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Georgian Public Broadcasting (GPB)
Key objectives of the measure:
The mission of the Georgian Public Broadcaster is to reinforce democratic values, raise the level of public education, encourage diversity and social integration as well as to uphold historical heritage and cultural traditions. According to the law the public television shall: “cover the pluralism of opinions existing in the public; broadcast a relevant proportion of programs for minority groups, in their language; reflect ethnic, cultural, linguistic, religious, age, gender diversity in the programs; broadcast a relevant number of programes prepared by minority groups in their language; promote the state identity, values and cultural diversity'; take into consideration the interest of people with disabilities;
The objectives of the GPB are:
Adequately informing of the greater society in terms of on-going political, social and cultural processes in Georgia and internationally;
Contributing to civil society and larger national debates by providing reliable and impartial information, which sufficiently impacts the choices made by informed citizens;
Promoting Georgia’s interests and shared values by appreciating the diversity of opinions within an atmosphere of open public dialogue and an environment of tolerance;
Sharing in the contributions being made to public education and reforms that are designed to provide the means to bring about informed choices in sciences, including environmental responsibility and participation in organizations representing civil society;
Raising the standard of governmental accountability, community and civil society representation, and opening the door for greater self-awareness, self-actualisaiton and engagement among the young generation;
Publicly showcasing the diverse array of high quality works of contemporary and classical art and literary achievements;
Scope of the measure:
Local, Regional, National, International
Nature of the measure:
legislative, regulatory, financial, institutional
Main feature of the measure:
The Broadcasting industry in Georgia is regulated by the Constitution of Georgia, the law of Georgia on Broadcasting, the Election Code of Georgia, the Law of Georgia on Regulatory Authorities, the Law of Georgia on Copyright and the Related Rights and other legal acts. The content-related obligations of the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) are defined by the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting adopted in 2014, that boosted the process of transformation of Georgian TV from being a state broadcaster into a public broadcaster.
The GPB unites twoTV channels: "First Channel" (since 1956) and "Second Channel" (since 1971). It is also comprised of two Radio stations - "Radio One" FM 102.4 (since 1925) and "Radio Two" FM 100.9 (since 1995). Presently, 90% of the Georgian population receive the First Channel, and 55% receive the Second Channel. Georgian TV's programmes are also received by satellite and over the Internet in a number of European and Asian countries.
Georgian Parliament elects a Board of Trustees, composed of nine members. In addition of the legal documents, the Board establishes annual programme priorities which is based on several sources, including legislation, research on attitudes toward the broadcaster and recommendations worked out by NGOs working on media issues and monitoring GPB activities (in 2015 these recommendations were proposed by the Media Development Foundation (MDF) and United Nations Association of Georgia (UNAG) and mainly referred to informing the ethnic minorities about Euro-Atlantic integration process and reporting on the issues of diversity). According to the priorities the share of cultural programs related with ethnic, cultural, social, religious, gender diversity should be increased. Also, GPB should increase production of films, performances.
Results expected through the implementation of the measure:
Following to the implementation of GPB priorites, the media space will be more democratic and diversified; cultural identity will be promoted; Apart of purely comercial interest, educational and cultural content will be provided to Georgian society. Creativity will be encouraged within the society in Georgia and cultural uniqueness will be revealed; formation of a diverse society based on the principles of personal freedom, equality and fairness, united by citizen responsibility and solidarity will be supported, protecting cultural identity by offering educational and instructive, information and entertaining media- products and services will be promoted
Financial resources allocated to implement the measure:
The average annual budget is 40 000 000 laris (17 mln Euro)
Return to the platform
Read the full report
Goal(s) of UNESCO's 2005 Convention
Area(s) of Monitoring
Sustainable systems of governance for culture
Media diversity
Cultural Domain(s)
Multi-domain
Cultural Value Chain
Other measures from this goal
Madagascar | Professionnalisation de l'industrie du livre
China | Financial support for small and micro-sized cultural enterprises
Austria | European Digital Art and Science Network
Monaco | Soutenir les artistes locaux
Colombia | Retina Latina: a Website to Stream Latin American Cinema
Other measures from the same country
Georgia | EU-Eastern Partnership Culture and Creativity Programme
Georgia | Become a Young Ambassador of Your Country
Georgia | Public-sector Support for Diversity on Broadcasting
Georgia | Georgian National Film Centre (GNFC)
Georgia | Preferential Tax and Procurement Policy for Culture and Creative Sector
Other measures from the same region
Croatia | Support to International Cultural Cooperation
Poland | Programmes de bourses
Switzerland | Coordination régionale
Georgia | National Youth Policy of Georgia
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List of tallest buildings in Algeria
This list of tallest buildings in the Algeria ranks skyscrapers in the Algeria based on official height.
1 Tallest buildings
1.1 Under construction
1.2 On-hold, approved or proposed
Tallest buildings[edit]
This list ranks completed and topped out skyscrapers in Algeria that stand at least 100 metres (328 ft) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts or minarets. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.
m (ft)
1 Djamaa el Djazaïr 270 metres (890 ft) 2019 Algiers [1]
2 Résidence Oran Tower 113 metres (371 ft) 29 2018 Oran [2]
3 Bahia Center Tower A 111 metres (364 ft) 31 2009 Oran [3]
= Bahia Center Tower D 111 metres (364 ft) 31 2011 Oran [3]
= Bahia Center Tower C 111 metres (364 ft) 31 2012 Oran [3]
= Bahia Center Tower B 111 metres (364 ft) 31 2014 Oran [3]
7 Emir Abdelkader Mosque 107 metres (351 ft) 1994 Constantine
8 Holiday Inn Algiers - Cheraga Tower 105 metres (344 ft) 25 2018 Algiers [4][5]
9 Cherif Towers I 105 metres (344 ft) 28 2019 Oran
10 Cherif Towers II 90 metres (300 ft) 24 2019 Oran
Under construction[edit]
This lists buildings that are currently under construction in Algeria and are expected to rise to a height of at least 100 metres (328 ft). Buildings under construction that have already been topped out are also included.
1 Galaxie Oran Tower 118 metres (387 ft) 30 2019 Oran
2 Odéon Tower 106 metres (348 ft) 28 2019 Oran
3 Gulf Bank Headquarters Tower 106 metres (348 ft) 24 2019 Algiers
4 Les Galets Tower 1 30 2019 Oran [6]
5 Les Galets Tower 2 28 2019 Oran
On-hold, approved or proposed[edit]
1 El Djazair Towers Complex 1 300 metres (980 ft) 62 Proposed Oran
3 Sherazade Tower 200 metres (660 ft) 47 Proposed Oran
4 Mhafer Center 200 metres (660 ft) 35 Proposed Annaba [7]
List of tallest buildings in Africa
List of tallest buildings in the world
List of tallest structures in Algeria
^ Grande mosquée d'Alger - Aps.dz
^ Résidence Oran Tower - emporis.fr
^ a b c d "Buildings in Oran". CTBUH. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
^ https://www.algerie-eco.com/2017/12/20/alger-accueil-premier-hotel-holiday-inn/
^ "Hôtels : Intercontinental s'implante en Algérie". tsa-algerie.com. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
^ ORAN Les Galets Towers
^ (Vidéo) Projet d'aménagement du pôle urbain du BENI-MHAFFEUR. ANNABA
Lists of tallest buildings in Algeria
Djamaa el Djazaïr (270 m)
Résidence Oran Tower (113 m)
Bahia Center A (111 m)
Bahia Center B (111 m)
Bahia Center C (111 m)
Bahia Center D (111 m)
Emir Abdelkader Mosque (107 m)
Holiday Inn Algiers - Cheraga Tower (105 m)
Galaxie Oran Tower (118 m)
Odéon Oran Tower (106 m)
Gulf Bank Headquarters Tower (106 m)
El Djazair Towers Complex 1 (300 m)
Sherazade Tower (200 m)
Mhafer Center (200 m)
Lists of tallest buildings in Africa
Tallest buildings and structures
By other
British Empire and Commonwealth
100+ floors
Buildings by height to roof
Cities with most skyscrapers
Designed by Women
Twin buildings
Voluntarily demolished
Early skyscrapers
(of any type)
former Yugoslavia
300 to 400 metres
Before the 20th century
Twin structures
Additionally guyed tower
Air traffic obstacle
All buildings and structures
Antenna height considerations
Height restriction laws
Groundscraper
Oil platform
Partially guyed tower
Tower block
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Algeria&oldid=888806077"
Lists of buildings and structures in Algeria
Skyscrapers in Algeria
Lists of tallest structures by country
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Greg's Gallery Disneyland/Universal Studios trip 2016
1. Pictures... ... 6. Pictures... 7. Pictures... 8. Pictures... 9. Disneyland/... 10. Pictures... 11. Pictures... 12. India trip ... ... 147. Cathy's...
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Summary: Me in front of the Universal Studios globe!
Summary: The entrance to the Harry Potter ride goes through Hogwarts Castle, and in this room Harry, Ron, and Hermione show up to talk to you! Unfortunately, this room is where we heard the ride broke down for a bit, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione did a lot of talki
Summary: Elsewhere in that room, the chalkboard talks a lot about dementors. Hmm...
Summary: Later in the castle, the fat lady showed up! She wishes she could come along...
Summary: The sorting hat!
Summary: After Harry Potter, we went to the Simpsons side of the park. Here I am outside of Duff Gardens, next to Tipsy and Surly!
Summary: Me next to the capsule from Apollo 13! (the movie, anyway)
Summary: This meet-and-greet with a Transformer was baffling. He was moving around deftly but also talking in a way that it was clear the speech was live. Is there someone in that suit? Or is it remote-controlled? We may never know...
Summary: Me under a dinosaur at the Jurassic Park ride.
Summary: We ate lunch at Cletus's Chicken Shack, and David found Spider-Pig! The TV in the background is playing all sorts of restaurant-related Simpsons clips.
Summary: This is part of the set that looks like New York City, or many other cities. The bricks look surprisingly real! But it's all foam, I think.
Title: WP_20160702_13_11_24_Pro_2
Summary: The set of a plane crash in War of the Worlds. Apparently that's a real 747 that they bought and then destroyed!
Summary: David in front of Hogwarts Castle!
Summary: Back outside, students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons made an appearance.
Summary: I don't mean to brag, but...
Summary: David met Scooby-Doo and Shaggy, who were very big fans of his shirt!
Summary: More Scooby-Doo and Shaggy being excited about David's shirt.
Summary: Next up was Disneyland. Here's David on the Finding Nemo submarine ride!
Summary: After Star Tours, you could build your own lightsaber!
Summary: David and I in front of It's a Small World.
Summary: David enjoys a Darth by Chocolate, which was a delicious dessert! (OK, I enjoyed it too...)
Summary: David and I attempted to open the Disney vault! Then we just went in the store.
Summary: David and Emily on the Dumbo ride.
Summary: While we waited for the parade, the tea cups were lit up very nicely.
Summary: Parade time! Here's the Little Mermaid float.
Summary: Frozen!
Summary: Finally, Mickey! The triple spiral thing behind him was oddly hypnotic.
Summary: On to Disney California Adventure! We rode the Golden Zephyr.
Summary: We went to an animation class and learned how to draw Olaf! Here's David's version...
Summary: ...and here's my version! Yeah, David's is better.
Summary: David showing off a very nice matte. Everything past the rope is a painting!
Summary: We got into position to watch the World of Color show early. The lit-up ferris wheel (which we had ridden early in the day) was especially pretty!
Summary: Since it was July 4th, the show opened with a tribute to America. There was a sheet of mist or water or something that they projected things on to. It looked way better in person than it does in this picture!
Summary: Neil Patrick Harris (who narrated World of Color) hangs out with Mickey!
Summary: Frozen! Yes, they played "Let It Go"...
Summary: The Finding Nemo section was pretty.
Summary: Finally, Star Wars!
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Shopping local benefits economy with personal touches
Greenville-based marketing technology company Locally Epic is encouraging shoppers to buy local, not just through the holiday season, but year-round.
Locally Epic founder and CEO Chase Michaels said there are 800,000 people across the Upstate between the ages of 16 and 70; and if each person would spend $20 a week locally, across 52 weeks, that would increase the local economy by $300 million in one year.
“When I’ve shared this, jaws dropped,” he said. “It shows how important our $20 is. It keeps downtowns and local businesses growing.
“Money made here should be spent here. It’s important for people to spend locally.”
Kelly Colacioppo has owned The Cook’s Station in downtown Greenville for 20 years. She likes the personal touches that can come with shopping locally, but said operating a local business has its challenges.
“Location has always been a challenge for us, especially the first 12 to 13 years. Being in the West End used to be an issue. No one wanted to come down here,” she said.
The Cook’s Station is located at 659 S. Main St.
“Truth is, you can get online and maybe find some things we have here, but here you can touch and feel the product, talk to people and keep money local,” she said. “And here things are wrapped and ready to go. Shopping locally provides you with personal touches you won’t get online.”Colacioppo said the big challenge for her now is the internet. But over time she has learned to make it work.
To be competitive, Colacioppo said local shopping has to be more “experience driven.” She said local small business owners cannot sit idle in their stores. The Cook’s Station offers like cooking classes, wine tastings and bread tastings as a way to interact with the customers.
To further stress the importance of shopping locally, Michaels refers to the 75/35/1 rule. For each dollar spent locally, 75 cents stays in the community.
“Spend that dollar at a big box store and 35 cents stays local,” he said. “And if you buy online, only one cent of each dollar is returned to the community.
“We all live here because we love it here,” he said. “If we stop buying locally, we’ll lose the uniqueness of the Upstate that brought us here.”
Local businesses invest more in local labor, pay more in local taxes, raise more for local charities and spend more time on community and local government events and programs, Michaels said.
Why buy local?
The American Independent Business Alliance, a nonprofit organization that supports independent business and local entrepreneurs, outlines on its website some benefits of shopping locally.
The casual encounters at neighborhood–scale businesses and the public spaces around them build relationships and community cohesiveness.
Shaping community character
Independent businesses help give your community its distinct personality.
Increasing the wealth
The multiplier effect created by spending locally generates lasting impact on the prosperity of local organizations and residents.
Creating opportunity
Not only do independent businesses employ more people directly per dollar of revenue, they also are the customers of local printers, accountants, wholesalers, farms, attorneys expanding opportunities for local entrepreneurs.
Small businesses donate more than twice as much per sales dollar to local nonprofits, events and teams compared to big businesses.
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Home»E-Learning»Measuring the performance of PFM systems
Measuring the performance of PFM systems
Reading pack
Paolo de Renzio
Government budgets and their supporting systems – often referred to as Public Financial Management (PFM) systems – are one of the key tools that governments use to turn policy statements and intentions into the delivery of goods and services. In fact, much of what governments do depends on raising, borrowing and spending public resources. Interest in PFM systems and their performance is not a new phenomenon, but has become a lot more prominent in the past two decades for two main reasons: (1) the increased focus on institutions and governance as key determinants of countries’ development prospects, and (2) the growing use of ‘programme-aid modalities’ – like general or sector budget support – which channel foreign assistance directly through recipient countries’ budget systems.
Donor interest in supporting governance improvements and in ensuring that aid resources were effectively utilised to support poverty reduction – alongside the need to minimise fiduciary risk in budget support operations – led to the measurement of PFM systems’ quality and performance. While the UN and other actors had been looking at PFM-related issues for some time already, the first systematic attempt to measure the performance of PFM systems as a whole was promoted by the World Bank and the IMF as part of the HIPC debt reduction initiative in the late 1990s. The objective was to ensure that the resource freed up by debt cancellation could be effectively directed towards reducing poverty. WB/IMF teams applied the HIPC Public Expenditure Tracking Assessment and Action Plan (HIPC-AAP) tool in 20-25 HIPC countries over two rounds in 2001 and 2004 (see here). It looked at 16 indicators across the budget cycle and aimed to make sure that the resources freed up by debt cancellation could be effectively directed towards reducing poverty.
Building on the HIPC-AAP tool, a larger consortium of donors set up the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) initiative a few years later. This initiative designed a more comprehensive assessment framework that has been widely utilised since its introduction in 2005 (see Reading 2 below). The PEFA framework has become the ‘gold standard’ when it comes to measuring the performance of PFM systems. It covers a wide range of topics and scores countries according to the degree to which they comply with recognised international good practices in each area. Assessments are usually carried out by teams of consultants, ideally (but not always) commissioned by country authorities, and are used to inform governments’ PFM reform strategies, the dialogue they have with donors about these and to guide donor decisions on choosing aid modalities.
A few other existing assessment tools look at the PFM system as a whole and are worth mentioning:
The IMF’s Fiscal Transparency Code and related assessment tool –published in 1998, 2007 and 2015 – provides a comprehensive review of fiscal transparency practices and of how PFM systems guarantee fiscal discipline, promote good fiscal management and protect from fiscal risk (see Reading 2 below).
The International Budget Partnership’s Open Budget Survey is an independent assessment of budget transparency practices that is carried out by civil society groups in 100 countries every two years (see Reading 3 below).
The OECD’s Budget Practices and Procedures Database is based on a questionnaire filled in by government officials on the key characteristics of the budget process in their country. Although initially designed for OECD countries, it was applied in various regions, including Africa (see Reading 5).
The World Bank’s Country Policy and Institutional Assessment provides yearly comparative scores for all low-income countries that are eligible for IDA lending. It includes an indicator on the quality of budget systems.
More specific ‘drill down’ tools have been developed for debt management, external audit, procurement, etc. A more complete list and comparison of different assessment tools – both general and specific – is available in Reading 1 below. It is important to highlight that the existence of country-specific documents can also be useful for measuring and monitoring the performance of PFM systems. These can include PFM reform strategies (see examples from Uganda and Albania) and reports published by internal and external audit institutions.
Different assessment tools have different characteristics and serve different purposes. As the readings below show, many of them have been used for both research and policy purposes. There are some questions relating to substance and process that are worth asking when looking at these different tools:
On substance: What issues/topics does the assessment cover? How comprehensive is it? How detailed is the information it provides? What measurement criteria does it use? How factual/objective are they? Are the scores (if any) backed up by sufficient evidence?
On process: How many countries are covered in the assessment? How often and how regularly are assessments carried out? How much do they cost? Who is involved in the assessment process? Are all the details and results publicly accessible?
Key readings
Reading 1: OECD/DAC. (2011). Stocktaking Study of PFM Diagnostic Instruments. Working Party on Aid Effectiveness/Task Force on PFM. Paris: OECD.
Volume I and Volume II
This study identifies, describes and compares internationally used analytical/ diagnostic tools in the Public Financial Management area, covering their objectives, coverage, frequency and cost, etc. It includes both general tools and tools which focus on specific PFM elements or institutions. Annex C in Volume I and Volume II provides useful comparative tables. The study also identifies existing knowledge gaps and provides a number of ideas for better alignment and harmonisation of assessment work of PFM country systems and greater government leadership.
Reading 2: PEFA. (2011). Public Financial Management. Performance Measurement Framework (revised version). Washington, DC: PEFA Secretariat.
This document contains the detailed methodology developed by the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) initiative to assess the quality of PFM systems across countries. It includes 28 multi-dimensional indicators that span the various stages of the budget cycle, some cross-cutting themes and budget credibility issues, and three indicators on donor practices. The framework is currently being updated and revised, and a new methodology is already being piloted: http://pefa.org/en/content/pefa-2015-support.
Reading 3: IMF. (2014). Update on the fiscal transparency initiative. IMF Policy Paper. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.
This paper provides an update on the IMF’s efforts to revamp and re-launch its Fiscal Transparency Code, alongside a new assessment tool to be used to monitor countries’ compliance. This tool is divided into four pillars: (a) fiscal reporting; (b) fiscal forecasting and budgeting; (c) fiscal risk analysis and management; and (d) resource revenue management. Each pillar includes a number of areas being assessed, distinguishing among basic, good and advanced practices.
Reading 4: IBP. (2015). Open Budget Survey 2015. Open Budgets. Transform Lives. Washington, DC: International Budget Partnership.
This report provides a snapshot of the state of budget transparency across 102 countries. The results are based on a survey questionnaire that is filled in by independent researchers and looks at the public availability and comprehensiveness of eight key budget documents, at citizen participation in budget processes and at the strength of legislatures and audit institutions.
Reading 5: CABRI. (2009). Budget Practices and Procedures in Africa. Pretoria: Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative.
This report highlights data from 26 African countries who participated in the OECD Budget Practices and Procedures questionnaire. It compares budget systems and practices across the African continent, looking issues such as budget calendars, fiscal transparency, off-budget spending and aid management.
Reading 6: Hedger, E. and de Renzio, P. (2010). What do Public Financial Management assessments tell us about PFM reform? ODI Background Note. London: Overseas Development Institute.
This note reviews different sources of data on the performance of PFM systems, assessing their pros and cons and analysing the resulting findings. It further considers the state of knowledge on factors that influence PFM reforms, including: country characteristics, reform processes and donor approaches.
Reading 7: Andrews, M. (2009). Isomorphism and the Limits to African Public Financial Management Reform. HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP09-012. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Kennedy School.
This paper uses PEFA data to investigate patterns in performance across PFM process areas by drawing on a dataset of disaggregated PEFA scores for 31 African countries, based on institutional theories of “isomorphism”.
Reading 8: P. de Renzio (2011). Buying Better Governance: The Political Economy of Budget Reforms in Aid-Dependent Countries. GEG Working Paper 2011/65. Oxford: Global Economic Governance Programme.
This paper combines analysis based on a new dataset on the quality of PFM systems across 16 developing countries (drawn from both PEFA and HIPC/AAP data) with in-depth case studies of Mozambique and Burkina Faso, to try and explain why in some countries PFM reforms have been more successful than in others.
Reading 9: Andrews, M.; Cangiano, M.; Cole, N.; de Renzio, P.; Krause, P. and Seligmann, R. (2014). This Is PFM. HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP14-034. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Kennedy School.
This short paper provides a basic overview of PFM systems, processes and actors. It argues that existing assessments tend to evaluate the degree to which PFM processes comply with forms considered ‘good practice’, at the expense of a focus on the following factors such practice should produce: (i) prudent fiscal decisions, (ii) credible budgets, (iii) reliable and efficient resource flows and transactions, and (iv) institutionalised accountability.
Questions to guide reading
Looking at the various assessment tools that exist for measuring the performance of PFM systems, how would you define and choose some of the desirable characteristics of a “good” assessment?
Most performance assessments are carried out by external experts or consultants, with some inputs by recipient governments and limited or no involvement by other stakeholders. How could assessments be organised so that they are more inclusive and participatory, serve a capacity building function and promote dialogue around reforms, rather than just respond to donors’ needs for performance information?
Which of the various assessment tools is best suited for the following purposes: (a) promoting good fiscal management; (b) improving service delivery; (c) enhancing accountability; and (d) assessing fiduciary risk? Which specific indicators would you choose from the PEFA framework to assess performance against the different purposes?
Compare the key findings from Readings 7 and 8. How do they differ? How are they similar? Which one do you find more useful?
Do you agree with the argument that current PFM performance assessments are too focused on ‘form’ and not enough on the key ‘functions’ of PFM systems (reading 9)? What would you include in a list of key PFM goals and functions?
Send us feedback on this reading pack
de Renzio, P. (2015). Measuring the performance of PFM systems. GSDRC Professional Development Reading Pack no. 28. Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham.
About the author: Paolo de Renzio
Dr Paolo de Renzio is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Budget Partnership (IBP) in Washington, DC, and Adjunct Professor at the Institute for International Relations at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica of Rio de Janeiro. At IBP, he coordinates a research programme on governance, fiscal transparency and development, and is part of the team that produces the Open Budget Index. Before joining IBP, Paolo worked in the Ministry of Finance of Papua New Guinea, with UNDP in Mozambique and as a Research Fellow at ODI. He co-edited the book “Open Budgets: The Political Economy of Transparency, Participation and Accountability” (Brookings Press, 2013). Paolo holds a doctorate in International Relations from the University of Oxford (2011).
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Canadian veteran, British war bride married for 75 years die hours apart
By Emanuela Campanella Multimedia Video Journalist Global News
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Global News sat down with the couple in 2011 ahead of meeting William and Kate during their Royal Tour.
A month after celebrating a lifetime of love for their 75th wedding anniversary, George and Jean Spear died on Sept. 15 — within five hours of each other.
George, a Canadian Second World War veteran who served in Italy and North Africa, met Jean in August 1941 in a dance hall during the London Blitz.
READ MORE: Couple married 59 years die hours apart holding hands
“We danced all evening long. You came home to meet my family the next day. We went to the swimming pool,” Jean recalled during an interview with Global News in 2011.
George didn’t waste a minute and married his British bride a year later before being shipped out to fight.
“The war put a sharpness to everything we did. Especially if you’re in love you do not know how long you are going to be around,” George once said.
But that sharpness grew into a lifetime of commitment. The couple died at the Queensway Carleton Hospital in Ottawa. Jean, 94, was admitted Wednesday when she became very ill and developed pneumonia.
READ MORE: Role of women in Second World War cannot be forgotten, says veteran
George, 97, was admitted to the same hospital after he fell into a deep sleep at home. Hospital staff tried to reunite them on the same floor but Jean died before that could be arranged.
Jean died at 4:30 a.m. on Friday and George five hours later at 9:45 a.m.
The couple shared a long life together that started in strife but ended in peace.
The hardship started when bombings got worse in London, and Jean was forced to flee with thousands of other war brides to her new home in Canada.
READ MORE: ‘I’m here! I’ve made it!’ Canadian war brides reunite in Halifax
She landed in Ottawa, with the snow piled high, just before Christmas in 1944. George was serving as a sergeant major in the 1st Corps Field Survey Co, Royal Canadian Engineers. He was being sent home to train others.
“There was a man running towards me with coattails flying — it was so unusual — he ran up to me, wrapped his arms around me and it was George,” Jean told Global News a few years ago.
Over the years, Jean volunteered and worked with other war brides who were settling in Canada. She created the first club for war brides in the country.
The Queen gave her one of Britain’s top honours, making her a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2006. She accepted on behalf of the 50,000 British war brides who moved to Canada.
READ MORE: PHOTOS: Will, Kate, George and Charlotte say goodbye on final day of Royal Visit
The couple also met the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Ottawa during their 2011 Royal Tour.
They left behind two children, daughter Heather Spear and son Ian Spear.
emanuela.campanella@globalnews.ca
Follow @emacampanella
— With files from Peter Harris, Global News.
75 Year Anniversary Die Hours Apart
British War Bride Canadian Veteran
Couple Die 5 Hours Apart
couple die hours apart
Couple Wedding Anniversary Ottawa Die
elderly couple die together
George And Jean Spear
George Spear
Jean Spear
Ottawa Couple Die Hours Apart
Ottawa Couple Die Together
War Bride War Veteran Die Hours Apart
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Toptracer Range Introduces Historic Old Course at St Andrews in Virtual Golf Mode
Toptracer, an extension of global sports and entertainment leader Topgolf Entertainment Group, is the the world’s leading ball-tracing technology revolutionising how fans watch and play golf, and has added the hallowed grounds of the Old Course at St Andrews to the list of world-class courses available to play in Toptracer Range’s ‘Virtual Golf’ mode.
Toptracer is committed to driving the future of golf through innovative technology that connects communities both on and off the course.
Toptracer develops on-screen solutions that show shot shape and data such as distance, ball speed, launch angle and height, to drive enhanced practice and entertainment options for a variety of audiences. Whether it’s transforming the golf viewing experience on more than 700 PGA and European TOUR telecasts this year during NBC, CBS and Sky Sports coverage or setting the new standard for practice through more than 170 driving ranges around the world that utilise Toptracer Range products, the technology offers golf fans of all skill levels both fun and insights to understand the game better.
Toptracer Range helps range owners transform their facilities into a modern and data-driven practice environment, while also catering to the general consumer as an entertainment destination. Toptracer Range utilises state-of-the-art technology to create an interactive and fun experience that is perfect for all skill levels, allowing friends and family to compete in a variety of games or play virtual golf on simulated, world-class golf courses. The Virtual Golf feature is a convenient way for beginners to play a single hole, the front 9, back 9, or all 18 holes in a low-pressure environment.
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Now available as a premium course at Toptracer Range locations, the scenery and challenge of the Old Course at St Andrews can be experienced by players who possess a profile on the Toptracer Range Community app.
“The addition of the Old Course at St Andrews offers Toptracer Range owners a great opportunity to provide guests with the challenge of playing what is arguably the world’s most iconic golf course,” says Paul Williams, General Manager Europe at Toptracer. “We are committed to growing the game and with that comes making traditional golf accessible, so that casual or competitive golfers alike can experience the rich history of the original links style course at any of the hitting bays at Toptracer Range locations.”
“We are hugely proud of what the Old Course represents and symbolises to golfers around the world,” says Danny Campbell, Commercial Director St Andrews Links. “We are committed to harnessing the passion for this iconic place to engage with new audiences and grow the game. Making the Old Course available at Toptracer Ranges will ensure the Home of Golf is accessible to a new generation of golfers; providing a fun, engaging and tech-driven experience that appeals to seasoned players, friends, family, and first-time golfers alike.”
In addition, the 11th hole at the Old Course at St Andrews will be the new marquee hole in the ‘Closest to Pin’ competition, providing golfers the opportunity to experience a challenging Par 3 at the famous course.
Using cameras mounted around the facility and 21-inch monitors found at each hitting bay, Toptracer Range technology displays an array of details of each shot – including shape, distance, speed, launch angle and more. Data is instantly recorded and displayed on the screen through a player profile that can continuously be accessed through the Toptracer Range community application (free on iOS and Android).
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Designing Game Controls
by Andrew Dotsenko on 03/29/17 10:01:00 am
This is a repost from my blog.
For the last recent years, my designer’s job was closely related to the design of complex game controls. Surprisingly, it was quite hard for me to find good general guidelines. I had to solve some pretty complicated design challenges and study a lot of different sources until I was able to develop some principles that I currently use in my job. I think that they’re worth sharing and might be useful for anyone who’s dealing with controls design tasks.
The topic overall is, perhaps, too big for just one article, so I’ll also be giving external links to other resources with more details when it’s possible.
So, I would define the three main principles:
Accessibility – the game controls should be easy to learn and use, and take into account human’s physical and cognitive limitations.
Intent Communication – the game controls should communicate the player’s intent in a way the player expects and create a feeling of full control.
Expression Space – the game controls should give the player enough expression space for mastery, and keep the sufficient level of variety.
Let’s look at these principles in more details.
Hand Limitations
If we want our controls to be easy to use, the first thing that we need to take into account is our hand limitations.
There are three main “finger groups” that we need to keep in mind during controls design:
Primary control – thumb & index fingers. Flexible and precise, usable for primary actions (shoot, jump, etc.).
Secondary control – middle finger. Flexible but not so precise, usable for primary hold actions (aiming mode, [w] for walking, etc.).
Support – ring & pinkie fingers. Weak and not very flexible, can be used for secondary actions.
Let’s try to apply our knowledge of hands limitations for the more practical task – designing of the game controls layout. In order to do that, we can use a Fitt’s Law, which for our case we can formulate that way: “the fewer the distance to the button and the bigger the button, the more accessible the button is.”
Combining Fitt’s Law and knowledge of hand limitations, we can formulate the basic principle for controls layout design:
The most frequent actions should be in the most accessible places and match primary control group of the player’s hand.
Accessibility Tiers: Gamepad
For the gamepad, it might look like this (as an example, we can use very common Xbox 360 Controller):
Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3
A/X buttons B/Y Start/Back
Sticks DPAD
LT/RT LB/RB
Accessibility Tiers: Keyboard & Mouse
For the keyboard, I would divide them this way (it’s also was my internal guideline for Watch Dogs 2 PC controls layout):
WASD + Q/E/R/F Numerical keys 1-5 F1-F12
Space/Shift/Tab Z/X/C/V/T/G Right side of the keyboard according to the Fitt’s Law (the shortest finger trajectories)
LMB/RMB/MMB Ctrl/Alt Any action that requires to move the hand
As a small practical example, we can look at the keyboard hacking interface for Watch Dogs 2 PC.
Here’s how it looks like with the gamepad – all the buttons can be accessed with the right hand thumb, and to activate the “hacking mode” the player should hold LB button with the left hand index finger. Such controls layout allows to use the hacking simultaneously with character movement as fast contextual actions.
On the keyboard, hacking actions are in places with the fastest access with thumb and index fingers (R, F, C, Space), and “hacking mode” can be activated with the mouse (which makes hacking more precise than the gamepad controls). The final playest result for such control scheme was 4,7 out of 5.
Attention Limit
There’s always human attention limit for a number of simultaneous actions, even if they’re physically possible (for example, it’s and extremely hard to simultaneously drive the car, control the acceleration level, and also aim and shoot – even if your gamepad physically allows this).
Of course, there are different types of actions, with different attention demands. I would divide them this way:
Primary actions – require active decision-making, the main “Verbs”/basic mechanics that the player use. Might include more than one basic inputs (aim & shoot, moving & jumping, etc.). Require constant attention from the player.
State change – actions that switch control modes (hold button to aim, hold the button to run, etc.). Slightly increase the overall level of required attention. Very often, “hold” actions.
Contextual actions – appear from time to time in the context of the primary “Verbs” (reload the weapon, interact, use a special ability, etc.). Require short-term periods of high attention from the player.
From practice and numerous observations, the maximum limit of simultaneous actions (for each hand) is:
One primary action
One state change
One contextual action
So, by both hands, the player can simultaneously control (~approximately) two primary actions, two state changes, and two contextual actions. We should also keep in mind that one hand is always primary, so actions that require more precision should be assigned to the primary hand.
Let’s get back to our GTA 5 example.
Here, we have:
Car steering (primary action)
Accelerate/Brake (primary action)
Shooting mode (state change)
Aiming & Shooting (primary action)
As we can notice, in this episode, the player has to use three primary actions simultaneously: control the position of the car, its acceleration, and also shoot. Technically, it’s possible to do it with the gamepad, but the attention limit doesn’t allow to do it effectively. And time pressure and speed make it even worse. There’s a possibility that in this specific mission, such complicated controls were designed deliberately, but it’s also a good example what can happen if your game controls require too much attention from the player.
Is there a way to overcome these limitations? Actually, the answer is “yes.” We can move player actions to automated state. If the player repeatedly performs a certain activity, eventually, it will be moved to a habit and become automated. Automated activities require much less attention from the player to perform. Still, we should remember that automated actions can’t help us with the physical limitations of the hand.
A good example of automated activity can be classical WASD. Technically, it’s four actions that require three fingers to operate. But we perceive them as one control for moving, and have a common habit, learned in many games.
But how to help players to automate their actions? There are two ways: Grouping and Standard Conventions.
People learn and memorize by making patterns. To decrease memory load and improve learning, divide controls into logical groups:
Similar actions should be in one group – all move actions are in one group, all combat actions in another group, etc. Grouped actions that are related to one basic mechanic (combat, driving, navigation, etc.) are much easier to move to automated state (WASD).
Groups should take in account hand limitations – should match accessibility tiers.
Groups should be consistent, if you have more than one layout – similar actions in different layouts should work on the same button (ex: “Sprint” on [Shift] in On Foot layout and “Nitro” on [Shift] in Driving layout).
Two biggest groups are the player’s two hands – if you have two important actions (or groups of actions) that the player should use simultaneously, divide them between two hands, it will make memorization easier.
Standard Conventions/Mental Models
Another way to improve learning is using standard conventions that are common to the genre. In many cases, players’ standard conventions have priority over the physical accessibility of the button.
If you design an innovative mechanic, you might not have a standard convention for it. In such case, use mental models from the real life. These mental models should have spatial and physical similarity with the player’s actions with the input device (trigger to shoot, an upper button to [up], a lower button to [down], etc.).
One of the examples of such approach is a hacking panel design for the mouse & keyboard controls in Watch Dogs 2 PC.
The hacking mechanic in Watch Dogs 2 was quite innovative, and there was no good standard convention for that, so we made an order of hacking actions in the panel spatially similar with the physical keyboard buttons. Playtests showed that even such control scheme was non-standard at first, people could learn it pretty quickly and used very effectively.
Also, it’s useful to remember that people are imperfect and might have very different ideas how to interact with your game, so – playtest, playtest, playtest! Look for the player’s insight, find what players really do.
Intent Communication
Let’s move to probably the most important part of the game controls – communication of the player’s intent.
Controls Action Cycle
Here’s how the player’s action cycle looks like in general:
The player sends the input signal, then this signal is processing by the system, the player sees the response on the screen, process this response and sends new input signal. All this creates an ongoing correction cycle (you can find out more about the theory behind that in Donald Norman’s “Human action cycle”).
Good controls should not break the correction cycle and don’t frustrate the player on any of interaction stages.
On the input stage, the next thing after the accessibility (which we already covered before) is a concept of affordance (or affordances). Affordances display the state of the system and allow the player to learn what to do without trial-and-error process.
There are two main ways to use affordances in games:
HUD – external UI elements that communicate what can be done with the object (control reminders, crosshair state, etc.). External HUD can even be a part of the game’s narrative (Animus in Assassin’s Creed, for example).
Game World – using of “Form Follows Function” principle when the form of the game object communicates what can be done with or by this object. It can be level design (“climbing” points on the building, barrels with “explosives” symbol, etc.), or the character animations/items ( the smaller character is more agile, the bigger weapon is slower, etc.).
The main principle here – any interaction in the game should have affordance.
If you want to know more details on this topic, I would highly recommend to read “Beyond the HUD,” Master of Science Thesis from Erik Fagerholt and Magnus Lorentzon.
Signal Filtering
After the player sent the input signal, the system should process it. Here, we have a contradiction: players usually expect that the system should do approximately what they want, but controller sends precise input to the system.
The player’s hands are analog and not very precise, and sending of the raw input value might lead to frustration. In other words, the player wants to communicate intention, not the raw signal. In most cases, to avoid the player’s frustration and communicate intent properly, we need to filter the raw input signal.
There are two main ways to do it:
Curves – filter signal strength depends on time/speed.
Control Assists – predict the player intention and help to perform desired actions (autoaim, climbing assists, etc.).
A(D)SR curve
One of the most common curve examples is ADSR curve.
It contains four stages:
Attack – time from the moment the button was pressed to the maximum input value.
Decay – a short-term increase of the input signal strength before reaching the maximum stable value. Usually, it’s not used in games.
Sustain – maximum input value while the button is pressed.
Release – time from the moment the button was released to the minimum input value.
Using of such curve makes character or car movement much more natural and fits very well to the classical animation principles.
Let’s look at Watch Dogs 2 PC example.
On the left, you can see the gamepad input curve. To mimic this signal for the keyboard, we used an input curve that takes into account how long the steering button was pressed, which is allowed to turn the digital input from the keyboard into an analog signal. The curve is quite fast, with a very short delay time (the game has pretty arcade-style driving), but even such subtle mechanism makes control of the car much more natural and smoother.
The keyboard buttons are not analog, but our hands and fingers are analog! The player can press the keyboard buttons with different force (and therefore, time), so adding of such curve allows to measure how intense the player press the steering buttons on the keyboard.
Control Assists
Different players have really different controls skill level, and in most cases, this skill is way far from pro-gamers. Nevertheless, people want to win and express their intent successfully, and that’s where control assists can help us.
There is another contradiction, though: regardless of the skill level, players want to have a feeling of mastery and don’t want to feel like they’re cheating. To solve this contradiction, control assist should work in possible boundaries of the player’s mistake. Good assist still requires some skill from the player to perform an action but solves mistakes, related to the uncertain nature of the player’s hand and input device (people cannot press the button with perfect timing, cannot control the aiming perfectly, and so on). Until the assist fits the player’s expectations how the system should approximately react to the input, it would not be feeling as “cheating.”
The starting point here is the input device: the more precise is the input, the less should be the strength of the assist. Let’s look at a more specific example.
There’s aim assist for hacking in Watch Dogs 2, which selects different objects for hacking by the quite complicated algorithm. With the gamepad, it works for the whole screen (you can automatically select an object nearby and look at completely different direction). It feels ok with the gamepad, as the camera control with the stick is not very precise, and the player needs to select objects for hacking fast.
With the mouse, such automatic selection was quite annoying for the player, as it often selected different objects that the player expected (players expected better precision and less help). To solve this, we modified boundaries of possible mistake and decreased the hacking assist selection zone for the mouse. Playtests showed that it was the right decision and hacking became much more comfortable with the mouse & keyboard.
The main metric for any game controls that defines the player’s comfort is Responsiveness. It provides the key point for any good controls – predictability.
To achieve good responsiveness, we need to be aware of three main topics:
Perception window – human perception limitation.
Technical limitations – what increase response time.
Feedback – how the game indicates the consequences of the player’s actions and builds expectations from these actions.
Perception Window
Average time required for the player to perceive the state of the game world and react to it is around 240 ms.
It consists of three stages:
Perceptual Processor – 100 ms [50-200 ms]. On this stage, the player should recognize that something is changed.
Cognitive Processor – 70 ms [30-100 ms]. On this stage, the player should process the information from the previous stage and decide what to do next.
Motor Processor – 70 ms [25-170 ms]. On this stage, the player should send the input signal to do some action.
If you want to know more detail on this topic (and know more about other human limitations), look for “Human processor model.”
As we can see, for the game controls to be comfortable, the system should have a response time no more than 100 ms.
Technical Limitations
To achieve 100 ms< might be not so easy as it seems. There are some technical setbacks on the way:
There’s always 1-2 frames delay from the hardware.
Complex signal filtering adds delay.
Long animations and non-interruptible actions might not fit into 100 ms< perception window and create the feeling of “lag.”
V-Sync adds 1-2 frames delay.
There’s also one very important point: for the player, it’s not ms – it’s frames! For human perception window of ~80-100 ms, maximum comfortable lag on the screen is around:
2-3 frames max for 30 FPS.
The actual biggest difference between 30 and 60 FPS is not visual, it’s a level of responsiveness from controls. Of course, you will notice some visual differences in 30-45-60 FPS range, but the higher the framerate, the more subtle the difference. The feeling from controls on higher FPS, though, might be so much better that some player might not want to go back to lower framerate.
But even the higher framerate does not solve all the responsiveness issues: the player sees the system response on the screen every frame but can press the button faster than the time of the frame.
That was our case for Watch Dogs 2 driving with the keyboard. Originally, driving input from the keyboard had update every frame, but even with the carefully tuned curve, it still was not responsive enough. Player tried to use very short presses (shorter than one frame) to correct car position. As a result, we lost part of the player’s input, which was especially uncomfortable on low FPS.
As a solution, we started to gather more detailed input data: even if the button was pressed for 30-50% of the frame time, the game counts it and transforms into final (weaker) signal during screen update.
We also started using this approach for other game controls, which allowed them to be responsive enough regardless of screen frame rate.
Feedback builds a mental model of any interactive object in the player’s head, it answers on “what is it?” question. Depends on the feedback, responsiveness expectations from different actions/objects may vary.
Usually, the higher the accuracy needed to complete the action, the faster response the player expects. For actions that may require high precision, like shooting or jumping, the player will be expecting a faster response (as it was with Watch Dogs 2 keyboard driving).
Visual Feedback
Visual feedback includes animation, visual effects, and HUD. Usually, it’s the main feedback channel.
Animation plays the main role in the building of physical properties of the object, especially the sense of weight. Animation has a long and rich history, and there are set of well-established animation principles (look for “12 basic principles of animation”) that can also be used for games. What’s interesting about classical animation is that the principles related to character movement, fit really well to the principles of good controls design. For example, A(D)SR curve is a clear implementation of the “slow in, slow out” principle; principles like “anticipation” and “exaggeration” might be very important in communicating the character’s actions and results of these actions.
Also, when you’re tune your controls, believable movement arcs is one of the key components in creating of great perception of the controls. Complex objects like human body or car do not move in straight line, and the player has pre-conception about it. In Watch Dogs 2 PC keyboard driving, the default steering sensitivity that felt right was the same sensitivity that produced the most believable motion curves.
Combined with animation, visual effects help to communicate interaction between objects. Games with rich visual effects also often called “juicy,” when even small player actions generate a lot of response from the game, making it fell more alive. In many cases, visual effects are a clear extension of “anticipation,” and “exaggeration” principles of animation, and enhance such actions (like preparing for the attack or particle effects from the hit).
Actions that are clearly communicated and shown, that are exaggerated and enhanced by rich visual effects, players find more fun and believable.
Speaking of HUD design, it’s a huge topic by itself for one article, so I would highly recommend to read “Beyond the HUD” thesis, it’s still relevant today and contains a lot of useful information. What I’d also like to add regarding HUD that it can be used to overcome some human perception features that cannot be translated into the game. It might be hard to navigate in the 3d environment on 2d screen, so we usually have minimap; it’s hard to know where the sound came from, if the enemy is shooting at you, so we have direction indicators, and so on.
Audio feedback usually serves as secondary and supportive feedback channel for visual feedback (especially, for the cases where the player may have doubts based only on the visual shape of the object).
Let’s look at one of such cases:
In Watch Dogs 2, there are two similar cars that actually belong to completely different classes. Both look like some small city cars, but when you try to drive the car on the left, you’ll hear the sound of the engine, you’ll feel different handling and acceleration – which will allow you to clearly define this car as a “sport” class.
Another important type of the audio feedback is so-called “barks,” generic AI dialogues that indicate the status and actions of NPCs (“Taking cover!”, “Searching,” etc.). It can be a big topic by itself, so I recommend GDC lecture about barks.
Some games go further and make audio feedback almost equal to the standard visual channel. One of the great examples is “Overwatch,” and I highly recommend to look at Blizzard’s GDC 2016 presentation about “Overwatch” sound design.
Tactile Feedback
The main type of the tactile feedback is usually gamepad rumble, but we should remember that the shape and type of the control device is also matters. If you’re making a multi-platform (or multi-input) game, keep in mind that the responsiveness expectation for the same actions might be completely different for mouse & keyboard, touchscreen and gamepad (and even for the different types of gamepads; and there’s also Steam controller). It may lead to big changes in playstyle: for example, mouse & keyboard players might have more aggressive playstyle in games with shooting mechanics. On the other hand, the gamepad players might use more complex action combinations due to the better controls grouping on the device.
Signal detection theory
Lastly, I’d like to look a bit at the feedback as an instrument of the long-term player learning. There’s a great talk from the Game UX Summit 2016 from Anne McLaughlin about using of signal detection theory in game feedback design, which I highly recommend.
Expression Space
Games communicate meaning through interaction. That’s the biggest difference of games from any other media or form of art. We’re not selling an experience directly, but tools for players for getting this experience by expressing themselves. And game controls is the primary expression tool.
Expression instead of learning
We’re slowly going towards gameplay design area and its relation to the game controls, and the first thing to remember here is that the player wants to communicate intent through controls, not to learn how to use controls.
We can imagine game controls as a language, where “move,” “jump,” “shoot,” etc. are verbs, and controls combinations are sentences. To successfully communicate with game systems, the player should learn this language, and if the language is unclear (verbs are not familiar to the player), has a lot of synonyms with very little difference in meaning (mechanic duplicates), and spelling and sentence structure is hard (verbs are hard to execute and cannot be combined into patterns) – the player will have to spend a lot of efforts to learn the language instead of interacting with the game.
I would recommend Jonathan Morin’s lecture on this topic if you want to know more.
Hard to master
Mastery is one of the key psychological needs in PENS framework, and the game controls contribute the most for the feeling of mastery. “Easy to learn, hard to master” – we heard this phrase many times, and it usually means a game with controls that are simple and familiar enough to clearly communicate the player’s intent, but with a big room for mastery. From the Accessibility section, we know how to do game controls “easy to learn.” Now, we need to make them “hard to master.”
Let’s look at some examples, how we can do this:
Different skill level
The most direct way (speed/reaction challenges, time pressure, etc. – everything that requires a higher level of execution of the primary actions).
On the left, it’s just usual free roam driving, without the significant requirement to the player’s skill. On the right, the basic controls are the same, but the player is required to do complex stunts and evade the police.
Control states
The same input actions but in different control states ([WASD] for ground controls, the same [WASD] for air controls, etc.).
In addition to complex stunts (on the left), we can add air control to expand space for the player mastery (on the right).
Skill Combinations
Input patterns that give basic controls new dimension. For example, in Watch Dogs 2, you can place explosives on the car, hack its steering and make a moving booby trap (on the left). Or, you can climb on the vehicle’s roof, hack its steering, and then dance on the roof while driving San Francisco streets (not the most useful input pattern, but you see the room for expression, right?).
Different goals and context
Changing goals and context, we change the very set of necessary control skills. For example, level on the left requires a combination of drone recon skill to finding a right way, then the player needs to find a scissor lift and hack it to get to the roof, and then, finally, climb all the way up. All these are basic controls, but when they put in different context and combined in an interesting way, it gives the fresh experience to the player. On the contrary, level on the right requires a completely different set of skills: stealthy usage of the Jumper drone which is able to do some “physical” hacking. Basic skills again, but stealth context delivers the fresh experience.
“Game Feel: A Game Designer’s Guide to Virtual Sensation,” Steve Swink
“Beyond the HUD,” Master of Science Thesis, Erik Fagerholt, Magnus Lorentzon
“Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design”, Scott Rogers
(GDC 2009) Aarf! Arf Arf Arf: Talking to the Player with Barks
(GDC 2016) Overwatch – The Elusive Goal: Play by Sound
(GDC 2010) Great Expectations: Empowering Player Expression
(Game UX Summit 2016) Human Factors Psychology Tools for Game Studies
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XCOM 2 Is Officially Announced And There’s Screenshots As Well
XCOM 2 centers on a world where Aliens have won in their takeover bid.
Posted By Oliver VanDervoort | On 01st, Jun. 2015 Under News, Screenshots
It’s been a little while since we heard anything about the XCOM series, but the silence has finally ended. On Monday, 2K Games announced that there will indeed be a brand new game in the long running series, simply titled XCOM 2. This game takes place after the events of the original and actually deals with an earth that lost in the fight against invasion.
The game is being developed by Firaxis again for the PC and it doesn’t appear as if this game is going to be headed to the console, at least at first. 2K Games announced a November release and it also detailed it was recruiting Feral Interactive for a version of XCOM 2 for the Mac and Linux. The fact that the company was willing to detail who was making a port for the Mac but no mention of the PS4, or Xbox One let alone the Xbox 360 or PS3 seems to indicate the company knows where it’s audience for this series lies.
“Firaxis proved they could reimagine a beloved franchise with XCOM: Enemy Unknown, a Game of the Year award-winning title. With XCOM 2, the team is breathing new life into the series by adding an epic narrative and challenging players to overcome near impossible odds,” 2K Games President Christoph Hartmann said regarding the announcement.
XCOM 2 is due out for the PC in November, check out the screenshots below and get ready to fight back.
Tagged With: 2k games, Feral Interactive, Firaxis, pc, XCOM 2
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GaPunditPro
Official Dog of Georgia
Sixth Congressional District Special Election
P.K. Martin opens SD9 race with $29k cash on hand
Posted by Todd Rehm / Georgia Politics
Campaign Disclosure Shows A Strong Start for P.K. Martin’s Campaign for State Senate District 9
(Lawrenceville, GA)-Conservative Republican P.K. Martin, candidate for State Senate District 9, is off to a strong start in his campaign for StateSenate. He announced today that as of December 31st, he had raised $31,000 without any loans from 95 individual contributors with nearly $29,000 cash on hand.
“I am thrilled by the success we have had so far this early in the campaign. It is truly an honor to have the trust and support of so many people. The fact that nearly 100 people have donated to my campaign proves that people of Senate District 9 are ready for a new direction. The people are tired of the negative headlines about elected leaders who skirt around the law and hide behind excuses. They are ready for an ethical conservative leader who will lead by example and make us proud. I am going to continue to work tirelessly everyday to earn the trust and support of the people of this district and restore trust and honor to the office,” stated P.K.
About P.K.
A committed public servant, P.K. has served the people of Lawrenceville for the past 8 years.
In his time on the City Council, P.K. has proven that government closest to the people is best for the people. He has supported efforts to cut wasteful spending, attract new jobs, increase transparency and accountability in government, cut taxes and worked to improve public safety and quality of life.
P.K. Martin is a Lawrenceville native. After receiving his degree in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology, he moved back home to work in the family business, Hood Insurance Agency, in downtown Lawrenceville. P.K. serves on the board of the Professional Insurance Agents of Georgia and on the board of Providence Christian Academy. He is also a member of the Lawrenceville Rotary Club and is a former member of Lawrenceville Kiwanis.
P.K. and his wife Amanda are the proud parents of two children, Charlotte and Kuhl. The Martin’s are active members of their church, Holy Cross in Loganville.
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Balfour’s GOP Primary opponent, P.K. Martin, on the verdict
POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Senate District 9 endorsements and debates | Gwinnett Daily Post
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And the award goes to
Beyoncé's baby bump picture just broke this Instagram record because it's SO iconic
Toria Sheffield
It’s no secret that the world has been certifiably FREAKING OUT over Beyoncé’s baby news (because…Bey. And also, TWINS!). And we just found out that Beyoncé’s pregnancy announcement has broken an Instagram record — officially solidifying it as the stuff of legends.
That’s right ladies and gents: The baby announcement photo has more likes than any other post in Instagram history.
How many likes might that be, you ask? It currently, as of 8:30 a.m EST, is coming in at almost eight million. This means it’s far surpassed the previous record holder — AKA that photo of Selena Gomez sipping a coke from June 2016, which garnered 6.3 million likes (we don’t claim to understand the mysteries of the internet…we just report on it).
And, in case you somehow missed the photo from yesterday, because, we don’t know, you’ve been living in a cave, and you lost the cave’s wifi password, here it is in all its Bey Baby Bump glory:
We be like this right now:
The photo had 6.3 million likes within the first eight hours of being posted Wednesday, and currently has over 380,000 comments.
Members of Beyoncé’s family have also publicly commented on the blessed news, like this adorable message from mom Tina Knowles.
“WOW I don’t have to keep the secret anymoreI am soooo happy,” she wrote.
And seriously, what a secret this was. ALSO, Queen Bey has released a few more photos for us to feast our eyes on. And yes, we’re losing it.
Mother Goddess. Queen of Life. 👑 pic.twitter.com/AIMPh1j9QV
— BEYONCÉ LEGION (@BeyLegion) February 2, 2017
Needless to say, CONGRATULATIONS to the growing Knowles-Carter family. We are so beyond excited about this development, and seriously cannot wait until these twins grace us with their presence.
Hilary Duff just brought back her Lizzie McGuire haircut, and it's what dreams are made of
Hilary Duff and the cast of Younger are supporting the Violence Against Women Act, and it's so important
People are freaking out about Miley Cyrus's thoughts on virginity, and there's no need to attack her
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The Forgotten Man That Deserves To Be Given One Final Chance By Pellegrini
For the first time in sixteen months, West Ham defender Winston Reid appears to be fully fit, and ready to start pre-season training from day one. Recent reports have suggested that the New Zealand international will be given a chance by manager Manuel Pellegrini to stake a claim for a first-team place, and he deserves …
‘Would Be A Very Good Addition’ ‘Great Shout’ West Ham Fans On Social Media Keen On Swoop For Liverpool Star
Liverpool may offload Xherdan Shaqiri this summer, according to reports in the UK. The Swiss international has been a bit-part player since he arrived from Stoke City for £13.5m last July but has impressed when given a chance in the first team by Reds boss Jurgen Klopp. Some West Ham fans on Twitter started a …
‘Would Have Sussed Noble’ ‘Top Notch’ – Fans Enjoy West Ham Stars Disguising Themselves As Taxi Drivers
West Ham captain Mark Noble and teammate Robert Snodgrass gave a few Hammers fans an unexpected treat by driving them around London disguised as taxi drivers. Snodgrass disguised himself as a man called Archie and really got into the role, although Noble was somewhat less convincing, using a pair of glasses and a blond wig: …
‘Scottish Messi’ ‘Won Over All The Non Believers’ – Fans Praise West Ham Star After Seventh Assist Of The Season
West Ham winger Robert Snodgrass has successfully turned his Hammers career around this season under the management of Manuel Pellegrini. The Scottish international has racked up seven assists so far this campaign and supporters on Twitter have been praising the 31-year-old for his performances: Scottish Messi — Stef (@StefGoodridge) 5 December 2018 You were and …
West Ham V Huddersfield Town – Team News & Predicted XI Plus Betting Odds
West Ham will want to build on their 4-2 win over Burnley with a victory against strugglers Huddersfield Town on Saturday. Manager Manuel Pellegrini would have been delighted with the attacking display at the London Stadium, and he will be hoping for more of the same for their trip to the John Smith’s Stadium. The …
West Ham V Tottenham Match Preview And Predicted XI
West Ham will need no extra motivation for the London derby against Tottenham but they will want to recover quickly from the loss to Brighton last time out. The defeat to the Seagulls stopped the Hammers’ recovery in recent weeks after a very poor start to life under manager Manuel Pellegrini. The Chilean will be …
Robert Snodgrass says he is relishing playing under Manuel Pellegrini
Robert Snodgrass says he is relishing playing under manager Manuel Pellegrini, despite the club’s slow start to the season. Snodgrass returned to West Ham during the summer after spending last season on-loan with Aston Villa, and has already instated himself as one of the Pellegrini’s favourites, starting four of the club’s five games this season. …
Hammers star takes to Twitter to react to chairman jibe
West Ham United star Robert Snodgrass has replied to claims by co-chairman David Sullivan that his kids begged him not to sign the Scotland international. Snodgrass had successful spells at Leeds United, Norwich and Hull City before making a £7m move to the Hammers in January last year. However, the winger has failed to live …
January signing hits-out at under pressure West Ham boss
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic is under intense pressure after losing the opening three games of the Premier League season, which has left to fresh questions as to whether the Croatian is the right man for the job. The Hammers sit rock-bottom of the Premier League having conceded ten goals so far, scoring just twice, …
Dressing room unrest at West Ham
Last weekend saw West Ham’s first Premier League victory in two months as they stopped the rot with a vital 1-0 home win against relegation strugglers Swansea. The Hammers were on the edge of being dragged into the scrap to beat the drop themselves, but the win has all but put to bed the idea …
Robert Snodgrass – the interview
As West Ham face Hull City in the Premier League this weekend who better to hear from than Robert Snodgrass, West Ham’s new star man and former Hull player. The Scot is still Hull’s top scorer this term. It will be strange to for him to play against the club he was desperately helping to …
This January signing must step up, and he must do it now
There is little left to play for in the Premier League this season for Slaven Bilic and his West Ham side, meaning when it comes to performances on the pitch, those players who are in need of a good run must use the remaining games to show their manager exactly what they can offer ahead …
Why Robert Snodgrass should get a recall against Leicester
West Ham host Premier League champions and Champions League quarter-finalists Leicester on Saturday hoping to end a run of four games without a win. Slaven Bilic’s men have drawn two and lost the other two of their last four matches, and go into this weekend’s encounter against Craig Shakespeare’s side off the back of a …
Why next season could be the one of the most important in West Ham’s history
It’s not been a season to remember for West Ham supporters. The club find themselves in 11th place with 10 games remaining, with the potential to slip down to 12th if Watford win their game in hand. The Hammers have failed to win any of their last 4 Premier League games. The most recent failure …
Can Snodgrass replace Payet by himself?
Having been knocked out of both domestic cups, and their European campaign ending before it ever really began West Ham will be spending the rest of the campaign trying to finish as a high as possible, whilst also keeping an eye on preparations for next season. January saw significant upheaval for the Hammers with much …
West Ham Have Much To Look Forward To Now With The Watford Game Next
West Ham return to Premier League action this weekend when they travel to Watford looking to avenge a 4-2 defeat at the London Stadium earlier in the season. Whilst the start of the campaign could not have gone much worse for the Hammers, with trouble off the pitch clouding many of the concerns on it …
Despite Being Robbed By West Brom Snodgrass Becoming A Big Plus For The Hammers
West Ham players, staff and fans were left fuming after their late draw with West Bromwich Albion at the London Stadium on Saturday, feeling rather harshly treated by the officials before being robbed of a win in the dying moments of the game. Having come back from 1-0 down, before going off on one about …
West Ham Conclude Successful Winter Transfer Window Business
Whilst Hammers fans will be questioning why they have come out the end of January without still a striker or a right-back, however, they can be content with the business done by messrs Sullivan, Gold and Brady over the last month. With Angelo Ogbonna out for the season, having supposedly played with a niggle for …
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About Hathaway Brown
HB.edu
HB Blog
March is Women’s History Month – Help Us Celebrate!
Authored by Head of School Fran Bisselle
Living leadership is different from studying it. Leadership in action looks like rolling up your sleeves to get things done. It’s about solving problems, not being a part of them. It’s about humility, and not seeking credit. It’s about being a part of something larger than oneself. It’s about using the habits of the mind, character, and heart—cultivated when things are calm—to think through complex situations, listen with authentic empathy, and work to make a difference.
HB’s mission states, “At this moment in history, there is great need for women of vision and courage who are empowered for leadership in a multicultural and globalized society.” As a historian, I would assert that there are many, many moments in history that have needed and will continue to need women of vision and courage who roll up their sleeves and lead. Perhaps that is why we have chosen Rosie the Riveter as our HB icon this March, which is Women’s History Month. You’ll see our version of Rosie on all of our social media channels this month, and we’ll even have a special Rosie photo area stationed in the Atrium on March 8 as we celebrate International Women’s Day. As a girls’ school with a 142-year history of educating and empowering young women, HB is proud to celebrate Women’s History Month. Every day this March, we’ll be sharing content related to our own school history and we’ll be featuring the voices of women in the HB community and beyond. New material will be posted throughout the month on all of our digital platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, HBlog, and hb.edu, so be sure to follow along for videos, inspirational quotes, special contests, and much more. We’d love to add your voice to the mix as well, so please like, comment, and share.
“Rosie the Riveter” wasn’t meant to capture the likeness of merely one woman. Rather, she represented the wartime efforts of 6 million women who joined the workforce in the early 1940s to replace men who had gone to Europe. Women served the war effort by taking on intense industrial jobs in the defense industries—building tanks, bombs, and weapons; they operated heavy construction machinery; worked in lumber and steel mills; and took care of our national infrastructure. In fact, the US aircraft industry employed more than 300,000 women, making up 65 percent of that industry’s total workforce, which only employed one percent women before the war. Together, these tough, creative, and strong women created an entirely new image and set the stage for upcoming generations of women to know that girls can do anything they set their minds to—anything!
The first iconic image of Rosie the Riveter was captured by Norman Rockwell, becoming the cover of the May 29, 1943 Memorial Day issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Even though Rockwell’s image was the first depiction of “Rosie,” she is more widely recognized by J. Howard Miller’s image with the call to action “We Can Do It!” behind her. Miller’s “We Can Do It!” poster was picked up by the feminist movement in the ’70s and ’80s as a modern symbol of female empowerment and leadership.
As we celebrate Women’s History Month at Hathaway Brown School and continue our mission of inspiring our students to achieve their utmost potential and to rise boldly to the challenges of their times, we do so embracing the spirit of Rosie. She helped to shape a future of unbounded possibility for women. And in return, HB pledges to roll up our sleeves every day so that we will stand among the country’s leading schools in educational innovation and be such a force for the common good beyond our campus that we are respected, like Rosie the Riveter was, as a civic treasure for generations to come.
We Can Do It!
March 1, 2019 March 1, 2019 kathleenosborne2018-2019, Community, history, Uncategorized, women's history month
One thought on “March is Women’s History Month – Help Us Celebrate!”
Things girls do… – HB Blog
[…] honor of Women’s History Month, we also had each student take a picture as “Rosie the Riveter.” We talked about the history of […]
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National Alliance for Hispanic Health Announces Support for Personal Care Products Safety Act (S.726) Introduction in 116th Congress
National Alliance for Hispanic Health
WASHINGTON, March 8, 2019 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — “Consumers want to know that if it’s on the shelf or in their online cart that the shampoo, make-up, after shave or other personal care products they buy are safe,” said Jane L. Delgado, PhD, MS, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (the Alliance), the nation’s leading Hispanic health advocacy group.
Today the Alliance announced its support of the Personal Care Products Safety Act (S.726), introduced by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) last night, to protect consumers and strengthen FDA’s oversight of cosmetics and other personal care products.
The safety of everday personal care products has been in the news recently. A range of voices, from the New York Times Editorial Board to Kourtney Kardashian to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have all issued calls for improving the safety of cosmetics and personal care products.
“Everyday millions of men and women use cosmetics and personal care products like shampoo and lotion and assume that they are safe but the FDA does not have adequate authority to ensure the ingredients in these products that American families use daily are safe, nor does FDA have adequate authority to recall these products if they are found to be dangerous,” stated Dr. Delgado.
Among actions that would be authorized by S.726:
FDA would have the adequate authority to order recalls of cosmetic and personal care products that threaten consumer safety, such as a contaminated product;
Companies would be required to provide timely reporting of adverse events,
FDA would be required to annually evaluate for safety at least five chemicals used in cosmetic and personal care products; and,
Companies required to include ingredient information and warnings for products sold online.
The legislation’s requirements are budget-neutral and financed through a new user fee program paid by cosmetic and personal care product companies. “This legislation, if enacted, would represent the first new consumer protections on cosmetics and personal care products in 80 years. It is action long overdue and we look forward to the bill becoming law,” concluded Dr. Delgado.
About the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (The Alliance)
The Alliance is the nation’s foremost science-based source of information and trusted advocate for the best health outcomes for all. For more information, visit www.healthyamericas.org or call the Alliance’s Su Familia National Hispanic Family Health Helpline at 1-866-783-2645.
SOURCE National Alliance for Hispanic Health
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Northwestern Medicine Launches Hispanic Brain and Spine Tumor Program
News provided by: National Alliance for Hispanic Health
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New Yorker Writer’s Wild Story About Chick-fil-A’s ‘Pervasive’ Christianity Should Be Parody — But It’s Not
by Tre Goins-Phillips April 13, 2018, 4:57 pm 36.7k Views 9 Votes
Chick-fil-A has opened yet another location in the Big Apple, but a writer for The New Yorker is calling the fast-food chain’s presence in his city “an infiltration.”
“Chick-fil-A’s arrival in New York City feels like an infiltration, in no small part because of its pervasive Christian traditionalism,” Dan Piepenbring wrote in an article that reads more like parody than journalism.
In the piece, Piepenbring condemns “creepy” Chick-fil-A over its owners’ Christian faith, the company’s charitable contributions, and its popular ad campaign featuring cows encouraging patrons to “Eat Mor Chikin.”
The writer also noted disdain for the fact that the walls of the restaurant’s Atlanta headquarters are “adorned with Bible verses” and that at the center of campus, there is a “statue of Jesus washing a disciple’s feet.”
The social media reaction has been scathing:
It’s a CHICKEN SANDWICH https://t.co/57dsByh53U
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) April 13, 2018
*cow holds up sign* BAPTIZ MOAR HERITIKS https://t.co/iX06jKekdS
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) April 13, 2018
Trying to imagine the New Yorker blasting a thriving restaurant chain for its “pervasive Muslim traditionalism” or “pervasive Jewish traditionalism” https://t.co/6KFys22iz5
— Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) April 13, 2018
Now imagine this same headline but with “halal carts” and “Muslim.” There would be mass outrage across the nation. https://t.co/JqUhv1gEoA
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) April 13, 2018
Calling the opening of a chicken restaurant a “creepy infiltration” is wild. Easily the biggest issue New York City is facing. https://t.co/UzqZW0eleK
— Jon Acuff (@JonAcuff) April 13, 2018
No Christian chicken, please. https://t.co/78yjufVHbe
— Byron York (@ByronYork) April 13, 2018
Given Chick-fil-A‘s only sin, in Piepenbring’s eyes, seems to be its embrace of biblical beliefs, the New Yorker writer seems to have a personal beef with Christian-owned corporations. After all, it’s unsurprising that Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy supported mainstream Christian doctrine, which often affirms the traditional view of marriage.
In 2012, Cathy, son of the eatery’s late founder, S. Truett Cathy, drew progressives’ ire when he said, “We’re inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.”
Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images
He later noted he is very “supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit.”
While many of Chick-fil-A’s corporate donations have gone to organizations that adhere to traditional Christian beliefs, the restaurant has for several years vowed to “treat every person with honor, dignity and respect-regardless of their beliefs, race, creed, sexual orientation and gender.”
According to Piepenbring, Chick-fil-A is slated to open as many as a dozen more storefronts in New York City. And to that, I say, “Eat Mor Chikin.”
‘A Disgraced Partisan Hack’: Press Sec Rags on Comey, Blames Media for Supporting Lies
WATCH: Student Goes Viral With Pro-Gun Video After Her School Begged Her to Take It Down
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CBmed competence center cooperates with SAP
© CBmed GmbH
Large volumes of data are a challenge, especially in clinical research. The Graz-based K1 Center for Biomarker Research in Medicine (CBmed) developed a new system in collaboration with SAP Health to optimize the processing and evaluation of large-scale and complex clinical data sets.
Different clinical data is combined and analysed in an innovative approach as a means of pressing ahead with clinical research. The biomarkers will serve to provide pinpointed diagnostics and therapy as well as optimize early detection and progress monitoring.
CBmed aims to more effectively use the complex data sets arising from ongoing health care and biomedical research and combined it with the analytical data of CBmed for the benefit of patient treatment and research.
The competence center in Graz believes the SAP technology "Connected Health" is a suitable system for this purpose. “We expect the work will have a substantial effect on the way medicine is practiced in the future”, says Harald Sourij, Area Leader for Metabolism and Inflammation at CBmed. In the initial phase, CBmed wants to process large volumes of clinical data for improved further use and then integrate the data into various pilot applications.
biotechnology austria
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A country like Austria considered to be an especially good terrain for upscale industrial segments, and with a particular emphasis on research and environmental friendliness, represents a major opportunity for SIAD. Our corporate goal is namely to assist the customer and provide support in improving the productivity and the environmental compatibility of its work processes.
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GE is Shedding More Light on its Political Donations
By Jon Chesto Globe Staff January 17, 2019
New General Electric CEO Larry Culp’s emphasis on transparency apparently now extends to the company’s political operations.
GE executives just decided to broaden the company’s disclosures of political donations to include trade association dues as well as gifts to “social welfare” nonprofits, a.k.a. 501(c)(4)s, often used to funnel dark money to candidates.
The decision marks a high-profile victory for the Center for Political Accountability, a nonprofit D.C. watchdog group that has stepped up its efforts to persuade companies to improve their disclosures and oversight of political spending. CPA, as the group is known, prefers to do this via shareholder proposals filed by supporters in the investment community. If a deal can’t be reached with a particular company, the proposal usually heads to a nonbinding proxy vote.
Through this method, CPA and its allies knocked on the doors of 56 companies in time for this spring’s proxy season. GE was the first to answer.
Two other Boston companies, American Tower and Alexion Pharmaceuticals, still face one of these CPA-backed proposals going into this proxy season.
GE executive counsel Brian Sandstrom signed an agreement on Jan. 5 that says GE will disclose any trade associations that get more than $50,000 in annual dues from the company, and the portion of those dues that were used for lobbying or political spending (i.e., the portion that is not tax- deductible as a business expense). GE will also report all 501(c)(4) donations. These donations are not currently made public. GE expects to unveil the first round of disclosures, reflecting 2018 election activity, by the end of the month.
GE already publishes a variety of corporate-funded donations on its website. Judging from its 2017 report, political spending represents a minute fraction of the company’s budget. That year, GE made $160,000 in donations to US political committees and candidates.
Of that money, 29 percent went to Democratic causes and candidates, with the rest going to the GOP. Most of the money was vacuumed up by several national committees, including both the Democratic and Republican governors associations, with a litany of smaller donations going to politicians in Georgia and Illinois. (These numbers don’t reflect the $1.5 million-plus that GE’s employee-funded political action committee collected from some 3,600 GE workers that year.)
Bruce Freed, CPA’s president, says he hopes GE’s membership payments to the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers will now show up on the company’s reports.
GE already sits relatively high on CPA’s ranking of corporate disclosure policies. But Freed says this change should close two loopholes — he calls them “dark money holes” — by shedding light on GE’s practices with trade groups and the so-called social welfare organizations.
GE had brushed aside a previous proposal, he says, under a previous CEO. Culp started in October amid the company’s financial tumult. Freed says GE recently made it clear to CPA and its allies — including Seattle-based Investor Voice and the New York state comptroller’s office — that there had been a change in culture, that the company was becoming more transparent.
Before the 2018 proxy season, CPA helped coordinate 25 of these disclosure proposals. Three resulted in settlements akin to GE’s. Several others fell by the wayside. None of the 18 that made it to the ballot received a majority of shareholders’ votes. But Freed says he was nonetheless encouraged that nearly 35 percent of the votes, on average, were cast in favor last year.
The GE settlement has given the movement newfound momentum going into the 2019 proxy season. From Freed’s perspective, it’s one down, 55 to go.
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jonchesto.
COMMENT #1 | 02/02/19 7:35 pm ET
Jon: As the investor who filed the shareholder proposal that prompted GE to make this significant expansion to its disclosures around electoral spending, we at Investor Voice would like to point out that this is an object lesson in how successful shareholder engagement works.
In this case, simply filing the shareholder proposal was enough to attract management's attention and bring them to the table to discuss the issue. Some of those discussions included our partners at the Center for Political Accountability and the NY State Comptroller's office, while the final negotiation was only between GE and Investor Voice. When GE agreed to each of our terms, Investor Voice withdrew the shareholder proposal.
Not every company has been as willing as GE to engage on this important topic. Investors should expect to see (and please vote FOR) similar proposals on transparency in corporate political spending that Investor Voice has filed for the 2019 proxies of Nike, Ameriprise Financial, CMS Energy, NextEra Energy, and ExxonMobil.
To learn more about our work on this and other issues, please visit: www.investorvoice.net
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NanoSIMS
> NanoSIMS
NanoSIMSImaging of chemical elements at nanometer level
As part of the EQUIPEX project MARSS, UPPA acquired a NanoSIMS, a top-level analytical instrument for chemical imaging at nanometer scale.
Metals and metalloids play a key role in many fields of our modern industrial societies. Not only as basic material in many industrial products, but also as trace elements and minerals in industrial processes, in the environment and in living organisms. Thus knowledge on chemical elements, such as metals, is directly related to scientific and technical progress, industrial development and economic growth as well as environmental and health aspects. An important issue is to evaluate the reactivity of metals in industrial processes, their transport in the environment or their essentiality and toxicity in organisms.
Nitrogen distribution in an algae cell
In this context, a key question is: “What is the nanometric distribution of chemical elements at the surface of a sample?”
In different scientific and technical disciplines chemical imaging at nanometer level can help to understand fundamental aspects and thus contributing, for example, to the improvement of industrial processes, to the protection of the environment, or to the development of new therapies.
Nano Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (NanoSIMS) allows imaging of chemical elements at a sample surface with high spatial resolution down to 40 - 50 nm combined with high sensitivity. NanoSIMS imaging is perfectly suited to measure and visualize the distribution of almost all elements in the periodic table - from hydrogen to uranium - including their stable isotopes. The parallel detection of seven elements or isotopes is possible. For some elements it can detect concentrations at the low ppm level. Thus, the NanoSIMS can be described as a scanning ion microprobe, or a “chemical microscope”, which can analyze at the sub-micrometer scale and produce elemental and isotopic images in 2D and 3D. Since its introduction in the 1990s, the high spatial resolution of the NanoSIMS opened numerous new research possibilities moving forward the frontiers of knowledge in different fields such as microbiology and cell biology, geology and space science as well as material research. Worldwide, about only 40 instruments are installed, mainly in academic research laboratories.
The NanoSIMS acquired by UPPA in frame of the EQUIPEX project MARSS is a unique instrument because it is equipped with a new oxygen primary ion source. This new ion source allows especially the detection of many different metals with high resolution (40 nm) and high sensitivity. This is not possible with other NanoSIMS instruments equipped with conventional ion sources. This newly developed oxygen ion source has been installed, tested and validated at the NanoSIMS of UPPA in collaboration with the NanoSIMS constructor CAMECA opening new, unique research possibilities e.g. for the localization of metals at catalyst surfaces or the imaging of essential and toxic trace metals in biological cells. First impressive results show for example the nitrogen distribution in an algae cell or the distribution of metals essential for photosynthesis in the chloroplast of a plant cell: calcium and the trace metals iron, copper and manganese. The latter results were obtained by the new oxygen ion source.
Contact: Dirk Schaumlöffel (dirk.schaumloeffel @ univ-pau.fr (dirk.schaumloeffel @ univ-pau.fr))
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Targeted Emails Use Security Vendor’s Name
Dec 14, 2011 | Incidents
Attackers that focus on the chemical industry launched a new series of attacks that involve malware-laden emails supposedly from security vendor Symantec.
Dubbed the Nitro attacks, the gang’s original work began in July and lasted until September. The attackers usually send emails that carry a variant of the Poison Ivy backdoor and are specific to each targeted company.
Attackers Hijacking Solid Domains
Control Systems on Alert
Adobe Woes Bring Malware Offerings
Adobe Hit with Zero Day
Attackers Clean Out Duqu Servers
Despite being outed by Symantec in an October report, the gang didn’t give up on its plans and, in fact, stuck to many of its techniques.
“The same group is still active, still targeting chemical companies, and still using the same social engineering modus operandi,” security researchers from Symantec said.
“That is, they are sending targets a password-protected archive, through email, which contains a malicious executable,” they added.
The interesting aspect about the new attacks is they are using Symantec’s own report in order to trick victims. One email intercepted appeared as if its technical support department sent it and warns recipients many enterprise computers suffered infection from Poison Ivy.
The rogue messages say Symantec released a special removal tool in order to help its customers scan their systems. A 7-Zip archive called the_nitro_attackspdf.7z comes attached to the email and it contains a malicious executable file and a copy of Symantec’s original report about Nitro.
“The attackers, in an attempt to lend some validity to their email, are sending a document to targets that describes their very own activity,” Symantec said. The executable file is a new variant of Poison Ivy that connects to a command-and-control (C&C) server hosted by the same provider used in the previous attacks.
The fake Symantec alert is not the only lure this gang is using. Other malicious emails that are part of the same campaign claim to originate from Adobe Systems and contain a fake upgrade for Adobe Reader.
Symantec managed to take down the domain name used by the new C&C server and alerted the hosting provider. However, given the determination shown by these attackers so far, it’s unlikely that the Nitro attacks will stop.
The group’s primary goal is to steal domain administrator credentials, as well as to gain access to systems that store intellectual property.
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« Do a PhD part-time from anywhere with me: Jem’s Quarterly #7
Publications by Jem Bendell »
Engaging the Climate Tragedy
Posted by jembendell on November 26, 2016
When discussing the sorry state of efforts to address climate change with professionals working on this topic, across sectors, I often hear a reluctance to question whether it is too late to avert catastrophic climate change, or what such a view might mean for the focus of our work. Various objections to this view are raised and prevent open discussion or an evolution of work. Therefore, I decided to deliver a speech at a leading climate business and finance event in Australia, at Griffith University, to seek feedback on my argument that we must now shift focus.
In my keynote, Nov 29th, I’m outlining the following:
There has been some progress on environmental issues in past decades, from reducing pollution, to habitat preservation, to waste management.
Much valiant effort has been made to reduce carbon emissions over the last twenty years.
There have been many steps forward on climate and carbon management, from awareness, to policies, to innovations.
Larger and quicker steps must be taken and can be now that there is COP21 and major Chinese engagement on the issue.
To support the maintenance and scaling of these efforts is essential.
Small steps have been taken on adaptation to climate changes, such as flood defences and planning laws.
Yet these steps on climate mitigation and adaptation are like walking up a landslide. If the landslide had not already begun, then quicker and bigger steps would get us to the top of where we want to be. But the latest climate data, emissions data and data on the spread of carbon-intensive lifestyles tell us that the landslide has already begun.
That the ground is already moving beneath our feet is summarised thus:
The politically permissible scientific consensus is that we need to stay beneath 2 degrees warming of global ambient temperatures to avoid dangerous and uncontrollable levels of climate change, with impacts such as mass starvation, disease, flooding, storm destruction, migration and war
If the world does not keep further anthropogenic emissions below a total of 1,300 billion tonnes of carbon, we won’t keep average temperatures below that 2 degrees warming.
If we are not already on the path to dramatic reductions we will not keep within this limit.
We are not on such a path, with emissions still at around 40 million tonnes of CO2 a year and the decoupling of growth from emissions minimal.
The uncertainties on the edge of scientific consensus do not suggest a respite, with some increased carbon sequestration through increased vegetation not as significant as the methane emissions not factored into most models, and where Arctic warming is already progressing beyond even the most extreme predictions.
Therefore, we are set for disruptive and uncontrollable levels of climate change, bringing starvation, destruction, migration, disease and war.
The implication is that we need to expand our climate work into a deep adaptation agenda, including resilience, relinquishment and restoration while learning why this tragedy is occurring.
I will explain more about that deep adaptation agenda in a moment. I realise that at this point the reader, or listener, might feeling a bit affronted, disturbed, or saddened. In the past few years, many people have said to me that “it can’t be too late to stop climate change, because if it was, how would we find the energy to keep on striving for change?” With such views, a possible reality is denied to permit a continued striving which has its rationale, therefore, not in serving the expressed goal but in maintaining self-identities related to espoused values. This form of denial is different from outright climate denial, but is also unhelpful, as John Foster argues well in his book After Sustainability (2015).
It is emotionally difficult at first, but we need to move beyond that pretence if we are to remain relevant. In doing so, we open ourselves up to discuss a ‘deep adaptation’ agenda as well as exploring why this tragedy has begun and why we have been so poor at responding effectively. I will make some brief comments on these topics before concluding with some thoughts on how we evolve our research accordingly.
A deep adaptation agenda will involve increasing resilience, relinquishment and restoration Resilience involves people and communities better coping with disruptions. Examples include how river catchments can better cope with rains, or how buildings can better cope with floods. What I’m calling relinquishment, involves people and communities letting go of certain assets, behaviours and beliefs where retaining them could make matters worse. Examples include withdrawing from coastlines or giving up expectations for certain types of consumption. Restoration involves people and communities rediscovering attitudes and approaches to life and organisation that the hydrocarbon-fuelled civilisation eroded. Examples include re-wilding landscapes so they provide more ecological benefits and require less management, or increased community-level productivity and support.
There will be increasing discussion about what is to be learned from the tragedy of climate change, and honest inquiry existing alongside strategic attempts at framing disruption, degradation and loss to maintain one’s relative power in society. Disruption, degradation and collapse will be framed by different people as a resulting from foreigners, capitalism, industrialism, individualism, consumerism, patriarchy, anthropomorphism, secularism, liberalism, progressivism, and atomism (where we see things as separate). We are even seeing framing of disruption by religious fundamentalists, who, to my knowledge, don’t discuss climate but seek to respond to the disruption it has already caused. One study by Columbia University argues that in Syria, the worst drought in 100s of years, made worse by climate change, led to 1.5 million people being displaced from their lives in rural areas and increased food prices in cities. Some radical Islamists were able to thrive in this situation with their explanations of cause and solution, replacement stories of personal identity and purpose, and offers of sustenance.
My own analysis is that the West’s response as restricted by the dominance of neoliberal economics since the 1970s. That led to hyper-individualist, market fundamentalist, incremental and atomistic approaches. By hyper-individualist, I mean a focus on individual action as consumers, switching light bulbs or buying sustainable furniture, rather than promoting political action as engaged citizens. By market fundamentalist, I mean a focus on market mechanisms like the complex, costly and largely useless carbon cap and trade systems, rather than exploring what more government intervention could achieve. By incremental, I mean a focus on celebrating small steps forward such as a company publishing a sustainability report, rather than strategies designed for a speed and scale of change suggested by the science. By atomistic, I mean a focus on seeing climate action as a separate issue from the governance of markets, finance and banking, rather than exploring what kind of economic system could permit or enable sustainability.
Given this context, while the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the culture they reflect are helpful for non-climate related matters, given the systemic nature of the impacts of global warming, they may be ill-focused. Instead “minimum survival goals” would be more appropriate, to reduce the rate of increase in starvation, destruction, migration, disease and war. We don’t need consensus on that, but a shift right now from those who have a professional income, skill set and network to work on matters broadly related to climate change and its effects.
The implications for researchers working on climate issues, whether on campaigning, policy, business, finance, include asking the following questions:
On other’s research:
“How might these findings inform efforts for a more massive & urgent transformation to resilience & relinquishment in face of collapse?”
On one’s own research:
“If I didn’t believe in incremental incorporation of climate concerns into current organisations and systems, what might I want to know more about?”
“How might neglected theories of political economy suggest I inquire into this or related topics?”
To explore some of these ideas further, my recent writings may be of interest, on implications for the future of the climate debate, on what sustainability leadership involves, on how we need to heal capitalism, and how we need to ask ourselves tough questions if we consider ourselves climate activists. Better still, these publications will help you explore this emerging “post-sustainability” paradigm:
Benson, M. and Craig, R. (2014) ‘The End of Sustainability’, Society and Natural Resources 27; 777-782
Foster, J. (2015) After Sustainability (Abingdon: Earthscan from Routledge)
Hamilton, C. (2010) Requiem for a Species (London: Earthscan)
Hamilton, C. et al. (eds.) (2015) The Anthropocene and the Global Environmental Crisis (Abingdon: Routledge)
Jamieson, D. (2014) Reason in a Dark Time (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
Mulgan, T. (2011) Ethics for a Broken World (Durham: Acumen)
As the point of no return can’t be fully known until after the event, ambitious work on reducing carbon must increase. But a new front of work on deep adaptation is as important today. Understandable emotional traumas from realising the tragedy that is coming, and in many ways upon us already, shouldn’t prevent us from exploring what this probable reality could mean for our choices now. Moreover, from social psychology, there is some evidence to suggest that by focusing on impacts now, it makes climate change more proximate, which increases support for mitigation.
In my talk at Griffith I explore more about the nature and future of leadership in light of this assessment of the climate tragedy.
More on the event is here.
UPDATE: Until June 1st 2018 I am receiving PhD applications on the topic of deep adaptation, connected to either organisational studies, policy or sociological disciplines, for starting Oct 1st 2018. Either based in Cumbria or remote working, full time or part time. There are no scholarships for these. Fees information from http://www.cumbria.ac.uk If you have a masters degree and are interested in this topic and self fund, then please drop me a note.
This entry was posted on November 26, 2016 at 5:32 am and is filed under Academia and Research, deep adaptation, Sustainable Development, Talks. Tagged: climate change. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
7 Responses to “Engaging the Climate Tragedy”
Roger Burke said
Jem:
“…exploring why this tragedy has begun and why we have been so poor at responding effectively.”
Short answer: the greed underpinning unfettered capitalism for the last 400 years.
BTW, I’ve noted there is an apparent fundamental confusion throughout all levels of the climate discourse: most talk about ‘climate change’ while only few talk about the underlying cause, ‘global warming’. The former is, basically, beyond humanity’s power to directly change; the latter, as we now know, has occurred as a result of humanity’s excesses over the last four centuries and, crucially, is the driver for the increasing changes in climate around the globe. Only to that extent, can humanity cause climate to change. Obviously, then, if humanity works to reduce global warming, the destructive effects of climate change will gradually decline. Trouble is, that could – and probably will – take a few hundred years. Or even longer….
Hence, my point is this: put aside the fruitless talk about ‘climate change’ per se (and thereby, perhaps, sideline most of the deniers/skeptics) and, instead, concentrate upon what we can in fact change: the inescapable warming trends which have been generated by the continual use of fossil fuels and unbridled consumerism.
P.S. Can’t make the upcoming Brisbane event, Jem, Another time. Thx.
Jasper Sky said
50 milion tonnes? This number is wrong – and it would stay wrong even if you meant 50 billion tonnes.
https://www.co2.earth/global-co2-emissions
jembendell said
Thx. You are right. Global CO2 emissions are 41 billion tons a year.. according to 2017 figures. That amounts to 11 billion a year of carbon. Looking more closely at the IPPC advise to governments on its carbon budget calculations, they said in 2013 that if the world does not keep further anthropogenic emissions below a total of 800 billion tonnes of carbon we are not likely to keep average temperatures below 2 degrees of global averaged warming. That left about 270 billion tonnes of carbon to burn (Pidcock, 2013). Total global emissions remain at around 11 billion tonnes of carbon year (which is 37 billion tonnes of CO2). Those calculations appear worrying but give the impression we have at least a decade to change. It takes significant time to change economic systems and so if we are not already on the path to dramatic reductions it is unlikely we will keep within the carbon limit. With an increase of carbon emissions of 2% in 2017, the decoupling of economic activity from emissions is not yet making a net dent in global emissions (Canadell et al, 2017). So we are not on the path to prevent going over 2 degrees warming through emissions reductions. In any case the IPCC estimate of a carbon budget was controversial with many scientist who estimated that existing CO2 in the atmosphere should already produce global ambient temperature rises over 5°C and so there is no carbon budget – it has already been overspent (Wasdell, 2015).
stephenhinton said
Reblogged this on Stephen Hinton Consulting and commented:
Reblogged from strategist Jem Bendell. Sobering.
Extending the Glide: An interview with Jem Bendell | The Dark Mountain Project said
[…] Bendell is Professor of Sustainability Leadership at the University of Cumbria. He is now taking applications for full- and part-time PhD students to work on aspects of deep adaptation, to be located in […]
Geoff Dann said
Roger Bu
Re: “BTW, I’ve noted there is an apparent fundamental confusion throughout all levels of the climate discourse: most talk about ‘climate change’ while only few talk about the underlying cause, ‘global warming’. The former is, basically, beyond humanity’s power to directly change; the latter, as we now know, has occurred as a result of humanity’s excesses over the last four centuries and, crucially, is the driver for the increasing changes in climate around the globe. Only to that extent, can humanity cause climate to change. Obviously, then, if humanity works to reduce global warming, the destructive effects of climate change will gradually decline. Trouble is, that could – and probably will – take a few hundred years. Or even longer….”
Firstly, the term “global warming” was replaced with “climate change” because the latter is more accurate. For example, melting of the Arctic could, theoretically, halt the Gulf Stream, which in turn could cause Europe’s climate to become significantly colder. “Global warming” is too simplistic. The statement “global warming is the underlying cause of climate change” is also over-simplistic. There are many underlying causes of climate change, but the most important at the moment are emissions of greenhouse gases by industrialised human civilisation. That is, the underlying cause is explosive human population growth and the industrial activity required to support (unsustainably) that huge population. But the real problem with the above statement is this bit:
“Only to that extent, can humanity cause climate to change. Obviously, then, if humanity works to reduce global warming, the destructive effects of climate change will gradually decline. ”
If only this were true. Unfortunately, it isn’t. Anthropogenic emissions have so far been responsible for most of the warming, but it is increasingly the case that further emissions and other causes of warming are the result of feedback effects. Melting sea ice increases the amount of solar energy absorbed by the sea, causing more melting. Higher atmospheric temperatures lead to more water vapour, which acts as a greenhouse gas itself. Rising temperatures are causing melting of permafrost and sub-oceanic clathrates, releasing methane, which is a very potent greenhouse gas. It is highly likely that the effects of these feedback mechanisms on the climate will eventually dwarf anything that humans have done directly, and therefore it is possible that even if humanity actually works far harder than we can realistically expect it too, it might make NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL to “the destructive effects of climate change.” It is highly likely that what we’ve already done is the climatic equivalent of triggering an avalanche, and nothing we can do now will stop it or making much difference to the final outcome, which will be a new equilibrium that the climate finds on its own.
So the problem is even worse – much worse – than you seem to think it is. We might just as well forget about trying to stop climate change. Instead, we need to start planning, realistically, for how we are going to respond to it.
Patchworking the Future (3): Deeply Adaptive Patchworking vs. Fully Automated Fantasies | synthetic zerø said
[…] as symptomatic of my own anomic neuroses, and this insight is entirely consistent with more a blog post (a side effect of spiritual practice is that one finds oneself coming into disagreement with […]
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Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman appear in court, do not enter pleas
Chris Jancelewicz GlobalNews.ca
WATCH: Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman are seen exiting a Boston federal court on Wednesday
UPDATE: Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman both appeared in Boston federal court Wednesday to face charges regarding an alleged college bribery scam. They did not enter pleas.
Upon her arrival outside John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse, Huffman entered the building quietly alongside her lawyer, barely raising her head to acknowledge onlookers. Upon departure, she made no comment and went directly to a waiting car.
Loughlin, on the other hand, smiled and shook hands, waving at fans outside. Industry publication The Hollywood Reporter reported that some onlookers yelled “Lori, pay my tuition!” at the Full House star.
Magistrate Judge Page Kelley did not adjust either bail amount for the actors; Loughlin’s bond remains at $1 million and Huffman’s is $250,000. They were both ordered to surrender their passports and remove any firearms from their homes.
ORIGINAL STORY: Actors Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin are among 13 defendants due in Boston federal court on Wednesday to face charges that they participated in what prosecutors call the largest college admissions scam uncovered in U.S. history.
They are among 50 people federal prosecutors allege participated in schemes that involved cheating on college exams and paying $25 million in bribes to buy the children of affluent Americans seats in well-known universities including Yale, Georgetown and the University of Southern California.
READ MORE: Mother files $500-billion lawsuit against Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman
The scam’s mastermind, California college admissions consultant Rick Singer, has pleaded guilty to overseeing a racketeering scheme in which parents paid to help their children cheat on admissions tests and bribe coaches to present them as elite prospects in sports including sailing, crew and water polo even if they had no athletic experience.
Desperate Housewives star Huffman and Full House actor Loughlin, along with a former chief executive and a major law firm’s onetime chairman, are part of the group scheduled to make their first appearances in Boston court.
WATCH BELOW: Felicity Huffman arrives at federal court over college bribery scandal
Prosecutors allege that Loughlin and her husband, Los Angeles fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, agreed to pay $500,000 to have their two daughters named as recruits to USC’s crew team, even though they did not row competitively.
Prosecutors said Huffman, who is married to the actor William H. Macy, made a $15,000 contribution to Singer’s foundation in exchange for having an associate of Singer’s in 2017 secretly correct her daughter’s answers on an SAT college entrance exam at a test center Singer “controlled.”
READ MORE: Lori Loughlin posts $1M bond in college admissions scandal
Huffman later made arrangements to engage in the scheme again on her younger daughter’s behalf before deciding not to, prosecutors said.
Other accused parents expected to appear in court include Manuel Henriquez, the former chief executive of specialty finance company Hercules Capital Inc, and Gordon Caplan, the former co-chairman of the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
Henriquez resigned his position and Caplan was placed on leave after they were charged.
WATCH BELOW: Lori Loughlin and daughter Olivia Jade lose endorsement deals after college admission scandal
The U.S. Education Department has opened an investigation into eight universities linked to the scandal. Several of the schools have said they would revoke admissions offers to students who had gotten in fraudulently but not yet enrolled and would consider expelling students whose parents participated.
Prosecutors have not yet charged any applicants for illegal activity and said that in some cases the parents charged took steps to try to prevent their children from realizing they were benefiting from fraud.
— With files from Reuters reporter Nate Raymond
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In Paris, an anti-ad insurgency
In the News, Street Art & Graffiti
Dara passed along this LA Times story about organized attacks on advertising in Paris. It’s reminiscent of the actions of StopPub from the early 2000’s, where they would organize times to go into the Paris subway system and destroy all the adverts…
Activists opposed to billboards invite police to rallies where they tag the offending signs, seeking a day in court.
By Sebastian Rotella and Audrey Bastide
7:33 PM PST, January 31, 2009
Reporting from Paris — Over the centuries, the French have cultivated the fine art of rebellion.
The list of targets encompasses tyrants, wars, colonialism and, above all, capitalism in its many manifestations. The latest enemy may seem unlikely: billboards.
The Dismantlers, as a nationwide group of anti-ad crusaders call themselves, aren’t violent or loud or clandestine. In fact, they invite the police to protest rallies where they deface signs. With a copywriter’s flair, one of their slogans warns: “Attention! Avert your eyes from ads: You risk being very strongly manipulated.” The goal of the Dismantlers is to get arrested, argue the righteousness of their cause in court and, you guessed it, gain publicity.
“We challenge the mercantile society that destroys all human relationships, professional relationships, health, the environment,” said Alexandre Baret, 35, a founder of the group. “It’s a message that proposes to attack advertising as the fuel of this not very healthy society.”
Despite the stick-it-to-the-man rhetoric, there wear neckties and briefcases in the crowd at an evening rally here a while back. Part-time insurgents had come from work for the gathering in the Place Malesherbes, an elegant, tree-lined plaza graced by statues of the author Alexandre Dumas and his musketeer hero D’Artagnan, one of literature’s most irrepressible swashbucklers.
The 80-odd demonstrators, looking bohemian and stylish, listened to Baret set the ideological stage. The red-bearded schoolteacher and father of four explained that he doesn’t want to abolish advertising, just limit signs to no more than 1.2 feet by 1.6 feet. The current wall-size dimensions are obtrusive and oppressive, he said.
The large and colorful billboards that are a fixture of the Paris streetscape are hard to ignore, especially the many suggestive ads for undergarments. Some consider them artistic; religious fundamentalists condemn them as proof of Western decadence.
“You see commercial messages every day, you get them right in the face, in the subway, in the street, all the time, and if you don’t want to, you do not have the choice,” Baret declared over a megaphone. “So we are obliged to resort to civil disobedience. In a symbolic manner, we will tag a few billboards in order to provoke debate and push for things to progress.”
Baret urged the crowd to give a cordial welcome to the police. Advised by the activists ahead of time, the authorities had dispatched a squad of riot police, the renowned head-thumpers of the CRS, or Republican Security Companies.
The officers formed a cordon: burly and stern in blue uniforms, black gloves, pants tucked into lace-up boots. They looked bemused. They were no doubt thankful to tangle with polite leftists instead of housing-project gangs who have been known to “welcome” police with bricks, Molotov cocktails and gunfire.
Under Baret’s direction, three activists approached billboards promoting audiovisual products and a television talk show and spray-painted them with slogans. The police slapped on handcuffs and led their prisoners to a van. There was applause. An accordion accompanied the crowd in a popular song, “The Deserter,” with lyrics modified for the occasion. And that was that.
The Dismantlers represent an enduring contradiction of the French mentality. The center-right won the last elections by a comfortable margin. Juggernaut industries sell the world everything from jets to trains to wine. The average citizen enjoys long vacations, a beach or country home and a lifestyle that is the envy of the West.
Nonetheless, a large percentage of the population tells pollsters that it is hostile to the capitalist system. That ideological current produced the anti-advertising movement, which took off in 2003 and has won sympathy with its mix of economic and environmental messages.
“I think that when you get down to it, they are right,” said Marina, 33, a restaurant worker who stopped to see what the fuss was about in the Place Malesherbes. “Between TV, Internet and advertising billboards, we are told about consumption all the time.”
But Marina expressed doubt that this particular mini-revolution would triumph.
“I find it funny, but a little useless,” she said. “I think tagging ads bothers passersby more than anything. A sign full of graffiti is even worse than having to look at an ad.”
Unlike anarchists or other groups that engage in hit-and-run tactics, the Dismantlers see the courtroom as a battlefield of choice. They gather contributions to pay fines that are often low because judges tend to be lenient and the vandalism is calculated to remain minimal.
Baret appeared at a hearing last month on charges of “unauthorized advertising.” The case involved an incident in 2007 when he was caught plastering commuter trains with the “avert your eyes” stickers.
Baret, who like his fellow insurgents is a veteran defendant, had refused to pay the $58 fine. His lawyer argued that his actions were less destructive than the 57,000 giant signs that fill the train stations of France.
“The advertisements are energy-intensive, they use paper from forests,” the lawyer said. “It’s an assault on individual liberties, an advertising aggression.”
In response, the prosecutor reminded the accused that “the tribunal is not a tribune.” A lawyer representing the French railroad company, which demanded a symbolic $1.30 in damages and $650 for legal costs, chided the activists for returning to rabble-rousing of “years ago.”
A verdict is expected in February. But the Dismantlers say they have already won by making people stop and think about the messages that bombard them each day.
“The advertising budget in France is $39 billion a year,” said Antoine Trouillard, a 26-year-old philosophy student and activist.
“That’s equivalent to the entire education budget in France. . . . Our movement goes a lot further than a simple symbolic gesture. And that’s what we want the public to understand.”
rotella@latimes.com
Bastide is a special correspondent.
Anti-capitalismCulture & Media
One comment on “In Paris, an anti-ad insurgency”
ashira says,
word. this is really inspiring. thanks for sharing!
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Mathematical Logic in the Human Brain: Syntax
Roland Friedrich ,
* E-mail: friedrich@cbs.mpg.de
Affiliation Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
Angela D. Friederici
Roland Friedrich,
Roland Friedrich Angela D. Friederici
Theory predicts a close structural relation of formal languages with natural languages. Both share the aspect of an underlying grammar which either generates (hierarchically) structured expressions or allows us to decide whether a sentence is syntactically correct or not. The advantage of rule-based communication is commonly believed to be its efficiency and effectiveness. A particularly important class of formal languages are those underlying the mathematical syntax. Here we provide brain-imaging evidence that the syntactic processing of abstract mathematical formulae, written in a first order language, is, indeed efficient and effective as a rule-based generation and decision process. However, it is remarkable, that the neural network involved, consisting of intraparietal and prefrontal regions, only involves Broca's area in a surprisingly selective way. This seems to imply that despite structural analogies of common and current formal languages, at the neural level, mathematics and natural language are processed differently, in principal.
Citation: Friedrich R, Friederici AD (2009) Mathematical Logic in the Human Brain: Syntax. PLoS ONE 4(5): e5599. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0005599
Editor: André Aleman, University of Groningen, Netherlands
Received: November 25, 2008; Accepted: March 24, 2009; Published: May 28, 2009
Copyright: © 2009 Friedrich, Friederici. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: The authors have no support or funding to report.
In a remarkable but controversially discussed paper [1], Hauser, Chomsky and Fitch made the claim that one of the distinctive features that separates humans from non-human primates is the ability to process hierarchical structures as found in (natural) grammars. In line with this theory, it was demonstrated that humans were able to easily learn an artificial Finite State Grammar (FSG) (i.e., “flat structures”) and also a Phrase Structure Grammar (PSG) (i.e., “hierarchical structures”) whereas monkeys were only able to learn the FSG, and not the PSG [2]. For humans it was subsequently shown [3] that the processing of PSG involved the Broca's area (a fundamental region of human language processing) in the left hemisphere in addition to a phylogenetically older brain region able to deal with the FSG. This led to the conclusion that processing hierarchical structures, as arising in grammars, draws on a particular circumscribed brain area in humans.
As closer examination reveals that examples of hierarchically organised data or information are abundant in everyday life. A familiar form of it is already apparent in simple equations or algebraic expressions, even if one usually does not perceive them as such when dealing with them. However, what they have in common with (natural) languages is the fact that the formation of the hierarchy in mathematical expressions is not arbitrary, but obeys strict rules, rules which not only apply to their generation but also to their interpretation (e.g., calculation). These rules, however, do not necessarily follow the principles of natural languages.
Here, we looked at the neural base of mathematics from this novel perspective, with Mathematical Logic as the obvious “language-mathematics interface”. We also added a new aspect, namely by also including the case where the processor (i.e., the human brain) encounters an “almost” well-defined structure, which is tantamount to error detection during interpretation.
The question of what the sources of mathematical thinking at the neural level might be has already been raised [4]–[7]. The focus, however, has almost exclusively been on the number sense, that is on the capabilities of the human brain to do either exact or approximate arithmetic or simple algebraic calculations. It was found that the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) was systematically activated in all number tasks and therefore it was concluded that it can host a central amodal representation of quantity.
However, in light of the above discussion and also from a modern standpoint which focuses on structures, objects and relations, the “number” approach not only inevitably falls short in recognising the essence of the cognitive roots of mathematics but also in relating it to other fundamental cognitive domains, such as language, for example.
Therefore, we designed an experiment using functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) to investigate the syntactic processing of abstract mathematical formulae and termini, written in a standard first-order language. The stimuli items used (see Figure 1(a) and (b)) represented either first-order hierarchical formulae or termini in a list. All expressions were either syntactically correct or incorrect, but were always without any semantic meaning.
Figure 1. Illustration of the underlying binary tree structures for the various expressions used in the (a) hierarchical syntactic condition, and (b) list (non-hierarchical) condition.
The grammatical/generative part of the syntax starts with an alphabet, out of which termini and formulae are (recursively) built, thereby yielding arbitrary hierarchical expressions. For assumed processing steps see (Supplemental Information: Figure S1).
We predicted to find activation beyond those areas known to support number processing i.e., the intraparietal region.
Under the hypothesis that first-order languages, which are by definition formal languages, share a neural representation with other formal languages, we expect activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), in particular Broca's area, as this region has been found to activate during the processing of syntactic hierarchical structures in artificial grammars (e.g., [3], [8]) and in natural languages [9]–[11]. Further, we expected activation in the prefrontal cortex as a result of error detection [12].
Behavioural results
As responses were given only after stimulus presentation in a delayed mode, only the percentage of correct responses and no reaction time data could be analysed. Overall, performance data from the present fMRI experiment showed that the 24 participants answered correctly on an average of 88% (standard deviation (SD) of 0.12) on the 50 hierarchical items compared to 96% (SD 0.05) on the 50 non-hierarchical ones. This difference was significant for the two-tailed paired t-test at the 5% level.
A subgroup of 12 participants, however, showed no significant difference in performance with respect to the two types of problems. For this sub-group, the mean correct answers for hierarchical formulae was 94% (SD 0.068) and 95% (SD 0.062) for the lists, for the two-tailed paired t-test at the 5% level. To rule out the possibility that the difference in performance would have an effect on the pattern of brain activation at the group level, we conducted two further statistical tests. A two-sample t-test, comparing the fMRI activation for the above 12 people with the other 12 yielded the result that there was no significant difference ( , uncorrected). Additionally, we conducted a parametric test for all 24 participants with the ratios of correct answers for both types as covariates. Again, there was no effect ( , uncorrected).
Therefore, all results are reported for the entire group of 24 participants. On average these 24 participants performed correctly with an average of 86% (SD 0.12) on the correct hierarchical items and 89% (SD 0.13) on the incorrect hierarchical items. This difference was not significant for the two-tailed paired t-test at the 5% level. Also, participants performed correctly with an average of 98% (SD 0.02) on the correct list items and 94% (SD 0.08) on the incorrect list items. This difference was significant for the two-tailed paired t-test at the 5% level.
fMRI results
When comparing the fMRI data of the entire group for the processing of correct hierarchical structures to those of correct flat structures (see Figure 2 and Table 1), bilateral activation was found in the inferior parietal lobe which in the right hemisphere extended to the occipital lobe, moreover, bilateral activation was observed in the middle temporal gyri. In addition, the comparison revealed bilateral activation in the middle frontal gyri (BA 6) and in (BA 10), and also in the left IFG (BA 45/46/47). Note the non-overlap of the present IFG activation with the cytoarchitectonically defined Broca's area ([13], for details see Figure 2).
Figure 2. The figure shows activation for correct hierarchical syntactic formulae relative to a list of correct flat syntactical sequences.
FMRI data are mapped onto a reference brain (single subject), where areas differing significantly in activation are coloured red to yellow and correspond to values with (uncorrected). The cross hair is placed at (−44, 20, 0) in the Talairach co-ordinate system. Views: (a) sagittal and (b) axial . The entire region marked in green in (a) and (b), corresponds to the cytoarchitectonically defined Broca's area with a probability of at least 50% according to [13]. Light green corresponds to Brodmann area BA 45, and dark green to BA 44.
Table 1. Hierarchical correct vs. List correct.
When we compared the incorrect list items to the correct ones for the entire group (see Figure 3 and Table 2), we found bilateral activation in the angular gyrus, the middle frontal gyrus (BA 6) and the IFG (BA 47). In addition, left (BA 10) and left (BA 22) as well as the dorsolateral prefrontal region (BA 8) showed a significant activation.
Figure 3. The figure shows activation for incorrect flat sequences vs. correct flat sequences.
FMRI data are mapped onto a reference brain (single subject), where areas differing significantly in activation are coloured red to yellow and correspond to values with (uncorrected). The cross hair is placed at (−44, 20, 0) in the Talairach co-ordinate system. Views: (a) sagittal and (b) axial . The entire region marked in green in (a) and (b), corresponds to the cytoarchitectonically defined Broca's area with a probability of at least 50% according [13]. Light green corresponds to Brodmann area BA 45, and dark green to BA 44.
Table 2. Flat incorrect vs. Flat correct.
Further, the comparison of the correct hierarchical condition with the baseline condition and also the comparison of the correct list condition with the baseline condition, revealed no overlap with the cytoarchitectonically defined Broca's area ([13], for details see Figures S3, S4 and S5 in the Supporting Information).
At a macroscopic level the present experiment found significant inferior frontal, middle frontal and parietal activation for the processing of the syntax of first order logic (“mathematical syntax”) of correct hierarchical structures compared to correct non-hierarchical structures as represented by the mathematical expressions used.
To understand the activation observed, it is necessary to identify the main processing modules needed to accomplish the given task successfully. One would expect processing to rely on a tangible neural network involving several modules which interchange information and interact as time elapses. The modules should grant visual decoding (“reading”) of the visually presented stimuli, allow mental transformations of the formulae/termini (visuospatial working memory), retrieval and application of the rules underlying the proper generation of the syntax of first-order logic, and finally preparation of the response.
The first processing step (i.e., reading) is necessary for both conditions (formulae and termini) and, therefore should not show up in a direct comparison between conditions, as was indeed the case. The observed bilateral parietal activation surrounding the entire intraparietal sulcus (IPS) replicates part of a neural network previously found in (arithmetic or algebraic) calculation tasks [4]–[7] and is proposed to host a central amodal representation of quantity. However, the combined bilateral activation of the IPS and the cortices along posterior parts of the superior frontal sulcus (BA 6), as in the present experiment, has been shown to form a brain system on which visuospatial working memory relies [14]. This is consistent with our expectations, as the visual memory load is much higher for formulae with their long-range dependencies compared to the single items in the list, which correspond to local dependencies.
It is assumed ([15] for a review) that the neural basis underlying (long-term) memory comprises the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and also the prefrontal cortex (PFC). These two brain regions have to interact with each other to either encode perceived information or to retrieve it. Specifically, it is known that (BA 37) in the MTL participates in the analysis of visual forms such as characters and the representation of objects.
Further, the dorsolateral part of the prefrontal cortex, (DLPFC, BA 46 and BA 9) is assumed to be engaged in organisation of material to be remembered in encoding interactions, and, during retrieval interactions, in monitoring and verifying retrieved information. This is in line with the activation observed, as a model of processing hierarchical formulae that assumes both more memory resources for more material to be remembered and also more verification steps at each node in the hierarchical compared to the list condition.
The observation of activation in the left IFG (in BA 45/47) as a function of the processing of the syntactic hierarchy in abstract formulae is novel for two reasons. First, activation in the left IFG, as observed during arithmetic tasks in previous studies, which are notably by definition semantic and not syntactic, has been attributed to general working memory [15] or to verbal aspects of mental calculations [6]. The present activation, however, can be considered to be specific to the processing of mathematical syntax within the domain of mathematics, as it results from a comparison between a string representing a list structure and a hierarchical one, with the hierarchy introducing an additional degree of freedom.
Second, outside the domain of arithmetic calculations, processing activation in the left IFG has been found in a number of studies on language, with different sub-regions reflecting different aspects of language processing. Activation in the more posterior portion of the IFG ( i.e., in BA 44 and posterior portion of 45) has been observed for the processing of hierarchical sentence structures as compared to flat structures in German [9], [10], Hebrew [11] and for artificial grammars [3], [8]. Thus it appears that the present first-order language does not recruit the same areas as natural languages when dealing with hierarchical structures. The present finding is in line with the view that syntactic rules of a natural grammar recruit different brain regions than rules that do not follow the principles of natural languages [16]. The present data indicate that the processing of hierarchical versus non-hierarchical structured mathematical formulae is based on a region in the inferior frontal cortex, namely in the ventral portion of BA 45/47 which is located more anteriorly and more ventrally than the brain region reported for the processing of hierarchical versus non-hierarchical structures in language (e.g. [3]). Activation in BA 45/47, a region that has rather been found for controlled semantic processes such as categorisation and relatedness judgement [17]. The most anterior and ventral portion for the IFG (i.e., in BA 47 proper) has been reported to activate during sequences learning in an artificial grammar [18] and, moreover, has been implicated in general intelligence, as it was seen to be activated in a number of tasks in which sequences structured by analogies had to be judged for coherence [19].
Thus, the activation in the anterior prefrontal cortex, i.e. BA 45 and BA 47 has been observed, in the context of studies investigating “semantic processing” in language [20] and also with more general concepts such as “general intelligence” [19] or “deductive reasoning” [21]. BA 47 comes into play when processing novel or complex relations in structured sequences. In the present experiment, we can interpret this activation as coming from deductive mental operations during the application of the syntactic rules underlying the formation of hierarchical formulae in the process of the verification of whether a given string of symbols represents a correct formula or not. Again, according to our processing model, hierarchically structured formulae require more such “basic inference steps” when compared to lists. Against the background of these data, the recruitment of BA45/47 in the processing of mathematical hierarchies in the present study suggests that even in people with mathematical training, the brain still considers hierarchically structured mathematical formulae to be complex sequences.
The comparison of incorrect versus correct list items revealed significant activations in the left frontopolar cortex (FPC), bilaterally in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC; BA 47), the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC; BA 32/8), the bilateral angular gyrus (BA 39), the bilateral middle frontal gyrus (BA6) and the left medial temporal lobe (BA 22). The number of activation foci exceeded by far those found [12] for the processing of incorrect, compared to correct, arithmetic equations with either two or three operands, but identically revealed the involvement of the VLPFC. The combined activation of ACC, medial PFC and the angular gyri suggests that once subjects detect an error, they check the expression again to minimise the uncertainty coming from the possibility that it is not the expression that is incorrect but rather that they have made an error [22], [23]. This is remarkable, inasmuch as such an uncertainty is by definition not inherent in the well-defined rules that generate the expressions, and for which reasons a “classical automaton” would a priori unambiguously judge the strings of symbols. Humans, in contrast, seem to add redundancy (checks) with the aim of error detection.
The additional comparisons “hierarchy vs. list” and “correct vs. incorrect” (see Supporting Information, Tables S1 and S2) further showed no effect in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) either in its anterior nor in its ventrolateral part. On the other hand, the activity in the medial PFC significantly correlated with the occurrence of incorrect expressions, which once more [22], [23] shows its critical participation in the resolution of uncertainty and its role as a trigger for action changes induced by negative stimuli (error). Finally, the combined contrasts calculated suggest that it takes almost the same amount of prefrontal involvement to process a correct hierarchical structure as it takes to deal with a “simple error” as provided in the list case. This is far-reaching, inasmuch as it hints at an explanation at the neural level of why a rule-based system proves to be advantageous, as such a system allows us to deal efficiently both with complex and with erroneous structures.
When taking into account the brain activations across different studies, the combined data suggest a functional differentiation between more posterior and more anterior portions of the IFG, with more anterior portions being recruited the more complex the relation between elements in a structured sequence are. This assumption of such a graduation from more posterior to anterior IFG receives support from two perspectives, these being evolutionary neuroanatomy [24] and functional brain imaging [25], [26]. According to these perspectives, the frontal cortex can be viewed as being graduated from the precentral gyrus (BA 6) towards the posterior portion of BrocaÕs area (BA 44) and the more anterior portions (BA 45/47). Some neuroanatomical views hold that the younger an area is with respect to its evolutionary status, the more anterior it is located [24], and functional imaging data indicate that the more complex an action sequence and the abstract relational hierarchy, the more anterior the activation in the IFG [25]–[27].
Finally, the present neuroimaging data suggests that a formal ruled-based generation and decision process as in the form of a calculus is effective because it strives for an optimal balance between data compression and reliability, implemented at the neural level. This in turn permits humans to communicate complexly structured information and to phrase problems more easily in face of the limits of the human processing system.
Twenty-four participants gave their informed consent, after having read and signed the guidelines set out for fMRI studies at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences. Specifically, we had 24 healthy, right-handed subjects (8 female, 16 male), who were German native speakers with normal or corrected to normal vision. The age range was from 21 to 31 years of age, (mean: 25.9 years, SD 2.6). Almost all participants were university students and all were part of the Institute's database of regular and general fMRI subjects.
We based our specific first-order language on an alphabet consisting of: variables: ; logical symbols (and, or): ∧,∨; equality: = ; two types of left-right parenthesis: (,), {,}; a semicolon: , ; a binary relation symbol: <; two binary function symbols (plus, multiplication): +,· and constants: .
The set of variables and constants was chosen randomly, whereas the selection of the other symbols followed more specific rules. The two variables denoted by Greek letters exclusively stood for formulae and were only used in the lists. This was necessary in order to use the conjunction and disjunction symbols to form non-trivial three letter strings (e.g., ).
Out of the symbols we built first-order formulae that were either syntactically correct or incorrect. The errors were violations of the well-defined building rules for terms and formulae in logic, and not just simple misprints.
An item for the visual presentation either corresponded to an entire formula, an entire list or the baseline picture. So, e.g. corresponded to one formula item and was presented as a whole, i.e., the complete above expression was visible at once on the screen. Analogously for the lists, e.g. corresponded to one list item and was presented as a whole, i.e., the complete above list was visible at once on the screen, and not presented symbol by symbol.
There were 25 syntactically correct formula items (e.g. as the formula above), 25 incorrect formula items and correspondingly 25 correct list items (e.g. as the list above) and 25 incorrect list items, i.e. a total of 100 items (50 formulae and 50 lists) to be judged for their grammatical content.
The stimuli represented for the formulae either 1,2,3-binary-trees, i.e. trees with one node at the top, two at the second level and three at the third level, or a list consisting of five simple 1-trees, i.e., a “hedge” (cf. Fig. 1).
Stimuli of the following four types (1,2,0111;1,2,1011;1,2,1101;1,2,1110) were provided to ensure that subjects could not use the same reading strategy during the experiment.
For the baseline image, a row of white-greyish circles was used on a very dark grey background.
fMRI Acquisition
The software packages used were LIPSIA [28] for the data analysis and PRESENTATION (Neurobehavioral Systems) for the visual presentation of the stimulus material. The study was conducted on a 3T BRUKER scanner (Medspec S300, Bruker, Ettlingen).
For registration purposes, two sets of two-dimensional anatomical images were acquired for each participant immediately prior to the functional imaging. An MDEFT and an EPI-T1 sequence were used. T1-weighted MDEFT images were obtained, with a non slice-selective inversion pulse followed by a single excitation of each slice. Anatomical images were positioned parallel to AC-PC.
The functional MRI were as follows; Axial slices: TR = 2 s, TE = 30 ms, alpha = 90°, 29 slices (29×4 mm = 11.6 cm, whole brain), 4 mm slice thickness (no gap), voxel volume: 3×3×4 mm3, 64×64 matrix, 19.2 cm FOV. There were 25 stimuli per condition (4 conditions+nullevent), presented with SOA = 7 s, with a total stimulation time of 27 minutes (25×5×13 seconds).
fMRI Analysis
The data processing was performed using the software package LIPSIA [28]. This software package contains tools for pre-processing, co-registration, statistical evaluation, and visualisation of fMRI data. Pre-processing was carried out as follows: Functional data were motion-corrected using a matching metric based on linear correlation. To correct for the temporal offset between the slices acquired in one scan, a cubic spline-interpolation was applied. A temporal highpass filter with a cut-off frequency of 1/72 Hz was used for baseline correction of the signal and a spatial Gaussian filter with 6 mm FWHM was applied. The increased auto-correlation caused by the filtering was taken into account during statistical calculation by an adjustment of the degrees of freedom.
Subsequently co-registration of data was carried out. To align the functional slices with a 3D stereotactic co-ordinate reference system, a rigid linear registration with six degrees of freedom (3 rotational, 3 translational) was performed. The rotational and translational parameters were acquired on the basis of the MDEFT and EPI-T1 slices to achieve an optimal match between these slices and the individual 3D reference data set. This 3D reference data set was acquired for each subject during a previous scanning session. The MDEFT volume data set with 160 slices and 1 mm slice thickness was standardised to the Talairach stereotactic space [29]. The rotational and translational parameters were subsequently transformed by linear scaling to a standard size. The resulting parameters were then used to transform the functional slices using trilinear interpolation so that the resulting functional slices were aligned with the stereotactic co-ordinate system. This linear normalisation process was improved by a subsequent processing step that performed an additional non-linear normalisation.
The statistical evaluation was based on a least-squares estimation using the general linear model for serially auto-correlated observations. The design matrix was generated with a synthetic haemodynamic response function and its first and second derivative. The model equation, including the observation data, the design matrix and the error term, was convoluted with a Gaussian kernel of dispersion of 4 s FWHM to deal with the temporal auto-correlation. Afterwards, contrast-images (i.e., estimates of the raw-score differences between the specified conditions) were calculated for each subject. Each individual functional data-set was aligned with the standard stereotactic reference space, so that a group analysis based on the contrast-images could be performed.
The individual contrast-images were first masked and the individual and masked contrast-images were then entered into a second-level random effects analysis (one-sample t-test). Subsequently, t-values were transformed into Z-scores. A group analysis was performed by averaging individual Z-maps and multiplying each Z-value with the square root of the number of subjects in the experiment. Only regions with Z-score greater than 3.09 (uncorrected) and at least 8 contingent voxels were considered.
The experiment was devised as a reading experiment. The 125 stimuli items (50 stimuli of hierarchical type, 50 stimuli of list type and 25 baseline stimuli) were presented as a whole to the participants, in a fully randomised order. The presentation of hierarchical, flat and baseline conditions were intermixed. A stimulus item, e.g. a formula, was visible as a whole for a fixed period of 7600 ms on the screen. Randomisation was done using the random number generator of the computer programme “Presentation”, and was done for each subject separately. There was one run per participant with no repetition of formulae or list items, but the baseline item was always the same. The subjects' task was to judge the syntactic correctness of each of the formula or list items shown (for examples and assumed processing steps underlying the judgement in the different conditions see the Supporting Information Text S1, including Figures S1 and S2).
The response had to be given for each stimulus by the participant after the stimulus item disappeared from the screen and a new screen indicated that the answer had to be given. The participant had 1700 ms to press the respective button, i.e., one for correct and one for incorrect. No feedback was given after the button press. For the baseline condition no answer was required. (For a schematic description of the experiment, see Supporting Information, Figure S6)
All presentation material, including the visibility of the stimuli, was previously tested in the scanner. All participants were carefully instructed before the actual test and also had a training session with a sample of similar stimuli presented on a laptop and with a button press device.
Text S1.
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Assumed processing steps required to check the syntax of the hierarchical expression.
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Assumed processing steps required to check the syntax of the list of expressions.
Broca's area (BA 44/45) (blue, green, lilac) and activations from contrast “hierarchy correct-baseline”. FMRI data are mapped onto a reference brain (single subject), where areas differing significantly in activation are coloured red to yellow and correspond to values with Z>3.09 (uncorrected). The cross hair is placed at (−44, 37, 1) in the Talairach co-ordinate system. Views: coronal y = 37, sagittal x = −44 and axial z = 1. The region marked in green, blue and lilac corresponds to the cytoarchitectonically defined Broca's area with a probability of at least 50% according to [13]. Green: BA 45, blue: BA 44, lilac: intersection of the two.
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Broca's area (BA 44/45) (blue, green, lilac) and activations from contrast “list correct-baseline”. FMRI data are mapped onto a reference brain (single subject), where areas differing significantly in activation are coloured red to yellow and correspond to values with Z>3.09 (uncorrected). The cross hair is placed at (−44, 37, 1) in the Talairach co-ordinate system. Views: coronal y = 37, sagittal x = −44 and axial z = 1. The region marked in green, blue and lilac corresponds to the cytoarchitectonically defined Broca's area with a probability of at least 50% according to [13]. Green: BA 45, blue: BA 44, lilac: intersection of the two.
Broca's area is outlined in blue, and regions of activations with Z>3.09, are outlined in white for “hierarchy correct-list correct”, in yellow for “hierarchy correct-baseline” and in red for “list correct-baseline”. The cross hair is placed at (−50, 31, 24) in the Talairach co-ordinate system. Views: coronal y = 31, sagittal x = −50 and axial z = 24. The region marked in blue corresponds to the cytoarchitectonically defined Broca's area (50% according to [13])
Schematic illustration (not to scale) of the sequence of screen contents with the respective duration of each phase, of the fMRI experiment. (isi = inter stimulus interval)
Table S1.
We gratefully acknowledge the indispensable assistance and help of D. Wilfing, A. Mempel, M. Naumann, S. Gutekunst and Th. Mildner during the fMRI measurements. Further, we thank Prof. von Cramon for discussion. R.F. acknowledges the help of J. Bahlmann to make the necessary first steps into the world of fMRI, and he acknowledges fruitful discussions with M. Grigutsch, J. Lepsien and K. Müller and M. Makuuchi.
Conceived and designed the experiments: RF ADF. Performed the experiments: RF. Analyzed the data: RF. Wrote the paper: RF ADF.
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Is the Subject Area "Syntax" applicable to this article?
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Is the Subject Area "Functional magnetic resonance imaging" applicable to this article?
Broca's area
Is the Subject Area "Broca's area" applicable to this article?
Prefrontal cortex
Is the Subject Area "Prefrontal cortex" applicable to this article?
Is the Subject Area "Grammar" applicable to this article?
Is the Subject Area "Linguistics" applicable to this article?
Is the Subject Area "Natural language" applicable to this article?
Is the Subject Area "Arithmetic" applicable to this article?
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Court Hears Challenge of Texas’ Judicial Elections System
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge is hearing arguments on whether Texas' statewide elections to choose judges for its highest criminal and civil courts violate the Voting Rights Act by deliberately diluting Hispanic voting power.
A coalition of Hispanic and civil rights advocates has sued and is seeking single-member districts for the Court of Criminal Appeals and Supreme Court. Similar systems are used by some city councils.
Proponents argue they could create districts empowering Hispanic voters in West Texas and the Rio Grande Valley, better reflecting a booming Latino population.
Both courts are all-Republican. A Democrat hasn't won statewide office in Texas since 1994.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos, who has previously ruled against Texas' voter ID law, began hearing the case Monday in Corpus Christi. He likely won't rule for weeks.
Categories: State News
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AbortionWorld News
Media Praises Iceland's Eugenics to "Eliminate" Down Syndrome
Hombre Sinnombre August 20, 2017 540 Views
In one of the more disgusting examples of the collapse of our culture and the corruption of our media, CBS reported happily on Iceland’s battle against people with Down Syndrome.
That’s right – their fight against people with Down Syndrome.
CBS (and other media outlets) are reporting on the shocking drop in children born with Down Syndrome as a battle against the chromosome disorder, but the truth is that we haven’t figured out a “cure” for the problem, we’ve just been killing anyone who tests positive for the disorder.
Here’s how CBS reported the news Down Syndrome births had been all but eliminated in Iceland… thanks to abortion.
Iceland is on pace to virtually eliminate Down syndrome through abortion. #CBSNOA learns more, tonight at 10pm ET/PT https://t.co/EB6BKgQFN3 pic.twitter.com/SOKU7oe6a3
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 15, 2017
Since prenatal screening tests were introduced in Iceland in the early 2000s, the vast majority of women — close to 100 percent — who received a positive test for Down syndrome terminated their pregnancy.
Since about 85% of Icelandic women have the screening done, and close to 100% of those receiving a positive test for Down Syndrome abort their children, nearly every Down Syndrome child is being murdered by the people of Iceland.
OMG they say it like it's some kind of medical advancement. Monsters. 💔
— Kat5 (@kat1567) August 15, 2017
It’s not just Iceland that is barbarically targeting their Down Syndrome children for genocide:
Other countries aren’t lagging too far behind in Down syndrome termination rates. According to the most recent data available, the United States has an estimated termination rate for Down syndrome of 67 percent (1995-2011); in France it’s 77 percent (2015); and Denmark, 98 percent (2015). The law in Iceland permits abortion after 16 weeks if the fetus has a deformity — and Down syndrome is included in this category.
Why is the Western world eradicating these precious children? Because they believe that these beautiful people cannot live full and productive lives, but CBS has evidence to the contrary:
Children born with this genetic disorder [Down Syndrome] have distinctive facial issues and a range of developmental issues. Many people born with Down syndrome can live full, healthy lives, with an average lifespan of around 60 years.
Why don’t these people get to live? Because modern Western culture has become monstrous.
This tweet is written like it’s normal or routine
WTF is wrong with people?
— Cameron Gray (@Cameron_Gray) August 15, 2017
Fortunately, some people on Twitter noticed the ugly truths hidden in this story, starting with famed TV actress Patricia Heaton (of Everyone Loves Raymond and the Middle).
Iceland isn't actually eliminating Down Syndrome. They're just killing everybody that has it. Big difference. #Downsyndrome #abortion https://t.co/gAONIzqRXW
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) August 15, 2017
"Later in the show, we'll look at the looming Nazi menace. But first: Ain't eugenics great?" https://t.co/BOWBZRFYcL
— [shrug emoji] (@jtLOL) August 15, 2017
Several Twitter users spoke up with stories of getting false positives on Down Syndrome tests:
My nephew was misdiagnosed as down & so heavily deformed that he would not be functional. He celebrated 18 & is perfectly healthy.
— (((M))) (@mojeaux18) August 15, 2017
https://twitter.com/bethanyshondark/status/897273719982219264
We live in some very ugly times, folks.
Anyone believe this will stop at Down Syndrome?
— Jen DinNJ (@JenDinnj) August 15, 2017
Article posted with permission from Constitution.com
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Hombre Sinnombre
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Tag Archives: Dra. Luisa Puyat
documentaries, entertainment, news, Philippines, politics, public affairs, radio, television
DZMM TeleRadyo Unveils New Look, Programs
June 20, 2017 ralphierceABS-CBN News, ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs block, Bandila, Bandila DZMM, Bandila DZMM TeleRadyo, Bandila early edition, ChisMax, ChisMax DZMM, Dr. Love Always and Forever, Dr. Love: Always and Forever DZMM, Dra. Luisa Puyat, DZMM, DZMM Radyo Patrol 630, DZMM Teleradyo, DZMM TeleRadyo 10th anniversary, DZMM TeleRadyo new graphics, DZMM TeleRadyo new on-air graphics, DZMM TeleRadyo new on-air graphics 2017, DZMM TeleRadyo new set, DZMM TeleRadyo new studio set, DZMM TeleRadyo studio set, DZMM TeleRadyo updated graphics, DZMM TeleRadyo updated on-air graphics, DZMM TeleRadyo updated on-air graphics 2017, Failon Ngayon sa DZMM, Good Vibes, Good Vibes DZMM, Headline Pilipinas, Headline Pilipinas DZMM TeleRadyo, Magandang Gabi Dok, Magandang Gabi Dok DZMM, Mismo, Mismo DZMM, MMK Klasik, MMK Klasik DZMM TeleRadyo, Niña Corpuz, On the Spot, On the Spot DZMM, Radyo Patrol Balita Alas-Kwatro, Radyo Patrol Balita Alas-Kwatro DZMM, Sakto, Sakto DZMM, Todo-Todo Walang Preno, Todo-Todo Walang Preno DZMM, Toni Aquino, Usapang de Campanilla, Usapang de Campanilla DZMM, Vic de Leon Lima 14 Comments
It is a new era in DZMM TeleRadyo’s 10-year history.
At 4:00 a.m. of Monday, June 19, viewers of the channel were treated to something different and fresh. Updated graphics were introduced to DZMM TeleRadyo, with an increased emphasis on the program and the hosts.
This is how DZMM TeleRadyo looked like last Sunday during the showbiz talk show ‘ChisMax’.
Latest showbiz intriga at chismis, ibabalita nina Ambet Nabus at @gretsfullido sa "Chismax" Tutok na!
LIVESTREAM: https://t.co/Fu1W2npyEG pic.twitter.com/wymscGHX5R
— DZMM TeleRadyo (@DZMMTeleRadyo) June 18, 2017
And this is how the same channel looked like the following morning during ‘Failon Ngayon sa DZMM’.
Komentaryo, balita, at impormasyon. Samahan si Ted Failon sa #FailonNgayon. https://t.co/Fu1W2nH9we pic.twitter.com/RbHqYvc9MQ
Another change that took place on DZMM TeleRadyo is the use of a studio set in lieu of the normal radio booth for select programs. This new set made its debut on ‘Sakto’.
Masayang talakayang may kabuluhan. Samahan sina @amypcastillo at @marc_logan sa #Sakto. https://t.co/Fu1W2nH9we pic.twitter.com/lo3CYmoIkp
The set is later used on the debuting program ‘Good Vibes’ and on the DZMM mainstay ‘Todo-Todo Walang Preno’. Speaking of ‘Good Vibes’, this new show is essentially ‘Magandang Gabi Dok’ moving into the early afternoon slot, with the latter’s hosts Niña Corpuz and Dra. Luisa Puyat now at the helm of this program.
Another new show is ‘On the Spot’, which takes over the timeslot of ‘Radyo Patrol Balita Alas-Kwatro’. Hosts Vic de Leon-Lima and Toni Aquino are carried over to this new program.
Other programming changes on DZMM TeleRadyo include a new timeslot for ‘Usapang de Campanilla’, now airing at 8:30 p.m. (the show will only air for 30 minutes on TeleRadyo), and ‘MMK Klasik’, now airing at 9:00 p.m. The only casualty of the change is the afternoon music program ‘Dr. Love Always and Forever’, which was canceled to give way to ‘Good Vibes’.
But for those who still clamor the original style, here is how the new graphics were implemented with the traditional TeleRadyo look, as seen in ‘Mismo’. It is likely that this classic graphics setup will be used in a few other shows, most notably those that air during the wee hours and on weekends.
Makisaya kay Papa @AhwelPaz sa 'Mismo'.
LIVESTREAM: https://t.co/Fu1W2npyEG pic.twitter.com/k98IrlOoV0
Only ‘Headline Pilipinas’ remains unchanged as far as graphics go, since the said newscast premiered just recently.
The updated look and new programs on DZMM TeleRadyo continued a process that began last April. Part I of the makeover saw the network unveil an afternoon block for other ABS-CBN news and current affairs shows and an early edition of ‘Bandila’.
Changes are indeed aplenty for DZMM TeleRadyo. But it doesn’t stop here, as the urge to innovate further will continue amid the ongoing evolution of journalism in the country.
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2016 Grantees
Grant Types
Select One Grant Type
Vision Grant
Select One Region
Mid-Hudson
Mohawk Valley
American Modernism and Native American Art Advisory Meeting
American Federation of Arts
The American Federation of Arts plans to convene a meeting of scholars to assist the AFA in planning a major exhibition that will explore the relationship between Native American art and culture and twentieth-century modernism.
Griffin's Tavern Informational Brochure
East Fishkill Historical Society
East Fishkill Historical Society, in partnership with the Hudson River Valley Institute, proposes the establishment of a Summer internship whereby a Marist College student researches and prepares an informational brochure about the historical significance of the Griffin’s Tavern site and the current preservation interest.
Education Program Development for the Nicoll Grist Mill and Connetquot Preserve
Friends of Connetquot
The Friends of Connetquot have restored the Nicoll Grist Mill to be a museum dedicated to increasing the public’s understanding of Long Island history. Their Vision Grant will be used to develop educational programs and materials for the Mill museum.
Troy Council for the Humanities
Troy Boys & Girls Club
Troy Boys & Girls Club is looking to bring together institutions and leaders within the community to discuss strategies and venues in which we can start an effective humanities program at our Club, and build an endowment to fund its operations.
Rochester Area Suffrage Centennial Alliance (RASCA)
Friends & Foundation of the Rochester Public Library
Convening to bring local community partners together to plan, implement, and promote public programs and events commemorating the 2017 centennial anniversary and engage the Greater Rochester community in conversations about the history of the women's suffrage movement, its local impact, and its legacy.
Fast, Cool, Convenient: The Toxic Costs of New York Life
Museum of the City of New York
A series of three public lectures presented in partnership with the New York Academy of Medicine on the environmental and health costs of maintaining the preferred city lifestyle and we seek to cultivate a conversation between our diverse audiences.
Discovering Ontario County — Stories from the Women's Suffrage Movement
The purpose of this Vision Grant project is to create a dialogue between historical agencies in Ontario County to gather and discuss our community's stories about the Women's Suffrage Movement.
The Women of Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
World Sound Foundation
This vision grant is to research and design a community engagement project about the women incarcerated at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Westchester, New York.
African American Heritage on Long Island Travel Package
Long Island Arts Alliance
Support to brainstorm, research, and design a travel package to explore the African American heritage and Underground Railroad sites on Long Island.
New York Humanities Girls Debate Invitational
New York City Urban Debate League
Planning for a project to study, research, discuss, and debate a humanities topic relating to young women and culminating with a day-long debate tournament and workshop open to the public and targeting young women especially from underserved communities.
The 'Why' Behind the Work
University Settlement, New York
Planning to create a story project exploring the idea of work in the context of the Settlement House Movement, illuminating the agency's milestones as a testament to the humanity, generosity, and work it takes to achieve it.
Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park, Buffalo
Planning for a series of at least six unique presentations, plus a related exhibit and webpage of new ideas and information not commonly taught in schools or given widespread attention focusing on women in the military.
Putting on the Ritz — the Roaring Twenties Hotel
Historic Saranac Lake, Saranac Lake
Historic Saranac Lake proposes an exhibition exploring the cultural history of the 1920s through the context of a hotel of the era.
The 1816 Farmington Quaker Meetinghouse Museum: Its History, People and Legacies
1816 Farmington Quaker Meetinghouse Museum
A series of events commemorating the 200th anniversary of the 1816 Meetinghouse that recall its history and that link its legacy to current social and moral issues of today.
225th Anniversary Lecture Series
Albany Institute of History & Art
To celebrate our 225th anniversary, and help our audiences gain a greater understanding of the early Republic, we will offer a program series in the fall of ‘16 that will explore American arts and culture at the end of the 18th century.
Wrestling Jerusalem
Center for the Arts at Ithaca, Inc. d.b.a. Hangar Theatre
Hangar Theatre presents WRESTLING JERUSALEM, following one man's journey to understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Every performance will be followed by a facilitated post-show discussion.
The riverrun Global Film Series
Department of English, University at Buffalo
The Global Film Series aspires to create a dialogue between local community and institutions of higher education in Buffalo through a selection of films that provide a better understanding of our present existence in the globalized networked world.
Proust’s Muse Symposium
The Museum at FIT
The Proust’s Muse Symposium explores the connections between fashion, the humanities, and the arts in turn-of-the-century France. Speakers will discuss fashion in a cultural and educational context.
A Grand Hotel: Check in to the Roaring Twenties
Historic Saranac Lake
"A Grand Hotel: Check in to the Roaring Twenties" is an interactive museum exhibit exploring the cultural history of the 1920s through the context of a grand hotel of the era.
Josephine Herrick Exhibition
Josephine Herrick Project
As part of its 75th anniversary, Josephine Herrick Project will implement an exhibition about its founder Josephine Herrick, a woman lost to New York history.
East Harlem Community Walking Tour
Street Vendor Project, Urban Justice Center
A neighborhood walking tour that begins and ends at Vendy Plaza, the open air market at La Marqueta, a historic public marketplace in East Harlem. It explores the political and cultural history of the community where the market is located.
‘Things to Do in New York City’: The Poetry Project at 50
The Poetry Project
The Poetry Project marks its 50th anniversary in 2016–17 with a year-long series of events that look at its history and ongoing role in shaping contemporary poetry.
Once Upon a Place in Jamaica Queens
No Longer Empty (NLE)
Once Upon a Place will be held in conjunction with No Longer Empty's site-responsive exhibition The Not To Distant Village, on the art of storytelling in Jamaica, Queens.
Jamaica Queens
Martinsburg Day
Lewis County Historical Society
An exhibit featuring the history of the General Walter Martin Mansion and re-enactors playing figures from Martinsburg's past during the annual Martinsburg Day celebration.
Fort Greene Park and Walt Whitman Walking Tour Program
Fort Greene Park Conservancy, Inc.
A series of guided walking tours throughout Fort Greene Park and the surrounding neighborhoods in Brooklyn to connect local residents and visitors with the deep history and literary significance of the park and neighborhood.
Finding and Interviewing Former Residents of the Area Demolished for the Empire State Plaza
SUNY Albany, Department of History, Albany
A planning process to support the hire of a consultant to develop and implement a plan to reach out to and interview former residents of the 98 acres, targeting African American and low-income tenants.
The World of Anna and Susan Warner: A Putnam History
Putnam History Museum, Cold Spring
The planning phase of a proposed exhibition exploring the history of Anna Warner (1827–1915) and Susan Warner (1818–1885) and their lives on Constitution Island.
Monday Evening Lectures
The Adirondack Museum
A lecture series presenting in-depth explorations of the themes and topics introduced in museum exhibitions as well as current events affecting the human and natural communities of the Adirondack Park.
Blue Mountain Lake
North Country Works
North Country Public Radio – WSLU
A project to explore how work has created and sustained communities in the Adirondack North Country throughout history.
Ulster County Women of Note
A series of touring panels on women of note from Ulster County and a re-enactment of a Suffrage March & Rally that will take place in 2017.
Local History Summer Camp
Syracuse University, Department of History
Local History Camp will encourage students to investigate how historically subordinated groups have struggled for rights, freedom, and self-determination.
The Brethren's Workshop: Writing on the Walls
The Brooklyn Institute Shelter Initiative: Humanities for All
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research
A collaboration between BISR and Breaking Ground to offer a series of courses on Film and Philosophy, James Baldwin's Short Writings, and The Literature of Inequality to some of New York City's most under-served communities.
Hanford Mills Museum Oral History Dialogue Panels and Program
Hanford Mills Museum
Hanford Mills Museum will partner with the Cooperstown Graduate Program to create ten exhibition panels to be used in conjunction with two oral history dialogue programs called "Water Resources and Farming" and "Water Power."
East Meredith
Canal Model for Bicentennial Exhibit
Friends of Schoharie Crossing
To celebrate the Erie Canal's Bicentennial in 2017, the Visitor Center at Schoharie Crossing will feature a new exhibit to tell the story of the canal's history and construction.
Fort Hunter
Defying Labels: Changing Roles, Changing Clothes
Lyndhurst National Trust for Historic Preservation
A major fashion exhibit at Lyndhurst, tells the story of the revolutionary changes in women's roles from 1880 to 1940 as reflected in their clothes.
2016 Upstate New York Wayzgoose
Genesee Center for the Arts & Education
A celebration of printing, type and letterpress that includes a lecture and discussion program, a workshop presentation, a tour of local sites of interest for printing history enthusiasts and an exhibition by various letterpress, printing and type businesses.
Call the Drum Spirit: A Public Forum on Heritage Preservation
La Troupe Makandal, Inc.
A scholars panel during the Frisner Augustin Memorial Drum Festival.
Music in Geneva
Geneva Historical Society
An exhibit, series of podcasts, and zine exploring and celebrating Geneva's rich musical history.
Down Syndrome Awareness Program
Museum of disABILITY History
A program and exhibit exploring the cultural history of Down syndrome.
Vote Here! Vote Now!
Schenectady County Historical Society
A public project bringing the community together in non-partisan space to talk about issues - political, cultural, civic, and democratic; historical and current.
When Sugar Hill Was Sweet: A Centennial Celebration of 409 and 555 Edgecombe Avenue
While We Are Still Here
A series of free, open to the public events that will shed light on the historically rich dwellings that were home of such figures as W.E.B. Du Bois, James Weldon Johnson, Joe Louis, Thurgood Marshall, Elizabeth Catlett, Shirley Graham Du Bois, and many others.
Creative Family Programs with Local Artists
Young Audiences of Western New York
A series of public programs that invite a dialogue about the region's cultural riches, ethnic and racial diversity, cultural experiences and history presented in libraries in remote counties across Western New York.
Community Conversations: Racial and Cultural Equity for New York City's Diverse Communities
A six-program series discussing racial and cultural equity within NYC.
Interpreting Old Cemeteries from a Historical and Cultural Perspective
Catholic Cemeteries of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany
An educational program that includes art appreciation and history tours focusing on 19th and early 20th century monuments and mausoleums and the people they memorialize, gravestone restoration classes, open air painting and drawing classes and lectures on topics pertaining to local history.
Menands
Interactive Electronic Catalog for Fort Ontario's Visitor Center Exhibition
Friends of Fort Ontario
A new orientation exhibit and installation focusing on some 250 historic and archaeological objects reflecting the fort's history.
Richmond Hill Love Letter
Queens Library
Richmond Hill Love Letter (RHLL) is a storytelling and discussion program aiming to strengthen community by exploring and solidifying identity in the neighborhood of Richmond Hill.
Shakespeare & Modern Poetry
Shakespeare Society
At this event, Robert Pinsky, former Poet Laureate of the United States, will lead the audience in a fascinating exploration of the influence of Shakespeare on important poets of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Sand Ground at St. John's: Faces of the Underground Railroad
An installation and series of public lectures designed to engage audiences in the past, present, and future of diversity on Staten Island.
Democratic Vistas: Voices of Democracy
Walt Whitman Birthplace Association
A series designed to activate diverse community voices in cross-cultural communication to share their individual experiential knowledge to promote critical thinking and to create new understandings about individual rights within a democracy.
Where We Stand: The Intersection of Neighborhoods and Public Art
ArtBridge
Two panel discussions bringing together local residents, small business owners, artists and community leaders to address issues concerning how art can be a positive force in neighborhoods like the South Bronx, East New York and Brownsville.
5th Annual Brooklyn Folk Arts Day: Preserving and Demystifying Ritual and Ceremony in Brooklyn
Brooklyn Arts Council
A forum for Brooklyn based artists/practitioners of public sacred rituals, and the broader public, to discuss the complex and sometimes controversial life these creative impressions take on when carried into the public sphere of an urban metropolis like New York City.
harlem is… Downtown
Community Works
A series of public programs surrounding the installation of an exhibit featuring a 25-foot timeline that traces the history and cultural roots of Harlem from the 17th century to the present.
Epic Forum Series: Remix Festival of Youth Voices
Epic Theatre Ensemble
Epic Theatre Ensemble hosts the Forum Series after each performance where the audience has a chance to discuss issues raised by the production with the artists from the show and invited humanities scholars who bring a unique perspective on the material.
Leading the Charge: The Ongoing Legacy of Anthony and Douglass
A free community symposium that features the speeches of Anthony and Douglass with an interactive panel discussion to follow. Feedback from this event will be used in the development of a new play telling the story of these rich figures in Rochester history.
WHM Film Series: Honoring Women in Public Service
Little Theatre Film Society
A Women’s History Month film series with community discussions will be hosted on Sundays throughout the month of March in partnership with WXXI and SBAI.
The Fabric of Emancipation and Cuff Philipse: A Legacy in Documents
Morris-Jumel Mansion
A series of exhibits, community discussions, and family events exploring the history of Harlem’s African-American cultural identity from the 17th century to the present through the story of Cuff Philipse.
Audio Tour
American Maple Museum
An audio tour featuring interview excerpts and first-hand accounts of what life is like for maple producers in upstate New York.
Croghan
Poetry Town Hall Tour
Bronx Council on the Arts
A reading and discussion series showcasing emerging and established poets to connect residents by addressing environmental and social justice issues such as wildlife conservation, immigration, LGBT equality, feminism, literary history, racism and social transformation through the arts.
Catskill Mountains Audio Driving Tours
Catskill Center for Conservation and Development
Two audio driving guides designed to encourage travelers to experience the region's rich artistic and cultural heritage with public radio-style exposition of cultural and environmental features along the way, told by local experts in those areas.
Arkville
Incorrigibles - A Screening and Community Conversation
Conjunction Arts
A one-day event that will include the screening of a film featuring the stories of the women who were at the NYS Training School followed by a community conversation at the Irondale Center in Brooklyn.
BLACKOUT: Through the Veiled Eyes of Others. Racist Memorabilia from the Collection of William Berry, Jr.
CORA Foundation
An exhibit and series of community engagement programs looking at the way Africans and African-Americans have been stereotyped throughout history.
Freeport Waters
Long Island Traditions
Long Island Traditions, City Lore and the Village of Freeport are collaborating on a trail of artful signage that highlights the first-person stories and history of Woodcleft Canal, a.k.a. The Nautical Mile.
Performance Space 122 Lower East Side History Month Mobile Tour
Performance Space 122
A free self-guided mobile tour that tells the unique story of contemporary performance in the Lower East Side drawing audiences to the physical location and providing participants with original interviews and new media culled from our digital archives.
International Hall of Fame Exhibit Planning
The American Maple Museum houses the International Maple Hall of Fame. Currently, the Hall of Fame consists of photos and plaques. We are planning to turn the Hall of Fame into an actual exhibit that tells a story behind each individual inductee.
Over Here, Over There: America and World War I
St. Paul's Church National Historic Site
This exhibition will utilize text, prints, artifacts, photographs, sound and video to explore the American experience in World War I, coinciding with the centennial of American entry into the Great War.
Two Hundred Years on the Erie Canal
Western NY Library Resources Council
Through creation of an online exhibit and a complementary traveling exhibit, WNYLRC and its peer councils will celebrate and stimulate community discussions around the bicentennial of this landmark event - the start of construction on the Erie Canal.
YIVO Jewish Culture Series
Riverdale Temple
YIVO Jewish Culture Series are public lectures presented at Riverdale Temple in partnership with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
Walking the Steel: From Girder to Ground Zero
Iroquois Indian Museum
Exhibition and programming showcasing the longstanding cultural tradition of iron-working in Haudenosaunee communities, the contributions of these individuals in the recovery efforts at 9-11, and the construction of the new Freedom Tower.
Community Connections: Using the Power of Film to Lead Intentional Lives
Community Connections is a documentary screening and discussion program in which relevant guest speakers lead deep explorations of films’ topics through the lens of how our daily choices can affect change, in our own lives and in the world around us.
Finally Got The News: The Printed Legacy of the U.S. Radical Left, 1970-1979
Finally Got The News is an exhibition, publication and event series that uses original print ephemera to showcase how social movements in the 1970s developed innovative aesthetic and community journalism techniques to advocate for social justice.
Poets & Passion: Picture This - Sights & Sounds: Visual and Verbal (Re)Imagining of the Contemporary Caribbean
Caribbean Cultural Theatre
An investigation of the place, identity and belonging through the words and images of contempory Caribbean writers who are also visual artists.
Unheard Voices of Long Island's Living History/ Digital Humanities Archive/Repository of 20 years of giving voice
Herstory Writers Workshop
Herstory Writers Workshop (Herstory) seeks grants for strategic planning of an online digital humanities archive/repository of literary narratives presented in digital formats in innovative ways to bring these stories alive to a universal audience
Adirondack Centennial: Votes For Women
Essex County Historical Society
Celebrating the Centennial of Women' Suffrage in New York by collecting & documenting Adirondack Women who made it happen. Preserving the history of Inez Milholland, a Suffrage leader.
Social Reform Movements in the 19th Century in the Champlain Canal Region of New York State
Lakes to Locks Passage, Inc.
The project will design humanities programs with themes related to the social reform movements in the communities along the Champlain Canal at the center of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century.
Seneca Falls: The Foundation towards National Equality
The National Women's Hall of Fame
The National Women’s Hall of Fame seeks funding to work with the NPS Women’s Rights National Historic Park —both in Seneca Falls, NY—to strategize about how best to frame their town’s role in the birth of the women’s suffrage movement.
Conversation and Lecture Series
We aim to engage an audience who might not normally attend a poetry event, and to showcase that poetry provides a unique creative lens through which one can express individual experience and one’s relationship to the communal.
EVERYDAY/ COMPULSIVE PRACTICE: Art, AIDS, Survival - Public Program Series
Visual AIDS presents EVERYDAY/ COMPULSIVE PRACTICE: Art, AIDS, Survival, a series of panel discussions and film screenings that will highlight the work of diverse and under-recognized artists.
Blown Up and Cut Out: A Poster History of a Downtown Theatre Community
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club will host a series of free events in conjunction with an exhibition of theatre posters on view in the spring of 2017.
Exhibit Planning
Exhibits are being planned for the grand opening of the Havens House Museum campus and Education Center in Summer 2017.
Spotlight Forum
Spotlight Forum gathers playwrights and human rights workers together to explore the most challenging questions in the field of human rights and discuss how theatre can illuminate those questions for a general audience.
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Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp5309.html
My bibliography Save this paper
Wages or Fringes? Some Evidence on Trade-offs and Sorting
Download & other version
Eriksson, Tor
() (Aarhus School of Business)
Kristensen, Nicolai
() (VIVE - The Danish Centre for Applied Social Science)
Tor Eriksson
Nicolai Kristensen
The two key predictions of hedonic wage theory are that there is a trade-off between wages and nonmonetary rewards and that the latter can be used as a sorting device by firms to attract and retain the kind of employees they desire. Empirical analysis of these topics are scarce as they require detailed data on all monetary as well as nonmonetary rewards, not only for the job chosen but also for alternative offers. In this paper this data predicament is solved by the use of the vignettes method to estimate individuals' willingness to pay for fringe benefits and job amenities. We find clear negative wage-fringe trade-offs, considerable heterogeneity in willingness to pay for fringe benefits, and signs of sorting. The findings imply that personnel economics models can be applied also to the analysis of nonmonetary rewards.
Eriksson, Tor & Kristensen, Nicolai, 2010. "Wages or Fringes? Some Evidence on Trade-offs and Sorting," IZA Discussion Papers 5309, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5309
File URL: http://ftp.iza.org/dp5309.pdf
Download Restriction: no
Other versions of this item:
Tor Eriksson & Nicolai Kristensen, 2014. "Wages or Fringes? Some Evidence on Trade-Offs and Sorting," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(4), pages 899-928.
Eriksson, Tor & Kristensen, Nicolai, 2010. "Wages or Fringes? Some Evidence on Trade-offs and Sorting," Working Papers 10-16, University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Economics.
James Heckman & Flavio Cunha, 2007. "The Technology of Skill Formation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(2), pages 31-47, May.
James Heckman & Pedro Carneiro & Flavio Cunha, 2004. "The Technology of Skill Formation," 2004 Meeting Papers 681, Society for Economic Dynamics.
Flavio Cunha & James Heckman, 2007. "The Technology of Skill Formation," NBER Working Papers 12840, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
Cunha, Flavio & Heckman, James J., 2007. "The Technology of Skill Formation," IZA Discussion Papers 2550, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
Steven G. Allen, 1981. "Compensation, Safety, and Absenteeism: Evidence from the Paper Industry," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 34(2), pages 207-218, January.
Daniel S. Hamermesh, 1999. "Changing Inequality in Markets for Workplace Amenities," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 114(4), pages 1085-1123.
Daniel S. Hamermesh, 1998. "Changing Inequality in Markets for Workplace Amenities," NBER Working Papers 6515, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
Oyer, Paul & Schaefer, Scott, 2005. "Why do some firms give stock options to all employees?: An empirical examination of alternative theories," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 99-133, April.
Oyer, Paul & Schaefer, Scott, 2004. "Why Do Some Firms Give Stock Options To All Employees?: An Empirical Examination of Alternative Theories," Research Papers 1772r, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
Paul Oyer & Scott Schaefer, 2004. "Why Do Some Firms Give Stock Options to All Employees?: An Empirical Examination of Alternative Theories," NBER Working Papers 10222, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
Edward P. Lazear & Kathryn L. Shaw, 2007. "Personnel Economics: The Economist's View of Human Resources," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(4), pages 91-114, Fall.
Edward P. Lazear & Kathryn L. Shaw, 2007. "Personnel Economics: The Economist's View of Human Resources," NBER Working Papers 13653, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
Laffont, Jean-Jacques & Tirole, Jean, 1986. "Using Cost Observation to Regulate Firms," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 614-641, June.
Jean Tirole & Jean-Jaques Laffont, 1985. "Using Cost Observation to Regulate Firms," Working papers 368, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics.
Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman & Susanne M. Schennach, 2010. "Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(3), pages 883-931, May.
Susanne Schennach & James Heckman & Flavio Cunha, 2007. "Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," 2007 Meeting Papers 973, Society for Economic Dynamics.
Flavio Cunha & James Heckman & Susanne M. Schennach, 2010. "Estimating the technology of cognitive and noncognitive skill formation," CeMMAP working papers CWP09/10, Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Cunha, Flavio & Heckman, James J. & Schennach, Susanne, 2010. "Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," IZA Discussion Papers 4702, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
Flavio Cunha & James Heckman & Susanne Schennach, 2010. "Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," NBER Working Papers 15664, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
Wiktor Adamowicz & Peter Boxall & Michael Williams & Jordan Louviere, 1998. "Stated Preference Approaches for Measuring Passive Use Values: Choice Experiments and Contingent Valuation," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 80(1), pages 64-75.
Train,Kenneth E., 2009. "Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521766555.
Kenneth Train, 2003. "Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation," Online economics textbooks, SUNY-Oswego, Department of Economics, number emetr2.
Kahneman, Daniel & Tversky, Amos, 1979. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(2), pages 263-291, March.
Amos Tversky & Daniel Kahneman, 1979. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk," Levine's Working Paper Archive 7656, David K. Levine.
David Revelt & Kenneth Train, 1998. "Mixed Logit With Repeated Choices: Households' Choices Of Appliance Efficiency Level," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(4), pages 647-657, November.
Rosen, Sherwin, 1974. "Hedonic Prices and Implicit Markets: Product Differentiation in Pure Competition," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(1), pages 34-55, Jan.-Feb..
Scott Stern, 2004. "Do Scientists Pay to Be Scientists?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(6), pages 835-853, June.
Charles Brown, 1980. "Equalizing Differences in the Labor Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 94(1), pages 113-134.
Brooks Pierce, 2001. "Compensation Inequality," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 116(4), pages 1493-1525.
Rachel Croson & Uri Gneezy, 2009. "Gender Differences in Preferences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(2), pages 448-474, June.
Nabanita Datta Gupta & Leslie Stratton, 2010. "Examining the impact of alternative power measures on individual time use in American and Danish couple households," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 325-343, September.
Joanne Salop & Steven C. Salop, 1976. "Self-selection and turnover in the labor market," Special Studies Papers 80, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
John A. List, 2001. "Do Explicit Warnings Eliminate the Hypothetical Bias in Elicitation Procedures? Evidence from Field Auctions for Sportscards," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1498-1507, December.
John List, 2001. "Do explicit warnings eliminate the hypothetical bias in elicitation procedures? Evidence from field auctions for sportscards," Framed Field Experiments 00163, The Field Experiments Website.
Duncan, Greg J & Holmlund, Bertil, 1983. "Was Adam Smith Right after All? Another Test of the Theory of Compensating Wage Differentials," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(4), pages 366-379, October.
Duncan, Greg J. & Holmlund, Bertil, 1983. "Was Adam Smith Right, After All? Another Test of the Theory of Compensating Wage Differentials," Working Paper Series 93, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
Timothy J. Gronberg & W. Robert Reed, 1994. "Estimating Workers' Marginal Willingness to Pay for Job Attributes Using Duration Data," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 29(3), pages 911-931.
Keith A. Bender & Susan M. Donohue & John S. Heywood, 2005. "Job satisfaction and gender segregation," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 57(3), pages 479-496, July.
Green, Paul E & Srinivasan, V, 1978. " Conjoint Analysis in Consumer Research: Issues and Outlook," Journal of Consumer Research, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(2), pages 103-123, Se.
Ben-Akiva, M. & Bolduc, D. & Bradley, M., 1993. "Estimation of Travel Choice Models with Randomly Distributed Values of Time," Papers 9303, Laval - Recherche en Energie.
Robert B. Barsky & F. Thomas Juster & Miles S. Kimball & Matthew D. Shapiro, 1997. "Preference Parameters and Behavioral Heterogeneity: An Experimental Approach in the Health and Retirement Study," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 112(2), pages 537-579.
van Beek, Krijn W. H. & Koopmans, Carl C. & van Praag, Bernard M. S., 1997. "Shopping at the labour market: A real tale of fiction," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 295-317, February.
Joanne Salop & Steven Salop, 1976. "Self-Selection and Turnover in the Labor Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 90(4), pages 619-627.
L. F. Dunn, 1979. "Measurement of Internal Income-Leisure Tradeoffs," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 93(3), pages 373-393.
repec:eee:ecolec:v:154:y:2018:i:c:p:419-429 is not listed on IDEAS
DeVaro, Jed & Maxwell, Nan & Morita, Hodaka, 2016. "Compensation and Intrinsic Motivation in Nonprofit and For-Profit Organizations," CEI Working Paper Series 2015-10, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
Van Belle, Eva & Caers, Ralf & De Couck, Marijke & Di Stasio, Valentina & Baert, Stijn, 2017. "Why Is Unemployment Duration a Sorting Criterion in Hiring?," IZA Discussion Papers 10876, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
Van Belle, Eva & Caers, Ralf & De Couck, Marijke & Di Stasio, Valentina & Baert, Stijn, 2017. "Why Is Unemployment Duration a Sorting Criterion in Hiring?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 115, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
Haoran He & David Neumark & Qian Weng, 2019. "Do Workers Value Flexible Jobs? A Field Experiment on Compensating Differentials," Natural Field Experiments 00667, The Field Experiments Website.
Haoran He & David Neumark & Qian Weng, 2019. "Do Workers Value Flexible Jobs? A Field Experiment on Compensating Differentials," NBER Working Papers 25423, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
Eva Van Belle & Ralf Caers & Marijke De Couck & Valentina Di Stasio & Stijn Baert, 2019. "The Signal of Applying for a Job Under a Vacancy Referral Scheme," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(2), pages 251-274, April.
Van Belle, Eva & Caers, Ralf & De Couck, Marijke & Di Stasio, Valentina & Baert, Stijn, 2018. "The Signal of Applying for a Job Under a Vacancy Referral Scheme," GLO Discussion Paper Series 173, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
Van Belle, Eva & Caers, Ralf & De Couck, Marijke & Di Stasio, Valentina & Baert, Stijn, 2018. "The Signal of Applying for a Job under a Vacancy Referral Scheme," IZA Discussion Papers 11577, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
repec:eee:jeborg:v:139:y:2017:i:c:p:196-213 is not listed on IDEAS
MORIKAWA Masayuki, 2018. "Uncertainty over Working Schedules and Compensating Wage Differentials: From the viewpoint of labor management," Discussion papers 18015, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
sorting; heterogeneity; fringe benefits; nonmonetary rewards; trade-off;
J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
NEP-LAB-2010-11-27 (Labour Economics)
All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5309. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Holger Hinte). General contact details of provider: http://www.iza.org .
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RiffTrax Movie Requests
Visit our Knowledgebase to learn more about us!
We get thousands of Movie Suggestions to @RiffTrax, FB.com/RiffTrax, even to +RiffTrax This is the BEST place for them. SEARCH to see if you’re the first to suggest a film, and of course Vote for your favorites!
Tell us 3 good reasons your movie should be considered. Include photos and links and your suggestion MAY end up on RiffTrax.com or in movie theaters for RiffTrax LIVE!
PLEASE NOTE: Adding your suggestions here requires a separate account for ideas.rifftrax.com
Category (optional) Short
Category Short (227)
Status ANY STATUS under review (1) planned (2) Coming Soon! (2) Riffed and Released - Available Now @ Rifftrax.com (44) declined (2)
I would love to have a DVD of the live show or the audio to go along with the movie.
0 comments · Flag idea as inappropriate…
Riffed and Released - Available Now @ Rifftrax.com · AdminErik Peterson (RiffTrax) (Web director, RiffTrax) responded
After our RiffTrax Live performance of Starship Troopers, Mike, Kevin and Bill went into the studio to record a RiffTrax that can be played with the movie!
http://rifftrax.com/starship-troopers Try it with the app! http://RiffTrax.com/app
Godmonster of Indian Flats (1973)
A mutant sheep is on the move near a ranch not far from Reno, NV. Oh, this one's a doozy.
Godmonster.jpg 31 KB
10 comments · Flag idea as inappropriate…
Available at https://www.rifftrax.com/godmonster-of-indian-flats
Yor, the Hunter from the Future
YOR'S WORLD, HE'S THE MAN!
Now available! Get it here: https://www.rifftrax.com/yor-the-hunter-from-the-future
Because nobody ever gets tired of AT-AT action and Stormtroopers, Lucas has come through with another film! Finn has apparently gotten a promotion, given his snazzy black coat (hey, at least it's not the jacket) and fights with Phasma. Rey trains with Luke so she can do... stuff. Kylo Ren throws another tantrum. Chewbacca and BB-8 co-pilot along with another creature that's sure to give us cheesy, predictable humor. Poe is just as Han Solo-ish as ever (well, not really). Leia observes. And Snoke? That Gollum/Voldemort twin has the most hilarious predicament at the soft serve ice cream machine!- just kidding. He probably just sits around and coughs.
Because nobody ever gets tired of AT-AT action and Stormtroopers, Lucas has come through with another film! Finn has apparently gotten a promotion, given his snazzy black coat (hey, at least it's not the jacket) and fights with Phasma. Rey trains with Luke so she can do... stuff. Kylo Ren throws another tantrum. Chewbacca and BB-8 co-pilot along with another creature that's sure to give us cheesy, predictable humor. Poe is just as Han Solo-ish as ever (well, not really). Leia observes. And Snoke? That Gollum/Voldemort twin has the most hilarious predicament at the soft serve ice cream machine!- just…
Available at https://www.rifftrax.com/star-wars-the-last-jedi
Prisoners of the Lost Universe (1983)
Two terrified Earthlings are mistakenly transported to the eerie world of Vonya where they must find the hidden Dimensional Door, or perish in the attempt.
A scientist's teleportation device rips a hole in space that leads to another dimension! A bizarre series of accidents sends inventor Dr. Hartmann, beautiful TV reporter Carrie Madison, and martial arts champ Dan through time and into a violent world of swords, warlords and blood-sucking subterranean monsters. Dan's fighting skill's won't be much help after Dr. Hartmann, posing as a wizard, strikes an alliance with Malachi, the barbarian chief, buying his own safety with gifts of powerful "magic" never before seen in this primitive realm - gunpowder and nitroglycerin!
-oldies.com
"I'd rather be doing Shakespeare instead of this crap, but I have a house payment due next week."
-Richard Hatch (Star of: Prisoners of the Lost Universe)
A scientist's teleportation device rips a hole in space that leads to another dimension! A bizarre series of accidents sends inventor Dr. Hartmann, beautiful TV reporter Carrie Madison, and martial arts champ Dan through time and into a violent world of swords, warlords and blood-sucking subterranean monsters. Dan's fighting skill's won't be much help after Dr. Hartmann, posing as a wizard, strikes an alliance with Malachi, the barbarian chief, buying his own safety with gifts…
Riffed and Released - Available Now @ Rifftrax.com · 2 comments · Flag idea as inappropriate…
Opening to horrific reviews, the latest overly-hyped comic book movie apparently contains no humor, incomprehensible action, a hammy Jessie Eisenberg as Lex Luther, and just an overall suck. It pissed off the entire internet as people waiting to see another humorless 2 1/2 hour saga through dark terrain that feels more laborious than reading Madame Bovary are disappointed that this humorless 2 1/2 hour saga through dark terrain finally made people finally go, "Aren't comic book movies supposed to be FUN?"
Get it here: https://www.rifftrax.com/batman-v-superman
Star Wars: Rogue One
Wow! I saw the trailer and it looks really different and original - a Death Star... Darth Vader... a robot quoting percentages... guys in white who are terrible shots... confusing talk about the Force... I sense a great RiffTrax in this.
Available at http://rifftrax.com/rogue-one
Star Wars-The Force Awakens (2015)
Getting a way head start on manditory riffing for the Star Wars Rifftrax collection.
A RiffTrax of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is NOW AVAILABLE!
http://www.rifftrax.com/star-wars-episode-vii-the-force-awakens
It will work with the new app any day now http://RiffTrax.com/app
Hillbillies In A Haunted House
Where to begin -
1. Star Power! John Carradine! Lon Chaney Jr! Merle Haggard! Basil Rathbone! And so many more, you'll have to Google them to find out who they are!
2. Music! There are at least half a dozen songs, in the first half hour of this film, and it doesn't let up after that. Hear the spectrum of music from country to western!
3. Action! Did I mention, besides ghosts, there are spies! Spy ghosts! Why isn't THAT on SyFy? Horror and intrigue!
4. Gorilla! There's at least one in the film! Why? For that valuable 60's primate dollar! Why do you think Planet of the Apes made all that green? Because of Heston?
5. If you guys don't, I will, by God!
4. Gorilla! There's at least one in the film! Why? For that valuable 60's primate…
Thanks for your suggestions and votes!
Hillbillys in a Haunted House is now avaialble!
http://www.rifftrax.com/hillbillys-in-a-haunted-house
Kids shipped to the island. Movie went downhill from there.
You can get our Jurassic World riff here: https://www.rifftrax.com/jurassic-world
Attack From Space (1965)
Like the laughable PRINCE OF SPACE, this is another cheesy US edit of a 1957 Japanese sci-fi superhero serial with silly costumes and effects, and best of all it takes itself seriously. It is an English dubbed version, and even includes a Narrator.
Aliens from the planet Emerald send superhero Starman to protect Earth from an invasion by an evil alien race called the Spherions.
https://archive.org/details/Attack_From_Space
This film is public domain.
1 comment · Flag idea as inappropriate…
Will Starman defeat the Sapphireans and save the universe? Can he destroy their Death Star? Do they really have a thing called the Death Star?
Find out now in ‘RiffTrax: Attack from Space’: http://www.rifftrax.com/attack-from-space
Three riffer edition. With Mike, Kevin, and Bill. Perhaps someday a live version. (Gasp!¡!!!!!)
Available at http://www.rifftrax.com/road-house-2016
Wonderful World of Tupperware (1959)
This short starts out with typical footage of Tupperware being made. Lots of perfect riff fodder. THEN, it shifts into pure "WTF" and then some. I swear you'll want to take drugs for this part to make sense. Seriously, Rifftrax guys, you'll love and hate this short! It's too "What the Hell" times 9000!
Bridget and Mary Jo just riffed this one, and it’s available here: https://www.rifftrax.com/wonderful-world-of-tupperware
Megaforce (1982)
Megaforce (or MegaForce), is an action film made in 1982 directed by former stuntman Hal Needham. The film starred Barry Bostwick, Persis Khambatta, Michael Beck, Edward Mulhare, Evan C. Kim, Ralph Wilcox, and Henry Silva.
Everyone is wearing spandex jumpsuits, have wild hair, ride motorcycles and cars that look like they were rejected by Battlestar Galactica. The acting is way over the top, and the heros look like they just finished filming the "Let's Get Physical" video for Olivia Newton John.
It starts Barry Bostwick and Persis Khambatta. This is enough right there to push it to the top of the list. But adding Henry Silva as the heavy? Pure Riffing Gold.
It starts Barry Bostwick and Persis Khambatta. This is enough right there to push it to the top…
Poster2_1_.jpg 39 KB
Megaforce is here!
Thanks for your suggesting and voting for this!
Mike, Kevin, Bill and Team RiffTrax
Uninvited (1988)
It's about a killer lab cat who terrorized a bunch of people on a small cruise ship. Here's its Wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninvited_(1988_film)
Good news! Uninvited has now been riffed! Thanks for your suggestion. Keep them coming http://www.rifftrax.com/uninvited
Grizzly (1979)
http://youtu.be/L5wdw7wfkcE
Grizzly now available to stream and download here: http://rifftrax.com/grizzly
Sharknado 2
RiffTrax Live: Sharknado 2 is now available!
http://www.rifftrax.com/rifftrax-live-sharknado-2
The Walking Dead pilot
Available at http://www.rifftrax.com/the-walking-dead-season-1-episode-1
Fun In Balloon Land
Creepy balloons. A narrator who alternates between not enthusiastic at all, and way TOO enthusiastic. Off-key singing. Something that vaguely resembles a plot. You guys could get a ton of mileage out of this one.
It’s time for FUN IN BALLOONLAND!
Available now! http://RiffTrax.com/balloonland
Day of the Animals (1977)
Day of the Animals (1977) "stars" Leslie Nielsen as a hiker that comes down with an allergy to shirts right as a forest full of coked up animals sing Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It." Only less cocaine fueled and more Solar Radiation-y fueled. Which is something science says exists.. Shirtless Nielsen walks tall and carries a big stick most the film, fights a bear shirtless, and says some things I consider racist while shirtless. There's also an environmental aspect to the film which is all the rage these days. Go Green!
Day_of_the_Animals1.jpg 35 KB
Day_of_the_Animals2.jpg 863 KB
Available to stream or download here: http://rifftrax.com/day-of-the-animals
Short 227
RiffTrax Movie Requests 5,403 ideas
Website Suggestions 327 ideas
General Information 13 articles
How to Watch 10 articles
Kickstarter 2 articles
Purchase issues 8 articles
RiffTrax Live 8 articles
Roku 7 articles
The RiffTrax app 19 articles
Troubleshooting 4 articles
RiffTrax
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Bussiness Today
Google seeks more time to comply with RBI's data rule
The RBI had earlier directed all payment services companies to store data in India by mid-October.
By BusinessToday.In
Internet major Google has agreed to follow Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) mandate on local data storage for payment services but has sought for more time till December to comply with the norms. A government source told reporters that during Law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad's visit to the company's headquarters in California, Google conveyed to the minister that they are ready to comply with the RBI rules but want two more months to see through the data storage rule.
Google that runs digital payment service, Google Pay, claimed that 22 million people use the platform every month. It also added that 750 million transactions have been made on that platform with $30 billion in annual run rate of transaction value.
A Google spokesperson said that cross-border data flow is ubiquitous and is essential for global economic activity and universal access to information. "Soaring data flows generate more economic value and hence the socio-economic impact of restricting data flows must be thoroughly considered while framing any policy. There is a need to find practical and contemporary solutions to policy issues in line with global best practices. We have nothing to add at this point of time," the spokesperson said.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai had also written to IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad batting for free flow of data across borders. He also said that such a step will not only encourage global companies to contribute to India's digital economy, it will also benefit Indian start-ups and help their global expansion.
RBI's rule came amid rising concern around data security. The banking institution asked payment services firms to provide an update on action taken by them to store transaction data in the country. This RBI directive has met with some resistance from foreign firms.
The banking regulator had further said that at present "only certain" payment system operators and their outsourcing partners store the payment system data either partly or completely in the country.
The order was issued at the time social media major Facebook faced a global backlash over breach of user data.
Google operates cloud region in India - which comprises three data centers and offers services like big data, storage and networking. Google competes with the likes of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft in this space. However, the company has not explicitly stated if payment related data of Indian consumers are stored in these data centers.
(With PTI inputs; edited by Anwesha Madhukalya)
From CSR spending to de-clogging of NCLT, govt approves 43 amendments to companies law
Easing business climate, trade norms to help India attract FDI, improve CAD: IMF
Govt to prepare national data on unorganised sector: Santosh Kumar Gangwar
Netflix plans to launch cheaper mobile-only plan in India
US House votes against move to impeach Donald Trump
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Villa for Sale in Mistral, Umm Al Quwain Marina
Estimated mortgage
Umm Al Quwain, Umm Al Quwain Marina
Huge Plot Mistral Villa Type C1 for sale
4 + Maid
Completion:
4,311 sqft / 401 sqm
Abdulrahman Murar
Property Specialist at Premier Estates Real Estate Brokers
Speaks English, Arabic
Maids Room
Available for sale, 4 Bedrooms Mistral villa Type C3 with community view.
Umm Al Quwain Mistral, Emaar's flagship project in the Emirate, is an integral part of the development framework for Umm Al Quwain, as outlined by the Government. Set close to the shores of Khor Al Beidah, Umm Al Quwain Mistral integrates residential villas with breath-taking landscapes, parks and trails.
Developed to the highest environmental standards, designed to have a minimal impact on the natural ecosystem. The development strives to restore the pristine splendour of the location. Enhancing lifestyle choices, Umm Al Quwain Mistral offers leisure facilities for residents, including tennis courts, children's play areas, gardens, a basketball court and swimming pools.
Umm Al Quwain Marina has a 23 kilometer (14 mile) waterfront and comprises of 6000 villas and 2000 townhouses. The development includes 1200 resorts and hotel rooms, parks and recreational areas, retail facilities, schools and community centers.
RZ-S-1715
Broker ORN:
Office Registration Number given to each RERA-registered real estate company in Dubai
Agent BRN:
Broker Registration Number issued to agents working for RERA-registered brokerages in Dubai
Like this property?
Come back to it later, easily.
Umm Al QuwainUmm Al Quwain MarinaMistral
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Treasurer in Toowoomba
Former PM pedals into city
Greer is number one!
Industry driven school opens
Back through the wardrobe
The importance of art
A car on fire by the side of the Warrego Hwy near Helidon. Video by Robert Cheek.
Inside the southwest drug operation
David Attenborough testifies on the Great Barrier Reef
Toowoomba dog found starving to death, June 27
Making history great
Impaled by rod
Toowoomba connection
CCTV footage of Toowoomba fraud
Wait, the Royals are worth how much?!
Harry, Meghan ‘split’ from William, Kate
by The Sun
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are breaking away from the Fab Four as they "won't slot in line" and be "controlled" by Prince William, according to a royal expert.
In the latest development of the alleged royal rift, the Sussexes officially broke away from the couples' joint charity, the Royal Foundation, reports The Sun.
Royal commentator Duncan Larcombe said the move demonstrates that Meghan, 37, and Prince Harry, 34, are keen to "do things their own way".
Speaking to Fabulous Digital, he said: "It does seem odd. Why separate when you are both backing the same causes? Whether this is a sign of a rift, this is certainly a sign of a division.
"It is clear that Meghan and Harry were initially prepared to slot in under the wing of William and Kate but that's not how they feel a year on."
The Fab Four on stage together at what was supposed to be the annual Royal Foundation Forum in 2018. It hasn’t been held since Picture: Getty Images
The young royals were dubbed the "Fab Four" after they appeared together on stage together last spring for their charity's first Q&A forum - in what was supposed to be an annual event.
But just months after their first - and only - joint appearance, The Sun reported the two couples will go their own way and pursue their charities separately.
Mr Larcombe said: "Harry is going to forge his own path with Meghan. For years, before he met Meghan, he was the royal [third wheel] standing behind William and Kate.
"He's now a full-time working royal with his wife, he wants autonomy as to what he does, how he does it and how she does it, which is a definite change to how it was 12 months ago."
A palace insider reportedly told The Sunday Times in the UK: "William's quite controlling, and he was in control when it was just the three of them, but now he's not."
The Fab Four have increasingly gone their separate ways. Picture: Getty Images
They added that Meghan "knows all the tricks" and is helping Harry to maxing their "standable brand" and "William's going to have to get used to it."
Mr Larcombe echoed these thoughts, and said: "Meghan and Harry aren't going to be controlled by William. They are going to do it their way, and there is scope for them to do that."
Royal aides have been quick to point out that it's not the end for the four of them working on individual projects together.
But it's a major blow for the Royal Foundation, which Meghan only officially joined after her wedding last May, which had intended to harness the star power of all four.
And it comes after Harry and Meghan broke away from Kate and William's household at Kensington Palace to establish their own.
Royal watchers have suggested William was “more in control” when it was just the three of them. Picture: Getty Images
According to The Sunday Times, Kate, William and Harry's previous Private Secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, said that the aim was for the brothers to work together "to the full".
Mr Larcombe said the Royal Foundation was proof of the intention for a united William and Harry working relationship.
He said: "It was absolutely the goal for the brothers to work together 'to the full'.
"Why would they have set up the Fab Four foundation unless it was the intention for them to work together?
"But what we've seen now since Harry and Meghan got engaged and certainly since the wedding, is they actually they have their own views on how they want to do things.
"They do want to be independent, they've got their own press offices, they've split from Kensington Palace, they've moved to Windsor.
Harry and William, with Prince Charles, are said to be getting on better now that they are no longer so entwined professionally. Picture: Instagram
"There are all these signs that show whatever the plan was, it wasn't set in stone and there has been a major rethink."
The Royal Foundation board met in London on Wednesday (local time) and was expected to confirm the split, and Mr Larcombe said any division could be beneficial to charities they separately support.
He said that the two princes bring different coverage for organisations, adding: "William is the man if you want someone to come and open an estate.
"Harry is the one if you want someone to laugh around and have lots of fun and get a lot of media attention. They've got different things to offer charities."
A royal source previously said a working split had helped to ease the relationship between Harry and William.
They commented: "Things did get very bad between the brothers and they didn't see each other privately for a number of months after the royal wedding.
"Certainly the animosity over status, money and Meghan meant that the split in their joint households had to be brought forward much more quickly than anticipated, so perhaps it was inevitable that their joint charity has to be split too.
"Meghan and Harry want to do things differently to William and Kate. William is the future king and so is sometimes restricted in what he can do.
"The Sussexes want the flexibility of more commercial decisions. But the brothers' relationship has vastly improved since their working lives have separated."
William and Harry established the Royal Foundation in 2009 to run all their charitable campaigns and ventures.
Kate then joined when she became Duchess of Cambridge in 2011.
They would often appear as a trio at events, and the Foundation had huge successes with projects like the Invictus Games for inured veterans and the mental health Heads Together campaign.
This story was originally published in The Sun and is reprinted with permission.
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The Knights want to put an end to the All Blacks rumours. Image: AAP Image/Darren Pateman
Ponga ready to join $1m club
by Peter Badel
7th Apr 2019 8:17 AM
Kalyn Ponga has begun negotiations with Newcastle hierarchy on a proposed $6 million contract that will keep the Maroons whizkid in the NRL and away from the clutches of the mighty All Blacks.
The Courier-Mail can reveal Ponga's management has started preliminary talks with Knights hierarchy ahead of the Queensland Origin star's return to fullback against the Dragons in Newcastle on Sunday.
Ponga has had an indifferent start to the 2019 season in a new role at five-eighth, but his minor blip in form won't stop the 21-year-old becoming the next young gun to join the NRL's elite $1 million club.
The new deal will represent the richest contract in Newcastle's 31-year history. It would eclipse David Klemmer's $4.3m mega deal, signed last November, and see Ponga financially surge past the Knights' greatest playmakers - the famous Johns brothers, Matthew and NRL Immortal Andrew.
Ponga is currently contracted to Newcastle until the end of 2021, with an option in his favour for the following season. But the former Cowboys sensation is so content at his new club he sees a longer-term future at Newcastle and the Knights are amenable to an upgrade.
Newcastle bosses have not discussed figures at this stage but have indicated they would like to extend Ponga beyond 2022. The rookie's management is keen to broker an extension until at least the end of 2024, when Ponga turns 26.
Tying down such a talent would be huge for the Knights. Image: AAP Image/Brendon Thorne
Under the proposal, Ponga's salary this season, around $750,000, would not change. But a beefed-up five or six-year extension would see Ponga earn up to $1.2 million annually, a salary package that would make a poaching threat from New Zealand rugby seriously prohibitive.
There are suggestions Ponga is worth $1.5m on the open market, but the Knights would likely baulk at such a figure given the constraints of the NRL's $9.6m salary cap.
The Knights ace was last year linked with a shock move to play rugby for New Zealand, the birthplace of his father Andre, but the Ponga camp are not entertaining any notion of an All Blacks defection.
It is understood Ponga's management will formalise the upgrade this season, preferably before the completion of the Origin series in July.
Ponga was supposed to have been North Queensland’s future. Image: Zak Simmonds
Ponga told The Sunday Mail he was relishing life in Newcastle after the emotional anguish of the toughest call of his young career - telling Cowboys superstar Johnathan Thurston he would be leaving Townsville.
"I'm really happy at the Knights," said Ponga, who plays his 24th game for Newcastle on Sunday and just his 33rd NRL game overall.
"I didn't think I would establish myself at Newcastle as quickly as I have.
"It's been awesome. I've learnt a lot on and off the field. It's been a good move … the right move.
"To be honest, it would have been the easier option to stay (at the Cowboys), but I had faith in myself and my family backed me. I felt confident with what I was doing."
At least Queensland can still claim him come Origin. Image: AAP Image/Brendon Thorne
The Cowboys were carefully grooming Ponga to succeed Thurston. The mentoring plan was humming along when Thurston was left stunned by Ponga's Knights bombshell.
"It was definitely hard to walk away from the Cowboys," he said. "They had a bloke like 'Jonno' who was such a huge figure and I was doing some mentoring with him.
"We had a chat. I told him I was leaving.
"He respected what I said. He had his views. What I chose probably wasn't what 'JT' wanted to hear but I'd like to think he is happy for me now.
"Going to a different city with a struggling team (Newcastle was a tough call, but I was confident I could make it work."
While he played nine games for the Cowboys, Ponga's sizzling 2018 campaign with the Knights represented his first full season of NRL. Almost overnight, he became a State of Origin star, but Ponga is determined not to become a bighead. He is not seduced by success. He is adamant he will not be a victim of second-year syndrome.
"I've heard about that term," he says.
"I haven't watched anyone myself and thought they were great in their rookie year, but geez, they suck this year.
"I'm not worried about the negatives. I've always looked for positives in life so that's the way I will approach this year.
"My humility comes from my family. My dad has a lot of brothers and I've always had them to keep me in line. Any time dad saw things going to my head, he pulled my head in very quickly.
"I've still got a long way to go. I'm still keen, still working hard. I don't want to get to the end of my career thinking, 'Far out, I should have done this, I should have improved in this area'.
"I always want to get better. As long as I keep that mindset, I'll keep getting better."
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premium_icon Confirmed: Broncos star banned for Cronk hit
all blacks kalyn ponga newcastle knights north queensland cowboys nrl rugby league state of origin
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A project of Long Island Together (LIT)
(scroll down for upcoming events)
Across our educational and health care systems, there are barriers of language, accessibility and awareness that prevent some in our community from meeting their children’s academic needs, and their physical and mental health. We need to build bridges and break down these walls!
Project Puentes (Bridges) is a new initiative to support and train local immigrant parents to become child service navigators and offer language support services to their immigrant parent peers in Port Washington, NY and the North Shore of Long Island.
With language support embedded throughout the local area and primarily in the school district and across health care offices, non-English speaking Port parents will more easily communicate with their children’s’ teachers and health care providers – an opportunity that should be accessible to all parents in Port Washington regardless of the language/s you speak at home. Additionally, by supporting the Project Puentes Fund, you are making an investment towards increased economic equity in Port Washington. Child service navigation and language interpreter training will allow community members to gain professional skills, build their resumes, and be paid accordingly for their valuable skills.
Project Puentes is led by Long Island Together, a Rapid Response Network partner of Long Island Jobs With Justice. Co-sponsors include, Long Island Language Advocates Coalition, Long Island Jobs with Justice and Padres en Accion (Parents in Action Association).
You can support Project Puentes with a credit card or Paypal donation by clicking below and following instructions. Contributions are fully tax-deductible.
Note: When donating, make sure to select “Project Puentes” from the drop down box.
If you prefer to mail a check, please make it payable to our 501(c)(3) nonprofit partner: “Long Island Jobs With Justice” with memo line: “Project Puentes” and mail to:
Attn: Anita Halasz
For further information, email:
projectpuentes@longislandtogether.org, or call Sonia Arora: (347) 416-2940
UPCOMING FUNDRAISER FOR PROJECT PUENTES
Come celebrate our Island’s linguistic diversity at International Karaoke Night at Shining Studios on Haven Avenue in Port Washington on March 23 from 7:30-10:30pm. Suggested donation of $50 will go to pay for training for our interpreters/advocates who will be part of Project Puentes.
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Gerard Way Unveils ‘No Shows’ Video
Jeff Cornell
Gerard Way has released his first solo video for his new song 'No Shows.' The clip features the former My Chemical Romance frontman making his “intergalactic television debut” on a fictional show called 'Pink Station Zero.'
The performance-based glam and Britpop influenced video is right in line with his debut solo album, ‘Hesitant Alien,’ which the singer said was influenced by British artists Jarvis Cocker and Damon Albarn. Way says his intention behind the effort “was to make 100 percent uncompromised art, using the currently least radio-friendly instrument, the guitar.”
‘Hesitant Alien’ will arrive on Sept. 30 via Warner Bros. Records, and is available for pre-order now on Way’s website at this location. Fans that pre-order the disc will receive the tracks 'Action Cat' and 'No Shows' as instant downloads.
My Chemical Romance split back in March 2013, following a 12-year run, four studio albums, six EPs, two live albums and a greatest hits effort.
U.K. fans will get their first listen to Way’s debut solo album when he performs at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in England on Aug. 22 and 23 respectively.
Gerard Way, ‘Hesitant Alien’ Track Listing
1. ‘Bureau’
2. ‘Action Cat’
3. ‘No Shows’
4. ‘Casting Shadows’
5. ‘Millions’
6. ‘Zero Zero’
7. ‘Juarez’
8. ‘Drugstore Perfume’
9. ‘Get the Gang Together’
10. ‘How’s It Going to Be’
11. ‘Maya the Psychic’
Gerard Way Revisits My Chemical Romance Split
Filed Under: Gerard Way
Categories: News, Official Music Videos, Rock, Videos
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UFC Fighter Roy “Big Country” Nelson Answers Our Questions on Tech, the Web and Social Media
At six feet tall and just shy of 250 pounds, and with a decade of mixed martial arts (MMA) experience under his belt, Roy “Big Country” Nelson is a formidable force in the Octagon. Trained in boxing by Jeff Mayweather and granted a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu by master Renzo Gracie in 2006, Nelson has surprised more than a few fighters with his unique combination of grappling skill and raw KO power.
Nelson got his start in the UFC in 2010, after winning season 10 of reality TV series The Ultimate Fighter. Season 10 focused entirely on heavyweight fighters and included Internet sensation and street fighter Kimbo Slice, along with former NFL players like Brendan Schaub. In Big Country’s first match of the season, he defeated Slice by TKO stoppage in the second round; the fight drew 6 million viewers and was the highest-rated MMA show ever broadcast in the U.S. Nelson went on to knock out Schaub at 3:45 in the second round during the season finale.
Conquering season 10 earned Nelson a contract with the UFC, where he started his career with a bang, KO’ing Stefan Struve just 39 seconds into the first round of UFC Fight Night 21. He’s earned a 20-9-0 record with the league, and when asked about his fighting methodology, he puts it as only Big Country can: “Whoever fights me, they’ll go ‘I’ll never fight Roy Nelson again.’”
In addition to taking on opponents face-to-face, the heavyweight also provided commentary for The Ultimate Fighter on multiple websites and for SpikeTV.com’s MMA blog.
Lunarpages recently caught up with Nelson and had a chance to ask him a few questions about the evolving role of technology in the UFC.
Name one piece of technology you can’t live without, and tell us why. A computer, because it’s my connection to my world and my entertainment, as well as my workhorse to get business done.
How does this technology impact your work life? It makes me work harder and, I like to think, smarter.
Has the Internet affected your training regimen? (online workouts, communities) The Internet is definitely a good place for resources and fact-finding, but the one thing is you should never believe everything on the Internet.
How has social media (Facebook, Twitter) changed your relationship with fans? It has allowed me to be one step closer to the fans.
Social media lets you hear all about what other fighters do before a match. Does this heighten competition? The only time this actually matters is when my opponent is my fan.
What’s your favorite way to interact with fans online? Through my Facebook and Twitter (RoyNelsonUFC and @RoyNelsonMMA) pages.
Speaking of online fans, are there any conversations or messages you remember in particular? When I beat Kimbo Slice, fans were threatening to kill me.
How has the Internet community changed UFC for the better? It allows fans and fighters a bigger voice in the sport.
Going forward, what can the league do to connect more with fans online? Educate the fans more on the sport and the fighters.
Bottom line: Android or iPhone? Android
Want more of Big Country? Catch his next match with Brazilian fighter “Minotauro” Nogueira (34-8-1) on April 11 for UFC Fight Night 39.
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Site of the Month – Team Brennan
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and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship. "And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, and the ark of testimony, and the mercy seat upon it, and all the furniture of the tent, the table also and its utensils, and the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering also with all its utensils, and the laver and its stand, Bible Verse Wall Art
The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. ... Christian Gifts
"Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. "This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. "You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. Christian Canvas Art
Character Of WickedRevelation, Necessity Ofevangelism, nature ofSatan, Power OfSpiritual Warfare, Enemies InImagination, Evil SchemingPresent Evil AgeNames And Titles For SatanRevelation, Responses ToShiningUnbelief, Nature And Effects OfLikenessFalse ReligionUnbelief, Sourced InSatan, As DeceiverSpiritual Blindness, Consequences OfSatanticPrincehood Of SatanImage Of God Christian Gifts
A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ...
What does the Bible say about creativity? The very first verse of Scripture actually describes a creative act as "God created the heavens and the earth." Additionally, from Genesis, the Bible says, "God created man in his own image." This could be interpreted as we are creators just as God created us. We create relationships, art, homes, cities, nations and many more things including inventions even yet to be known! The creative spirit is certainly favored by God and our fellow man. Learn more from the collection of Bible verses about creativity below!
"You shall have no other gods before Me. "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,read more. Christian Gifts
The Bible is full of encouraging scriptures that are such a blessing to read and memorize. Here are ten of my favorite scripture quotes for encouragement. Feel free to share these with others as these encouraging Bible verses will brighten anyone’s day. The Scriptures used are filled with hope, comfort and inspiration. These famous Bible quotes are from the Old and New Testament.
In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. ... Christian Gifts
For the last 5 years, the in-house design team at the Faithlife Corporation has illustrated one Bible verse every day. This art has found its way onto t-shirts, magnets, and postcards—and now, a beautiful picture book. In print for the first time, art from Faithlife's Verse of the Day series paired with uplifting devotionals will encourage and inspire you. Bible Verse Wall Art
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me: ... Christian Gifts
In the West, the Renaissance saw an increase in monumental secular works, but until the Protestant Reformation Christian art continued to be commissioned in great quantities by churches, clergy and by the aristocracy. The Reformation had a huge effect on Christian art, rapidly bringing the production of public Christian art to a virtual halt in Protestant countries, and causing the destruction of most of the art that already existed. Christian Gifts
Solomon made all the furniture which was in the house of the LORD: the golden altar and the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence; and the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold; and the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold. Christian Gifts
Glory of ChristOther BlindingChrist's Own GloryAgeControlling Your ThoughtsUnbelieversPerfection, DivineCommitment, to the worldChrist, Names ForSatan, Kingdom OfSatan, Titles ForThe Light Of ChristDarkness, As A Symbol Of SinCultsRevelation, In Ntevil, origins ofSpiritual Warfare, Causes OfHeart, Fallen And RedeemedBlindingSpiritual Blindness, Results Of Sin Christian Gifts
He measured the length of the building along the front of the separate area behind it, with a gallery on each side, a hundred cubits; he also measured the inner nave and the porches of the court. The thresholds, the latticed windows and the galleries round about their three stories, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, and from the ground to the windows (but the windows were covered), over the entrance, and to the inner house, and on the outside, and on all the wall all around inside and outside, by measurement.read more. Share Your Faith Products
For the last 5 years, the in-house design team at the Faithlife Corporation has illustrated one Bible verse every day. This art has found its way onto t-shirts, magnets, and postcards—and now, a beautiful picture book. In print for the first time, art from Faithlife's Verse of the Day series paired with uplifting devotionals will encourage and inspire you. Christian Gifts
"You shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, six of their names on the one stone and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, according to their birth. "As a jeweler engraves a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel; you shall set them in filigree settings of gold.read more. Christian Canvas Art
Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. ... Christian Gifts
He made 300 shields of beaten gold, using three minas of gold on each shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with refined gold. There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its rear, and arms on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms. Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom. All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None was of silver; it was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon. Christian Gifts
He made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat; one cherub at the one end and one cherub at the other end; he made the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at the two ends. The cherubim had their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward each other; the faces of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat. Christian Canvas Art
Now King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. He was a widow's son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill for doing any work in bronze So he came to King Solomon and performed all his work. He fashioned the two pillars of bronze; eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of both. read more. Christian Canvas Art
Being Cleansed From SinSittingLikenessExpiationGod Made Visible In ChristGod's Glory RevealedPerfection, DivineGospel, Historical Foundation OfAdoration, Of ChristGod Is TranscendentLight, SpiritualExaltation Of ChristChrist's NatureAccuracyRevelation, In NtHoliness, Believers' Growth InGlory, Revelation OfGlory Of GodDivinity Of ChristEarth, God SustainingSelf ImageImage Of God Bible Verse Wall Art
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Donald Glover nails a spontaneous jam session on 'The Late Late Show'
By Martha Tesema 2016-09-14 14:08:55 UTC
Donald Glover stopped by The Late Late Show with James Corden Tuesday night to chat about his new FXX television show Atlanta, and got roped into a lovely jam session with the show's band leader, Reggie Watts.
Once Watts laid down the beat, Glover took over with some sweet falsetto, and even busted some dance moves with Corden.
Image: the late late show/youtube
What could Elon Musk's Hyperloop stations look like? This VR video shows you an idea.
Topics: Culture, Donald Glover, Late Late Show, late late show with james corden, Music, reggie watts
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How To Keep Feelings Burning? This Elderly Couple Knows The Secret And Their Spicy Dance Amuses Everyone
June 13, 2018 15:55 By Mambee
The audience and the judges felt the heat during one episode of America's Got Talent. When an elderly couple hit the stage, they showed everyone how to keep their feelings burning!
America's Got Talent / YouTube
Filiberto and Celina are a happily married couple from Cuba. When they made it to the show to perform their one-of-a-kind dance, they demonstrated something slightly different from what many viewers would have expected to see.
READ ALSO: 13-Year-Old Sings Magical Audition Of Andrea Bocelli's Immortal Ballad - And The Judge Breaks Into Tears
Celina's expression of dazzlement and Filiberto's tearful joy gave everyone the impression that these two are quite unprepared for the glamor and the glitz. However, it wasn't so.
Celina and Filiberto got busy to the chords of 'Talk Dirty To Me', and it was more than enough to delight the judges, including Simon Cowell.
Mel B. was also stunned, just as their other three colleagues, but not in a similarly positive way.
For Mel B., seeing an elderly pair dancing to the beats of 'Talk Dirty To Me' was far from what she wanted to see on the talent show. Who knew that former Spice Girl would be such a prude?
It's understandable why Mel B. might have felt uncomfortable, though. The couple's dance wasn't exactly what people at their age are expected to present.
Choosing 'Talk Dirty To Me' as the song to dance to could be seen as daring already, however, choreographing it in such a raunchy way took it all to a whole new level.
READ ALSO: Elderly Couple Steals The Show As Soon As They Recognize The song Playing - And Their Feet Just Take Over
Celina and Filiberto's audition began with the lovely pair standing in the middle of the stage and giving one another a peck on the lips.
At that moment, Filiberto got a wee bit emotional, which made the judges fell in love with the sweet pair.
But after that brief kiss, something completely different took place! The pair began a passionate dance, which included all types of hot moves, from bumping and grinding to gyrating, and that seemed a little too much for a couple old enough to raise grandchildren!
At one moment, Celine even started to twerk, and Filiberto accompanied her dancing craze with some hot moves! Even Simon Cowell was completely taken aback by their dance! Brace yourself for watching the video below.
Though Simon Cowell is reportedly the toughest of America's Got Talent judges, he said: 'I like things I get surprised by. You surprised me.' Not only did the two surprise Simon, they stunned everyone because they're amazing!
Source: DailyMail
READ ALSO: Fourth-Grader's Version Of John Lennon's Classic 'Imagine' Wows Millions Of People And Becomes A True Internet Sensation!
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MANGA.TOKYO > Event Coverage > Events > Persona 5 the Animation Masquerade Party Event Report
Persona 5 the Animation Masquerade Party Event Report
by Shinobu Tanaka
Persona 5 the Animation aired in Japan from April to September 2018. Two months after the series became the talk among fans for a mysterious ending, which kept everybody wanting more, on 25 November 2018 an event took place at Tokyo’s Olympus Hall Hachioji, called the ‘Masquerade Party’. There were two shows planned for the event, the daytime show called ~Detective Party~ and the evening show themed ~Phantom Midnight~. We were able to attend the ~Detective Party~ and have a report about it here for you!
The anime is very popular and many members of the cast were in attendance. The full guest list was: Jun Fukuyama (voice of Ren Amamiya), Mamoru Miyano (Ryuji Sakamoto), Nana Mizuki (Ann Takamaki), Ikue Otani (Morgana), Tomokazu Sugita (Yusuke Kitagawa), Rina Sato (Niijima), Aoi Yuki (Futaba Sakura), Haruka Tomatsu (Haru Okumura), and Goro Akechi (Soichiro Hoshi). The host of the event was Yuki Iwai from the comedy duo Haraichi. With so many great names on stage, the event was broadcasted into Japanese cinemas all over the country for live viewings.
To fit the theme of ‘Masquerade Party’, the stage was decorated to give it a mysterious atmosphere. From the beginning the cast was welcomed with big laughs and applause as they danced magnificently (?) onto the stage and made poses representing their characters. Even though Fukuyama had given an elaborate welcome speech from behind the stage before the event began, when it actually came to the opening greetings, he suddenly stumbled over his own words which made the audience and his colleagues laugh. Every cast member started to introduce themselves but the biggest attention was paid to Hoshi. Even though his introduction started as cool as his character Akechi, he soon greeted everybody with his trademark ‘Pappi~’, making his fans very happy.
The event then started properly with a live reading. The narrator of the story was Hoshi’s character Akechi.
The outline of the story was that, to solve a certain case, they have to infiltrate a so-called Masquerade Party taking place at a club in Shibuya. As the characters are all high school students, it is important that they don’t seem too obvious that they have never really been to a nightclub before. The cast said they associate nightclubs with dancing, so they showed off their original dance movies. In the midst of all the laughs, it was especially the combination of Miyano and Tomatsu that had everyone in stitches. Just imagine Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance in a pair dance kind of style. Tomatsu seemed a little surprised at Miyano’s lead, but the audience enjoyed it a lot. The reading ended when the drunk gossip reporter Ichiko Oya (voiced by Yumi Uchiyama, her voice was pre-recorded) lead them into a room at the back of the club. Next up was the game corner. As a rule, the results of the game would influence how the second part of the live reading would develop and like that the game started. Every one of the nine cast members received a letter and a hint and they had to spell out a word using those hints and letters. If they manage to clear three words, they succeed! They managed to complete the mission after the fourth try. They had good teamwork. During the live reading, the host also took on a role and pretended to be the manager of Masquerade Party and the audience and cast members admired him for his unexpectedly good performance.
After the second part of the reading ended, Lyn appeared on stage and gave a powerful performance of the opening theme ‘Break in to Breakout’. As a second song she performed the ending theme ‘Infinity’, which was the first time she performed the song live. The audience was super excited to hear the song. When the live performance ended the broadcasting time of the Year’s End special was announced. On 30 December the special animation program called ‘Dark Sun…’ will air. The key visual of the special is a bit mysterious, as it doesn’t include Ren Amamiya. The audience was left confused, as this also marked the ending of the event. Everybody really wants to know what this special episode will be about. That’s what you call an impactful key visual!
Time went by so fast and the 90-minute-long event ended. At the end Otani said, ‘I wanted to try something.’ and started a call and response. When she said ‘Masquerade Party’ the audience had to reply ‘YAY!’ so they played forth and back with that until streamers exploded into the air with a big bang rained down on the audience. The curtains closed and the party was over.
More reports from anime and otaku events!
©ATLUS ©SEGA/PERSONA5 the Animation Project
Sarazanmai Special Event Report with Kunihiko Ikuhara and Junichi Suwabe
Brief Review: Peace Maker Kurogane Yuumei
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Guide to SecureDrop
This book, by Charles Berret, presents a timely guide to SecureDrop, an emerging platform for secure and anonymous communication between journalists and sources.
Seeking the Single-Subject News Model
Amateur Footage: A Global Study of User-Generated Content
Amateur Footage: A Global Study of User-Generated Content in TV and Online News Output
Faulty Metrics and the Future of Digital Journalism
Confusion Online: Faulty Metrics and the Future of Digital Journalism
What We Know About the Business of Digital Journalism
The Story So Far: What We Know About the Business of Digital Journalism
The New Global Journalism
The New Global Journalism: Foreign Correspondence in Transition
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Mercer Publications
Mercer University School of Law
Mercer Law Review
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 01-006 pg. 0018 - Bills and Notes
Norman, Robert C. (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1955)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 01-008 pg. 0027 - Constitutional Law
Saye, Albert B. (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1955)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 01-007 pg. 0022 - Business Associations
O'Neal, F. Hodge (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1955)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 01-009 pg. 0042 - Contracts
Peavy, J. Edwin (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1955)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 02-039 pg. 0352 - The Motion for Judgement Notwithstanding the Verdict in Georgia
Richter, Horace E.; Birdsong, A. W. Jr. (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1956)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 02-042 pg. 0380 - Retroactive Zoning and the Individuals Property
Young, Joe R. Jr. (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1956)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 01-005 pg. 0009 - Agency
English, M. Dale (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1955)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 02-040 pg. 0361 - Hospitalization of the Mentally Ill
Segal, Stanley R.; Grant, William F. (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1956)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 02-041 pg. 0375 - The Discretionary Powers of a Trustee: What Standards Do the Courts Use
Patterson, Lyman Ray (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1956)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 02-037 pg. 0319 - If I Could Do It Over
Jones, C. Baxter Jr. (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1956)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 02-029 pg. 0383 - Case Notes: Contracts-Wife's Contract to Care for Husband-Consideration-Public Policy
Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1956)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 01-004 pg. 0001 - Administrative Law
Culp, Maurice S. (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1955)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 02-038 pg. 0331 - Crime Comic Books: Government Control and Their Impact on Juvenile Conduct
Duesenberg, Richard W. (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1956)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 01-003 pg. v - Table of Contents - Issue 2
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 02-031 pg. 0258 - The Attorney General's Committee Report in Perspective
Kefauver, Estes (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1956)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 01-028 pg. 0229 - Case Notes: Contracts-Communication of Acceptance-When Effective
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 02-033 pg. 0279 - Quantitative Substantiality and the Celler-Kefauver Act - A Look at the Record
Handler, Milton (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1956)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 02-030 pg. 0250 - The Soviet Concept of Legal Institutions
Dulles, Allen W. (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1956)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 02-036 pg. 0314 - Legal Fees and How to Get Them
Quillian, Joseph D. (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1956)
Mercer Law Review Vol. 007 Issue 02-032 pg. 0267 - Corporation Mergers and Antitrust Laws
Celler, Emanuel (Mercer University: Walter F. George School of Law, 1956)
Search URSA
All of URSACommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects
AuthorMercer University: Walter F. George School of Law (5)Young, Joe R. Jr. (2)Atkinson, Mallory C. (1)Birdsong, A. W. Jr. (1)Blake, Henry (1)Celler, Emanuel (1)Cheatham, Elliott E. (1)Covington, Hewitt H. (1)Culp, Maurice S. (1)Dorsey, Edward E. (1)... View MoreDate Issued1955 (28)1956 (15)Has File(s)Yes (43)
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Pearl jams: Reflecting on a decade at the Palms’ beloved Las Vegas venue
This happened: LCD Soundsystem, performing at the Pearl.
Photo: Denise Truscello / Wire Image
Hammer’s House Party, Lil Nas X, ‘Oregon Trail: ...
Tracing Thundercat’s key evolutionary steps, from Suicidal Tendencies ...
Lady Antebellum kicks off its Vegas residency with ...
Il Volo at the Pearl
Thu, Apr 6, 2017 (midnight)
From the moment the Pearl Concert Theater opened to the public on March 17, 2007 (for a headlining performance by Evanescence, of all things), I’ve had an easy answer to this question: Where in Las Vegas would you most want to see your favorite band?
In the decade since, some great music rooms—from Brooklyn Bowl to the revamped Bunkhouse—have opened around town. Yet the space inside the Palms has remained my single happiest place to catch a show. Not because it’s in my neighborhood (it’s not) or because it offers the best beer selection (it doesn’t). The Pearl has stayed atop my rankings because its creators prioritized the two most important aspects of concertgoing: sight and sound—obvious, sure, but rarely taken seriously enough.
I’ve been in virtually every section over the years—on the floor, down the sides, straight back, up top—and my view of the stage has never been the least bit impaired. Better yet, I can’t recall fretting even once over the sonic quality, and I’ve become pretty picky over decades covering concerts.
What the Pearl hasn’t had, unfortunately, is consistently interesting booking. What began with a pretty open mind under then-owner George Maloof and his original talent buyer (see: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bloc Party, The Pogues?!) evolved into a safer approach that leaned heavily on classic rock and conceded most left-of-center acts to its competitors. With Station Casinos now in charge, it remains to be seen whether the Pearl can again be a player in Vegas’ wildly competitive music market.
As the venue celebrates its 10-year milestone with A Perfect Circle (see Page 60), I’ll also reflect back, on five Pearl shows that stood out for me.
Björk (December 15, 2007) Part 2 of a momentous weekend doubleheader (Tool played one night earlier) earned the Icelandic innovator an ultra-rare five-star review. “Without aid of a costume change, aerial acrobat or dance troupe, the evening felt as dramatic as any production show on the Strip,” I wrote then, and I stand by those words nearly 10 years later.
Matador at 21 (October 1-3, 2010) The single-best musical weekend of my life saw influential indie label Matador Records gather current and former acts for a whirlwind of can’t-believe-this-is-happening-here performances from the likes of Pavement, Sonic Youth and Superchunk. I also got to see my favorite band, Guided By Voices, right where I wanted them. Dreams do come true.
LCD Soundsystem (October 12, 2010) The hip Brooklyn outfit’s lone Vegas appearance didn’t pack the house, but anyone who was there will tell you it should have, as frontman James Murphy and his mates served up favorite after deliriously danceable favorite for folks in the know.
Bob Dylan (July 16, 2011) I’d given up on Dylan as a live entity until this one turned my head around. “Dylan stepped away from the organ, picked up his harmonica and moved to the front of the stage,” I wrote. “That movement alone eclipsed my previous Dylan encounter for excitement, and it was only the beginning. What followed was shockingly powerful, an icon proving he’s still a viable performer.”
Butthole Surfers(August 28, 2011) This might not have been an all-timer, musically speaking, but every time I think about it I smile. Because, like, 300 people showed up in a room that holds 2,500. Because the band played in a classy theater while the goriest videos I’ve ever watched rolled behind it (as in, the decapitation scenes were a relief from the really nasty stuff). And because the giant marquee outside the Palms read “BUTTHOLE SURFERS,” all night long.
Tags: Music, The Pearl
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You searched for Aviation. Did you mean Aviation in Aviation & Mass Transit Accidents?
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John D. McKay
Experience in the Cockpit, and in the Courtroom
The law firm of John D. McKay, Attorney at Law, provides results-oriented representation in claims involving aviation accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, motor vehicle accidents and discrimination claims. In addition, it provides business law and litigation services to business owners, entrepreneurs and investors. Located in the town of Calais, Vermont, the law firm is prepared to...
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Located in Charles Town, West Virginia, Kratovil Law Offices, PLLC, is a premier resource for DUI defense, bankruptcy counsel and a range of other legal services. Each client who turns to our law firm receives dedicated personal attention from founding attorney Jim Kratovil, whose 35-plus-year career in the law includes service as a magistrate, prosecutor and longtime sole practitioner. Mr....
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Products Liability, Toxic Torts, Medical Malpractice, Drugs & Medical Devices
Rolling Fork, Yazoo City, Bentonia, Hollandale, Belzoni
Holly Bluff
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Sokolove Law, LLC
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Former Supreme Court Judge and 2018 Super Lawyer assisting birth injury related clients throughout the nation. Call us today!
At Cherundolo Law Group, in Syracuse, New York, we are fully committed to helping you recover the maximum amount possible for the damages you sustained as the result of someone else's negligence or wrongdoing. Established in 2013 by renowned personal injury attorney John Cherundolo, our law firm has become the top choice for the residents of central New York who seek justice for their injuries and...
Sessums Dallas PLLC
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For over 50 years, the law firm of Taylor, Jones & Taylor has proudly served the people of North Mississippi and the nearby Memphis metropolitan area. Today, the firm's long record of success and dedication to its clients has allowed the practice to expand to include three office locations, including one in Hernando, from which the firm's attorneys assist clients from throughout DeSoto County...
Need help after a Birth Injury?
You've come to the right place. Child birth can be a dangerous proposition. A difficult birth or improper prenatal or medical care can lead to a birth injury to the mother, or to permanent injury to the infant, including cerebral palsy.
If you or your child has been injured during a birth injury, an experienced birth injury lawyer may be able to help.
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Style » Fashion
Toxic Metal Found in Chain Stores' Jewelry
by Ariel Tu .
Thursday Oct 11, 2018
Jewelry with the toxic metal cadmium is showing up on the shelves of national retailers including Ross, Nordstrom Rack and Papaya, according to newly released test results.
Analysis done for the nonprofit Center for Environmental Health revealed some jewelry sold with women's dresses and shirts was nearly pure cadmium, which can cause cancer and reproductive harm after prolonged exposure.
Consumer advocates were hopeful cadmium had disappeared from the U.S. jewelry market following changes prompted by a 2010 Associated Press investigation that found Chinese manufacturers were using the metal to make kids' jewelry. States including California outlawed cadmium in children's jewelry, and testing by the center found the chemical had virtually disappeared from jewelry by 2012.
No laws address cadmium in adult jewelry, however, and last year the center decided to check those products. Lab testing found 31 adult jewelry items purchased from retail stores were at least 40 percent cadmium, and most were more than 90 percent, according to results shared exclusively with the AP.
California's law allows no more than 0.03 percent cadmium in children's jewelry. The precise health risk from the tested jewelry is unclear because researchers did not assess whether small amounts shed when the jewelry is handled and worn.
Over time, cadmium accumulates in the body and can damage the kidneys and bones. Most exposure happens by ingesting small amounts or by breathing it, most commonly through tobacco, which can contain cadmium. Researchers also have documented some absorption through skin contact, though the phenomenon is not well-studied.
Michael Harbut, a practicing doctor who as a university professor has researched cadmium's cancer-causing properties, noted that contact can trigger skin rashes including psoriasis.
"Cadmium is bad," said Harbut, who teaches at Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine. "Given a choice between wearing something with cadmium in it, or wearing something without cadmium in it, I would take the product without cadmium."
The Oakland-based nonprofit bought all the test samples in the San Francisco Bay Area this year or last. The extent to which contaminated jewelry is in stores elsewhere isn't clear, though a national retailer would not typically limit a product to just one region.
The center said the problem should not be underestimated because of the limited market sampling.
"If you're the person that buys and is wearing that jewelry, you don't really care whether it's a common problem or a rare problem," said Caroline Cox, senior scientist at the center. "You have a problem."
Brent Cleaveland, executive director of the Fashion Jewelry and Accessories Trade Association, said he does not believe the test results suggest a larger problem. Most major retailers have a stringent system for testing and analyzing what they sell, he said.
Most of the tainted items were sold at Ross, which operates more than 1,400 stores in 38 states. One pendant from a necklace chain was 100 percent cadmium, according to the testing.
In a written statement, Ross said it is committed to protecting its customers and has "addressed this issue with our supplier." The retailer would not say whether it pulled suspect jewelry from stores.
The brands found with high cadmium levels in Ross stores include Tacera and Vibe Sportswear.
Xinwei Xie, chief executive officer at Trend Textile Inc., which owns Tacera, declined to comment when reached by phone. The Skate Group Inc., which owns Vibe Sportswear, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Papaya said it considers cadmium in its products a serious problem. It operates more than 100 retail locations nationwide.
Steven Kim, an attorney representing Papaya, said the company has recalled the products where contamination was found and stopped buying from the manufacturer in China.
"Our manufacturers are required to represent and warrant that their products are in legal compliance," Kim said. "Papaya is very strict and stops doing business with any manufacturer which fails to comply."
Nordstrom spokeswoman Emily Sterken said the company is "reaching out to these vendors to make them aware of the situation and get more information on these items."
The Center for Environmental Health has long used California law to force companies to reduce levels of harmful materials in consumer products, including cadmium and lead in jewelry.
Under the state's Proposition 65, businesses must inform consumers about significant exposures to chemicals that cause cancer or other reproductive harm. The nonprofit has settled Proposition 65 claims against 36 companies, including Gap Inc. and Target Corp., which agreed to not sell jewelry with more than 0.03 percent cadmium.
That limit for children's jewelry took effect after the AP reported in 2010 that some Chinese jewelry manufacturers were substituting cadmium for lead, the use of which Congress clamped down on following a string of imported-product safety scandals.
The jewelry industry helped write voluntary U.S. standards following the AP investigation, but the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission did not mandate any cadmium limits.
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The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health (MSCCH)
About the Consortium
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Posted February 20, 2019 Media: Op-eds and LTEs, Members in Action
My Patients’ Health Depends on Addressing Climate Change
By AUTUMN VOGEL | Originally posted on February 6, 2019 on Otherwords.org
As a fourth-year medical student, I’ve learned plenty about caring for patients with common illnesses and injuries. But as a native of fire-ravaged Northern California, and a student in Pennsylvania — where I hear regularly about communities torn apart by the natural gas industry — I can’t help but worry about my ability to care for my patients in an age of climate change.
Climate change isn’t just an environmental crisis, after all. It’s a looming health crisis. More hurricanes, floods, droughts, and wildfires means more disease, dehydration, famine, injury, and death.
Our health system is already overburdened, and extreme climate change could put it over the edge. And it will unfortunately be our most vulnerable communities — low income communities, communities of color, and places where health care is already hard to come by — who will suffer the worst consequences.
While my medical school’s curriculum encourages deep thinking about how to expand health care for underserved communities, it’s included little if any acknowledgement of the coming climate catastrophe.
Some medical colleges are beginning to wake up to the need to prepare the future generation of physicians to handle these challenges, and more colleges are joining this critical effort each day. For example, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recently launched a Climate Change Curriculum Infusion Project, which seeks to prepare future physicians by weaving the impacts of climate change on health into existing medical curriculum.
We know that climate change is real, manmade, and accelerating far beyond what researchers originally predicted. It’s not up for debate. There are countless studies to back that up — including the Special Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the 2018 Global Climate Report, and the Fourth National Climate Assessment, to name a few.
We didn’t create this pending catastrophe — an overzealous, greedy fossil fuel industry did. But my generation will have to bear the consequences of their recklessness, and a whole generation of doctors, nurses, and other health professionals will have to care for those who suffer.
As the data rolls in, we understand that climate change has already begun to make permanent changes to our world — and that only rapid, sweeping changes to our energy system and environmental policies will even begin to mitigate the damage.
The truth is we’re moving too slow. Under the current U.S. administration, we’re in fact moving in the wrong direction if we hope to minimize this looming health crisis. We need to commit to zero emissions and an overhaul of our energy system to renewables — yesterday.
Whatever happens on the policy front, health professionals need to be ready for the disruptions we know are coming.
Medical colleges are in a unique position, and have a distinct obligation, to prepare future generations of physicians for the challenge of a lifetime. Medical students need our educators to help us — not only to prepare our medical practice, but to take leadership in pushing for the sweeping policy changes required to avert the worst consequences of this impending disaster.
We need everyone to wake up and see that if we don’t act boldly now, we’ll have a crisis too big for our system to handle — and too much for any budding physician’s hands to hold.
Autumn Vogel is a fourth-year medical student at Penn State College of Medicine and a student representative on the board of Physicians for Social Responsibility.
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Overland Park Mother Brought Back to Life After Heart Attack
Menorah Medical Center /
Overland Park Mother Brought Back...
Menorah Medical Center February 14, 2012
Cyndi Niezer will always remember her 41st birthday as the one that forever changed her life.
The vivacious Overland Park mother of three young children celebrated her big day on Monday, November 7, 2011 with her family. She returned home after sharing a meal at her favorite restaurant with her mother, father and sister and complained to her husband, Brad, that she wasn’t feeling well. He went next door and asked their neighbor Dan, a firefighter and EMT, to come over and take a look at Cyndi, whose condition was rapidly deteriorating.
“My ears, chest and jaw hurt terribly,” says Cyndi. “Dan took one look at me and told Brad to get me to a hospital.”
An anxious Brad rushed his wife to Menorah Medical Center, an Accredited Chest Pain Center, and its Emergency Department where she began to have seizures and vomit. John McEnroe, MD, an emergency physician, quickly took charge.
Cyndi was having a heart attack.
The next 25 minutes—the longest in Brad’s life, says Cyndi—were harrowing. Though Cyndi was unconscious and has no recollection of events on that Monday evening once she arrived at Menorah Medical Center, she woke up five days later to hear a miraculous story, pieced together by her husband, Dr. McEnroe and cardiologist Ujjaval M. Patel, MD, FACC.
“I was told that my heart stopped for nearly a half hour,” says Cyndi, who is fully recovered and back to being a full-time mom for her sons, ages 3 and 5, and 9-year-old daughter.
During that critical ticking of the clock, Dr. McEnroe defibrillated Cyndi five times in an effort to jumpstart her heart. Next, Dr. Patel—a cardiologist with Midwest Cardiology Associates, a Midwest Physicians practice—put in a stent and started Code ICE on Cyndi, an extensive cooling protocol approved by the American Heart Association. Code ICE gradually lowers the core body temperature from normal to less than 33 degrees Celsius.
“The internal cooling system rapidly, safely and effectively manages a patient’s core body temperature,” says Dr. Patel. “Code ICE helps provide more positive outcomes for individuals suffering a heart attack.”
During the stenting procedure, Dr. Patel discovered two blood clots blocking Cyndi’s artery. She emerged from surgery and what she calls her “big chill” with no neurological damage.
“Prior to this life-transforming incident, I thought I was healthy enough,” says Cyndi, who was removed from the Code ICE protocol three days following her admittance to Menorah Medical Center. “I realize now that enough wasn’t good enough.”
Cyndi, who has a genetic predisposition to heart disease, is a non-smoker and does not drink. Prior to her heart attack she exercised, but not regularly.
Cyndi, who credits Dr. Patel, the advanced technology of Code ICE, and the emergency department, intensive care unit, cath lab team and the other medical professionals who were at her side during the crisis with saving her life, is now a vigilant heart warrior. She checks her blood pressure twice daily, exercises three times a week, monitors her sodium intake, drinks more water and takes medications prescribed by Dr. Patel. She educates those around her of not just the warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack, but the importance of being an advocate for heart health.
“Go to your doctor and have your heart checked,” says Cyndi. “Don’t wait until you’re unconscious and your heart has stopped. Be proactive.”
Cyndi says the experience of hovering between life and death on her 41st birthday has given her the best gift possible: a vivid snapshot of her life.
“It’s special when I hear my children laugh, to know how my body works, to be able to drive a car, work out and feel my heart go fast and work hard,” says Cyndi.
And that beating heart, says Cyndi, is a constant and precise reminder of how precious life is.
tags: emergency care , heart care , womens care
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Tag / Aristichthys nobilis
July 27, 2015 by mondaymorgue
Philippines: Mayor: Waste, water lilies caused Masantol fishkill
anoxia, Aristichthys nobilis, bighead carp, black-chinned tilapia, carp, Cichlidae, cichlids, Cichliformes, common carp, Cyprinidae, Cypriniformes, Cyprinus carpio, fishes, fishkill, freshwater, Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, introduced species, invasive species, Luzon, mass death, Pampanga, Pampanga River, Philippines, pollution, Sarotherodon melanotheron, Sun.Star, teleosts, threats, tilapia
By Leslie Anne Mahusay and Chris Navarro, 27th July 2015;
The lack of oxygen at the Pampanga River due to waste and water lilies are the possible causes of the fishkill in the municipality recently, Masantol Mayor Dan Guintu said on Monday.
“The test results on the water sample from Pampanga River last Friday showed that various types of fish lacked oxygen because of wastes and water lilies, not because of harmful chemicals dumped from factories,” Guintu said.
He said the recent rains in the country caused the waste and water lilies from different neighboring towns to gather in low areas of Masantol town.
“Yung mga basura na dahil sa baha halos sa amin lahat napupunta,” Guintu added.
He said that some towns in the province like San Luis, Apalit and Macabebe also experienced the fishkill but Masantol was seriously hit as it is surrounded by Pampanga River and Manila Bay.
The mayor pointed out that almost 10 barangays in Masantol were affected by the fishkill.
“We are now looking into help we can give to fishermen and their families because we ordered them not to fish at the Pampanga River for three days to avoid other incidents,” Guintu noted.
Guintu said that Governor Lilia Pineda also told the mayor that if there are other forms of assistance the provincial Capitol can give.
“Our governor told us to report on the total computation of the damages caused by the fishkill,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bajun Lacap, Pampanga coastal emergency response officer, said that Tilapia (Oreochromis sp.), Burasi (Common Carp) (Cyprinus carpio), Imelda (Bighead Carp) (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and Gloria (Black-chinned Tilapia) (Sarotherodon melanotheron) are some of the types of fish affected by the fishkill.
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Morrissey Postpones More Concerts
Mike Pont, Getty Images
Morrissey has postponed yet another group of shows as he undergoes treatment for a bleeding ulcer. Three concerts scheduled for this week -- in Denver, Salt Lake City and San Francisco -- are all put on hold while the singer recovers.
But apparently his illness isn't causing too much discomfort. Morrissey was able to pen a characteristically witty apology to fans on True to You, a website run by Moz fans. The whole thing is worth a read, but highlights include this line:
"I apologize to an almost annoying degree for any trouble I've caused to anyone by way of travel plans and dog-sitters and ticket-outlay and re-molded hairstyles."
And this one:
"I am even prepared to humble myself to nothing before those who carp; you see, any hospital-stay leaves us in danger of becoming unnecessarily agreeable."
These new postponements are just the latest for Morrissey's current ill-fated tour, which has been plagued with cancellations and delays. Last fall, he canceled a string of dates after his mother became sick. Then he ended up in the hospital with a bladder infection, which postponed a few concerts. And just last week, two more shows were knocked off the itinerary because of Morrissey's ailments, which also include a concussion and Barrett’s esophagus.
Source: Morrissey Postpones More Concerts
Filed Under: concert, morrissey, Tour
Categories: Bozeman News, Concerts, Entertainment News
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Electricity Market Reform: Lessons for developing countries
Erdogdu, Erkan (2010): Electricity Market Reform: Lessons for developing countries.
MPRA_paper_27317.pdf
One of the main targets of power market reforms in the world has been price-cost margins. This paper focuses on this issue by looking at the impact of the power market reforms on the convergence of residential and industrial electricity price-cost margins in diverse countries towards their average value and on cross-subsidy levels between consumer groups. Using panel data for 63 developed and developing countries covering the period 1982–2009, empirical models are developed and analyzed. The research findings suggest that, in most cases, reform process causes price-cost margins in different countries to move towards their average value. Besides, it is found that there is a negative relationship between absolute value of deviation from unit industrial/residential price ratio and the shift towards a competitive market model, meaning that as countries take more reform steps the size of cross subsidy between consumer groups tends to decline. Overall, based on empirical evidence, the study found that application of competitive market models in electricity industries makes electricity price-cost margins converge towards the average and prices more cost-reflective by reducing the size of cross subsidies between industrial and residential consumers, after controlling for industry and country-specific variables. Furthermore, the study suggests that power consumption, income level, electricity losses and country specific features constitute other important determinants of convergence towards average electricity price-cost margin and cross-subsidy levels between consumer groups.
MPRA Paper
Models with Panel Data; Power Market Reform; Price-cost margin
C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C5 - Econometric Modeling > C51 - Model Construction and Estimation
Y - Miscellaneous Categories > Y4 - Dissertations (unclassified) > Y40 - Dissertations (unclassified)
Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q4 - Energy > Q48 - Government Policy
L - Industrial Organization > L9 - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities > L94 - Electric Utilities
C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C3 - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models ; Multiple Variables > C33 - Panel Data Models ; Spatio-temporal Models
Erkan Erdogdu
11. Dec 2010 00:42
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https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/id/eprint/27317
All papers reproduced by permission. Reproduction and distribution subject to the approval of the copyright owners.
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Du Blonde
Du Blonde is not a persona or a character, it’s Beth Jeans Houghton ripping it up and starting again. Welcome Back To Milk is the Newcastle-born and sometimes Californian based singer’s second album, but her debut as Du Blonde, and it’s a complete reinvention: new name, new sound, new band, new attitude – and attitude is the key word.
It started at the V&A. Two years ago, in the cavernous final room of the ‘David Bowie Is…’ exhibition, Beth had an epiphany. “When I was a kid, my idea of being a musician came from all these big characters – Bowie, Bolan, Beefheart” she says. “I had this moment in front of all these chapters of his life: this is what I want to do and I haven’t done it for all of these years. All this stuff that was really important to me in the beginning, all of the creativity, emotional expulsion, I’d just lost all of that. It was such a sad moment, but also good – because you can’t change it unless you realise.”
It was time for a revolution and to get back to what she’d always promised herself: to keep moving, keep changing, keep pushing art and sound and never be pinned down. Beth Jeans Houghton was dead, and Du Blonde was born.
Where 2012’s debut Yours Truly Cellophane Nose threw everything at a song, Welcome Back To Milk strips everything back and is one massive release of pent up aggression, captured perfectly by producer and Bad Seed Jim Sclavunos. Heavy riffs, loud drums and vocal snarls contrast beautifully with poignant balladry and tenderness that fans of Houghton’s previous work will recognise. Future Islands frontman Samuel T Herring also provides guest vocals on Mind Is On My Mind.
“What am I pissed off about? In no particular order: the free wheeling judgement of faceless accusers online, every man and his dog giving me advice on how to live my life, what to wear, what not to say, how to write songs. Being asked if I’m on my period in business meetings. Being told to ‘just deal with’ misogyny. It’s clear that the message for young girls, in music, business and relationships, is still ‘shut up, do what you’re told and be thankful’.”
1 Black Flag
2 Chips To Go
3 Raw Honey
4 After the Show
5 If You're Legal
6 Hunter
7 Hard To Please
8 Young Entertainment
9 Mr. Hyde
10 Four In the Morning
11 Mind Is On My Mind Feat. Samuel T. Herring
12 Isn't It Wild
Welcome Back To Milk
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For all their black-jacket badassery, Queens of the Stone Age have always been defined less by their heaviness than their toy-like tightness, by the sense of rattling down the track at manic speed without ever going off the rails. Produced by pop guru Mark Ronson (“Uptown Funk,” Adele, Lady Gaga), the band’s seventh album bridges their sly, sinister hard rock with chilly synths and hints of disco, making for a sound both brittle and punishing. The imagery remains gritty, but the production—especially on standouts like “The Way You Used to Do” and “Head Like a Haunted House”—gives the music a surreal air, like a nightmare rendered as cartoon.
Villains Queens of the Stone Age
Feet Don't Fail Me
The Way You Used to Do
Domesticated Animals
Head Like a Haunted House
Un-Reborn Again
The Evil Has Landed
Villains of Circumstance
℗ 2017 Matador
More By Queens of the Stone Age
Songs for the Deaf
Era Vulgaris
Lullabies to Paralyze
Queens of the Stone Age (Bonus Track Version)
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Please note that the website donations and the App purchases are not linked. Donating to this website will not unlock all the downloads on the app, or purchasing additional generators from any of our Apps will not grant you a privileged access to the website. Every platform should be considered as independent. Likewise, purchasing the bundle on one mobile platform will not unlock another. This is why we keep prices low. All your purchases should be considered as independent ways to serve the same purpose: leverage funds to keep the project alive and recording new generators.
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11.6: Iodine
[ "article:topic", "Iodine", "goiter", "authorname:hawaiinutrition", "showtoc:no", "license:ccbyncsa" ]
Book: Human Nutrition (University of Hawaii)
11: Trace Minerals
Contributed by The University of Hawaiʻi
Human Nutrition at University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Dietary Reference Intakes for Iodine
Dietary Sources of Iodine
Skills to Develop
Learn about the role of iodine
Recall the discovery of iodine and its use as a means of preventing goiter, a gross enlargement of the thyroid gland in the neck. Iodine is essential for the synthesis of thyroid hormone, which regulates basal metabolism, growth, and development. Low iodine levels and consequently hypothyroidism has many signs and symptoms including fatigue, sensitivity to cold, constipation, weight gain, depression, and dry, itchy skin and paleness. The development of goiter may often be the most visible sign of chronic iodine deficiency, but the consequences of low levels of thyroid hormone can be severe during infancy, childhood, and adolescence as it affects all stages of growth and development. Thyroid hormone plays a major role in brain development and growth and fetuses and infants with severe iodine deficiency develop a condition known as cretinism, in which physical and neurological impairment can be severe. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates iodine deficiency affects over two billion people worldwide and it is the number-one cause of preventable brain damage worldwide.[1]
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Deaths Due to Iodine Deficiency Worldwide in 2012. Image by Chris55 / CC BY 4.0.
Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Iodine Deficiency - Goiter. A large goiter by Dr. J.S.Bhandari, India / CC BY-SA 3.0.
Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Dietary Reference Intakes for Iodine.
RDA Males and Females mcg/day
Infants (0–6 months) 110* -
Infants (7–12 months) 130* -
Children (1–3 years) 90 200
Children (4–8 years) 120 300
Children (9–13 years) 150 600
Adolescents (14–18 years) 150 900
Adults (> 19 years) 150 1,100
*denotes Adequate Intake. Health Professional Fact Sheet: Iodine. National Institute of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Io...hProfessional/. Updated June 24, 2011. Accessed November 10, 2017.
The mineral content of foods is greatly affected by the soil from which it grew, and thus geographic location is the primary determinant of the mineral content of foods. For instance, iodine comes mostly from seawater so the greater the distance from the sea the lesser the iodine content in the soil.
Table \(\PageIndex{2}\): Iodine Content of Various Foods.
Iodine (mcg)
Percent Daily Value
Seaweed 1 g. 16 to 2,984 11 to 1,989
Cod fish 3 oz. 99 66
Yogurt, low fat 8 oz. 75 50
Iodized salt 1.5 g. 71 47
Milk, reduced fat 8 oz. 56 37
Ice cream, chocolate ½ c. 30 20
Egg 1 large 24 16
Tuna, canned 3 oz. 17 11
Prunes, dried 5 prunes 13 9
Banana 1 medium 3 2
Health Professional Fact Sheet: Iodine. National Institute of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Io...hProfessional/. Updated June 24, 2011. Accessed November 10, 2017.
World Health Organization. “Iodine Status Worldwide.” Accessed October 2, 2011. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publication...9241592001.pdf.
University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Food Science and Human Nutrition Program: Allison Calabrese, Cheryl Gibby, Billy Meinke, Marie Kainoa Fialkowski Revilla, and Alan Titchenal
11.5: Selenium
11.7: Chromium
University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
© Copyright 2019 Medicine LibreTexts
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Home MDWfeatures This Stunning Californian Has Lost Over 100lbs To Go From A Size...
This Stunning Californian Has Lost Over 100lbs To Go From A Size XXXL To An Incredible XS
By Ben Wheeler
MEET the inspiring young girl who has lost one-hundred and twenty-eight pounds after being told she looked ten years older than her actual age.
Images show the dramatic transformation of Lizeth Barreto, 18, from Pittsburg, California from her previous weight of 268lbs to her current one, a fit and healthy 140lbs.
Before and after. Lizeth Barretto / mediadrumworld.com
Lizeth, who says she comes from an obese family in which she is the only girl of three siblings, described when her weight issues really started and the effect this had on her.
“I began to gain weight during my freshman year of high school after meeting my boyfriend,” she recalled.
“The few years after that were very hard for me, I began to go through a lot with my family and lost a family member. It became really easy for me to turn to food as comfort and I just continued to put on weight.
“I was called fat by people and someone once told me I looked 27-year-old, despite the fact I was only 17 at the time.
“That comment was a wake-up call, I could’ve taken it offensively, but I chose to use it as motivation.”
Lizeth, who has gone from a 3XL dress size to an XS, went on to detail how her weight made her feel and the shocking diet that led to her size spiralling out of control.
“I didn’t feel like myself, I felt lost. I also felt very uncomfortable in myself and not my age, not only was it making me look older, but I felt a lot older,” she said.
“I was eating two to three fast food meals a day on top of a load of unhealthy snacks. Even when I tried dieting nothing seemed to work.
Now. Lizeth Barretto / mediadrumworld.com
“I definitely saw the problem and wanted to change, it wasn’t until I started to analyse what my problem was and realised that I would always give up that I started to get somewhere.
“So, I told myself I’m tired of always starting over so this time I’m not going to quit and here I am today at 140lbs.
“I decided that I didn’t want something temporary just to lose a few pounds, I wanted a completely new lifestyle to build up my body and start seeing it as a temple, something I need to care for and fuel daily.
Finally, Lizeth discussed that new lifestyle that has seen her weight plummet and how she feels about her body now compared to before, giving advice to other people who are looking to lose weight themselves.
“I started doing cardio and doing what my body could handle,” she said.
“After five months I added weightlifting to my regime which completely transformed my body. I’ve been doing 20 minutes of cardio and an hour or so of weights most days ever since.
“Now I feel very proud of my body and what it can do, I receive a lot of comments from people amazed at how my body was able to transform.
“There’s no need to diet, just change your lifestyle. Take action and never give up!”
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Alberta father accused in son's death says boy wasn't sick enough to worry about
David Stephan, who is acting as his own lawyer, has been telling his story to a court in Lethbridge in what amounts to a monologue
David Stephan, leaves the courts centre in Calgary, Friday, Feb. 8, 2019.Jeff McIntosh / The Canadian Press
LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — A father accused in his son’s death has taken the stand in a southern Alberta courtroom where the man and his wife are accused of failing to get medical attention for the toddler.
David Stephan and his wife, Collet, are charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life to 19-month-old Ezekiel, who died of bacterial meningitis in 2012.
The Stephans treated their son with herbal remedies and sought medical attention when he stopped breathing.
Twenty-nine year old David Robert Stephan and his wife, 32 year old Collet Dawn Stephan have been charged with Failing to Provide the Necessaries of Life, contrary to Section 215 of the Criminal Code to their son Esekiel (bottom left). Facebook
Stephan, who is acting as his own lawyer, has been telling his story to a court in Lethbridge in what amounts to a monologue.
He said he and his wife thought Ezekiel had croup and at first he appeared to be recovering.
The boy got sick again, although Stephan told the judge it wasn’t anything that made them worry that anything was seriously wrong.
Robyn Urback: How much is ‘enough’ prison time for parents who let their baby die?
Couple on trial in son’s meningitis death accused of not doing what ‘reasonably prudent parent would do’
Toddler who died of meningitis could have lived if ambulance had proper equipment: medical expert
‘We’re not abusive parents’: Father testifies at trial he didn’t think son needed doctor before meningitis death
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After young girl's tragic death, Nova Scotia looks to improve parade safety
Four-year-old MaCali Cormier died after she fell under a float during Yarmouth's annual Christmas Parade of Lights last Saturday
Four-year-old MaCali Cormier died Saturday night after she fell under the wheels of a float during the annual Parade of Lights in Yarmouth, N.S.Cormier Family/Handout via CP
Keith Doucette
HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government is moving to improve parade safety measures after the tragic death of a four-year-old girl at a Christmas parade.
MaCali Cormier died after she fell under a float during Yarmouth’s annual Christmas Parade of Lights last Saturday.
Transportation Minister Lloyd Hines said Thursday his department’s traffic services division is considering whether improvements can be made to the parade permit process.
He said he believes some sort of change can be brought in by the spring sitting of the legislature.
“I think we have to be a little bit more diligent about enforcement,” Hines said.
Currently, permits issued by the province and municipalities ask for only basic information such as the parade route, times, and the number of participants.
They also clearly put the responsibility for safety measures on parade organizers, but Hines said it’s not enough to simply pass off the responsibility for safety.
Hines also said he’s not ruling out possible safety regulations as part of the new Traffic Safety Act, which was passed in the fall.
He said specific regulations around parades could be expedited.
“We have the capacity … to make that amendment in the regulations, so we are going to take a deep dive on it,” Hines said.
He said he expects the province would get co-operation from municipalities on any changes.
“If we decide that we have some bona fide improvements, I’m sure that would be welcomed by the jurisdictions that look after this themselves.”
Cormier’s death prompted a number of parade committees across Nova Scotia to review their safety measures.
On Thursday the Cape Breton Regional Municipality recreation department and police reissued parade rules following a review.
They include requirements for a parade marshal, emergency first aid or paramedic services, fire extinguishers for any entries with a generator, and at least two volunteer spotters to walk alongside floats. They also prohibit the throwing of items from any vehicle such as candy.
I think we have to be a little bit more diligent about enforcement
Spectators are not allowed to stand or sit in the street during a parade and are prohibited from crossing the street while a parade is underway. They are also not allowed to park their vehicles along the parade route.
A news release said six more parades are scheduled across the municipality this holiday season including in Louisbourg, Reserve Mines, Glace Bay, Dominion, Membertou and North Sydney.
Meanwhile, the pastor whose church is hosting the girl’s funeral said Thursday the service was delayed due to power outages in the area.
The lead minister at the Yarmouth Wesleyan Church, Adriaan James Plaizier, said the private funeral was shifted to 11 a.m. Friday, with 600 seats available at the church.
He said many in the community of 7,000 people, including witnesses to the tragedy, are grieving the death of the four-year-old.
“What everyone is feeling about this tragedy is that there were witnesses that didn’t want to be witnesses. … This happened at a community event,” he said.
The minister said large numbers of people are seeking counselling, including a group of young people who were on a float behind the accident.
“Those kids saw things they shouldn’t have had to see,” he said.
“We want to just provide a safe place to do your grieving, a safe place to let your guard down and be confused and be angry, or whatever it is you are feeling.”
He said the service on Friday will be conducted by a Roman Catholic priest from a Yarmouth parish, and the Wesleyan church had provided its space.
The church was the location earlier this year for the funeral of children killed in a house fire on Jan. 7.
Plaizier said, once again, “you can feel the whole town grieve together.”
— With files from Michael Tutton in Halifax.
Indigenous residents forced to cross border to reach rest of Canada seek $150M for 'systemic discrimination'
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HMS Prince of Wales’ operations room comes online two months ahead of schedule
Photo: Royal Navy
The second of two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers, the future HMS Prine of Wales, now has a functional operations room – two months earlier than it was intially expected.
The operations room will allow the crew of HMS Prince of Wales to watch for threats, track the movements of the carrier’s F-35B Lightning jets and Merlin helicopters and direct missions as varied as intercepting hostile aircraft, to striking targets on land or delivering humanitarian aid in a disaster zone.
Chief Petty Officer Greg Connor, the Ops Room manager, said allowing his team to move in to the complex was “a momentous occasion.”
“The Warfare Department now has its sights firmly set on preparing the ship and team as more and more systems are brought online,” he continued.
It’s the latest key part of the ship to be finished and handed over to the crew to run; watches are already being run in the Ship Control Centre, which oversees the marine engineering aspects of the 65,000-tonne carrier. The ship recently also received the BAE Systems-delivered Artisan 3D radar system.
In all, more than 3,000 compartments have to be signed off before the carrier leaves her berth at Rosyth to undergo sea trials next year in the hands of a combined Royal Navy-civilian crew.
Posted on August 29, 2018 with tags HMS Prince of Wales, Royal Navy.
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Britain's second aircraft carrier afloat for the first time
UK Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has been floated and moved to her fitting-out berth ...
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Report: John Jenkins signing three-year contract with Mavericks
The Mavericks gave Wesley Matthews $70 million just four months after he tore his Achilles.
By comparison, John Jenkins’ injury is a walk in the park.
Jenkins underwent season-ending back surgery in February 2014, and he played just 24 games for the Hawks last season. That was mostly because he couldn’t pass Kyle Korver, Thabo Sefolosha and Kent Bazemore in the rotation. But Jenkins has yet to prove his durability.
Like with Matthews, that won’t stop Dallas from taking a chance on him.
Shams Charania of RealGM:
Free agent forward John Jenkins has reached agreement on a three-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks, league sources tell RealGM.
Jenkins is a good spot-up shooter, making 37.5% of his 3-pointers in his three-year NBA career. He’s also a good defensive rebounder for his position.
But he’s also a poor, though improved, defender.
Before the season, the Hawks declined the fourth-year option on the rookie-scale contract of Jenkins, who was drafted No. 23 in 2012. I doubt he made them regret that decision during the year.
Jenkins is hardly washed up, and he has the potential to provide Dallas value. But there’s a reason he was available.
Tags: Atlanta Hawks, John Jenkins, Kent Bazemore, Kyle Korver, Portland Trail Blazers, Thabo Sefolosha, Wesley Matthews
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Standing in Line for the Beast by Jason Bredle
HomeStanding in Line for the Beast by Jason Bredle
Standing in Line for the Beast
Winner of the 2006 New Issues Poetry Prize
Barbara Hamby, Judge
An Inland Seas Poetry Book
“These poems attack basic human desires, such as wanting to turn into a werewolf so you can tear the throat out of a crashing bore. Or picturing hell or characterizing death, which in a Jason Bredle poem can take you from listening to his friend Anne read a poem to a thunderstorm in Memphis to Mexico to ‘an 18 / wheeler hauling Little Debbie snack cakes up I-75’ and beyond. Jason Bredle is in that truck, eating Little Debbie cakes and being kicked in the ass by Kierkegaard, heading to Mexico to fall in love or die, because either one could be just around the corner.”
––Barbara Hamby, from the foreword
“Jason Bredle has swagger, smarts, and talent in abundance, not to mention impeccable comic timing. He is also confident enough in his command of tone and in his emotional range to never allow himself to settle for shtick and the easy tour-de-force. His poems always delight and surprise us, but their ultimate aim is pathos, even heartbreak. Standing in Line for the Beast is a collection of unusual promise.”
—David Wojahn
“Funny things happen to Jason Bredle while he’s Standing in Line for the Beast, waiting for the Apocalypse—not funny to him, perhaps, but deliciously funny to his readers. In poem after poem he makes us smile, chuckle, snort, chortle, but never loses sight of the tragedy that gives rise to his comedy. Reading Standing in Line for the Beast is like eating a rich, complex dessert, where hints of acidity and underlying bitterness make the sweetness rare and delightful.”
—Richard Cecil
“In Standing in Line for the Beast, all becomes event, even the image actively assembles contexts for decisions, directions, regrets, and compensation. There are no empty moments; each moment is the start of something that immediately gives birth to the next moment. The result is that Jason Bredle has decoded pulse. . . . Jason is clever enough to put everything into the perspective of how unstoppable the motion of existence is, in its raggedness, in its ability to seek comfort in the longing for what at any other moment might not sustain, but does right now, but does as every preceding moment feeds this incredible now.”
—Thylias Moss
“The poems in Jason Bredle’s first full-length collection, Standing in Line for the Beast, spill off the page like a whole closetful of Ray Kroc Youth Achievement Awards—a thousand individual moments so strangely and vividly crystallized you want to hold onto them forever.”
” . . . while I was never quite sure where Bredle was taking me next, I somehow liked where I was going.”
—Jay Robinson, Barn Owl Review
” . . . Standing in Line for the Beast is a promising book, at times dazzlingly sharp and funny.”
—Jason B. Jones, Bookslut
“Objects are springboards for the poetic imagination and Bredle comes across as a bit stunned over what to do with his overwhelming accumulation of them, turning out piece after lengthy piece of list-laden free verse, cramming every nook and cranny with a cacophony of catch-alls. We, in turn, come away from these poems a bit stunned ourselves. Stunned by the breadth of his wit, by the boldness of his voice, and by the endless inner monologue of asides, false starts, circumlocutions, detours, digressions, pitfalls, and pratfalls that guide nearly every poem in the book.”
—Peter Matera, RATTLE’s e-reviews
Jason Bredle
Jason Bredle received degrees in English and Spanish from Indiana University and an MFA from the University of Michigan. He is the author of Pain Fantasy (Red Morning Press); Standing in Line for the Beast, winner of the 2006 New Issues Poetry Prize; A Twelve Step Guide, winner of the 2004 New Michigan Press chapbook contest; and A Pocket-Sized Map of My Heart, a self-published collaboration with Leigh Stein. He lives in Chicago and works at a translation agency in Evanston, Illinois.
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flydubai to increase flights to Saudi Arabia
Five weekly flights to Hofuf will start from 16 March 2019, along with an additional daily flight to Riyadh
Monday, February 18, 2019 — Dubai-based airline flydubai has announced today that it will boost its services to Saudi Arabia with 12 new flights per week. An additional daily flight to Riyadh and five flights to Hofuf Airport will start from 16 March 2019.
Commenting on the increase of flights to Saudi Arabia Hamad Obaidalla, Chief Commercial Officer at flydubai said, "Saudi Arabia remains an important market for flydubai and we are delighted to be able to increase our services to the Kingdom as trade and tourism between the UAE and Saudi Arabia continues to grow."
"We would like to thank the authorities in Saudi Arabia for their cooperation in supporting flydubai and providing the necessary facilities and services needed for the success of our flights,” said Hamad Obaidalla “With these additional flights our commitment to serve our passengers in the Kingdom will enable passengers to travel to numerous destinations," he added.
flydubai will now operate to 11 points in Saudi Arabia from its hub in Dubai. In addition, flydubai operates to Abha, Dammam, Hail, Jizan, Medina, Qassim, Riyadh, Tabuk, Taif, and Jeddah providing passengers with the opportunity to connect onwards to Asia, Europe, India and Russia.
flydubai has recently announced the launch of flights to Tashkent in Uzbekistan from March 2019 along with flights to Naples in Italy and Budapest, the Hungarian capital, from June 2019. It also recently launched flights to Kozhikode, India. The airline's network of destinations has now grown to more than 90 destinations in 47 countries around the world served by a fleet of 64 modern Boeing 737 aircraft.
As part of the Emirates flydubai partnership announced in 2017, Emirates will codeshare on this route. For bookings under the codeshare, Emirates passengers will receive complimentary meals and the Emirates check baggage allowance on flights operated by flydubai in Economy Class. Benefitting from this codeshare partnership, travelers from KSA will have access to travel to hundreds of destinations all over the world via Dubai.
Emirates Skywards members can earn Skywards miles and Skywards Tier Miles on codeshare flights as per the existing Skywards mileage programme. Skywards Silver, Gold and Platinum members travelling on codeshare flights can access flydubai’s Business Check-in counters and receive priority tags.
For the full timetable and fares, visit: https://www.flydubai.com/en/plan/timetable
About flydubai
From its home in Dubai, flydubai has created a network of more than 90 destinations and over the next decade the airline will see its fleet grow by up to 236 aircraft. Since commencing operations in June 2009, flydubai has been committed to removing barriers to travel, creating free flows of trade and tourism and enhancing connectivity between different cultures across its ever-expanding network.
flydubai has marked its journey with a number of milestones that represent the scale of the ambition planned for the airline:
An expanding network: Created a network of more than 90 destinations in 47 countries across Africa, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Central and South-East Europe, the GCC and the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent.
Serving underserved markets: Opened up more than 71 new routes that did not previously have direct air links to Dubai or were not served by a UAE national carrier from Dubai.
An efficient single fleet-type: Operates a single fleet-type of 59 aircraft including Boeing 737 MAX 8, MAX 9 and Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
Record-breaking orders: Placed the largest single-aisle aircraft orders in the region at the 2013 and 2017 editions of the Dubai Airshow.
Enhancing connectivity: Carried more than 70 million passengers since it began operations in 2009.
For all our latest news, please visit the flydubai Newsroom.
Get updates in your mailbox
www.flydubai.com
Dubai Aviation Corporation, trading as “flydubai”,
Dubai International Airport,
Dubai,
For enquiries relating to your booking, please call the Contact Centre on +971 600 544 445
© flydubai 2016. All rights reserved.
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24oC Partly cloudy
Shane Superville
Mondello backs migrant framework policy
SAIL AWAY: US Ambassdor to TT Joseph Mondello and La Horquetta/Talparo MP Maxie Cuffie inspect one of the four inflatable boats donated to the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation yesterday.
US Ambassador to TT, Joseph Mondello, yesterday extended support to National Security Minister Stuart Young and the Government in relation to the proposed migrant framework policy which seeks to regulate and assist Venezuelans living in TT.
Speaking with reporters after the opening of a family fun day, organised by the US Embassy and the Tunapuna/ Piarco Regional Corporation at Phase Five La Horquetta, Mondello said he would not second guess the decisions of the Government and gave his support to the policy.
“The only thoughts I have on this is, whatever the policy is of the Trinidadian government is the policy that should be followed. There are intelligent, hardworking ministers who put their full time into trying to get the answers for the problems affecting their country, so I would be loathed to second guess any of the decisions made by any of the ministers of Parliament.”
The policy seeks to register Venezuelan immigrants, both legal and illegal, in TT allowing them to work for one year and receive basic health care. Registration is open from May 31 to June 14.
The fun day also served as a handing over ceremony for four inflatable boats donated to the corporation from the embassy, to assist in flood preparedness and response in the community.
During the opening ceremony, councillors recalled the fear and uncertainty they faced during heavy flooding last year and thanked the embassy for their support in donating the boats.
Chairman of the corporation, Paul Leacock, said he was grateful for the donation and recalled the courage of residents in helping their neighbours during the flooding. He said he intends to nominate four young men from the community to receive President’s medals for gallantry for rescuing others from the floods.
“We recognise that while it may be unlikely that we see that kind of weather ever again, we want to take every precaution. We are part of an initiative now to upgrade the community centre to ensure we have proper showers and space to accommodate those during a time of crisis.”
Reply to "Mondello backs migrant framework policy"
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Obasanjo, Atiku, will lose together in 2019 – Buhari’s aide
The Presidency has described the endorsement given to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, by former President Olusegun Obasanjo as a “predictable U-turn and somersault” that will not distract President Muhammadu Buhari
A statement by Garba Shehu, the president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, said Obasanjo’s call for a vote against Buhari “betrayed a lack of understandng of today’s politics which is about good governance”
The statement said: “They will lose together. Listening to the prepared statement of the former President after the meeting showed the usual ego trip and “I know it all” character of Chief Obasanjo.
“In the first place, we dare to say that a pompous statement from the former President advising Nigerians on a vote against President Buhari is the best recommendation that can come at this time.
Open letter: Buhari replies Obasanjo, says he’s not patriotic
BREAKING: Video evidence against Buhari’s election to be viewed in court
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“It also betrayed a lack of understanding of today’s politics which is about good governance.
“The country voted for change in 2015 and a leader that ensures good governance which only President Buhari and the APC can provide.
“Bent on these laudable goals, we will not allow ourselves to be distracted.
“We are busy on various national issues including the restructuring and the diversification of the economy, fighting corruption, terrorism and other threats to national security; increasing the availability of electric power, improving education, health, and providing long-delayed infrastructure – roads, rail, airports and so forth.
“Many governments have come and gone, but they did not care about some of these projects.
“We were talking about these things for sixteen years under the PDP and nothing was done.
“President Buhari is proud of his record because his achievements are verifiable, while that of the PDP is manifested by the devastating social and economic impact of large scale corruption during their governance.
“The President will not relent in the war against corruption because the ordinary people are the ultimate victims if we surrender to corruption and let its perpetrators go unpunished.
“Abandoning the war against corruption is not an option. President Buhari is in this battle against graft because he cannot allow a few, rapacious, and selfish class of the elite to divert the resources meant for the well-being of the ordinary people to their private pockets.
“Nigerians trust President Buhari in this effort because they are convinced he is not in government for personal financial benefits, or for an ego trip. It is just eleven years ago that the former President and Vice President in their ugly fight for power accused each other of corruption. Nigerians are yet to forget all that.”
Tags: AtikuBuhariFeatureObasanjo
APC youth members call for cancellation of Ekiti Central senatorial primary election, petition Buhari
Flight operations resume at Lagos airport as unions suspend industrial action
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NEWSSPELL
The Real Alternative News Source
Tag: Kurt Cobain’s suicide smells like a hoax
Suicide of teen spirit smells like a hoax (part II)
I deeply apologize in advance to loyal readers who may have expected the delivery of this final installment involving the life and career of the late Kurt Cobain much sooner. But preparations for the publication of the author’s new book, Twilight’s Last Glory, have kept one preoccupied.
Also, the author would like to extend his sincere gratitude to all those who have recently and graciously decided to follow Newsspell.
No doubt, you will find what is published here to be thought provoking, informative, and perhaps at the very least, entertaining.
Since time immemorial, humans have harbored a macabre fascination with the concept of death, and the mere contemplation of it seems to overwhelmingly elicit both fear and awe. Whether through literature, movies, or television – when presented with death’s mysterious inscrutability – humans are brought to the edge of life’s precipice and forced to contemplate the valley of death’s dark depths.
Faced with uncertainty’s anguish, one finds the comforting sight of one’s religious edifices pulverized to dust, scattered like ghostly trails of wind-blown fall leaves, and achieving ultimate absolution becomes tantamount to grasping evergreen spring’s morning mist.
And yet, nothing, comparative to the contemplation of death’s mystery remains more intoxicating to the worshipful masses eternally drawn to stories that feature the mortal, but manufactured misfortune of mythical heroes, for only in death can such storybook heroes achieve legendary immortality.
That is why myths and legends of dead heroes endure, for although penetrating discussion of such may remain largely unspoken, nothing save death’s insatiable fixation for those struggling in quiet futility causes one to feel more alive.
Repetitive tales of the death of heroes also causes the masses to look for an escape from their sorrow through material acquisition, which benefits no one except the merchants, bankers, and the thirteen, ruling elite Jesuit families. As one will soon observe, the concept of death, or the flirtation with death, figured prominently with most of the famous pop culture characters this highly skilled host actor portrayed.
Though the author’s shocking and even incredible conclusions for this installment will no doubt invite incredulity, and perhaps even scorn and ridicule from newcomers and loyal readers alike, keep in mind that almost anything is possible in Hollywood’s magic land of Oz.
Yes it’s true folks, not only was Kurt Cobain a pop music character created by our old friend, Hollywood mogul David Geffen, the son of Barry Diller AKA Prince Eduard von Furstenberg, but Cobain’s host actor portrayed other famous Hollywood actors and musical performers (and not always belonging to the same gender!) some of whom also met with a suitably tragic, but scripted end. Continue reading “Suicide of teen spirit smells like a hoax (part II)” →
By newsspellcom.orgin #conspiracyorfiction, #realalternativenews, pop culture August 16, 2018 August 17, 2018 2,812 Words4 Comments
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Oilers win on rare Russell goal, Panthers fall out of second wild card spot
By James O'BrienFeb 22, 2017, 10:51 PM EDT
The Edmonton Oilers’ 4-3 win against the Florida Panthers might end up being costly if Andrej Sekera misses significant time.
But, hey, at least it was a win.
The two rising squads engaged in a back-and-forth game, with the Oilers winning in regulation. Maybe fittingly with Edmonton leaking defensemen lately: Kris Russell was the guy to score the game-winner, set up by Connor McDavid‘s blazing speed and a nice pass by Leon Draisaitl.
It was Russell’s first goal in more than a year.
Russell had gone 60 games without a goal. Last goal was Feb 11, 2016 against the Sharks.
— Reid Wilkins (@ReidWilkins) February 23, 2017
The Oilers will remain in the second spot in the Pacific at the end of the night whether the Anaheim Ducks beat the Boston Bruins or not. Interestingly, this puts them in a reasonable position to catch the Sharks for first place in the division, too.
1. Sharks – 77 points in 60 games
2. Oilers – 74 points in 61 games
3. Ducks – 72 points in 61 games (in progress vs. Boston)
The Oilers likely had some fans out East tonight, as this loss pushes Florida down the wild card rankings. They’re actually out of the second spot thanks to tiebreakers.
Second wild card spot: Bruins – 66 points in 59 games, 30 wins and 28 ROW (in progress)
Islanders – 66 points in 59 games, 28 wins and 27 ROW
Panthers – 66 points in 59 games, 28 wins and 25 ROW
The Isles would move into the second spot if Boston loses in regulation, underscoring just how congested this situation is. But either way, the Panthers won’t be in the East’s top eight at the end of the night.
Tags: Andrej Sekera, Connor McDavid, Kris Russell, Leon Draisaitl
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Econometrics Toolbox
Model Selection
Specification Testing
vratiotest
Name-Value Pair Arguments
Output Arguments
pValue
cValue
Assess Whether a Series Is a Random Walk
Variance Ratio Test
Variance ratio test for random walk
h = vratiotest(y)
h = vratiotest(y,'ParameterName',ParameterValue,...)
[h,pValue] = vratiotest(...)
[h,pValue,stat] = vratiotest(...)
[h,pValue,stat,cValue] = vratiotest(...)
[h,pValue,stat,cValue,ratio] = vratiotest(...)
h = vratiotest(y) assesses the null hypothesis of a random walk in a univariate time series y.
h = vratiotest(y,'ParameterName',ParameterValue,...) accepts optional inputs as one or more comma-separated parameter-value pairs. 'ParameterName' is the name of the parameter inside single quotation marks. ParameterValue is the value corresponding to 'ParameterName'. Specify parameter-value pairs in any order; names are case-insensitive. Perform multiple tests by passing a vector value for any parameter. Multiple tests yield vector results.
[h,pValue] = vratiotest(...) returns p-values of the test statistics.
[h,pValue,stat] = vratiotest(...) returns the test statistics.
[h,pValue,stat,cValue] = vratiotest(...) returns critical values for the tests.
[h,pValue,stat,cValue,ratio] = vratiotest(...) returns a vector of ratios.
Vector of time-series data. The last element is the most recent observation. The test ignores NaN values, which indicate missing entries.
The input series y is in levels. To convert a return series r to levels, define y(1) and let y = cumsum([y(1);r]).
'alpha'
Scalar or vector of nominal significance levels for the tests. Set values between 0 and 1.
The test is two-tailed, so vratiotest rejects the random-walk null when the test statistic is outside of the critical interval [-cValue,cValue]. Each tail outside of the critical interval has probability alpha/2.
Default: 0.05
'IID'
Scalar or vector of Boolean values indicating whether to assume independent identically distributed (IID) innovations.
To strengthen the null model and assume that the e(t) are independent and identically distributed (IID), set IID to true.
The IID assumption is often unreasonable for long-term macroeconomic or financial price series. Rejection of the random-walk null due to heteroscedasticity is not interesting for these cases.
'period'
Scalar or vector of integers greater than one and less than half the number of observations in y, indicating the period q used to create overlapping return horizons for the variance ratio.
When the period q has the default value of 2, the first-order autocorrelation of the returns is asymptotically equal to ratio–1.
The test finds the largest integer n such that n*q ≤ T–1, where T is the sample size. It then discards the final (T–1)–n*q observations. To include these final observations, discard the initial (T–1)–n*q observations in y before running the test.
Vector of Boolean decisions for the tests, with length equal to the number of tests. Values of h equal to 1 indicate rejection of the random-walk null in favor of the alternative. Values of h equal to 0 indicate a failure to reject the random-walk null.
Vector of p-values of the test statistics, with length equal to the number of tests. Values are standard normal probabilities.
Vector of test statistics, with length equal to the number of tests. Statistics are asymptotically standard normal.
Vector of critical values for the tests, with length equal to the number of tests. Values are for standard normal probabilities.
Vector of variance ratios, with length equal to the number of tests. Each ratio is the ratio of:
The variance of the q-fold overlapping return horizon
q times the variance of the return series
For a random walk, these ratios are asymptotically equal to one. For a mean-reverting series, the ratios are less than one. For a mean-averting series, the ratios are greater than one.
Test whether a US equity index is a random walk using various step sizes. Perform the test with and without the assumption that the innovations are independent and identically distributed.
Load the global large-cap equity indices data set. Focus on the daily S & P 500 index (SP).
load Data_GlobalIdx1
logSP = log(DataTable.SP);
plot(diff(logSP))
axis tight
The plot indicates possible conditional heteroscedasticity.
Test whether the series is a random walk using various periods and whether the innovations are independent and identically distributed.
q = [2 4 8 2 4 8];
flag = logical([1 1 1 0 0 0]);
[h,pValue,stat,cValue,ratio] = ...
vratiotest(logSP,'period',q,'IID',flag)
h = 1x6 logical array
pValue = 1×6
0.5670 0.3307 0.0309 0.7004 0.5079 0.1303
stat = 1×6
0.5724 -0.9727 -2.1579 0.3847 -0.6621 -1.5128
cValue = 1×6
ratio = 1×6
rho1 = ratio(1)-1 % First-order autocorrelation of returns
rho1 = 0.0111
h indicates that the test fails to reject that the series is a random walk at 5% level, except in the case where period = 8 and IID = true. This rejection is likely due to the test not accounting for the heteroscedasticity.
The variance ratio test assesses the null hypothesis that a univariate time series y is a random walk. The null model is
y(t) = c + y(t–1) + e(t),
where c is a drift constant and e(t) are uncorrelated innovations with zero mean.
When IID is false, the alternative is that the e(t) are correlated.
When IID is true, the alternative is that the e(t) are either dependent or not identically distributed (for example, heteroscedastic).
The vratiotest test statistics are based on a ratio of variance estimates of returns r(t) = y(t)–y(t–1) and period q return horizons r(t) + ... + r(t–q+1). Overlapping horizons increase the efficiency of the estimator and add power to the test. Under either null, uncorrelated innovations e(t) imply that the period q variance is asymptotically equal to q times the period 1 variance. The variance of the ratio, however, depends on the degree of heteroscedasticity, and, therefore, on the null.
Rejection of the null due to dependence of the innovations does not imply that the e(t) are correlated. Dependence allows that nonlinear functions of the e(t) are correlated, even when the e(t) are not. For example, it can hold that Cov[e(t),e(t–k)] = 0 for all k ≠ 0, while Cov[e(t)2,e(t–k)2] ≠ 0 for some k ≠ 0.
Cecchetti and Lam [2] show that sequential testing using multiple values of q results in small-sample size distortions beyond those that result from the asymptotic approximation of critical values.
[1] Campbell, J. Y., A. W. Lo, and A. C. MacKinlay. Chapter 12. “The Econometrics of Financial Markets.” Nonlinearities in Financial Data. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997.
[2] Cecchetti, S. G., and P. S. Lam. “Variance-Ratio Tests: Small-Sample Properties with an Application to International Output Data.” Journal of Business and Economic Statistics. Vol. 12, 1994, pp. 177–186.
[3] Cochrane, J. “How Big is the Random Walk in GNP?” Journal of Political Economy. Vol. 96, 1988, pp. 893–920.
[4] Faust, J. “When Are Variance Ratio Tests for Serial Dependence Optimal?” Econometrica. Vol. 60, 1992, pp. 1215–1226.
[5] Lo, A. W., and A. C. MacKinlay. “Stock Market Prices Do Not Follow Random Walks: Evidence from a Simple Specification Test.” Review of Financial Studies. Vol. 1, 1988, pp. 41–66.
[6] Lo, A. W., and A. C. MacKinlay. “The Size and Power of the Variance Ratio Test.” Journal of Econometrics. Vol. 40, 1989, pp. 203–238.
[7] Lo, A. W., and A. C. MacKinlay. A Non-Random Walk Down Wall St. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001.
adftest | kpsstest | lmctest | pptest
Unit Root Nonstationarity
Econometrics Toolbox Documentation
Functions and Other Reference
A Practical Guide to Modeling Financial Risk with MATLAB
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FGM: Yemisi Ayokunle Receives UNICEF State Partners (Photos)
UNICEF says 4,500 to benefit from improved WASH facilities Plateau
Desist from using ordinary water for hand-washing after defecation – UNICEF warns
Official: UNICEF supports enrolment of 242, 214 girls in Katsina
Northcentral, Southwest lead in open defecation, says UNICEF
Hon Yemisi Ayokunle assured the delegation that they have found a worthy ally in her office and promises to work closely with members of the state technical committee on ending female genital mutilation in Ekiti State.
Hon Yemisi Ayokunle (middle) and the UNICEF state partners The Legislator representing the Ekiti South West 1 at the Ekiti State House of Assembly received the UNICEF state partners working to eliminate the practice of female genital mutilation in Ekiti State. The partners, led by the director of National Orientation Agency, Ekiti State Directorate had other members of the State Technical Committee on FGM. The delegation which also had the UNICEF consultant on FGM for Ekiti, Osun and Oyo States in company sought the support of the legislator not just as a lawmaker but as a mother and renowned women’s rights activists whose records of work on emancipation of women and protection of child’s rights is notable. During the visit, Mr Dayo Famosaya (Dir. National Orientation Agency, Ekiti State Directorate) said the FGM prevalence rate of Ekiti State and Ekiti South West in particular is alarming and expressed confidence in the ability of Hon Yemisi Ayokunle to deliver on the mandate of her people to improve their standard of living and general wellbeing. Mrs Aderonke (UNICEF consultant) decried the current state of the law promulgated in 2002 for the prohibition of FGM as it does not reflect the current realities of the practice which is now regarded as a social norm. In her response, Hon Yemisi Ayokunle assured the delegation that they have found a worthy ally in her office and promises to work closely with members of the state technical committee on ending female genital mutilation in Ekiti State. She appreciated the efforts of UNICEF, the state government and every agency working to end FGM and urged them to continuously support projects in Ekiti State that will help achieve the global goals.
Related Topics:UNICEF
By Annie Nwosu The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Niger Command, has arrested 52 suspected...
Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have killed a Naval Warrant Officer identified as Felix Akanbi. The...
The leadership of three indigenous youth groups from the major geopolitical zones in Southern Nigeria Wednesday...
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A good governance advocacy group, the Unity House Foundation (UHF), has stated that former President Olusegun...
Speaker Gbajabiamila promises action on EU recommendations
UNHCR, Cross River govt. sign commitment to cater for 27,000 refugees
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A sad and brutal end to Widow Alsop’s house
April 14, 2011 April 13, 2011 / Historian / Leave a comment
From John Hennessy:
As so often happens, one post on here begets another–and thanks to our readers, we continue to learn. (You can read more about the photos of Confederate dead at the Alsop place here and here.)
Susan Alsop’s house, which burned in 1901.
Yesterday I received a call from a former Spotsylvania resident, Jose Brown, who grew up near the site of widow Sue Alsop’s house. He pointed me in the direction of a brief article in the Fredericksburg Free Lance that chronicled the horrible fire there that left a young boy dead and destroyed Sue Alsop’s farm. The boy’s name was Eddy Scott, the son of Edmund Scott, who Jose always understood to have been one of Susan Alsop’s slaves. The slave census for Spotsylvania does indeed show that Susan Alsop owned a young boy slave, age 3 at the time of the census in 1860. The Spotsylvania census for 1900 shows that Edmund V. Scott was born in 1858, and his son Eddy in 1891–still living within a stone’s throw of Susan Alsop’s house (indeed the article says that young Eddy lived WITH Sue Alsop). He was one of four children in the household.
This is from the Free Lance of May 1, 1901.
A young colored boy, son of Edmund Scott, who lived with Mrs. Sue M. Alsop at her home “Clover Dale,” about eight miles from this city in Spotsylvania, was in a chaff pen looking for hens’ nests, Tuesday evening. He lighted a match to find the nests. A spark ignited a the chaff and he was burned to death. The flames quickly spread to the barns and other out-buildings, which were soon destroyed. Then the fire reached the residence and it, too, was burned to the ground. Some of the furniture was saved but in a badly broken condition. Mrs. Alsop was not at home and there was no lady on the place except Miss, Ella Parker, a companion of Mrs. Alsop.
The residence is insured with the companies represented by A.B. Botts & Co., for $2,300. The kitchen $200, and furniture $500, and the barns and outbuildings were insured with C.C. Rowlett & Co. for $600. The loss is over $8,000.
My thanks to Jose Brown for sharing what he knows.
Frredericksburg April 12, 1861
April 12, 2011 / Historian / Leave a comment
Over at Fredericksburg Remembered, we have done a little piece on what was happening in Fredericksburg this momentous morning 150 years ago. Click here to take a look.
“Skeleton Hunt”–Spotsylvania 1865
April 11, 2011 April 10, 2011 / Historian / 15 Comments
By Donald Pfanz (this is a follow-up on Don’s writings on the burial of the dead at the Wilderness, which you can find here, and at Spotsylvania in 1864, which is here. Check out too our previous posts on the dead at the Alsop farm and Theodore Lyman’s postwar visit to the Bloody Angle.):
Union graves near the Bloody Angle, 1866.
In June 1865, Federal authorities sent the First Veteran Volunteers to the Fredericksburg region to bury the dead on the four battlefields. They worked first at Wilderness, and then moved on to Spotsylvania Court House. Colonel Charles P. Bird and his First Regiment Veteran Volunteers followed the Brock Road—the same route used by much of Grant’s army in 1864. On the way it passed Todd’s Tavern, a ramshackle frame building that had been the site of some minor fighting in the campaign. The remains of eight soldiers lay within sight of the road. Colonel Bird and his men hastily committed the skeletons to the soil and continued on their way.
Laurel Hill, the home of Katherine Couse.
A little farther on, the First Regiment came to the home of Katharine Couse. During the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House the building had served as a Union field hospital, and for Landon its sight brought back vivid and unpleasant memories. “I well remembered the rows of wounded soldiers I had seen stretched out here as we bivouacked on the same spot but little over one year ago, and listening all the night long to the deep groans of the wounded and dying heroes and shrieks and curses of those undergoing the torture of the probe or keen blade of the amputating knife. Many a poor fellow’s bones rest here under the shade of the oak and pine,” he wrote a friend, “and few with boards to mark the spot.”
The Brown house at Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield
Across the road from the Couse house stood “Liberty Hill,” the farm of Captain John C. Brown, a War of 1812 veteran. Here the Second Corps had gathered its strength before assaulting the Muleshoe Salient on May 12, 1864–an attack that led to the most savage day of fighting in American history. Continue reading →
A view into the heart of town
April 7, 2011 April 7, 2011 / Historian / 1 Comment
Poking around some images last night, I looked again at this one. In many ways it’s similar to other panoramas of town taken from near the same spot at about the same time. But a closer look reveals a few interesting details, including the capture of a couple of buildings not otherwise photographed during the war.
Most obvious are men perched in the tree, peering across the river, probably during the fighting beyond town on May 3, 1863. At first glance there appear to be two, but on closer inspection, there are in fact three.
Looking deeper into town, we can see two buildings that do not appear in any other photographs that I know about. Continue reading →
A Concluding Look at Abraham Lincoln’s Review, April 8, 1863, and the Widow Alsop
April 6, 2011 / Historian / 3 Comments
Over at Spotsylvania Civil War, our friend and fellow blogger, John F. Cummings III, steps into neighboring Stafford County for some impressive detective work on President Abraham Lincoln’s April 8 review.
John’s post concludes a four-part series by several authors:
–introduction to the review, keyed to the modern streetscape
–introduction to the 1863 map and sketch of the review
–evaluation of the map specifically
–evaluation of the sketch specifically, keyed to the modern streetscape
Check ‘em out. In the process of bringing the pagentry of April 8, 1863 into focus, this collaborative resarch effort shows it to be both more complex than previously understood—the President reviewing each of the component units of four army corps twice in the same day—and more geographically expansive as well—covering a vast wedge of ground extending from the Phillips House property on the southwest to the Boscobel estate on the northeast.
Whew. That’s a lot of reviewing.
Sketch by Alfred R. Waud. Date and place unknown. Library of Congress.
John has also uncovered a new photograph, believed to be of the Widow Susan Alsop, whom we have written about here.
Noel G. Harrison
Burying the dead at Spotsylvania–1864
April 4, 2011 April 4, 2011 / Historian / 33 Comments
By Donald Pfanz [Don has done trememdous work on the creation of the National Cemetery. This piece, and the post to follow, are derived from that work. The whole will eventually be published in book form.]:
Unioni burial temas in 1864. An engraving made from a period photograph.
When the Confederates abandoned the Muleshoe Salient on the morning of May 13, 1864, Union forces occupied the contested ground, now thickly carpeted with blue and gray corpses. To make the position tolerable, the Northern soldiers threw the bodies of the dead in the trenches formerly occupied by their foes and kicked dirt from the adjacent parapet down on them. Thus, remarked one soldier, “the unfortunate victims [had] unwittingly dug their own graves.”
Burial of a Confederate soldier at Widow Alsop's farm.
Not all graves were so large and impersonal. Continue reading →
The lower crossing: we have a date
April 2, 2011 / Historian / 1 Comment
Men of the Union Sixth Corps on the heights above the Lower Crossing,1863.
For those of you interested, we have managed to set a date and arranged access for an exploration of the lower crossing site–where three times parts of the Union army crossed the river. Saturday May 21–specific time yet to be determined. Spotsylvania County has been integral in arranging this, as has one of the businesses adjacent to the site of the crossing. So far as we know, this is the first time since veterans visited that any group has been over the ground for historical purposes. It will be high spring, so we can expect all the unpleasantries of hacking through Virginia woodlands at that time of year–ticks, poison ivy–so please know that in advance. Know too that though the walk will not be long, the ground we’re covering is anything but improved; the ground is rough, some slopes are fairly steep.
One of the most famous images of the Civil War, taken near the lower crossing.
The Lower Crossing is, photographically, likely the most heavily documented site on the four battlefields around Fredericksburg. Our visit there on May 21 will explore the landscape as it relates to images. Eric and I have been there only once, so no doubt we will be all discovering some things together.
We have written a fair amount about the Lower Crossing site; check out our posts here, here, and here. Rest assured we’ll be writing a bit more in advance of the tour on May 21. We’ll also provide some more specifics about the tour.
So that we can have a sense of how many people are likely to show up, we’d be grateful if you’d let me know if you plan to attend. You can email me at john_hennessy@nps.gov.
We look forward to seeing and meeting some of you on May 21.
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News 10 July, 2019 – 3:30 pm EDT
Nunavut, Ottawa sign deal to manage four heritage rivers
“These are places where we live, fish, hunt, and seek out recreation and solace”
NTI president Aluki Kotierk signs the Canadian Heritage Rivers Inuit Impacts and Benefits Agreement July 9 in Kugluktuk, while Nunavut Justice Minister Jeannie Ehaloak, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett and elder Alice Hitkoak Ayalik look on. (Photo courtesy of NTI)
By Sarah Rogers
The Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. have finally signed off on a long-debated Inuit impact and benefits agreement with the federal government over the management of a group of rivers in the territory.
To mark Nunavut Day, Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett travelled to Kugluktuk to meet with Nunavut officials and sign the Canadian Heritage Rivers IIBA.
That IIBA covers four Nunavut rivers: the Kazan River (Sarvaqtuuq), the Soper River (Kuujuaq), the Thelon River (Akillinik) and the Coppermine River (Qurluktuk.) The Coppermine has been nominated and awaits official designation.
(The Soper River, called Kuujjuaq, or “Big River” in Inuktitut, runs through Katannilik Territorial Park, located between Iqaluit and Kimmirut.)
The Canadian Heritage Rivers system is a joint federal-territorial government stewardship program designed to promote and conserve rivers with important cultural and recreational value.
The agreement fulfills obligations set out in the Nunavut Agreement that require parties to negotiate an IIBA for any national park or conservation area established in the territory.
“These rivers have been, and continue to be, important transportation routes, particularly in the face of infrastructure deficits in Nunavut,” said NTI President Aluki Kotierk in a July 9 release.
“Through signing of this IIBA and by recognizing Inuit history, use and management of these heritage rivers, we are contributing towards implementation of the Nunavut Agreement while promoting and conserving lands and waters and maximizing benefits to Nunavut Inuit.”
The agreement also allows for the formal adoption and use of Inuit place names, Kotierk noted.
The IIBA was many years in the making; under the Nunavut land claims agreement, talks on an IIBA for Canadian Heritage Rivers were supposed to have wrapped up by 1998.
NTI officials reached an impasse with Ottawa over funding through the negotiation process, and requested a conciliator in 2014 to help mediate talks.
Under the newly signed IIBA, Ottawa will pay out $6.7 million to NTI and each of the three regional Inuit associations to carry out water quality monitoring, build Inuit cultural camps along the designated rivers and a create a fund for business opportunities in those regions.
Though designated by Parks Canada, Nunavut’s Canadian Heritage Rivers are administered by the territorial government, specifically, Nunavut Parks and Special Places.
“The Government of Nunavut is committed to working closely with our partners to ensure that Nunavummiut benefit from the Canadian Heritage River System,” said Nunavut Justice Minister Jeannie Ehaloak, who attended the July 9 signing on behalf of the GN.
“These are places where we live, fish, hunt, and seek out recreation and solace. By signing this IIBA, we are taking steps to sustainably manage Nunavut’s Heritage Rivers, so that our children, and their children may continue to enjoy the land well into the future.”
The GN has also proposed the Back River (Hanningajuq) be added to the group of heritage rivers, though further consultation with Inuit organizations will be needed first.
(2) Comments:
Posted by Anomak Niptanatiak on 10 July, 2019
Come on!!
‘an elder’????
Where is the respect for our Elders????
No one could take the time or make the effort to find out the Elder’s name???? She is well known, she does a lot of work in our community, she has been featured in many new stories and all you can come up with is ‘an elder’???
I have seen this so often, many qablunak’s are named, many politicians and many Inuit are NOT NAMED!!
For Shame. Stop this, this is racism at it’s finest.
Posted by Come On on 11 July, 2019
Would it kill for anyone to ask the Elders name before publication. Its not like this went out as breaking news the day it happened, its the day after. Shame for not recognizing Alice Hitkoak Ayalik by name in the caption!
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#37: Guest Podcast With Dr Adrian Couzner From Chiro H3
Thanks for listening to the show and downloading these show notes to further help your understanding of the podcast and the material contained within.
Guest Introduction:
Dr Adrian Couzner is the Director of CHIRO H3 Sydney City and Lower North Shore. Adrian graduated from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Science in 1992 and then completed his Master of Chiropractic at Macquarie University in 1994.
Adrian originally consulted at the clinic as an associate before taking over the practice as Director in 1999. He has since then expanded the practice to include the services of 3 Chiropractors, 2 Podiatrists, a Massage Therapist and a Naturopath. Adrian has held several official positions including President of the Macquarie University Chiropractic Alumni and Anatomy lecturer at the Australasian College of Natural Therapies.
With over 20 years of clinical experience Adrian’s areas of special interest include Corporate health, Resilience in the workplace and Work Life Balance.
To learn more about CHIRO H3, their practice or Dr Adrian Couzner, please visit their website here.
Information Explored in the Podcast:
The following is just some of the information that we’ve covered in this podcast, in case you wanted to skip ahead and explore a specific topic.
About Dr Adrian Couzner [1:02]
Examples Of Ground Marketing Techniques [4:05]
Does It Produce Quality Leads That Are Better Than Digital? [8:03]
Strategies For Getting Better At Ground Marketing Techniques [12:48]
The Dangers Of Relying On The Status Quo [14:52]
The Value Of Special Offers In Patient Conversion [17:35]
The Need To Measuring Your Success [18:44]
What Is His Biggest Challenge With Ground Marketing Activities? [21:10]
Dr Adrian Couzner’s Best Advice [23:29]
Establishing Value To Answer the “How Much Does It Cost?” [28:05]
If you liked this episode and you wanted to stay updated on the latest strategies to grow and scale your practice, subscribe to our Podcast Channel and you will never miss a beat!
Links Mentioned in the Podcast:
Freebie:
Sales Guide For Healthcare Clinics:
https://onlinemarketingfordoctors.com.au/sales-guide-for-healthcare-clinics/
Sales Guide for Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery Clinics:
https://onlinemarketingfordoctors.com.au/sales-guide-for-cosmetic-surgery-clinics
About Dr Adrian Couzner:
http://www.chiroh3.com.au/team/dr-adrian-couzner/
About Chiro H3:
http://www.chiroh3.com.au
The Online Marketing For Doctors podcast is designed to help you, the motivated healthcare practitioner, to implement clever effective marketing ideas that you can use to GROW and SCALE your practice into the empire it deserves to be.
Our podcast not only inspires you but provides clear steps for rapid, profitable action.
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We’d also love to hear from you about the topics that are important to you! What do you want to learn more about? We’ve created a small 1-minute survey to help us learn more about the topics that matter to our healthcare professionals.
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Sanyukta Maharashtra: Talk Show 4
Summary: The Sanyukta Maharashtra Movement in 1950s, was the most important post-independent political movement in Bombay. The movement received active support from parties and groups whose ideological base ranged from radical left to the centerist. Popularly it is referred as a movement for assertion of the rights of majority language group - Marathi, and thus the inclusion of Bombay in the Maharashtra state is considered as the victory of the movement. But actually the historical period at which the movement picked up momentum was a junction between the existing vibrant trade union movement in the city and the beginning of identity politics in the region. We felt it is important to revisit the movement in order to understand the present social scenario. A discussion session was organized between various active members of the movement. Though initially the discussion centred around the overwhelming reach of the movement, by this time it moved to the issues of post-colonial patterns in our public life.
PB: When one speaks of Satyajit Ray, it is said that he was a Bengali - still he could become international, he was acceptable all over the world. His example can be put to good use at this time and age. I'd like to ask if Himmatbhai, who as a person is llways thinking outside the box, to comment on... if that is possible?
satyajit roy
Has Mumbai ever been cosmopolitan? Aren't all the neighbourhoods known by the pre-dominant community who live there?
Bhendi bazaar
Girgaon
Kalbadevi
cosmopolitanism
ghettoisation
Studio in Dadar
homogenization
little magazine
HB: putting the question of identity aside, what you said about Mumbai's cosmopolitan class - these people of different languages and religions - they live in our areas. The sort of cultural exchange that should be taking place, in fact, do not happen. If the Marathis are in Girgaon or Dadar, the Gujaratis at Kalbadevi, Muslims at Bhendi bazaar; we as citizens don't tend to meet each other. Even politically active individuals such as ourselves, the level of interaction is quite limited beyond a certain point. The concept of cosmopolitanism and universalism would mean more than what we see over here. Despite being cosmopolitan, in the prevailing conditions in Mumbai as of now, there is an awareness and an identity of being Marathi. That is definitely there. And the cosmopolitan identity is also present. How the two meet and gel, remains to be seen. It is an important question.
PB: young people say that they are global citizens... But there is no land beneath their feet, they are from nowhere. This is causing a rift between everyone. There is one question that a Marathi man has always asked himself, although not truthfully, is that where does he stand in a global economy? Is this what we are considering while looking at job prospects?
Who is a global
Citizen - the buzz
word today among
the youngsters?
rootless
PT: I feel it is still like... our children, when they go abroad, they go for jobs primarily... business aside, students first primarily go to enhance their skills, to learn, to study and to get jobs. They go to American, Australia, New Zealand. These decisions are primarily based on monetary issues to secure their futures.
PB: I will ask Varde as he is economist... This situation that exists, unless it is answered will the issues concerning Maharashtra be answered?
... our priorities are changing. And therefore students need to be given literacy with the new aim of giving them skills and making them independent.
The importance of providing skill oriented education. Is there a conflict between basic literacy drive and skill training such as computer
literacy?
SV: It is a valid question. I feel, children's education, after 10th standard has a certain responsibility to live upto. How to make students successful and independent in the real world, this sort of orientation is absent in our education system. UNESCO has said, "What is education? Education is not to know, but to do."
The Maharashtra govt has established a Knowledge Corporation to promote computer literacy. My point is, where there is not even a basic cent percent literacy being achieved, with 20 lakh children in Maharashtra not being in classrooms, how can you talk of computer literacy? Somewhere along the way, our priorities have changed, I feel.
The importance of providing skill oriented education. Is there a conflict between basic literacy drive and skill training such as computer literacy?
SV: I will say a memory that I have - in this respect. The education system of today and its benefits have been taken over by urban middle class especially, the corporate class. P.G. Patil, who is a product of education system. When he sat for the inter exam, he got the first award for English. He said that time that I have won the wrestling with Rajabhai Tower. So what does it mean to win the fight with Rajabhai Tower? We need to understand. What I want to say is, the establishment of Maharashtra state, has taken place 44 years ago, even then that education should reach the lowest levels of the society and become a medium of change - this has not yet happened.
Higher education still remains an elitist privilege due to dependence on English in higher education
Rajabhai tower
rajabai tower
HB: In this respect the issue of development - what is your approach to development - one is the western approach and the other is the Gandhian approach. This problem of creating employment opportunities, it cannot happen with today's development model. The figures of Economic growth are different but the situation of development is very unsatisfying.
The lopsided development
TR: but this approach that everything is opposing, e.g. Primary education versus computer, etc. the whole history of mankind shows us that whenever new technology comes the older technology collapses and newer one takes over and that is the way mankind develops. Then mankind did not have control over this, but now we have control. So whoever is in the rule must keep a balance in this, literacy should come, primary education should come and computers should also come.
Technology is part of human evolution. New technology is not essentially against people. Globlalisation is killing all diversity.
american language
development globalization
Because now globalization has come, computers have come. Many houses have computers, even in slums. How are you going to stop this? The younger generation will not listen to you. You have to create a balance between these things. Second thing, regarding globalization we have to start a big resistance. Globalization is destroying diversity. This resistance we have to start. Human cultures have developed through thousands of years, and it has got variety. Variety in languages, in foodstuffs,
in harvests. And therefore English... unilateral, like America which has become a unilateral power in the world, like that English - all the other languages, from the smaller ones to the bigger ones, it will destroy these languages and we have to start this big resistance.
Globalisation is homogenizing people's cultures and languages and trying to bulldoze the world into a flat and unilateral place with one hegemonic power ruling all over.
dominant culture
PB: In globalisation, there has been attempt to homogenize the food habits of cultures by dropping packets of noodles in Iraq. But the second part of that is I think, since the advent of globalization, racist wars have increased. Be it Bosnia, Puerto Rico. Or may be that global power encourages race wars. I am not saying this, but a lot of experts in America are saying that. On the one hand, destroying bio diversity and on the other hand, the old colonial practice of destroying people - both have been used through race wars. That is why this atmosphere of last few years of breaking up people and aggressive violent public speeches, unless we stop this we will not be able to see a direction ahead, this is what I think.
With globalization is increasing race war and intolerance. "garv se kaho" ("say with pride") - a reference to the slogan of the extreme right wing parties, BJP and Shiv Sena: "garv se kaho /hum Hindu hai" ("say with pride / we are Hindus). It is almost a war cry. The movement against communalism counter it with:
"prem se kaho / hum insan hai" (say with love / we are human). Cultural identity is specific and deep and thus universal and inclusive.
dyaneshwar
parochialism
politicial party
sectarian politics
tokenism
ultra-nationalism
Just now there was a reference to Gandhiji, but I think a lot of times, when such problems arise, we have to go back to him. Be it when thinking about environment or about human arrogance - to belong to a certain group and to be arrogant about that belonging - are two different things. So in "garv se kaho" ("say with pride") - we are opposing the "garv", the aggressiveness. So the thought of Marathi people that evolved in / since 19th century, or earlier than that in 13th century, the culture that started with Dyaneshwar; not to think of that but to be trapped in tokens and signs, is a sign of the collapse of that culture. This has been done by the right wing parties and so it is the responsibility of us who believe in progress to examine what is Marathi-ness and articulate it. And while articulating it, it is not opposed to something; it is a relation that we have with ourselves and with history.
TR: I want to say that all this globalization…has been going on since long time we are becoming aware about it just now. But what newspapers are there now, are all rackets! All the big capitalist groups own a newspaper. I will not take names. But everyone knows - you see the name of the newspaper, and whatever the policy or ideology of that group, that is the policy of that newspaper. You think people see all this very coolly or because they have some great need? The answer is no. In this let alone other people. Earlier you said, Satyajit ray has a Bengali soil, but I want to add, it is not Bengali soil, but universal vision of human mind, human life.
international news groups
I met an afghani girl and she told me that every Sunday morning at 9 they play Satyajit ray's films. So we complete our work and sit in front of the TV. at 9. That girl had seen more Satyajit Ray films than I had seen. This was before the Taliban. So this is universal soil, not Bengali. I want to say that to counteract this, to oppose this, even earlier, to give resistance to such capitalist big newspapers, there used to be these small magazines, there was almost a revolution that they created. (PT: little magazines) this movement spread all over the nation. Small groups would present their thinking through these. Even today how many magazines, weekly, some is called parivartan, vatsaru, some are of dalits, sangathana... the identity of all small groups has awoken. Today also this spirit is alive and people are not quiet, they will not let America win!
Mumbai is losing its importance due to lack of industrial development.
PB: Himmatbhai, you are in Mumbai for many years, where do you see this Mumbai going?
HB: Mumbai's cosmopolitanism has weakened a little. Secondly, the identity as industrial and commercial capital has also not remained as it was before. What happened to textile mills, so the industrial development has become less. If we see places like Gujarat, Baroda, there industrial development has been more rapid. Mumbai's nature... I feel Mumbai has come to breaking point.
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Party Down (Season 1): 10 episodes – follows a dysfunctional catering team of failed/upcoming Hollywood actors and writers. With most episodes having the team cater for a bizarre sub-set of society – pensioner dating / gangsters / porn awards ceremony – there’s plenty of material to work with. Every character serves a purpose; two of the team (Scott/Caplan) provide most of the drama – and there are some moments that really sneak up on you – whereas the rest serve up the laughs in abundance; everyone’s perfectly pitched with their own style of humour. Crucially, the writers have done a fantastic job of creating a well-written, fast-flowing, smart script, packed with wit that’s both genuinely funny and awkward in equal measures. Technically, there’s no frills, fads, or tricks which gives the show an air of plausibility that most comedies lack. The only real downside is that it’s not instantly lovable, and probably best enjoyed on your own – it’s quite dry, some of the subtle running gags take a while to pick out, and it takes an episode or two to properly tune in. Overall, I’ve gone from being unconvinced a few months back, to watching the entire season in 3 days. Party Down’s a bit of a TV gem, and with a movie being green-lighted, it’s clearly winning enough people over in the longer term!
Are WE having Fun Yet?!?!
Dingle Berries
DRON!
Hard Sci Fi
Rick Fox
Soup ‘r crackers
Super Sweet 16th
supercrackers
The coke was so much better
womanish glasses
Eric said: January 26, 201216:44
Love this show. It’s a shame that it didn’t last very long, but at least we are (allegedly) getting a movie out of it!
bardlj said: January 26, 201217:05
I found this show through Adam Scott, and actor I personally enjoy, and It’s up there on my favorite shows that have gone off the air. I didn’t hear about a movie, though. Is that true?
Paragraph Film Reviews said: February 6, 201213:34
As far as I know the film is 100% confirmed, with everyone on board. 2013 release though, so it’ll be a loooooong wait.
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Rand Paul Stopped By TSA After Body Scan Anomaly
Rand Paul Stopped By TSA After Body Scan Anomaly: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was blocked from boarding a flight Monday by the Transportation Security Administration in Nashville, Tenn., after refusing a full body pat-down, POLITICO has confirmed.
“I spoke with him five minutes ago and he was being detained indefinitely,” Paul spokesperson Moira Bagley said. “The image scan went off; he refused patdown.”
Paul’s father, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), tweeted out news of the incident, saying that there had been an “anomaly” with a body scanner.
“My son @SenRandPaul being detained by TSA for refusing full body pat-down after anomaly in body scanner in Nashville. More details coming,” wrote the authenticated Twitter account of presidential candidate Ron Paul.
The TSA disputed this characterization of the incident.
The Kentucky senator triggered an alarm during routine airport screening and declined to finish the process, said a TSA official, but was “not detained at any point.” A targeted pat-down is usually used to address the alarm. Continue Reading…
By waqasbhai Posted in Breaking News Tagged anomaly, Body Scan Anomaly, Bowling Green, breaking news rand paul, Kentucky, Kentucky Sen, Life in DC, Nashville Tennessee, Paul’s father, POLITICO, R-Texas, Rand Paul, rand paul detained, rand paul event, rand paul news, Rep. Ron Paul, ron paul, scanner in Nashville, Texas, The AP in a telephone, Transportation Security Administration, TSA, TSA Administrator John Pistole, TSA official, TSA said Paul, Twitter, wsmv
Kate Upton Did More Bikini Modeling And It Was Good
Kate Upton Did More Bikini Modeling And It Was Good: Over the weekend I shared a link to some new Kate Upton Beach Bunny Swimwear pics. They were nice but there were only a couple of them. Well, it turns out there were more so today I share them all with you. Who says Mondays suck? I think I see why she was your favorite female of 2011 now. Not that I didn’t know before, of course. I’m glad to see that this Beach Bunny company was smart enough to lock Kate up for another year of bikini goodness. They must have good management over there.
By waqasbhai Posted in Life & Style Tagged breaking news Kate Upton, Kate Upton, Kate Upton 2011, Kate Upton 2012, Kate Upton Beach Bunny, Kate Upton foto, Kate Upton history, Kate Upton images, Kate Upton looking, Kate Upton news, Kate Upton photos, Kate Upton pic, Kate Upton story, Mark Sanchez, model, New York Jets, Sports Illustrated, Upton, Victoria's Secret
Chip Kelly Ends His First NFL Fling For Now
Chip Kelly Ends His First NFL Fling For Now: Chip Kelly does everything else fast, so it probably shouldn’t come as any surprise that it took him just a few hours to make up his mind on serious overtures from the NFL. But on the heels of late-breaking headlines Sunday night confirming his pending exit from Oregon, it turns out even college football’s most celebrated leadfoot is susceptible to a bout of cold feet. From The Register-Guard:
University of Oregon football coach Chip Kelly told a highly placed UO source late Sunday night that he has reversed course and decided to turn down an offer from the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The source told The Register-Guard earlier Sunday night that Kelly had reached an agreement to become Tampa Bay’s head coach. “It’s done,” the source said.
Just before midnight, Kelly changed his mind, telling the source: “I’m staying.”
Kelly told one assistant coach Sunday night that he had been offered the Tampa Bay job, but Kelly told him he wasn’t certain what he would do. Continue Reading…
By waqasbhai Posted in Sports News Tagged Anisa Guajardo, Birgit Prinz, Buccaneers, Buccaneers last week, Canada, Chip Kelly, Chip Kelly ends his first NFL, chip kelly fired, Chip Kelly reacts, chip kelly tampa bay, College Football, CONCACAF, Conference title, Cristian Deville, Dan Forsman, euro 2012, Football coach, Guatemala, iap cracker, Kelly, KGW, Kristine Lilly, London Olympics, Mitsubishi Electric, National Football League, NCAA time bomb, New Hampshire, Nfl, NFL fling, NFL thing, Oregon, Oregon Coach, Oregon Football coach, oregon live, PGA Tour, prince fielder, Register-Guard, Sunday, Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay job, Tampa Bay Times, The NFL, U.S. rout Guatemala, UO source, Vancouver, Wambach, World Cup
Chip Kelly Is Close To Deal With Buccaneers
Chip Kelly Is Close To Deal With Buccaneers: Oregon football Coach Chip Kelly is finalizing a deal to become the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach, various media outlets reported Sunday.
Kelly met with the Buccaneers last week, and both sides are hopeful an agreement can be reached within the next 24 to 48 hours, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
Kelly has been Oregon’s head coach for three years, winning the Pac-12 or Pac-10 Conference title in all three and reaching three Bowl Championship Series games.
Kelly, 48, would make the jump to the NFL if a financial agreement can be reached, a source told KGW in Portland on Sunday night.
Kelly is the first known candidate whom the Buccaneers have interviewed from the college ranks. Known as an offensive innovator, the Buccaneers are hopeful he could bring some of his up-tempo schemes to the NFL. Continue Reading…
By waqasbhai Posted in Sports News Tagged Anisa Guajardo, Birgit Prinz, Bowl Championship Series, Buccaneers, Buccaneers last week, Canada, Chip Kelly, chip kelly fired, Chip Kelly reacts, CONCACAF, Conference title, Cristian Deville, Dan Forsman, Football coach, Guatemala, iap cracker, Kelly, KGW, Kristine Lilly, London Olympics, Mitsubishi Electric, National Football League, Nfl, Oregon, Oregon Coach, Oregon Football coach, oregon live, PGA Tour, prince fielder, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Times, The NFL, U.S. rout Guatemala, Vancouver, Wambach, World Cup
Kourtney Kardashian Has Special Pregnancy Diet
Kourtney Kardashian Has Special Pregnancy Diet: Kourtney Kardashian’s pregnancy diet is essentially an open book. With strings attached. “I’m just eating whatever I can. Whatever I can tolerate,” she said. “I think this [pregnancy] there is less I can tolerate.”
Kardashian, 32 – who already has a son, 2-year-old Mason – recently announced she’s pregnant with her second child, but said it’s too early to tell whether Mason will have a little brother or sister.
Joined earlier this month by her family and longtime boyfriend Scott Disick at Las Vegas’s Kardashian Khaos, a lifestyle boutique in the Mirage Resort and Casino, the Kourtney and Kim Take New York star’s baby bump was barely noticeable in her black dress.
Though she doesn’t know the sex, she hinted that she won’t be surprised when the child is born. Asked whether she wants to know in advance, she said, “I think so.”
By waqasbhai Posted in Health News Tagged breaking news Kourtney Kardashian, Casino, child is born, Kourtney Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian latest news, Kourtney Kardashian news, Kourtney Kardashian Pregnancy Diet, Las Vegas's Kardashian Khaos, Mason, Mirage Resort, New Child, Pregnancy, Pregnancy die tips, Pregnancy diet, recently announced, Scott Disick, Special Pregnancy Diet
Kristin Cavallari And Jay Cutler Are Having A Baby
Kristin Cavallari And Jay Cutler Are Having A Baby: In mid-November, the Chicago Bears were seven and three, and the team seemed well on its way to another playoff berth. Then quarterback Jay Cutler got injured, the team lost five consecutive games and a once promising season went down in flames. From every conceivable angle, Cutler breaking his thumb was an absolute disaster, at least except for one. All that time off apparently gave him more time to make babies. Continue Reading…
By waqasbhai Posted in Sports News Tagged Chicago Bears, Cutler, Football, Jay Cutler, Kristin Cavallari, Nfl, November, Sports
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Picking Up the Pieces (fic; Black Lagoon)
Title: Picking Up the Pieces
Warnings: Revy's mouth; blood; smutty innuendo
Pairing(s): very early Rock/Revy, if you squint
Spoilers: the ending of the "Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise" arc
Notes: My first Black Lagoon fic! And really, this is almost gen. Thanks to smillaraaq for excellent, insightful beta. Word count: ~3,205
Summary: Balalaika sends Rock and Revy out of town so Revy can convalesce. It's not exactly a pleasure trip.
In the darkness behind Rock's eyelids, a doll in a pretty kimono was falling, falling endlessly toward the dirty grey pavement. Bright streamers of blood flew out and spattered across her spectacles. He was trying to shout, but no sound came out of his mouth. Suddenly something solid touched him, and he woke, wide-eyed.
Revy's head was lolling limply over onto Rock's shoulder. He wasn't exactly surprised. They'd essentially been up all night, and this journey by car had lasted five hours already. He turned a little, as much as his shoulder-belt would allow, to keep her from sliding off. "How much further, Dimya?"
Balalaika's lieutenant spoke to the driver, low-voiced, then turned his head. "Maybe half an hour. We are almost at the exit for the place. She is still asleep?"
"Yes. "
"It is the painkillers as well as the fatigue. That is one reason why Balalaika sent us this far."
Dimya turned back to his navigating. Rock nudged Revy gently. "Revy ... wake up."
She pulled her head away from the nudge and took a deeper breath, then started to frown. The expression twisted into a grimace of pain, clearly visible in the grey light from the van's tinted windows. "Ah, fuck, I'm never drinkin' that shit again ... oh." Her eyes opened just a little as memory returned. "Oh, fuckity ... my leg!"
"Do you need another pill? We're almost there."
"Nnnnhh. No. Shit. It's gonna be hard enough getting out of the van as it is. Where are we, anyway?"
"On the south coast, somewhere near Kumano. Balalaika's men said something about a resort that's hardly used during the winter."
The van and its companion, trailing them with the baggage, were off the main highway now. They could see brooding pine forests, and the road was winding its way down a steep slope. "We're really out in the sticks, ain't we?" murmured Revy.
The daylight strengthened, and then the forest opened up ahead of them. They were skirting some cliffs overlooking the ocean, which flashed steely grey below them. The wind off the water hissed and roared against the van. They turned a bit inland again and passed a sign: Katsuura Resort. The road became rough and bumpy. Revy let out a shaky breath and then started cursing, almost silently, as she tried to ease her injured leg.
The van swerved and slowed to a crawl for a couple of hundred yards, then stopped. They were beside a newish-looking building in cedar wood; it seemed to combine features from both European vacation chalets and traditional Japanese country houses. It was also quite large. Balalaika's men were already jumping out. Chilly, damp air gusted into the passenger compartment as Dimya opened the door for Rock. "Four apartments," said Dimya. "Two on the ground floor, two above. You're upstairs. The same apartment, both of you: there are two bedrooms. All the arrangements are for your safety."
The driver had opened Revy's door. She took her seatbelt off slowly, eyeing the drop to the ground. The sharp, cold wind off the ocean cut into Rock as he came around to her side of the van, shouldering the driver aside, and stood there. Revy reluctantly put one hand on his shoulder and eased herself to the ground, swaying and shivering and cursing. Her injured leg was bare from just above the knee down: the doctor Balalaika had produced had cut the leg of Revy's tights off on that side. Rock fished out the crutch that the doctor had supplied and handed it to her. Balalaika's men were busily unloading things: a series of anonymous canvas bags that were probably their own, Rock and Revy's luggage, heavy-looking plastic crates that could be food - or ammo. "Inside," said Dimya. "Now."
"Inside" was a hallway with two doors leading off to each side - and a flight of stairs going up. Rock glanced back at Revy and her crutch and bit his lip, wondering why the hell he'd imagined there'd be an elevator - obviously no one would bother with that for a two-story building.
"Fuck," muttered Revy. Her fingers on the crutch grip were white-knuckled. Balalaika's men were attempting to look at her without actually looking at her.
"We could carry you up," the biggest one offered.
"Fuck, no! "
Dimya sighed. "Not like you think. Like this."
He and the big guy showed her how they would make a seat for her by gripping their own and each other's wrists. She shook her head stubbornly. "Just leave us alone, dammit."
Dimya gave Rock a very speaking look. Rock avoided his eye, and Dimya shrugged. "It is your own funeral, solnitsa," he said to Revy, and handed Rock two sets of keys.
Two of the guards carried Rock and Revy's bags upstairs and then vanished up there, presumably into the other apartment. Dimya nodded at them. "Just knock on the door opposite yours if you need anything. We have stocked the kitchen with food. There will be a hot meal prepared for you in the evening. Good day."
He turned to lock and bolt the outer door. One of the others kicked a wedge under it for good measure. Then they all trooped out of the hallway and into the two downstairs apartments, leaving Rock and Revy alone in the dimly lit hallway.
Revy scowled at the stairs. "Whose fucking idea was this, anyway? Don't tell me, I know - Big Sis."
Rock put his hands in the pockets of his coat so that he wouldn't be tempted to reach out and help her. She hop-dragged herself toward the stairs with the crutch and then used it and the handrail to hoist herself onto the first tread. "Piece of cake," she whispered, hoarsely.
He waited until she was a couple of stairs up before he started up behind her, holding the railing tightly with one hand and bracing the other against the opposite wall, in case she fell. She ignored him and continued steadily upward - thunk ... ka-thud, thunk ... ka-thud. When she got to the landing, she stopped and leaned against the wall, her eyes closed. Rock hurried up the last few steps. "Revy?"
"Door's unlocked. Check it out, Rock. I don't feel like wandering around."
What an understatement. The shadows under her eyes were so dark, it looked as though she'd blacked them on purpose. Rock pushed open the door and had a look around.
The big, airy main room had plate glass windows that looked down the hill to the sea, and a sliding glass door that gave access to a balcony. The water flashed and shifted beyond the trees in the grey morning light, sullenly powerful, and the door itself had locks, a bar, and what looked like an alarm. The apartment's kitchen was immaculate and well-stocked with appliances: coffee maker, tea kettle, rice cooker, microwave, and more. There were bottles of spring water and several cold meals neatly packaged in the refrigerator - presumably brought up by Balalaika's goons - and a bowl of fresh fruit on the counter. The furnishings of the room were Western, although there was a kotatsu near the sliding glass door. The place was chilly and drafty: in the heat of summer, it was probably delightful.
There were two bedrooms off a short hallway at the back, one furnished in Japanese-Western fusion with a huge futon on a low bed platform, the other as a bunk room that could sleep up to four. Rock's luggage was in the larger room, Revy's in the bunk room. He gave an exasperated grunt and switched them. The larger room had a generous Western-style bath en suite, and off the hallway there was a Japanese bathing room and separate sink and toilet room.
"What's up, Rock?"
Revy's voice sounded frayed and faint. He hurried back to the main room. "Looks OK. All the comforts of home. You should lie down."
She followed him through the big, open space, stopping in the middle to look around. "Ain't nothing like home, Rock. You could put 50 people in here."
No, it was certainly nothing like the Lagoon's close, crowded labyrinthine corridors and bunk cabins. Maybe he should have let her stay in the little bunk room after all, but if he had to work on her leg, the big bed would make it easier. He was not surprised when she scowled at the handsomely furnished bedroom, "Just another damn hotel room. I really need to take a leak."
She shrugged out of her sheepskin jacket. Rock grabbed it before it hit the floor. She smirked at him wanly: "Man, you're such a gentleman." He clutched the jacket uselessly and and watched as she tried to maneuver through the bathroom door with the crutch, swearing as she attempted to work it around the door itself and the bathroom fixtures beyond. Finally he tossed the jacket onto a chair and hurried forward to help just as Revy gave up on the crutch and threw it out onto the bedroom carpet.
"Tch. You're a pervert after all. Wanna watch, Rock?"
Her smutty grin was a sick contrast to her shadowed eyes. He watched, worried, as she hopped toward the toilet, one hand on the wall, but she was managing well enough. He closed the bathroom door and went to draw the curtains, shutting out the increasingly bright morning and the forest of pine trees outside, and turned down the bed.
The room now looked dim, cool, and comfortable. The bed was drawing him. He sat on the edge of it, rubbing one hand across his face. Revy's bed. But it was easier just to sit there. The scene with Gin and Yukio was playing in his mind, over and over again, the gritty, messy horror alien to this quiet, clean other-worldly place.
The bathroom door banged open. Revy hopped slowly across the carpet toward him, touching the foot of her injured leg down every couple of hops and wincing. He gripped the edge of the bed to keep himself from springing up to help her. She collapsed to sit next to him - not quite touching, but he could feel her body heat. "You should lie down, Revy - get some sleep."
"Not in these clothes, I'm not."
"Should I get something out of your bag?"
Silence. She had her head in her hands, elbows on knees. Finally: "Hell with it. If you're gonna be Nurse Rock, you're just gonna have to deal with seeing undies. Yeah, there should be a big yellow Tweetie bird T shirt in there, and clean panties. Get 'em out."
He dragged himself to his feet and went to do her bidding. The T shirt was there, the big-headed big-eyed cartoon bird making an obscene gesture with his wing feathers, along with a stack of clean but mostly well-worn bikini briefs. His hand hovered over them, skittishly. He knew Revy was watching him.
"Ssst. It's not like you haven't seen my panties before."
He sighed, and grabbed a pair of faded violet briefs. "That's different. Completely." Catching a glimpse when I have to wake her up belowdecks is not the same as having my hands on her ... stuff.
"If you say so, dude. Fuck ... ." She was trying to pull her remaining boot off and wincing. He wrapped the underwear in the T shirt and tossed the bundle on the bed next to her. "Hey - let me give you a hand with that."
She stared at him as he knelt on the carpet in front of her, the damnedest expression on her face, like she was trying to put on a snarky smile and couldn't get it to stick. Finally she settled for rolling her eyes and mutely held out her foot.
The boot wouldn't give up easily. Probably her feet had swollen a bit after sitting in the van for hours. He finally got it off and looked up, only to realize that he was staring up her pleated skirt. It was a good thing she was wearing tights - or the remains of a pair of tights, anyway. They still didn't hide her muscular thighs entirely. He dropped his eyes, feeling his ears burning.
"Get the fuck up off the floor already," she said, crossly. "I can handle the rest myself."
Rock got to his feet, sighing. "Whatever you say, Revy." He placed the boot neatly by her big bag and turned to go.
"What the hell happened to my other boot? These weren't damn cheap."
He took a deep breath, but it didn't help. Suddenly the sound of his blood in his ears was like a drumbeat.
"It's just a goddamn boot, Revy! It's not that big of a deal - we can buy you another pair! "
"Yeah? Says the boy who grew up rich! Those came out of my pay, you prissy fucker!"
"Shut up, you cheapskate! You're still breathing, aren't you? They aren't!"
He leaned against the door frame and glared at her. She set her jaw and glared back, but she was flushed across her nose and cheeks, and her eyes were red rimmed and too bright. Finally she looked away from him and breathed in through her nose, hard. "Damn, Rock ... ."
He pushed himself upright and turned to go. "Take it easy, Revy."
He ducked into the hall bath for a moment, and then went to the other bedroom. He usually slept in his briefs, but it was chilly, and Revy might need him. He switched his street clothes for a pair of sweatpants and grey, utilitarian t-shirt. He was just getting out his toothbrush when he remembered that Revy hadn't had any pain medication since they left the doctor's house. No wonder she was getting so bitchy. He rummaged through his gym bag and found the bottle of oval white pills, hand-labeled in Japanese with the doctor's tight, messy writing, and then went to the kitchen for a bottle of water.
Her door was open - of course. He hadn't shut it. He rapped on the door frame. "Revy? You should take one of these painkillers."
There was a moment of silence. Then: "Huh. You're still talking to me."
He went in. She was half-covered with the bedding, her legs exposed from the knees down. The bandage over the deep cut from Ginji's shirasaya seemed to be OK, but she had the crook of her arm over her eyes, as though the dim light in the room was too much. "Aren't you cold?"
"I just couldn't get all the blankets and shit to lay right." She pulled her arm away and looked at him. Her eyelids and the skin under her eyes gleamed damply. He felt something in his chest tighten, and he crossed to kneel at the side of the bed.
She tried to sit up, but groaned as she moved the injured leg and dropped back onto the mattress. "Fuck! Rock, this sucks so much."
"Here. Hold onto the pill. Just go limp in the legs and let me get your head up-"
He got one arm under her shoulders and managed to get her off the horizontal enough to drink without spilling. She gulped the water thirstily and then let her head loll back with a sigh.
"Do you want more water?"
"Nope. Just put me down, man. I know I have'ta wait for this stuff to kick in. Just wish it would stop throbbing so much. I mean, I've had a damn cut before - why's this one hurt so bad?"
"It was a really deep cut, Revy. The doctor had to stitch up the muscles too." He wasn't going to tell her what it had looked like, in the one moment he'd been stupid enough to look at the doctor's work in progress, but it was flashing against his mind's eye again now. "Oh."
She opened her eyes again. "What?"
"The doctor said we should keep your leg propped up a little. "
"These pillows are awfully squishy. They'd move around."
"Wait a second. I saw something in the other room."
As he'd remembered, the larger sofa had removable cushions, and the ones for the seat were flat and boxlike. He brought back the center one and gingerly got it under the injured leg, to the accompaniment of a litany of curses and gasps. Then he pulled the bedding loose from the other side of the mattress and gently tucked it over and around her, with extra slack over the bad leg.
"Better now?"
"Ahhh ... yeah. Oh, yeah. Thanks, man."
He put the half-full water bottle on the bedside table, along with the pills, and showed her the time on the clock. "You can take another one in four hours. OK? Get some sleep."
He rose and started to leave, feeling bone-weary himself.
"Hey ... ."
He turned in the doorway and leaned on the wall, blinking. "What's up?"
"Got a hot date waiting for you back there or something?"
"Uhhh ... no. Why?"
"'Cause this bed's as big as Roanapur's main freight dock. I sure as hell wouldn't notice if you were on the other side there. And then I won't have to scream for Nurse Rock to hear me on the other side of this damn warehouse."
That was all such bullshit. The way she'd been acting, any movement he made would jostle her leg, and he knew damn well how loudly she could shout. But as he looked at her sunken eyes above her empty, pasted-on grin, he didn't have the heart to argue. He staggered wearily over to the wardrobe and pulled it open to find, as he'd expected, another comforter on the top shelf. Wordlessly, he went around to the far side of the bed and lay down as carefully as he could.
"Good night." Her hoarse voice was no more than a whisper.
"Sleep well, Revy."
He closed his eyes and made himself relax as bonelessly as he could. As he tried to match his breathing to hers, he realized that she was not falling asleep.
"Rock?"
"Yes?
"Are you ... doing OK?"
For a minute, he couldn't imagine why she was asking. Then he remembered how worried she'd been as they'd both realized that Yukio had no intention of outliving her faithful bodyguard a moment longer than necessary, and the dream he'd had in the car. But there was no weight to either memory, not when he thought about serving as Revy's operating room nurse, or the sight of her climbing the stairs on on one good leg and one crutch, or the solid feel of her against his arm as he propped her up to drink, or the way she'd asked him to stay without actually asking him. He sighed and reached across the expanse of empty bed between them to squeeze her shoulder for a second.
"I'm fine. Now go to sleep already, damn it."
There was a small, breathy sound that might almost have been a laugh. "Whatever you say, boss."
He retreated back to his own side of the bed and curled up more comfortably. He could almost feel her warmth again, despite the distance. Her breathing soon grew slower, slower, and deeper. He realized that she must be feeling no pain, at last, and the thought released him into sleep.
black lagoon,
pg-13,
revy,
Black Lagoon fic
Aww, thanks! Yeah, I'd like to ship them a little further, but I don't think they're ready to go there. Maybe when we have a little more about both of their backgrounds, I can feel more confident about trying that. (Most of the series that I'm writing about have 10 volumes or more out, and lots of character history.)
tapered_fingers
Re: Black Lagoon fic
Well I hope you do a long one sometime in the future. Yea it would definitely be nice to have some more background info. All we know so far on Rock is that he's a boring butt student who's parents were never proud of him, and Revy was on the streets, being beat up by cops. Hm, maybe you could work with that? Anywho, I look forward to reading more hopefully
opalmatrix : Black Lagoon fic [+1]
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“I’m Just a Mom!” Daphne Lee Gives Powerful Speech Against NDAA in Clark County, Nevada
‘Genderqueer’ rising: Colleges welcome kids who identify as neither male nor female
The weekly meetings of Mouthing Off!, a group for students at Mills College in Oakland, Calif., who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, always start the same way. Members take turns going around the room saying their names and the personal pronouns they want others to use when referring to them — she, he or something else.
It’s an exercise that might seem superfluous given that Mills, a small and leafy liberal arts school historically referred to as the Vassar of the West, only admits women as undergraduates. Yet increasingly, the “shes” and “hers” that dominate the introductions are keeping third-person company with “they,” ”ze” and other neutral alternatives meant to convey a more generous notion of gender.
Comment: The more you enable mentally and emotionally disturbed people, the harder they will fall. Enough is enough. Political Correctness is a disease that assists in the decay of a society.
Coming Soon, a Night Watchman With Wheels? Robots on patrol in schools and neighborhoods near you.
The night watchman of the future is 5 feet tall, weighs 300 pounds and looks a lot like R2-D2 – without the whimsy. And will work for $6.25 an hour.
A company in California has developed a mobile robot, known as the K5 Autonomous Data Machine, as a safety and security tool for corporations, as well as for schools and neighborhoods.
“We founded Knightscope after what happened at Sandy Hook,” said William Santana Li, a co-founder of that technology company, now based in Sunnyvale, Calif. “You are never going to have an armed officer in every school.”
But what is for some a technology-laden route to safer communities and schools is to others an entry point to a post-Orwellian, post-privacy world.
The Dirty Secret of Black Friday ‘Discounts’ – How Retailers Concoct ‘Bargains’ for the Holidays and Beyond
When shoppers head out in search of Black Friday bargains this week, they won’t just be going to the mall, they’ll be witnessing retail theater.
Stores will be pulling out the stops on deep discounts aimed at drawing customers into stores. But retail-industry veterans acknowledge that, in many cases, those bargains will be a carefully engineered illusion.
The common assumption is that retailers stock up on goods and then mark down the ones that don’t sell, taking a hit to their profits. But that isn’t typically how it plays out. Instead, big retailers work backward with their suppliers to set starting prices that, after all the markdowns, will yield the profit margins they want.
The red cardigan sweater with the ruffled neck on sale for more than 40% off at $39.99 was never meant to sell at its $68 starting price. It was designed with the discount built in.
Bitcoins: The Second Biggest Ponzi Scheme in History
I hereby make a prediction: Bitcoins will go down in history as the most spectacular private Ponzi scheme in history. It will dwarf anything dreamed of by Bernard Madoff. (It will never rival Social Security, however.)
To explain my position, I must do two things. First, I will describe the economics of every Ponzi scheme. Second, I will explain the Austrian school of economics’ theory of the origin of money. My analysis is strictly economic. As far as I know, it is a legal scheme — and should be.
PONZI ECONOMICS
First, someone who no one has ever heard of before announces that he has discovered a way to make money. In the case of Bitcoins, the claim is literal. The creator literally made what he says is money, or will be money. He made this money out of digits. He made it out of nothing. Think “Federal Reserve wanna-be.”
Child taken from womb by social services
A pregnant woman has had her baby forcibly removed by caesarean section by social workers.
Essex social services obtained a High Court order against the woman that allowed her to be forcibly sedated and her child to be taken from her womb.
The council said it was acting in the best interests of the woman, an Italian who was in Britain on a work trip, because she had suffered a mental breakdown.
The baby girl, now 15 months old, is still in the care of social services, who are refusing to give her back to the mother, even though she claims to have made a full recovery.
The case has developed into an international legal row, with lawyers for the woman describing it as “unprecedented”.
Seven Phony Hate Crimes Trumpeted By The Media
One of the oldest rules in psychology and economics is that if you reward a behavior, you can expect to see it more often.
In America, we reward victimhood.
That makes us feel good about ourselves and in some cases, it helps improve the lives of the people who’ve been victimized, but there’s a dark side to it as well. It creates perverse incentives for people, it helps legitimize a victimhood mentality, and it also encourages people to fake hate crimes.
Under normal circumstances, that would seldom happen. However, in a society where we celebrate victimhood and savagely attack people we decide are “bullies”, being a “victim” can potentially be the high point of someone’s life. It can mean getting attention from the media, being showered with sympathy, and even making thousands of dollars.
Is it any wonder that there are unscrupulous people who take advantage of the situation?
Five Men Rush to Save Drowning Woman, cop Stands Around and Chats on Phone
Give the officer some credit, folks. He did have a gun in case someone’s dog was nearby.
A police officer stood by, chatting on his cellphone while the men rescued the 62-yr-old woman, who is now in critical condition.
According to witnesses the woman was trapped in her vehicle for at least six minutes.
Unfortunately, the woman is now dead. Sudsbury Star reports: “Two sources have confirmed to The Sudbury Star that the 62-year-old woman rescued from her sport utility vehicle after it left Municipal Road 80 on Thursday near McCrea Heights and plunged into a marsh has died.”
Ohio Court: Polite Drivers Are Not Suspicious – Ohio Court of Appeals throws out conviction of a man who was searched during a traffic stop because he was too polite.
The second highest in Ohio decided on Wednesday that police have no business searching a motorist during a routine traffic stop for being too polite. The Court of Appeals suppressed the evidence that allowed police to seize a .40 caliber Sig Sauer and a small bag of marijuana from Joshua A. Fontaine at 2:27 am on December 12, 2012.
On that day, Ohio State Highway patrolman Jared Haslar was running a speed trap on Pearl Road in Strongsville, where the speed limit is 35 MPH. Patrolman Haslar claims his radar gun clocked Fontaine at 45 MPH, so he pulled him over. In the course of the stop, Fontaine cheerfully handed over his license, proof of insurance, and registration. This caused the officer to suspect criminal activity.
“While speaking to Mr. Fontaine I felt that his body language and his behavior was a little bit unusual,” Patrolman Haslar testified. “He was extremely — like almost overly polite, and he was breathing heavily at times while I was talking to him.”
Officer Safety . . .
If it is reasonable – justifiable – for a cop to base every interaction with a citizen on the presumption that the citizen might be a threat to his “safety,” isn’t the reverse all the more reasonable? That a citizen should assume the worst when confronted by a cop? officer safety
After all, a cop is known to be armed – and not merely with a gun. He possesses the authority of the state and with it, a far more relaxed standard for using gross and disproportionate violence against a citizen. He can do things to you legally – without fear of repercussions that no ordinary citizen would dare to do – and to which, moreover, the ordinary citizen is legally obliged to submit.
Is it not enough to make a citizen fear for his safety?
Dallas Cops Required To Keep Mum For 3 Days After Shootings – Directive follows case in which cop was embarrassingly caught in lie
Officers of the Dallas Police Department are now required to remain silent for three days after they witness or are involved in shootings under a contentious policy change quietly implemented last October by the Dallas Police Chief.
“Any Dallas officer involved in a police shooting — whether the officer fired a weapon or witnessed the gunfire — will now have the right to remain silent for 72 hours under a new department policy,” the Dallas Morning News reported late last month.
“And even before they give a statement about the shooting, the officers can watch any available video,” the paper added.
The rule change arrived on the heels of an October 11 incident in which a Dallas police officer fired on a mentally ill man, Bobby Gerald Bennett, absent of any provocation, then lied about it.
City Presses Charges Against Veteran For Raising Chickens – “We were sick of corporate farming, GMOs and pesticides”
A Northwood, Iowa man charged with violating a city ordinance that bans raising chickens within city limits is set to face trial late next week.
Leo Hendrick, war veteran, father and owner of Spartan Arms, moved his family to Northwood five years ago in hopes to live a more healthy and self-sufficient life. Through hunting, gardening and raising small animals like chickens and rabbits, Hendrick has become almost completely food independent.
“We were sick of corporate farming, GMOs and pesticides,” Hendrick told Storyleak. “The price of groceries just keeps going up too so this is really the only way me and my family can survive.”
Unfortunately for Hendrick, once city council learned of his family’s chickens, a Worth County sheriff’s deputy arrived at his home late August to present a letter demanding he remove all animals from his property within 10 days.
Florida cop arrested for wearing Guy Fawkes mask at Obamacare protest
A Florida police officer who was protesting US President Obama’s newly implemented healthcare law has been arrested because he refused to take off a Guy Fawkes mask he was wearing at a demonstration.
A symbol of resistance, the Guy Fawkes mask protects the wearer’s identity from future political retaliation.
A symbol of resistance, the Guy Fawkes mask protects the wearer’s identity from future political retaliation. Credit: Kigsz via Wikimedia
Ericson Harrell, 39, was wearing a mask, a black cape, and holding an inverted American flag when police approached him in Plantation, Florida. Harrell told officers he was “protesting Obamacare” but the police report notes “he refused each time” when he “was asked several times to remove his mask and produce some form of identification or tell us his name” and taken into custody.
The mask is the same one popularized in the film “V for Vendetta” and then by the activist hacking collective known as Anonymous.
The police report does not mention whether other protesters were at the scene or if Harrell was holding his own individual rally. It does say Harrell was not willing to tell police who he was, “stating his anonymity was his cause, thus the mask…He stated the mask was used by movement groups around the world for protests.”
Police Threaten To Bust Down Man’s Door, Kill His Dogs And Ransack His Home (It Was The Wrong House)
A Kansas City man says he’s been terrified since an encounter with police on Monday evening. He says officers came to his home in southeast Kansas City looking for people he’d never heard of and when he refused to let them inside, things turned ugly.
Eric Crinnian, a lawyer, heard a loud banging at his door Monday night, he was instantly alarmed since a neighbor’s house was robbed a few weeks ago, so he grabbed a crow-bar.
Crinnian said three police officers were outside his house.
“I open the door a little bit wider and he sees that I have something in my hand, so he pulls his gun, tells me to put down whatever I’ve got and then come out with my hands up, so I do,” Crinnian said.
Unarmed Man Charged with Wounding Bystanders Shot by NYPD Officers
In the latest turn to a developing case an unarmed man involved in an altercation with New York City police near Times Square, which resulted in the shooting of two bystanders, the district attorney’s office is holding him responsible for their injuries.
According to an indictment unsealed on Wednesday Glenn Broadnax, 35, of Brooklyn, NY, has been charged with assault over the September 14 incident which left many wondering whether the use of force by police in a crowded area was justified.
He began wading into busy lanes of traffic in the bustling Times Square area, drawing a crowd and the attention of police officers who attempted to contain Mr. Broadnax, a 250-pound man described as emotionally disturbed.
Under the assumption that he was armed, two officers opened fire when Broadnax reached into his pants pockets, instead hitting two women bystanders. The bullets struck a 54-year-old woman in the knee and grazed another 35-year-old woman.
The End of Evolution
Having gotten a lot of intelligent and thoughtful mail following a recent column on Darwin, a bit of it telling tme to read Richard Dawkins, the Amway Salesman of Evolutionism (I have read him, actually), I determined to respond here rather than individually. I promise to shut up on the subject for a long time hereafter.
The Argument from TimeEven a Federal Bureaucrat Can Get A Job Done, Given Forever
A staple of evolutionary evasion is time, lots of it. This is particularly applied to the putative formation of the OC (Original Critter). One intones “billions and billions and billions of years,” the implication being that with so very, very, very much time, so many billions of gallons of sea water, surely an OC would have to form. Why, it could hardly help it.
Not necessarily. Probabilities can be more daunting than one might expect. Things that seem intuitively likely sometimes just flat are not. To illustrate the point:
We’ve all heard Sir James Jeans’ assertion that a monkey, pecking randomly on a typewriter, would eventually produce all the books in the British Museum. This may sound reasonable, even obvious, at first glance. But would the monkey in fact ever get even one book?
No. Not in any practical sense.
This entry was posted in News and tagged Constitution, Economics, Life, NWO, Political Correctness, Politics, Privacy, Society, Tyranny by Curtis Patranella. Bookmark the permalink.
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Home FEATURED NEWS Ruga Settlements: Igbos Should Be Ready To Defend Themselves, Enough Of These Threats – Nwodo
Ruga Settlements: Igbos Should Be Ready To Defend Themselves, Enough Of These Threats – Nwodo
Orsu24news TeamJuly 5, 20190
The President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, on Thursday described as irresponsible the 30-day ultimatum, a Coalition of Northern group gave the Federal Government to rescind its decision to suspend the RUGA policy.
Nwodo called on the Igbo to be ready to defend themselves against any threat from any quarter.
Nwodo in a statement said, “My attention has been drawn to a broadcast by Abdul Azeez Suleman, speaking for a coalition of northern groups in which he had the audacity to give the Federal Government an ultimatum of 30 days to rescind its decision on the suspension of its RUGA settlements policy.
“Abdul went further to threaten the expulsion of southerners resident in the North at the expiration of his ultimatum if the Federal Government does not rescind its suspension decision.
“This irresponsible, unlawful and provocative outburst reminds me of the northern youths’ notice to quit the North to southerners two years ago.”
While describing the RUGA policy as an Islamisation and a Fulanisation policy, Nwodo said that Ohanaeze would resist it.
He added, “The threat to evict law-abiding Nigerians from their places of abode in northern Nigeria is treasonable and obviously like the gun-trotting herdsmen will go unnoticed by our federally-controlled law enforcement agencies.
“Let Abdul, the Federal Government and others like them, take notice that Ohanaeze has no objections to all Igbo in the North returning home so long as all northerners in the South-East would leave the South-East and we dismantle the federal structure imposed on us by the military and return to autonomous federating units.
“The nepotism exhibited by this Federal Government, her duplicity of standards in law enforcement, her undisguised Fulanisation policy is repugnant to the rule of law and good governance. We will no longer tolerate any further threats from these northern war mongers.
“After all, who should be the aggrieved under the circumstance? The millipede that has been marched is whimpering, but the person that marched it is complaining that his foot has been soiled.
“The southern Nigerian people that are bearing the yoke of oppression from cattle herders are trying their best to co-exist with their aggressors, yet it is the aggressors that are threatening further mayhem. This cannot be.
“I call on all Igbo to be ready to defend themselves. Enough of these threats!”
igbos
nwodo
Gunmen Kill 27 In Fresh Attacks On Katsina Communities Previous post
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Six Plus Hold'em Run It Once Poker
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PokerStars Becomes First “Official Poker Partner” of UFC
The world’s global online poker giant has inked a deal with the UFC in an effort to widen TSG’s exposure to the US market and worldwide.
PokerStars has joined forces with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to become its first-ever “Official Poker Partner”, in a new sponsorship category.
UFC is the world’s leading Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organization headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. Founded in 1993, the professional MMA fighting league has become immensely popular in the US and is slowly gaining its popularity in the UK too.
It is the world’s largest pay-per-view event provider and broadcasts in more than 160 countries and reaches more than 1.1 billion TV households in 40 different languages, it was stated in the press release. Surely, the new deal is expected to provide a major boost to both companies’ brand image.
Through this deal, PokerStars also strengthens its presence in the US market. The Stars Group currently operates in New Jersey and is expected to soon launch its services in Pennsylvania in 2019.
At the end of last year, TSG signed another major deal with a US-based sports league, joining forces with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to become an “authorized gaming operator”.
The new partnership with UFC kicked off with the UFC 232 pay-per-view match on December 29 in Las Vegas, allowing PokerStars to sponsor its brand inside the Octagon ring at the stadium held at the T-Mobile Arena, partially owned by MGM Resorts International, one of TSG’s biggest rivals in the US. The sponsorship agreement also allowed PokerStars to advertise its brand via social media and other digital media channels as well as during UFC’s telecasts.
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“We’re excited that PokerStars has joined our roster of global partners and has helped us create a new sponsorship category for our final event of 2018,” said Paul Asencio, UFC Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships.
“This agreement lays the foundation to work together with PokerStars in the future to grow our respective customer bases in key markets,” Asencio continued.
UFC is proud to announce a new partnership with @PokerStars!
: https://t.co/xl9IF2zlti https://t.co/y2TzFiDU6z— UFC (@ufc) December 21, 2018
History of UFC and Poker
The UFC and poker have a long history that dates back to almost a decade. Many MMA fighters have appeared at the poker tables including participating in the World Series of Poker and appearing on Poker After Dark. Legendary fighters such as Randy Couture, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin have competed in the WSOP.
In fact, Ultimate Poker (now-defunct) which was the first legal and regulated online poker site in the US, was owned by the UFC owners. The site was named the “exclusive online gaming partner” of the UFC in 2013. The UFC also had a relationship with Full Tilt Poker before Black Friday.
“UFC and PokerStars have a lot in common,” said Christopher Coyne, Chief Marketing Officer of Stars Interactive, a division of The Stars Group.
“We want to thrill and entertain, both in our products and customer experience. UFC is the world’s leading MMA promoter with millions of fans and followers around the globe, while PokerStars is the heavyweight of online poker. It’s a classic combination,” Coyne added.
Ever since the US Supreme Court ruling paved the way for all 50 states to legalize sports betting in the US, there have been several partnerships between gaming operators and sports league in the US. MGM Resorts International struck a deal with the National Basketball Association (NBA) in September to become an official gaming partner. In the following months, MGM also partnered with the National Hockey League (NHL) as well as Major League Baseball (MLB).
Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys became the first NFL team to enter a partnership with WinStar World Casino in September which was followed by more teams partnering with MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment as well as Harrah’s New Orleans casino.
And now the world’s leading global gaming brand, PokerStars, has teamed up with the UFC just 10 days after the company inked a deal with NBA in an effort to expand its brands worldwide.
Caesars Entertainment Full Tilt Poker MGM Nevada New Jersey Pennsylvania PokerStars The Stars Group Ultimate Poker Nevada Ultimate Poker New Jersey United States WSOP
By Anuj Arora
pokerfu.se/wsd3
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Tag archive: Polaris Gala (16)
Jay Baruchel Explains His Relationship With Canadian Music
September 18 2014 · by Aaron Brophy
TAGS: Canadian Music, Jay Baruchel, Polaris, Polaris Gala, Polaris Gala 2014, Polaris Music Prize, Polaris Music Prize 2014
Jay Baruchel, the Montreal actor and comedian responsible for such lines as “I don’t want to die at James Franco’s house” (from This Is The End) and “I’ll fill ya fulla corndogs” (from Goon) also happens to be the host of the 2014 Polaris Music Prize Gala, happening Monday, Sept. 22 at The Carlu in […]
MusiCounts Wants To Send You To The Polaris Gala (And An Arcade Fire Show)
August 21 2014 · by Aaron Brophy
TAGS: Arcade Fire, Musicounts, Polaris Gala, Polaris Gala 2014, Polaris Music Prize
Our friends at MusiCounts are giving two separate pairs of generous-minded people the opportunity to attend the Polaris Gala being held September 22 at Toronto’s Carlu. MusiCounts, the national music education charity behind campaigns like the Band Aid musical instrument grant and MusiCounts Teacher Of The Year Award, are offering eBay auctions on two distinct […]
Polaris Gala Performers Announced, Grand Jury Revealed
TAGS: Polaris 2014, Polaris Gala, Polaris Gala 2014, Polaris Gala Performers, Polaris Grand Jury, Polaris Music Prize
The performers for the 2014 Polaris Gala being held September 22 at The Carlu in Toronto have been announced. Polaris Short-List nominees Basia Bulat, Mac DeMarco, Jessy Lanza, Owen Pallett, Shad and Tanya Tagaq will all hit the stage during the Gala. Additionally, members of Arcade Fire and YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN will also be […]
Contest: Long & McQuade Sending Two People To The Polaris Gala
TAGS: Contest, Long & McQuade, Polaris contest, Polaris Gala, Polaris Gala 2014, Polaris Music Prize
The fine folks at Long & McQuade are sending a pair of people to the 2014 Polaris Gala in Toronto on Sept. 22 and all you have to do for a chance to win is go into one of their 63 locations across Canada. It’s pretty simple. Head to a Long & McQuade store like […]
Polaris Gala Tickets Now On Sale To The Public
July 30 2014 · by Aaron Brophy
TAGS: Polaris 2014, Polaris Gala, Polaris Gala 2014, Polaris Music Prize, Polaris Music Prize 2014, Polaris tickets
Tickets for the 2014 Polaris Gala being held at the stately Carlu in Toronto on September 22 went on sale today via Ticketfly. Go HERE to purchase tickets. The Gala, which will be hosted by actor and comedian Jay Baruchel, will feature a number of performances and appearances from the 10 acts who made the […]
Jay Baruchel To Host 2014 Polaris Gala
TAGS: Jay Baruchel, Polaris, Polaris 2014, Polaris Gala, Polaris Gala 2014, Polaris Music Prize, Polaris Music Prize 2014
Montreal actor, producer and writer Jay Baruchel will host the 2014 Polaris Gala being held September 22 at The Carlu in Toronto. Baruchel, who once played the role of obsessed Led Zeppelin fan Vic Munoz in Almost Famous, also helped unveil the 10 albums on the 2014 Short List earlier today in Toronto. The actor […]
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March Nor’easter: Round 3??
March 10, 2018 March 11, 2018 JHirschLeave a comment
Sunday Update:
Following days of model uncertainty, a consensus solution as finally been reached. At this point, it appears that the system will phase off the NC coast and strengthen 200 miles off the coast. With this solution, New England, including Boston, could receive over a foot of snow in areas. Philadelphia will likely only see a brief period of light snow on Monday before clearing Monday night. Little to no accumulation is expected.
A third March nor’easter could impact our area Monday or Tuesday. However, the forecasting for this storm has been impossibly hard to nail down. The models have done a poor job handling this system, and it’s leaving meteorologists struggling to find an answer to this crucial question: will there be another March snowstorm in the Northeastern US?
First off, this post will NOT be a final forecast for this storm. There is too much uncertainty at this point and delivering a premature prediction is both reckless and shortsighted. Instead, I will focus on the meteorological factors at play and what’s necessary for this storm to become a significant nor’easter.
Later today, a small disturbance will form along the jet stream in northern Texas. As this low-pressure system moves east, it will interact with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, strengthening and bringing severe thunderstorms to the southeastern states. Simultaneously, another disturbance in the Dakotas will flow down through the Midwest, bringing snow and rain to Iowa and Missouri:
As these systems move closer together, they will begin to interact, or phase:
This is where things get complicated. The models are having trouble predicting where and when this phase will occur. The NAM and GFS models have shown an earlier phase and amplifying the storm off the Atlantic coast. The first map below shows the NAM’s solution, which is a full phase off of the North Carolina coast. Once the storm heads over the Atlantic, it will move northeast and strengthen, bringing light snows to the coastal mid-Atlantic and heavier snowfall in New England.
The second map shows the GFS’ solution, which is also a full phase off of the NC coastline. The GFS, however, is having issues figuring out where to place the low once it’s in open water:
The map below shows the GFS feedback issue:
While the GFS and NAM models show a phase into a nor’easter, the European model has consistently been showing a very late and southern phase, forcing the storm out to sea. This solution is very probable, with other models such as the UK and the Canadian consenting with the Euro’s track and timing.
What I just outlined is the situation for this storm. There are three possible outcomes this storm could take:
The Outlier Scenario: The northern and southern streams phase early, the storm strengthens and feeds cold air into the western side of the storm. This situation would create a significant nor’easter for the eastern seaboard with substantial snow totals from DC to Boston.
GFS and NAM Scenario: The northern and southern streams phase later, but still close to the coast. The storm strengthens, but only enough to bring significant snows to New England and Atlantic Canada.
The Foreign Scenario: The phase occurs very late, and the storm goes out to sea. Impacts from this scenario will be negligible apart from some high surf along the coast.
Based on what I’ve seen so far, the most likely scenario right now is #2. But, as we’ve seen before, weather is unpredictable, and things can change on a dime. That being said, please stay tuned to your local forecasts this weekend as a major nor’easter is still possible Monday or Tuesday. I will report any forecast updates at the top of this post later today or tomorrow.
High Impact Nor’easter: Round Two
Another One – March Nor’easter #4
« Feb Sep »
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D'vûd-i Karsî’nin Şerhu Îs'gûcî Adlı Eserinin Eleştirmeli Metin Neşri ve Değerlendirmesi
Ferruh Özpilavcı
Cumhuriyet İlahiyat Dergisi 21 (3):2009-2009 (2017)
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Dâwûd al-Qarisî (Dâvûd al-Karsî) was a versatile and prolific 18th century Ottoman scholar who studied in İstanbul and Egypt and then taught for long years in various centers of learning like Egypt, Cyprus, Karaman, and İstanbul. He held high esteem for Mehmed Efendi of Birgi (Imâm Birgivî/Birgili, d.1573), out of respect for whom, towards the end of his life, Karsî, like Birgivî, occupied himself with teaching in the town of Birgi, where he died in 1756 and was buried next to Birgivî. Better known for his following works on Arabic language and rhetoric and on the prophetic traditions (hadith): Sharḥu uṣûli’l-ḥadîth li’l-Birgivî; Sharḥu’l-Ḳaṣîdati’n-nûniyya (two commentaries, in Arabic and Turkish); Şarḥu’l-Emsileti’l-mukhtalifa fi’ṣ-ṣarf (two commentaries, in Arabic and Turkish); Sharḥu’l-Binâʾ; Sharḥu’l-ʿAvâmil; and Sharḥu İzhâri’l-asrâr, Karsî has actually composed textbooks in quite different fields. Hence the hundreds of manuscript copies of his works in world libraries. Many of his works were also recurrently printed in the Ottoman period. One of the neglected aspects of Karsî is his identity as a logician. Although he authored ambitious and potent works in the field of logic, this aspect of him has not been subject to modern studies. Even his bibliography has not been established so far (with scattered manuscript copies of his works and incomplete catalogue entries). This article primarily and in a long research based on manuscript copies and bibliographic sources, identifies twelve works on logic that Karsî has authored. We have clarified the works that are frequently mistaken for each other, and, especially, have definitively established his authorship of a voluminous commentary on al-Kâtibî’s al-Shamsiyya, of which commentary a second manuscript copy has been identified and described together with the other copy. Next is handled his most famous work of logic, the Sharhu Îsâghûcî, which constitutes an important and assertive ring in the tradition of commentaries on Îsâghûcî. We describe in detail the nine manuscript copies of this work that have been identified in various libraries. The critical text of Karsî’s Sharhu Îsâghûcî, whose composition was finished on 5 March 1745, has been prepared based on the following four manuscripts: (1) MS Kayseri Raşid Efendi Kütüphanesi, No. 857, ff.1v-3v, dated 1746, that is, only one year after the composition of the work; (2) MS Bursa İnebey Yazma Eser Kütüphanesi, Genel, No.794B, ff.96v-114v, dated 1755; (3) MS Millet Kütüphanesi, Ali Emiri Efendi Arapça, No. 1752, ff.48v-58r, dated 1760; (4) MS Beyazıt Yazma Eser Kütüphanesi, Beyazıt, No. 3129, ff.41v-55v, dated 8 March 1772. While preparing the critical text, we have applied the Center for Islamic Studies (İslam Araştırmaları Merkezi, İSAM)’s method of optional text choice. The critical text is preceded by a content analysis. Karsî is well aware of the preceding tradition of commentary on Îsâghûcî, and has composed his own commentary as a ‘simile’ or alternative to the commentary by Mollâ Fanârî which was famous and current in his own day. Karsî’s statement “the commentary in one day and one night” is a reference to Mollâ Fanârî who had stated that he started writing his commentary in the morning and finished it by the evening. Karsî, who spent long years in the Egyptian scholarly and cultural basin, adopted the religious-sciences-centered ‘instrumentalist’ understanding of logic that was dominant in the Egypt-Maghrib region. Therefore, no matter how famous they were, he criticized those theoretical, long, and detailed works of logic which mingled with philosophy; and defended and favored authoring functional and cogent logic texts that were beneficial, in terms of religious sciences, to the seekers of knowledge and the scholars. Therefore, in a manner not frequently encountered in other texts of its kind, he refers to the writings and views of Muhammad b. Yûsuf al-Sanûsî (d.1490), the great representative of this logical school in the Egyptian-Maghrib region. Where there is divergence between the views of the ‘earlier scholars’ (mutaqaddimûn) like Ibn Sînâ and his followers and the ‘later scholars’ (muta’akhkhirûn), i.e., post-Fakhr al-dîn al-Râzî logicians, Karsî is careful to distance himself from partisanship, preferring sometimes the views of the earliers, other times those of the laters. For instance, on the eight conditions proposed for the realization of contradiction, he finds truth to be with al-Fârâbî, who proposed “unity in the predicative attribution” as the single condition for the realization of contradiction. Similarly, on the subject matter of Logic, he tried to reconcile the mutaqaddimûn’s notion of ‘second intelligibles’ with the muta’akhkhirûn’s notion of ‘apprehensional and declarational knowledge,’ suggesting that not much difference exists between the two, on the grounds that both notions are limited to the aspect of ‘known things that lead to the knowledge of unknown things.’ Karsî asserts that established and commonly used metaphors have, according to the verifying scholars, signification by correspondence (dalâlat al-mutâbaqah), adding also that it should not be ignored that such metaphors may change from society to society and from time to time. Karsî also endorses the earlier scholars’ position concerning the impossibility of quiddity (mâhiyya) being composed of two co-extensive parts, and emphasizes that credit should not be given to later scholars’ position who see it possible. According to the verifying scholars (muhaqqîqûn), it is possible to make definition (hadd) by mentioning only difference (fasl), in which case it becomes an imperfect definition (hadd nâqis). He is of the opinion that the definition of the proposition (qadiyya) in al-Taftâzânî’s Tahdhîb is clearer and more complete: “a proposition is an expression that bears the possibility of being true or false”. He states that in the division of proposition according to quantity what is taken into consideration is the subject (mawdû‘) in categorical propositions, and the temporal aspect of the antecedent (muqaddam) in hypothetical propositions. As for the unquantified, indefinite proposition (qadiyya muhmalah), Karsî assumes that if it is not about the problems of the sciences, then it is virtually/potentially a particular proposition (qadiyya juz’iyyah); but if it is about the problems of the sciences, then it is virtually/potentially a universal proposition (qadiyya kulliyyah). This being the general rule about the ambiguous (muhmal) propositions, he nevertheless contends that, because its subject (mawdû‘) is negated, it is preferable to consider a negative ambiguous (sâliba muhmalah) proposition like “human (insân) is not standing” to be a virtually/potentially universal negative (sâliba kulliyyâh) proposition. He states that a disjunctive hypothetical proposition (shartiyya al-munfasila) that is composed of more than two parts/units is only seemingly so, and that in reality it cannot be composed of more than two units. Syllogism (qiyâs), according to Karsî, is the ultimate purpose (al-maqsad al-aqsâ) and the most valuable subject-matter of the science of Logic. For him, the entire range of topics that are handled before this one are only prolegomena to it. This approach of Karsî clearly reveals how much the ‘demonstration (burhân)-centered’ approach of the founding figures of the Muslim tradition of logic like al-Fârâbî and Ibn Sînâ has changed. al-Abharî, in his Îsâghûjî makes no mention of ‘conversion by contradiction’ (‘aks al-naqîd). Therefore, Karsî, too, in his commentary, does not touch upon the issue. However, in his Îsâghûjî al-jadîd Karsî does handle the conversion by contradiction and its rules. Following the method of Îsâghûjî, in his commentary Karsî shortly touches on the four figures (shakl) of conjuctive syllogism (qiyâs iqtirânî) and their conditions, after which he passes to the first figure (shakl), which is considered ‘the balance of the sciences’ (mi‘yâr al-‘ulûm), explaining the four moods (darb) of it. In his Îsâghûjî al-jadîd, however, Karsî handles all the four figures (shakl) with all their related moods (darb), where he speaks of fife moods (darb) of the fourth figure (shakl). The topic of ‘modal propositions’ (al-muwajjahât) and of ‘modal syllogism’ (al-mukhtalitât), both of which do not take place in the Îsâghûjî, are not mentioned by Karsî as well, either in his commentary on Îsâghûjî or in his Îsâghûjî al-jadîd. Karsî proposes that the certainties (yaqîniyyât), of which demonstration (burhân) is made, have seven, not six, divisions. After mentioning (1) axioms/first principles (awwaliyyât), (2) observata/sensuals (mushâhadât), (3) experta/empiricals (mujarrabât), (4) acumenalia (hadthiyyât), (5) testata (mutawâtirât), and (6) instictives (fitriyyât), that is, all the ‘propositions accompanied by their demonstrations,’ Karsî states that these six divisions, which do not need research and reflection (nazar), are called badîhiyyât (self-evidents), and constitute the foundations (usûl) of certainties (yaqîniyyât). As the seventh division he mentions (7) the nazariyyât (theoreticals), which are known via the badîhiyyât, end up in them, and therefore convey certainty (yaqîn). For Karsî, the nazariyyât/theoreticals, which constitute the seventh division of yaqîniyyât/certainties, are too numerous, and constitute the branches (far‘) of yaqîniyyât. Every time the concept of ‘Mughâlata’ (sophistry) comes forth in the traditional sections on the five arts usually appended to logic works, Karsî often gives examples from what he sees as extreme sûfî sayings, lamenting that these expressions are so widespread and held in esteem. He sometimes criticizes these expressions. However, it is observed that he does not reject tasawwuf in toto, but excludes from his criticism the mystical views and approaches of the truth-abiding (ahl al-haqq), shârî‘â-observant (mutasharri‘) leading sufis who have reached to the highest level of karâmah.
Logic Logic in Islamic Philosophy Logic in the Ottoman Thought Commentary on Īsāghūjī
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Is a couple living in symbiosis?
I think the answer is yes. Since male and female can live on their own. But for the sake of reproduction and child rearing some form of symbiosis can develop.
ontology society semantics life evolution
Doubtful. And can you give a reason why this is a question philosophy rather than biology? (Maybe you are working from some particular philosopher's vocabulary rather than the natural meaning of the word) – virmaior Mar 9 '14 at 2:44
The cohabitation and especially marriage have decreased. So it's as much a social, cultural question about what the best philosophy is. And if being in a couple being a symbiosis is true and thusly beneficial for both partners. @Hals answer goes in the right direction, but only points at the biological, reproductive part. – DisplayName Mar 9 '14 at 11:23
"Symbiosis (from Ancient Greek σύν "together" and βίωσις "living") is close and often long-term interaction between two or more different biological species."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbiosis
Assuming these married people belong to the same species, their pair-bond is not an example of symbiosis, by definition. In order for your idea to work, you would need to change the accepted definition of symbiosis.
You and your gut bacteria are in symbiosis. It's true that they don't cook you breakfast; but they do help you digest it.
user4894user4894
Sometimes men and women seem to be different species. :-p – labreuer Mar 8 '14 at 20:21
@labreuer I've heard sexes described as different species in a semi-serious way by more than one well respected biologist. The existence of sex certainly doesn't make the definition of a species any easier. – Lucas Mar 8 '14 at 23:55
Exactly my drift. Especially since there are many "species" where males and females live in solitude only to reunite to mate and then the male and female split apart. And only one of the partners takes care of the children. That would not be symbiosis. – DisplayName Mar 9 '14 at 11:21
Essentially you are saying yes. So unless somebody else has a better answer. I'll go with that, thanks. – DisplayName Mar 10 '14 at 9:42
Among humans? Or among mating organisms in general? Also, in what circumstances?
Economically
Suppose a couple who value what most people value, and who value those things about as much as most people value them.
If they share fixed costs (shelter, utilities, and furnishings), then the arrangement will effect more value for each of them; presuming, living with another person doesn't offset the added value. Otherwise, parasitism better characterizes the arrangement than symbiosis does.
Reproductively
Whether we ought to regard cohabitating as symbiotic, or regard it as parasitic, depends on the circumstances: Can either party force the other to mate with it? How would doing so affect either party's absolute reproductive success (the number of organisms at an arbitrary future time that will have descended from the ancestor in question)? Game theory explicates this intertesselation well. The game proceeds as follows.
First note the following game parameters.
The players in the game comprise 50% men and 50% women
The players inherit one of two strategies: girly, manly
Conception requires that a man and a woman agree to mate.
Conception requires that a woman wants the mating to produce her mate's offspring
A man does not know whether his mate wants the mating to produce his offspring
Only a woman knows whether she conceived a given offspring
Any player can refuse to mate with any player
A woman can conceive no more than n offspring
A man can conceive no more offspring than the number of ova he can fertilize
Half of the offspring have their mother's gender and strategy ;half of the offspring have their father's gender and strategy
Every offspring has half its mother's genes and half its father's genes.
Every player has an amount of time that equals n
The expected reproductive success of an offspring increases commensurately with the time invested in it.
Womanly strategies invest resources in their offspring; manly strategies do not.
Every player knows the gender and the strategy of every other player.
No player knows another player's moves.
Every player endeavors to maximize its expected reproductive success
Expected reproductive success equals the probability-adjusted most probable number of a player's genes expected to be in all the players of the game in a later turn.
Players can cooperate
Suppose two manly players have a child: MM
By 12: they invest 0 time in their offspring
By 11: the expected reproductive success of the offspring equals 0.
Suppose a manly and a girly have a child: MG
Suppose two girlies have a child: GG
the expected reproductive success of a countless number of MM children equals 0. So a manly-woman can find a girly-man and have all her n offspring with him. A strategy that effects a value of n x 1 for each of the two players: The girly-man invests all his n time on their n children. So in keeping with his girly strategy he does not endeavor to conceive more children. The manly-woman has had all her n offspring with the girly-man, so she can have no more children.
A manly-man's expected reproductive success does not change by mating with a manly-woman since it does not decrease the number of girly-women he mates.
But then, why would a girly-woman want to mate with a manly-man when she can mate with a girly-man and invest 2 time into their children.
So things look bleak for manly-man.
But, by common-knowledge (in the game-theoretic sense), every woman apprehends that a man can only presume that the offspring of one of his mates has his genes (given that only children of his mates can possibly have his genes). So then, she chooses to mate with a girly-man, and with a manly-man, but only to have the offspring of the manly-man. Thus conceiving some manly-men offspring who receive 1 or 2 time investments.
This effects a state of affairs that comprises nearly all manly-men and girly-women. The men sleep around as much as possible, and the women invest time in the offspring. All offspring get 1 time investment, and, on average, every man has the same number of children.
At this point the women can justify cooperating. If they agree to stop deceiving their mates then after a few generations they can have the same number of children, but each with 2 time investments instead of just 1. However, it is always in the woman's best interest to defect from the pact and deceive her girly-man, so the pact fails.
So, interestingly that model explains:
Why being a "slut" has been much more damaging to a woman's reputation among women than to her reputation among men.
All the research at www.facelab.org
Why women care about monogamy (they will have all the kids they can have no matter what, they want investment in those kids).
Beatlemania and why women are attracted to men when they have girlfriends. (Men that women like are more likely to be successful at passing on the woman's genes, the more women there are that like a man, the more women find him attractive)
Why women are attracted to 'jerks' but marry 'nice guys'. (Or why they're attracted to guys who show little interest in investing in them, but mary guys who do show interest in doing so).
Reproductively speaking, being in a 'couple' is a parasitic relationship, in which the female and manly-man are the parasites and the girly-man the host.
Thanks, that chain of reasoning makes sense. But what about manly man and girly woman in a relationship? Would that not be semi parasitic or rather symbiotic? Because both get what they want? How about manly-girly-men and manly-girly-women. Both have both and can do both? – DisplayName Mar 9 '14 at 11:26
@DisplayName The nash equilibrium is for manly-man and girly-woman to use girly-man. So I suppose you could call the manly-man - girly-woman part of that symbiotic. Note that manly-man doesn't invest time in his children. So, if we define a partnership as any instance of two people investing time in a child, then there is no such thing as a manly-man girly-woman partnership in this game. – Hal Mar 9 '14 at 11:59
@DisplayName as for manly-girly-men and women, to keep the game simple we didn't include such players. You can add as much complexity as you want, but keep in mind that too much detail can reduce the usefulness of a model. Consider that a 1:1 scale map is of no use as a map =). That said, game theorists, sociologists, psychologists, biologists, and system scientists have all arrived at, essentially, the same explanation of human mating. So I believe that the model does accurately explicate much of what happens in real world courting and reproduction (with all its complexities). – Hal Mar 9 '14 at 12:15
Ok I get what you are saying. Not really what I was asking for since I don't care about a map. But I don't know how else to phrase it. – DisplayName Mar 10 '14 at 9:40
@DisplayName A map is a model or an abstraction. The essence of understanding is abstraction (disregarding the right details to more easily conceive of what matters). The point being that if you add in all the details of real life, you have a description, not an explanation. So you could compute the effect of players with mixed strategies, but it would make the model more complex; evidently, needlessly so as all disciplines that research the matter have concluded similarly. So the model I rendered above explains the propensity of the population, but not each of its individuals. – Hal Mar 10 '14 at 13:54
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Question about the Argument of Recollection from Plato's Phaedo
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What is the distinction between mysticism and metaphysics?
Mysticism and Metaphysics seem to share immediate similarity: both amount to sort of speculations pertaining to capture universal truth that cannot be confirmed nor refuted by the senses. What is the distinction between mysticism and metaphysics?
In my search for some answer I explored Bertrand Russell's "Mysticism and Logic", an essay first published in 1917. However, in that essay, the relation between metaphysics and mysticism is somewhat unclear to me, and further - Russell limited the role of both mysticism and metaphysics in the practice of doing philosophy (since he wanted philosophy to be more scientific).
metaphysics metaphilosophy mysticism
Jordan SJordan S
Assuming that we agree on saying that "Metaphysics amount to sort of speculations pertaining to capture universal truth that cannot be confirmed nor refuted by the senses" we can say that metaphysics try to do this with "logical arguments"; this is not shared with mysticism. – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Dec 13 '15 at 20:08
Thank you. Would it not then imply that non-Western metaphysics (e.g. that which is embeded in Chinese philosophy - Taoism especially) is no more than mysticism?... – Jordan S Dec 13 '15 at 20:43
@JordanS That would require you to declare their theories to have no logical value. At the very least, declaring "no more than..." anything is a very striking claim in any circumstance. In my experience, once one uses phrases like that, it guarantees that one will find no further worth in the structure they have minimized with their words. It's a self fulfilling prophecy, if you will. – Cort Ammon Dec 13 '15 at 21:18
@CortAmmon, thank you for this comment. One can find logic in everything; and personally I find logical value in non-Western philosophies - though the 'logical' in the 'logical value' cannot be taken in the strict sense of logic. (You are right to point out that extreme phrases ("no more than...") reduce or minimize the object of inquiry). I presume that the question of how to demarcate mysticism from metaphysics might be controversial. – Jordan S Dec 13 '15 at 21:28
I hit the Wikipedia page about the topic. It suggests the meaning of the word "mysticism" has changed many times including one quote as "a catch-all for religious weirdness." I also noticed the root of "mysticism" is "to conceal." Perhaps one may find the delineation between the two words in how the information is conveyed, rather than just its contents? – Cort Ammon Dec 13 '15 at 21:50
Per Russell's "mysticism and logic", the difference between mysticism and logic (He uses the term logic as a tag for reason and the scientific method in general) is purely epistemic. They are two different epistemic methods, even if they both have the same objective of acquiring (metaphysical) knowledge about the world.
So to answer your question:
Mysticism is one method of obtaining metaphysical knowledge. Per Russel, mysticism is mainly knowledge by intuition. I would add that it also includes techniques such as meditation and asceticism.
Metaphysics (as a sub-discipline of philosophy) is a different method. Here, logic, reason, and eventually empirical observation when possible are the proper method of obtaining knowledge of the world.
Wittgenstein makes an interesting distinction (as a complement to Russell's analysis of the difference): Mystical truths are exactly the truths that cannot be explained by logic, “What can be shown cannot be said”.
Mystical schools such of Sufism, often speak of mysteries that cannot be explained, instead the mystic has to "follow the path" to arrive at the truth, the teachers (gurus, saints, masters, etc...) can only show they way.
Alexander S KingAlexander S King
I would (slightly) disagree with Wittgenstein on the "cannot", since, as a Buddhist I'm familiar with the goal being truths that seem to resist description and seem paradoxical or nonsensical if spoken of, but actually have a large body of formal and logical study behind them (that of Nagarjuna and Dignaga, for example). It's just that the point is to know these things like you know your own life, experentially, not just at an intellectual level. However good the map is it can never describe the terrain fully. Then again, it does decribe it. – iain Dec 14 '15 at 3:21
@iain note that Wittgenstein was limited by the fact that he was using classical logic, Buddhist logic from what I understand is richer, and be understood in terms of developments in non-classical logic which have occurred after Wittgenstein's time. See this ref scientiasalon.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/… – Alexander S King Dec 16 '15 at 1:03
that is no excuse! :) I jest, and I think my slight disagreement is less of a disagreement than a slight disclaimer. Regardless, that is a very interesting article, and I'll be reading the others in the series too, thank you for sharing. – iain Dec 16 '15 at 6:27
I would mildly disagree on the grounds that metaphysical truths can be explained by logic. What cannot be acquired in this way is understanding. I like your answer (upvoted) but feel it is misleading on a sensitive issue. Contra to Russell the mystics employ logic, reason and empiricism just as he does but unlike him they do not stop there and nor do they deny the results of logic and reason but claim that these results prove that Reality is just as they say it is. There are good logical demonstrations of what these 'intuitions' tell us about metaphysics and they require no special knowledge. – PeterJ Nov 19 '18 at 16:25
Mysticism and metaphysics can differ in their methods of reasoning as @MauroALLEGRANZA commented. Additionally, they can differ in their aims - for example, mysticism, in contrast to metaphysics, can be thought of inter-alia as a tool helping to conceive the divine realm.
Note however that according to these kind of characterizations most if not all of Chinese philosophy and possibly other non-Western philosophies might be taken as mere mysticism.
There is an overlap in the meaning of these words but they refer to distinct activities.
Definitions may vary but metaphysics may be seen as Hegel's 'science of logic' or the study and use of logic to determine truths about Reality, while mysticism includes metaphysics but is 'empirical' in that it goes beyond logic and proceeds by establishing 'what is the case' in experience.
Iow, the metaphysicians make the maps and the mystics undertake the journey. This is very similar to the experimental-theoretical division in physics except that in mysticism it is the theoreticians who are looked down on. In Buddhism metaphysical analysis would come under the heading of contemplation.
Contrary to your comment in the question mysticism is not about speculation but discovery.
I would suggest that you ignore anything Russell says on this topic since he could make no sense of metaphysics or mysticism and is the first to admit it.
PeterJPeterJ
Mysticism tends to be in the rubric of which Wittgenstein spoke as ‘that of which we cannot speak, of that we must remain silent.’ Whereas metaphysics can be spoken about adnauseum!
answered 7 mins ago
Radhika DeviRadhika Devi
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Speed Bumps Less Important Than Potholes for Graphene
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Volume 11, Number 1 (1983), 317-325.
A Minimax Criterion for Choosing Weight Functions for $L$-Estimates of Location
David M. Mason
More by David M. Mason
Let $X_1, \cdots, X_n$ be independent with common distribution $F$ symmetric about $\mu$. Let $T_n = n^{-1} \sum^n_{i = 1} J(i/(n + 1))X_{in}$ be an $L$-estimate of $\mu$ based on a weight function $J$ and the order statistics $X_{1n} \leq \cdots \leq X_{nn}$ of $X_1, \cdots, X_n$. Under very general regularity conditions $n^{1/2}T_n$ has asymptotic variance $\sigma^2(J, F)$. A weight function $J_0$ is found that minimizes the maximum of $\sigma^2(J, F)/s^2(F)$, whenever $s(F)$ is a measure of scale of a general type, as $F$ ranges over a subclass of the symmetric distributions determined by $s(F)$ and $J$ ranges over a class of weight functions also determined by $s(F)$. The sample mean and the trimmed mean arise as the solutions for particular choices of scale measures.
Ann. Statist., Volume 11, Number 1 (1983), 317-325.
Primary: 62G35: Robustness
Secondary: 62G05: Estimation
$L$-estimates for location order statistics minimax weight function
Mason, David M. A Minimax Criterion for Choosing Weight Functions for $L$-Estimates of Location. Ann. Statist. 11 (1983), no. 1, 317--325. doi:10.1214/aos/1176346082. https://projecteuclid.org/euclid.aos/1176346082
An Elementary Proof of Asymptotic Normality of Linear Functions of Order Statistics
Moore, D. S., The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 1968
Exact Moments and Percentage Points of the Order Statistics and the Distribution of the Range From the Logistic Distribution
Gupta, Shanti S. and Shah, Bhupendra K., The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 1965
Sample Criteria for Testing Outlying Observations
Grubbs, Frank E., The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 1950
Robust Estimation of a Location Parameter
Huber, Peter J., The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 1964
On the Identifiability Problem for Functions of Finite Markov Chains
Gilbert, Edgar J., The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 1959
Uniform Strong Consistency of Rao-Blackwell Distribution Function Estimators
O'Reilly, Federico J. and Quesenberry, C. P., The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 1972
Asymptotic Behavior of Self-Normalized Trimmed Sums: Nonnormal Limits
Hahn, Marjorie G. and Weiner, Daniel C., The Annals of Probability, 1992
Laws of Large Numbers for Sums of Extreme Values
Mason, David M., The Annals of Probability, 1982
Asymptotic Power of Certain Test Criteria (Based on First and Second Differences) for Serial Correlation between Successive Observations
Kamat, A. R. and Sathe, Y. S., The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 1962
On the Stationary Distribution of the Neutral Diffusion Model in Population Genetics
Ethier, S. N. and Kurtz, Thomas G., The Annals of Applied Probability, 1992
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Naughty Dog Didn't Want To Make Crash Team Racing
Naughty Dog Didn’t Want To Make Crash Team Racing
July 1, 2019 Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger — No Comments
Sony kept pushing for another Crash Bandicoot game which eventually led to the original Crash Team Racing. According to Retro Gamer via GamesRadar, Naughty Dog designer, Daniel Arey, expressed they had to deal with hardships during Crash’s third adventure, Warped.
We had done three Crash games and Crash Warped had been a really, really intense nine-month project. We were in meetings as Warped was finishing up, thinking about what our next project was going to be.
Originally, the studio didn’t want to make another Crash game as they wanted to focus on other fresher ideas. Though, they had come to love the characters and the universe. Of course, Sony also wanted more from the franchise, so Naughty Dog needed to comply and make another game.
And we came to this idea that we didn’t want to do a fourth Crash, because the team had done so much of that. We wanted to do something fresh, but we loved the universe and we loved the characters. And, of course, Sony was pushing for one more Crash. For Sony, Crash had basically become its de facto mascot.
This game was different, as you can imagine. Crash Team Racing was dealt a hand that involved 3D technology and kart racing. The final touches to Crash Bandicoot: Warped was added and shipped off. One man, Danny Chan, set to working on CTR’s engine during the final touches.
One month was taken off, as per their usual way of working, then the game went into full production. In the end, Crash Team Racing was a big hit and then went onto a long hiatus. Until this year, that is, when Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled was announced.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is out now for PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.
About Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger
I mostly do news articles 'round here. I smash my head against a keyboard and words magically appear. Twitter
Tagged with: crash bandicoot Crash Team Racing naughty dog sony
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Oh, my: Obama and Hillary regularly exchanged emails
“It’s all good. No worries!”
To and from her private email address, hosted on a private server of questionable security in her own house.
Well, there goes any argument that The One only learned of this in his usual way, by reading the papers:
President Barack Obama communicated via email with Hillary Clinton while she used her personal email, according to the White House.
In a press briefing on Monday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that Obama did correspond with his secretary of state via her private email address.
“The president, as I think many people expected, did over the course of his first several years in office trade emails with his secretary of state,” Earnest said. “I would not describe the number of emails as large, but they did have the occasion to email each other.”
Yeah, not many emails. You know, the President of the United States and his top diplomat were just trading LOL Cat links and recipes. No way were they conducting important discussions on matters of state or sharing classified information that governments around the world would die to get their hands on. Nope. Unthinkable.
Consider: any intelligence service worth its salt hacked the Clinton’s server the moment they learned she was using a private email address, and I guarantee you someone found that out over her four-year term. And, if that happened, they now have the president’s private email address plus copies of any information she sent him and he sent her.
It would be as if China’s Ministry of State Security had a stenographer in the Oval Office.
Remember, Clinton used this email exclusively. No matter what security the White House had, the Clinton’s server was secured by the equivalent of a “No peeking” sign. What information did she and Obama share with each other? Were any classified docs sent as attachments? Edward Snowden has to be wondering why he went to all that trouble, when we were making it so easy.
Food for thought: No one with more than half a brain believes Obama didn’t notice the sender info in his emails over four years, nor knew that Hillary was running a private network. And yet if His Oneness sent classified info over unsecure lines, knowing what Hillary was doing and making no effort to put a stop to it, isn’t the POTUS himself as culpable, at least morally?
Afterthought: You know, if the committees of Congress want to know what’s in Hillary’s emails, they could just ask Wikileaks…
1 Comment | Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Scandals, Technology | Tagged: email, security | Permalink
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US8850491B2 - Wireless distribution system proxy caches - Google Patents
Wireless distribution system proxy caches Download PDF
television content
client devices
Nosherwan Minwalla
Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC
2010-12-20 Application filed by Microsoft Corp filed Critical Microsoft Corp
2011-01-06 Assigned to MICROSOFT CORPORATION reassignment MICROSOFT CORPORATION ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: MINWALLA, NOSHERWAN
2014-12-09 Assigned to MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC reassignment MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
H04N21/60—Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client
H04N21/61—Network physical structure; Signal processing
H04N21/6106—Network physical structure; Signal processing specially adapted to the downstream path of the transmission network
H04N21/6131—Network physical structure; Signal processing specially adapted to the downstream path of the transmission network involving transmission via a mobile phone network
H04N21/63—Control signaling related to video distribution between client, server and network components; Network processes for video distribution between server and clients or between remote clients, e.g. transmitting basic layer and enhancement layers over different transmission paths, setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet between remote STB's; Communication protocols; Addressing
H04N21/647—Control signaling between network components and server or clients; Network processes for video distribution between server and clients, e.g. controlling the quality of the video stream, by dropping packets, protecting content from unauthorised alteration within the network, monitoring of network load, bridging between two different networks, e.g. between IP and wireless
H04N21/64784—Data processing by the network
H04W4/206—
H04W4/20—Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
H04W4/21—Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel for social networking applications
H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
H04N21/21—Server components or server architectures
H04N21/222—Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end
H04W4/02—Services making use of location information
H04W4/025—Services making use of location information using location based information parameters
H04W88/18—Service support devices; Network management devices
H04W88/182—Network node acting on behalf of an other network entity, e.g. proxy
In embodiments of wireless distribution system proxy caches, a mobile network operator receives requests for television content from client devices, and communicates one of the requests to a content service that provides the television content for distribution to the client devices. Proxy caches are implemented to cache content data of the television content prior to the cached content data of the television content being wirelessly communicated to the client devices. The proxy caches are located at wireless distribution points of the mobile network operator, and the wireless distribution points communicate the cached content data of the television content from the proxy caches to the client devices.
Television content delivered over an Internet connection is an increasingly popular technology. In addition to short video clips and recorded movies, live television can be distributed via the Internet, and television programming can be streamed to a portable device, such as mobile phone or computer device. However, there remains bandwidth limitations to delivering live television and video content in real-time, particularly through telco and mobile operator networks that distribute television content to client devices via wireless communication.
Additionally, television content typically includes national and/or local advertisements. Local advertisements are generally distributed within a fixed geographic area, and are intended to reach potential consumers of goods and services within the designated, fixed geographic area. However, portable devices may receive television content and advertisements when moved through many different geographic advertising areas, while local advertising to a device remains constrained to a fixed geographic area.
This summary is provided to introduce simplified concepts of wireless distribution system proxy caches. The simplified concepts are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for use in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In embodiments of wireless distribution system proxy caches, a mobile network operator receives requests for television content from client devices, and communicates one of the requests to a content service that provides the television content for distribution to the client devices. Proxy caches are implemented to cache content data of the television content prior to the cached content data of the television content being wirelessly communicated to the client devices. The proxy caches are located at wireless distribution points of the mobile network operator, and the wireless distribution points communicate the cached content data of the television content from the proxy caches to the client devices. A wireless distribution point emulates television multicast when the cached content data of the television content is communicated from a proxy cache to multiple client devices.
In embodiments of current device location advertisement distribution, a mobile network operator receives television content from a content service and can then communicate the television content to a client device via a wireless distribution point. A device location service determines that a current location of the client device is not within a geographic region associated with the client device. The geographic region that is associated with the client device may be based on a service contract with a user of the client device, or a billing zip code associated with the user of the client device.
The device location service updates the current location of the client device from location data that identifies the current location of the client device. The location data can include GPS location data or regional position data that correlates to the current location of the client device. The television content can then be updated for distribution to the client device along with advertisements that correspond to an advertising locale, which includes the current location of the client device. The device location service can also update the advertising locale for the client device as the client device is moved from one region to another.
Embodiments of wireless distribution system proxy caches and current device location advertisement distribution are described with reference to the following drawings. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components:
FIG. 1 illustrates an example system in which embodiments of wireless distribution system proxy caches and current device location advertisement distribution can be implemented.
FIG. 2 illustrates another example system in which embodiments of current device location advertisement distribution can be implemented.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example system with multiple devices for a seamless user experience in ubiquitous environments.
FIG. 4 illustrates example method(s) of wireless distribution system proxy caches in accordance with one or more embodiments.
FIG. 5 illustrates example method(s) of current device location advertisement distribution in accordance with one or more embodiments.
FIG. 6 illustrates additional example method(s) of current device location advertisement distribution in accordance with one or more embodiments.
FIG. 7 illustrates various components of an example device that can implement embodiments of wireless distribution system proxy caches and current device location advertisement distribution.
In embodiments, a mobile network operator controls distribution of television content to various client devices via wireless distribution points. The mobile network operator receives requests for television content from client devices, and communicates one of the requests (as opposed to all of the requests) to a content service that provides the television content for distribution to the client devices. The content service can also provide advertisements along with the television content for distribution to the client devices. Proxy caches are located at aggregation points and at the wireless distribution points of the mobile network operator to cache content data of the television content, and/or to cache advertisements, prior to the cached content data being wirelessly communicated to the client devices. A wireless distribution point emulates television multicast when the cached content data of the television content is communicated from a proxy cache to multiple client devices.
The advertisements are generally directed to client devices that receive television content within a designated region or geographic area, and are intended to reach potential consumers of goods and services within the designated local region or geographic area, referred to herein as an advertising locale. However, if a client device is moved from one advertising locale to another, such as from one city to a city in another state, the local advertisements that correspond to a geographic region associated with the client device are likely not useful to a user of the device in the different advertising locale. A current location of a client device can be determined from location data that identifies the current location of the client device. The location data can include GPS location data or regional position data that correlates to the current location of the client device. The television content can then be updated for distribution to the client device along with targeted local advertisements that correspond to the current location and/or advertising locale of the client device.
While features and concepts of the described systems and methods for wireless distribution system proxy caches can be implemented in any number of different environments, systems, devices, and/or various configurations, embodiments of wireless distribution system proxy caches are described in the context of the following example devices, systems, and configurations.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 in which various embodiments of wireless distribution system proxy caches and current device location advertisement distribution can be implemented. The example system 100 includes a mobile network operator 102, such as a cell-phone provider and/or Internet service provider that facilitates mobile data and/or voice communications for any type of various client devices 104. The client devices include fixed and/or mobile devices that may be subscriber devices of the mobile network operator, and are configured to receive television content via wireless communication. The example system 100 also includes a content service 106 and/or other media content sources that communicate or otherwise provide media content and data to any number of the various client devices 104 via the mobile network operator 102 and a communication network 108.
The various client devices 104 may be implemented with any number and combination of differing components as further described with reference to the example device shown in FIG. 7. In this example, a client device 104 can be implemented as any one or combination of a television client device 110, a computer device 112, a gaming system 114, an appliance device, an electronic device, and/or as any other type of device that may be implemented to receive media content in any form of audio, video, and/or image data.
The various client devices 104 can also include wireless devices implemented to receive and/or communicate wireless data, such as any one or combination of a mobile phone 116 (e.g., cellular, VoIP, WiFi, etc.), a portable computer device 118, a media player device 120, and/or any other wireless device that can receive media content in any form of audio, video, and/or image data. A client system can include a respective client device and display device 122 that together render or playback any form of audio, video, and/or image media content and media assets. The display device can be implemented as any type of a television, high definition television (HDTV), LCD, or similar display system.
Any of the services and devices can communicate via the communication network 108, which can be implemented to include a wired and/or a wireless network that facilitates data communication. The communication network can also be implemented using any type of network topology and/or communication protocol, and can be represented or otherwise implemented as a combination of two or more networks, to include IP-based networks and/or the Internet. The communication network may also include mobile operator networks that are managed by the mobile network operator 102 and/or other mobile operators, such as a communication service provider, cell-phone provider, and/or Internet service provider.
The content service 106 can include media content servers to communicate, or otherwise distribute, media content and/or other data to the various client devices via the mobile network operator 102. In this example system 100, the content service includes storage media 124 to store or otherwise maintain various media content and data, such as media assets 126 (e.g., also referred to as television content and/or media content) and associated content metadata 128. The storage media can be implemented as any type of memory and/or suitable electronic data storage.
The media assets 126 can include any type of audio, video, and/or image data received from any type of media content source or data source. As described throughout, media assets are media content, and media assets can include music (e.g., digital music files of songs), television programming, movies, on-demand media assets, interactive games, network-based applications, and any other audio, video, and/or image data (e.g., to include program guide data, user interface data, advertising content, closed captions data, content metadata, search results and/or recommendations, etc.). A media asset may also include various display formats of the media asset, such as a high-definition display format and lower quality display formats.
The content metadata 128 can include any type of identifying criteria, descriptive information, and/or attributes associated with the media assets 126 that describes and/or categorizes the media assets. For example, metadata can include a media asset identifier, title, subject description, a date of production, artistic information, music compilations, and any other types of descriptive information about a particular media asset. Further, metadata can characterize a genre that describes a media asset, such as video content, as being an advertisement, a movie, a comedy show, a sporting event, a news program, a sitcom, a talk show, an action/adventure program, or as any number of other category descriptions.
In this example system 100, the mobile network operator 102 includes a proxy service 130 that can be implemented as computer-executable instructions, such as a software application, and executed by one or more processors to implement the various embodiments described herein. Alternatively or in addition, the proxy service may be implemented as an independent service separate from the mobile network operator. In embodiments, the proxy service is implemented to manage the television content distribution to the various client devices 104.
The proxy service 130 at the mobile network operator 102 receives requests for television content from one or more of the client devices 104. The proxy service can then initiate the mobile network operator to communicate one of the requests from the client devices (as opposed to all of the requests) to the content service 106 that provides the television content (e.g., the media assets 126) to the mobile network operator for distribution to the client devices. In an implementation, the first client device that requests the television content, such as a television program or movie, initiates content data being distributed downstream from the content service, via the mobile network operator, to a proxy cache at a wireless distribution point.
The example system 100 includes wireless distribution points 132 of the mobile network operator 102 via which the requested television content can be wirelessly communicated to the client devices 104. Proxy caches are located at the wireless distribution points, such as proxy cache 134 located at the wireless distribution point 136. The proxy cache may be implemented as an HTTP proxy cache that caches content data 138 of the requested television content when received via the Internet. The mobile network operator 102 can receive the content data of the requested television content from the content service 106 via the Internet (e.g., via the communication network 108). The content data can be received as video fragments of the television content that are packetized for smooth streaming at the content service.
The proxy caches at the wireless distribution points 132 cache the content data 138 of the television content prior to the cached content data being wirelessly communicated to the client devices 104. In embodiments, the content data is cached at a proxy cache that is located at a wireless distribution point that has a wireless communication link with a client device that requested the television content. The wireless distribution points of the mobile network operator communicate the cached content data of the television content from the proxy caches to the client devices. In this manner, a wireless distribution point can emulate television multicast when the cached content data of the television content is communicated from a proxy cache to multiple client devices.
Similar to the proxy cache 134 located at the wireless distribution point 136, a server device 140 can be located at a wireless distribution point 142 of the mobile network operator 102. The server device includes a proxy cache 144 to cache content data of the requested television content, such as described with reference to the proxy cache 134. In embodiments, the server device may optionally include a proxy service 146, such as described with reference to the proxy service 130 at the mobile network operator. The proxy service 146 can receive requests for television content from one or more of the client devices 104, and then communicate one of the requests to the content service 106 that provides the television content as content data for distribution to the client devices. The proxy cache 144 caches the content data of the television content at the wireless distribution point 142 prior to the cached content data of the television content being wirelessly communicated to the client devices.
In embodiments, the mobile network operator 102 and/or the server device 140 first receives a request for the television content from one or more of the client devices 104, and then caches the content data of the requested television content. Alternatively, content data for additional television content can be received from the content service 106 before a request for the additional television content is received from a client device. The proxy caches 134, 144 can then cache the content data prior to the additional television content being requested and wirelessly communicated to the client devices.
In this example system 100, the content service 106 also includes an advertisement distribution service 148 that can be implemented as computer-executable instructions, such as a software application, and executed by one or more processors to implement the various embodiments described herein. Alternatively or in addition, the advertisement distribution service 148 may be implemented as an independent service separate from the content service. In embodiments, the advertisement distribution service is implemented to manage the distribution of advertisements 150 along with the television content to the various client devices 104. The advertisements may be targeted local advertisements that correspond to the current location of a particular client device and/or the advertisements are targeted local advertisements that correspond to an advertising locale, which includes the current location of the client device.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example system 200 in which various embodiments of current device location advertisement distribution can be implemented. The example system 200 includes the mobile network operator 102, communication network 108, and examples of wireless distribution points as described with reference to FIG. 1. As described above, the mobile network operator can receive television content (e.g., the media assets 126) from the content service 106, along with national and/or local advertisements 150. Local advertisements are generally directed to client devices that receive television content within a designated region or geographic area, and are intended to reach potential consumers of goods and services within the designated local region or geographic area, referred to herein as an advertising locale.
The mobile network operator 102 can then communicate the television content along with the advertisements to a client device via a wireless distribution point. For example, a client device 202 is located in a geographic region 204 that is covered for wireless communication with the mobile network operator by at least the wireless distribution point 206. The geographic region that is associated with the client device may be based on a service contract with a user of the client device, or a billing zip code associated with the user of the client device. However, if the client device is moved at 208 from one advertising locale to another, such as from the geographic region 204 to a different advertising locale 210, the local advertisements that correspond to the geographic region associated with the client device are likely not useful to a user of the device in the different advertising locale. For example, a business person may travel from his or her home city to a city in another state. While viewing television content on the client device 202, targeted local advertisements can be received that correspond to the current location and/or advertising locale of the client device, rather than advertisements that are local to the person's home city.
In the example system 200, the client device 202 has a current location within advertising locale 210, which is covered for wireless communication with the mobile network operator 102 by at least the wireless distribution point 212. As described with reference to FIG. 1, a proxy cache 214 is located at the wireless distribution point to cache the content data 216 of the television content prior to the cached content data being wirelessly communicated to the client device 202. In this example, the proxy cache can also cache advertisement data 218 of the advertisements that correspond to the advertising locale 210 for distribution to the client device along with the television content.
The mobile network operator 102 includes a device location service 220 that can be implemented as computer-executable instructions, such as a software application, and executed by one or more processors to implement the various embodiments described herein. Alternatively or in addition, the device location service may be implemented as an independent service separate from the mobile network operator. In embodiments, the device location service is implemented to determine that a current location of the client device 202 is not within the geographic region 204 that is associated with the client device. The device location service can then also determine the advertising locale 210 that includes the current location of the client device, and/or update the advertising locales as the client device is moved from one region to another.
The device location service 220 at the mobile network operator 102 can determine the current location of the client device 202 from location data 222 that identifies the current location of the device. The location data can include GPS location data 224 and/or regional position data 226 that correlates to the current location of the client device. The regional position data can indicate the current location of the client device based on communications via cellular towers (e.g., the wireless distribution points) or other network communication equipment that has a known location relative to an approximate location of the device. The location of a mobile phone or portable computer, for example, can be monitored for a change in location, such as from one advertising locale to another.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example system 300 that includes a example client device 104 as described with reference to FIG. 1. The example system 300 enables ubiquitous environments for a seamless user experience when using any type of computer, television, and/or mobile device. Services and applications run substantially similar in all environments for a common user experience when transitioning from one device to the next while utilizing an application, playing a video game, watching a video and television content, listening to music, and so on.
In the example system 300, multiple devices can be interconnected through a central computing device or system, which may be local to the multiple devices or may be located remotely from the multiple devices. In one embodiment, the central computing device may be a cloud of one or more server computers that are connected to the multiple devices through a network, the Internet, or other data communication link. In embodiments, this interconnection architecture enables functionality across multiple devices to provide a common and seamless experience to a user of the multiple devices. Each of the devices may have different physical configurations and capabilities, and the central computing device uses a platform to enable delivery of an experience that is both tailored to a particular device and yet common to all of the devices. In embodiments, a class of target devices is created and user experiences are tailored to the generic class of devices. A class of devices may be defined by physical features, types of usage, or other common characteristics of the devices.
In various implementations, the client device 104 may be implemented in a variety of different configurations, such as for computer 302, mobile 304, and television 306 uses. Each of these configurations includes devices that may have generally different constructs and capabilities, and the client device may be configured according to one or more of the different device classes. For example, the client device may be implemented as any type of a personal computer, desktop computer, a multi-screen computer, laptop computer, tablet, netbook, and so on.
The client device 104 may also be implemented as any type of mobile device, such as a mobile phone, portable music player, portable gaming device, a tablet computer, a multi-screen computer, and so on. The client device may also be implemented as any type of television device having or connected to generally larger display screens in casual viewing environments. These devices include televisions, set-top boxes, gaming consoles, and so on. The techniques described herein may be supported by these various configurations of the client device and are not limited to the specific examples of the embodiments described herein.
The cloud 308 includes and/or is representative of a platform 310 for network access services 312. The platform abstracts underlying functionality of hardware, such as server devices, and/or software resources of the cloud. The network access services may include applications and/or data that can be utilized while computer processing is executed on servers that are remote from the client device. For example, the network access services may include the content service 106, the proxy service 130, the advertisement distribution service 148, and/or the device location service 220 as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The network access services 312 can be provided as a service over the Internet and/or through a subscriber network, such as a cellular or WiFi network.
Example methods 400, 500, and 600 are described with reference to respective FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 in accordance with one or more embodiments of wireless distribution system proxy caches and current device location advertisement distribution. Generally, any of the functions, methods, procedures, components, and modules described herein can be implemented using software, firmware, hardware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manual processing, or any combination thereof. A software implementation represents program code that performs specified tasks when executed by a computer processor. The example methods may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, which can include software, applications, routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, functions, and the like. The program code can be stored in one or more computer-readable memory devices, both local and/or remote to a computer processor. The methods may also be practiced in a distributed computing environment by multiple computer devices. Further, the features described herein are platform-independent and can be implemented on a variety of computing platforms having a variety of processors.
FIG. 4 illustrates example method(s) 400 of wireless distribution system proxy caches. The order in which the method blocks are described are not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement a method, or an alternate method.
At block 402, requests for television content are received from one or more client devices at a mobile network operator. For example, the proxy service 130 (FIG. 1) at the mobile network operator 102 receives requests for television content from one or more of the client devices 104. Alternatively or in addition, the server device 140 at the wireless distribution point 142 includes the proxy service 146 that receives requests for the television content from one or more of the client devices.
At block 404, one of the requests is communicated to a content service that provides the television content to the mobile network operator for distribution to the client devices. For example, the proxy service 130 initiates the mobile network operator 102 to communicate one of the requests from the client devices (as opposed to all of the requests) to the content service 106 that provides the television content (e.g., the media assets 126) to the mobile network operator for distribution to the client devices.
At block 406, the television content is received via the Internet from the content service as video fragments of the television content. For example, the mobile network operator 102 receives content data 138 of the television content as video fragments from the content service 106 via the Internet (e.g., via the communication network 108). The video fragments of the television content can be packetized for smooth streaming at the content service.
At block 408, content data of the television content is cached at one or more wireless distribution points of the mobile network operator. For example, the proxy cache 134 at the wireless distribution point 136 caches the content data 138 of the television content prior to the cached content data being wirelessly communicated to the client devices 104. In embodiments, the content data of the television content is cached with HTTP proxy caches when the content data is received via the Internet. Additionally, the content data is cached at a proxy cache that is located at a wireless distribution point that has a wireless communication link with a client device that requested the television content.
At block 410, the cached content data of the television content is communicated to the client devices via wireless communication from the wireless distribution points. For example, the wireless distribution point 136 of the mobile network operator 102 communicates the cached content data 138 of the television content from the proxy cache 134 to the client devices 104. In this manner, the wireless distribution point emulates television multicast when the cached content data of the television content is communicated from the proxy cache to multiple client devices.
At block 412, additional content data for additional television content is received before a request for the additional television content is received from a client device. At block 414, the additional content data is cached at the one or more wireless distribution points of the mobile network operator. For example, the mobile network operator 102 receives content data for additional television content from the content service 106 before a request for the additional television content is received from a client device. The proxy caches 134, 144 can then cache the content data prior to the additional television content being requested and wirelessly communicated to the client devices.
FIG. 5 illustrates example method(s) 500 of current device location advertisement distribution, and is described with reference to a mobile network operator. The order in which the method blocks are described are not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement a method, or an alternate method.
At block 502, television content and advertisements are received from a content service for distribution to a client device via a wireless distribution point. For example, the mobile network operator 102 (FIG. 1) receives television content (e.g., the media assets 126) from the content service 106, along with national and/or local advertisements 150. The television content can include local advertisements that correspond to a geographic region associated with the client device.
At block 504, location data is received that identifies a current location of the client device. For example, the device location service 220 (FIG. 2) at the mobile network operator 102 receives the location data 222 from the client device 202, and the location data identifies the current location of the device. The location data can include GPS location data 224 and/or regional position data 226 that correlates to the current location of the client device. The regional position data can indicate the current location of the client device based on communications via cellular towers (e.g., the wireless distribution points) or other network communication equipment that has a known location relative to an approximate location of the device.
At block 506, a determination is made as to whether the client device is located within a geographic region that is associated with the device. For example, the client device 202 may be located within the geographic region 204 that is associated with the device. The geographic region that is associated with the client device may be based on a service contract with a user of the client device, and/or a billing zip code associated with the user of the client device. If the current location of the client device is not within the geographic region that is associated with the client device (i.e., “no” from block 506), then at block 508, an advertising locale that includes the current location of the client device is determined. For example, the device location service 220 determines that the current location of the client device 202 is within the advertising locale 210.
If the current location of the client device is within the geographic region (also an advertising locale) that is associated with the client device (i.e., “yes” from block 506), or continuing from block 508, then at block 510, the television content is updated with advertisements that correspond to the advertising locale, which includes the current location of the client device. For example, the television content is updated with targeted local advertisements that correspond to the current location and/or the advertising locale of the client device.
At block 512, the television content along with the advertisements is communicated to the client device at the current location of the client device. For example, the wireless distribution point 212 of the mobile network operator 102 communicates the television content (e.g., the cached content data 216) along with targeted local advertisements (e.g., the advertisement data 218) to the client device at the current location within the advertising locale 210. At block 514, the advertising locale for the client device is updated as the client device is moved from one region to another. For example, the device location service 220 updates the advertising locales as the client device is moved from one region to another.
FIG. 6 illustrates example method(s) 600 of current device location advertisement distribution, and is described with reference to a content service. The order in which the method blocks are described are not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement a method, or an alternate method.
At block 602, a request for television content is received from a mobile network operator that communicates the television content to a client device via a wireless distribution point. For example, the content service 106 (FIG. 1) receives a request for television content (e.g., media assets 126) from the mobile network operator 102 that then communicates the television content to a client device 104 via a wireless distribution point 132. At block 604, location data is received that identifies a current location of the client device. For example, the content service 106 receives the location data 222 (FIG. 2) from the client device, and the location data identifies the current location of the device. The location data can include GPS location data 224 and/or regional position data 226 that correlates to the current location of the client device.
At block 606, an advertising locale is determined that includes the current location of the client device. For example, the advertisement distribution service 148 at the content service 106 determines that the current location of the client device 202 is within the advertising locale 210. At block 608, the television content is updated to include advertisements that correspond to the advertising locale. For example, the advertisement distribution service 148 at the content service 106 updates television content to include targeted local advertisements that correspond to the current location and/or advertising locale of the client device.
At block 610, the television content is distributed to the mobile network operator for communication to the client device along with the advertisements that correspond to the advertising locale. For example, the content service 106 distributes the television content (e.g., media assets 126) along with the advertisements 150 to the mobile network operator 102 for wireless communication to the client device. At block 612, the advertising locale for the client device is updated as the client device is moved from one region to another. For example, the advertisement distribution service 148 continues to receive location data that identifies a current location of the client device (e.g., at block 604), and updates the advertising locale that includes the current location of the client device (e.g., at block 606).
FIG. 7 illustrates various components of an example device 700 that can be implemented as any of the devices, or services implemented by devices, described with reference to the previous FIGS. 1-6. In embodiments, the device may be implemented as any one or combination of a fixed or mobile device, in any form of a consumer, computer, server, portable, user, communication, phone, navigation, television, appliance, gaming, media playback, and/or electronic device. The device may also be associated with a user (i.e., a person) and/or an entity that operates the device such that a device describes logical devices that include users, software, firmware, hardware, and/or a combination of devices.
The device 700 includes communication devices 702 that enable wired and/or wireless communication of device data 704, such as received data, data that is being received, data scheduled for broadcast, data packets of the data, etc. The device data or other device content can include configuration settings of the device, media content stored on the device, and/or information associated with a user of the device. Media content stored on the device can include any type of audio, video, and/or image data. The device includes one or more data inputs 706 via which any type of data, media content, and/or inputs can be received, such as user-selectable inputs, messages, communications, music, television content, recorded video content, and any other type of audio, video, and/or image data received from any content and/or data source.
The device 700 also includes communication interfaces 708, such as any one or more of a serial, parallel, network, or wireless interface. The communication interfaces provide a connection and/or communication links between the device and a communication network by which other electronic, computing, and communication devices communicate data with the device.
The device 700 includes one or more processors 710 (e.g., any of microprocessors, controllers, and the like) which process various computer-executable instructions to control the operation of the device. Alternatively or in addition, the device can be implemented with any one or combination of software, hardware, firmware, or fixed logic circuitry that is implemented in connection with processing and control circuits which are generally identified at 712. Although not shown, the device can include a system bus or data transfer system that couples the various components within the device. A system bus can include any one or combination of different bus structures, such as a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, a universal serial bus, and/or a processor or local bus that utilizes any of a variety of bus architectures.
The device 700 also includes one or more memory devices (e.g., computer-readable storage media) 714 that enable data storage, such as random access memory (RAM), non-volatile memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.), and a disk storage device. A disk storage device may be implemented as any type of magnetic or optical storage device, such as a hard disk drive, a recordable and/or rewriteable disc, and the like. The device may also include a mass storage media device. In embodiments, the a memory device 714 can be implemented as a proxy cache 716.
Computer readable media can be any available medium or media that is accessed by a computing device. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise storage media and communication media. Storage media include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store information and which can be accessed by a computer.
Communication media typically embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as carrier wave or other transport mechanism. Communication media also include any information delivery media. The term modulated data signal means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media.
A memory device 714 provides data storage mechanisms to store the device data 704, other types of information and/or data, and various device applications 718. For example, an operating system 720 can be maintained as a software application with a memory device and executed on the processors. The device applications may also include a device manager, such as any form of a control application, software application, signal processing and control module, code that is native to a particular device, a hardware abstraction layer for a particular device, and so on. In this example, applications include a proxy service 722 and a device location service 724, such as when device 700 is implemented as a mobile network operator or server device. The applications also include an advertisement distribution service 726, such as when device 700 is implemented as a content service. The services are shown as software modules and/or computer applications. Alternatively or in addition, the services can be implemented as hardware, software, firmware, fixed logic, or any combination thereof.
The device 700 also includes an audio and/or video processing system 728 that generates audio data for an audio system 730 and/or generates display data for a display system 732. The audio system and/or the display system may include any devices that process, display, and/or otherwise render audio, video, display, and/or image data. Display data and audio signals can be communicated to an audio device and/or to a display device via an RF (radio frequency) link, S-video link, composite video link, component video link, DVI (digital video interface), analog audio connection, or other similar communication link. In implementations, the audio system and/or the display system are external components to the device. Alternatively, the audio system and/or the display system are integrated components of the example device.
Although embodiments of wireless distribution system proxy caches have been described in language specific to features and/or methods, the subject of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as example implementations of wireless distribution system proxy caches.
The invention claimed is:
1. A system, comprising:
a mobile network operator configured to receive requests for television content from one or more client devices, the mobile network operator further configured to communicate one of the requests to a content service that provides the television content requested by the one or more client devices to the mobile network operator for distribution to the one or more client devices;
proxy caches, located at a wireless distribution point, configured to cache content data of the television content prior to the cached content data of the television content being wirelessly communicated to the one or more client devices; and
wireless distribution points of the mobile network operator configured to communicate the cached content data of the television content effective to emulate a television multicast from the proxy caches to the one or more client devices.
2. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the content data comprises video fragments of the television content.
3. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the mobile network operator receives the content data of the television content from the content service via the Internet.
4. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the proxy caches are located at the wireless distribution points and are configured as HTTP proxy caches configured to cache the content data received via the Internet.
5. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the mobile network operator receives additional content data for additional television content before a request for the additional television content is received from a client device, and wherein the proxy caches are further configured to cache the additional content data prior to the additional television content being requested and wirelessly communicated to the one or more client devices.
6. A method, comprising:
receiving requests for television content from one or more client devices at a mobile network operator;
communicating one of the requests to a content service that provides the television content requested by the one or more client devices to the mobile network operator for distribution to the one or more client devices;
caching content data of the television content at one or more wireless distribution points of the mobile network operator;
communicating the cached content data of the television content to the one or more client devices via wireless communication from the wireless distribution points;
receiving an additional request for the television content from an additional client device after said caching the content data of the television content at the one or more wireless distribution points; and
communicating the cached content data of the television content from a wireless distribution point to the additional client device responsive to the additional request.
7. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein the wireless distribution point emulates television multicast when the cached content data of the television content is communicated from a proxy cache at the wireless distribution point to multiple client devices.
8. A method as recited in claim 6, further comprising receiving the television content from the content service as video fragments of the television content.
9. A method as recited in claim 6, further comprising receiving the television content from the content service via the Internet.
10. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein the content data of the television content is cached with HTTP proxy caches when the content data is received via the Internet.
11. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein the content data of the television content is cached at a proxy cache that is located at a wireless distribution point that has a wireless communication link with a client device that requests the television content.
12. A method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:
receiving additional content data for additional television content before a request for the additional television content is received from a client device; and
caching the additional content data at the one or more wireless distribution points of the mobile network operator.
13. A server device, comprising:
a processor and memory to implement a proxy service configured to:
receive requests for television content from one or more client devices;
communicate one of the requests to a content service that provides the television content requested by the one or more client devices for distribution to the one or more client devices; and
a proxy cache configured to cache content data of the television content at a wireless distribution point prior to the cached content data of the television content being wirelessly communicated to the one or more client devices.
14. A server device as recited in claim 13, wherein the server device is located at the wireless distribution point that emulates television multicast when the cached content data of the television content is communicated from the proxy cache to multiple client devices.
15. A server device as recited in claim 13, wherein the content data comprises video fragments of the television content.
16. A server device as recited in claim 13, wherein the content data of the television content is received from the content service via the Internet.
17. A server device as recited in claim 13, wherein the proxy cache is configured as an HTTP proxy cache configured to cache the content data received via the Internet.
18. A server device as recited in claim 13, wherein the proxy cache at the wireless distribution point is further configured to cache additional content data for additional television content before a request for the additional television content is received from a client device.
US12/973,506 2010-12-20 2010-12-20 Wireless distribution system proxy caches Active 2031-02-28 US8850491B2 (en)
US12/973,506 US8850491B2 (en) 2010-12-20 2010-12-20 Wireless distribution system proxy caches
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HK13100851.3A HK1173877A1 (en) 2010-12-20 2013-01-18 System and method of wireless distribution system proxy caches
US12/973,506 Active 2031-02-28 US8850491B2 (en) 2010-12-20 2010-12-20 Wireless distribution system proxy caches
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Owner name: MICROSOFT CORPORATION, WASHINGTON
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Democrats Forced to Apologize to Ann Romney For Offensive Horse Videos
July 19, 2012 at 7:00 am (Ann Romney, Brad Woodhouse, Democrats, DNC, Dressage, Horse, Lawrence O'Donnell, Mitt Romney, MS, MSNBC, Multiple Sclerosis, Therapy)
The Democratic National Committee has had to apologize for stooping to the level of lowly MSNBC hosts, producing a series of mocking ads featuring the Romneys’ expensive sport-horse. The horse is used by Ann Romney as a form of therapy for her multiple sclerosis.
Even as late as last night, the DNC was defending the ads as an attack on Mitt Romney and not his wife. One spokeswoman for the Democrats said:
“One of Mitt Romney’s hobbies and investments is his dressage horse. And, like his horse, Mitt Romney continues to dance around the issues, from answering why he’s invested in known foreign tax havens or trying to rewrite his position on letting Detroit go bankrupt.”
It’s not like they lacked the knowledge that the horse has been used by Ann Romney as a form of therapy for MS, since MSNBC host Lawrence O”Donnell embarrassed himself last month by mocking Mrs. Romney for the very same thing. Is the DNC now getting their talking points from one of the most biased and fact-challenged networks in the history of mainstream media?
Perhaps, but for now the Democrats have been forced to apologize.
Via ABC News:
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now the Democratic National Committee is offering an apology of sorts to Ann Romney.
At issue is a DNC video featuring footage of Ann Romney’s dancing show horse. The DNC used the horse in mocking way to attack Mitt Romney for not releasing his tax returns (and dancing around the issue).
The DNC introduced the video as the first in a series of videos featuring the horse, which is owned jointly by Ann and Mitt Romney.
Ann Romney, who trains with show horses as part of her therapy for multiple sclerosis, took offense in an interview with Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America,” and now the DNC is saying it will put out no more horse videos, and is expressing regret for offending Ann Romney.
“Our use of the Romneys’ dressage horse was not meant to offend Mrs. Romney in any way, and we regret it if it did,” DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse told ABC News. “We were simply making a point about Governor Romney’s failure to give straight answers on a variety of issues in this race. We have no plans to invoke the horse any further to avoid misinterpretation.”
This is already a brutal campaign, but the Obamas have long said families are off limits. Apparently somebody high up reminded the DNC of that.
Doubtful. While the Obamas have claimed families are off limits, they have relentlessly invoked images and stories of their daughters to push their agenda throughout the campaign. More likely, just as MSNBC had done, the DNC didn’t properly do a background check on the Romney’s use of the dressage horse, jumping at a chance to mock Mitt as being a rich horse owner.
Any chance to gin up a little class warfare, even if it involves mocking people for their chosen method of therapy for a dreaded disease.
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Judge: Pitt student's dismissal justified, not a result of ADA violations
By Jim Boyle | Jan 14, 2015
PITTSBURGH - A student's dismissal from the University of Pittsburgh's graduate nursing program was
justified by the plaintiff's mistakes during her clinical shifts and not a result of ADA violations by the school, according to a federal judge's summary judgment in favor of the defendants.
Amy Walsh did not provide enough evidence to prove that administrators in Pitt's masters-level nursing anesthesia program breached its contract with her and did not properly apply its own expulsion policies, according to Chief Magistrate Judge Maureen Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
According to the opinion, Walsh enrolled into the 28-month program in the summer of 2011. She performed well in the academic portion, court documents say, but struggled when it became time to enter the clinical training portion of the program.
She received “satisfactory” marks in evaluation categories during her rotation at UPMC Passavant between November of 2011 and March of 2012. The clinical experience took a turn, however, when Walsh started rotations at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Pittsburgh.
According to the complaint, Walsh was forced to disclose that she has a history of breast cancer, with surgical treatments that caused limited range of motion in her left arm and joint stiffness. The disclosure resulted from an incident when Walsh could not move her arm to the correct position to secure a ventilating mask on a patient.
When her supervisors told Walsh she may not be able to complete the program because of her physical limitations, the plaintiff complained to the program administrators that she was being harassed. When those concerns were dismissed, Walsh claims she developed depression and anxiety and was prescribed antidepressants.
Walsh received another satisfactory grade for her overall evaluation of the VA rotation, but was placed on a performance improvement plan during her next assignment at UPMC Shadyside Hospital because of reports of possible shortcomings from supervisors. Her administrators indicated that Walsh showed signs of improvement near the end of the rotation, but kept her on the performance plan for her final assignment at UPMC St. Margaret.
On Oct. 18, 2012, the opinion says, Walsh committed two separate medication errors that required the completion of an incident report that later activated the school of nursing's review process to determine if Walsh could continue with the program. The plaintiff was suspended from the clinical program while the school underwent the three-tiered review process involving the associate dean for clinical education, a faculty review panel and the dean of nursing, which all agreed that Walsh's behavior was dangerous and recommended her dismissal.
In her complaint, Walsh argued that the school breached its contractual duty by not properly following the guidelines of the policy rule to enact the review process, saying that her past clinical performances prior to the medication errors should not have been taken into consideration. She also claimed the decision to dismiss was arbitrary and that Pitt subjected her to harassment before dismissing her based on her disability.
Kelly rejected Walsh's arguments, saying she misinterpreted the policy section that addresses a student's past performance.
The handbook explains that the review procedure is intended to review the specific judgment, but “[a] student’s prior performance (clinical or didactic) may . . . be taken into consideration when determining the response to the unsafe behavior. Walsh claims that the explanation means that whenever a student’s behavior is determined to be dangerous or potentially dangerous, she must be dismissed, and therefore 'a student’s past performance may only be considered in situations where the response to the conduct can be something other than mandatory dismissal.'"
"Walsh’s proposed interpretation would lead to such an absurd result," Kelly wrote. "If the only permitted response to unsafe conduct was dismissal, the evaluation of past performance and other mitigating circumstances would be pointless."
Furthermore, Kelly says, Walsh did not offer proof that any of the reviewers improperly considered her prior clinical performance as part of the determination of whether her Oct. 18, 2012 conduct was unsafe or that reviewers would not have found this specific conduct to have been dangerous or potentially dangerous without considering her prior performance.
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Court activity on July 12: THE Tinder Box International Ltd. vs Jane Slaterbeck
By The Penn Record | Jul 17, 2019
Case activity for Bruce Marshman vs Marcella J. Barganz on July 12
Allegheny County Jail inmate alleges he was not given proper care for seizure disorder
By Carrie Bradon | Jul 17, 2019
Lawsuit filed over melee after Truman-Bensalem basketball game; Former student blames school district for failing to protect her
By John Breslin | Jul 17, 2019
Court activity on July 15: Donna M. Kost vs Ralph Schugar Inc.
July 9: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania docket for "trademark" cases
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Home News Congress freed country from British, it’s Modi turn now: Randeep Surjewala
Congress freed country from British, it’s Modi turn now: Randeep Surjewala
New Delhi, May 10: The Congress hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accusing him of ruling the country by dividing it and used the Time magazine cover headline that says “India’s Divider in Chief”, followed by a secondary one that reads “Modi the Reformer”.
Congress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the way the party had removed the British from the country, it would do the same with Modi. “Modiji’s definition – divide and rule. The Congress first freed the country of the British and will now remove Modi too,” Surjewala said in a tweet in Hindi, along with the cover of the Time magazine that also carried a picture of Modi.
The TIME magazine has featured Modi on the cover of its international edition with a controversial headline and a secondary one that reads “Modi the Reformer” as the country enters the final phase of the mammoth general election. The American magazine’s May 20 international editions — Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia and South Pacific — feature the Modi cover story with the main headline, “India’s Divider in Chief”, while the US edition has a cover story on Democrat Elizabeth Warren who is running for the White House in 2020.
The article titled “India’s Divider in Chief” is written by Aatish Taseer, son of Indian journalist Tavleen Singh and late Pakistani politician and businessman Salmaan Taseer. The article also said the opposition Congress party had little to offer other than the dynastic principle. The article titled “Modi the Reformer” is written by Ian Bremmer, president and founder of the Eurasia Group, a global political risk research and consulting firm.
Previous article6th Phase: Delhi among 59 Lok Sabha constituencies to vote on May 12
Next articleModi friends made Rs 10,000 cr while farmers were suffering: Priyanka Gandhi
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Home News NATION 21 Oppn parties move SC for counter checking of EVMs using VVPATs
21 Oppn parties move SC for counter checking of EVMs using VVPATs
New Delhi, April 24: Twenty-one opposition parties moved Supreme Court Wednesday seeking counter checking of at least 50 per cent of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) using Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs) slips to ensure transparency in counting of votes.
The Opposition, who alleged glitches in EVMs and VVPATs during the Lok Sabha Election 2019, sought a court direction to the Election Commission in this regard.
Several leaders of the Congress, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and Communist Party of India (CPI) addressed a joint press conference in this regard on Tuesday.
Alleging that EVMs are vulnerable to “hacking and programming errors”, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu said, “We have serious doubts about EVMs. I am a strong supporter of technology. But today, technology is very vulnerable. Every six months technology is changing. There are also technical problems, vulnerability and also malfunctioning. Only three countries out of the ten most populous countries in the world use EVMs. These countries are also not technologically strong.”
He added that Russian hackers could be involved.
NCP president Sharad Pawar said while citizens are in a mood to change the Modi-led government, manipulation of EVMs is the “only worrying factor”.
“Our only worry is someone misusing this technology to manipulate elections…Our worry is manipulation through these machines,” Pawar said.
Senior Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde, AAP’s Sanjay Singh, TMC MP Nadimul Haque, Mahendra Singh of the CPI(M) also spoke at the joint conference.
Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav also alleged that EVMs in several areas were recording “votes in favour the BJP” amid reports of glitches. “EVMs across India malfunctioning or voting for the BJP. DMs say poll officials untrained to operate EVMs. 350+ being replaced. This is criminal negligence for a polling exercise that costs 50,000 crs,” the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh tweeted.
The Supreme Court had increased the VVPAT from one EVM per Assembly segment to five randomly selected EVMs on April 8. The court said it was being done to ensure a high degree of accuracy and satisfaction in the election process.
Previous articleNIA court: Can’t stop Sadhvi Pragya Singh from fighting election
Next articleAmarinder will personally campaign against SAD to ensure couple’s defeat
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Romanian who attacked Warcraft gets year in prison
A Romanian man who launched a cyber attack on the California-based servers of the hugely popular online fantasy game World of Warcraft over a squabble with other players was sentenced on Monday to one year in prison.
Study: Reflecting on possessions can curb people's impulse buying
Consumers who reflected on their recently used personal belongings experienced less desire for an unexpectedly encountered product, were less likely to buy impulsively and expressed a lower willingness to pay for new products, ...
New breakthrough paving the way for universal Ebola therapeutic
A new collaborative study has identified and studied Ebola antibodies that could be used to design universal therapeutics that are effective against many different Ebola species. The findings were recently published in Nature ...
Cell & Microbiology
SimEarth
The Earth—with its myriad shifting atmospheric, oceanic, land and ice components—presents an extraordinarily complex system to simulate using computer models.
Waves similar to those controlling weather on Earth have now been found on the Sun
A team of scientists led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) and the University of Göttingen has discovered new waves of vorticity on the Sun. As described in today's issue of Nature Astronomy, these ...
Slopes of volcano offer lush, affordable piece of paradise
As lava crawled down Leilani Road in a hissing, popping mass, Cheryl Griffith stood in its path and placed a plant in a crack in the ground as an offering to the Native Hawaiian volcano goddess, Pele.
Amos Genish confirmed as CEO of Telecom Italia
Israeli Amos Genish was on Monday confirmed as chief executive officer of Telecom Italia, by the new board of directors, after US hedge fund Elliott Management won control of the company following a power struggle with French ...
Microsoft launches $25M program to use AI for disabilities
Microsoft is launching a $25 million initiative to use artificial intelligence to build better technology for people with disabilities.
University of California workers start 3-day strike over pay
Thousands of custodians, security guards, gardeners and other service workers at University of California campuses started a three-day strike Monday to address pay inequalities and demand higher wages.
Researchers find genetic 'dial' can control body size in pigs
Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated a connection between the expression of the HMGA2 gene and body size in pigs. The work further demonstrates the gene's importance in body size regulation across ...
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Someone made a documentary about Perth rinsing and youth culture, and it's really fkn bleak
Streetwear, drugs, graff and funny dancing.
A couple of years ago we published an article about Perth’s rising “rinser” culture – the piece at once having a playful dig at the new “lifestyle” choice of many over here, whilst simultaneously applauding their ability to have a good time and not really give a fuck about what you think of their very particular dancing style.
It generated plenty of discussion, ranging from interesting debates over where it started and what other cities have a similar culture, to “this entire site is pretty gay”, and we all had a good time with it.
As a “culture” over the past couple of years it’s become less talked about, but still it bubbles away just under the surface (or the very front of the dancefloor in Perth’s reborn dubstep scene). Essentially, in the past where people would be over-eager bust their phone out and film someone “having a rinse” at a club or festival, now it’s more like, "there's go those rinsers again, rinsing and stuff."
Context out of the way, let’s have a look at a recent short documentary that popped up on YouTube a few days ago, created by a guy called Hieronymous.77, and called Inside The Rinse: Perth Youth Culture:
Look, there’s a lot to unpack here, as documentarian Hieronymous.77 heads to Perth in May last year to visit his brother, who would tell him “about the youth, and how there was these kids called rinsers [who] would do this funny dance that resembled aerobics.”
The 11-minute short goes on a journey through the “life of the youth in Perth”, hanging out with the manager, Tori, at streetwear store Underground Society, then a rabble of rinsers in a local carpark, followed by a couple of graff kids who go all the way in - masking their voices and faces during a night out on the town.
Right from the beginning the documentary paints an incredibly bleak picture of Perth, and to be fair, he’s not far off the mark in a some respects. Over on the east side of the CBD (and many other parts of the city) there is a serious homeless issue, and Tori even discusses her need to carry around pepper spray as she feels threatened by people Hieronymous refers to as what “some may say are degenerates of society.”
It's at best unfair, at worst exploitative to point a camera in the face of homeless people struggling on the streets and pass comment on how you're surprised, but not disturbed.
From here in, the documentary falls down in its confusion between what exactly it’s trying to cover. As a study of “rinser culture” – it somewhat succeeds (mostly in painting them in an awful light). But as a study of Perth’s youth culture as a whole, it misses the mark entirely.
“Youth culture in Perth? Would most definitely be going out on the weekend and getting as munted as possible,” one shop-goer proudly proclaims, before the narrator tracks down some “hardcore rinsers” in the Gilkison’s car park (not in the club at any stage), spending the night with a bunch of seriously cooked lads and ladies – all bucket hats, long sleeve shirts, swinging jaws and dilated pupils.
Like moths to a flame, those kids face up to the camera and happily provide some energetic examples of the rinser dance style, whilst also triumphantly listing the substances they’re dabbling in – weed, pills, ecstacy, speed, dmt, and of course, nangs.
After discovering that yes indeed everyone is off their chops, Hieronymous confirms rinsing “isn’t just a dance, it’s a culture”, in the process painting that culture as people who only care about getting fucked up in car parks.
Oh, and who love tagging the shit out of buildings around the CBD as well, as he tracks down a couple of graffiti artists to find out “why they do it, and how important graffiti is to Perth youth culture”.
We meet a couple of masked graffiti bandits (with their voices pitched down to hide their identity as though they're Banksy), go in depth into how important graff is to Perth: “It’s become more fashion than anything. It’s a lifestyle. Not only that, it’s become fashion to have paint-stained clothes. It’s actually fucking ridiculous in Perth. Almost everyone sells drugs or writes graffiti, it’s a pretty big joke.”
They then go on to talk about how people just do it now to claim it, adding, “Where as anyone who is actually about it doesn’t really want anyone to know. It’s not meant to be a fashion statement, it’s meant to be a ‘fuck you’ statement, this is meant to be something I keep for myself…”
Mate you run around at night in hoodies spraypainting walls, and in direct competition with what you just said, you’re now telling a guy with a video camera all about it.
Hieronymous rounds out the documentary with this: “I’d be lying if I said that what these guys are doing isn’t taking place in other pockets around the world. But the youth culture here is eclectic, and fresh. They allowed me to take a look into their world, and by the looks of things, this movement shows no signs of drying up soon.”
Eclectic, and fresh? Movement? Come on man. You don't get to say that after 10 minutes of showing us what you have.
This is what happens when you take something that’s inherently kinda silly (getting on it with ya mates, dancing around, having fun), and try to give it some legitimacy. People getting cooked in car parks, "living for the weekend", and graffing city streets isn’t eclectic or fresh.
We’re all for shining a light on subcultures, but unfortunately by putting the blanket term of “Perth’s Youth Culture” on a small group like this, you’ve ignored so much of Perth’s actual youth culture, instead portraying it as a bunch of drugged up kids, bored out of their mind vandalising the city streets and smashing illegal drugs on the reg. No one's denying there isn't that element, but there's also so much more.
What about the DJs? The promoters? The punters? The people actually going to and involved in the shows and supporting the bass - or any dance - music scene in Perth? Or the street artists contributing something aesthetically pleasing to Perth’s increasingly vibrant and numerous murals?
Imagine being someone who has no idea what the Perth nightlife scene is like, and your entry point to it is, Inside The Rinse: Perth Youth Culture?
Fucking bleak indeed.
Meet URBNSURF, the legends trying to bring a surf park to Perth's metro areaAnd they need your help to do so.
Trampin' Round Tassie with Tom WolffTom catches up with Keep Tassie Wild founder - Josh Pringle.
Interview: Uppercut Deluxe
Check our chat with the lords behind Uppercut Deluxe.
Take A Trip Down Memory Lane With The Prom
Featuring all the trashy glamour you can imagine over almost a decade.
By Guest Writer
Pilerats' Guide To Southbound's Coconut Club
A lovely bunch of this country's most exciting producers and DJs.
That time Prince did the soundtrack for Tim Burton's Batman
Just a small moment amongst thousands in the career of Prince.
Tech-Know: New Audi Hover Car Concept
Wheels? Where we're going, we don't need wheels.
By Dani Marsland
Five Minutes With: Ekali
We catch up with the Canadian RBMA graduate ahead of his upcoming debut Australian tour.
It's E3 Time!
Gaming's biggest event is on this week, here's what we're looking forward to.
Alien: Covenant is out soon, and we've got a Merch Pack to giveaway
Plus read a bunch of reasons we're hyped for the next film in Ridley Scott's Alien-verse.
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Pima Air and Space Museum
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OUR MISSION: CREATING UNLIMITED HORIZONS IN AEROSPACE EDUCATION THROUGH THE PRESERVATION AND PRESENTATION OF THE HISTORY OF FLIGHT.
Learn the History of the Pima Air & Space Museum, the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame and the people behind the organizations comprising the Arizona Aerospace Foundation.
The Pima Air & Space Museum is one of the largest non-government funded aviation and space museums in the world!
Featuring over 350 historical aircrafts, from a Wright Flyer to a 787 Dreamliner. Sitting on 80 acres the museum opened its doors to the public in May of 1976. Over the past forty years, the museum has grown immensely and today encompasses six indoor exhibit hangars (three dedicated to WWII).
Docent-led walking tours and museum ground Tram Tours are offered daily. The museum is the exclusive operator of bus tours of the 2,600-acre “Aircraft Boneyard”/U.S. military and government aircraft storage facility (10-business day advanced reservations required, tour offered Monday-Friday, non-federal holidays only). For full information, see the Visit page.
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General admission covers the main hangars, Two World War II Hangers, the Dorothy Finley Space Gallery, the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame and so much more
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Group pricing is available for groups of 20-400 people. Our goal is to make planning as easy as possible for you with admission, tour and luncheon options
From Interstate 10 From Interstate-10 take Valencia Rd. (exit 267) east 2 miles to the museum entrance. From Northeast Tucson From northeast Tucson, take Kolb Rd. south to Valencia Rd. and turn west on Valencia to the museum entrance. Flying
View hangar and grounds maps of the Pima Air & Space Museum. The museum has grown immensely and today encompasses six indoor exhibit hangars (three dedicated to WWII) across over 120,000 square feet of indoor display space. It also spans across 80 acres and has over 350 aircraft on display.
All of the museum buildings are accessible. The floors are poured cement. Accessible parking spaces (handicapped permit required) are located near the entrance to the museum. A paved walkway connects the Main Hangar, Hangar 3, 4 and 5 while the
Plan your visit to The Pima Air & Space Museum - one of the largest non-government funded aviation and space museums in the world!
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• Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas day.
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Pima Air & Space Museum 6000 E. Valencia Road Tucson, AZ 85756
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Titan Missile Museum
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Mass Deception on Mass Violence: The Case of Serbs
Piotr Bein, paper prepared for the International Comparative Genocide Research project of the Hiroshima City University, 2009
Croatia: Ustaša tradition
Neo-Ustaše
Operations Storm and Lightning
Double standard for Holocaust deniers
Bosnian Islamism
Political pressure and NGOs
250,000 “dead”
Kosovo: old race hatred
From Illyria to Greater Albania
Operation Allied Force
March 2004 pogroms
Justice politicized
Judicial murder
ICTY and the term genocide
ICJ ruling
Information Operations
Dehumanize and criminalize
Compromised journalism
Biased scholars
Covert action and economic sanctions
Holocaustianity
PR firms and NGOs
Balkan case
Cross-case and research-related
Keywords Bosnia, covert action, Croatia, demonization, ethnic cleansing, gendercide, genocide, Holocaustianity, infowar, intervensionism, Kosovo, legalistic warfare, neocons, NGO, Srebrenica, Yugoslavia
a. Date convention: x.y.z, where x = day, y = month, z = year. Example: 24.3.1999 = March 24, 1999.
b. Phonetic equivalents of Serbo-Croatian letters: ć = soft ch, č = ch, š = sh, đ = dj, ž = zh.
c. Titles of references are truncated.
BiH Bosnia and Herzegovina
BND Bundesnachrichtendienst (German secret service)
D&FA Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy (publication)
FYROM Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
GWOT global war on terror
ICJ International Court of Justice
ICTY International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia
ISSA International Strategic Studies Association
JNA Yugoslav National Army
JPC Judeocentric Power Complex
KFOR NATO-led international occupation forces in Kosovo
KLA Kosovo Liberation Army
MEP member of European Parliament
NGO non-governmental organization
NYT New York Times
OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
POW prisoner of war
PR Public Relations
SANU Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
SFOR Stabilization Force (UN-NATO force in Bosnia-Herzegovina)
SS Schutzstaffel (German Nazi political paramilitary and elite troops)
UNMIK UN Mission in Kosovo
UNSC United Nations Security Concil
VRS Serbian Republic Army (BiH)
All sides of the Balkan conflicts have committed war crimes, but, unlike Croats, Bosnian Muslims and Kosovo Albanians, Serbs haven‘t carried out ethnic cleansing on any of the lands they populated. Rather, Serbs have fought to keep their ancestral lands, without attempts to expand typical of the other warrying factions. Eventful history has scattered Serbs around the region, and their desire was to be in one country. Yugoslavia offered this. After WWII, Serbs generally lived in peace with their ethnic neighbours; by 1999, Serbia was the only former republic, where ethnic groups coexisted peacefully.
Despite these verifiable facts, Serbs, the least guilty, have received undeserved bad publicity, have been bombed, and their craddle Kosovo has been stolen for a mafia state, while one-quarter of ex-Yugoslavia’s Serb population has ended up in hostile new states, without the right to self-determination,[1] even though they wanted to remain in one state, Yugoslavia. UN-NATO proteges Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo have practiced racist purification that displaced over a million people, mostly Serbs. Unique human groups have become extinct in Western Slavonia, Krajina, Sarajevo, and Dubrovnik, while remnants of Kosovo Serbs are being cleansed..
Attempts by the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to redefine Serbian war crimes as genocide by relativization of the term, reveal problems with the concept and its formalization in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide. The International Court of Justice absolved (26.2.2007) Serbia from charges of alleged genocide and pursuit of Greater Serbia, but upheld ICTY verdict of Bosnian Serb genocide in Srebrenica. ICJ ruling indirectly refutes the Serbophobic barrage. While media demonized the Serbs for genocide and ethnic cleansing, tens of thousands of Croats, Albanians and Bosnian Muslims lived unharmed in Serbia. The culprits of the Balkan conflicts and sponsors of the Serb-hatred and violence should now answer before courts.
Evidence indicates at most hundreds of executed Bosnian Muslim POWs in Srebrenica, and few, if any, civilians, while Muslim military of UN-protected Srebrenica slaughtered thousands of civilians in systematic raids on Serbian villages. Though the ICTY has indicted persons from all three Bosnian ethnic groups, it mainly prosecutes Serbs. The extremist leaders of Croats, Bosnian Muslims and Kosovo Albanians haven’t stood comparable trials, even though they and their commanders have committed mass crimes, including instigation of hatred.
The US-NATO agression in the Balkans was officially explained as being what it wasn’t. A companion essay analyses the external and internal actors behind mass crimes of “humanitarian interventions” and “spreading democracy”.[2] Drawing on my Polish book,[3] this essay explores Balkan antagonisms, power instruments, role-reversal and demonization as a prelude to interventionism, with an eye on aggression, the supreme war crime according to the Nuremberg Tribunal.
To justify anti-Serbian interventions, the Judeocentric Power Complex (JPC)[4] stirred animosities that had healed since WWII. UN forces commander in Bosnia, gen. Morillon said BiH ethnic groups acted not as much out of fear of domination by another group as by the hatred. Dormant hatreds were agitated in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo (sections 1 to 3), and consistently used military, legalistic (section 4), infowar (section 5) and other means (section 6) to conquer Serbs. The companion essay discusses diplomatic instruments and external actors, as they indicate JPC’s Balkan agenda.
Serbs contributed to saving Europe from the Turks and the Nazis. 16th century Habsburgs invited Serbs into a buffer zone (German: Militärgrenze; Serbo-Croatian: Vojna Krajina) vacated before the invading Turks. Croat and Hungarian land owners resented that emperor Ferdinand expropriated them for the Serbs whom he exempted from socage in exchange for the defense. Croat (and Hungarian) anti-Serbism partly stems from this fact. After the Austro-Hungarian empire collapsed and Vojna Krajina joined Croatia in 1868, the Serbs constituted a quarter of Croatia’s population, and in 1991 only 12%.
Established by Ante Pavelić in 1929, Croat extremists Ustaše exterminated Serbs, dissenting Croats, Gypsies and Jews in WWII, with methods that terrified the Nazis.[5] Herman Naubacher, Hitler’s personal assistant for Balkan affairs estimated from own reports the number of Serbs victims at 750,000, reducing Ustaše leaders’ bragging about slaughtering one million Serbs (incl. children, women and the elderly).[6] Edmond Paris writes about some 750,000 Serbs, 60,000 Jews and 26,000 Gypsies murdered in 1941-1945 – “a gigantic holocaust”, WWII “greatest genocide” in proportion to total population.[7] Allan Ryan Jr. quoted Pavelić in Quiet Neighbours: “A good Ustaša is one who can use his knife to cut a child from the womb of his mother.” The Ustaše embraced the ideas of a 19th century “Croat nation’s father”, Ante Starčević who refined Serbofobia: “The Croat nation deems Slav blood of Serbs to be foreign […] Serbs must be liquidated.”
Two chapters censored by Tito authorities in a book on Ustaša crimes[8] document Roman Catholic Church’s anti-Yugoslav, pro-fascist stance in the first half of the 20th century.[9] Croat Catholic hierarchy and clergy incited laymen to Ustaše genocide and participated. Race and religion combined “a racist nationalism which aimed at a 100% ethnically pure state, and a fascist Croatian church with a parallel policy of a 100% pure Catholic Croatia.”[10] Catholic and Protestant newspapers published Aryan laws, accounts of the forced conversions, photos of Pavelić’s visits to seminaries and convents, and welcome speeches. Himmler’s deputy Reinhard Heydrich wrote (17.2.1942) about Slavs murdered by Croats “with the most sadistic of methods”: “the Croat-Serbian state of tension is not least of all a struggle of the Catholic Church against the Orthodox Church.”[11]
Hubert Butler[12] incriminates Ustaše and Croat Catholic Church. In 1950 three Balkan politicians in exile asked the UN members to take into custody some 120 Croat nationals, including many Franciscans, stating that a Franciscan commandant of Jasenovac had murdered the prisoners, while forced conversions and massacres centered at a Franciscan monastery in Herzegovina. A law student from a Catholic organization had won a 1942 competition by cutting the throats of 1,360 Serbs. French cardinal Tisserant remarked in March 1942 to Pavelić’s ambassador to Vatican, Rušinović: “even the Franciscans of Bosnia-Herzegovina behaved atrociously. Father Šimić, with a revolver in his hand, led an armed gang and destroyed Orthodox churches.” Pavelić later decorated the superior of the Franciscan monastery in Knin for his military activities. Tisserant denounced Rušinović’s lie that 200,000 of the Serb willingly returned to Catholic Church: “The Germans helped you kill all the priests and you got rid of 350,000 Serbs before you set up the Croatian Orthodox Church.” Against the Turks, Tisserant reminded, Serbs had done at least as much for Catholicism as Croats, but the Croats got the title of Antemurale Christianitatis.
Vatican helped CIA-identified Ustaše hide, flee and export valuables taken from their victims. Andrija Artuković[13] “the Himmler of Yugoslavia” whom Vatican helped hide in Ireland before he went to the USA, consulted archbishop of Zagreb, Alojzije Stepinac, on the moral aspects of every action he took. Stepinac loathed Orthodoxy and saw the Ustaša genocide as the “working of the divine hand”. He was sentenced for command responsibility in war crimes and mass murders, because he “played a role in governing the Nazi puppet Croatian state” and “many members of his clergy participated actively in atrocities and mass murders”, and collaborated with the Nazis.[14] In Vatican and Western propaganda, Stepinac’s 5-year imprisonment and a house arrest till his death (1960) are a Communist show.
Cruelty and Franciscan support re-appeared. Senator Joseph Biden (now US vice-president) caught virulent anti-Serbism from Croat Franciscan clergyman Ilija Živković in early 1980s. Having filtered out Vatican’s and Croat Franciscans’ WWII role, Catholic Biden initiated Serbophobic senate resolutions and motions, and gave hateful speeches and anti-Serb interviews. He said during 1999 debate on NATO aggression, “all Serbs should be placed in Nazi-style concentration camps”, and on CNN’s Larry King Live, “Serbs are illiterate degenerates, baby killers, butchers and rapists”. Živković boasted that Biden was in contact with ultra-nationalist Croat groups, but “what influenced him most was the speech I held […] before just-elected president Bill Clinton […] I explained why the bridges in Belgrade, Serbia, must be bombarded, how to stop Serb forces in BiH […] It was all clear to them, because we have engaged one former congressman back in 1987 to lobby for Croatia”, i.e. long before Yugoslavia breakup. Živković revealed that already in 1985 “the Serbian editors would cut out everything that was Croatian”. In 1985 there was no Croat state; neither Ustaše nostalgia nor Croat fanaticism was tolerated. Živković complained to senator Biden.[15]
In 1990, Croat neo-fascists organized demonstrations, civic intimidations and attacks on Serbs, calling for overthrow of the federation and expulsion of Serbs. Croat extreme nationalists led by future president Franjo Tuđman’s HDZ party won control of the Croat parliament (30.5.1990). HDZ had a neo-Ustaše military wing. Rightist organizations from the West that were absent in the Balkans since the end of WWII, channelled funds, weapons and mercenaries for separatists and terrorists. International neo-fascist CFIVA provided 2,800 mercenaries.[16] German and Austrian clandestine neo-Nazi publications[17] published appeals: “help our Croat brothers defend the white race”.[18] Dreading a repetition of WWII atrocities, Serbs in Croatia rose in defence.
Croat parliament adopted a constitution (22.12.1990) that deprived ethnic Serbs of basic rights. In a replay of 1941, when Nazis set up Croatia as a national state, the constitution relegated Serbs, Jews, Gypsies and Muslims to a second class tatus. Serbs lost government jobs, businesses and homes. Serb newspapers were closed down. A property tax applicable only to Serbs was introduced, and militia looted and closed down Serb shops. Serb were issued marked identity cards. Europe demanded (February 1991) that Yugoslavia hold elections. The Croat government attacked Serb civilians in Plitvice (31.3.1991), starting an armed conflict involving the Yugoslav Army, JNA. Even before Croatia‘s independence, its internal affairs minister, Martin Špegelj acknowledged a war against JNA and Serbs (“kill them all in the streets, in their homes, through hand grenades, fire pistols into their bellies, women, children”), promising to deal with the Serb town of Knin “by butchering”. On 5.5.1991, the deadline set by the US Congress resolution 101-513 on economic sanctions as an ultimatum for “democratic reform”, Croat militias attacked a JNA base. The new leadership wanted “to initiate conflict against Belgrade and Serbs, to begin the process of rolling Serbian and BiH borders back to the WWII borders, and to seize JNA military assets.”[19]
HDZ won the first multi-party election. Slovenia and Croatia declared independence (25.6.1991). Europe refused to recognize the secessions. Maastricht Treaty negotiations were on the way, and Germany agreed for the UK to opt out from euro currency, provided the other member states approve the breakup of Yugoslavia. By December 1991, the European Community supported the secessions and encouraged the other republics to separate. Germany and Vatican were the first to recognize the new states. Croat radio (29.10.1991) gave the Serb minority 48 hours to leave homes. On 1.11.1991, 225 Serbs were killed, 36 Serbian churches destroyed, 250 Serbian villages raised and 58,000 Serbs expelled. This first major war crime set the stage for all others.[20]
Croat attacks on Serb-populated “UN Protected Areas” in Western Slavonia (Operation Lightning, May 1995) and Krajina (Operation Storm, August 1995)[21] were the worst ethnic cleansing in the Balkan wars.[22] US supported the planning, preparation, supervision and the combat.[23] A British journalist reflected on these, Croat “brutal military actions”: “the present day Croatian state shares the primary objective of the wartime Ustashe – a racist obsession to create a 100% ethnically pure Catholic Croatia.”[24] Celebrating Storm that drove out 250,000 Krajina Serbs, Tuđman told Croats: “there can be no return to the past, to the times when they, the Serbs, were spreading cancer in the heart of Croatia.”[25]
Croat repressions since 1990, and 1995 Lightning and Storm killed several thousand civilians and brutally expelled hundreds of thousands Serbs. European Community Monitoring Mission teams observed (7-22.8.1995) destruction-by-burning of 60-80% of Krajina Serb property, by Croat military at locations with Croat-controlled access. The systematic burning of whole villages was a co-ordinated ethnic cleansing approved at the highest level, to prevent Serb returns. The remaining Krajina Serbs (mostly the elderly) constituted 2-5% of pre-hostility total.[26] On the average six bodies were discovered daily, mainly of the elderly, many mutilated, shot in the back of the head, or throats cut.[27] Serbian villages, towns and homesteads were systematically destroyed to eliminate “every vestige of Serb occupation”; “one year after the event, the torture, harassment and slaughter of those too old, infirm or just too stubborn to leave continues” with international community’s full knowledge.[28]
ICTY found that the Croat forces had operated in “arson squads”, leaving complete destruction to prevent Serbian return, and hundreds of Krajina Serbs had been murdered or had disappeared after Storm.[29] But ICTY didn’t pursue Croat leaders vigorously. A Kosovo Albanian, gen. Agim Çeku commanded Storm. Canadian peacekeepers witnessed savagery of Çeku´s troops in the Medak Pocket (Croatia, 1993), where over 200 Serb civilians were slaughtered. ICTY had to indict Çeku, largely on the strength of the Canadian testimony.[30] Çeku’s forces massacred a Serb refugee column at Novi Varoš (2.5.1995), and targeted the UN “safe” city of Knin.[31] Later, with a blessing of the US state department, Çeku became KLA supreme commander during 1998-1999 Kosovo conflict. Throughout Operation Allied Force (24.3-11.7.1999), Çeku was portrayed as a loyal ally and attended NATO briefings with top generals. Albanians in Kosovo and Macedonia regard him a hero. He said before being elected Kosovo prime minister (10.3.2006): “I know I never acted, saw, ordered or did something that violates the customs of war.”
After Tuđman’s death, Croatia prosecuted 811 people for alleged crimes during and after Operation Storm. Several dozen, including Serbs, got jail sentences up to 20 years. Amnesty International criticized Croatia for inadequately investigating the crimes and encouraging impunity. ICTY indicted senior Croat commanders, Ivan Čermak, Mladen Markač and Ante Gotovina who had personal and command responsibility for war crimes against Krajina Serbs. Čermak and Markač were handed over to ICTY. Spanish police captured Gotovina in the Canary Islands (8.12.2005), and extradited him to ICTY’s trial of Gotovina, Markač and Rahim Ademi for “joint criminal enterprise” and planned military offensive aimed at ethnic cleansing of the entire Krajina Serbian population.
Regretting his previous lies on Storm in Milošević trial, former US ambassador to Croatia, Peter Galbraith testified before ICTY (23.6.2008) that Storm conformed to Croatia‘s policy. During numerous meetings with Galbraith before Storm, Tuđman called Croatia’s Serbs “a strategic threat”, and his advisor Hrvoje Šarinić – a “cancer on Croatia’s belly”. With a goal of ethnically clean state Tuđman planned that “up to 10 percent of Serbs can remain in Croatia”, and Krajina must be populated by diaspora Croats. He also advocated “moving the population” and dividing BiH. Galbraith witnessed Storm; the crimes weren‘t “isolated incidents”, as Croats refer to them, but massive action planned by Croat leadership. US state department man sitting behind ICTY prosecutor oversaw Galbraith’s testimony, to prevent divulging US role in Croat crimes.
Tuđman defended Ustaša genocide in The Wasteland of Historical Reality (1989), regarding the Serbs as “savages” who “must be exterminated”. He diminished the large number of Ustaše‘s victims. To him, genocide was humanity‘s universal characteristics, congruent with the “harmony of God’s world”, “recommended and commanded by the Almighty’s word”. Croatia hid its and Muslim 1990s genocide, as it controlled the outgoing satellite TV imagery. Images of the dead captioned “Croatian, or Muslims from Bosnia-Herzegovina” actually showed ethnic Serbs.[32]
At his inception, Tuđman declared “I’m happy my wife isn’t a Jew or a Serb”, renamed streets that carried antifascist partisans’ names, reinstated the genocidal fascist regime’s money and flag, and changed the constitution to run off the Serbs. He denied the Holocaust, but the West helped him “get his own country and ethnically cleansing 560,000 Serbs”; he was “invited to the UK celebration of the defeat of Nazism in Europe. Just as there are some Holocausts which may not be denied and some which may, there are clearly acceptable and unacceptable Nazis.”[33]
Tuđman’s regime dismantled over 3,000 anti-fascist monuments, including one at Ustaša death camp Jasenovac, eliminated a permanent exhibition there, and reduced the number of victims from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands.[34] The number of Jewish victims remains at about 17,000. Similar trends to Yad Vashem approval are observed for Auschwitz.[35]
In 1991, the new Croatia’s army damaged the 18th century Serbian Orthodox church of St. John the Baptist at the Jasenovac site. Rebuilt in 1984 from the ashes left by Ustaše in 1941, the church again succumbed to Croat official fascist forces. Tuđman forces‘ raid (1995) on Jasenovac desecrated, plundered and destroyed the church, and death camp museum and memorial centre.
Tuđman proposed (January 1996) that Ustaša remains be exhumed and brought to Jasenovac, to rest beside the graves of their victims, in an “act of reconcillation”,[36] making it Europe‘s only place where Holocaust victims would be buried alongside their oppressors. A Jewish publicist, Slavko Goldstein, who lost five family members in Ustaša exterminations, urged Tuđman to leave the victims alone. Tuđman died in 1999, charged with “joint criminal enterprise” with Gojko Šušak (died in 1998), HDZ government members, and top military and police officials.
A communist Croat, Tito had a policy of weakening Serb power, and created the “Muslim” nationality to this end. Yugoslav Muslims are mostly Slavs (Serbs, fewer Croats) whose ancestors converted to Islam. In BiH comprising Muslims (43%), Serbs (31%), Croats (17%) and “Yugoslavs” (7%), Alija Izetbegović’s radical Muslim minority joined the Croats against the Serbs and unilaterally declared independence (6.3.1992).
The Islamist minority overpowered the Muslim moderates, and with outside support strove at secession. Izetbegović formed a militant, ultra-nationalist Islamic party SDA in 1990. Aided by the US, in August 1994 he attacked moderate Muslims in Bihac. With its intermingled population, dividing Bosnia was absurd.[37] The Muslims were mainly urbanites while the Serbs and Croats lived in the countryside. Bosnian Serbs didn’t invade the territories, but tried to defend their lands and establish transportation corridors. Bosnia could not be divided without a civil war and the external actors provoked it. Bosnia UN safe areas weren’t safe for Serbs nor Muslims. Nearly all Serbs were killed or driven out by 1993, according to UNHCR. Muslim-populated UN enclaves housed Muslim military that attacked surrounding Serb villages, provoking retaliation.
The 1995 Dayton “accords” imposed political entities on multi-ethnic BiH peoples and entrusted their fate to outsiders. Islamist minority domination over moderate Bosnian Muslims foreshadowed KLA in Ramboulliet and Kosovo “independence”. Izetbegović had US support since 1992 when following US ambassador Warren Zimmermann’s remark “Why sign it if you don’t like it?” he reneged on the Serb-Muslim-Croat accord in Lisbon.[38] The Bosnian issue could have been resolved peacefully if it was not for the US.
Dayton accords institutionalized US support to expulsion of Serbs – physically from parts of Bosnia, and as a group from the protection of international law. The US maneuvered the Bosnian Serb representatives out of Dayton, and set up president of Serbia Milošević to negotiate for them. Through the ICTY, the USA has charged “war criminals” with genocide as an insurance policy against the Serbs who demand their rights. ICTY trials ensure that the public perceive NATO war a justified humanitarian intervention. Dayton architects knew Bosnia couldn’t be a multi-ethnic state from the moment they scuttled the Lisbon accords. The Serbs want to join Serbia, the Croats Croatia, but Bosnian Islamists dominate. When the Bosnian Croats leave, the Serbs will become “submerged by Muslim majority.”[39]
Congruent with Islamist ambitions, JPC eyes the Green Corridor, an unbroken Muslim region, from Bosnia and Albania via Sandžak and Kosovo to Turkey. Acting on the Corridor plan, Ottoman army reached Vienna in 1683. A propaganda item issued by an Albanian émigré group and found in Ankara used-books store, “showed a mighty green arrow, emanating from Turkey, thrusting through the Muslim-populated parts of the Balkans […] victoriously heading to […] the heartland of Europe”.[40]
The Dutch report[41] ridicules Sarajevo satirical magazine Vox as if it was Milošević’s one and only source on Green Corridor. Actually, in its first edition, fundamentalist Vox expressed hate towards Serbs in Serbia, then threats and expectations of massacres of Bosnian Serbs. It also published documents based on Izetbegović’s Islamic Declaration. This 1970 Islamist manifesto was dusted off to stir hatred and civil war. Vox re-printed Declaration of Independent Bosnia-Herzegovina for the expected secession of Slovenia in the beginning of Yugoslavia break-up. As in the Islamic Declaration, the radicals sought to “restore the status quo ante 1878”,[42] when Bosnia was a province ruled by sharia and the Christian majority was subordinated in constant turmoil. Living in secular Yugoslavia was unacceptable to Islamists, for whom independence from infidel power was a religious imperative.
In the Muslim state “a good Serb would be a dead or obedient Serb, or one converted to Islam”, “the faith of his forefathers”. For each destroyed Muslim house, 10 Serbian houses would be demolished, for each Muslim fatality – 100 Serbs killed, and for each wounded – 10 to 15 Serbs. Serbs would work 12-hour days for wages 30% lower than Muslim wages and proportional to group loyalty. Serbs would lose jobs before Muslims, and would eat rationed food from designated stores. Serbs couldn’t have national parties, and could lose the right to associate and vote in case of disobedience. The initiators of the Islamist Bosnian state planned to defend Muslim interests in Sandžak, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia and Serbia.
When the war broke out in Eastern Bosnia in April 1992, and Muslim majority opposed radicals (as earlier around Bihac), weapons and uniforms arrived at Izetbegović’s SDA party locales.[43] To intimidate and provoke conflict, Vox published a liquidation list of Serbian “war criminals”, former Tito partisans who had fought Bosnian Handžar SS. A year earlier, disguised as Serbian para-militaries of Arkan (Željko Ražnjatović), Muslim gangs, (e.g. Patriot League in Srebrenica area) threatened Muslim majority, igniting conflict and raising mutual fear,[44] while Serbs were being fired from jobs, as in Croatia. Inside October 1991 Vox issue were articles on the Handžar and future Fourth Reich, and on the cover – a Muslim in Turkish cap, one foot on severed Serbian heads. A similar photo, but not published by Vox, showed a foot on the severed heads of Bran Durić, Nenad Petković and Blagoje Blagojević. The villain, shown on another photo holding Blagojević’s head, was a dark-skinned mudjahedin. In the 1990s Kosovo, headhunters were KLA “soldiers” Sadik Cuflaj and his teenage son Valon, who were shown in Serbian press, holding severed head of Bojan Cvetković, while a comrade held another head.
Some 20 Muslim imams in Handžar SS inculcated a policy of extermination of Orthodox Serbs (“the communists”) and Jews. In October 1943, imam Abdulah Muhasilović spoke about two camps in “the entire world”:
“One stands under the leadership of the Jews, about whom God says in the Qur’an, “They are your enemy and God’s enemy”. And that is the English, the Americans, and Bolsheviks, who fight against faith, against God, against morality, and a just order. On the other side stands National Socialist Germany with its allies, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, who fight for God, faith, morality, and a fairer and more righteous order in the world.”[45]
In 1993, Muslim troops from UN-protected “safe area” Srebrenica raided Serb villages on the night of Orthodox Christmas 1993; gen Morillon: “There were heads cut off, abominable massacres committed by the forces of Naser Oric in all the neighboring villages.”[46] Orić’s men were driven by hatred, and slaughtered all encountered civilian and Bosnian Serb POWs. Morillon recounted Orić saying “One can’t be bothered with prisoners.” Orić showed videotapes of slaughtered Serbs.[47] Serb organizations compiled the names of over 3,000 Bosnian Serbs killed in Srebrenica region in 1992-1995.[48]
Orić’s troops retreated from UN safe area Srebrenica a week before the July 1995 massacre by Serb forces; French gen. Germanos: “Oric had widely declared that they had abandoned Srebrenica because [Izetbegović had] wanted Srebrenica to fall.” Morillon added that Izetbegović’s forces “opposed the evacuation of all those who had asked to be taken out […] Mladic fell into a trap”.[49] A massacre was plotted a year and a half in advance, when Kofi Annan’s UN report stated: “Izetbegović had learned that a NATO intervention into Bosnia was possible. But it would happen only if the Serbs forced their way into Srebrenica and massacred at least 5,000 people.”[50] A 1999 UN report added: “President Izetbegović has flatly denied making such a statement.”[51] A whitewash of NATO discounted the evidence of planned losses.[52] From the beginning Clinton administration referred to spy photos as evidence of Srebrenica massacre. When it was not forthcoming, the White House gave an excuse of secrecy. In an obstruction of justice, files relevant to Srebrenica at the UN headquarters weren’t available to the ICTY, by a decision of UNSC permanent members: USA, France and UK.
Inflated claims counter forensic evidence of 2028 bodies in ICTY judgement.[53] “8,000 Muslim victims” of the executions was a Red Cross estimate including “5,000 “missing”, thousands of which were later accounted for – having either reached safety or died in combat” with VRS; crimes concern “hundreds of executions, but not more”. Killed “civilians” had been “fully armed, 5,500-strong Bosnian Muslim Army’s 28th division” under “indicted war criminal Naser Oric”. According to chief EU negotiator Lord David Owen, “the main flaw to the concept of “safe areas” from the perspective of the UN military, was that the UN Security Council were allowing the Muslims to evade any demilitarization provision.” Until May 1992, Orić’s forces had committed some of the war’s worst atrocities, “murdering 1,200-2,500 Serbs in the Srebrenica area”, with the number of Serb casualties around Srebrenica “no less, and likely greater, than that of Muslims”; Bosnian Muslim leaders, incl. founder of the ruling SDA party from Srebrenica, Ibran Mustafić, “claimed that the Bosnian Presidency and Military High Command deliberately sacrificed the town in order to encourage NATO intervention”. US policy undermined UN and European brokered peace settlements “to pursue a military solution” by facilitating shipments of illegal weapons to Muslims, which helped turn safe zones into “staging areas for conflict and tripwires for NATO intervention”.[54] A BBC news item supports the military-only thesis:
“The allegations have been made by some of the three thousand soldiers who reached Tuzla today after fighting their way through enemy lines. They say that the Serbs ambushed their retreating column killing hundreds if not thousands of soldiers.”[55]
Having failed to prove Serb intent or acts of genocide or mass crimes, the powers lied about Srebrenica. Even ICTY judges indicated exaggeration, as the evidence only “suggests” that “a majority” of the 7,000-8,000 “missing” were executed, as opposed to dying in the fighting.[56] Propaganda and ICTY are certain that Muslim male victims were unarmed civilians, but question civilian status of Serb victims. As in JPC’s stance against Holocaust deniers, anybody who questions Srebrenica, the “greatest atrocity in Europe since WWII”, is a “holocaust denier” and “revisionist”. ICTY’s failure to label as genocide worse Croat atrocities against Serbs further compromises its impartiality. During the conflict in Croatia, Clinton administration inflated Srebrenica casualties and diverted attention from Croat attacks on Serb-populated “UN Protected Areas” in Western Slavonia and Krajina.
When healing and reconciliation were needed, the ICTY shocked the public with the “Srebrenica” video (1.6.2005) of Serb para-military private security, Scorpions executing six Bosnian Muslims. ICTY promoted hatred, by demonizing an entire nation. ICTY censored and suppressed the war crimes and atrocities committed against Bosnian Serbs by Bosnian Muslim and Croat forces.[57] US resolution HR 199 (27.6.2005) blamed Bosnian Serbs collectively for Srebrenica. On the day of London attacks (7.7.2005) that were later linked[58] to Balkan Jihad, Europe followed on the 10th anniversary of “the act of genocide”: “more than 7,000 unarmed Bosnian Muslim men are thought to have been killed by Bosnian Serb forces”.[59] Confess genocide, turn Karadžić and Mladić over to ICTY, and apply for admission to EU, bargained the resolution. Airing of Srebrenica video devoid of the proof became an extortion tool. European Parliament acted against reconciliation, too; no nation would admit to non-existent genocide. University of Berkeley professor emeritus of history noted: “media-wide cerebral terrorism or demonization of “the Serbs” for over a decade qualifies also as an act of genocide under the “mental harm” provision of Article 2 of the 1948 genocide convention.”[60] The video’s publicity hinted NGO-politics ties. A “nightmare for Serb nationalists” and a “leading rights activist” on a “quest for justice”,[61] Nataša Kandić, working for Soros-sponsored Humanitarian Law Center, organized the airing that “proved” Serbs were responsible for Srebrenica genocide, but neither Kandić nor the ICTY proved Scorpions connection to Serb authorities, or the six victims – to the “8,000”; Scorpions may have been NATO death squads.[62] Loathing Serbs, Kandić supported NATO bombing, and was implicated in worldwide hoax about a refrigeration truck filled with dead Kosovo Albanians when NATO needed Milošević extradicted.[63]
To ICTY deputy prosecutor Nice and media, Humanitarian Law Center is “a very reliable human rights
organisation”. Kandić’s fellow Serbophobic sociologist Eric Gordy spoke at NGO conference in Serbia (27.6.2005) about the video: “Whatever limitations the film may have as evidence, however, it has had tremendous value as publicity.” Airing the video made Serbs realize that the anniversary was used to “nazify” them and “attach collective guilt”, to make them “feel guilty for all that has to come to pass in the Balkans.”[64] OSCE reprimanded (December 2004) Serb media for publishing photos of Haradinaj crimes, because recollection of crimes committed on Serbs sowed hatred and intolerance. Soros’s B92 station, Danas and Vreme, however, kept calling for “repentance” while publicizing the Scorpions video, as did Western media.
Under the threat of replacement of elected officials, Serb Republic (BiH) government “admitted” 7,800 persons missing (not murdered) from Srebrenica. Communicating to UNSC, ICTY’s Carla del Ponte distorted the statement to thousands murdered by Serbs. Observers warned the Serbian government that accepting the guilt would lead to monetary demands that would greatly exceed any apparent political benefits. Preparations for the Bosnian Muslim lawsuit for genocide, filed against Serbs in the ICJ, entertained US$ 100 billion indemnity.[65]
Izetbegović admitted on his deathbed that Bosnian Muslim claims about Serb-run “extermination camps had been a hoax to precipitate bombing of Serbs.[66] An August 1992 story for ITN about Serb-run Trnopolje “concentration camp” was featured in JPC media as proof of Serb-run Auschwitz. NATO denounced Trnopolje, actually a refugee centre, providing moral basis for ICTY. “250,000 dead in Bosnia” was invented to justify the claim of genocide of Muslims. The claim stayed constant, despite continuing casualties on all sides. By August 1992, as an effect of the Trnopolje hoax, the UN authorized[67] the use of force in Bosnia and promised justice. International occupation began and the ICTY was initiated.
ITN’s edited video and falsified stills from Trnopolje fooled the world. Margolaine Martin from Zagreb office of International Red Cross denied the accusation.[68] When LM magazine exposed the hoax,[69] ITN sued them for libel. The court ruled that even though the footage wasn’t accurate, it was libellous to suggest ITN had done it deliberately.[70] Apologists of US-NATO Balkan policies cite the verdict as proof that the death camps existed. Worldwide Television News, connected to ITN, sold the footage with an interpretation[71] that, after a still showing a handshake of a thin man with ITN’s Penny Marshall, reads that a British reporting team has found the “first independent proof of death camps” run by Serb authorities in BiH. A Serbian TV footage filmed beside the ITN crew shows the British filming from inside a delapidated enclosure, and shaking hands with a group of men over the low fence; only one man is emaciated. They repeatedly correct Marshall who suggests they are not well treated in the camp.[72]
Funded by Norway and Bosnia, Mirsad Tokača, head of Sarajevo-based Research and Documentation Center, proved the 250,000 civilian death toll in Bosnia wrong. Pentagon reported, as of the date of Tokača‘s presentation (16.12.2005), 94,000 victims of known identity,[73] up 4,000 from July 2005, when Tokaca counted 70% Muslims, 23% Serbs, 5-6% Croats, and 1-2% others.[74] 1991 population census counted 4.3 million: 44% Muslims, 17% Croats, 31% Serbs and 8% others in BiH.[75] The apparently heavy Muslim losses resulted from three conflicts: Muslims and Croats against the Serbs, Muslims and Croats against each other, and Muslims against other Muslims. Heavy Muslim military casualties reslted from Izetbegović‘s sacrific of his troops against heavily armed enemy. Two ICTY-contracted researchers estimated 55,000 civilian deaths (54% of the total), including over 16,000 Serbs, in a total of 102,000 dead.[76] Yet, for the first 11 days beginning with Milošević death, the toll from the wars in BiH or in ex-Yugoslavia was said to be 200,000 or greater in at least 202 different items, and 100,000 in only 13.[77]
SkyNews release of Bosnian Muslim video (circa 1995)[78] shows Serbs being rounded up, tortured and shot, just like in WWII Bosnia the 20,000 Nazi-Muslim troops have liquidated tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews and Gypsies. It was an exceptional release after years of Bosnian Muslim “victimhood”. Muslim forces staged spectacular massacres against Muslims, to blame the Serbs. In the siege of Sarajevo, Serb forces committed war crimes, too, but Izetbegović forces stopped civilians who wanted to flee, and snipers regularly killed Serb inhabitants. In Mostar, after Serbs had been expelled, Croat and Muslim forces held deadly fights, but media presented the villainy as Serbian. A Western correspondent watched “in complete resignation” the image of a Serbian granny “wearing a black scarf and holding an Orthodox cross, in tears burying her beloved grandchild, the victim of “Serbian” shells in a suburb of Sarajevo”; the caption states: “A Bosnian child, a Bosnian woman, a typical Muslim burial service.”[79]
Pictures of Serb Orthodox graves were “Muslim cemeteries”. In Kosovo, mourning Serb women in black were “Albanian women”, and Serb funerals – “weeping Albanian refugees”.[80] The reality of Sarajevo, where Serb and Croat population suffered in the Muslim-controlled quarters, was different than the world public believed:[81] “the other Sarajevo, the one no one speaks about, is also being shelled […] civilians are also being ambushed and killed by snipers, hand grenades and other weapons.”[82] The report’s author, the president of the BiH association of journalists, had to leave Sarajevo, as the three warring sides threatened his life.
When the Bosnian war broke out, 160,000 Sarajevo immigrants from Sandžak became the driving force behind Izetbegović, aggravating the antagonism between the indigenous and the immigrant Muslims. Sarajevo’s image of “the European and world capital of multi-cultures and multi-nationalities”, as the media and intellectuals like Bernard-Henri Lévy asserted, crumbles in Izetbegović speech (March 1994) of major impact on the BiH public, but unknown in the West: “We are self-sufficient! […] that our soldiers are dying for multinational coexistence […] is a lie!”[83]
On the systematic mass rapes, alleged to have been sanctioned by Serbian authorities, professor emeritus John-Peter Maher replied to Guardian about their 11.10.2000 story, calling it “a racist fraud”. During 1999 NATO attack on Yugoslavia, while propaganda broadcast “Serb rapes” in Kosovo, Albanian mafia was kidnapping girls and young women from refugee camps for European bordellos. Resisting victims were killed, as Western reporters witnessed on a few occasions.[84]
The mass rape idea came from BiH minister Haris Silajđić who accused the Serb forces of raping 30,000 Muslim females. Women’s magazine Ms published an article about Serb rapes featured in porno movies (that were never found), and Helsinki Watch and Human Rights Watch could not support the allegations. The media stories “have clearly involved carefully staged performances by non-Muslims dressed up as Muslims”. Rape (on all sides) is a conflict byproduct, but Croat staging of these events “has been significant”.[85]
Roger Boyls (NYT 23.12.1992) didn’t verify anonymous interviews by the World Council of Churches (WCC), but called for prosecution of “rapists”, citing WCC investigator Brenda Fitzpatrick who was convinced that although all warrying parties had committed rapes, only the Serb side had “a policy of rapes and impregnation of detained Muslim women”. Allegedly, victims were told they would be raped until they became pregnant and gave birth to an “ethnic Serbian child”, to fulfil a goal of creating “a generation of hating children”. Also based on speculation was a story on a rape camp, where allegedly 70 women were exploited. After killing one, the next innocent was brought in. Reportedly, pleasure was not the only purpose of the camp, unlike in the Japanese and Nazi WWII establishments: when a Muslim female became pregnant with a “Serbian” child, the Serbs consider it a “tactical victory”.[86] Ottoman Turks took Serb children, jennisaries. Taught to hate Slavs, they surpassed their educators‘ cruelty. WWII Muslim extremists in Bosnia and Croat Ustaše did similar things. Several of the worst villains were brought up this way.
Without mentioning Serbian victims, media preemptied earlier Serb accusations of rapes by Croats and Muslims, and reported on Serb implanting of canine fetuses into Muslim females. A Bundestag member, Stefan Schwarz stated that Serbs were copying the “Nazi monster, Josef Mengele”; the allegations came from Croat female doctors who treated fleeing Muslim women and demanded to “stop this genocide”.[87] Interviews with 28 women suggested 50,000 rapes on Bosnian Muslim females.[88] The figure was extrapolated from the proven cases with ratios of reported to actual number of rape cases, as the victims don’t usually report. 119 documented cases before a UN commission reduced the estimate to 2,400 raped woman, but Serbian and Croat, not Muslim females.
On 15.1.1993, months before the war in Bosnia was nine months old, NYT wrote about a two-month old baby of a Muslim teenager who was allegedly raped in a Serbian prison. Also in January 1993, the Warburton Report, approved by the European Community and quoted as authoritative and independent, estimated the number of Muslim females raped by Serbs at 20,000. Simone Veil, a member of the investigative team, former French minister and the chairwoman of the European Parliament, revealed that the report was based on interviews with only four females.
British Lord Hylton appealed for suitable means to restore basic rights and freedoms in Bosnia, where the “government of Serbia” was guilty of atrocities “worse than anything known in Europe since 1945”, i.e. “genocide”: a “deliberate policy of killing young men, raping women and expelling the elderly”. Six years before 1999 NATO campaign, Hylton reminded the world powers about a duty to prevent a spread of “atrocities to Kosovo”. JPC people knew the regional plans in advance.
An actvist pointed to a landmark process at the ICTY that “for the first time” in the history of UN was devoted to war crimes of rape and sexual enslavement.[89] She referred to dozens of war sex factories on all sides of the conflict in Bosnia and quoted old, by then debunked, propaganda figures of 20,000-50,000 female victims. She postulated systematic rapes be regarded crimes against humanity, quoting Kelly Askin, an American female lawyer and author of War Crimes Against Women, who considered the ICTY lawsuit a great legslative progress, thanks to women in the prosecution and defense. JPC propagandists thus exploited women as spin subjects and objects of the fabrications.
An alleged victim of Serb rapes, Jadranka Cigelj was to testify in US Senate hearing (7.5.1997). She vice-chaired Tuđman’s HDZ party and was a member of ISHR, an organization whose predecessor had been linked to WWII Nazi authorities. Later, IHSR with other Slovenian and Croatian separatists and BND had worked to break Yugoslavia up. The ICTY rejected Cigelj testimony due to her multiple identities and inconsistent statements; then a Serbian American brought to US Congress‘ attention 800 legal depositions[90] of female and male Serb victims of rape, and reminded that many “Senators and Congress persons continue to conceal the homosexual rapes of thousands of Serbian POWs”.[91] “Serb prisoners were forced to circumcise their fellow Serb prisoners as a form of torture”,[92] leading to sexual disfunction. Serbian men had broom handles and the fists of their perpetrators shoved into their anus which damaged the internal organs, as documented by Dr. Ljubica Toholj, Belgrade University gynecology professor and Yugoslav War Crimes Commission director. She wasn‘t allowed to testify before US Senate.
Western media fabrications of Serb mass rapes and death camps have originated with Roy Gutman. In a request to visit the Omarska Camp, he referred to Jadranka Siget, one of her phony identities. In his article 10 days later he called her Cigelj. ISHR brochure “God’s Forgotten Children” contained a witness statement by Jadranka C., undobtedly Cigelj, as it was identical to that in Gutman’s article.
Serbian forces caught a British mercenary, Robert Allen Lofthouse, in Northern Bosnia in January 1993. He confessed to supplying false information about concentration camps, rapes, ethnic cleansing and similar “Serbian atrocities” to Roy Gutman, US Newsday and BBC. Lofthouse kept sending reports and falsified TV recordings. By 1993, Gutman won a Pulitzer prize jointly with John Burns. The same media never published findings on thousands of Serbian POWs, documented by Toholj.
Kosovo is the craddle of Serbs, with over a thousand Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries, some on the UNESCO list. Albanians see Kosovo as an ethnically pure prelude to Greater Albania. First created under Hitler, this entity would now comprise 8 million Albanians in Albania, Serbia’s Kosovo and Preševo Valley, Greek Chameria, Southeastern Montenegro, and Western FYROM.[93] Kosovo Albanian extremists destroyed Christian churches in sight of NATO, UN and EU. A quest for Kosovo “independence” goes on, on lands of sovereign Serbia, for a group that already has a state and harbours organized global crime. In her book The Hunt former ICTY prosecutor del Ponte describes KLA-KFOR-UNMIK’s Kosovo as blood feud land ruled by mafia who present themselves as heroes of the “suffering Albanian people”; UNMIK, KFOR and even ICTY officials fear for their lives if connected to sporadic investigations that meet insurmountable difficulties. Among Serbs missing since 1998 (and other nationals, incl. sex slaves), are hundreds slaughtered in macabre live organ extraction and trade. UNMIK thwarted investigation attempts (e.g. by del Ponte, Council of Europe); high-ranking officials, (e.g. Kouchner, gen. Clark, Javier Solana) may be implicated,[94] tying the operation, like Afghan opium transfer via Camp Bondsteel, to JPC and Kosher Nostra who control global organized crime.[95]
“Ben-Gurion of Kosovo”, Thaçi admired Israel and described war criminal Ariel Sharon as a “great leader”,[96] but a reference to the mafia and Islamist connection was absent. Ben-Gurion authored the July 1954, false-flag bombing attacks in Egypt to damage Egypt-West relations.[97] Israel blamed the attacks on the Egyptian Islamist Muslim Brotherhood,[98] but in March 2005, officially honoured the nine Egyptian Jews involved in the bombings.[99] Thaçi’s gang is creating Greater Albania by terror, too, but he assured that Kosovo wouldn’t be Islamic. As the Zionist terror did under criminal leaders, so, too, under Thaçi’s leadership, JPC-supported KLA has murdered Serb civilians to terrorize hundreds of thousands into leaving. He killed moderate Albanians to toe his party line, and murdered the leaders of political opposition. After “disarmament” by NATO-UN since June 1999, the KLA continued destroying churches and monasteries. Haaretz explained that Thaçi’s assertion was significant for those Israelis who feared an independent Kosovo and potential Greater Albania could be an Islamist outpost, an argument that made Israel support Milošević during the 1999 bombing.[100]
UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s plan (2.2.2007) for Kosovo final status received unconditional support of four of the 15 UNSC Council members (4.4.2007). China, and several non-permanent UN members shared Russia’s concerns. Acting under legally and politically unprecedented, self-created mandate based on the failed Ahtissari plan, the EU is trying to impose Eulex, a mission of 2,000 police, customs officers and judicial personnel in place of UNMIK. In failed states, governments “can no longer provide adequate public services, physical security or economic livelihood to their inhabitants”, attracting “terrorist organizations as safe havens and as staging grounds for attacks”.[101] Kosovo Albanian mafia deals in drugs, sex slaves, weapons, and money-laundering.[102] Kosovo independence removes even a minimal interference with a criminal Muslim state in Europe, making mockery of GWOT.[103]
Greater Albania concept relies on the axiom of national roots in Illyrian antiquity, but there is no archeological confirmation in Kosovo. Claims that Serb Orthodox buildings rest on Illyrian foundations are groundless, while ethnology and historiography reject the Illyrian roots. Prior to the Great Migration even the largest (and older) European nations have not yet formed.[104] Homogeneous Slav population inhabits Kosovo since the early Middle Ages. The Slavs took over the land from the Byzantine empire and the local, Romanized population, not from Albanians. Kosovo was part of a Serbian state from early 13th century to its fall to the Ottomans (15th century). Throughout the Middle Ages, a very small Albanian population lived in Kosovo, mostly in its western part. Serbian documents from that period don‘t exhibit negative stereotypes of Albanians, while Greek documents do.
Turkish rule created Muslim Albanian majority in Kosovo. Proclamation of an Albanian state by the European powers (1913) intended to curb Serb and Montenegrin re-settlement of ancestral lands. Albanians constituted at least half of Kosovo’s population of 497,000 then. A 1929 census showed a decline of 58,000, due to war (the largest among Serbs) and re-location of Muslims to Turkey and Albania. No Albanian state formed during five centuries of Turkish rule, even though converted Albanians were the Ottomans’ “iron fist” in a “holy war against the infidels”. Many Kosovo Serbs receded before the Islamization, fled Turkish revenge after rebellions, or run away from the Albanian terror. Albanians infiltrated Serb villages and farms, followed by a flood of next-of-kin. Forced Albanization and Islamization further reduced the Kosovo Serb population. The Islamic Turkish state tolerated Albanian brigands. Only between year 1878 and the 1912 liberation, about 150,000 Serbs fled Kosovo.
When nation-forming radicalism took a lead in early 19th century, Edith Durham explained (1905) the Albanian goal in Kosovo: “The Christian [whom] the Albanian persecutes is the Slav Christian, and this is the old, old race hatred.”[105] Isa Boletini, Kosovo Albanian politician said in 1913: “When spring comes, we will manure the plains of Kosovo with the bones of Serbs.”[106] Mustafa Kruja, Nazi-fascist prime minister of Greater Albania, said in June 1942: “The Serbian population of Kosovo should be removed as soon as possible. Serbian settlers should be killed.” Ferat-bey Draga, Nazi-fascist Kosovo Muslim politician said (1943): “The time has come to exterminate the Serbs.”[107] The „spring“ motto and racism recurred in March 2004 pogroms of Serbs.
Nazi Albanians cleansed more than 150,000 Serbs from Kosovo. In 1945, Tito forbad them to return and gave their land to Albanians. When Albanians received autonomy in 1974 they began to purge Serbs by banning the Cyrillic alphabet. They removed Serbian books on history, religion and music from schools and libraries. Albanian authorities burned some 2 million books. Serb nuns and young girls were raped by the hundreds. Farms and crops were burned forcing more than 120,000 Serbs to flee. In 1939, Muslims constituted 65.6% of 645,000 Kosovo population, Serbs and Montenegrins – the remainder. Albanian population increased from 498,000 (1948) to almost 1.6 million (1991), and the population of Serbs and Montenegrins from 200,000 to 214,000.[108] Albanians owned two-thirds of Kosovo’s private land in 1999. Since June 1999, a million illegal Albanians entered Kosovo, and quarter million Kosovo non-Albanians, mostly Serbs fled from KLA terror, as KFOR and UNMIK emphatically watched “Albanian revenge”. About 3,000 civilians were murdered or are missing. By comparison, twelve months of fighting of KLA with Yugoslav forces resulted in about 2,000 fatal casualties, mostly military and police, not civilian.[109]
Anti-Serb propaganda devised a nation, Kosovar, but US policy is to create Greater Albania.[110] The media made illegal KLA into “freedom fighters”, while the West provided financial, diplomatic and military support. Once Yugoslav forces defeated the KLA, “genocide and ethnic cleansing of Kosovo Albanians” were invented. The only cleansing Yugoslav forces committed was liquidation of Kosovo terrorism. Operation Allied Force pushed civilian Albanians out of Kosovo under KLA orders[111] to fake an exodus under Yugoslav terror. US-NATO interventionism on Kosovo 2,000 fatalities are incredible, given inaction on Rwandan genocide. Minority rights guaranteed by UNSC resolution 1244 became a mockery, with a risk of ethnic cleansing, even genocide.[112] Like Bosnia, Kosovo is also a global Jihadist nest, becoming a Muslim society, determined to wipe out Christianity:
“Spokesmen for the EU laud this Muslim colonization as Europe and the Muslim world as coming together, ignoring its utter one-sidedness. Criticism of these trends is stifled as “racism””.[113]
Former Nuremberg prosecutor, Walter Rockler called NATO 1999 Operation Allied Force bombing a “most brazen aggression since Nazi attack on Poland to prevent Polish atrocities”. NATO bombers killed more civilians than was the tally of civilians and uniformed men on both sides in the 18 months of fighting between Yugoslav forces and the KLA. US department of state communications director admitted that NATO war was due to “Yugoslavia’s resistance to the broader trends of political and economic reform – not the plight of Kosovo Albanians.”[114] Former Canadian ambassador James Bisset testified before ICTY that war against Yugoslavia, “no threat to its neighbors”, was illegal.[115] NATO charter commits the allies to settle any international dispute peacefully. As in NATO bombing in Bosnia, Allied Force violated UN and NATO charters and NATO member state constitutions.
Operation Allied Force “bombed the Serbian will” to install a US-friendly regime. The air raids reminded Serbs of Hitler’s “shock and awe” bombing of Belgrade (6.4.1941). Chabad Lubavitcher senator Joseph Lieberman said after two months’ bombing,: “We’re trying through the air campaign to break the will of the Serbian people.”[116] NATO airforce commander Michael Short contradicted NATO generals who presented the war as being “against Milosevic” and civilians (“the bridge on which you held your rock concerts […] needs to disappear at 3 o’clock in the morning”) [117]. Pulitzer Prize laureate Thomas Friedman proposed after 12 days “of surgical bombing” to show “what 12 weeks of less than surgical bombing does”, urging NATO war crimes, and pressuring Yugoslav government (“Every week you ravage Kosovo is another decade we will set your country back by pulverizing you”); infrastructure was disrupted (“NATO began its second month of bombing against Yugoslavia today with new strikes against military targets that disrupted civilian electrical and water supplies”).[118]
The Albanian refugee crisis made some commentators declare the “humanitarian bombing” a failure, but media continued to focus on Serb abuses. Serb exodus under KLA terror was ignored. NATO killings were not mentioned or were reported as errors. Failure of diplomacy, the reason of humanitarian bombing, was also a lie that Serbs had refused to negotiate in Ramboulliet, where NATO had effectively imposed rights to occupy Kosovo and Yugoslavia, and then had issued an ultimatum unacceptable to any sovereign state.
Only an imminent genocide could have justified an air war that was not even discussed by UNSC. James Rubin said at a US state department’s briefing (19.4.1999) that up to 500,000 missing Kosovo Albanian men might be dead. US secretary of defense, William Cohen alleged 100,000 victims (16.5.1999), and Clinton tens of thousands (25.5.1999). Tony Blair expected irrefutable evidence of “yet unknown” number of tortured and killed victims. The claim stopped at 11,000. Mass-grave frenzy began after the bombing. US-NATO officials reported that many bodies had been hidden in Trepca mine shafts, or had been dissloved in acid. Estimates began at 1,000 dead, but ICTY investigation found no bodies.
Frustrated and angry at the deception, Western forensic teams found only some 4,000 bodies, including unknown numbers of fighters, and victims of NATO and KLA. Adding 2,400 missing,[119] some of whom the KLA might have abducted, the total didn’t match the 11,000 claim. Media didn’t question it, nor the hysteria.
ICTY initially indicted Milošević for his “superior authority” and “command responsibility” for 344 deaths in Kosovo, all but 45 of which occurred after NATO bombing started.[120] The number of bodies found in Kosovo could not sustain a charge of “genocide”.
Albanian extremists talk about the start of a “hunting season” against Serbs every spring. In Spring 2004 pogroms of Kosovo Serbs, the mob sprayed graffitti UCK! Allah Akbar! Morto Serbi! and UNMIK go home! on the ruins of Serb churches and houses. Busloads of Albanian hordes destroyed and burned everything Serbian, including more than 30 churches and monasteries (bringing the total to over 150 since the occupation began), under UNMIK, KFOR and police protection while truck-delivered trays of sandwiches and Molotov cocktails nourished the hordes. Typically a mob marched on a Serbian object or village, KFOR provided security, KPS police arrived and evacuated Serbs into awaiting buses, ostensibly to protect them. KFOR retreated “helplessy” before the hordes. The mob then finished plundering and burning. Women and children with sticks and stones shielded the mob from UN-NATO men. According to Visoki Dečani Monastery cyber-monks, ethnically cleansed Serbs were put in KFOR shelters. Asked by an elderly Serb if he could do anything to get Serbs back to their homes, a police commander replied, “I can’t do anything even if you die here like animals”.[121]
Before the pogroms, Kosovo Albanian leader Hashim Thaçi welcomed the return of Serbs to Kosovo.[122] Four months later, his hordes set torches to houses prepared for the returnees, funded from tax and private contributions of Westerners. On the eve of the pogroms (16.3.2004), the European Parliament held hearings on abysmal human rights violations by the Kosovo extremists. According to UNMIK press report at the time, Thaçi visited the US deputy assistant secretary for Europe and Euro-Asia, Kathleen Stephens who appreciated Thaçi’s “effort for creating necessary conditions for the well being of the citizens in areas such as the rule of law, the fight against crime and corruption, the dialogue, the returns, freedom of movement, economic development and privatization”. After the visit, Thaçi appealed to his cohorts to stop “protests and violence”, pretending a surprise, but his regime’s daily Epoka e re published a story titled “Serbs drowned three Albanian children”, starting the pogroms. The falsehood triggered Albanian demonstrations in Mitrovica, certainly not as spontaneously as media suggested.
Kosovo Serb Orthodox Church authorities recognized (17.3.2004) that international community’s story of the Albanian leaders’ multiethnicity and democracy “has been and remains pure deception” to buy time for “complete rearmament and creation of paramilitary forces”. The “international community” had long lists of KLA war criminals, commanders and soldiers alike, but did little to prosecute them. After the attempts at pogroms in Čeglavica, based on their own intelligence, the church authorities unmasked “a general campaign by Kosovo Albanians organized by extremist groups in progress whose purpose is to destabilize the Province and expel the remaining Serbian population”.[123]
Some Western spokesmen, intelligence sources and strategic analysts, also from NATO and UN, concurred. US troops sat in Camp Bondsteel during the pogroms. A Kosovo Albanian journalist Veton Surroi of Koha Ditore daily said that Albanians had organized the “orchestrated phase” of violence in Kosovo in order to expell the Serbs. This required cooperation with KFOR and UNMIK accomplices in a “series of unrest, guerilla warfare and terrorist activity planned by radical Islamist leaders in Bosnia, Albania, Iran and in the Islamist areas of Serbia, and directly linked with the various al-Qaida-related mujahedin and terrorist cells in the area.”[124]
In preparation for the pogroms, the National Albanian American Council (NAAC) called for “recognition of independence” of Albanian Kosovo and “resolving Kosova’s final status in accordance with the will of the people”, and blamed Belgrade in advance.[125] After the pogroms, NAAC blamed Serbian intelligence. The violence reflected growing impatience of Albanians, whose leaders and parliamentarians used the self-created “opportunity” to call for independence. US neocon Morton Abramowitz, anti-Serbian since the beginning Yugoslavia break-up, blamed Serbia, NATO and EU for delaying independence and thus causing the violence.[126] “Moderate” president Ibrahim Rugova believed only independence would cure extremism.
Serbia-Montenegro army’s gen. Mladen Cirković in charge of intelligence accused UN and NATO of ignoring his advance warnings of pogroms. General secretaries of NATO and UN condemned the pogroms as if KFOR and UNMIK didn’t know. Based on Serbian intelligence, Koštunica could point to the perpetrators, including KLA veterans and their comrades in Southern Serbia, all of them tied to KFOR, UNMIK, KPS, KPC paramilitary, and political parties.[127] Those responsible for Kosovo security knew about Albanian pathological hatred of Serbs, but didn’t intervene. KFOR security was even relaxed at the checkpopints at Serb villages and at the Serb Orthodox Patriarchate in Peć, as if inviting the extremists. KFOR-UNMIK forces were unable to provide such basic service as a timely passage of an ambulance with a dying child to a hospital.
Balkan conflicts have demonstrated politization of justice to support the chief actors’ objectives. In partitioning Yugoslavia and supporting the rights of the other groups, the actors violated the rights of Serbs. NATO powers’ creation, ICTY invented rules, procedures and concepts in trials of disproportionately more Serbs than the others. ICTY prosecution reached a tally of 93 Serbs, 31 Croats, 14 Bosnian Muslims, 8 Albanians and 3 Macedonians indicted, and 699 Serbs, 36 Croats, 8 Bosnian Muslims], and 3 Albanians convicted as of 14.4.2008.[128] But USA has refused to recognize the International Criminal Court, allegedly because of its “politicization”. ICTY politicization included its organization, staffing, funding, and vetting of top personnel by NATO who also controlled information and served as ICTY police arm; JPC influences every step. ICTY didn’t indict Bosnian Muslim leaders, war criminals Izetbegović and Ejup Ganić, but has been frantically appealing to have Karadžić and Mladić arrested and sent to Hague before elections. The arrests would amount to a humiliating spectacle of “decapitating” Bosnian Serb leadership, thus further serving to dehumanize the nation.
David Owen described how the outgoing US secretary of state, Lawrence Eagelburger achieved world media coverage (16.12.1994) when he named Karadžić, Mladić and Milošević “war criminals”, seven months before Serbs took Srebrenica, before there could have been evidence on satellite photos. The charge of Srebrenica genocide effectively silenced Karadžić and Mladić. At the expense of the interests of Bosnian Serbs, and eventually all Serbs, Milošević complied with US demands out of fear of being charged with genocide. He was kidnapped anyway, against Yugoslav law, and was delivered to Hague on charges that grew with the on-going anti-Serb campaign. Another JPC-dependent entity, the ICJ went along ICTY’s construct of Srebrenica genocide without investigating independently because it would demolish JPC‘s scapegoating of Serbs.
ICTY was illegaly established under UNSC; permanent members could veto investigations of their own and their client states’ crimes. Madeleine Albright was most active in establishing ICTY and blocked UN resolutions condemning Croat and Muslim atrocities. NYT portrayed ICTY as “the epitome of Western justice”, and the prosecutors’ point of view as largely that of NATO and “its American leadership.”[129] NATO members have provided “the finance to set up the Tribunal […] we want to see war criminals brought to justice […] when Justice Arbour goes to Kosovo and looks at the facts she will be indicting people of Yugoslavia nationality and I don’t anticipate any others at this stage.”[130] Soros has been co-financing ICTY, with Time Warner Corporation and Disney who might have provided expertise in shaping public opinion to ICTY specs. Soros’ Human Rights Watch supplied “evidence” against “Milosevic”, whose opposition and “independent” media and political parties in ex-Yugoslavia Soros had funded since 1991 at $100 million annually.[131] According to former US state department lawyer, ICTY was “little more than a public relations tool,” useful to “isolate offending leaders” and “fortify the international political will to employ economic sanctions or use force”.[132]
ICTY opposed the peace process and justified military interventions. US officials used alleged Serb criminality to subvert peace plans in 1992 and 1993, and “to justify their intention to go to war, collateral damage and all, by branding their proposed enemies as Nazis”.[133] US and Izetbegović scuttled Lisbon peace agreement, and through Vance-Owen and Owen-Stoltenberg initiatives jeopardized peace.[134] ICTY downplayed an internal report on Croat massacres on Krajina Serbs leaked a few days before NATO 1999 bombing, but eventually murdered[135] Milosević because his accusers had started the Balkan conflicts, the ultimate war crime. Former Nuremberg prosecutor Walter Rockler quoted the head of the US prosecution justice Robert Jackson: “launching a war aggression is a crime” and “no political or economic situation can justify it”.[136]
In July 1995, ICTY indicted Mladić and Karadžić, including the charge of genocide for conduct of subordinates at camps in 1992. In November, a second count of genocide at Srebrenica effectively excluded them from Dayton peace process, well before ICTY verified the facts. ICTY president Antonio Cassese divulged a political objective: “Let us see who will sit down at the negotiating table now with a man accused of genocide.”[137] Fearing genocide charges, Milošević complied with US demands. Even after Srebrenica, the ICTY found no evidence for war crimes against Milošević, the key participant in the Dayton Accords that ended the war. In June 1998, as US-NATO planned for the Kosovo campaign, ICTY denounced Serb actions in Kosovo.[138] ICTY chief prosecutor Louise Arbour declared the Račak “killings” (15.1.1999) a “war crime” that precipitated NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. A week after the bombing began, Arbour publicized a sealed, September 1997 indictment of Arkan, but an indictment of Milošević and four others was tabled (22.5.1999), distracting public attention from the bombing. According to Albright, the indictments “make very clear to the world and the publics in our countries that [NATO policy] is justified because of the crimes committed.”[139]
Arbour assured that ICTY would not rely on “unsubstantiated, unverifiable, uncorroborated allegations.”[140] Yet, the indictment was prepared on unverified information from the US and UK. Arbour indicated politicization: “the evidence upon which this indictment was confirmed raises serious questions about [the indictees’] suitability to be guarantors of any deal let alone a peace agreement.”[141] She immediately acted upon unverified Račak crime, but it took her and successor Carla del Ponte a year to consider NATO crimes. Del Ponte finally declared there was no basis for opening an investigation; 495 dead victims of NATO were “no evidence of the necessary crime base for charges of genocide or crimes against humanity” but Račak 45 dead were.[142] Del Ponte’s expert in dropping the investigation had relied on press releases as “generally reliable”,[143] contrary to Arbour’s assurances.
NATO suppressed the Finnish forensic investigation of Račak as soon as it indicated a hoax. I called the head of the Finnish team, Dr. Helena Ranta (3.5.2000). She said she just returned from a meeting at NATO in Brussels that had told her to classify the report. The leaks from her suppressed report[144] hinted conclusions like those she publicized at a press conference,[145] where, she told me, she had felt the same pressure to testify against Yugoslavia as she did at the NATO meeting. Ranta’s team found the “executed” had been moved from elsewhere and had had bullet holes from multiple directions, i.e. they had been combatants. Body mutilations, “a Serbian atrocity”, meant animals feeding on the dead.[146] Naturally, a medical forensic study could neither re-construct the events nor confirm whether the victims were peasants or soldiers, but it found the bodies were transferred between different locations before deposition at the scene. Serbian media, Serbian and Byelorussian forensic teams,[147] OSCE observers[148] and reporters[149] were right.
After the 1999 Kosovo indictment had misfired for insufficient evidence, and several months after Milošević’s kidnapping (28.6.2001), the ICTY charged him for Bosnia and Croatia[150] to keep a living proof of the need for “humanitarian interventions”. Media didn’t question why this happened several years after his admitted positive role in Dayton. For “not even investigating NATO’s war crimes“, critics concluded ICTY, “a well-oiled propaganda machine”, was politically subordinated.[151] The murder of Milošević (11.3.2006) further incriminated ICTY. August 2005 withdrawal of the “Greater Serbia” charge meant the case turned bad for prosecution[152] and implicated NATO country leaders. Milošević’s knowledge of their crimes became threatening but the JPC complex has been alleging his nationalism and ethnic war calls. His “notorious” speech at Kosovo Polje stressed “equal and harmonious relations among Yugoslav peoples” as necessary for Yugoslavia existence;
“Serbia has never had only Serbs living in it […] Yugoslavia is a multinational community and it can survive only under the conditions of full equality for all nations that live in it.”[153]
JPC media called the speech “stirringly virulent nationalist”, “fervent speech [that] galvanized the nationalist passions that two years later fueled the Balkan conflict”.[154] Holbrooke called the speech “racist” and “inflammatory”, and labeled Milošević a liar for denying the media lies.[155] In his strife for equal rights for Serbia within federal Yugoslavia, in 1999 Milošević “refused to give autonomy to Kosovo”, according to politicians like Holbrooke. Actually, Kosovo enjoyed one of Europe’s most extensive autonomies since 1970s, but extremist Albanians wanted independence by terror. Milošević tried to defend Serbs who were stranded in hostile secessionist states. He wanted to keep Yugoslav Federation with all the Serbs. This is called “Greater Serbianism” – “Orwellian political rhetoric that transforms a weak (and failed) defense into a bold and aggressive offense”.[156]
Under German presidency, a proposal for an EU directive outlawed denial of mass crimes.[157] Hinting German stakes, the draft refered to crimes of the last 20 years, including war crimes and alleged genocides in Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and extended the idea of Holocaust denial to “gross minimisation of genocide out of racist and xenophobic motives”. The crime of abusing the term and interventionist demonization based on it, aren’t in. Anti-war lawyer Christopher Black likened the Rwanda and Yugoslavia tribunals; Hutu regime leaders are labelled war criminals to justify Tutsi dictatorship and cover up US, British, Belgian and Ugandan role in the genocide.
Like Milošević, Europe’s most wanted man for more than a decade before his capture in July 2008, Karadžić represents himself. He refused to enter pleas to charges, including Srebrenica genocide and crimes against humanity, since the prosecution still didn’t have an indictment against him. Former advisor to Milošević called ICTY “a killing machine” for murder of a dozen Serbs; Milošević “was denied medical treatment when he needed urgent medical assistance”, so any Serb who gets there “must be afraid for his life”, also Karadžić.[158] A secret deal with Holbrooke[159] offered Karadžić immunity if he disappeared after the war, which he did. The Americans didn’t keep their promise. Karadžić‘s extradition was a condition for Serbia’s EU membership, but Serbs expect only humiliation.
ICTY has relativized “genocide”, thus degrading the term, denying WWII events for which Lemkin created it, and injuring the memory of the victims; “no national legal system […] will withstand the pressure of such a totalitarian judicial system”.[160] Srebrenica Research Group wrote several years later:
“The term genocide, once reserved for the most horrific crime, the planned extermination of a particular group, was manipulated by the ICTY to justify indictments that preceded any serious investigation of events related to the capture of Srebrenica.” [161]
ICTY found Bosnian Serb gen. Radislav Krstić guilty of genocide on contradicting evidence. If the Serbs intended genocide in Srebrenica, then why: they transported Bosnian Muslim women and children to safety by busses; didn’t surround the town before its capture to prevent thousands of males from escaping to safety; the Muslim soldiers willingly left their women, children and wounded to the mercies of the Serbs; and 10,000 mainly Muslim residents of Zvornik sought refuge in Serbia?[162]
The ICTY suggested a Serbian PR show-off with the busses. Srebrenica Research Group commented: “failing to do some criminal act despite your desire is called “not committing a crime”.” Killing many males in a group to reduce its future population, endangers its viability in that area, i.e. it is genocide, ICTY ruled. Judges can make genocide of any case of killing enemy soldiers. The Serbs killed Muslim military war criminals to prevent future killings of Serbs. After separating the criminals, Serb forces let free thousands of captured soldiers and suspects disguised as civilians. The released men were transported to safe Muslim areas. Perhaps the Serb crime of liquidating the war criminals was “a crime to protect humanity”, but first, the BiH killer force commanders should be tried.
Were the Serbs trying to eliminate all the Muslims in Srebrenica or Bosnia? ICTY judges suggested that pushing them out of the Srebrenica area was itself genocide, thus equating genocide with ethnic cleansing. Then ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo should be tried, too. ICTY‘s arbitrary interpretation created “a new precedent and new standards, […and] a new international definition of the term genocide.”[163] Key to ascertaining genocide are target group identification, villains intent and crime substantiality. ICTY has adjusted the factors to fit the genocide definition:[164]
– Target group: “Bosnian Muslim men of military age at Srebrenica” (§197) were soldiers of the 28th Division of the Bosnian Muslim army, and had left Srebrenica under arms before the VRS arrived. Bosnian Serbs bussed to safety women and children, the easiest target of genocide, but ICTY ignored it and chose the ambiguous men-of-military-age term. ICJ felt compelled to justify ICTY re-definition: “The Court observes that the ICTY Trial Chamber has indeed indicated the need for caution, lest this approach might distort the definition of genocide” (§199).
– Intent: Failing to find genocidal intent, ICTY posited that the plan had crystallized at a later stage (§292). This is a re-definition of the term, i.e. genocide could be spontaneous. The fact that women and children had been spared (a contradiction of the genocide claim) proved to ICTY that “some members of the VRS Main Staff intended to destroy the Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica”. Hence, killing armed Muslim soldiers was an “act of genocide”. ICTY ruling that VRS “targeted for extinction” 40,000 Srebrenica Muslims, a group “emblematic of the Bosnian Muslims in general” (§293), was also contradictory. Moving Muslims from the fallen “UN safe areas” Goražde and Zepa produced no allegation of genocide.
– Substantiality: ICTY limited the alleged genocide area to the town of Srebrenica (§199), the nest of Bosnian Muslim forces. Regardless of the manner in which the soldiers perished, ICTY assumption inflated the casualties relative to Srebrenica’s pre-attack population, rather than to Bosnia’s Muslim population.
SFOR first arrested Orić in Tuzla where he lived since 1995 evacuation from Srebrenica. Many Bosnian Muslims consider him a hero. Orić was indicted in 2003, for killing 7 persons, atrocities on 10 persons, and destruction and pillaging of “at least 50 villages and hamlets with Serbian ethnic majority”.[165] Orić’s murders number over 3,000 people.[166] ICTY cliché of Bosnian Muslim victims proved double standard of military versus civilian casualty. In 1996, Serb Republic (BiH) submitted the evidence of Orić’s crimes, but to ICTY, he had engaged in “defense” and “self-defense”, while VRS killing Muslim soldiers in combat and execution of criminal POWs was genocide. In her reaction to 2005 publication of the number of Bosnian Serb killed by Orić forces, Florence Hartmann of ICTY’s Office of the Prosecutor, called the civilian victims “Military or Police casualties from combat”.[167] For ICTY, the Croat ethnic cleansing of 250,000 Krajina Serbs was not genocide. either, even though women, children, the elderly and infirm were killed in a cleansing on a much larger scale.
International Court of Justice cleared Serbia of all counts of Bosnian Muslim charge of “committing, conspiring, helping, instigating and collaborating in genocide” in the Bosnian war (1992-1995). The court irrevocably ruled (26.2.2007) that Serbia wasn’t responsible for acts of genocide,[168] clearing Serbia of the Srebrenica massacre and war reparations to Bosnia. Will the Western leaders and media that had been dishonest, rabidly Serbophobic and wrong since 1992, face charges for instigation of hatred and wars? ICJ effectively exonerated former president Milošević who had been maintaining until his death that neither Yugoslavia nor Serbia had commanded the Bosnian Serb army, nor had pursued “Greater Serbism” (a charge ICTY dropped in 2005 for lack of evidence). ICJ ruling derails ICTY rationale for the show case. The ruling belies military interventions to stop genocide in the Balkans, indirectly blaming the other actors, external and internal, for the civil wars. A professed failure to intervene tough enough in the Balkans has partly justified interventions in other regions; the ICJ ruling undermines the interventionism. The Nuremberg Trial court has ruled that initiation of war of aggression is “the supreme international crime deferring only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.” A former Nuremberg prosecutor quoted justice Robert Jackson, the head of the American prosecution at that trial, that “launching a war aggression is a crime” and “no political or economic situation can justify it.”[169]
ICTY had convicted Bosnian Serb army officers Krstić and Blagojević for Srebrenica genocide by re-defining the term.[170] Without an independent investigation, the ICJ copied ICTY’s decision and blamed the Serb Republic, Karadžić and Mladić for “an act of genocide”, inviting reclassification of most conflicts as “genocide” or where “act of genocide has occurred”. Equally irrational ICJ ruling found Serbia guilty of not punishing and extraditing alleged villains, as if Serbia had knowledge of their whereabouts and means to do it. ICJ deemed Belgrade guilty of “failing to prevent” Bosnian Serbs from overtaking Srebrenica and committing genocide there. NATO Rapid Reaction Force and UNPROFOR were in a better position to know and act, but ICJ ignored it. Riding on this, Bosnian Muslims sued the Netherlands for $1.3 billion because “Dutch troops were actively assisting“ VRS units.[171] When Yugoslavia questioned (1996) ICJ jurisdiction over the Bosnian Muslim lawsuit, ICJ explained it lacked adjudication power. When Yugoslavia askedto order NATO states to “cease immediately” the 1999 bombing and to “refrain from any act of threat or use of force”, ICJ rejected the case, for lack of “prima facie jurisdiction” for eight NATO members, but invoked lack of consent from the USA and Spain, as if the prima facie rationale was not sufficient.[172] A UN court can’t adjudicate breaches of UN Charter?
ICJ deemed massive killings throughout BiH to be beyond its jurisdiction, since intent of genocide wasn’t proven. By contrast, protracted exterminations of Serbian villages around Srebrenica (the “protected group”) by Orić’s forces indicate the intent. Protection of Orić’s forces in the “UN safe area” and arming them incriminates the “international community” as helping and collaborating in genocide, or failing to prevent genocide. Arguably, all warring parties could sue their adversaries, including the non-radical Bosnian Muslim majority against Izetbegović’s regime.
ICJ accepted ICTY findings “as highly persuasive”, without an independent investigation of the alleged Srebrenica genocide. The relaxation of the standard of proof contrasted with the requirement of “fully conclusive” evidence regarding alleged genocide by Serbia in Bosnia, and “proof at a high level of certainty appropriate to the seriousness of the allegation” regarding prevention of genocide and punishment and extradition of perpetrators. ICJ’s confirmation of Srebrenica genocide, and its ruling on NATO bombing, prove politicization through methods ranging from arbitrary setting of jurisdictional base, to selective standards of proof. Of all the post-WWII killings, ICJ focused on the Balkans, as JPC did. Other conflicts had produced millions of civilian victims, yet ICJ focused on the case of Bosnia, where about 50,000 civilians died on all sides, of which a number much smaller than the alleged 7,000 attracted attention at Srebrenica.
ICJ revisionistically accepted ICTY judgments, while Germany proposed a European law against genocide denial. An analyst asked:
“Who will be the guardians of the “official truth” and what is to stop them (as we see with the ICTY and ICJ rulings) from effectively revising history themselves? It then becomes a political minefield, let alone a threat to those historians who have no ax to grind when researching historical events.”[173]
ICJ performance in the first application of adjudication of the Genocide Convention to war crimes, doesn’t support genocide policing nor prosecution. Guilt can be arbitrarily attributed with selective justice. As clearly as they have provided cover for the “supreme international crime”, the ICJ and ICTY courts have manufactured “genocide” where some interests needed it for interventionism and cover-ups of own crimes. This is a variation of JPC’s political exploits of Holocaustianism.
Muslim, Croat and Albanian extremists engaged in atrocities and war crimes, but accused their Serb victims. Croats and Albanians conspired to take Serbs‘ territory, yet, with Slovenians they accused Serb leaders of Greater Serbianism. The media co-created “an elite-sanctioned false “reality” tailor-made for the masses”, by withholding facts contradicting the “politically correct” view, “using labels without precise definition, and adhering to certain “authorised” versions of historical events which are frequently not borne out by the facts.”[174]
Western journalists compromised ethical code for US-NATO campaigns, failed to verify information and seldom reported from the other side. It means military Information Operations’ control of the media. Berkeley University history professor emeritus alluded to the interventionist control in “a decade of carefully nurtured Serbophobia”, “a “patriotic mutuality” of government and media” that “never loomed as large in peacetime as in the last decade”.[175] Keeping appearances is part of the deception. With insignificant own losses[176], Yugoslavia resisted US-NATO attack in Kosovo, and significantly hurt the agressor[177] who denied the Serbs any credit. NATO boasted about “kills” of Mig‑29. Just before the withdrawal and two days after NATO said that four Mig‑21 survived, 12 MiG‑29 and 29 Mig‑21 emerged from bunkers. NATO changed previous dispatch of 11 Mig‑29 saved , to 11 less advanced Mig‑21. The actual number of saved aircraft agreed with war-time Yugoslav reports. [178]
Employing behavioural science and mass media, Information Operations,[179] target foreign nations, groups and governments. Pentagon actions “convey and/or deny selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, and objective reasoning; and to intelligence systems and leaders at all levels”.[180] Perception management “combines truth projection, operation security, cover and deception, and psychological operations.” NATO PsyOps are “planned psychological activities in peace and war directed to enemy, friendly and neutral audiences in order to influence attitudes and behavior affecting the achievement of political and military objectives”. PsyOp’s Public Affairs provide “objective reporting without intent to propagandize”, by disseminating information via press releases, media briefings and statements.[181] NATO spokesman on Kosovo conflict Jamie Shea told a Swiss forum “he won the war” with daily briefings in a PR style.[182] News brokers send so-prepared information to media outlets, where infowar operations subtly control chief editors.
Serbo- and Islamophobia are PsyOp creations. A deep control of the global media, a JPC domain, to demonize the Serbs was perhaps the most “successful” aspect of the Balkan wars. Propaganda has prepared for US-NATO wars in the Middle East and the Balkans by demonizing the leaders and their people, “based on projection of truths and credible message [that serve to discredit] adversary propaganda or misinformation against the operations of US/coalition forces [which] is critical to maintaining favorable public opinion.”[183]
US Special Operations is a joint command that can assemble teams of experts in different fields to mission requirements: PsyOp, special operations units (such as British SAS, US Delta) and co-opted militants, such as KLA, e.g. in the staging of Račak massacre. As in the anti-Serb Bosnian Muslim campaigns, Pentagon and NATO colluded with mainstream media, effectively shaping public opinion. Reduced to a handful of conglomerates, corrupted[184] media mold public mind. Except for a few large enough to maintain own reporters, the media depend on the chains for news and then speak with a single voice. The newspapers set the trends and guidelines, and originate the news for the others to copy. In a joint venture with NYT, Washington Post publishes International Herald Tribune, the most widely distributed English-language daily, with regional and national versions. The bankers call in their loans if the media disagreez with them. Going against the system could affect one’s career.[185]
References to “military sources”, “senior administration officials” and “Pentagon analysts” indicate Washington Post has government insiders. Standard phrases in the press agree with the official position. Military censors vet an article before the press publishes it: “This article was discussed extensively in recent days with several senior civilian and military Defense Department officials.”[186] Opinion polls are manufactured to meet government specs. White House aides have indicated that the media lend themselves to “selling” the war to America. Military control of the media extends to the battlefields. On a given day, a few selected out of hundreds of reporters go escorted to scenes deemed fit for the public. Pre-approved by the military, the coverage is shared and the global media disseminate a single version. This “embedding” of reporters in Gulf War 2 compromised journalistic ethics.[187] Pentagon press briefings would black out or distort any incriminating leaks from independent reporters. Should independent sources fail to observe this censorship their facilities are targeted with US precision-guided munitions, as were Serbian Radio and TV facilities, consistent with Special Operations integration of services.
Newsweek (19.4.1999) cover featured Milošević‘s “Face of Evil”, and Time (5.4.1999) showed it with an assassin’s crosshairs centered between his eyes. A US state department official has acknowledged that “the demonization of Milosevic is necessary to maintain the air attacks”.[188] Labeling Milošević “the Butcher of the Balkans”, “the Balkan Hitler”, and “Europe’s Saddam Hussein” resembles the demonization of Hussein. In Gulf War 1 the media called him “the Butcher of Baghdad”, “the Raper of Kuwait” and “the Middle East Hitler”[189] to make Americans support US interventionism. After Milošević’s death (11.3.2006), the demonizing terms appeared “hundreds of times in the US media alone”.[190] Milošević’s death prompted a pursuit of Karadžić and Mladić. But Sharon, whose 1982 invasion and killings in Lebanon ICTY cited as “genocide”,[191] remains an honored “man of peace”.
Media reduce foreign conflicts to “good guys – bad guys” cliches. The personal attacks on the enemy leader slip into stereotyping of an entire people, totally misrepresentating and generating hatred. Calls to “bomb Milošević” evolved into “bomb the Serbs”. Calls to “bomb Saddam” became “bomb Baghdad”. The Nuremberg Tribunal included into war crimes the Nazi propaganda that drove Germans into war. The US-NATO spread interventionist propaganda to “justify” bombing of civilians, embargos and political blackmail.
The criminalization and dehumanization of Serbs has taken root in the mass psychology, with the implication that Serbs are inferior. The infowar has been falsifying Serbian image into Nazi-like villains:
“role reversal continues today, with the Croatian state and many of it citizens claiming they were the true allies of the west, and the Serbian people, collective Nazi Allies and collaborators.”[192]
German media joined Croat propaganda that the “civilized world” must “stop the uncivilized Serbs by military means” because,
“news has been filtering out of Croatia, from Catholic bishops and the clergy, that the Serbian army […] are carrying out brutal mass murders in the territories under their control.”[193]
The media fooled the public that Yugoslavia was involved militarily in the Bosnian conflict. Bosnian Serbs, Muslims and Croats took weapons from disintegrating JNA units. JNA withdrew from BiH (19.5.1992), but “the media in the West keeps accusing us of participating in the armed conflict outside our country.”[194] A historian captured media‘s priming of US involvement: “the story of “genocide in Bosnia” (and later in Kosovo) was manufactured from scraps of fact that had only the most tenuous relationship with the truth.[195]
Western public accepted a suspected “Serb” crime as a certitude. The criminalization required suppression of evidence of anti-Serb crimes, leaving Serbs without a recourse to have their rights respected. The media rarely mentioned mass crimes on the other sides, despite evidence.[196] Human rights organizations spoke of Croatia “retaking” and “liberating” Krajina and Western Slavonia, as if Serbs came there recently. Similarly Serbs had “seized the land from the majority Muslims”. Bosnian Serbs, mostly farmers, had inhabited over 60% of Bosnia. Muslims had been town dwellers, so Serbs had “occupied” more territory.
German Nazi mass crimes have had at he base the Übermensch concept of the German and Nordic race, who have surpassed the sub-human (Untermensch) Slavs, Gypsies and Jews.[197] The present demonizers retain a clear conscience by dehumanizing and projecting the planned subjugation or genocide on the victim. Among anti-Serb quotes[198], Peter Ustinov compared the Serbs (“criminals and renegades” in need for “enemies rather than friends”) to creatures who were in arrear with the “human race”. They were so lowly that dealing with them jeopardized own “honour”, “decency” and “self-respect”.[199]
In the British House of Lords, fantasies on mass rapes and unbelievable atrocities fueled racist rhetoric. In April 1993, Lord McNair alleged that Serb psychiatrists manipulated emotions of the Serbs, examined target cultures, and worked out “the psychology of terror”. Then supposedly Serb forces sieged a Muslim region and carrid out public rapes to defile local women. To finish the fiction, McNair added that the Muslim community felt defiled and readily left, for a far-away camp with rape and other maltreatment.
ICTY accused the Serbs of pursuing Greater Serbianism, concocted by Balkan and Western media from Memorandum, a 1986 draft by SANU, that warned of the civil wars. Nine years after publication, SANU commented[200] on the falsifications of Serbian cause that covered up Slovenian and Croat illegal secessions and crimes. Comparisons of Memorandum to Mein Kampf failed to prove Milošević’s nationalism. Similarly, few have read his speeches, not even the most often cited (but not quoted) 1989, Kosovo Polje speech.[201] He meant equal rights for Serbia within federal Yugoslavia. In 1999, he “refused to give autonomy to Kosovo”, but Kosovo enjoyed one of Europe’s best autonomies since 1970s; extremist Albanians abused it and fought for independence. Milošević tried to defend Serbs who were stranded in secessionist states, and “he wanted but did not fight very hard to preserve a shrunken Yugoslav Federation that would have kept all the Serbs in a successor common state”; labelling this Greater Serbianism is “Orwellian political rhetoric that transforms a weak (and failed) defense into a bold and aggressive offense”.[202]
Editors and journalists succumbed to political agendas,[203] treating Western aid to Bosnian Muslims an unquestionable benefit. They played a central role in calling for arming Bosnian Muslims and Western intervention. Reporters shunned Iranian and mujahedin role in Bosnia; “One Dutch journalist discovered the arms shipments in Zagreb airport but chose not to report it because he felt very warmly towards the Bosnian Muslims.”[204] An international collection of 15 critiques[205] exposed many news reports on the war in Bosnia as distorted or untrue; Peter Brock’s article in the American Foreign Policy magazine “is considered to have provoked a debate on the quality of Western reporting on the Balkans.” The volume’s editor, Klaus Bittermann diagnosed that Nazi methods have been attributed to Serbs, and “secessionist war has been compared with Auschwitz”; “facts have been forged, fictitious stories about massacres have been launched, and events have been misrepresented”.[206]
Bosnia became a mission to many journalists covering the Bosnian war. They accepted Bosnian and US government versions “instead of independently verifying evidence”; US Army an intelligence officer in Sarajevo from April to August 1994, John Sray called them (October 1995) the “pawns of the propaganda structure”, to whom job security depends on “obtaining thirty seconds of good video footage accompanied with appropriate sound bites from Muslim officials or their populace.” He noted that US European allies had “more in-depth, professional, and probing journalism and better reporting from their embassies” and ignored propaganda from the Bosnian Muslim government and the PR firms.[207]
The “decision-making elites, media pundits, and many academics” have displayed “a bias in Balkan affairs which goes beyond any one piece of deliberate policy, and which falls outside the parameters of rational debate.”[208] No analysis relates how the media diffuse “the political aims of governments”.[209] US Balkan experts William Dorich,[210] Alex Dragnich[211] and David Binder[212] spoke at the National Press Club (17.3.2006). When Peter Brock came to Doritch to publish Media Cleansing: Dirty Reporting, Doritch was aware that it “was submitted and rejected by every major publisher” in the USA. Dragnich submitted 42 articles to the NYT at the height of the Bosnian war. Not one was reproduced. Doritch received death threats for daring to defend and publish Serbian views. He said that during Yugoslavia’s dismemberment, the major US papers hadn’t published one article by a Serb intellectual or politician:
“Serbs were simply muzzled into silence. Thanks to Madeleine Albright and Richard Holbrooke Serbs were also made Persona non grata here on The Hill and denied the right to appear before any House and Senate hearings on Bosnia including the Council on Foreign Relations.”
Binder reported on the Sarajevo market massacre (28.8.1995), a pretext to post-WWII Europe’s largest war operation. Banned from publishing in NYT, Binder wrote in Nation (2.10.1995) that the explosion took place a day after Holbrooke announced an escalation of air raids. Doritch attended a panel discussion where Merlino said:
“All journalists in Bosnia are required to submit their articles to Bosnian censors in Sarajevo […] any reference to conflicts between Croatians and Muslim forces are heavily edited, visual images of these conflicts are forbidden.”
The publisher of Brock’s Dateline Yugoslavia organized an accountability session where, facing a roomful of media “pit bulls”, Brock (and Binder) restated his findings about the co-belligerent Western pack journalism. Critics harangued Brock as a “holocaust denier”. In preparation of Media Cleansing, Brock confronted his colleagues. They complained to his superiors at his newspaper, and even threatened him with lawsuits. For writing about Binder and Brock’s exposing fraudulent journalism,[213] a CNS reporter was fired, following a government official’s complaint.
Some genocide scholars still believe spins, begging scrutiny in light of the ICJ ruling (26.2.2007) on alleged Serbian genocide in Bosnia. Yale University history professor Benedict Kiernan has affirmed “Serb perpetrators of Bosnian genocide”.[214] He directs Yale’s Genocide Studies Program, co-funded by Open Society Institute of Soros who also funds ICTY and NGOs that chant anti-Serbism. Relying on Norman Cigar’s Genocide in Bosnia, Kiernan wrote (p 88):
“Other genocidal regimes have also portrayed themselves as protectors of peasant life against urbanites and rural rivals. The perpetrators of the Bosnian genocide of 1992-94 saw their Muslim victims as city dwellers, in contrast to the rural Serb peasantry.”
The “perpetrators” “saw” what actually was there: Serbs lived in the countryside, and their adversaries were urbanites. As absurdly, Cigar-Kiernan charged expansionism mixed with racist and religious motives (p 92):
“As in the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, Cambodia, Bosnia and Rwanda, the tragedy of East Timor demonstrates the virulent, violent mix of racism, religious prejudice, expansionism, and idealization of cultivation […] their deadly combination is a persistent feature of twentieth century genocide.”
In one sentence, Kiernan names unproven Bosnian genocide, attributes to Serbs their adversaries’ chauvinism, and confuses expansionism with protecting Serbs from being forcefully incorporated into Serbophobic states. Bosnian Serbs certainly didn’t invade the lands with the fall of Yugoslavia and their defense had little to do with “idealization of cultivation”. Kiernan cited double falsehood (p 82), following Slovenian-Croatian spin:
“The 1986 Serbian Memorandum which prepared much of the ideological basis for the genocide in Bosnia, urged “the establishment of the full national integrity of the Serbian people, regardless of which republic or province it inhabits.””
ICJ absolved Serbia from all counts of genocide in Bosnia. ICTY had to drop the charge of “Greater Serbianism” in 2005 for lack of proof. Bosnian Muslims indeed faced “disappearance” after Tito, the creator of this religion-based “nationality” to reduce the percentage of Serbs, had died. He had delineated the republics to weaken the Serbs (“the weaker the Serbs, the stronger Yugoslavaia”), by dividing them between five Yugoslav republics. Two illegal secessions in 1991 violated the right of Serbs to stay in the Yugoslav federation, and it was appropriate for Serb leaders to agitate consolidation across the federal borders.
A British Academy research fellow and member of Cambridge history department, Marko Attila Hoare wrote nonsense on the late Milošević:
“deliberately promoted the break-up of Yugoslavia and the independence of Croatia and Slovenia […] waged wars against sovereign independent states without a mandate from the UNSC […] …was the leader of a secessionist Serbian rebellion against a Titoist Yugoslavia that had kept Serbia in check.”[215]
Hoare co-drafted ICTY indictment of Milošević. OpenDemocray.net that published his misleading text is an “alternative media” outlet, funded by Soros’ Open Trust, Rockefeller Foundation and others.[216] In charge of OpenDemocracy.net are big business executives, a warhawk professor at New York University, and a philosopher known for “Advocating Tobacco, On the Payroll of Tobacco”.[217]
The scholars forgot to mention Croatia. If ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, why not the Croat crimes? Acquiring land and properties by expulsion was the object of Operations Lightning and Storm, as were previous intimidations and terror in Croatia. It’s a perversion to pin the cited characteristics on the defenders of their land. What is genocide research woth, if politics and prejudice influence it so easily?
Yale’s Adam Jones presented Milošević’s media, a “well-known” case beside Hitler’s, as being “under most effective control”.[218] But,
“the Croatian Administration has purged all of the Croatian media of any opposition (let alone Serbian) elements, at the same time that the Western media were led to believe that the Serbian media were universally controlled by […] Milošević. And yet in Serbia most television and press would consider itself to be freely in opposition to, or at least critical of, the current leadership.”[219]
To Jones, Serb media warnings about mass violence is “extremism”. Serbs had feared neo-Ustaše, and Jones acknowledged this in the context of Operation Lightning. As mass violence anticipators, Serbian media and academics performed better than the “genocide scholars”. Wikipedia disproves Jones’s thesis that exploitation of folk music proves Milošević’s Volk ideology (p 148). “Turbofolk tactic” didn’t target the “peasant constituency” (p 140); it had “a considerable following among the urban youth, with no parallels in its Balkan commercial folk predecessor”:
“turbo-folk was equally popular amongst the South Slavic nations during the brutal wars of the 1990s, reflecting perhaps the common cultural sentiments of the warring sides. Milošević “abused” turbo-folk no more than post-Milošević regimes that saw its comeback as pop-folk”.[220]
“Traditional folk perceptions” were hardly “redeployed to buttress Serb hegemony” in Kosovo (p 140). One can examine Milošević’s most cited but least read speech.[221] As ridiculously, Jones (p 188, 194) alleged “gendercide against civilian males” in Srebrenica. The evidence points neither to genocide nor gendercide. Execution of war criminals is not gendercide because soldiers are men (from age 15 in Muslim armies).
Failing to notice that mass Serbian rapes had been a hoax, Hiroshima City University history professor Yuki Tanaka compared sexual oppression of the “comfort women” and “the rape victims in BiH”.[222] Over a decade after the anti-Serb allegations, an Amnesty International report[223] didn’t mention any rapes by Serbs in Bosnia. Tanaka didn’t notice that Serb females in Bosnia and Kosovo had fallen victims to terror rape,[224] and NATO, UN, and international aid staff, the clientele of Balkan sexual slave industry, had been acccomplices in gender-specific mass violence.[225]
In the Balkans, as in Iraq and Pakistan, covert operations, terror and failed-by-design diplomacy and justice accompanied economic sanctions, while infowar matched ferocious US-NATO attacks on Yugoslav civilians in absence of military success. The “civil wars” covertly supported separatists in Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia, aiming to cause “regime change”. The sanctions, although not as genocidal as in Iraq, have contributed to Yugoslavia break-up, devastating the Serbs.
In 1984, three years before Milošević came to power and six years before Yugoslavia’s breakup, the White House had issued “US Policy Towards Yugoslavia”, a blueprint for a new Balkan order. In 1986 Yugoslavia began to examine CIA exploitation of Slovenian youth’s nationalist emotions to break the country up. Later, CIA intensified its activity. After US-NATO Kosovo campaign, CIA acted almost openly.[226] The 1990, US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) referred to Balkan human rights, predicting Yugoslavia’s breakup within 18 months and civil war. “Prophetically” it had scapegoated president of Serbia Milošević as the instigator. NYT (28.11.1990) wrote that a law had barred US loans or credits for Yugoslavia, except for a republic “which has held free and fair elections and which is not engaged in systematic abuse of human rights.’“ The speculative time until Yugoslavia’s breakup later coincided with the military actions by the Croat extremists to initiate secession of Croatia.
As US military was aiding Croat and Muslim forces, US defence secretary William Perry lied (June 1995) to congress about US impartiality in Bosnia. A month earlier, UAV were launched at Brac in Croatia, to spy on Serbian military. A Croat attack on Serb locations under UN protection in Sector West killed 5000 Serb civilians according to Serbian Orthodox Church, 1000 according to UN, including several UN soldiers. US was involved and issued no criticism.
Albright blocked French and British efforts to embargo Croatia, but US defence and state departments approved (November 1994) MPRI contract with Croatia. “Retired” generals — former head of DIA Edward Shoister, former deputy chief of operations in central Europe Richard Grifit, and Carl Vuono – advised Croat ethnic cleansing in UN-protected Krajina. Operation Storm jammed Serbian communications with US equipment. US Navy planes out of Aviano knocked out Krajina Serb military facilities. NATO intelligence director Charles Boyd confirmed US help with Storm. Vuono met with Croat counterpart before Storm that used Desert Storm’s rapid attack on many fronts. EU refugee commissioner Emma Bonino announced 10,000 Serb civilians missing among Storm refugees. 90% of Storm’s mass graves were nameless. Three state department sources told NYT’s David Binder that US envoy Holbrooke who flew to Zagreb to meet Tuđman (ostensibly to prevent Storm), gave green light for Storm. In his memoirs he acknowledged he had encouraged it.
To expel Bosnian Serbs, Clinton administration fostered Storm-like Croat-Muslim military offensive, despite UN and European peace-making. Slated by Holbrooke, Bosnian Serb cities were attacked before Dayton, creating an unknown number of mass graves and refugee waves as Storm’s. Bosnia war’s largest Serbian mass grave was found in Mrkonjic Gral (1996). 90% of US financing aid went to Bosnian Muslims, while ICTY US-dominated staff prosecuted Serbs. US Information Agency reported (December 1995) that Serbs were most likely to have lost a family member.
NIE 2005 predicted a “Yugoslav-like fate” for Pakistan, due to “economic mismanagement”, i.e. IMF-World Bank prescriptions[227] that invariably precipitate hyperinflation. In December 1989, IMF imposed austerities on already troubled Yugoslavia; World Bank dismantled the banking system, laid off over half a million employees, and ordered two-thirds of jobs eliminated. As in Pakistan, IMF froze federal fund transfers in January 1990, leaving Yugoslav republics stranded financially, leading to mass poverty and heightened social divisions”, and fuelling “secessionist tendencies that fed on economic factors as well as ethnic divisions, virtually ensuring the de facto secession of the republics”.[228] US Congress resolution 101-513 (5.11.1990) threatened to cut off all aid, commerce, credits and loans to Yugoslavia, if each of its republics didn’t hold free elections within six months. The 1990 NIE “prophecy” and the money-for-democracy bill have guided US Balkan policy. The “economic warfare” unleashed extremism and nationalist hatreds among the leaders of the republics, whom the federal government could no longer finance and who received Yugoslavs’ blame. The embargo was expanded during Bosnian civil war, after the Dayton accords, and again after the 1999 bombing. To bolster pro-US opposition, Albright said free and fair elections in Serbia would end most of the sanctions.[229]
Sarajevo marketplace (Markale) false-flag massacres fooled the West thrice, by declaring Serbs guilty for Izetbegović’s sacrifice of Muslims to secure Western support. Each Markale explosion happened before an important meeting to justify: anti-Serb embargo in 1992, NATO bombing of Serb military and civilians in 1994-1995, and a final US-NATO offensive in 1995. A French[230] and a British investigation confirmed that the Bosnian Muslims were guilty of the last massacre, but a US officer overruled the findings. The US air force started to bomb Serbs. Bypassing UNSC, US command had already picked up Bosnian Serb targets with Muslim help. Media created tolerance if not enthusiasm for the intervention.
Borisa Starovic in Chronicles relayed the only trauma he found in victims of the first attack was to the lower extremities, i.e. due to pre-planted charges, a ploy to blame the Serbs, according to UN commander Satisha Nambijar’s classified report leaked to Independent. Holbrooke denied US involvement. The next explosion killed 68; Albright and senator Dole declared Serbs guilty, Dole visited Markale, but UN and NATO obtained evidence of Muslim villainy. NATO’s Boyd and a new commander in Sarajevo, Michael Rose concluded Muslim hoax to elicit NATO bombing Serbs. Owen in Balkan Oddysey wrote the shell came from Muslim positions. Two months after the massacre, Bosnian Muslims had NATO intervene in Goražde. With US advisors, Muslim forces attacked Serb villages. To drive out 12,500 Goražde civilian Serbs, Muslims had faked ham radio reports that were broadcast by US TV.
US media presented Serb response as an unprovoked attack on UN safe zone Goražde. Washington and Sarajevo urged UN to authorise air strike, but Rose called off bombing, as Muslims had manipulated casualty damage reports. By December 1992, Bosnian Muslim government estimated the number of dead at 17,000, two months later at 200,000, even though the fighting practically ceased. In NYT Sunday Magazine in Fall 1994, former state department’s George Kenney criticized the media-inflated numbers, while International Red Cross counted 20-35,000 (1994), and US military 60-80,000. British intelligence accused CIA of anti-Serb bias. A CIA study limited to areas held by Bosnian Serbs, reported 90% of ethnic cleansing was by Serbs in Bosnia. Serbs cleansed from Bosnia and Croatia, voluntary refugees according to CIA, were excluded, while international agencies stated 40% of refugees were Serbs. Similarly, Sarajevo claims of 30-50,000 Muslim females raped by Serbs, dropped to 2400 raped on all sides of the conflict, according to UN investigation.
Injustice to Palestinians and Muslims takes an exception in JPC support to Balkan Islamists. UN Resolution 713 (25.9.1991) suspended the delivery of all weapons and military equipment to Yugoslavia. Lifting the embargo for Muslims and Croats against the Serbs was in Clinton’s 1992 election campaign, and US entered the war after his inauguration. US allowed Iran to provide weapons and mujahedin, thus helping create an Islamist state and giving Iran greater influence in the Balkans. National security advisor Anthony Lake outlined the US policy: “arms going to Bosnian Croats and Muslims and air power to stop Serbian interference with these shipments”. Saudi intelligence urged Clinton to lead military aid to Bosnia, and US ambassador to Germany, Holbrooke drew up covert plans.[231] As assistant state secretary he persuaded (August 1994) his department to license MPRI to train the Croat army.[232] Urged by the US, Bosnian Muslims and Croats stopped fighting and formed their federation (13.3.1994). CIA was pressured to blame Bosnian Serbs for the ethnic cleansing. Its 1995 report on this proved distorted: using various “styles, approaches, and emphases”, PR firms in Bosnian employ, media pundits, and “sympathetic elements of the US State Department” had attacked anti-interventionists as pro-Serb or pro-Nazi.[233]\
Key military personnel and UN staff previously stationed in Croatia and Bosnia went to Kosovo. MPRI was also on contract with the KLA. Gen. Jackson, while commanding IFOR in Croatia, had not rushed resettlement of Serbs, ostensibly to avoid conflicts with the Croats and the land mine threat.[234] KFOR commander Jackson tolerated KLA terror that had the same “land mine” effect. War criminal from Croat bloody ethnic cleansing operations, gen. Çeku was later nominated KLA commander. NATO officials, Western heads of state and UN and ICTY officials knew of Çeku’s war crimes.
Iran started secret airlifts of arms to Bosnia via Croatia. By late 1993, Iran and Turkey armed and equipped 30,000 BiH soldiers, Croatia received up to 50% of the imports in transit fees, and the US adopted “a blind eye” policy. After Croat-Bosnian federation was formed, ambassador Galbraith passed Croat question, how the US would respond to smuggling resumption, onto deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott and national security advisor Anthony Lake. Conscious of Iran’s influence in the Balkans, but for the advantages of arming the Muslims, they decided with Clinton (27.4.1994), “to give a green light to the arms supplies from Iran to Croatia”.[235] US administration was officially hostile to Iran at the time, often criticising it for “sponsoring radical political groups and terrorists around the world”, and for arming Hezbollah and Hamas,[236] but by early 1995 “Iranian cargo landed in Zagreb three times a week”;[237]
“Turkey and Saudi Arabia were very willing to deliver weapons and to lure Izetbegovic away from Iran, but the orientation of the Bosnian government was far more towards Iran.”[238]
UN observers and others reported (February-March 1995) frequent airlifts of arms to Bosnia, allegedly by Turkey with “the assent of parts of the US government”.[239] Tim Ripley of Jane’s Intelligence Review blamed NSC and state department “covert warriors” and “freelance operatives” brought in by senior members of the Clinton administration. NATO’s admiral Leighton Smith was careful to only ambiguously deny US military involvement. US officers threatened a UN official to keep silent. On state department instructions, the US embassy pressured and threatened reporters. The administration’s duplicity staggered senior US military and CIA officials. According to Wiebes, CIA or DIA weren’t involved, and Pentagon special operations budget paid for the operation “with the complete assent of the White House”.
Western security and intelligence services supported secede-by-terror Bosnia and Kosovo; Serbs fought thousands mujahedin, who established Balkan bases.[240] Iran, and other Muslim states brought mujahedin (1992 – January 1996), some suspected of links with al-Qaeda, from Afghanistan, Chechnya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Algeria. According to Sray, 4,000 mujahedin, “supported by Iranian special operations forces, have been continually intensifying their activities in central Bosnian for more than two years”. UN put the number at about 600. After 1995 the US claimed 1,200 – 1,400.[241] Training camps were set up “possibly for hundreds of volunteers.”[242] Kept away from the front, they played an important role as shock troops, in surprise attacks etc., but the local Muslims found them arrogant and extremist. Wiebes believes “everyone was aware” of mujahedin in Bosnia, “as they killed a British soldier early on”.
In 1994, Albania’s president Sali Berisha helped bin Laden set up a network through Saudi charity fronts. Albanian terrorists and mafia became a dominant regional economic, political, and military force. On his regime’s collapse in 1997, Berisha turned his family farm into a KLA base. Al-Qaeda and other criminals looted 10,000 heavy weapons and 100,000 passports. Thousands of Albanians had to hide, escaping vendettas and blood-feuds, but even the police and army couldn’t intervene. Berisha became Albania’s prime minister in 2005.[243]
Albanians received support of Islamic states, Germany and US. BND played a key role in preparations for Yugoslavia’s breakup, but since the early 1990s, Germany and the USA have co-operated to divide the Balkans. JPC puppets US, Germany and UK triggered national Islamic liberation movements in Bosnia and Kosovo, and supported international Jihad there. German parliament’s overseer investigated media allegations that BND infiltrated EU monitoring that aimed at ceasefires and humanitarian aid. Head of the German EU monitors in Zagreb, Christoph von Bezold allegedly smuggled munitions across enemy lines to the Muslim-controlled Bihac pocket. US state department released terrorist organisations from its list, such as Hezbollah, to operate in Bosnia.[244] This fact alone undermines the credibility of GWOT.
By mid-1990s, CIA, BND and MI6 provided covert support to al-Qaeda-supported KLA. In 1998, US state department removed KLA from an official list of terrorist groups, in violation of UNSC resolution 1160 (31.3.1998). An October 1998 Islamic conference in Pakistan called KLA struggle “Jihad”.[245] On 23.2.1998, US special envoy to Bosnia, Robert Gelbard called KLA an Islamic terrorist organization.[246] An Islamic organization cannot espouse secular values. Yet, US and NATO provided KLA with arms and training. By 1999, US and British special forces and MPRI trained KLA in its Northern Albanian bases.[247]
Renamed Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) in the wake of 1999 war, KLA received UN status that granted sources of funding, including direct US military aid. Using UN resources and equipment, KPC-KLA assaulted Southern Serbia and Macedonia, where the Islamist militants and NATO joined hands in 2000-2001, again contradicting the official claim that Jihad, Western intelligence asset has “gone against their sponsors!” In June 2001, 500 KLA had captured Aracinovo in FYROM, but Macedonian forces cut them off and could kill them off. NATO brokered a deal under the threat of economic sanctions. NATO (incl. 16 MPRI members) evacuated the trapped KLA, only to release them to fight again.[248] At an event for Kerry’s election campaign his senior foreign policy advisor by 2004, Holbrooke, and Wesley Clark socialized with KLA gun-runner and fundraiser Florin Krasniqi, an illegal Albanian immigrant.[249]
JPC propaganda obscures any connection of Zionism with Nazism, and ignores genocides other than Shoah, a unique Holocaust of the Chosen People. “Anti-Semite”, “hater”, and “Nazi sympathizer” labels, personal ruin and imprisonment, guard JPC’s Holocaustian dogmas. Many Orthodox and secular Jews reject Holocaustianity, as Holocaust Industry’s corrupt base.
A Serbian-American historian Carl Savich shows that, to further JPC support to Kosovo secession by terrorism (that JPC abhors in Palestinian “Islamofascists”), a Polish-American Jew, Harvey Sarner has used the Albanians-rescued-all-Jews spin in Rescue in Albania (1997),[250] endorsed by a famous Holocaust survivor from Hungary, US congressman Tom Lantos. The book doesn’t tell that Hitler has included Kosovo into Greater Albania, and it whitewashes the liquidation of thousands of Serbs, Gypsies and Jews and the expulsion of at least 100,000 Serbs from Kosovo by Albanian SS. The “rescue of Jews” had to do with a small number of Jews and a refusal of the Italian occupant to implement genocide. Hundreds of thousands of Poles, including children and Catholic clergy, saved thousands of Jews, despite Nazi death penalty for doing so, while themselves facing terror, hunger and annihilation.
Lantos hid behind Holocaustianity, while destroying and killing with others’ hands. Before and during WWII, the Zionist elites destroyed nations, including their own, with the Nazi German hands. Unlike the Nazis, Lantos had at his disposal Holocaust Religion. In 1992 after Enver Hoxha’s Communism collapsed and all Jews from Albania emigrated to Israel, Sarner published a broshure, and played a significant role in Jewish emigration. Savich believes the brochure had been a “thank you” note for Albania for 300 Jewish immigrants.
By 1997, Joe DioGuardi’s Albanian American Civic League (AACL) began to use Sarner’s book as propaganda before terrorizing Kosovo. Rejected by US voters in his 1988 re-nomination bid for US Congress, DioGuardi turned to Kosovo Albanians, the citizens of foreign country Yugoslavia. Founded in 1989, AACL aims to revive the 19th century idea of racially pure Greater Albania that Nazis have implemented in 1943. AACL supports this campaign “to liberate the seven million Albanian people in the Balkans from hostile Slavic domination”. What Hitler and the Albanian SS have started, JPC and KLA will finish. In the Balkan fascist mafia connection,
“against Serbia and Serbs are those receiving money from DioGuardi’s PAC […on] both sides of the aisle but are mostly members of the House or Senate foreign relations committees: Joseph Lieberman and Jesse Helms, Benjamin Gillman and Tom Lantos”.[251]
At AACL request, Gillman and Lantos endorsed Rescue in Albania, thereby denigrating the honour of hundreds of thousands of real rescuers, and trampling the memory of Kosovo Jews and millions of other Holocaust victims. This made Lantos’ pretentious survivorship and monopoly on human rights advocacy a joke. Zionist elites helped Nazis annihilate Lantos’ brethren. AACL distributed 10,000 copies of Sarner’s propaganda to influential US Jews. Congressman Gillman and James Traficant sent copies of the book with a cover letter to all congressmen, but with personal letters to each Jewish one. Traficant was later found guilty of bribery and corruption, and a House of Representatives panel voted to expel him from the Congress. According to Savich,
“the Albanian apologists will say and do anything to support Greater Albania, even break the law […] Bribes can buy a lot of propaganda, or PR or spin. And the goal is to get people to kill other people and to take their land.” [252]
DioGuardi announced that in 1998, “when we had problems with Milosevic”, John McCain, the 2008 presidential candidate and recipient of AACL “Balkan Award for Peace”, must get support, as “he did everything we asked of him”, i.e. supporting KLA and Kosovo secession. In a draft Senate resolution written by McCain, he thanked the Albanians for “saving all the Jews who lived in Albania or who sought shelter there during the Nazi Holocaust”.
Three weeks into the 1999 bombing, he announced US was in danger of losing the war to the Serbian Army (which had “antiquated machinery” and “absolutely no military air power”), unless infrastructure was massively attacked (“We all regret civilian losses, as well as our own, but they cannot be avoided”).[253] MacCain, a JPC pawn in 2008 elections, advocated nuclear war with Iran.
Would a gain of a few hundred Israelis be worth the support to bloody Balkan wars? The Albanians “have bought” propaganda and spin, prompting Julia Gorin[254] to cover for the neocons, as before.[255] She complained unconvincingly, Holocaustian-style, “Jews used again!”. Albanians “learned early on—starting with the Bosnian and Croatian wars followed by the Kosovo war—that selling the Jews on your version of an ethnic rivalry can open doors”. Not even Balkan Islamists could “sell the Jews”. Israel is an accomplice in the case Gorin complains about. Wikipedia says Yad Vashem is “Israel’s official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust”. Albanian Lobby and Yad Vashem seek to revise history by proclaiming that all Jews were rescued from WWII Albania.
Fascist Croats, Bosnian Islamists, and Kosovo Albanian extremists have paid a US, PR firm Ruder Finn to demonize Serbs with the “death camp” hoax. The firm flooded the media with stories of Serbs’ genocide and mass crimes. The US intervention after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait employed a PR firm Hill and Knowlton’s “Kuwaiti baby” fraud; [256] a 15-year old daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the USA lied before the Congress that she saw Iraqi soldiers cut off food and oxygen in a nursery, killing dozens of Kuwaiti babies. President Bush cited it repeatedly, garnering public support for Gulf War 1, before CBS exposed the fraud. Lantos prepared this hoax[257] with Citizens for a Free Kuwait and the Congressional Human Rights Foundation that he chaired. Both organizations were set up by Hill and Knowlton, the agents of Indonesia’s and Turkey’s cruel dictators. Later the firm worked for the Saudis to neutralize criticism of Osama bin Laden’s sponsors.
Ruder Finn used the Trnopolje hoax to “sell” the Bosnia story to US Jewish organizations. Equating Serbs with Nazis, and the Bosnian war with genocide, followed. Once the Jewry protested, the rest of the world believed. An April 1993 interview by Jacques Merlino, French TV 2 associate director, with Ruder Finn director James Harff, explained the firm served the Republic of Croatia, the Republic of BiH and the parliamentary opposition in Kosovo, “to put Jewish opinion on our side.” Knowing the deadly anti-Semitism of WWII in the Balkans, Harff foresaw that intellectuals and Jewish organizations would be hostile to Croats and Bosnian Muslims, whose present leaders were also racist. The firm reversed this, by exploiting Newsday (2-5.8.1992) story on the Serb camps, to convene major Jewish organizations. Harff suggested that they advertise in NYT and demonstrate outside UN, causing association of Serbs with Nazis in the public mind:
“A clear change took place in the press’s language as emotional terms such as ethnic cleansing and concentration camps appeared, all evoking Nazi Germany, the gas chamber at Auschwitz […] no one could go against it without being accused of revisionism.”[258]
There was no proof of the death camps, but the goal was “to accelerate the circulation of news items which are favourable to us and [to] aim [them] at carefully selected targets.” Responsibility did not enter Harff‘s picture. According to a justice department report, Rudder Finn campaign “served to heavily misinform the Bush administration”. USA Today headline said it: “Fax and Dollars are the Weapons of War Used by Public Relations Firms”. For tribalism, money, or for both, Ruder Finn’s Jewish[259] president David Finn aided JPC warmongering via Holocaustianity. According to Harff, from a list of several hundred names, a computer connected to a fax selects those journalists, politicians, humanitarian associations and academics who are likely to respond to an issue:
“Our craft consists in disseminating information […] as fast as possible so that the opinions favouring our cause are the first to be expressed […] the first assertion is the one that really counts. All denials are entirely ineffective.”[260]
When the hoax was exposed, US Jewish community refused to straighten the record. A University of Florida activist[261] unsuccessfully sought ADL‘s support against an anti-Serb book.[262] A US professor of political science observed: “Using the Jewish Holocaust as their exclusive domain and forgetting the holocaust of the Serbs, the American Jewish Congress has gone overboard in their calls to bomb the Serbs.”[263] By the time the hoax was exposed, the Jewish community refused to stop supporting a false cause. It is unlikely JPC couldn’t have known. During 1995, US-NATO bombing of Bosnian Serb Republic, Yugoslavia’s chief rabbi Cadik Danon addressed the American Jewish Committee that even American Jews were unable to withstand “unrestrained anti-Serbian propaganda” nor „recognize the Nazis and racist nature of the Serbophobic dogma […nor] identify Serbophobia as a twin sister of anti-semitism.”[264]
The Bilderberg Group has discussed in 2005 that NGOs may acquire an increasing role in the world government, [265] creating a “carrot” for unprofessional NGO executives, who can then manipulate the grassroots and the public. Some NGOs support JPC policies. The American Enterprise Institute, Open Society, European Policy Center, the International Crisis Group, and others, have rallied for the amputation of Serbian territory. Linked to the US state department and CIA, they’re hardly NGO. The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) distorts and manipulates Balkan facts: “ethnic nationalists caused the wars”, nationalist forces of Tuđman, Karadžić and Milošević “made a difficult situation […] much worse”, but not the leader of Slovenia and Izetbegović, whose “agenda favored modernization through commitment to Islam and through the work ethic he saw bringing success to the West.”[266]
Islamist bias is seen in calling “hostility” the UN peacekeeping reaction toward the Bosnian government, disputing proven claims “that the Bosniaks were shelling themselves” and blaming VRS for Bosnian false-flag attacks, while upkeeping Srebrenica myth that “VRS units massacred up to 7,800 men and boys in a well-coordinated operation directed by General Ratko Mladić”. The USIP brief by more than 250 international scholars doesn‘t document the alleged Srebrenica crimes, but for well-documented, crimes against Serb civilians, “further research is needed”. In Kosovo, where “the belief [sic] that Belgrade intended an extensive campaign of ethnic cleansing in its southern province, motivated Western intervention in 1999”, USIP is silent that alleged Operation Horseshoe to cleanse Kosovo was a fabrication.[267] According to German intelligence[268] and ICTY testimonies, KLA prompted the refugee exodus by driving Albanians out. NATO bombed a few refugee convoys who decided to head back home; it could not have been a mistake.[269]
In USIP brief, “belief” also ruled the illegality of NATO aggression in Kosovo: “There was a clear belief among the NATO Allies that the intervention was legal, but no agreement on a single legal basis.” NATO members violated its statutes, international law and constitutions, and member state laws. ICTY has “appropriately addressed and dismissed” “all questions about the conduct of NATO operations”, but criminals don’t prosecute themselves, not through institutions they‘ve created; ICTY has rejected cases of violations of the laws and customs of war during NATO bombing. [270]
All sides of recent Balkan conflicts have committed mass crimes, but propaganda prays on Serbs. Mostly Serbs have lost ancestral lands, incl. their Kosovo craddle. Because no group could claim exclusive territorial jurisdiction, Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia violated constitutional provisions for lawful secessions. A million Serbs in Croatia, Sarajevo, Dubrovnik, Kosovo and in other places, and significantly fewer persons on the other sides, were expelled, suffering also the largest religious losses of all groups. Mosques were built on territories conquered by Bosnian and Albanian Muslims. Damaged and destroyed Orthodox churches were converted to Catholic in Croatia. Still unpunished anti-Serb mass crimes are more severe than Serb crimes. Tens of thousands civilians died on all sides. Bosnian Muslims‘ civilian and military casualties were the largest since they faught other Muslims beside heavily armed Serbs and Croats. The radical Muslim regime sacrificed own civilians and military false-flag style, to gain Western support. Bosnian Muslim military committed significantly more violence on Serb civilians than Bosnian Serb military did on Muslim civilians, partly due to incorporation of mujahedin and silence of JPC media.
External actors (US, Western Europe, global radical Islam and Vatican) cover up the hostilities they have covertly supported and steered with economic sanctions and fail-by-design diplomacy and justice. They helped agitate pent-up hatred, provided covert military aid despite embargoes, and fuelled the confrontations, resembling the death squad policy in other regions. Neo-fascism, radical nationalism and militant Jihad, as if resurrected from WWII, turned against Serbs, albeit with lesser casualties. No comparable ideology can be identified as the cause of Serb violence. “Greater Serbianism” is a fabrication; Serbs defended their rights in ancestral homelands, but were coerced into admission of genocide.
JPC-orchestrated, Western military interventions, and selective support to Serb’s enemies, tested “Balkanization of the globe”. The West didn’t win Balkan “humanitarian interventions”, but diplomatic, economic, and propagandist warfare effectively exploited false humanitarian pretexts: death camps (Trnopolje) and mass rape, inflated (Srebrenica) and falsified massacres (Račak), non-existent ethnic cleansing (Kosovo Albanians), and alleged threat to own nationhood (ethnic cleansing of Krajina and Western Slavonia). Since the other hoaxes have collapsed, the Srebrenica “genocide” is the most abused case.
Politicized ICTY trials unsuccessfully charged Serb genocide and ethnic cleansing. The villains and backers manipulated the evidence and obstructed justice, jeopardizing reconciliation. Lacking proofs for other allegations, the “international community” pressured the Serbs to confess Srebrenica. Muslim “victims” claimed indemnity through ICJ, whose ruling (26.2.2007) exonerated Serbia from genocide and ethnic cleansing charges, effectively disproving interventionist rationales. Pro-interventionist politicians and professionals who demonized the victims and covered up the villains, should be prosecuted, also for harming the Serb nation mentally via demonizations and indirectly via attacks on civilians. Expelled Serbs may litigate for personal and property losses, once Balkan states join EU, who may react with revisionism and justice manipulation.
Infowar demonized Serbs, suppressed a debate, and assassinated opponents’ characters, legitimizing crimes. It reversed the victim-villain roles and re-directed guilt to cover up own crimes, escape responsibility, draw material (territory, money) and moral gains, and prepare for more violence. International institutions for peace and justice participated: ICTY, UN, OSCE, and NGOs, all funded by JPC and lesser vested interests. Propaganda brushed aside anti-Serb mass crimes: repeated ethnic cleansing in Croatia; expulsion from Sarajevo; Orić’s massacres around Srebrenica; bombing Serbia’s civilians and infrastructure; NATO use of radioactive[271] and other illegal weapons[272] (bunker busters[273], cluster bombs[274] graphite bombs[275]); and, NATO-UN-EU-supported ethnic cleansing of Kosovo and failure to protect Kosovo population under UNMIK-KFOR-Eulex, incl. extraction and trade in human organs from kidnapped Kosovo persons and sex slaves. Abundant and clear evidence shows intent, plan and execution of mass crimes in NATO Operation Allied Force and Croat Lightning and Storm, and cleansing of Kosovo non-Albanians. Pogroms and expulsions of Serbs, NATO bombing “to the stone age” and releases of chemicals, and use of illegal weapons fall under humanitarian law[276] and Article 2 (c) (Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part); and (d) (Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group).
JPC-designed and -supported Balkan policy have harmed Serbs and their Orthodoxy as much as Western Christianity and civilisation. Support to Jihad against GWOT policy, creation of Islamist states and harming Orthodoxy in the Balkans threaten regional stability and prepare for destabilisation of Europe, like the biased immigration policy, instigated Muslim riots and Operation Danish Cartoons[277] do. A vestige of Christianity still uncorrupted by JPC, Orthodoxy is a Judeocentric target since Bolshevik genocide on Russians and Ukrainians, and Young Turks’ genocide on Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks. It mirrors the WWII hate of Orthodox Jews that Zionists have annihilated in Shoah with Nazi hands.
IMF and World Bank prescriptions prior to destabilisation of a target country induce hyperinflation and harshen poverty, hightening inter-group tensions. Then selective covert arming, death squads and false-flag terror enter to precipitate civil war. Superiority ideology. and the hate it bears, underpin mass violence. Dehumanization and demonization legitimize crimes under consent of public opinion. Post-crime propaganda reverses the victim-villain roles – to cover up own crimes, escape responsibility, draw material and moral gains, and prepare for more crimes.
Academics and professionals in public information, administration, law enforcement and justice are ethically responsible for upholding truth, but they support criminal policies. By making decisions based on deceptions, statesmen act as revisionists and instigators of mass violence. International institutions promoting peace and justice engage in the deceptions that hinder, if not close reconciliation opportunities. Young generation will not rid itself of hatred if it is fed lies and negative revisions to own history, or if it receives positive feedback about the crimes committed. Infowar and political manipulation entrench pre-conceptions and bias; grants and peer review processes make academia toe the line. Genocide research needs enforcement of objectivity. Research into external control and support by power centres such as JPC, is instrumental in mass violence prevention. Those who influence media and evidence, are behind mass violence planning and support.
Negative revisionism is effective when the ex-villains are in power and call a truth-teller “revisionist” and “denier”. Shifts in regional and global power structures spell historical revisionism. Regime changes rearrange power relationships, often re-defining past mass violence issues, some of which (victim-villain role reversal, negative revisionism, restitutionism and retributionism) call for re-examination of the process framework of the International Comparative Genocide Research. An objective mass crime watch must monitor diplomatic and propaganda developments, since current JPC policies create future conflict and mass violence potential globally, but academics and activists are powerless against JPC. Mass violence needs a better definition, exploration and prosecution. Does it include: (a) material, religious and institutional conquest and subjugation; (b) multi-generational stigma of a group harmed physically; (c) moral and psychological violence imposed on a victim nation by revisionism and role reversal; and (d) “legalistic violence” through politicized justice institutions, e.g. ICTY and ICJ?
[1]Constitutional provisions for an orderly secession, see: Ministry of Information of the Republic of Serbia The Creation and Changes of the Internal Borders of Yugoslavia 1994
[2]Bein, Piotr “Judeocentrics and Mass Crimes” in Scherrer, Christian (ed.) Genocide and Mass Violence in Eurasia. Comparative Genocide Studies 3. Moers: IFEK‑IRECOR 2008
[3]Bein, Piotr NATO na Bałkanach self‑published 2006 ISBN 0‑9780543‑0‑X
[4]“Judeocentrics and Mass Crimes” op cit
[5]Dedijer, Vladimir The Yugoslav Auschwitz and the Vatican NY: Prometheus 1988; (banned by Vatican) Manhattan, Avro The Vatican’s Holocaust Springfield: Ozark Books 1986 at www.srpska‑mreza.com/library/facts/manhattan‑vatican.html
[6]Naubacher, Herman Sonderauftrag Südosten 1940-1945 Gottingen 1956 p 31
[7]Naubacher, Herman Genocide in Satellite Croatia 1941-1945
[8]Novak, Victor Magnum Crimen Zagreb 1948
[9]Politika 21.02.2006
[10]Byrne, Johnny at www.srpska‑mreza.com/Croatia/great‑Nazis.html
[11]Savich, Carl “Another Side of the Pope” at www.balkanalysis.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=523
[12]Butler, Hubert Independent Spirit NY: Farrar Straus & Giroux 1996 at http://www.archipelago.org/vol1‑2/butler.htm
[13]Gaffney, Starchevitch and McHugh citted by Butler op cit
[14]“The Case of Archbishop Stepinac” Washington: Yugoslav Embassy 1947, quoted in Carl Savich, “Another Side of the Pope” 9.4.2005 at www.balkanalysis.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=523
[15]27.8.2008 at http://www.byzantinesacredart.com/blog/general/
[16]www.cfiva.org/cfiva/history/index.cfm
[17]E.g. Der Freiwillige at www.vho.org/D/Freiwillige
[18]San Francisco Chronicle 5.4.1994
[19]Copley, Gregory in ISSA Balkan Strategic Studies Special Report 31.12.1992
[20]Dorich, William to Washington Post 15.2.2002 at www.mail‑archive.com/news@antic.org/msg02232.html
[21] www.veritas.org.yu
[22]Byrne op cit
[23]D&FA July‑August 1995; Independent 8.8.1995; Daily News 5.8.1995; Ivo Pukanić in Nacional 24.5.2005 at http://cryptome.org/us-op-storm.htm
[25]Broadcast on Croat Radio 26.8.1995
[26]Liborius, Soren in Victims of Croat Agression to the Republic of Serb Krayina at www.veritas.org.yu/publikacije/Oluja/Tekstovi/oluja.htm
[27]Early September 1995 classified report cited by Fisk, Robert in Independent 4.9.1995
[29]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Storm
[30]Taylor, Scott in Halifax Herald 10.9.2001
[31]Operation Storm at www.veritas.org.yu
[33]Craig, Neil to Scotsman 24.2.2006
[34]BBC Monitoring 21.12.2005 from Croatian Radio 19.12.2005
[35]Bein, Piotr and Pągowski, Stefan “Revisonism, Role‑reversal and Restitutions” in Scherrer op cit
[36]Washington Post 10.3.1996
[37]1910 Austro‑Hungarian ethnic map at http://lazarus.elte.hu/hun/maps/1910/nepek.gif
[38]Interview with former Canadian ambassador Bissett, Joe 5.5.2006 at www.electricpolitics.com/podcast/2006/05/peace_practitioner.html
[39]http://www.serbianna.com/columns/Joksimovich/002.shtml
[40]Trifkovic, Srdja at http://www..pogledi.co.yu/english/192.php
[41]Netherlands Institute for War Documentation “Srebrenica” 2002 at http://193.173.80.81/srebrenica/
[42]Sherman, Alfred international conference America’s Intervention in the Balkans, Chicago 1997 at www.srpska‑mreza.com/library/hague/sherman‑97.html
[43]Ljiljan 21.8.1996
[44]De Groene Amsterdammer 13.3.1996; Ibisević, Hata testimony in “Report about Case Srebrenica” Banja Luka: Bureau of Government of Republic of Srpska for Relations with ICTY, September 2002 p 14
[45]Quoted in Savich, Carl “Srebrenica” at www.serbianna.com/columns/savich/065.shtml
[46]French National Assembly Srebrenica Vol 2 p 140‑154 in Collon, Michel at http://news.serbianunity.net/bydate/2006/March_13/29.html
[47]Washington Post 16.2.1994; Toronto Star 16.7.1995
[48]Večernje Novosti 30.6.2005
[49]Both quotes: French National Assembly op cit
[50]UN report 28‑29.11.1993 quoted by Collon op cit
[51]Report of the Secretary General Pursuant to General Assembly Resolution 53/35, A/54/549, 15.11.1999 p 33
[52]Netherlands Institute for War Documentation op cit Part III Chapter 7 Section 16
[53]ICTY, IT‑98‑33‑T 2.8.2001 p 25
[54]Srebrenica Research Group Srebrenica and the Politics of War Crimes 11.7.2005 at www.srebrenica‑report.com/conclusions.htm
[55]http://www.yugofile.co.uk/qt/1995071‑_22Bull.mov
[56]Mandel, Michael How America Gets Away With Murder Pluto Press 2004 p 152‑160; www.electricpolitics.com/2006/05/milosevics_death_in_the_propag.html p 155‑156
[57]Savich “Srebrenica” op cit
[58]Petković, Milan, Federation of American Scientists 1998 at www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980000‑kla‑petkovic‑terror.htm ; D&FA 2.5.2005, 20.6.2005, 11.7.2005; D&FA Special Report July 2005
[59]http://europa‑eu‑un.org/articles/lv/article_4886_lv.htm
[60]Kent, Raymond open letter to Congress 5.7.2005
[61]Associated Press 26.6.2005
[62]Wilcoxson, Andy 5.6.2005 at www.slobodan-Milosevic.org
[63]Johnson, Ian June 2005 at http://www.artel.co.yu/en/izbor/jugoslavija/2005‑07‑05.html
[64]Borojević, Boba “Srebrenica” at www.serbianna.com/columns/borojevic/023.shtml
[65]Politika 27‑28.2.2006. At 20,000 Bosnian Muslim civilians killed by Serbs (90,000 dead, 70% Muslims, 1/3 in the hands of Serbs), the average claim would be several million US dollars per victim.
[66]Kouchner, Bernard Les Guerriers de la Paix Paris: Grasset 2004
[67]UNSC resolutions 770 and 771 13.8.1992
[68]Profil 10.8.1992
[69]LM (97) 1997
[70]Guardian 31.2.2000
[71]LM (102) July‑August 1997
[72]http://www.emperors‑clothes.com/film/judgment.htm
[73]http://usinfo.state.gov/eur/Archive/2006/Jan/03‑735048.html ; total figure was about 98,000 by early 2007
[74]Scherrer, Christian “Options for Transitional Justice in Bosnia-Herzegovina” 2005 p 46
[75]ISSA Balkan Strategic Studies Special Report 31.12.1992
[76]Tabeau, Ewa and Bijak, Jakub in European J. of Population Vol 21 June 2005 p 187‑215
[77]Herman, Edward and Peterson, David “Milosevic’s Death” at www.electricpolitics.com/2006/05/milosevics_death_in_the_propag.html
[78]http://www.sky.com/skynews/video/videoplayer/0,,91134‑bosnia_p3705,00.html
[79]Razumovsky, Dorothea in Bittermann, Klaus (ed.) Serbia Must Die Belgrade 1996 p 91
[80]Muslim women wear white scarfs at mourning.
[81]Skewed reporting was called Potemkin’s Sarajevo. 18th century Russian marshal Potemkin organized Catherine II inspection of lands. Villages were decorations being moved ahead of the Empress‘ entourage.
[82]Vuković, Željko in Serbia Must Die op cit p 159‑160
[83]Quoted in Vuković op cit p 158
[84]Ridder, Knight of Reuters (22.5.1999) reported ten boats nightly leaving Albanian port Vlore to Italy with a daily bounty of Kosovo women.
[85]“Hiding Genocide” op cit
[86]Mail on Sunday 3.1.1993
[87]Daily Mirror 4.1.1993
[88]Newsweek 4.1.1993
[89]Alexander, Shana in Capital Times 23.3.2000
[90]UN document S24491 18.12.1992
[91]Dorich, William open letter to US senator Dianne Feinstein 30.4.1997 at www.balkan‑archive.org.yu/kosta/pisma/dorich.30iv97a.html
[92]Olsen, Jane at Santa Monica College, California 31.3.1993
[93]Albanian view: Vesilind, Pritt in National Geographic February 2000. Serb view: Terzić, Slavenko “Kosovo, Serbian Issue and the Greater Albania Project” SANU
[94]Search for “organs” at http://www.byzantinesacredart.com/blog/general/ and http://de-construct.net/
[95]Johnson, Raphael in Culture Wars January 2009
[96]Haaretz 17.2.2008
[97]http://ariwatch.com/OurAlly/TheLavonAffair.htm
[98]NYT 11.12.1954, 30.3.1975; Hirst, David The Gun and the Olive Branch.
[99]Reuters 30.3.2005
[100]http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/8172
[101]Bissett, James at SANU conference Kosovo and Metohija 16‑18.3.2006, summary by Boba Borojević at www.serbianna.com/columns/borojevic/029.shtml
[102]Limanowska, Barbara “Trafficking in Human Beings in South Eastern Europe” UNDP March 2005; National Criminal Intelligence Service (UK) 2003 Report; UN Office On Drugs and Crime World Drug Report 2005; Sunday Times 9.4.2006
[103]Admiral Lyons, James in Washington Times 9.5.2006
[104]Luković, Miloš Kryzys kosowski oczyma Serbów Belgrade: Todra 2000 p 44‑45
[105]Durham, Edith The Burden of the Balkans Edward Arnold: London 1905, quoted in Savich, Carl “Kosovo and the Holocaust” at http://www.serbianna.com/columns/savich/
[106]Savich, Carl at www.serbianna.com/columns/savich/
[107]Ibid
[108]Luković op cit
[109]Chomsky, Noam in Al Ahram 18‑24.5.2000 based on data in NATO, OSCE and UN reports
[110]Savich, Carl at www.serbianna.com/columns/savich/073.shtml
[111]Junge Welt 24.4.1999
[112]Baldwin, Clive “Minority Rights in Kosovo under International Rule” Minority Rights Group International 2006
[113]Sherman op cit
[114]Norris, John Collision Course Praeger 2005, quoted by Deliso, Chris at www.balkanalysis.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=540
[115]Dow Jones Newswires 23.2.2006
[116]Fox News 23.5.1999
[117]Short’s statement 12.5.1999 in International Herald Tribune 14.5.1999 after seven weeks of bombing
[118]NYT 6.4.1999, 9.4.1999, 23.4.1999, 4.5.1999, 11.5.1999
[119]ICRC News 9.3.2006
[120]ICTY, IT‑99‑37‑I Kosovo Schedules A–G, 22.5.1999
[121]ERP KiM 20.3.2004, 10.4.2004
[122]Christian Science Monitor 17.11.2003
[123]ERP KiM 4.11.2003
[124]Copley, Gregory in D&FA 19.3.2004, D&FA 15.10.2003
[125]D&FA 15.10.2003
[126]NYT 18.3.2004; Reuters 18.3.2004; Washington Times 19.3.2004; Tanjug 5.4.2004
[127]Beta 27.3.2004; Glas Javnosti 27.3.2004
[128]http://blog.srpskinacionalisti.com/2008/08/icty-reconciliation/
[129]Herman, Edward and Peterson, David at http://www.coldtype.net/Assets.04/Essays.04/YugoTrib.pdf
[130]NATO spokesman Shea, Jamie in Federal News Service 17.5.1999
[131]http://globalresearch.ca/articles/TAL307A.html
[132]Scharf, Michael in Washington Post 3.10.1999
[133]Mandel, Michael How America Gets Away With Murder Pluto Press 2004 p 126, 152‑160
[134]Owen, David Balkan Odyssey NY: Harcourt Brace 1995 p 112‑120
[135]Collins, Mick at http://cirqueminime.blogcollective.com/blog/_archives/2006/5/3/1930975.html ; ww.prisonplanet.com/articles/march2006/140306_b_Milosevic.htm
[136]Chicago Tribune 23.5.1999
[137]ANP English News Bulletin 27.7.1995
[138]Mandel op cit p 132‑134
[139]CNN transcript 99052703V54, 27.5.1999
[140]UK Ministry of Defense Briefing 20.4.1999
[141]ICTY, JL/PIU/404‑E, 27.5.1999
[142]ICTY, PR/P.I.S./510‑e, 13.6.2000
[144]Berliner Zeitung 17.1.2001
[145]Ranta, Helena, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland 17.3.1999 at http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/eur/balkans/kosovo/racak.htm
[146]Rainio et al in Forensic Science International (116) 15.2.2001
[147]E.g.: LID (special edition) at www.srpska‑mreza.com/ddj/Racak/Tiker/RacakFile.html; Dunjić, D. in abstracts 26.4.1999 Serbian Anthropological Society and Belgrade City Library at www.computec‑int.com/bsc/war/archives/victims.htm#abuse
[148]Guardian 21.1.1999
[149]Le Figaro 20.1.1999; Le Monde 21.1.1999
[150]ICTY, IT‑01‑50‑I Croatia 8.10.2001; ICTY, IT‑01‑51‑I Bosnia and Herzegovina 22.11.2001
[151]“Milosevic’s Death” op cit
[152]Widell, Jonathan and Steijnen, Nico at http://www.serbianna.com/columns/widell/004.shtml ; ICTY Milošević trial transcript p 43227 at http://www.un.org/icty/transe54/050825IT.htm
[153]“Speech by Slobodan Milosevich” NTIS, US Department of Commerce at www.balkanpeace.org/cib/kam/kams/kams19.shtml
[154]Economist 5.6.1999; NYT 28.7.2006
[155]Holbrooke, Richard To End a War 1999 p 29
[157]Telegraph 2.2.2007
[158]Russia Today 29.8.2008
[159]http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=65316§ionid=351020606 ; http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/19/newsid_4521000/4521063.stm ; http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/kurir080108.htm ; http://de-construct.net/?p=6919
[160]Pumphrey, George at http://globalresistance.com/articles/pumphrey/Srebrenica.html
[161]http://www.srebrenica‑report.com/conclusions.htm
[162]ICTY prosecution witness Jović, Borisav
[163]Pumphrey op cit
[164]ICJ Judgement of 26.2.2007 at www.icj‑cij.org/icjwww/idocket/ibhy/ibhyjudgment/ibhy_ijudgment_20070226_frame.htm
[165]ICTY, IT‑03‑68‑I
[166]UN document A/46/171 S/25635, 2.6.1993 at http://srpska‑mreza.com/Bosnia/Srebrenica/UN.html
[167]Quoted in Savich “Srebrenica” op cit
[168]ICJ Press Release 2007/8 at www.icj‑cij.org/icjwww/ipresscom/ipress2007/ipresscom_2007‑8_bhy_200702026.htm
[169]Rockler, Walter in Chicago Tribune 23.5.1999
[170]See section ICTY and the term genocide
[171]SRNA 2.3.2007 in BBC Monitoring at http://serbblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/bosnians‑to‑sue‑holland‑for‑13bn.html
[172]ICJ Press Communique 99/23 2.6.1999 at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/icj.htm
[173]http://byzantinesacredart.com/blog/2007/03/serbia‑cleared6.html
[174]Strachan, Graham at http://www.wealth4freedom.com/truth/14/reality.htm
[175]Kent, Raymond “Nationalisms and the absolute corruptibility of imagined absolute power” 7.10.2000
[176]Newsweek 8.5.2000
[177]Yugoslav data: NATO lost 61 planes, 7 choppers, 30 UAVs and 238 cruise missiles, excl. machines that crashed outside Yugoslavia, e.g. RAF C‑130K Hercules transport plane crashed in Albania (11.6.1999) with British SAS unit onboard to beat Russian paratroopers to Slatina: http://www.aeronautics.ru/nws002/natolosses‑review01.htm ; sightings of downed NATO machines, official statements by NATO and Yugoslavia, and loss‑related classified and unconfirmed reports, at http://www.aeronautics.ru/analysis‑pdf.htm
[178]http://www.aeronautics.ru//nws001/countingmigs.htm
[179]Headquarters, Department of the Army Field Manual 100‑6: Information Operations Washington: USGPO 27.8.1996
[180]Joint Chiefs of Staff JCS Publication 1, Glossary Department of Defense Military and Associated Terms, Department of Defense 1987
[181]Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Publication 3‑53, Joint Doctrine for Psychological Operations Washington DC: USGPO 10.7.1996
[182]Neue Zürcher Zeitung 30.3.2000
[183]Joint Chiefs of Staff op cit
[184]http://www.heall.com/medicalfreedom/mediablackout.html
[185]http://www.wealth4freedom.com/truth/chapter14.htm
[186]Washington Post 10.11.2002
[187]“War Spin” CBC series With Passionate Eye 25.5.2003
[188]San Francisco Chronicle 30.3.1999
[189]Kellner, Douglas quoted by Kesić, Obrad in Bittermann, Klaus (ed.) Serbia Must Die Belgrade 1996 p 99
[191]ICTY case IT‑98‑33 versus Krstić, Radislav
[192]Byrne op cit
[193]Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 18.1.1992
[194]Gen. Panić, Yugoslav military chief of staff, in ISSA op cit
[195]Malic, Nebojsa at www.antiwar.com/Malic/?articleid=8179
[196]Expulsions of Serbs from Croatia: Serb Western Slavonia and Serb Krayina Cetinje: Svetigora 1998; Ivić, Pavle and Krestić, Vasilje (eds) Persecution of Serbs and Ethnic Cleansing in Croatia 1991‑1998 Belgrade: Serbian Council Info. Centre 1998; http://www.veritas.org.yu
[197]A 1942 pamphlet for those responsible for the selection, by the Race and Settlement Head Office of the Third Reich.
[198]A collection by Piročanac, Zoran Petrović, large sample in Polish at www.gavagai.pl/nato/zniszczy.htm
[199]European 10.6.1993
[200]Mihailović, Kosta and Krestić, Vasilije Answers to Criticisms Belgrade: SANU 1995 at www.balkan‑archive.org.yu/kosta/memorandum/contents.html
[201]“Speech by Slobodan Milosevich” op cit
[203]Hammond, Philip and Herman, Edward (eds) Degraded Capability London and Sterling: Pluto Press 2000
[204]Wiebes, Cees quoted by O’Neill, Brendan 23.1.2004 at http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CA374.htm
[205]Serbia Must Die op cit
[206]Deichmann ibid p 198, 202
[207]Srebrenica Research Group op cit
[208]Trifkovic, Srdja Ustaša London: Lord Byron Foundation for Balkan Studies 1998 p 6
[209]Serbia Must Die op cit p 199‑200
[210]Author of five books on the Balkans, publisher of GMBooks (who published Peter Brock’s Media Cleansing: Dirty Reporting).
[211]Thomas Jefferson Award for Outstanding Scholarship recipient at Vanderbilt University where he taught for several decades, a diplomat in Belgrade after the Holocaust, and the author of ten books on the Balkans.
[212]In NYT Washington bureau 1973‑retirement in 1996, Balkan reporting until 2004. 1989 finalist nominee Pulitzer Prize competition for Public Service, Southern Journalism Award for Investigative Reporting (Duke University), Washington Journalism Center’s Thomas L. Stokes Award for Environmental Reporting and 15 other distinctions.
[213]Gossett, Sherrie in CNSNews.com 22.3.2006
[214]Kiernan, Benedict in Scherrer, Christian (ed.) Genocide and Mass Violence in the 20th and 21st Centuries. An Introduction Hiroshima/Moers: IRECOR 2005
[215]Hoare, Marko Attila at www.opendemocracy.net/debates/article.jsp?id=2&debateId=42&articleId=3355
[216]http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/pen‑l/2002m05.3/msg00040.htm
[217]NYT 23.3.2002 and ibid
[218]Jones, Adam in Scherrer (ed.) op cit p 138
[219]“Hiding Genocide” op cit
[220]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbofolk
[222]Tanaka, Yuki in Scherrer op cit p 207‑208, 212
[223]http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGACT770752004
[224]Serbian Council Information Center 15.1.1993 at www.balkan‑archive.org.yu/kosta/bosna/b‑rape_of_serbs‑150193‑Serbian_council.html
[225]Mendenhall, Preston at www.msnbc.com/news/667790.asp; National Criminal Intelligence Service 2003 Report Section 4.30; Guardian 23.12.2002; BBC 14.6.2002; Insight Magazine 14.1.2002; Washington Post 24.4.2000; Seattle Times 24.3.2000
[226]Lopusina, Marko at www.serbianna.com/columns/lopusina/084.shtml
[227]Perkins, John Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
[228]Chossudovsky, Michel at http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7705
[229]NYT 3.11.1999
[230]Le Nouvel Observatuer 31.8.1995
[231]Wiebes, Cees Intelligence and the War in Bosnia, Lit Verlag 2003
[232]Scotsman 2.3.2001.
[233]Sray, John in Daily Telegraph 2.6.1995.
[234]Jane’s Defence Weekly 14.2.1996
[235]Wiebes op cit p 159-162, 166-167
[236]US House Republican Policy Committee 26.4.1996
[237]Wiebes op cit p 176
[238]Wiebes quoted by O’Neill op cit
[239]Netherlands Institute for War Documentation op cit
[240]Chossudovsky, Michel at www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8055; National Post 15.3.2002; Wall Street Journal 1.11.2001; BBC Monitoring International Reports 17.1.2005 after Dani 14.1.2005; Kohlman, Evan Al‑Qaida’s Jihad in Europe 2004; Times 31.8.2000; AFP 24.9.1999; Tanjug 16.12.1997; US Senate Republican Policy Committee,16.1.1997; Bodansky, Yossef and Forrest,Vaughn, Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, House Republican Research Committee 1.9.1992
[243]NYT 9.6.1998; Ottawa Citizen 15.12.2001
[245]Wall Street Journal Europe 1.11.2001
[246]BBC 28.6.1998
[247]Daily Telegraph 18.4.1999
[248]Taylor, Scott Diary of an Uncivil War Esprit de Corps 2002 p 120‑121
[249]Scotland on Sunday 24.10.2004; Washington Post 26.5.1998
[250]“Kosovo and the Holocaust” op cit
[251]Works, Ben at www.FreeRepublic.com/forum/a377cf8ed23c1.htm
[253]Michaletos, Ioannis at http://serbianna.com/blogs/michaletos/?p=270
[254]Front Page Magazine 31.1.2008
[255]Raimondo, Justin at www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=3669
[256]USA Today 16.6.1992
[257]Madsen, Wayne in CounterPunch 15.2.2003
[258]Merlino, Jacques in Serbia Must Die op cit
[259]National Post 23.11.1998
[261]LaPorte, Erin at www.agitprop.org.au/stopnato/20000105crimlapo.php
[262]Stover, Eric and Peress, Gilles The Graves: Srebrenica and Vukovar Berlin: Scalo 1998
[263]Thomas, Raju at www.srpska‑mreza.com/WarCrime/dehumanizing.html
[264]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbophobia
[265]Estulin, Daniel in CounterPunch 27.5.2005
[266]http://www.usip.org/newsmedia/releases/2006/0105_narrative.html
[267]Retired German general, an advisor in OSCE, Loquai, D. Heinz in his book The Kosovo Conflict
[268]“Keine Anhaltspunkte für Verfolgung” op cit
[269]“The Dakovica Case” at www.aeronautics.ru/archive/ekke
[270]E.g. ICTY ruling cited at www.aeronautics.ru/archive/ekke
[271]Bein, Piotr and Zorić, Predrag at international conference Facts about Depleted Uranium, Praha 24‑25.11.2001 at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du‑watch/files/DUPraha.doc
[272]Morales, Jose Luis in Articulo 20 14.6.1999
[273] At least one type of bombs with uranium metal shields was tested in Montenegro: Williams, Dai at www.eoslifework.co.uk/du2012.htm
[274]NATO dropped anti‑personnel bomblets BLU‑97B on civilians in Niš and other locations. The bomblet possibly contains uranium metal; www.fas.org/man/dod‑101/sys/dumb/cbu‑87.htm
[275]Bomblet BLU‑114B short‑circuits electrical installations with graphite fibres; www.fas.org/man/dod‑101/sys/dumb/blu‑114.htm
[276]In the context of uranium weapons: Bein, Piotr and Parker, Kaeren in Politics and Environmental Policy in the 21st Century Faculty of Political Sciences, U. of Belgrade at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du‑watch/files/Beograd6.rtf
[277]Bein, Piotr “Operation Danish Cartoons” at http://www.wirtualnapolonia.com/kresy/opinie.asp?opinia=322
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Why Star Trek Discovery is not canon
Posted in botch, business, entertainment, TV Shows by commorancy on November 2, 2018
A lot of “fans” of the latest Star Trek TV series installment of Star Trek Discovery claim to love the show. They also claim that because the show runners have claimed Discovery is official canon, that the show is canon. But, is it? Let’s explore.
Canon is previous story and characters that a show must follow so as not to contradict something that has come before. Yet, Discovery has contradicted established canon all along the way. The first contradiction was the Klingons with their … well, let me show a picture:
This is a Discovery Klingon. This Klingon above looks nothing like these 3:
or even this Klingon from a TOS episode:
The latter two having been Klingons in The Next Generation and in the Original Series, respectively. The “bonehead” Klingons became the norm from 1979 onward. It was the bonehead Klingon design that Gene Roddenberry himself approved.
With Star Trek Discovery, that all changed and now we have the Klingon pictured in the top most image. The difficulty is, “Where did this Klingon come from?”. It doesn’t match the canon approved and used throughout the 80s and 90s and even into the 00s with Star Trek Enterprise.
Now, Discovery appears and gives us this odd designed Klingon that has never been used in any previous series ever. It doesn’t much resemble a Klingon, even though they’re speaking Klingon and have a kind of “bonehead”. The question remains, what happened? Is this design canon or not? Before I answer that question, let’s talk about how this Intellectual Property has been fractured between studios.
Paramount versus CBS
When Roddenberry was alive and even up until not too long ago, Paramount was the sole rights holder of Star Trek. However, when Viacom bought and then split Paramount and CBS, this all changed who owned what and it fractured the Star Trek franchise in unnecessary and inexplicable ways.
A little history. In 1994, Paramount was purchased by Viacom. In 1999, Viacom agreed to purchase CBS. This means that from 1999 to 2005, Viacom owned both Paramount and CBS. In 2005, Viacom’s then board of directors voted to split Paramount and CBS into separate companies for better “shareholder value”.
When the companies split, CBS was given the rights to the Star Trek TV series universe and Paramount was given the rights to the Star Trek motion picture universe. Ultimately, this now gives two separate entertainment companies the rights to create and make up canon in their respective universes. This is ultimately where the fracturing of the intellectual property comes into play and why Discovery is such a mess when it comes to producing its series based on canon.
This split also means that the canon is now split between two separate companies. A franchise disaster, to be honest.
Motion Pictures versus TV series
The TV series includes Star Trek The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. These properties up to Enterprise existed at the time of the split. Discovery did not exist then.
The original cast motion pictures include Star Trek The Motion Picture, II, III, IV, V and VI. The Next Generation cast pictures include Generations, First Contact, Insurrection and Nemesis. The Kelvin time line pictures (i.e., J.J. Abrams) include Star Trek (2009 Reboot), Into Darkness, Beyond and there is a possibility of a fourth film which is in limbo as of this article.
This means that CBS owns the rights to the above TV series properties (in addition to Discovery) and Paramount owns the rights to the above Motion Picture properties. It also means that CBS can now ignore motion picture canon and Paramount can ignore TV series canon when producing future works.
Clearly, this is how CBS is proceeding with its latest TV series, Star Trek Discovery. One can argue, the “bonehead” Klingons appear in the TV series. They do. And, to a degree, the design above does appear somewhat like a bonehead Klingon, except without hair, much darker skin, odd shaped facial features and odd shaped outfits. However, no Klingon has ever appeared on screen in any way (TV or Movie) that looks like this Discovery Klingon. This Klingon type is actually the first of its kind… which means, it is NOT Roddenberry canon.
The Trouble with Tribbles
Or, more specifically, the trouble with double ownership of the Star Trek franchise means there is no effective steward maintaining canon. There can’t be. There are two separate companies competing for your almighty Star Trek dollar. One company can make shit up and the other company doesn’t have to use it. This is effectively what CBS is doing… making shit up as they go along because they don’t have to answer to canon placed into the motion pictures. Even then, they’re not following canon established by previous Star Trek TV series either. After all, Star Trek Discovery is clearly set at the same time as The Original Series.
The TV series timeline goes something like (timeline courtesy of Memory Alpha):
2151-2155 -- Star Trek Enterprise (Season 1 thru 4)
2254-2254 -- Star Trek The Original Series: "The Cage" (Episode)
2256-2257 -- Star Trek Discovery (Season 1)
2265-2269 -- Star Trek The Original Series (Seasons 1, 2 and 3)
2269-2270 -- Star Trek The Animated Series (Seasons 1 and 2)
2364-2370 -- Star Trek The Next Generation (Seasons 1 thru 7)
2369-2375 -- Star Trek Deep Space Nine (Season 1 thru 7)
2369-2370 -- Star Trek Enterprise: "These are the Voyages" (Episode)
2371-2378 -- Star Trek Voyager (Seasons 1 thru 7)
As you can see, Star Trek Discovery is actually set BEFORE Star Trek The Original Series, before The Animated Series and before any other series with the exception of one Star Trek TOS episode and Star Trek Enterprise which come before Discovery.
Basically, the canon that Star Trek Discovery must adhere to is what is seen in Star Trek Enterprise and in one episode of The Original Series (and, of course, anything in later TV series that corroborate Enterprise and TOS). Enterprise and this one episode of Star Trek TOS are both enough to set canon as to how Discovery should run. Discovery also occurs 9 years prior to The Original Series. However, The Original Series only showed the non-bonehead Klingons while Enterprise showed us both styles of Klingons. This means that both Klingon types already existed in the Roddenberry universe when Star Trek TOS existed. This also means that both Klingon types exist at the time when Discovery is operating. One could argue that Enterprise broke canon by showing us the bonehead Klingons that we wouldn’t see until Star Trek The Motion Picture in 1979 (picture to the left). However, Discovery’s Klingon type comes out of nowhere and goes back into nowhere because this Klingon type won’t exist after Discovery ends.
However, in the Enterprise episode “Affliction” in the 4th season, I guess this episode is supposed to explain the difference between the bonehead and non-bonehead Klingons and the reasons why the non-bonehead Klingons appear in The Original Series. I think it was a cheap cop-out episode, but hey, at least they held true to the TMP and TOS Klingon designs… which is more than I can say for Discovery.
Discovery, on the other hand, doesn’t hold true to either design. They made their own Klingon canon. They made a Klingon design that has never exited before or after… not in ENT, TOS, TNG, DS9, TAS or Voyager. They’re clearly, “making shit up”.
Additionally, there’s the Spore Drive. Yet again, Discovery is found “making shit up”. This drive type has never been discussed either before or since, yet Discovery has introduced this propulsion system as some experimental thing that only existed during Discovery’s existence. I’m sorry, if the spore drive were a real thing in the Roddenberry universe, there would have been talks of it both in Star Trek TOS and likely Star Trek Enterprise and even in TNG, DS9 and Voyager (it would have at least come up, particularly in Voyager when looking for a way home). That no information was ever discussed regarding this drive system, Discovery is simply creating things out of thin air to make their series more watchable (and make more money). However, there may be another reason… so, keep reading.
Because “The Cage” episode shows us that the Federation chain of command already exists in a formalized and hierarchical command structured way, having Discovery show its characters as chaotic, insubordinate and outright informal makes me believe that the Discovery creators had no intention of following established Roddenberry “Federation” canon. In fact, I will go so far as to say that Star Trek Discovery is actually operating in its own universe. Perhaps it exists in the Kelvin universe along side the reboot Star Trek motion pictures, but I believe it lives in its own new CBS universe. But, Discovery does not live in the same universe as the Roddenberry universe TV shows do.
CBS Universe
Because Star Trek Discovery lives in its own universe, the creators of Discovery can literally make up anything they wish and it will be canon. It’s canon because the show isn’t set in the Roddenberry universe. It’s set in a CBS offshoot universe where everything can and does exist if the creators want it to. In this universe, weird shaped Klingons, spore drives and insubordination are all accepted because in this universe it’s all there.
In the Roddenberry universe, Discovery never existed and couldn’t exist. The spore drive doesn’t exist. The weird Discovery Klingons don’t exist. The F-bombs don’t exist. The nonsensical highly sophisticated NCC-1031 starship doesn’t exist with its operating panel designs that don’t exist on the Federation’s flagship Enterprise NCC-1701 just 9 years later. Discovery living in a CBS Universe is the only explanation that can possibly work for this TV show. When a show runner says it’s canon, well it is. But, it’s only canon if you consider that Discovery is a show created in an offshoot CBS universe that has never before existed. It is not canon were it to exist in the Roddenberry universe. Obviously, the show creators aren’t going to make this distinction because they don’t want viewers to understand the difference between the CBS universe and the Roddenberry universe. They just want the viewer to believe it somehow magically exists in the Roddenberry universe when this show clearly cannot.
It’s clear, Discovery does not exist in the Roddenberry universe. It can’t. That universe ended with the close of Star Trek Enterprise. It remains to be seen if the new Patrick Stewart series will be set in Discovery’s CBS universe or if CBS will try to set that series in the Roddenberry universe. My guess is that CBS may want to attempt some type of crossover episodes between Discovery and the as yet unnamed Patrick Stewart series. However, that would be a feat considering that Discovery occurs 98 years earlier from the original TNG series (see timeline). Considering Patrick Stewart’s age now, they’ll have to age forward the new series to have it make sense with Stewart’s current age… which means this new series must occur over 100 years in Discovery’s future. It will then be difficult to have a crossover without time travel. However, they can engineer dual episodes which causes something to happen in Discovery that impacts the Picard series 100 years later. This is akin to a crossover and would establish both series being in the same universe; the CBS universe.
Personally, I’d rather the two series remain entirely independent. No crossovers. No incidental references to prior events in Discovery. This means that Discovery can officially be announced as operating in its own CBS universe and that the Picard series will be set in the Roddenberry universe and no crossovers will be possible.
Kelvin Universe
When J.J. Abrams became part of Paramount’s efforts to reboot the Star Trek movie franchise, he decided to create an entirely new and separate universe. In that effort, he had elder Spock (from the Roddenberry universe) fall through a time hole and land in an alternate universe much earlier in its unfolding life. Elder Spock then meets up with his much younger alternate version of Spock along with younger versions of Kirk, Sulu, Chekov, Uhura, Bones and so on. Basically, these alternate versions of these main characters set the tone of this alternate universe’s ‘Five Year Mission’, set in an alternate Enterprise, set in an alternate timeline known as Kelvin. It’s named after the USS Kelvin, the ship which fell through the time hole with elder Spock. Why is this important?
It’s important to understand this Kelvin alternate universe idea because it appears CBS has done the same exact thing with the Discovery TV series. Instead of trying to disturb and hold true to the Roddenberry universe canon, it’s far easier to create a brand new offshoot universe set in its own time line. This then means the writers can write anything they wish, on any ship they wish, with any technology they wish. Because Paramount has already established their own playground universe for the movies to live in, it appears CBS is also running with this idea and has done the exact same thing with Discovery. Even the name ‘Discovery’ hints at the existence of this alternate universe.
In fact, I believe that this alternate universe will reveal itself and will likely become a big part of Discovery’s future stories. I’m assuming that the writers are holding this point back until just the exact moment when they can reveal a character like Picar… er Spock falling through a time distortion and we can clearly see that Discovery is not set in the Roddenberry universe. It makes for a good plot twist, don’t you think? Holding this point back allows the Discovery writers to craft and unfold an entire season long story arc about this new CBS universe (or whatever name they decide to give it). For now, I’m calling it the CBS universe, but it will likely be named differently after someone from the Roddenberry universe falls into it.
I’d suspect it might be a TNG character who falls through this time. Perhaps Q created this universe? I’d steer clear of Q as using this character always feels like a cop-out. Because Wesley had become a kind of universe traveler, I’d like to see him return a bit older so we can finish out his story arc that never really closed properly in TNG. I might also like to see Kess show up as she also didn’t get proper closure in Voyager. Seeing a new Dax might also be a good way to handle this reveal also. Dax’s immense knowledge and age would allow for some very good stories. Even Guinan might be a good choice to land in Discovery’s alternate universe.
For this reason, I believe that Discovery’s writers and creators are holding back on this idea, but will eventually reveal it. For this reason, the show runners can say that Discovery is canon, because it is, in its own universe. They just haven’t revealed this alternate universe point in the TV series yet. They can string the fans along making them think it’s in the Roddenberry universe when they haven’t yet unveiled the story. It’s still too early in this TV series to reveal a story point this big.
Canon or not?
Because I surmise that Discovery is set in its own CBS universe, which is entirely separate from the Roddenberry and the Kelvin universes, Discovery can be its own bubble show and do whatever it wants with its stories. It doesn’t need to follow any Trek lore or, indeed, anything to do with Trek. It can feel free to “make shit up” however it wishes. I’m fine with that as long as the show runners finally fess up to this. As it is now, trying to shoehorn Discovery into the Roddenberry universe where it doesn’t belong is just stupid.
To answer this Blog’s ultimate question, Discovery is not canon for Roddenberry’s universe. It is canon for its newly created CBS universe. It’s possible that Discovery exists in the Kelvin universe (doubtful) where it may or may not be canon. The difficulty is that, as I said above, the motion picture canon is operated by Paramount. The TV series canon is operated by CBS. This means that never the twain shall meet. This fracturing of intellectual property rights was a horribly bad idea for Star Trek. It has now left this franchise with a fracture right down the middle of its canon. Show producers for Discovery can now claim canon when what they’re doing clearly isn’t canon and cannot possibly be unless the show is set in its own CBS universe (which the CBS universe ultimately has no canon except for what Discovery has created so far).
Tagged with: canon, discovery, kelvin, roddenberry, star trek, universe
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CPAC Offers Utterly Uninspiring Vision for Millennials
For all the things establishment conservatives think millennials should be against, they have a hard time articulating what young people should be for, and what that has to do with the Republican Party.
Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 2.23.2017 2:18 PM
(ENB)
The one millennial-focused panel on the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) main-stage Thursday was titled "FREE stuff vs FREE-dom: Millennials' Love Affair with Bernie Sanders?" It got worse from there.
While the panelists—only one of whom was a millennial—had a lot to say against socialism of the Venezuelan or Sanders sort, they failed to so much as mention the socialist tendencies rising in their own ranks. The Donald Trump administration, Trump voters, and the "alt right" have all expressed support for socialism-lite policies, from trade restrictions to mandated maternal leave. Why the new "conservatism" looks so much like the old socialism might have made for an interesting conversation, but instead we heard the same tired tirades about Obamacare and socialized medicine, ignorant kids lionizing Che Guevara, the Marxism found in academia, and how Democrats are "normalizing socialism."
When asked why young people might express nominal support for socialism, only Florida state Rep. Ron DeSantis offered any structural critique, citing the economic mess millennials inherited as one not-ridiculous reason they might be wary of capitalism. For the other panelists—Ana Quintana of the Heritage Foundation, Greg Dolin of the American Conservative Union Foundation, and Mercedes Schlapp of The Washington Times—it was simply a sign that millennials "have absolutely no concept of reality," as Quintana put it.
Asked what might bring Bernie-loving millennials around to Republicans or capitalism, the panelists continued to bash Democratic policies such as the Affordable Care Act and the socialist policies that wrecked Venezuela. But they still failed to offer any positive visions of their own. It served as a stark reminder why the Republican Party does so dismally with young folks—in polls, just around 20 percent of millennials tend to identify as Republican—and why provocateurs such as Milo Yiannopolous and others of his ilk are able to command such a share of young, right-of-center attention.
For all the things establishment conservatives think millennials should be against, they have a hard time articulating what young people should be for, how that relates to the Republican Party, and how conservatism and capitalism can help young people accomplish the things that they think big government is needed for.
Meanwhile, at CPAC's millennial session, the panelists pondered instead how to make millennials more patriotic. They concluded that it might help them to visit Washington monuments and the Arlington Cemetery. When policy ideas and politics fail, there are always dead soldiers, I guess.
For more on millennials, socialism, and capitalism, see:
Millennials Hate Capitalism Almost As Much as They Hate Socialism
Rise of the Hipster Capitalist
Generation Safe Space Is Having Less Sex: Thanks A Lot, Capitalism. (Seriously, Thanks.)
Elizabeth Nolan Brown is an associate editor at Reason.
Millennials Republican Party Conservatives CPAC
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Destiny 2: Season Of My Drifting Interest
I’ve never made a secret of my love for Destiny. I’ve been playing it from day one back in 2014, and I still believe it has the tightest and smoothest gameplay of any shooter, ever. But what Bungie is presenting as content is a far cry from expansions past.
My regular fireteam and I logged in yesterday to take a look at the new content.
I was underwhelmed in the extreme.
I’ve seen Destiny’s systems evolve from the beginning, and no matter how convoluted those systems have been, they always made sense to me. Yesterday, as I was delving into Gambit Prime and Reckoning, I found myself completely confused as to what to do to start obtaining the new armor. It was a strange feeling.
Gambit has long since worn out it’s by-the-numbers welcome with me, and Gambit Prime isn’t off to a good start; either the servers were having issues or there were some major kinks in the system. Any time I was invaded upon, it was literally hit and/or miss if my rockets would make contact with the invader. I would see my rocket hit them and detonate, yet no damage was rendered. That happened more than half a dozen times.
When I heard Gambit Prime was one round (instead of the multiple rounds of standard Gambit), I was interested; Gambit has always seemed to take far too long. However. Due to the structure of Prime, it can take what feels like far longer than a standard Gambit match due to the strats involved in taking down the Primeval.
Oof.
I am already not a fan of Gambit Prime, even with a full fireteam.
Then you have Reckoning which is basically a horde mode, but with droves of snipers who have your number no matter where you are or what you do, and it’s frustration city. At one point I counted at least five snipers on one small platform and they were far from the only snipers around.
I am also not a fan of Reckoning.
The rest of the content amounts to little more than extended bounties which include a lot of busy work. I love, love, LOVE Destiny, but I draw the line at all the busy work.
I miss the days of the expansions of yore. I miss House of Wolves, and The Dark Below. I miss Rise of Iron. I miss The Taken King. Those were stories. Those had a narrative you could experience and majestic moments with massive bosses. Those had new story missions and strikes and Crucible maps.
Season of the Drifter is a pale, pale shadow of those expansions.
After a handful of hours with it last night, I felt more off-put by Destiny than I possibly ever have before. If this is the direction the game and its content is taking, I’m not sure Destiny is the game for me anymore. And that’s okay. I will always adore the first game in a way I’ve never loved the sequel. These seasons feel more and more devoid of the content I’ve come to know and love from Destiny.
If this is the direction that’s best for Destiny and its audience, so be it. I will miss playing sorely, but with the wealth of other excellent games to be played, I can hardly force myself to play something I don’t continue to enjoy. I will keep at it here and there to see how I feel about the rest of the Season of the Drifter, but I think either Destiny has changed or I have (or we both have), and we aren’t the excellent match we used to be.
It’s disappointing, but it’s also okay.
Tagged as: busy work, change, content, destiny, destiny 2, drifter, expansion, game, games, gaming, season of the drifter
Status Report: Week 9 (I’m Unsure Why I Bother)
Things We Believed As Kids: Fashion Fortune Teller Edition
Nickdog8891 says:
Man, I’ve been hoping that the DLC would be interesting enough to get me to buy it and get back in. But it looks like D2 might not be for me. I haven’t played it in like, a year or 2? Crazy.
Unrelated: Are you going to write about the Division 2 beta?
I could not recommend the annual pass to anyone, honestly. I just feel like it is empty content.
I did!
https://rebekahlang.com/2019/02/08/early-impressions-the-division-2-beta/
Did you play any of the open beta this last weekend?
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