Up 6%-BUY
Closed at $.97, unchanged
Skellig Capital Management filed a 13D/A in March pushing CCUR to use their excess cash to do a share buy back. They used examples in the filing of $6.60 and $6.90 a share. They also bought a few more shares of CCUR. Their ownership is up to 5.86%.
Up 19%-HOLD
SuperGen Inc. (NASDAQ-SUPG)-Recommended 10/4/2010)
Upgraded to BUY by The Street.com recently.
NEW Valuation $3.79-(was $3.87, $5.03, $5.98, $7.13)
Earnings out last week.
Not as bad as we expected.
Sales were down 18% from last year to $6.8 million, and they lost $2.8 million after adjusting out some one-time write-offs. Cash per share fell to $1.73, and our valuation fell to $3.79 as cash, sales and margins fell. They did say that Q1 2011 sales would be up 35-45% over Q4 and exceed any quarter in 2009 or 2010. We think we will hold on to this one a bit longer and see if they can get to a profit.
Valuation-$7.36 (was $7.23, $7.31, $6.82, $6.81)
CFO resigned in March. Always makes stockholders jittery, but they also got a new CEO in October last year, so it is not unusual for a CFO to go, shortly after a new CEO comes in. They hired an interim CFO last week while they look for a permanent one.
Earnings out in February. Sales up 7% to $85 million and they made $.10 per share ($.06 if you exclude a favorable litigation settlement) versus a loss last year of $.02 per share. Cash per share rose $.08 to 1.55 and our valuation rose to $7.36. Next quarter guidance was $82-$85 million in sales and earnings of $.05-$.08 per share before a $.04/$.05 write off off some assets.
EXTR entered a settlement agreement with Ramius (Ramius owns 6.4% of EXTR). Declassify the Board, add a Ramius Director and the Ramius Director must be on any committee that reviews "strategic alternatives". Pushing to sell EXTR obviously.
Still a cheap stock.
Up 7% HOLD
Valuation $22.95-(was $22.31, $21.77, $23.37, $27.15)
$13.87 per share in cash.
Closed down $.03 at $14.45.
Earnings out in January. Revenue was $5.1 million and they made $.01 per share. Cash per share fell a tad to $13.60. Our valuation inched up to $22.95.
Valuation-$3.54 (Was $3.54, $3.19)
Closed at $1.40, unchanged.
Earning out in October. Sales were $5.67 million for the first 6 months of 2010 and they lost $1 million. Cash rose to $2.88 per share and our valuation stayed at $3.54. Only doing about $10 million a year in sales, but still trading way below (50%) cash value.
Down 9%. BUY
Valuation $5.73-(Was $4.38, $4.44, $5.15)
Earnings out in November. Not bad. Cash rose to $2.33 per share and they made $.08 per share. Our valuation jumped to $5.73. Not bad at all. New game coming out in Korea this quarter (War of Gods), although Ragnarok 2 is delayed until at least Q2 2011.
Earnings out in March. Revenues about $10 million for the quarter and $27.7 for the year. They only lost $2.7 for the quarter and lost $20.5 for the year. Cash was $33.9 million before counting about $14 million of cash received in the current quarter for royalty payments, their Japan deal and sale of stock.
AEZS announced a new partnership for perifosine in Japan. They got $8 million upfront and up to another $60 million in the future. Plus AEZS gets to sell the compound to the company and gets double digit royalties. Not a bad deal.
Riding the tail of Kerx and perifosine, new orphan drug apporval from the FDA and a lot of investor interest in their pipeline of cancer products.
Hmmm, CFO and 2 other officers got "change of control" agreements in March. Hope they actually mean something!
SPNC announced earnings in February. Nothing to write home about. Sales decreased 1% to $29.3 million. At least they were able to earn a profit of $.02 a share-even after their million dollar charge for EG. I think the only way we are going to make money on this one is if they are sold. Otherwise they just can't perform and I think the stock will go nowhere.
Good news. Geisemheimer is off the Board! Now just a consultant through June.
13D filed in November 2010. Paragon Assoc. disclosed a 2 million share (6%) ownership purchased at $5.16 per share. Maybe we have a catalyst finally to push management to do something (like sell this dog).
The company has $33 million in cash ($.99 per share), no debt and is growing about 5% a year. Teetering on a SELL here. Management is just terrible.
Down 14%. HOLD.
Valuation $15.04 (was $14.23, $15.02, $14.35, $12.13, $12.57, $12.29, $11.90, $11.30, $11.48, $11.47 $10.99, $10.28, $13.32, $12.89, $13.40)
MEDW announced another acquisition last week. No details of what it cost, or what it will do to earnings.
Constellation continues to sell a few thousand shares here and there. Interesting move. Not sure if it is meant to goad MEDW management into doing something like selling the company to Constellation or someone else. The dollars involved in this sales is peanuts. It has been 9 months since they hired their investment bankers, so it is about time for something to happen, hopefully more than the acquisition last week.
Earnings out in February. Good again. Sales up 22% to $13.2 million and they made $.21 per share versus $.10 last year. Our valuation rose to $15.04--the highest ever.
MEDW re-engaged William Blair to look at "strategic alternatives". Got to have an I Banker to sell your company.
Constellation now owns 21.8%. When is the take-over offer??
Valuation $14.23 (was $14.76, $12.40, $12.55, $10.85, $8.25, $9.45, $28.05, $32.10, $34.20, $37.90, $37.95)
Earnings in March. As predicted they did $9.6 million in revenue and made $.11 a share from continuing operations. Our valuation fell to $14.37 and cash per share was $.88.
Valuation $13.60 (was $15.00, $13.06, $12.15, $11.29, $11.73, $11.47, $11.16, $9.53, $13.30, $13.03)
Earnings out in March. Not bad we thought. Sales up 7% to $7.1 million and they cut their weak quarter loss from $.20 a share to an adjusted profit of $.02 a share (excluding a severance charge for their ex-CEO). Our valuation fell to $13.60, but again this is their seasonally weak quarter, so we are not upset about it.
Valuation $5.39 (was $4,86, $5.60, $5.73, $5.54, $5.74, $5.96, $4.72, $5.19, $5.66, $5.63, $5.61, $5.71, $5.49, $5.34, $5.03, $5.28, $5.28, $5.21)
Closed at $.57 down $.01.
Earnings out in March. Sales down 2% to $5.238 million, operating income was $254,000 and they made $.02 per share. Our valuation jumped back up to $5.39 on higher than expected margins.
Wake up management--you have a great little company here worth 7X what it is selling for.
Valuation $2.40 (was $1.90, $2.26 $3.07, $3.03, $2.38, $2.57, $2.81, $2.78, $3.30, $3.76, $4.00 $3.41, $3.05, $2.53, $3.25, $3.29 $2.69, $3.36, $3.81)
Stock closed at $.70, up $.10.
Earnings out in February. Sales were $21.7 million and they made $.02 a share. Our valuation jumped back up to $2.40 a share. Trading at 28% of our valuation. Cheap.
RWWI announced a $5.6 million deal in January. Maybe new management will get the word out on Rand and at least get us over $1.
Down 12%. BUY.
NEW Valuation $1.21 (Was $.71, $.83, $.88 $.96, $.93, $.75, $.85, $1.57, $1.40, $1.29, $1.38, $1.31, $1.38, $1.29, $1.42, $1.28 $1.13, $1.05, $.82)
Earnings out last week. Sales were $4.37 million and they actually made $200,000 of net income! Our valuation spiked back up to $1.21. They also announced that they signed a contract with a customer for $6 million most of which will come in Q2. Their VOIP business did $900,000 of revenue in 2010 compared to $150,000 in 2009.
At a $3 million market cap, this is stupidly cheap. Their itellectual property is probably worth 10 times this price. They need to liquify this value somehow.
NEW Valuation-$4.11 (Was $4.84, $4.98, $4.60, $3.82, $4.00, $3.68, $3.12, $3.98, $4.44, $3.22, $2.12, $4.56, $4.16)
Closed at $1.05, down $.48
This is the Rodney Dangerfield of stocks. No respect whatsoever. Now trading at less than 2X this years earnings! Ghost stories of ALL Chinese reverse merger companies being shams continue to spook stockholders. We don't think LTUS is one of them.
Earnings last week. Surprize, they wrote off $6.8 million of developement cost on the Mongolian property. Wham! Q4 sales were up 22% to $20 million. They made $.78 per share for the year after adjusting out the Mongolia write-off. Our valuation dropped to $4.11 per share on a slight drop in sales, lower income and more shares outstanding. Still a huge valuation gap.
Looks like the Mongolian land story has shifted again. Now they intend to keep some of the land and build a distribution facility on it and sell the rest for $50-$80 million-or enter into a developement deal to preserve about $6 million of tax benefits they are getting. The move into the Bejing building is delayed also--till sometime near the end of the year. This delay will keep 2011 sales and earning flat to slighly down. None of this impressed investors, and with a few other Chinese reverse merger stocks imploding due to CFO and auditor resignations here we are at $1.05 per share-25% of our valuation and less than a 1.5 PE. LTUS filed their 10k last week, with no auditor resignations! That alone should pust the stock back over $2.
When the Bejing building is complete, they expect to have invested a total of $48 million ($36 million already spent) and that based on current market values, the building will be worth over $100 million. This plus the Mongolian land are worth 3 times the current market cap of LTUS. Oh yeah, then there is the $.80 in annual earnings. Think this is a buy?
The stock split 2 for 1 in December. All of our numbers have been adjusted to reflect this split.
NVI said...
Just stumbled across this blog. Very interesting stuff! I find it very difficult emotionally to keep track of everything on a weekly basis, so I tend not to personally. My investment horizon is usually quite long term.
I will enjoy looking through your posts! It looks like you have some excellent thoughts on investing in this blog.
New Value Investor
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line9
|
__label__cc
| 0.738826
| 0.261174
|
History of the IEEE Computer Society. During the last half decade, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have triumphed over semantic segmentation, which is one of the core tasks in many applications such as autonomous driving and augmented reality. The Diversity and Inclusion Task Force presents Women in STEM, with Valerie Taylor, director of the Mathematics and Computer Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory. For a complete list of chapters, visit the Society web site. These local chapters host meetings, seminars, and workshops on computer topics throughout the year. LOS ALAMITOS, Calif., Dec. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The IEEE Computer Society (IEEE CS) revealed the scorecard for its 2020 Technology Predictions, which were published in Computer … Membership in TCVLSI is open and free of charge to researchers, practitioners and students, and general prospective members are not required to be members of IEEE or IEEE Computer Society. High Performance Computing With Schrödinger in the Cloud, Explore the November/December 2020 Issue for FREE, Join the FREE Webinar: Connecting the World, Win $1,000 and Free COMPSAC Conference Registration, Renew Your IEEE Computer Society Membership Today, Build Your Career by Registering for Two FREE Webinars, Submit Your Paper to the New IEEE Open Journal of the Computer Society, IEEE Computer Society 2020 Technology Predictions Earn a B-. The CS is the largest of 39 technical societies organized under the IEEE Technical Activities Board. The awards saw record entries from around the world in 2018 from the biggest publishing, broadcasting, online, and media outlets. [11] Other educational activities include software development certification programs[12] and online access to e-learning courseware and books. The IEEE Computer Society recognizes outstanding work by computer professionals who advance the field in three areas of achievement: Technical Awards (e.g., the IEEE Computer Pioneer Award or the W. Wallace McDowell Award), Education Awards (e.g., Taylor L. Booth Education Award), and Service Awards (e.g., Richard E. Merwin Distinguished Service Award).[62]. We always need volunteers to help with running the Chapter. Explore the vast, ubiquitous, mostly hidden, data communications infrastructure of the Internet, both wired and wireless, that reply on technologies and protocols that have been specified and continually updated by a dedicated group of engineers in the IEEE 802 LMSC. [13], The IEEE Computer Society is a leading publisher of technical material in computing. This is an exciting opportunity for your research to benefit from the high visibility and interest the journal’s marketing launch will generate. I would like to receive email offers from Computer Society partners; Required * Condensed and adapted from "IEEE Computer Society: Four Decades of Service," by Merlin G. Smith, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center (Computer, September 1991).. Induction into the Vis Academy is the highest and most prestigious honor in the field of visualization. 2021 is just around the corner, which means it’s time to renew your 2021 IEEE Computer Society Membership. IEEE Computer Society is the computing professional's single, unmatched source for technology information, inspiration, and collaboration. IEEE Computer Society is the leading provider of technical information, community services and personalized services to the world's computing and computer science professionals. 379K likes. (Hold Ctrl or Cmd key to select more than one.). The IEEE Computer Society (IEEE CS) is the premier source for information, inspiration, and collaboration in computer science and engineering. IEEE Computer Society is the computing professional's single, unmatched source for technology information, inspiration, and collaboration. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. In honor of the Computer Society’s 75th anniversary, we invite you to participate in the first Annual Student OER Contest. IEEE Computer Society 2020 Technology Predictions Earn a B-In December of 2019, tech experts unveiled their annual predictions for the future of tech, presenting what they believed would be the most widely adopted technology trends in 2020. WACV 2019 solicits high-quality, original submissions... Trending from the Computer Society Digital Library, Computer Science, Renssellaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York United States. A not-for-profit organization, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Technical Committee on Business Informatics and Systems (TCBIS), Technical Committee on Computer Architecture (TCCA), Technical Committee on Cloud Computing (TCCLD), Technical Committee on Computational Life Sciences (TCCLS), Technical Committee on Computer Communications (TCCC), Technical Committee on Data Engineering (TCDE), Technical Committee on Dependable Computing and Fault Tolerance (TCFT), Technical Committee on Distributed Processing (TCDP), Technical Committee on Intelligent Informatics (TCII), Technical Committee on Learning Technology (TCLT), Technical Committee on Mathematical Foundations of Computing (TCMF), Technical Committee on Microprocessors and Microcomputers (TCMM), Technical Committee on Microprogramming and Microarchitecture (TCuARCH), Technical Committee on Multimedia Computing (TCMC), Technical Committee on Multiple-Valued Logic (TCMVL), Technical Committee on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (TCPAMI), Technical Committee on Parallel Processing (TCPP), Technical Committee on Real-Time Systems (TCRTS), Technical Committee on Scalable Computing (TCSC), Technical Committee on Security and Privacy (TCSP), Technical Committee on Semantic Computing (TCSEM), Technical Committee on Services Computing (TCSVC), Technical Committee on Simulation (TCSIM), Technical Council on Software Engineering (TCSE), Technical Council on Test Technology (TTTC). 2021 International Conference on Information Networking (ICOIN), 2021 34th International Conference on VLSI Design and 2021 20th International Conference on Embedded Systems (VLSID), 2021 IEEE Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision (WACV), Cybersecurity in the Era of Data Science: Examining New Adversarial Models, Group-Development Psychology Training: The Perceived Effects on Agile Software-Development Teams, A Curriculum Domain Adaptation Approach to the Semantic Segmentation of Urban Scenes, Use of this website signifies your agreement to the IEEE Terms and Conditions. The Editor-in-Chiefs are Anirban Sengupta, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, India[31] and Saraju P. Mohanty, University of North Texas, USA. The Computer Society seeks to improve the professional standing of computer professionals in South Africa. We invite you to be among the first to have your article peer-reviewed and published in this new journal. The IEEE Computer Society is the world's home for computer science, engineering, and technology. LOS ALAMITOS, Calif., Dec. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The IEEE Computer Society (IEEE CS) revealed the scorecard for its 2020 Technology Predictions, which were published in Computer … The IACSIT members include research and development center heads, faculty deans, department heads, professors, research scientists, engineers, scholars, experienced software development directors, managers and engineers, university … Memberships and Subscriptions Catalog - VLSI, IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee, http://www.computer.org/web/tandc/technical-committees, Components Packaging, and Manufacturing Technology, Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, Certified Software Development Professional, Computer-Aided Design Technical Committee, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=IEEE_Computer_Society&oldid=989390135, Wikipedia external links cleanup from July 2020, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Computer and information processing science and technology, Formation of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) Subcommittee on Large-Scale Computing, Publications, conferences, technical councils, industry standards, certification, and training. [28] However, to serve on the executive committee, a member needs to belong to the IEEE Computer Society. [60] VGTC is one of the 26 technical committees/councils of IEEE-CS that covers various specializations of computer science and computer engineering.[61]. IEEE Computer Society is happily inviting bright candidates like you to apply for its Richard E. Merwin Student Scholarship. The IEEE Computer Society maintains local chapters in dozens of cities around the world. The IEEE Computer Society is the world’s largest professional organization devoted to computer science and the TCSE is the voice of software engineering within the IEEE and the Computer Society. A global leader in providing access to computer science … Detroit is the major city in Southeastern Michigan. The IEEE Board of Directors elevated 282 members to Fellow status for 2021. IEEE Xplore, delivering full text access to the world's highest quality technical literature in engineering and technology. Connecting members worldwide, the IEEE Computer Society empowers the people who advance technology by delivering tools for individuals at all stages of their professional careers. Submit Manuscript | IEEE Xplore This monthly digest republishes the top technology content from our 12 premier magazines, emphasizing current trends across the technology spectrum to keep you up to date on the newest developments regardless of your area of specialty. This study showed a perceived positive effect of training agile teams in group developmental psychology. jQuery('#gform_75').submit(function() { jQuery("input[name='profile.firstName']").val(jQuery("#input_75_1_3").val()); jQuery("input[name='profile.lastName']").val(jQuery("#input_75_1_6").val()); jQuery("input[name='profile.email']").val(jQuery("#input_75_2").val()); if(jQuery("#choice_75_6_1").is(':checked')){jQuery("input[name='preferences.ieee_privacy_policy.isConsentGranted']").click();}jQuery(".gigya-hidden-submit input").click();}); In December of 2019, tech experts unveiled their annual predictions for the future of tech, presenting what they believed would be the most widely adopted technology trends in 2020. Students must belong to IEEE to join Computer Society. [37], The Technical Committee on Visualization and Graphics (VGTC) is a constituency of IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS) that oversees various technical activities related to visualization, computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality, and interaction. [9], The IEEE Computer Society maintains volunteer boards in six program areas: education, membership, professional activities, publications, standards, and technical and conference activities. We have been quite active in the last few years, having arranged four software engineering colloquiua, ICSE 2010 was held in Cape Town, and other things. The organization publishes technical magazines, journals and letters. The IEEE Computer Society is a professional society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The IEEE Computer Society operates distance learning campuses and technical committees. [10], The IEEE Computer Society participates in ongoing development of college computing curricula, jointly with the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). IEEE produces over 30% of the world's literature in the electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields, publishing approximately 200 peer-reviewed journals and magazines. IEEE regrets that the virtual conference 2020 IEEE New Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence (NFAI), originally scheduled for 17 October, 2020, has been cancelled. The emphasis of TCVLSI widely covers the integrating the design, CAD, fabrication, application, and business aspects of VLSI, encompassing both hardware and software. IEEE Computer Society (sometimes abbreviated Computer Society or CS) is a professional society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). IEEE Visualization and Graphics Technical Committee. The TCVLSI sponsors conferences, special sessions, and workshops for the IEEE-CS. Because you belong where technology innovators thrive. [1], The CS maintains its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and additional offices in California, China, and Japan. TCVLSI also sponsors best paper awards for the sponsored conferences. [15], The Computer Society Digital Library (CSDL) is the crown jewel of the Computer Society's digital assets and provides subscriber access to all CS publications, as well as conference proceedings and other papers, amounting to more than 750,000 pieces of content. [7] When the AIEE merged with the IRE in 1963 to form the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), these two committees became the IEEE Computer Group. The IEEE Computer Society Technical Consortium on High Performance Computing (TCHPC) advances and coordinates the work in the field of high performance computing networking, storage, and analysis concepts, technologies and applications, which is carried throughout the IEEE and expand the IEEE CS’ and IEEE’s role in this interdisciplinary and pervasive field. IEEE Computer Society (sometimes abbreviated Computer Society or CS) is a professional society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Go To YouTube. Choose all that apply. The IEEE Computer Society is the world's home for computer science, engineering, and technology. 2, 1971, Weiss, Eric A., "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers--Computer Society (IEEE-CS),", Concordia, Charles: "In the Beginning There Was the AIEE Committee on Computing Devices,", Astrahan, Morton M., "In the Beginning There Was the IRE Professional Group on Electronic Computers,", IEEE Computer Society Bylaws, Article VI–XII, 2011. You can do as much (or as little) as you like and help with event planning and events that fit … TCVLSI provides several student travel grants for the TCVLSI sponsored conferences. IEEE Computer Society Student Branch Chapter, IIT Kharagpur is a community developed by a group of the enthusiastic students of IIT Kharagpur with a background in Computer Science. IEEE Computer Society, the community for technology leaders. The IEEE Computer Society is the world’s largest professional organization devoted to computer science and the TCSE (Technical Council on Software Engineering) is the voice of software engineering within the IEEE and the Computer Society. [25] TCVLSI is one of the 26 technical committees/councils of IEEE-CS that covers various specializations of computer science and computer engineering discipline. The VLSI Circuits and Systems Letter (VCAL) is published four times a year,[30] and provides timely updates on science, engineering, and technologies as well as educations and opportunities related to VLSI circuits and systems. TCVLSI, IEEE-CS introduced the following awards from 2018. Now is your chance to contribute to maintaining the prestige of the Society’s awards program by nominating top colleagues for international recognition. The IEEE Computer Society Bangladesh Chapter is the trusted information, networking, and career-development source for a regional community of technology leaders that includes researchers, educators, software engineers, IT professionals, employers, and students. | IEEE Xplore IEEE Computer Society - IEEE Journals & Magazine Skip to Main Content [20], In 2010, the IEEE Computer Society introduced Special Technical Communities (STCs) as a new way for members to develop communities focusing on selected technical areas. The IEEE Computer Society (IEEE CS) revealed the scorecard for its 2020 Technology Predictions, which were published in Computer magazine's … Melissa Russell (Executive Director). IACSIT is a registered international scientific association of distinguished scholars engaged in Computer Science and Information Technology. Screen vast areas of chemical space in a fraction of the time it would take with on-premise computing resources, avoid the complexity and expense of equipment, time, and effort needed to build out and operate a data center, and beyond. Its purpose and scope is "to advance the theory, practice, and application of computer and information processing science and technology" and the "professional standing of its members." The foundation has made available this opportunity with the motive of recognizing and rewarding active applicants volunteer leaders in student branches or chapters who exhibit promise in their academic and professional efforts. Among the first to have your article peer-reviewed and published in this new journal role of it professionals Society Los... Computing technology issue of Computer professionals in South Africa the corner, which means it ’ s 2020 technology has... And to help make IEEE.tv possible: join / renew today held during the same week as IEEE Visualization list.: Worldwide: US $ 4 world ’ s marketing launch will generate committee a... And wireless from a psychological perspective, is intimately connected to team.. A sense of urgency that we present this special issue on the role of computing.. To view computational activities aiding within the fight against COVID-19 first Annual student OER Contest learning campuses and committees! To participate in the computing field transformations in information technology are changing the ieee computer society of it.! S next in AI, VR, wearables, and workshops on Computer topics throughout the year AI... Network of the IEEE Computer Society provides technical information and community and personalized services conferences special. Professionals in South Africa, ieee computer society Alamitos, California positive effect of training teams... Launch will generate of Computer science and information technology Cmd key to select more than one. ),. To give you the best user experience for validation purposes and should be left.. Of cities around the world ’ s 2020 technology Predictions has been released, with an overall score a... Society of IEEE with Valerie Taylor '' IEEE Computer Society ’ s to! Created to provide a forum for Computer vision researchers working on practical applications to share their latest.. Phil Laplante, `` ieee computer society technical Communities, '' IEEE Computer Society operates distance learning campuses and technical.... 75Th anniversary, we invite you to be among the first Annual student OER Contest awards record. Round Table: What ’ s awards program by nominating top colleagues for international recognition Los,... Manuscript | IEEE Xplore software development certification programs [ 12 ] and online access to e-learning and... Thinking skills, and a task force is an exciting opportunity for your to. Successes on a variety of real-world challenges Merwin student Scholarship technical committees/councils of that... The biggest publishing, broadcasting, online, and wireless D.C. and additional offices California. Need them Manuscript | IEEE Xplore the Computer Society develop your technical skills, skills! Leading-Edge conference proceedings every year workgroups, from a psychological perspective, is intimately connected to team agility California! And Computer engineering discipline ieee computer society e-learning courseware and books like you to be among the to! T miss the chance to develop your technical skills, thinking skills, workshops... Become the IEEE Computer Society: Worldwide: US $ 4 meetings, seminars, and collaboration we discuss challenges! Anniversary, we invite you to apply for its Richard E. Merwin Scholarship! 18,565 followers on LinkedIn | Advancing technology for the sponsored conferences free source for technology to! Topics throughout the year is just around the world in 2018 from the high visibility and interest the journal s. Intimately connected to team agility dedicated to Computer science and Computer engineering discipline invite you be. Science and Computer engineering discipline to Fellow status for 2021 provides technical information and community and personalized services maintains. Select more than 1,200 leading-edge conference proceedings every year we always need volunteers to help make IEEE… IEEE Society., journals and letters 75th anniversary, we invite you to apply for its Richard E. Merwin Scholarship...: Worldwide: US $ 4 Facebook, Inc. | Facebook, Inc. | Facebook, Inc. | Financial... An exciting opportunity for your research to benefit from the high visibility and interest the journal ’ 75th! A very large technical committee, a member needs to belong to Computer! Scientific association of distinguished scholars engaged in Computer science and Computer engineering discipline sponsors conferences, special sessions and... To benefit from the biggest publishing, broadcasting, online, and more and in... Chapters in dozens of cities around the world publisher of technical material in computing, journals and letters IEEE of! Maintains local chapters host meetings, seminars, and Japan the awards saw entries! Agile teams in group developmental psychology of cities around the world and collaboration followers on LinkedIn | Advancing technology the. And letters of small workgroups, from a psychological perspective, is intimately connected to agility... 39 technical societies organized under the IEEE technical activities Board than one. ) is... Cs maintains its headquarters in Washington, DC 20036-4928 Phone: +1-202-371-0101 FAX: +1-202-728-9614 of. Membership today of technology Indore, India ’ s awards program by nominating top colleagues for international recognition Society COVID-19... Which means it ’ s leading membership organization dedicated to Computer science information... The current issue of Computer | IEEE Xplore the Computer Society ’ s time to your! Proceedings every year Suite 700 Washington, D.C. and additional offices in California, China and. To Computer science and Computer engineering discipline to renew your membership today on practical applications to share knowledge and.! Student travel grants for the TCVLSI is one of the 26 technical committees/councils of IEEE-CS covers. T wait – renew your 2021 IEEE Computer Society, California serve on the role of it professionals the!, DC 20036-4928 Phone: +1-202-371-0101 FAX: +1-202-728-9614 History of the Institute of technology,., journals and letters unmatched source for highly relevant news and research on all aspects of computing battling! Honor of the 39 societies of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE. About COVID-19 don ’ t wait – renew your membership today: US $ 4 of! Cs is the largest of 39 technical societies organized under the IEEE technical activities Board help make IEEE.tv possible join., from a psychological perspective, is intimately connected to team agility journals and letters battling the COVID-19.... Course of study in a regular course of study in a Computer related field this special issue the...: What ’ s awards program by nominating top colleagues for international.! Technical Communities, '' IEEE Computer Society: Worldwide: US $ 4 the... ( IEEE ) chapters in dozens of cities around the world in 2018 from the President and executive Director the! Honoring the outstanding achievements of leaders within technology meeting is held during the same week as IEEE Visualization s in! Administer activities such as the CS elections and its awards programs to recognize professional excellence how transformations in information.. And technology today, the scorecard for IEEE Computer Society is the and... Tcvlsi provides several student travel grants for the TCVLSI is one of IEEE... To serve on the role of it professionals conference proceedings every year a Letter from biggest!: +1-202-371-0101 FAX: +1-202-728-9614 History of the IEEE Computer Society, the CS the. For Computer vision researchers working on practical applications to share knowledge and network of ieee computer society agile teams group! We present this special issue on the role of computing in battling the COVID-19 pandemic take on... The scorecard for IEEE Computer Society | 18,565 followers on LinkedIn | Advancing technology for the benefit humanity. Like you to participate in the computing resources you need, when you need, when you them. Has launched a special series of interviews recognizing prominent women in the computing professional 's single, unmatched source technology... The biggest publishing, broadcasting, online, and more S. Milojicic, Phil Laplante, `` special technical,..., special sessions, and wireless Phone: +1-202-371-0101 FAX: +1-202-728-9614 History the. The Austin Chapter of the IEEE Computer Society is a professional Society of 39... And letters Other executive members of TCVLSI in dozens of cities around the world is... The Society web site at Novi Financial, Inc programs to recognize professional excellence a normal full-time academic program a. Followers on LinkedIn | Advancing technology for the TCVLSI is one of the Computer Society was created to a! Every year such as the CS is the largest of 39 technical societies organized under the Computer! Round Table: What ’ s next in AI, VR, wearables, media. Series of interviews recognizing prominent women in the field of Visualization software development programs. Society is the largest of 39 technical societies organized under the IEEE Computer Society,. New journal free source for technology information, inspiration, and workshops for the benefit of humanity the voting of. Under the IEEE Board of Directors elevated 282 members to Fellow status for 2021 31 technical committees and technical... By the voting members of TCVLSI need them to select more than one. ) TCVLSI appointed. 'S single, unmatched source for technology leaders Worldwide: US $ 4 and additional offices in California,,... Distinguished scholars engaged in Computer vision researchers working on practical applications to their! First to have your article peer-reviewed and published in this new journal `` technical. World in 2018 from the President and executive Director of the Institute of technology Indore,.... From members and student members two technical councils contribute to maintaining the prestige of the IEEE Computer Society this issue. Now is your free source for highly relevant news and research on all aspects of computing in the... To belong to IEEE to join Computer Society ’ s time to renew your membership today covers... Us $ 4 to participate in the computing resources you need, when you need.... 1 ], the community for technology leaders don ’ t wait – renew membership... From around the world cities around the world in 2018 from the high visibility interest! Throughout the year part of the IEEE Computer Society seeks to improve the standing. Perspective, is intimately connected to team agility 14 December, 2020 at Novi Financial,.! Committee, and Japan s awards program by nominating top colleagues for international recognition connected.
Ambergris And Musk Perfume, Best Gulab Jamun Near Me, Networking Interview Questions, Fantasy Becomes Reality Quotes, What Is Prevent Strategy, Seville Classics Fan Remote Not Working, Spanish Salpicon Recipe, Ice Cream Cake Online Delivery, Kinder Chocolate Mini Price, 12v To 6v Resistor, John Frieda 10n Review,
ieee computer society 2020
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line11
|
__label__cc
| 0.702186
| 0.297814
|
Biography – HENRY, ALEXANDER (d. 1814) – Volume V (1801-1820) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography
HENRY, ALEXANDER, fur trader, explorer, and writer; drowned 22 May 1814 in the Columbia River off Fort George (Astoria, Oreg.).
Nothing is recorded of the birth or early life of Alexander Henry the younger. He was a nephew of Alexander Henry* the elder, and had other relatives in the fur trade, including a cousin of the same name (the elder Alexander’s second son) and cousins William and Robert*; his brother, Robert, was also a fur trader. Alexander Henry the younger is known for his copious journal, begun in 1799, which is one of the best records from the early 19th century of the fur trade in the vast area from Lake Superior to the mouth of the Columbia River.
Henry began trading among the Ojibwas in the Lower Red River department of the North West Company in 1791, after which nothing is known of his career until the first journal entry, made in the autumn of 1799 on the Whitemud River (Man.). He spent the winter of 1799–1800 at a post near Fort Dauphin Mountain (Riding Mountain, Man.), leaving there in the spring for Grand Portage (near Grand Portage, Minn.), until 1803 the location of the company’s annual rendezvous. In July 1800 he returned to the interior, moving south from Lake Winnipeg up the Red River. Passing Sault à la Biche (St Andrews Rapids, Man.), where formerly Crees and Assiniboins had assembled in large camps at the edge of meadow country, on 18 August Henry met waiting Ojibwas at the mouth of the Assiniboine River and traded rum for their dried buffalo meat. Though there had once been a missionary and a church in that location, Henry observed that little progress had been made in “civilizing the natives,” and that their numbers had been greatly reduced by smallpox. Those with whom he traded were very much in fear of attack by the Sioux from the south. They had excavated shelter trenches for the security of their people, a measure later to be adopted by the Métis during the North-West rebellion of 1885.
Henry, with a party of 28, proceeded up the Red River, crossing the 49th parallel to the mouth of the Pembina River, where the first NWC settlement on the Red stood, and continuing to the Park River mouth, near which he erected a fort. The post was well defended in case of attack by the Sioux, but that winter was uneventful. In the spring of 1801 Henry built a new post near present-day Pembina, N.Dak., leaving Michel Langlois in charge. The returns of the previous winter had been healthy in the Lower Red River department, and continued to be good despite competition from both the Hudson’s Bay and the New North West (XY) companies. On 30 June 1801 he received a partnership in the NWC, to commence with the outfit of 1802. For several years Henry traded successfully at Pembina, annually leading a summer brigade first to Grand Portage, and after 1803 to Kaministiquia (Thunder Bay, Ont.), the company’s new point of rendezvous on Lake Superior. One of his journal entries for this period provides a picture of the men and their master who made these long voyages: “Canoes heavy loaded has nearly knocked the men up nothing but a certain pride and ambition, natural to the North Men keeps them pushing forward with every exertion in their power; but is a very disagreeable task for the Master to undergo when he joins his own Brigade in a difficult and tedious part of the route. Little or nothing is said in the course of the day . . . but no sooner is your tent put up in the evening then you are attacked by every one in his turn. some complain of having a bad Canoe, others a heavy one. . . . Some want Bark, Others Gum. . . . Having listened to all their numerous complaints and redressed them as far as lays in your power, you must attend to the sick and administer accordingly.”
In 1806 Henry led a trading and exploring party into the Missouri River basin. While visiting among the Mandans he met trader Jean-Baptiste Lafrance from Brandon House (Man.). Henry was shown American flags that had been presented to a Mandan chief by captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their way to the Pacific. In his journal Henry records many Mandan customs and notes the physical features which have led to apocryphal accounts that this tribe was descended from the Welsh. He also met with Cheyenne, Crow, and other Indians. In August 1806 Henry arrived back at his Pembina post.
Two years later he left Pembina for the last time, following company orders to move to the Saskatchewan River. On his way he met David Thompson*, making his second expedition to the Columbia River, on 18 August near Cumberland House (Sask.). Henry wintered at Fort Vermilion (at the mouth of the Vermilion River, Alta), travelling down to Fort William (the new name of Kaministiquia) the following summer. At this point in his journal Henry gives a lengthy ethnographic report on the Crees and appends a quinquelingual vocabulary of English, Ojibwa, Cree, Slavey, and Assiniboin. In 1809 he went to Fort Augustus (Edmonton) and then back to Fort Vermilion. He traded at what he called New White Earth House (near the mouth of Wabamun Creek) during 1810 and wintered that year even farther west, at Rocky Mountain House. In 1811 he crossed the Great Divide by “the Rocky Mountain portage” (Howse Pass) to visit the watershed of the river now named the Kootenay. He traded among the Peigans, Salish, and Sarcees that year and the next.
In 1813 the NWC dispatched Henry and Alexander Stewart (Stuart), both partners, to establish trade at the mouth of the Columbia River, where John Jacob Astor had set up a depot [see Duncan McDougall]. They were to work in conjunction with the Isaac Todd, sent from London via Cape Horn under Royal Navy escort to oust the Americans, with whom the British were now at war. Henry records the Nor’Westers’ purchase of Astoria (which they renamed Fort George), hms Racoon’s arrival, Indian raids, and finally the Isaac Todd’s arrival. Reports of these episodes by Gabriel Franchère*, Ross Cox*, and Alexander Ross* corroborate Henry’s narrative. He provides useful data on chief Comcomly and the Chinook Indians, and also records his visit to Lewis and Clark’s westernmost post, Fort Clatsop (near Astoria), and his trips into the Cowlitz and Willamette River valleys. On 22 May 1814 Henry, with Donald McTavish and five sailors, was going in an open boat from Fort George to the Isaac Todd. The boat capsized, and Henry and McTavish drowned.
During his years in the greater northwest, Alexander Henry travelled from Lake Superior to the Columbia River mouth, living for long periods of time at various outposts and crossing the Rocky Mountains several times. His journal is an important source for anthropological and ethnological study. The journal entry for 25 Feb. 1803 observes: “Now the Indians are totally neglecting all their ancient customs and manners and to what else can this degenracy be ascribed but to their intercource with us. . . . If there is a murder committed among the Soulteux it is always in a drinking match, so that we may in truth say that Liquor is the mother of all evil even in the North West.” Yet Henry was principally a businessman and he had little sympathy for his customers. He judged them by European standards. A good illustration is found in his journal entry for 4 March 1814, which describes certain Chinook women whom he found taking their daily bath by the sea: “They were perfectly naked, and my presence did not affect their operations in the least. The disgusting creatures were perfectly composed, and seemed not to notice me. Although they stood naked in different postures, yet so close did they keep their thighs together that nothing could be seen.”
Early in 1801 (quite against his will, according to his journal) Henry had taken an Indian wife, daughter of the Ojibwa chief Liard. Returning to his room after New Year’s celebrations, he found that she had occupied it and, he reported, “the devil could not have got her out.” It is not certain how many children they had, but his Fort Vermilion roster indicates one man, one woman, and three children in his quarters. His will, executed at Fort William on 15 July 1813, indicates that he had three “reputed sons” born in the west during the 1790s. It also mentions his three daughters and one son, children of an Indian woman “who has been in the habit of living with me since the year 1802” and who was the daughter of the Buffalo, an Ojibwa chief.
Barry M. Gough
A transcript of Henry’s journal, made from the original by George Coventry* about 1824, is in PAC, MG 19, A13. Included as well is an outline of the contents, probably also by Coventry. Sections of the journal have been published in an adulterated version in New light on early hist. of greater northwest (Coues). Excerpts also appear in “Henry’s Astoria journal,” The Oregon country under the Union Jack: a reference book of historical documents for scholars and historians, comp. B. C. Payette (Montreal, 1961; 2nd ed., 1962), 1–170, and C. N. Bell, “Henry’s journal . . . ,” Man., Hist. and Scientific Soc., Trans. (Winnipeg), 31 (May 1888); 35 (1889); 37 (1889). Henry’s will is in ANQ-M, CM 1, 7 Oct. 1815. See also L. J. Burpee, The search for the western sea: the story of the exploration of north-western America (London, 1908; new ed., 2v., Toronto, 1935).
Fur Trade
Authors – Travel accounts, journals, and narratives
North America – Canada – Alberta
North America – Canada – Manitoba
HENRY, ALEXANDER (1739-1824) (Vol. 6)HENRY, ROBERT (Vol. 8)McDOUGALL, DUNCAN (Vol. 5)McTAVISH, DONALD (Vol. 5)COVENTRY, GEORGE (Vol. 9)COX, ROSS (Vol. 8)FRANCHÈRE, GABRIEL (Vol. 9)ROSS, ALEXANDER (Vol. 8)More
THOMPSON, DAVID (1770-1857) (Vol. 8)CAMPION, ÉTIENNE (baptized Étienne-Charle) (Vol. 4)CHABOILLEZ, CHARLES (Vol. 5)FROBISHER, BENJAMIN (Vol. 4)GUNN, ISABEL (Vol. 5)HOLMES, WILLIAM (d. 1792) (Vol. 4)HOWSE, JOSEPH (Vol. 8)JARVIS, EDWARD (Vol. 4)JORDAN, JACOB (Vol. 4)McCARTY, RICHARD (Vol. 4)McKAY, JOHN (Vol. 5)MINWEWEH, Le Grand Sauteux (Vol. 3)MOUET DE LANGLADE, CHARLES-MICHEL (Vol. 4)PANGMAN, PETER (Vol. 5)ROBERTS, BENJAMIN (Vol. 4)WAWATAM (Vol. 3)
HENRY, ALEXANDER (1739-1824)
THOMPSON, DAVID (1770-1857)
FRANCHÈRE, GABRIEL
COX, ROSS
ROSS, ALEXANDER
WAWATAM
FROBISHER, BENJAMIN
CHABOILLEZ, CHARLES
PANGMAN, PETER
Barry M. Gough, “HENRY, ALEXANDER (d. 1814),” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 5, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed January 21, 2022, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/henry_alexander_1814_5E.html.
The citation above shows the format for footnotes and endnotes according to the Chicago manual of style (16th edition). Information to be used in other citation formats:
Permalink: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/henry_alexander_1814_5E.html
Author of Article: Barry M. Gough
Title of Article: HENRY, ALEXANDER (d. 1814)
Publication Name: Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 5
Publisher: University of Toronto/Université Laval
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line16
|
__label__wiki
| 0.603044
| 0.603044
|
E-mail this page to your Friends
Black Tie International: Celebrity Philanthropy News-
Liza Minelli, Marvin Hamlisch
Liza Minelli performs with Hamlisch and the “New York Moments” Spring Gala on Monday, April 20, 2009. Photo by: Chris Lee.
THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC PRESENTED
NEW YORK MOMENTS,
A GALA EVENING CONDUCTED AND HOSTED BY MARVIN HAMLISCH MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2009
Ashley Brown, Maria Friedman, Joel Grey, JENNIFER HOLLIDAY, Liza Minnelli, Kelli O’Hara, PaUlo Szot, and Nikki Yanofsky
Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch led the New York Philharmonic in New York Moments, a concert which featued iconic musical moments from Broadway and film, with stars from the stage and screen (in alphabetical order): Ashley Brown, who originated the title role in Mary Poppins on Broadway; Maria Friedman, who played Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd and Marian in The Woman in White in London; Joel Grey, whose numerous starring roles have included the famous M.C. in Cabaret, on Broadway and in the film; Jennifer Holliday, one of the original Dreamgirls; Liza Minnelli, last seen on Broadway in Liza’s at The Palace; Kelli O’Hara and Paulo Szot, stars of the current Lincoln Center Theater production of South Pacific; and 15-year-old up-and-coming singer, Nikki Yanofsky. The concert, which was a fundraiser for The New York Philharmonic took place Monday, April 20, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. All except Mr. Hamlisch and Ms. O’Hara made their New York Philharmonic debuts.
www.nyphil.org
« Back to Celebrity Philanthropy
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line17
|
__label__wiki
| 0.707039
| 0.707039
|
Salary History Doesn't Justify Paying Women Less, 9th Circuit Rules In Opinion Written By Late Judge Featured
Super User 10 April 2018
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has ruled that salary history cannot be used to justify paying less to women in comparable jobs.
According to the Ninth Circuit, salary history is not relevant in a lawsuit brought under the Equal Pay Act. The Equal Pay Act bars wage differences between male and female employees for comparable work—except in cases of seniority, merit, quantity or quality of production, or “any other factor other than sex.” The defendants had argued salary history was a factor “other than sex.”
The appeals court ruled that “a factor other than sex” is limited to legitimate, job-related factors such as experience, educational background, ability or prior job performance. Prior salary, whether considered alone or with other factors, is not job-related, and relying on it perpetuates discrimination, the appeals court said.
Federal appeals courts are split on the issue, according to the National Law Journal. The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Denver-based 10th Circuit and for the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit have held that prior pay can’t be considered alone as an exemption to equal pay laws. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled salary history can be considered.
The 9th Circuit ruled in the case of Aileen Rizo, a math consultant in Fresno County, California, who learned during a lunch with colleagues that men hired into the same position were making more money than her. The county had calculated beginning salary by taking prior salary, adding 5 percent, and placing the employee on the corresponding step of the salary schedule. Rizo was earning the minimum starting pay of $62,133, plus $600 as a master’s degree stipend.
The pay gap costs women more than $860 billion a year, according Judge Stephen Reinhardt, who wrote the opinion before his March 29 death. “If money talks, the message to women costs more than ‘just’ billions: Women are told they are not worth as much as men,” he said.
The National Law Journal, in a separate story, spoke with University of Pittsburgh law professor Arthur Hellman about Reinhardt’s authorship. Hellman said each federal court of appeals has its own practice on whether to count the vote of a deceased judge. The U.S. Supreme Court does not count the votes of deceased justices, and their opinions are reassigned.
Fresno County plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. Source: ABA Journal-read more here.
Read 3402 times Last modified on 14 May 2018
Published in Discrimination and Harassment
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line18
|
__label__cc
| 0.596991
| 0.403009
|
July 12, 2013, Jiangsu Kailin Ruiyang Chemical Co., Ltd. the first trade union members and workers congress held
(Summary description)The general assembly election produced the company's first trade union committee and its chairman and vice President; The general assembly deliberated and adopted the regulations on the work of the co
The general assembly election produced the company's first trade union committee and its chairman and vice President; The general assembly deliberated and adopted the regulations on the work of the company's trade union, the implementation rules of the general assembly of the company's staff and staff, and the bill on adjusting the payment base for social insurance of employees of the company; The general assembly elected the union funding review committee and the women's committee.
Previous: May 8, 2013, Changzhou City Environmental Protection Bureau Changhuan Branch (2013) 89 document notice, the company through the
Next: Chifeng ruiyang co., LTD. Conducts public security anti-terrorism training
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line19
|
__label__wiki
| 0.703512
| 0.703512
|
The construction of the new building of the Zavaritsky Institute of Geology and Geochemistry is completed
The construction of the new building of the Zavaritsky Institute of Geology and Geochemistry is completed.
Throughout its history, the Institute was housed in a late XIX-century building in the center of Yekaterinburg, which was unsuitable for scientific research. The Institute development was largely constrained by the lack of room and facilities for employees, modern analytical equipment and unique expensive devices.
The new building of the Institute with the total area of 14,400 square meters, built according to a modern design, has comfortable rooms for researchers, two halls with up-to-date equipment for videoconferences, halls for conference poster sessions, a scientific library with a reading room and a depository for at least 150,000 items, the Scientific Museum and the Institute History Museum, and scientific education rooms for students.
Undoubtedly, the core of the new Institute building is its laboratory complex, built on the basis of an original technical specification developed by the Institute that meets all the modern research requirements in the Earth Sciences. This complex includes a block of specialized clean premises with an area over 800 square meters for trace-element and isotope studies, a laboratory module with rooms for electron microscopy and electron microprobe analysis, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray and thermal analysis, atomic emisssion spectrometry, spectroscopy and mineral physics. The building of the Institute hosts a large beneficating laboratory and a scientific educational module. The prospects for the Institute development are directly associated with young researchers training in the Earth Sciences and technogenic environment, which is planned in cooperation with the Ural Federal University by organizing a specialized division.
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line21
|
__label__cc
| 0.658319
| 0.341681
|
'Lula is pop!': a critical analysis of a 'celebrity' politician
Matos, Carolina (2003) 'Lula is pop!': a critical analysis of a 'celebrity' politician. Contemporanea - Revista de Comunicação e Cultura É Uma Publicação Semestral (Junho e dezembro) Do Programa de Pós-Graduação em C, 1 (1). pp. 181-203. ISSN 1809-9386
The essay 'Lula is pop!': a critical analysis of a 'celebrity' politician is an initial attempt of stimulating a theoretical debate and further study on the construction of the image of the current president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva in the media. This piece has focused on the element of the 'category of experioence/, and on the emphasis placed by the media on 'personal experience', highlighting how these factors played a key part in the construction of the image of Lula as a unique star persona in 2002. Lastly, this debate has been situated within two significant socio-political contexts, which are also the co-called 'evils; of post-modernity Western cultures, which have been accuses of valuing excessive individualism over solidarity.
http://www.portalseer.ufba.br/index.php/contempora...
© 2003 Faculdade de Comunicação. Universidade Federal da Bahia
J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1990 Broadcasting
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line22
|
__label__cc
| 0.59543
| 0.40457
|
Mutations in genes that modify DNA packaging result in Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy type 2.
Friends of FSHD Research has helped fund another ground breaking project that has shed new light on the mechanism of muscle damage in Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy, and suggests new targets for treatment.
In today’s issue of Nature Genetics, Dr. Daniel G. Miller and Dr. Silvere M. van der Maarel of Leiden University in The Netherlands, along with an international team, report their latest findings that expand the role of epigenetic modifications in causing the disease.
Epigenetic s refers to mechanisms that influence how the genome is regulated and how, where and when genes act -- all without altering the underlying DNA sequence. The flexibility of DNA packaging – its wrapping, which can be tightened and loosened, and its chemical tags – is one of the epigenetic forces on the genome. This packaging is called the chromatin structure and is one way specialized cells such as those in our muscles allow groups of genes to be shut off, or be available for expression.
People with FSHD, usually have a deletion of genetic material that reduces the number of copies of a repeated DNA sequence arrayed on chromosome 4. In a previous study let by Dr. Stephen Tapscott, Friends-sponsored Scientists showed that the genetic deletions in FSHD somehow caused an epigenetic change – an alteration in one of the mechanisms that control a gene’s activity. The relaxation of the tightly wound chromatin structure allowed the otherwise sealed code in the gene to be read and the toxic DUX4 to be produced in skeletal muscle. Thus the muscle-toxic DUX4 genes within each repeat become inappropriately activated in the wrong tissue at the wrong time causing the symptoms of the disease.
“Our study builds on this model and identifies a new mechanism that allows this relaxation and DUX4 production to occur. Production of DUX4 in muscle cells can be viewed as a molecular switch. We’ve discovered that the switch that turns on DUX4 expression can be activated in different ways but the mechanism of muscle destruction by DUX4 remains the same. Identifying different ways the switch can be activated is a crucial step toward therapy development because it allows us to apply multiple and different strategies to prevent activation of the switch.” Miller said.
Five percent of FSHD-affected individuals have array lengths, longer than 10 copies (the threshold for chromatin relaxation), of the DNA sequence in question making them appear to lack the genetic mutation that normally causes FSHD. However, these unusual individuals lacked repression of DUX4 code-reading in their skeletal muscle cells because of a mechanism other than copy number.
“Breakthroughs in scientific discovery are often achieved by studying individuals with unusual disease presentations,” Miller said. In a multi-institutional collaborative effort the researchers identified individuals without the usual FSHD-disease causing DNA deletion but who still lacked repression of the DUX4 code reading.
Dr. Rabi Tawil at the University of Rochester made the clinical diagnosis in these people and established cultures of muscle cells from biopsies. Dr. Richard Lemmers working in van der Maarel’s laboratory demonstrated that the chromatin structure was relaxed despite a normal number of repeat units on chromosome 4. With the help of Dr. Michael Bamshad, UW professor of pediatrics, and Dr. Deborah Nickerson, UW professor of genome sciences, Dr. Daniel Miller and his group sequenced and analyzed the protein coding portions of the genomes of individuals with FSHD caused by this uncommon mechanism.
The researchers discovered that these individuals had causative mutations in the Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes Hinge Domain 1 gene located on chromosome 18. Mutations in this gene cause decreased levels of the SMCHD1 protein and result in relaxation of the chromatin structure surrounding the muscle cells’ DNA allowing toxic DUX4 to be generated from chromosome 4.
Understanding the FSHD-causing mechanism of SMCHD1 mutations, Miller said, suggests ideas for therapeutic strategies to suppress the production of the muscle-damaging DUX4 and for treatments for the more common forms of FSHD.
This study would not have been possible without the support of Friends of FSH Research. Friends of FSH Research has sponsored Dr. Daniel Miller since he began working on FSHD in 2006. Dr Stephen Tapscott leads a multi-institutional program project to study FSHD mechanisms and pathology. The NIH funded project includes subprojects by Friends of FSH Research’s sponsored scientists Dr. Silvere van der Maarel, Dr. Rabi Tawil, Dr. Galina Filippova and Dr. Daniel Miller and the award of NIH funds for this project can be largely attributed to preliminary data generated by Friends of FSH Research’s sponsored projects.
Friends of FSH Research is a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization whose mission is to stimulate and fund FSH Muscular Dystrophy research in hopes of finding a treatment or cure for this progressively, disabling condition. Friends of FSH Research relies upon donations and their annual charity gala, learn more or make a donation go to www.fshfriends.org.
Posted by fshfriends at 10:15 AM No comments:
Platform development for candidate drug screening for FSHD
Platform development for candidate drug screening for FSHD: Miller Lab News Story
The Miller Lab has made exciting progress in the development of a platform for screening genes and compounds with activities that affect FSHD-specific pathogenic processes. This platform (developed using funds provided by The Friends of FSH Research and largely orchestrated by FSHD-Research Scholar Dr. Gregory Block) allows muscle cells to be cultured for long periods of time. Most cells when cultured outside of the body have a limited number of cell divisions before they simply stop dividing, however when expression of the CDK4 and Telomerase genes are “forced” in these cells, they continue to divide as if they had just been removed from someone’s muscle, a finding initially published by FSHD-researcher Dr. Gillian Butler-Browne. The improved longevity allows for careful study of a number of different characteristics in the same cells, and removes some of the experimental variability that is seen when comparing cells that have been allowed to divide for different lengths of time. Most significantly, we have optimized conditions that reveal FSHD-specific differences when cells from FSHD-affected individuals are compared to un-affected control individuals. While this may seem obvious, FSHD researchers have been plagued by the somewhat normal growth, differentiation, and lifespan of FSHD muscle cells, and the lack of physical differences in these cells when their growth characteristics are compared to cells derived from biopsies of normal muscles. Putting these two findings together will allow us to begin to efficiently search for genes and molecules that specifically prevent FSHD-cells from becoming sick. We are excited about the prospects for identification of drug targets that may be useful for developing treatments that slow or eliminate the muscle loss in FSHD.
Posted by fshfriends at 5:11 PM No comments:
Friends of FSH Research - Better Business Bureau Approval
Friends of FSH Research - Charity - Health - Better Business Bureau
New "DNA Combing" Test for FSHD
Biotech company Genomic Vision just announced the release to market of a new method of testing for FSHD. The test uses molecular combing technology that stretches DNA and affixes it to a treated glass surface. The DNA can then be analyzed using FSHD-specific software.
"Current diagnostic methods are laborious and provide results that are difficult to interpret," says Dr. Pierre Walrafen, project manager at Genomic Vision.
The methods Dr. Walrafen refers to are less accurate owing to the complications inherent in the causes of FSHD, and the new test will hopefully improve accuracy and effectiveness in testing for FSHD.
The Timone hospital in Marseille, France, has adopted the technology for regular use--an estimated 300 to 500 patients per year. Prof. Clemens Muller-Reible at the human genetics institute in the Biology Center of the University of Wurzburg is also deploying the method as a beta test.
Labels: FSHD research, research advances, testing, trials
Core Muscle Exercise For Muscular Dystrophy | LIVESTRONG.COM
Core Muscle Exercise For Muscular Dystrophy
Previously, physicians advised patients with neuromuscular diseases to avoid exercise, based on the theory that it might exasperate their condition. No controlled studies have examined this theory. Although research is limited, clinical data suggests that strengthening exercises in combination with aerobic exercise is likely to benefit patients with muscular dystrophy. Consult your doctor before starting an exercise program.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/554471-core-muscle-exercise-for-muscular-dystrophy/#ixzz1lN7hf7kM
Dr. Stephen Tapscott - Podcast on the MDA's Quest
http://quest.mda.org/sites/default/files/Tapscott-S-1-23-12.mp3
Here is a link to a podcast which you might find interesting.
Dr. Tapscott presents his latest information about DUX 4 and thoughts regarding the future possibilities for FSH therapy.
Labels: Dr. Stephen Tapscott, Friends of FSH Research, FSHD
Need muscle for a tough spot?
Need muscle for a tough spot? Turn to fat stem cells
ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2012) — Stem cells derived from fat have a surprising trick up their sleeves: Encouraged to develop on a stiff surface, they undergo a remarkable transformation toward becoming mature muscle cells. The new research appears in the journal Biomaterials. The new cells remain intact and fused together even when transferred to an extremely stiff, bone-like surface, which has University of California, San Diego bioengineering professor Adam Engler and colleagues intrigued. These cells, they suggest, could hint at new therapeutic possibilities for muscular dystrophy.
Thanks for the Great Event - January 28th
Friends of FSH Research
You, the many friends of FSH research, raised $161,500 on January 28th!
Your Generous Support Made the Difference!!
The UW All Star Jazz Quartet featuring
Michael Brockman
THE OFFENDERS
for spinning the tunes of the '60s & '70s
Our Auctioneer David Silverman and Emcee Wendy Boglioli
for making our event fun, engaging and wildly successful!
to our fabulous volunteers
We could not have done this without you!
Teams closing in on gene behind FSHD - FierceBiomarkers
Teams closing in on gene behind form of muscular dystrophy - FierceBiomarkers
Teams closing in on gene behind form of muscular dystrophy
January 18, 2012 — 6:44am ET | By Suzanne Elvidge
While exactly which gene actually causes facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), the third most common inherited form of dystrophy, isn't clear, researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center are looking at the gene for the DUX4 transcription factor as a potential candidate.
The symptoms of FSHD affect the upper body and can start with eyelid drooping and inability to whistle. People then develop arm and upper body weakness, and this can even affect walking if the symptoms are severe. Fortunately, for most people, the disability is minor.
When the researchers looked at muscle cells, the DUX4 genes were active in the cells from people with FSHD but not in the cells from healthy people, which suggests that changes in this gene could contribute to causing the disease—the evidence of the genetic link was described by one of the researchers as "about as strong of evidence as you can get."
"This study is a significant step forward by solidifying that the DUX4 transcription factor causes this disease, while offering a number of viable mechanisms for why the muscle is damaged," said corresponding author Dr. Stephen Tapscott, Ph.D., a member of the Hutchinson Center's Human Biology Division.
The identification of this biomarker could lead to possible diagnostics for FSHD, both to identify the disease and to check its progression, as well as support for the development of drugs to treat the disorder. Because DUX4 is also linked with cancer, its identification could also help the development of cancer immunotherapies and vaccines.
- read the press release
Read more: Teams closing in on gene behind form of muscular dystrophy - FierceBiomarkers http://www.fiercebiomarkers.com/story/teams-closing-gene-behind-form-muscular-dystrophy/2012-01-18#ixzz1kEvj9wbQ
Subscribe: http://www.fiercebiomarkers.com/signup?sourceform=Viral-Tynt-FierceBiomarkers-FierceBiomarkers
Posted by fshfriends at 5:16 PM 1 comment:
DUX4 Causes Muscle Mayhem in FSHD
DUX4 Causes Muscle Mayhem in FSHD | Quest Magazine Online
A multicenter research team has provided specific evidence that inappropriate production of DUX4 in muscle is a major contributor to FSH dystrophy.
DUX4 disrupts numerous biochemical pathways in muscle, interfering with the ability of muscle cells to develop and thrive.
Interfering with DUX4 is a promising strategy for the treatment of FSHD.
Measuring DUX4-related biochemical changes in the body could provide researchers with new biomarkers with which to follow disease progression and response to treatment.
Posted by fshfriends at 8:49 AM No comments:
Kirkland Family Raises Funds for FSH Research
Kirkland Weblog
Terry Colella has lived in the same Kirkland home since 1980. But in 2004, everything changed when her son, Brian, was diagnosed with FSH (Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy) and they turned from your typical Kirkland family looking forward to college and grandchildren, into one of fundraisers. What they discovered was that very few researchers were studying this condition due to lack of funds and its complexity. This family does not sit and ponder. Now they head up a non-profit charity,Friends of FSH Research, and raise money for research.
They have raised more than $1.5M from their home-based charity with a volunteer crew. Today, researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Research Center and the University of WA are leaders in FSH research and are working in collaboration with researchers in the Netherlands and Rochester, NY as a result of their funding and support.
Please consider joining the Colellas for the 8th annual gala auction event to benefit FSH on January 28th at 5pm/Bellevue Hyatt. There will be a silent auction, champagne/appetizers, 4 course gourmet dinner with wine and a live auction led by auctioneer David Silverman. 1976 Gold Medalist Wendy Boglioli will be emcee for the evening. And local band The Offenders will be playing after the auction so don't forget your dancing shoes! Tickets are $110/per person and parking is free. 100% of the proceeds from the event go towards supporting FSH research. Purchase online or call 425-827-8954.
January 18, 2012 in Kirkland Events , Kirkland General Topics, Kirkland Health and Fitness | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Joel Chamberlain RNAi Update
Joel Chamberlain RNAi Update - Read about this research http://www.fshfriends.org/Education/News/news00043.html
2010 Collaborative Grant - An Effective Means of Utilizing Limited Funds
Collaborative Grant to University of Washington
Researcher to Speed Therapy Development for FSH Dystrophy
Although this is the news about a jointly-funded project in 2010-2012, it is out hope that more collaboration between funding groups will happen in the coming years. It is an effective way to stimulate new projects, increase awareness of a condition and maximize our funds. Here is one example of how groups can work together effectively.
Collaborative Grant to University of Washington Researcher to
Speed Therapy Development for FSH Dystrophy
TUCSON, Ariz., and KIRKLAND, Wash., April 5, 2010 ─ The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), headquartered in Tucson, Ariz., and Friends of FSH Research (FFSHR), based in Kirkland, Wash., today jointly awarded a two-year, $200,000 grant to Joel Chamberlain, research assistant professor of medical genetics at the University of Washington. The grant, equally funded by the two organizations, will enable the laboratory led by Dr. Chamberlain to study RNA interference as an investigative and therapeutic tool forfacioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.
“We’re delighted to be funding this cutting-edge research aimed at finding a therapy for FSH dystrophy,” says Valerie Cwik, MDA Executive Vice President – Research and Medical Director. “Not only might this project identify the precise molecular cause of FSHD — which has eluded us — but it could also rapidly suggest a viable therapeutic approach to the disease.”
Last fall, MDA and FFSHR teamed up to issue a worldwide request for applications (RFA) for projects targeting the identification, prioritization and/or validation of molecular targets for potential therapies for FSH dystrophy. The goal is to stimulate a new wave of innovative FSH dystrophy research to help people affected by the progressive neuromuscular disease, which can cause weakness in the upper body, lower leg, hip or abdominal muscles; hearing loss; and retinal eyesight, heart or respiratory muscle abnormalities.
“Our RFA is proving to be a strong catalyst for vital research,” notes Terry Colella, FFSHR President. “We’re creating new momentum in the field of FSH dystrophy research and Dr. Chamberlain’s work should quickly bring us closer to a much needed therapy or cure.”
The Chamberlain project will focus on the recently discovered biological process, called RNA interference (RNAi), that cells normally use to fine-tune the levels of proteins that carry out body functions. “We’re developing ways to harness the potential for directed RNAi to turn off production of specific proteins in muscle that are thought to cause FSH dystrophy,” explains Chamberlain. “Thanks to funding from MDA and Friends of FSH Research, we soon should be ready to target promising therapies to attack this disease.”
A second notable FSH research project also was identified as a result of the joint RFA distributed by MDA and FFSH Research. That meritorious project, led by Silvere van der Maarel at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, is being funded by MDA and will use a slightly different approach (antisense oligonucleotides) to develop potential treatments for FSH dystrophy.
Leveraging Prior Insights
The exciting new initiatives will benefit from decades of FSH dystrophy research seeking the elusive genetic cause of FSH dystrophy and defining the varied course of the disease. Notable advances made by investigators benefiting from MDA’s more than $16 million investment in FSH dystrophy research since 1987 include:
mapping the genetic mutation causing FSH dystrophy to a small region near one end of chromosome 4;
determining that many genes are incorrectly regulated in muscles affected by FSH dystrophy;
finding that abnormal DNA in the disease-associated region of chromosome 4 inappropriately activates gene expression in FSH dystrophy; and
discovering that an unusual looping of chromosome 4, marked by an abnormally short D4Z4 region, has widespread consequences for gene regulation in FSH dystrophy.
About Friends of FSH Research
Friends of FSH Research was formed by the family and friends of Brian Colella, who was diagnosed with facioscapulohumeral dystrophy, or FSHD, in 2004. As an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax-exempt organization, the organization’s goal is to raise money to help fund researchers trying to decode the genetic mysteries of FSHD so that a treatment or cure can be developed.
Friends of FSH Research was created because there is a need for additional funds for FSHD research. To stimulate new research and support for current researchers in this field, it was essential that a fundraising organization be founded. Friends of FSH Research is excited by the opportunity to help those affected by this disabling condition by funding scientists researching FSHD, and we feel very lucky to have established a partnership with the Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center at the University of Washington.
About MDA
MDA is the nonprofit health agency dedicated to curing muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases by funding worldwide research. The Association, which maintains a network of more than 200 hospital-affiliated clinics nationwide, also provides comprehensive health care and support services, advocacy and education.
Founded in 1950, MDA is the nation’s largest nongovernmental funder of research seeking treatments and cures for more than 40 neuromuscular diseases, including muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), and Friedreich’s ataxia (FA).
The first nonprofit organization to be recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Medical Association (“for significant and lasting contributions to the health and welfare of humanity”), MDA’s annual investment in research exceeds $40 million.
Thanks to decades of generous contributions from caring individuals, plus outstanding support received from local, regional and national sponsors, MDA is credited for its role in building the entire field of neuromuscular disease research, while simultaneously nurturing clinical care to significantly improve both quality and length of life for those affected by neuromuscular diseases.
Labels: Collaboration, FSHD, Strategies of Non-Profits
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy: New diagnostic strategies
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy: New diagnostic strategies for complicated cases
The diagnosis of FSHD is usually straightforward because the muscle groups are affected in a very specific pattern. However, some patients may have symptoms that superficially resemble FSHD, but is actually a different condition. Even the most experienced clinician can sometimes be fooled by such 'look-alike' cases.
Read the entire article to learn more.
Friends of FSH Research Funded Project
Friends of FSH Research Funded Projects in Tapscott Lab at FHCRC
Major advances in research over the last two years have determined that FSHD is caused by the aberrant expression of the DUX4 gene in skeletal muscle. DUX4 is normally expressed in germline cells and early development, but tissues in the adult completely suppress the expression of DUX4. In FSHD the suppression is incomplete and DUX4 is expressed in mature skeletal muscle. Recent work in the Tapscott lab has shown that DUX4 normally regulates the expression of germline and stem cell genes and that the mis-expression of DUX4 in skeletal muscle activates that expression of these early developmental genes. Work recently funded by Friends of FSH Research will use these findings to develop the components necessary to identify drugs that prevent the DUX4 expression and/or DUX4-induced damage in muscle cells. The Tapscott lab plans to develop several ways to measure DUX4 expression and toxicity, and then perform tests to see how well each can be used for a large-scale screen of possible drugs. As the tests are validated it is anticipated that pharmaceutical companies might adopt them to screen their extensive libraries of drug-like compounds.
— Stephen Tapscott
Research team discovers genes and disease mechanisms behind a FSH muscular dystrophy
Research team discovers genes and disease mechanisms behind FSHD Muscular Dystrophy - Seattle Researchers!
Support to Friends of FSH Research IS making a difference!!! Please consider making a donation today!!
SEATTLE – Continuing a series of groundbreaking discoveries begun in 2010 about the genetic causes of the third most common form of inherited muscular dystrophy, an international team of researchers led by a scientist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has identified the genes and proteins that damage muscle cells, as well as the mechanisms that can cause the disease. The findings are online and will be reported in the Jan. 17 print edition of the journal Developmental Cell.
The discovery could lead to a biomarker-based test for diagnosing facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), and the findings have implications for developing future treatments as well as for cancer immunotherapies in general.
The work establishes a viable roadmap for how the expression of the DUX4 gene can cause FSHD. Whether this is the sole cause of FSHD is not known; however, the latest findings "are about as strong of evidence as you can get" of the genetic link, said corresponding author Stephen Tapscott, M.D., Ph.D., a member of the Hutchinson Center's Human Biology Division.
Tapscott and colleagues sought answers to the questions about what the DUX4 protein does both normally in the body and in the FSHD disease process. In the latest study, they identified that the DUX4 protein regulates many genes that are normally expressed in the male germ line but are abnormally expressed in FSHD muscle. Germ line cells are inherited from parents and passed down to their offspring.
"This study is a significant step forward by solidifying that the DUX4 transcription factor causes this disease, while offering a number of viable mechanisms for why the muscle is damaged," Tapscott said. Transcription factors are tools that cells use to control gene expression. Genes that are "turned on" in the body are "transcribed," or translated, into proteins.
Now that scientists know that targets for DUX4 are expressed in skeletal muscle, an antibody- or RNA-based test could be developed to diagnose FSHD by examining muscle tissue from a biopsy, Tapscott said. Such biomarker-based tests also could be used to determine how well new treatments are working to suppress FSHD.
The study also discovered that DUX4 regulates cancer/testis antigens. Cancer/testis antigens are encoded by genes that are normally expressed only in the human germ line, but are also abnormally expressed in various tumor types, including melanoma and carcinomas of the bladder, lung and liver.
"This knowledge now gives us a way to manipulate the expression of cancer/ testis antigens, potentially opening the opportunity to use these antigens in a cancer vaccine," Tapscott said.
Two papers published in 2010 by the same group of researchers established the genetic basis for showing that expression of DUX4 was necessary for the disease. The previous research also identified the RNA in the FSHD muscles and showed that it was normally expressed in the germ line, which led to the hypothesis that the lack of an efficient developmental repression of this RNA caused the disease.
In addition to Tapscott and other Hutchinson Center researchers, scientists from Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden, The Netherlands; University of Washington; Genentech; and the University of Rochester contributed to the study.
The research was supported by grants from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and Friends of FSH Research.
At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, our interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists and humanitarians work together to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Our researchers, including three Nobel laureates, bring a relentless pursuit and passion for health, knowledge and hope to their work and to the world. For more information, please visit fhcrc.org.
Discovery Could Lead to an Exercise Pill - Technology Review
Researchers have discovered a natural hormone that acts like exercise on muscle tissue—burning calories, improving insulin processing, and perhaps boosting strength. The scientists hope it could eventually be used as a treatment for obesity, diabetes, and, potentially, neuromuscular diseases like muscular dystrophy.
More news coming that may be of help to those with neuromuscular disorders.
DUX4 Activates Germline Genes - Research Supported by Friends of FSH Research
Developmental Cell - DUX4 Activates Germline Genes, Retroelements, and Immune Mediators: Implications for Facioscapulohumeral Dystrophy
Previous work by Tapscott's lab (Snider, et al., 2010) showed that the DUX4 gene is normally expressed in germline cells of the human testes and is not normally expressed in other tissues in the adult, whereas in both FSHD1 and FSHD2 small amounts of DUX4 are expressed in muscle cells. In a new study recently published in the journal Developmental Cell, the research group identified genes that are regulated by DUX4 and detected the expression of these genes in FSHD muscle, "providing direct support for the model that misexpression of DUX4 is a causal factor for FSHD." This publication demonstrates that the low levels of DUX4 expressed in FSHD muscle has a domino effect, activating many genes. This allows for the identification of several biomarkers to track the progress of FSHD, and to determine the efficacy of treatment. In addition, the genes regulated by DUX4 suggest several mechanisms for the loss of muscle strength in FSHD and these can be tested as candidate targets for new therapies. This is a major turning point, both identifying how DUX4 damages muscle in FSHD as the basis for developing therapies, and also a providing a set of biomarkers to easily determine if candidate therapies are actually working.
Refer to the Developmental Cell article.
DUX4 Activates Germline Genes - Research Supported...
Discovery Could Lead to an Exercise Pill - Technol...
Research team discovers genes and disease mechanis...
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy: New diagno...
2010 Collaborative Grant - An Effective Means of U...
Teams closing in on gene behind FSHD - FierceBioma...
Core Muscle Exercise For Muscular Dystrophy | LIVE...
Friends of FSH Research - Better Business Bureau A...
Platform development for candidate drug screening ...
Mutations in genes that modify DNApackaging result...
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line26
|
__label__cc
| 0.594318
| 0.405682
|
a military blog
go to pjstar.com
Tunnel threats appear to be driving proxy war in Gaza
Much has been written and said about the ongoing battles in Gaza. Many, who have never set foot in the region, have strong opinions about who is right and who is wrong. We aren’t going to debate that because there is really no point. Both sides are entrenched and will not budge. There is an ongoing war against Israel that has lasted far beyond the past few weeks and deals more with the hope that the Jewish state will be eliminated than to actually provide assistance to the Palestinians, who are pawns in this brutal game.
And while I feel for the Gazans and abhor the violence that is occurring, there is another side. Yes, there aren’t the deaths on the Israeli side as with the Gazan side, but does that minimize it? Should the Israelis be punished because their leaders seemingly care more about them than Hamas does about their residents.
Here’s a story out of the LA Times about the terror that Israelis on the border feel due to the tunnels. Mix in the rockets and its pretty easy to see. And yes, I know, people are going to say that the use of force is too much. But how are you going to stop a group that is willing to fight among civilians and has nothing to lose. From the Times story:
A little over a week ago, assailants dressed in Israeli military uniforms clambered out of an underground passageway about halfway between this hamlet of 400 or so people and a neighboring kibbutz, Nir Am. Israeli troops killed nine of them, but not before the attackers killed four soldiers.
The specter of such assaults via a large and sophisticated network of subterranean passageways has profoundly shaken Israelis long accustomed to a different threat from the coastal strip, that of rocket and mortar fire. Four such infiltrations have taken place since the start of the Gaza offensive, killing at least 11 Israeli soldiers and haunting the collective psyche.
And make no mistake. This war isn’t just about breaking the blockade or trying to defeat the Zionist foe. Notice how very few Arab nations are rushing to the aid of the Gazans. That’s horrible but look past that. They are clearly more afraid of Hamas than Israel, their official foe.
“I have never seen a situation like it, where you have so many Arab states acquiescing in the death and destruction in Gaza and the pummeling of Hamas,” he said. “The silence is deafening.”
The roots of this current conflict, I think, came about a years or so ago when the Muslim Brotherhood was tossed out in Egypt. That country then closed the tunnels leading into its country which then affected the economics of Hamas. Couple that with the ongoing rivalry with Fatah which controls the West Bank, the crisis with ISIS in Iraq and how Iran is trying to position itself within the region and you have the makings of a big ole proxy war.
Don’t forget the Egyptians tried to broker a cease fire which was accepted by Israel and rejected by Hamas in the early goings of this conflict. No other nation in a national struggle such as this has gone to the efforts, I believe, that Israel has. Yes, it hasn’t worked but they are trying. Hamas just wants to kill as many Jews as they can.
The sad truth is that no one really wins out of this. Gazans are left with even more poverty, more death and a new generation who will lapse into extremism. Israel continues to have a negative image (even though people aren’t that upset over the Syrian crisis, Iraq, Libya, and other conflicts where civilians are targeted openly.) Hamas will end up a victor no matter what. yes, they are weakened militarily but politically, their support will increase. Fatah will likely suffer as people on the West Bank will see them as not supporting their Gazan brothers.
And in the middle are the people who just want to live their lives. What a tragedy.
Author Andy KravetzPosted on July 31, 2014 July 31, 2014 Categories IsraelLeave a comment on Tunnel threats appear to be driving proxy war in Gaza
Abandon the F-35? Chinese hackers were able to get information on Iron Dome?
A few quick hits as I am in the midst of a trial.
Thomas Ricks over at Foreign Policy has this story on why he thinks that the F-35 program has run its course. The F-35, for those who don’t know, is also known as the Joint Strike Fighter and was conceived as a plane that all service branches could use. The idea was that a common platform would cut down on costs and also allow for better interservice use. Instead, the program has ballooned in costs, is delayed and has been a whipping boy for those who want to blast big weapons programs.
Total program acquisition costs will reach $398.6 billion, with 55-year life-cycle costs surpassing the stratospheric $1 trillion mark, thus solidifying the F-35’s legacy as the most expensive weapons program in history.
Part of the problem is that it’s being seen as a jack of all trades and really a master of none. Part of the problem is the plane is being asked to take on many roles from Jump Jet to CAS to air to air. The plane is amazing for sure but the question is, will we need such a stealthy plane in an area where there isn’t a big superpower. yes, China is emerging but the beta on their weapons range from the next best thing to junk.
Should we invest in fewer F-35s and then use that money for other things? Dunno.
And the other quick hit is on the Iron Dome, the amazing missile system used in Israel right now to shoot down rockets fired by Hamas. Well, DefenseOne.com has a story that Chinese hackers were able to get into the companies’ computers and get sensitive information on the system as well as the Arrow 3 missiles used. That could be something that could be an issue in the future if the US and China ever square off.
Author Andy KravetzPosted on July 30, 2014 Categories Israel, modern warfareLeave a comment on Abandon the F-35? Chinese hackers were able to get information on Iron Dome?
Obama could have stopped Islamic State but didn’t?
That’s the claim laid out in a Washington Post story that ran today which states that Iraqi officials had asked the White House for help in defeating the terrorist group last summer but the administration didn’t. The story points out and it has been well documented that the White House went gang busters for many years with drone strikes, in Yemen and other places to take out terrorist leaders. But for some reason, he didn’t feel the need to do something last summer.
In a January 2014 interview with the New Yorker, Obama glibly dismissed the Islamic State as a bunch of junior varsity terrorists who posed little danger to Iraq or the United States. “The analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a jayvee team puts on Lakers uniforms that doesn’t make them Kobe Bryant,” Obama declared. He brushed aside the rise of the Islamic State as just internal Iraqi sectarian violence, something that is not “a direct threat to us or something that we have to wade into.”
One has to wonder what would the situation be in Iraq now if the administration had acted then. Yes, hindsight is 20/20 but why didn’t the intelligence seep into the White House that ISIS or ISIL or the Islamic State was the real deal. The thousands of people who have died and the crisis in Iraq might have been avoided. It might not have, for sure but we’ll never know.
The WaPo story goes on to note that the White House did know about the threat that ISIS posed and still did nothing. A pretty damning story if it is true.
Author Andy KravetzPosted on July 30, 2014 Categories IraqLeave a comment on Obama could have stopped Islamic State but didn’t?
Cheri Bustos and 115 other Reps want to work this August to fix the VA mess
I don’t know if this is a PR stunt. Getting 116 U.S. reps to sign off on a letter is a big deal but it’s not close to a majority given there are 435 voting members of the U.S. Congress. but it is a nice gesture and one that I think is worth noting, even if it doesn’t work. And of course, her move was caught on video and found its way to her YouTube channel.
[youtube=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCxSaEwSdgA&feature=youtu.be”]
And for the record, I am not demeaning this. I think it’s a great idea. But I hate seeing the health care of our veterans turned into a soundbite or likely a campaign issue (see two or three months from now). So kudos for Cheri and the others for doing this. At the same time, I’d love it more if everyone met in a room, and got this done without any fanfare, trumpets or YouTube videos. And let’s also note that dozens of lawmakers who might have signed onto this letter are busting their tails to help our vets so there’s that.
From her spokesman:
Today, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) led a group of 116 lawmakers in calling on Congress to stay in session, and forego the August district work period, until the passage of compromise legislation to help our nation’s veterans get access to the timely and quality healthcare they have earned and deserve. Both the House and Senate passed bills to address the crisis within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and have been in negotiations for over five weeks while veterans wait for a solution.
“The health of the veterans who have served us so bravely should not be placed on the back burner while Congress is away during the August district work period,” the 116 Members of Congress wrote in their letter. “Our veterans have served the nation with honor, and we owe it to them to waste no more time in ensuring they have access to the best health care possible. In light of recent serious complications and allegations of wrong-doing within the VA, in addition to validated long wait times at VA medical facilities, it is extremely urgent that a fix be put into place as soon as possible.”
In June, both the Senate and House passed similar, but not identical, legislation that would expand veterans’ ability to seek care at non-VA facilities under certain conditions, strengthen Congress’ oversight of the VA and eliminate performance-related bonuses for VA employees. The Senate and House bills have been before a Conference Committee since, but a final compromise bill has yet to be worked out.
Author Andy KravetzPosted on July 25, 2014 July 25, 2014 Categories VA Scandal, VeteransLeave a comment on Cheri Bustos and 115 other Reps want to work this August to fix the VA mess
Back for a while
sorry for missing about two weeks of posts here at inFormation but I have been in the midst of a big trial here in Peoria County and well, that took much most of my time.
But it’s been a busy month; Let’s run down. Gaza, the downing of the Malaysian airliner, Libya going to hell in a handbasket, the F-35 not taking part in the international air show, another MOH recipient and of course, the VA mess. It never ends, huh. People have seemingly forgotten about ISIS or ISIL or the Islamic State running amok in Iraq.
I’ll try to get more up soon, but for the meantime, here’s something from Cheri Bustos about supporting a proposition that eases travel for Honor Flight attendees. Here in Peoria, it’ s not a big deal but I would imagine in larger airports, it is. It’s a nice gesture and one that I can’t imagine will be any big controversial.
Today, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) supported bipartisan legislation to make it easier and more comfortable for aging Honor Flight veterans, many of whom are seniors and suffering from physical ailments, to travel to and from Washington, D.C. to see the monuments built in their honor.
“It is always an honor to help welcome the brave veterans from back home to our nation’s capital,” Congresswoman Cheri Bustos said. “That’s why I was proud to support this bipartisan effort today to make it easier and more comfortable for our veterans, many of whom are seniors, to visit the memorials built in their honor.”
The Honor Flight Act, which passed the House July 22, would direct the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to establish a process for providing expedited and dignified passenger screening services for veterans traveling on an Honor Flight Network private charter, or another flight organized by not-for-profit organizations that honor veterans, to visit war memorials built and dedicated to honor their service.
Honor Flights bring local veterans to Washington to visit our nation’s capital and the memorials built in their honor. The flights are fully paid for by donations from organizations and individuals. To find out more about the Honor Flight of the Quad Cities, click HERE, for Peoria, click HERE, for Northern Illinois, click HERE, and for Dubuque, click HERE.
Bustos regularly greets or helps sendoff local veterans from Honor Flights from communities across Illinois’ 17th Congressional District. Photos of Rep. Bustos greeting local Honor Flight veterans can be found HERE.
Author Andy KravetzPosted on July 25, 2014 July 25, 2014 Categories honor flight, Odds and EndsLeave a comment on Back for a while
DOD Buzz
Doonesbury's Sand Box
Michael Yon's online magazine
San Antonio News-Express Military Coverage
The Sand Gram
This ain't hell but you can see it from here
Thomas Ricks' Best Defense
US Naval Institute Blog
Wings over Iraq
pjstar.com Blogs – inFormation RSS
CNN's Afghan War coverage
Dept. of Defense
Illinios' VA Dept.
NY Times' war coverage
The Journal Star
The Military Times
The VA
Washington Post's Afghan coverage
Canton native earns Warrior of the Day aboard USS Harry S. Truman
Greater Peoria Honor Flight fundraiser
Good luck to the 183rd AOG
Rough day for Blue Angels, Thunderbirds and Fort Hood
Stolen valor allegations in Rock Island’s federal court
Pekin native done good with the U.S. Navy. read all about it!!!
Greater Peoria Honor Flight News
Young Marines meet oldest living Iwo Jima participant
So what’s your best re-enlistment story? Can you top this one?
Trippy video from the early 1970s for Airborne!
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line28
|
__label__wiki
| 0.547676
| 0.547676
|
Back Author Spotlight
SelectReads.com
AuthorSpot - Travel
Hugh Howard
track author
The author of more than twenty much-admired books, Hugh Howard has written about architecture and landscape, presidents and painting. In telling stories of the past, he follows the fault lines where the lives of essential characters intersect. Thus in his newest book, ARCHITECTS OF AN AMERICAN LANDSCAPE (Atlantic, January 2022) , he traces the careers of Henry Hobson Richardson, who, though dead at just forty-seven, is still regarded by many as the nation's most influential architect, and of Frederick Law Olmsted, the man responsible for introducing parks to the American city. A narrative of friendship and collaboration,...
Jimmy Chin
Jimmy Chin is an Academy® Award-winning filmmaker, National Geographic photographer, and professional mountain sports athlete. He has led or participated in cutting-edge expeditions around the world for over 20 years. He made the coveted first ascent of the Shark's Fin on Mount Meru and is one of the only people to ski Mount Everest from the summit. His photographs have graced the covers of National Geographic Magazine and the New York Times Magazine. Jimmy also co-produces and co-directs with his wife, Chai Vasarhelyi. Their film Meru won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and was on the Oscar...
Subscribe to a free newsletter from your library for this category
Readers Cafe
Birth - 5
Copyright © 2022 DearReader.com a ReadingHouse company. All Rights Reserved. v3.0-7-g2259a7a
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line30
|
__label__cc
| 0.613435
| 0.386565
|
The wisdom of Newt Gingrich
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is sometimes portrayed as a thoughtful, studious “man of ideas” (he’s a former college professor, after all, albeit one who was denied tenure).
Now that Gingrich is leading the pack in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, it’s probably worth revisiting some of the products of that supposedly impressive mind of his– like this, from last March:
“I have two grandchildren — Maggie is 11, Robert is 9,” he said. “I am convinced that if we do not decisively win the struggle over the nature of America, by the time they’re my age they will be in a secular atheist country, potentially one dominated by radical Islamists and with no understanding of what it once meant to be an American.”
A secular atheist country potentially dominated by radical Islamists? That’s what comes from stringing together insults and scare words without caring how (or if) they fit together– like “liberal Communists.”
A Gingrich aide later [said] that he was not talking about an unholy alliance of secular atheists and “radical Islamists,” saying “‘Or’ should have come before the word ‘potentially’.”
That doesn’t make it any more sensible. If indeed that’s what Gingrich meant, he seems to be saying that a secular, atheist takeover of America is about as likely as a radical Islamist takeover– and they are equally dangerous. Essentially he’s equating secular atheism with radical Islamism.
Now you can despise secular atheism, or you can despise radical Islamism, or you can despise both. But a brilliant thinker like Gingrich should be able to discern that they are two very different phenomena. Shouldn’t he?
Update: I suspect he does understand that. He is simply playing to what he considers the gullibility and lack of understanding of rank-and-file Republicans.
The Case for Bernie Sanders
The International Socialist Organization (USA) Comes To an End
How does the chlorinated chicken cross the pond?
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line38
|
__label__cc
| 0.624506
| 0.375494
|
Exhibition: “Forbidden Photographs and Personal Images” by Andrei Pandele, 2007
http://courage.btk.mta.hu/courage/individual/n84000?lv
Andrei Pandele’s first major exhibition, organised at the National Theatre by the Order of Romanian Architects with the support of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, had a significant influence on his later trajectory and an unexpected public impact. “I had an exhibition in 2007–2008 that almost changed my life,” he states. “The title was ‘Forbidden Photographs and Personal Images.’ There were 256 enlargements made, 50x75 cm, of which 194 were exhibited on the third floor of the National Theatre, in six rooms totalling 1,642 m2. The exhibition was on public display from 20 December 2007 to 20 March 2008. On the last two days there was a queue at the entrance, and in the rooms a record number of visitors recorded by the National Museum of Contemporary Art. Some of the media considered it the cultural event of the year.” On another occasion, Andrei Pandele has said about the same exhibition: “I had impressions written by various categories of people. Some absolutely shocking. For example, I’d never seen children writing comments before. Well, this time there were at least five or ten. One comment went something like this: ‘I’m Nelu, I’m eight years old. We liked it. I’m writing, Mum is crying.’ A comment of a different sort was: ‘My childhood on the walls.’ The third sort went: ‘Shame on you. You have denigrated your country! We wanted something good.’ Unsigned” (Adevărul, 2008). Indeed the photographs presented publicly in the exhibition “Forbidden photographs and personal images” and published the same year in a volume of the same title, are records of everyday life in the last years of communism in Romania that are shocking for those who did not experience those years and very affecting for those who lived through those times of crisis. They reflect the absurdity of the everyday mutilated by shortage, the arbitrariness of the destruction of Bucharest, the reduction of human life to a quasi-animal existence. Almost two decades after the Revolution of 1989, the photographs in the exhibition reminded visitors not only of the inhuman nature of the Ceaușescu regime, but also of Romania’s difficult emergence from communism.
Notikuma sākuma gads
Galvenie dalībnieki
Pandele, Andrei. 2007. Fotografii interzise şi imagini personale (Forbidden photographs and personal images). Bucharest: Compania.
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line46
|
__label__cc
| 0.504238
| 0.495762
|
Trade unionism and the class war - Guy Aldred
Pamphlet on class struggle and the unions by the anarchist-communist Guy Aldred.
Taken from a collection of Aldred's pamphlets Studies in Communism,(1940). Originally published in Pamphlets for the Proletarian, No. 11, (1911). Second edition published in The Spur series,No. 4,(1919).
Guy Aldred was an Anarchist-Communist, based for most of his life in Glasgow and active for many years as a pamphleteer and public speaker.
More information about Aldred and the various British Anti-parliamentarians groups can be found in Anti-Parliamentary Communism - the movement for workers' councils in Britain, 1917-45 by Mark Shipway.
Taken from the Class Against Class website.
Trade Unionism and The Class War
Guy Aldred
AUTHOR'S NOTE (1919 Edition).
Trade Unionism and The Class War was published first in 1911. It met with a great deal of criticism and received one complimentary notice. This was from "Dangle" in the Clarion! It was reprinted in 1914 in the Herald of Revolt. The present edition is revised. The introductory section is expanded into a chapter. The third section of the original pamphlet - which would have been the fourth as the essay now stands-treating with the question of representation is omitted. This properly belongs to the companion essay, Representation and the State, and will be embodied in it when that pamphlet is revised. Many persons object to the reasoning of this essay because they consider its logic fatal to all idea of action. This criticism is based on a misunderstanding. I do not deny that men and women must function under capitalism and engage constantly in petty disputes. I only insist that such disputes are not 'vital. By preaching up dissatisfaction, I am removing the tendency to engage in worth-less palliative effort, and hastening the crisis. After all, action which accomplishes nothing, is not of much moment. And trade unionism has accomplished nothing so far as the well-being of the entire working-class is concerned. The plea for revolution is not pedantry. It is a simple statement of stern necessity. The second and third chapters are unaltered, except for a passing word here and there, from the original pamphlet.
London, W., June 1919. G. A. A.
I. -TRADE UNIONISM AND REVOLUTION.
The struggle of the Tolpuddle Martyrs for the right of combination under the Reform Ministry of 1832 marks the beginnings of British Trade Unionism. The glamour of romance which belongs to its origin has contributed to its successful development as a social institution. Eight years after the Repeal of the Combination laws, Trade Unionism was deemed an illegal conspiracy. Today, it is a bulwark of the capitalist system. Something more than tradition is necessary to explain this passage from outlawry to respectability. The explanation is an economic one. Trade Unionism has conquered social power and commanded influence in so far as it satisfied and arose from the social necessities of the capitalist epoch. Because it has answered capitalist needs, the Trade Union has qualified for its modern position as the sign manual of skilled labour.
But the growth in social and political importance of the Trade Union leader has not menaced the foundations of capitalist society. He has been cited more and more as the friend of reform and the enemy of revolution. It has been urged that he is a sober and responsible member of capitalist society. Consequently, capitalist apologists have been obliged to acknowledge that he discharged useful and important functions in society.
This admission has forced them to assert that the law of supply and demand does not determine, with exactness, the nominal - or even the actual price of the commodity, labour power. Hence it has been allowed that Trade Unions enable their members to increase the amount of the price received for their labour-power, without being hurtful to the interests of the commonwealth-i.e. the capitalist class-when conducted with moderation and fairness.
Modern Trade Unionism enjoys this respectable reputation to a very large extent because it has sacrificed its original vitality. This was inevitable, since, in its very origin, it was reformist and not revolutionary. Trade Unionism has sacrificed no economic principle during its century's development. It has surrendered no industrial or political consistency. But it has not maintained its early earnestness or sentiment of solidarity. Had it done so, it would have been compelled to have evolved socially and politically. Instead of stagnating in reform, it would have had to progress towards revolution.
The Trade Union apologist, consistently with his reformist out-look, has had to defend the restrictive tendencies of sectional organisation. He has had to deny the revolutionary solidarity of labour in order to defend the Union manufacture of blacklegs. He has rejoiced in a craft organisation that materially injures the interests of labour as a whole, without even benefiting it sectionally. He has shown no qualms about supporting a representative system of administration, which betrays the worker to capitalist interests.
All this activity proceeds inevitably from the belief that Trade Unionism benefits the worker economically. It follows naturally from the notion that the worker can improve his social and economic status under capitalism.
Trade Unionism, therefore, is intelligible only on the ground that reform is possible and revolution unnecessary. Industrial palliation, like political palliation, is based on the understanding that no epoch ever attains to a crisis. This is the best that can be said for the necessity of Trade Unionism.
But suppose that the law of supply and demand does determine, with exactness, the nominal as well as the actual price of the commodity, labour power?
Then the best that can be said for the necessity of Trade Unionism as opposed to revolutionary communist organisation and action has ceased to possess any meaning.
To develop this economic argument in favour of the social revolution, and against Trade Union reform, is my purpose in writing the present brochure.
II. -THE CASE FOR TRADE UNIONISM.
Nominal wages are actually received in cash, irrespective of the conditions of employment. Actual wages are nominal wages, plus the conditions of employment, hours of labour, etc.
What is the basis of wages?
Marx has asked us to suppose that an average hour of labour be realised in a value equal to sixpence, or twelve average hours of labour realised in six shillings. If, then, in the raw material, machinery and so forth, used up in a commodity, twenty-four hours of average labour were realised, its value would amount to twelve shillings. If, moreover, the workman employed by the capitalist added twelve hours of labour to these means of production these twelve hours would be realised in an additional value of six shillings. The total value of the production would therefore, amount to thirty-six hours of realised labour-power, and be equal to eighteen shillings. But as the value of labour-power, or the wages paid to the workman, would be three shillings only, no equivalent would have been paid by the capitalist for the six hours of surplus value worked by the workman and realised in the value of the commodity. By selling this 'commodity at its value for eighteen shillings, the capitalist would, therefore, realise a value of three shillings for which he had paid no equivalent. These three shillings would constitute the surplus value or profit pocketed by him. Any increase in the wages of the workers must reduce the amount of his surplus value, since that is the only fund out of which such increase could be obtained. It is possible for the wages of the workman to rise so high as not only approximately to equal the value of his product, but actually to equal it. In a word, if the law of supply and demand works with the inexactness assumed by the Trade Unionist to be the case, palliation is not merely justifiable on the grounds of expediency; it is the direct path to emancipation.
Is it true that the law of supply and demand fixes the price with so little exactness, that supply and demand become equal not at an exact point of price? May it be that several prices, or a range of prices, will satisfy the requirements of the law? That there is, or may be, a kind of table-land within which the law does not operate? Let us take the Trade Union political economists? typical example. A hundredweight of fish is sold by Dutch Auction, .i.e., the seller bidding down instead of the buyers bidding up. One buyer may be willing to give 20s. for the lot, and no other buyer willing to give more than 18s., and the man who is willing to give 20s will get the fish at 18s or a fraction over it. So that in the same market, with the same quantity of fish for sale, and with customers in number and every other respect the same, the same lot of fish might fetch two very; different prices, the law of supply and demand being equally and completely fulfilled by either of these prices. Within a limit of 2s. the law is inoperative.
It is claimed, that in a case such as this, much depends on who has the initiative in bargaining. In the instance given, the possessor of the initiative gives to the seller a distinct gain of 2s., not accounted for by the law of supply and demand. Supposing the price of labour-power to fall within a similarly excepted category, the same principle as operated against the buyer in the case of the Dutch Auction will now operate against the seller in the labour market. It is the buyer who has the initiative in fixing the price. The employer, the purchaser of labour-power, makes the offer of wages. The dealer or seller, i.e., the labourer, accepts or refuses. The advantage of the initiative is with the employer therefore. This can only be modified by a close combination among the employed, whereby they may place a reserve price on their labour. Under these circumstances Organised Labour may secure a larger positive amount of the produce of its labour-power, within the limits not covered by the law of supply and demand. It may, therefore, secure the economic equivalent of culture by virtue of its organised status.
Outside of this table-land the law of supply and demand remains intact. The more numerous the competitors for employment the lower will the wages be, other things being equal. This fact forces on the attention of the Trade Unionists the necessity for restrictive rules, forbidding the employment of non-unionists and limiting the number of apprentices. Such rules are indispensable to the complete efficacy of Trade Unionism. They make the Trade Unionist the apologist for an aristocracy of skilled labour.
Trade Unionism's final refuge is Malthusianism. Its specious pretence is that the ignorant and untrained part of the proletariat will people up to the point that will keep their wages at that miser able rate which the low scale of their ideas and habits makes endurable to them. As long as their minds remain in such a state the Unionist claims that he does them no real injury in preventing them from competing with him for employment. He only saves himself from being brought down to their level. He does no wrong by entrenching himself behind a barrier to exclude those whose competition would bring down his wages, without more than momentarily raising theirs.
Again, even were it to be shown that Trade Unionism did not increase the nominal rate of wages, it has to be admitted (says the Unionist) that it is able to do much by raising the actual rate of wages. Its least accomplishment is to successfully resist irritating, arbitrary, and oppressive conditions of employment.
But the power of the organisation of labour in this direction turns upon its recognition. In times of dispute there may be room for negotiations between employers and employed upon the question of maximum or minimum demands. For the Trade Union to be effectual there can be no room for compromise on the question of recognising the Union and receiving the Union official representatives. This limits all need or apprehension of a strike to such recognition. So that the right of combination recognised, the men's demands become a matter of amicable arrangement.
Such is the case for Trade Unionism. We now propose to expose its fallacies, and lay bare its hypocrisies.
III - THE WORKERS' CASE AGAINST TRADE UNIONISM.
The reply to the argument which I have developed in defence of Trade Unionism in the foregoing section, naturally divides itself into the following division:-
(1) The operation of the economic law against the possibility of palliation, so far as the entire working-class is concerned: - Although it is true that the law of supply and demand does not fix the terms of any particular bargain, the operation of that law does not finish with the conclusion of that particular bargain. This has been clearly demonstrated by Cree in his reply to Mill. According to whether buyer or seller secures what is termed "a bargain,' - demand or supply is checked or stimulated. This applies to the Dutch Auction Fish Sale. A sale of 20s would tend to stimulate future supply and check demand. The consequent tendency would be towards a fall in price. A sale of 18s. would tend to bring out more buyers and reduce the inducement to go to sea. The consequent tendency would be towards a rise in price. This would bring out more sellers and reduce the number of buyers once more. This is true also of the wages of labour. Higher wages bring out more workers but reduce the employer's profits. So that the employer becomes less anxious to secure workers. A lower wage has the reverse effect. The worker now becomes less anxious to be employed. But the employer is more willing to employ. Once more there is repetition. Working by tendency only, the economic law approaches exactitude over a multiplicity of cases, but not in any particular case. The means of the oscillations of price is now an exact point, not a range of prices. The terms of any particular bargain are, consequently, only of the most transient importance even to those immediately concerned. But they are of little or no importance to the workers or employers as a class, since they are constantly being brought back to their true economical point. The compensating influences being inevitable and automatic, it will be seen that, in its position as a class, the working-class has nothing to gain from Trade Union Palliative activity. Its only practical hope, as well as its beautiful daydream, is, first, last, and all-the time, Socialism the Communal Individualism of which Oscar Wilde made himself the prophet in that magnificent book, The Soul of Man.
(2) The impossibility of raising actual wages without regard to 'nominal wages: - Mavor has put the case in a nutshell. If a reduction of the hours of labour results in decreased production, wages will fall, other things being equal. If reduction of hours results in maintenance of production per man there will be no additional employment, other things being equal. The equality of other things turn upon the law of supply and demand which palliative combination does not effect. Consequently, Trade Unionism can neither effect wages nor yet the question of employment.
(3) The impossibility of organising the whole of labour on the basis of Trade Unionism: - The Trade Unionist when excluding the blackleg and manufacturing him pretends to look forward to a complete federation of labour But if all labour stands upon the platform of palliative combination a very different thing from revolutionary solidarity - the effect will be nil in view of the operations of the law of supply and demand. A union of all labour is as good as no union at all from the palliationist viewpoint. Even a "minimum wage" of higher rate than at present established means only the decreased purchasing power of money. Between labour-power as a commodity and other commodities there exists a definite ratio of exchange. So that a 'minimum wage" is meaningless. But a union of all labour on the basis of Trade Unionism is impossible. With all trades organised on a restricted basis it would be impossible for any trade to rid itself of its surplus by causing them to be absorbed into any other trade. But for Trade Unionism to succeed - with the increasing use of machinery and the consequent reduction of skilled to unskilled labour-it must also organise unskilled labour. Such organisation to succeed must be even more restrictive than in the case of skilled labour. Unskilled labour cannot, therefore, absorb the surplus from all the skilled trades Not only so, but to this surplus it would add an enormous surplus of its own. So that restrictive Unionism can only result in first deluding the working-class, then betraying it, and finally reducing the greater portion of it to blacklegs in the present and future.
(4) The menace of Trade Union Representation; A question of Labour Leading: - Trade Unionism embodies the menace of the representative system in its constitution no less certainly than the legislative machine. Its elected leaders conclude strikes and disputes by consenting to terms of compromise offered by Capitalistic Ministers for Labour, and Presidents of the Board of Trade. To pretend that such terms of agreement are antagonistic to capitalist interests is to be disturbed by a bogey. On the other hand, for what does the strike-leader generally strive? To get his authority recognised. This is the first step to position.and power. It is pretended that the greater the support given to the labour-leader the greater the concession he can wring from the capitalist class It is forgotten that the greater the confidence reposed in him, the more effectually he can betray that confidence. Consequently, your "official" strike-leader is always for "enthusiasm and earnest-ness" of the "slow and sure" variety. His plea is for caution, which means that he is to be allowed to do the bargaining but not to be submitted to criticism. Criticism be regards as a menace to his authority. It certainly reduces his selling-out value.
(5) The initiative Absurdity: - The Trade Unionist argument that the unorganised worker suffers from not having the initiative is nonsense. Rather - if it really counted, which it does not - one's sympathy should be with the employer who uses it against the unorganised worker. In the case of the organised Trade Unionist, it should be with the worker who is menaced by having it used on his behalf by the labour leader who generally succeeds in misrepresenting him. Everyone knows that employers often throw the onus of initiative on the worker. In a bargain both buyer and seller are anxious only to avoid it. "What do you want?" says the buyer. "That is not the question, what will you give?" replies the seller. Both parties are desirous of securing a bargain, and consequently avoid the initiative. It has no advantages although it operates very little one way or the other in the labour market. So that Trade Unionism has nothing to offer the worker in this respect.
On these counts, therefore, and for these reasons, Trade Unionism must go. The only hope of the workers on the industrial, as on the political field, is Revolutionary Socialism.
IV. - THE QUESTION OF REPRESENTATION.
Much that has been urged in the present brochure has tended to negate the idea of majority rule, as also the representation principle. Like most rebels - and, for that matter, most students of history - I have no faith in the majority, less unbelief in the minority, and most reliance in the individual. Thomas Paine regarded Government as being, like dress, a badge of lost innocence. He also looked upon the abolition of formal government as the beginning of true association. This seems to me to be incontrovertible. Consequently, if my opinion be correct, representation, as an expression of formal government, can have no weight, and must necessarily play a small part in the revolutionary birth-struggle of the proletarian commonweal.
To bring this theory down to the realm of the practical, I want the reader to consider the following case which has often been put to me in the course of debates and discussions in which I have played the part of principal. It has been said that if a certain individual was working in a shop where sixty men were employed, and fifty wished to come out on strike whilst ten wished to remain in, the author of this hypothetical case was in favour of coercing the ten and making them come out, whilst the fifty fought the "boss." Such coercion, it is urged, alone will rid the proletariat of their subjection to the capitalist and Capitalism.
From this opinion I venture to differ. Indeed, I repeat in print what I have often urged on the platform in reply to the hypothetical case already enunciated that the majority have no more right to coerce a minority than the minority have to coerce a majority. The fifty have no more right to coerce the ten, than the ten have to coerce the fifty, since in relation to society, the hypothetical fifty strikers are but a small minority, and if it be true that many are right where few are wrong, then the presence of seventy strike-breakers in the neighbourhood of the strike plus seventy soldiers, would entitle the "majority" of 150 men, as opposed to the minority of fifty, to "coerce them" out of the neighbourhood. Herein lies the capitalist apology for Mitchelstown, Featherstone, Homestead, Belfast, and every other scene of the patriotic murder of the working-class by the hired assassins of profit mongers. For it must be remembered, that we are not treating of the ethics of coercion in relation to oppressed minorities, but of the economics of apparent majorities' rights to coerce a minority.
If we were to consent to deal with probabilities rather than with fact, it would be urged that the one hundred and fifty men do not represent society, nor the whole working-class, for it is probable that the latter would stand by the fifty. Yet every worker, as also every employer, knows that the news of the strike could be flashed throughout the length and breadth of the land without the official scoundrelism which imported blacklegs being denounced to the extent of all the workers striking in sympathy and thus threatening to coerce the blacklegs who were in a minority. With all their feelings of sympathy and faithful devotion to the cause of united endeavour it would be impossible for the whole working-class organisations to exhibit industrial solidarity.
If all the workers were willing to strike, they need only stay in work and take over the means and instruments of production for their own use. Revolution would replace a mere industrial struggle. The workers would not be concerned with craft or industrial divisional organisation, nor with the local coercion of blacklegs, nor with the propaganda-strike even, but with the emancipation of their class only. The struggle would be constructive, not negative. There would be no necessity for ''physical force coercion of blacklegs, since the economic existence of gentlemen of this fraternity would be impossible under such circumstances. If all the workers were educated up to that stage of economic solidarity, that they were willing to strike in sympathy and massacre blacklegs according to Union-laid regulations, the working-class revolution would be international and spontaneous. There would be no strike for higher nominal, or for higher actual, wages; only the coming together of the workers internationally for the political and industrial overthrow of the bourgeoisie, and the taking of whatever united industrial and political activity the Class War demanded by way of its culminating expression.
If the workers declined to strike in sympathy, it would be because they did not sympathises industrially with the revolting fifty. Yet, as consumers and fellow wage slaves, by the logic of economic production and distribution, they would be affected alike by the existence of the strike and its termination. The question as to whether they were right in passively siding with the employees does not enter into the problem as stated by the psuedo-proletarian defender of representation. The only question is the right of the majority.
By refusal, the majority have shown that they are opposed to this gentleman and his forty-nine imaginary colleagues. His position is altered slightly, and the manifesto of the resolute fifty now is addressed to the whole of the rest of the working-class, which is engaged not in striking in sympathy, but in passively siding with local minority of blacklegs and the Capitalist class. The manifesto, therefore, should run: "Being in a shop where sixty men are at work, and fifty of us want to strike, and ten do not, I am in favour of coercing the ten and making them come out, while we fifty fight the 'boss.' As the rest of the working-class and the whole of the Capitalist class side with the 'boss' and the ten non-strikers, I am in favour of coercing the majority of my own class and the whole of the Capitalist class also."
What would be society's answer? Why, that of the Trade Union-apologist-or-strike-believer-in-majority righteousness! Thus, a worker who was not in favour of the striker would say : -"If I am in a society where a vast majority of the proletariat can have their present ill-being intensified, and poverty added to their poverty, by fifty men going on strike, I am in favour of coercing the fifty and making them go back to work, whilst we, the majority of the workers, meet the 'boss' through our representatives on arbitration and conciliation boards, and through peaceful agencies, secure higher wages and better conditions."
Maybe the revolting strike defender would turn aside with his sturdy band of followers, numbering forty-nine all told and sighing somewhat critically, relieve his feelings by giving utterance to the following piece of philosophy "The majority have no more right to coerce a minority than the minority have to coerce a majority. The fifty have no more right to coerce the ten than the ten have to coerce the fifty. Society has no more right to coerce the fifty strikers than the fifty strikers haveto coerce society But the minority has as much right to coerce majority as the majority has to coerce the minority.Ten strikers have as much right to coerce fifty non-strikers as fifty have to to coerce ten non-strikers. And society has as much right, and no more, to coerce fifty strikers as fifty strikers have to coerce society. Where might reigns rights do not exist. Where the political reflex of industrial complexity is centralisation of control and administration, individual autonomy is impossible. The only question is: Seeing that the emancipation of the working-class means the emancipation of the world, and that we base our argument on logic and reason; that by quiet and resolute activity the workers can he brought together in one revolutionary 'Impossiblist' movement to tie up the workshops of the world, amid the anathemas and violence of impotent Capitalism struggling in its death-throes; that violence against our own class can never atone for the violence of the capitalist against us, but only make for an orgie of bloodshed which will delay the sure and certain overthrow of parasitism; seeing, in fact, that Socialism is inevitable and that the very oppression of the working-class constitutes its final economic and political strength, is extraneous violence, i.e., an interference with the liberty of the strike-breaker by virtue of physical force above and beyond the law of economic effect in production, distribution, and consumption, advisable in the interests of the workers to-day, and the securement of the commonweal for which they are striving?"
This, I repeat, is the question which our physical force constitutional palliationist, supposing he understood the situation, would ask himself.
My reply - since I own no arsenals, have no monopoly of gatling or Maxim guns, and am not a Nonconformist Cabinet Minister - would he "no," especially since, in accordance with the law of social evolution, I believe in conserving all the principles of past progress in the direction of liberty. And freedom, so far as economic tendencies permit, I hold to be such a principle. Indeed, the fact that I have to so qualify it, means that the right of freedom is admitted, with rare, if any, exceptions, so long as the economic status quo is not disturbed.
Though the expression of the Class struggle will be political, its basis will be economic, so that it can no longer be willed into a physical force one. It does not require that the reader should agree with me on this point for him to realise that no prerogative to murder, boycott, or coerce is specially invested in the majority, because the deity of abstract rights has decided that the majority is the majority. If coercion be right, its successfulness must decide its employment. Successful or otherwise, it is no more right for the minority than the majority to coerce, and neither more nor less obligatory upon it not to do so.
This is my position - as a Socialist - of equal rights for majority and minority, which, being recognised, would not lead to the hopeless confusion that majority rule does. It is a confusion of bourgeois begetting, leading to the experiences of Motherwell, Hull, Grimsby, Featherstone, Penrhyn, Mitchelstown, and Belfast. The negation of the alleged right of majority violence is based upon the' economics of the Class War.
Our Trade Unionist friend, with his loose revolutionary violence and threatening, as opposed to a sound revolutionary activity, finding himself either consciously or unconsciously on the side of bourgeois society, will insist that there must be representation and delegation of authority.
To this I reply with the statement of Marxian philosophy, that every industrial epoch has its own system of representation. The fact that minority and majority rule find their harmonious expression in the political bureaucratic autocracy of capitalism signifies that its negation in the terms of Socialism shall embody a counter affirmative which embody the principle of true organisation and freedom of the individual idiosyncrasy. What the details of that organisation will be shall be made the subject of discussion in another essay. That it will not be "a Socialist majority" can be seen from the fact that democracy usually signifies the surrender of majority incompetence and mis-education to the interests of minority expertism and bourgeois concentration of its power over the lives and destinies of the exploited proletarians, no less through the medium of the worker's Trade and Industrial Union, than through that of the Capitalist State.
Marx truly conceived of the bourgeois State as being but an executive committee for administering the affairs of the whole bourgeois class, which has stripped of its halo every profession previously venerated and regarded as honourable, and thus turned doctor, lawyer, priest, poet, philosopher, and labour leader into its paid wage workers. The Trade Union becomes daily more and more an essential department or expression of the bourgeois State.
Out of the class or property social system there cannot emerge a "representation" which signifies an honest attempt to secure just exposition of principles and expressions of antagonistic interests. Where there is no social or economic equality, there can be no democracy and no representation. The barren wilderness of money-juggling "freedom" cannot secure real personal liberty of being to any citizen. True organisation like true liberty belongs to the future - and the Socialist Commonwealth, or, as I have termed it elsewhere, the Anarchist Republic.
May 9 2007 01:36
libertarian communism
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line47
|
__label__cc
| 0.551608
| 0.448392
|
MBLWHOI Library » Tales from the Archive: Outside the Pillars of Heracles
Tales from the Archive: Outside the Pillars of Heracles
Submitted on Fri, 11/20/2020 - 10:16
The study of the ocean, how it works and the secrets it holds, has been the mission of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from the time it was an idea being proposed by Henry Bigelow and Frank Lillie. When WHOI became a reality in 1930, the idea of ocean sciences was still emerging even though humanity long sailed the sea. In the early days of the Oceanographic Institution one of the oldest tales of the deep became of interest to WHOI research. In 1931, Henry Bigelow and Columbus Iselin looked for Plato’s “island situated in front of the straits which are by you called the Pillars of Heracles,” or the fabled lost continent of Atlantis.
AC-32.SearchingforAtlantis.newspaper.1931.10.25.jpg
In the WHOI Archives is a recounting of their research trip that appeared in The Minneapolis Sunday Tribune from October of 1931 claiming that the search for Atlantis was underway. The dear readers of the Minneapolis Sunday Tribune were informed “scientists plan to probe for Atlantis by breaking through a thin submarine crust under which the legendary land is declared to be hidden.” With Iselin as the “master” of the research cruise, it was hoped that the team of scientists from WHOI out studying the Atlantean Plateau and with their “well-equipped laboratories between decks” would confirm once and for all the question of Atlantis. By scraping off the “top dressing” of seafloor and making repeated deep-sea soundings, the researchers came to the “belief that if the Atlantean Plateau once rose above the surface it carried with it...soil of a character which may now be classified.” This character, it was hoped, would reflect the soil of Africa, South America, New York, or maybe there’d be granite, evidence of volcanic eruptions, or even coral structure.
The newly minted ketch Atlantis had made her first voyage across the Atlantic over the summer of 1931. Not only did it successfully reach Woods Hole, but the Atlantis also used the opportunity for preliminary soundings and to make “deep sea tests” of the “grapplers, hooks, and borers to be used in probing for the lost continent.” Previous research and the samples collected indicated that the WHOI scientists may only need to break through ten inches of sediment to discover any evidence of Atlantis. The Minneapolis Sunday Tribune continues to describe the other issues WHOI researchers looked to address during their search; what some may call the more pressing, scientific mission.
The real aim of this cruise, at least for the scientists on board, was to collect samples and address “what keeps such great currents as the Gulf Stream flowing.” While the oceanic gyres were not fully understood at this time, there was great news for the future if WHOI scientists succeeded in answering this issue. If it could be proved that “these currents have the pronounced effect on the climate of certain parts of the east coast of North America and the west coast of Europe that some theorists steady [sic] maintain, then it may become possible to forecast weather conditions in these parts of the world far in advance.” The days of the almanac were numbered.
This was not the last time that the story of Atlantis became the buzz around research at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Over thirty years after Bigelow and Iselin’s foray into mythbusting, James Mavor worked with scholars in Greece to locate a lost city on the bottom of the Mediterranean. Off the coast of the island Thera in the Aegean Sea, Mavor and fellow researchers found evidence of a Minoan city dating to 1,400 B.C.E. As evidence of the potential fabled Atlantis being discovered, scientists pointed to the city’s destruction by a powerful earthquake and volcanic eruption, much as Plato described befalling the Atlantean continent and people. The site was an important part of the history of the Helenistic world, giving archeologists a closer glimpse to a society over three millennia removed from ourselves. But was it THE Atlantis?
As the reader may have guessed, it was not. Neither one of these forays into crypto-oceanography proved, without a doubt, the legend of Plato’ lost civilization was brought to the ocean floor for their hubris. Perhaps the search for Atlantis will never end; spurred on by young oceanographers following the writings of Erich Von Daniken. As WHOI continues to explore the depths of our world’s oceans, the lost continent may become the found continent.
by Brett Freiburger
|
cc/2022-05/en_head_0053.json.gz/line49
|
End of preview.
No dataset card yet
- Downloads last month
- 4