Datasets:

harsharora

/

Rp_CommonC_206

like 0

__label__wiki

Home › Articles › Top Art Stories › Top Art Stories Kira Sidorova Top Art Stories, May 29th 2014. Chelsea galleries are moving uptown, Rijksmuseum pays tribute to Vermeer’s forger and other important news you need to know about the art world this week in Top Art Stories on galleryIntell! A Rembrandt (possibly) rediscovered at the National Gallery London The world’s leading expert on Rembrandt might have just rediscovered an important work by the master inside The National Gallery‘s storage. Old man in an Armchair could have been misattributed to a follower of Rembrandt decades ago and is now being reexamined by Professor Van de Wetering who has determined that the work does not only belong to the hand of Rembrandt himself, but is also a pivotal work for the artist. The subject of an old man in contemplation is a common theme in Rembrandt’s work, but according to Van de Wetering the work is not simply a portrait but is one of a number of Rembrandt’s “paintings about painting” where a sitter is posing to be studied. The work was acquired in 1957 as a work by Rembrandt, praised as a wonderful example of his work of the 1650s, but was later recognized by the gallery as the work by a contemporary follower. Source: The Guardian Read about The Polish Rider by Rembrandt van Rijn Old Masters fall far behind Contemporary art Post-War and Contemporary auctions in New York brought a combined $1,6 billion for Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips – the highest total for any series of auctions in any category in history. Indeed, wealthy collectors are ready to spend phenomenal amounts of money on instantly recognizable art by contemporary “brand name” artists (you all know who they are), while sales in the Old Masters segment, which besides a thick valet also requires some degree of connoisseurship (and… sophistication?), keep diminishing. There is certainly a problem with supply, attribution and financial upside of Old Master works, which used to be the main source of income for Christie’s and Sotheby’s up until the 1980s. But the market for them is simply not hip at the moment and the prices for historic works are shockingly low in comparison to contemporary art. The upcoming auctions of Old Masters at Sotheby’s, London will feature two 15th-century tempera-on-linen drapery studies, originally attributed to young Leonardo da Vinci, with low estimates of $1.5 and $2.5 million each. Now compare it to the record $1.8 million paid at Phillips in May for a 2011 study of drapery by a young sought-after American artist Tauba Auerbach. Five hundred years vs. three years. Does history mean anything at all in the art market today? Source: The New York Times Remaining art works donated by Paul Mellon arrive at the National Gallery The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. announced last Thursday that it has received the remaining 62 works left by Paul Mellon, one of the gallery’s major benefactors and the son of its founder Andrew Mellon, after his death in 1999. According to his will, the paintings including works by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Winslow Homer, Georges Seurat had been left in care of his wife who passed away in March. It should be noted that American museums were built entirely with private patronage and donations from such donors as Mellon. But the system also allows for donors to set the rules regarding their donations that museums can’t bypass in any way. The donors’ wishes are a sacred writ and, for example, can oblige institutions to display art in a way that the original benefactor placed it, or forbid the loan of donated works to other institutions. Source: The Washington Post Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam acquires the death mask of the 20th century most famous forger Rijksmuseum has recently made an unexpected purchase – the death mask of Van Meegeren, the 20th century most famous forger who produced and successfully sold early works by the Dutch master Johannes Vermeer. Although Van Meegeren wasn’t quite able to duplicate Vermeer’s exceptional manner and mastered brushwork (not to mention that only 35 works are known by the master) Van Meegeren was able to convince the most prominent museums (including Rijksmuseum) and collectors that his works were the missing link in Vermeer’s oeuvre and made millions selling the fakes. The death mask will complement the museum’s collection of documents and other memorabilia related to the scandalous forgery case and, according to Wim Pijbes, the director of Rijksmuseum, will serve as a reminder that even the best museums can be fooled. Source: The Independent Is Upper East Side going to be the new Chelsea? With every generation contemporary art galleries in New York have been moving from one neighborhood to another. With 300 galleries and some of the most influential art dealers in the world, Chelsea is today’s epicenter of the New York’s contemporary art scene, but for how long? With blooming tourist-filled High Line park, which is certainly contributing to rising rent prices, Chelsea is becoming less and less affordable. Many of the Chelsea galleries already started relocating to the Lower East Side, occupied only by younger dealers, several years ago. But the Lower East Side is now getting expensive too, and many dealers representing edgy, emerging artists are now looking Uptown (one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country, by the way), closer to the more conservative art galleries and well-heeled collectors. The dealers are also enticed by a lack of “white box” architecture and are being drawn to more quirky townhouses, as opposed to Chelsea’s warehouses and former factory buildings. Source: The Wall Street Journal Tags: Art Galleries, Articles, Fine Art, Frieze New York, Galleries, National Art Gallery, Top Art Stories Top Art Stories: Focus on New York Top Art Stories: The strategy edition + some fake dots Top Art Stories: Discoveries Edition VIDEO: James Danziger – Evolution of Portraiture in Photography. VIDEO: Edwynn Houk – Collecting Photography. AIPAD 2017 VIDEO: Tom Butler at Charlie Smith London VIDEO: Alison Rossiter at Stephen Bulger Gallery | AIPAD Top Recommendations Painting Contemporary Art Top Art Stories Contemporary Photography The Armory Show Art Fairs 2013 Articles Photography Art Galleries Fine Art Exhibition Modern Art Art Fairs Art Collecting Video Art Market New York Abstract Art Christie's

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line321

__label__cc

Tag Archives: sister Plot, The style May 9, 2016 by admin Leave a comment Has Alex continues to live the life he produces become increasingly outrageous. The length which she goes to 2 create these lies for his mother are likewise outrageous. When her favorite pickles could not be found he dives into the dumpsters in their neighbourhood in search of an empty glass jar from her favorite pickle brand and filled it with the new pickles from Holland. But perhaps most interesting is that he uses legitimate footage of the Berlin Wall falling and the people rushing into the west but he uses this image to twist the truth with a new commentary. The commentary states that this footage is actually depicting people rushing away from the list in order to get rid of their materialistic lives and embraced the ideals of the East. While this is entertaining in the film itself, it is easy to see how even in modern times, today, we are told or shown what things to believe in the media and they are not necessarily the whole truth. Most interesting leave though is that the deeper Alex in bed himself in this fictional world the more convinced his girlfriend and his sister become that he is doing the wrong thing. Alex of course is not the only member of his family who has started to blend the truth. In fact the mother revealed at the end of the film that for many years she was the one who abandoned the children’s father by refusing to go with him in the West. The children had been told that their father left either in search of another woman or simply turning his back on his children but in truth the mother refused to go with him and made her children stay in the East. Family relationships are a key element in this particular where the family is made up of vastly different characters. And as the narrative move forward the relationships between all of these characters become increasingly strained the results of Alex attempting to protect his mother with his charade. He becomes increasingly controlling and the deception he started in order to protect his mother is taken to extremes which has an impact on what his sister does for a living, which diapers her baby can wear, and who was responsible for the invention of Coca Cola. Of course in spite of all these lies there exists a strong bond between the mother and her two children. Love is what allows them to forgive one another and it allows them to start a new beginning. Both Alex and his sister forgive their mother for her deception, naturally because of their own. It becomes increasingly clear as the film continues that the mother initially suspect her children are lying and you’re the end of the film she figures it out. As he walks into her hospital room following her second stroke it becomes clear that Alex’s girlfriend has told her what was going on and in her final moments with her son she pretends to continue believing in his lies, and act which underlies the true strength of their family love. In reality this font is one deeply seated in Alex’s childhood. The flashbacks to his youth show him desperate to make the world right for his mother and desperate to make his mother proud of him. He often dreamed of being the second man in space from East Germany and took part in the young rocket Builders Association. His childhood anxieties about pleasing his mother and making her proud continued well into adulthood as he continued to seek out his mother’s approval by creating the perfect world for her. Receptive depiction of Berlin’s Fall Leading to Political and Social Turmoil Genre and Style: The Use of Farce in Representing Political Change Berlin’s Historical Developments: The Tearing Apart and Rebuilding of a Single City

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line325

__label__wiki

Evidence that Islam is false Dirty Old Man by Satyam · A man in his fifties who has lusty desires for a child of less than 9 is called a dirty old man. “Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu’minin: The Prophet (ﷺ) used to kiss her and suck her tongue when he was fasting.” (Sunan Abu Dawud Hadith 2386) The purpose of true religion is to become free from lust and material desires. The best man of Islam is completely full of lust and material desires. “The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Women and perfume have been made dear to me, but my comfort has been provided in prayer.’ ” (Sunan an-Nasai Volume 4, Book 36, Hadith 3392) A spiritual master is supposed to set good examples for others to follow. The best man of Islam sets examples which cannot be followed by Muslims, because the actions are disgusting. “The Prophet (ﷺ) used to pass by (have sexual relation with) all his wives in one night, and at that time he had nine wives.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 5215) The most perfect human based on the Quran married a 6 year child when he was 51 and he started sleeping with her when he was 54 and she was 9. This is the command of Allah, the Most Merciful and Most Gracious. “He stayed there for two years or so and then he married `Aisha when she was a girl of six years of age, and he consumed that marriage when she was nine years old.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 3896) Those who follow Islam are very sick and completely degraded. Muhammed Jacob says: THE BEAUTIFUL HANDS OF THE PRIEST We need them in life’s early morning; we need them again at its close; We feel their warm clasp of true friendship; we seek them when tasting life’s woes. At the altar each day we behold them, and the hands of a king on his throne are not equal to them in their greatness; their dignity stands all alone. And when we are tempted and wander to pathways of shame and of sin, It’s the hand of a priest that will absolve us- not once, but again and again. Other hands may prepare a feast, but the hand that will bless and unite us is the beautiful ahnd of a priest. God bless them and keep them all holy for the Host which their fingers caress; When can a poor sinner do better than to ask Him to guide thee and bless? When the hour of death comes upon us, may our courage and strength be increased, By seeing raised over us in blessing the beautiful hands of a priest! EVERY SINGLE ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST IS CONSIDERED AN “ALTER CHRISTUS” BY THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. “ALTER CHRISTUS” MEANS, “ANOTHER CHRIST.” Alter Christus? The Roman Catholic Church teaches that her priests are “Alter Christus,” which means literally “another Christ.” Because Christ is God, this is a most serious claim. One would expect to hear such a claim from the false pagan religions, but from a supposedly Christian religion? Here’s some evidence for you to consider. “The priest is indeed another Christ, or in some way he is himself a continuation of Christ.” (Pope Pius XI, Encyclical on the Priesthood). “The priest on earth (is) another Christ.” (The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism.) “In this moment, the priest quite literally becomes Christ Himself.” (This is the Mass, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, Page 100) “The priest is not just the cross, he is Christ Himself.” (The Lone Star Catholic, March 1, 1959) “To the carnal eye, the priest looks like other men, but to the eye of faith he is exalted above angels.” (Faith of our Fathers, Gibbons, Page 422) “Another grace of the synod [Synod of Bishops, October, 1990] was a new maturity in the way of looking at priestly service in the Church; and thus also of the personal life of each and every priest, that is to say, of each priest’s participation in the saving mystery of Christ: ‘Sacerdos Alter Christus.'” (Pope John Paul II, Letter to Catholic priests on the occasion of Holy Thursday, 1991). “The priest is given transcendent power to forgive sins, to administer the sacraments, but most of all to offer the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in which he becomes an ‘Alter Christus'” (Pastoral Reflections on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass [http://www.cny.org/archives/cv092498.htm], Cardinal John J. O’Conner.) “In the sacrifice of Jesus Christ the priest is a substitute of Christ Himself. As a result of his ordination, he is a true alter Christus.” (The Latin Mass: Chronicle of a Catholic Reform, Summer 1995 Issue [http://www.latinmassmagazine.com/stickler.html]. ) “Thus the priest, as is said with good reason, is indeed another Christ;” (Papal Encyclical ‘Ad Catholici Sacerdotii’ on the priesthood, Pope Pius XI, December 20, 1935) What did the Paedophile Priest say to the Altar Boy as he buggered him in the Sacristy? “Body of Christ”! ‘THIS VICE CAUSES DEATH OF BODIES AND DESTRUCTION OF SOULS’ Peter Damian (1007-1092) helped to place in motion the Gregorian Reform in the Church, which dealt with moral transgressions that were taking place at that time among the clergy. He wrote the Book of Gomorrah against the sin of sodomy and offered the work to Pope St. Leo IX, who praised it in glowing terms. It is considered the main work on the topic in Catholic teaching. We transcribe here some of his words as an example of a quite different language than what is used today, employed by a great Saint to exterminate this detestable vice. Peter Damian “In fact, this vice cannot in any way be compared to any others, because its enormity supersedes them all. Indeed, this vice causes the death of bodies and the destruction of souls. It pollutes the flesh, extinguishes the light of reason, and expels the Holy Ghost from His temple in the heart of man, introducing in His stead the Devil who is the instigator of lust. “It steers the soul into error, banishes all truth from the deceived soul, sets traps for those who fall into it, and then caps the well to prevent those who fall in from getting out. It opens the gates of Hell and closes the doors of Heaven to them, turns a former citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem into an heir of the infernal Babylon, transforming him from a heavenly star into a straw for the eternal fire. It wrenches a member from the Church and plunges him into the voracious flames of the fiery Gehenna. “This vice strives to tear down the walls of the heavenly motherland and rebuild those of the ruined Sodom. Indeed, it violates temperance, kills purity, stifles chastity, and cuts the head of virginity – which is irrecoverable – with the sword of a most infamous union. It infects everything, stains everything, pollutes everything; leaving nothing pure, nothing but filth, nothing clean. ‘All things are clean to the clean,’ as the Apostle says, ‘but to them that are defiled, and to unbelievers, nothing is clean; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled (Titus 1:15). “This vice expels one from the choir of the ecclesiastical host and forces one to join the ranks of the possessed and those who work in league with the Devil. It separates the soul from God and links it with the devils. This most pestiferous Sodomite queen makes those who obey her tyrannical laws repugnant to men and hateful to God, forcing them into a nefarious war against God and obliging them to enlist in the ranks of the perverse spirit. “It [this sin] separates him from the company of angels and deprives the soul of its nobility, imposing on the unfortunate soul the yoke of its own domination. It tears its henchmen from the arms of virtues and leaves them exposed as prey to the arrows of all the vices. It leaves one to be humiliated in the Church, condemned at court, defiled in secret, and dishonored in public. It gnaws at the person’s conscience like a worm and burns his flesh like fire … “The miserable flesh burns with the fire of lust, the cold intelligence trembles under the rancor of misgivings, and the unfortunate man’s heart is overwhelmed by hellish chaos, subjecting him to countless pains of conscience as he is tortured in punishment. “Yes, as soon as this most venomous serpent plunges its fangs into the unfortunate soul, it is immediately deprived of its senses and memory, the edge of the intelligence is dulled, he forgets God and even himself.” “Indeed, this scourge destroys the foundations of the faith, weakens the forces of hope, dissolves the bonds of charity, annihilates all justice, undermines fortitude, eliminates hope, and dulls the edge of prudence. “And what else shall I say? For it [the sin of sodomy] expels all the forces of virtue from the temple of the human heart, and, as if pulling the door from its hinges, allows the entrance of every barbarity of vice …. “In effect, the one whom …. this most atrocious beast has swallowed down its bloody throat is prevented, by the weight of its chains, from practicing any good work, and is precipitated into the abysses of his uttermost iniquity. “Thus, as soon as someone has fallen into this abyss of extreme perdition, he is exiled from the heavenly motherland, separated from the Body of Christ, censured by the authority of the whole Church, condemned by the judgment of all the Holy Fathers, despised by men on earth and rebuked by the society of heavenly citizens. He creates for himself an earth of iron and a sky of bronze. “On the one hand, laden with the weight of his crime, he is unable to rise; on the other hand, he is no longer able to conceal his evil in the refuge of ignorance. He cannot be happy while he lives nor have hope when he dies, because here and now he is obliged to suffer the ignominy of men’s derision and, later, the torment of eternal condemnation.” Peter Damian, Liber gomorrhianus, cols. 175-177, apud Atila S. Guimaraes, Vatican II, Homosexuality and Pedophilia, TIA, 2004, p. 297 THE FISTING PRIESTS, BISHOPS, CARDINALS OF ROME Studies Confirm Homosexuality’s Dangers – In an article titled “Health Risks: Fisting and other Homosexual Practices,” Michelle A. Cretella, MD and Philip M. Sutton, PhD, LMFT, LP CAUTION – These texts may cause feelings of extreme revulsion “Medically, men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately at risk for sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV (Diggs, 2002). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention estimates that gay and bisexual men (men who have sex with men or MSM) in the United States are 50 times more likely to contract HIV than are heterosexual men (Lansky, 2009). This is largely due to having multiple sexual partners and engaging in risky sexual practices, including a high incidence of anal intercourse within this population (Diggs, 2002). For example, the estimated HIV risk with a single sexual exposure through receptive anal intercourse (2%) is 20 times greater than for receptive vaginal intercourse (0.1%), (Pinkerton, Martin, Roland, Katz, Coates, & Kahn, 2004). “Semen has immune-suppressant activity that increases the chance of sperm fertilizing a woman’s egg during vaginal intercourse. If released in the rectum, however, semen makes this already vulnerable tissue more prone to both infection and the development of cancer – rectal carcinoma in MSM results from infection with a highly carcinogenic strain of HPV (Diggs, 2002). Of greater concern is that despite knowing the high risk of contracting HIV, many MSM repeatedly indulge in unsafe sex practices such as “bare-backing,” i.e, deliberate, ‘unprotected’ anal intercourse (Parsons & Bimbi, 2007; Parsons, Kelly, Bimbi, Muench, & Morgenstern, 2007; van Kesteren, Hospers, & Kok, 2007.) Homosexual women are also at higher risk for STI and other health problems than are heterosexual women (Evans, Scally, Wellard, & Wilson, 2007.) “The negative consequences of homosexual behaviors are not limited to the physical harms noted above. Compared to their heterosexual peers, homosexual high school students and young adults (fourteen to twenty-one years old) in New Zealand, which has a culture highly tolerant of homosexuality, had significantly higher rates of major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, conduct disorder, nicotine dependence, other substance abuse and/or dependence, multiple disorders, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts (Fergusson, Horwood, & Beautrais, 1999). “In general, compared to heterosexually behaving adolescents and adults, having same-sex sexual partners is associated with substantially greater risk for mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychological distress, substance use disorders, for suicidal thoughts and suicidal plans, suicide attempts, unstable relationships and lower levels of quality of life (Andersson, Noack, Seierstad, & Weedon-Fekjaer, 2006; Balsam, Beauchaine, Rothblum, & Solomon, 2008; Cochran, Keenan, Schober, & Mays, 2000; Cochran, Sullivan, & Mays, 2003; Cochran, Ackerman, Mays, & Ross, 2004; de Graaf, Sandfort, & ten Have, 2006; Drabble & Trocki, 2005; Gilman, Cochran, Mays, Hughes, Ostrow, & Kessler, 2001; Herrell, Goldberg, True, Ramakrishnan, Lyons, Eisen, & Tsuang, 1999; Jorm, Korten, Rodgers, Jacomb, & Christensen, 2002; King, Semlyen, Tai, Killaspy, Osborn, Popelyuk, & Nazareth, 2008; Mathy, Cochran, Olsen, & Mays, 2009; Russell & Joyner, 2001; Sandfort, de Graff, Bijl, & Schnabel, 2001; Sandfort, de Graaf, & Bijl, 2003; Sandfort, T. G. M., Bakker, Schelievis, & Vanwesenbeeck, 2006.) The findings are consistent both for countries like Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden where homosexuality is more socially accepted, and for the U.S. where it is less accepted. “While the seriousness of such health risks may not be minimized, neither may the vulnerability of teenagers and young adults to being taught ways of behaving that put them at significant risk. NIMH scientist Dr. Jay Giedd, M.D. has reported that as humans develop, their brains’ “frontal cortex area” which governs judgment, decision-making and impulse control “doesn’t fully mature until around age 25” (Voit, 2005). In other words, “the frontal lobes, the very area that helps make teenagers do the right thing, are one of the last areas of the brain to reach a stable grown-up state” (Strauch, 2003, p.16.) As a result, while physically, “the teen years and early 20s represent an incredibly healthy time of life … the top 10 bad things that happen to teens involve emotion and behavior” Because “the brain is pretty adept at learning by example, something that parents can and do to influence their children’s brain development is ‘modeling.’ The teenage brain is pretty adept at learning by example, so parents – and the other adults involved in the lives of teenagers – teach healthy ways of behaving by showing and giving good examples of how to live” (Voit, 2005), and unhealthy behaviors by showing or giving poor examples. “An adolescent’s desire to prevent or cease experiencing serious medical, psychological, and relational health risks is sufficient reason for him or her to seek and receive competent psychological care to minimize or resolve the desires, behaviors and lifestyles associated with such increased risks. The concerns of parents, family members and friends of persons whose sexual behaviors and/or attractions leave them at risk for such harms are understandable and scientifically and clinically justified. Regardless of venue, the health and well-being of young persons is best served by sex education that is consistent with established clinical experience and scientific research.” NARTH has released a more extensive review of the health risks associated with the behaviors of homosexual gratification in Volume I of the Journal of Human Sexuality (NARTH, 2009; cf. http://www.narth.com/docs/journalsummary.html for a summary or to obtain a complete copy of this document). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides updated information on specific health risks related to homosexual behaviors, cf. http://www.cdc.gov/std/hiv/default.htm Agnew, J. (1985). Some anatomical and physiological aspects of anal sexual practices. Journal of Homosexuality, 12 (1), 75-96. Andersson, G., Noack, T., Seierstad, A., & Weedon-Fekjaer, H. (2006). The demographics of same-sex marriages in Norway and Sweden. Demography, 43, 79-98. Aragon, T. J., Vugia, D. J., Shallow, S., Samuel, M. C., Reingold, A., Angulo, F. J., & Bradford, W. Z. (2007). Case-control study of shigellosis in San Francisco: The role of sexual transmission and HIV infection. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 44, 327-334. Balsam, K.F., Beauchaine, T.P., Rothblum, E.D. & Solomon, S.E. (2008) Three-year follow-up of same-sex couples who had civil unions in Vermont, same-sex couples not in civil unions, and heterosexual married couples. Developmental Psychology, 44, 102-116. Cochran, S. D., Keenan, C., Schober, C., & Mays, V. M. (2000). Estimates of alcohol use and clinical treatment needs among homosexually active men and women in the U.S. population. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(6), 1062-1071. Cochran, S. D., Sullivan, J. G., & Mays, V. M. (2003). Prevalence of mental disorders, psychological distress, and mental health services use among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults in the United States. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(1), 53-61. Cochran, S. D., Ackerman, D., Mays, V. M., & Ross, M. W. (2004). Prevalence of non-medical drug use and dependence among homosexually active men and women in the U.S. population. Addiction, 99, 989-998. De Graaf, R., Sandfort, T. G. M., & ten Have, M. (2006). Suicidality and sexual orientation; Differences between men and women in a general population-based sample from The Netherlands. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35(3), 253-262. Diggs, J. (2002). The health risks of gay sex. Corporate Resource Council: Retrieved January 12, 2010 from: http://www.corporateresourcecouncil.org/white_papers/Health_Risks.pdf Drabble, L. & Trocki, K. (2005). Alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, and other substance use among lesbian and bisexual women. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 19-30. Evans, A. L., Scally, A. J., Wellard, S. J., & Wilson, J. D. (2007). Prevalence of bacterial vaginosis in lesbians and heterosexual women in a community setting. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 83(6), 470-475. Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J., & Beautrais, A. L. (1999). Is Sexual Orientation Related to Mental Health Problems and Suicidality in Young People? Archives of General Psychiatry, 56, 876. Gilman, S. E., Cochran, S. D., Mays, V. M, Hughes, M., Ostrow, D., & Kessler, R. C. (2001). Risk of psychiatric disorders among individuals reporting same-sex sexual partners in the National Comorbity Survey. American Journal of Public Health, 91(6), 933-939. Herrell, R., Goldberg, J., True, W. R., Ramakrishnan, V., Lyons, M., Eisen, S., & Tsuang, M. T. (1999). Sexual orientation and suicidality: A co-twin control study in adult men. Archives of General Psychiatry, 56, 867-874. Jorm, A. F., Korten, A. E., Rodgers, B., Jacomb, P. A., & Christensen, H. (2002). Sexual orientation and mental health; results from a community survey of young and middle-aged adults. British Journal of Psychiatry, 180 (5), 423-427. King, M., Semlyen, J., Tai, S. S., Killaspy, H., Osborn, D., Popelyuk, D., & Nazareth, I. (2008). A systematic review of mental disorder, suicide, and deliberate self harm in lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. BMC Psychiatry, 8, 70. Koop, C.E. (1990). The U. S. Surgeon General’s Statement, “Condoms provide some protection, but anal intercourse is simply too dangerous to practice.” Condoms and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Brochure, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), last updated: 08/18/2009. Retrieved January 2, 2010 from http://www.fda.gov/oashi/aids/condom.html#stron Lansky, A. (2009). Co-presenter, Future Directions and Updates from the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference, Centers for Disease Control National Prevention Information Network. Retrieved on January 29, 2010 from:http://www.cdcnpin.org/nhpc_2009/Public/ListWebcast.aspx. Mathy, R.M., Cochran, S.D., Olsen, J., & Mays, V.M. (2009). The association between relationship markers of sexual orientation and suicide: Denmark, 1990-2001. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. Retrieved on January 25, 2010 from: DOI 10.1007/s00127-009-0177-3. MassResistance (n.d.). Retrieved on January 28, 2010 from: http://www.massresistance.org/docs/issues/fistgate/index.html National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) Scientific Advisory Committee (2009). What Research Shows: NARTH’s Response to the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Claims on Homosexuality. Journal of Human Sexuality, 1, 1-128. Parsons, J. T., & Bimbi, D. S. (2007). Intentional unprotected anal intercourse among men who have sex with men: Barebacking – from behavior to identity. AIDS and Behavior, 11(2), 277-287. Parsons, J. T., Kelly, B. C., Bimbi, D. S., Muench, F., & Morgenstern, J. (2007). Accounting for the social triggers of sexual compulsivity. Journal of Addictive Diseases, 26(3), 5-16. Pinkerton, S.D., Martin, J.N., Roland, M.E., Katz, M.H., Coates, T.J., & Kahn, J.O. (2004). Cost-effectiveness of postexposure prophylaxis after sexual or injection-drug exposure to human immunodeficiency virus. Archives of Internal Medicine, 164(1), 46-54. Retrieved on January 28, 2010 from: http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/164/1/46/TABLEIOI20643T4 Russell, S. T. & Joyner, M. (2001). Adolescent sexual orientation and suicide risk: Evidence from a national study. American Journal of Public Health, 91(8), 1276-1281. Sandfort, T. G. M., de Graff, R., Bijl, R. V., & Schnabel, P. (2001). Same-sex sexual behavior and psychiatric disorders; Findings from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study (NEMESIS). Archives of General Psychiatry, 58, 85-91. Sandfort, T. G. M., de Graaf, R., & Bijl, R. V. (2003). Same-sex sexuality and quality of life: Findings from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 32(1), 15- 22. Sandfort, T. G. M., Bakker, F., Schelievis, F. G., & Vanwesenbeeck, I. (2006). Sexual orientation and mental and physical health status: Findings from a Dutch population survey. American Journal of Public Health, 96(6), 1119-1125. Sowadsky, R.(1996) “Fisting: Is Fisting Safe Sex” retrieved January 12, 2010 from http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/SafeSex/Archive/TransmissionSexual/Q9192.html Staver, M. (2010). Obama appointees and nominees. Liberty Counsel, 28-30. Retrieved January 27, 2010 from http://www.lc.org/media/9980/attachments/obama_appointees_nominees_011910.pdf Strauch, Barbara (2003). The primal teen: What the new discoveries about the teenage brain tell us about our kids. New York: Doubleday. Voit, S.(2005). NIMH’s Giedd Lectures on Teen Brain. Retrieved January 12, 2010 from: http://nihrecord.od.nih.gov/newsletters/2005/08_12_2005/story04.htm Whiteman, S. (2000). ‘What’s Fisting?’ Scott Whiteman’s Affidavit on the 2000 GLSEN ‘Fistgate’ Scandal. Retrieved on January 28, 2010 from: http://americansfortruth.com/news/what%e2%80%99s-fisting-scott-whiteman%e2%80%99s-affidavit-on-the-2000-glsen-fistgate-scandal.html Wolfe, D. (2000). Men like us: The GMHC complete guide to gay men’s sexual, physical, and emotional well-being. New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved December 17, 2009 from http://www.thebody.com/content/art/art14044.html The following articles and their links are just a sample of over 80 articles on the NARTH website written on various aspects of the medical and mental health risks associated with homosexual behaviors. An Ethical Checkup for the CDC and Massachusetts Department of Public Health The Health Risks of Gay Sex, by internist John R. Diggs, Jr., M.D. Gay Teens and Attempted Suicide Risky Sex and the Adolescent Brain: Implications for School Counseling Programs Homosexuality and Mental Health Problems Gays and Lesbians Prone To Psychological Symptoms and Substance Abuse STATISTICS ON HOMOSEXUALS The statistics on homosexuality and its effects Some statistics about the homosexual lifestyle: One study reports 70% of homosexuals admitting to having sex only one time with over 50% of their partners (3). One study reports that the average homosexual has between 20 and 106 partners per year (6). The average heterosexual has 8 partners in a lifetime. Many homosexual sexual encounters occur while drunk, high on drugs, or in an orgy setting (7). Many homosexuals don’t pay heed to warnings of their lifestyles: “Knowledge of health guidelines was quite high, but this knowledge had no relation to sexual behavior” (16). Homosexuals got homosexuality removed from the list of mental illnesses in the early 70s by storming the annual American Psychiatric Association (APA) conference on successive years. “Guerrilla theater tactics and more straight-forward shouting matches characterized their presence” (2). Since homosexuality has been removed from the APA list of mental illnesses, so has pedophilia (except when the adult feels “subjective distress”) (27). Homosexuals account for 3-4% of all gonorrhea cases, 60% of all syphilis cases, and 17% of all hospital admissions (other than for STDs) in the United States (5). They make up only 1-2% of the population. Homosexuals live unhealthy lifestyles, and have historically accounted for the bulk of syphilis, gonorrhea, Hepatitis B, the “gay bowel syndrome” (which attacks the intestinal tract), tuberculosis and cytomegalovirus (27). 73% of psychiatrists say homosexuals are less happy than the average person, and of those psychiatrists, 70% say that the unhappiness is NOT due to social stigmatization (13). 25-33% of homosexuals and lesbians are alcoholics (11). Of homosexuals questioned in one study reports that 43% admit to 500 or more partners in a lifetime, 28% admit to 1000 or more in a lifetime, and of these people, 79% say that half of those partners are total strangers, and 70% of those sexual contacts are one night stands (or, as one homosexual admits in the film “The Castro”, one minute stands) (3). Also, it is a favorite past-time of many homosexuals to go to “cruisy areas” and have anonymous sex. 78% of homosexuals are affected by STDs (20). Judge John Martaugh, chief magistrate of the New York City Criminal Court has said, “Homosexuals account for half the murders in large cities” (10). Captain William Riddle of the Los Angeles Police says, “30,000 sexually abused children in Los Angeles were victims of homosexuals” (10). 50% of suicides can be attributed to homosexuals (10). Dr. Daniel Capron, a practicing psychiatrist, says, “Homosexuality by definition is not healthy and wholesome. The homosexual person, at best, will be unhappier and more unfulfilled than the sexually normal person” (10). For other psychiatrists who believe that homosexuality is wrong, please see National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. It takes approximately $300,000 to take care of each AIDS victim, so thanks to the promiscuous lifestyle of homosexuals, medical insurance rates have been skyrocketing for all of us(10). Homosexuals were responsible for spreading AIDS in the United States, and then raised up violent groups like Act Up and Ground Zero to complain about it. Even today, homosexuals account for well over 50% of the AIDS cases in the United States, which is quite a large number considering that they account for only 1-2% of the population. Homosexuals account for a disproportionate number of hepatitis cases: 70-80% in San Francisco, 29% in Denver, 66% in New York City, 56% in Toronto, 42% in Montreal, and 26% in Melbourne (8). 37% of homosexuals engage in sadomasochism, which accounts for many accidental deaths. In San Francisco, classes were held to teach homosexuals how to not kill their partners during sadomasochism (8). 41% of homosexuals say they have had sex with strangers in public restrooms, 60% say they have had sex with strangers in bathhouses, and 64% of these encounters have involved the use of illegal drugs (8). Depending on the city, 39-59% of homosexuals are infected with intestinal parasites like worms, flukes and amoebae, which is common in filthy third world countries (8). The median age of death of homosexuals is 42 (only 9% live past age 65). This drops to 39 if the cause of death is AIDS. The median age of death of a married heterosexual man is 75 (8). The median age of death of lesbians is 45 (only 24% live past age 65). The median age of death of a married heterosexual woman is 79 (8). Homosexuals are 100 times more likely to be murdered (usually by another homosexual) than the average person, 25 times more likely to commit suicide, and 19 times more likely to die in a traffic accident (8). 21% of lesbians die of murder, suicide or traffic accident, which is at a rate of 534 times higher than the number of white heterosexual females aged 25-44 who die of these things(8). 50% of the calls to a hotline to report “queer bashing” involved domestic violence (i.e., homosexuals beating up other homosexuals) (18). About 50% of the women on death row are lesbians (12). Homosexuals prey on children. 33% of homosexuals ADMIT to minor/adult sex (7). There is a notable homosexual group, consisting of thousands of members, known as the North American Man and Boy Love Association (NAMBLA). This is a child molesting homosexual group whose cry is “SEX BEFORE 8 BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.” This group can be seen marching in most major homosexual parades across the United States. Homosexuals commit more than 33% of all reported child molestations in the United States, which, assuming homosexuals make up 2% of the population, means that 1 in 20 homosexuals is a child molestor, while 1 in 490 heterosexuals is a child molestor (19). 73% of all homosexuals have had sex with boys under 19 years of age (9). Many homosexuals admit that they are pedophiles: “The love between men and boys is at the foundation of homosexuality” (22). Because homosexuals can’t reproduce naturally, they resort to recruiting children. Homosexuals can be heard chanting “TEN PERCENT IS NOT ENOUGH, RECRUIT, RECRUIT, RECRUIT” in their homosexual parades. A group called the “Lesbian Avengers” prides itself on trying to recruit young girls. They print “WE RECRUIT” on their literature. Some other homosexuals aren’t as overt about this, but rather try to infiltrate society and get into positions where they will have access to the malleable minds of young children (e.g., the clergy, teachers, Boy Scout leaders, etc.) (8). See the DC Lesbian Avengers web page, and DC Lesbian Avengers Press Release, where they threaten to recruit little boys and girls. The homosexual agenda includes desensitizing the public: “The first order of business is desensitization of the American public concerning gays and gay rights…..To desensitize the public is to help it view homosexuality with indifference instead of with keen emotion. Ideally, we would have straights register differences in sexual preferences the way they register different tastes for ice cream or sports games….At least in the beginning, we are seeking public desensitization and nothing more. We do not need and cannot expect a full ‘appreciation’ or ‘understanding’ of homosexuality from the average American. You can forget about trying to persuade the masses that homosexuality is a good thing. But if only you can get them to think that it is just another thing…then your battle for legal and social rights is virtually won” (25). Part of the homosexual agenda is to get the public to affirm their filthy lifestyle, as one homosexual admitted in the October 1987 homosexual rally on Washington: “We are no longer seeking just a right to privacy and a protection from wrong. We also have a right — as heterosexual Americans already have — to see government and society affirm our lives” (27). Part of the homosexual agenda is to turn people from Christianity: “The teaching that only male-female sexual activity within the bounds and constraints of marriage is the only acceptable form should be reason enough for any homosexual to denounce the Christian religion” (1). Homosexuals knowingly lied (and still lie) about the 10% figure (i.e., homosexuals make up 10% of the population). As Tom Stoddard (formerly of the Lambda Legal Defense Fund) said, “We used that figure when most gay people were entirely hidden to try to create an impression of our numerousness” (17). THE TRUE NUMBER OF HOMOSEXUALS The Kinsey study of 1948, which homosexuals often cite to say that 10% of the population is homosexual, actually says that only 4% of the population is exclusively homosexual. This study involved a disproportionate number of people who had been in jail for sex crimes (hardly a random sample of the population). Kinsey also did perverse studies involving young boys and pedophiles. Current research shows that the true percentage of homosexuals is in the 1-2% range. Consider how small this number is when compared to most of the numbers above. Homosexuals aren’t discriminated against in employment, so why should they be a protected class? The average yearly income of a homosexual is $55,430.00 (most of which is disposable because no children to take care of!). The average of the general population is $32,144.00. The average of blacks is $12,166.00 (24). 59.6% of homosexuals are college graduates. 18.0% of the general population are college graduates (24). Too bad they aren’t smart enough to listen to God. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22). 49.0% of homosexuals hold professional/managerial positions. 15.9% of the general population hold such positions (24). Where’s the job discrimination? (1) Advocate, 1985. (2) Bayer, R. Homosexuality and American Psychiatry. (3) Bell, A. and Weinberg, M. Homosexualities: a Study of Diversity Among Men and Women. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1978. (4) Cameron et. al. ISIS National Random Sexuality Survey. Nebraska Med. Journal, 1985, 70, pp. 292-299. (5) “Changes in Sexual Behavior and Incidence of Gonorrhea.” Lancet, April 25, 1987. (6) Corey, L. and Holmes, K. “Sexual Transmission of Hepatitis A in Homosexual Men.” New England J. Med., 1980, pp. 435-38. (7) Family Research Institute, Lincoln, NE. (8) Fields, Dr. E. “Is Homosexual Activity Normal?” Marietta, GA. (9) Jay and Young. The Gay Report. Summit Books, 1979, p. 275. (10) Kaifetz, J. “Homosexual Rights Are Concern for Some,” Post-Tribune, 18 December 1992. (11) Kus, R. “Alcoholics Anonymous and Gay America.” Medical Journal of Homosexuality, 1987, 14(2), p. 254. (12) Lesbian News, January 1994. (13) Lief, H. Sexual Survey Number 4: Current Thinking on Homosexuality, Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality, 1977, pp. 110-11. (14) Manlight, G. et. al. “Chronic Immune Stimulation By Sperm Alloantigens.” J. American Med. Assn., 1984, 251(2), pp. 237-438. (15) Morton-Hunt Study for Playboy (16) MsKusick, L. et. al. “AIDS and Sexual Behavior Reported By Gay Men in San Francisco.” Am. J. Pub. Health, 1985, 75, pp. 493-96. (17) Newsweek, February 1993. (18) Newsweek, 4 October 1993. (19) Psychological Reports, 1986, 58, pp. 327-37. (20) Rueda, E. The Homosexual Network. Old Greenwich, Conn., The Devin Adair Company, 1982, p. 53. (21) San Francisco AIDS Foundation, “Can We Talk.” (22) San Francisco Sentinel, 27 March 1992. (23) Science Magazine, 18 July 1993, p. 322. (24) Statistical Abstract of the U.S., 1990. (25) “The Overhauling of Straight America.” Guide Magazine. November, 1987. (26) United States Census Bureau (27) United States Congressional Record, June 29, 1989. (28) University of Chicago’s Nation Research Corp. (29) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition, American Psychiatric Association, 1994. © 2000- 2003 International Organization of Heterosexual Right CHILD ABUSE HISTORY The History of Child Abuse Lloyd deMause The Journal of Psychohistory The History of Child Abuse Lloyd deMause The Journal of Psychohistory V. 25, N. 3, Winter 1998 The following speech was given at the National Parenting Conference in Boulder, Colorado, on September 25, 1997. It also appears in Sexual Addicitons & Compulsivity V 1 n1 1994 (posted with permission) describes crimes of abuse During the past three decades, I have spent much of my scholarly life examining primary sources such as diaries, autobiographies, doctor’s reports, ethnographic reports and other documents that document what it must have felt like to have been a child – yesterday and today, in the East and the West, in literate and preliterate cultures. In several hundred studies published by myself and my associates in The Journal of Psychohistory, we have provided extensive evidence that the history of childhood has been a nightmare from which we have only recently begun to awaken. The further back in history one goes – and the further away from the West one gets – the more massive the neglect and cruelty one finds and the more likely children are to have been killed, rejected, beaten, terrorized and sexually abused by their caretakers. Indeed, my conclusion from a lifetime of psychohistorical study of childhood and society is that the history of humanity is founded upon the abuse of children. Just as family therapists today find that child abuse often functions to hold families together as a way of solving their emotional problems, so, too, the routine assault of children has been society’s most effective way of maintaining its collective emotional homeostasis. Most historical families once practiced infanticide, erotic beating and incest. Most states sacrificed and mutilated their children to relieve the guilt of adults. Even today, we continue to arrange the daily killing, maiming, molestation and starvation of children through our social, military and economic activities. I would like to summarize here some of the evidence I have found as to why child abuse has been humanity’s most powerful and most successful ritual, why it has been the cause of war and social violence, and why the eradication of child abuse and neglect is the most important social task we face today. THE CHILD AS POISON CONTAINER The main psychological mechanism that operates in all child abuse involves using children as what I have termed poison containers – receptacles into which adults project disowned parts of their psyches, so they can control these feelings in another body without danger to themselves. In good parenting, the child uses the caretaker as a poison container, much as it earlier used the mother’s placenta as a poison container for cleansing its polluted blood. A good mother reacts with calming actions to the cries of a baby and helps it “detoxify” its dangerous emotions. But when an immature mother’s baby cries, she cannot stand the screaming, and strikes out at the child. As one battering mother put it, “I have never felt loved all my life. When the baby was born, I thought he would love me. When he cried, it meant he didn’t love me. So I hit him.” Rather than the child being able to use the parent to detoxify its fears and anger, the parent instead injects his or her bad feelings into the child and uses it to cleanse his or herself of depression and anger. Consider a typical infanticidal, incestuous culture, the Bimin-Kuskusmin of New Guinea. As is so often true in pre-literate cultures, the mothers have long post-partum taboos against sex with their husbands, sleep naked against their children until they are about four years old, have orgasms while nursing them and regularly masturbate them. One three-year-old boy describes how whenever his mother was sad or angry she masturbated him so roughly that it hurt him, and he struggled to get away, complaining of a pain in his penis. “It hurts inside,” he told the ethnologist. “It goes Ôkoong, koong, koong’ inside. I think it bleeds in there I don’t like to touch it anymore. It hurts when I pee…” Sometimes, after his mother hurt him while masturbating him, he wounds himself in the thigh and abdomen with a sharp stick and draws blood, looking at his penis and saying, “Now it hurts here, outside, not in penis. Look, blood. Feels good…” Although he is only three years old, he understands quite well that he is being used as a poison container by his mother to relieve her depression. He says, “Mother twist penis, tight…Hurt inside…Mother angry, hurt Buuktiin’s penis. Mother sad, hurt Buuktiin’s penis…Mother not like Buuktiin’s penis, want to cut off…” Maternal incest and pederasty by men are quite common in pre-literate groups and were common in earlier historical times. Boys in many New Guinea groups today, for instance, are so traumatized by the early erotic experiences, neglect and assaults on their bodies that they need to prove their masculinity when they grow up and become fierce warriors and cannibals, with a third of them dying in raids and wars. In fact, I have found that rather than the incest taboo being universal – as anthropologists claim – it is incest itself that has been universal for most children in most cultures in most times. A childhood more or less free from adult sexual use is in fact a very late historical achievement, limited to a few fortunate children in a few modern nations. To give you some idea of the extensive evidence I have gathered for such an unlikely conclusion, I would like to begin by summarizing the evidence which exists for the sexual abuse of children around the world today. THE SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN TODAY In America, the most accurate scientific studies, based on lengthy interviews, report that 30% of men and 40% of women remember having been sexually molested during childhood- – defining “molestation” as actual genital contact, not just exposure. About half of these are directly incestuous, with the family members, the other half usually being with others, but with the complicity of caretakers in at least 80% of the cases. These experiences of seduction are not just pieced together from fragmentary memories, but are remembered in detail, are usually for an extended period of time and have been confirmed by follow-up reliability studies in 83% of the cases, so they are unlikely to have been fantasies. The seductions occurred at much earlier ages than had been previously assumed, with 81% occurring before puberty and an astonishing 42% under age 7. As high as these molestation rates seem, however, they represent only a portion of the true rates, not only because those interviewed do not include populations that have been shown to have extremely high rates- – such as criminals, prostitutes, juveniles in shelters, psychotics, etc. – but also because only conscious memories were counted, and the earliest seductions of children are almost never remembered except during psychotherapy. Adjusting statistically for what is known about these additional factors, I have concluded that the real sexual abuse rate for America is 60% for girls and 45% for boys, about half of these directly incestuous. Other Western nations have made fewer careful studies. A recent Canadian study by Gallup of 2,000 adults has produced incidence rates almost exactly the same as those found in the United States. Latin American family sexual activity – particularly widespread pederasty as part of macho sexuality – is considered even more widespread. In England, a recent BBC “ChildWatch” program asked its female listeners – a large though admittedly biased sample – if they remembered sexual molestation, and, of the 2,530 replies analyzed, 83% remembered someone touching their genitals, 62% recalling actual intercourse. In Germany, the Institut fur Kindheit has recently concluded a survey asking West Berlin schoolchildren about their sexual experiences, and 80% reported having been molested. Outside the West, the sexual molestation of children is a routine practice in most families. Childhood in India begins, according to observers, with the child being regularly masturbated by the mother, the girl “to make her sleep well,” the boy “to make him manly.” The child sleeps in the family bed, witnesses and most likely takes part in sexual intercourse between the parents. The child is often “borrowed” to sleep with other members of the extended household, leading to the Indian proverb that: “For a girl to be a virgin at ten years old, she must have neither brothers nor cousin nor father.” Childhood is so eroticized that, as one Western observer put it, “The little Hindu girls are deflowered by the little boys with whom they play, and repeat together the erotic lessons which their parents have unwittingly taught them on account of the general promiscuity of family life throughout India. In all the little girls of less than ten years of age the complete hymen is wanting…Incest is often the rule rather than the exception.” Child marriage was, of course, a long-standing Indian practice. When laws were passed in 1929 trying to outlaw it, the government was overwhelmed by men insisting that early marriage was an absolute necessity, since little girls were naturally very sexual and must be married early if they are to be restrained from seducing adults. “Cupid overtakes the hearts of girls…at an early age,” they said. “A girl’s desire for sexual intercourse is eight times greater than that of males.” Indian mothers also often supported early marriage, frankly admitting it was necessary in order to protect their little girls against rape in the family, saying that: “they were afraid to leave their daughters at home, even for one afternoon, without a mother’s eye and accessible to the men of the family.” The Indian subcontinent, in fact, still has many groups, such as the Baiga, where actual incestuous marriage is practiced, between fathers and daughters, between mothers and sons, between siblings and even between grandparents and their grandchildren – thus disproving the oft-repeated anthropological truism that “no known tribe has ever permitted incest” because if it were allowed society would surely cease functioning. In many of these villages, the children move at the age of 5 or 6 from the incestuous activities of the family bed to spend the rest of their childhood in sex dormitories, where they are initiated by older youth and men into intercourse with a succession of other children, none for longer than three days at a time, under threat of gang rape. Childhood in China has historically had the same institutionalized rape rituals as in India, including the pederasty of boys, child concubinage, the castration of boys to be used sexually as eunuchs, marriage of young girls to a number of brothers, widespread boy and girl prostitution and the regular sexual use of child servants and slaves. So prevalent was the rape of little girls that Western doctors found that, as in India, few girls entering puberty had intact hymens. Even the universal practice of foot binding was for sexual purposes, with a girl undergoing extremely painful crushing of the bones of her feet for years in order that men could make love to her big toe as a fetish, a penis-substitute. Childhood in contemporary Japan, although somewhat more Western than that of other Eastern nations, still includes masturbation by mothers “to put them to sleep.” Parents often have intercourse with their children in bed with them, and “co-sleeping,” with parents physically embracing the child, often continues until the child is ten or fifteen. One recent Japanese study found daughters sleeping with their fathers over 20% of the time after age 16. Recent sex surveys report memories of sexual abuse even higher than comparable American studies, and “hot lines” of sexual abuse report mother-son incest in almost a third of the calls, the mother saying to her teenage son, “It’s not good to do it alone. Your IQ becomes lower. I will help you” or “You cannot study if you cannot have sex. You may use my body,” or “I don’t want you to get into trouble with a girl. Have sex with me instead.” Historically, Japan has been one of the most endogamous societies in the world, with incestuous marriages in court circles being approved even in historical times and preferred sibling, cousin, uncle-niece and aunt-nephew marriages having been so extensive that genetics experts have discovered that the incestuous inbreeding has affected the size and health of the Japanese. Even today, there are rural areas in Japan where fathers marry their daughters when the mother has died or is incapacitated, “in accordance with feudal family traditions.” The sexual use of children in the Near East is as widespread as in the Far East. Historically, all the institutionalized forms of pedophilia which were customary in the Far East are documented extensively for the Near East, including child marriage, child concubinage, temple prostitution of both boys and girls, parent-child marriage (among the Zoroastrians), sibling marriage (quite common among Egyptians), sex slavery, ritualized pederasty and child prostitution. Masturbation in infancy is said to be necessary “to increase the size” of the penis, and older siblings are reported to play with the genitals of babies for hours at a time. Mutual masturbation, fellatio and anal intercourse are also said to be common among children, particularly with the older boys using younger children as sex objects. The nude public baths (hammam) are particularly eroticized in many areas, being especially notorious as a place of homosexual acts, both male and female. Girls are used incestuously even more often than boys, since females are valued so little. One report found 80% of Near Eastern women surveyed recalled having been forced into fellatio between the ages of 3 and 6 by older brothers, cousins, uncles and teachers. The girls rarely complain, since: “if there is any punishment to be meted out, it will always end up by being inflicted on her.” Arab women know that their spouses are pedophiles and prefer having sex with children to having sex with them. Their retribution comes as follows. When the girl is about 6 years old, the women of the house grab her, pull her thighs apart and cut off her clitoris and often also her labia with a razor, thus usually ending her ability to feel sexual pleasure forever. One Egyptian woman relates her memory of how it happened to her. After being used sexually by the men in her family during her early childhood, she says: I was six years old that night when I lay in my bed, warm and peaceful…I felt something move under the blankets, something like a huge hand…another hand was clapped over my mouth to prevent me from screaming. They carried me to the bathroom…I remember…a rasping metallic sound which reminded me of the butcher when he used to sharpen his knife…My blood was frozen in my veins…my thighs had been pulled wide apart…I felt that the rasping knife or blade was heading straight down towards my throat. Then suddenly the sharp metallic edge seemed to drop between my thighs and there cut off a piece of flesh from my body. I screamed with pain despite the tight hand held over my mouth, for the pain was not just a pain, it was like a searing flame that went through my whole body. After a few moments, I saw a red pool of blood around my hips. I did not know what they had cut off from my body, and did not try to find out. I just wept, and called out to my mother for help. But the worst shock of all was when I looked around and found her standing by my side. Yes, it was her, I could not be mistaken, in flesh and blood, right in the midst of these strangers, talking to them and smiling at them. A recent survey of Egyptian girls and women showed 97% of uneducated families and 66 percent of educated families still practiced clitoridectomy. Nor is the practice decreasing – UN reports estimate that more than 74 million females have been mutilated, with “more female children mutilated today than throughout history.” Clitoridectomy, like all sexual mutilations, is, I believe, an act of incest. If it is incest when a father rapes a daughter, it is also incest when parents assault their children by cutting off, sewing up, burning, flaying or gashing their genitals. In all these cases, the child is being used for the sadistic sexual pleasure of the parent. In fact, circumcision ceremonies are often followed by drinking parties that end in intercourse, so sexually arousing is the circumcision- – in some areas, the traveling circumcizer is actually accompanied by some prostitutes, who know how sexually excited villages become after the ceremony. Therefore, the practice of sexually mutilating children’s genitals- – one of the most widespread rituals in the world – by itself makes incest a near-universal trait. THE EVOLUTION OF CHILDHOOD Historically, the routine use of children as poison containers to prevent adults from feeling overwhelmed by their anxieties has also been universal. Examples from the history of childhood regularly reveal children are expected to “absorb” the bad feelings of their caretakers. As one peasant community in rural Greece puts it, you must have children around to put your bad feelings into, especially when the “Bad Hour” comes around. An informant describes the process as follows: One of the ways for the Bad Hour to occur is when you get angry. When you’re angry a demon gets inside of you. Only if a pure individual passes by, like a child for instance, will the “bad” leave you, for it will fall on the unpolluted. Newborn infants, in particular, were perfect poison containers because they were so “unpolluted.” The newborn then became so full of the parent’s projections that even if he or she is allowed to live (up to half the children in early societies were murdered at birth), the infant had to be tied up – tightly swaddled in bandages for up to a year or more- – to prevent it from “tearing its ears off, scratching its eyes out, breaking its legs, or touching its genitals,” i.e., to prevent it from acting out the violent and sexual projections of the parents. Children were particularly useful as poison containers when adults felt anxious about recent or impending success. Success stirs up superego retaliation, and the sacrifice of children to appease the gods – that is, the punitive parents – was an extremely widespread guilt-reducing device. Most early states practiced child sacrifice. Typical was Carthage, where a large cemetery has been discovered called The Tophet filled with over 20,000 urns deposited there between 400 and 200 B.C. The urns contained bones of children sacrificed by their parents, who often would make a vow to kill their next child if the gods would grant them a favor – for instance, if their shipment of goods were to arrive safely in a foreign port. Some urns contain the bones of stillborn babies along with the bones of two-year-olds, indicating that if the promised child was not born alive, an older child had also to be killed to satisfy the promise. The sacrifice was accompanied by a musical, wild dancing and riotous orgy, and was probably accompanied by the ritual rape of virgin girls, as it was with the Incans. Plutarch told how the priests would: “cut their throats as if they were so many lambs or young birds; meanwhile the mother stood by without a tear or moan [while] the whole area before the statue was filled with a loud noise of flutes and drums…” Sacrifice, rape and genital mutilation of young girls continues to take place today in the Andean mountains, particularly to ward off the guilt coming after successful cocaine deliveries. These ceremonies, from antiquity to today, resemble closely the satanic rituals made familiar recently in the newspapers, using the infliction of rape, sexual mutilation and other horrors in order to visit upon child victims elements of the traumas of the satanists’ own childhood. That child sacrifice was carried out mainly by the rich in each of these early societies confirms my theory that it is a guilt-reducing technique. Whenever new ventures were begun, children would be sacrificed. Whenever a new building or bridge was built, a child would be buried within it as a “foundation sacrifice.” Children still play at capturing a child and making it part of the bridge in “London Bridge’s Falling Down.” Children’s bodies were particularly useful in curing disease. Whatever one’s physical ills, a child could be used to “absorb” the poison that was responsible. When, for instance, one wanted to be cured of leprosy, one was supposed to kill a child and wash one’s body in its blood. When one wanted to find out if a house whose previous occupants had died of plague was still infected or not, one rented some children to live in it for several weeks to see if they died – rather like the use of canaries in mines to detect poisonous gas. When one was impotent, depressed or had venereal disease, doctors prescribed having intercourse with a child. As late as the end of the nineteenth century, men who were brought into Old Bailey for having raped young girls were let go because “they believed that they were curing themselves of venereal disease.” Raping virgins was particularly effective for impotence and depression; as one medical book put it, “Breaking a maiden’s seal is one of the best antidotes for one’s ills. Cudgeling her unceasingly, until she swoons away, is a might remedy for man’s depression. It cures all impotence.” And, of course, whenever a parent had a disease, they always had their children handy to absorb the poison. Thus British doctors in the nineteenth century regularly found when visiting men who had venereal disease that their children also had the same disease – on their mouths, anuses or genitals. No matter what anxieties one had, one had children always at hand to use to relieve them. The evolution of childhood from incest to love and from abuse to empathy has been a slow, uneven path, but one whose progressive direction is, I think, unmistakable. This evolution of parent-child relations is, I contend, an independent source of historical change, lying in the ability of successive generations of parents to live through their own childhood traumas a second time and work through their anxieties in a slightly better manner this second time around. It is in this sense that I say that history is like psychotherapy, which also heals through revisiting one’s childhood traumas and reworking earlier anxieties. If the parent – the mother, for most of history – is given even the most minimal support by society, the evolution of childhood progresses, new variations in historical personality are formed, and history begins to move in new, innovative directions. The crucial relationship in this evolution is the mother-daughter relationship. If little girls are treated particularly badly, they grow up to be mothers who cannot rework their traumas, and history is frozen. For instance, although China was ahead of the West in most ways during the pre-Christian era, it became “frozen” and fell far behind the West in evolutionary social and technological change after it adopted the practice of footbinding girls. Similarly, the cliterodectomy of girls in Moslem societies has inhibited their social development for centuries, since it likewise puts a brake on the ability of the next generation of mothers to make progress in caring for their children. Clearly, different groups have moved different distances up the ladder of psychological evolution, since some contemporary groups still practice brain-eating as our Paleolithic ancestors did, and different subgroups of our more advanced nations still terrorize and abuse their children in ways identical to those that were commonplace centuries ago, producing the “historical fossils” (early “psychoclasses”) we now call borderline personalities and other severe character disorders. Your neighbor is as likely to be a result of medieval parenting as of modern parenting, so modern societies contain a full range of childrearing modes and psychoclasses. The “generational pressure” for psychological change is not only an independent historical force – originating in inborn adult-child striving for relationship – it occurs independent of social and technological change, and can be found even in periods of economic stagnation. My “psychogenic theory of history” posits that a society’s childrearing practices are not just one item in a list of cultural traits, but – because all other traits must be passed down from generation to generation through the narrow funnel of childhood – instead makes childrearing the very basis for the transmission and development of all other cultural traits, placing definite limits on what can be achieved in the material spheres of history. The main source of childhood evolution is, I believe, the process I call psychogenesis, by which parents – mainly the mother for most of history – revisit a second time around the stages of childhood and undo to some extent the traumas they themselves endured. It is in this sense that history is like a psychotherapy of the generations, undoing trauma and giving historical personality a chance at a new start with every baby born. Only humans have brain networks that allow this miracle to take place. All cultural changes in the past 100,000 years of Homo sapiens are epigenetic, not genetic. Regardless of changes in the environment, it is only when changes in childhood occur that epigenetic changes in the brain can occur and societies can begin to progress and move in unpredictable new directions that are more adaptive. That more individuated and loving individuals are ultimately more adaptive is understandable – because they are less under the pressures of infantile traumas and are therefore more rational in reaching their goals. But that this childhood evolution – and therefore all social evolution – is terribly uneven is also understandable, given the varying conditions under which parents all over the world have to conduct their childrearing tasks. THE SIX CHILDREARING MODES The basic patterns of evolution of childhood have begun to be traced by myself and other psychohistorians. I would like to summarize the six childrearing modes that I have suggested are common to all groups that have traversed the full path of childhood and cultural evolution so far. These modes are, in fact, quite independent of technological development. But the overall evolutionary direction of parent-child relations is, I think, evident in the historical record, regardless of what labels one chooses to put on its stages. The earliest childrearing mode I have called infanticidal to highlight the constant presence of infanticidal wishes in the parent. Real infanticide is, of course, ubiquitous in most preliterate cultures, ranging about a third or more of all children born, and evidence remains of widespread infanticide among all historical records. By historical times, census figures from antiquity show boy/girl ratios as high as 400 boys to 100 girls – a believable figure since, as Poseidippos said, “even a rich man always exposes a daughter.” I have estimated that perhaps half of all children born in antiquity were killed by their caretakers, declining to about a third in medieval times and dropping to under 1% only by the eighteenth century. Since these skewed sex ratios do not vary by economic class – the rich do away with their children at about the same rates as the poor – the evidence suggests that the parents were coping with the emotional anxieties of childrearing more than economic conditions. That incest is also traditional in the infanticidal mode is harder to prove conclusively, since what really happened in the family bed does not often leave historical traces. Yet all the records we have suggest that this was so. Man began, after all, as an incestuous primate – along with other primates, who remain incestuous today. In most simple societies today in such areas as New Guinea, boys and girls are used sexually by both their mothers and by the men, who gang rape girls and often are also pederasts who use the boys sexually, have boy-wives, or force all the boys to fellate them daily from age seven to fourteen “in order to ingest semen to counteract maternal pollution.” By the time historical records begin, the widespread sexual use of children is well documented. The Greek and Roman child lived his or her earliest years in an atmosphere of sexual abuse. Girls were commonly raped, as reflected in the many comedies that have scenes that were considered funny of little girls being raped. Both Greek and Roman doctors report that female children rarely have hymens – just like the Indian and Chinese girls I described above. In order to find out if your young wife was really a virgin (girls usually married before puberty to older men), one had to use mystical tests for virginity, since intact hymens were so rare. Boys, too, were regularly handed over by their parents to neighboring men to be raped. Plutarch has a long essay on what was the best kind of person a father should give his son to for buggering. The common notion that this occurred only at “adolescence” is quite mistaken. It began around age seven, continued for several years and ended by puberty, when the boy’s facial and pubic hairs began to appear. Child brothels, rent-a-boy services and sex slavery flourished in every city in antiquity. Children were so subject to sexual use by the men around them that schools were by law prohibited from staying open past sundown, so their pedagogues – slaves who were assigned to protect them against random sexual attack – could try to see that their teachers didn’t assault them. Petronius especially loved depicting adults feeling the “immature little tool” of boys, and Tiberius was said by Seutonius to have: “taught children of the most tender years, whom he called his little fishes, to play between his legs while he was in his bath. Those which had not yet been weaned, but were strong and hearty, he set at fellatio…” Since boys in antiquity shared the experience of being buggered, Christianity constructed its central myth of the Father sending his son down to be penetrated by a soldier’s lance in order to restage the common experience of fathers giving their boys to a neighbor to be sexually penetrated. Those who accepted the myth, accepted the penetration, and were promised the Father’s love and Mary’s tears in return. Although Christianity attempted to reduce the outright killing of newborns, thus moving beyond the infanticidal mode, it continued the abandonment of children – whether by child sale or by sending to wet nurse or monastery or nunnery or foster family or to other homes as servants – which is why I labeled this second stage the abandoning mode. The refusal of parents to raise their own legitimate children was so powerful that through the nineteenth century over half of the children born in Florence, for instance, were dumped into foundling homes at birth, to be picked up by their families – if they lived that long (the majority died) – when they were around five years old, thus avoiding having homes where crying babies disturbed the peace. The same abandonment was common in France, where, in 1900, over 90% of the babies born in Paris were carted out to the countryside to wet-nurses at birth. As one author put it, “mother love” was a late historical achievement, not an instinctual trait. Despite the advance that just abandoning rather than outright killing your children represents, most of the other childrearing practices of antiquity continued in the middle ages, with the buggering of boys – even in monasteries – continuing to be widespread and even accepted by society. By the time boys were in their teens, they were so addicted to violent sex that they sometimes formed adolescent raping gangs that grabbed and raped any girls or young women they could find unprotected, to such an extent that the majority of women in some cities would have been raped by these gangs at some time in their lives. The erotic beating of children continued in Christian times, because of the anxieties of living with a child who is so full of your projections. Children were experienced as always about to turn into “changelings,” those who, as St. Augustine puts it, “suffer from a demon” – which usually meant just that they cry too much, since the Malleus Maleficarum says that one can recognize changelings because they “always howl most piteously,” and since Luther says they: “are more obnoxious than ten children with their crapping, eating, and screaming.” That children with devils in them had to be beaten goes without saying. A panoply of beating instruments existed for that purpose, from cat-o’-nine tails and whips to shovels, canes, iron rods, bundles of sticks, the discipline (a whip made of small chains), the goad (shaped like a cobbler’s knife, used to prick the child on the head or hands) and special school instruments like the flapper, which had a pear-shaped end and a round hole to raise blisters. The beatings described in the sources were almost always severe, involved bruising and bloodying of the body, began in infancy, were usually erotically tinged by being inflicted on bare parts of the body near the genitals and were a regular part of the child’s daily life. Century after century of battered children grew up to batter their own children in turn. Public protest was rare. Even humanists and teachers who had a reputation for gentleness approved of the severe beating of children. Those who attempted reform did so only to prevent death. As a thirteenth-century law said, “If one beats a child until it bleeds, then it will remember, but if one beats it to death, the law applies.” As Batholomew Batty put it, parents must “keep the golden mean,” which is to say they should not: “strike and buffet their children about the face and head, and to lace upon them like malt sacks with cudgels, staves, fork or fire shovel,” for then they might die of the blows. The correct way, he said, was to “Hit him upon the sides…with the rod, he shall not die thereof.” By the thirteenth century in the West, abandonment via oblation, or the giving of young children to monasteries for sexual and other uses, was ended, the first disapproval of pedophilia appeared, the first childrearing tracts were published and some advanced parents began to practice what I have termed the ambivalent mode of childrearing, where the child was not born completely evil, but was seen as being still full of enough dangerous projections so that the parent, whose task it was to mold it, must beat it into shape like clay. Church moralists for the first time began to warn against sexual molestation of children by parents, nurses and neighbors (the mothers had previously been instructed to masturbate their boys “so their yards will grow long”). The length of time of swaddling was eventually reduced from a year or more to only a few months. Pediatrics and educational philosophy were born. Parents of means began suggesting that perhaps rather than sending their infants out to be wet nursed in some peasant village – and thereby condemning over half of them to early death – the mother might herself nurse her infant. The baby, said some mothers who began to try nursing their own babies, even responds to this care by giving love back to the nursing mother, stroking her breast and face and cooing. And if the father, as often happened, complained that his wife’s breast belonged to him not the baby, these bold new mothers suggested that the father should be allowed to hold the baby too. These childhood reforms immediately preceded and thereby produced the humanistic, religious and political revolutions we associate with early modern times. For the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in Western Europe represent the great watershed of psychogenic change, wherein vastly improved childrearing allowed at least some of the schizoid and borderline personalities of antiquity and medieval times – who regularly heard voices and hallucinated visions – to move on to the more integrated, less splitting modern neurotic personality more familiar to recent times, thus achieving Melanie Klein’s “depressive position.” The sixteenth-century watershed in childrearing allowed people to reduce splitting and feel real depression for the first time, as can be seen in the popularity of Renaissance melancholy (Hamlet’s admirable depressive guilt), the ability of Protestants to end the good mother/bad mother splitting of Mary/Eve, and the ability to internalize the projective panoply of split Catholic saints/devils into Protestant depressive guilt. With this vast improvement in childrearing – in some families at least – the modern world could begin, with the development of science, technology and democratization now being possible in parts of the West. By the seventeenth century, the intrusive mode of childrearing began, particularly in England, America and France, whereby the child was seen as less full of dangerous projections, so it could actually be unswaddled soon after birth, not given regular enemas (which had until then been given daily from birth to remove the bad contents felt to be inside the infant), toilet trained early rather than late, hit but not regularly whipped, and punished for masturbation rather than being masturbated by adults. It eventually became unacceptable for men to go about with a mistress on one arm and a catamite on the other, though underground seduction of minors continued. Intrusive parenting, in essence, began to substitute psychological pressure for physical abuse, so that rather than whipping the child to prevent it from sin, it was, for instance, shut up in the dark closets for hours or left without food, sometimes for days. One mother shut her three-year-old boy up in a drawer. Another had a house she described as: “a sort of little Bastille, in every closet of which was to be found a culprit – some were sobbing and repeating verbs, others eating their bread and water…” Another five-year-old French boy, in looking at a new apartment with his mother, told her, “Oh no, mama…it’s impossible; there’s no dark closet! Where could you put me when I’m naughty.” Although erotic whipping of children decreased gradually, the intrusive mode required nevertheless a steady pressure on the child to “break its will” and discipline it properly. This breaking of the will began early. John Wesley’s mother said of her babies, “When turned a year old (and some before), they were taught to fear the rod, and to cry softly.” One would never know, she claimed, that children were present in her house. Rousseau confirmed that in France babies in their earliest days were often beaten to keep them quiet. Another mother wrote of her first battle with her four-month-old infant, “I whipped him till he was actually black and blue, and until I could not whip him anymore, and he never gave up one single inch.” One can sense in this description of baby battering the struggle with the mother’s own powerful parent, with the baby seen as so obstinate that it “won the battle” even after being beaten. In fact, this “double image” of the child as both a powerful adult and a wicked child accounts for the merging of beater and beaten in our myriad historical accounts of child abuse. Here, for instance, is an early American father describing the beating of his four-year-old boy for not being able to read something. The child is first tied up naked in the cellar. Then, the father writes, With him in this condition, and myself, the wife of my bosom, and the lady of my family, all of us in distress, and with hearts sinking within us, I commenced using the rod…During this most unpleasant, self-denying and disagreeable work, I…felt all the force of divine authority and express command that I ever felt in any case in all my life…But under the all controlling influence of such a degree of angry passion and obstinacy, as my son had manifested, no wonder he thought he “should beat me out,” feeble and tremulous as I was; and knowing as he did that it made me almost sick to whip him. At that he could neither pity me nor himself. This picture of the merging of parent and child, with the father complaining that he is the one “beaten out” and in need of pity, is common for the intrusive mode. Similar confusion between parent and child can be seen in the severe punishments for masturbation championed by the child-training literature since Tissot. Prior to this, children were masturbated by adults and even licked on their bodies as though they were substitute breasts. For instance, Little Louis XIII, in 1603, was described by his pediatrician as having his penis and breasts kissed by everyone in the court, and his parents would regularly make him part of sexual intercourse in the royal bed. But childrearing reformers beginning in the eighteenth century began to try to bring this open sexual abuse under control, only it was the child who was now punished for touching his or her genitals, under threat of circumcision, clitoridectomy, infibulation and various cages and other genital restraint devices. These terrorizing warnings and surgical interventions only began to die out at the end of the nineteenth century, after two hundred years of brutal and totally unnecessary assault on children’s bodies and psyches for touching themselves. Despite the reformers’ efforts, progress was so uneven that one British journalist could write in 1924 that: “cases of incest are terribly common in all classes. [Usually] the criminal…goes unpunished…Two men coming out from [an incest] trial were overheard saying to a woman who deplored there had been no conviction, ‘What nonsense! Men should not be punished for a thing like that. It doesn’t harm the child.’” It goes without saying that the effects on the child of these physical and psychological punishments were immense. Adults remembered that as children they had had recurring nightmares and even outright hallucinations as they lay awake at night, terrorized by imaginary ghosts, demons, “a witch on the pillow,” “a large black dog under the bed,” or “a crooked finger crawling across the room.” History is filled with reports of children’s convulsive fits, dancing manias, loss of hearing and speech, loss of memory, hallucinations of devils and confessions of intercourse with devils. Nor did the parents help their children’s mental anguish by giving them comfort. It was thought that the way for children to get over their fears was to make them face fear even more concretely, so adults used to take children on visits to the gibbet to inspect rotting corpses hanging there, while being told moral stories. Classes used to be taken out of school to witness hangings, and parents would also sometimes take their children to hangings and then beat them when they returned home to make them remember what they had seen. Even humanists, like Mafio Vegio, who protested the severe beating of children, would admit that: “to let them witness a public execution is sometimes not at all a bad thing.” The effect on the children of this corpse-viewing was of course massive. One little girl, after her mother showed her the fresh corpse of her nine-year-old friend as an example, went around saying, “They will put daughter in the deep hole, and what will mother do?” Another woke at night screaming after seeing hangings, and “practiced hanging his own cat.” Religion was a further source of terrorizing. God was said to: “hold you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect, over the fire” and children’s books depicted Hell as follows: “The little child is in this red-hot oven. Hear how it screams to come out…It stamps its little feet on the floor…” Various terrorizing figures were used to control the child. If you were bad, the werewolf would gulp you down, Blue Beard would chop you up, Boney (Bonaparte) would eat your flesh, and the black man or the chimney sweep would steal you away at night. This need to personify punitive figures was in fact so powerful that adults actually dressed up dummies to use in frightening children. As one English writer, in 1748, explained the practice: The nurse takes a fancy to quiet the peevish child, and with this intent, dresses up an uncouth figure, makes it come in, and roar and scream at the child in ugly disagreeable notes, which grate upon the tender organs of the ear, and at the same time, by its gesture and near approach, makes as if it would swallow the infant up. Another writer, in 1882, described how the nurse of a friend’s child wanted to leave for the evening while the parents were out, and so told the little girl that a: horrible Black Man…was hidden in the room to catch her the moment she left her bed…[Then] she made a huge figure of a black man with frightful staring eyes and an enormous mouth, and placed it at the foot of the bed where the little innocent child was fast asleep. As soon as the evening was over…[she] went back to her charge. Opening the door quietly, she beheld the little girl sitting up in her bed, staring in an agony of terror at the fearful monster before her, both hands convulsively grasping her fair hair. She was stone dead! By the nineteenth century’s socializing mode, some parents no longer needed to terrorize, beat and sexually seduce their children, and more gentle psychological means began to be used to “socialize” the child. The socializing mode is still the main model of upbringing in Western nations, featuring the mother as trainer and the father as provider and protector, and the child is seen as slowly being made to conform to the parents’ model of goodness. Many of the abusive practices are reduced in the home but remain elsewhere in society. While Elizabeth I was sexually seduced as a girl by her caretakers and Louis XV had Madame du Barry procure little girls for the King to rape in his royal bedroom, by the nineteenth century parents would less often commit incest themselves but still sent their children to schools where they were erotically whipped on the bare buttocks and usually buggered by the older boys and masters. As John Addington Symonds reported his experience as a boy at public school: Every boy of good looks had a female name, and was recognized either as a public prostitute or as some bigger fellow’s ‘bitch.’ Bitch was the word in common usage to indicate a boy who yielded his person to a lover. The talk in the dormitories and the studies was incredibly obscene. Here and there one could not avoid seeing acts of onanism, mutual masturbation, or the sports of naked boys in bed together. Reformers during the nineteenth century tried to bring the rest of society into the socializing mode by legislation designed to prevent outright battering and sexual abuse of children, which of course still went on in the majority of families around them. But those who tried to oppose buggering and beating boys in schools were opposed by parents who said “It didn’t hurt me.” Those who tried to pass child labor legislation to reduce horrendous working conditions and hours were labeled Communists. And those who thought one could bring up children kindly were considered impractical visionaries. Even so, the decrease in parental seduction and beating during the intrusive mode produced an explosion of social innovation, allowing nations to produce the democratic and industrial revolutions of the modern period. As Hanns Sachs pointed out long ago in his paper “The Delay of the Machine Age,” when people in antiquity first invented the steam engine, they dared to use it only for children’s toys. It was only after fifteen centuries of childrearing evolution that steam could finally begin to be used by less fearful and more individuated adults to provide power for the benefit of mankind. As hellfire and physical discipline were replaced by other childrearing methods, it was the socializing psychoclass that built the modern world, with its democratic, innovative and class-dominated society. What kind of society might be envisioned by children brought up under the latest childrearing mode – what I have termed the helping mode – whereby a minority of parents are now trying to help their children reach their own goals at each stage of life, rather than socializing them into adult goals – is yet to be seen. I suspect it will be far less class-centered and more empathic of others than is the socializing modern world with which we are familiar. That helping mode children grow up to be incapable of creating wars is also becoming evident from watching the anti-war activities of my children and those of their friends who have been brought up by other helping mode parents. For war is only understandable as a sacrificial ritual in which young men are sent by their parents to be hurt and killed as representatives of the independence-seeking parts of themselves. Psychohistorians have regularly found that images on the magazine covers and in political cartoons in the months prior to wars reveal fears of the nation becoming “too soft” and vulnerable, with images of dangerous women threatening to engulf and hurt people. These regressed group-fantasies eventually produce so much anxiety that a sacrifice of innocent victims is deemed necessary, and another nation who also needs a sacrifice is located. So regular are these group-fantasies in the media that I was able to forecast, for instance, the recent Persian Gulf War months before Iraq invaded Kuwait by locating in the American media an upsurge in imagery of devouring mommies and guilty children needing punishment. That periodic sacrifices are in fact lawful is suggested by the regularity with which they occur, nearly every state producing a major war on the average of about every 25 years throughout the past two millennia. In between wars, periodic economic sacrifices serve to relieve our guilt for too much prosperity and to cleanse us of our dangerous economic and social progress. Depth psychology has shown that in individuals progress toward individuation and success often produces regression, including both fears of leaving mommy and wishes for maternal re-engulfment, along with fears of losing one’s self. In nations, the same thing occurs after periods of rapid change and prosperity, and is defended against by the sacrificial ritual called war. THE TASK OF THE FUTURE That all social violence – whether by war, revolution or economic exploitation – is ultimately a consequence of child abuse should not surprise us. The propensity to reinflict childhood traumas upon others in socially-approved violence is actually far more able to explain and predict the actual outbreak of wars than the usual economic motivations, and we are likely to continue to undergo our periodic sacrificial rituals of war if the infliction of childhood trauma continues. Clear evidence has been published in The Journal of Psychohistory that the more traumatic one’s childhood, the more one is likely to be in favor of military solutions to social problems. Technologically, the human race is now quite able to satisfy its needs – if we can live together without violence. But unless we now employ our social resources toward consciously assisting the evolution of childrearing, we will be doomed to the periodic destruction of our resources, both material and human. To Selma Freiberg’s dicta that “Trauma demands repetition” I would only add “repetition in social behavior.” We cannot be content to only continue to do endless repair work on damaged adults, with more jails and police and therapists and political movements. Our task now must be to create an entirely new profession of “child helpers” who can reach out to every new child born on earth and help its parents give it love and independence. Such a parent outreach movement is already under way in a few cities, and special issues of The Journal of Psychohistory have been published to document its operation. A special issue on “Changing Childhood” is the most recent to be published, showing the success of parent outreach projects in several states. The success of parenting centers such as the one pioneered in Boulder, Colorado, for instance, has been astonishing. Through parenting classes and home visiting by paraprofessionals, they have measurably reduced child abuse, as shown by careful follow-up studies and by reduced police reports and hospital entrance rates. All this has been accomplished with very small monetary outlays, since these parent outreach centers operate mainly with volunteer labor, while it has the potential to save trillions of dollars annually in the costs of social violence, police enforcement, jails and other consequences of the widespread child abuse of today. Such a parent support movement would resemble the universal education movement of over a century ago. People then objected to providing universal education, by saying, “Well, yes, perhaps free education is useful for all children – but that would require hiring millions of teachers. How can we afford it?” We, too, admit that we will eventually need millions of parent helpers to teach parents how to bring up children and produce non-violent adults. But the teaching of parenting is just the unfinished half – the most important half – of the free education movement of the past, with its goal the empowerment of children to realize their innate capacities for love and work. Changing childhood is a communal task. And it works. In 1979, Sweden passed a law saying that hitting children was as unlawful as hitting adults! Imagine the audacity! Children were people, just like adults! Parents who hit their children weren’t put into jail – that would just deprive the children of their caretakers. But the parents were taught how to bring up children without hitting them. And at the same time, high school students were taught how to bring up children without violence. By now, 20 years later, these high school students have their own children, and…surprise! They don’t hit them! To those who object to the cost of communities helping all parents, we can only reply: Can we afford not to teach parenting? What more important task can we devote our resources to? Do we really want to have massive armies and jails and emotionally crippled adults forever? Must each generation continue to torture and neglect its children so they repeat the violence and economic exploitation of previous generations? Why not achieve meaningful political and social revolution by first achieving a parenting revolution? If war, social violence, class domination and economic destruction of wealth are really revenge rituals for childhood trauma, how else can we remove the source of these rituals? How else end child abuse and neglect? How else increase the real wealth of nations, our next generation? How else achieve a world of love and laughter of which we are truly capable? It appears we have our work cut out for us. Information about the annual National Parenting Conference can be obtained by writing Robert McFarland, M.D., 2300 Kalmia, Boulder, CO 80304. Lloyd deMause is Director of The Institute for Psychohistory, Editor of The Journal of Psychohistory and President of The International Psychohistorical Association and can be reached at 140 Riverside Drive, New York, New York 10024. He is author of The History of Childhood, Foundations of Psychohistory and Reagan’s America. This article is based upon extensive primary source material fully referenced in the over 600 footnotes contained in the following sources: 1. Lloyd deMause, “The Evolution of Childhood.” in his Foundations of Psychohistory. New York: Creative Roots, 1982. 2.”On Writing Childhood History.” The Journal of Psychohistory 16 (1988): 135-171. 3.”The History of Child Assault.” The Journal of Psychohistory 18(1990): 1-29. 4.”The Universality of Incest.” The Journal of Psychohistory 19 (1991):123-164. For more psychohistorical articles on child rearing go to http://www.psychohistory.com DIRTY OLD RABBIS: FREUD AND THE TALMUD Sigmund Freud in his 1905 work Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, outlined a theory of psychosexual development with five distinct phases: – The oral stage (0 – 1.5 years) – The anal stage (1.5 – 3.5 years) – The phallic stage (3.5 – 6 years) culminating in the resolution of the Oedipus conflict – The Latency Phase (6–12 years of age) – The genital, or adult stage TALMUD ON SEX WITH 3YR OLDS Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Sanhedrin Folio 54b http://www.halakhah.com/sanhedrin/sanhedrin_54.html “Our Rabbis taught: In the case of a male child, a young one is not regarded as on a par with an old one; but a young beast is treated as an old one.23 What is meant by this? — Rab said: Pederasty with a child below nine years of age is not deemed as pederasty with a child above that. Samuel said: Pederasty with a child below three years is not treated as with a child above that” FREUD ON SUPERIOR JEWS “Joseph Wortis based on an interview with Freud in 1935: Freud commented that he viewed gentiles as prone to “ruthless egoism,” whereas Jews had a superior family and intellectual life. Wortis then asked Freud if he viewed Jews as a superior people. Freud replied: “I think nowadays they are… When one thinks that 10 or 12 of the Nobel winners are Jews, and when one thinks of their other great achievements in the sciences and in the arts, one has every reason to think them superior” The Culture of Critique Freud thought Gentiles were prone to “ruthless egoism” but simultaneously declared that the self-described “Chosen Ones” are “superior”? It seems he must have been projecting his own tribe’s worst characteristics onto the Gentiles, and extrapolating from there. Also, many of Freud’s own patients were Jewish, so most of his “scientific” conclusions were not scientific at all, but rather based on the psycho-analysis of a rather, ahem, psychologically skewed sampling — although his conclusions are no doubt valid for the majority population that dwells in Israel (and probably Manhattan and Hollywood). TORAH/TALMUD The Talmud is Judaism’s holiest book (actually a collection of books). Its authority takes precedence over the JEWISH Bible in Judaism. Evidence of this may be found in the Talmud itself, Erubin 21b (Soncino edition): “My son, be more careful in the observance of the words of the Scribes than in the words of the Torah (JEWISH Bible).” Jewish scholar Hyam Maccoby, in Judaism on Trial, quotes Rabbi Yehiel ben Joseph: “Further, without the Talmud, we would not be able to understand passages in the Bible…God has handed this authority to the sages and tradition is a necessity as well as scripture. The Sages also made enactments of their own…anyone who does not study the Talmud cannot understand Scripture.” The Talmud (and not the JEWISH Scriptures) is the legal/canonical text which obligates those who follow the Jewish religion. It is from the Talmud that laws, regulations, and world views are drawn. In practice, the everyday life of the modern religious person is drawn and influenced by the Talmud. In the late 19th century, most European Jews were a people of the book. But their book wasn’t the JEWISH Bible. It was the BABYLONIAN TALMUD. To this day, the Talmud remains Judaism’s highest moral, ethical and legal authority. THREE YEAR OLD BRIDES Second century Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai, one of Judaism’s very greatest rabbis and a creator of Kabbalah, sanctioned pedophilia—permitting molestation of baby girls even younger than three! He proclaimed, “A proselyte who is under the age of three years and a day is permitted to marry a priest.” 1 Subsequent rabbis refer to ben Yohai’s endorsement of pedophilia as “halakah,” or binding Jewish law. 2 Has ben Yohai, child rape advocate, been disowned by modern Jews? Hardly. Today, in ben Yohai’s hometown of Meron, Israel, tens of thousands of orthodox and ultra-orthodox Jews gather annually for days and nights of singing and dancing in his memory. References to pedophilia abound in the Talmud. They occupy considerable sections of Treatises Kethuboth and Yebamoth and are enthusiastically endorsed by the Talmud’s definitive legal work, Treatise Sanhedrin. THE PHARISEES ENDORSED CHILD SEX The rabbis of the Talmud are notorious for their legal hair-splitting, and quibbling debates. But they share rare agreement about their right to molest three year old girls. In contrast to many hotly debated issues, hardly a hint of dissent rises against the prevailing opinion (expressed in many clear passages) that pedophilia is not only normal but scriptural as well! It’s as if the rabbis have found an exalted truth whose majesty silences debate. Because the Talmudic authorities who sanction pedophilia are so renowned, and because pedophilia as “halakah” is so explicitly emphasized, not even the translators of the Soncino edition of the Talmud (1936) dared insert a footnote suggesting the slightest criticism. They only comment: “Marriage, of course, was then at a far earlier age than now.” 3 In fact, footnote 5 to Sanhedrin 60b rejects the right of a Talmudic rabbi to disagree with ben Yohai’s endorsement of pedophilia: “How could they [the rabbis], contrary to the opinion of R. Simeon ben Yohai, which has scriptural support, forbid the marriage of the young proselyte?” 4 OUT OF BABYLON It was in Babylon after the exile under Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC that Judaism’s leading sages probably began to indulge in pedophilia. Babylon was the staggeringly immoral capitol of the ancient world. For 1600 years, the world’s largest population of Jews flourished within it. As an example of their evil, Babylonian priests said a man’s religious duty included regular sex with temple prostitutes. Bestiality was widely tolerated. So Babylonians hardly cared whether a rabbi married a three year old girl. But with expulsion of the Jews in the 11th century AD, mostly to European lands, Gentile tolerance of Jewish pedophilia abruptly ended. Still, a shocking contradiction lingers: If Jews want to revere the transcendent wisdom and moral guidance of the Pharisees and their Talmud, they must accept the right of their greatest ancient sages to violate children. To this hour, no synod of Judaism has repudiated their vile practice. SEX WITH A “MINOR” IS PERMITTED What exactly did these sages say? The Pharisees justified child rape by explaining that a boy of nine years was not a “man”. Thus they exempted him from God’s Mosaic Law: “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination” (Leviticus. 18:22) One passage in the Talmud gives permission for a woman who molested her young son to marry a high priest. It concludes, “All agree that the connection of a boy aged nine years and a day is a real connection; whilst that of one less than eight years is not.” 5 Because a boy under 9 is sexually immature, he can’t “throw guilt” on the active offender, morally or legally. 6 Presumably, the majority of little Jewish boys get raped before they are nine by Rabbis. They get caught doing this constantly. A woman could molest a young boy without questions of morality even being raised: “…the intercourse of a small boy is not regarded as a sexual act.” 7 The JEWISH Talmud also says, “A male aged nine years and a day who cohabits with his deceased brother’s wife acquires her (as wife).” 8 Clearly, the JEWISH Talmud teaches that a woman is permitted to marry and have sex with a nine year old boy. SEX AT THREE & ONE DAY In contrast to Simeon ben Yohai’s dictum that sex with a little girl is permitted under the age of three years, the general teaching of the Talmud is that the rabbi must wait until a day after her third birthday. She could be taken in marriage simply by the act of rape. R. Joseph said: Come and hear! A maiden aged three years and a day may be acquired in marriage by coition and if her deceased husband’s brother cohabits with her, she becomes his. (Sanhedrin. 55b) A girl who is three years of age and one day may be betrothed by cohabitation. . . .(Yebamoth. 57b) A maiden aged three years and a day may be acquired in marriage by coition, and if her deceased husband’s brother cohabited with her she becomes his. (Sanhedrin. 69a, 69b, also discussed in Yebamoth. 60b) It was taught: R. Simeon b. Yohai stated: A proselyte who is under the age of three years and one day is permitted to marry a priest, for it is said, But all the women children that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves, and Phineas (who was priest, the footnote says) surely was with them. (Yebamoth. 60b) [The Talmud says such three year and a day old girls are] . . . fit for cohabitation. . . But all women children, that have not known man by lying with him, it must be concluded that Scripture speaks of one who is fit for cohabitation. (Footnote to Yebamoth. 60b) The example of Phineas, a priest, himself marrying an underage virgin of three years is considered by the Talmud as proof that such infants are “fit for cohabitation.” The Talmud teaches that an adult woman’s molestation of a nine year old boy is “not a sexual act” and cannot “throw guilt” upon her because the little boy is not truly a “man.” 9 But they use opposite logic to sanction rape of little girls aged three years and one day: Such infants they count as “women,” sexually mature and fully responsible to comply with the requirements of marriage. The Talmud footnotes 3 and 4 to Sanhedrin 55a clearly tell us when the rabbis considered a boy and girl sexually mature and thus ready for marriage. “At nine years a male attains sexual matureness… The sexual matureness of woman is reached at the age of three.” NO RIGHTS FOR CHILD VICTIMS The Pharisees were hardly ignorant of the trauma felt by molested children. To complicate redress, the Talmud says a rape victim must wait until she was of age before there would be any possibility of restitution. She must prove that she lived and would live as a devoted Jewess, and she must protest the loss of her virginity on the very hour she comes of age. “As soon as she was of age one hour and did not protest she cannot protest anymore.” 10 The Talmud defends these strict measures as necessary to forestall the possibility of a Gentile child bride rebelling against Judaism and spending the damages awarded to her as a heathen – an unthinkable blasphemy! But the rights of the little girl were really of no great consequence, for, “When a grown-up man has intercourse with a little girl it is nothing, for when the girl is less than this (three years and a day) it is as if one put the finger into the eye.” The footnote says that as “tears come to the eye again and again, so does virginity come back to the little girl under three years.” 11 In most cases, the Talmud affirms the innocence of male and female victims of pedophilia. Defenders of the Talmud claim this proves the Talmud’s amazing moral advancement and benevolence toward children; they say it contrasts favorably with “primitive” societies where the child would have been stoned along with the adult perpetrator. Actually, the rabbis, from self-protection, were intent on proving the innocence of both parties involved in pedophilia: the child, but more importantly, the pedophile. They stripped a little boy of his right to “throw guilt” on his assailant and demanded complicity in sex from a little girl. By thus providing no significant moral or legal recourse for the child, the Talmud clearly reveals whose side it is on: the raping rabbi. PEDOPHILIA WIDESPREAD Child rape was practiced in the highest circles of Judaism. This is illustrated from Yebamoth. 60b: There was a certain town in the land of Israel the legitimacy of whose inhabitants was disputed, and Rabbi sent R. Romanos who conducted an inquiry and found in it the daughter of a proselyte who was under the age of three years and one day, and Rabbi declared her eligible to live with a priest. The footnote says that she was “married to a priest” and the rabbi simply permitted her to live with her husband, thus upholding “halakah” as well as the dictum of Simeon ben Yohai, “A proselyte who is under the age of three years and one day is permitted to marry a priest.” 12 These child brides were expected to submit willingly to sex. Yebamoth. 12b confirms that under eleven years and one day a little girl is not permitted to use a contraceptive but “must carry on her marital intercourse in the usual manner.” In Sanhedrin 76b a blessing is given to the man who marries off his children before they reach the age of puberty, with a contrasting curse on anyone who waits longer. In fact, failure to have married off one’s daughter by the time she is 12-1/2, the Talmud says, is as bad as one who “returns a lost article to a Cuthean” (Gentile) – a deed for which “the Lord will not spare him.” 13 This passage says: “… it is meritorious to marry off one’s children whilst minors.” The mind reels at the damage to the untold numbers of girls who were sexually abused within Judaism during the heyday of pedophilia. Such child abuse, definitely practiced in the second century, continued, at least in Babylon, for another 900 years. A FASCINATION WITH SEX Perusing the Talmud, one is overwhelmed with the recurrent preoccupation with sex, especially by the most eminent rabbis. Dozens of illustrations could be presented to illustrate the delight of the Pharisees to discuss sex and quibble over its minutest details. The rabbis endorsing child sex undoubtedly practiced what they preached. Yet to this hour, their words are revered. Simeon ben Yohai is honoured by Orthodox Jews as one of the very greatest sages and spiritual lights the world has ever known. A member of the earliest “Tannaim,” rabbis most influential in creating the Talmud, he carries more authority to observant Jews than Moses. 1 Yebamoth 60b, p. 402. 3 Sanhedrin 76a. 4 In Yebamoth 60b, p. 404, Rabbi Zera disagrees that sex with girls under three years and one day should be endorsed as halakah. 5 Sanhedrin 69b. 7 Footnote 1 to Kethuboth 11b. 10 Kethuboth 11a. 11 Kethuboth 11b. 12 Yebamoth 60b. 13 Sanhedrin 76b. JEWISH RABBI PERVERTS BABYLONIAN TALMUD, Kethuboth 11b. “When a grown-up man has intercourse with a little girl it is nothing …like putting a finger in the eye” BABYLONIAN TALMUD, Menahoth 43b-44a. “A Jewish man is obligated to say the following prayer every day: Thank you God for not making me a gentile, a woman or a slave”. Cases of Clergy Abuse Case of Shlomo Aviner (Rosh Yeshiva, Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva, Rabbi of Beit El, Israel) Case of Rabbi Lewis Brenner (Convicted of child molestation. The original charges included 14 counts of sodomy, sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. He agreed to plead guilty to one count of sodomy in the third degree, a Class E felony, in exchange for a sentence of five years’ probation.) Case of Rabbi Ephraim Bryks (Accusations about sexual inappropriate behavior with children started surfacing in the 1980’s. Rabbi Bryks is currently a member of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens. The Vaad is a Rabbinical committee that makes important decisions within an orthodox community.) Case of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (Accused of several cases of child molestation, and sexual assault of young women) Case Rabbi Perry Ian Cohen – Montreal and Toronto Canada (Accused of sexual abuse of a seventeen year old. Fired for sexual impropriety with congregants) Case of Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen (Accused of sexually harassing students at Bar-Ilan University) Case of Rabbi Ephraim Goldberg – Boca Raton, Flordia (Pled guilty to one misdemeanor count of exposure of sexual organs in a washroom at a Palm Beach Mall.) Case of Rabbi/Cantor Sidney Goldenberg (Convicted of molesting children. The first complaints came in 1971. He was finally convicted in 1997.) Case of Cantor Joel Gordon (Convicted of having keeping a house of prostitution and involvement in a prostitution ring.) Case of Rabbi Israel Grunwald (Accused of molesting a 15 year old on a 1995 plane flight from Australia to LA. The charge against him were dropped after agreeing to perform 500 hours of community service and to seek counseling. Grunwald was the chief rabbi of an Hungarian Hasidic congregation in Brooklyn, known as the Pupas). Case of The State of Israel Vs. Sex Offender (Convicted of repeated rape and forced molestation of his graddaughter.) Case of Yehudah Friedlander – Rabbi ‘s Assistant (Accused of molesting a 15 year old on a 1995 plane flight from Australia to LA. Friedlander was the assistant to the chief rabbi of an Hungarian Hasidic congregation in Brooklyn, known as the Pupas) Case of the Rabbi at Hillel Torah, Chicago, IL (A teacher at the Chicago school was accused of child molestation. His name was not released. The school did everything correctly in attempting to keep the children safe once accusations were made.) Case of Rabbi Solomon Hafner (Accused of sexually abusing a developmentally disabled boy) Case of Rabbi (Alan J.) Shneur Horowitz (Convicted and sentenced to 10 – 20 years in prison for sodomizing a nine-year-old psychiatric patient. Allegedly, he has assaulted a string of children from California to Israel to New York in the past twenty years. Alan J. Horowitz is an Orthodox rabbi, magna cum laude, M.D., Ph.D. A graduate of Duke University, and was a writer for NAMBLA (North American Man/Boy Love Association). Case of Jacob Frank and the Frankist Movement (Accused of cultic type practices and sexual offenses) Case of Rabbi Israel Kestenbaum (Accused of child pornography on the internet) Case of Rabbi Robert Kirschner (Accused of sexually exploited or harassing three congregants and a synagogue employee) Case of Rabbi Ze’ev Kopolevitch (Convicted of molesting students at Rosh Yeshiva, Netiv Meir yeshiva high school) Case of Rabbi Baruch Lanner (Convicted – child molestation.) Case of Rabbi Jerrold Martin Levy (Convicted of two counts of soliciting sex through the Internet and two counts of child pornography. He was sentenced to six years and sex in prison. He was caught in the “Candyman” year-long sting operation by the US government.) Case of Rabbi Pinchas Lew (Accused of exposed himself to a woman.) Case of Rabbi/Psychologist Mordecai Magencey (lost his license to practice in the State of Missouri because of his sexual misconduct with his patients.) Case of Rabbi Richard Marcovitz (Convicted of indecent or lewd acts with a child, and sexual battery) Case of Rabbi Juda Mintz (Convicted – internet sting on child pornography) Rabbi Yona Metzger (Accused of sexually misconduct with four men) Case of Rabbi Avrohom Mondrowitz (Accused of two counts of sex abuse with boys at a special education school in New York) Case of Cantor Howard Nevison (Accused of molesting his nephew) Case of Rabbi Michael Ozair (Accused of sexual molestation of a then-14-year-old girl) Case of Cantor Stanley Rosenfeld (Convicted of molesting a 12-year-old boy he was tutoring.) Case of Rabbi Charles Shalman (Accused of sexual misconduct toward female congregational members) Case of Cantor Robert Shapiro (Accused of three counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault and battery to a mentally retarded woman) Case of Cantor Michael Segelstein (Accused of attempted rape; Chabad – Las Vegas, Nevada) Case of Rabbi Ze’ev Sultanovitch (Accused of sexually molesting a number of adult yeshiva students at the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva) Case of Rabbi Melvin Teitelbaum (Accused of three counts of sex crimes against two boys under the age of 14, and one count of assault with intent to commit rape against one boy’s mother. The charges were dropped for lack of evidenced) Case of Rabbi Isadore Trachtman (Accused of cultic type practices and sexual offenses) Case of Rabbi Hirsch Travis (Rabbi in Monsey, accused of posing as a Brooklyn doctor specializing in infertility problems, and allegedly sexually abusing and assaulting a patient.) Case of Rabbi Matis Weinberg (Accused of cultic type practices and sexual offenses) Case of Rabbi Yaakov Weiner (Accused of molesting boy at Camp Mogen Avraham, New York) Case of Rabbi Don Well Case of Cantor Phillip Wittlin (Convicted of molesting two girls) Case of Rabbi Mordechai Yomtov (Convicted of sexual abuse and committing lewd acts against three boys) Case of Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman (Violated guidelines concerning “sexual ethics and sexual boundaries,” ) Case of Rabbi Max Zucker (Accused by three women of improperly touching) And Other Trusted Officals (Parents, Teachers, Camp Counselors, etc.) Case of Arie Adler and Marisa Rimland, NY (Arie Adler was accused of molesting his daughter. Marisa Rimland murdered her daughter, and then committed suicide). Case of Simcha Adler – Ohel Counselor, NY (Plea-bargained charges of sodomy, sexual abuse and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child down to attempted sodomy.) Case of Eugene Loub Aronin – School Counselor, TX (Convicted in 1984 of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy) Case of B’Nai Torah Congegation – Hillel Community Day School janitor, Boca Raton, FL (Accused of child molestation) Case of Chaim Ciment (Accused and charged with first-degree sexual abuse, after allegations were made that he fondled a 17 year old girl in an elevator). Case of James A. Cohen – Jewish Youth Group Leader (Convicted child molester, sentenced to 9 years for assaulting 4 boys) Case of Larry Cohen – Soccer Coach, Lake Oswego, OR (Accused of molesting two individuals.) Case of Lawrence Cohen – School Teacher, NJ (Convicted and sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for transmitting child pornography through his home computer). Case of Phillip “Eli” Cohen, London, England (Accused of 13 charges of indecently assaulting a boy and four offences of indecently assaulting a girl) Case of Stuart Cooperman, MD – Pediatrican, Merrick, New York (Accused of molesting six female patience). Case of Delaware Family (Father accused of alleged child molestation) Case of Mordechai (Morton) Ehrman – Simcha’s Play Group, Brooklyn, NY (Accused of molesting dozens of students). Case of Hbrandon Lee Flagner (Convicted of the kidnapping and aggravated murder of Tiffany Jennifer Papesh a 8-year-old girl. Flagner also claimed to have molested hundreds of girls during his life. While in prison, Flagner convert to Judaism by an Chasidic rabbi.) Case of Arnold and Jesse Friedman (Capturing the Friedmans) (Convicted sex offender) Case of Richard “Steve” Goldberg (Allegedly engaging in sex acts with several girls under 10 in California. He is on the FBI’s ten most wanted fugitives list) Case of Ross Goldstein (Convicting of sodomy in the first degree (three counts) and use of a child in a sexual performance. He was Sentenced to four concurrent indeterminated terms of 2 to 6 years imprisonment. Also see: Case of Arnold and Jesse Friedman) Case of Several Child Sex Offenders in Har Nof 0 Jerusalem, Israel (Outlines several cases of alleged child sex offenders in the charedi town of Har Nof) Case of David B. Harrington – School Principal / Big Brother, Rockville, MD (Convicted sex offender. Cases from the 1960’s – 1980’s.) Case of State of Israel Vs. a Sex Offender (Convicted – 68 year old Israeli religious man pled guilty to repeated molestation of his granddaughter, was sentenced to 19 years in jail. Case of Eric Hindin – Jewish Big Brother Volunteer, Newton, MA (Convicted of 35 counts of child rape. He was sentenced to 20-22 years in prison). Case of Judge Ronald Kline, CA (Accused of possessing child pornography and for allegedly molesting a neighborhood boy 25 years ago). Case of the Kosher Butcher in Chicago (Accused of molesting children for over 30 years) Case of Lawrence Nevison – (Convicted of molesting his nephew. He is the brother of Cantor Howard Nevison) Case of Stuart Nevison – (Convicted of molesting his cousin. He is the brother of Cantor Howard Nevison) The Case of the Students of Ner Israel Yeshiva in the 1950’s (Students accused of sexually molesting a younger student) Case of the New York Society for the Deaf’s Home (Accused of treating disabled patients “like animals,” beaten, drugged and robbed of their government checks). Case of Ozzie Orbach, M.D. (Accused of molesting his daughter) Case of the Rogers Park JCC, Chicago Illinois (This was the first case of alleged mass molestation recorded in Illinois to involve accusations of sexual abuse by a group of adults, consists of 246 allegations that staff members abused children enrolled at the center, according to the Illinois Department of children and Family Services). Case of Jonathan Rosenthal – Community Police Liason, London, England (Acquitted of sexually assaulting a few children, after a jury used ancient common law right, deciding evidence wasn’t strong enough.) Case of Adam Theodore Rubin – Teacher, Coach and Girl Scout Coordinator (Accused of using a computer to solicit sex with a minor, possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia). Case of Georges Schteinberg – Teacher, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Accused of possession of child pornography. Charges dropped when Schteinberg fled the country). Case of Aryeh Scher – Israeli vice-consul, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Accused of possession of child pornography. Charges dropped when Scher fled the country). Case of David Schwartz – Camp Counselor, Culver City, CA (Convicted and sentenced to one year in residential treatment and five years’ probation for molesting a 4-year-old boy in his care at summer camp. A six-year prison sentence was suspended). Case of Jerrold Schwartz – Scoutmaster, NY (Convicted and sentanced to 8 years in prison for multiple counts of sodomizing his former scout ). Case of Irwin Silverman – Chief Counsel to U.S. secretary of interior 1933-53 (Accused of molesting his daughter Sue William Silverman. ) Case of Paul Slifer – Teacher (Accused of sexually assaulting a several students, and impersonating a doctor. ) Case of Ari Sorkin – Synagogue Youth Worker, Elkins Park, PA (Accused of molesting a 16 yr. old girl) Case of Tel Aviv Arts School, Tel Aviv, Israel Case of Dr. Saul and Judith Wasserman (Accused of molesting their daughter) Case of David Douglas Webber – Mashgiach (Kashrut Supervisor), Canada (Convicted and sentenced to six years for possessing child pornography and molesting seven boys over the past eight years). HARVEY WEINSTEIN: ON JEWS AND THE SHIKSA Let me cut right to the chase: The title for this essay should really be “The Specifically Jewy Perviness of Harvey Weinstein,” which, as luck would have it, is in fact the title of a short entry by Jewish writer Max Oppenheimer in the very Jewish magazine Tablet. This Jewish writer opines that “Harvey, sadly, is a deeply Jewish kind of pervert.” Okay, I’m good with that. It fits the facts. What is this “perversion”? Well, Herr Oppenheimer kindly explains how it is common for Jewish men to lust after women with a “non-Jewish origin,” or, to be more specific, White non-Jewish women. As Oppenheimer writes about the targets of Weinstein’s lust, “It goes without saying that nearly every one of these women — Rose McGowan, Ambra Batillana, Laura Madden, Ashley Judd, etc. — was a Gentile, all the better to feed Weinstein’s revenge-tinged fantasy . . .” Now what’s all this talk about revenge? And what does that have to do with non-Jewish women? To unpack all of this, I’m going to have to go back in literary history to a Jewish American writer few of my readers under age forty (or fifty?) will even know: Philip Roth. Needless to say, Oppenheimer knows this history, which is why he employs the following subtitle to his piece: “The disgraced film producer is a character straight out of Philip Roth, playing out his revenge fantasies on the Goyim.” Before visiting what Roth has written, however, I must offer a brief description of the word “shiksa” and its manifestation in American film. THE SHIKSA Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (1994) defines shiksa as: n. Yiddish 1. A girl or woman who is not Jewish. 2. A Jewish girl or woman whose attitudes and behavior are felt to resemble those of a gentile. Cf. shegetz. If only it were that simple. As it turns out, there is a far deeper, darker meaning to the term. For instance, Rabbi Daniel Gordis, in the glossary of his book Does the World Need the Jews? mentions the word’s pejorative roots: “shiksah — a Yiddish word for a non-Jewish woman, which has a terribly derogatory connotation.” Orthodox Jew Yossi Klein Halevi concurs, writing in his book Memoirs of a Jewish Extremist that shiksa is a “nasty Yiddish word implying ‘slut.’” Author David Brenner and Leo Rosten (in his popular The Joys of Yiddish) both agree that the word means “blemish.” Perhaps it is the late Israel Shahak, however, who best explains the word’s true meaning. In his important work, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, the Weight of 3000 Years (get the pdf of the book here), Shahak notes that the Megiddo Modern Hebrew-English Dictionary, published in Israel, defines the word as: “unclean animal; loathsome creature, abomination . . .” Now, do any of you recall the way Woody Allen pokes fun at psychoanalysts in the film Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex? It seems a man in the film is quite enamored of his sexual relationship with a sheep. Thus, there may be two levels of humor at work here: the surface level where comic discrepancy is obvious (sex with a sheep vs. shiksa), but also the intimately Jewish one where only one schooled in Hebrew or Yiddish might connect the animal to Shahak’s etymology of the word shiksa. In fact, this likely explains the scene in the film where the psychoanalyst, played by Gene Wilder (yes, he’s Jewish) has an Armenian patient who confesses to sex with a ewe named Daisy. Watch that scene. Now, armed with the above knowledge, you may see why Wilder is about to burst out laughing. We can assume the inside Jewish word joke is part of it, but there is also the humor that likely comes from once again “pulling one over on the goyim,” who will miss the entire subtext of the (Jewish) joke — all at the expense of us goyim. (The theme appears again in the movie in the scene featuring a rabbi “whose secret fantasy is to be whipped by a statuesque shiksa while his wife eats pork.” If you’re confused by all these images, be patient, for we’ll get to detailed explanations soon.) Because Hollywood is certainly a Jewish milieu, scores of films are filled with shiksa themes large and small, and Woody Allen is just one Jew who mines the theme. There are many others. In the breakthrough film Lenny (1974), for example, a film starring Jewish actor Dustin Hoffman as renegade comedian Lenny Bruce (born Leonard Schneider), we see the quintessential shiksa lust scene: Bruce bursts into a room, intent on meeting his blonde girlfriend, and is stunned to see her posing naked for him. Transfixed, he quivers and intones, “Oh yeah. Oh yeah. It’s a shiksa goddess.” (By the way, Wiki tells us that “Lenny has received a rare ‘100% Fresh’ score on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes based on 16 reviews.”) There are any number of useful books on Jews and Jewish themes in Hollywood film, beginning with Patricia Erens’ The Jew in American Cinema. As one example of the shiksa theme, she points to the 1963 film Come Blow Your Horn as a typical specimen of Jewish men’s yearning for the shiksa, or, in Erens’s words, “the Jewish male’s search for sexual fulfillment, especially among large-breasted flighty Gentile women.” In this movie, “Alan and Buddy seek a carnal experience which they associate with the Shiksa. For them this provides a measure of independence, as well as acceptance in non-Jewish society.” The shiksa theme, then, can be viewed from a variety of angles. Within an exclusively Jewish setting, it can be seen as a discourse on the limits Jewish culture sets for its adherents: it is taboo for males to go outside the group for sex or for mating. Perhaps no one has understood the deep roots of this discourse and their lamentable influence on American culture better than sociologist John Murray Cuddihy, author of the seminal 1974 work The Ordeal of Civility: Freud, Marx, Lévi-Strauss and the Jewish Struggle with Modernity, a book I would only recommend to the most serious scholars of The Jewish Question. In tandem with what Erens writes, Cuddihy agrees that shiksa lust represents an internal Jewish drama: the lure of the non-Jewish women is always threatening to tear the Jewish male away from his own tribe. Cuddihy, however, takes this further, writing that In Freud, the deepest taboo of Judaism, the taboo against intermarriage, the forbidden lust of the Jew for the Gentile shiksa, for the shiksa as “the promise of fulfillment,” is rationalized, psychologized, and reinterpreted as the desire for the mother, which desire” he continues, “is held taboo by everyone, of course, not just by Jews.” The particularist, ritual taboo of the Jewish subculture — intermarriage, connubium — is reconceptualized (and psychologized) as the universalist, “scientific,” anthropological taboo on incest.” Of course, since Freud’s ideas had their popular impact during “The Jewish Century,” his bizarre theories were imposed on an unwitting American public, which suffered for decades from this Jewish assault. (For more on this, see MacDonald’s Culture of Critique, Chapter 4, “Jewish Involvement In The Psychoanalytic Movement.”) Our point, here, however, is to introduce the theme of the shiksa to a wider Gentile public and to tie it into the current uproar over Harvey Weinstein’s case. And that finally leads us to that most Jewish of authors, Philip Roth. That “Informer to the Goyim,” Philip Roth Roth began writing in the midst of what we can think of as the “Jewish American literary onslaught,” as Jews practically took over publishing fiction in America, and Jewish authors shouldered aside non-Jewish writers. Any English student at an American university from 1970–2000 or so would be familiar with the names: Abraham Cahan, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Joseph Brodsky, Henry Roth, Bernard Malamud, Chaim Potok, Saul Bellow, E.L. Doctorow, J.D. Salinger (half), Norman Mailer, Susan Sontag (“Goys are the cancer of human history”), Erika Jong, Cynthia Ozick and so many others. Error! Filename not specified.Roth came to the fore with the publication of his 1959 novel Goodbye, Columbus, an autobiographically humorous look at Jewish life in the greater New York area. It was with Portnoy’s Complaint, however, written a decade later, that Roth gained stardom. In synch with the times, this novel shocked the elders of that era, including many older Jews, for Roth was explicitly revealing to the goyim many of the negative traits commonly found among American Jews. He was also revealing many of the negative attitudes Jews held with respect to their goy countrymen, an offense which prompted John Cuddihy to label Roth an “informer to the goyim.” Portnoy’s Complaint is, in so many ways, the story of Roth himself, a tactic which became his trademark. Wiki notes that the book amounts to a “humorous and sexually explicit psychoanalytical monologue of ‘a lust-ridden, mother-addicted young Jewish bachelor,’ filled with ‘intimate, shameful detail, and coarse, abusive language.’” And that it is. For example — and central to our purposes in this essay — protagonist Alexander Portnoy chronicles his sexual escapades with his shiksa sex object, whom he cruelly nicknames “The Monkey.” Throughout the novel, Roth describes how Portnoy humiliates this Christian girl with all manner of explicit sexual acts. Roth’s characterization of Portnoy’s vicious contempt for “The Monkey” represents perfectly the easily established hostility American Jews hold for the Christian majority. Consider this long passage Roth wrote that describes the depth of longing for a non-Jewish girl. At this point in the story, it is not particularly hostile, but it does give us a stunningly frank insider description of Jewish male attitudes: Shikses! In winter, when the polio germs are hibernating and I can bank upon surviving outside of an iron lung until the end of the school year, I ice-skate on the lake in Irvington Park. . . . I skate round and round in circles behind the shikses who live in Irvington. . . But the shikses, ah, the shikses are something else again. Between the smell of damp sawdust and wet wool in the overheated boathouse, and the sight of their fresh cold blond hair spilling out of their kerchiefs and caps, I am ecstatic. Amidst these flushed and giggling girls, I lace up my skates with weak, trembling fingers, and then out into the cold and after them I move, down the wooden gangplank on my toes and off onto the ice behind a fluttering covey of them — a nosegay of shikses, a garland of gentile girls. I am so awed that I am in a state of desire beyond a hard-on. My circumcised little dong is simply shriveled up with veneration. . . . How do they get so gorgeous, so healthy, so blond? My contempt for what they believe in is more than neutralized by my adoration of the way they look, the way they move and laugh and speak — the lives they must lead behind those goyische curtains! Maybe a pride of shikses is more like it . . . So: dusk on the frozen lake of a city park, skating behind the puffy red earmuffs and the fluttering yellow ringlet of a strange shikse teaches me the meaning of the word longing. It is almost more than an angry thirteen-year-old little Jewish Momma’s Boy can bear. Forgive the luxuriating, but these are probably the most poignant hours of my life I’m talking about — I learn the meaning of the word longing, I learn the meaning of the word pang. There go the darling things dashing up the embankment, clattering along the shoveled walk between the evergreens . . . I want Jane Powell too, God damn it! And Corliss and Veronica. I too want to be the boyfriend of Debbie Reynolds — it’s the Eddie Fisher in me coming out, that’s all, the longing in all us swarthy Jewboys for those bland blond exotics called shikses . . . In a later scene, however, the brilliant Portnoy, having just recited a famous poem, reveals to his blonde lover (“The Monkey”) the name of the poet — William Butler Yeats — but immediately realizes: “how tactless I had been, with what insensitivity I had drawn attention to the chasm: I am smart and you are dumb . . .” Later, Portnoy happens upon a note she has written and responds: “I am just face to face with my first specimen of The Monkey’s handwriting. A note to the cleaning lady. Though at first glance I imagine it must be a note from the cleaning lady . . .” dir willa polish the flor by bathrum pleze & dont furget the insies of windose mary jane r Portnoy reads the note three times, finding new meaning with each reading, the most significant of which he describes: Oh that z, that z between the two e’s of “pleze” — this is a mind with the depths of a movie marquee! And “furget”! Exactly how a prostitute would misspell that word! But it’s something about the mangling of “dear,” that tender syllable of affection now collapsed into three lower-case letters, that strikes me as hopelessly pathetic. . . . This woman is ineducable and beyond reclamation. Despite this contempt — or perhaps because of it — Portnoy continues his sexual relationship with his shiksa, “The Monkey.” Was this at all motivated by revenge fantasies, though? In fact, it becomes easy to argue that it is because Roth himself tells us so. In passages related to the Quiz Show scandal of the 50s, the author inserts a scene into the book that portrays a naked, viscerally anti-goy animus: I was on the staff of the House subcommittee investigating the television scandals. . . . and then of course that extra bonus, Charlatan Van Doren. Such character, such brains and breeding, that candor and schoolboyish charm — the ur-WASP, wouldn’t you say? And turns out he’s a fake. Well, what do you know about that, Gentile America? Supergoy, a gonif! Steals money. Covets money. Wants money, will do anything for it. Goodness gracious me, almost as bad as Jews — you sanctimonious WASPs! Yes, I was one happy yiddel down there in Washington, a little Stern gang of my own, busily exploding Charlie’s honor and integrity, while simultaneously becoming lover to that aristocratic Yankee beauty whose forebears arrived on these shores in the seventeenth century. Phenomenon known as Hating Your Goy and Eating One Too. Did you get that last line? “Hating Your Goy and Eating One Too.” Harvey Weinstein, is that how you also felt? Is that why Max Oppenheimer writes, “The disgraced film producer [Weinstein] is a character straight out of Philip Roth, playing out his revenge fantasies on the Goyim”? If you are still not convinced Roth’s character Portnoy is filled with revenge fantasies, then consider Portnoy’s telling confession to his psychiatrist in another scene. “What I’m saying, Doctor, is that I don’t seem to stick my dick up these girls, as much as I stick it up their backgrounds — as though through fucking I will discover America. Conquer American — maybe that’s more like it.” Quite frankly, I think readers should copy these quotes and share them with any friends or family willing to listen. Then talk about the Weinstein article. Show them Max Oppenheimer’s piece, too. Try to explain this Jewish mentality to them. Though you need not necessarily mention it explicitly, try to get across the message that Jews constitute much of the elite in this country — and many of those Jews are hostile toward the people they rule — hostile toward us. This goes a long way toward explaining our current situation, I maintain. This theme of Jewish men lusting after and abusing shiksas is in the news now but it deserves attention on its own anyway. Thus, I plan to do two or three more essays in this series to further explore the topic. For instance, I’ll take an in-depth look at how Dustin Hoffman often plays a character with a shiksa love interest, beginning with that blatantly Jewish film The Graduate. I will also look at Ben Stiller films as well, then possibly move on to examples from television. This is the kind of stuff we should be learning in graduate seminars, but instead most students are learning harmful nonsense about “White male privilege,” tranny rights, and the sorrows of Sitting Bull and such. Nothing about Jewish power and privilege, let alone the deeper attitudes Jews hold toward the vast non-Jewish world they rule over. PS: I can’t help but add one peeve I have had ever since reading “Portnoy’s Complaint” years ago: Why didn’t the objects of Roth’s scorn rise up and crush the assailant? Why did those Baby Boomers think the whole thing was just one fine joke? “Oh, how clever!” they would say. “Oh, how naughty!” Those Boomers back then should have known that this literary assault was part and parcel of the Jewish assault on all parts of Western civilization. Now we who have inherited this fallen world must deal with the consequences, with the Harvey Weinsteins and their ilk. Thanks, Boomers. by Edmund Connelly, Ph. D.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line326

__label__wiki

Pope Francis Ignores the True Nature of Islam by Jacob Thomas · By Jacob Thomas “Jihad Never Sleeps” is the title of an article in Crisis Magazine, which is “A Voice for the Faithful Catholic laity.” What saddened me most was this paragraph taken from the current pope’s view of Islam, which is beyond belief! “Pope Francis himself has been one of the main defenders of Islam. In Evangelii Gaudium he declared that “authentic Islam and a proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence.” On another occasion, he told Muslim migrants that they could find guidance in the Koran. And, most recently, he stated that the personal safety of immigrants should always take priority over national security. That’s a high-sounding sentiment, but when you think about it it’s just another way of saying that the safety of Muslim immigrants is more important than the safety of Europeans and Americans.” This statement is utterly false. Even moderate/reformist Muslims would never write such dangerous and misleading words. I am thankful to God that a scholarly Catholic, William Kilpatrick, has challenged Pope Francis. Pope Benedict XVI was utterly honest in his views about Islam. For example, in his academic lecture in Regensburg, Germany, on 12 September 2006, he quoted the opinion of a 14th century Byzantine emperor that “not acting reasonably is contrary to God’s nature.” The emperor had illustrated his claim about unreasonable religious behavior, by discussing the use of violence to coerce conversion, ascribing such practices in polemical terms, to Islam.” To read “Jihad Never Sleeps,” please click on the following link: http://www.crisismagazine.com/2017/jihad-never-sleeps Tags: Pope Francis on Islam The True nature of Islam; Falsehood Is Dangerous Consultant on Middle Eastern affair/ Columnist Face_The_Truth says: The historic alliance between Islam and Christianism dates back to the so-called Jewish as well as Christian “Saint” Paul (i.e., Jewish “Saul” became Christian “Paul”). From Dr. Koenraad Elst’s book “Psychology of Prophetism: A Secular Look at the Bible” (New Delhi, 1993), I quote the followings: ‘There are indeed traces of Jesus’s survival in the New Testament. Saint Paul relates how, immediately after his conversion, he went to Arabia, and returned to Damascus invested with the authority to lead the Church among the Gentiles; and how he went and joined the apostles in Jerusalem only after three years (Gal. 1:17). This is only seemingly in contradiction with the version of Acts 9:26, which makes Saint Paul go from Damascus to Jerusalem. It is indeed from Damascus that Saint Paul arrived in Jerusalem, but the information that he had to be smuggled out of Damascus indicates that he had already been a controversial preacher for some time, which again presupposes that he had been invested with some authority. Only after preaching for three years did Saint Paul visit the Christians in Jerusalem, including the original apostles who must have been the highest authority in the Church after Jesus. What did Saint Paul go to Arabia for? Could it be that that is where Jesus was staying, safely just outside the Roman Empire?’ Christianism and Islam are the worst types of “religious faiths” on earth, which are shrouded in historic Jewish falsehoods and Jewish barbarism of so-called “Prophethood” where the almighty creator does not speak to entire varieties of humans on his own directly, rather uses any specific mortal human to either prescribe or proscribe certain codes of so-called “Divine” conducts! Contemporary Islam-Christianism’s bloody religio-social-military-economic alliance can be fathomed from the following LINKS. https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/09/saudi-government-accused-of-funding-dry-run-for-911-jihad-attacks https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/09/reporting-on-the-rohingya-the-tip-of-a-huge-iceberg-of-misinformation The following LINK powerfully indicates that today’s Islam-Christianism alliance is deeply rooted in utter falsehoods of Middle-Eastern so-called “Mono-Theism” where — during medieval time — European Christian Popes acted in favor of Islam as well as in favor of marauding Muslim invaders in order to commit iconoclastic genocide on non-believers of Islam and Christianism. https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/09/iran-vatican-discuss-plight-of-rohingya-muslims-in-myanmar One of the possible reasons that “Pope Francis ignores the true natural of Islam” has been gone over a small number of times on conservative talk radio . For there is an unproven yet possibly true story ,going around, that the Roman Catholic clerics who compose the Vatican were very worried when pope Benedict was head of the Roman Catholic Church because he was deemed too strong and uncompromising regarding Islam. Therefore the different clerics of the Vatican feared jihadists attacks against around the world against Roman Catholic Churches , Cathedrals ,monasteries ,nunneries and shrines So because of the terrible fear the pressured pope Benedict to resign as pope and then they replaced him with a pope of appeasement towards Islam ,who is non-other then pope Francis. His Holiness Pope Francis subconsciously recognizes that Islam and Christianism are similar close creeds born out of blatant falsehoods, barbarism and debauchery of Judaism (i.e., Jewism) of Middle East! https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/08/australia-ex-human-rights-chief-says-sharias-no-different-to-catholicism-calls-for-sharia-courts https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/08/national-catholic-reporter-the-muslim-jesus-provides-common-ground-for-christianity-islam https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/08/uk-muslim-baroness-says-paranoid-government-must-make-muslims-feel-welcome

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line327

__label__cc

S.D.Gs Grace Academy The Family Africa Free Day Care Centre for the children of HIV positive women and AIDS orphans We are running a completely free day care centre for the pre school children of our HIV positive mothers as well as AIDS orphans. The children receive two nutritious meals a day, a good education and health care. We believe this is an excellent way to offer community based support to HIV positive women and also to the grandparents who are left caring for the orphans once the parents have died of AIDS. It is impossible to build enough orphanages in Africa because of the sheer numbers but also because in many way children are best raised within their own extended family,culture and community whenever possible. Community based Free Day centres like The Family Africa’s give the support that struggling extended family membersneed to continue caring for the orphans. Additionally we provide breakfast for other orphans who are attending government school but who would otherwise face the school day hungry. HIV/Aids Education HIV/AIDS School programmes Interactive programmes for Primary and Secondary Schools using music and drama and encouraging active student participation. The programmes are an audio visual extravaganza covering the basics of HIV/AIDS education through a dramatic fast moving show. It includes nformation on how the learners can protect themselves, destroys the many myths which surround HIV/AIDS and promotes a positive response to people living with AIDS from a Christian perspective. The teenage programme includes a drama called Captain Condom which hits teenage sexual relationships and head on in an unforgettable way The desperate need for this form of education is underlined by the fact that, sadly, in some of the schools where we run this programme there are pregnant girls as young as 11 years old. A new addition to the show is an anti drug song emphasising how drugs and alcohol are important factors which hinder wise decision making. For primary schools: Although much of the material covered is the same as in the secondary school programme, the direct approach to sexuality is replaced by a Stranger Danger section and how to get help if close friends and relatives are behaving inappropriately towards the children. Puppets are used effectively to tackle these highly sensitive topics. Poster and essay competitions (with prizes) are used as a follow up tool to reinforce learning and to ensure the students have grasped the basics of the programmes We have received excellent feedback from students and staff through out the country. We also take the programme on the road around South Africa and into surrounding African countries of Namibia and Zambia and the programmes has been translated in Portuguese and conducted in Mozambique. *Beneficiaries: 40,000 students so far. Miles of Smiles Club The Family Africa also runs a club for 300+ disadvantaged children every week for children ages 2-16 which includes sports, music and drama based around character building themes. We also identify those with special needs such as malnourished, abused sick, child headed households or those (over 7 years), who are not going to school and help with the process of finding a school for them. Additional Youth Club activities for the teenagers include HIV/AIDS education, sports and excursions. This club also includes a feeding scheme every week and the distribution of clothing and blankets on an ongoing basis. We also provide Christmas parties and presents for them every year. Beneficiaries: 300-400 children from age 6 months to 16 years old Project Themba Themba (Hope in Zulu)-HIV/Aids Support Group As there is a terrible stigma attached to HIV/AIDS we initiated an HIV/AIDS support group 5 years ago which would include TB sufferers. Project Themba: Micro businesses facilitation Basic skills training In the township where we work, 90% of TB patients are HIV positive and as there is no stigma attached to TB, we discovered that it meant that patients were happy and willing to be involved in the support group and thereby receive the help they need. All our clients are economically disadvantaged and many depend on the group for their basic food. This support group has been running successfully since January 2005 and involves skills training and development programmes such as literacy, knitting, sewing, and food gardening and ongoing HIV/AIDS education and other health education. It is community based in the township and we have a chairperson and secretary who are part of the community. Although there are some male members of the group it is mainly women who are benefiting. We also supply nutritious food as a healthy diet is an important to help build up their immune systems and prolong life. We also supply warm clothing and blankets during the winter months when they are most at risk due to their poor health. A very important element of the support group is the spiritual support they receive and the support they give each other. The food garden helps to promote gentle exercise and also provides them with a sustainable food source and a feeling of self worth. Beneficiaries : 30 > HIV/Aids Mothers Support Group The Mother’s Support and Counselling Centre for HIV positive mothers and their children. In a social environment where there is still a huge stigma attached to HIV/AIDS which normally leads to isolation and in extreme cases can lead to stoning and beatings, our project is highly successful with the mothers coming together and openly discussing their status. Many of the babies are also testing negative due to ongoing education and support. This project is similar to the TB/HIV group (THEMBA)but with one extra valuable goal and that it to try by all means possible to ensure they receive the correct education so that their babies have an opportunity to be HIV negative. Although some babies are HIV positive due to the mixing of blood at birth there is hope for the other babies to test negative if their mothers are trained and encouraged to maintain the proper feeding and care of their babies. We also help them to build happy memories with their babies and families: giving the mothers short term and long term goals to help the women look forward to the future which helps to prolong life. We also run a full time free of charge Counselling and Support centre for these women with a food garden, netball team and choir. The women are also encouraged to attend training courses and initiate micro businesses with our support. By volunteering at the Centre the women gain valuable work experience whereby we can provide them with references to help them find work. We also offer assistance to ensure they can obtain the necessary paperwork such as birth certificates and IDs so that they can receive the government grants to which they are entitled. All of these services mean that the women are being empowered to take control of their lives and put food on the table for their children. The Family Africa mobile clinic incorporates an HIV testing room and both pre and post test counselling facilities. Other rapid testing and health screening such as TB, diabetes and blood pressure etc can also be facilitated. Reaching out to rural areas are the worst hit, the least literate and with the least understanding of HIV/AIDS. We also target urban areas, mainly squatter camps and informal settlements where there is little availability of HIV testing. With the roll out of ARVs over the last few years it is even more important that everyone knows their status so that early treatment can commence as soon as possible so that the individual will be healthier, live longer and also research shows that the virus is less likely to transmitted when ARVs are taken consistently. The Family Africa has a team of experienced and accredited counsellors who have been working in the field of HIV/Aids awareness and education for over 17 years. Voluntary HIV counselling and testing has emerged as a major strategy for the prevention of the spread of HIV in Africa. Research findings show that knowing one’s HIV status, whether negative or positive lead to behaviour change and safer sex practices. Access to early medical care and prevention of mother to child transmission are among many other benefits. The mobile unit expands our already successful programmes into the rural areas. These are comprehensive prevention and diagnosis programmes that address the various aspects of HIV/AIDS in different contexts such as religious institutions, workplaces, community gatherings and schools (primary and secondary). Peer educators/wellness champions are targeted including teachers, religious leaders, sangomas ( traditional healers) and community leaders. Targeting the whole community helps to lift the stigma and discrimination often associated with HIV specific programmes. Programmes are interactive and include music and drama. Adults are also advised to make the decision to go through the HIV testing process with professional counselling. We work in partnership with existing health care systems. HIV/TB Counselling Centre Our counselling centre is open 5 days a week and we have a steady stream of people coming for pre and post HIV test counselling along with requests for assistance with many other issues such as abusive relationships or clients in need of practical help to get paperwork done so they can claim grants. We also run a bereavement support group every week for those who have recently lost loved ones. Child Headed and Gogo (Grandmother) Household Units and Support Groups Gogo (Grandmother) headed households and Child headed households. South Africa’s HIV and AIDS epidemic has had a devastating effect on children in a number of ways. There were an estimated 360,000 under-15s living with HIV in 2013, a figure that more than doubled since 2001. In most instances the virus was transmitted from the child’s mother. Consequently, the HIV-infected child is born into a family where the virus may have already had a severe impact on health, income, productivity and the ability to care for each other. There are also an estimated 2,400,000 orphans between 0 and 17 years old as a result of HIV/AIDS. The age bracket that AIDS most heavily targets – younger adults – means it is not uncommon for one or more parents to die from AIDS while their children are young. This has led to Grandmother (or less often Grandfather) led households as well as child headed households. Thankfully now more people are now living with HIV due to the roll out of ARVs but we have still identified a need to give targeted support to Grandmothers who care for orphans and to child headed households as we believe as much as possible children benefit from staying with their families in their communities rather than being brought up in institutions. For Grandmothers we run a support group every week with skills training, especially literacy and numeracy as many of them grew up during apartheid without opportunity for even a basic education. We also give them health education and food parcels plus other needs such as blankets and toiletries. Child headed households are given the food parcels and an opportunity to eat at our centre every day. We do home visits to check on the status of the household to identify and supply other necessities and encourage the eldest child to continue with school. School Age Orphans: Care and Support South Africa’s HIV and AIDS epidemic has had a devastating effect on children in a number of ways. There were an estimated 360,000 under-15s living with HIV in 2013, a figure that more than doubled since 2001. In most instances the virus was transmitted from the child’s mother. Consequently, the HIV-infected child is born into a family where the virus may have already had a severe impact on health, income, productivity and the ability to care for each other. There are also an estimated 2,400,000 orphans between 0 and 17 years old as a result of HIV/AIDS. The Family Africa Free Day Care Centre caters for preschool age orphans and gives them a good education and two meals a day but we realised we needed to do something for the school age orphans and so we created a regular support group which supplies them with food, toiletries, blankets, clothing and shoes as well as weekly activities. Food Voucher Programme for Malnourished Children Through our Family Health programmes, we have identified children who are underweight and obviously on a poor diet. These children have been weight and height measured and given a general health check by a nurse, who then gives them a food voucher which entitles them to a free dinner every day at The Family Africa Centre. This also gives us the opportunity to monitor their health and conduct home visits. Teachers HIV Awareness Workshops and Early Learning Seminars Our teachers’ workshops and seminars invest in the future of thousands of children by empowering teachers in primary schools and pre-schools to be trained in HIV awareness and health guidelines for children. We also conduct Early Learning Seminars for pre-school teachers which are motivational and instructional promoting practical pre reading and writing activities and the basics of teaching reading, writing and numeracy. Family Health Programmes Our family Health programmes are held on a regular basis and aim to check the general health of children and their parents in a township or squatter camp. Parents are offered TB and diabetes screening and blood pressure and HIV pre and post test counselling. Children are weighed, measured and checked for health problems, signs of abuse and malnourishment. Malnourished children are placed on our food voucher programme, whenever possible. Homework Assistance for Underprivileged Teenagers As a teenager, living in a shack in a township or squatter camp in South Africa, there is nowhere quiet to do your homework and most likely no one who is able to help you if you do not know what to do. Education can be a real key to help you escape the shacks and build a better life but with overcrowded, poorly resources schools and often substandard teaching, how can you get the education you need? This is why we knew it was imperative that we respond to this need with positive action. We have been running our tutoring for teenagers from the age of 11 up to 18 for several years. We concentrate on mathematics as most of the teenagers with whom we work, hardly know how to do multiplication tables and are still counting on their fingers to work out maths problems at 16 years old. English lessons are also a very important key to job opportunities as it is the language of business here. We need more tutors to keep up with the demand! Teen Dream Programme Using Music, Drama and Excursions Life in a squatter camp or township in South Africa can be difficult, challenging and full of hardship. Imagine being a teenager brought up with very few opportunities for fun but surrounded by easily available drugs, sexual abuse, crime and a fight for survival. Our Teen Dream Club gives teenagers a chance to learn to dance, swim, play football, go on excursions and just have fun! With plenty of activities and hot dogs every week, this club gives teens a chance to step out and experience new things in a safe environment. Support for the Elderly and Vulnerable Families The Family Africa was asked by the Office of Social Development to initiate a support group for the elderly and vulnerable families in Thabo Mbeki Township, where there is no electricity or sewage disposal. We have been running the project for several years, supplying food, counselling and home visits in this area where there is very little assistance available especially for the elderly who are living in the difficult circumstances living by candle light at night and having to walk to fetch water. We have been running our “Second Chance “programme for many years — working towards changing criminals into useful citizens through Christian Leadership courses and personal counselling. In Johannesburg, with one of the worst violent crime rates in the world, we believe giving prisoners a second chance is a valuable programme not only for the individuals but also for the betterment of society as a whole. Underpinning the programme is our belief that it is not sufficient just to punish offenders and then send them back into the world. This programme teaches them about improving relationships, overcoming obstacles and bitterness and learning how to live a better, more productive life based on sound, moral principles. Our prison chaplains pictured here, lovingly and patiently help the prisoners to see that they have still have value and can change to become law abiding citizens. Parenting Workshops “Building A Stronger Family” workshops are conducted by The Family Africa in response to the breakdown of the family unit, which although a growing worldwide phenomenon, is particularly apparent in the challenging environment of a squatter camp. In the workshops we cover 7 main topics which include the importance of praise and unconditional love to build self confidence and being a positive role model. The workshops also include questionnaires for the parents to encourage them to think deeply about their parenting skills and ways they can improve. Copyright © 2015 The Family Africa

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line328

__label__cc

On Brian Jackson's decision to retire GWAC recognizes the importance of community activism throughout the city that is building community engagement and moderating the growth in large scale residential developments. We also acknowledge the important contribution to this development from former planners who love the city, have made a defining impact on it. They are now sought after to shape cities around the world yet continue to care enormously about Vancouver and work to ensure its future. We consider them essential allies in our effort to maintain Vancouver as one of the world's most liveable cities. We see Brian Jackson's decision to retire after three difficult years as head of city planning as a natural transition, and hope that it will lead to improvement on City Council's stated goals of community engagement and consultation in planning. We are convinced that the members of the city Planning Department are skilled, thoughtful and committed to these same goals, and we look forward to positive and constructive collaboration with both city planners and councillors going forward.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line330

__label__wiki

Objects of Beauty A Tale of Three Houses Made in the Hamptons Kitchen & Bath IQ Deeds & Don'ts Parties & Benefits Style Setters By Aime Dunstan, Jason Sheftell and Scoop Drummond INSIDE STORIES BEHIND AREA THE CREATIVE STREAK Artists and artisans have been drawn to the natural beauty and ethereal light of the East End for centuries, so it's no surprise several of the houses on the market today were commissioned or retrofitted by some of America's most creative minds, from Walt Whitman and James Fenimore Cooper to Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock. In particular, Shelter Island "has attracted creative people for generations: woodworkers, weavers and mapmakers," says Penelope Moore of the Corcoran Group. "In the present day, painters, poets, potters, designers and gardeners who create outdoor masterpieces are attracted to the island for inspiration." Moore recently listed the Shelter Island home of author and famed Barneys New York window dresser Simon Doonan and his partner, "happy chic" potter and design guru Jonathan Adler, for $1.79 million. The mid-century modern A-frame cottage, originally owned by a Pan-Am pilot in the 1960s, is surrounded by a lush, eclectic garden devised by Buttercup Design Group. Replete with Himalayan bananas, blood grass and bamboo, the grounds reflect the lighthearted mix of color, texture and humor used throughout the home's interior. "Being from a family of artists, I often like to see what makes a home special to its owners when listing it or showing it for sale," says Moore. "Frequently, it is a water or scenic natural view or an abundance of natural light. I try to understand what makes their home special to them, and translate it as best I can to prospective buyers, even if they are not in a creative field. Sometimes it's not the bricks and mortar that make a house special, but the nuances that come with nature that make it a home." DESIGN FORWARD (click photo for larger view) Judi Desiderio of Town & Country Real Estate, who recently entertained folk artist Ted Jeremenko at the open house of a Springs cottage, listed by her firm for $1.69 million, says artists look for workspace and a personal connection to the property when searching for a home or live-work studio in the Hamptons. "Creative people, such as artists, have a commonality in a true appreciation of nature in all its forms," she says. "What better place to appreciate nature than here on the East End, with some of the most spectacular waterways, and natural light second to none." Desiderio says Jeremenko was originally attracted to the unique, windowless façade of the 2,500-square-foot traditional cottage and had been admiring it for years. "The Springs has been a hotbed for artists for decades, including Jackson Pollock and Ralph Carpentier." FOLK ART FAÇADE (click photo for larger view) Corcoran's Bryan Midlam says the number of art studios, gallery spaces and art openings are also a draw for contemporary Manhattan artists, many of whom are looking for homes on the South Fork with existing studio space. "The buildings departments have relatively strict rules on artists' studios, so if artists aren't working full time, they need to find something that pre-exists," he says. "I have seen everything out here from dark rooms to huge painting studios to 3,000-square-foot rooms dedicated solely to creating and displaying art." Historic properties are also a draw. Midlam once heard a tale from a neighbor of the Pollock Krasner House & Study Center that his home had been the meeting place of some of the Springs' top artists in the 1970s. "The owner told me that when he purchased it, he wanted to clean it up, as all the walls were covered with random drawings and paintings," Midlam says. "He decided to paint the walls, subsequently painting over a wall that had a number of small paintings all over it, only to find out later that he most likely had covered up original sketches by Willem de Kooning!" —Aime Dunstan ©2009 Dulce Domum, LLC. Our New Website: COTTAGES-GARDENS.COM ENJOY GREAT DESIGN READ OUR BLOGS!

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line332

__label__wiki

Frederick Douglass at age 29. (National Portrait Gallery) Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery in Maryland in 1838. Just six years later, at the age of twenty-six, he was invited by abolitionists to speak against slavery in Independence Square, in the shadow of the building where independence was declared. There is no known text of his speech, but two local newspapers covered the event: the Philadelphia Public Ledger and the anti-slavery paper the Pennsylvania Freeman. Later in his career as an anti-slavery activist, Douglass stressed similar themes in his well-known address, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Frederick Douglass Timeline (Library of Congress) Address on Slavery– About two hundred persons, about one third of whom were colored, assembled in the Statehouse yard, on Saturday evening, to hear an address delivered by Frederick Douglass, a man of color, formerly a slave. His address was interesting and of an excellent style of composition, delivered in an easy, fluent manner. He preached a sermon supposed to be delivered at the South by a master to his slaves to which the relative duties of the master and slave were given in a bitter strain of sarcasm. The opinions expressed by him were, of course, not approved of by all present, and at times some symptoms of disapprobation were apparent; but the applause of the majority drowned the dissenting voices. He was brought to rather an abrupt conclusion by the preparations for closing the square, at about quarter after 7 o’clock. Pennsylvania Freeman, August 22, 1844 Meeting in the State House Yard As there has been a good deal of expression in the community lately against mobs, and a strong determination manifested on the part of the city authorities to preserve the peace at all hazards, it was considered by some of our friends a good time to carry out a purpose for some time cherished, to hold anti-slavery meetings in the House Yard. Accordingly, Frederick Douglass consenting to be the speaker, an appointment was made by placards and through the newspapers, for Saturday afternoon last, a 6 o’clock. Considerable apprehension was felt by some as to the result, but those who took the responsibility of making the appointment were confident that the public feeling was such as to prevent anything like disturbance. This expectation was happily not disappointed. At the hour designated, a goodly company, both in point of numbers and character, and embracing some of both sexes, were in attendance, and Frederick took the stand. At first he seemed embarrassed and spoke with some hesitancy; but soon his embarrassment disappeared; his heart began to play, and he poured forth a stream of glowing thought and thrilling eloquence, which, coming from and unlettered colored man, seemed to many of the audience utterly amazing. They could scarcely believe him when he said that he was still a slave, and liable at any moment, under the constitution and laws of the country, to be sent back to hopeless bondage. How a man not six years freed from the yoke, and never having been, as he said, a single day to school in his life, should exhibit such a command of language and force of thought, they were utterly at a loss to imagine. All listened with deep attention, and the only interruption we heard of the quiet of the meeting arose from the hearty clapping of hands which every now and then broke in upon the speaker and betokened the feelings of the audience. The stand which Douglass occupied was close by the old Hall in which the Declaration of Independence was adopted, and he made one or two allusions to this circumstance with thrilling effect. He gave them, also, his, “Slaveholder’s Sermon,” and, full of cutting sarcasm as it was, it was received with enthusiastic applause. He only spoke for about an hour, orders having been given, as a precaution against a riot, to close the gates at 7 o’clock; in an unnecessary measure, as little or no disposition was manifested, unless it was by the police officers themselves, to make any disturbance. Some of these fellow, how ever, seemed quite uneasy that the meeting was going off so quietly, and they were observed going through the crowd, muttering their curses, and expressing themselves in such a way of the speaker and the meeting, as under other circumstances would have probably raised a mob. Their behavior was noticed and condemned by many of our most respectable citizens, as it has often been before on similar occasions. One person, not an abolitionist, remarked to us after the meeting that Philadelphia certainly had the rowdiest police-men that ever infested any city. This is a prevailing opinion among a large portion of our citizens, and should claim the attention of his Honor the Mayor. It is in vain that we hope for the preservation of order in our city so long as we have a set of police-men appointed for that purpose. … Frederick Douglass, Havre de Grace and Philadelphia Sites | Ordinary Philosophy says: […] It turns out that Douglass also gave a speech on the State House lawn many years earlier, in August 1844, which was also reported by local papers. As we can see, Douglass was right to warn the other delegates about bad publicity if he was shunned by the Convention, since his public appearances had been newsworthy items for years. News reports and reviews of the earlier speech are now hosted on the Independence Hall website, which the lady at Independence Hall welcome center kindly directed me to, and you can read them here. […]

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line334

__label__wiki

Vivien Leigh (November 5, 1913 - July 8, 1967) was an English actress who was born Vivian Mary Hartley in Darjeeling, India. She and her parents later moved to England, where young Leigh grew up. She attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Roehampton, England, along with fellow actress-to-be Maureen O'Sullivan. She was married in 1932 to Herbert Leigh Holman, and they had a daughter, Suzanne, in 1933. Leigh's career began on the stage. Her first play was The Green Sash, though it was Mask of Virtue that really brought her to stardom. In 1935, she began her film career with such movies as The Village Squire, Things are Looking Up, and Look Up and Laugh. Leigh is best known, however, for her role of Scarlett O'Hara in the American film Gone With the Wind (1939), for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress . In 1940, Leigh arranged for a divorce from Holman and married British theatre star Laurence Olivier. The pair had met in 1935 and had begun a rather public love affair. At the time, both were married (Olivier to actress Jill Esmond). In 1944, the actress was diagnosed as having a tuberculosis patch on her left lung. Though she continued her career with such plays as Thornton Wilder's Skin of Our Teeth, and the 1946 film Caesar and Cleopatra, her illness was getting worse. In 1951, however, Leigh won a second Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire. By the early 1960s, Leigh had suffered two miscarriages and the severity of the tuberculosis was incapacitating. She had also been plagued by manic-depression for some time. In 1960, she and Olivier divorced on supposedly friendly terms. Leigh continued to keep a framed photograph of him on her bedside table, even while living with her companion, actor John Merivale. Joan Plowright, third wife and widow of Olivier, claimed that for much of Olivier's marriage to Leigh, he was having a longterm homosexual relationship with the Americann actor Danny Kaye. The actress died of chronic tuberculosis in her London home. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered on the lake at Tickerage Mill, near Blackboys, Sussex, London, England. The Village Squire Gentleman's Agreement Look Up And Laugh Fire Over England Dark Journey A Yank At Oxford St. Martins Lane That Hamilton Woman Caeser and Cleopatra The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone Leigh has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6773 Hollywood Blvd. "Biography.com, Leigh, Vivien"

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line335

__label__wiki

JASON ALDEAN IGNITES ONE OF ROLLING STONE’S “HOTTEST TOURS” OF 2016 WITH STRING OF SOLD OUT AND RECORD-BREAKING WE WERE HERE TOUR DATES NASHVILLE, TN – Jan. 25, 2016 - Already dubbed one of "2016’s Hottest Tours” by Rolling Stone for fans "looking to have the night of their lives," three-time and reigning ACM Male Vocalist of the Year Jason Aldean's WE WERE HERE 2016 TOUR makes its opening run after a string of sold-out shows. With bigger-than-ever production, a new setlist and history-making attendance records, he’s putting his mark on the "record books as the first time a solo music performer has headlined a pair of sold-out two night stands in succession" (The Pantagraph) at the US Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, IN. “I love getting back out on the road this time of year,” said Aldean. "Everybody’s been cooped up in the house trying to stay warm, so I feel like the crowds are fired up, rowdier than ever ready to get out of the house by the time we roll into town. We’re definitely feeling that and it makes taking the stage that much more fun.” Of the new tour, critics note “more than two hours after he took the stage, Aldean’s fans stayed with him...and they sang their favorite songs from country radio” (Omaha World-Herald). Up next, Aldean will make stops in Grand Forks, ND (1/28), Bismark, ND (1/29) and Sioux Falls, SD (1/3) and fans can get more information and a full list of upcoming tour dates at www.jasonaldean.com. Photo credit: Todd/Chris Owyoung

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line336

__label__wiki

Home Developer Open Source Developers Pick Android Over iPhone Open Source Developers Pick Android Over iPhone By Sean Michael Kerner | March 17, 2010 While the Apple iPhone remains the undisputed king of mobile app downloads, Android has been winning converts among open source developers since its inception. Now, Android has made enough of a splash that it can claim more open source developers than the iPhone, according to new research by Black Duck Software. Of course, that takes into account more than just mobile apps, with libraries and other bits of software being counted. But the findings suggest that while the iPhone continues to reign in the overall number of downloadable applications, the Google-backed mobile OS may be winning fans thanks to its more open nature. Developer.com takes a look. Mobile platforms like Apple's iPhone and Google's Android have become a key focus for open source developers. And the trend is only increasing, though new research has found that over the course of the last year, there has been a shift in which mobile platform has the most open source development activity. A new study by Black Duck Software found that at the end of 2009, there were 224 new open source software projects on Google's Android operating system, bringing its total to 357 open source projects in all. That's enough to leapfrog Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone to take the top spot in the number of open source projects being developed on either platform. Read the full story at Developer.com: What Is the Top Mobile Platform for Open Source Developers?

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line337

__label__wiki

Summer days are prime times for exploring the natural and cultural heritage of Arkansas's Timberlands and Ouachita Mountains regions. Indoors, visitors can learn about famous Arkansas entertainers and South Arkansas's oil boom, take in live music and magic shows and tour the boyhood home of a former U.S. President. Outdoor possibilities include visiting a major theme and water park, touring a botanical garden, digging for "keeper" diamonds and quartz crystals, scenic drives, golf, hiking, canoeing and trout fishing. Here are some suggestions for one-day jaunts: One could easily spend more than a day partaking of the varied attractions in and near downtown Pine Bluff, but a good place to start is the new $4.5 million Delta Rivers Nature Center. Its exhibits explore the natural history of the state's Delta region, while its hiking trails through 130 acres of woodland "bottoms" provide a look at the area's characteristic vegetation and wildlife. A 20,000-gallon "oxbow lake" aquarium contains native fish species and live snakes, turtles and alligators are also displayed. Near the nature center, the 18-hole Harbor Oaks Golf Course stretches for a challenging 7,010 yards with numerous sand and water hazards. The Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame spotlights accomplished entertainers with Arkansas connections. Visitors are greeted by an animatronic version of country singer Johnny Cash. Pine Bluff's 12 downtown murals depict facets of local history and represent some of the finest outdoor art in Arkansas. "Southeast Shear: Barraque Bridge Plaza" is an outdoor artwork covering about a third of a city block with a soaring superstructure of bundled pine logs. The Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas offers art exhibits, community theater productions and other events throughout the year. Local history is on display at the Pine Bluff-Jefferson County Historical Museum, while the Band Museum contains around 1,100 musical instruments, including some from the early 1700s. The museum's restored soda fountain offers sandwiches, sundaes, banana splits and drink floats. The Arkansas Railroad Museum houses Engine 819 as well as a variety of restored railroad cars and railroad artifacts. In 1942, the 368-ton locomotive became the last 4-8-4 (which refers to its wheel configuration) steam engine built in the city. Beginning in 1921, an oil boom brought thousands of newcomers to El Dorado. Oil-related paperwork overwhelmed the 1848 county courthouse, congregations outgrew their churches and business space was in short supply. Nearby, oilfields were unleashing a flood of wealth unparalleled in Arkansas history. The gush of prosperity would subsequently spread through 10 South Arkansas counties. The Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources, located 10 miles north of El Dorado via Ark. 7, tells the state's oil story through films, historic photographs, geological and other exhibits, oil-era memorabilia and its Oil Field Park, which displays full-size derricks and pumping equipment. Financed by the oil, El Dorado's outstanding legacy of 1920s and '30s architecture, including art deco, collegiate Gothic, classical revival and Venetian Gothic styles, represents a lasting echo of the oil boom. Completed in 1928 in a Neo-classic design, the Union County Courthouse provides an inspirational centerpiece for the revitalized downtown, where a diverse mix of businesses offer antiques and collectibles, works by regional artists, and a host of other goods and services. Several restaurants, an Italian-style deli, a tearoom, a café, lunch counters and a sports bar provide a variety of cuisines and settings for dining. Among the entertainment options available are live music, movies in the grand Rialto Theater (1929) and a 1920s-vintage pool hall. At 6 p.m. on summer Saturdays, the square hosts "Showdown at Sunset," the reenactment of a feud-inspired gunfight that occurred there in 1902. In early October, the city's Musicfest brings national and regional music acts to downtown. The 1849 John Newton House is a prominent reminder of El Dorado's pre-oil years, while the 13-acre South Arkansas Arboretum, an Arkansas state park, features flora native to the state's West Gulf Coastal Plain region along more than two miles of woodland trails. The town of Hope's biggest claim to fame was once watermelons exceeding 200 pounds, but that changed in 1992 when native son Bill Clinton was elected U.S. President. Visitors to the Clinton Center can explore the home where Clinton lived with his grandparents from 1946 to 1950, redecorated to appear as it did in 1950. The Hope Visitor Center and Museum, located in a restored railroad depot, contains Clinton and railroad memorabilia, historic photographs of the town and exhibits on the famous watermelons. Hope's renowned Watermelon Festival is held each August in the city's Fair Park. Located eight miles north of Hope via U.S. 278, Old Washington Historic State Park preserves and showcases the history and pioneer culture of the town of Washington, which played a role in Texas's 1835-36 fight for independence from Mexico and served as the state's Confederate capital from 1863-65. Park attractions include the courthouse that served as the Confederate capitol; weapons and printing museums; a re-creation of a blacksmith shop; the Pioneer Cemetery, where three veterans of the American Revolution are interred; and historic houses dating from the mid-1830s to the 1850s. The authentically furnished homes contain many items - furniture and ceramics in particular - that are 19th-century treasures. Annual park events include the Jonquil Festival in early March, Frontier Day in late September, Civil War Days in late October and Christmas and Candlelight in early December. Located near Murfreesboro about 35 miles from Washington via U.S. 278, Ark. 27 and Ark. 301 is the Crater of Diamonds State Park, the only place on Earth where the public can search for diamonds in their natural, geological matrix and keep any that are found. The site has produced more than 70,000 diamonds. An audio-visual presentation gives tips on diamond hunting and exhibits in the center's Diamond Museum detail the site's history and geology. A rainbow-trout fishery is located on the Little Missouri River below the Narrows Dam six miles north of Murfreesboro. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission stocks the stretch with trout from late fall through April. Rental cabins and easy public access are available on the stream. Millennia ago, thermal springs began attracting Native Americans to a narrow, misty valley in the Ouachita Mountains, and Hot Springs - the city that sprang from the springs - has long been Arkansas's top tourist destination. The spring waters are no longer believed a medicinal miracle, but therapeutic getaways can still be planned from among the area's many recreational opportunities. The famed Bathhouse Row is the centerpiece of Hot Springs National Park, while Oaklawn Park, a thoroughbred racetrack since 1905, conducts live racing from late January through mid-April and offers simulcast races throughout the year. A hot summer day is perfect for enjoying the Magic Springs theme park and adjoining Crystal Falls water park. They offer more than 25 rides and water features that include a 350,000-gallon wave pool. Admission is good for both parks. The shores of Lake Hamilton are home to Garvan Woodlands Gardens, a new 210-acre botanical garden featuring a visitors center, stream courses with waterfalls, and Asian-inspired rock bridges, while the lake's waters hosts cruises aboard the 400-passenger riverboat Belle of Hot Springs. A thriving arts community is another Hot Springs hallmark. A dozen or so world-class galleries were among the reasons art expert John Villani ranks the city among the top 10 in his book, "The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America." The Hot Springs Jazz Festival each September brings nationally known jazz artists to town and the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in October screens up to 70 non-fiction films. Poetry readings and other arts-related events are common throughout the year. Live shows include "The Witness," a contemporary Christian musical drama; Maxwell Blade's Theater of Magic, a Las Vegas-style magic production; Music Mountain Jamboree, a country music and comedy show; and The Bathhouse Show, which uses comedy and music from the last six decades to highlight the city's history. Within minutes of downtown, numerous private resorts and two state parks provide accommodations on three large, manmade lakes, each popular for fishing, swimming, motorboating, sailing and water-skiing. Lake Ouachita and Lake Catherine state parks feature marinas with rental watercraft, cabins, tent and RV camping and hiking trails. Queen Wilhelmina State Park, atop Arkansas's second highest peak, and Mount Ida make great headquarters for exploring the recreational assets of the Ouachita Mountains and the Ouachita National Forest. The park, which has a 38-room lodge, restaurant, miniature railroad, animal park, miniature golf course and hiking trails, is located on the Talimena National Scenic Byway, a route especially popular for viewing colorful fall foliage. The Mount Ida area is famous for its quartz crystal mines open to the public for small fees and for its numerous rock shops. Outfitters are available for canoe trips on the Ouachita and Caddo Rivers, and several private resorts are located nearby on the western end of Lake Ouachita, Arkansas's largest lake. Throughout the national forest, the U.S. Forest Service provides campgrounds, day-use areas and trails, including the 223-mile Ouachita National Recreation Trail. Particularly popular are the Albert Pike campground, which features one of the state's best natural swimming holes, the Little Missouri Falls and the Winding Stairs scenic area, all located southwest of Mount Ida along the Little Missouri River. Sign up for your FREE Jetsetters Magazine Travel Newsletter! Click Headlines To Go To Websites 501/624-3383, ext. 640 800/OAKLAWN 800/SPA CITY CLICK FOR HISTORY Buried Treasures of the Ozarks: Legends of Lost Gold, Hidden Silver, and Forgotten Cashes Sassafras: The Ozarks Cookbook Lake of the Ozarks : Vintage Vacation Paradise (Images of America) Traditional Banjo Music Of The Ozarks Best in Tent Camping : The Ozarks : A Guide for Car Campers Who Hate Rvs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos Bodacious Ozarks : True Tales of the Backhills Mountain Bike! : The Ozarks : A Guide to the Classic Trails Arkansas : A Guide to Backcountry Travel & Adventure (Guides to Backcountry Travel & Adventure,) :et's Beat the Summer Heat in Arkansas Airline Reservations worldwide Little Rock Hotel Discounts Hot Springs Spa Hotels Arkansas Car and Jeep Rentals Let's Golf Arkansas Arkansas Event and Concert Tickets Wilderness Lodging at Cabinweb.com Down Load an Arkansas Topo Map Back to Jetstreams.com

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line339

__label__wiki

John Parry Yukon News Article New elite ski team ready to race Wednesday October 3, 2012 By Tom Patrick Christian Kuntz photo From left to right: Knute Johnsgaard, John Parry, David Greer, Fabian Brook and Colin Abbott are members of the new Yukon Elite Squad cross-country ski team based out of Whitehorse. Whitehorse has been producing some of the country’s best cross-country skiers for years. Three Whitehorse skiers are on national teams and are training full time at the Alberta World Cup Academy in Canmore, Alberta. But five of Whitehorse’s best are taking another route. Instead of training at an Outside academy, David Greer, Knute Johnsgaard, Colin Abbott, John Parry and Fabian Brook have combined to form the Yukon Elite Squad (Y.E.S.). “For a while now, all of us wanted to do something like this,” said Greer. “It just hasn’t worked out timing wise. This coming season everything fell into place for us and it seemed like the right time to do it.” The strength of Y.E.S., which was formed in April, is not just that each member is a high-level athlete, but that they know how to train properly and can motivate each other. Greer spent the last five years at Quebec’s Pierre Harvey Training Centre. Johnsgaard was at Pierre Harvey the last two years. Abbott was at the Callaghan Valley Training Centre last year in Whistler, B.C. Parry spent four years skiing NCAA for the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “I’m really happy with the time I spent there and I’ve learned a lot, and I’m very grateful for the training I’ve done there, but I thought it was time to do something new,” said Greer. With the exception of Brook, who is fresh out of high school and, at 18, the youngest on the team, “the rest of us have been training full-time with other training centres across Canada and have definitely picked up a lot over the years,” said Greer. “So we know how to train, we know what’s best for us, so we don’t need a full-time coaching staff that other centres have.” All five Y.E.S. members were born and raised in the Yukon and have skied on the Yukon Ski Team. Three have been on the Junior National Team and one on the National Development Team. Three have competed at the World Junior/Under 23 Championships. The five together have accumulated 12 national titles. “I don’t think the Yukon has ever had this many high-level men’s skiers, all from the same generation, that can do this,” said Greer. “I think this is the strongest generation of skiers we’ve ever had in the Yukon.” David Greer Knute Johnsgaard skis on top of Denver Glacier outside of Skagway during the summer. The Y.E.S. skiers haven’t turned their back on where they got their starts. They are all members of the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club and the Yukon Ski Team. In fact, Alain Masson, who is the head coach for the Yukon team, also coaches Y.E.S. “We’re all members of the team, we’re just off to the side in our own sector,” said Greer. “The club mostly trains those who are young and after school.” The off-season was a busy one for Y.E.S. In addition to roller skiing on pavement, the team spent weeks on snow, training on the Denver Glacier outside of Skagway, Alaska, and the Eagle Glacier outside of Anchorage, Alaska. “We’ve had an amazing summer of training, really diverse, really unique,” said Parry. “We did two on-snow glacier camps. So we spent a good portion of July and August up in the mountains on snow. “Two things I’d say that have made it great up to this point are, for one, the unique training opportunities that we get up north here, as well as the strength of our numbers and our drives and how we push each other to achieve our personal best in training every day.” Their eight training sessions a week have paved the way to wins in other sports. All five were members of Team Scarecrow, which won its third consecutive open title at the Klondike Trail of ‘98 Road Relay running race in September. Johnsgaard, Greer and Parry - and former member Ray Sabo - won the four-person men’s division in the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay in June. In the annual Haeckel Hill Run in Whitehorse, Y.E.S. members, including Sabo, took the top six spots in the race. “When we were younger in high school we’d always do these events, but in the past couple of years we’d always be gone,” said Greer. Y.E.S. has some lofty, yet obtainable, goals for this season. Abbott and Johnsgaard are both in the under-23 age group while Brook is still a junior, so those three are hoping to qualify for this season’s World Junior/Under 23 Championships. Greer and Parry, and any teammate who doesn’t make the worlds team, will focus on the Haywood NorAm Series in Canada. This year there are also two FIS Cross-Country World Cup events coming to Canada and are the first world cups held in North America in a couple years. The world cup races are firmly in the team’s sights. “We all have a good chance at making those world cups, so it’ll be pretty exciting to have those world cups in our home country,” said Greer. “It’s a big deal. All the best guys in the world will be there. To be able to perform in a race like that would be huge. So that’s definitely a goal for us.” It’s a little early to be looking past this season, but Y.E.S. hasn’t ruled out expanding the team next year to include other skiers, including females. The Yukon has some very talented female skiers, including national team skiers Emily Nishikawa and Dahria Beatty, and Greer’s sister Janelle, who is currently training at the Alberta World Cup Academy. “If the girls see that what we’re doing is a success, and would like to do something like that, we would definitely support that,” said Greer. “We did have interest from skiers down south outside of the Yukon,” he added. “We decided, for the first year, it would make matters simpler, to keep it for Yukon residents only.” More information can be found at Y.E.S.‘s website at http://www.yukonelitesquad.ca. “We’ve all achieved personal bests; we’ve shattered some of our previous records in the weight room, on the road, on the trails; we’ve completed a huge spectrum of training; and now we’re narrowing our focus on the Canada Cup circuit and the domestic world cups,” said Parry. “We’re more motivated than ever and we’re ready to go for it.” Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com Posted by johnparry88 at 9:40 PM Photo © Grant Abbott Follow @johnparry88 SALON CENTRE YUKON Northland Beverages T.A. Firth Insurance Diamond Head Sports Cross-Country Yukon Picture Window theme. Theme images by francisblack. Powered by Blogger.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line340

__label__wiki

CTSI Scotland hosts best practice event Consumer protection experts from across the UK came together for the CTSI Scottish Branch’s ‘Best Practice in Trading Standards 2018’ Professional Development Event in November. The opportunities ahead with the new consumer body and the challenges of Brexit will demand the highest level of professional abilities ever I am pleased that this Consultation on Consumer Scotland is under way and I believe one of its first tasks should be to take a serious look at the current state of Trading Standards in Scotland Delegates at the CTSI Scottish Branch’s ‘Best Practice in Trading Standards 2018’ Professional Development Event discussed and debated the key issues in Trading Standards and the Consumer Landscape in Scotland, including the latest plans to strengthen the national capacity for product safety and the risks and opportunities brought about by the UK’s exit from the EU. A plethora of innovation and best practice was showcased in the areas of partnership working on doorstep crime, tackling investment fraud, deterring counterfeiting, preventing nuisance calls and vulnerable people being defrauded, as well as market wide consumer protection interventions. Jamie Hepburn MSP, Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills delivered a keynote address on the Scottish Government’s plans to establish a consumer body for Scotland. Hepburn recognised the vital role that Trading Standards played in the wider Consumer Protection system and committed to a genuine dialogue on the future of Trading Standards. Dave Thompson, retired SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Fellow and Vice President of CTSI, said: “It was great to be among delegates, friends and colleagues at the CTSI Scottish Branch Professional Development Event. “As a former director of trading standards in the Highlands, Fellow and Vice President of CTSI, I have watched in dismay as one of the main pillars of Consumer Protection, which is Trading Standards enforcement, has been weakened to the point of collapse over the past 20 years. “I am therefore pleased that this Consultation on Consumer Scotland is under way and I believe one of its first tasks should be to take a serious look at the current state of Trading Standards in Scotland. Sandra Harkness, Chair of SCOTSS, said: “This is an important time for Trading Standards professionals to collaborate and share knowledge and best practice. “The opportunities ahead with the new consumer body and the challenges of Brexit will demand the highest level of professional abilities ever. “CTSI has a crucial role in this and the Scottish Branch Professional Development event was fantastic for building on all of the training and support they provide throughout the year” Adam Gaunt, Chair of the CTSI Scottish Branch said: “CTSI Scottish Branch supports the Scottish Government’s proposals to establish a consumer body for Scotland and in particular the proposal to explore the effectiveness of the wider consumer protection system in Scotland. We very much welcome the commitment from the Minister to engage with the Trading Standards profession in Scotland and we look forward to discussing these matters in more detail. Now, more than ever before, there is an urgent need for action to ensure the sustainability of local trading standards services in Scotland.” Gaunt continued: “The CTSI Scottish Branch Professional Development Event inspires excellence and supports trading standards professionals develop and retain their skills during what continues to be an uncertain and challenging time for our profession. “The work showcased during the event clearly demonstrates the true value of trading standards and the contribution it makes to local and national outcomes.”

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line342

__label__wiki

PAST: JULIAN SCHNABEL 1978 – 1981 220 E 10th Street, New York, NY 10003 7 February – 30 March, 2012 “I was always looking at things that had been modified in some way—in older places where things have been adapted. There is a handmade quality to those places. I noticed a lot of stairwells in Italy, where people would cut holes in the walls as a banister instead of having a banister protruding out. Those holes had a big effect on the paintings. I was trying to make a painting where I penetrated the surface—obviously I knew that Lucio Fontana had cut holes or made slits—but I was trying not to see through the paintings” Julian Schnabel on the making of St Sebastian- Born in 1951 (1975-79) A larger than life figure, Julian Schnabel has achieved art world stature and mainstream celebrity through his art, his films, and his well-documented lifestyle. Nevertheless, even cognoscenti are often unable to immediately conjure mental images that speak to the full scope and depth of Schnabel’s work, with the exception perhaps of his figurative paintings incorporating broken crockery. This myopia could be attributed in part to the artist’s refusal to adhere to a single signature style throughout his four decade-long practice. Though it is most probable that public recognition of Schnabel’s numerous contributions to painting have been obfuscated by his legendary status. With this contradiction in mind, Oko will present Julian Schnabel 1978-81, a pointed study of Schnabel’s early work via a rotating exhibition of four emblematic paintings made in a period of explosive change for both the artist and the New York City art scene. Selected to underscore the material diversity and conceptual audacity of his early work, the four paintings will be shown sequentially beginning February 7, 2013. Each work will be presented individually in Oko’s space for a two-week period in order to spotlight the artist’s development of his singular ideas and techniques in a seminal moment. The exhibition sheds light on the fearless experimentation of Schnabel’s early career and suggests the profound influence he has had and continues to exert upon other artists. While the four paintings in Julian Schnabel 1978 – 1981 have been widely reproduced in books and included in Schnabel’s museum exhibitions outside the United States, they have been exhibited only rarely in New York City. Each one represents a distinct body of work or material gesture that Schnabel initiated during a time of breakthrough in his practice. Exuberant experimentation is a common denominator between the modeled wax surfaces of the veiled self-portrait “St. Sebastian – Born in 1951” (1975-79); Schnabel’s very first abstracted mosaic of ceramic shards and sculptural picture planes in “The Patients and The Doctors” (1978); the use of a soiled drop cloth as a pictorial ground in “The Mutant King” (1981); and the layering of fabric in the monochromatic “Abstract Painting on Blue Velvet” (1980). In the years before the mid-1980s art market boom, Schnabel forged a pictorial language that embraced unconventional methods and materials with a visceral effect; he introduced to the American contemporary art scene a particularly European post-war sensibility through his admiration for Francis Picabia and his personal artistic dialogue with Sigmar Polke and Blinky Palermo; and he broke with the prevailing conceptualism through figuration, personal narratives and references to history and mythology. His poetic use of found materials and his embrace of chance operations (whether dragging a canvas on the ground, allowing a drop cloth to absorb the environmental stains of the studio, or exposing the paintings to the forces of weather) can be seen echoed in the work of a subsequent generation of artists, including Joe Bradley, Dan Colen, Urs Fischer, Wade Guyton, and Nate Lowman, among others. With the four paintings on view at Oko, visitors will enjoy an opportunity to connect the dots across decades and locate Schnabel’s indelible mark on the evolution of art since the late 1970s. Julian Schnabel 1978-81 was organized by Alison Gingeras. Oko is open to the public Thursday through Saturday, 12-6 and by appointment. Copyright 2020 JULIAN SCHNABEL All Rights Reserved designed by Julian Schnabel Studio &Site developed by Social Ink [+]

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line343

__label__cc

Cancoil Thermal Corporation CANCOIL was established in 1983 in Kingston, Ontario. Since then it has expanded its manufacturing facilities five times, currently occupying two facilities - totaling over 200,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse floor area. A strong emphasis on R&D and an intense customer focus form important elements in the Company's growth strategy. As a result CANCOIL has been able to establish business relationships with a wide range of companies. CANCOIL pride themselves in their ability to design and manufacture unique products specific to the customers' needs. Concurrently, CANCOIL continues to expand its standard product lines in anticipation of future market demands. CANCOIL's responsive and inventive approach to design and manufacturing has resulted in several of its innovations receiving patent recognition. www.can-coil.com Replacement Coils, Condensing Units, Dry Coolers and Refrigeration Products FHP-Bosch FHP-Bosch is a leading manufacturer of Water Source and Geothermal Heat Pumps in the U.S. The company was founded in 1970 in Pompano Beach, Florida. For almost 40 years it has been known for providing innovative solutions and the most energy efficient products in the industry. FHP-Bosch's engineering efforts have been focused on providing a greener world for future generations. They were the first company that offered a full line of products equipped with environmentally friendly refrigerant R-410A. FHP-Bosch’s headquarters include a state of the art facility with the latest manufacturing technology available. Each product is factory tested according to the Bosch quality standards in order to provide their customers the highest level of satisfaction and comfort. FHP-Bosch carefully selects its’ suppliers in order to equip their products with the best components available. www.fhp-mfg.com Water Source Heat Pumps In 1972, Marvair began producing wall mounted air conditioners and heat pumps. The company has grown from a regional company to a manufacturer of products used worldwide. In 1997, they became part of Airxcel, Inc. of Wichita, Kansas and are now the Marvair division of Airxcel, Inc. Today, Airxcel, Inc. is the parent company for all operations, and the company has been divided into divisions and has over 1100 employees, with manufacturing facilities in Kansas, Tennessee and Georgia. The Marvair division manufactures Air Conditioning, Heating and Heat Pump products for a range of markets. Some of these markets include IT, telecommunications, education and marine. www.marvair.com Cooling & Heating Products for Educational and Telecommunications Facilities In 1836, the Schneider brothers took over the Creusot foundries and consequently, two years later formed Schneider & Cie. Over more than 170 years, Schneider Electric has grown and developed into a leader in Data Centre and Server Room Cooling. Their products exemplify quality. Their mission is to save energy, while providing a highly efficient product. www.apc.com Data Centre/Server Room Cooling Mitsubishi Electric Sales Canada (MESCA) Mitsubishi Electric Sales Canada Inc., established in 1979 as a subsidiary of the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation of Japan, markets an extensive line of commercial, industrial and consumer electronics products. With 80 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products to both corporate clients and general consumers all over the world, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and construction. At Klass Mechanical Sales, we specialize in the distribution of Mitsubishi Electric air conditioning and heating systems; energy recovery and fresh air ventilators, as well as high-speed hand dryers. www.mitsubishielectric.ca Ductless Split Air Conditionings Units and Heat Pumps www.citymulti.ca Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) Air Conditioning and Heat Pump Systems www.lossnay.ca Energy Recovery Ventilators www.jettowel.ca High Speed Hand Dryers

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line345

__label__wiki

By Sean Kleefeld | Thursday, March 13, 2014 2 comments The latest comic-related blow-up seems to be that Quvenzhané Wallis has been cast in the role of Little Orphan Annie for a new movie remaking a 1999 movie that itself was a remake of a 1982 movie that was based off a 1977 Broadway musical that was loosely based on a comic strip that debuted in 1924. (And that doesn't even factor in the other movies and radio shows.) To no one's surprise, any number of people have started clamoring about how Annie is supposed to be white, and casting a Black girl in that role is just plain wrong. Of course, whether or not the comic strip that debuted the character is even running any more doesn't come up at all (it ended in 2010) but that's another issue. This is the same "discussion" we had a few weeks back when we learned Michael B. Jordan was tapped to play the Human Torch. I use "discussion" in quotes, of course, because no one who steps into the argument really seems to be listening to anyone else; one group is just ranting about how Wallis can't play a character that was originally drawn as white, and the other is calling the first group of people racist assholes. (There was one guy I saw who said Annie's defining characteristic was her bright red hair, and that's what any actress who plays the part should have. Several people immediately jumped in saying that his adherence to "accuracy" is just an excuse for racism. But they're missing the larger point: that the dude was just wrong in the first place -- Annie's most defining characteristic is that SHE HAS NO FRICKIN' EYEBALLS!) Let's step back a moment, though. We're talking about Little Orphan Annie. Although they only represent 14% of the general US child population, Black children make up 28% of those in foster care. In states like Maryland, that number is upwards of 65%. What that means is that if you're Black, you're statistically more likely to be (or become) an orphan than if you're white. Being a Black orphan is a radically different experience than being a white orphan; there's a much smaller number of adults willing to adopt Black children and the likelihood of staying an orphan is greater. Yet this has never really been reflected in pop culture, so telling the story of a Black orphan is then arguably more important than telling the story of a white orphan. The producers of the movie recognized this early on, as Willow Smith was originally tied to the lead role as early as January 2011. So if you're going to cast Annie as a Black girl (which, let me reiterate, makes more sense statistically and is an inherently more powerful story) it quickly becomes problematic to cast Daddy Warbucks as white. What you absolutely don't want to suggest is that a young Black girl's "rescue" comes at the hands of a white man. Even though Annie historically has her own agency in the story, putting that shadow of a white savior story element in place is precisely the type of racism we're trying to battle in this country. Which gives us two Black lead characters in a musical traditionally cast with white people. You know what this reminds me of? The Wiz. It was a retelling of the Wizard of Oz movie but featuring an all-Black cast and reflecting the themes of then-contemporary late 1970s Black culture. (Interestingly, this was also a movie based on a stage production based on a movie based on a book.) Dorothy Gale, the prototypical white Kansas farm girl, was played by Diana Ross. Kansas is replaced with Harlem. The Emerald City becomes the World Trade Center plaza. It's the same story as the Judy Garland movie, but since so few people in 1978 were familiar with rural farm life circa 1900, the details were swapped with those that would be more identifable and relatable. Which, it seems to me, is exactly what's going on with Annie. The original story is one whose superficial elements are too far removed from contemporary life for people to really relate to any more. That's why the comic strip ceased, after all. This new version, from what I've seen, is a very deliberate attempt to update those stale trappings. Unlike The Wiz which used an exclusively Black cast, however, this version has a much more diverse cast that better reflects the America of 2014. Check out this classroom scene from the trailer... Pretty diverse group of kids there with lots of different ethnicities represented. It's a cast that reflects what we see on the streets every day. What I'm trying to say here is that, not only is casting Wallis as Annie not a bad thing, but I'd argue that it's almost necessary in order to tell a contemporary version of the story. The character's race was never a defining characteristic; it was just that, in 1924, Black children weren't considered valuable enough to even try to adopt so orphans were just abandoned entirely and never even made it to an orphanage. But nearly a century later, they compromise a disproportionate number in the system and it absolutely makes sense that the story of a modern orphan should be one of a Black girl. And one depicted by someone as talented as Wallis should make for an excellent movie. Related Items On -isms Britt Reid said... I was more surprised that "Daddy" Warbucks (now Benjamin Stacks) wasn't a bald, middle-aged, altrusitic billionare, but a young opportunist millionare with a full head of hair, and that Miss Hannigan had been toned down. (Someone with Laurence Fishburne's gravitas could've done a helluva job in the Warbucks role if done closer to the original. Plus, we could've had his wife, Gina Torres, as either Miss Hannigan or Grace Farrell! She has great comic timing and can sing!) Matt K said... Also on the subject of bright red hair as a defining visual characteristic… Wouldn't most of Annie's appearances, and certainly the early ones, have been black and white?

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line346

__label__wiki

Home > More > Hot Links > Actor Kang Ji-hwan gets suspended prison sentence in rape case Actor Kang Ji-hwan gets suspended prison sentence in rape case Actor Kang Ji-hwan, who was indicted in July on charges of raping a woman and molesting another at his home, was given a suspended prison sentence by a local court on Thursday. The Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Court sentenced 42-year-old Kang to an imprisonment of two and a half years, suspended for three years, after finding him guilty of sexually assaulting two female production staffers. He was also ordered to conduct 120 hours of social service, undergo 40 hours of sexual offender treatment and be restricted from employment for three years. Actor Kang Ji-hwan leaves the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Court, south of Seoul, on Dec. 5, 2019, after getting a suspended jail sentence in his rape case. (Yonhap) Kang, whose birth name is Jo Tae-gyu, was arrested on July 9 for raping a female employee of a production outsourcing company and sexually molesting another woman belonging to the same company at his home in Gwangju, about 50 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The two victims were sleeping at Kang’s house after a drinking session there. In the previous hearing on Nov. 21, prosecutors demanded a three-year jail term for Kang. After debuting as a musical actor in 2001, Kang appeared in about 25 movies and TV dramas and won several acting awards. Ahead of the sentencing trial, the two victims and other colleagues submitted petitions asking the court not to punish the actor. The Seongnam court said it took the petitions for leniency into consideration in determining the amount of his sentence. “The defendant confessed to one criminal charge and contested another for lack of evidence, but his guilt has been recognized. It is wished that the petitions from his victims and acquaintances and his repeated repentance shown during previous hearings are genuine,” the court said. “Despite the victims’ pleas for a lenient verdict, the defendant should repent for his sexual crime for the rest of his life,” the court said.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line347

__label__wiki

MainAll NewsInside IsraelTeva completes acquisition of Allergan Teva completes acquisition of Allergan Teva Pharmaceutical completes $40 billion acquisition of the generics arm of rival Allergan. Teva offices in Jerusalem Teva Pharmaceutical on Tuesday completed its $40 billion acquisition of the generics arm of rival Allergan, a move the Israeli firm hailed as confirmation of its intention to become one of the world's largest drugmakers. "Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Allergan plc today announced that Teva has completed its acquisition of Allergan's generics business (Actavis Generics)" the Israeli company said in a statement. The $40-billion deal, the largest in Israeli history, was agreed last year but finally confirmed Tuesday. The Israeli multinational was already the world's largest manufacturer of generic drugs -- non-branded, cheaper alternatives to branded drugs that have lost their patent. Allergan Generics was the third largest in the same market by sales, and the acquisition gives Teva a large market lead and catapults it into the top 10 pharmaceutical firms globally, according to the company's figures. Teva CEO Erez Vigodman said it was part of a wider plan to become one of "most competitive, fully integrated companies in the industry". "We service as a company 250 million people daily in the world," he told AFP in an interview ahead of the confirmation of the deal. After the deal, he said, "one in six prescriptions in the U.S. (will be) Teva, one in six in the UK, one in eight in Germany". He added that the deal would bring about net efficiency savings of $1.4 billion over the next three years. Teva had revenues of $19.6 billion in 2015, but the firm estimates that after the takeover these will rise to at least $26.7 billion by 2019. Generic drugs are sold at far cheaper prices than their named counterparts, with profit margins far finer accordingly. Teva wants to branch out into other fields apart from generics, Vigodman said, with key acquisitions having already taken place in Mexico, Japan and elsewhere. "(The plan) is not just to be a generics company and (become) a larger generic company," he said, stressing they were looking to branch into specialty areas including migraine and respiratory problems. "The focus in the industry over time will shift from a focus on products only to broader unmet needs of patients, focusing on prediction, on prevention, basically on staying healthy." With drug prices a topic of debate in the United States ahead of the November election, Vigodman denied the deal would give Teva more power to push up prices. Vigodman stressed that the deal is "not to increase drug prices. That is where I want to be very clear." "We believe there are inefficiencies, overcapacity, and duplications in the global generic industry," he added, saying the acquisition will lead savings that could bring cheaper prices. The prices of "generic drugs during the last 7 years went down by 50 percent on average," he said. The deal represents a reversal of fortune for a company many feared was poorly positioned for the changing pharmaceutical industry. In 2013, its CEO stepped down after a dispute with the board, and rumors that Teva could face a takeover bid grew. Ronny Gal, Senior Analyst at the Bernstein investment firm, said the company had faced "big problems", including the loss of the patent on its key multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone and a decline in opportunities in the generic market. "They did not have a real strategy for about three or four years," he said. The acquisition of Allergan, which focuses on making generic versions of more complicated drugs, enables Teva to refocus its business strategy, he said. Allergan has carved out a niche as the developer of specialized generic drugs. "It is a strategy but it is a tough one to replicate and by acquiring it (Teva) was able to generate for themselves a new business," Gal said. AFP contributed to this report. Tags:Teva, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Allergan

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line351

__label__wiki

Janet (Jan) M. Morgan President of It’s Time Network Janet M. (Jan) Morgan’s distinguished career has been dedicated to solving pressing global problems through nonprofit action, dialogue and socially responsible business leadership. Before joining It’s Time Network as president she was president of Restore the Earth Foundation and president of CSRwire, the corporate social responsibility and sustainability newswire. Jan is the founder and CEO of Sequent Management Group and previously served as president of Morgan Amadeo LLC and Media Minds, Inc., director of Not-For-Profit Consulting at RSM McGladrey; and director of Not-For-Profit Consulting at American Express Tax & Business Services. Jan has lead complex management projects and development teams for dozens of national and international organizations including Lighthouse International, the UN Friends of the World Food Program, D&B, pre-merger Merck and Schering-Plough, Pfizer and Warner-Lambert. Jan holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree from St. John’s University. Since 2006 Jan has served on the Board of Governors of Antioch University and is currently chair of the audit committee, she served on the Board of READ Global from 2007-2012. Jan is a member of the Financial Women’s Association, Women Donor’s Network, Social Venture Network and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. She serves on the Global Advisory Council of Cornerstone Capital Group. Jan is an active donor involved with Education, Social Justice and LGBT causes. Jan lives with her wife Maureen Garrett in New York, NY and San Rafael, California. They have three grown sons that live in Sweden, Costa Rica and Thailand.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line352

__label__wiki

KAURI (REASI) World's highest rail bridge on Chenab in J&K to withstand 40 kg-TNT blast, earthquake of intensity 8 KAURI (REASI): The Chenab Bridge, the world''s highest rail viaduct linking Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country by rail route, is designed to withstand 40 kg of TNT blast and earthquake of magnitude eight on Richter Scale, said a Konkan Railway''s top engineer on Tuesday. The upcoming "next man-made wonder", being built under the direct supervision of the PMO and Railway Board, is likely to be completed by December 2021, said Chief Engineer (Coordination) R K Hegde of Konkan Railways, which is executing the project A national project with 100 percent of central funding, the bridge is being built on Chenab river between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. The bridge is being built under a round-the-clock monitoring directly by the Prime Minister''s Office and the Railway Board in New Delhi through "electronic eyes", he said. After the completion of the bridge, the Chenab Bridge will boast of having the world''s highest rail bridge -- 359 metre above the river and around 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower. The bridge forms a crucial and the most difficult link in the 111 km-stretch between Katra and Banihal, which is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project, he said. "So far, 83 percent of the work has been completed. For the overall completion of the Chenab bridge project, the deadline is December 2021," Hedge said. Once completed, it will surpass the record of Shuibai Railway Bridge (275m-high) on Beipan river in China, Hegde told PTI at the project site. The bridge construction, which was halted in 2008 in wake of concerns over its safety and alignment, was restarted in 2010. It has already missed many deadlines in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019. The construction of the bridge was started in 2002 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister. Talking of the bridge sturdiness, Hegde said, "It can withstand high intensity blasts of up to 40 kgs of TNT and an earthquake of magnitude 8 on Richter Scale. Even after the blast, a train can run at a speed on 30 kmhp," he said. Blasts of such intensity cannot damage any of the bridge pillars either, he added. To ensure its sturdiness, the bridge is being built with 63 mm-thick special blast-proof steel owing to Jammu and Kashmir''s propensity to frequent terror attacks, he said. Even the concrete pillars of the bridge is designed to withstand explosions and painted with a special corrosion-resistant paint, which lasts for 15 years, he said. Detailing various measures to make the bridge blast proof, Hegde said, "It is for the first time that self-compacting concrete is being used for filling steel boxes and ends of plate girders." The Konkan Railway has also set up a blast lab at the site to test steel plates'' the strength to withstand blasts of up to 40 kg of TNT. "Before being used in the project, each high grade steel plate is being tested at the project site itself for its capacity to withstand the blast load," said an engineer at the lab. "There is no compromise with quality. We have rejected a large quantity of steel plates being procured from SAIL and two other companies," he added. Steel plates for the bridge have been procured from the Bhilai plant of Steel Authority of India, while the girders are assembled at a fabrication workshop adjacent to the bridge. "Each girder plate is eight-metre-long and we have estimated that 161 girders will be required for the purpose," he said. Talking of the highest-level interest in the project, an engineer said, the PMO and Railway Board directly monitor its work progress everyday through "electronic eyes". "If the CCTVs goes off for one minute, we get a call from the PMO as to what is happening. They are monitoring it round the clock through electronic eyes," an engineer said. The bridge, an 1.315 km-long "engineering marvel" is also designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 260 km per hour. "The railways will also install sensors on the bridge to check the wind velocity and as soon as the wind speed exceeds 90 kmph, the signal on the track will turn red, preventing train movement," the engineer said. According to the plan, a ring of aerial security will also be provided to safeguard the bridge. "An online monitoring and warning system will be installed on the bridge to protect passengers and trains in critical conditions. Footpaths and cycle trails will also be built adjacent to it," he added. The Chenab Bridge, an arched steel and concrete structure, will connect Baramulla to Jammu via Udhampur-Katra-Qazigund with a travel time of six-and-a-half hours. Currently, it takes exactly double the time, 13 hours, to reach Jammu from Baramulla in northern Kashmir, which is 60 km from Srinagar. Talking of measures to make the bridge earthquake-proof, Konkan Railway Chairman Sanjay Gupta said a detailed, site-specific seismic analysis has been carried out by experts from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, and the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore. "The most difficult phase of the project now is the construction of the section between Banihal and Katra. This is most challenging for Konkans," he added,. J&K deploys additional staff to verify implementa... J&K police claim to find AK-47, pistols from Dy S... Wonder Women 2020 organised by Shape ‘n’ Smile

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line353

__label__wiki

Micronesian seaweed farm is fertile ground for T-bird’s humanitarian goals Editor’s note: This article appeared first appeared in the ASU Thunderbird School of Global Management Knowledge Network e-newsletter. Ask Solomon Frank about his typical workday after launching a start-up on a small tropical isle and he will talk about rolling out of a hammock for a day that includes fishing and swimming. Fishing is for sustenance; swimming is how he gets to work. There is no checking email or seeing what the stock markets are doing because there is no Internet on the island. But pigs and chickens do get his and his co-workers’ daily attention; so do some food crops. There’s also a cash crop to tend: seaweed. That’s where he gets down to the business of improving lives through economic development. Frank, who was raised in Salem, Ore., believes seaweed farming is the solution to problems he observed in Micronesia, the land of his father. The people there need opportunities and options to raise their standard of living, he said. “Nobody has jobs out there,” Frank said of a particular area of Pohnpei State. “They live simply, but some very minor adjustments could make things a lot better.” Frank found a solution for the problem he is trying to solve at Thunderbird School of Global Management. He has spent the time since graduating in 2018 fine-tuning that plan and putting it into action, including traveling to Okinawa and Malaysia to observe seaweed farms, getting an import/export license and securing a grant from United Nations Environmental/Global Environmental Facility. “Business wasn’t something that was on the forefront of my mind,“ Frank said. “Humanitarianism was behind my drive. Business was a means to an end. I want to help people. That’s what I like to do. I want to do it on a mass scale.” Outer Atoll Resources, a nonprofit organization Frank founded with his father, Collen, is a first step toward that goal. It began with seeds, figuratively and literally. From farm land to ocean waters In Salem, Frank was raised with an appreciation for natural resources and how things grow. Farms are hard to miss there. His annual month-long trips to Micronesia from the time he was 12 helped him develop an appreciation for how things are there, too. The ocean is hard to miss. The trip to Micronesia he took after he graduated in 2014 from Willamette University in Salem planted an idea to establish a business venture to address some of the underdevelopment holding the locals back. Thunderbird, he said, felt like the right place for him to find an answer, even though he had no idea what the solution was. A dedication to environmentally sustainable development drew his attention to the islands natural resources. Instead of agriculture, Frank pursued aquaculture on Sapwauhfik Atoll, where his father owns land. Thunderbird finance and global development classes influenced some of Frank’s thinking about the problems he wanted to solve. During his final semester, he researched oceanography and the biology of plants on the island. The farm, he determined, could be inside the lagoon where there is good water circulation. Reefs offered storm protection for the seaweed beds. Outer Atoll Resources grows seaweed on a farm 50 meters from the island. Seaweed is a versatile crop used in all sort of products. Locally, seaweed provides islanders a nutritious alternative vegetable crop; it also can be used as a meal substitute for pigs and for fertilizer. The nonprofit grows, harvests, dries and bales seaweed for export. It also produces sea grapes and sponges. Outer Atoll Resources is teaching locals how to make things like coconut oil and soap for their own use. It also is creating a seed bank and collecting supplies to encourage other islanders to start businesses. “We’re creating infrastructure for their farms, and then all they have to do is tend to them,” he said. “They’ll be good to go.” Think local to go global Frank has a firm belief that a rising tide lifts all boats. He will measure success of Outer Atoll Resources by growth in entrepreneurialism and business development. In the future, he expects to see higher employment rates. He also expects higher graduation rates as families have more money to put toward children’s education. More opportunities to earn a decent living should stem the flow of out migration, Frank said. Micronesians leave the islands to find jobs in places like the United States. Frank said he wants people to stay home and live well. “That’s the only reason people leave,” Frank said. “They don’t want to come to U.S. just to come. They want to come to the U.S. to work. They have no other intention.” Frank has plans for vertical integration. With capital raised from exporting, Outer Atoll Resources would like to eventually reinvest in the business and purchase the machine used to process seaweed. Proceeds from added value would stay in Micronesia rather than go to export nations. Growing the business would allow Frank to focus more on sales than harvesting and perhaps move on to more projects in different regions. At Thunderbird, Frank said he learned that you have to think local to go global. He’s been doing a lot of thinking along those lines. “I would love to help in other countries,” Frank said. “Thunderbird got me excited for it. If I can do this on a remote island, I think I can have a good chance of doing it on a main land.” This entry was posted in Community, Community development, Nonprofits on August 1, 2019 by Jennifer Dokes. ← Alumni spotlight IEDC article →

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line354

__label__wiki

Lefty's Live Music About Lefty’s Shannon Curfman Live at Lefty’s Shannon Curfman is making her Lefty’s debut on July 13th Friday @ 9pm. Advance Tickets – https://midwestix.securemytix.com/event/shannon-curfman-live-at-lefty-s Shannon Curfman – Guitarist and singer/songwriter Shannon Curfman burst upon the blues and roots rock scene in 1999 with quite a stir. After recording her major-label debut for Clive Davis and Arista Records, “Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions” climbed to the top of the Billboard Blues Charts and remained for nearly 5 years. Her exceptionally well-produced, well-sequenced debut album won her rave reviews all over the U.S, Canada, Europe and Asia, aside from tons of airplay, even on commercial radio stations in the U.S. Curfman made several U.S. club and theater tours in support of Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions, and garnered huge amounts of publicity. Recognized throughout the Blues community, Shannon has shared the stage with legends B.B. King, Buddy Guy, John Mellencamp, John Lee Hooker and Carlos Santana. Her music has been featured in several soundtracks including “Where the Heart Is” and “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”, as well as HBO’s “The Sopranos”, “G String Divas” and the WB’s “Gilmore Girls” and “Gossip Girls.” She has also performed on national television programs such as David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Good Morning America and VH1’s Rock & Roll Record Breakers. Now 24, Curfman is back with a new and even more mature album that shows she is the real-deal, proven artist that many knew she would be. “What You’re Getting Into” is Curfman’s new album recorded at Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis’ epic Flyte Tyme Studios in Minneapolis , MN . Special guests on the album include platinum-selling artist Joe Bonamassa playing and singing a duet with Shannon of a classic Eric Clapton song and multi-platinum artist Stevie D from Buckcherry on a cover of a song by Queen. This may be Shannon ‘s …best album yet! The album features seven brand new, original songs that Curfman co-wrote with writers from Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz, Kid Rock, Ozzy Osbourne, Pink, Jonny Lang and Sheryl Crow and a cover of Oh Well by Fleetwood Mac that goes to show what a powerhouse Shannon really is. Between the superior “dirty-blues” songwriting, Curfman’s saucy and demanding vocals and her scorching lead guitar “What You’re Getting Into” is the album of 2010 not to be missed! Subscribe to our Newsletter Stay up to date With Lefty's Confidential Subscribe to our newsletter Stay up to date!

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line357

__label__cc

Home » CAROLYN SUE JONES (WHITTAKER) CAROLYN SUE JONES (WHITTAKER) Published by Steve on Wed, 08/14/2019 - 14:58 Carolyn Sue Jones (Whittaker), 75, of Springfield, formerly of Lebanon, died Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019. She was born May 16, 1944, in Phillipsburg, Mo. to Charles and Ottie Marie (Gage) Whittaker. On Feb. 20, 1986, she married Wilford Jones in Lebanon. Sue was preceded in death by her parents; two children, Vicky (Vestal) Scott and Daren Patten; one grandchild, Billy Scott; four brothers, Doyle (Curley), Robert Merle, Charles Leo, and Jerry Whittaker; one brother-in-law, Daryl May and one sister-in-law, Irene Whittaker. She attended high school in Conway and went on to complete various college courses. Sue was a homemaker and delighted in spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren whom meant the world to her. She loved baking, sewing, camping, going to country music concerts, shopping, and more shopping! Survivors include her husband Wilford, of the home; her daughter and son-in-law, Bobbi and Grant Thornburg, of Springfield; daughter-in-law, Patty Patten, of Jefferson City; six grandchildren, Amanda Elson, Charles Patten, Robby Patten, Tony Scott, Patrick Scott, and Jimmy Scott; five great-grandchildren, Theodore Elson, Miriam Elson, Makayla Scott, Caden Scott and Josh Scott; her sister, Jean May, of Springfield; four sisters-in-law, Linda, Dorma, Gwen, and Donna Mitchell; many nieces and nephews, also friends at Ozark Riverview Manor who became like family to her. A graveside service for Carolyn Sue Jones (Whittaker) will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 19, 2019, at Mount Rose Memorial Park in Lebanon. Flowers can be sent to Holman-Howe Funeral Home in Lebanon. Sue was a 16-year kidney transplant survivor and donations can be made in her memory through this link: https://team.kidney.org/campaign/Sue-JOnes.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line361

__label__cc

Level: GCSE Did The Power Of Television Force The United States To Leave Vietnam Did The Power Of Television Force The United States To Leave Vietnam? From sources D-L they mostly don't provide any accurate information from what the question is asking. These sources can be quite biased at some stages and shows different general views from one point to another. I shall be analyzing sources from D-L. Source D is a North Vietnamese poster from the time showing problems faced by the Americans fighting a guerrilla war. As within in the picture it shows American troops who are not sure on what they're doing once in Vietnam. The American troops didn't realise that they're in fact being watched during their time featured in this poster. The Vietcong troops knew their jungle very well, as they used the guerrilla tactics which included the ('booby trap'). The Vietcong, tactic of attrition was to kill as many Americans as possible that they could find. Also the American tactics were to search and destroy ('Operation Rolling Thunder') which didn't work at all. So the Vietnamese citizens hated them more and become more Vietcong altogether. The intended audience for this poster were the Vietcong and the innocent citizens, as they have no uniform like the NVA. This North Vietnamese poster has its advantages and disadvantages. As this is a poster of propaganda it can't be aired or shown on television. As from the poster not being advertised on television, the American public won't be able to see this poster, which can be seen as a limitation for this source. ...read more. Source H is a primary cartoon source published in the British magazine ('Punch') in 1967. The presentation of this cartoon shows us how funds and currency which should have been spent on Johnsons "Great Society" being wasted upon the war in Vietnam. This source can be seen as quite biased, as the cartoon source is aimed at the British public because if the American citizens seen the pictorial, they would start and debate on why this is occurring. Also they would start to question and doubt whether in reality Johnson was being untruthful and dishonest to them because of what was happening with the "Great Society". It has its limitations, because it's unrelated to American television as it's a pictorial cartoon source that's not being aimed at the American citizens, but is being aimed at the British instead. Source F is a primary speech of an anti-war American journalist called Richard Hamer written in 1970 according the provenance from an American view of difficulties of fighting guerrillas. This source tells us that the USA soldiers did not know their enemy, as normal peasants were attacking them. "Did one of them (the peasant's) lob the mortar? If so which one? Should you kill all of them or none of them?" It's saying that the U.S.A soldiers were using wrong tactics to persuade citizens to side with them, "One does not defoliate (destroy vegetation in) ...read more. This is because Source E, made Americans despise Vietnam Veterans and request in favour of withdrawal of the American soldiers. From the source E, the effects of the American bombing of napalm could have been actually used as a proclamation of (propaganda). As within Source J, the time when the anti-war photograph protest at Kent State University was modified and produced and published, the American citizens were able to watch the Television and were horrified to discover on what precisely they became a part of. As when the American citizens established this, they didn't want to become a part of this no longer to and further extent. They all approved that it was time for the American soldiers to come back home, wanting this, they setup and started to protest and rebel. So to the question that needed to be answered, referring and into response as to the question "Did the power of the television force the United States to leave Vietnam?" I would imply; "Yes", as this did play an enormous role as to why the media force led the United States to leave Vietnam entirely. Lastly, the rest of the sources 'D, F, G, H, K & L' doesn't give much in aspect that are really useful, including articles and pictures unlike source E & F. It also doesn't make a difference on the American citizens' agreements or why the American troops left Vietnam entirely. By Jordan Alexander-Riley ...read more. This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Vietnam 1954-1975 section. Related GCSE Vietnam 1954-1975 essays Why are there different views about the influence of media on the course of ... On the other hand this is a Ph. D. Dissertation meaning that it should most likely reliable and be of use for supporting this particular point of view. I am making the assumption that the student did a lot of research into this topic in an effort for the paper This statement suggests that television was an important reason why the United States lost ... the Australian public wanted the wars to continue, or if the wanted their forces to be brought back home. This poll shows that in early 1969 almost half the population wanted the soldiers to carry on fighting. Is there sufficient evidence in sources A to F to explain why there was ... I am now going to look at source C which has been written by an American Journalist. This source indirectly links to the media coverage of the war. The journalist addresses the problems faced by the US soldiers. Furthermore, he is being critical and sarcastic when saying that killing innocent Study Source A. Do you agree with this interpretation of the problems faced ... Bilton uses these points in relation to My Lai because showing how inexperienced and possibly lacking intelligence the troops are suggests why they may have not known what to expect when they went into My Lai and why they may have been led into the massacre of civilians. Explain why the United States became increasingly involved in the war in Vietnam In the intermittence between 1956 and 1960, nothing much occurred aside from Diem's continual purging of Communists in the south and a terrorist bombing in Saigon, 1957; part of a wider campaign by the Vietcong (whose name now averted any patriotic meaning) How useful are the sources A to G for explaining why there was an ... Army during a peace-time period. It then goes on to mention how the tours of duty affected each soldier, with some dying in the first month of duty as this was "highly likely". Due to the soldier rotation and their differing lengths of duty (some of the soldiers were wounded, Why was there opposition to the Vietnam war? one individual, the rest of the army may not have acted in the same way. This account is only of one soldier, and we dont know where, when or why he gave this information. Sources F and G are not reliable as the have very limited information. Vietnam Coursework: Question One They'd bring me down if I ran." This shows Johnson's worry and the pressure he is under to support South Vietnam and US allies France. Looking for expert help with your History work? Study Source A. Do you agree with this interpretation of the problems ... Did The United States Lose On The Vietnam War Home front Or Battlefield?

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line363

__label__wiki

CALIFORNIA BROKER DIRECTORY 2020 Insurance Insider Newsletter Insurance company Surveys Back Issues Library It’s All About Working Together January 1, 2020 Lexena Admin A conversation with Naama O. Pozniak, Cal Broker associate publisher and CEO of A+ Insurance Services in Studio City, California The problem with healthcare and insurance, says veteran broker and Cal Broker’s new associate publisher Naama O. Pozniak, is not what we are doing. It’s what we aren’t doing. In a nutshell, the health insurance and healthcare systems haven’t figured out how to make people healthier. Meanwhile, Pozniak says true innovation in insurance policies and coverage has all but stalled amid essential health benefits and many other factors dictating what policies offer. You’d have to be living under a rock not to notice that deductibles for most people have skyrocketed. “Bottom line is that what we’re delivering right now doesn’t make a lot of sense on many levels,” says Pozniak. Does that bum her out? Nope. “I’m actually very optimistic. We’re going to see huge changes and I think we’ll see changes for the better.” Pozniak says tech will play a key role in the future of improving public health. “There will be a day when there will be MRIs for $10 on every block,” she predicts. “You’ll be able to check your diabetes using your phone and doctors will communicate with you through artificial intelligence (AI).” Nonetheless, serious changes will only come when the majority of people are empowered to take their health into their own hands. For Pozniak, a meditation instructor and a big fan of yoga and healthy diet, that means a marrying of Eastern and Western approaches. “The most important thing is that we ensure we work together,” she says. “Everybody needs a seat at the table–hospitals, doctors, insurers, brokers, drug makers, A.I., tech, sages, scientists, startups, innovators–we need to come together and figure out how we can manifest what people really need—good health and a good, sustainable health care system.” And what hopes and dreams does Pozniak have for Cal Broker, now that she has a seat at this table? “I’m feeling humbled and grateful for being in this position. If you had asked me a few years ago, I’d never have guessed I’d be a part of a magazine. But together I think we can bring new ideas and information to Cal Broker readers. Oh, and I also want to create the finest mindfulness event in the insurance industry.” Stayed tuned for more on that. — Victoria Alexander Health Care’s Cost Problem Defines Its Future Four Top Trends Impacting Small Groups in 2020 California Broker Magazine ©

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line364

__label__wiki

Aqueduct of the Free Waters (Aqueduto das Águas Livres) Photographer: José Manuel Built in the 18th century (1729-1748) by the order of King João V, the aqueduct served to supply water to the city. It consists of 109 arches across the valley, with the tallest arch being 66 meters. Mãe d´Água das Amoreiras Open everyday except Sundays from 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Estrela Basilica (Basílica da Estrela) Photographer: João Paulo Built in late- Baroque style in the 18th century, Estrela Basilica is one of Lisbon’s the most fascinating churches. It was the first church in the world dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Largo da Estrela Open every day from 7.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. and 3.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m. 20, 22, 38. Casa dos Bicos (House of the Pointed Stones) Built in 1523 and is inspired by the Diamond Palace of Ferrara and Bevilacqua Palace of Bologna, drives its name from the unusual points ("bicos") comprising the equally unusual façade. The earthquake of 1755 destroyed the two upper floors, yet were only repaired in 1980s. Rua dos Bacalhoeiros, 10 Open week-days from 10.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Saint George’s Castle (Castelo de São Jorge) Built by the Visigoths in the 5th century and enlarged by the Moors in the 9th century, the Castle demonstrates the early history of the city, while offering to its visitors a spectacular panoramic view of Lisbon and Tagus River. The Castle also hosts a multimedia exhibition of Lisbon’s history. The visitors shouldn’t miss out the Ogival House, from where the 17th-century door that made the connection to the jails once located in the Castle can be seen. Costa do Castelo (Near the top of Alfama) Open every day from 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Jeronimos Monastery (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) Built in a fascinating combination of late-baroque and the Renaissance styles in the 16th century, the Monastery celebrates the country’s Age of Discovery. Interiors present a unique masterpieces of “Manueline” decoration along with the symbolic tombs of world wide famous poet Luis de Camoes and the navigator Vasco de Gama. The Monastery was classified a “Cultural Heritage of All Humanity” by UNESCO in 1984. Praça do Império +351 21 362 00 34/38 Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9.00 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. Belém (Cascais Line) Discoveries Monument (Padrão dos descobrimentos) Built on the bank of River Tagus in 1960 to honor the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator. Designed in the shape of a caravel, on which Henry the Navigator, Vasco da Gama, Pedro Álvares Cabral - discoverer of Brazil - Fernão Magalhães - who crossed the Pacific in 1520 -, the writer Camões and many relevant heroes of Portuguese history are shown, the monument offers a fabulous view from the top. It also owns a multimedia itinerary through the history of Lisbon, as well as hosts temporary exhibitions and concerts. Avenida Brasília Open every day except Mondays from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. 27, 28, 43, 49. Belem Tower (Torre de Belém) Built in Manueline style during the Age of Discoveries, in 1520, the Tower served to defend the Tagus River bank. Once a symbol of King João II’s power, as the new centuries passed, the tower had been given different functions such as a customs control point, a telegraph station, a lighthouse and even a political prison. UNESCO classified it as a World Heritage Site in 1983. Avenida da India Open every day except Mondays from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. Patriarchal Cathedral (Sé Patriarcal) Built in 12th century on the ruins of the Moslem mosque by the order of Portugal’s first King D. Afonso Henriques, this Church is designed in a late-Romanesque architectural style with a gothic chapel. Largo da Se, Alfama Open Tuesday to Saturday from 9.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. Cloister € 1, Treasury € 2, 50 National Church of Santa Engrácia (Igreja de Santa Engrácia/Panteão) Established in a baroque architectural style, this Church is one of the most beautiful churches of Lisbon. It took such a long time, 284 years, to build the church that it inspired the Portuguese expression “works of Santa Engracia”(“obras de Santa Engracia”), signifying endless like works of Santa Engracia. It is a national monument of Portugal since 1910 and the National Pantheon since 1916. Campo de Santa Clara Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Cloister € 2 Christ the King Sanctuary (Santuário do Cristo Rei) Photographer: Eda Sirma Built in 1959 on the south bank of River Tagus, the 110 meter high statue of Christ offers a magnificent panoramic view over Lisbon and River Tagus. Open every day between 9.30 a.m. – 6.00 p.m. Cacilhas Ferry Port. Church and Monastery of São Vicente de Fora (Igreja e Mosteiro de São Vicente) The Church was built in 1147 in order to extent thanks for the conquest of Lisbon from the Moors. In 16the and 17th century, the Church had been renovated. Its Portuguese tile panels are inspired by La Fontaine's fables. Largo de Sao Vicente Open Tuesday to Friday from 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Saturday from 9.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. Sunday from 9.00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 3.00 p.m. – 5.00 p.m. Church of Saint Anthony of Lisbon (Igreja de Santo António de Lisboa) Destroyed by the Earthquake of 1755, the Church was rebuilt on the its original ruins of Manueline. Rua das Pedras Negras

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line370

__label__cc

Alternative Rock Review: Jason Gerard – You Set Me Free Artist: Jason Gerard Title: You Set Me Free Label: Sonic Wave International Jason Gerard, an Austin, Texas native is known for his blend of punk and alternative music. Gerard was the co-founder of the punk band Egoteric and has played several venues in Texas. Specializing in keyboard and guitar, Gerard has a sound that is edgy and fierce. Most notably, his work is a blend of Bowie and Iggy Pop, giving a gritty and alternative bent to his sound...READ MORE...

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line379

__label__wiki

Turkey Seeks New U.N. Security Council Mandate by Naharnet Newsdesk 19 May 2011, 12:24 Turkey announced Thursday that it is seeking a new term on the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member. In a statement, Turkey's foreign ministry said it was seeking membership for 2015-2016. A new mandate would bring "significant added value to international peace and security at a time of fast and decisive change" in the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and notably in the Arab revolts, the statement said. Turkey, the de-facto Muslim world representative in NATO, previously held a seat in the U.N. Security Council between in 2009 and 2010. Ankara ruffled feathers by voting down sanctions against its neighbor Iran over that country's controversial nuclear program, a stand that critics interpreted as a deviation from Turkey's traditional pro-Western stance. Source: Agence France Presse Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/6704

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line381

__label__wiki

Tools And Ideas/Lesson Plans/NEA Tribute to Justice John Paul Stevens Back to: Tools And Ideas / Lesson Plans / NEA Tribute to Justice John Paul Stevens NEA Tribute to Justice John Paul Stevens In 2010, Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement from the U. S. Supreme Court after 35 years of service, the third-longest tenure in the history of the Court. In recognition of his extraordinary contribution to the cause of public education, the National Education Association offers this tribute to Justice Stevens. Justice Stevens’ legacy includes authoring nearly 400 majority opinions, many of them protecting the rights of education employees and students. But he is best known as the Court’s staunchest defender of a high wall of separation between Church and State. He wrote the Court’s important decision in Wallace v. Jaffree (1985), invalidating an Alabama law requiring a moment of silence at the beginning of the school day that was intended to facilitate prayer. Fifteen years later in Santa Fe ISD v. Doe, his majority opinion struck down a school’s policy allowing student-led prayer before football games. He joined the Court’s majority in striking down a Louisiana law banning the teaching of evolution unless “creation science” is taught as well (Edwards v. Aguillard). And he wrote a stinging dissent in NEA’s Ohio voucher case (Zelman v. Simmons-Harris), calling the decision “profoundly misguided,” and arguing that “public funds” should never be used “to pay for the indoctrination of thousands of grammar school children in particular religious faiths.” In the same dissent, he famously warned, “Whenever we remove a brick from the wall that was designed to separate religion and government, we increase the risk of religious strife and weaken the foundation of our democracy.” In virtually every case involving the rights of public employees, Justice Stevens sided with employees. In Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education, for example, he provided the fifth and deciding vote to uphold the right of a school employee to sue a school district for punishing him in retaliation for complaining about the unequal treatment of female athletes. Justice Stevens authored oneof the seminal decisions involving the free speech rights of public workers. In Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois, the Court struck down political patronage, holding that non-policy making public employees can’t be fired, demoted, or refused employment because they belong to the “wrong” political party. He also wrote the majority opinion in U.S. v. National Treasury Employees Union, overturning a ban on federal employees accepting honoraria for speaking and writing “off-the-clock.” And he penned the Court’s opinion in Smith v. City of Jackson, Mississippi, which expanded the rights of public employees to bring age discrimination claims against their employer under federal law. Justice Stevens always recognized the importance and value of public education and racial equality. He provided the fifth vote in what many believe to be one of the High Court’s most important education rulings, Plyler v. Doe. In that case, the Court struck down a Texas law denying a public education to the children of undocumented immigrants. The majority wrote that “education isperhaps the most important function of state and local governments.” The Texas law “imposes a lifetime hardship on a discrete class of children not accountable for their disabling status. The stigma of illiteracy will mark them for the rest of their lives. By denying these children a basic education, we deny them the ability to live within the structure of our civic institutions, and foreclose any realistic possibility that they will contribute in even the smallest way to the progress of our Nation.” In a similar vein, he authored a strident dissent in the Court’s decision striking down Seattle’s voluntary, affirmative action, student assignment plan in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1. Describing the majority’s reliance on Brown v. Board of Education as a “cruel irony,” Justice Stevens accused the Chief Justice of “rewrite[ing] the history of one of this Court's most important decisions.” He added, “Children of all races benefit from integrated classrooms and playgrounds.” And he dissented from the Court’s decision in Wygant v. Jackson Bd. of Educ. striking down an affirmative action, teacher layoff policy that had been negotiated between a Michigan school district and an NEA local. “In the context of public education, it is quite obvious that a school board may reasonably conclude that an integrated faculty will be able to provide benefits to the student body that could not be provided by an all-white, or nearly all-white, faculty.” Such a policy, he said, “advances the public interest in educating children for the future.” In matters relating to gay rights and individual liberty, time has proven Justice Steven to be on the right side of history. When in 1986 the Court upheld Georgia’s statute criminalizing homosexual conduct in Bowers v. Hardwick, Justice Stevens penned a strong dissent arguing that “individual decisions …concerning the intimacies of their physical relationship, even when not intended to produce offspring, are a form of ‘liberty’ protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” Seventeen years later, when the Court overturned Bowers and struck down Texas’ anti-sodomy law in Lawrence v. Texas, the Court quoted from that dissent and said, “Justice Stevens' analysis, in our view, should have been controlling in Bowers and should control here.” Just a few months before he retired, the Court handed down its devastating decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission allowing unlimited corporate expenditures on elections. When the decision was announced, Justice Stevens took the highly unusual step of reading for 20 minutes from his 90-page dissent. Declaring “I emphatically dissent,” he described the majority opinion as “profoundly misguided,” “backwards,” “incorrect,” and just plain “nonsense.” He wrote, “The Court’s ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the Nation. The path it has taken to reach its outcome will, I fear, do damage to this institution.” And he closed with this observation: “While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this Court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics.” Hopefully, Justice Stevens’ dissent in Citizens United will ultimately be adopted by a majority of the Court as in the Bowers case. Justice Stevens is an individual of unfailing politeness and good manners who will be fondly remembered for his habit of asking, “May I ask a question?” before questioning counsel at oral argument. With his retirement from the Court, NEA and the United States have lost a champion of freedom and a stalwart friend of education. He stung the conscience of America, transformed our social fabric, and elevated our national character. Over the past 35 years, we have learned this simple truth about Justice John Paul Stevens: he embodies what it means to serve our country with honor, decency, and respect for the rule of law. He will be sorely missed.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line382

__label__wiki

Life-size skeletal replica of Japan's largest dinosaur restored Japan Times -- Apr 18 What is believed to be Japan’s largest fossilized dinosaur skeleton has been restored as a life-size replica, researchers and officials from the town of Mukawa, in Hokkaido, where the original discovery was made, said Wednesday. The replica of the 8-meter-long and 4-meter-tall plant-eating Hadrosaurid, dubbed “Mukawaryu,” was created with duplicates of the actual fossils unearthed from a 72 million-year-old geological layer. The replica and the fossils will be displayed at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo for three months from July 13. “A standing Mukawaryu has been resurrected after 72 million years. I hope it will help liven up our town,” Mukawa Mayor Yoshiyuki Takenaka said. The excavation involving Hokkaido University members began in 2013 after local fossil collector Yoshiyuki Horita found a fossilized tail bone in 2003 in the Hobetsu district of Mukawa. More than 1,000 fossil bones were eventually unearthed, making it the largest complete dinosaur skeleton ever found in the country. Complete skeletons are generally defined as containing more than 50 percent of the bones, but for the Mukawaryu, over 80 percent were unearthed as fossils. News source: Japan Times

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line383

__label__wiki

The water fountain, the Bunyip Inn and the main street of Berry Berry (including Coolangatta Village) Attractive and fashionable town within easy reach of Sydney In recent times Berry has become very fashionable and overtly trendy as Sydneysiders, particularly those living in the southern and eastern suburbs, have found its pleasant rolling hills an ideal location for weekend retreats. Over the past decade, from the humble beginnings of the alternative lifestyle cafe, the Berry Bazaar, it has grown to a town of 1570 people awash with gift and craft shops, coffee lounges and antique shops - although, it should be pointed out that the town's famous donut shop (a caravan on the main street) has remained unchanged. Located 142 km south of Sydney via the Princes Highway and 10 m above sea level, Berry, for most of the past century, has been a quiet rural service town meeting the needs of the surrounding farming district. The local Chamber of Commerce named it 'The Town of Trees' in 1975 because, towards the end of the last century, the local settlers planted extensive stands of English oaks, elms and beech trees. Many of these still stand today giving the town a distinctly 'English' feel. Once occupied by the Wodi Wodi Aborigines the chief industry of the region, since the timber cutters left in the mid-nineteenth century, has been dairying. Aside from George Bass, who merely crossed the shoals at the entrance to the Crookhaven in 1797, the first European to officially visit the area was George William Evans. He crossed the Shoalhaven in a bark canoe, climbed Cambewarra Mountain then descended to Broughton Creek on a trek from Jervis Bay to Appin in 1812. In his journal he recorded his impression of the area: These valleys lead into a small river [Broughton Creek] which takes a north course from the main river of Shoals Haven and runs through .. a most beautiful meadow and loses itself in different branches which are the runs from the mountains and contain such fine cedar: it is my opinion that if the small river is navigable this part of the country would make a beautiful settlement. From 1818 to 1819 explorers Charles Throsby and Hamilton Hume and surveyor James Meehan also explored the Shoalhaven area, usually in each other's company. Berry was originally called 'Broughton Creek' but the name was changed by an Act of Parliament in 1890 in honour of the entrepreneurial Scotsman Alexander Berry and his brother David Berry. After studying medicine Alexander became a surgeon's mate for the East India Company. He decided to quit the profession out of antipathy for the whippings he was obliged to attend and sympathy for the profits that lay in commerce. In 1807 he sailed to NSW as supercargo of the City of Edinburgh , though his stay was brief. He sailed east but was forced to abandon the vessel off the Azores and make his way to Lisbon. It was in Cadiz that he met Edward Wollstonecraft, the nephew of writer and proto-feminist Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin and the cousin of Mary Godwin who wrote 'Frankenstein' and married poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley. In 1819 Berry formed a partnership Edward Wollstonecraft, and returned to Sydney. The two men sought a land grant and, after Berry had investigated the Shoalhaven area, they took up a run there in 1822. To allow boats access to the Shoalhaven River, Berry had Hamilton Hume and a party of convict labourers cut a 209-yard canal between it and the Crookhaven River. Completed in twelve days it was the first canal constructed in Australia. The initial grant on the south side of the river soon expanded to the north with the agreement of the partners to take charge and expense of one convict for every 100 acres of land, extending the property to more than 40 000 acres by 1863. While Wollstonecraft looked after affairs in Sydney, Berry, who married his partner's sister in 1827, set up his headquarters at the foot of Mount Coolangatta, north of the river. A self-supporting village began to develop around the homestead. The partners used a combination of convict and free labour to drain the swamps, grow tobacco, potatoes, maize, barley and wheat and rear pigs and cattle, the latter kept for their hides and the production of milk and cheese. These items, destined to supply their Sydney stores, were transported by means of a ship that they purchased and a sloop which they had built . A tannery was erected, the piles of which can be seen on the banks of the creek opposite the David Berry Hospital on Beach Road. Mills and workshops were established with tradesmen engaged in cask-making, building prefabrication, experimental leather treatment, the production of condensed milk and gelatine, and shipbuilding; the first vessel being completed and launched as early as 1824. The town of Coolangatta in Queensland is named after one of Berry's schooners which was wrecked there in August, 1846. The estate also bred thoroughbred horses which were exported to India. However, it was the cedar in the area, much of it exported to Europe, that was the most profitable resource. In 1828 Berry's men crossed Kangaroo Mountain to find a million feet of cedar south of Broger's Creek. By the 1840s a water-driven sawmill was in operation, supplied by an earthen water race originating in Broughton Mill Creek. Many of the employees were Aborigines. An 1838 census of the estate indicates 242 black employees from seven tribes. Indicative of the passing of tribal life is the fact that the last known initiation ceremony on the coast occurred at Mt Coolangatta in 1890. By the 1850s Berry was leasing out his Shoalhaven property to tenant farmers and it was this which enabled the true development of the area and of the township of Broughton Creek to begin. A traveller, passing through the district in 1850, wrote of his journey from Kiama to the property of Alexander Berry in the following terms: Leaving Kiama, we journeyed onwards due south, intending, if possible, to reach Coolangatta, the residence of Mr Berry, distant sixteen miles, before night. The road was very bad, and cut up by the heavy rain, which still fell; on the left is the sea, and on your right the country is hilly. It is pleasing to pass the number of small farms you see on either side of the road; the possessors of them appear independent men, made so by being industrious, and expending their labour upon fertile soil. Many of them had horses and cattle, besides their farm-steadings; and those who had been any length of time on the land possessed all that was useful and comfortable in conducting the operations of a dairy-farm. This description, apart from the road which has improved immeasurably over the past one hundred and thirty years, is still a fair description of the area. The first church service was held in the settlement in 1858. A post office was opened in 1861, being connected to the electric telegraph in 1877. By 1868 there were 300 people in the village, which, besides the post office, boasted a tannery, store and school and an inn opposite on the site of the present Berry Hotel. The area was declared a municipality at this time, much against Alexander Berry's wishes. After Alexander Berry died in 1873 the Coolangatta Estate passed to his brother. David Berry nurtured the development of Broughton Creek, donating land for an agricultural showground and for four churches on the four corners of town: Presbyterian, Wesleyan, Catholic and Anglican. In 1882, a survey was carried out on the western side of Broughton Mill Creek and the first town land was sold the following year. The railway arrived in 1893 and the Berry milk factory, described as the 'largest and most complete in the colony' opened two years later. 1899 saw the establishment of the Berry Experimental Farm where the Illawarra Shorthorn breed of cattle evolved. Electricity arrived in 1927 and the last ship visited its wharf the following year. David Berry died in 1889 and by 1912 nearly all of the property had been sold off. Fire gutted the old homestead in 1946.Eventually the site was restored and in 1972, to coincide with the 150th anniversary of settlement, it was opened as the Coolangatta Historic Village. Historic Buildings in Berry Today the Berry townscape has a number of significant historical buildings. The National Bank (1889) and the Court House (1891) are both of the Victorian Classical Revival. The latter was designed by colonial architect James Barnet who was involved in the construction of a number of notable NSW public buildings including the General Post Office, Customs House and the Macquarie Lighthouse at South Head. The former English Scottish & Australian Chartered Bank (1886) at 135 Queen Street is now a local history museum, open 11-2 Saturdays, 11-3 on Sundays and, on school and public holidays, from 11 to 2 every day (02) 4464 1551. The building itself is unusual with an asymmetrical stepped facade and interesting casement windows. It was built of Flemish bonded brickwork and is probably the only survivor of about six country banks that William Wardell (1823-1899) designed. Wardell designed the E S & A Bank head office in Melbourne, acclaimed as 'the most distinguished building of the whole Australian Gothic-Revival Era'. The Berry bank is a fine example of one of Wardell's more modest projects. It was designed at a time when he was expressing 'his newly discovered love for Italianate, Palladian and Venetian architecture'. The post office next door is also of historic interest, being built on land sold for this purpose by David Berry, who was present at the opening in 1886. Post and Telegraph Office (now a coffee house) with the Bunyip Inn Guest House in the background The post office, National Bank and museum are all located on or nearby the intersection of Queen St and Prince Alfred St as you enter the central part of the town from the north. To find the court house continue along Queen St for two blocks turning left into Albany St and take the second right into Victoria. It is on the left before the next intersection. Berry has many more buildings dating from the nineteenth century, too numerable to mention, but they are listed in great detail in a booklet, Historic Sites of Berry by Mary L. Lidbetter, which is available from the Berry Museum. Other attractions in Berry There are a number of cafes and the main street offers window shoppers a range of craft and antique shops. Crafts are also among the many things on offer at the sizeable Berry markets, held on the first Sunday of each month at the showground. The Agricultural Show is held each February. Those interested in boating will find a concrete boat ramp into Broughton Creek off Wharf Road. Coolangatta Historic Village The Estate is located at 1335 Bolong Road which runs between Coolangatta and Bomaderry. Many of the original buildings from the 'Coolangatta' estate remain, including the homestead with maid's quarters and laundry The Convict cottage, Coolangatta Historic Village Resort near Berry (one wing remains after a fire devastated the original building in 1946), a large mid-Victorian cottage, the stables and coachman's quarters (c.1823), the tinsmith's shop, two coach houses (one c.1832), a billiards room, the blacksmith's shop, convict cottage (c.1840) and estate office, the community hall (c.1840), the stables, the coachman's quarters, the cemetery and a monument to David Berry. A pottery craft centre is located in the original schoolhouse (established in 1861) and the old library was transported to Shoalhaven Heads where it became St Peter's Church. The Great Hall at Coolangatta Historic Village Resort near Berry Big Foot is a four-wheel drive service which ferries passengers from the village to the summit of Mt Coolangatta on weekends and school holidays and other times by appointment. The views of Shoalhaven River and Seven Mile Beach are impressive. There is also a winery on the Estate, open daily from 10.00 am - 4.00 pm. It is open for lunch, wine tasting and devonshire teas. All enquiries about the village and its services should be directed to 02 4448 7131. Branga Park Blueberries At 100 Back Forest Rd is Branga Park Blueberries, open daily from 8-6 from December to mid-February, weather permitting (02) 4422 1556. In the Berry Area Black Ash and Devil's Glen Nature Reserves The visitor intending to move on to Kangaroo Valley should drive south down the town's main street (Queen Street) and turn into Kangaroo Valley Road just as the Princes Highway veers left towards Nowra. The scenic journey over the mountains is pleasant and often affords views back across the coastal plain to Seven Mile Beach. About 9 km west along the road, on the slopes of the Cambewarra Range are the Black Ash and Devil's Glen Nature Reserves, both areas in good condition. A must is to stop at the Cambewarra Lookout (678 m) and enjoy the view across Nowra and the Shoalhaven Valley. This is one of the most spectacular panoramas along the South Coast escarpment. To access the spot turn south before entering Kangaroo Valley and head towards Beaumont. There are two vineyards in the area. Jasper Valley Winery on Croziers Road - head south out of town along the highway until you see the red, white and black signpost on a barrel at the crest of the first hill. The excellent Silos Winery and Restaurant lies 8 km south of Berry on the Princes Highway. Wild Country Park Wild Country Park is located at Foxground, 11 km north from Berry. It has an interesting collection of Australian wildlife and it is possible to pat the kangaroos, photograph emus and wombats. In wet weather beware of the leeches. Coomonderry Swam Coomonderry Swamp, with its rich variety of bird life, is situated off the Coolangatta Road just before Shoalhaven Heads. Broadwalk Business Brokers Broadwalk Business Brokers specialise in General Businesses for Sale, Caravan Parks for Sale, Motels for Sale, Management Rights & Resorts for Sale, Farms for Sale, Hotels for sale, Commercial & Industrial Properties for Sale. Email: enquiries@broadwalkbusinessbrokers.com AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSES FOR SALE COFFS HARBOUR BUSINESS BROKERS GOLD COAST BUSINESSES FOR SALE BRISBANE BUSINESSES FOR SALE SYDNEY BUSINESSES FOR SALE CARAVAN PARKS FOR SALE We advise prospective purchasers that we take no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in the business provided by vendors or their professional advisers and that they should make their own enquiries as to the accuracy of this information, including obtaining independent legal and/or accounting advice http://www.broadwalkbusinessbrokers.com PRESS HERE FOR INFORMATION ON NSW TOWNS PRESS HERE FOR INFORMATION ON QLD TOWNS PRESS HERE FOR INFORMATION ON VIC TOWNS PRESS HERE FOR INFORMATION ON TAS TOWNS PRESS HERE FOR INFORMATION ON SA TOWNS PRESS HERE FOR INFORMATION ON WA TOWNS PRESS HERE FOR INFORMATION ON NT TOWNS

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line386

__label__wiki

Nolan Fans Discussion forums for the premiere fan community for and by fans of film director Christopher Nolan. http://www.nolanfans.com/forums/ Uncharted (TBD) http://www.nolanfans.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=15397 Re: Uncharted Film (2016) Posted: November 12th, 2014, 9:16 pm by Allstar Dodd wrote: SilverHeart wrote: offered the role to Chris Pratt Go away. by BlairCo Chris Pratt > Chris Hemsworth, Ryan Reynolds, etc, etc. by Thedarknight628 BlairCo wrote: Chris Pratt > Chris Hemsworth, Ryan Reynolds, etc, etc. by Cop 223 Yeah, Pratt actually fits the character rather well. Chris Pratt>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Ryan Reynolds, Armie Hammer, Sam Worthington and all those other shitty actors Dodd likes. Posted: November 12th, 2014, 11:55 pm by ComptonTerry Ehh, I dont really care. Still waiting doe the day a video game movie isnt lame as fuck. Also I guess I should just come and say... I never loved the games. I Enjoyed parts but I didnt find they added up to very much. I thought Naughty Dog got it right with The Last Of Us and I'm mostly with everyone when it comes to that, but I did not get the love over these games. People praised the cinematic sequences as if they were groundbreaking, but MGS and many other things had gone far beyond what Uncharted did with cinematics years before, and people praised story telling but I never could relate to Drake or anybody and thoughttrue dialogue was really bad much of the time. The first one I think is extremely mediocre, the second one okay i can see why people really enjoyed even if i didnt. I still dont get how it was ground breaking or revoutionary, but I did think it was enjoyable and could see how somebody could love it. Didnt bother with the third one. I won't go on because it's not totally relevant to this topic, but I guess that came up in my mind when I saw this. Ehh, I dont really care. Still waiting for the day a video game film adaption isn't lame as fuck. Also I guess I should just come and say... I never loved the games. I Enjoyed parts but I didnt find they added up to very much. I thought Naughty Dog got it right with The Last Of Us. I loved it and I'm mostly with everyone when it comes to the praise there, but I did not get the love over these games. People praised the cinematic sequences as if they were groundbreaking, but MGS and many other things had gone far beyond what Uncharted did with cinematics years before, and people praised story telling but I never could relate to Drake or anybody and thought the dialogue was really bad most of the time. The first one I think is extremely mediocre, the second one okay i can see why people really enjoyed even if i didnt. I still dont get how it was ground breaking or revoutionary, but I did think it was enjoyable and could see how somebody could love it. Didnt bother with the third one. I won't go on because it's not totally relevant to this topic, but I guess that came up in my mind when I saw this. Posted: November 13th, 2014, 12:49 am by darthnazgul ComptonTerry wrote: Ehh, I dont really care. Still waiting doe the day a video game movie isnt lame as fuck. Also I guess I should just come and say... I never loved the games. I Enjoyed parts but I didnt find they added up to very much. I thought Naughty Dog got it right with The Last Of Us and I'm mostly with everyone when it comes to that, but I did not get the love over these games. People praised the cinematic sequences as if they were groundbreaking, but MGS and many other things had gone far beyond what Uncharted did with cinematics years before, and people praised story telling but I never could relate to Drake or anybody and thoughttrue dialogue was really bad much of the time. The first one I think is extremely mediocre, the second one okay i can see why people really enjoyed even if i didnt. I still dont get how it was ground breaking or revoutionary, but I did think it was enjoyable and could see how somebody could love it. Didnt bother with the third one. I won't go on because it's not totally relevant to this topic, but I guess that came up in my mind when I saw this. First of all, don't get me wrong. I don't think the Uncharted series is a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but I can acknowledge just how damn well made they are. I think that why people thought that Uncharted got cinematic right over MGS is because it did it more like a game. What MGS would have done in a cutscene, Uncharted did as interactive set pieces. Mixing the engagement of gameplay with the beauty of cinematography. These two levels from Uncharted 3 illustrate what I'm talking about: In many games before Uncharted, moments like climbing the debris of the plane or walking across the desert as the camera pans far away from you were done in cutscene with a quicktime event as the height of interactivity. Many games try to go for a more cinematic approach but fail at engaging the player, but fail to realise that film and games are different mediums. Games aren't passive like films. Even the MGS series, which I love, can fall into traps of lengthy cutscenes and unimmerse or disengage the player, and few developers know how to fix this. For example of how this can be done poorly, let's look at Resident Evil. Okay, first of all there's the aspect ratio. Uncharted keeps its aspect ratio the same no matter if the player is in control or not. In something like Resident Evil, the cutscenes go into widescreen, introducing black bars at the top and bottom. It's unintentional, but this creates a subtle hint to the player that they're no longer in control. After all, the first ten times this has happened, it was safe to put down the controller. The player expects that. So when a quicktime event like this occurs, it catches the player off-guard, and often in a more unpleasant and annoying way than a jump scare. Secondly, the button prompts are random. If you fail and have to redo it, don't expect it to be the same button. The maximum amount of input from the player in this set piece is a series of random button presses. The choice of buttons don't correspond to the rest of the game's controls, which not only disjoints the continuity, but it makes the player's input have less of an impact. You subconsciously realise that you didn't shoot that one dude since you didn't even pull the trigger that does so for the rest of the game. Thirdly, there's a large lack of interaction. The characters do most of the work, while the player has no challenge to overcome other than a very simple reaction-time minigame. All these sacrifices in the name of making games feel more like movies, like some younger brother trying on their siblings clothes to look cool, only to look silly in that oversized jacket. Okay, that was a random metaphor, moving on. Now how would Uncharted take on a challenge of blending a cinematic experience while keeping the key interactive elements of the gaming medium? Well, in that Uncharted 3 scene I linked to, there's a brief fight with a tough guy on the back of a plane. It has a ton of views, complex physics going on in the engine, and interesting camera angles. Yet that fight is all in real time, in control of the player. You may notice a camera zoom in just as the fight starts. Unlike other games where this is a signal that control is coming back to the player, control is already there. You can move around, try and get some distance, get up close and personal with your opponent, whatever. You're the director, you're the actor, you're in control. There's also a brief button prompt that comes up at some points in the fight, as the camera cuts up close. Triangle. That is important because what it does when the button prompt comes up and what it does for the game's melee system in general is exactly the same. It's a counter. You deal the blow because you know that that is what you do. The prompt isn't the star of the shot, it's just a hint for those not quite used to the sudden cut to know that they're supposed to counter, just like the rest of the game. Keeping the continuity, keeping the focus on what you're doing. You're not just pressing buttons, you're fighting a giant on the back of a freaking plane. That's engagement. From a technical standpoint, the engine and physics are a big deal. Using the engine to enhance the scripted sequences. For example, there's the famous train level from Uncharted 2. Everything about that level, the way your aim sways as the train goes around a bend, the individual physics of each train car, all of it took a tremendous amount of effort since game engines aren't built for that sort of thing. In fact, that whole level took two years for the developers to design, program, and test to get just right. When those sorts of set pieces come up at most other studios, they either put it in a pre-rendered cutscene or make it completely scripted. From a layman's point of view, it's like a rollercoaster compared to driving down the road in a car. The rollercoaster's all pre-determined for you, you're on-rails. When you're driving, there's still a ton of things keeping you in a certain lane, driving at a certain speed, but those conditions are almost random, and give you just that tiny bit of control. To put it more bluntly, the design philosophy of these set pieces for Uncharted are not for you to ride someone else's ride, but to enjoy your own. Lastly, there's the importance of camera control, or the lack thereof. When players get control of a camera, they often lose sight of what they're supposed to be looking for. With Uncharted, the camera's a little more independent. It can zoom in, out, pan, all while keeping the subjects that need to be focused on in focus. To summarise, Uncharted didn't invent cutscenes. They didn't invent huge set pieces. But it utilized them in the way they arguably should for games. Games are not films, and this is often the reason for them never being good bed-fellows apart from the odd documentary like King of Kong. They shouldn't be treated as the same, but should learn from each other. Just as films have learned from theatre, games have learned from film. The importance is to apply those learnings and deviate from them. Films drifted away from theatre into the art of cinematography with movies like Citizen Kane. Gaming drifted away from film into the art of interactivity with games like Uncharted. And maybe if films can learn from games, we might just get a good adaptation. Did I just write an essay in response to a post on an internet forum? I have got to stop staying up so late. Damn lol. You bring up a lot of good points. Especially about the cinematics being more interactive than ever, and I know tht when it first came out people where reall amazed by how seamless the transition from cinematics to gameplay was. I myself was some what impressed by that, though I saw it first with MGS4. But I get what you are saying. One thing I didn't talk about was the gameplay, which I thought bordered on pretty bad in the first, and was very well improved in the second but still not outstanding. I think Naughty Dog needed those experiences to get some practice and sort of fine tune their third person gameplay mechanics for The Last of Us, which I thought was near perfect in its gameplay. So I think Uncharted was a necessary thing but I had a lot of issues at the time with gameplay and AI. It's been a while and I can't quite remember the details it I do remember finding many gameplay elements repetitive. One thing I do remember pissing me off was the number of enemy AI you would have to take out at once. They would dump a shit load of enemies on you at once, then a little down time, then here's a million more guards and henchmen to kill. Over and over agian, it got really repetitive and boring. I didnt like the shooting mechanics either but I don't rememberin detail why I didn't like that. A lot of problems I don't remember, I should play it again sometime I still have the game. Again I felt the second one had some nice surprises here and there, and was a pretty big improvement over the first in gameplay. I did enjoy the infamous train sequence, but overal once I finished the game I just forgot about it while everybody else kept talking and talking out it and I couldn't figure out why, but you have she'd some light on the I guess. I still don't think it deserved quite that level of praise but I see more where it came from. by Dodd Allstar wrote: Chris Pratt>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Ryan Reynolds, Armie Hammer, Sam Worthington and all those other shitty actors Dodd likes.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line387

__label__wiki

Our Football List is Revised. Jerry Kramer back to #1 A few weeks ago, the Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted their latest class, which means one thing for us at Notinhalloffame.com…it is time to revamp our list our top 100 on the football list for next year’s class! Recapping what happened last year, Brett Favre (#1), Marvin Harrison (#3), Ken Stabler (#6), Orlando Pace (#15), Dick Stanfel (#30) and Kevin Greene (#37) were selected along with Eddie DeBartolo Jr. and Tony Dungy were all inducted. With three of our top ten chosen, a major overhaul at the top has occurred as three new eligible entrants made the top ten. Jerry Kramer, the only man who was named to the 75th NFL Anniversary Team who was not named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame returns to the top spot. Kramer played in the first two Super Bowls with the Green Bay Packers and remains a Lambeau legend. LaDainian Tomlinson, the former Running Back who will be eligible for the first time, holds #2. Tomlinson spent most of his career with the San Diego Chargers and he is a former three time First Team All Pro and was the MVP in 2006. Tomlinson is also a two time rushing champion. Former Super Bowl MVP, Chuck Howley, has his highest rank at #3. Howley is a six time Pro Bowl Selection. At #4 is Alan Faneca, who is entering his second year of eligibility. The former Offensive Lineman was a Finalist last year. L.C. Greenwood is ranked at #5. The former Defensive End helped the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowls and he has been a Hall of Fame Finalist six times. The always controversial, Terrell Owens, returns at #6. The Wide Receiver has been vocal about the Hall of Fame voting process being flawed and has been the subject of much debate. The now eligible Brian Dawkins comes in at #7. Dawkins adds to the already heavy logjam at Safety. Torry Holt, who was not a Finalist last year, is ranked at #8. AFL star, Johnny Robinson is at #9. Robinson is a former Super Bowl winner with the Kansas City Chiefs. Rounding out the top ten is another new entry, Defensive Tackle, Jason Taylor, a six time Pro Bowler. The other new entries to our Notinhalloffame.com Football list are: Former Super Bowl MVP, Hines Ward enters our list for the first time at the #21 spot. The “infamous” Ochocinco, Chad Johnson debuts at the #26 spot. Former Quarterback, Donovan McNabb, enters our list at #30. Wide Receiver, Derrick Mason makes his first appearance on our list at #59 Former Chicago Bear, Offensive Lineman, Olin Kreutz debuts at #69. At #96, Joey Porter, the former Pittsburgh Steeler Linebacker who helped the Steelers win Super Bowl XL. Gang, you know what we want you to do! Take a look at the new entries and cast your votes and give us your opinions. As always, we here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to thank all of you for your support! Our Football Revisions are Complete! Ray Lewis to No. 1 The core of our Notinhalloffame.com has always been our sports lists. As such, it is with great pride that we have updated our Pro Football Hall of Fame list of those to consider for enshrinement in Canton, Ohio The 2017 Hall of Fame Class added five players who we had listed (LaDainian Tomlinson, Jason Taylor, Terrell Davis, Kurt Warner and Morten Andersen), and we did not have trouble replacing them. Actually, we have increased our 100 slightly to 103, for an impending increase in the months (ok, maybe years to come). The revised ranking is based on your votes and comments and the addition of newly eligible former players. Let’s get right to it! Former Baltimore Ravens Linebacker Ray Lewis debuts at the number one spot. The 13 Time Pro Bowl Selection was chosen for seven First Team All Pro slots and took Baltimore to two Super Bowl wins. Lewis is likely to get inducted on his first try. This drops perennial snub, Jerry Kramer to number 2. Kramer was a Finalist nine times and helped Green Bay win the first two Super Bowls. He is the only member of the NFL 75th Anniversary Team not to be enshrined. Randy Moss makes his first appearance on the list at #3. The former Wide Receiver is the highest ranked skill player and his appearance makes it harder for Terrell Owens to get in. Moss was a Pro Bowler seven times and is third all-time in Receiving Yards and second all-time in Receiving Touchdowns. Former Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Lineman, Alan Faneca, remains at number four. Faneca, a nine time Pro Bowler was a Finalist for Canton in the past two seasons. Chuck Howley comes in at number five. The MVP of Super Bowl V was a six time Pro Bowl Selection and was chosen for five consecutive First Team All Pros. Another former Pittsburgh Steeler, L.C. Greenwood is in the top ten at number six. Greenwood has been named a Finalist six times and was a part of the Steelers dynasty that won four Super Bowls in the 1970’s. He was ranked #5 last year. Brian Dawkins returns at number seven. “Weapon X” was eligible for the first time last year and many expected that he would get inducted on his first try. He didn’t but was a Finalist last yea At number eight is Terrell Owens, who dropped two spots from last year. T.O was a finalist in his first two years of eligibility but has been very vocal about being passed over. This could really cost him. He is second all-time in Receiving Yards, third in Receiving Touchdowns and eight in Receptions. Brian Urlacher debuts at number nine, making three new eligible in the top ten. The career Chicago Bear went to eight Pro Bowls and was selected for four First Team All Pros. Rounding out the top ten is Johnny Robinson who is known for his time with the Kansas City Chiefs. The former Safety has been a Hall of Fame Finalist six times and has a Super Bowl ring with the Chiefs. Another high profile debut entry is Ronde Barber, the long time Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defensive Back who appears at #15. Offensive Lineman, Steve Hutchinson makes his first appearance on the list at #34. Former three time Super Bowl winner with the New England Patriots, Richard Seymour comes in at #48. He is a seven time Pro Bowler. Matt Birk, the Center who split his career with the Minnesota Vikings and the Baltimore Ravens, is ranked at #67. Jeff Saturday, who protected Peyton Manning for Years and went to six Pro Bowls makes his debut at #76. We have also added Tony Boselli, who was a Finalist last year, but was unranked by us previously. The man considered to be the greatest Jacksonville Jaguar of all-time finally makes his first appearance on our list at number 81. The entire list can be found here. Gang, you know what we want you to do! Take a look at these revisions and cast your votes and give us your opinions! We will soon be unveiling our Basketball Revisions and look for that unveiling soon. As always, we thank you for your support! The Pittsburgh Steelers announce their Hall of Honor As our eventual intention is to look at how each team honors their former players and executives we are thrilled that for the first time ever the Pittsburgh Steelers have finally unveiled their Hall of Honor, a 27 man class. This has been a long time coming, so much so that this group comprises 23 Pro Football Hall of Famers. Let’s get right to this very esteemed group: Art Rooney: The founding owner of the Steelers and President of the team from 1933 to 1974. He also served as the Chairman until 1988. Dan Rooney: The son of Art Rooney, Dan Rooney was the Steelers President from 1975 to 2002. He spearheaded the push for minority hires as coaches or GM creating the “Rooney Rule”, whereby all NFL teams must interview a minority candidate for a coaching or GM job. Chuck Noll: The Head Coach for Pittsburgh from 1969 to 1991, Noll is a four time Super Bowl winner with a regular season record of 193-148-1. He would win two more Super Bowls with the Steelers as an Executive. Jack Butler: a four time First Team All-Pro Cornerback from 1956 to 1959. He led the NFL in Interceptions in 1957. Dick Hoak: A Pro Bowl Running Back in 1968 and the Running Coach from 1972 to 2007. He has five Super Bowl Rings as a Coach. Joe Greene: “Mean” Joe was a four time Super Bowl Champion and a Defensive Tackle who went to ten Pro Bowls while earning six First Team All-Pro Selections. He was the Defensive Player of the Year in both 1972 and 1974. Terry Bradshaw: The Quarterback of the 1970’s Steelers dynasty, Terry Bradshaw was a three time Pro Bowler and two time Super Bowl MVP. Franco Harris: The Fullback was the engine of the Steelers juggernaut and he too is a four time Super Bowl Champion. He was also a nine time Pro Bowl Selection and the MVP of Super Bowl IX. Mike Webster: The Center for the 70’s juggernaut, he also won four Super Bowls. He would be named to nine Pro Bowls and seven First Team All-Pro squads. Lynn Swann: The very popular Wide Receiver was also a four time Super Bowl winner. Twice he would be a Pro Bowler and he was the MVP of Super Bowl X. L.C. Greenwood: Greenwood also won four Super Bowls and the Defensive End went to six Pro Bowls. Mel Blount: The Cornerback also won four Super Bowls and was himself a five time Pro Bowl and four time First Team All Pro. He led the NFL in Interceptions in 1975 and was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Jack Ham: Playing Outside Linebacker, Ham also won four Super Bowls and was a eight time Pro Bowl and six time First Team All Pro Selection. Jack Lambert: Yet another four time Super Bowl winner Jack Lambert went to nine Pro Bowls and seven First Team All Pros. The Middle Linebacker was a two time Defensive Player of the Year in both 1976 and 1983. Andy Russell: A two time Super Bowl winner with eight Pro Bowl Selections. Russell played Linebacker. Rod Woodson: The Cornerback played ten years of his career with Pittsburgh and was a seven time and five time First Team All Pro Selection with Pittsburgh. As a Steeler he won a Super Bowl and was named the Defensive Player of the Year in 1993. Kevin Greene: Only a Steeler for three seasons, Greene won the Super Bowl with the team and was named to a First Team All Pro squad. Jerome Bettis: “The Bus” won a Super Bowl with Pittsburgh as well as earning four Pro Bowls. Donnie Shell: Another four time Super Bowl Champion, the Safety was a five time Pro Bowl and three time First Team All-Pro Selection. John Stallworth: Stallworth also won four Super Bowls and he was named to three Pro Bowls. The Wide Receiver also made a First Team All Pro squad once. Bobby Layne: The Hall of Fame Quarterback played his final five seasons with Pittsburgh and he was a two time Pro Bowl Selection as a Steeler. Ernie Stautner: A star Defensive Tackle of the 1950’s, Statutner would be a nine time Pro Bowl. John Henry Johnson: A Fullback who went to three Pro Bowls as a Steeler in early 1960’s. Bill Dudley: “Bullet Bill” was an imposing halfback who was with Pittsburgh for three seasons; one before World War II, and two after his service. He would be named the MVP in 1946. Walt Kiesling: Kiesling only played one season with Pittsburgh but served as their coach for two stints. John “Blood” McNally: McNally played three seasons for Pittsburgh as well as coached them for three. Dermontti Dawson: The Center was a seven time Pro Bowl and six time First Team All Pro Selection. The Hall of Honor will be located at the river end of the FedEx Great Hall at Heinz Field with the eventual plan to grow it to a museum. To qualify for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor a player must have been with the team for at least three years and be retired for at least three years. We here at Notinhalloffame.com are beyond delighted that the Steelers have finally begun to honor their past legends with an institution like this. Major Update: Our Football List has been revised We have another major update here at Notinhalloffame.com as our Football list of those who should be considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame has gone through a major revision. Last February, 6 of our top 10 were selected (Ray Lewis #1, Jerry Kramer #2, Randy Moss #3, Brian Dawkins #7, Terrell Owens #8 and Brian Urlacher #9) as was another top 15 (Robert Brazile #15). This has brought as expected a major overhaul in our top 10 list but with the addition of three strong first ballot entries none of the returning entries will crack the top three. Our Notinhalloffame.com Football Top Ten is: Former Tight End Tony Gonzalez debuts at number one. Gonzalez is without question the greatest Tight End ever and if you don’t agree with that, you can’t argue that he is not the best in terms of pure offensive skill. The former dual sport star from UCLA is second all-time in Receptions and is a 14 time Pro Bowl Selection. If anyone on this list has a speech ready to go it should be Tony Gonzalez! Champ Bailey makes his inaugural appearance on our list at #2. The Cornerback dominated his position for years and went to twelve Pro Bowls as well as being chosen for three First Team All-Pro rosters. Former Defensive Player of the Year Ed Reed arrives at #3. Like Gonzalez and Bailey, Reed has the credentials of a first ballot Hall of Famer. The Safety is a nine time Pro Bowl and five time First Team All-Pro Selection and is a Super Bowl winner with the Baltimore Ravens. He is also the all-time leader in Interception Return Yards. Alan Faneca returns at #4 and is the highest ranked returnee from our list. The Offensive Lineman has been a Finalist the last two years and is a nine time Pro Bowl and six time First Team All-Pro Selection. He won a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Chuck Howley is the highest rated former player who would need to get in via the Senior Committee. Howley, the MVP of Super Bowl V and six time Pro Bowler remains at #5. Four time Super Bowl Champion L.C. Greenwood also holds the same rank as last year as he holds at #6. The former Pittsburgh Steeler was a six time Finalist and like Howley would need the Senior Committee to get inducted. Johnny Robinson jumped from #10 to #7. The longtime Kansas City Chief is a former Super Bowl winner and was a Finalist six times. He too needs to enter via the Senior Committee. From the Denver Broncos’ famed “Orange Crush”, Randy Gradishar jumped from #12 to #8. The former Linebacker was a two time Finalist was the Defensive Player of the Year in 1978 and was a seven time Pro Bowl and five time First Team All-Pro Selection. Three time Super Bowl Champion Running Back Roger Craig moves up to #9. Craig was a Finalist in 2009. Rounding out to the new top ten is Wide Receiver Torry Holt. Holt went to twelve Pro Bowls and helped the St. Louis Rams win the Super Bowl. Gonzalez, Bailey and Reed are not the only new entries. Four time Pro Bowl Selection London Fletcher enters our list at #66. Fletcher was a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams and is one of four players to have participated in 250 straight games. Regular visitors to Notinhalloffame.com know that we eventually plan to grow our core sports lists to 150 and as such we are allowing new entries to push our Football list beyond 100. We have two new entries in the lower end of the list with Asante Samuel at #97 and Brian Waters at #102. You know what we want you to do! Take a look at our new list (which can be found here) and let us know who you think should be in the next Pro Football Hall of Fame Class. Our Football List has been revised. Chuck Howley now #1 As we here at Notinhalloffame.com consistently work hard to create new lists we have to continuously update the ones that we have. One of our main core lists, the Football List of those to consider for the Pro Football Hall of Fame has been updated. The first step for us is to take out all of those who were chosen for the Hall. This takes out Tony Gonzalez (#1), Champ Bailey (#2), Ed Reed (#3), Johnny Robinson (#7), Kevin Mawae (#16) and Ty Law (#28). The second step is to add those who are now eligible. As we have a Football Futuressection that allows you to vote and make comments prior to their eligibility we factor that input before we slot in the new entries. This leads to our third step, which is taking in your votes and comments on the existing names on the list and altering our rankings if deemed necessary. The entire list can be found here, but on this page the new top ten are: For the first time, Chuck Howley moved to the top. The former Linebacker and Super Bowl V MVP was a six time Pro Bowl and five time First Team All Pro Selection. He was ranked at #5 last year. L.C. Greenwood rocketed to #2 from #6. Greenwood played for the Pittsburgh Steelers all of his career and was a member of the dynasty that won four Super Bowls in the 1970’s. The Defensive End was a six time Pro Bowl Selection and he was a Finalists for the Hall of Fame on six occasions. Alan Faneca went up from #4 to #3. The Offensive Lineman was a nine time Pro Bowl and six time First Team All Pro and helped the Steelers win Super Bowl XL. He has been a Finalist the last four years. Former NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1978) Randy Gradisharjumps from #8 to #4. The former Denver Bronco would be chosen for seven Pro Bowls, five First Team All Pros and was a Finalist for the Hall of Fame twice. Our highest new entry is also our highest rated offensive skill player in former Wide Receiver, Reggie Wayne. Wayne helped the Colts win Super Bowl XLI and caught 1,070 Receptions with 14,345 Yards. He was a six time Pro Bowl Selection who led the NFL in Receiving Yards in 2007. Roger Craig went from #9 to #6. The versatile Running Back helped the San Francisco 49ers win three Super Bowls and he was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 1988. He made history as the first player to rush for 1,000 Yards and catch for 1,000 Yards. Steve Atwater increased his rank from #12 to #7. “The Smilin’ Assassin” and former Denver Bronco was first a Finalist in 2016 and was against this year. The Defensive Back was an eight time Pro Bowler and two time Super Bowl Champion. Troy Polamalu is the second new entry to break our top ten. Spending his entire career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Polamalu was chosen for eight Pro Bowls, four First Team All Pros and was the 2010 Defensive Player of the Year. He helped Pittsburgh win the Super Bowl twice. Former Super Bowl Champion with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ronde Barber is #9 after climbing from #11. The Defensive Back was chosen for five Pro Bowls and was the league leader in Interceptions in 2001. Rounding out the top ten is Isaac Bruce, the former St. Louis Rams Wide Receiver of their “Greatest Show on Turf”. Bruce was a former Super Bowl Champion who caught 1,024 Passes for 15,208 Yards and 91 Touchdowns. He would go to four Pro Bowls. There are other new entries on out Notinhalloffame.com Football List. Also making their debut are: Patrick Willis comes in at #16. Playing his entire career with the San Francisco 49ers the Linebacker would be invited to seven Pro Bowls and five First Team All Pros. John Abraham makes his first appearance at #40. Abraham is in the top 15 all time in Quarterback Sacks, Tackles for Loss and Forced Fumbles and he was a five time Pro Bowl Selection. Former Chicago Bear Linebacker Lance Briggs enters at #80. He was a seven time Pro Bowl Selection. The final new entry is Justin Smith at #101. Smith is a five time Pro Bowl Selection. As you will see, there are 103 names on this list. Our intent is to eventually grow it to 250 (or possibly more) so as we are adding and subtracting names, we feel leaving it at this number is fine for now. Take a look at our revised list and cast your votes and offer your opinions! As always we here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to thank you for your support. Published in Football 2. L.C. Greenwood With nine members of the 1970’s Pittsburgh Steelers already in the Football Hall of Fame, you would think that the team that won four Super Bowls in that decade would be sufficiently represented in Canton. Some have said that they have the right amount, but the wrong representatives. Those people point to L.C. Greenwood as the omission. As a member of the famed Steel Curtain, L.C. Greenwood was part of the most dominating defense in football history that propelled the Steelers to four Super Bowls in a five year period. Greenwood was a big part of that dynasty as he was a six time Pro Bowl selection who terrified opposing Quarterbacks. Although the sack was not yet an official statistic, Greenwood totaled five of them in his four Super Bowls. He was tall, fast and was seemingly everywhere on the field.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line389

__label__wiki

Ideological Configurations and Prediction of Attitudes toward Immigrants in Chile and Germany Attitudes toward Immigrants and Immigration Policy in United Kingdom Survival of Adults with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Germany and the United States Accounting conservatism in Portugal: similarities and differences facing Germany and the United Kingdom The Attitude of United Nations Toward Armenian Aggression A Comparison of Purchasing Habits and Sensory Preferences for Cola Consumers Across France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States Food waste in the United States: A contributing factor toward environmental instability A comparative analysis of leaving home in the United States, the Netherlands and West Germany Auditor’s liability towards third parties within the EU: A comparative study between the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium Sex Sells? Gender Imbalance and Incentives – The Attitudes Toward Organ Donation in Germany Journal of Politics and Law 2009 The United States’ Policy toward Germany 1933--1938 DOI: 10.5539/jpl.v1n4p77 Jian Xu Britain was the main conflict in the west. And the United States’ policy toward Germany was subject to this conflict. In order to create in Europe a balance of power which was in the United States’ favor, and to prevent Britain and France from controlling Europe completely, the United States adopted a neutral policy toward Germany, and did help the recovery of Germany. And Germany wanted to absorb a lot of fund to recover her economy and rebuild her army, with the hope of regaining the position as one of the western powers. So it was necessary for both two countries to maintain good relationship between them. But with the rise of Nazi Germany, Hitler did adopt a very aggressive diplomatic policy, which seriously harmed the United States’ interests. So the United States’ policy toward Germany began to change. This thesis tries to analyze the United States’ policy toward Germany before the breakout of Second World War.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line393

__label__wiki

HomeArticlesAn American Jew Sails to Gaza: How Could I Not Go? An American Jew Sails to Gaza: How Could I Not Go? By Jane Hirschmann People often ask me why I am part of a team to organize a U.S. Boat to Gaza that will be sailing this month with the next International Flotilla to break the siege of Gaza. They often make clear they are asking because I am an American Jew, whose family survived the Holocaust with some surviving family members ending up in Israel. And my only answer is: How could I not? My parents raised me with stories about what happened in Germany and their family’s escape. I came to see that Israel represented for them a safe haven should there be another attempt at annihilating Jews. And yet, at the same time, they worried it was not so safe a haven given the animosity and physical threats and violence in the area. But no one ever mentioned the displacement of 750,000 Arabs that was the result of the creation of Israel. I vaguely knew there were people living there, but I was never curious about who these "others" were. All I took away from my family’s history and the atrocities endured was that this should never happen again to anyone, anywhere. Growing up in the ’60s, I became active in opposition to the war in Vietnam, the anti-apartheid struggle and the women’s rights movement and later became involved in opposing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. As a social worker, I was focused on social justice issues but never questioned the relationship between the U.S. and Israel and their policies regarding Palestinians. Then came the war on Gaza and a real political awakening for me. Operation Cast Lead and the Goldstone Report were the catalysts. In November 2008, the ceasefire ended: Israeli soldiers broke it in a cross-border raid killing six members of Hamas and, in response, rockets were launched into Israel. Israel, fortified with American weaponry, attacked the people of Gaza. Approximately 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed compared to 13 Israelis. Gaza was pulverized. Judge Richard Goldstone and his team did a thorough report of the causalities on both sides. There was no doubt that the people of Gaza were disproportionally affected. Right after the invasion in Gaza I realized I could no longer remain silent. I became one of the organizers of a group called Jews Say No! in New York City. We wanted to speak out and to make clear that the Israeli government did not speak in our name as they claimed. I began reading about the occupation, settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the building of the separation wall, Jewish-only streets for Israeli settlers, special identity papers for Palestinian citizens of Israel (one step away from wearing a yellow star) and the other indignities endured by the people of Palestine on a daily basis. And I saw the total collusion by the U.S. government – its unconditional support no matter what the Israeli government did, including giving them 30 billion dollars over a 10-year period for weaponry (F16s, Apache helicopters, white phosphorous, Caterpillar bulldozers used to destroy homes in Bedouin encampments) used ruthlessly against the Palestinians. This was intolerable for me. I understand the fears and frustrations of Israelis being fired upon by rockets and the resultant deaths and injuries. But what about the thousands of Palestinians being killed and whose homes, schools, hospitals, farms, mills, factories and infrastructure are being destroyed? What about a people living under a brutal occupation who are being denied the right to live with dignity in their own homeland? The siege and blockade of Gaza continue. The Israeli government controls the land, sea and air of this small area (25 miles long and roughly six miles wide) where 1.6 million people live. There has been no movement in recent years unless Israel allowed it. (Egypt’s partial opening of the Rafah gate to human traffic, though not to commerce, is a positive sign if it is allowed to grow). Most people cannot travel in or out of Gaza because of continuing restrictions, 61 percent of the population is food insecure, the unemployment rate is around 45 percent, one of the highest in the world, and exports remain banned with the exception of limited items like strawberries and carnations for European markets. Gaza is called an open-air prison even by England’s Prime Minister, David Cameron. Given all this, I can remain silent no longer. Every day Palestinians are confronting the Israeli government at the wall, at check points, at demolition sites. They risk their lives. Like the Freedom Rides our boat is sailing to call attention to the illegal occupation and siege of Gaza. My humanity and my Jewishness – Jewish history – demand my being part of an organizing effort to end the inhumane treatment of the Palestinians. The U.S. Boat, called The Audacity of Hope, will sail in late June to Gaza as part of the Freedom Flotilla 2-Stay Human. We will be approximately 50 individuals from across the U.S. committed to non-violence, human rights and freedom and justice for the Palestinian people. To date, tens of thousands of individuals and over 80 organizations have endorsed this U.S. campaign and each day more sign on to travel with us in name. We travel in peace for justice, and I am proud to be part of this international effort. – Jane Hirschmann is a member of Jews Say No! in New York City and one of the national organizers of the U.S. Boat to Gaza. Hirschmann has been active in anti-war efforts for the past four decades. She is a psychotherapist and the co-author of three books. More information about the The Audacity of Hope is available at www.ustogaza.org. (This article was contributed to PalestineChronicle.com.) Decadence of Mainstream Media in North America Israel Vows to Stop New Gaza Aid Flotilla

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line401

__label__cc

The undeniable Palestinian right to resist occupation Posted: December 21st, 2011 | Author: noam | Filed under: In the News, The Settlements, unarmed protest | Tags: IDF spokesperson, intifada, major peter lerner, Mustafa Tamimi, occupation, Resistance, stone-throwing | Comments Off Slingshot found on Palestinian protester Mustafa Tamimi (photo: IDF Spokesperson) Following the killing of Mustafa Tamimi in his village Nabi Saleh, Spokesperson for the IDF presented pictures of a slingshot Tamimi had on him when he was brought to the hospital. This was to be the indicting evidence that the protester was taking part in hostile action against the army – i.e. throwing stones – and therefore responsible for his own death. Only in the context of the occupation can throwing stones at a bullet-proof army jeep be seen as an offense deserving the death penalty, carried out on the spot (clearly, the soldiers weren’t acting in self-defense). Furthermore, as recent attacks by settlers on soldiers – including a brick thrown from close range on the IDF regional commander – demonstrated, the army’s treatment of Jews is very different (to be clear, I don’t call for shooting Jewish stone-throwers either). But there is a larger issue here, concerning the whole notion of “legitimate” resistance to the occupation. Facts and context are important: Israel took over the West Bank and Gaza more than 44 years ago. Since then, the Palestinians have been under military occupation, which denies their basic human and civil rights. The Palestinians can’t vote. They are tried in military court, where the conviction rate is astonishing. They don’t enjoy due process. Their property rights are limited, and their lands – including private lands – are regularly seized by Israel. All this is well-known and well-documented. As far as Israel is concerned, this situation can go on forever. Israel is not attempting to leave the West Bank – it actually strengthens its hold on the territory – and it doesn’t plan to give the Palestinians equal rights within the state of Israel. The Palestinians therefore have a moral right to resist the occupation. It’s as simple as that. Asked how what form of protest against the occupation Israel can allow, Peter Lerner of the IDF spokesperson unit wrote this tweet: To start, this is simply a lie. Israel doesn’t allow any form of protest in the West Bank (well, except for settler protest). Military law demands IDF permission for any demonstration of more than 10 people. The IDF regularly declares the villages of Nabi Saleh, Bil’in and Ni’lin, where protests take place, as Closed Military Zones, and it charges Israelis who attempt to join those demonstrations with violating of this order. Palestinian protest organizers are tried for long prison terms in military courts. But more important, the kinds of protest Major Lerner is suggesting are effective under civilian authority, not under military control. Major Lerner is part of Israel’s media war for the hearts and minds of Westerners, and the answer he gives is something that people in democracies can identify with. But this is not the situation in the occupied territories: For all Israel cares the Palestinians can have sit-ins and rallies until second coming; it wouldn’t affect Israeli policy one bit. It is worth remembering that in the two decades following 1967, strikes, rallies and general assemblies were the main protest methods in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel used these years of relative calm to introduce its massive settlement project. The only thing that made Israelis notice the Palestinians and start seriously discussing their rights is the the first Intifada. In recent years, it seems that the West’s favorite sport is to tell the Palestinians what constitutes a “legitimate” way to fight for their rights, and what doesn’t – as if the Palestinians were full members of society and not subject to a form of control that Amira Hass rightly calls “Israeli dictatorship.” Nobody would denounce Egyptian or Tibetan protesters for such acts, but reports of unarmed Palestinian resistance are usually met with Israel claiming evidence of Palestinian “violence” – mostly stones thrown at soldiers, with the occasional Molotov cocktail. As if those could justify the occupation, while in reality they are the reaction to it. The same goes for those organizations and Israeli propaganda units specializing in the hunt for “Palestinian incitement.” Any suggestions of the Palestinians not viewing IDF soldiers in a positive light is presented as proof of the fact that “they are not ready” to enjoy their rights to justice, freedom and dignity – as if those are someone’s to give. What is the meaning of the word “rights,” if they can be denied collectively for half a century? Is freedom a trophy you need to win from your oppressor? What do people expect of a prisoner to think of his or her guards? Good relations and understanding can be built after the resolution of the occupation – not in the midst of it. Yet Palestinians are expected by the world not only to live under Israeli military control, but also to like Israelis. Strange as it may seem, even critics of Israel repeat such demands, or ask, “Where is the Palestinian Gandhi?,” as though a failure to present one means that Palestinian demands are not to be taken seriously. By the way, the Palestinians have their share of Gandhis - you can find them in Israeli prisons. I oppose violence, in whatever form. More than anything, I oppose violence against civilians. I think that the Palestinian choice of unarmed resistance and of civil society campaigns against the occupation is both wise and heroic. But the real violence is the occupation, and all its victims are civilians. It is not for Israel to tell Palestinians how to resist our occupation.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line409

__label__cc

Prostate Cymru Trustees Prostate Cymru Ambassadors Prostate Cymru Staff Prostate Cymru Awareness Team Meet The Prostate Cymru Staff Tina Tew Tina joined Prostate Cymru in January 2014 as Chief Executive, working in conjunction with The Board of Trustees to develop and implement a strategic plan to deliver the charity’s key objectives. Tina is responsible for the management and leadership of a small team of staff and volunteer groups operating across Wales to increase awareness and maximise fundraising opportunities. Tina is a dedicated and highly respected professional with over 25 years’ experience working at senior management and board level, including Sales and Marketing Director at Cardiff Blues, and is a well-known figure amongst the South Wales business community. She is an out-going fun loving person with a genuine compassion for others. Chris Leyshon Community & Sports Officer Chris comes from a sporting background. He has a BSc degree in Sports Coaching and Performance in addition to HND and Foundation qualifications in Sports Science and Rugby Sports Coaching and Performance. In 2014, Chris and four friends from Kenfig Hill RFC conquered Mount Kilimanjaro, raising £27,000 over eight months for the charity. Chris subsequently joined the charity as its dedicated Community and Sports Officer. Chris is highly motivated about organising and creating innovative sporting events such as The Big Walk for Prostate Cymru to raise awareness of prostate issues. Outside of work, Chris enjoys playing rugby, travelling and taking part in adrenaline activities. Chris is also a part-time carer at Shaw Trust and a volunteer at Puma Sports in Bridgend that helps people with disabilities. Owen Pugsley Corporate Events & Marketing Executive Owen Pugsley graduated from the University of South Wales in 2013 with a BA Honours Degree in Business Marketing and Human Resources. After working as a teacher while completing a PGCE Owen took a gap year in the College Beau Soleil, a prestigious school located in the Swiss Alps. Throughout 2017 Owen has worked with Prostate Cymru completing a number of events to raise money for the charity such as: The Big Walk, The Five Valleys Sportive and The Cardiff Half Marathon. Joining the team in 2018, Owen will be working closely with the team and helping with the running of Prostate Cymru’s main events. In his spare time Owen enjoys travelling, boxing and generally keeping active. Becky Havard Becky has over twenty years’ experience working in the service industry for a prominent Welsh company. Becky’s roles included customer service, training new and existing staff across the UK, team management and auditing. After leaving the industry, Becky set up her own company Havard PA Associates before joining the Prostate Cymru team in October 2016 as an Executive Assistant. In this role, Becky works closely with the Chief Executive and accountants regarding the charity’s finances and also helps to organise events. Outside of work, Becky enjoys travelling, reading and keeping fit.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line410

__label__wiki

Shareholders Foundation, Inc. Long-Term Investors in Audience Inc (NASDAQ:ADNC) Shares Should Contact the Shareholders Foundation An investigation for investors in Audience Inc (NASDAQ:ADNC) shares over possible breaches of fiduciary duty was announced and current long-term NASDAQ:ADNC stockholders should contact the Shareholders Foundation. San Diego, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/02/2015 -- An investigation for investors who currently hold NASDAQ:ADNC shares was announced concerning whether certain Audience directors and officers breached their fiduciary duties and caused damages to the company and NASDAQ:ADNC stockholders. Investors who purchased shares of Audience Inc (NASDAQ:ADNC) and currently hold any of those NASDAQ:ADNC shares, have certain options and should contact the Shareholders Foundation at mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or call +1(858) 779 - 1554. The investigation by a law firm focuses on possible claims on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Audience Inc (NASDAQ:ADNC) concerning whether certain statements by regarding Audience's business, its prospects and its operations were materially false and misleading at the time they were made. More specifically, the investigation concerns whether certain Audience officers and directors breached their fiduciary duties owed to current NASDAQ:ADNC stockholders and caused damage to the company and its shareholders. On September 6, 2012, after the market closed, Audience, Inc. provided an update on the prospects for use of its processor intellectual property in the next generation mobile phone release of a large OEM customer. Additionally, Audience provided an update to its business outlook for the third quarter of 2012. Audience Inc said that it sells processors and licenses its processor IP to Apple Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries for inclusion in their mobile phones and that it now believes that it is unlikely that Apple Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries will enable Audience's processor IP in its next generation mobile phone. Shares of Audience Inc (NASDAQ:ADNC) dropped from $18.90 on September 6, 2012 to as low as $5.998 per share on September 7, 2012 and continued to decline to as low as $5.65 per share on October 9, 2012. Audience Inc reported that its annual Total Revenue rose from $143.91 million in 2012 to $160.13 million in 2013 while its respective Net Income declined from $15.60 million to $2.07 million. Shares of Audience Inc traded during December 2014 as low as $3.32 per share. On January 29, 2015, NASDAQ:ADNC shares closed at $4.06 per share. Those who are current investors in Audience Inc shares have certain options and should contact the Shareholders Foundation. Michael Daniels 3111 Camino Del Rio North - Suite 423 92108 San Diego mail@shareholdersfoundation.com Shareholders Foundation Follow Shareholders Foundation, Inc. Shareholders Foundation, Inc. - Logo Source: Shareholders Foundation, Inc. Posted Monday, February 02, 2015 at 7:45 AM CST - Permalink

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line421

__label__wiki

Below is a letter by Dr. Barber that should be inspiration to thousands of North Carolinians to meet in the streets outside the Wake County School Board tomorrow evening. Let history be a witness. In the meantime, you may send your message to the segregationist Board members who are the pawns of the Tea Party in this national campaign to return to separate and unequal schools. Monday, March 22nd, 2010 By Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II The new and narrow majority of the Wake County School Board has made at least five tragic decisions already that should greatly concern all North Carolinians. The first tragedy was the group's refusal, as it voted to end the socioeconomic diversity policy, to include a simple pledge in its plan that would guarantee every child a sound basic education. This has been the guarantee of our state's Constitution for nearly a century and a half. It was included in our Constitution in 1868, when black and white "fusionists" were working together to try to create a just society beyond racial divisions. When the Constitution was being considered in 1868, a white Congregationalist minister, Rev. Samuel Ashley, who became the first State Superintendent of Education, moved to add a sentence to the fundamental rights section of the Constitution: "The people have a right to the privileges of education, and it is the duty of the State to guard and maintain that right."During the debate over that provision, a black minister of the AME Zion Church, Rev. J. W. Hood, who later became the first Assistant Superintendent of Education, eloquently challenged opponents of Ashley's motion: "I am opposed to putting separate schools in the organic law. Make this distinction in your organic law and in many places the white children will have good schools at the expense of the whole people, while the colored people will have none better or what will be but little than none." In 1868, only three years beyond the shadow of slavery, North Carolina moved forward to guarantee a sound basic education for all students, regardless of color. In 2010, 142 years later, however, the new 5-4 majority wants to move backwards. The second tragic action of this narrow majority has been its devious attempt to portray itself as a friend of civil rights. On March 3, 2010, Board member John Tedesco told a local television station: "It's time that we end discrimination in Wake County based on income and that we help all of our poor kids." This is slick and disingenuous packaging. To argue that ending the school system's socio-economic diversity plan is comparable to efforts of courageous civil rights leaders to end racial and economic discrimination is historical heresy. To attempt to characterize socio-economic diversity policies as a cause of discrimination, rather than as what they are - an effort to remedy racially identifiable and high poverty schools - is to engage in tragically flawed if not consciously deceptive thinking. The third tragedy has been the new majority's utter disregard for efficiency and cost-effectiveness. In this era of recession and deep public spending cuts, the last thing Wake County can afford to do is to discard a proven tool for making full and effective use of all of its facilities. By moving, in effect, to a "rich zone, poor zone" assignment policy, this is precisely what the new Board is doing. The school budget already has a 20 million dollar deficit. This neo-resegregation scheme will be expensive. Who's going to pay for new schools? Trailers? If 99% of the children currently go to a school within 10 miles of their homes, who will provide the money to build more schools so that the board can provide essentially private schools with public dollars for certain privileged communities? Tragic decision Number 4 was to shove Superintendent Dr. Del Burns out of office. In effect, the new narrow majority of the Board forced out a skilled and veteran leader simply because he could not, in good conscience, help them re-segregate Wake's nationally acclaimed school system; because he could not end a diversity program which educational experts almost unanimously agree is an essential component of building excellent schools. The new narrow majority's actions forced Burns forced out because he could not stand by as they casually discarded the efforts of leaders and pioneers like former Superintendent Bill McNeal, the Campbell family, the Cofield family, the Lightner Family and thousands of others who sacrificed so much to breathe life into our Constitution's guarantee of equal and adequate education for all. Finally, the group's fifth tragic decision was, despite repeated requests, its refusal to hear anything more than a sound bite from the NAACP State Conference and its three Wake County NAACP Branches. The NAACP, which has decades of experience in this critical debate, asked for a mere 45 public minutes to deliver a historically-grounded, data-based presentation - a presentation that would have shown how diversity is a critical component, especially in the South, of insuring equity in funding, high quality teachers, smaller class rooms, a focus on math and science, parental involvement, and eliminating inequities in suspensions, graduation, performance and many other factors, which are necessary to achieve school excellence and student achievement. Sadly, the board stuffed its fingers in its ears. Yes, there is a tragedy unfolding in Wake County. And it represents a clear call to our community-Black, White, Latino, Asian-to employ all the moral, political, and legal means at our disposal to stop it before it's too late. Now is the time for us to stand together. Labels: socioecomic integration, Tea Party, Wake County Schools

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line423

__label__wiki

Forums Home • Discussion Forums • General News and Politics The Walls Close In.. Reopened October 2019 - includes archived threads from pre-2019 by toucana on November 2nd, 2017, 9:14 pm When Trump foreign policy advisor George Papadopolous was exposed in documents unsealed on Monday as having already confessed to colluding with Russian intelligence contacts during the 2016 campaign, he effectively implicated two other campaign officals who were line-managing him and signing off on his activities at the time. The two line-managers were not identified by name in the indictments, but the most likely candidates appear to be Sam Clovis and Carter Page respectively. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-unaware-top-adviser-testified-grand-jury/story?id=50895265 Sam Clovis who is Trump’s undersecretary at Department of Agriculture has apparently been acting as a cooperating witness with Mueller’s enquiries for several months. The Trump adminstration were unaware of this and have now hurriedly withdrawn his nomination as Chief Scientist at Department of Agriculture ahead of Senate confirmations hearings that were due next week in a move that is probably too late. Sam Clovis has most likely already cut a deal with investigators to hand them information about his own immediate supervisor, Attorney general Jeff Sessions. http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/02/politics/sam-clovis-department-of-agriculture/index.html Carter Page appeared today before the House Intelligence Committe in closed session and did so without a lawyer. Word has already leaked out that he answered some questions at length but chose to plead the 5th amendment when asked about any Trump/Russia documents in his possession. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1712057 This is a potentially catastrophic path to follow without a lawyer on hand to guide him. The 5th amendment may prevent a suspect from delivering self-incriminating testimony, but does not automatically protect a witness from having to hand over documents relevant to a subpoena. He could be arrested taken in front of a judge and found to be in contempt of Congress. Meanwhile, billionaire Robert Mercer who has been the principal financial backer of Donald Trump’s foray into American politics has suddenly announced his resignation as CEO of a major hedge-fund, and is busy selling his controlling share of the extreme right-wing Breitbart news organization, and has also put out a statement distancing himself from Breitbart personalities and trolls-in-chief Steve Bannon and Milo Yiannopolous. http://www.palmerreport.com/opinion/pan ... rcer/5856/ Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah own the holding company SCL of Cambridge Analytica, a data-mining firm that has been under intense scrutiny over its possible role during the 2016 election. The head of Cambridge Analytica Alexander Nix recently admitted in an uncovered email thread to having sought to conspire with Julius Assange’s Wikileaks to obtain 33,000 hacked Clinton emails from Russian sources and implicated backer Rebekah Mercer in the process by CCing her into the emails. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-data-guru-i-tried-to-team-up-with-julian-assange Closer to home, Donald Trump is reported to have turned on his own son-in-law Jared Kushner and blamed him for offering bad political advice over the firings of Michael Flynn and FBI director James Comey. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-jared-jushner-russia-investigation-meeting-us-president-robert-mueller-a8033181.html Jared Kushner in turn is reported to be cooperating with the Mueller team, and is supplying documents to them about the Comey firing in particular. http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/02/politics/jared-kushner-robert-mueller-documents-russia-investigation/index.html toucana Chatroom Operator Location: Bristol UK Blog: View Blog (10) Re: The Walls Close In.. by zetreque on November 3rd, 2017, 12:37 am And if you haven't seen already, here is a nifty graphic to follow along. Here’s what we know so far about Team Trump’s ties to Russian interests https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/trump-russia/ Published March 31, 2017. Updated Oct. 30, 2017 zetreque Location: Paradise being lost to humanity E-mail zetreque by toucana on November 24th, 2017, 2:01 am Right on cue for Thanksgiving, Michael Flynn’s lawyers have withdrawn from sharing any more information with Donald Trump’s legal team. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/23/us/politics/flynn-mueller-russia-trump.html?_r=0 This comes only a day after Rachel Maddow disclosed on her Wednesday night MSNBC show that Trump’s advisors had preemptively announced that former NSA Michael Flynn would not receive any money from a new legal defence fund for staffers that was being rolled out in Trump’s name. It also comes just a week after the curious disappearance of Reza Zarrab who failed to appear in a Miami courtroom for his own trial on money laundering charges. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/who-is-reza-zarrab-turkish-iranian-gold-trader-may-be-working-with-mueller-investigation-of-michael-flynn-1.4409930 Reza Zarrab is a gold trader and financier of dual Turkish/Iranian citizenship who is thought to be co-operating with Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller as a key witness against Michael Flynn. Prosecutors already had testimony from former CIA director James Woolsey who says he attended a meeting with Flynn and representatives of the Turkish government to discuss the kidnapping and illegal rendition of exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen who was living in Pennsylvania USA. It now appears that Reza Zarrab can testify that Michael Flynn accepted a $15 million bribe to expedite this plot. Commentators believe that Michael Flynn has cut a plea-deal with the Special Prosecutor that will incriminate either Jared Kushner or Donald Trump - (or both). A separate report in Vanity Fair suggests Robert Mueller is also investigating the extraordinary closed-door meeting between Donald Trump and the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov at the White House on 10 May 2017 when Trump boasted about having just fired FBI Director James Comey, then inexplicably disclosed highly sensitive details of a top secret Israeli intelligence operation against ISIS that had been given to US intelligence officials on an ‘eyes only’ basis. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/11/trump-intel-slip This could be legally construed as something very close to treason in the minds of some prosecutors. by Mossling on November 25th, 2017, 11:24 pm Mossling by TheVat on December 1st, 2017, 1:44 pm President Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the F.B.I. about conversations with the Russian ambassador last December during the presidential transition, bringing the special counsel’s investigation into the president’s inner circle. Mr. Flynn, who appeared in federal court in Washington, acknowledged that he was cooperating with the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into Russian interference in the 2016 election. His plea agreement suggests that Mr. Flynn provided information to prosecutors, which may help advance the inquiry... -- NYT, Dec. 1, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/us/politics/michael-flynn-guilty-russia-investigation.html Zippadee-doo-dah! TheVat Location: Black Hills E-mail TheVat by toucana on December 5th, 2017, 1:56 pm Special prosecutor Robert Mueller has subpoenaed financial records on transactions and accounts involving Donald Trump and members of his family from the German Deutsche Bank according to reports by Reuters and the German newspaper Handelsblatt. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-deutsche-bank/deutsche-bank-gets-subpoena-from-mueller-on-trump-accounts-source-idUSKBN1DZ0XN Sources say that the subpeonas were issued several weeks ago. The Deutsche Bank had previously refused to pass such information to Democrat members of Congressional committees who had asked for it in June. The Deutsche Bank had previously been almost unique in continuing to extend loans to Donald Trump’s business empire in the early 2000s at a time when most other major American and European banks had refused to do so because they considered Trump to be a bad credit risk. A U.S. official with knowledge of Mueller’s probe said one reason for the subpoenas was to find out whether Deutsche Bank may have sold some of Trump’s mortgage or other loans to Russian state development bank VEB or other Russian banks that now are under U.S. and European Union sanctions. Holding such debt, particularly if some of it was or is coming due, could potentially give Russian banks some leverage over Trump, especially if they are state-owned, said a second U.S. official familiar with Russian intelligence methods. One obvious question is why Trump and those around him expressed interest in improving relations with Russia as a top foreign policy priority, and whether or not any personal considerations played any part in that,” the second official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Financial disclosure forms released in June by the US Office of Government Ethics show that Trump had liabilities of at least $130 million to Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, a unit of the German bank. The Deutsche debts include a loan exceeding $50 million for the Old Post Office, a historic property he redeveloped in downtown Washington, mortgages worth more than $55 million on a golf course in Florida, and a $25 million-plus loan on a Trump hotel and condominium in Chicago, the disclosure shows. All of those loans were taken out in 2012 and will mature in 2023 and 2024, according to the disclosure. In January, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $630 million in fines for organizing $10 billion in sham trades that could have been used to launder money out of Russia. Anton Zurcher the BBC News North America reporter says that the subpoenas could provoke a high stakes showdown between the Special Prosecutor and Donald Trump. The President had previously indicated in a July 9 interview that he would regard any move to investigate his own private financial affairs or tax records as the crossing of a red line. Rather bizarrely, Reuters now report that one of Donald Trump's lawyers Jay Sekulow has directly denied to them that any subpoena has been served on Deutsche Bank to obtain his client's financial records, and that he is calling the story 'fake news' https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN1DZ2WT Given that the same story has been independently reported by Reuters, BBC and the well respected German business newspaper Handelsblatt based in Düsseldorf, this is getting rather surreal. https://global.handelsblatt.com/finance/muellers-trump-russia-investigation-engulfs-deutsche-bank-861185 by toucana on December 6th, 2017, 6:50 am The New York based Bloomberg news agency have the same story as well. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2017-12-06/mueller-said-to-subpoena-deutsche-bank-video by Mossling on December 6th, 2017, 7:27 am by zetreque on December 6th, 2017, 3:50 pm https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/03/opinion/billy-bush-trump-access-hollywood-tape.html In the days, weeks and months to follow, I was highly critical of the idea of a Trump presidency. The man who once told me — ironically, in another off-camera conversation — after I called him out for inflating his ratings: “People will just believe you. You just tell them and they believe you,” was, I thought, not a good choice to lead our country. And if you get the time you should look up the full colbert billy bush interview on youtube. by someguy1 on December 6th, 2017, 6:15 pm You guys are funny. This Peter Strzok story is exposing the FBI as the corrupt, partisan organization it is. Strzok interviewed Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills, who lied to him about knowing about Hillary's email server. The FBI didn't prosecute them for lying to the FBI. Strzok is the same person who interviewed Flynn, and the FBI did prosecute Flynn for lying. Strzok is the person who changed the wording of Hillary's misdeeds from "grossly negligent," which is a crime, to "extremely careless," which isn't. Strzok is a Hillary partisan who exchanged anti-Trump email messages with his FBI lawyer girlfriend. Mueller demoted Strzok and sent him off to the FBI human resources department, then failed to disclose that information to the House intelligence committee. Committee chair Devin Nunes is about to hold the DOJ in contempt for its stonewalling of his investigation of the uranium matter. When push comes to shove in any move against Trump, the hard righties and the hard lefties will already have their minds made up. But the vast majority of Americans are fairminded people who will judge any charges and impeachment attempts on whether they believe there has been a fair and impartial investigation. Mueller's got nothing and he's clearly running a highly politicized investigation. Nobody will stand for that. someguy1 E-mail someguy1 Oh geeze, here we go with Hillary again instead of focusing on the current nightmare into a future dystopia made reality. ps -- I forgot to mention that Strzok was the guy who recommended the investigation of Trump based on the fraudulent pee dossier which we now know was paid for by Hillary. This guy is a one man wrecking crew who made a fool out of Mueller. And this info is being reported in the NY Times and WaPo, not exactly Trump fans. Maybe the biggest crime Hillary ever committed was giving people an excuse to deny the current problems this country has. zetreque » December 6th, 2017, 4:29 pm wrote: Maybe the biggest crime Hillary ever committed was giving people an excuse to deny the current problems this country has. She did (and still does) represent the corruption of the system. Trump's election is a symptom of that. Perhaps you've inadvertently stumbled on the truth. Remember, Trump could not have been elected solely by the deplorables, who represent at best 30% of the electorate. Trump was elected by millions of independent-minded centrists who have simply had enough of the corruption. by TheVat on December 6th, 2017, 7:25 pm someguy1 » December 6th, 2017, 3:25 pm wrote: ps -- I forgot to mention that Strzok was the guy who recommended the investigation of Trump based on the fraudulent pee dossier which we now know was paid for by Hillary. This guy is a one man wrecking crew who made a fool out of Mueller. And this info is being reported in the NY Times and WaPo, not exactly Trump fans. I'm having trouble, as one of those Independent Americans, understanding what difference it makes who funded the Steele dossier. The GOP initiated the research, as public records show, and then handed it over to the DNC. Wow, campaigns run oppo research - what a shocker! We've had this chat before. The key question, for me, is of the veracity of Steele's findings. As various lines of investigation appear to find unsavory Russian connections, I would say the dossier appears to be have more validity than it did, not less. I couldn't care less who peed on who, but I think Russians holding Deutschebank bank debts of Trump's, or dealing between Kushner, Flynn, Page, Manafort, et al. with the Russian government before Trump took office....yeah, might be worth looking into. Mueller is doing his job, as an independent counsel. Comparing Flynn's crimes to Huma Abedin might be a false equivalency. Treasonous actions with a hostile foreign power seem worth taking seriously. Putin is not our nation's friend. And isn't it better to have Mueller, a man at the end of his career and thus less liable to respond to threats and pressure, looking into this, rather than another Trump shill? The whole point of a special ounsel (SEE Nixon Administration) is someone who is not friends with the party or parties being investigated. Braininvat » December 6th, 2017, 5:25 pm wrote: The key question, for me, is of the veracity of Steele's findings. They're false. No evidence has been put forward to prove them. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/us/politics/michael-flynn-russia-sanctions-ripped-up-whistleblower.html Offered for your consideration. Braininvat » December 6th, 2017, 6:16 pm wrote: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/us/politics/michael-flynn-russia-sanctions-ripped-up-whistleblower.html Wasn't Flynn speaking on behalf of the president elect? I didn't read the article but can you explain what the criminal act is? Mueller got Flynn to plead guilty to lying to the FBI, the same crime they got Martha Stewart on. What is the primary crime the NYT claims Flynn committed? I didn't read the article... I mean no disrespect, but I simply cannot discuss this report with you unless you read it. I know you are someone who takes some pains to keep yourself informed, so I would not feel it's a good idea for me to do a bunch of copy/paste for you. It seems apparent that Flynn had an economic stake in some nuclear power plant projects that would be advanced by the lifting of sanctions against Russia. I think the potential here is obvious, and given Flynn's being part of Trump's inner circle, it also affirms the importance of looking at all members of the team including Mr. I. O. Deutschebank Zillions himself. If there is a paywall problem (I think NYT provides 10 free articles a month), I think it's likely this story will be picked up elsewhere fairly soon. CNN updated this about 10 minutes ago..... Washington (CNN) As President Donald Trump delivered his inaugural address, incoming-national security adviser Michael Flynn texted his former business colleague about a plan to join Russia and build nuclear reactors in the Middle East: The project was "good to go," he told them, according to a summary of a whistleblower's account provided by a lawmaker. The business colleague who texted with Flynn later recounted that he also suggested sanctions against Russia would be "ripped up" as one of the administration's first acts, according to the whistleblower. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, on Wednesday released his summary of the whistleblower's account detailing Flynn's conversations with colleagues as the Trump administration took power. The account provides the strongest claim yet that the administration was focused on unraveling the sanctions that President Barack Obama had just put in place and that Flynn had a personal motivation for doing so. Flynn attempted to "manipulate the course of international nuclear policy for the financial gain of his business partners," and assured a business partner the US would relax sanctions once he worked in Trump's White House, Cummings wrote to House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina.... But, hey, I trust Donald and he says Flynn's a nice guy. Braininvat » December 6th, 2017, 6:47 pm wrote: I mean no disrespect, but I simply cannot discuss this report with you unless you read it. That's ok. Throw Flynn to the wolves, I don't care. When he was a FOX commentator I always thought he was a jerk. I'm not here to defend the guy. I just noted for the record that Mueller's investigation has been seriously compromised by obvious politicization. I'm aware there are dissenting points of view. I'm happy to leave it at that. I will check out the article when I get a chance, but my sense is that if Mueller had something substantive he wouldn't have charged Flynn with lying to the FBI, which is what the FBI does when they DON'T have a substantive case. Martha Stewart being the famous example. ps. Ok I clicked on the NYT link and read as far as this: "... suggests that Mr. Flynn had a possible economic incentive for the United States to forge a closer relationship with Russia." Ok Flynn had a financial incentive. Flynn. Not Trump. Flynn. I don't see that you've made your point. Did I miss something? If Trump told Flynn to protect Trump's financial interests that would be in the first paragraph, yes? Did they stick that way at the bottom? The video of Trump's hookers peeing on the bed? You really believe that happened? And that it was legitimate oppo research? That is something on which you and I will definitely need to agree to disagree. pps -- I read the complete article. It totally falis to support your point. It's about Flynn, not Trump. And we already know that Trump intended to ease relations with Russia. He campaigned on that promise. by someguy1 on December 6th, 2017, 11:04 pm Also from a legal standpoint the Strzok revelations may give Flynn a basis to withdraw his guilty plea. Mueller dismissed Strzok for exhibiting partisanship in the emails he sent to his girlfriend the FBI lawyer, who was also dismissed from the investigation. [Strzok's a married guy, and although it's irrelevant to the legal case, it doesn't help his reputation in the court of public opinion, where the fate of Trump will ultimately be litigated]. This could be construed in a court of law as exculpatory inforation, which the prosecution is required by law to turn over to the defense. Instead, Meuller reassigned Strzok in August and the dismissal was not publicly known till the NYT and WaPo published the story just recently. In addition, the House intelligence committee has had the DOJ and the FBI under subpoena for three months for information that would include Strzok's dismissal. The DOJ and FBI have been stonewalling the investigation for all this time. Devin Nunes, chairman of the committee, is threatening to hold the FBI and the DOJ in contempt of Congress. Under these circumstances, Flynn could argue that Mueller and the FBI and the DOJ have withheld exculpatory information. In a court of law, that's sufficient to throw out any conviction. I love the tv show Law and Order. If this were a case on that show, Mueller's failure to disclose Strzok's dismissal for political bias would definitely be a plot point. I have been clicking around and I see that the liberal outlets are already claiming that this is all just the right wing's attempt to "smear" Strzok. Personally I think Strzok's smeared himself. He didn't need right wing help to come off as a sleazy corrupt prosecutor. But I'll stipulate that the left are already pushing that talking point, and some of them might even believe it. ps -- Oh this is good. Mueller has a history of withholding exculpatory evidence https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/20 ... sing-ethi/ As I was saying earlier, my larger point is that Trump's fate will ultimately be decided in the court of public opinion and not in a court of law. Mueller can indict him, but it's the public who will decide whether that indictment is legitimate. Appearances matter. someguy1 wrote: my sense is that if Mueller had something substantive he wouldn't have charged Flynn with lying to the FBI, which is what the FBI does when they DON'T have a substantive case. Charging Flynn with lying to the FBI is rather like charging a bank robber with having a broken tail-light on his get-away car. It's a technical legal device to establish that a plea-deal is in place, one that leaves plenty of room for 'superseding indictments' in respect of other evidence that hasn't yet been presented - (If you are unsure what a 'superseding indictment' is then you might want to look it up. It's one of those slightly obscure legal terms like 'misprision of a felony' that is about to get a lot more exposure in coming weeks). Mueller isn't primarily interested in convicting Flynn right now for the full repertoire of all the offences he might possibly have been able to indict him for. The Special Counsel's office are a lot more interested in using the testimony of Flynn as a cooperating witness to gain information about possible criminal behaviour of other persons slightly higher up this particular criminal food-chain. If you are a fan of Law & Order, then you ought to know that this is how prosecutors normally bring down mobsters, pimps and racketeers. You start with the low-hanging fruit, pick them off one-by-one and then offer them plea-deals to lesser charges than the ones they are actually guilty of in order to gain their cooperation in bringing criminal charges against their top echelon criminal superiors. In case you didn't read that far down the recent press articles, *four* people have been indicted so far by Robert Mueller, and two of them have already pleaded guilty. Yet another (Paul Manafort) has also been caught red-handed violating his bail conditions by conspiring with a Russian proxy to plant an op-ed newspaper article that was intended to taint the jury pool in his forthcoming trial. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/prosecutors-manafort-wrote-op-ed-with-colleague-in-russia/2017/12/04/e8deec4e-d93f-11e7-a241-0848315642d0_story.html?utm_term=.22ad03eaff3e By some accounts there are as many as seventeen sealed indictments waiting in the court calendars of the legal districts where Mueller's Grand jurys have been operating. There is plenty more news on this to come. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-y7R63vrNR82QONXB8KodSHSXg_IvveR/view by TheVat on December 7th, 2017, 11:06 am Readers should be aware that the piece posted by SG, from the right-wing Washington Times, is an opinion article, not a news report, and the opinion belongs to an arch-Conservative who was recently president of the NRA (2011-2013). As for the breaking news on Flynn, how many scams does Mueller need to dig up before the moderates wake up and smell the corruption? 10 minutes into the Trump presidency Flynn was ready to lift Russian sanctions and broker a nuclear energy deal with the Russians. What seems improbable to me is that Gameshow McPussygrabber would NOT be involved. Especially when he has hundreds of millions in debt. Sure, let's wait and see, due process and all that. But given the dozens of shady deals in Trump's career that are now public record (see Trump U., e.g.), it certainly seems worthwhile to keep digging. Braininvat » December 7th, 2017, 9:06 am wrote: Readers should be aware that the piece posted by SG, from the right-wing Washington Times, is an opinion article, not a news report, and the opinion belongs to an arch-Conservative who was recently president of the NRA (2011-2013). That was the ps to my post. I acknowledge that it was from the Washington Times, a second-tier source. No comment on the rest of it, straight from the NYT and WaPo? toucana » December 7th, 2017, 1:25 am wrote: If you are a fan of Law & Order, then you ought to know that this is how prosecutors normally bring down mobsters, pimps and racketeers. You start with the low-hanging fruit, pick them off one-by-one and then offer them plea-deals to lesser charges than the ones they are actually guilty of in order to gain their cooperation in bringing criminal charges against their top echelon criminal superiors. What you DON'T do is get the underlings to plead guilty to lying. Because when they eventually get on the witness stand, the defense counsel simply asks them, "Were you lying then? Or are you lying now? Or are you not in fact a chronic and habitual LIAR!" [Charles Laughton in Witness for the prosecution] Imagine General Flynn getting this treatment in open court: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4NJ8zJUlWU Alan Dershowitz made this same point. He noted that the last thing a prosecutor wants is for his star witness to be a convicted liar. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/no-the-mueller-probe-isnt-politically-motivated/2017/12/01/10d2a0c4-d611-11e7-b62d-d9345ced896d_story.html?utm_term=.d444e23f584f Dershowitz does not have access to the FBI files that led that agency to conclude a criminal investigation was warranted. He does not have access to the confidential grand jury materials and testimony being assembled by Mueller and his team. Yet he feels confident proclaiming that there is no basis for a prosecution and that Mueller’s investigation represents the criminalization of politics. We don’t know where Mueller’s investigation will ultimately lead. But given his lack of access to investigative information, it’s hard to see Dershowitz’s claim as anything more than a version of the reflexive tactic defense attorneys use in every public corruption case. Given that Dershowitz has previously assured viewers of Fox News on equally non-existent grounds that Steve Bannon is not a racist nor anti-semitic, that a president cannot possibly do anything illegal in the discharge of his duties, and that Trump is entirely right to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel - I really don't feel under any obligation to pay attention to a word he says. He's a paid right-wing shill. someguy1 » December 7th, 2017, 3:32 pm wrote: There's been enough posting that I am not sure what you mean by "the rest of it." Sorry, I've been busy elsewhere. Is there specific evidence in those papers that Mueller is barking up the wrong tree, or that he is ignoring exculpatory evidence? You can take my position as a simple one: when so many in Trump's circle have unsavory connections to the Kremlin and/or Russian businesses, is it really plausible that Trump is just an innocent bystander to all this, and not himself involved? I could be misreading you here, but it seems to me that if Hillary was surrounded by this much malfeasance, you would be heating up a big pot of tar and holding a bag of feathers. Return to General News and Politics

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line424

__label__cc

Want our email newsletter? Enter your email address: The Constitution vs: Understanding the Amendments: What They REALLY Mean How does the Constitution allocate the powers of the military and war? The Legislature and Executive branches have battled over the power to initiate a military action, or conduct a war, for decades. Since the last declared war on December 11, 1941, four days after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. has engaged in numerous military actions, occupations, and, well, "wars". U.S. "conflicts" with Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, among many others, were never declared wars The Constitution separates the powers to declare war, fund the military machinery, and command the Armed Forces. Article 1, Section 8 grants the power to declare war to the Congress as one of its (18) enumerated powers: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water The declaration of war grants the President the power to utilize the military to that end. Article 2, Section 2 defines this power: The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States. When is the military called into actual service? This happens only when Congress declares war. As a separation of powers and a check and balance, the Founders left the power to call up the military to the Congress; they then entrusted the President to act as commander-in-chief of the military in service of that declaration. In their own words: Federalist #69 - Alexander Hamilton Laws that seek to alter this balance of power are unconstitutional. Even the War Powers acts, seeking to restrain the President from utilizing the military for undeclared wars for longer than 60 or 90 days, are not constitutional in that they grant the President access to the military without a formal declaration of war by the Congress. Which war last complied with the Constitution? World War II, declared December 11, 1941, represents the last official "war" undertaken by the U.S. that was appropriately declared and complied with the Constitution.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line425

__label__wiki

Sioux Falls Atheists endorse The Development of European Civilization for giving us the complete view of European civilization from Feudalism and the Medieval World through the two European World Wars. Lectures by Professor Kenneth R. Bartlett The Development of European Civilization (2011) - 48 lectures, 24 hours The Development of European Civilization at TheGreatCourses.com For anyone living in the Western world, Europe is so much more than just a varied mix of travel destinations, an inspiring example of different cultures living side by side, and a set of historical events that forever altered the history of Western civilization. Europe is, in fact, as much an idea as it is a place. Understanding how Europe evolved is essential for anyone seeking an in-depth grasp of both the history of Western civilization - and its future - for a variety of reasons: Almost all of the West's important political, social, cultural, and economic institutions and ideologies either came from Europe or evolved in reaction to it. To witness how European civilization developed is to understand why and how the entire Western world became who and what it is. Finally, such an understanding is essential if you are to have a nuanced grasp of the important events that dominate the daily news. In short, and in almost every way that matters, historical Europe was the laboratory in which the world you now live in was conceived and tested. And you'll be living with the consequences of those experiments for the rest of your life. The Development of European Civilization leads you through the doors of that laboratory and guides you through the development of Europe from the late Middle Ages through the eve of World War II. In these 48 lectures delivered by University of Toronto Professor Kenneth R. Bartlett, whose award-winning teaching skills have been evident in the classroom, in books, and through video lectures for more than 30 years - you'll finally grasp the amazing results of that European laboratory over more than 600 years of history. Experience the Mosaic of European History As you follow Professor Bartlett through the dramatic story of European history, you'll learn the major ideologies and "isms" that bubbled forth from Europe's constantly fermenting cauldron of debate and conflict, including absolutism, scientism, rationalism, capitalism, nationalism, liberalism, and totalitarianism; the forces that intermingled to create the Industrial Revolution and the accompanying economic and social upheavals that would, in turn, create so many more; the changing technologies of communication and transportation that would spread the European experience and ideas far and wide; the European ideologies of government, including the rule of law, the concept of "the consent of the governed," taxation, an independent judiciary, and other concepts; the new roles for religion in European life, from the end of the traditional union of altar and throne to great upheavals such as the Protestant Reformation and the Great Schism; and the evolution of the European class system, which influenced the social forces that swirled around it just as much as it was influenced by them. With The Development of European Civilization, one important idea will become crystal clear to you: Although history may well be made up of events taking place over time, the true meaning of history can never be discerned through a linear recitation of those events. That's because history, as every lecture of this remarkable course proves, is a mosaic - and to grasp that mosaic's meaning is to learn to see history in its entirety; to understand the ways in which ideas, institutions, and social forces have interacted to paint each tile, set it among the others, and, when necessary, shatter them into fragments to replace them with others. Professor Kenneth R. Barlett is highly popular member of The Great Courses' faculty and Professor of History and Renaissance Studies at the University of Toronto. He is the winner of several major teaching awards. These include the prestigious 3M Teaching Fellowship from the Canadian Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education as well as the inaugural President's Teaching Award for the University of Toronto. 48 Lectures - 30 minutes each 1: The Idea and Place of Europe 25: The Industrial Revolution 2: Feudalism and the Medieval World 26: The Industrial Working Class 3: The Three Orders of Medieval Society 27: Capitalism and European Society 4: The Manorial Economy 28: The Middle Class 5: The Growth of Trade and Towns 29: Liberals and Liberalism 6: Humanism and the Italian Renaissance 30: Liberal Government 7: Crisis in the Church 31: Science and Progress 8: Christian Humanism 32:19th-Century Optimism 9: The Ottoman Threat to Europe 33: Nationalism and 1848 10: The Expansion of Europe 34: The Unifications of Germany and Italy 11: The Continental Reformation - Luther 35: Darwin and Darwinism 12: The Continental Reformation - Calvin 36: Social Darwinism 13: The Wars of Religion 37: Socialism and Utopianism 14: The English Reformation 38: Marx and Marxism 15: The English Civil War 39: Reactions to Rationalism 16: The Thirty Years' War 40: Fin de Siècle 17: The Absolute Monarchy 41: World War I 18: The Scientific Revolution 42: The Treaty of Versailles 19: The Enlightenment, Part 1 43: The Disintegration of the Established Order 20: The Enlightenment, Part 2 44: The Bolshevik Revolution 21: France in 1789 45: Fascism in Italy 22: The French Revolution 46: The Nazi Regime in Germany 23: The Age of Napoleon 47: Europe between the Wars 24: The Congress of Vienna 48: The New Europe

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line428

__label__cc

National coalitions Millennium Declaration World Summit for Social Development World Conference on Women SW in the World War on civil society in Egypt? On November 29, 2016, the Egyptian parliament approved the draft law regulating the activity of civil organizations and institutions submitted by MP Abdul Hadi al-Qasabi on September 6, 2016. This was tantamount to a declaration of war on civil society and an attempt to crack down on all active and supportive human rights organizations. For more than 20 years now, the state has been committing a number of practices aimed to suppress and restrict these organizations and their members, but the recent parliament decision surpassed all previous practices. As on the date of this report, the draft law was still pending between the president and the parliament, but it was likely to be promulgated by the President at any time. As soon as promulgated, the provisions of this law would govern civil activity in Egypt. I. The draft law violates the Egyptian constitution Article 75 of the constitution reads as follows: “Citizens have the right to form non-governmental organizations and institutions on a democratic basis, which shall acquire legal personality upon notification. They shall be allowed to engage in activities freely. Administrative agencies shall not interfere in the affairs of such organizations, dissolve them, their board of directors, or their board of trustees except by a judicial ruling. The establishment or continuation of non-governmental organizations and institutions whose structure and activities are operated and conducted in secret, or which possess a military or quasi-military character are forbidden, as regulated by law.” The constitution stressed that organizations and institutions would become a legal entity upon notification. Legal entities are created by the convergence of the will of their founders. It is this will that brings them to life. Article 8 of the draft NGO law violated this constitutional inclination. The mentioned article required registration for conferring to an NGO the legal entity status. Moreover Article 10/3 specified that in order to open a bank account, the NGO must obtain a letter to this effect from the competent administrative authority. This makes the establishment of an organization subject to a permission and authorization rather than to notification as set forth by the constitution. Article 13/1 of the draft law limited the organizations’ fields of work to social development only, which is a restriction of the choice of fields of work that the organization may deem appropriate and necessary. The constitution had only banned, on an exhaustive basis, NGOs whose structure and activities are operated and conducted in secret, or which possess a military or quasi-military character. Therefore, it is not admissible to expand this restriction and prohibition because the basic principle is freedom of activity. Article 14 of the draft law required the organization’s activities to be in line with the “state’s plan, development needs and priorities,” and this is inconsistent with the text of the constitution, which emphasized that organizations shall be allowed to “engage in activities freely.” According to Article 14(g) of the draft law, if the organization/institution’s activities consisted of conducting or publishing opinion polls or otherwise making the results of such polls available or conducting field research or displaying their results, these activities must be subject to the supervision of the competent regulatory authority in charge of ascertaining the integrity and impartiality of these activities. The draft law requires some organizations, which conduct field research and opinion polls and disseminate their results, to submit these results to the [National Agency for the Regulation of Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations] before their publication, which allows the administrative authority to intervene in such activities or prevent publication. Moreover, Article 14(h) specifies that the [National Agency for the Regulation of Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations] must be notified of any agreement in any form with a foreign entity inside or outside the country, as well as of any amendment thereto. Some sentences in the draft law may be interpreted to restrict the organizations freedom to choose their activities or as an excuse to dissolve organizations such as the expression “activity of a political nature.” This means that under the NGOs draft law, organizations are prohibited from encouraging citizens’ participation in public life, set forth as a national duty by Article 87 of the constitution. II - The draft law impedes civil and voluntary work Article 8 of the draft law imposed a fee up to 10,000 EGP ($600) for the registration of an organization. This is an exaggerated increase of the fee specified under the old law, which stands at 100 EGP ($6) only. Moreover, the draft law also required the organization to allocate 50,000 EGP ($2900) for the achievement of its objectives compared to only 10,000 EGP required by the old law. The draft law specified that foreign organizations must pay a fee not exceeding 300,000 EGP ($17,200) to obtain, renew, or modify their license. According to Article 3, the organization shall have an independent headquarters appropriate for the exercise of its activity, which entails more financial burdens that impede the incorporation of NGOs. Article 23 has set forth arbitrary restrictions on organizations when it comes to collecting internal donations. The organization must notify and obtain the approval of the administrative authority 30 (thirty) business days before receiving or collecting any funds. The Agency may deny approval with no need for justification. The arbitrary conditions for foreign financing are as follows: An organization must notify the Agency of receiving funds from abroad and shall deposit these funds in the organization’s bank account. In order for these funds to be disbursed to an organization, the Agency must be notified thereof 30 working days in advance. The law granted the Agency the right to refuse such financial grants to any NGO, within 60 days as of the date of its receipt of the notification, during which the funds shall be frozen. This means that a lack of response from the Agency would be considered a refusal. It appears that the legislator did not oblige the Agency to respond to the notification and rather considered the lack of response as a refusal. The legislator also did not require the Agency to justify its decision to refuse disbursing the funds to an organization. This is entails extremely dangerous effects that may lead the donors to fear the risk of seeing their donations placed under custody and their accounts frozen without any amount being disbursed to finance the targeted activities. The draft law grants the Agency absolute powers to intervene in the work of organizations and their internal affairs and goes against the principles of freedom of association, by setting forth requirements of prior approval for certain activities, such as cooperation or affiliation with foreign organizations or receipt of funds from inside or outside Egypt. The draft law also conferred to the administrative authority [the Agency] the power to veto or disqualify candidates for membership of the boards of directors in every organization. III - The management of work of NGOs by an exceptional security apparatus Although the work of NGOs is of a civil nature, the draft law provided for the establishment of supervisory authority with a semi-military structure to regulate the work of NGOs. Indeed, the draft law authorized the National Agency for the Regulation of Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations to control the management of the work and activity of NGOs and vested this Agency with all powers and competences. Article 72 of the law specified that the Agency’s members of board of directors shall be composed of representative of the following authorities: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of International Cooperation, Ministry of Social Solidarity, the General Intelligence Service, the Central Bank, the Anti-Money Laundering Unit and the Administrative Oversight Board. IV - Sanctions The draft law has set forth several exaggerated penalties. Article 87(a) specifies for an imprisonment sanction of up to five years and fine of up to one million Egyptian Pounds in case of failure by organizations to regularize their situation in accordance with the provisions of this draft law. It also provides for the dissolution of the violating organizations and the transfer of their funds to civil organizations support fund. Moreover, Article 88(a) of the draft law provided for an imprisonment sanction of up to one year or a fine of up to 500,000 EGP ($29,000) against any natural person or legal entity that grants a license for the exercise of any activity that falls within the scope of activity of NGOs contrary to the decision of the competent administrative authority. This article aims to persuade civil servants and other public officials from registering companies for fear of being sanctioned under this law. Any entity carrying out civil or human rights activity, whatever its legal status and structure shall be subject to this law. In case of discrepancy between the provisions of this law and the provision of any other law, the provisions of the NGO draft law shall prevail. By Alaa Abdel Tawab. Source: Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND). The Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement (EACPE) Reports from Egypt 2017 - Egypt and the 2030 Agenda: No strategy for implementing the SDGs but continuous privatization following IFI policies 2016 - Lack of Strategy in the 2030 Strategy 2014 - Two years of January 25 revolution 2010 - The rough road to the Millennium Development Goals 2009 - An unprotected economy 2007 - Shrinking state role undermines social protection 2005 - The many faces of inequality 2004 - Time for democracy 2001 - Before reaching age five 2000 - Traps for democracy 1998 - The eternal pyramid 1997 - The prevalence of poverty 1996 - Health: Sick

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line430

__label__wiki

‧World News Home / World News Sun, May 20, 2012 - Page 5　News List China embassy in US ignores Wuer Kaixi’s plea AFP, Washington One of the exiled leaders of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 got the cold shoulder from the Chinese embassy in Washington on Friday when he tried to turn himself in to return home. Wuer Kaixi, 44, who now lives in Taiwan, wants to see his frail and aging parents in Urumqi, northwest China, as well as ignite a dialogue on reform with China’s communist leadership — even if it means standing trial. However, when he went to the bunker-like Chinese embassy in the US capital, the dissident activist found the smoked-glass doors locked, and no one responded when he rang the doorbell and dialed an off-hours telephone number. Telephone calls into the embassy by an Agence France-Presse reporter at the scene also went unanswered. “Well, I guess this is as close as I can get to Chinese soil,” said Wuer Kaixi, who last tried to surrender at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, where Japanese police arrested him for trespassing and held him for two days. “If I want to go home, what does it take? It’s office hours. I call then and ring the bell, but no one comes,” he said, adding that he would next take his case to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Yang Jianli, president of Washington-based group Initiatives for China who was on hand to support Wuer Kaixi at the embassy, said “the Chinese government is doing everything it can to erase the memory of Tiananmen Square.” Hundreds, perhaps thousands, died when the Chinese government sent in tanks and soldiers to clear the square in Beijing on the night of June 3 and 4, 1989, and ended six weeks of unprecedented pro-democracy protests. Wuer Kaixi, then a student at Beijing Normal University, was among several Tiananmen leaders and hunger strikers who escaped to the US in the weeks after the crackdown. An official Chinese Communist Party verdict after the Tiananmen protests branded the movement a “counter-revolutionary rebellion,” although the wording has since been softened. Asked as an exile of 23 years what advice he would give blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng (陳光誠), who escaped house arrest last month and plans to come to the US, Wuer Kaixi suggested patience. Chen “is a hero,” Wuer Kaixi said. “Everybody in the world should embrace him. “But he needs to take this good time [in the US] to take a good rest” before joining other exiles in “a group effort ... a team effort” to bring about change in China, he added. Wuer Kaixi was among six Tian-anmen activists in exile who last month sent a letter to Beijing saying they had been deprived of their right to return to their homeland and denied Chinese travel documents abroad. Wuer Kaixi is now a political commentator in Taiwan. His gesture on Friday drew only a handful of reporters and a single US Secret Service diplomatic security officer. Port of Keelung passenger volume increased last year

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line432

__label__wiki

More info on Brutalist architecture The term "brutalism" On university campuses Criticism and reception List of brutalist structures De Stijl Brutalist architecture: Wikis in May 2009, the District of Columbia ruled that Third Church of Christ, Scientist could go forward with demolition of its brutalist-style building? DBS Building Tower One, the tallest building in Singapore when completed in 1975, is an example of brutalist architecture? More interesting facts on Brutalist architecture Include this on your site/blog: Categories: Postmodern architecture > Modernist architecture > Architectural styles > Brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is a style of architecture which flourished from the 1950s to the mid 1970s, spawned from the modernist architectural movement. 1 The term "brutalism" 4 On university campuses 5 Criticism and reception 6 Resurgence The English architects Alison and Peter Smithson coined the term in 1954, from the French béton brut, or "raw concrete", a phrase used by Le Corbusier to describe the poured board-marked concrete with which he constructed many of his post WWII buildings. The term gained wide currency when the British architectural critic Reyner Banham used it in the title of his 1966 book, The New Brutalism: Ethic or Aesthetic?, to characterize a by then established cluster of architectural approaches, particularly in Europe.[1] Boston City Hall, part of Government Center, Boston, Massachusetts (Gerhardt Kallmann and N. Michael McKinnell, 1969) Brutalist buildings usually are formed with striking repetitive angular geometries, and, where concrete is used, often revealing the texture of the wooden forms used for the in-situ casting. Although concrete is the material most widely associated with Brutalist architecture, not all Brutalist buildings are formed from concrete. Instead, a building may achieve its Brutalist quality through a rough, blocky appearance, and the expression of its structural materials, forms, and (in some cases) services on its exterior. For example, many of Alison and Peter Smithson's private houses are built from brick. Brutalist building materials also include brick, glass, steel, rough-hewn stone, and gabion (also known as trapion). Conversely, not all buildings exhibiting an exposed concrete exterior can be considered Brutalist, and may belong to one of a range of architectural styles including Constructivism, International Style, Expressionism, Postmodernism, and Deconstructivism. Another common theme in Brutalist designs is the exposure of the building's functions—ranging from their structure and services to their human use—in the exterior of the building. In the Boston City Hall (illustration right), designed in 1962, strikingly different and projected portions of the building indicate the special nature of the rooms behind those walls, such as the mayor's office or the city council chambers. From another perspective of this theme, the design of the Hunstanton School included placing the facility's water tank, normally a hidden service feature, in a prominently placed and visible tower. J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C. Brutalism as an architectural philosophy, rather than a style, was often also associated with a socialist utopian ideology, which tended to be supported by its designers, especially Alison and Peter Smithson, near the height of the style. Critics argue that this abstract nature of Brutalism makes the style unfriendly and uncommunicative, instead of being integrating and protective, as its proponents intended. Brutalism also is criticised as disregarding the social, historic, and architectural environment of its surroundings, making the introduction of such structures in existing developed areas appear starkly out of place and alien. The failure of positive communities to form early on in some Brutalist structures, possibly due to the larger processes of urban decay that set in after World War II (especially in the United Kingdom), led to the combined unpopularity of both the ideology and the architectural style. The architectural style known as Brutalism and the architectural and urban theory known as New Brutalism may be regarded as two different movements, although the terms are often used interchangeably. The New Brutalism of the English members of Team 10, Alison and Peter Smithson, is more related to the theoretical reform of the CIAM (in architecture and urbanism) than to "béton brut". Reyner Banham formulated this difference in the title of his book: "The New Brutalism - Ethic or Aesthetic?" The best known early Brutalist architecture is the work of the Swiss architect Le Corbusier, in particular his Unité d'Habitation (1952) and the 1953 Secretariat Building in Chandigarh, India. Park Hill (detail), Sheffield. Lynn, Smith 1961 Brutalism gained considerable momentum in the United Kingdom during the mid twentieth century, as economically depressed (and World War II-ravaged) communities sought inexpensive construction and design methods for low-cost housing, shopping centres, and government buildings. Nonetheless, many architects chose the Brutalist style even when they had large budgets, as they appreciated the 'honesty', the sculptural qualities, and perhaps, the uncompromising, anti-bourgeois, nature of the style. Combined with the socially progressive intentions behind Brutalist streets in the sky housings such as Corbusier's Unité, Brutalism was promoted as a positive option for forward-moving, modern urban housing. In practice, however, many of the buildings built in this style lacked many of the community-serving features of Corbusier's vision, and instead, developed into claustrophobic, crime-ridden tenements. Robin Hood Gardens is a particularly notorious example, although the worst of its problems have been overcome in recent years. Some such buildings took decades to develop into positive communities. The rough coolness of concrete lost its appeal under a damp and gray northern sky, and its fortress-like material, touted as vandal-proof, soon proved vulnerable to spray-can graffiti. In the late 1960s, many campuses in North America were undergoing expansions and, as a result, there are a significant number of Brutalist buildings at American and Canadian universities, beginning with Paul Rudolph's 1958 Yale Art and Architecture Building. Rudolph's design for the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is an example of an entire campus designed from scratch in the Brutalist style. Likewise, architect Walter Netsch designed the entire University of Illinois-Chicago Circle Campus (now the East Campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago) under a single, unified brutalist design. The original "inner ring" of buildings at the University of California, Irvine was designed by a team of architects led by William Pereira in what he called a "California Brutalist" style.[2] There are hundreds of examples of individual brutalist buildings on campuses nationwide. Examples outside of the U.S. include McLennan Library, Burnside Hall and the Stephen Leacock building at McGill University in Montreal, much of the Belfield Campus of University College Dublin, the Academic Quadrangle and WAC Bennett Library at Simon Fraser University, Crosley Tower at University of Cincinnati, the William G. Davis Building at University of Toronto at Mississauga, Robarts Library at the University of Toronto,various parts of University of Toronto Scarborough in Toronto, significant parts of York University in Toronto, the Aula of Delft University in The Netherlands (1966), Rand Afrikaans University (1967) in Johannesburg, South Africa. In Australia, Macquarie and Flinders Universities. In New Zealand the University of Canterbury and parts of the University of Auckland City Campus. In the United Kingdom, the Charles Wilson Building of the University of Leicester, Harvey Court, for Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and Churchill College, Cambridge (1962-8) and Dunelm House, University of Durham (1965), the University of York (1963) are all notable examples. University of Toronto's Robarts Library in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Walter Netsch designed the East Campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago Wean Hall, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. Ryerson University Library in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Aula of Delft University in The Netherlands. The Barco Law Building at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. UCSD's Geisel Library is one of the most famous examples of brutalist architecture, and has been featured in a number of science fiction movies. The Math and Computer Science Building at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Campus Center, as designed by Paul Rudolph The Malcom Moos Health Sciences Tower at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus. The proposed demolition of the Third Church of Christ, Scientist in Washington, D.C. has resulted in court battles between historic preservationists and church members. Brutalism has some severe critics, one of the most famous being Charles, Prince of Wales, whose speeches and writings on architecture have excoriated Brutalism, calling many of the structures "piles of concrete". "You have to give this much to the Luftwaffe," said Prince Charles at the Corporation of London Planning and Communication Committee's annual dinner at Mansion House in December 1987. "When it knocked down our buildings, it didn't replace them with anything more offensive than rubble."[3] Much of the criticism comes not only from the designs of the buildings, but also from the fact that concrete façades don't age well in a damp, cloudy maritime climate such as that of northwestern Europe, becoming streaked with water stains, rust leaching from the steel reinforcing bars, and sometimes, even with moss and lichens. At the University of Oregon campus, outrage and vocal distaste for Brutalism led, in part, to the hiring of Christopher Alexander and the initiation of The Oregon Experiment in the late 1970s. This led to the development of Alexander's A Pattern Language and A Timeless Way of Building. In recent years, the bad memories of under-served Brutalist community structures have led to their demolition in communities eager to make way for newer, more traditionally-oriented community structures. Despite a nascent modernist appreciation movement, and the identified success that some of this style's offspring have had, many others have been or are, slated to be demolished. Theodore Dalrymple, a British author, physican, and political commentator, has written for City Journal that brutalist structures represent an artifact of European philosophical totalitarianism, a "spiritual, intellectual, and moral deformity". He called the buildings "cold-hearted", "inhuman", "hideous, and "monstrous". He stated that the reinforced concrete "does not age gracefully but instead crumbles, stains, and decays", which makes alternate building styles superior.[4] Matthew Yglesias, a commentator at Think Progress, has argued that brutalist structures in Boston such as their new City Hall "sort of kill pleasant urbanist neighborhoods".[5] The Leeds International Pool, built in 1967, designed by disgraced British architect John Poulson. Demolished 2009. Although the Brutalist movement was largely dead by the mid-1980s, having largely given way to Structural Expressionism and Deconstructivism, it has experienced an updating of sorts in recent years. Many of the rougher aspects of the style have been softened in newer buildings, with concrete façades often being sandblasted to create a stone-like surface, covered in stucco, or composed of patterned, pre-cast elements. Many modernist architects such as Steven Ehrlich, Ricardo Legorreta, and Gin Wong have been doing just that in many of their recent projects. The firm of Victor Gruen and Associates has revamped the style for the many courthouse buildings it has been contracted to design. Architects from Latin America have been reviving the style on a smaller scale in recent years. Brutalism has recently experienced a major revival in Israel, due to the perceived sense of strength and security the style creates. With the development of LiTraCon—a form of translucent concrete—a new Brutalist movement may be on the horizon. The Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago, designed in the late 1960s by Walter Netsch Even in Britain, where the style was most prevalent (and later the most reviled), a number of buildings recently (as of 2006) have appeared in an updated Brutalist style, including deRijke Marsh Morgan's 1 Centaur Street in Lambeth, London, and Elder & Cannon's The Icon in Glasgow in Scotland. The 2005 Stirling Prize shortlist contained a number of buildings (most notably Zaha Hadid's BMW Central Building and the eventual winner, Enric Miralles' Scottish Parliament Building) featuring significant amounts of exposed concrete, something that would have been regarded as aesthetically unacceptable when the prize was inaugurated nine years previously. There also has been a reappraisal of first-generation Brutalist architecture and a growing appreciation that dislike of the buildings often stems from poor maintenance and social problems resulting from poor management, rather than the designs. In 2005 the British television channel Channel 4 ran a documentary, I Love Carbuncles, which placed the U.K.'s Brutalist legacy in a more positive light. Some Brutalist buildings have been granted listed status as historic and others, such as Gillespie, Kidd and Coia's St. Peter's Seminary, named by Prospect magazine's survey of architects as Scotland's greatest post-war building, have been the subject of conservation campaigns. The Twentieth Century Society has campaigned against the demolition of buildings such as the Tricorn Centre and Trinity Centre Multi-Storey Car Park. The architecture buildings of UC Berkeley (Wurster Hall) and Yale University are Brutalist buildings mostly made of concrete, thus influencing architects thinking. Noted architect I.M. Pei Architects associated with the Brutalist style include Ernő Goldfinger, wife-and-husband pairing Alison and Peter Smithson, and, to a lesser extent perhaps, Sir Denys Lasdun. Outside of Britain, Louis Kahn's government buildings in Asia and John Andrews's government and institutional structures in Australia exhibit the creative height of the style. Paul Rudolph is another noted Brutalist, as is Ralph Rapson both from the United States. Walter Netsch is known for his Brutalist academic buildings (see above). Marcel Breuer was known for his "soft" approach to the style, often using curves rather than corners. Clorindo Testa in Argentina created the Bank of London and South America, one of the best examples of the fifties. More recent Modernists such as I.M. Pei and Tadao Ando also have designed notable Brutalist works. In Brazil, the style is associated with the Paulista School and is evident in the works of Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha (2006). In the Philippines, Leandro Locsin designed the massive brutalist structures, the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Philippine International Convention Center. Architecture portal ^ Golan 2003, p.3. ^ "Anteater Chronicles: William Pereria, Architect". University of California, Irvine Library. 2006. http://www.lib.uci.edu/ucihistory/index.php?page=architecture&function=pereira. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2004/may/17/architecture.regeneration ^ Theodore Dalrymple (Autumn 2009). "The Architect as Totalitarian". City Journal. http://www.city-journal.org/2009/19_4_otbie-le-corbusier.html. Retrieved January 4, 2010. ^ Matthew Yglesias (October 11, 2009). "Ugly Buildings". Think Progress. http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/10/ugly-buildings.php. Retrieved January 4, 2010. Romy Golan, Historian of the Immediate Future: Reyner Banham - Book Review, The Art Bulletin, June 2003. Accessed online at FindArticles 23 October 2006. Reflections on Brutalist Architecture in East London Ontario Architecture: Brutalism From Here to Modernity includes many Brutalist examples Tate Gallery Glossary entry for "Brutalism" Art Deco · Art Nouveau · Bauhaus · Blobitecture · Brutalism · Constructivism · Critical regionalism · De Stijl · Deconstructivism · Expressionism · Functionalism · Futurism · Googie · High-tech · International style · Mid-Century modern · Modernisme · New Objectivity · Organicism · Prairie School · Postmodernism · Rationalist-Fascist · Streamline Moderne · Structuralism Western art movements by century 5th to 18th century Merovingian · Carolingian · Ottonian · Romanesque · International Gothic · Renaissance (14th-15th) · Mannerism (16th) · Baroque (17th) · Rococo - Neoclassicism - Biedermeier - Romanticism (18th) Realism · Historicism · Gründerzeit · Barbizon school · Pre-Raphaelites · Academic · Impressionism · Post-Impressionism · Neo-impressionism · Divisionism · Pointillism · Cloisonnism · Les Nabis · Synthetism · Symbolism · Hudson River School Modernism · Avant-garde · Cubism · Expressionism · Abstract expressionism · Abstract · Neue Künstlervereinigung München · Der Blaue Reiter · Die Brücke · Dada · Fauvism · Neo-Fauvism · Art Nouveau · Bauhaus · De Stijl · Art Deco · Pop art · Photorealism · Futurism · Suprematism · Surrealism · Color Field · Minimalism · Nouveau réalisme · Lettrism · Installation art · Lyrical Abstraction · Postmodernism · Conceptual art · Land art · Performance art · Systems art · Video art · Neo-expressionism · Outsider art · Lowbrow · New media art · Young British Artists · Stuckism Relational Art · Video game art Categories: Brutalist structures | American architecture | Architectural styles | English architecture | Modernist architecture | Postmodern architecture Hidden categories: Articles lacking in-text citations from January 2010 | All articles lacking in-text citations | Articles lacking in-text citations from February 2009 From Here to Modernity - From Here To Modernity inner frameset Sarah J. Duncan - Brutalism – Sarah J Duncan Topography of Terror - Issue Archive for the Week of 08-22-2002 - The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper Tate Gallery Glossary entry for "Brutalism" - Tate | Glossary | Brutalism Arcaid Paul Rudolph photo pool at flickr - Flickr: The The Art & Architecture of Paul Rudolph Pool The Tricorn in Lego Artistic Interpretation of Brutalist Architecture - YouTube - Deus ex machina

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line435

__label__cc

Get Ready for the Next Financial Crisis May 21st, 2012 Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on Get Ready for the Next Financial Crisis It was almost one year ago when Bloomberg News reported on these remarks by Mark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management’s emerging markets group: “There is definitely going to be another financial crisis around the corner because we haven’t solved any of the things that caused the previous crisis,” Mobius said at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan inTokyotoday in response to a question about price swings. “Are the derivatives regulated? No. Are you still getting growth in derivatives? Yes.” I have frequently complained about the failed attempt at financial reform, known as the Dodd-Frank Act. Two years ago, I wrote a piece entitled, “Financial Reform Bill Exposed As Hoax” wherein I expressed my outrage that the financial reform effort had become a charade. The final product resulting from all of the grandstanding and backroom deals – the Dodd–Frank Act – had become nothing more than a hoax on the American public. My essay included the reactions of five commentators, who were similarly dismayed. I concluded the posting with this remark: During the past few days, there has been a chorus of commentary calling for a renewed effort toward financial reform. We have seen a torrent of reports on the misadventures of The London Whale at JP Morgan Chase, whose outrageous derivatives wager has cost the firm uncounted billions. By the time this deal is unwound, the originally-reported loss of $2 billion will likely be dwarfed. Former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, has made a hobby of writing blog postings about “what President Obama needs to do”. Of course, President Obama never follows Professor Reich’s recommendations, which might explain why Mitt Romney has been overtaking Obama in the opinion polls. On May 16, Professor Reich was downright critical of the President, comparing him to the dog in a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle involving Sherlock Holmes, Silver Blaze. The President’s feeble remarks about JPMorgan’s latest derivatives fiasco overlooked the responsibility of Jamie Dimon – obviously annoying Professor Reich, who shared this reaction: Not a word about Jamie Dimon’s tireless campaign to eviscerate the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill; his loud and repeated charge that the Street’s near meltdown in 2008 didn’t warrant more financial regulation; his leadership of Wall Street’s brazen lobbying campaign to delay the Volcker Rule under Dodd-Frank, which is still delayed; and his efforts to make that rule meaningless by widening a loophole allowing banks to use commercial deposits to “hedge” (that is, make offsetting bets) their derivative trades. Nor any mention Dimon’s outrageous flaunting of Dodd-Frank and of the Volcker Rule by setting up a special division in the bank to make huge (and hugely profitable, when the bets paid off) derivative trades disguised as hedges. Nor Dimon’s dual role as both chairman and CEO of JPMorgan (frowned on my experts in corporate governance) for which he collected a whopping $23 million this year, and $23 million in 2010 and 2011 in addition to a $17 million bonus. Even if Obama didn’t want to criticize Dimon, at the very least he could have used the occasion to come out squarely in favor of tougher financial regulation. It’s the perfect time for him to call for resurrecting the Glass-Steagall Act, of which the Volcker Rule – with its giant loophole for hedges – is a pale and inadequate substitute. And for breaking up the biggest banks and setting a cap on their size, as the Dallas branch of the Federal Reserve recommended several weeks ago. This was Professor Reich’s second consecutive reference within a week to The Dallas Fed’s Annual Report, which featured an essay by Harvey Rosenblum, the head of the Dallas Fed’s Research Department and the former president of the National Association for Business Economics. Rosenblum’s essay provided an historical analysis of the events leading up to the 2008 financial crisis and the regulatory efforts which resulted from that catastrophe – particularly the Dodd-Frank Act. Beyond that, Rosenblum emphasized why those “too-big-to-fail” (TBTF) banks have actually grown since the enactment of Dodd-Frank: The TBTF survivors of the financial crisis look a lot like they did in 2008. They maintain corporate cultures based on the short-term incentives of fees and bonuses derived from increased oligopoly power. They remain difficult to control because they have the lawyers and the money to resist the pressures of federal regulation. Just as important, their significant presence in dozens of states confers enormous political clout in their quest to refocus banking statutes and regulatory enforcement to their advantage. Last year, former Kansas City Fed-head, Thomas Hoenig discussed the problems created by the TBTFs, which he characterized as “systemically important financial institutions” – or “SIFIs”: … I suggest that the problem with SIFIs is they are fundamentally inconsistent with capitalism. They are inherently destabilizing to global markets and detrimental to world growth. So long as the concept of a SIFI exists, and there are institutions so powerful and considered so important that they require special support and different rules, the future of capitalism is at risk and our market economy is in peril. Although the huge derivatives loss by JPMorgan Chase has motivated a number of commentators to issue warnings about the risk of another financial crisis, there had been plenty of admonitions emphasizing the risks of the next financial meltdown, which were published long before the London Whale was beached. Back in January, G. Timothy Haight wrote an inspiring piece for the pro-Republican Orange County Register, criticizing the failure of our government to address the systemic risk which brought about the catastrophe of 2008: In response to widespread criticism associated with the financial collapse, Congress has enacted a number of reforms aimed at curbing abuses at financial institutions. Legislation, such as the Dodd-Frank and Consumer Protection Act, was trumpeted as ensuring that another financial meltdown would be avoided. Such reactionary regulation was certain to pacify U.S. taxpayers. Unfortunately, legislation enacted does not solve the fundamental problem. It simply provides cover for those who were asleep at the wheel, while ignoring the underlying cause of the crisis. More than three years after the calamity, have we solved the dilemma we found ourselves in late 2008? Can we rest assured that a future bailout will not occur? Are financial institutions no longer “too big to fail?” Regrettably, the answer, in each case, is a resounding no. Last month, Michael T. Snyder of The Economic Collapse blog wrote an essay for the Seeking Alpha website, enumerating the 22 Red Flags Indicating Serious Doom Is Coming for Global Financial Markets. Of particular interest was red flag #22: The 9 largest U.S. banks have a total of 228.72 trillion dollars of exposure to derivatives. That is approximately 3 times the size of the entire global economy. It is a financial bubble so immense in size that it is nearly impossible to fully comprehend how large it is. The multi-billion dollar derivatives loss by JPMorgan Chase demonstrates that the sham “financial reform” cannot prevent another financial crisis. The banks assume that there will be more taxpayer-funded bailouts available, when the inevitable train wreck occurs. The Federal Reserve will be expected to provide another round of quantitative easing to keep everyone happy. As a result, nothing will be done to strengthen financial reform as a result of this episode. The megabanks were able to survive the storm of indignation in the wake of the 2008 crisis and they will be able ride-out the current wave of public outrage. As Election Day approaches, Team Obama is afraid that the voters will wake up to the fact that the administration itself is to blame for sabotaging financial reform. They are hoping that the public won’t be reminded that two years ago, Simon Johnson (former chief economist of the IMF) wrote an essay entitled, “Creating the Next Crisis” in which he provided this warning: On the critical dimension of excessive bank size and what it implies for systemic risk, there was a concerted effort by Senators Ted Kaufman and Sherrod Brown to impose a size cap on the largest banks – very much in accordance with the spirit of the original “Volcker Rule” proposed in January 2010 by Obama himself. In an almost unbelievable volte face, for reasons that remain somewhat mysterious, Obama’s administration itself shot down this approach. “If enacted, Brown-Kaufman would have broken up the six biggest banks inAmerica,” a senior Treasury official said. “If we’d been for it, it probably would have happened. But we weren’t, so it didn’t.” Whether the world economy grows now at 4% or 5% matters, but it does not much affect our medium-term prospects. The US financial sector received an unconditional bailout – and is not now facing any kind of meaningful re-regulation. We are setting ourselves up, without question, for another boom based on excessive and reckless risk-taking at the heart of the world’s financial system. This can end only one way: badly. The public can forget a good deal of information in two years. They need to be reminded about those early reactions to the Obama administration’s subversion of financial reform. At her Naked Capitalism website, Yves Smith served up some negative opinions concerning the bill, along with her own cutting commentary in June of 2010: I want the word “reform” back. Between health care “reform” and financial services “reform,” Obama, his operatives, and media cheerleaders are trying to depict both initiatives as being far more salutary and far-reaching than they are. This abuse of language is yet another case of the Obama Administration using branding to cover up substantive shortcomings. In the short run it might fool quite a few people, just as BP’s efforts to position itself as an environmentally responsible company did. So what does the bill accomplish? It inconveniences banks around the margin while failing to reduce the odds of a recurrence of a major financial crisis. On May 17, Noam Scheiber explained why the White House is ”sweating” the JPMorgan controversy: In particular, the transaction appears to have been a type of proprietary trade – which is to say, a trade that a bank undertakes to make money for itself, not its clients. And these trades were supposed to have been outlawed by the “Volcker Rule” provision of Obama’s financial reform law, at least at federally-backed banks like JP Morgan. The administration is naturally worried that, having touted the law as an end to the financial shenanigans that brought us the 2008 crisis, it will look feckless instead. But it turns out that there’s an additional twist here. The concern for the White House isn’t just that the law could look weak, making it a less than compelling selling point for Obama’s re-election campaign. It’s that the administration could be blamed for the weakness. It’s one thing if you fought for a tough law and didn’t entirely succeed. It’s quite another thing if it starts to look like you undermined the law behind the scenes. In that case, the administration could look duplicitous, not merely ineffectual. And that’s the narrative you see the administration trying to preempt . . . When the next financial crisis begins, be sure to credit President Obama as the Facilitator-In-Chief. &lt;div class=”statcounter”&gt;&lt;a title=”wordpress stats ” href=”http://statcounter.com/wordpress.com/” target=”_blank”&gt;&lt;img class=”statcounter” src=”http://c.statcounter.com/5190474/0/d41ac055/1/” alt=”wordpress stats ” &gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; 2008 financial crisis, 22 Red Flags, bailouts, Bloomberg news, Brown-Kaufman, capitalism, centrist blog, Chief Economist, Congress, Creating the Next Crisis, Dallas Fed, Dallas Fed 2011 Annual Report, derivative trades, derivatives, derivatives regulation, Dodd-Frank, Dodd-Frank Act, Election Day, Facilitator-In-Chief, Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, financial crisis, financial institutions, financial reform, Financial Reform Bill Exposed As Hoax, financial regulation, financial sector, Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan, G Timothy Haight, Glass-Steagall Act, global markets, Harvey Rosenblum, healthcare reform, hedge, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Jamie Dimon, John T Burke Jr, JPMorgan Chase, Kansas City Federal Reserve, legislation, London Whale, Mark Mobius, megabanks, Michael T Snyder, Mitt Romney, Naked Capitalism, National Association for Business Economics, Noam Scheiber, Obama Administration, oligopoly, opinion polls, Orange County Register, President Obama, prop trading, proprietary trade, proprietary trading, quantitative easing, re-election campaign, reform, Robert Reich, Secretary of Labor, Seeking Alpha, Sherlock Holmes, Sherrod Brown, SIFIs, Silver Blaze, Simon Johnson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, systemic risk, systemically important financial institutions, taxpayer-funded bailouts, taxpayers, TBTF, Team Obama, Ted Kaufman, Templeton Asset Management, The Economic Collapse, Thomas Hoenig, too big to fail, Treasury Department, Volcker Rule, voters, Wall Street, White House, why White House is sweating, Yves Smith Too Important To Ignore March 22nd, 2012 Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on Too Important To Ignore On March 21, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas released a fantastic document: its 2011 Annual Report, featuring an essay entitled, “Choosing the Road to Prosperity – Why We Must End Too Big to Fail – Now”. The essay was written by Harvey Rosenblum, the head of the Dallas Fed’s Research Department and the former president of the National Association for Business Economics. Rosenblum’s essay provided an historical analysis of the events leading up to the 2008 financial crisis and the regulatory efforts which resulted from that catastrophe – particularly the Dodd-Frank Act. While reading Harvey Rosenblum’s essay, I was constantly reminded of the creepy “JOBS Act” which is on its way to President Obama’s desk. Simon Johnson (former chief economist for the International Monetary Fund) recently explained why the JOBS Act poses the same threat as the deregulatory measures which helped cause the financial crisis: With the so-called JOBS bill, on which the Senate is due to vote Tuesday, Congress is about to make the same kind of mistake again – this time abandoning much of the 1930s-era securities legislation that both served investors well and helped make the US one of the best places in the world to raise capital. We find ourselves again on a bipartisan route to disaster. The idea behind the JOBS bill is that our existing securities laws – requiring a great deal of disclosure – are significantly holding back the economy. The bill, HR3606, received bipartisan support in the House (only 23 Democrats voted against). The bill’s title is JumpStart Our Business Startup Act, a clever slogan – but also a complete misrepresentation. The bill’s proponents point out that Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) of stock are way down. That is true – but that is also exactly what you should expect when the economy teeters on the brink of an economic depression and then struggles to recover because households’ still have a great deal of debt. Professor John Coates hit the nail on the head: “While the various proposals being considered have been characterized as promoting jobs and economic growth by reducing regulatory burdens and costs, it is better to understand them as changing, in similar ways, the balance that existing securities laws and regulations have struck between the transaction costs of raising capital, on the one hand, and the combined costs of fraud risk and asymmetric and unverifiable information, on the other hand.” (See p.3 of this December 2011 testimony.) In other words, you will be ripped off more. Knowing this, any smart investor will want to be better compensated for investing in a particular firm – this raises, not lowers, the cost of capital. The effect on job creation is likely to be negative, not positive. Simon Johnson’s last paragraph reminded me of a passage from Harvey Rosenblum’s Dallas Fed essay, wherein he was discussing why the economic recovery from the financial crisis has been so sluggish: Similarly, the contributions to recovery from securities markets and asset prices and wealth have been weaker than expected. A prime reason is that burned investors demand higher-than-normal compensation for investing in private-sector projects. They remain uncertain about whether the financial system has been fixed and whether an economic recovery is sustainable. To repeat what Simon Johnson said, combined with the above-quoted paragraph: the demand by “burned investors” for “higher-than-normal compensation for investing in private-sector projects” raises, not lowers, the cost of capital. How quickly we forget the lessons of the financial crisis! The Dallas Fed’s Annual Report began with an introductory letter from its president, Richard W. Fisher. Fisher noted that while “memory fades with the passage of time” it is important to recall the position in which the “too-big-to fail” banks placed our economy, thus leading Congress to pass into law the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd–Frank). Although Harvey Rosenblum’s essay was primarily focused on the Dodd-Frank Act’s efforts to address the systemic risk posed by the existence of those “too-big-to-fail” (TBTF) banks, other measures from Dodd-Frank were mentioned. More important is the fact that the TBTFs have actually grown since the enactment of Dodd-Frank. Beyond that, Rosenblum emphasized why this has happened: The ability of the financial sector “to resist the pressures of federal regulation” also happens to be the primary reason for the perverse effort toward de-regulation, known as the JOBS Act. At the Seeking Alpha website, Felix Salmon reflected on the venality which is driving this bill through the legislative process: There’s no good reason at all for this: it’s basically a way for unpopular incumbent lawmakers who voted for Dodd-Frank to try to weasel their way back into the big banks’ good graces and thereby open a campaign-finance spigot they desperately need. I don’t fully understand the political dynamics here. A bill which was essentially drafted by a small group of bankers and financiers has managed to get itself widespread bipartisan support, even as it rolls back decades of investor protections. That wouldn’t have been possible a couple of years ago, and I’m unclear (about) what has changed. But one thing is coming through loud and clear: anybody looking to Congress to be helpful in the fight to have effective regulation of financial institutions, is going to be very disappointed. Much more likely is that Congress will be actively unhelpful, and will do whatever the financial industry wants in terms of hobbling regulators and deregulating as much activity as it possibly can. Dodd-Frank, it seems, was a brief aberration. Now, we’re back to business as usual, and a captured Congress. The next financial crisis can’t be too far down the road . . . <div class=”statcounter”><a title=”wordpress stats ” href=”http://statcounter.com/wordpress.com/” target=”_blank”><img class=”statcounter” src=”http://c.statcounter.com/5190474/0/d41ac055/1/” alt=”wordpress stats ” ></a></div> 2008 financial crisis, 2011 Annual Report, American economy, asset prices, bankers, big banks, bipartisan, campaign finance, capital, centrist blog, Choosing the Road to Prosperity, Congress, Dallas Fed, de-regulation, deregulating, disclosure, Dodd-Frank Act, economic depression, economic growth, economic recovery, economist, End Too Big to Fail, federal regulation, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Felix Salmon, financial industry, financial institutions, financial system, financiers, Harvey Rosenblum, House of Representatives, HR3606, IMF, incumbent lawmakers, Initial Public Offerings, International Monetary Fund, investor protections, investors, IPOs, job creation, JOBS Act, John T Burke Jr, JumpStart Our Business Startup Act, legislative process, National Association for Business Economics, oligopoly, political clout, President Obama, private-sector projects, Professor John Coates, regulation, regulators, regulatory efforts, Richard W Fisher, securities laws, securities legislation, securities markets, Seeking Alpha, short-term incentives, Simon Johnson, stock market, systemic risk, TBTF, too big to fail Running Out of Pixie Dust Comments Off on Running Out of Pixie Dust On September 18 of 2008, I pointed out that exactly one year earlier, Jon Markman of MSN.com noted that the Federal Reserve had been using “duct tape and pixie dust” to hold the economy together. In fact, there were plenty of people who knew that our Titanic financial system was headed for an iceberg at full speed – long before September of 2008. In October of 2006, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of the Telegraph wrote an article describing how Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson had re-activated the Plunge Protection Team (PPT): Mr Paulson has asked the team to examine “systemic risk posed by hedge funds and derivatives, and the government’s ability to respond to a financial crisis”. “We need to be vigilant and make sure we are thinking through all of the various risks and that we are being very careful here. Do we have enough liquidity in the system?” he said, fretting about the secrecy of the world’s 8,000 unregulated hedge funds with $1.3 trillion at their disposal. Among the massive programs implemented in response to the financial crisis was the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing program, which began in November of 2008. A second quantitative easing program (QE 2) was initiated in November of 2010. The next program was “operation twist”. Last week, Jon Hilsenrath of the Wall Street Journal discussed the Fed’s plan for another bit of magic, described by economist James Hamilton as “sterilized quantitative easing”. All of these efforts by the Fed have served no other purpose than to inflate stock prices. This process was first exposed in an August, 2009 report by Precision Capital Management entitled, A Grand Unified Theory of Market Manipulation. More recently, on March 9, Charles Biderman of TrimTabs posted this (video) rant about the ongoing efforts by the Federal Reserve to manipulate the stock market. At this point, many economists are beginning to pose the question of whether the Federal Reserve has finally run out of “pixie dust”. On February 23, I mentioned the outlook presented by economist Nouriel Roubini (a/k/a Dr. Doom) who provided a sobering counterpoint to the recent stock market enthusiasm in a piece he wrote for the Project Syndicate website entitled, “The Uptick’s Downside”. I included a discussion of economist John Hussman’s stock market prognosis. Dr. Hussman admitted that there might still be an opportunity to make some gains, although the risks weigh heavily toward a more cautious strategy: The bottom line is that near-term market direction is largely a throw of the dice, though with dice that are modestly biased to the downside. Indeed, the present overvalued, overbought, overbullish syndrome tends to be associated with a tendency for the market to repeatedly establish slight new highs, with shallow pullbacks giving way to further marginal new highs over a period of weeks. This instance has been no different. As we extend the outlook horizon beyond several weeks, however, the risks we observe become far more pointed. The most severe risk we measure is not the projected return over any particular window such as 4 weeks or 6 months, but is instead the likelihood of a particularly deep drawdown at some point within the coming 18-month period. In December of 2010, Dr. Hussman wrote a piece, providing “An Updated Who’s Who of Awful Times to Invest ”, in which he provided us with five warning signs: The following set of conditions is one way to capture the basic “overvalued, overbought, overbullish, rising-yields” syndrome: 1) S&P 500 more than 8% above its 52 week (exponential) average 2) S&P 500 more than 50% above its 4-year low 3) Shiller P/E greater than 18 4) 10-year Treasury yield higher than 6 months earlier 5) Advisory bullishness > 47%, with bearishness < 27% On March 10, Randall Forsyth wrote an article for Barron’s, in which he basically concurred with Dr. Hussman’s stock market prognosis. In his most recent Weekly Market Comment, Dr. Hussman expressed a bit of umbrage about Randall Forsyth’s remark that Hussman “missed out” on the stock market rally which began in March of 2009: As of last week, the market continued to reflect a set of conditions that have characterized a wicked subset of historical instances, comprising a Who’s Who of Awful Times to Invest . Barron’s ran a piece over the weekend that reviewed our case. It’s interesting to me that among the predictable objections (mostly related to our flat post-2009 performance, but overlooking the 2000-2009 record), none addressed the simple fact that the prior instances of this condition have invariably turned out terribly. It seems to me that before entirely disregarding evidence that is as rare as it is ominous, you have to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky? Investors Intelligence notes that corporate insiders are now selling shares at levels associated with “near panic action.” Since corporate insiders typically receive stock as part of their compensation, it is normal for insiders to sell about 2 shares on the open market for every share they purchase outright. Recently, however, insider sales have been running at a pace of more than 8-to-1. While investors and the economic consensus has largely abandoned any concern about a fresh economic downturn, we remain uncomfortable with the divergence between reliable leading measures – which are still actually deteriorating – and more upbeat coincident/lagging measures on which public optimism appears to be based. Nevertheless, Randall Forsyth’s article was actually supportive of Hussman’s opinion that, given the current economic conditions, discretion should mandate a more risk-averse investment strategy. The concluding statement from the Barron’s piece exemplified such support: With the Standard & Poor’s 500 up 24% from the October lows, it may be a good time to take some chips off the table. Beyond that, Mr. Forsyth explained how the outlook expressed by Walter J. Zimmermann concurred with John Hussman’s expectations for a stock market swoon: Walter J. Zimmermann Jr., who heads technical analysis for United-ICAP, a technical advisory firm, puts it more succinctly: “A perfect financial storm is looming.” THERE ARE AMPLE FUNDAMENTALS to knock the market down, including the well-advertised surge in gasoline prices, which Zimmermann calculates absorbed the discretionary spending power for half of America. And the escalating tensions over Iran’s nuclear program “is the gift that keeps on giving…if you like fear-inflated energy prices,” he wrote in the client letter. At the same time, “the euro-zone response to their deflationary debt trap continues to be further loans to the hopelessly indebted, in return for crushing austerity programs. So, evidently, not content with another mere recession, euro-zone leaders are inadvertently shooting for another depression. They may well succeed.” The euro zone is (or was, he stresses) the world’s largest economy, and a buyer of 22% of U.S. exports, which puts the domestic economy at risk, he adds. Given the fact that the Federal Reserve has already expended the “heavy artillery” in its arsenal, it seems unlikely that the remaining bit of pixie dust in Ben Bernanke’s pocket – “sterilized quantitative easing” – will be of any use in the Fed’s never-ending efforts to inflate stock prices. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, American economy, American exports, austerity, Barrons, centrist blog, Charles Biderman, corporate insiders, depression, derivatives, discretionary spending, Dr Doom, duct tape and pixie dust, economic downturn, economist, economy, energy prices, euro-zone, European debt crisis, Federal Reserve, financial crisis, financial system, gasoline prices, Grand Unified Theory of Market Manipulation, Hank Paulson, hedge funds, insider sales, investment, Investors Intelligence, Iran, James Hamilton, John Hussman, John T Burke Jr, Jon Markman, liquidity, msn, Nouriel Roubini, nuclear program, operation twist, overvalued overbought overbullish syndrome, perfect financial storm, pixie dust, Plunge Protection Team, PPT, Precision Capital Management, price-earnings ratio, Project Syndicate, QE 2, quantitative easing, Randall Forsyth, risk aversion, S&P 500, September 2008, sterilized quantitative easing, stock market manipulation, stock prices, systemic risk, Telegraph, Treasury Secretary, TrimTabs, United-ICAP, Upticks Downside, Wall Street Journal, Walter J Zimmermann Jr, Weekly Market Comment, Whos Who of Awful Times to Invest Keeping The Megabank Controversy On Republican Radar January 9th, 2012 Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on Keeping The Megabank Controversy On Republican Radar It was almost a year ago when Lou Dolinar of the National Review encouraged Republicans to focus on the controversy surrounding the megabanks: “Too Big to Fail” is an issue that Republicans shouldn’t duck in 2012. President Obama is in bed with these guys. I don’t know if breaking up the TBTFs is the solution, but Republicans need to shame the president and put daylight between themselves and the crony capitalists responsible for the financial meltdown. They could start by promising not to stock Treasury and other major economic posts with these, if you pardon the phase, malefactors of great wealth. One would expect that those too-big-to-fail banks would be low-hanging fruit for the acolytes in the Church of Ayn Rand. After all, Simon Johnson, former Chief Economist for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has not been the only authority to characterize the megabanks as intolerable parasites, infesting and infecting our free-market economy: Too Big To Fail banks benefit from an unfair, nontransparent, and dangerous subsidy scheme. This isn’t a market. It’s a government-backed distortion of historic proportions. And it should be eliminated. Last summer, former Kansas City Fed-head, Thomas Hoenig discussed the problems created by what he called, “systemically important financial institutions” – or “SIFIs”: So why aren’t the Republican Presidential candidates squawking up a storm about this subject during their debates? Mike Konczal lamented the GOP’s failure to embrace a party-wide assault on the notion that banks could continue to fatten themselves to the extent that they pose a systemic risk: When it comes to “ending Too Big To Fail” it actually punts on the conservative policy debates, which is a shame. There’s a reference to “Explore reforms now being considered by the U.K. to make the unwinding of its biggest banks less risky for the broader economy” but it is sort of late in the game for this level of vagueness on what we mean by “unwinding.” That unwinding part is a major part of the debate. Especially if you say that you want to repeal Dodd-Frank and put into place a system for taking down large financial firms – well, “unwinding” the biggest financial firms is what a big chunk of Dodd-Frank does. Nevertheless, there have been occasions when we would hear a solitary Republican voice in the wilderness. Back in November, Jonathan Easley of The Hill discussed the views of Richard Shelby (Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee: “Dr. Volcker asked the other question – if they’re too big to fail, are they too big to exist?” Shelby said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “And that’s a good question. And some of them obviously are, and some of them – if they don’t get their house in order – they might not exist. They’re going to have to sell off parts to survive.” “But the question I think we’ve got to ask – are we better off with the bigger banks than we were? The [answer] is no.” This past weekend, Timothy Haight wrote an inspiring piece for the pro-Republican Orange County Register, criticizing the failure of our government to address the systemic risk resulting from the “too big to fail” status of the megabanks: The concentration of assets in a few institutions is greater today than at the height of the 2008 meltdown. Taxpayers continue to be at risk as large financial institutions have forgotten the results of their earlier bets. Legislation may have aided members of Congress during this election cycle, but it has done little to ward off the next crisis. While I am a champion for free-market capitalism, I believe that, in some instances, proactive regulation is a necessity. Financial institutions should be heavily regulated due to the basic fact that rewards are afforded to the financial institutions, while the taxpayers are saddled with the risk. The moral hazard is alive and well. So far, there has been only one Republican Presidential candidate to speak out against the ongoing TBTF status of a privileged few banks – Jon Huntsman. It was nice to see that the Fox News website had published an opinion piece by the candidate – entitled, “Wall Street’s Big Banks Are the Real Threat to Our Economy”. Huntsman described what has happened to those institutions since the days of the TARP bailouts: Taxpayers were promised those bailouts would be a one-time, emergency measure. Yet today, we can already see the outlines of the next financial crisis and bailouts. The six largest financial institutions are significantly bigger than they were in 2008, having been encouraged to snap up Bear Stearns and other competitors at bargain prices. These banks now have assets worth over 66% of gross domestic product – at least $9.4 trillion – up from 20% of GDP in the 1990s. The Obama and Romney plan simply appears to be to cross our fingers and hope no Too-Big-To-Fail banks fail on their watch – a stunning lack of leadership on such a critical economic issue. As president, I will break up the big banks, end future taxpayer bailouts, and restore capitalist principles – competition and creative destruction – to our financial sector. As of this writing, Jon Huntsman has been the only Presidential candidate – including Obama – to discuss a proposal for ending the TBTF situation. Huntsman has tactfully cast Mitt Romney in the role of the “Wall Street status quo” candidate with himself appearing as the populist. Not even Ron Paul – with all of his “anti-bank” bluster, has dared approach the TBTF issue (probably because the solution would involve touching his own “third rail”: regulation). Simon Johnson had some fun discussing how Ron Paul was bold enough to write an anti-Federal Reserve book – End the Fed – yet too timid to tackle the megabanks: There is much that is thoughtful in Mr. Paul’s book, including statements like this (p. 18): “Just so that we are clear: the modern system of money and banking is not a free-market system. It is a system that is half socialized – propped up by the government – and one that could never be sustained as it is in a clean market environment.” There is nothing on Mr. Paul’s campaign website about breaking the size and power of the big banks that now predominate (http://www.ronpaul2012.com/the-issues/end-the-fed/). End the Fed is also frustratingly evasive on this issue. Mr. Paul should address this issue head-on, for example by confronting the very specific and credible proposals made by Jon Huntsman – who would force the biggest banks to break themselves up. The only way to restore the market is to compel the most powerful players to become smaller. Ending the Fed – even if that were possible or desirable – would not end the problem of Too Big To Fail banks. There are still many ways in which they could be saved. The only way to credibly threaten not to bail them out is to insist that even the largest bank is not big enough to bring down the financial system. It’s time for those “fair weather free-marketers” in the Republican Party to show the courage and the conviction demonstrated by Jon Huntsman. Although Rick Santorum claims to be the only candidate with true leadership qualities, his avoidance of this issue will ultimately place him in the rear – where he belongs. 2008 meltdown, Ayn Rand, banking, banks, Bear Stearns, big banks, capitalism, Chief Economist, Church of Ayn Rand, Congress, crony capitalists, Dodd-Frank, economy, End The Fed, fair weather free-marketers, Federal Reserve, financial crisis, financial institutions, financial meltdown, financial system, Fox News, free market economy, GDP, global markets, GOP, IMF, International Monetary Fund, John T Burke Jr, Jon Huntsman, Jonathan Easley, Kansas City Fed-head, Kansas City Federal Reserve, Lou Dolinar, market economy, megabanks, Mike Konczal, Mitt Romney, moral hazard, Morning Joe, MSNBC, National Review, Orange County Register, Paul Volcker, President Obama, Presidential candidates, Presidential debates, regulation, Republican Party, Republicans, Richard Shelby, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Senate Banking Committee, SIFI, Simon Johnson, systemic risk, systemically important financial institutions, TARP, taxpayers, TBTF, The Hill, Thomas Hoenig, Timothy Haight, too big to fail, Treasury Department, unwinding financial institutions, Wall Street More Favorable Reviews For Huntsman December 5th, 2011 Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on More Favorable Reviews For Huntsman In my last posting, I focused on how Jon Huntsman has been the only Presidential candidate to present responsible ideas for regulating the financial industry (Obama included). Since that time, I have read a number of similarly favorable reactions from respected authorities and commentators who reviewed Huntsman’s proposals . Simon Johnson is the former Chief Economist for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2007-2008. He is currently the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management. At his Baseline Scenario blog, Professor Johnson posted the following comments in reaction to Jon Huntsman’s policy page on financial reform and Huntsman’s October 19 opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal: More bailouts and the reinforcement of moral hazard – protecting bankers and other creditors against the downside of their mistakes – is the last thing that the world’s financial system needs. Yet this is also the main idea of the Obama administration. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told the Fiscal Times this week that European leaders “are going to have to move more quickly to put in place a strong firewall to help protect countries that are undertaking reforms,” meaning more bailouts. And this week we learned more about the underhand and undemocratic ways in which the Federal Reserve saved big banks last time around. (You should read Ron Suskind’s book, Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President, to understand Mr. Geithner’s philosophy of unconditional bailouts; remember that he was president of the New York Fed before become treasury secretary.) Is there really no alternative to pouring good money after bad? In a policy statement released this week, Governor Jon Huntsman articulates a coherent alternative approach to the financial sector, which begins with a diagnosis of our current problem: Too Big To Fail banks, “To protect taxpayers from future bailouts and stabilize America’s economic foundation, Jon Huntsman will end too-big-to-fail. Today we can already begin to see the outlines of the next financial crisis and bailouts. More than three years after the crisis and the accompanying bailouts, the six largest U.S. financial institutions are significantly bigger than they were before the crisis, having been encouraged by regulators to snap up Bear Stearns and other competitors at bargain prices” Mr. Geithner feared the collapse of big banks in 2008-09 – but his policies have made them bigger. This makes no sense. Every opportunity should be taken to make the megabanks smaller and there are plenty of tools available, including hard size caps and a punitive tax on excessive size and leverage (with any proceeds from this tax being used to reduce the tax burden on the nonfinancial sector, which will otherwise be crushed by the big banks’ continued dangerous behavior). The goal is simple, as Mr. Huntsman said in his recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece: make the banks small enough and simple enough to fail, “Hedge funds and private equity funds go out of business all the time when they make big mistakes, to the notice of few, because they are not too big to fail. There is no reason why banks cannot live with the same reality.” The quoted passage from Huntsman’s Wall Street Journal essay went on to say this: These banks now have assets worth over 66% of gross domestic product—at least $9.4 trillion, up from 20% of GDP in the 1990s. There is no evidence that institutions of this size add sufficient value to offset the systemic risk they pose. The major banks’ too-big-to-fail status gives them a comparative advantage in borrowing over their competitors thanks to the federal bailout backstop. Far be it from President Obama to make such an observation. Huntsman’s policy page on financial reform included a discussion of repealing the Dodd-Frank law: More specifically, real reform means repealing the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, which perpetuates too-big-to-fail and imposes costly and mostly useless regulations on innocent smaller banks without addressing the root causes of the crisis or anticipating future crises. But the overregulation cannot be addressed without ending the bailout subsidies, so that is where reform must begin. Beyond that, Huntsman’s Wall Street Journal piece gave us a chance to watch the candidate step in shit: Once too-big-to-fail is fixed, we could then more easily repeal the law’s unguided regulatory missiles, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. American banks provide advice and access to capital to the entrepreneurs and small business owners who have always been our economic center of gravity. We need a banking sector that is able to serve that critical role again. American banks also do a lot to screw their “personal banking” customers (the “little people”) and sleazy “payday loan”-type operations earn windfall profits exploiting those workers whose incomes aren’t enough for them to make it from paycheck-to-paycheck. The American economy is 70 percent consumer-driven. American consumers have always been “our economic center of gravity” and the CFPB was designed to protect them. Huntsman would do well to jettison his anti-CFPB agenda if he wants to become President. Mike Konczal of the Roosevelt Institute, exhibited a similarly “hot and cold” reaction to Huntsman’s proposals for financial reform. What follows is a passage from a recent posting at his Rortybomb blog, entitled “Huntsman Wants to Repeal Dodd-Frank so he can Pass Title VII of Dodd-Frank”: So we need to get serious about derivatives regulation by bringing transparency to the over-the-counter derivatives market, with serious collateral requirements. This was turned into law as the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010, or Title VII of Dodd-Frank. So we need to eliminate Dodd-Frank in order to pass Dodd-Frank’s resolution authority and derivative regulations – two of the biggest parts of the bill – but call it something else. You can argue that Dodd-Frank’s derivative rules have too many loopholes with too much of the market exempted from the process and too much power staying with the largest banks. But those are arguments that Dodd-Frank doesn’t go far enough, where Huntsman’s critique of Dodd-Frank is that it goes way too far. Huntsman should be required to explain the issues here – is he against Dodd-Frank before being for it? Is his Too Big To Fail policy and derivatives policy the same as Dodd-Frank, and if not how do they differ? It isn’t clear from the materials he has provided so far how the policies would be different, and if it is a problem with the regulations in practice how he would get stronger ones through Congress. I do applaud this from Huntsman: RESTORING RULE OF LAW President Huntsman’s administration will direct the Department of Justice to take the lead in investigating and brokering an agreement to resolve the widespread legal abuses such as the robo-signing scandal that unfolded in the aftermath of the housing bubble. This is a basic question of rule of law; in this country no one is above the law. There are also serious issues involving potential violations of the securities laws, particularly with regard to fair and accurate disclosure of the underlying loan contracts and property titles in mortgage-backed securities that were sold. If investors’ rights were abused, this needs to be addressed fully. We need a comprehensive settlement that puts all these issues behind us, but any such settlement must include full redress of all legal violations. And I will note that the dog-whistles hidden inside the proposal are towards strong reforms (things like derivatives reform “will also allow end-users to negotiate better terms with Wall Street and in turn lower trading costs” – implicitly arguing that the dealer banks have too much market power and it is the role of the government to create a fair playing field). Someone knows what they are doing. His part on bringing down the GSEs doesn’t mention the hobbyhorse of the Right that the CRA and the GSEs caused the crisis, which is refreshing to see. If Republican voters are smart, they will vote for Jon Huntsman in their state primary elections. As I said last time: If Jon Huntsman wins the Republican nomination, there will be a serious possibility that the Democrats could lose control of the White House. 2012 Presidential campaign, 70-percent consumer-driven, bailouts, bankers, banking sector, Barack Obama, Baseline Scenario, Bear Stearns, big banks, CFPB, Chief Economist, collateral requirements, Confidence Men, Congress, conservative, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, consumer-driven economy, consumers, CRA, Department of Justice, derivatives regulation, Dodd-Frank, economic center of gravity, Federal Reserve, financial crisis, financial institutions, financial plan, financial reform, financial system, Fiscal Times, future financial crisis, GDP, Gross Domestic Product, GSEs, hedge funds, IMF, International Monetary Fund, John T Burke Jr, Jon Huntsman, leverage, little people, loopholes, megabanks, Mike Konczal, MIT Sloan School of Management, moderate, moral hazard, New York Fed, Obama Administration, over-the-counter derivatives, overregulation, payday loan, policy statement, President Obama, primary elections, private equity, Professor of Entrepreneurship, punitive tax, regulation, Republican nomination, Republican Party, Republican Presidential campaign, Republicans, resolution authority, robo-signing, Ron Suskind, Roosevelt Institute, Rortybomb, rule of law, securities laws, Simon Johnson, systemic risk, taxpayers, Tim Geithner, Title VII of Dodd-Frank, too big to fail, transparency, Treasury Secretary, unconditional bailouts, Wall Street, Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010, Washington, White House Congress Could Be Quite Different After 2012 Elections April 25th, 2011 Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on Congress Could Be Quite Different After 2012 Elections They come up for re-election every two years. Each of the 435 members of the House of Representatives is in a constant “campaign mode” because the term of office is so short. Lee White of the American Historical Association summed-up the impact of the 2010 elections this way: On Tuesday, November 2, 2010, U.S. voters dramatically changed the landscape in Washington. Republicans gained control of the House and, although the Democrats retained control of the Senate their margin in that body has been reduced to 53-47. Clearly the most dramatic change will be in the House with new Republican committee and subcommittee chairs taking over. Voter discontent was revealed by the fact that just before the 2010 elections, the Congressional approval rating was at 17 percent. More recently, according to a Gallup poll, taken during April 7-11 of 2011, Congressional job approval is now back down to 17 percent, after a bump up to 23 percent in February. Of particular interest were the conclusions drawn by the pollsters at Gallup concerning the implications of the latest polling results: Congress’ approval rating in Gallup’s April 7-11 survey is just four points above its all-time low. The probability of a significant improvement in congressional approval in the months ahead is not high. Congress is now engaged in a highly contentious battle over the federal budget, with a controversial vote on the federal debt ceiling forthcoming in the next several months. The Republican-controlled House often appears to be battling with itself, as conservative newly elected House members hold out for substantial cuts in government spending. Additionally, Americans’ economic confidence is as low as it has been since last summer, and satisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S. is at 19%. At this point, it appears as though we could be looking at an even larger crop of freshmen in the 2013 Congress than we saw in January, 2011. (According to polling guru, Nate Silver, the fate of the 33 Senate incumbents is still an open question.) One poster child for voter ire could be Republican Congressman Spencer Bachus of Alabama. You might recall that at approximately this time last year, Matt Taibbi wrote another one of his great exposés for Rolling Stone entitled, “Looting Main Street”. In his exceptional style, Taibbi explained how JPMorgan Chase bribed the local crooked politicians into replacing Jefferson County’s bonds, issued to finance an expensive sewer project, with variable interest rate swaps (also known as synthetic rate swaps). Then came the financial crisis. As a result, the rate Jefferson County had to pay on the bonds went up while the rates paid by banks to the county went down. It didn’t take long for the bond rating companies to downgrade those sewer bonds to “junk” status. JPMorgan Chase unsuccessfully attempted to dismiss a lawsuit arising from this snafu. Law 360 reported on April 15 that the Alabama Supreme Court recently affirmed the denial of JPMorgan’s attempt to dismiss the case, which was based on these facts: Jefferson County accuses JPMorgan of paying bribes to county officials in exchange for an appointment as lead underwriter for what turned out to be a highly risky refinancing of the county’s sewer debt, which caused Jefferson County billions of dollars in losses. According to the complaint, JPMorgan, JPMorgan Chase and underwriting firm Blount Parrish & Co. handed out bribes, kickbacks and payoffs to swindle the county out of millions in inflated fees. JPMorgan claimed that only the Governor of Alabama had authority to bring such a suit. I wonder why former Alabama Governor Bob Riley didn’t bother to join Jefferson County as a party plaintiff, making the issue moot and saving Jefferson County some legal fees, before the case found its way to the state Supreme Court? Joe Nocera of The New York Times recently put the spotlight on another character from Alabama politics: Has Spencer Bachus, as the local congressman, decried this debacle? Of course – what local congressman wouldn’t? In a letter last year to Mary Schapiro, the chairwoman of the S.E.C., he said that the county’s financing schemes “magnified the inherent risks of the municipal finance market.” Bachus is not just your garden variety local congressman, though. As chairman of the Financial Services Committee, he is uniquely positioned to help make sure that similar disasters never happen again – not just in Jefferson County but anywhere. After all, the new Dodd-Frank financial reform law will, at long last, regulate derivatives. And the implementation of that law is being overseen by Bachus and his committee. Among its many provisions related to derivatives – all designed to lessen their systemic risk – is a series of rules that would make it close to impossible for the likes of JPMorgan to pawn risky derivatives off on municipalities. Dodd-Frank requires sellers of derivatives to take a near-fiduciary interest in the well-being of a municipality. You would think Bachus would want these regulations in place as quickly as possible, given the pain his constituents are suffering. Yet, last week, along with a handful of other House Republican bigwigs, he introduced legislation that would do just the opposite: It would delay derivative regulation until January 2013. As Joe Nocera suggested, this might be more than simply a delaying tactic, to keep derivatives trading unregulated for another two years. Bachus could be counting on Republican takeovers of the Senate and the White House after the 2012 election cycle. At that point, Bachus and his fellow Tools of Wall Street could finally drive a stake through the heart of the nearly-stillborn baby known as “financial reform”. On the other hand, the people vested with the authority to cast those votes that keep Spencer Bachus in office, could realize that he is betraying them in favor of the Wall Street banksters. The “public memory” may be short but – fortunately – the term of office for a Congressman is equally brief. 2010 elections, Alabama, Alabama Supreme Court, American Historical Association, banksters, Blount Parrish, Bob Riley, bond rating companies, bonds, bribes, Congress Could Be Quite Different After 2012 Elections, Congressional approval rating, Congressional job approval, crooked politicians, debt ceiling, Democrats, derivatives, derivatives trading, Dodd-Frank, Dodd-Frank financial reform law, federal budget, fiduciary duty, finance, financial crisis, financial reform, Financial Services Committee, Gallup Poll, government spending, Governor of Alabama, House of Representatives, inflated fees, January 2013, Jefferson County, Joe Nocera, John T Burke Jr, JPMorgan Chase, junk bonds, kickbacks, Law 360, lawsuit, Lee White, legislation, Looting Main Street, Mary Schapiro, Matt Taibbi, Nate Silver, New York Times, pollsters, public memory, regulations, Republican Congressman, Republicans, Rolling Stone, SEC, Senate, sewer project, Spencer Bachus, synthetic rate swaps, systemic risk, Tools of Wall Street, variable interest rate swaps, voter discontent March 31st, 2011 Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on Obama Fatigue Since President Obama first assumed office, it hasn’t been too difficult to find harsh criticism of the new administration. One need only tune in to the Fox News, where an awkward Presidential sneeze could be interpreted as a “secret message” to Bill Ayers or George Soros. Nevertheless, with the passing of time, voices from across the political spectrum have joined a chorus of frustration with the Obama agenda. On February 26, 2009 – only one month into the Obama Presidency – I voiced my suspicion about the new administration’s unwillingness to address the problem of systemic risk, inherent in allowing a privileged few banks to enjoy their “too big to fail” status: Will Turbo Tim’s “stress tests” simply turn out to be a stamp of approval, helping insolvent banks avoid any responsible degree of reorganization, allowing them to continue their “welfare queen” existence, thus requiring continuous infusions of cash at the expense of the taxpayers? Will the Obama administration’s “failure of nerve” – by avoiding bank nationalization — send us into a ten-year, “Japan-style” recession? It’s beginning to look that way. By September of 2009, I became convinced that Mr. Obama was suffering from a degree of hubris, which could seal his fate as a single-term President: Back on July 15, 2008 and throughout the Presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised the voters that if he were elected, there would be “no more trickle-down economics”. Nevertheless, his administration’s continuing bailouts of the banking sector have become the worst examples of trickle-down economics in American history – not just because of their massive size and scope, but because they will probably fail to achieve their intended result. Although the TARP bank bailout program was initiated during the final months of the Bush Presidency, the Obama administration’s stewardship of that program recently drew sharp criticism from Neil Barofsky, the retiring Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP). Beyond that, in his March 29 op-ed piece for The New York Times, Mr. Barofsky criticized the Obama administration’s failure to make good on its promises of “financial reform”: Finally, the country was assured that regulatory reform would address the threat to our financial system posed by large banks that have become effectively guaranteed by the government no matter how reckless their behavior. This promise also appears likely to go unfulfilled. The biggest banks are 20 percent larger than they were before the crisis and control a larger part of our economy than ever. They reasonably assume that the government will rescue them again, if necessary. Worse, Treasury apparently has chosen to ignore rather than support real efforts at reform, such as those advocated by Sheila Bair, the chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, to simplify or shrink the most complex financial institutions. In the final analysis, it has been Treasury’s broken promises that have turned TARP – which was instrumental in saving the financial system at a relatively modest cost to taxpayers – into a program commonly viewed as little more than a giveaway to Wall Street executives. It wasn’t meant to be that. Indeed, Treasury’s mismanagement of TARP and its disregard for TARP’s Main Street goals – whether born of incompetence, timidity in the face of a crisis or a mindset too closely aligned with the banks it was supposed to rein in – may have so damaged the credibility of the government as a whole that future policy makers may be politically unable to take the necessary steps to save the system the next time a crisis arises. This avoidable political reality might just be TARP’s most lasting, and unfortunate, legacy. Another unlikely critic of President Obama is the retired law school professor who blogs using the pseudonym, “George Washington”. A recent posting at Washington’s Blog draws from a number of sources to ponder the question of whether President Obama (despite his Nobel Peace Prize) has become more brutal than President Bush. The essay concludes with a review of Obama’s overall performance in The White House: Whether or not Obama is worse than Bush, he’s just as bad. While we had Bush’s “heck of a job” response to Katrina, we had Obama’s equally inept response and false assurances in connection with the Gulf oil spill, and Obama’s false assurances in connection with the Japanese nuclear crisis. And Bush and Obama’s response to the financial crisis are virtually identical: bail out the giant banks, let Wall Street do whatever it wants, and forget the little guy. The American voters asked for change. Instead, we got a different branch of the exact same Wall Street/military-industrial complex/Big Energy (BP, GE)/Big Pharma party. Another commentator who has become increasingly critical of President Obama is Robert Reich, Secretary of Labor in the Clinton Administration. Mr. Obama’s failure to push back against the corporatist politicians, who serve as “reverse Robin Hoods” enriching CEOs at the expense of American workers, resulted in this rebuke from Professor Reich: President Obama and Democratic leaders should be standing up for the wages and benefits of ordinary Americans, standing up for unions, and decrying the lie that wage and benefit concessions are necessary to create jobs. The President should be traveling to the Midwest – taking aim at Republican governors in the heartland who are hell bent on destroying the purchasing power of American workers. But he’s doing nothing of the sort. As attention begins to focus on the question of who will be the Republican nominee for the 2012 Presidential election campaign, Obama Fatigue is causing many people to appraise the President’s chances of defeat. The excitement of bringing the promised “change” of 2008 has morphed into cynicism. Many of the voters who elected Obama in 2008 might be too disgusted to bother with voting in 2012. As a result, the idea of a Democratic or Independent challenger to Obama is receiving more consideration. Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi recently provided this response to a letter inquiring about the possibility that Elizabeth Warren could make a run for the White House in 2012: A few months ago I heard a vague rumor from someone who theoretically would know that such a thing was being contemplated, but I don’t know anything beyond that. I wish she would run. I’m not sure if it would ultimately be a good thing or a bad thing for Barack Obama – she could fatally wound his general-election chances by exposing his ties to Wall Street – but I think she’s exactly what this country needs. She’s totally literate on the finance issues and is completely on the side of human beings, as opposed to banks and oil companies and the like. One thing I will say: if she did run, she would have a lot more support from the press than she probably imagines, as there are a lot of reporters out there who are reaching the terminal-disappointment level with Obama ready to hop on the bandwagon of someone like Warren. If Elizabeth Warren ultimately decides to make a run for The White House, Mr. Obama should do the right thing: Stop selling the sky to people and step aside. 2008 Presidential campaign, 2012 Republican Presidential nominee, American history, American voters, American workers, bailouts, bank bailouts, bank nationalization, Barack Obama, Big Energy, Big Pharma, Bill Ayers, BP, Bush Presidency, campaign promise, CEOs, change, Clinton administration, corporatist politicians, Democratic challenger to Obama, Democratic leaders, Elizabeth Warren, failure of nerve, FDIC, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, finance, financial crisis, financial institutions, financial reform, financial system, Fox News, Fukushima disaster, GE, George Soros, George Washington pseudonym, giant banks, government guarantees, Gulf oil spill, hubris, Independent challenger, insolvent banks, Japan-style recession, Japanese nuclear crisis, job creation, Katrina, little guy, Main Street, Matt Taibbi, military-industrial complex, Neil Barofsky, no more trickle down economics, Nobel Peace Prize, Obama agenda, Obama Fatigue, Obama Presidency, President Bush, President Obama, recession, regulatory reform, reorganization, reporters, Republican governors, reverse Robin Hoods, Robert Reich, Rolling Stone, Secretary of Labor, Sheila Bair, SIGTARP, single-term President, Special Inspector General for TARP, stress tests, systemic risk, TARP, taxpayers, ten-year recession, The New York Times, Timothy Geithner, too big to fail, Treasury Department, trickle down economics, Turbo Tim, Turbo Tim Geithner, unions, wage and benefit concessions, wages and benefits, Wall Street, Washingtons Blog, welfare queen, White House, worse than Bush The Wrong Playbook Comments Off on The Wrong Playbook President Obama is still getting it wrong. Nevertheless, we keep hearing that he is such a clever politician. Count me among those who believe that the Republicans are setting Obama up for failure and a loss to whatever goofball happens to win the GOP Presidential nomination in 2012 – solely because of a deteriorating economy. Obama had the chance to really save the economy and “right the ship”. When he had the opportunity to confront the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, President Obama violated Rahm Emanuel’s infamous doctrine, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste”. The new President immediately made a point of squandering the opportunity to overcome that crisis. I voiced my frustration about this on October 7, 2010: The trouble began immediately after President Obama assumed office. I wasn’t the only one pulling out my hair in February of 2009, when our new President decided to follow the advice of Larry Summers and “Turbo” Tim Geithner. That decision resulted in a breach of Obama’s now-infamous campaign promise of “no more trickle-down economics”. Obama decided to do more for the zombie banks of Wall Street and less for Main Street – by sparing the banks from temporary receivership (also referred to as “temporary nationalization”) while spending less on financial stimulus. Obama ignored the 50 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, who warned that an $800 billion stimulus package would be inadequate. At the Calculated Risk website, Bill McBride lamented Obama’s strident posturing in an interview conducted by Terry Moran of ABC News, when the President actually laughed off the idea of implementing the so-called “Swedish solution” of putting those insolvent banks through temporary receivership. In September of 2009, I discussed a fantastic report by Australian economist Steve Keen, who explained how the “money multiplier” myth, fed to Obama by the very people who caused the financial crisis, was the wrong paradigm to be starting from in attempting to save the economy. The Australian professor (Steve Keen) was right and Team Obama was wrong. In analyzing Australia’s approach to the financial crisis, economist Joseph Stiglitz made this observation on August 5, 2010: Kevin Rudd, who was prime minister when the crisis struck, put in place one of the best-designed Keynesian stimulus packages of any country in the world. He realized that it was important to act early, with money that would be spent quickly, but that there was a risk that the crisis would not be over soon. So the first part of the stimulus was cash grants, followed by investments, which would take longer to put into place. Rudd’s stimulus worked: Australia had the shortest and shallowest of recessions of the advanced industrial countries. On October 6, 2010, Michael Heath of Bloomberg BusinessWeek provided the latest chapter in the story of how America did it wrong while Australia did it right: Australian Employers Added 49,500 Workers in September Australian employers in September added the most workers in eight months, driving the country’s currency toward a record and bolstering the case for the central bank to resume raising interest rates. The number of people employed rose 49,500 from August, the seventh straight gain, the statistics bureau said in Sydney today. The figure was more than double the median estimate of a 20,000 increase in a Bloomberg News survey of 25 economists. The jobless rate held at 5.1 percent. Meanwhile, America’s jobless rate has been hovering around 9 percent and the Federal Reserve found it necessary to print-up another $600 billion for a controversial second round of quantitative easing. If that $600 billion had been used for the 2009 economic stimulus (and if the stimulus program had been more infrastructure-oriented) we would probably have enjoyed a result closer to that experienced by Australia. Instead, President Obama chose to follow Japan’s strategy of perpetual bank bailouts (by way of the Fed’s “zero interest rate policy” or ZIRP and multiple rounds of quantitative easing), sending America’s economy into our own “lost decade”. The only member of the Clinton administration who deserves Obama’s ear is being ignored. Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, has been repeatedly emphasizing that President Obama is making a huge mistake by attempting to follow the Clinton playbook: Many of President Obama’s current aides worked for Clinton and vividly recall Clinton’s own midterm shellacking in 1994 and his re-election two years later – and they think the president should follow Clinton’s script. Obama should distance himself from congressional Democrats, embrace deficit reduction and seek guidance from big business. They assume that because triangulation worked for Clinton, it will work for Obama. They’re wrong. Clinton’s shift to the right didn’t win him re-election in 1996. He was re-elected because of the strength of the economic recovery. By the spring of 1995, the American economy already had bounced back, averaging 200,000 new jobs per month. By early 1996, it was roaring – creating 434,000 new jobs in February alone. Obama’s 2011 reality has us losing nearly 400,000 jobs per month. Nevertheless, there is this misguided belief that the “wealth effect” caused by inflated stock prices and the current asset bubble will somehow make the Clinton strategy relevant. It won’t. Instead, President Obama will adopt a strategy of “austerity lite”, which will send America into a second recession dip and alienate voters just in time for the 2012 elections. Professor Reich recently warned of this: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor recently stated the Republican view succinctly: “Less government spending equals more private sector jobs.” In the past I’ve often wondered whether they’re knaves or fools. Now I’m sure. Republicans wouldn’t mind a double-dip recession between now and Election Day 2012. They figure it’s the one sure way to unseat Obama. They know that when the economy is heading downward, voters always fire the boss. Call them knaves. What about the Democrats? Most know how fragile the economy is but they’re afraid to say it because the White House wants to paint a more positive picture. And most of them are afraid of calling for what must be done because it runs so counter to the dominant deficit-cutting theme in our nation’s capital that they fear being marginalized. So they’re reduced to mumbling “don’t cut so much.” Call them fools. If inviting a double-dip recession weren’t dumb enough – how about a second financial crisis? Just add more systemic risk and presto! The banks won’t have any problems because the Fed and the Treasury will provide another round of bailouts. Edward Harrison of Credit Writedowns recently wrote an essay focused on Treasury Secretary Geithner’s belief that we need big banks to be even bigger. Even if the Republicans nominate a Presidential candidate who espouses a strategy of simply relying on Jesus to extinguish fires at offshore oil rigs and nuclear reactors – Obama will still lose. May God help us! 2009 stimulus, 2012 elections, 2012 Republican Presidential nomination, ABC News, asset bubble, austerity lite, Australia, Australian economist, Australian employers, bank bailouts, big banks, big business, Bill McBride, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Bloomberg news, Bloomberg News survey of economists, Calculated Risk, campaign promise, cash grants, Clinton administration, Clinton playbook, Clinton strategy, Congressional Democrats, Credit Writedowns, crisis go to waste, deficit, deficit cutting, deficit reduction, double-dip recession, economic crisis, economic recovery, economic stimulus, economist, economy, Edward Harrison, Eric Cantor, Fed, Federal Reserve, financial crisis, financial stimulus, Geithner, government spending, Great Depression, House Majority Leader, inadequate stimulus, industrial countries, inflated stock prices, infrastructure, insolvent banks, interest rates, investments, Japan, jobless rate, Joseph Stiglitz, Kevin Rudd, Keynesian stimulus, knaves, Larry Summers, lost decade, Main Street, Michael Heath, money, money multiplier myth, no more trickle down economics, President Obama, Presidential candidate, prime minister, private sector jobs, QE 2, quantitative easing, Rahm Emanuel, recession, Republicans, Robert Reich, second financial crisis, second recession, Secretary of Labor, Steve Keen, stimulus package, stimulus program, Swedish solution, systemic risk, Team Obama, Temporary nationalization, temporary receivership, Terry Moran, The Wrong Playbook, Tim Geithner, Treasury Department, Treasury Secretary Geithner, triangulation, Turbo Tim Geithner, Wall Street, Wall Street Banks, wealth effect, White House, zero-interest-rate policy, ZIRP, zombie banks Jeremy Grantham And Ike Comments Off on Jeremy Grantham And Ike As an avid reader of Jeremy Grantham’s Quarterly Letter, I was surprised when he posted a Special Topic report on January 14 — so close to release of his Fourth Quarter 2010 Letter, which is due in a couple of weeks. At a time when many commentators are focused on the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s historic Inaugural Address, Jeremy Grantham has taken the opportunity to focus on President Dwight Eisenhower’s Farwell Address of January 17, 1961. (Grantham included the full text of Ike’s Farwell Address at the conclusion of the Special Topic essay.) One passage from Ike’s Farwell Address seemed particularly prescient in the wake of the TARP bailout (which was not a success) and the “backdoor bailouts” including the Maiden Lanes (which were never to be repaid) as well as the cost of approximately $350 billion per year to investors and savers, resulting from the Federal Reserve’s zero-interest-rate-policy (often referred to as “ZIRP”). Keep those Wall Street bailouts in mind while reading this passage from Ike’s speech: Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. A huge increase in newer elements of our defense; development of unrealistic programs to cure every ill in agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and applied research – these and many other possibilities, each possibly promising in itself, may be suggested as the only way to the road we wish to travel. But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs – balance between the private and the public economy, balance between cost and hoped for advantage – balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable; balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual; balance between actions of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judgment seeks balance and progress; lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration. In his Special Topic report, Jeremy Grantham focused on the disappointing changes that caused Ike’s America to become 21st Century America. After quoting Ike’s now-famous admonition about the power of the military-industrial complex (for which the speech is frequently quoted) Grantham pointed out that the unrestricted influence of corporate power over our government has become a greater menace: Unfortunately, the political-economic power problem has mutated away from the military, although it has left important vestiges there, toward a broader problem: the undue influence of corporate America on the government, and hence the laws, taxes, and social policies of the country. This has occurred to such a degree that there seems little real independence in Congress, with most Congressmen answering first to the desire to be reelected and the consequent need to obtain funding from, shall we say, sponsors, and the need to avoid making powerful enemies. The financial resources of the carbon-based energy companies are particularly terrifying, and their effective management of propaganda goes back decades. They established and funded “independent” think tanks and even non-profit organizations that have mysteriously always come out in favor of policies favorable to maintaining or increasing the profits of their financial supporters. The campaign was well-organized and has been terrifyingly effective. The financial industry, with its incestuous relationships with government agencies, runs a close second to the energy industry. In the last 10 years or so, their machine, led by the famously failed economic consultant Alan Greenspan – one of the few businessmen ever to be laughed out of business – seemed perhaps the most effective. It lacks, though, the multi-decadal attitude-changing propaganda of the oil industry. Still, in finance they had the “regulators,” deregulating up a storm, to the enormous profit of their industry. Grantham concluded his report with a suggestion for the greatest tribute we could give Eisenhower after America ignored Ike’s warnings about the vulnerability of our government to unrestricted influences. Grantham’s proposed tribute to Ike would be our refusal to “take this 50-year slide lying down”. To steal a slogan from the Tea Party, I suggest the voters need to “take America back” from the corporations which bought off the government. Our government has every intention of maintaining the status quo. In the 2010 elections, voters were led to believe that they could bring about governmental reform by voting for candidates who will eventually prove themselves as protectors of the wealthy at the expense of the disappearing middle class. In the 2008 elections, Barack Obama convinced voters that he was the candidate of change they could believe in. In the real world of 2011, economist Simon Johnson explained what sort of “change” those voters received, as exemplified by the President’s appointment of his new Chief of Staff: Let’s be honest. With the appointment of Bill Daley, the big banks have won completely this round of boom-bust-bailout. The risk inherent to our financial system is now higher than it was in the early/mid-2000s. We are set up for another illusory financial expansion and another debilitating crisis. Bill Daley will get it done. Just as Jeremy Grantham explained how Eisenhower’s concerns about the military-industrial complex were materialized in the form of a corporate-controlled government, another unholy alliance was discussed by Charles Ferguson, director of the documentary film, Inside Job. Ferguson recently offered an analysis of the milieu that resulted in President Obama’s appointment of Larry Summers as Director of the National Economic Council. As Larry Summers announced plans to move on from that position, Ferguson explained how Summers had been granted the opportunity to inflict his painful legacy upon us: Summers is unique but not alone. By now we are all familiar with the role of lobbying and campaign contributions, and with the revolving door between industry and government. What few Americans realize is that the revolving door is now a three-way intersection. Summers’ career is the result of an extraordinary and underappreciated scandal in American society: the convergence of academic economics, Wall Street, and political power. America needs new leaders who refuse to capitulate to the army of lobbyists on Capitol Hill. Where are they? 2008 elections, 2010 elections, 21st Century America, 50-year slide, academic economics, backdoor bailouts, bank bailouts, Barack Obama, Bill Daley, boom-bust-bailout, campaign, campaign contributions, Capitol Hill, carbon-based energy companies, change, change they could believe in, Charles Ferguson, Chief of Staff, Congress, Congressmen, corporate influence on government, disappearing middle class, Dwight Eisenhower, economist Simon Johnson, failed economic consultant Alan Greenspan, Federal Reserve, financial crisis, financial industry, financial system, GMO Quarterly Letter, government agencies, governmental reform, imbalance, Inside Job, January 14, January 17 1961 Farwell Address, Jeremy Grantham, Jeremy Grantham And Ike, JFK Inaugural Address, Larry Summers, lobbying, Maiden Lane, military-industrial complex, National Economic Council, oil industry propaganda, political-economic power, private economy, protectors of the wealthy, public economy, regulators who deregulate, revolving door, Special Topic report, sponsors, status quo, systemic risk, take America back, take America back from corporations, TARP, Tea Party, think tanks, unrealistic programs, voters, Wall Street, zero-interest-rate policy, ZIRP Geithner Kool-Aid Is All The Rage Comments Off on Geithner Kool-Aid Is All The Rage Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s “charm offensive”, began one year ago. At that time, a number of financial bloggers were invited to the Treasury Department for an “open discussion” forum led by individual senior Treasury officials (including Turbo Tim himself). Most of the invitees were not brainwashed to the desired extent. I reviewed a number of postings from those in attendance – most of whom demonstrated more than a little skepticism about the entire affair. Nevertheless, Secretary Geithner and his team held another conclave with financial bloggers on Monday, August 16, 2010. The second meeting worked more to Geithner’s advantage. The Treasury Secretary made a favorable impression on Alex Tabarrok, just as he had done last November with Tabarrok’s partner at Marginal Revolution, Tyler Cowen. Steve Waldman of Interfluidity provided a candid description of his own reaction to the August 16 event. Waldman’s commentary exposed how the desired effect was achieved: First, let me confess right from the start, I had a great time. I pose as an outsider and a crank. But when summoned to the court, this jester puts on his bells. I am very, very angry at Treasury, and the administration it serves. But put me at a table with smart, articulate people who are willing to argue but who are otherwise pleasant towards me, and I will like them. I like these people, and that renders me untrustworthy. Abstractly, I think some of them should be replaced and perhaps disgraced. But having chatted so cordially, I’m far less likely to take up pitchforks against them. Drawn to the Secretary’s conference room by curiosity, vanity, ambition, and conceit, I’ve been neutered a bit. More recently, a good deal of attention has focused on a November 4 article from Bloomberg News, revealing that back on April 2, Turbo Tim paid a call on Jon Stewart. The disclosure by Ian Katz raised quite a few eyebrows: Geithner and Stewart, host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” held an off-the-record meeting at Stewart’s office in New York on April 2, according to Geithner’s appointments calendar, updated through August on Treasury’s website. Since that time, we have heard nothing from Jon Stewart about his meeting with Geithner. I expect that Stewart will continue his silence about that topic, focusing our attention, instead, on the controversy concerning a book, which should have been titled, Pedophilia For Dummies, while referring to Amazon.com as “NAMBLAzon.com”. If he uses that joke – remember that you saw it here, first. The November 13 New York Times article by Yale economics professor, Robert Shiller, raises the question of whether Professor Shiller is the latest victim of the Geithner Kool-Aid. Shiller’s essay reeks of the Obama administration’s strategy of approaching the nation’s most pressing crises as public relations concerns — a panacea for avoiding the ugly task of actually solving those problems. The title of Shiller’s article, “Bailouts, Reframed as ‘Orderly Resolutions’” says it all: spin means everything. The following statement is a perfect example: Our principal hope for dealing with the next big crisis is the Dodd-Frank Act, signed by President Obama in July. It calls for bailouts of a sort, but has reframed them so they may look better to taxpayers. Now they will be called “orderly resolutions.” Yves Smith of the Naked Capitalism website had no trouble ripping this assertion (as well as Shiller’s entire essay) to shreds: Huh? It’s widely acknowledged that Dodd Frank is too weak. In the Treasury meeting with bloggers last August, Geithner didn’t argue the point much, but instead contended that big enough capital levels, which were on the way with Basel III, were the real remedy. It’s also widely recognized that the special resolution process in Dodd Frank is a non-starter as far as the institutions that pose the greatest systemic risk are concerned, the really big international dealer banks. A wind-up of these firms is subject to the bankruptcy proceedings of all the foreign jurisdictions in which it operates; the US can’t wave a magic wand in Dodd Frank and make this elephant in the room vanish. In addition, no one has found a way to resolve a major trading firm without creating major disruption. Shiller’s insistence that the public is so dumb as to confuse a windown with a bailout reveals his lack of connection with popular perceptions. The reason the public is so angry with the bailouts is no one, particularly among the top brass, lost his job, and worse, the firms were singularly ungrateful, thumbing their noses at taxpayers and paying themselves record bonuses in 2009. Bill Maher’s Real Time program of November 12 is just the most recent example of how Bill Maher and most of his guests from the entire season are Geithner Kool-Aid drinkers. The show marked the ten-trillionth time Maher claimed that TARP was a “success” because the banks have “paid back” those government bailouts. Bill Maher needs to invite Yves Smith on his program so that she can debunk this myth, as she did in her June 23 piece. “Geithner Yet Again Misrepresents TARP ‘Performance’”. Ms. Smith is not the only commentator who repeatedly calls out the administration on this whopper. Marshall Auerback and almost everyone else at the Roosevelt Institute have said the same thing. Edward Harrison of Credit Writedowns wrote this piece for the Seeking Alpha website, in support of Aureback’s TARP critique. Will Wilkinson’s October 8 essay in The Economist’s Democracy in America blog presented the negative responses from a number of authorities in response to the claim that TARP was a great success. With all that has been written to dispute the glorification of TARP, one would think that the “TARP was a success” meme would fade away. Nevertheless, the Geithner Kool-Aid is a potent brew and its effects can, in some cases, be permanent. Alex Tabarrok, Amazon com, August 16, Bailouts Reframed as Orderly Resolutions, bank bailouts, Basel III, Bill Maher, Bloomberg news, charm offensive, Comedy Central, Credit Writedowns, Democracy in America, Dodd-Frank Act, Edward Harrison, financial bloggers, Geithner Kool-Aid Is All The Rage, Ian Katz, Interfluidity, Jon Stewart, Marginal Revolution, Marshall Auerback, Naked Capitalism, NAMBLAzon com, New York Times, Obama Administration, Pedophilia For Dummies, President Obama, Real Time, Robert Shiller, Roosevelt Institute, Seeking Alpha, special resolution process, spin means everything, Steve Waldman, systemic risk, TARP was a success, TARP was a success meme, taxpayers, The Daily Show, The Economist, too big to fail, Treasury Department, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Turbo Tim, Turbo Tim Geithner, Tyler Cowen, Will Wilkinson, Yves Smith

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line447

__label__cc

Banksters Live Up to the Nickname Comments Off on Banksters Live Up to the Nickname Matt Taibbi has done it again. His latest article in Rolling Stone focused on the case of United States of America v. Carollo, Goldberg and Grimm, in which the Obama Justice Department actually prosecuted some financial crimes. The three defendants worked for GE Capital (the finance arm of General Electric) and were involved in a bid-rigging conspiracy wherein the prices paid by banks to bond issuers were reduced (to the detriment of the local governments who issued those bonds). The broker at the center of this case was a firm known as CDR. CDR would be hired by a state or local government which was planning a bond issue. Banks would then submit bids which are interest rates paid to the issuer for holding the money until payments became due to the various contractors involved in the project which was the subject of the particular bond. The brokers would tip off a favored bank about the amounts of competing bids in return for a kickback based on the savings made by avoiding an unnecessarily high bid. In the Carollo case, the GE Capital employees were supposed to be competing with other banks who would submit bids to CDR. CDR would then inform the bidders on how to coordinate their bids so that the bid prices could be kept low and the various banks could agree among themselves as to which entity would receive a particular bond issue. Four of the banks which “competed” against GE Capital in the bidding were UBS, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. Those four banks paid a total of $673 million in restitution after agreeing to cooperate in the government’s case. The brokers would also pay-off politicians who selected their firm to handle a bond issue. Matt Taibbi gave one example of how former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson received $100,000 in campaign contributions from CDR. In return, CDR received $1.5 million in public money for services which were actually performed by another broker – at an additional cost. Needless to say, the mainstream news media had no interest in covering this case. Matt Taibbi quoted a remark made to the jury at the outset of the case by the trial judge, Harold Baer: “It is unlikely, I think, that this will generate a lot of media publicity”. Although the judge’s remark was intended to imply that the subject matter of the case was too technical and lacking in the “sex appeal” of the usual evening news subject, it also underscored the aversion of mainstream news outlets to expose the wrongdoing of their best sponsors: the big banks. Beyond that, this case exploded a myth – often used by the Justice Department as an excuse for not prosecuting financial crimes. As Taibbi explained at the close of the piece: There are some who think that the government is limited in how many corruption cases it can bring against Wall Street, because juries can’t understand the complexity of the financial schemes involved. But in USA v. Carollo, that turned out not to be true. “This verdict is proof of that,” says Hausfeld, the antitrust attorney. “Juries can and do understand this material.” One important lesson to be learned from the Carollo case is a simple fact that the mainstream news media would prefer to ignore: This is but one tiny example of the manner in which business is conducted by the big banks. As Matt Taibbi explained: The men and women who run these corrupt banks and brokerages genuinely believe that their relentless lying and cheating, and even their anti-competitive cartel­style scheming, are all legitimate market processes that lead to legitimate price discovery. In this lunatic worldview, the bid­rigging scheme was a system that created fair returns for everyone. That, ultimately, is what this case was about. Capitalism is a system for determining objective value. What these Wall Street criminals have created is an opposite system of value by fiat. Prices are not objectively determined by collisions of price information from all over the market, but instead are collectively negotiated in secret, then dictated from above Last year, the two leading recipients of public bond business, clocking in with more than $35 billion in bond issues apiece, were Chase and Bank of America – who combined had just paid more than $365 million in fines for their role in the mass bid rigging. Get busted for welfare fraud even once in America, and good luck getting so much as a food stamp ever again. Get caught rigging interest rates in 50 states, and the government goes right on handing you billions of dollars in public contracts. By now we are all familiar with the “revolving door” principle, wherein prosecutors eventually find themselves working for the law firms which represent the same financial institutions which those prosecutors should have dragged into court. At the Securities and Exchange Commission, the same system is in place. Worst of all is the fact that our politicians – who are responsible for enacting laws to protect the public from such criminal enterprises as what was exposed in the Carollo case – are in the business of lining their pockets with “campaign contributions” from those entities. You may have seen Jon Stewart’s coverage of Jamie Dimon’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. How dumb do the voters have to be to reelect those fawning sycophants? Yet it happens . . . over and over again. From the Great Depression to the Savings and Loan scandal to the financial crisis and now this bid-rigging scheme. The culprits never do the “perp walk”. Worse yet, they continue on with “business as usual” partly because the voting public is too brain-dead to care and partly because the mainstream news media avoid these stories. Our political system is incapable of confronting this level of corruption because the politicians from both parties are bought and paid for by the banking cabal. As Paul Farrell of MarketWatch explained: Seriously, folks, the elections are relevant. Totally. Oh, both sides pretend it matters. But it no longer matters who’s president. Or who’s in Congress. Money runs America. And when it comes to the public interest, money is not just greedy, but myopic, narcissistic and deaf. Money from Wall Street bankers, Corporate CEOs, the Super Rich and their army of 261,000 highly paid mercenary lobbyists. They hedge, place bets on both sides. Democracy is dead. Why would anyone expect America to solve any of its most pressing problems when the officials responsible for addressing those issues have been compromised by the villains who caused those situations? &amp;lt;div class=”statcounter”&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a title=”wordpress stats ” href=”http://statcounter.com/wordpress.com/” target=”_blank”&amp;gt;&amp;lt;img class=”statcounter” src=”http://c.statcounter.com/5190474/0/d41ac055/1/” alt=”wordpress stats ” &amp;gt;&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/div&amp;gt; Bank of America, banking cabal, banks, banksters, bid-rigging conspiracy, bids, big banks, Bill Richardson, bond, bond issue, bond issuers, brokers, campaign contributions, capitalism, CDR, centrist blog, corruption cases, Daily Show, democracy, financial crimes, financial crisis, financial institutions, GE Capital, General Electric, Governor, Great Depression, Jamie Dimon, John T Burke Jr, Jon Stewart, JPMorgan Chase, Judge Harold Baer, juries, jurors, kickbacks, law firms, lobbyists, local governments, mainstream news media, MarketWatch, Matt Taibbi, media publicity, New Mexico, Obama Administration, Obama Justice Department, Paul Farrell, politicians, prosecutors, public interest, revolving door, Rolling Stone, Savings and Loan scandal, Securities and Exchange Commission, Senate Banking Committee, UBS, United States of America v Carollo, USA v Carollo, value by fiat, voters, Wall Street, Wall Street bankers, welfare fraud, Wells Fargo Obama And The TARP June 2nd, 2011 Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on Obama And The TARP I always enjoy it when a commentator appearing on a talk show reminds us that President Obama has become a “tool” for the Wall Street bankers. This theme is usually rebutted with the claim that the TARP bailout happened before Obama took office and that he can’t be blamed for rewarding the miscreants who destroyed our economy. Nevertheless, this claim is not entirely true. President Bush withheld distribution of one-half of the $700 billion in TARP bailout funds, deferring to his successor’s assessment of the extent to which the government should intervene in the banking crisis. As it turned out, during the final weeks of the Bush Presidency, Hank Paulson’s Treasury Department declared that there was no longer an “urgent need” for the TARP bailouts to continue. Despite that development, Obama made it clear that anyone on Capitol Hill intending to get between the banksters and that $350 billion was going to have a fight on their hands. Let’s jump into the time machine and take a look at my posting from January 19, 2009 – the day before Obama assumed office: On January 18, Salon.com featured an article by David Sirota entitled: “Obama Sells Out to Wall Street”. Mr. Sirota expressed his concern over Obama’s accelerated push to have immediate authority to dispense the remaining $350 billion available under the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) bailout: Somehow, immediately releasing more bailout funds is being portrayed as a self-evident necessity, even though the New York Times reported this week that “the Treasury says there is no urgent need” for additional money. Somehow, forcing average $40,000-aires to keep giving their tax dollars to Manhattan millionaires is depicted as the only “serious” course of action. Somehow, few ask whether that money could better help the economy by being spent on healthcare or public infrastructure. Somehow, the burden of proof is on bailout opponents who make these points, not on those who want to cut another blank check. Discomfort about another hasty dispersal of the remaining TARP funds was shared by a few prominent Democratic Senators who, on Thursday, voted against authorizing the immediate release of the remaining $350 billion. They included Senators Russ Feingold (Wisconsin), Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), Evan Bayh (Indiana) and Maria Cantwell (Washington). The vote actually concerned a “resolution of disapproval” to block distribution of the TARP money, so that those voting in favor of the resolution were actually voting against releasing the funds. Earlier last week, Obama had threatened to veto this resolution if it passed. The resolution was defeated with 52 votes (contrasted with 42 votes in favor of it). At this juncture, Obama is engaged in a game of “trust me”, assuring those in doubt that the next $350 billion will not be squandered in the same undocumented manner as the first $350 billion. As Jeremy Pelofsky reported for Reuters on January 15: To win approval, Obama and his team made extensive promises to Democrats and Republicans that the funds would be used to better address the deepening mortgage foreclosure crisis and that tighter accounting standards would be enforced. “My pledge is to change the way this plan is implemented and keep faith with the American taxpayer by placing strict conditions on CEO pay and providing more loans to small businesses,” Obama said in a statement, adding there would be more transparency and “more sensible regulations.” Of course, we all know how that worked out . . . another Obama promise bit the dust. The new President’s efforts to enrich the Wall Street banks at taxpayer expense didn’t end with TARP. By mid-April of 2009, the administration’s “special treatment” of those “too big to fail” banks was getting plenty of criticism. As I wrote on April 16 of that year: Criticism continues to abound concerning the plan by Turbo Tim and Larry Summers for getting the infamous “toxic assets” off the balance sheets of our nation’s banks. It’s known as the Public-Private Investment Program (a/k/a: PPIP or “pee-pip”). One of the harshest critics of the PPIP is William Black, an Economics professor at the University of Missouri. Professor Black gained recognition during the 1980s while he was deputy director of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC). I particularly enjoyed Black’s characterization of the PPIP’s use of government (i.e. taxpayer) money to back private purchases of the toxic assets: It is worse than a lie. Geithner has appropriated the language of his critics and of the forthright to support dishonesty. That is what’s so appalling — numbering himself among those who convey tough medicine when he is really pandering to the interests of a select group of banks who are on a first-name basis with Washington politicians. The current law mandates prompt corrective action, which means speedy resolution of insolvencies. He is flouting the law, in naked violation, in order to pursue the kind of favoritism that the law was designed to prevent. He has introduced the concept of capital insurance, essentially turning the U.S. taxpayer into the sucker who is going to pay for everything. He chose this path because he knew Congress would never authorize a bailout based on crony capitalism. Although President Obama’s hunt for Osama bin Laden was a success, his decision to “punt” on the economic stimulus program – by holding it at $862 billion and relying on the Federal Reserve to “play defense” with quantitative easing programs – became Obama’s own “Tora Bora moment”, at which point he allowed economic recovery to continue on its elusive path away from us. Economist Steve Keen recently posted this video, explaining how Obama’s failure to promote an effective stimulus program has guaranteed us something worse than a “double-dip” recession: a quadruple-dip recession. Many commentators are currently discussing efforts by Republicans to make sure that the economy is in dismal shape for the 2012 elections so that voters will blame Obama and elect the GOP alternative. If Professor Keen is correct about where our economy is headed, I can only hope there is a decent Independent candidate in the race. Otherwise, our own “lost decade” could last much longer than ten years. 2012 elections, 350 billion dollars, bank bailout, bank stress tests, banking crisis, banksters, Barack Obama, Barrons, Black And Reich, Bush Presidency, Capitol Hill, comprehensive bank bailout plan, Congress, conservative, crony capitalism, David Sirota, Democrat, Democratic Party, Democratic Senators, Democrats, derivatives crisis, double-dip recession, economic crisis, economic recovery, economic stimulus program, economics, Economics professors, economists, economy, Evan Bayh, FDIC, Federal Reserve, Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, financial crisis, financial meltdown, Financial Stability Plan, FSLIC, Hank Paulson, insolvent banks, investment banks, Iran, Iraq, Jeanne Shaheen, Jeremy Pelofsky, John T Burke Jr, Larry Summers, liberal, lost decade, Maria Cantwell, National Economic Council, nationalization of banks, New York Times, Obama, Obama Administration, Obama And The TARP, Obama Presidency, Obama Sells Out to Wall Street, Obamas Tora Bora moment, Osama bin Laden, pee-pip, Politics, PPIP, President Bush, President of the United States, Public-Private Investment Program, quadruple-dip recession, quantitative easing, Republican, Republican Party, resolution of disapproval, Reuters, Russ Feingold, Salon website, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senate, socialized loss and privatized gain, Steve Keen, stress testing of banks, subprime debt, TARP, TARP bailout, taxpayer subsidies to investment banks, temporary receivership, The White House, Tim Geithner, Tora Bora moment, toxic assets, Treasury Department, Troubled Asset Relief Program, troubled assets, Turbo Tim, Turbo Tim Geithner, United States Treasury, University of Missouri, urgent need, Wall Street, Wall Street bankers, wealth transfer, William Black, zombie banks An Army Of Lobbyists For The Middle Class March 3rd, 2011 Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on An Army Of Lobbyists For The Middle Class Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke appeared before the Senate Banking Committee this week to testify about the Fed’s monetary policy. Scot Kersgaard of The American Independent focused our attention on a five-minute exchange between Colorado Senator Michael Bennett and The Ben Bernank, with an embedded video clip. Senator Bennett asked Bernanke to share his opinions concerning the recommendations made by President Obama’s bipartisan deficit commission. Bernanke initially attempted to dodge the question with the disclaimer that the Fed’s authority extends to only monetary policy rather than fiscal policy – such as the work conducted by the deficit commission. If Congressman Ron Paul had been watching the hearing take place, I’m sure he had a good, hard laugh at that statement. Nevertheless, Bernanke couldn’t restrain himself from concurring with the effort to place the cost of Wall Street’s larceny on the backs of middle-class taxpayers. The chant for “entitlement reform” continues to reverberate throughout the mainstream media as it has for the past year. Last May, economist Dean Baker exposed this latest effort toward upward wealth redistribution: Emboldened by the fact that none of them have gone to jail for their role in the financial crisis, the Wall Street gang is now gunning for Social Security and Medicare, the country’s most important safety net programs. Led by investment banker Pete Peterson, this crew is spending more than a billion dollars to convince the public that slashing these programs is the only way to protect our children and grandchildren from poverty. A key propaganda tactic used by the “entitlement reform” crusaders is to characterize Social Security as an “entitlement” even though it is not (as I discussed here). Phil Davis, avowed capitalist and self-described “serial entrepreneur”, wrote a great essay, which refuted the claim that Social Security is “broken” while explaining why it is not an “entitlement”. Unfortunately, there are very few politicians who are willing to step forward to provide the simple explanation that Social Security is not an entitlement. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) recently made a statement to that effect before a senior citizens’ group in East Haven, Connecticut – without really providing an explanation why it is not an entitlement. Susan Feiner wrote a great commentary on the subject last fall for womensenews.org. Here is some of what she said: Moreover, Social Security is not an entitlement program as it’s paid for entirely by payroll taxes. It is an insurance program, not an entitlement. Not one penny of anyone’s Social Security comes out of the federal government’s general fund. Social Security is, by law, wholly self-financing. It has no legal authority to borrow, so it never has. If this incredibly successful and direly needed program hasn’t ever borrowed a dime, why is the president and his hand-picked commissioners putting Social Security cuts (and/or increases in the retirement age) in the same sentence as deficit reduction? The attempt to mischaracterize Social Security as an “entitlement” is not a “Right vs. Left” dispute — It’s a class warfare issue. There have been commentaries from across the political spectrum emphasizing the same fact: Social Security is not an “entitlement”. The assertion has appeared on the conservative patriotsteaparty.net website, the DailyKos on the Left and in a piece by independent commentator, Marti Oakley. The battle for “entitlement reform” is just one front in the larger war being waged by Wall Street against the middle class. Kevin Drum discussed this conflict in a recent posting at his Plutocracy Now blog for Mother Jones: It’s about the loss of a countervailing power robust enough to stand up to the influence of business interests and the rich on equal terms. With that gone, the response to every new crisis and every new change in the economic landscape has inevitably pointed in the same direction. And after three decades, the cumulative effect of all those individual responses is an economy focused almost exclusively on the demands of business and finance. In theory, that’s supposed to produce rapid economic growth that serves us all, and 30 years of free-market evangelism have convinced nearly everyone — even middle-class voters who keep getting the short end of the economic stick — that the policy preferences of the business community are good for everyone. But in practice, the benefits have gone almost entirely to the very wealthy. One of my favorite commentators, Paul Farrell of MarketWatch made this observation on March 1: Wall Street’s corrupt banks have lost their moral compass … their insatiable greed has become a deadly virus destroying its host nation … their campaign billions buy senate votes, stop regulators’ actions, manipulate presidential decisions. Wall Street money controls voters, runs America, both parties. Yes, Wall Street is bankrupting America. Wake up America, listen: “Our country is bankrupt. It’s not bankrupt in 30 years or five years,” warns economist Larry Kotlikoff, “it’s bankrupt today.” Economist Peter Morici: “Capitalism is broken, America’s government is two bankrupt political parties bankrupting the country.” David Stockman, Reagan’s budget director: “If there were such a thing as Chapter 11 for politicians” the “tax cuts would amount to a bankruptcy filing.” BusinessWeek recently asked analyst Mary Meeker to run the numbers. How bad is it? America really is bankrupt, with a “net worth of a negative $44 trillion.” Bankrupt. And it will get worse. Unfortunately, nothing can stop America’s self-destructive Wall Street bankers. They simply do not care that their “doomsday capitalism” is destroying themselves from within, and is bankrupting America too. On February 21, I quoted a statement made by bond guru Bill Gross of PIMCO, which included this thought: America requires more than a makeover or a facelift. It needs a heart transplant absent the contagious antibodies of money and finance filtering through the system. It needs a Congress that cannot be bought and sold by lobbyists on K Street, whose pockets in turn are stuffed with corporate and special interest group payola. That essay by Bill Gross became the subject of an article by Terrence Keeley of Bloomberg News. Mr. Keeley’s reaction to the suggestions made by Bill Gross was this: To redeem Wall Street’s soul, radical solutions are clearly needed, but advocating the eradication of profit-based markets that have served humanity well on balance without a viable replacement is fanciful. Gross deserves an “A” for intent — but something more practical than a “heart transplant” is required to restore trust and efficacy to our banking system. But an economy based on something other than profit risks misery and injustice of another sort. The antibodies now needed aren’t those that negate profitability. Rather, they are the ones that bind financial engineering to value creation and advancement of society. Perhaps the most constructive solution to the problem is my suggestion from February 10: Recruit and employ an army of lobbyists to represent and advance the interests of the middle class on Capitol Hill. Some type of non-partisan, “citizens’ lobby” could be created as an online community. Once its lobbying goals are developed and articulated, an online funding drive would begin. The basic mission would be to defend middle-class taxpayers from the tyranny of the plutocracy that is destroying not just the middle class – but the entire nation. Fight lobbyists with lobbyists! advancement of society, An Army Of Lobbyists For The Middle Class, army of lobbyists, banking system, bankrupt, bankrupting America, Ben Bernanke, Bernanke, Bill Gross, bipartisan deficit commission, Bloomberg news, budget director, business interests, BusinessWeek, capitalism, Capitalism is broken, Capitol Hill, Chapter 11, citizens’ lobby, class warfare, Commentary, Connecticut, corrupt banks, crisis, DailyKos, David Stockman, Dean Baker, Deficit Commission, deficit reduction, Doomsday Capitalism, East Haven, economic growth, entitlement, entitlement reform, Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Chairman, Federal Reserve monetary policy, Fight lobbyists with lobbyists, finance, financial crisis, fiscal policy, free-market evangelism, government general fund, greed, Independent, insurance program, investment banks, K Street, Kevin Drum, Larry Kotlikoff, lobbying goals, lobbyists, mainstream media, MarketWatch, Marti Oakley, Mary Meeker, Medicare, middle-class taxpayers, middle-class voters, monetary policy, moral compass, Mother Jones, non-partisan, online community, online funding, patriotsteaparty net, Paul Farrell, payroll taxes, Pete Peterson, Peter Morici, Phil Davis, Pimco, Plutocracy Now, politicians, President Obama, presidential decisions, profit, profitability, propaganda tactics, regulation, retirement age, Right vs Left, Ron Paul, Ronald Reagan, safety net programs, Scot Kersgaard, self-financing, Senate Banking Committee, senate votes, Senator Michael Bennett, Senator Richard Blumenthal, senior citizens, Social Security, Social Security cuts, Social Security is not an entitlement, special interest groups, Susan Feiner, Terrence Keeley, The American Independent, The Ben Bernank, the Left, the rich, tyranny of the plutocracy, Wall Street, Wall Street bankers, Wall Street larceny, womensenews org Revenge Of The Blondes December 13th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on Revenge Of The Blondes My vintage iPhone sputtered, stammered and finally stalled out as I tried to access an article about derivatives trading after clicking on the link. The process got as far as the appearance of the URL, which indicated that the source was The New York Times. I assumed that the piece had been written by Gretchen Morgenson and that I could read it once I sat down at my regular computer. Within moments, I was at The Big Picture website, where I found another link to the same article. This time it worked and I found that the piece had been written by Louise Story. “Wrong blonde”, I thought to myself. It was at that point when I realized how much the world had changed from the days when “dumb blonde” jokes had been so popular. In fact, a vast amount of the skullduggery that caused and resulted from the financial crisis has been exposed and explained by women with blonde hair. After a handful of unscrupulous Wall Street bankers brought the world’s financial system to the brink of collapse, an even smaller number of blonde, female sleuths set about unwinding this complex web of deceit for “the Average Joe” to understand. Here are a few of them: All right . . . It’s an old picture from her days at Goldman Sachs. Cue-up Duran Duran. (It’s almost as old as the photo of Ben Bernanke in my fake Chandon ad, based on their “Life needs bubbles” theme.) On most days, the first blog I access is Naked Capitalism. Its publisher and most frequent contributor is Yves Smith (a/k/a Susan Webber). At the Seeking Alpha website, a review of her recent book, ECONned: How Unenlightened Self Interest Undermined Democracy and Corrupted Capitalism, began this way: ECONNED is the most deeply researched and empirically validated account of the financial meltdown of 2008-2009 and how its unaddressed causes predict similar crises to come. As a long-time Wall Street veteran, Yves Smith, through her influential blog “Naked Capitalism” lucidly explains to her over 2500,000 unique visitors each month exactly what games market players use and how their “innovations” evolved over the years to take the rest of us to the cleaners. Smith is that unusual combination of scholar, expert, participant and teacher, who writes with a clarifying sense of moral outrage and disgust at the decline of ethics on Wall Street and financial markets. Smith’s daily list of Links at Naked Capitalism, covers a broad range of newsworthy subjects both within and beyond the financial realm. I usually find myself reading all of the articles linked on that page. Gretchen Morgenson Gretchen Morgenson is my favorite reporter for The New York Times. She has proven herself to be Treasury Secretary Turbo Tim Geithner’s worst nightmare. Ms. Morgenson has caused Geithner so much agony, I would not be surprised to hear that he named his recent kidney stone after her. With Jo Becker, Ms. Morgenson wrote the most revealing essay on Geithner back in April of 2009. Once you’ve read it, you will have a better understanding of why Geithner gave away so many billions to the banksters as president of the New York Fed by way of Maiden Lane III. Morgenson subsequently wrote her own article on Maiden Lane III here. Ms. Morgenson has many detractors. Most prominent among them was the late Tanta (a/k/a Doris Dungey) of the Calculated Risk blog, who wrote the recurring “Morgenson Watch” for that site. Yves Smith of Naked Capitalism (see above) accurately summed up the bulk of the criticism directed against Gretchen Morgenson: Gretchen Morgenson is often a target of heated criticism on the blogosphere, which I have argued more than once is overdone. While her articles on executive compensation and securities litigation are consistently well reported, she has an appetite for the wilder side of finance, and often looks a bit out of her depth. Typically, she simply runs afoul of finance pedants, who jump on misapplication of industry jargon or minor errors when those (admittedly disconcerting) errors fail to derail the thrust of the argument. A noted example of this was Morgenson’s article of March 6 2010, in which she explained that Greece was hiding its financial obligations with “credit default swaps” rather than currency swaps. The bloggers who vigilantly watch for her to make such a mistake wouldn’t let go of that one for quite a while. Nevertheless, I like her work. Nobody is perfect. Louise Story As I mentioned at the outset of this piece, Louise Story wrote the recent article for The New York Times, concerning anticompetitive practices in the credit derivatives clearing, trading and information services industries. Discussing that subject in a manner that can make it understandable to the “average reader” (someone with a high school education) is no easy task. Beyond that, Ms. Story was able to explain the frustrations of regulators, who had hoped that some degree of transparency could be introduced to the derivatives market as a result of the recently enacted, “Dodd-Frank” financial reform bill. It’s an important article, which has drawn a good deal of well-deserved attention. Last year, Ms. Story co-authored a New York Times article with Gretchen Morgenson, concerning collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) entitled, “Banks Bundled Bad Debt, Bet Against It and Won”. As I pointed out at the time: Pay close attention to the explanation of how Tim Geithner retained a “special counselor” whose previous responsibilities included oversight of the parent company of an investment firm named Tricadia, Inc. Tricadia has the dubious honor of having helped cause the financial crisis by creating CDOs and then betting against them. These three women, as well as a number of their non-blonde counterparts (including: Nomi Prins, Janet Tavakoli and Naomi Klein) have exposed a vast amount of the odious activities that caused the financial crisis. They have helped inform and educate the public on what the “good old boys” network of bankers, regulators and lobbyists have been doing to this country. The paradigm shift that took us beyond the sexist stereotype of the “dumb blonde” has brought our society to the point where women – often blonde ones – have intervened to alert the rest of us to the hazards caused by what Paul Farrell of MarketWatch described as “Wall Street’s macho ego trip”. If you should come across someone who still tells “dumb blonde” jokes – ask that person if he (or she) has read ECONned. 2008 financial crisis, anticompetitive practices, baknsters, bankers, Banks Bundled Bad Debt Bet Against It and Won, Ben Bernanke, betting against CDOs, Calculated Risk, CDOs, clearinghouses, collateralized debt obligations, credit default swaps, currency swaps, derivatives clearing, derivatives trading, Dodd-Frank Act, Doris Dungey, dumb blonde jokes, Duran Duran, ECONned, ECONned How Unenlightened Self Interest Undermined Democracy and Corrupted Capitalism, fake Chandon ad, Federal Reserve of New York, finance, finance pedants, financial bloggers, financial markets, financial reform bill, financial system, Goldman Sachs, Greece, Gretchen Morgenson, investment firm, iPhone, Janet Tavakoli, Jo Becker, kidney stone, Life needs bubbles, lobbyists, Louise Story, Maiden Lane III, market transparency, MarketWatch, Morgenson critics, Morgenson detractors, Morgenson Watch, Naked Capitalism, Naomi Klein, New York Fed, New York Times, Nomi Prins, old boys network, paradigm shift, Paul Farrell, regulators, Revenge Of The Blondes, Seeking Alpha, sexist stereotype, special counselor, Susan Webber, Tanta, The Big Picture, Tim Geithner, Treasury Secretary, Tricadia, Turbo Tim Geithner, unscrupulous Wall Street bankers, Wall Street, Wall Street bankers, Wall Streets macho ego trip, Yves Smith Screw The People And Save The Banks Comments Off on Screw The People And Save The Banks The economic crisis in Ireland (and the rest of Europe) has resulted in a morass of published commentaries, some of which make sense and most of which don’t. Sometimes it appears as though the writer hasn’t really formed an opinion on the issue, even though the tone of the article seems to be expressing one. The problem experienced in Ireland is the same as it is everywhere else: During tough economic times, governments always choose to bail out the banks regardless of the expense and suffering to be endured by the citizens. The Pragmatic Capitalist recently upbraided the writer of one of the more poorly-thought-out essays dealing with the Irish predicament: Sheila Bair, the head of the FDIC, has remained one of the more levelheaded and helpful leaders during the financial crisis. But in an op-ed in the Washington Post this morning she took a decisive turn for the worse when she waded into waters that were certain to drown her. Bair is now echoing the cries that have been heard across Ireland for the last 2 years – cries of fiscal austerity. Of course, the USA is nothing like Ireland and has an entirely different monetary system, but Bair ignores all of this (in fact proves she is entirely ignorant of this). What’s sad is that Bair clearly understands that this crisis is still largely hurting Main Street America . . . To the extent that the Irish situation bears any resemblance to what we are experiencing (or may soon experience) in the United States, economist John Hussman has written the best essay on this issue. Hussman began with this point, made by another economist: “If you have bad banks then you very urgently want to clean up your banks because bad banks go only one way: they get worse. In the end every bank is a fiscal problem. When you have bad banks, it is in a political environment where it is totally understood that the government is going to bail them out in the end. And that’s why they are so bad, and that’s why they get worse. So cleaning up the banks is an essential counterpart of any attempt to have a well functioning economy. It is a counterpart of any attempt to have a dull, uninteresting macroeconomy. And there is no excuse to do it slowly because it is very expensive to postpone the cleanup. There is no technical issue in doing the cleanup. It’s mostly to decide to start to grow up and stop the mess.” MIT Economist Rudiger Dornbusch, November 1998 The TARP bailout was not the only time when our government chose a temporary fix (as in cure or heroin injection) at great taxpayer expense. I’ve complained many times about President Obama’s decision to scoff at using the so-called “Swedish solution” of putting the zombie banks through temporary receivership. John Hussman discussed the consequences: If our policy makers had made proper decisions over the past two years to clean up banks, restructure debt, and allow irresponsible lenders to take losses on bad loans, there is no doubt in my mind that we would be quickly on the course to a sustained recovery, regardless of the extent of the downturn we have experienced. Unfortunately, we have built our house on a ledge of ice. As I’ve frequently noted, even if a bank “fails,” it doesn’t mean that depositors lose money. It means that the stockholders and bondholders do. So if it turns out, after all is said and done, that the bank is insolvent, the government should get its money back and the remaining entity should be taken into receivership, cut away from the stockholder liabilities, restructured as to bondholder liabilities, recapitalized, and reissued. We did this with GM, and we can do it with banks. I suspect that these issues will again become relevant within the next few years. The present situation Europe will clearly be in the spotlight early this week, as a run on Irish banks coupled with large fiscal deficits has created a solvency crisis for the Irish government itself and has been (temporarily) concluded with a bailout agreement. Ireland’s difficulties are the result of a post-Lehman guarantee that the Irish government gave to its banking system in 2008. The resulting strains will now result in a bailout, in return for Ireland’s agreement to slash welfare payments and other forms of spending to recipients that are evidently less valuable to society than bankers. Over the short run, Ireland will promise “austerity” measures like Greece did – large cuts in government spending aimed at reducing the deficit. Unfortunately, imposing austerity on a weak economy typically results in further economic weakness and a shortfall on the revenue side, meaning that Ireland will most probably face additional problems shortly anyway. The “austerity” approach is more frequently being used as a dividing line to distinguish “liberal” economists from “conservative” economists. The irony here is that many so-called liberal politicians are as deeply in the pocket of the banking lobby as their conservative counterparts. Economist Dean Baker recently wrote an article for The Guardian, urging Ireland to follow the example of Argentina and simply default on its debt: The failure of the ECB or IMF to take steps to rein in the bubble before the crisis has not made these international financial institutions shy about using a heavy hand in imposing conditions now. The plan is to impose stiff austerity, requiring much of Ireland’s workforce to suffer unemployment for years to come as a result of the failure of their bankers and the ECB. While it is often claimed that these institutions are not political, only the braindead could still believe this. The decision to make Ireland’s workers, along with workers in Spain, Portugal, Latvia and elsewhere, pay for the recklessness of their country’s bankers is entirely a political one. There is no economic imperative that says that workers must pay; this is a political decision being imposed by the ECB and IMF. Bloomberg News columnist, Matthew Lynn wrote a great article for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, setting out five reasons why Ireland should refuse a bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to opt for default as the logical approach. Pay close attention to how your favorite politicians weigh-in on the Irish situation. It should give you a fairly good tip as to what actions those pols can be expected to take when the Wall Street bankers dash back to Capitol Hill for TARP 2 The Sequel. Argentina, austerity, bad loans, bank bailouts, bank depositors, bankers, banking lobby, Bloomberg news, bondholders, Capitol Hill, conservative economists, conservatives, Dean Baker, debt default, debt restructure, ECB, economic weakness, economists, European economy, FDIC, financial crisis, Fiscal austerity, fiscal deficits, GM, government, Greece, IMF, insolvent banks, international financial institutions, Ireland, Irish banks, Irish economic crisis, irresponsible lenders, John Hussman, Latvia, liberal economists, liberal politicians, Main Street America, Matthew Lynn, MIT, monetary system, November 1998, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, political institutions, politicians, Portugal, President Obama, public suffering, Rudiger Dornbusch, Screw The People And Save The Banks, Sheila Bair, solvency crisis, Spain, stockholders, sustained recovery, Swedish solution, TARP, TARP 2 The Sequel, taxpayers, temporary fix, temporary receivership, The Guardian, The Pragmatic Capitalist, unemployment, USA, Wall Street bankers, Washington Post, welfare payments, workers, zombie banks Absence Of Anger October 21st, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on Absence Of Anger I’ve been reading quite a number of articles written in anticipation of a revolutionary uprising by outraged citizens in response to the fallout from Wall Street’s giant Ponzi scheme. The writers of these items are talking about a more significant uprising than anything we have seen from the Tea Party demonstrators. Some are expecting riots in the streets. Since widespread civil unrest has recently taken place in Europe, much attention has been focused on the issue of whether anything like that could happen in the United States. From my own perspective, I just don’t see it happening. Nevertheless, I can’t understand what keeps the American public from getting really mad at this point. It could be due to an epidemic of Attention Deficit Disorder or excessive preoccupation with other distractions. Perhaps some sort of far-flung conspiratorial effort is under way, involving mass hypnosis via television or drugged drinking water. On the other hand, I do agree with those commentators on the point that the predicted insurgent reactions are entirely foreseeable. Are they likely? Consider what these pundits have said and decide for yourself . . . One of my favorite commentators, Paul Farrell of MarketWatch, discussed an inevitable backlash against the super-rich, who are waging class warfare by victimizing those of us down the food chain. Nevertheless, he doesn’t really make it clear how this revolution will manifest itself. Will there be actual physical violence . . . or just a “bloodbath” in the stock market? Here is how he described it: Yes, it’s called the Doomsday Capitalism revolution. And I’m betting you’ll be able to track it on Twitter. This new preemptive war is already in progress, and America’s billionaires are the aggressors: Buffett’s billionaire buddies on the Forbes lists, his Wall Street banker buddies, his exporter buddies in China, all of Buffett’s buddies in this “rich class” are already engaged in a hostile takeover war against the American middle class, against the working class and the poor, against all Americans not on the Forbes lists of billionaires. Here’s how I imagine this revolution unfolding as a series of rapid-fire tweets, as citizen-warriors pass along this collection of earlier warnings to reenergize and drive the rest of America to rebel against Buffett’s “rich class,” tweets that will trigger an anti-capitalist revolution. Warning to all investors: Prepare now, play defense. Expect an economic upheaval rivaling the 1929 crash, creating a climate for true reform that will make the 1930s look like a real tea party. At The Curious Capitalist blog, Stephen Gandel pondered what would result from all the fear and loathing about whether the Federal Reserve would begin another round of quantitative easing. His essay was entitled, “Will the Federal Reserve Cause a Civil War?” Mr. Gandel focused on a recent posting at the Zero Hedge website, which quoted this observation by Karl Denninger: In a very real sense, Bernanke is throwing Granny and Grandpa down the stairs – on purpose. He is literally threatening those at the lower end of the economic strata, along with all who are retired, with starvation and death, and in a just nation where the rule of law controlled instead of being abused by the kleptocrats he would be facing charges of Seditious Conspiracy, as his policies will inevitably lead to the destruction of our republic. Stephen Gandel analyzed the potential for civil war as a consequence of more quantitative easing with this logic: Lower rates do tend to favor borrowers over savers. And the largest borrowers in the country are banks, speculators and large corporations. The largest spenders in our country though tend to be individuals. Consumer spending makes up 70% of the economy. And the vast majority of consumers are on the low-end of the income scale. So I think it is a valid question to ask whether the Fed’s desire to drive down interest rates at all costs policy is working. Companies are already borrowing at low rates. They are just not spending. . . . That being said, civil war, probably not. “It is a gross exaggeration,” says Allan Meltzer, who is a top Fed historian at Carnegie Mellon. “I cannot recall ever learning about riots or civil war even when the Fed made other mistakes.” Meanwhile, the prognostications of a gentleman named Gerald Celente appear to be gaining a good deal of traction. Here are some of Celente’s thoughts as they appeared in his own Trend Alert newsletter, back in April of 2009: “Nothing short of total repudiation of our entrenched systems can rescue America,” said Celente. “We are under the control of a two-headed, one party political system. Wall Street controls our financial lives; the media manipulates our minds. These systems cannot be changed from within. There is no alternative. Without a revolution, these institutions will bankrupt the country, keep fighting failed wars, start new ones, and hold us in perpetual intellectual subjugation.” “I am calling for an ‘Intellectual Revolution’. I ask American citizens to free their minds from the tyranny of ‘Dumb Think.’ This is a revolution about thinking – not manning the barricades. It’s about brain power – not brute force.” It would seem that some degree of anger would be required to incite an “Intellectual Revolution” — even one without any acts of insurrection. At this point, it just doesn’t appear as though the American taxpayers are really there yet – Tea Party or not. People who “want their country back” aren’t the people who will lead this charge. Watch out for the people who want their jobs, homes and money back. They will be the ones with the requisite anger to seek real change – as opposed to the “change you can believe in”. 1929 crash, 1930s, Absence Of Anger, Allan Meltzer, American taxpayers, anti-capitalist revolution, Ben Bernanke, billionaires, Change You Can Believe In, China, civil unrest in Europe, civil unrest in the United States, class warfare, Doomsday Capitalism, Dumb Think, economic upheaval, Federal Reserve, Forbes, Gerald Celente, insurgent reactions, insurrection, Intellectual Revolution, interest rates, investors, Karl Denninger, MarketWatch, Paul Farrell, quantitative easing, reform, revolution, revolutionary uprising, rich class, riots, Stephen Gandel, stock market, Tea Party, The Curious Capitalist, the super-rich, Trend Alert, Twitter, Wall Street, Wall Street bankers, Wall Street Ponzi scheme, Warren Buffett, Will the Federal Reserve Cause a Civil War, Zero Hedge

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line448

__label__wiki

Upcoming Bad Ass releases - Pusher, 13, Wild Geese, Looper, Who Dares Wins, The Terminator, TWENTY8K, GBH, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Raid Posted by Craig Grobler on Google+ On Monday, September 24, 2012 Upcoming Bad Ass releases that we are interested in, and you might be interested in includes; the English version of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Pusher, the much anticipated American remake of 13, my top Sci-Fi film of 2012 Rian Johnson’s Looper, Brit flicks TWENTY8K and GBH, Gareth Evans’s The Raid and classic bad ass films released for the first time on Blu-ray; Wild Geese, Who Dares Wins, The Terminator, Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Back in 1996 a little know Danish Director Nicolas Winding Refn made his directorial feature debut with Pusher, a dark and dingy kitchen sink tale of Frank, a small time drug dealer and his daily life in the Copenhagen underworld, played out brilliantly by an inexperienced and mostly unknown cast. Pusher spawned 2 sequels set in the same gritty world and the trilogy has gone on, to build a huge cult audience. In 2012 things are looking decidedly different - Nicolas Winding Refn is one of Hollywood’s hottest Directors and Pusher has just got an English update produced by Nicolas Winding Refn. The English Pusher is set in London and stars an almost household name actor Richard Doyle (who earns Bad Ass status with Pusher) and a talented supermodel Agyness Deyn and an electric score by Orbital. You can listen to the Orbital Pusher theme below: Listen: Orbital - Pusher Theme Pusher in London, a drug pusher’s (Richard Coyle) life spins out of control over the course of one week. As edgy and explosive as Nicolas Winding Refn’s 1996 cult classic, this English language remake tells the story of a week in the life of Frank, a big time drug pusher in London. Frank’s life is a fun-filled rollercoaster of a ride that soon spins out of control. Friendships start to vanish, there is no longer room for love within his life, and violence takes over. Danger and chaos are all around and he becomes a man trapped in his own world. Eventually Frank is left with no one to turn to and nowhere to go, becoming a man paralysed with the fear of knowing there is no way of preventing his inevitable fate. Fast-paced, visually striking, witty and with some of acting’s finest talents, Pusher will have you gripped from beginning to end. It may have lost some of the gritty charm of the original but Richard Doyle’s performance will undoubtedly impress you with the seething intensity of a man with a dangerous vocation whose plans are going awry. Video: The Establishing Shot: HD UK PUSHER TRAILER - 12 OCTOBER 2012 A full review will be up soon, in the meantime feast your eyes on the new UK poster for Pusher below to get an idea of what we thought, our review will of course include a thorough breakdown of our 4 star rating we gave Pusher. Image: New UK Pusher Poster Pusher is in cinemas 12 October, 2012 Follow Pusher on Twitter: @pusher_film Follow Pusher on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PusherMovieUK Follow Pusher Director Luis Prieto: @luisprieto Follow Pusher Star Agyness Deyn: @aggydeyn I loved the original Georgian, Black & White version of 13 Tzameti, it is an outstanding mix of Art house and Grindhouse as we are swept into a gritty noir adventure following penniless Sébastien (George Babluani) as he tries to make himself money leading to him being tangled in a desperate game for his life. The American remake, directed by Géla Babluani the Writer/Director of the original seems to follow a similar tale but has managed to pick up an outstanding cast along the way - Sam Riley, Ray Winstone, Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, Michael Shannon, Alexander Skarsgård - I am sure most of these appearances will be cameos but what a cast! My hopes for 13 have been running high for almost 4 years while I have been waiting for the English language version and 13 is finally getting a release next month on the 8 October 2012 Video: The Establishing Shot: 13 TRAILER HD - DVD & BLU-RAY 8 OCTOBER 2012 Jason Statham heads up an all-star action cast - including Sam Riley (Control), Ray Winstone (Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Academy Award® nominee Mickey Rourke - in this full-throttle thriller surrounding the underground ‘sport’ of Russian roulette. Fiercely organized and ferociously secret, it attracts depraved gamblers and desperate men. And tonight, one naïve young player will mistakenly become a numbered participant in a deadly world of power, violence and chance where the ultimate bets are decided by a squeeze of the trigger. The stakes are high, but the payout is more than he can resist. Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire), Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood), David Zayas (Dexter) Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage) and Ben Gazzara (Road House) co-star in writer/director GélaBabluani’s white-knuckle American remake of his 13 TZAMETI, the film that swept Europe, shocked Sundance and now translates as one of the most extreme edge-of-your-seat thrillers of the year. https://www.facebook.com/AnchorBayUK 13 is available on DVD & Blu-ray 8th October 2012 I have watched the DVD version since, but I’ll never forgot the first time I saw this tale of the original Expendables - The Wild Geese in the cinema, an old school military story with an all star cast set in the badlands of Africa. The Wild Geese follows an elite band of mercenaries as they go up against innumerable odds. I think this classic tale is ready for a serious update but keep the electro Roy Budd score. The DVD version I have seen suffers a little in the quality of both the editing and voice dubbing and hopefully this Blu-ray release will fix some of the issues. British film legends Richard Burton (Where Eagles Dare; Cleopatra), Roger Moore (James Bond) and Richard Harris (Gladiator; Unforgiven) head up an all-star cast in the much-revered, all-action adventure film, The Wild Geese, coming to Blu-ray for the first time in October. The Establishing Shot: THE WILD GEESE TRAILER - ON BLU-RAY 8 OCTOBER 2012 The trio of acting heavyweights star as the leaders of the film's eponymous group of heroes, a band of crack mercenaries hired by a British industrialist to penetrate a remote and hostile corner of the African wilderness and rescue a deposed political leader from a heavily guarded prison. While the prisoner is a man with noble visions of racial reform, the industrialist financing the operation cares only about his own business interests. Meanwhile, sinister forces in the corridors of power have done a deal with the corrupt government, leaving the mercenaries stranded, their escape route cut off. Realising the rescue mission is no longer to his advantage the businessman decides to alter the course of events, setting off an explosion of violence. Forced to flee across treacherous terrain, the Wild Geese battle the marauding armies who will stop at nothing to prevent them completing their mission. Image: The Wild Geese Blu-ray Poster A high octane, thrill-ride directed by veteran action and western director Andrew V. McLaglen (The Sea Wolves; Chisum) and edited by John Glen (the director of the Bond movies; For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View To A Kill, The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill), The Wild Geese also stars Hardy Kruger, Stewart Granger, Frank Finlay, Barry Foster and Patrick Allen. Special features include: High Definition Presentation of the main feature; Audio commentary with Roger Moore, producer Euan Lloyd and second unit director John Glen; World Premiere Newsreel Footage; Original Trailer; Bonus Feature Film: CODE NAME: WILD GEESE, starring Lewis Collins, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine and Klaus Kinski, directed by Antonio Margheriti aka Anthony M. Dawson; Reversible sleeve with original poster and newly commissioned artwork cover; Collector’s booklet featuring brand new writing on the both films by Ali Catterall, co-author of your Face Here: British Cult Movies Since the Sixties and writer James Blackford as well as a biography of producer Euan Lloyd, illustrated with original artwork. Wild Geese will be available to buy on Blu-ray from 8th October 2012 If you read The Establishing Shot you know how much I enjoyed Rian Johnson’s third feature Looper – it’s my favourite sci-fi film of 2012. Currently almost everyone is hyping Looper out of proportion (and expectations) and you can read my contribution to this over here! and if you would like to see Looper before everyone else enter our competition over here! to win tickets to a screening this Thursday. The Establishing Shot: LOOPER UK TRAILER 2 - 28 September 2012 Another seriously bad ass British classic from the 80s with great performances from the likes of: Lewis Collins, Judy Davis, Richard Widmark, Edward Woodward. Who Dares Wins was a rite of passage for any lad from period and it may have lost some of its shine but there is no denying that Who Dares Wins is cold, chilling, brutal and full of political intrigue as we follow a crack S.A.S team as they have to take on a group of radical terrorists in the heart of London. Image: Who Dares Wins Blu-ray Poster Paranoia, black ops and espionage combine in Who Dares Wins, an old-school British action thrill ride starring Lewis Collins (The Professionals) and Edward Woodward (The Equalizer). A fanatical group of anti-nuclear radicals, calling themselves ‘The People’s Lobby’, is plotting a bloody outrage on British soil and, having already fatally lost their undercover operative at a violent protest, the secret services call on the aid of the SAS. Who Dares Wins is available to buy on Blu-ray from 8th October 2012 TWENTY8K A Brit flick covering two of my least interesting subject matter subjects; gangs and the east end but the trailer for TWENTY8K does look pretty flash and the talented people behind it and in front of the camera can deliver quality. From BAFTA winning writer Paul Abbott, comes a story of power, greed, corruption and lies on the streets of East London in the run up to the Olympic Games. Starring Parminder Nagra (ER, Bend it like Beckham), Jonas Armstrong (Robin Hood, Hit & Miss), Kierston Wareing (Fish Tank, Luther), Kaya Scodelario (Skins, Now is Good), Michael Socha (This is England), Nichola Burley (Street Dance3D, Donkey Punch), Derek Riddell (Ugly Betty) and Stephen Dillane (44 inch Chest, Game of Thrones). Parminder Nagra (Bend It Like Beckham, ER, Alcatraz) is Deeva Jani, a successful, Paris-based fashion executive who is forced to return home to the UK when she receives the shocking news that her teenage brother Vipon, played by newcomer Sebastian Nanena, has been arrested for a fatal gang shooting in East London. As she and her family are vilified and the dead boy’s violent family threaten retribution against her brother in jail, Deeva turns detective in an attempt to uncover the truth, prove her brother’s innocence and save his life. Video: Twenty8K - Official Showbox Trailer 2012 Teaming up with youth worker and ex-gang member, Clint, played by Jonas Armstrong (Robin Hood), Deeva soon finds herself up against powerful and unexpected adversaries including the corrupt but highly connected DCI Stone, played by Tony Award-winner Stephen Dillane (The Hours, SpyGame, Welcome to Sarajevo). As events unfold a deeper conspiracy is unlocked involving political corruption, media manipulation, prostitution, murder and power struggles way beyond London’s street gangs, all the way to the heart of the government. Directed by: Neil Thompson and David Kew Written by: Paul Abbott and Jimmy Dowdell TWENTY8K - Own it on DVD, Blu-ray and video on demand on 1st October 2012, courtesy of Cine-Britannia. I have a soft spot for the guys behind GBH, they are incredibly hard working and must be supporting 100s of people in the UK film industry with their prolific output. Their latest film GBH is the directorial debut of Actor and Producer Simon Phillips. Even though GBH also touches on another two of my least interesting subjects; football hooliganism and rioting - the premise seems full of promise - as an ex hooligan is forced into make a decision on that will have repercussions for his future. As with previous features GBH has a cast list that reads like a who’s who of upcoming talent and includes acting powerhouse Steven Berkoff so you can expect tension and intrigue. Video: GBH FILM TRAILER GBH is a powerful tale of justice and vengeance starring Damien (Nick Nevern) a London police man with a past he’s trying to forget. Before signing up for the force he ran with a football firm, getting involved in tear-ups up and down the country. Now he’s on the other side of the law and faces a tough decision: side with his old crew or protect London as it burns and rioters run amok? Falling in love with fellow cop Louise (Kellie Shirley), Damien is quickly alerted to a street-level uprising that is about to shake London. Amidst the brutalities presented by the riots, Damien fights for justice at Louise’s expense. Having been raped by a rioter known to him, Damien finds himself levelling with the rioters, fighting a war he cannot win, as much against the rioters as against himself. The film stars a wealth of british talent including Nick Nevern (White Collar Hooligan), Kellie Shirley (Eastenders), Peter Barrett (Jack Falls), Con O'Neill (Telstar), Lorraine Stanley (London to Brighton) and Steven Berkoff (The Krays). It is the directorial debut of prolific actor and producer Simon Phillips (The Jack trilogy, How to stop being a Loser) and is produced by Jonathan Sothcott (Elfie Hopkins) and Paul Tanter (The Rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan). GBH is released theatrically in the UK on September 28th and on DVD, iTunes and VOD on October 1, 2012 Follow GBH on Twitter: @GBHMovie No bad ass release list could possibly hold its head up without mentioning Jaws - the baddest ass of them all. Earlier this month Jaws - arguably Steven Spielberg’s greatest film was released on Blu-ray and for the first time we can experience Peter Benchley's horrific tale of the gigantic great white shark that menaces the small island community of Amity and the men - Police Chief Brody (Roy Scheider), Hooper a marine scientist (Richard Dreyfuss) and Quint a grizzled fisherman (Robert Shaw) that set out to stop it. The Establishing Shot: JAWS REMASTERED HD TEASER TRAILER - ON BLU-RAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2012 I was fortunate to see a big screen projection of the Blu-ray at a Jameson Cult Film Club, and have to say that it is a top quality restoration – with the appropriate attention applied to restoring and converting this great film to the highest standard we have available - in all honesty Jaws in many respects is as close to a perfect film as we’ll possibly get and when watching it I was quickly immersed in the story and wasn't really paying attention to anything else. Jaws is available on Blu-ray from 3 September, 2012 Another great Steven Spielberg film that I was fortunate enough to see on the big screen, well in fact - the biggest screen in the UK.Not only does Raiders of the Lost Ark stand the test of time proving beyond any doubt that - It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage - but apart from a couple of minor wobbles in the opening scenes Raiders of the Lost Ark’s restoration and transfer to high definition is outstanding, it is so crisp that it looks like it could have been filmed last year. Re-watching Raiders reminded me why Indiana Jones may be the greatest action hero we have had on screen and Raiders of the Lost Ark the greatest adventure of them all. It’s another case of when a performer's persona becomes so integral to the character that it will forever define the actor. The Establishing Shot: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK RESTORED IMAX TRAILER - IMAX SEP 21 & BLU-RAY 8 OCT The cinematic classic that introduced the world to Indiana Jones is ready to embark on a new adventure when director Steven Spielberg and executive producer George Lucas’ unforgettable Raiders of the Lost Ark is released for an exclusive one-week engagement in select IMAX cinemas beginning September 21, 2012. The film has undergone a complete restoration for the IMAX exclusive one-week release and subsequent debut on Blu-ray, released October 8. Under the supervision of Spielberg and renowned sound designer Ben Burtt, Raiders of the Lost Ark has been meticulously restored with careful attention to preserving the original look, sound and feel of the iconic film for its highly-anticipated release on Blu-ray as part of INDIANA JONES: The Complete Adventures. Every extraordinary exploit of world-renowned, globetrotting hero Indiana Jones finally comes home in sparkling high definition on October 8, 2012 from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Paramount Home Media Distribution. Image: Raiders Of The Lost Ark IMAX poster In addition to all of the thrilling adventures, the set features seven hours of fascinating bonus material, including a brand new two-part documentary entitled “On Set with Raiders of the Lost Ark – From Jungle to Desert and From Adventure to Legend.” Featuring nearly an hour of rarely seen footage from the set of the film and archival interviews with Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford, this captivating piece transports fans back to where the legend began. Raiders of the Lost Ark is released for an exclusive one-week engagement in select IMAX cinemas beginning September 21, 2012 More info on where Raiders of the Lost Ark is playing in the UK can be found here! Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures will be available for the first time on Blu-ray from 8 October 2012 I absolutely LOVE Gareth Evans’ The Raid it is a non stop all out action martial arts slug fest, which follows an inexperienced S.W.A.T. led by Iko Wais’s Rama who have to make there way up and then back down a tower block in Indonesia’s toughest & most corrupt city. Video: The Establishing Shot: THE RAID UK EXCLUSIVE TRAILER THE RAID: REDEMPTION It’s possibly the best martial arts film I have seen in years and in my top 10 films of 2012. My thoughts on The Raid can be found here! and my interview with Director Gareth Evans can be found here! For a taste of what to expect here is a new clip from The Raid featuring a montage of fight scenes from The Raid Video: The Establishing Shot: THE RAID FIGHT MONTAGE CLIP - DVD & BLU-RAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2012 The Raid hits DVD & Blu-ray on Monday 24th September! I'm not going to lie - I almost forgot about The Terminator but I just got a timely reminder that this bad boy will be released onto Blu-ray for the first time on the 1 October in the UK. What can I say about The Terminator that hasn't been said many time before? Other than The Terminator is the ultimate Bad Ass film. As with the brilliant castings of Han Solo, Conan and Indiana Jones the role of the T-101Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 or T-101 cyborg in The Terminator could not be played by anyone other than Arnold Schwarzenegger and the lines between reality and fiction blur when thinking of the man's persona. I love James Cameron's Terminator so much so that when the chance to meet Cameron came up I took the opportunity to uncover more about The Terminator and you can read James Cameron's thoughts on how The Terminator came into being, the casting of Arnold Schwarzenegger and what lies at the root of The Terminator over here! And if you are lucky enough to live in Manchester you could see the high definition version of The Terminator one more time on the big screen thanks to Jameson Cult Film Club that are hosting a special one night only screening of The Terminator on the 4th October. Head over here for tickets: https://www.facebook.com/jamesoncultfilmclub The Establishing Shot: THE TERMINATOR OFFICIAL BLU-RAY TRAILER - 1 OCTOBER 2012 The Terminator is out to own on Blu-ray from 1st October 2012. The Establishing Shot: UPCOMING BAD ASS RELEASES - PUSHER, 13, WILD GEESE, LOOPER, WHO DARES WINS, THE TERMINATOR, TWENTY8K, GBH, JAWS, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, THE RAID 13 , Bad Ass , GBH , Géla Babluani , Home Release , Home Release News , Jaws , Looper , Pusher , Raiders Of The Lost Ark , The Raid , The Terminator , The Wild Geese , TWENTY8K , Who Dares Wins 13 , Bad Ass , GBH , Géla Babluani , Home Release , Home Release News , Jaws , Looper , Pusher , Raiders Of The Lost Ark , The Raid , The Terminator , The Wild Geese , TWENTY8K , Who Dares Wins |

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line449

__label__cc

Kari Alenius, Author at Valahian Journal of Historical Studies Cold War propaganda getting started. Soviet rhetoric in the UN Security Council during the Iran Crisis of 1946 Keywords: early cold War, enemy image, propaganda, the Soviet Union, the United Nations Summary/Abstract: The need for propaganda becomes more prominent at the time of wars and other crises. During the early Cold War, the United Nations Security Council was an important arena of Great Power politics where the general aims of diplomats was to strengthen the morale of one’s own side, undermine the morale of counterparts, and perhaps above all, have neutral parties support one’s political efforts – or at least prevent them from supporting enemy efforts. The focus here is on Soviet propaganda during the Iran Crisis of 1946, which was the first case the newly constituted Security Council was faced with. When considered on the whole, the Soviet delegates’ speeches were built upon a quite clear-cut narrative plot which followed the composition of the good-versus-evil classic fairy tale. In the creation of this, the choice of methods was rather broad. Page Range: 43-64 Keywords: asylum seekers, Danish People’s Party, immigration, political programs, Populist parties, Progress Party, Scandinavia, Sweden Democrats, True Finns Summary/Abstract: The article focuses on the immigration policy of Scandinavian right-wing populist parties. A comparative analysis is made of the official platforms of the Danish Peoples Party, the Progress Party (Norway), the Sweden Democrats and the True Finns, the research aim being to find out what is common and what is special in the programs, and why this is the case. Examining the topic as a whole, it can be concluded that the immigration policies of Nordic right-wing populist parties differ from each other relatively little. The similarity between Scandinavian societies, also in the immigration situation, has also likely been guiding the political parties examined here towards quite similar immigration policy programs. “An Excellent Friend Afflicted with Internal Difficulties”: The Image of Romania Conveyed by the Finnish Embassy in Bucharest, 1939-1945 Keywords: diplomatic relations, Finland, images, Romania, stereotypes, The Second World War Summary/Abstract: How people perceive their environment has a crucial role in all decisions they make. This is true in the relations between nations and countries, too. It can also be argued that mental images as such form an important part in all human interaction. This paper analyzes the image of Romania that was created and conveyed by the Finnish embassy in Bucharest during the Second World War. The Second World War was a turning point in Finnish-Romanian relations. The Finnish embassy was established in Bucharest in late 1939, and as a consequence of the war Finland and Romania – as co-belligerents – clearly became more important to each other than ever before. Existing common knowledge of Romania was relatively scarce in Finland, so Finnish envoys had a good chance in affecting perceptions of Romania among leading Finnish political circles. This analysis focuses on the main elements of this image, as well as the overall image of Romania that was conveyed to Finland through diplomatic material created by the embassy in Bucharest. The main task in this analysis is to explain the composition of the image – why it was exactly as it was. It can be seen that the image of Romania was created not only on the basis of domestic features and bilateral factors but also on the basis of larger cultural and political views and aims.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line450

__label__wiki

Trivandrum Rising - Our city tomorrow and how we can help it develop. A blog about a great Indian city called Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) and its Development..... Flying High Over Trivandrum - Towering National Pride After getting delayed for over a year due to issues with clearance from the Airports Authority of India, one of India's tallest flagpoles will soon bear the National Flag over the historic Kanakakkunnu Palace in Kerala's Capital. The 200 foot flagpole, paid for by MP and Billionaire Naveen Jindal's Flag Foundation of India, was laid low (pun intended) because the Kerala Tourism Department neglected the minor detail of getting permission from the Airport Authority of India for putting up the towering structure in the center of the city and literally across the road from its headquarters building, Parkview. The project is one of the many being promoted by Trivandrum MP and Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development, Dr Shashi Tharoor. It seems that after a slight trimming of height, the giant flagpole will soon bear an equally enormous tricolor, with a huge mobile crane lifting the pole into place during the night of December 19th. A friend of mine promptly snapped the operation and sent me a few of his pics. May it fly forever above the historic and proud Capital City, and may it herald years of prosperity and happiness as its smaller counter-parts do before festivals at our temples and churches! Jai Hind! Photos Courtesy: Saranjith at Trivandrum Developments FB page Flagpole and Flag at Jindal Global University campus in Haryana Photo Courtesy: Ponderables & Imponderables Blog Pictures of the completed flagpole, again courtesy of the same friendly photographer. Posted by Unknown at 3:42:00 PM 0 comments Links to this post Labels: Kanakakkunnu, Kerala, Kerala Tourism, National Flag, Shashi Tharoor, Thiruvananthapuram, Trivandrum Can't Trivandrum anchor a South Indian Industrial Corridor? Even as the Chennai Bangalore Industrial Corridor marches down the trail blazed by its predecessor being developed between Delhi and Mumbai, Kerala is sitting out of this golden opportunity even as it possesses the very catalyst which could help hasten the industrial development of South India. As India marches boldly into 3rd position on World's ranking of economies (measured on Purchasing Power Parity), it's starting to launch a slew of massive infrastructure projects needed to bridge the gulf between infrastructure demand and availability that has been hampering the nation's growth over the past two decades. It's widely recognized that we need to invest upwards of $1 Trillion into infrastructure over the next few years - power, roads, railways, ports, urban infrastructure and so on. There's a scarily large gap between power generation and demand in almost every single State, including Kerala, and the fragility of the grid was laid bare by the massive blackouts across North India in July, which have the dubious distinction of being the biggest in history. Two of India's industrial powerhouses, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh are crippled by power shortages. And there seems no end in sight despite the half-dozen Ultra Mega Power Plants (UMPPs) coming up near ports and coal mines. The other major enabler of industrial development, logistics, is in a terrible shambles as well with as much as 13-14% of our GDP expended on moving things around compared to 7-8% in most developed nations. The first steps in the right direction began in 1998 with the National Highway Development Project, a program of highway-building to rival the interstates in the US and the autobahns in Germany. Over 32,000 Km of highways have been or are being 4/6 laned with a further, with a further 17,000 set to be shortly. The initiative to build giant UMPPs is also promising as is JNNURM. There have also been lots of mis-steps and missed steps, including the National Maritime Development Programme and the usually wayward railway development over the last decade or so. It's clear that we have just scraped the tip of the trillion dollar infrastructure gap iceberg that threatens to scupper our economy. There are many years, perhaps decades of work left to close that gap, not surprising how long it has taken the likes of the US and Germany to build a critical mass of infrastructure. Even China's break-neck campaign to build infrastructure, that our politicians and press love to wax eloquent about, has been in progress since the late 1970s. Rather than wait for the entire country to reach a truly world-class standard in infrastructure, one approach is to focus on particular areas, to expedite infrastructure development there and to use that nexus to jump-start industrial and economic development. The biggest such initiative thus far has been the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), a $90 Billion project to develop an logistics-industrial corridor between Delhi and Mumbai. Industrial Corridors According to the DMIC website, "Industrial Corridors recognize the inter-dependence of various sectors of the economy and offer effective integration between industry and infrastructure leading to overall economic and social development. Industrial corridors constitute world class infrastructure such as high-speed transportation (rail, road) network, ports with state-of- the-art cargo handling equipment, modern airports, special economic regions/ industrial areas, logistic parks/transshipment hubs, knowledge parks focused on feeding industrial needs, complementary infrastructure such as townships/ real estate, and other urban infrastructure along with enabling policy framework." The DMIC will be strung along a Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), a high-speed, high capacity railway line which will transport cargo up and down the Industrial Corridor in tandem with highways. It will have no less than nine industrial clusters or cities along its length in between Delhi and Mumbai and be spread across the States of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, that together account for more than half of India's population and GDP. A key aspect of the Corridow will be that it will be supported by key ports located in Gujarat and Maharashtra, namely Mumbai/JNPT, Kandla, Mundra, Pipavav, Dahej and Hazira (all but the first in Gujarat). These ports serve as the all-important gateway to bring in raw materials and the energy resources needed for the Corridor and also help to export its products to the rest of the World. And these ports are not created equal, although Mumbai/JNPT and Kandla are called "Major" ports, the action's shifting to the deeper, more efficient, so-called minor ports such as Mundra and Pipavav. The ports are able to out-compete the legacy ports, not just on their deeper drafts but also operational efficiency and relatively congestion-free infrastructural linkages. This is evident across the country, with examples such as Chennai Port and Ennore, and Vizag and Gangavaram. Without cost-effective and efficient logistics support from world-class ports, the Industrial Corridor would not be able to be globally competitive. In the short time since it was conceptualized, the DMIC/DFC project has achieved significant progress. About 80% of the 10,000 hectares private land needed for the axial DFC has been acquired, in addition to nearly 6000 hectares already available with the Government. The Japanese International Cooperation Agency has sanctioned a nearly $4 Billion loan for the DFC, in addition to a $5 Billion loan for the DMIC. Tenders for construction of the DFC are expected to be awarded in 2013. The much bigger DMIC is also making progress with the Japanese again playing the role of international sponsor but the project will take longer to fructify because of its sheer scale and because of the challenges in acquiring the much bigger swathes of land needed for it. In the meantime, in addition to the Eastern DFC project spanning Delhi to Calcutta, the proposal for a Chennai Bangalore Industrial Corridor (CBIC) has come to the fore in recent months, with the Japanese again plan the role of the prime movers. South India, especially Chennai and Bangalore, play host to a large number of Japanese companies. Chennai alone hosts nearly 30% of all Japanese firms operating in India. The Japanese have committed to be an anchor investor in the CBIC project, and the project may be expanded in scope in response to requests from the Governments of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to extend it to the deep-water Krishnapatanam Port and Chitradurga. Characteristically, while the other South Indian States are jostling to be part of the multi-Billion dollar project that could be a game changer from an economic development angle, Kerala has thus far kept itself out, choosing to focus on day dreams spun by an old man. Kerala has a unique opportunity to tap into industrial development on a scale hitherto unseen in the State (for reasons such as our population density and lack of natural resources) and a scale that would be impossible on our own. What can Kerala offer, given the fact that we are dwarfed on the industrial front by the other three South Indian States and that we have little or nothing to offer in terms of natural resources or land? Well, in one word - Vizhinjam. Vizhinjam and a South Indian Industrial Corridor The current dispensation of the CBIC has access to a clutch ports on the East Coast - Chennai, Ennore, Kattupalli and Krishnapatanam, not to mention Vizag and Gangavaram. Almost all of these have at at least 14 m of draft with Krishnapatanam and Gangavaram stretching that to 18 m, placing them at the top of ranks of the deepest ports in India. However, these ports are located hundreds of miles and days of sailing from the main shipping lanes. This means that while terminal services (where all the cargo is to be delivered to/picked up from one port) will call at this ports, they may be inefficient propositions for mainline container services which seek to maximize efficiency of their huge carry capacities (now routinely over 10,000 TEUs and headed towards 18,000 TEUs). This makes the East Coast ports, especially the ones in Andhra Pradesh poor candidates to become transshipment hubs or ports of call for the largest and most efficient of container ships. This is obviously where Vizhinjam comes in. As we have discussed many a time, Vizhinjam is an ideal transshipment hub where giant container ships can drop off and pick up their multi-thousand TEU loads and then have the containers moved on to their final destinations or vice-versa by smaller feeder vessels. In this way, while the entire trip can be made by ship, the bulk of the journey (to and from the transshipment hub) can be accomplished on the biggest, most cost-effective vessels. However, if a sufficient hinterland connectivity can be provided to and from Vizhinjam, the port could actually service faraway points in the hinterland without transshipment. Which is why our plan to expand the potential of the project had efficient road and rail hinterland connectivity as a key recommendation. Road and Rail Connectivity proposal for Vizhinjam This is the first reason to establish a South Indian Industrial Corridor (SIIC) with Vizhinjam as its southern anchor port, in association with Tuticorin. With its 18 m draft easily scalable to 25 m, Vizhinjam is future-proof in terms of handling the biggest ships in the world, including the 18,000 TEU Triple-E ships that Maersk is currently building. It can also handle the biggest supertankers, dry-bulk carriers and LNG tankers out there as well. The way the CBIC is currently planned, almost all the traffic to and from it would be handled by the Chennai cluster of ports together with Krishnapatanam. While this may justify mainline container calls, together with calls at Mundra/Pipavav but overall it would be a far less ideal choice because these ports would be far less efficient than Vizhinjam at transshipment to other South Indian ports like Tuticorin, Ernakulam and Mangalore, and thus less likely to challenge Colombo's current dominance, at least in the foreseeable future. With its location at the top of the sub-continent Vizhinjam is ideally positioned to service both the West and East coasts and thus offers the most efficient option to aggregate loads meant for ports along both coasts, an advantage hitherto enjoyed by Colombo enabling it to out-compete deeper, bigger ports such as Singapore, Salalah and Dubai for Indian cargo. Vizhinjam can bring this same advantage to the SIIC, but on Indian soil! The second reason that the SIIC makes even more sense that the more limited CBIC proposal is because it allows for a much larger industrial base to be tapped, rather than just that present in the Bangalore-Chennai-Cuddalor belt. An SIIC can tie together the entire industrial heartland of Tamilnadu, including well established clusters such as Salem, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Karur, Tirunelveli, Sivakasi and Tuticorin, and would be anchored by deep water ports at either end. Such a combined corridor would encompass nearly 50% of the over $400 Billion GDP of the four South Indian States. The third reason answers those of who may ask why this cannot be done within Kerala, so that our own State can maximise the benefit from Vizhinjam for which the State Government is shouldering 75% of the cost. The simple fact is that Kerala simply does not have the land to support such a large industrial super-cluster. Even the much smaller industrial cluster projects, trumpeted at Emerging Kerala, will need extensive land acquisition, including agricultural land/wetlands, and wide-spread displacement of people. With plenty of land available along its length in Tamilnadu, the SIIC would be unhindered in its growth. Proposed alignment of the South India Industrial Corridor (Industrial nodes are marked in Red; Ports in Blue) There are two possible alignments between Chennai and Trivandrum to be considered. The first is Chennai-Tiruvannamalai - Trichy - Dindigul - Madurai - Tirunelveli - Trivandrum, with a link to Tuticorin. The second is Chennai - Tiruvannamalai - Salem - Erode/Tirupur - Coimbatore - Dindigul - Madurai - Tirunelveli - Trivandrum, again with a link to Tuticorin. The second alignment also brings the Palakkad industrial region, on the Kerala side of the border near Coimbatore, into play as a beneficiary. The first alignment follows the existing Chennai - Trivandrum railway line via Trichy. Indeed, the best option would be to have both alignments developed simultaneously. Corridor Infrastructure As with the DMIC project, the core of the SIIC has to be a high-capacity freight transport system, preferably rail-based because rail transport is more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly. The existing rail lines can be beefed up with two additional dedicated tracks capable of supporting high speed passenger (150-200 Km/hr) and heavy-weight freight trains. Or a completely new rail alignment can be developed depending on the availability of land, with the latter opening up the option of developing new industrial clusters in areas with low density of population. The recent decision of the Union Cabinet to allow private investment in enhancing rail capacity along mainlines in addition to building spur lines for factories, power plants, ports and mines, will be a key enabler of the construction of the rail infrastructure. The keen interest shown by the Japanese to fund the CBIC project will surely extend to the much larger and more rewarding SIIC project as well. Other multinational institutions such as the World Bank and the ADB can be roped in as well, in addition to private investors. A key hurdle to the industrial of South India has been the acute energy shortage facing the region in the recent past. Already reeling under a 20% power deficit, the rapidly growing South will suffer worse shortages as capacity addition is well behind demand. For example, till date only one UMPP - the long-suffering Reliance project at Krishnapatanam - has been awarded yet, compared with two (Tata Power and Adani) just at Mundra Port in Gujarat! The SIIC would be a disaster if this crisis is not resolved quickly. One pragmatic solution would be to harness the world's fastest growing energy source, no not solar or wind, but natural gas that is rapidly breaking down the bastions of the reigning energy kings, coal and oil. Spurred by massive gas discoveries in the US, Australia and East Africa, natural gas is likely to become the fuel of choice for power generation and industrial uses across the world. Global prices are beginning to match those of coal on an energy equivalent basis and short of nuclear fusion being discovered in the next few years, it seems inevitable that natural gas import (India's domestic supplies are limited and even those have been under-performing) has to be an integral component of the development of industry anywhere in the country. Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is the preferred mode of import and needs the establishment of LNG import terminals which receive giant tankers carrying the liquified gas, re-gassify it and store it before it is distributed via pipeline or sent to a power plant. Currently, the only LNG terminal in South India is the long delayed and yet-to-be commissioned Petronet terminal at Ernakulam. This project is currently starved of demand because its pipeline has not been able to make much headway through densely populated Kerala and because its anchor customer, NTPC, pulled out. This much is clear, as is the opportunity to develop an LNG import terminal as part of the Vizhinjam project. As one of the very few ports in India capable of handling the world's biggest LNG tankers, the recently commissioned Q-max class, Vizhinjam can import natural gas in greater volumes and consequently at cheaper rates, than any other Indian port. As mentioned in the discussion on Vizhinjam's masterplan, the port is also closest to emerging LNG sources in Australia and East Africa, not to mention potential imports from the US and Russia (via the Straits of Malacca). Building a high-capacity gas pipeline along the SIIC will enable distribution of natural gas to industries and power plants along the Corridor. A pipeline from Chennai to Tuticorin, planned as an extension of the Kakinada-Chennai gas pipeline had been awarded to Reliance, but the contract was recently terminated owing to non-performance. This idea can be revived and the gas can be used to directly fuel industries such as fertilizer, textile and cement manufacturing as well as to set up de-centralized generating facilities and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems. Energy can also be transmitted as electricity, by locating one or more large gas-fired power plants near Vizhinjam and transmitting the power along high-capacity lines built along the Corridor. Gas-fired power plants are very compact and very efficient. Even with the land constraints around Vizhinjam, a 2000 MW plant is quite possible since it would need less 100 acres of land. If we consider using 260,000 ton capacity Q-Max ships to import the LNG, Vizhinjam could easily include a 10 Million tons/year import terminal with just a single berth located near the South end of the breakwater. The LNG terminal is mentioned (as a non-container berth) in the lower right corner To put a 10 Million tons/year LNG terminal into perspective, it's about as much LNG import capacity exists in all of India as of today or it can generate nearly 10,000 MW of power, nearly 3 times as much as Kerala needs today. In short, the inclusion of Vizhinjam in a possible SIIC project will be a strategic advantage enabling it to not only compete with the DMIC for investments from national and global firms but also to make it truly world-class and able to compete with upcoming and established industrial clusters across the world in places from China to the Middle-East to the US. In return, Vizhinjam will get access to world-class connectivity that links it to an extensive hinterland that encompasses over half of South India that will enable it to more quickly realize its potential to be a world-class hub port. It will help the port diversify beyond container transshipment, to cargoes such as LNG. Of course, consolidating the LNG demand in the densely populated Southern districts of Kerala and the industrialized southern districts of Tamilnadu would easily justify an LNG terminal on its own, albeit a smaller one. This will generate more direct and indirect employment from the port, especially if a logistics/industrial cluster can be developed close to the port, even if at a smaller scale than would be possible in the wide open spaces in Tamilnadu. One thing is very clear, Kerala is much better off being a partner and investing in an industrial corridor of this kind rather than on day dream projects that would probably end up costing as much and not return a single bent nickel in the end. But then we need to convince decision-makers who cannot even see the value of the Vizhinjam project itself and have very publicly chosen to consign it to the last rows of the priority list, buried well below "dream projects" and barrels of pork for their constituencies. A tall task, but the only really lost cause is the one left unpursued! Posted by Unknown at 10:42:00 PM 9 comments Links to this post Labels: Container Transshipment Terminal, Emerging Kerala, Indian Railways, LNG, Maersk, PPP, Singapore, supertanker, Thiruvananthapuram, Trivandrum, UMPP, Vizhinjam Summer at the Stadium The 50,000 seat Trivandrum International Stadium is taking final shape as concessionaire IL&FS commences construction of the raker bea... Trivandrum Updates Blog The Best Source for Tvm News! The Time in Trivandrum is... Where you hail from! What you had to say.... Flying High Over Trivandrum - Towering National Pr... Can't Trivandrum anchor a South Indian Industrial ... Welcome IFFK 2012 A Vision for Kovalam? This Blog is Followed By: Subscribe Now: My Yahoo! Subscribe Now: Feedburner License Policy Trivandrum Rising by Ajay Prasad is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at tvmrising.blogspot.com The Bots were last here on: The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely personal and may not be subscribed to by any organisation or individual that the author is associated with. While care is taken to ensure the factual accuracy of the content of this blog, the author will not be held responsible, directly or indirectly, for any loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of reliance on such information. In the case of links provided to other websites, the author will not be held responsible for the information or opinions in the websites. The availability of such links is also subject to the conditions of the individual sites and cannot be guaranteed.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line451

__label__cc

Vince Scopelliti - Thursday, November 07, 2019 Appropriately recording evidence is a crucial part of workplace investigations. For investigators, this can cause a significant dilemma as to whether it is preferable to rely on written statements, or obtain audio recordings of interviews conducted during the investigation. Here are a few of the main considerations for each method. An audio recording is effectively a verbatim record of everything that is said during the interview process. It may be particularly useful to conduct audio recordings during initial witness or party interviews, so that these can be transcribed and used to confirm the evidence which has been gathered. It is essential that all parties are made aware that interviews will be recorded. This should also assist in setting expectations that nothing said during the interview can be considered "off the record". Significant advantages of audio recordings include: Simplicity. It is easier for the investigator to conduct an interview without having to take contemporaneous notes. The practice of taking notes can be disruptive to the interview process, breaking both the interviewer's and the interviewee's concentration and the "flow" of the conversation. Creation of an accurate record. Written statements may be considered to be ambiguous or open to interpretation - however an audio recording is fairly difficult to refute. Reinforcing significance of the process. If an audio recording is produced, involved parties can be left in no doubt that an investigation is being taken seriously. Flexibility. If it is difficult to arrange for a party to be interviewed in person, modern technology means that interviews can be recorded by telephone or video. This introduces greater flexibility into the recording process. It is important to remember however, that it can be easier to contest what is recorded in a transcript, rather than in a written statement which the interviewee has been asked to sign. written statements By contrast, a written statement is a document which is produced as a summary of the contents of the interview. Generally, it is produced after the interview, based on notes taken by the interviewer or an offsider. Although it is extremely unlikely that every word said or every implied nuance during the interview will be recorded in a written statement, a key advantage of this type of evidence gathering is that witnesses will have the opportunity to review their written statement. The interviewed party can then sign the statement, or refute the contents. In order to be effective, the statement should be produced as soon as possible after the interview has concluded, while it is still fresh in everybody's memory. procedural requirements for interviews When determining whether an interview should be supported by a written statement or an audio recording, it is important to bear in mind that certain organisations or agencies have policy and/or procedural requirements preferring one method of evidence collection over the other. Further, in the event that a witness prefers not to have the interview recorded, an investigator cannot rely on this method. The interviewer should give thought both to the personality of the interviewee, and the subject matter of the interview, when determining the best method. If it is intended that the interview proceed on a casual or somewhat informal basis, relying on a recording is likely to be considered overkill. Audio recording is also reliant on technology functioning properly. In the event that a recording device malfunctions or does not record properly, there is a risk that the interview will not have been recorded at all. This could mean that the entire process needs to occur again - or alternatively, that there is no evidence supporting the interviewing process. THe importance of flexibility in investigations Unless company policy dictates one method of evidence collection over the other, this is always a decision that should be made based on individual circumstances. As is generally the case in workplace investigations, there is never a "one size fits all" approach that can be utilised on every occasion. Investigators must be prepared to make an assessment on which method of evidence collection is appropriate on a case-by-case basis. WISE investigators have extensive experience in conducting investigative interviews and collecting evidence, whether by audio recording or written statement. If you require established procedures to be followed or would like flexibility during the investigation process, WISE offers investigation services to assist. Additionally, if your organisation is seeking advice and training on interview techniques, WISE offers short courses and resources to upskill your staff.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line455

__label__wiki

U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/70/D/806/1998 Communication No. 806/1998 16 October – 3 November 2000 Eversley Thompson CHAIRPERSON: Ms. Cecilia Medina Quiroga (Chile) VICE-CHAIRPERSONS: Ms. Elizabeth Evatt (Australia), Mr. Abdelfattah Amor (Tunisia), Mr. Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati (India) RAPPORTEUR: Viscount Colville of Culross (United Kingdom) MEMBERS: Mr. Nisuke Ando (Japan), Ms. Christine Chanet (France), Ms. Pilar Gaitan De Pombo (Colombia), Mr. Louis Henkin (United States), Mr. Eckart Klein (Germany), Mr. David Kretzmer (Israel), Mr. Rajsoomer Lallah Mauritius, Mr. Fausto Pocar (Italy), Mr. Martin Scheinin (Finland), Mr. Hipolito Solari Yrigoyen (Argentina), Mr. Roman Wieruszewski (Poland), Mr. Maxwell Yalden (Canada), Mr. Abdallah Zakhia (Lebanon) Seventeen members of the Committee participated in the seventieth session PermaLink: http://www.worldcourts.com/hrc/eng/decisions/2000.10.18_Thompson_v_Saint_Vincent_and_Grenadines.htm Citation: Thompson v. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Comm. 806/1998, U.N. Doc. A/56/40, Vol. II, at 93 (HRC 2000) Alt. Style of Cause: Eversley Thompson v. St. Vincent & the Grenadines Publications: Report of the Human Rights Committee, U.N. GAOR, 56th Sess., Supp. No. 40, U.N. Doc. A/56/40, Vol. II, Annex X, sect. H, at 93 (Oct. 26, 2001); Office of the U.N. High Comm'r for Human Rights, Selected Decisions of the Human Rights Committee under the Optional Protocol, Vol. VII, at 102, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/OP/7, U.N. Sales No. E.06.XIV.1 (2006) Represented By: Mr. Saul Lehrfreund of Simons, Muirhead & Burton, London 1. The author of the communication is Eversley Thompson, a Vincentian national born on 7 July 1962. He is represented by Saul Lehrfreund of Simons, Muirhead & Burton, London. Counsel claims that the author is a victim of violations of articles 6(1) and (4), 7, 10(1), 14(1) and 26 of the Covenant. THE FACTS AS SUBMITTED BY COUNSEL 2.1 The author was arrested on 19 December 1993 and charged with the murder of D'Andre Olliviere, a four-year old girl who had disappeared the day before. The High Court (Criminal Division) convicted him as charged and sentenced him to death on 21 June 1995. His appeal was dismissed on 15 January 1996. In his petition for special leave to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, counsel raised five grounds of appeal, relating to the admissibility of the author's confession statements and to the directions of the judge to the jury. On 6 February 1997, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council granted leave to appeal, and after having remitted the case to the local Court of Appeal on one issue, it rejected the appeal on 16 February 1998. With this, all domestic remedies are said to have been exhausted. 2.2 At trial, the evidence for the prosecution was that the little girl disappeared on 18 December 1993 and that the author had been seen hiding under a tree near her home. Blood, faecal material and the girl's panty were found on the beach near the family's home. The girl's body was never found. 2.3 According to the prosecution, police officers apprehended the author at his home early in the morning of 19 December 1993. They showed him a red slipper found the evening before and he said that it was his. After having been brought to the police station, the author confessed that he had sexually abused the girl and then thrown the girl into the sea from the beach. He went with the policemen to point out the place where it happened. Upon return, he made a confession statement. 2.4 The above evidence by the police was subject to a voir dire during trial. The author contested ever having made a statement. He testified that the police officers had beaten him at home and at the police station, and that he had been given electric shocks and had been struck with a gun and a shovel. His parents gave evidence that they had seen him on 20 December 1993 with his face and hands badly swollen. After the voir dire, the judge ruled that the statement was voluntary and admitted it into evidence. Before the jury, the author gave sworn evidence and again challenged the statement. 3.1 Counsel claims that the imposition of the sentence of death in the author's case constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, because under the law of St. Vincent the death sentence is the mandatory sentence for murder. He also points out that no criteria exist for the exercise of the power of pardon, nor has the convicted person the opportunity to make any comments on any information which the Governor-General may have received in this respect. [FN1] In this context, counsel argues that the death sentence should be reserved for the most serious of crimes and that a sentence which is indifferently imposed in every category of capital murder fails to retain a proportionate relationship between the circumstances of the actual crime and the offender and the punishment. It therefore becomes cruel and unusual punishment. He argues therefore that it constitutes a violation of article 7 of the Covenant. [FN1] Under section 65 of the Constitution, the Governor General may exercise the prerogative of mercy, in accordance with the advice of the Minister who acts as Chairman of the Advisory Committee on the prerogative of mercy. The Advisory Committee consists of the Chairman (one of the Cabinet Ministers) , the Attorney-General and three to four other members appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. Of the three or four Committee members at least one shall be a Minister and one other shall be a medical practitioner. Before deciding on the exercise of the prerogative of mercy in any death penalty case, the Committee shall obtain a written report of the case from the trial judge (or the Chief Justice, if a report from the trial judge cannot be obtained) together with such other information derived from the record of the case or elsewhere as he may require. 3.2 The above is also said to constitute a violation of article 26 of the Covenant, since the mandatory nature of the death sentence does not allow the judge to impose a lesser sentence taking into account any mitigating circumstances. Furthermore, considering that the sentence is mandatory, the discretion at the stage of the exercise of the prerogative of mercy violates the principle of equality before the law. 3.3 Counsel further claims that the mandatory nature of the death sentence violates the author's rights under article 6(1) & (4). 3.4 Counsel also claims that article 14(1) has been violated because the Constitution of St Vincent does not permit the Applicant to allege that his execution is unconstitutional as inhuman or degrading or cruel or unusual. Further, it does not afford a right to a hearing or a trial on the question whether the penalty should be either imposed or carried out. 3.5 Counsel submits that the following conditions in Kingstown prison amount to violations of articles 7 and 10(1) in relation to the author. He is detained in a cell measuring 8 feet by 6 feet; there is a light in his cell that remains constantly lit 24 hours a day; there is no furniture or bedding in his cell; his only possessions in his cell are a blanket and a slop pail and a cup; there is no adequate ventilation as there is no window in his cell; sanitation is extremely poor and inadequate; food is of bad quality and unpalatable and his diet consists of rice every day; he is allowed to exercise three times a week for half an hour in the dormitory. Counsel also alleges that the conditions in prison are in breach of the domestic prison rules of St Vincent and the Grenadines. Counsel also alleges that the author's punishment is being aggravated by these conditions. 3.6 Counsel further argues that the author's detention in these conditions renders unlawful the carrying out of his sentence of death. 3.7 Counsel also claims a violation of article 14(1) because no legal aid is available for constitutional motions and the author, who is indigent, is therefore denied the right of access to court guaranteed by section 16(1) of the Constitution. THE COMMITTEE'S REQUEST FOR INTERIM MEASURES OF PROTECTION 4.1 On 19 February 1998, the communication was submitted to the State party, with the request to provide information and observations in respect of both admissibility and merits of the claims, in accordance with rule 91, paragraph 2, of the Committee's rules of procedure. The State party was also requested, under rule 86 of the Committee's rules of procedure, not to carry out the death sentence against the author, while his case was under consideration by the Committee. 4.2 On 16 September 1999, the Committee received information to the effect that a warrant for the author's execution had been issued. After having sent an immediate message to the State party, reminding it of the rule 86 request in the case, the State party informed the Committee that it was not aware of having received the request nor the communication concerned. Following an exchange of correspondence between the Special Rapporteur for New Communications and the State party's representatives, and after a constitutional motion had been presented to the High Court of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the State party agreed to grant the author a stay of execution in order to allow the Committee to examine his communication. THE STATE PARTY'S SUBMISSION 5.1 By submission of 16 November 1999, the State party notes that the author has sought redress for his grievances by way of constitutional motion, which was dismissed by the High Court on 24 September 1999. The Court rejected declarations sought by counsel for the author that he was tried without due process and the protection of the law, that the carrying out of the death sentence was unconstitutional because it constituted inhuman or degrading punishment, that the prison conditions amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment, and that the author had a legal right to have his petition considered by the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The State party submits that, in order to expedite the examination by the Committee, it will raise no objection to the admissibility of the communication for reasons of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies. 5.2 The State party submits that the mandatory nature of the death penalty is allowed under international law. It explains that a distinction is made in the criminal law in St. Vincent and the Grenadines between different types of unlawful killing. Killings which amount to manslaughter are not subject to the mandatory death penalty. It is only for the offence of murder that the death sentence is mandatory. Murder is the most serious crime known to law. For these reasons the State party submits that the death penalty in the present case was imposed in accordance with article 6(2) of the Covenant. The State party also denies that a violation of article 7 occurred in this respect, since the reservation of the death penalty to the most serious crime known to law retains the proportionate relationship between the circumstances of the crime and the penalty. The State party likewise rejects counsel's claim that there has been discrimination within the meaning of article 26 of the Covenant. 5.3 The State party also notes that the author had a fair trial, and that his conviction was reviewed and upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Privy Council. Accordingly, the death penalty imposed upon the author does not constitute arbitrary deprivation of his life within the meaning of article 6(1) of the Covenant. 5.4 As to the alleged violation of article 6(4) of the Covenant, the State party notes that the author has the right to seek pardon or commutation and that the Governor General may exercise the prerogative of mercy pursuant to sections 65 and 66 of the Constitution in the light of advice received from the Advisory Committee. 5.5 With regard to prison conditions and treatment in prison, the State party notes that the author has not shown any evidence that his conditions of detention amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Nor is there any evidence that he was treated in violation of article 10(1) of the Covenant. According to the State party, the general statements made in the communication do not evidence any specific breach of the relevant articles. Moreover, the State party notes that this matter was considered by the High Court when hearing the constitutional motion, and that the Court rejected it. The State party refers to the Committee's constant jurisprudence that the Committee is not competent to reevaluate the facts and evidence considered by the Court, and concludes that the author's claim should be rejected. The State party further refers to the Committee's jurisprudence that prolonged periods of detention cannot be considered to constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment if the convicted person is merely availing himself of appellate remedies. 5.6 The State party also argues that even if there had been a violation of the author's rights in relation to prison conditions, this would not render the carrying out of the death sentence unlawful and a violation of articles 6 and 7 of the Covenant. In this context, the State party makes reference to the Privy Council's decision in Thomas and Hilaire v Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago, where the Privy Council considered that even if the prison conditions constituted a breach of the appellants constitutional rights, commutation of the sentence would not be the appropriate remedy and the fact that the conditions in which the condemned man had been kept prior to execution infringed his constitutional rights did not make a lawful sentence unconstitutional. 5.7 As to counsel's claim that the author's right to access to the constitutional court was violated, the State party notes that the author has indeed presented and pursued a constitutional motion in the High Court, during which he was represented by experienced local counsel. After his motion was dismissed, the author gave notice of appeal. On 13 October 1999, he withdrew his appeal. During these proceedings he was again represented by the same counsel. The State party submits that this is evidence that there has been no conduct on the part of the State which has had the practical effect of denying the author access to court. COUNSEL'S COMMENTS 6.1 In his comments, counsel maintains that the author's death sentence violates various provisions of the Covenant because he was sentenced to death without the sentencing judge considering and giving effect to his character, his personal circumstances or those of the crime. In this connection, counsel refers to the report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the case of Hilaire v. Trinidad and Tobago. [FN2] [FN2] Commission report No. 66/99, case No. 11.816, approved by the Commission on 21 April 1999, not made public. 6.2 With respect to the prerogative of mercy, counsel argues that the State party has not appreciated that the right to apply for pardon must be an effective right. In the author's case, he cannot effectively present his case for mercy and thus the right to apply for mercy is theoretical and illusory. The author cannot participate in the process, and is merely informed of the outcome. According to counsel, this means that the decisions on mercy are taken on an arbitrary basis. In this connection, counsel notes that the Advisory Committee does not interview the prisoner or his family. Moreover, no opportunity is given to the condemned person to respond to possible aggravating information which the Advisory Committee may have in its possession. 6.3 With regard to the prison conditions, counsel produces an affidavit sworn by the author, dated 30 December 1999. He states that his cell in Kingstown prison, where he was detained from 21 June 1995 to 10 September 1999, was 8 feet by 6 feet in size, and that the only articles with which he was supplied in his cell were a blanket, a slop pail, a small water container and a bible. He slept on the floor. In the cell there was no electric lighting, but there was an electric light bulb in the corridor adjacent to the cell, which was kept on night and day. He states that he was unable to read because of the poor lighting. He was allowed exercise for at least three times a week in the corridor adjacent to his cell. He did not exercise in the open air and did not get any sunlight. Guards were always present. The food was unpalatable and there was little variety (mainly rice). During a fire on 29 July 1999 caused by a prison riot, he was locked in his cell and only managed to save himself when other prisoners broke in through the roof. He is only allowed to wear prison clothes, which are rough on the skin. On 10 September 1999, he was placed in a cell in Fort Charlotte, an 18th century prison. The cell in which he is now held is moist and the floor is damp. He is supplied with a small mattress. The cell is dark night and day, as the light of the electric bulb in the corridor does not penetrate into the cell. He is given exercise daily but inside the building and he does not get any sunlight. Because of the damp conditions, his legs started swelling and he reported this to the authorities, who took him to hospital for examination on 29 December 1999. He adds that he was scheduled to be hanged on 13 September 1999 and that he was taken from his cell to the gallows and that his lawyer was able to obtain a stay of execution only fifteen minutes before the scheduled execution. He states that he has been traumatised and disoriented. 6.4 Concerning the author's right of access to court, counsel submits that the fact that the author was fortunate enough to persuade counsel to take his recent constitutional case pro bono does not relieve the State party of its obligation to provide legal aid for constitutional motions. CONSIDERATION OF ADMISSIBILITY 7.1 Before considering any claim contained in a communication, the Human Rights Committee must, in accordance with rule 87 of its rules of procedure, decide whether or not it is admissible under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant. 7.2 The Committee notes that it appears from the facts before it that the author filed a constitutional motion before the High Court of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Committee considers therefore that the author has failed to substantiate, for purposes of admissibility, his claim under article 14(1) of the Covenant, that the State party denied the author the right of access to court in this respect. 7.3 The Committee considers that the author has sufficiently substantiated, for purposes of admissibility, that the remaining claims may raise issues under articles 6, 7, 10 and 26 of the Covenant. The Committee proceeds therefore without further delay to the consideration of the merits of these claims. CONSIDERATION OF THE MERITS 8.1 The Human Rights Committee has considered the present communication in the light of all the written information made available to it by the parties, as provided in article 5, paragraph 1, of the Optional Protocol. 8.2 Counsel has claimed that the mandatory nature of the death sentence and its application in the author's case, constitutes a violation of articles 6(1), 7 and 26 of the Covenant. The State party has replied that the death sentence is only mandatory for murder, which is the most serious crime under the law, and that this in itself means that it is a proportionate sentence. The Committee notes that the mandatory imposition of the death penalty under the laws of the State party is based solely upon the category of crime for which the offender is found guilty, without regard to the defendant's personal circumstances or the circumstances of the particular offense. The death penalty is mandatory in all cases of "murder" (intentional acts of violence resulting in the death of a person). The Committee considers that such a system of mandatory capital punishment would deprive the author of the most fundamental of rights, the right to life, without considering whether this exceptional form of punishment is appropriate in the circumstances of his or her case. The existence of a right to seek pardon or commutation, as required by article 6, paragraph 4, of the Covenant, does not secure adequate protection to the right to life, as these discretionary measures by the executive are subject to a wide range of other considerations compared to appropriate judicial review of all aspects of a criminal case. The Committee finds that the carrying out of the death penalty in the author's case would constitute an arbitrary deprivation of his life in violation or article 6, paragraph 1, of the Covenant. 8.3 The Committee is of the opinion that counsel's arguments related to the mandatory nature of the death penalty, based on articles 6(2), 7, 14(5) and 26 of the Covenant do not raise issues that would be separate from the above finding of a violation of article 6(1). 8.4 The author has claimed that his conditions of detention are in violation of articles 7 and 10(1) of the Covenant, and the State party has denied this claim in general terms and has referred to the judgement by the High Court, which rejected the author's claim. The Committee considers that, although it is in principle for the domestic courts of the State party to evaluate facts and evidence in a particular case, it is for the Committee to examine whether or not the facts as established by the Court constitute a violation of the Covenant. In this respect, the Committee notes that the author had claimed before the High Court that he was confined in a small cell, that he had been provided only with a blanket and a slop pail, that he slept on the floor, that an electric light was on day and night, and that he was allowed out of the cell into the yard one hour a day. The author has further alleged that he does not get any sunlight, and that he is at present detained in a moist and dark cell. The State party has not contested these claims. The Committee finds that the author's conditions of detention constitute a violation of article 10(1) of the Covenant. In so far as the author means to claim that the fact that he was taken to the gallows after a warrant for his execution had been issued and that he was removed only fifteen minutes before the scheduled execution constituted cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, the Committee notes that nothing before the Committee indicates that the author was not removed from the gallows immediately after the stay of execution had been granted. The Committee therefore finds that the facts before it do not disclose a violation of article 7 of the Covenant in this respect. 9. The Human Rights Committee, acting under article 5, paragraph 4, of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights, is of the view that the facts before it disclose a violation of articles 6(1) and 10(1) of the Covenant. 10. Under article 2, paragraph 3(a), of the Covenant, the State party is under the obligation to provide Mr. Thompson with an effective and appropriate remedy, including commutation. The State party is under an obligation to take measures to prevent similar violations in the future. 11. Bearing in mind that, by becoming a State party to the Optional Protocol, the State party has recognized the competence of the Committee to determine whether there has been a violation of the Covenant or not and that, pursuant to article 2 of the Covenant, the State party has undertaken to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the Covenant and to provide an effective and enforceable remedy in case a violation has been established, the Committee wishes to receive from the State party, within ninety days, information about the measures taken to give effect to the Committee's Views. The State party is also requested to publish the Committee's Views. [Adopted in English, French and Spanish, the English text being the original version. Subsequently to be translated into Arabic, Chinese and Russian as part of the Committee's Annual Report to the General Assembly.] The text of two individual opinions signed by five Committee members is appended to this document. INDIVIDUAL OPINION BY LORD COLVILLE (DISSENTING) The majority decision is based solely on the law which imposes a mandatory death sentence upon the category of crime, murder, for which the offender is found guilty, without regard to the defendant's personal circumstances or the circumstances of the particular offence. This conclusion has been reached without any assessment of either such set of circumstances, which exercise would in any case be beyond the Committee's jurisdiction. The majority, therefore, have founded their opinion on the contrast between the common law definition of murder, which applies in the State, and a gradation of categories of homicide in civil law jurisdictions and, by statute, in some States whose criminal law derives from common law. Thus the majority decision is not particular to this author but has wide application on a generalised basis. The point has now for the first time been taken in this communication despite Views on numerous earlier communications arising under (inter alia) a mandatory death sentence for murder; on those occasions no such stance was adopted. In finding, in this communication, that the carrying out of the death penalty in the author's case would constitute on arbitrary deprivation of his life in violation of article 6.1 of the Covenant, the wrong starting-point is chosen. The terms of paragraph 8.2 of the majority decision fail to analyse the carefully-constructed provisions of the entirety of article 6. The article begins from a position in which it is accepted that capital punishment, despite the exhortation in article 6.6, remains an available sentence. It then specifies safeguards, and these are commented on as follows: - The inherent right to life is not to be subject to arbitrary deprivation. The subsequent provisions of the article state the requirements which prevent arbitrariness but which are not addressed by the majority except for article 6.4, as to which there now exists jurisprudence which appears to have been overlooked: (see below); Article 6.2 underlines the basic flaw in the majority's reasoning. There is no dispute that murder is a most serious crime; that is, however, subject to the majority's view that a definition of murder in common law may encompass offences which are not to be described as "most serious." Whilst this does not form part of their decision in those terms, the inevitable implication is that "murder" must be redefined. The second point on article 6.2 emphasises that the death penalty can only be carried out pursuant to a final decision by a competent court. It follows inescapably from this that the actual law which compels the trial judge to pass a sentence of death when a person is convicted of murder does not and cannot in itself offend article 6.1 and certainly not because factual and personal circumstances are ignored: if the prosecuting authority decides, in a homicide case, to bring a charge of murder, a number of avenues immediately exist for the defence to counter, in the trial court, this accusation. These include -self-defence: unless the prosecution can satisfy the tribunal of fact that the defendant's actions, which led to the death, exceeded a proportional response, in his own perception of the circumstances, to the threat with which he was faced, the defendant must be completely acquitted of any crime; - other circumstances, surrounding the crime and relating fundamentally to the prevailing situation or the defendant's state of mind, enable the tribunal of fact to find that, if these defences have not been disproved by the prosecution (the onus is never on the defendant), the charge of murder can be reduced to manslaughter which does not carry a mandatory death sentence. According to the approach adopted by the defence and the evidence adduced by the parties, the judge is bound to explain these issues; if this is not done in accordance with legal precedent the failure will lead to any conviction being quashed; - the issues which may thus be raised by the defence need only be exemplified: one is diminished responsibility by the defendant for his actions (falling short of such mental disorder as would lead, not to a conviction, but to an order for treatment in a psychiatric hospital); or provocation, which by judicial decision has been extended to include the "battered partner syndrome", whether resulting from an instantaneous or cumulative basis of aggravation by the victim; - as a result, the verdict indicates whether murder is the only possible crime for which the defendant can be convicted. Questions of law which may undermine a conviction for murder can be taken to the highest appellate tribunal. It was by such an appeal that the law has recognised prolonged domestic violence or abuse as constituting a "provocation", thereby reducing murder, in proper cases, to manslaughter. No comments arise in this case under article 6.3 or 6.5. Article 6.4 has, however, recently assumed a significance which the majority decision appears to have disregarded. It has always been the case that the Head of State must be advised by the relevant Minister or advisory body such as the Privy Council, whether the death penalty shall in fact be carried out. This system is necessitated by article 6.4 and it involves a number of preliminary steps: as the majority says in paragraph 8.2, these discretionary measures by the executive are subject to a wide range of other considerations compared to appropriate judicial review of all aspects of a criminal case. This is not only a correct statement but constitutes the essence and virtue of article 6.4; exactly this process is in place in the State. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has, however, delivered its advice in the case of Lewis and others v. A.G. of Jamaica & another, dated 12 September 2000. Whilst Lord Slynn's majority opinion is not binding in any common law jurisdiction, it has such persuasive authority that it is certain to be given effect. He indicates that in Jamaica by its Constitution, but similarly elsewhere - A written report from the trial judge is available to the person or body advising on pardon or commutation of sentence. (It should be said, by way of gloss to this practice, that the trial judge will have seen the defendant and the witnesses at first hand in the course of the trial, and also will have had access to other material relating to the circumstances of the case and of the defendant which was never used in the trial itself. Evidence, inadmissible for production to the tribunal of fact, may, for example, contain much revealing information). "Such other information derived from the record of the case or elsewhere" shall be forwarded to the authority empowered to grant clemency. In practice the condemned accused has never been denied the opportunity to make representations which will be considered by that authority. Where Lewis breaks new ground is in the advice that the procedures followed in the process of considering a person's petition are open to judicial review. It is necessary that the condemned person should be given notice of the date on which the clemency authority will consider his case. That notice should be sufficient for him or his advisers to prepare representations before a decision is taken. Lewis thus formalises a defendant's right to make representations and requires that these be considered. The inevitable result of this analysis of article 6 as a whole together with judicial ruling likely to be given effect on all common law jurisdictions, including St. Vincent and the Grenadines, is that questions of arbitrariness do not depend on the trial and sentence at first instance, let alone in the mandatory nature of the sentence to be imposed on conviction for murder. There is no suggestion that arbitrariness has arisen in the course of the appellate procedures. The majority's view, therefore, must depend on a decision that the terms of article 6.4, as given effect in a common law jurisdiction, must incorporate an arbitrary decision, "without considering whether this exceptional form of punishment is appropriate in the circumstances" of the particular case (para 8.2). This is manifestly incorrect, as a matter of long-standing practice and now of persuasive advice from the Privy Council; it is no longer merely a matter of conscientious consideration by the authority but a matter of judicial reviewability of its decision. Any interpretation finding arbitrariness in the light of existing common law procedures can only imply that full compliance with article 6.4 does not escape the association of arbitrariness under article 6.1. Such internal inconsistency should not be applied to interpretation of the Covenant, and can only be the result of a mistaken straining of the words of article 6. On the facts of this case and the course of any clemency process which may yet ensue, I cannot agree that there has been any violation of article 6.1 of the Covenant. Lord Colville [signed] [Done in English, French and Spanish, the English text being the original version. Subsequently to be translated in Arabic, Chinese and Russian as part of the Committee's annual report to the General Assembly.] INDIVIDUAL OPINION BY MR. DAVID KRETZMER, CO-SIGNED BY MR. ABDELFATTAH AMOR, MR. MAXWELL YALDEN AND MR. ABDALLAH ZAKHIA (DISSENTING) PAST JURISPRUDENCE 1. Like many of my colleagues, I find it unfortunate that the Covenant does not prohibit the death penalty. However, I do not find this a reason to depart from accepted rules of interpretation when dealing with the provisions of the Covenant on the death penalty. 4 I am therefore unable to agree with the Committee's view that by virtue of the fact that the death sentence imposed on the author was mandatory, the State party would violate the author's right, protected under article 6, paragraph 1, not to be arbitrarily deprived of his life, were it to carry out the sentence. 2. Mandatory death sentences for murder are not a novel question for the Committee. For many years the Committee has dealt with communications from persons sentenced to death under legislation that makes a death sentence for murder mandatory. (See, e.g., Communication no. 719/1996, Conroy Levy v. Jamaica; Communication no. 750/1996, Silbert Daley v. Jamaica; Communication no. 775/1997, Christopher Brown v. Jamaica.) In none of these cases has the Committee intimated that the mandatory nature of the sentence involves a violation of article 6 (or any other article) of the Covenant. Furthermore, in fulfilling its function under article 40 of the Covenant, the Committee has studied and commented on numerous reports of States parties in which legislation makes a death sentence for murder mandatory. While in dealing with individual communications the Committee usually confines itself to arguments raised by the authors, in studying State party reports the initiative in raising arguments regarding the compatibility of domestic legislation with the Covenant lies in the hands of the Committee itself. Nevertheless, the Committee has never expressed the opinion in Concluding Observations that a mandatory death sentence for murder is incompatible with the Covenant. (See, e.g., the Concluding Observations of the Committee of 19.1.97 on Jamaica's second periodic report, in which no mention is made of the mandatory death sentence). It should also be recalled that in its General Comment no.6 that concerns article 6 of the Covenant, the Committee discussed the death penalty. It gave no indication that mandatory death sentences are incompatible with article 6. The Committee is not bound by its previous jurisprudence. It is free to depart from such jurisprudence and should do so if it is convinced that its approach in the past was mistaken. It seems to me, however, that if the Committee wishes States parties to take its jurisprudence seriously and to be guided by it in implementing the Covenant, when it changes course it owes the States parties and all other interested persons an explanation of why it chose to do so. I regret that in its Views in the present case the Committee has failed to explain why it has decided to depart from its previous position on the mandatory death sentence. B. Article 6 and mandatory death sentences 3. In discussing article 6 of the Covenant, it is important to distinguish quite clearly between a mandatory death sentence and mandatory capital punishment. The Covenant itself makes a clear distinction between imposition of a death sentence and carrying out the sentence. Imposition of the death sentence by a court of law after a trial that meets all the requirements of article 14 of the Covenant is a necessary, but insufficient, condition for carrying out the death penalty. Article 6, paragraph 4, gives every person sentenced to death the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence. It is therefore obvious that the Covenant expressly prohibits a mandatory death penalty. However, the question that arises in this case does not relate to mandatory capital punishment or a mandatory death penalty, but to a mandatory death sentence. The difference is not a matter of semantics. Unfortunately, in speaking of the mandatory death penalty the Committee has unwittingly conveyed the wrong impression. In my mind this has also led it to misstate the issue that arises. That issue is not whether a State party may carry out the death penalty without regard to the personal circumstances of the crime and the defendant, but whether the Covenant requires that courts be given discretion in determining whether to impose the death sentence for murder. 4. Article 6, paragraph 1, protects the inherent right to life of every human being. It states that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. Had this paragraph stood alone, a very strong case could have been made out that capital punishment itself is a violation of the right to life. This is indeed the approach which has been taken by the constitutional courts of two states when interpreting their constitutions (see the decision of the South African Constitutional Court in State v. Makwanyane [1995] 1 LRC 269; Decision No. 23/1990 (X.31) AB of the Hungarian Constitutional Court.) Unfortunately, the Covenant precludes this approach, since article 6 permits the death penalty in countries which have not abolished it, provided the stringent conditions laid down in paragraphs 2, 4 and 5 and in other provisions of the Covenant are met. When article 6 of the Covenant is read in its entirety, the ineluctable conclusion must be that carrying out a death penalty cannot be regarded as a violation of article 6, paragraph 1, provided all these stringent conditions have been met. The ultimate question in gauging whether carrying out a death sentence constitutes violation of article 6 therefore hinges on whether the State party has indeed complied with these conditions. 5. The first condition that must be met is that sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence. In the present case the Committee does not expressly base its finding of a violation on breach of this condition. However, the Committee mentions that "mandatory imposition of the death penalty under the laws of the State party is based solely upon the category of crime for which the offender is found guilty" and that the "death penalty is mandatory in all cases of murder". While the Committee does not mention article 6, paragraph 2, in the absence of any other explanation it would seem that the Committee has doubts about the compatibility with the Covenant of imposition of the death sentence for murder (the category of crime for which the death sentence is mandatory in the law of the State party). One can only assume that these doubts are based on the fear that the category of murder may include crimes that are not the most serious. I find it quite disturbing that the Committee is prepared to intimate that cases of murder may not be a most serious crime. The Committee itself has stated that the right to life is the supreme right (see General Comment no. 6). Intentional taking of another person's life in circumstances which give rise to criminal liability must therefore, by its very nature, be regarded as a most serious crime. From the materials presented to the Committee in this communication it appears that a person is guilty of the crime of murder under the law of the State party if, with malice aforethought, he or she causes the death of another. The State party has explained (and this has not been contested) that the crime of murder does not include "killings which amount to manslaughter (for example by reason of provocation or diminished responsibility)." In these circumstances every case of murder, for which a person is criminally liable, must be regarded as a most serious crime. This does not mean, of course, that the death penalty should be imposed, nor that a death sentence should be carried out, if imposed. It does mean, however, that imposition of the death sentence cannot, per se, be regarded as incompatible with the Covenant. 6. In determining whether a defendant on a charge of murder is criminally liable the court must consider various personal circumstances of the defendant, as well as the circumstances of the particular act which forms the basis of the crime. As has been demonstrated in the opinion of my colleague, Lord Colville, these circumstances will be relevant in determining both the mens rea and actus reus required for criminal liability, as well as the availability of potential defences to criminal liability, such as self-defence. These circumstances will also be relevant in determining whether there was provocation or diminished responsibility, which, under the law of the State party, remove an act of intentional killing from the category of murder. As all these matters are part of the determination of the criminal charge against the defendant, under article 14, paragraph 1, of the Covenant they must be decided by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal. Were courts to be denied the power to decide on any of these matters, the requirements of article 14 would not be met. According to the jurisprudence of the Committee, in a case involving the death penalty this would mean that carrying out the death sentence would constitute a violation of article 6. It has not been argued that the above conditions were not complied with in the present case. Nevertheless, the Committee states that it would be a violation of the author's right not to be arbitrarily deprived of his life, if the State party were to carry out the death penalty "without regard to the defendant's personal circumstances or the circumstances of the particular offense." (See para. 8.2 of the Committee's Views). As it has not been claimed that personal circumstances of the particular offence relevant to the criminal liability for murder of the author were not taken into account by the courts, it is obvious that the Committee is referring to other circumstances, which have no bearing on the author's liability for murder. Article 6, paragraph 4, of the Covenant does indeed demand that the State party have regard to such circumstances before carrying out sentence of death. There is absolutely nothing in the Covenant, however, that demands that the courts of the State party must be the domestic organ that has regard to these circumstances, which, as stated, are not relevant in determination of the criminal charge. 7. In many societies, the law lays down a maximum punishment for a given crime and courts are given discretion in determining the appropriate sentence in a given case. This may very well be the best system of sentencing (although many critics argue that it inevitably results in uneven or discriminatory sentencing). However, in dealing with the issue of sentencing, as with all other issues relating to interpretation of the Covenant, the question that the Committee must ask is not whether a specific system seems the best, but whether such a system is demanded under the Covenant. It is all too easy to assume that the system with which Committee members are most familiar is demanded under the Covenant. But this is an unacceptable approach in interpreting the Covenant, which applies at the present time to 144 State parties, with different legal regimes, cultures and traditions. 8. The essential question in this case is whether the Covenant demands that courts be given discretion in deciding the appropriate sentence in each case. There is no provision in the Covenant that would suggest that the answer to this question is affirmative. Furthermore, an affirmative answer would seem to imply that minimum sentences for certain crimes, such as rape and drug-dealing (accepted in many jurisdictions) are incompatible with the Covenant. I find it difficult to accept this conclusion. Mandatory sentences (or minimum sentences, which are in essence mandatory) may indeed raise serious issues under the Covenant. If such sentences are disproportionate to the crimes for which they are imposed, their imposition may involve a violation of article 7 of the Covenant. If a mandatory death sentence is imposed for crimes that are not the most serious crimes, article 6, paragraph 2 of the Covenant is violated. However, whether such sentences are advisable or not, if all provisions of the Covenant regarding punishment are respected, the fact that the minimum or exact punishment for the crime is set by the legislature, rather than the court, does not of itself involve a violation of the Covenant. Carrying out such a sentence that has been imposed by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established under law after a trial that meets all the requirements of article 14 cannot be regarded as an arbitrary act. I am well aware that in the present case the mandatory sentence is the death sentence. Special rules do indeed apply to the death sentence. It may only be imposed for the most serious crimes. Furthermore, the Covenant expressly demands that persons sentenced to death be given the right to request pardon or commutation before the sentence is carried out. No parallel right is given to persons sentenced to any other punishment. There is, however, no provision in the Covenant that demands that courts be given sentencing discretion in death penalty cases that they do not have to be given in other cases. In summary: there is no provision in the Covenant that requires that courts be given discretion to determine the exact sentence in a criminal case. If the sentence itself does not violate the Covenant, the fact that it was made mandatory under legislation, rather than determined by the court, does not change its nature. In death penalty cases, if the sentence is imposed for a most serious crime (and any instance of murder is, by definition, a most serious crime), it cannot be regarded as incompatible with the Covenant. I cannot accept that carrying out a death sentence that has been imposed by a court in accordance with article 6 of the Covenant after a trial that meets all the requirements of article 14 can be regarded as an arbitrary deprivation of life. 9. As stated above, there is nothing in the Covenant that demands that courts be given sentencing discretion in criminal cases. Neither is there any provision that makes sentencing in cases of capital offences any different. This does not mean, however, that a duty is not imposed on States parties to consider personal circumstances of the defendant or circumstances of the particular offence before carrying out a death sentence. On the contrary, a death sentence is different from other sentences in that article 6, paragraph 4, expressly demands that anyone under sentence of death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation and that amnesty, pardon or commutation may be granted in all cases. It must be noted that article 6, paragraph 4, recognizes a right. Like all other rights, recognition of this right by the Covenant imposes a legal obligation on States parties to respect and ensure it. States parties are therefore legally bound to consider in good faith all requests for pardon or commutation by persons sentenced to death. A State party that fails to do so violates the right of a condemned person under article 6, paragraph 4, with all the consequences that flow from violation of a Covenant right, including the victim's right to an effective remedy. The Committee states that "existence of a right to seek a pardon or commutation does not secure adequate protection to the right to life, as these discretionary measures by the executive are subject to a wide range of other considerations compared to the appropriate judicial review of all aspects of a criminal case". This statement does not help to make the Committee's approach coherent. In order to comply with the requirements of article 6, paragraph 4, a State party is bound to consider in good faith all personal circumstances and circumstances of the particular crime which the condemned person wishes to present. It is indeed true that the decision-making body in the State party may also take into account other factors, which may be considered relevant in granting the pardon or commutation. However, a court which has discretion in sentencing may also take into account a host of factors other than the defendant's personal circumstances or circumstances of the crime. 10. I may now summarize my understanding of the legal situation regarding mandatory death sentences for murder: a. The question of whether a death sentence is compatible with the Covenant depends on whether the conditions laid down in article 6 and other articles of the Covenant, especially article 14, are complied with. b. Carrying out a death sentence imposed in accordance with the requirements of article 6 and other articles of the Covenant cannot be regarded as arbitrary deprivation of life. c. There is nothing in the Covenant that demands that courts be given discretion in sentencing. Neither is there a special provision that makes sentencing in death penalty cases different from other cases. d. The Covenant expressly demands that States parties must have regard to particular circumstances of the defendant or the particular offence before carrying out a death sentence. A State party has a legal obligation to take such circumstances into account in considering applications for pardon or commutation. The consideration must be carried out in good faith and according to a fair procedure. C. Violation of the author's rights in the present case 11. Even if I had agreed with the Committee on the legal issue I would have found it difficult to agree that the author's rights were violated in this case. In the context of an individual communication under the Optional Protocol the issue is not the compatibility of legislation with the Covenant, but whether the author's rights were violated. (See, e.g., Faurisson v. France, in which the Committee stressed that it was not examining whether the legislation on the basis of which the author had been convicted was compatible with article 19 of the Covenant, but whether in convicting the author on the specific facts of his case the author's right to freedom of expression had been violated). In the present case the author was convicted of a specific crime: murder of a little girl. Even if the category of murder under the law of the State party may include some crimes which are not the most serious, it is clear that the crime of which the author was convicted is not among these. Neither has the author pointed to any personal circumstances or circumstances of the crime that should have been regarded as mitigating circumstances but could not be considered by the courts. 12. Finally I wish to emphasize that the Covenant imposes strict limitations on use of the death penalty, including the limitation in article 6, paragraph 4. In the present case, it has not been contested that the author has the right to apply for pardon or commutation of his sentence. An advisory committee must look into the application and make recommendations to the Governor-General on any such application. Under the rules laid down by the Privy Council in the recent case of Neville Lewis et al v. Jamaica, the State party must allow the applicant to submit a detailed petition setting out the circumstances on which he bases his application, he must be allowed access to the information before the committee and the decision on the pardon or commutation must be subject to judicial review. While the author has made certain general observations relating to the pardon or commutation procedures in the State party, he has not argued that he has submitted an application for pardon or commutation that has been rejected. He therefore cannot claim to be a victim of violation of his rights under article 6, paragraph 4, of the Covenant. Clearly, were the author to submit an application for pardon or commutation that was not given due consideration as required by the Covenant and the domestic legal system he would be entitled to an effective remedy. Were that remedy denied him the doors of the Committee would remain open to consider a further communication. David Kretzmer [signed] Abdelfattah Amor [signed] Maxwell Yalden [signed] Abdallah Zakhia [signed]

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line457

__label__wiki

Showing posts with label Gioe. Show all posts Jury convicts six Outfit leaders, associate Found guilty of extorting money from movie executives Six members of the Chicago Outfit and one associate were convicted December 22, 1943, of conspiring to extort more than a million dollars from the movie industry. Concluding ten hours of deliberations, a federal jury in New York City returned guilty verdicts against Chicago racketeers Louis "Little New York" Campagna, Paul "the Waiter" Ricca (Felice DeLucia), Johnny Rosselli (Filippo Sacco), Philip D'Andrea, Charles Gioe and Francis Maritote, and Newark, New Jersey, union business agent Louis Kaufman. Judge John Bright scheduled a sentencing hearing for December 30. The trial, which began October 5, established that the defendants were behind the extortion activities of Willie Bioff and George Browne. Bioff and Browne, convicted in 1941 of using their influence over the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) to force payments from movie studios, were prosecution witnesses in the 1943 case. (Bioff's betrayal of the Outfit apparently resulted in his car-bombing murder in 1955.) The witness list also included Hollywood executives. Nine men were originally indicted in March 1943, including Frank "the Enforcer" Nitti and Ralph Pierce. Nitti, the Outfit leader believed to have been Bioff's strongest supporter, committed suicide upon learning of the indictments. Nitti is believed to have given assurances to other underworld bosses when they feared Bioff would betray them. Pierce was acquitted during the trial due to insufficient evidence against him. On December 30, Judge Bright sentenced Campagna, DeLucia, Rosselli, D'Andrea, Gioe and Maritote to ten years in prison and sentenced Kaufman to seven years in prison. He fined each of the defendants $10,000. "Evidence of some lingering hostility" "Chicago Outfit big shot shoots self" Labels: Bioff, Browne, Campagna, Chicago, D'Andrea, DeLucia, Extortion, Gioe, Hollywood, IATSE, Kaufman, Los Angeles, Mafia, Maritote, New York, Nitti, Pierce, Ricca, Rosselli, Thomas Hunt Evidence of some lingering hostility Bioff's body lies in the wreckage of his exploded pickup truck (Arizona Republic) On this date in 1955, a former Chicago Outfit member living under an assumed identity in Arizona was killed in a car-bombing. The fatal explosion was linked to an extortion racket exposed more than a decade earlier. "Fat Willie" Bioff, a native of Chicago's West Side, relocated to southern California before World War II and became an aide to International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) union President George Browne. As he became a union official, Bioff already had a reputation for violence (Chicago police suspected him of involvement in the murder of Wisconsin gang boss Jack Zuta) and for close affiliation with members of the Capone organization. In California, he remained in close touch with the Outfit's West Coast rackets overseer Johnny Roselli. In the early 1940s, federal authorities became aware of an ongoing Chicago Outfit scheme to extort vast sums from movie companies through control of motion picture industry unions, and Bioff emerged as a central player in that scheme, the main link between the IATSE union and Chicago organized crime. Word leaked from federal grand jury proceedings in New York City that studio executive Joseph Schenck was revealing the extortion scheme. Bioff Outfit leaders, trying to assess the damage of the Schenck testimony, quickly got in touch with Bioff through Roselli. Bioff's response to the news - "Now, we're all in trouble" - concerned his higher-ups in the mob. Outfit leaders feared that Bioff would make a deal with the federal prosecutor and reveal their connection to the racket. The underworld bosses wanted to kill Bioff in order to resolve the issue, but Frank "the Enforcer" Nitti talked them out of it. Nitti convinced them that Bioff was a "stand-up guy" and could be trusted to keep his mouth shut. Bioff and Browne were convicted in November 1941 of extorting more than half a million dollars from movie studio bosses at Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers and other companies during the 1930s. (Bioff later admitted that the total profit was more than a million dollars. The figure was subsequently inflated in the press to $2.5 million.) Bioff was sentenced to ten years in prison. Brown was sentenced to eight years. Each man was fined $20,000. While in custody, Bioff betrayed his underworld colleagues and provided evidence to investigators. He confessed that he had arranged annual studio payments ranging from $25,000 to $50,000, depending on the size of the studio, and revealed that the racket was directed by a group of crime figures. By cooperating, he earned a sentence commutation - he and Browne were released in 1944 - but he also incurred the wrath of the Chicago Outfit. Bioff grand jury testimony in 1943 resulted in indictments against Frank "the Enforcer" Nitti, Charles "Cherry Nose" Gioe, Frank "Frankie Diamond" Maritote, Johnny Roselli, Louis "Little New York" Campagna, Paul "the Waiter" Ricca (DeLucia), Phil D'Andrea and Ralph Pierce of the Oufit, as well as IATSE business agent Louis Kaufman. Upon learning of the indictments on March 19, 1943, Nitti, friend and staunch defender of Bioff to that time, shot himself in front of witnesses. The other Outfit mobsters were successfully prosecuted and sentenced on Dec. 31, 1943, to ten years in prison. Gioe, Campagna, Ricca and D'Andrea received early paroles in summer of 1947. Many expected immediate action against the Outfit traitor Bioff. But years passed without any related news. In 1955, all the past unpleasantness seemed forgotten. Bioff and his wife Laurie were living under assumed names (Mr. and Mrs. William Nelson) in Phoenix, Arizona. There seemed little threat of underworld retribution for Bioff's betrayal. Involved Chicago mobsters had long ago served their prison terms and completed their probations. Most of them were no longer among the living. Nitti shot himself in front of witnesses immediately upon learning of the extortion indictments. Charles Gioe and Frank Maritote were shot to death in August of 1954. (The FBI determined that their murders were due to Johnny Roselli's suspicions that they had cooperated with federal authorities.) Phil D'Andrea and Louis Campagna had died, reportedly of natural causes, in 1952 and 1955, respectively. (Ricca, Pierce and Roselli lived into the 1970s. Ricca and Pierce died of natural causes, in 1972 and 1976, respectively. Roselli was the victim of an apparent gangland execution in the summer of 1976.) Evidence of some lingering hostility was seen on the morning of Nov. 4, 1955: Fifty-five-year-old Bioff climbed into his pickup truck inside his home garage. As he stepped on the starter, an explosion suddenly shook the neighborhood. According to a press account, "The blast threw Bioff twenty-five feet and scattered wreckage over a radius of several hundred. It left only the twisted frame, the motor and the truck wheels. The garage door was blown out, the roof shattered and windows in the Bioff home and several neighboring houses were broken. Jagged chunks of metals tore holes in the wall of a home 100 feet away. The blast rattled windows a mile away." Bioff's body, minus both legs and a right hand, were found 25 feet from the explosion. A representative of the local sheriff's office told the press, "I don't know whether this was a professional gangster job or not, but it certainly was an effective one." Phoenix police had noted a visit to the city of Outfit leader Anthony Accardo a short time before the murder of Bioff but could not meaningfully connect the visit to the bombing. No one was ever convicted for Bioff's murder. Bad day for big shots, Writers of Wrongs, 4 Nov 2016. Chicago boss suicide, Writers of Wrongs, 19 Mar 2017. Lahey, Edwin A., "Willie Bioff, who sent Capone Mob to prison, should rest easier with Maritote's death," Des Moines IA Tribune, Aug. 24, 1954, p. 13. Lee, Eddie, "Blast in Phoenix kills Willie Bioff," Arizona Daily Star, Nov. 5, 1955, p. 1. Loughran, Robert T., "Underworld caught up with 'Fat Willie' Bioff," Sheboygan WI Press (United Press), Nov. 5, 1955, p. 1. McLain, Gene, "Willie Bioff blown to bits! Bombed at Phoenix home," Arizona Republic, Nov. 5, 1955, p. 1. Parker, Lowell, "Willie Bioff has reason to complain he'd been 'Peglerized,'" Arizona Republic, May 7, 1975, p. 6. Wendt, Lloyd, "The men who prey on labor," Chicago Tribune, Aug. 10, 1941, p. Graphic Section 2. Yost, Newton E., "La Cosa Nostra," FBI report, file no. 92-6054-683, July 22, 1964, NARA no. 124-10208-10406. "Campagna, Gioe ordered freed in parole fight," Chicago Tribune, Dec. 5, 1948, p. 17. "Blast in truck kills Willie Bioff, once Hollywood racket leader," New York Times, Nov. 5, 1955, p. 1. "Revenge-bent gang killed Bioff, view," Sheboygan WI Press, Nov. 5, 1955, p. 1. Labels: Accardo, Bioff, Campagna, Chicago Outfit, D'Andrea, Extortion, FBI, Gioe, Hollywood, IATSE, Mafia, Maritote, Murder, Nitti, November 4, Phoenix, Pierce, Ricca, Roselli, Thomas Hunt Chicago Outfit big shot shoots self On this date in 1943, Chicago Outfit leader Frank Nitti responded to news of a federal indictment by sending his wife to pray a novena, getting himself drunk and then firing a bullet into his brain. Chicago Daily Tribune, March 20, 1943. The indictment was not entirely a surprise. Chicago mob bosses were well aware that their plot to extort millions from the motion picture industry and theater projectionists had been exposed. Willie Bioff - hand-picked by Nitti to oversee the racket - and Bioff's more visible partners had already been convicted in federal court. And it was clear that federal investigators were not done. News from New York suggested that some mob big-shots in Chicago were likely to be indicted. It seemed certain that Bioff was aiding the investigators, but the extent of the damage was not known until March 19, 1943. Chicago Daily Tribune That's when authorities in New York announced that indictments for racketeering conspiracy and mail fraud had been returned against Frank "the Enforcer" Nitti (real name Nitto), Paul "the Waiter" Ricca (DeLucia), Louis "Little New York" Campagna, Philip D'Andrea, Charles "Cherry Nose" Gioe, Ralph Pierce and Francis "Frank Diamond" Maritote. Bioff's betrayal had been complete. Nitti had bet his reputation - and, likely, his life - on Bioff's reliability. When the extortion plot first came to light with complaints that mobsters controlled the International Alliance of Theatre and Stage Employees (IATSE), Outfit leaders contemplated severing their most dangerous connection to IATSE by murdering Bioff. Bioff reportedly survived only because Nitti opposed the idea. On the morning of March 19, attorney A. Bradley Eben (a former assistant U.S. attorney) called the Nitti home at 712 Selborne Road in Riverside, Illinois, and provided his client with news of the indictments. Nitti made arrangements to meet with Eben at his law office that afternoon, but the mob boss actually had other plans. Nitti told his wife of nine months, Antoinette (known as "Toni") Caravetta Nitto, to begin a prayer novena at Our Lady of Sorrows Church on Chicago's west side. (The Sorrowful Mother Novena was an enormously popular service at the church from the late 1930s into the 1950s.) She left the house at 1:15 that afternoon. Nitti was next seen by railroad employees at about three o'clock, as he staggered along the Illinois Central tracks near Harlem Avenue and Cermak Road, less than a mile from his Selborne Road home. As the railroad men called out to him, the intoxicated Nitti leaned back against a chain-link fence, drew a handgun and fired it twice, sending bullets through his hat. Positioning the weapon more carefully, he then fired a third shot. The slug entered the right side of his head near his ear and traveled upward, lodging in the top of his skull. When police arrived, they found Nitti's driver's license and Selective Service draft card - both made out in the name Frank Nitto - in his pockets. The documents gave his birthdate as Jan. 27, 1886. The draft card contained his Selborne Road address. The license, however, showed an address of 1208 Lexington Street in Chicago, which belonged to Lucia Ronga, mother of his first wife, the late Anna Theresa Ronga Nitto. Toni Nitto returned home about a half hour later. "The first I knew of what had happened was when [the police] came and told me he was dead," she later told the press. "I knew something was wrong. There were always strange men watching our house. He knew something was up, too. Frank wasn't well - it was his stomach, nerves I think. They were always after him. They wouldn't let him alone. They made him do this." Toni's brother Charles appeared at the coroner's inquest to testify that Nitti had been dealing with a number of issues: "He was suffering with a heart ailment and he had stomach trouble. I think he was temporarily insane." Some sources indicated that Nitti was also suffering with physical pain from a serious gunshot wound suffered back in 1932 and with lingering emotional pain from the death of his first wife in November of 1940. A federal informant provided a more direct explanation for Nitti's suicide: "It was that or be killed. [The Outfit] held Nitti responsible for the problem. Bioff has been his man and it was Nitti who had persuaded the group to withdraw the original 'hit' order on Bioff. It was felt that if they had killed Bioff earlier in the investigation, his death would have silenced most prospective witnesses." Nitti's estate was valued at greater than $74,000. That was divided between the widow Toni and Joseph, Nitti's son by his first marriage. What happened to Willie Bioff? Click here. World War II draft registration card, serial no. U2138. Yost, Newton E., "La Cosa Nostra," FBI report, file no. 92-6054-683, NARA no. 124-10208-10406, July 22, 1964, p. 18. Fulton, William, "5 aliases bob up to haunt Bioff at extort trial," Chicago Daily Tribune, Oct. 30, 1941, p. 2. "List gangsters who prey on Chicago unions," Chicago Daily Tribune, March 18, 1943, p. 1. Wiegman, Carl, "Nitti kills himself!," Chicago Daily Tribune, March 20, 1943, p. 1. "Gang leader Nitti kills himself in Chicago after indictment here," New York Times, March 20, 1943, p. 30. "Nitti long held business chief of underworld," Chicago Daily Tribune, March 20, 1943, p. 6. Geserick, June, "Nitti sent wife to church at hour of suicide," Chicago Daily Tribune, March 20, 1943, p. 6. "FBI hunts new clews bearing on Nitti suicide," Chicago Daily Tribune, March 21, 1943, p. 3. "Nitti's widow once was secretary for slain Edw. J. O'Hare," Dixon IL Evening Telegraph, March 22, 1943, p. 7. Wiegman, Carl, "Schenck bares Bioff threats; cash paid here," Chicago Daily Tribune, May 26, 1943, p. 2. "Swears Nitti was treasurer of movie union," Chicago Daily Tribune, July 3, 1943, p. 6. "Bioff reveals tributes paid by movie firms," Chicago Daily Tribune, Oct. 8, 1943, p. 15. "Frank Nitti leaves $75,000 estate," Bloomington IL Pantagraph, Oct. 12, 1943, p. 1. Labels: Bioff, Campagna, Caravetta, Chicago, Chicago Outfit, D'Andrea, Extortion, Gioe, IATSE, March 19, Maritote, Motion Picture Industry, Nitti, Nitto, Pierce, Ricca, Ronga, suicide, Thomas Hunt

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line459

__label__wiki

Welcome to WriteYou. Join our social network for news & opinion today Follow @WriteYouMedia Britain's Social Newspaper - the social network for news Politics & news Mike Joslin Sean Spicer wasn't so silent about voter fraud in the past Why did Sean Spicer condemn voter fraud in 2012 and not today? Mike Joslin, WriteYou on 24 January 2017 Like us on Facebook to get all the latest. Today we witnessed the spectacle of Sean Spicer, President Trump's Press Secretary, refusing to say if there would be an investigation into alleged voter fraud or produce any evidence. The following is from an AOL news article: Following several questions at Tuesday's briefing, NPR's Mara Liasson insisted that if Trump's claims of voter fraud were true, this would be the "biggest scandal in American electoral history," and asked why he's not actively investigating. "Maybe we will," said Spicer. "We'll see where we go from here, but right now the focus the president has is on putting Americans back to work. It was a comment he made on a longstanding belief." Spicer later confirmed that "there is no investigation," but that "anything is possible. Thing is he wasn't so silent in 2012 when the RNC paid a firm nearly $3 million dollars and some of their employees engaged in voter fraud. At the time he said: Sean Spicer, communications director for the RNC, said Strategic Allied Consulting had been retained by the RNC and state Republican parties to register new Republican voters in five key battleground states. But Spicer said that the party's relationship with the firm-- which has been paid $2.9 million by the RNC so far this year, according to federal elections records -- has now been terminated in light of alleged voter fraud linked to one of the firm's employees that was reported this week to Florida prosecutors by election officials in Palm Beach County. "We've made it clear we're not doing business with these guys anymore," said Spicer. "We've come out pretty strong against this kind of stuff -- and we have zero tolerance for this." If Sean Spicer condemned voter fraud so strongly in 2012 why not now? Argue the issues with like minded people by leaving a comment below or joining the discussion here © 2016 WriteYou

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line461

__label__wiki

Communicable Diseases Intelligence, Volume 27, Issue number 4 - December 2003 / Communicable Diseases Surveillance: Additional reports This report published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 27, No 4, December 2003 contains quarterly reports and data from a number of disease surveillance programs which report regularly to CDI. Page last updated: 03 December 2003 ASPREN | Gonococcal surveillance | HIV/AIDS surveillance | Childhood immunisation coverage | National Enteric Pathogens Surveillance System Australian Sentinel Practice Research Network The Research and Health Promotion Unit of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners operates the Australian Sentinel Practice Research Network (ASPREN). ASPREN is a network of general practitioners who report presentations of defined medical conditions each week. The aim of ASPREN is to provide an indicator of the burden of disease in the primary health setting and to detect trends in consultation rates. There are currently about 50 general practitioners participating in the network from all states and territories. Seventy-five per cent of these are in metropolitan areas and the remainder are rural based. Between 4,000 and 6,000 consultations are recorded each week. The list of conditions is reviewed annually by the ASPREN management committee and an annual report is published. In 2003, 13 conditions are being monitored, five of which are related to communicable diseases. These include influenza, gastroenteritis, antibiotic prescription for acute cough, varicella and shingles. Definitions of these conditions were published in Commun Dis Intell 2003;27:125-126. Data from 1 July to 30 September 2003 are shown as the rate per 1,000 consultations in Figures 8, 9 and 10. Figure 8. Consultation rates for influenza-like illness, ASPREN, 1 July to 30 September 2003, by week of report Figure 9. Consultation rates for gastroenteritis, ASPREN, 1 July to 30 September 2003, by week of report Figure 10. Consultation rates for varicella, ASPREN, 1 July to 30 September 2003, by week of report Gonococcal Surveillance John Tapsall, The Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick NSW 2031 for the Australian Gonococcal Surveillance Programme The Australian Gonococcal Surveillance Programme (AGSP) reference laboratories in the various States and Territories report data on sensitivity to an agreed 'core' group of antimicrobial agents quarterly. The antibiotics currently routinely surveyed are penicillin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin and spectinomycin, all of which are administered as single dose regimens and currently used in Australia to treat gonorrhoea. When in vitro resistance to a recommended agent is demonstrated in 5 per cent or more of isolates from a general population, it is usual to remove that agent from the list of recommended treatment.1 Additional data are also provided on other antibiotics from time to time. At present all laboratories also test isolates for the presence of high level (plasmid-mediated) resistance to the tetracyclines, known as TRNG. Tetracyclines are however, not a recommended therapy for gonorrhoea in Australia. Comparability of data is achieved by means of a standardised system of testing and a program-specific quality assurance process. Because of the substantial geographic differences in susceptibility patterns in Australia, regional as well as aggregated data are presented. For more information see Commun Dis Intell 2003;27:128. Reporting period 1 April to 30 June 2003 The AGSP laboratories received a total of 980 isolates in the second quarter of 2003 of which 962 remained viable for susceptibility testing. This number approximates the 1,000 strains examined in the same period in 2002. About 32 per cent of this total was from New South Wales, 28 per cent from Victoria, 14 per cent from Queensland, 12 per cent from the Northern Territory and seven per cent from Western Australia and South Australia. Isolates from other centres were few. Numbers examined decreased in New South Wales and Western Australia by about 25 per cent, but increased in Victoria by approximately 50 per cent and substantially in South Australia when compared with data in the same period in 2002. The number of strains from Queensland and Northern Territory examined was similar to last year Penicillins In this quarter about 16.6 per cent of all isolates were penicillin resistant by one or more mechanisms -7.5 per cent penicillinase producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae (PPNG) and 9.1 per cent by chromosomal mechanisms (CMRNG). The number and proportion of PPNG was little changed from the same period in 2002, but the number of CMRNG decreased from 100 to 88. The proportion of all strains resistant to the penicillins by any mechanism ranged from 1.8 per cent in the Northern Territory to 24.2 per cent in Victoria. Figure 11 shows the proportions of gonococci fully sensitive (MIC ≤ 0.03 mg/L), less sensitive (MIC 0.06-1 mg/L), relatively resistant (MIC ≥ 1 mg/L) or penicillinase producing aggregated for Australia and by state and territory. The small number of strains from the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania are aggregated in national data. A high proportion those strains classified as PPNG or else resistant by chromosomal mechanisms fail to respond to treatment with penicillins (penicillin, amoxycillin, ampicillin) and early generation cephalosporins. Figure 11. Categorisation of gonococci isolated in Australia, 1 April to 30 June 2003, by penicillin susceptibility and region FS Fully sensitive to penicillin, MIC %le 0.03 mg/L. LS Less sensitive to penicillin, MIC 0.06-0.5 mg/L. RR Relatively resistant to penicillin, MIC &ge; 1 mg/L. PPNG Penicillinase producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The number of PPNG isolated across Australia (n=72) was little different from the corresponding period in 2002 (n=77). The highest proportion of PPNG was found in isolates from Western Australia (15.3 per cent). PPNG were present in all jurisdictions. Slightly more isolates were resistant to the penicillins by separate chromosomal mechanisms (n=88). CMRNG were especially prominent in Victoria (15.3% of isolates) and New South Wales (11.5%). Only a single CMRNG was detected in the Northern Territory. Three isolates with decreased susceptibility to ceftriaxone were identified in New South Wales and one each in South Australia and Queensland. Spectinomycin All isolates were susceptible to this injectable agent. Quinolone antibiotics The total number (135) and proportion (14%) of all quinolone resistant N. gonorrhoeae (QRNG) was slightly higher that seen in the second quarter of 2002 (122 isolates, 12%). The majority of QRNG (117 of 135, 82%) continued to exhibit higher level resistance. Quinolone resistant N. gonorrhoeae are defined as those isolates with an MIC to ciprofloxacin equal to or greater than 0.06 mg/L. QRNG are further subdivided into less sensitive (ciprofloxacin MICs 0.06-0.5 mg/L) or resistant (MIC≥ 1 mg/L) groups. QRNG were again widely distributed. The highest numbers were found in Victoria (54) and New South Wales (52) with the highest rate (20%) in Victoria (Figure 12). QRNG rates above five per cent were maintained in all centres except the Northern Territory (0.9%). Details of geographic acquisition of QRNG were available in only 40 instances. Local contact (26) was twice as common as overseas contact (14) indicating that a substantial degree of domestic transmission continues. MICs ranged up to 16 mg/L. Figure 12. The distribution of quinolone resistant isolates of N. gonorrhoeae in Australia, 1 April to 30 June 2003, by jurisdiction LS QRNG Ciprofloxacin MICs 0.06-0.5 mg/L. R QRNG Ciprofloxacin MICs &ge; 1 mg/L. High level tetracycline resistance The number (92) and proportion (9.5%) of high level tetracycline resistance (TRNG) isolates were lower than in the second quarter of 2002. TRNG represented between five per cent (South Australia) and 22.2 per cent (Western Australia) of all isolates. TRNG was not found in isolates from the Northern Territory. 1. Management of sexually transmitted diseases. World Health Organization 1997; Document WHO/GPA/TEM94.1 Rev.1 p 37. HIV and AIDS Surveillance National surveillance for HIV disease is coordinated by the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (NCHECR), in collaboration with State and Territory health authorities and the Commonwealth of Australia. Cases of HIV infection are notified to the National HIV Database on the first occasion of diagnosis in Australia, by either the diagnosing laboratory (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria) or by a combination of laboratory and doctor sources (Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia). Cases of AIDS are notified through the State and Territory health authorities to the National AIDS Registry. Diagnoses of both HIV infection and AIDS are notified with the person's date of birth and name code, to minimise duplicate notifications while maintaining confidentiality. Tabulations of diagnoses of HIV infection and AIDS are based on data available three months after the end of the reporting interval indicated, to allow for reporting delay and to incorporate newly available information. More detailed information on diagnoses of HIV infection and AIDS is published in the quarterly Australian HIV Surveillance Report, and annually in 'HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia, annual surveillance report'. The reports are available from the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, 376 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010. Internet: http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/nchecr Telephone: +61 2 9332 4648. Facsimile: +61 2 9332 1837. For more information see Commun Dis Intell 2003;27:57. HIV and AIDS diagnoses and deaths following AIDS reported for 1 April to 30 June 2003, as reported to 30 September 2003, are included in this issue of Communicable Diseases Intelligence (Tables 6 and 7). Table 6. New diagnoses of HIV infection, new diagnoses of AIDS, and deaths following AIDS occurring in the period 1 April to 30 June 2003, by sex and state or territory of diagnoses State or territory Totals for Australia HIV diagnoses Female Sex not reported AIDS diagnoses Female AIDS deaths Female 1. Totals include people whose sex was reported as transgender. Table 7. Cumulative diagnoses of HIV infection, AIDS, and deaths following AIDS since the introduction of HIV antibody testing to 30 June 2003 and reported, by sex and state or territory Childhood immunisation coverage Tables 8, 9 and 10 provide the latest quarterly report on childhood immunisation coverage from the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR). The data show the percentage of children fully immunised at 12 months of age for the cohort born between 1 April and 30 June 2002, at 24 months of age for the cohort born between 1 April and 30 June 2001, and at 6 years of age for the cohort born between 1 April and 30 June 1997 according to the Australian Standard Vaccination Schedule. A full description of the methodology used can be found in Commun Dis Intell 1998;22:36-37. Commentary on the trends in ACIR data is provided by the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases (NCIRS). For further information please contact the NCIRS at telephone: +61 2 9845 1256, Email: brynleyh@chw.edu.au. Immunisation coverage for 'fully immunised' children at 12 months for Australia has increased from the last quarter by 0.5 percentage points to 91.7 per cent (Table 8). There was very little change in 'fully immunised' coverage by state or territory. The Northern Territory showed the biggest change (-1.8%). Four jurisdictions had changes in coverage greater than 0.8 per cent for individual vaccines: Victoria, with increases in coverage for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTP) (+1.1%), and poliomyelitis (OPV) (+1.1%); Queensland, with increases in coverage for DTP (+0.9%), and OPV (+0.9%); the Australian Capital Territory (the ACT) with increases in coverage for Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) (+1.0%) and hepatitis B (hep B) (+1.6%); and the Northern Territory, with decreases in coverage for Hib (-2.0%) and hep B (-0.9%). Table 8. Proportion of children immunised at 1 year of age, preliminary results by disease and State for the birth cohort 1 April to 30 June 2002; assessment date 30 September 2003 Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (%) Poliomyelitis (%) Haemophilus influenzae type b (%) Hepatitis B (%) Fully immunised (%) Change in fully immunised since last quarter (%) Coverage measured by 'fully immunised' at 24 months of age for Australia decreased marginally from the last quarter by 0.1 percentage point to 89.2 per cent (Table 9). Coverage for individual vaccines for Australia basically remained unchanged with DTP still 3-4 percentage points lower than other vaccines for this age group. This difference was due to the greater number of DTP doses required to be considered up-to-date at 24 months of age. The only important jurisdictional changes in coverage at 24 months of age occurred in the Australian Capital Territory, with a decrease in DTP (-2.0%), MMR (-1.0%) and 'fully immunised' (-1.8%) coverage, and a 1.3 per cent increase in polio coverage. Table 9. Proportion of children immunised at 2 years of age, preliminary results by disease and State for the birth cohort 1 April to 30 June 2001; assessment date 30 September 20031 Total number of children Measles, mumps, rubella (%) Hepatitis B(%) Fully immunised (%)2 1. The 12 months age data for this cohort was published in Commun Dis Intell 2002;26:627. 2. These data relating to 2-year-old children should be considered as preliminary. The proportions shown as 'fully immunised' appear low when compared with the proportions for individual vaccines. This is at least partly due to poor identification of children on immunisation encounter forms. Table 10 shows immunisation coverage estimates for 'fully immunised' and for individual vaccines at six years of age for Australia and by state or territory. 'Fully immunised' coverage at six years of age for Australia increased by 0.8 percentage points from the previous quarter to 83.1 per cent with significant increases in the Australian Capital Territory (+2.7%) and South Australia (+2.0%). Encouragingly, coverage for all individual vaccines at six years of age increased in all states and territories with some substantial increases in some jurisdictions. There were significant increases in measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) coverage in the Australian Capital Territory (+3.2%), the Northern Territory (+2.4%) and South Australia (+1.7%), and similar increases in coverage for DTP in the same three jurisdictions. Coverage for individual vaccines assessed at six years, is now over 85 per cent in a number of different jurisdictions, and close to 85 per cent in most jurisdictions. Whilst it is still a way off from the coverage target of 90 per cent, it is encouraging to see gains being made in coverage for children in this age group. Assuming there is no differential reporting of immunisations to the ACIR by providers for children of different ages, it seems likely that these increases in coverage are a result of an increase in uptake of immunisation at six years of age. Table 10. Proportion of children immunised at 6 years of age, preliminary results by disease and State for the birth cohort 1 April to 30 June 1997; assessment date 30 September 2003 Figure 13 shows the trends in vaccination coverage from the first ACIR-derived published coverage estimates in 1997 to the current estimates. There is a clear trend of increasing vaccination coverage over time for children aged 12 months, 24 months and six years, although the rate of increase has slowed over the past two years, especially for children in the 12 and 24 month age groups. Figure 13. Trends in vaccination coverage, Australia, 1997 to 2003, by age cohorts Acknowledgment: These figures were provided by the Health Insurance Commission (HIC), to specifications provided by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. For further information on these figures or data on the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register please contact the Immunisation Section of the HIC: Telephone: +61 2 6124 6607. National Enteric Pathogens Surveillance System The National Enteric Pathogens Surveillance System (NEPSS) collects, analyses and disseminates data on human enteric bacterial infections diagnosed in Australia. These pathogens include Salmonella, E. coli, Vibrio, Yersinia, Plesiomonas, Aeromonas and Campylobacter. Communicable Diseases Intelligence quarterly reports include only Salmonella. Data are based on reports to NEPSS from Australian laboratories of laboratory-confirmed human infection with Salmonella. Salmonella are identified to the level of serovar and, if applicable, phage-type. Infections apparently acquired overseas are included. Multiple isolations of a single Salmonella serovar/phage-type from one or more body sites during the same episode of illness are counted once only. The date of the case is the date the primary diagnostic laboratory isolated a Salmonella from the clinical sample. Note that the historical quarterly mean counts should be interpreted with caution, and are affected by surveillance artefacts such as newly recognised (such as S. Typhimurium 197 and S. Typhimurium U290) and incompletely typed Salmonella. Reported by Joan Powling (NEPSS Co-ordinator) and Mark Veitch (Public Health Physician), Microbiological Diagnostic Unit - Public Health Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne. NEPSS can be contacted at the above address or by telephone: +61 3 8344 5701, facsimile: +61 3 9625 2689. For more information see Commun Dis Intell 2003;27:129. Reports to the National Enteric Pathogens Surveillance System of Salmonella infection for the period 1 July to 30 September 2003 are included in Tables 11 and 12. Data include cases reported and entered by 14 October 2003. Counts are preliminary, and subject to adjustment after completion of typing and reporting of further cases to NEPSS. The total number of reports to NEPSS of human Salmonella infection declined to 879 in the third quarter of 2003, 42 per cent less than the second quarter of 2003. The incidence of human salmonellosis is lowest in the third quarter of each year. Case counts to 14 October 2003 are approximately 90 per cent of the expected final counts for the quarter. During the third quarter of 2003, the 25 most common Salmonella types in Australia accounted for 504 (57%) of all reported human Salmonella infections. Seventeen of the 25 most common Salmonella infections in the second quarter of 2003 were amongst the 25 most commonly reported in the previous quarter. Although counts of S. Typhimurium phage types 135, 9 and 170 and S. Infantis declined compared with the previous quarter, they remained among the six most common salmonellae in the nation and were mostly reported from the eastern mainland states. S. Typhimurium phage type 170 was the fourth most commonly reported Salmonella in Australia in the third quarter of 2003. Reports of this phage type continue to exceed historical averages. There were a further five reports of the similar phage type, S. Typhimurium phage type 108. Reports of S. Typhimurium phage type U290 have increased progressively since 2001. Acknowledgement: We thank scientists, diagnostic and reference laboratories, State and Territory health departments, and the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing for their contributions to NEPSS. Table 11. Reports to the National Enteric Pathogens Surveillance System of Salmonella isolated from humans during the period 1 July to 30 September 2003, as reported to 14 October 2003 Total all Salmonella for quarter Total contributing Salmonella types Table 12. Top 25 Salmonella types identified in Australian States and Territories, 1 July to 30 September 2003 National rank Salmonella type Total 3rd quarter 2003 Last 10 years mean 3rd quarter 1 S. Typhimurium 135 2 S. Typhimurium 9 3 S. Saintpaul 5 S. Typhimurium U290 6 S. Infantis 8 S. Typhimurium RDNC 9 S. Muenchen 10 S. Chester 11 S. Birkenhead 12 S. Virchow 8 13 S. Hvittingfoss 14 S. Adelaide 15 S. Oranienburg 16 S. Typhimurium 126 17 S. Agona 18 S. Stanley 19 S. Aberdeen 20 S. Typhimurium 12 21 S. Bovismorbificans 32 22 S. Typhimurium 6 var 1 23 S. Typhimurium 4 24 S. Ball 25 S. Zanzibar This article was published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 27 No 4, December 2003. This issue - Vol 27 No4, December 2003

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line465

__label__wiki

TO MANAGER "7 Summits + 2 Poles" Everest (8848м) Aconcagua (6962м) McKinley (6194м) Kilimanjaro (5895м) Elbrus (5642м) Vinson (4897м) Carstensz Pyramid (4884м) "7 Volcanoes" Sidley (4181м) Lenin Peak (7134м) Khan Tengri (7010м) 14 eight-thousanders K2 (8611м) Lhotse (8516м) Cho-Oyu (8201м) Manaslu (8156м) Shisha Pangma (8013м) Other mountains Belukha (4506м) mt. Elbrus (5642m) mt. Belukha (4506m) mt. Kilimanjaro (5895m) Indonesia (Papua) mt. Carstensz Pyramid (4884m) mt. Vinson (4897m) mt. Sidley (4181m) mt. Aconcagua (6962m) mt. McKinley (6194m) mt. Khan Tengri (7010m) mt. Lenin Peak (7134m) mt. Lhotse (8516m) mt. Manaslu (8156m) mt. K2 (8611m) mt. Everest (8848m) mt. Cho-Oyu (8201m) mt. Shisha Pangma (8013m) SuperGuides schedule Abramov Alex Berezin Andrey Dorojukov Aleksandr Egorov Boris Ermakov Dmitry Korobeshko Luda Larin Sergey Rostovtsev Artem Rumyantseva Olga Sergey Avtomonov Vladimir Kotlyar SuperGuides Antarctic Ice Marathon and World record of Richard Donovan 18 December 2011, 11:23: 7 December 2011: Remarkable records were set across the board at the seventh running of the Antarctic Ice Marathon races, the southernmost marathon in the world, over the weekend. More than 40 competitors from 15 countries gathered on the frozen continent to take part in half,-marathon, marathon and ... MORE » 7 December 2011: Remarkable records were set across the board at the seventh running of the Antarctic Ice Marathon races, the southernmost marathon in the world, over the weekend. More than 40 competitors from 15 countries gathered on the frozen continent to take part in half,-marathon, marathon and ultramarathon races that would test the resolve of the most steely of running enthusiasts. The events, which are held at Union Glacier camp, are the only official foot races within the Antarctic Circle on the mainland continent. This year’s event was particularly special as it coincided with the Centenary year of Man reaching the South Pole. On 1 December, Clement Thevenet (FRA) dominated the men’s marathon (42.195km) distance when running a record time of 3:47:07. In amazingly bright sunshine and temperatures of -18C, the Frenchman led from start to finish to take the title ahead of the USA’s Alvin Matthews and Matthew Von Ertfelda. Yvonne Brown (GBR) was a worthy winner of the women’s race in 4:26:10, finishing ahead of two previous North Pole Marathon winners, Emer Dooley (IRL) and Alison Hamlett (GBR). The first three finishers broke the previous female record. On 2 December, the Antarctic 100km began at 13:00 GMT and it took Thevenet a mere 12:09:06 hrs, another new Antarctic record, to add the title to his marathon victory. It was a colder affair with windchill temperatures dropping down to about -25C and the prolonged exposure causing two competitors , including Thevenet, requiring IV fluids after the race. Former winner, Mark de Keyser (BEL) was a very close second with Dave Deany (AUS) third. To round off the record setting weekend, Richard Donovan (IRL) ran an epic 100 miles in a day (24:35:02 hrs) to coincide with the Centenary year celebrations. Darkness was not a problem for the Irishman as there are 24 hours of daylight in the interior of the Antarctic at this time of year. Registration is now open for next year's Antarctic Ice Marathon & 100k trip, which is scheduled to occur from 19th - 23rd November 2012. For full details, see www.icemarathon.com. MEN'S MARATHON 1. Clement Thevenet (FRA) - 3:47:07 hrs 2. Alvin Matthews (USA) - 4:38:19 hrs 3. Matthew Von Ertfelda (USA) - 4:52:58 hrs 4. Simon Abrahams (GBR) - 4:56:49 hrs 4. Joey McBreary (USA) - 4:56:49 hrs 6. Krzysztof Szachna (POL) - 5:02:50 hrs 7. Dave Kennedy (USA) - 5:06:42 hrs 8. Errol Damelin (GBR) - 5:14:30 hrs 9. Taco Jongman (NED) - 5:23:00 hrs 10. Doug Carrell (USA) - 5:44:26 hrs 11. Christopher Duff (USA) - 5:53:58 hrs 12. Rusty Berther (AUS) - 6:02:12 hrs 13. Ray Miller (USA) - 6:16:29 hrs 14. Riet Van de Velde (BEL) - 6:28:31 hrs 15. Ladislav Simek (CZE) - 6:29:52 hrs 16. Michael Parrott (CAN) - 6:39:06 hrs 17. Michael Bartl (GER) - 6:51:46 hrs 18. Jeremy Cashen (NZL) - 7:28:10 19. Tom Cashen (NZL) - 7:28:11 hrs 20. Mark Kooijman (PHI) - 7:31:18 hrs 21. Don Kern (USA) - 7:53:38 hrs 22. Sebastian Armenault (ARG) - 8:09:41 hrs 23. Anand Anantharaman (IND) - 8:45:40 hrs * George Nichols (USA) ran a marathon on 2 December in 8:30:12 hrs WOMEN'S MARATHON 1. Yvonne Brown (GBR) - 4:26:10 hrs 2. Emer Dooley (IRL) - 4:41:30 hrs 3. Alison Hamlett (GBR)- 4:46:39 4. Elizabeth Chapman (GBR) - 5:43:57 hrs 5. Sarah Ames (GER)- 6:35:58 6. Mala Honnatti (IND)- 7:11:26 7. Sophie Woo (NED) - 7:31:18 hrs 8. Rebecca Frechette (USA)- 8:43:50 9. Linh Huynh (CAN)- 8:44:53 * Bonnie Bailey (USA) ran a marathon on 2 December in 8:30:12 hrs ANTARCTIC 100 KM 1. Clement Thevenet (FRA) - 12:09:06 hrs 2. Marc de Keyser (BEL) - 12:14:18 hrs 3. Dave Deany (AUS) - 13:48:14 hrs 4. Brent Weigner (USA) - 15:41:04 hrs 5. Matthew Von Ertfelda (USA) - 20:03:42 hrs 100 MILE POLAR CENTENARY RUN 1. Richard Donovan (IRL) - 24:35:02 hrs WHITE CONTINENT HALF-MARATHON 1. Chad Bruce (CAN) - 2:30.32 hrs 2. Matt Kirby (GBR) - 3:01:01 hrs Richard Donovan, 42, from Galway in the west of Ireland, began his challenge in numbing sub-zero temperatures in Antarctica on January 31 and finished in Sydney just five days, nine hours and eight minutes later. "What he did was staggering, quite remarkable," John O'Shea, founder and chief executive of third world charity Goal, told AFP, adding that the money raised would help the charity's work in Sudan's Darfur region. "It is extraordinary given the conditions and the time scale involved. I can't believe he managed it. I am in awe of what he achieved to bring attention to the tragedy of Dafur and to alleviate the suffering there. After starting in the Antarctic, Mr Donovan got on a plane to South Africa and completed a marathon in Cape Town. He then flew to Dubai and ran another one, completing three marathons in two days. Braving snow storms that shut down London on Monday, Mr Donovan completed his fourth marathon there before going to Toronto in Canada for his fifth. Then it was on to Chile for a Santiago marathon and finally to Australia. Over 129 hours, Mr Donovan endured extreme temperatures and only slept in the economy class seats of airplanes between continents, said Mr O'Shea. In total he ran 183 miles and flew tens of thousands of miles. "It brings into focus how little the world does and how much one man does for Dafur. He feels almost as strongly as I do about the lack of an adequate international response in Dafur where 400,000 people have died," Mr O'Shea said. Goal has been working in Sudan since 1985 and spent about 18 million euros (£15.7 million) there on aid in 2007. In 2002, Mr Donovan became the first person in the world to run a marathon at both the North and South Poles. He now organises the northernmost marathon on earth, the North Pole Marathon, and the southernmost marathon on earth, the Antarctic Ice Marathon. Mr Donovan has won the South Pole Marathon, the Inca Trail Marathon, the Everest Challenge Marathon, the Antarctic 100km and the Himalayan 100-Mile Stage Race. Antarctica is calling! Unforgettable trip to the point where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface! Comments not found ... 7 Summits Club LTD info@7summitsclub.com Moscow , +7 (800) 222-88-48, +7 (495) 642-88-66 info@7summitsclub.com Send your question to manager

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line471

__label__cc

Stressed, suicidal cops in NJ can call for help — confidentially Erin Vogt When cops seek help for mental health, is it kept private? (Thinkstock) The recent suicide of a beloved Mercer County Sheriff's Officer has New Jersey law enforcement circling back to a trusted resource, a hotline called Cop-2-Cop. Following Officer Pablo Santiago's death in late December, the New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association used its social media to share information about the confidential, 24-hour service. "The strongest and bravest sometimes need help. No matter what's happening in life, big or small, it's ok not to be OK," the police union said. The peer-to-peer counseling hotline has been running in New Jersey in partnership with UMDNJ and Rutgers University since 1998. Director Cherie Castellano says the mission is on "rescuing those who are rescuing everybody else." A national study commissioned by the Ruderman Family Foundation found that as of 2017, police and firefighters were more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty. The study cites constant exposure to death and destruction as the cause of depression and PTSD and also notes that police officers and firefighters face higher rates of suicide than civilians. There's also the issue of whether law enforcement suicides are being accurately reported as such. Preliminary 2018 law enforcement officer fatalities in 2018 were 145 nationwide, a 12 percent increase over 2017. According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, three of them were in New Jersey. The NJSPBA reported 19 police suicides across the state in 2015 alone. The grim statistics have been revisited after the suicides of two well-known officers in 2016 and 2017 in Sayreville and Hamilton, respectively. Cop-2-Cop is a free and confidential 24-hour hotline available to law enforcement officers at 866-267-2267. The hotline is staffed by volunteer retired law enforcement personnel and mental health professionals. Since the initiative began in 1998, they’ve fielded more than 80,000 calls and developed a new resilience course for active officers. A decade after a state task force on police suicide, there's still an uphill battle to remove the stigma of seeking help, advocates say. The issue of discriminatory thinking in regard to those dealing with any mental illness is covered at length by the Governor's Council on Mental Health Stigma. Castellano says newer classes of officers seem to understand that accepting treatment is a necessary part of their high intensity environment. She says the initiative continues to be focused on creating services and resources that educate and allow for a safe place for police officers to get what they need. Source: Stressed, suicidal cops in NJ can call for help — confidentially Filed Under: Mercer County, newsletter

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line474

__label__wiki

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr. was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed three years later. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000. The idea of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a holiday was promoted by labor unions in contract negotiations. After King's death, U.S. Representative John Conyers and U.S. Senator Edward Brooke introduced a bill in Congress to make King's birthday a national holiday. The bill first came to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1979. However, it fell five votes short of the number needed for passage. Two of the main arguments mentioned by opponents were that a paid holiday for federal employees would be too expensive, and that a holiday to honor a private citizen would be contrary to longstanding tradition (King had never held public office). Only two other figures have national holidays in the U.S. honoring them: George Washington and Christopher Columbus. Soon after, the King Center turned to support from the corporate community and the general public. The success of this strategy was cemented when musician Stevie Wonder released the single "Happy Birthday" to popularize the campaign in 1980 and hosted the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981. Six million signatures were collected for a petition to Congress to pass the law, termed by a 2006 article in The Nation as "the largest petition in favor of an issue in U.S. history. Today, consider taking a moment to recognize Martin Luther King Jr.’s impact on America.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line476

__label__wiki

Tony Romo heading into broadcasting with CBS By Todd Archer and Adam Schefter The Dallas Cowboys have officially released quarterback Tony Romo, who will become the lead NFL analyst for CBS, it was announced Tuesday. "It was a very difficult decision. I went back and forth a number of times," Romo said on a conference call. Romo said the Houston Texans were at the top of his wish list if he kept playing, but the CBS offer was too good to pass up. "It really had nothing to do with the Texans and everything to do with CBS," Romo said. "I felt like it was the right decision. My wife would tell you we've had a lot of late nights. It was nice to have some clarity." Romo hasn't come out and said he's retiring. "Do I envision playing football? Absolutely not," he said. "Do I expect to get some calls? Yes, that's the reality." One NFL executive told ESPN via text message that "Romo is now every team's emergency backup QB in case your starter gets hurt" and that those teams would have to "pay him to come out of 'retirement.'" Romo said: "You never say never," but added that "there's no part of me that wants to play." Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he wishes Romo and his family "nothing but the best." "As an organization, we did what he asked us to do in terms of his release, and we wanted to do what was ultimately in his best interest and in the best interest of his family," Jones said in a statement. "Tony has been a wonderful representative of the Cowboys organization for 14 years, and he left everything he had on the field. He will leave us with many great memories and a legacy of being, truly, one of the greatest players in Cowboys history. We are thrilled for him and his family that he will be able to continue working as a professional in the game he so dearly loves. He is a young man who is just getting started on a long journey in life. All the best my friend." With CBS, Romo will become the No. 1 color commentator -- replacing former NFL quarterback Phil Simms -- alongside play-by-play veteran Jim Nantz. He also had drawn interest from Fox and NBC. "Going from one legendary team to another as I begin the next phase of my career is a dream come true," Romo said in a statement. "I have always known that once my playing career was over I wanted to become a broadcaster. I am ecstatic for the opportunity to work with Jim as I learn the craft and convey to fans my passion for this great game." Romo said on the conference call that he expects his new broadcasting job to be difficult, but "I've got to attack this just like football." The Cowboys' move to make Romo a post-June 1 release designation softens the blow against the salary cap this season. Instead of counting $24.7 million against the cap in 2017, Romo would count $10.7 million this year and $8.9 million in 2018. The Cowboys would gain $14 million in cap space this season, but it would not become available until June 2. The Cowboys will carry $19.6 million in dead money for the 2017 season, $8.9 million in 2018 and $3.2 million in 2019. Romo's decision came down to his health, sources close to the situation told ESPN. Romo, who turns 37 on April 21, believes his family and his health are paramount. He was limited to playing in parts of just five games over the past two seasons because of collarbone and back injuries, and he suffered a compression fracture in his back in August that led the way to Dak Prescott's emergence. Prescott posted his thanks to Romo on Instagram. Romo now will get to spend more time with his family while retaining a strong connection to the game. As the network's No. 1 color commentator for the NFL, Romo will work with Nantz on Sunday afternoon and Thursday evening games. He also will be in line to work CBS's coverage of Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta in February 2019. Romo -- a scratch golfer -- also could wind up working on CBS's golf coverage down the line, sources told ESPN, but he first wants to focus on football. "Tony has been one of the NFL's biggest stars for the past decade, and we are thrilled to welcome him to CBS Sports," CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said in a statement. "He will bring the same passion, enthusiasm and knowledge that he displayed on the field to the broadcast booth. He brings a fresh and insightful perspective to our viewers having just stepped off the field. We know Tony will quickly develop into a terrific analyst, and alongside Jim Nantz, will become a must-listen for fans each week." CBS said it was discussing future options for Simms, who served nearly 20 years as the network's lead NFL analyst. Romo stepping away from the game affects numerous NFL teams since the market for Romo was expected to be robust. Romo no longer will be a consideration for the Texans and Denver Broncos -- unless he were to unexpectedly return from the broadcast booth to the playing field. However, a source directly involved told ESPN's Ed Werder, "He's done. It's over. This was a no-brainer." Without Romo, the Cowboys' all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns,Tom Savage now is expected to be Houston's starting quarterback, with former Cowboys quarterback Brandon Weeden serving as his backup. In Denver, Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch will compete for the Broncos' starting quarterback job. Romo's transition to TV will finish off one of the great undrafted free-agent stories in NFL history. In 2003, Romo bypassed a larger signing bonus from the Broncos to join the Cowboys out of Eastern Illinois. He did not throw a pass in a regular-season game during his first three seasons, but coach Bill Parcells turned to him in the sixth game of the 2006 season at halftime against the New York Giants. Romo then sparked the Cowboys to a playoff berth and held the starting job through last August. In his first full season as the starter in 2007, Romo threw for a then-franchise-record 4,211 yards -- a mark he would surpass twice more -- and a franchise-record 36 touchdown passes. The Cowboys finished with the best record in the NFC (13-3) but lost in the divisional round of the playoffs. Romo has a career record of 78-49 but never was able to get the Cowboys past the divisional round in four playoff appearances. His 34,183 passing yards and 248 touchdown passes are the most in team history. Romo also holds team records for 300-yard passing games (46), games with multiple touchdown passes (79) and consecutive games with a touchdown pass (38). In 2012, he threw for a club-record 4,903 yards, and on Oct. 6, 2013, against the Broncos, he threw for a franchise-record 506 yards. He has the NFL record with a touchdown pass in 41 straight road games. "Tony Romo has a unique combination of athletic ability, arm talent, vision, and instincts for the game," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said in a statement. "What separates Tony from many other players, however, is a rare competitive spirit. Tony loves to play. Tony loves to compete. The best ones always do. In practice. During games. On the field. Off the field. Tony competes to the end in everything that he does. That relentless spirit that Tony plays with is contagious. He makes his teammates better. He makes his coaches better. He makes his team better." In 2013, back injuries started to slow Romo. He had two back surgeries, including a discectomy before the season finale. He suffered two transverse process fractures in 2014 but missed just one game in leading the Cowboys to a 12-4 record and NFC East title. In 2015, he suffered a broken left collarbone against the Philadelphia Eagles and missed seven games. He broke the collarbone again in his second game back and missed the final five games as the Cowboys went 1-11 without him. After undergoing collarbone surgery last spring, Romo said his back felt as strong as it had in years. However, on the third play from scrimmage in a preseason game against Seattle, he was awkwardly driven to the turf by Cliff Avril and suffered the compression fracture in his back. Romo's absence allowed Prescott, the Cowboys' second fourth-round pick last year, to ascend to the starting job. After losing the season opener, the Cowboys won a franchise-record 11 straight games. Prescott finished his rookie season with 23 touchdown passes and just four interceptions and was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year. Disappointed he would not have the chance to win the job back, Romo defused any controversy with a heartfelt statement backing Prescott upon his return. He served as the backup for the first time since 2006 and saw action in just one game, throwing a touchdown pass on his lone drive in the 2016 finale against the Eagles. "He has grown so much as a player and as a person over the course of his career and has made a significant impact on the lives of so many," Garrett said. "I consider myself fortunate to be at the top of that list. It has been one of the great privileges of my life to work with Tony Romo, one of the greatest players in Dallas Cowboys history." What led Romo to broadcast booth? Adam Schefter breaks down the chain of events that led to Tony Romo retiring from football for a job with CBS. sportsespnhouston texanscolor commentatorbroadcastingphil simmscbsnfldak prescottdenver broncosjerry jonesanalysttony romojim nantzdallas cowboys

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line477

__label__wiki

Chicago Cubs owners in talks to purchase AC Milan Tom Ricketts MILAN -- The Ricketts family that owns the Chicago Cubs says it is negotiating to purchase the debt-ridden AC Milan soccer team. The Milan office of the Edelman public relations firm, which has been hired to represent the Ricketts, says the entire family is interested in Milan for "a medium- to long-period investment" and wants to create "a strong bond with the city." The interest comes as seven-time European champion Milan faces UEFA sanctions over a breach of financial fair play regulations. Milan last year spent more than 200 million euros (then nearly $250 million) on new players amid questions over the financial stability of the Chinese-led consortium that purchased the club from Silvio Berlusconi for $800 million in April 2017. Serie A team Milan took a loan from U.S. private equity fund Elliott worth more than 300 million euros that club chairman Li Yonghong has struggled to pay back. Milan qualified for the Europa League next season but risks being excluded as part of the possible sanctions. The Ricketts family acquired a majority interest in the Cubs in 2009 and the team won the 2016 World Series under its guidance. The Gazzetta dello Sport reports Saturday that there is also another American party - which it did not name - interested in purchasing Milan. Thomas DiBenedetto, a partner in the Fenway Sports Group, which controls the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool, headed the group that took control of Roma in 2011. All-Star catcher Mike Piazza bought control of third-tier Reggiana in 2016. sportschicagolakeviewsocceru.s. & worldchicago cubs Copyright © 2020 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line478

__label__wiki

Home » Uncategorized » Ahab, a saint for our time Ahab, a saint for our time Saint Ahab* was the name of Agincourt’s Catholic church from its founding until 1950, when it became Christ the King. Ahab’s hagiography — a religious biography which takes a very characteristic form; this is but a shadow of what it should be — will surely evolve while Mr Jonathan Rutter crafts Ahab’s icon. Ahab, an obscure 3rd-4th century saint who appears in both Orthodox and Roman kalendars, is celebrated on 16 June. His name may derive from the Liburnian word akavya (a sparrow or other small bird) or possibly from ahava (the Hebrew word for love). He is the patron saint of pirates and, more recently, of obsessive-compulsives. Born circa 270 CE in the Roman province of Liburnia, Ahab was a fisherman who also engaged in Adriatic piracy during the reign of the emperor Diocletian. Though he was not himself a Christian until the hour of his death, Ahab aided members of the Christian community during their mutual persecution — “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” — transporting clergy among various hiding places along the Dalmatian coast and islands. During his last incident with Roman authority and with Eusebius aboard (who was not yet bishop of Caesarea), Ahab evaded a Roman galley, transferred Eusebius to a smaller boat, and then deceived the Romans into pursuing him while the priest hid himself in the reeds along the shore. The galley overcame Ahab near the island of Rava, where the captain summarily crucified him on the mast of his own boat. Crying out for God’s help, Ahab was gratified to find the Roman ship taking on water in a sudden storm. He survived long enough to watch the galley sink. Three weeks later his small boat, possibly a lembus, sailed miraculously into the harbor at Zadar under its own power with Ahab still nailed to the mast, his body perfectly preserved despite three weeks exposure to the weather and sea birds. Eusebius presided during Ahab’s interment, circa 310 CE, and recorded the circumstances of his sacrifice. Almost immediately the tomb attracted veneration and was a source of conversions and unaccounted medical cures. Later, Ahab’s relics were re-interred in the 9th century church of St Donat at Zadar (in present day Croatia) but were moved again by retreating Crusaders who brought them to Agincourt, France. Despite his obscurity—or perhaps because of it—Ahab successfully avoided recent kalendar purges of saints with doubtful authenticity. Pre-Romanesque church of Sveti Donat (St Donatus, formerly known as Holy Trinity), Zadar, Croatia / The relics of St Ahab were housed in the apse to the left of the chancel *When the time came to designate Agincourt’s Roman Catholic parish, I struggled to avoid saints names traditionally associated with ethnic groups. Augustine, bishop of Hippo, is often chosen for RC parishes that serve the African American community. David was from Wales; Patrick from Ireland; and George hailed from England. Then there are the connections between saints and parts of the anatomy. My grandmother’s parish in suburban Chicago was named for Blaise, patron saint of those suffering from diseases of the throat. So, blame the stray cosmic particle that shot me through at the moment Ahab came to mind. A hasty google search suggested he was unclaimed by the catholic (i.e., universal) church as someone worthy of veneration. So Ahab it would be. The hagiography above was crafted with that in mind. Recently, however, I happened upon a nasty link between Saint Ahab and the Christian Reconstructionist movement—those who wish not only to transform the United States into a Christian nation (a proposition I will resoundingly resist), but to impose its own brand of Sharia Law. Homosexuals, for example, will be executed in a Reconstructionist America. R. J. Rushdoony, an Armenian immigrant to the U.S., was the founder of the CR movement, now carried on by his son Mark and son-in-law Gary North (a former House staff member for Rep Ron Paul, no less). “Chalcedon“, the official website for Christian Reconstructionism, offers, among other publications, a polemic by RJ Rushdoony titled “The Gospel According to Saint Ahab”, available as an MP3 for $1.99 (which I am unlikely to invest in such a loony-toon organization, no matter how much I might want to read it). Happily, my invocation of Ahab as saint predates Rushdoony’s use by three years. By agincourtiowa in Uncategorized on Wednesday/15/December/2010 . ← The house with the Queen Anne front and the Mary Anne behind… Predicting the Past → R.H.L.M. Ramsay says: Friday/18/March/2011 at 10:00 pm The Agincourt Project hasn’t always been as seductive as I might have hoped. Ah, well, such are the vagaries of life. So, it is gratifying when folks share with me aspects of the story that touch them; ideas that encourage them to put pencil to paper and add to the texture of the place. Such is the case with St Ahab, whose brief life and martyrdom have resonated with Mr Jeremiah Johnson. He promises to expand it. Suddenly I’m giddy with anticipation. Saint Ahab, pray for us « Welcome to Agincourt, Iowa says: Friday/20/April/2018 at 3:45 pm […] those unfamiliar with Ahab, a 3rd century saint from the reign of Diocletian, he is alleged to have converted to Christianity while crucified on […]

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line485

__label__wiki

Alex Herdzik's Portfolio Programming Projects London Hollows (Gameplay and Prototyping) London Hollows is a stealth-based first-person horror game developed over a total of 2 weeks for my Gameplay and Prototyping class. A total of 5 people were involved in the creation of London Hollows. The game is loosely based on the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. In London Hollows, the player must collect a series of items throughout an abandoned subway tunnel that she is trapped in, while avoiding the “big bad wolf”, a large werewolf which prowls the tunnels with a thirst for human flesh. The player is able to sprint, jump over obstacles, and interact with items to open doors and pick up items. The player’s goal is to enter “grandma’s house” and escape the abandoned subway that she is trapped in. The game was built in Unity. I wrote the majority of code for the Wolf’s AI, and contributed to other miscellaneous parts of the game such as game models. Click here to play London Hollows.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line490

__label__wiki

Funds available to help refugees and migrants falling October 10, 2018 By FaroL Efforts to assist the tens of millions who’ve been forced from their homes are being increasingly constrained by severely limited funds, a new report from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has warned, urging greater international attention and support. Funds available to help refugees and migrants falling, a UN agency informed last Tuesday, while the number of those displaced has been rising by the year. “Based on contributions to date we expect funding for 2018 to meet just 55 per cent of the $8.2 billion that is needed,” Babar Baloch, a UNHCR spokesperson, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday, noting that in 2017 and 2016, the figures stood at 56.6 and 58 per cent, respectively. Migration: new map of Europe reveals real frontiers for refugees Martina Tazzioli, Swansea University Since the EU declared a “refugee crisis” in 2015 that was followed by an unprecedented number of deaths in the Mediterranean, maps explaining the routes of migrants to and within Europe have been used widely in newspapers and social media. Some of these maps came out of refugee projects, while others are produced by global organisations, NGOs and agencies such as Frontex, the European Border and Coastguard Agency, and the International Organisation for Migration’s project, Missing Migrants. The Balkan route, for example, shows the trail along which hundred of thousands of Syrian refugees trekked after their towns and cities were reduced to rubble in the civil war. However, migration maps tend to produce an image of Europe being “invaded” and overwhelmed by desperate women, men and children in search of asylum. At the same time, migrants’ journeys are represented as fundamentally linear, going from a point A to a point B. But what about the places where migrants have remained stranded for a long time, due to the closure of national borders and the suspension of the Schengen Agreement, which establishes people’s free internal movement in Europe? What memories and impressions remain in the memory of the European citizens of migrants’ passage and presence in their cities? And how is this most recent history of migration in Europe being recorded? Cherishde.uk/Mapbox, CC BY-SA Time and memory Our collective project, a map archive of Europe’s migrant spaces, engages with with these questions by representing border zones in Europe – places that have functioned as frontiers for fleeing migrants. Some of these border zones, such as Calais, have a long history, while other places have become effective borders for migrants in transit more recently, such as Como in Italy and Menton in France. The result of a collaborative work by researchers in the UK, Greece, Germany, Italy and the US, the project records memories of places in Europe where migrants remained in limbo for a long time, were confronted with violence, or found humanitarian aid, as well as marking sites of organised migrant protest. All the cities and places represented in this map archive have over time become frontiers and hostile environments for migrants in transit. Take for instance the Italian city of Ventimiglia on the French-Italian border. This became a frontier for migrants heading to France in 2011, when the French government suspended Schengen to deter the passage of migrants who had landed in Lampedusa in Italy in the aftermath of the Tunisian revolution in 2011. Four years later in 2015, after border controls were loosened, Ventimiglia again became a difficult border to cross, when France suspended Schengen for the second time. But far from being just a place where migrants were stranded and forced to go back, our map archive shows that Ventimiglia also became an important place of collective migrant protest. Ventigmilia on the French-Italian border became a place of migrant protest. Images of migrants on the cliffs holding banners saying “We are not going back” circulated widely in 2015 and became a powerful slogan for other migrant groups across Europe. The most innovative aspect of our map-archive consists in bringing the context of time, showing the transformations of spaces over time into a map about migration that explains the history of border zones over the last decade and how they proliferated across Europe. Every place represented – Paris, Calais, Rome, Lesbos, Kos, and Athens, for example – has been transformed over the years by migrants’ presence. Which Europe? This archive project visualises these European sites in a way that differs from the conventional geopolitical map: instead of highlighting national frontiers and cities, it foregrounds places that have been actual borders for migrants in transit and which became sites of protest and struggle. In this way the map archive produces another image of Europe, as a space that has been shaped by the presence migrants – the border violence, confinement and their struggle to advance. The geopolitical map of Europe is transformed into Europe’s migrant spaces – that is, Europe as it is experienced by migrants and shaped by their presence. So another picture of Europe emerges: a space where migrants’ struggle to stay has contributed to the political history of the continent. In this Europe migrants are subjected to legal restrictions and human rights violations, but at the same time they open up spaces for living, creating community and as a backdrop for their collective struggles. A local volunteer says goodbye as refugees are evicted from ‘the Jungle’ camp in Calais. It is also where they find solidarity with European citizens who have sympathy with their plight. These border zones highlighted by our map have been characterised by alliances between citizens and migrants in transit, where voluntary groups have set up to provide food, shelter and services such as medical and legal support. So how does this map engage with debate on the “migrant crisis” and the “refugee crisis” in Europe? By imposing a time structure and retracing the history of these ephemeral border zone spaces of struggle, it upends the image of migrants’ presence as something exceptional, as a crisis. The map gives an account of how European cities and border zones have been transformed over time by migrants’ presence. By providing the history of border zones and recording memories of citizens’ solidarity with migrants in these places, this map dissipates the hardline view of migrants as invaders, intruders and parasites – in other words, as a threat. This way, migrants appear as part of Europe’s unfolding history. Their struggle to stay is now becoming part of Europe’s history. But the increasing criminalisation of migrant solidarity in Europe is telling of how such collaboration disturbs state policies on containing migrants. This map-archive helps to erode the image of migrants as faceless masses and unruly mobs, bringing to the fore the spaces they create to live and commune in, embraced by ordinary European citizens who defy the politics of control and the violent borders enacted by their states. Martina Tazzioli, Lecturer in Geography, Swansea University Human Rights, PoliticsEconomic Freedom, Expatriate Worker Rights ← Funds available to help Refugees and Migrants falling Impact of Social Media on Traditional Tribal Justice →

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line491

__label__cc

Best Rated Car 2020 New Car Worth Waiting For Best SUV Lease Deals Right Now – Most Affordable Crossover in 2020 Home»Chevrolet»2020 Chevy Express Redesign, Specs, MPG, Dimension»2020 Chevy Express 15 Passenger Van Review 2020 Chevy Express 15 Passenger Van Review Get in-depth expert information for the 2020 Chevy Express Van including Redesign, Specs, Release Date, Price, Interior, MPG & Towing Capacity. The Express lineup has provides many families with comfort and capability for years. It is likely to continue doing so for years to come. In 2018, we see that the lineup received some changes, especially in its engine. Soon, we will see a Chevy Express for 2020, the 2020 Chevy Express Van. There are many rumors regarding this van. Below, we will give you things you can expect for the upcoming Express, including the redesign, exterior, interior, performance, and features. 2020 Chevy Express Redesign For the upcoming Chevy Express, a major redesign is not likely. This does not necessarily mean it is bad, though. Most of what the previous Chevy Express have, be it exterior, interior, engine or features, are good enough in its segment, Of course, some changes can make the van better but the same thing can be said for just any other vehicles. While a major redesign is not likely to happen, there should be changes to make the 2020 Express fits to be a 2020 van. Exterior Changes The exterior of the lineup has received many minor refreshes, changes, and redesigns. However, with these refreshes, changes, and redesigns, the latest Express van still look more or less the same as the 1996 Express van. The same thing can be expected for the 2020 model. This is not a problem, though, considering in the van segment the most important thing is the number of passengers a van can carry and its ability to provide comfort to the passengers. So far, the lineup has succeeded in doing the former excellently and only good enough for the latter Interior Updates As a van, the current Express is able to provide, at best, a decent comfort for all passengers. It seems that the lineup sacrifice comforts so that the van is able to carry more person. In the van segment, most vehicles come with 12 seats. The Express, on the other hand, can carry up to 15 seats. The 2020 model is likely to carry out this trend. The problem with the lineup is that it there is no high roof option, so the passengers must duck when they enter and exit the van. 2020 Chevy Express Specs & MPG In 2018, the base engine for the lineup is changed. Prior to 2018, the base engine is a 4.8L, V8 engine. Now, the base engine is a 4.3L, V6 engine. The 4.3L, V6 engine is capable of delivering an output of up to 276 horsepower with 298 lb-ft of torque. This engine is paired with an eight-speed auto transmission gearbox. There are also two other optional engines for the current Express. The first one is a 6.0, V8 engine capable of generating a whopping 341 horsepower with up to 373 lb-ft of torque. Among available engines, this engine is the most powerful. This engine is paired with a six-speed auto transmission gearbox. The second engine, a 2.8L, the 4-cylinder diesel engine is the least powerful among the available engines. The output of this engine is up to 181 horsepower with up to 369 lb-ft of torque. This engine is paired to an eight-speed auto transmission gearbox. We expect the upcoming 2020 Chevy Express will get these engines. The reason is that the lineup has got a new engine recently in 2018. Due to that, a new engine is unlikely to come for the 2020 model. Also, the available engines are strong enough to do any task thrown at them, so we don’t think a new engine will be necessary, at least for now. In terms of steering and handling, the base trim level of the previous Chevy Express has an accurate steering and tidy handling. With the upgraded engine, the van can reach the highway speeds with ease. The 2020 Chevy Express should not be different. 2020 Chevy Express Express will tow 10,000 lbs. and has a maximum payload rating of 3,940 lbs The standard features of the previous Chevy Express are 16-inch steel wheels, power windows, air conditioning, a rearview camera, an audio system (with two speakers), an infotainment display with General Motor’s OnStar communications. There are also cruise control, a tilt-only steering wheel, rear air conditioning, remote locking, and unlocking system, a navigation system, a 6.5-inch touchscreen display, a USB port, Bluetooth, a CD player, power-adjustable seating, and rear parking sensors. Some of these features are standard for one trim but are optional for the other trim. The upcoming 2020 Express is likely to carry more or less the same features of the previous Chevy Express. That being said, there should be updates, tweaks, and minor changes to the features so the 2020 model can keep up with its competitions. 2020 Chevy Express Release Date and Price No official statement has been released yet from Chevrolet regarding the release date of the 2020 Chevy Express. As a 2020 model, we can expect it to enter the market somewhere in 2019 or early 2020 at the latest. As of now, no one knows the price range of the upcoming 2020 Express. That being said, we can use the price range of the previous model, the previous model, to help us guesstimate it. The price range of the Chevy Express is between $33,515 and $38,025. The price range of the 2020 Express should be more or less in the same range. We expect there will be a slight increase in the price. A major redesign and change are unlikely for the upcoming 2020 Chevy Express. The 2020 model will carry on most things, including exterior, interior, performance, and features of its predecessor. Although it may be true, it should not be a problem for the Express lineup. All this time, the lineup has been able to provide comfort and capability for many families. We expect the 2020 Express to do the same but given the time of release, it should be able to bring more to the table. What do you think? We want to tell you that the information you read here is more or less an expectation. After all, the 2020 Chevy Express is designed for 2020 and there may be changes within the gap year between today and 2020. Also, we want to tell you that the image we use here is just an illustration since there is no real image of the 2020 Express at the moment. You are viewing 2020 Chevy Express 15 Passenger Van Review, picture size 969x640 posted by Adorecar.com at January 8, 2019. Don't forget to browse another photo in the related category or you can browse our other interesting photo that we have. Please also read our Privacy Policy and DCMA for the copyright of the images. Back to 2020 Chevy Express Redesign, Specs, MPG, Dimension 2020 Chevy Express 15 Passenger Van Review Pictures 2021 Chevy Tahoe Redesign, Interior, Release Date & Price Looking for a new car for the whole family to fit in? But also want a car that looks strong... 2020 Chevy Silverado Trailboss Z71 Review – Specs, Redesign, Price 2020 Chevy Silverado Trailboss Z71: Design, Engine, Features, Release Date and Price | The Silverado lineup has been in the market... 2020 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Specs, Release Date & Price 2020 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Specs, Release Date & Price | The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is known to be a very... 2020 Chevy Blazer Price, Specs, Interior | New SS Concept 2020 Chevy Blazer Price, Specs, Interior | The Chevy Blazer lineup has been gone from the market for years. It... 2020 Chevy Express Redesign, Specs, MPG, Dimension Get in-depth expert information for the 2020 Chevy Express Van including Redesign, Specs, Release Date, Price, Interior, MPG & Towing... Best Rated Car 2020 - Adorecar.com

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line500

__label__cc

Global stability of a SEIR rumor spreading model with demographics on scale-free networks Chen Wan1, Tao Li1 & Zhicheng Sun1 In this paper, a new SEIR (susceptible-exposed-infected-removed) rumor spreading model with demographics on scale-free networks is proposed and investigated. Then the basic reproductive number \(R_{0}\) and equilibria are obtained. The theoretical analysis indicates that the basic reproduction number \(R_{0}\) has no correlation with the degree-dependent immigration. The globally asymptotical stability of rumor-free equilibrium and the permanence of the rumor are proved in detail. By using a novel monotone iterative technique, we strictly prove the global attractivity of the rumor-prevailing equilibrium. With the development of online social networks, rumor has propagated more quickly and widely, coming within people’s horizons [1–3]. Rumor propagation may have tremendous negative effects on human lives, such as reputation damage, social panic and so on [4–7]. In order to investigate the mechanism of rumor propagation and effectively control the rumor, lots of rumor spreading models have been studied and analyzed in detail. In 1965, Daley and Kendal first proposed the classical DK model to study the rumor propagation [5]. They divided the population into three disjoint categories, namely, those who who never heard the rumor, those knowing and spreading the rumor, and finally those knowing the rumor but never spreading it. From then on, most rumor propagation studies were based on the DK model [8–14]. In the early stages, most rumor spreading models were established on homogeneous networks [15–18]. However, it is well known that a significant characteristic of social networks is their scale-free property. In networks, the nodes stand for individuals and the contacts stand for various interactions among those individuals. Scale-free networks can be characterized by degree distribution which follows a power-law distribution \(P(k)\sim k^{ - \gamma}\) (\(2 < \gamma \le 3\)) [19]. Recently, some scholars have studied a variety of rumor spreading models and found that the heterogeneity of the underlying network had a major influence on the dynamic mechanism of rumor spreading [18, 20–26]. It is noteworthy that the influence of hesitation plays a crucial role in process of rumor spreading. Lately, there were a few researchers who have studied the effects of hesitation. For instance, Xia et al. [27] proposed a novel SEIR rumor spreading model with hesitating mechanism by adding a new exposed group (E) in the classical SIR model. Liu et al. [28] presented a SEIR rumor propagation model on the heterogeneous network. They calculated the basic reproduction number \(R_{0}\) by using the next generation method, and they found that the basic reproduction number \(R_{0}\) depends on the fluctuations of the degree distribution. However, in most of the research work mentioned above, the immigration and emigration are not considered when rumor breaks out. Although references [27, 28] proposed a SEIR model with hesitating mechanism, neither could serve as a strict proof of globally asymptotically stability of rumor-free equilibrium and the permanence of the rumor. In this paper, considering the immigration and emigration rate, we study and analyze a new SEIR model with hesitating mechanism on heterogeneous networks and comprehensively prove the globally asymptotical stability of rumor-free equilibrium and the permanence of rumor in detail. The rest of this paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, we present a new SEIR spreading model with hesitating mechanism on scale-free networks. In Section 3, the basic reproduction number and the two equilibria of the proposed model are obtained. In Section 4, we analyze the globally asymptotic stability of equilibria. Finally, we conclude the paper in Section 5. Consider the whole population as a relevant online network. The SEIR rumor spreading model is based on dividing the whole population into four groups, namely: the susceptible, referring to those who have never contacted with the rumor, denoted by S; the exposed, referring to those who have been infected, in a hesitate state not spreading the rumor, denoted by E; the infected, referring to those who have accepted and spread the rumor, denoted by I; the recovered, referring to those who know the rumor but have ceased to spread it, denoted by R. During the period of rumor spreading, we suppose that the individuals with the same number of contacts are dynamically equivalent and belong to the same group in this paper. Let \(S_{k}(t)\), \(E_{k}(t)\), \(I_{k}(t)\) and \(R_{k}(t)\) be the densities of the above-mentioned nodes with the connectivity degree k at time t. Then the aggregate number of population at time is \(N(t)\), and the density of the whole population with degree k satisfies $$ N_{k}(t) = S_{k}(t) + E_{k}(t) + I_{k}(t) + R_{k}(t). $$ The transfer diagram for the SEIR rumor propagation model is shown in Figure 1. In this paper, we assume that the degree-dependent parameter \(b(k) > 0\) denotes the number of new immigration individuals with degree k per unit time, and each new immigration individual is susceptible. The emigration rate of all individuals is μ. Exposed individuals turn into infected individuals with probability βh due to believing and spreading the rumor. They recover from the rumor with probability \(\beta (1 - h)\). The infected individuals become exposed individuals with probability δm. They recover from the rumor with probability \(\delta (1 - m)\). Transfer diagram for SEIR rumor propagation model. Based on the above hypotheses and notation, the dynamic mean-field reaction rate equations described by $$ \left \{ \textstyle\begin{array}{l} \frac{dS_{k}(t)}{dt} = b(k) - \lambda (k)\Theta (t)S_{k}(t) - \mu S_{k}(t), \\ \frac{dE_{k}(t)}{dt} = \lambda (k)\Theta (t)S_{k}(t) - \beta E_{k}(t) + \delta mI_{k}(t) - \mu E_{k}(t), \\ \frac{dI_{k}(t)}{dt} = \beta hE_{k}(t) - \delta I_{k}(t) - \mu I_{k}(t), \\ \frac{dR_{k}(t)}{dt} = \beta (1 - h)E_{k}(t) + \delta (1 - m)I_{k}(t) - \mu R_{k}(t), \end{array}\displaystyle \right . $$ where \(\lambda (k) > 0\) is the degree of acceptability of k for individuals for the rumor, and the probability \(\Theta (t)\) denotes a link to an infected individual, satisfying $$ \Theta (t) = \frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \sum_{i} \frac{\varphi (i)}{i}P(i|k)\frac{I_{i}(t)}{N_{i}(t)}. $$ Here, \(1 / i\) represents the probability that one of the infected neighbors of an individual, with degree i, will contact this individual at the present time step; \(P(i|k)\) is the probability that an individual of degree k is connected to an individual with degree i. In this paper, we focus on degree uncorrelated networks. Thus, \(P(i|k) = iP(i) / \langle k \rangle\), where \(\langle k\rangle = \sum_{i} iP(i)\) is the average degree of the network. For a general function \(f(k)\), it is defined as \(\langle f(k)\rangle = \sum_{i} f(i)P(i)\). The function \(\varphi (k)\) is the infectivity of an individual with degree k. Adding the four equations of system (2.2), we have \(\frac{dN_{k}(t)}{dt} = b(k) - \mu N_{k}(t)\). Then we can obtain \(N_{k}(t) = \frac{b(k)}{\mu} (1 - e^{ - \mu t}) + N_{k}(0)e^{ - \mu t}\), where \(N_{k}(0)\) represents the initial density of the whole population with degree k. Hence, \(\lim \sup_{t \to \infty} N_{k}(t) = b(k) / \mu\), then \(N_{k}(t) = S_{k}(t) + E_{k}(t) + I_{k}(t) + R_{k}(t) \le b(k) / \mu\) for all \(t > 0\). In order to have a population of constant size, we suppose that \(S_{k}(t) + E_{k}(t) + I_{k}(t) + R_{k}(t) = N_{k}(t) = \eta_{k}\), where \(\eta_{k} = b(k) / \mu\). Thus, we have $$ \Theta (t) = \frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \sum_{k = 1} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k)I_{k}(t). $$ $$\begin{gathered} S(t) = \sum_{k} P(k)S_{k}(t),\qquad E(t) = \sum_{k} P(k)E_{k}(t), \\ I(t) = \sum_{k} P(k)I_{k}(t), \quad \mbox{and}\quad R(t) = \sum_{k} P(k)R_{k}(t) \end{gathered} $$ are the global average densities of the four rumor groups, respectively. From a practical perspective, we only need to consider the case of \(P(k) > 0\) for \(k = 1, 2, \ldots\) . The initial conditions for system (2.2) satisfy $$ \begin{gathered} 0 \le S_{k}(0), E_{k}(0), I_{k}(0), R_{k}(0) \le \eta_{k}, \\ S_{k}(0) + E_{k}(0) + I_{k}(0) + R_{k}(0) = \eta_{k},\qquad \Theta (0) > 0. \end{gathered} $$ The basic reproduction number and equilibria In this section, we reveal some properties of the solutions and obtain the equilibria of system (2.2). Define the basic reproduction number \(R_{0} = \frac{\beta h}{(\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu ) - \beta h\delta m}\frac{ \langle \varphi (k)\lambda (k) \rangle}{ \langle k \rangle} \), then there always exists a rumor-free equilibrium \(E_{0}(\eta_{k},0,0,0)\). And if \(R_{0} > 1\), system (2.2) has a unique rumor-prevailing equilibrium \(E_{ +} (S_{k}^{\infty},E_{k}^{\infty},I_{k}^{\infty},R_{k}^{\infty} )\). We can easily see that the rumor-free equilibrium \(E_{0}(\eta_{k},0,0,0)\) of system (2.2) is always existent. To obtain the equilibrium solution \(E_{ +} (S_{k}^{\infty},E_{k}^{\infty},I_{k}^{\infty},R_{k}^{\infty} )\), we let the right side of system (2.2) be equal to zero. Thus, we have $$\left \{ \textstyle\begin{array}{l} b(k) - \lambda (k)\Theta^{\infty} S_{k}^{\infty} - \mu S_{k}^{\infty} = 0, \\ \lambda (k)\Theta^{\infty} S_{k}^{\infty} - \beta E_{k}^{\infty} + \delta mI_{k}^{\infty} - \mu E_{k}^{\infty} = 0, \\ \beta hE_{k}^{\infty} - \delta I_{k}^{\infty} - \mu I_{k}^{\infty} = 0, \\ \beta (1 - h)E_{k}^{\infty} + \delta (1 - m)I_{k}^{\infty} - \mu R_{k}^{\infty} = 0, \end{array}\displaystyle \right . $$ where \(\Theta^{\infty} = \frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \sum_{k = 1} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k)I_{k}^{\infty} \). One has $$ \left \{ \textstyle\begin{array}{l} E_{k}^{\infty} = \frac{(\delta + \mu )}{\beta h}I_{k}^{\infty}, \\ S_{k}^{\infty} = \frac{(\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu ) - \beta h\delta m}{\beta h\lambda (k)\Theta^{\infty}} I_{k}^{\infty}, \\ R_{k}^{\infty} = \frac{(\delta + \mu )(1 - h) + h\delta (1 - m)}{h\mu} I_{k}^{\infty}. \end{array}\displaystyle \right . $$ According to \(S_{k}^{\infty} + E_{k}^{\infty} + I_{k}^{\infty} + R_{k}^{\infty} = \eta_{k}\) for all k, we have $$ I_{k}^{\infty} = \frac{\mu \beta h\lambda (k)\Theta^{\infty} \eta_{k}}{\mu (\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu ) - \mu \beta h\delta m + \lambda (k)\Theta^{\infty} [ (\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu ) - m\beta h\delta ]}. $$ Inserting equation (3.2) into equation (2.4), we can obtain the self-consistency equation: $$ \begin{aligned}[b] \Theta^{\infty} ={}& \frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \sum _{k = 1} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}} \\ &\times P(k)\frac{\mu \beta h\lambda (k)\Theta^{\infty} \eta_{k}}{\mu (\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu ) - \mu \beta h\delta m + \lambda (k)\Theta^{\infty} [ (\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu ) - m\beta h\delta ]} \\ \triangleq{} & f\bigl(\Theta^{\infty} \bigr). \end{aligned} $$ Obviously, \(\Theta^{\infty} = 0\) is a solution of (3.3), then \(S_{k}^{\infty} = \eta_{k}\) and \(E_{k}^{\infty} = I_{k}^{\infty} = R_{k}^{\infty} = 0\), which is a rumor-free equilibrium of system (2.2). In order to ensure equation (3.3) has a nontrivial solution, i.e., \(0 < \Theta^{\infty} \le 1\), the following conditions must be fulfilled: $$\frac{df(\Theta^{\infty} )}{d\Theta^{\infty}} \bigg|_{\Theta^{\infty} = 0} > 1\quad \mbox{and} \quad f(1) \le 1. $$ Thus, we can obtain $$\frac{\beta h}{(\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu ) - \beta h\delta m}\frac{ \langle \varphi (k)\lambda (k) \rangle}{ \langle k \rangle} > 1. $$ Let the base reproduction number as follows: $$ R_{0} = \frac{\beta h}{(\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu ) - \beta h\delta m}\frac{ \langle \varphi (k)\lambda (k) \rangle}{ \langle k \rangle}. $$ System (2.2) admits a unique rumor equilibrium \(E_{ +} (S_{k}^{\infty},E_{k}^{\infty},I_{k}^{\infty},R_{k}^{\infty} )\) satisfying equation (3.1) if and only if \(R_{0} > 1\). The proof is completed. □ Remark 1 The basic reproductive number \(R_{0}\) is obtained by equation (3.4), which depends on some model parameters and the fluctuations of the degree distribution. Interestingly, the basic reproductive number \(R_{0}\) has no correlation with the degree-dependent immigration \(b(k)\). According to the form of \(R_{0}\), we see that increase of the emigration rate μ will make \(R_{0}\) decrease. If \(b(k) = 0\) and \(\mu = 0\), then system (2.2) become the network-based SEIR model without demographics, and \(R_{0} = \frac{h}{\delta (1 - hm)}\frac{ \langle \varphi (k)\lambda (k) \rangle}{ \langle k \rangle} \), which is in consistence with reference [28]. The stability of the rumor-free equilibrium The rumor-free equilibrium \(E_{0}\) of SEIR system (2.2) is locally asymptotically stable if \(R_{0} < 1\), and it is unstable if \(R_{0} > 1\). Let \(S_{k}(t) = \eta_{k} - E_{k}(t) - I_{k}(t) - R_{k}(t)\), where \(\eta_{k} = b(k) / \mu\). Therefore, system (2.2) can be rewritten as $$ \left \{ \textstyle\begin{array}{l} \frac{dE_{k}(t)}{dt} = \lambda (k)\Theta (t) ( \eta_{k} - E_{k}(t) - I_{k}(t) - R_{k}(t) ) - (\beta + \mu )E_{k}(t) + \delta mI_{k}(t), \\ \frac{dI_{k}(t)}{dt} = \beta hE_{k}(t) - (\delta + \mu )I_{k}(t), \\ \frac{dR_{k}(t)}{dt} = \beta (1 - h)E_{k}(t) + \delta (1 - m)I_{k}(t) - \mu R_{k}(t). \end{array}\displaystyle \right . $$ Then the Jacobian matrix of system (4.1) at \(( 0, 0, 0 )\) is a \(3k_{\max} *3k_{\max} \) as follows: $$ J = \begin{bmatrix} A_{1} & B_{12} & B_{13} & \cdots & B_{1k_{\max}} \\ B_{21} & A_{2} & B_{23} & \cdots & B_{2k_{\max}} \\ \vdots & \vdots & \ddots & & \vdots \\ B_{{k_{\max} 1}} & B_{{k_{\max} 2}} & B_{k_{\max} 3} & \cdots & A_{k_{\max}} \end{bmatrix} , $$ $$ A_{j} = \begin{pmatrix} - (\beta + \mu ) & \delta m + \frac{\lambda (j)\varphi (j)P(j)}{ \langle k \rangle} & 0 \\ \beta h & - (\delta + \mu ) & 0 \\ \beta (1 - h) & \delta (1 - m) & - \mu \end{pmatrix} , \qquad B_{ij} = \begin{pmatrix} 0 & \frac{\lambda (j)\varphi (j)P(j)}{ \langle k \rangle} & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 \end{pmatrix} . $$ By using mathematical induction, the characteristic equation can be calculated as follows: $$\begin{gathered} ( z + \mu )^{k_{\max}} ( z + \beta + \mu )^{k_{\max} - 1} ( z + \delta + \mu )^{k_{\max} - 1} \\ \quad{}\times \biggl( ( z + \beta + \mu ) ( z + \delta + \mu ) - \beta h\delta m - \beta h\frac{ \langle \lambda (k)\varphi (k) \rangle}{ \langle k \rangle} \biggr) = 0, \end{gathered} $$ $$\bigl\langle \lambda (k)\varphi (k) \bigr\rangle = \lambda (1)\varphi (1)P(1) + \lambda (2)\varphi (2)P(2) + \cdots +\lambda (k_{\max} )\varphi (k_{\max} )P(k_{\max} ). $$ The stability of \(E_{0}\) is only dependent on $$ ( z + \beta + \mu ) ( z + \delta + \mu ) - \beta h\delta m - \beta h \frac{ \langle \lambda (k)\varphi (k) \rangle}{ \langle k \rangle} = 0. $$ Then we have $$ z^{2} + ( \beta + \delta + 2\mu )z + ( \beta + \mu ) ( \delta + \mu ) - \beta h\delta m - \beta h\frac{ \langle \lambda (k)\varphi (k) \rangle}{ \langle k \rangle} = 0. $$ According to equation (4.3), if \(R_{0} < 1\), we can easily get \(( \beta + \mu ) ( \delta + \mu ) - \beta h\delta m - \beta h\frac{ \langle \lambda (k)\varphi (k) \rangle}{ \langle k \rangle} > 0\), i.e., \(z < 0\). Hence, \(E_{0}\) is locally asymptotically stable if \(R_{0} < 1\) and unstable if \(R_{0} > 1\). The proof is completed. □ The rumor-free equilibrium \(E_{0}\) of SEIR system (2.2) is globally asymptotically stable if \(R_{0} < 1\). First, we define a Lyapunov function \(V(t)\) as follows: $$ V(t) = \sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}} \biggl[ P(k)E_{k}(t) + \frac{(\beta + \mu )}{\beta h}I_{k}(t) \biggr]. $$ Then, according to a calculation of the derivative of \(V(t)\) along the solution of system (2.2), we have $$\begin{aligned} V(t) ={}& \sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)P(k)}{\eta_{k}} \biggl[ E_{k}(t) + \frac{(\beta + \mu )}{\beta h}I_{k}(t) \biggr] \\ ={}& \sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k)\biggl[ \lambda (k)\Theta (t)S_{k}(t) - (\beta + \mu )E_{k}(t) + \delta mI_{k}(t)\\ & + \frac{(\beta + \mu )}{\beta h} \bigl( \beta hE_{k}(t) - (\delta + \mu )I_{k}(t) \bigr) \biggr] \\ \le{}& \sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k) \biggl[ \lambda (k)\Theta (t)\eta_{k} + \frac{\delta m\beta h - (\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu )}{\beta h}I_{k}(t) \biggr] \\ ={}& \Theta (t)\sum_{k} \varphi (k)P(k)\lambda (k) + \frac{\delta m\beta h - (\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu )}{\beta h}\sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k)I_{k}(t) \\ ={}& \Theta (t) \bigl\langle \varphi (k)\lambda (k) \bigr\rangle + \frac{\delta m\beta h - (\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu )}{\beta h} \langle k \rangle \Theta (t) \\ ={}& \Theta (t)\frac{1}{\beta h} \bigl[ \beta h \bigl\langle \varphi (k)\lambda (k) \bigr\rangle + \bigl[ \delta m\beta h - (\beta + \mu ) (\delta + \mu ) \bigr] \langle k \rangle \bigr] \\ ={}& \Theta (t) \langle k \rangle \frac{ [ (\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu ) - \beta h\delta m ]}{\beta h}(R_{0} - 1). \end{aligned} $$ When \(R_{0} < 1\), we can easily find that \(V(t) \le 0\) for all \(V(t) \ge 0\), and that \(V(t) = 0\) only if \(\Theta (t) = 0\), i.e., \(I_{k}(t) = 0\). Thus, by the LaSalle invariance principle [29], this implies the rumor-free equilibrium \(E_{0}\) of system (2.2) is globally attractive. Therefore, when \(R_{0} < 1\), the rumor-free equilibrium \(E_{0}\) of SEIR system (2.2) is globally asymptotically stable. The proof is completed. □ The global attractivity of the rumor-prevailing equilibrium In this section, the permanent of rumor and the global attractivity of the rumor-prevailing equilibrium are discussed. When \(R_{0} > 1\), the rumor is permanent on the network, i.e., there exists a positive constant \(\varsigma > 0\), such that \(\lim \inf I(t)_{t \to \infty} = \lim \inf_{t \to \infty} \sum_{k} P(k)I_{k}(t) > \varsigma\). We desire to use the condition stated in Theorem 4.6 in [30]. Define $$\begin{gathered} \begin{aligned}X ={}&\bigl\{ (S_{1},E_{1},I_{1},R_{1}, \ldots,S_{k_{\max}},E_{k_{\max}},I_{k_{\max}},R_{k_{\max}} ):\\&S_{k},E_{k},I_{k},R_{k} \ge 0 \mbox{ and } S_{k} + E_{k} + I_{k} + R_{k} = \eta,k = 1, \ldots,k_{\max} \bigr\} ,\end{aligned} \\ X_{0} = \biggl\{ (S_{1},E_{1},I_{1},R_{1}, \ldots,S_{k_{\max}},E_{k_{\max}},I_{k_{\max}},R_{k_{\max}} ) \in X: \sum_{k} P(k)I_{k} > 0\biggr\} , \\ \partial X_{0} = X\setminus X_{0}. \end{gathered} $$ In the following, we will explain that system (2.2) is uniformly persistent with respect to \((X_{0},\partial X_{0})\). Clearly, X is positively and bounded with respect to system (2.2). Assume that \(\Theta (0) = \frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \sum_{k = 1} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k)I_{k}(0) > 0\), then we have \(I_{k}(0) > 0\) for some k. Thus, \(I(0) = \sum_{k = 1} P(k)I_{k}(0) > 0\). For \(I'(t) = \sum_{k} P(k)I_{k}'(t) \ge - (\delta + \mu )\sum_{k} P(k)I_{k}(t) = - (\delta + \mu )I(t)\), we have \(I(t) \ge I(0)e^{ - (\delta + \mu )t} > 0\). Therefore, \(X_{0}\) is also positively invariant. Furthermore, there exists a compact set B, in which all solutions of system (2.2) initiated in X ultimately enter and remain forever after. The compactness condition (C4.2) of Theorem 4.6 in reference [30] is easily verified for this set B. Denote $$\begin{aligned} M_{\partial} ={}& \bigl\{ \bigl(S_{1}(0),E_{1}(0),I_{1}(0),R_{1}(0), \ldots,S_{k_{\max}} (0),E_{k_{\max}} (0),I_{k_{\max}} (0),R_{k_{\max}} (0)\bigr):\\& \bigl(S_{1}(t),E_{1}(t),I_{1}(t),R_{1}(t), \ldots, S_{k_{\max}} (t),E_{k_{\max}} (t),I_{k_{\max}} (t),R_{k_{\max}} (t)\bigr) \in \partial X_{0},t \ge 0 \bigr\} , \end{aligned} $$ $$\begin{aligned} \Omega ={}& \bigcup \bigl\{ \omega \bigl(S_{1}(0),E_{1}(0),I_{1}(0),R_{1}(0), \ldots,S_{k_{\max}} (0),E_{k_{\max}} (0),I_{k_{\max}} (0),R_{k_{\max}} (0)\bigr):\\&\bigl(S_{1}(0),E_{1}(0),I_{1}(0),R_{1}(0), \ldots, S_{k_{\max}} (0),E_{k_{\max}} (0),I_{k_{\max}} (0),R_{k_{\max}} (0)\bigr) \in X \bigr\} , \end{aligned} $$ where \(\omega (S_{1}(0),E_{1}(0),I_{1}(0),R_{1}(0), \ldots,S_{k_{\max}} (0),E_{k_{\max}} (0),I_{k_{\max}} (0),R_{k_{\max}} (0))\) is the omega limit set of the solutions of system (2.2) starting in \((S_{1}(0),E_{1}(0),I_{1}(0),R_{1}(0), \ldots,S_{k_{\max}} (0),E_{k_{\max}} (0), I_{k_{\max}} (0),R_{k_{\max}} (0))\). Restricting system (2.2) on \(M_{\partial} \), we can obtain $$ \left \{ \textstyle\begin{array}{l} \frac{dS_{k}(t)}{dt} = b(k) - \mu S_{k}(t), \\ \frac{dE_{k}(t)}{dt} = - (\beta + \mu )E_{k}(t), \\ \frac{dI_{k}(t)}{dt} = - (\delta + \mu )I_{k}(t) ,\\ \frac{dR_{k}(t)}{dt} = \beta (1 - h)E_{k}(t) - \mu R_{k}(t). \end{array}\displaystyle \right . $$ Obviously, system (4.5) has a unique equilibrium \(E_{0}\) in X. Thus, \(E_{0}\) is the unique equilibrium of system (2.2) in \(M_{\partial} \). We can easily find that \(E_{0}\) is locally asymptotically stable. For system (4.5) is a linear system; this indicates that \(E_{0}\) is globally asymptotically stable. Hence \(\Omega = \{ E_{0}\} \). And \(E_{0}\) is a covering of X, which is isolated and acyclic (because there exists no nontrivial solution in \(M_{\partial} \) which links \(E_{0}\) to itself). Finally, the proof of theorem will be completed if it is shown that \(E_{0}\) is a weak repeller for \(X_{0}\), i.e., $$\lim \sup_{t \to \infty} \operatorname{dist}\bigl(\bigl(S_{1}(t),E_{1}(t),I_{1}(t),R_{1}(t), \ldots,S_{k_{\max}} (t),E_{k_{\max}} (t),I_{k_{\max}} (t),R_{k_{\max}} (t)\bigr),E_{0}\bigr) > 0, $$ where \((S_{1}(t),E_{1}(t),I_{1}(t),R_{1}(t), \ldots,S_{k_{\max}} (t),E_{k_{\max}} (t),I_{k_{\max}} (t),R_{k_{\max}} (t))\) is an arbitrary solution with initial value in \(X_{0}\). In order to use the method of Leenheer and Smith [31], we need only to prove \(W^{s}(E_{0}) \cap X_{0} = \emptyset\), where \(W^{s}(E_{0})\) is the stable manifold of \(E_{0}\). Assume it is not sure, then there exists a solution \((S_{1}(t),E_{1}(t),I_{1}(t),R_{1}(t), \ldots,S_{k_{\max}} (t),E_{k_{\max}} (t), I_{k_{\max}} (t),R_{k_{\max}} (t))\) in \(X_{0}\), such that $$ S_{k}(t) \to \eta_{k},\qquad E_{k}(t) \to 0 , \qquad I_{k}(t) \to 0,\qquad R_{k}(t) \to 0\quad \mbox{as } t \to \infty. $$ According to \(R_{0} = \frac{b\beta}{\mu [ (\gamma + \varepsilon + \mu )(\beta + \delta + \mu ) - \beta \varepsilon ]}\frac{ \langle \lambda (k)\varphi (k) \rangle}{ \langle k \rangle} > 1\), we have $$\sum_{k} \frac{\lambda (k)\varphi (k)P(k)}{ \langle k \rangle \eta_{k}}\eta_{k} > \frac{\mu [ (\gamma + \varepsilon + \mu )(\beta + \delta + \mu ) - \beta \varepsilon ]}{b\beta}. $$ Then we can choose sufficiently small \(\xi > 0\) such that $$ \biggl\langle \frac{\lambda (k)\varphi (k)}{ \langle k \rangle \eta_{k}}(\eta_{k} - \xi ) \biggr\rangle > \frac{\mu [ (\gamma + \varepsilon + \mu )(\beta + \delta + \mu ) - \beta \varepsilon ]}{b\beta}. $$ Since \(\xi > 0\), by (4.6) there exists a constant \(T > 0\) such that $$ \frac{b}{\mu} - \xi < S_{k}(t) < \frac{b}{\mu} + \xi,\qquad 0 < E_{k}(t) < \xi,\qquad 0 < I_{k}(t) < \xi,\qquad 0 < R_{k}(t) < \xi $$ for all \(t \ge T\) and \(k = 1, 2, \ldots, k_{\max} \). The derivative of \(V(t) = \sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}} [ P(k)E_{k}(t) + \frac{(\beta + \mu )}{\beta h}I_{k}(t) ]\) along the solution of system (2.2) is given by $$\begin{aligned} V'(t) ={}& \sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k) \biggl( E'_{k}(t) + \frac{(\beta + \mu )}{\beta h}I'_{k}(t) \biggr) \\ ={}& \sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k) \biggl( \lambda (k)\Theta (t)S_{k}(t) + \delta mI_{k}(t) - \frac{(\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu )}{\beta h}I_{k}(t) \biggr) \\ ={}& \sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k) \biggl( \lambda (k)\Theta (t)S_{k}(t) + \frac{\delta m\beta h - (\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu )}{\beta h}I_{k}(t) \biggr) \\ >{}& \sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k) \biggl( \lambda (k)\Theta (t) ( \eta_{k} - \xi ) + \frac{\delta m\beta h - (\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu )}{\beta h}I_{k}(t) \biggr) \\ ={}& \sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k) \biggl( \frac{\lambda (k) ( \eta_{k} - \xi )}{ \langle k \rangle} \sum_{i} \frac{\varphi (i)}{\eta_{i}}P(i)I_{i}(t) \biggr) \\ &+ \frac{\delta m\beta h - (\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu )}{\beta h}\sum_{i} \frac{\varphi (i)}{\eta_{i}}P(i)I_{i}(t) \\ ={}& \biggl\langle \frac{\varphi (k)\lambda (k)}{\eta_{k} \langle k \rangle} ( \eta_{k} - \xi ) \biggr\rangle \sum_{i = 1} \frac{\varphi (i)}{\eta_{i}}P(i)I_{i}(t) + \frac{\delta m\beta h - (\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu )}{\beta h}\sum_{i} \frac{\varphi (i)}{\eta_{i}}P(i)I_{i}(t) \\ ={}& \sum_{i = 1} \biggl[ \biggl\langle \frac{\varphi (k)\lambda (k)}{\eta_{k} \langle k \rangle} ( \eta_{k} - \xi ) \biggr\rangle - \frac{(\beta + \mu )(\delta + \mu ) - \beta h\delta m}{\beta h} \biggr]\frac{\varphi (i)}{\eta_{i}}P(i)I_{i}(t) \\ >{}& 0. \end{aligned}$$ Consequently, \(V(t) \to \infty\) as \(t \to \infty\), which apparently contradicts the boundedness of \(V(t)\). This completes the proof. □ Lemma 1 If \(a > 0\), \(b > 0\) and \(\frac{dx(t)}{dt} \ge b - ax\), when \(t \ge 0\) and \(x(0) \ge 0\), we can obtain \(\lim \inf_{t \to + \infty} x(t) \ge \frac{b}{a}\). If \(a > 0, b > 0\) and \(\frac{dx(t)}{dt} \le b - ax\), when \(t \ge 0\) and \(x(0) \ge 0\), we can obtain \(\lim \sup_{t \to + \infty} x(t) \le \frac{b}{a}\). Next, by using a novel monotone iterative technique in reference [33], we discuss the global attractivity of the rumor-prevailing equilibrium. Suppose that \(( S_{k}(t),E_{k}(t),I_{k}(t),R_{k}(t) )\) is a solution of system (2.2), satisfying the initial condition equation (2.5). When \(R_{0} > 1\), then \(\lim_{t \to \infty} ( S_{k}(t),E_{k}(t),I_{k}(t),R_{k}(t) ) = ( S_{k}^{\infty},E_{k}^{\infty},I_{k}^{\infty},R_{k}^{\infty} )\), where \(( S_{k}^{\infty},E_{k}^{\infty},I_{k}^{\infty},R_{k}^{\infty} )\) is the unique positive rumor equilibrium of system (2.2) satisfying (3.1) for \(k = 1, 2, \ldots,n\). Since the first three equations in system (2.2) are independent of the fourth one, it suffices to consider the following system: $$ \left \{ \textstyle\begin{array}{l} \frac{dS_{k}(t)}{dt} = b(k) - \lambda (k)\Theta (t)S_{k}(t) - \mu S_{k}(t), \\ \frac{dE_{k}(t)}{dt} = \lambda (k)\Theta (t)S_{k}(t) - (\beta + \mu )E_{k}(t) + \delta mI_{k}(t), \\ \frac{dI_{k}(t)}{dt} = \beta hE_{k}(t) - (\delta + \mu )I_{k}(t). \end{array}\displaystyle \right . $$ We assume that k is fixed to be any integer in \(\{ 1, 2, \ldots,n \}\). By Theorem 4, there exist a positive constant \(0 < \varepsilon < 1 / 3\) and a large enough constant \(T > 0\) such that \(I_{k}(t) \ge \varepsilon\) for \(t > T\). Hence, $$\Theta (t) = \frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \sum_{i = 1} \frac{\varphi (i)}{\eta_{i}}P(i)I_{i}(t) \ge \frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \frac{\varphi (i_{0})P(i_{0})}{\eta_{i_{0}}} \varepsilon = \vartheta \varepsilon > 0, $$ where \(\vartheta = \frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \frac{\varphi (i_{0})P(i_{0})}{\eta_{i_{0}}}\). From the first equation of system (4.9), we have $$\frac{dS_{k}(t)}{dt} \le b(k) - \lambda (k)\vartheta \varepsilon S_{k}(t) - \mu S_{k}(t),\quad t > T. $$ By Lemma 1, we derive that \(\lim \sup_{t \to + \infty} S_{k}(t) \le \frac{\mu \eta_{k}}{\lambda (k)\vartheta \varepsilon + \mu} \). Then, for arbitrarily given positive constant \(0 < \varepsilon_{1} < \frac{\lambda (k)\vartheta \varepsilon \eta_{k}}{2 ( \lambda (k)\vartheta \varepsilon + \mu )}\), there exists a \(t_{1} > T\) such that \(S_{k}(t) \le X_{k}^{(1)} - \varepsilon_{1}\) for \(t > t_{1}\), where $$X_{k}^{(1)} = \frac{\mu \eta_{k}}{\lambda (k)\vartheta \varepsilon + \mu} + 2\varepsilon_{1} < \eta_{k}. $$ For \(\Theta (t) \le \frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \sum_{i = 1} \varphi (i)P(i) = M\), from the second equation of system (4.9) for \(t > t_{1}\), we can get $$\begin{aligned} \frac{dE_{k}(t)}{dt} \le{}& \lambda (k)M\bigl(\eta_{k} - E_{k}(k) - I_{k}(k) - R_{k}(k)\bigr) - (\beta + \mu )E_{k}(t) \\ & + \delta m\bigl(\eta_{k} - E_{k}(k) - S_{k}(k) - R_{k}(k)\bigr) \\ \le{}& \lambda (k)M\bigl(\eta_{k} - E_{k}(k)\bigr) - ( \beta + \mu )E_{k}(t) + \delta m\bigl(\eta_{k} - E_{k}(k)\bigr) \\ ={}& \eta_{k} \bigl[ \lambda (k)M + \delta m \bigr] - E_{k}(k) \bigl[ \lambda (k)M + \delta m + \beta + \mu \bigr]. \end{aligned} $$ Similarly, for arbitrary given positive constant \(0 < \varepsilon_{2} < \min \{ 1 / 2,\varepsilon_{1},\frac{ ( \delta m + \beta + \mu )\eta_{k}}{2 ( \lambda (k)M + \delta m + \beta + \mu )} \}\), there exists a \(t_{2} > t_{1}\), such that \(E_{k}(t) \le Y_{k}^{(1)} - \varepsilon_{2}\) for \(t > t_{2}\), where $$Y_{k}^{(1)} = \frac{\lambda (k)M\eta_{k}}{\lambda (k)M + \delta m + \beta + \mu} + 2\varepsilon_{2} < \eta_{k}. $$ From the third equation of system (4.9), we have $$\frac{dI_{k}(t)}{dt} \le \beta h\bigl(\eta_{k} - I_{k}(t) \bigr) - (\delta + \mu )I_{k}(t) = \beta h\eta_{k} - (\delta + \mu + \beta h)I_{k}(t),\quad t > t_{2}. $$ Thus, for arbitrary given positive constant \(0 < \varepsilon_{3} < \min \{ 1 / 3,\varepsilon_{2},\frac{(\mu + \beta h)\eta_{k}}{2 ( \delta + \mu + \beta h )} \}\), there exists a \(t_{3} > t_{2}\), such that \(I_{k}(t) \le Z_{k}^{(1)} - \varepsilon_{3}\) for \(t > t_{3}\), where $$Z_{k}^{(1)} = \frac{\delta \eta_{k}}{ ( \delta + \mu + \beta h )} + 2\varepsilon_{3} < \eta_{k}. $$ On the other hand, from the first equation of system (4.9), we can get $$\frac{dS_{k}(t)}{dt} \ge b(k) - \lambda (k)MS_{k}(t) - \mu S_{k}(t),\quad t > T. $$ By Lemma 1, we derive that \(\lim \inf_{t \to + \infty} S_{k}(t) \ge \frac{b(k)}{\lambda (k)M + \mu} \). Then, for arbitrary given positive constant \(0 < \varepsilon_{4} < \min \{ 1 / 4,\varepsilon_{3},\frac{b(k)}{2 [ \lambda (k)M + \mu ]} \}\), there exists a \(t_{4} > t_{3}\), such that \(S_{k}(t) \ge x_{k}^{(1)} + \varepsilon_{4}\), for \(t > t_{4}\), where $$x_{k}^{(1)} = \frac{b(k)}{\lambda (k)M + \mu} - 2\varepsilon_{4} > 0. $$ $$\frac{dE_{k}(t)}{dt} \ge \lambda (k)\vartheta \varepsilon x_{k}^{(1)} + \delta m\eta_{k} - (\beta + \mu + \delta m)E_{k}(t),\quad t > t_{4}. $$ Hence, for arbitrary given positive constant \(0 < \varepsilon_{5} < \min \{ 1 / 5,\varepsilon_{4},\frac{\lambda (k)\vartheta \varepsilon x_{k}^{(1)} + \delta m\eta_{k}}{2(\beta + \mu + \delta m)} \}\), there exists a \(t_{5} > t_{4}\), such that \(E_{k}(t) \ge y_{k}^{(1)} + \varepsilon_{5}\) for \(t > t_{5}\), where $$y_{k}^{(1)} = \frac{\lambda (k)\vartheta \varepsilon x_{k}^{(1)} + \delta m\eta_{k}}{(\beta + \mu + \delta m)} - 2\varepsilon_{5} > 0. $$ $$\frac{dI_{k}(t)}{dt} \ge \beta hy_{k}^{(1)} - (\delta + \mu )I_{k}(t),\quad t > t_{5}. $$ Hence, for arbitrary given positive constant \(0 < \varepsilon_{6} < \min \{ 1 / 6,\varepsilon_{5},\frac{\beta hy_{k}^{(1)}}{2(\delta + \mu )} \}\), there exists a \(t_{6} > t_{5}\), such that \(I_{k}(t) \ge z_{k}^{(1)} + \varepsilon_{6}\) for \(t > t_{6}\), where $$z_{k}^{(1)} = \frac{\beta hy_{k}^{(1)}}{(\delta + \mu )} - 2\varepsilon_{6} > 0. $$ Since ε is a small positive constant, we have \(0 < x_{k}^{(1)} < X_{k}^{(1)} < \eta_{k}\), \(0 < y_{k}^{(1)} < Y_{k}^{(1)} < \eta_{k}\) and \(0 < z_{k}^{(1)} < Z_{k}^{(1)} < \eta_{k}\). Let $$w^{(j)} = \frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k)z_{k}^{j}(t),\qquad W^{(j)} = \frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k)Z_{k}^{j}(t), \quad j = 1,2 \ldots. $$ From the above discussion, we found that $$0 < w^{(1)} \le \Theta (t) \le W^{(1)} < M,\quad t > t_{6}. $$ Again, by system (4.9), we have $$\frac{dS_{k}(t)}{dt} \le b(k) - \lambda (k)w^{(1)}S_{k}(t) - \mu S_{k}(t),\quad t > t_{6}. $$ Hence, for arbitrary given positive constant \(0 < \varepsilon_{7} < \min \{ 1 / 7,\varepsilon_{6} \}\), there exists a \(t_{7} > t_{6}\) such that $$S_{k}(t) \le X_{k}^{(2)} \triangleq \min \biggl\{ X_{k}^{(1)} - \varepsilon_{1},\frac{b(k)}{\lambda (k)w^{(1)} + \mu} + \varepsilon_{7} \biggr\} ,\quad t > t_{7}. $$ $$\frac{dE_{k}(t)}{dt} \le \lambda (k)W^{(1)}X_{k}^{(2)} + \delta mZ_{k}^{(1)} - (\beta + \mu )E_{k}(t), \quad t > t_{7}. $$ Therefore, for arbitrary given positive constant \(0 < \varepsilon_{8} < \min \{ 1 / 8,\varepsilon_{7} \}\), there exists a \({t_{8} > t_{7}}\), such that $$E_{k}(t) \le Y_{k}^{(2)} \triangleq \min \biggl\{ Y_{k}^{(1)} - \varepsilon_{2},\frac{\lambda (k)W^{(1)}X_{k}^{(2)} + \delta mZ_{k}^{(1)}}{(\beta + \mu )} + \varepsilon_{8} \biggr\} . $$ $$\frac{dI_{k}(t)}{dt} \le \beta hY_{k}^{(2)} - (\delta + \mu )I_{k}(t),\quad t > t_{8}. $$ So, for arbitrary given positive constant \(0 < \varepsilon_{9} < \min \{ 1 / 9,\varepsilon_{8} \}\), there exists a \(t_{9} > t_{8}\), such that $$I_{k}(t) \le Z_{k}^{(2)} \triangleq \min \biggl\{ Z_{k}^{(1)} - \varepsilon_{3},\frac{\beta hY_{k}^{(2)}}{(\delta + \mu )} + \varepsilon_{9} \biggr\} ,\quad t > t_{9}. $$ Turning back to system (4.9), we have $$\frac{dS_{k}(t)}{dt} \ge b(k) - \lambda (k)W^{(2)}S_{k}(t) - \mu S_{k}(t),\quad t > t_{9}. $$ Hence, for arbitrary given positive constant \(0 < \varepsilon_{10} < \min \{ 1 / 10,\varepsilon_{9},\frac{b(k)}{2 ( \lambda (k)W^{(2)} + \mu )} \}\), there exists a \(t_{10} > t_{9}\), such that \(S_{k}(t) \ge x_{k}^{(2)} + \varepsilon_{10}\) for \(t > t_{10}\), where $$x_{k}^{(2)} = \max \biggl\{ x_{k}^{(1)} + \varepsilon_{4},\frac{b(k)}{\lambda (k)W^{(2)} + \mu} - 2\varepsilon_{10} \biggr\} . $$ Accordingly, one obtains $$\frac{dE_{k}(t)}{dt} \ge \lambda (k)w^{(1)}x_{k}^{(2)} + \delta mz_{k}^{(1)} - (\beta + \mu )E_{k}(t), \quad t > t_{10}. $$ Hence, for arbitrary given positive constant \(0 < \varepsilon_{11} < \min \{ 1 / 11,\varepsilon_{10},\frac{\lambda (k)w^{(1)}x_{k}^{(2)} + \delta mz_{k}^{(1)}}{2(\beta + \mu )} \}\), there exists a \(t_{11} > t_{10}\), such that \(E_{k}(t) \ge y_{k}^{(2)} + \varepsilon_{11}\) for \(t > t_{11}\), where $$y_{k}^{(2)} = \max \biggl\{ y_{k}^{(1)} + \varepsilon_{5},\frac{\lambda (k)w^{(1)}x_{k}^{(2)} + \delta mz_{k}^{(1)}}{(\beta + \mu )} - 2\varepsilon_{11} \biggr\} . $$ $$\frac{dI_{k}(t)}{dt} \ge \beta hy_{k}^{(2)} - (\delta + \mu )I_{k}(t),\quad t > t_{11}. $$ Hence, for arbitrary given positive constant \(0 < \varepsilon_{12} < \min \{ 1 / 12,\varepsilon_{11},\frac{\beta hy_{k}^{(2)}}{2(\delta + \mu )} \}\), there exists a \(t_{12} > t_{11}\), such that \(I_{k}(t) \ge z_{k}^{(2)} + \varepsilon_{12}\) for \(t > t_{12}\), where $$z_{k}^{(2)} = \max \biggl\{ z_{k}^{(1)} + \varepsilon_{6},\frac{\beta hy_{k}^{(2)}}{(\delta + \mu )} - 2\varepsilon_{12} \biggr\} . $$ In the same way, we can carry out step h (\(h = 3,4, \ldots \)) of the calculation and get six sequences: \(\{ X_{k}^{(h)} \}\), \(\{ Y_{k}^{(h)} \}\), \(\{ Z_{k}^{(h)} \}\), \(\{ x_{k}^{(h)} \}\), \(\{ y_{k}^{(h)} \}\) and \(\{ z_{k}^{(h)} \}\). We found that the first three sequences are monotone increasing and the last three sequences are strictly monotone decreasing, and there exists a large positive integer N so that for \(h \ge \mathrm{N}\) $$ \begin{gathered} X_{k}^{(h)} = \frac{b(k)}{\lambda (k)w^{(h - 1)} + \mu} + \varepsilon_{6h - 5}, \\ Y_{k}^{(h)} = \frac{\lambda (k)W^{(h - 1)}X_{k}^{(h)} + \delta mZ_{k}^{(h - 1)}}{(\beta + \mu )} + \varepsilon_{6h - 4}, \\ Z_{k}^{(h)} = \frac{\beta hY_{k}^{(h)}}{(\delta + \mu )} + \varepsilon_{6h - 3}, \\ x_{k}^{(h)} = \frac{b(k)}{\lambda (k)W^{(h)} + \mu} - 2\varepsilon_{6h - 2}, \\ y_{k}^{(h)} = \frac{\lambda (k)w^{(h - 1)}x_{k}^{(h)} + \delta mz_{k}^{(1 - 1)}}{(\beta + \mu )} - 2\varepsilon_{6h - 1}, \\ z_{k}^{(h)} = \frac{\beta hy_{k}^{(h)}}{(\delta + \mu )} - 2\varepsilon_{6h}. \end{gathered} $$ Clearly, we found that $$ x_{k}^{(h)} \le S_{k}(t) \le X_{k}^{(h)}, \qquad y_{k}^{(h)} \le E_{k}(t) \le Y_{k}^{(h)},\qquad z_{k}^{(h)} \le I_{k}(t) \le Z_{k}^{(h)},\quad t > t_{6h}. $$ Owing to the existence of sequential limits of equation (4.10), let \(\lim_{t \to \infty} \Omega_{k}^{(h)} = \Omega_{k}\), where \(\Omega_{k}^{(h)} \in \{ X_{k}^{(h)},Y_{k}^{(h)},Z_{k}^{(h)},x_{k}^{(h)},y_{k}^{(h)},z_{k}^{(h)},W_{k}^{(h)},w_{k}^{(h)} \}\) and \(\Omega_{k} \in \{ X_{k},Y_{k},Z_{k},x_{k},y_{k},z_{k},W_{k},w_{k} \}\). For \(0 < \varepsilon_{h} < 1 / h\), one has \(\varepsilon_{h} \to 0\) as \(h \to \infty\). Taking \(h \to \infty\), by calculating the six sequences of equation (4.10), we can obtain the following form $$ \begin{gathered} X_{k} = \frac{b(k)}{\lambda (k)w + \mu},\qquad Y_{k} = \frac{\lambda (k)WX_{k} + \delta mZ_{k}}{(\beta + \mu )},\qquad Z_{k} = \frac{\beta hY_{k}}{(\delta + \mu )}, \\ x_{k} = \frac{b(k)}{\lambda (k)W + \mu},\qquad y_{k} = \frac{\lambda (k)wx_{k} + \delta mz_{k}}{(\beta + \mu )},\qquad z_{k} = \frac{\beta hy_{k}}{(\delta + \mu )}. \end{gathered} $$ From equation (4.12), a direct computation leads to $$ \begin{gathered} Z_{k} = \frac{\beta h\lambda (k)W}{ [ (\delta + \mu )(\beta + \mu ) - \beta h\delta m ]}\frac{b(k)}{\lambda (k)w + \mu}, \\ z_{k} = \frac{\beta h\lambda (k)w}{ [ (\delta + \mu )(\beta + \mu ) - \beta h\delta m ]}\frac{b(k)}{\lambda (k)W + \mu}, \end{gathered} $$ where \(w = \frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k)z_{k}\), \(W = \frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k)Z_{k}\). Further, substituting equation (4.13) into w and W, respectively, we can obtain $$ \begin{gathered} 1 = \frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \frac{\beta h}{ [ (\delta + \mu )(\beta + \mu ) - \beta h\delta m ]}\sum _{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}\frac{P(k)\lambda (k)b(k)}{\lambda (k)W + \mu}, \\ 1 = \frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \frac{\beta h}{ [ (\delta + \mu )(\beta + \mu ) - \beta h\delta m ]}\sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}\frac{P(k)\lambda (k)b(k)}{\lambda (k)w + \mu}. \end{gathered} $$ Subtracting the above two equations, a direct computation leads to $$0 = (w - W)\frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \frac{\beta h}{ [ (\delta + \mu )(\beta + \mu ) - \beta h\delta m ]}\sum _{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}\frac{P(k)\lambda (k)b(k)\lambda (k)}{(\lambda (k)W + \mu )(\lambda (k)w + \mu )}. $$ Obviously, it implies that \(w = W\). So, \(\frac{1}{ \langle k \rangle} \sum_{k} \frac{\varphi (k)}{\eta_{k}}P(k) ( Z_{k} - z_{k} ) = 0\), which is equivalent to \(z_{k} = Z_{k}\) for \(1 \le k \le n\). Then, from equation (4.12) and equation (4.13), it follows that $$\lim_{t \to 0}S_{k}(t) = X_{k} = x_{k},\qquad \lim_{t \to 0}E_{k}(t) = Y_{k} = y_{k},\qquad \lim_{t \to 0}I_{k}(t) = Z_{k} = z_{k}. $$ Finally, by substituting \(w = W\) into equation (4.13), in view of equation (3.1) and equation (4.12), it is found that \(X_{k} = S_{k}^{\infty} \), \(Y_{k} = E_{k}^{\infty} \), \(Z_{k} = R_{k}^{\infty} \). This completes the proof. □ In this paper, a new SEIR rumor spreading model with demographics on scale-free networks is presented. Through the mean-field theory analysis, we obtained the basic reproduction number \(R_{0}\) and the equilibria. The basic reproduction number \(R_{0}\) determines the existence of the rumor-prevailing equilibrium, and it depends on the topology of the underlying networks and some model parameters. Interestingly, \(R_{0}\) bears no relation to the degree-dependent immigration \(b(k)\). When \(R_{0} < 1\), the rumor-free equilibrium \(E_{0}\) is globally asymptotically stable, i.e., the infected individuals will eventually disappear. When \(R_{0} > 1\), there exists a unique rumor-prevailing \(E_{ +} \), and the rumor is permanent, i.e., the infected individuals will persist and we have convergence to a uniquely prevailing equilibrium level. The study may provide a reliable tactic basis for preventing the rumor spreading. Sudbury, A: The proportion of the population never hearing a rumour. J. Appl. Probab. 22, 443-446 (1985) Centola, D: The spread of behavior in an online social network experiment. Science 329, 1194-1197 (2010) Garrett, RK: Troubling consequences of online political rumoring. Hum. Commun. Res. 37, 255-274 (2011) Huo, L, Huang, P: Study on rumor propagation models based on dynamical system theory. Math. Pract. Theory 43, 1-8 (2013) Daley, DJ, Kendall, DG: Epidemics and rumours. Nature 204, 1118 (1964) Zanette, DH: Dynamics of rumor propagation on small-world networks. Phys. Rev. E 65, Article ID 041908 (2002) Pearce, CEM: The exact solution of the general stochastic rumour. Math. Comput. Model. 31, 289-298 (2000) Zhao, L, Wang, J, Huang, R: 2SI2R rumor spreading model in homogeneous networks. Physica A 441, 153-161 (2014) Singh, J, Kumar, D, Qurashi, AM, Baleanu, D: A new fractional model for giving up smoking dynamics. Adv. Differ. Equ. 2017, Article ID 88 (2017) Moreno, Y, Nekovee, M, Pacheco, AF: Dynamics of rumor spreading in complex networks. Phys. Rev. E 69, Article ID 066130 (2004) Singh, J, Kumar, D, Qurashi, MA, Baleanu, D: Analysis of a new fractional model for damped Berger equation. Open Phys. 15, 35-41 (2017) Li, X, Ding, D: Mean square exponential stability of stochastic Hopfield neural networks with mixed delays. Stat. Probab. Lett. 126, 88-96 (2017) Huo, L, Lin, T, Fan, C, Liu, C, Zhao, J: Optimal control of a rumor propagation model with latent period in emergency event. Adv. Differ. Equ. 2015, Article ID 54 (2015) Wan, C, Li, T, Guan, ZH, Wang, Y, Liu, X: Spreading dynamics of an e-commerce preferential information model on scale-free networks. Physica A 467, 192-200 (2017) Choudhary, A, Kumar, D, Singh, J: A fractional model of fluid flow through porous media with mean capillary pressure. J. Assoc. Arab Univ. Basic Appl. Sci. 21, 59-63 (2016) Boccaletti, S, Latora, V, Moreno, Y, Chavez, M, Hwang, DU: Complex networks: structure and dynamics. Phys. Rep. 424, 175-308 (2006) Gu, J, Li, W, Cai, X: The effect of the forget-remember mechanism on spreading. Eur. Phys. J. B 62, 247-255 (2008) Zhao, L, Qiu, X, Wang, X, Wang, J: Rumor spreading model considering forgetting and remembering mechanisms in inhomogeneous networks. Physica A 392, 987-994 (2013) Barabási, AL, Albert, R: Emergence of scaling in random networks. Science 286, 509-512 (1999) Li, T, Wang, Y, Guan, ZH: Spreading dynamics of a SIQRS epidemic model on scale-free networks. Commun. Nonlinear Sci. Numer. Simul. 19, 686-692 (2014) Kumar, D, Singh, J, Baleanu, D: A hybrid computational approach for Klein-Gordon equations on Cantor sets. Nonlinear Dyn. 87, 511-517 (2017) Xu, JP, Zhang, Y: Event ambiguity fuels the effective spread of rumors. Int. J. Mod. Phys. C 26, Article ID 1550033 (2015) Li, C, Ma, Z: Dynamic analysis of a spatial diffusion rumor propagation model with delay. Adv. Differ. Equ. 2015, Article ID 364 (2015) Nekovee, M, Moreno, Y, Bianconi, G, Marsili, M: Theory of rumour spreading in complex social networks. Physica A 374, 457-470 (2007) Xu, J, Zhang, M, Ni, J: A coupled model for government communication and rumor spreading in emergencies. Adv. Differ. Equ. 2016, Article ID 208 (2016) Srivastava, HM, Kumar, D, Singh, J: An efficient analytical technique for fractional model of vibration equation. Appl. Math. Model. 45, 192-204 (2017) Xia, LL, Jiang, GP, Song, B, Song, Y: Rumor spreading model considering hesitating mechanism in complex social networks. Physica A 437, 295-303 (2015) Liu, Q, Li, T, Sun, M: The analysis of an SEIR rumor propagation model on heterogeneous network. Physica A 469, 372-380 (2017) Hale, JK: Dynamical systems and stability. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 26, 39-59 (1969) Thieme, HR: Persistence under relaxed point-dissipativity (with application to an endemic model). SIAM J. Math. Anal. 24, 407-435 (1993) Leenheer, PD, Smith, HL: Virus dynamics: a global analysis. SIAM J. Appl. Math. 63, 1313-1327 (2003) Chen, F: On a nonlinear nonautonomous predator-prey model with diffusion and distributed delay. J. Comput. Appl. Math. 180, 33-49 (2005) Zhu, G, Fu, X, Chen, G: Spreading dynamics and global stability of a generalized epidemic model on complex heterogeneous networks. Appl. Math. Model. 36, 5808-5817 (2012) This work is supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 61672112 and the Project in Hubei province department of education under Grant B2016036. School of Electronics and Information, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 434023, P.R. China Chen Wan , Tao Li & Zhicheng Sun Search for Chen Wan in: Search for Tao Li in: Search for Zhicheng Sun in: Correspondence to Tao Li. The authors contributed equally to this work. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Wan, C., Li, T. & Sun, Z. Global stability of a SEIR rumor spreading model with demographics on scale-free networks. Adv Differ Equ 2017, 253 (2017) doi:10.1186/s13662-017-1315-y rumor spreading model scale-free networks hesitate mechanism Advances in Fractional Differential Equations and Their Real World Applications

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line501

__label__cc

Tag: Sperm The Health Protection Agency (HPA) (England) has warned heroin users that the drug may be contaminated with anthrax spores. The New York health board approves ban on large sodas. It is a move to combat obesity and encourage people to live healthier lifestyles. New circumcision law by the state of New York to prevent the spread of Herpes infection to the child. Norway upholds ban to display of tobacco products in shops as a measure to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Early childhood health projects by PATH, in South Africa and Mozambique is funded by a donation of R200m by BHP Billi4on. A memorandum of Understanding was signed by Apollo Hospitals with AfroIndia Medical Services to set up 30 telemedicine units in East and West Africa. UC Davis center to fight child obesity in Latinos. $4.8 million study funded by U.S. Department of Agriculture aims at identifying effective approaches to combat this growing problem among them. According to a study nicotine not only in cigarettes but in nicotine replacement products like gum or patches harms sperm. A study found that South African wine is good for heart. It protects against heart attack by reducing cell death and increasing contractility of heart. A survey shows that about two thirds of men in Indonesia above the age of fifteen years smoke. It also revealed that large numbers of people are also exposed to the second hand smoke in work, home and in public places. According to a study, mothers of Mexican origin are more nurturing than white females. According to a charity drink related harm costs Scotland’s councils £2bn annually. The figures are based in Scottish government data. A research study showed that lung transplant approval rates depend on the socioeconomic status of people. According to the researchers at the University of Kentucky academic success of Latino immigrants is dependent on the school teachers and its climate. In a study done by Cornell University researchers it was found that parents immigrants status affect their access to care and hence their children’s health. A study published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism states that swim training with healthy diet play a crucial role in fighting against cancer. A research done by University of Michigan Medical School showed that it is possible for the people who are not able to smell things will be able to do so by gene therapy. Massachusetts engineers have found a way to increase the permeability of skin to drugs using the ultrasound waves. According to a study analgesics commonly used to relieve pain may cause hearing loss in females. According to the researchers at Seoul National University in South Korea, Er:YAG laser microjet transdermal device could replace needle jab. According to a study job strain might affect cardiovascular health. A study showed that acupuncture works for head and neck pain, osteoarthritis and chronic headaches. According to World Socialist Web Site UK politicians gain from privatizing National Health Service. Scientists find insulin sensitivity gene, may lead to new diabetes treatments. Scientists in Ohio have created artificial memory in brain tissue, in vitro for the first time. According to a study, intrauterine exposure of nicotine either passive or active might affect the neurobehavioral development of infants. A study showed that the Electronic Health Records Data (EHR) for research is often incomplete, inaccurate and unreliable. A study found that peanut allergies are rising among the people of developed nations. A study showed that healthy diet and lifestyle not only affects the growth of a tumor but also its metastasis. A study found that traditional Chinese medicinal mushroom can help to cure cancer. Diseases and Disasters: Chinese health authorities are investigating whether children were tested for genetically modified (GMO) rice as a part of a Sino-U.S. research project. Chicken pox outbreak reported in South Malawi (Africa). The health authorities have instructed to close schools to prevent the spread of this disease. KwaZulu Natal (South Africa) Department of Health in crises. Nearly half of Indonesians live without sanitation, clean water. Country’s health minister says it requires $5.9 Billion USD to improve access to sanitation and clean water. The National Food Health, Safety and Quality Service (Mexico) said that the country’s poultry farmers slaughtered 22.3 million birds between June and August to stop the outbreak of avian flu. Nepali workers in Malaysian palm industry face health risk caused by pesticides. They spray it without using any safety equipment’s. The staff work in emergency department at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Lambert (Scotland). Eight infants were exposed to tuberculosis in a hospital in California. According to the health officials it’s unlikely that they will contact the disease. Tewksbury’s West Nile Virus risk rose to ‘High’ by Massachusetts. Superbug kills 7th person in Maryland National Institute of Health Clinical Center. Tagged Artificial memory, Avian flu, cancer, Cell death, Chicken pox vaccine, Childhood, cigarettes, circumcision, Diabetes, Er:YAG laser, gene therapy, Genetically Modified Rice (GMO), Health Protection Agency (HPA), Hearing loss, Heart, Immigrant, Latinos, Lifestyle, Metastasis, National Health Service, Nicotine, obesity, Osteoarthritis, Pain, PATH, Peanut allergies, Pesticides, Sanitation, Smoke, Socioeconomic status, Sperm, Superbug, telemedicine, Tobacco, Tuberculosis, Tumor, Ultrasound wavesLeave a comment July 22, 2012 by Vaani, posted in News The House Committee on Appropriations released a draft of the FY 2013 Labor, Health & Human Services, Education and related Agencies appropriations bill. It provides the funding levels for global health programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the John E. Fogarty International Center. Heads of State endorse the establishment of the African Public Health Emergency Fund (APHEF). New smoking law in South Africa under attack. Federally funded website in Australia is offering tools and tips to those battling anxiety and depression. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Truvada as HIV prevention pill. European agency backs approval of a gene therapy. Atlanta curbs smoking, part of southern wave of bans. The F.D.A. has approved Qsymia, a weight loss drug. AIDS research road map issued by the international AIDS specialists- hope of eventual AIDS cure revived. The priorities of new cure research strategy will be- determine why HIV hibernates and persists, why people are naturally resistant, develop strategies to make them more naturally resistant etc. African women to gain access to innovative contraception. The UK Department for International Development (DFID), the US Agency for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Pfizer and PATH (the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health) partnership plans to produce 12 million doses of contraceptive between 2013 and 2016. iAFya mobile health application launched in East Africa. This personal health service on phone answers everyday health questions- from basic information to professional health advice. UCB launches Neupro(R) in the U.S. to treat Parkinson’s disease and Restless Legs syndrome. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Onyx blood cancer drug Kyprolis (Carfilzomib). National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded study suggests that egg therapy helps children to overcome their allergies. The researchers at Stanford University and at the Howard Hudges Medical Institute have worked on getting genome maps from 91 sperms and were able to create a personal map of the DNA within the sperm. They were also able to capture an image of the new mutations that formed within each sperm cell as the DNA changed to create more genetic diversity. Scientists have discovered a link between cancerous cervical cells and those in the esophagus. They also found out that these cancerous cells are the remnants of a process known as embryogenesis, which failed to disappear and get replace by the adult cells. Tool created by the researchers help to track real time changes in the brain of patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of brain disorders like Parkinson’s disease, depression and Tourette. The researchers at the California Institute of Technology have revealed that certain changes in the over reactive immune system of mice could cause behaviors similar to those found in autism. This study has helped to find a link between irregularities in the immune system and neurodevelopmental disorders. Researchers turn skin cells to brain cells. They have generated the type of human neuron which is specifically damaged by the Parkinson’s disease (PD) and used various drugs to stop the damage. Scientists have designed a pen like tool to more effectively stop seizures. The researchers at the University of Dundee have showed through their study that a cheap gout drug- allopurinol- is helpful to treat heart pain. A new study shows that the vitamin C may lower gout risk in men. It showed that consuming at least 1500 milligrams per day of this vitamin reduces the odds of gout by 46 percent. The researchers in the Milk Quality Improvement Program at Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have identified the predominant spore-forming bacteria in milk and their unique enzyme activity, the knowledge of which can be used to protect the quality and shelf life of dairy products. Scientists grow sweat glands from newly identified stem cells. They devised a strategy to purify and molecularly characterize the different kinds of stem cell populations that make up the complex sweat duct and gland in skin. A team of researchers have demonstrated the role of Lactobacillus reuteri as a beneficial probiotic organism which produces an antimicrobial substance known as reuterin, which may protect intestinal epithelial cells from infection by the foodborne bacterial pathogen Salmonella. Scientist develop a new line of approach for combination therapy against melanoma. It involves combating the interaction between the protein MDM4 and the tumor suppressor p53. A research shows that Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) testing in HIV positive women may help reduce frequent cervical cancer screening. A study says that bacteria outbreak (which can cause gastroenteritis) in Northern Europe is due to ocean warming. Discovery of anti-inflammatory effects of abscisic acid in the lungs could prove crucial to healing influenza. Latest studies have revealed that patients with spinal cord injury and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis may benefit from cell transplantation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) fatal car crash risk highest among young drivers. Its July issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report found that about 22 percent of the motor vehicle deaths among the U.S. residents with young people ages 15 to 24. A study shows that women with high stress jobs may be more likely to have a heart attack. Heavy rains kill about 37 people in Beijing (China). U.S. whooping cough outbreak could be worst in half century. The doctors say that the survivors of movie massacre likely to develop depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Tagged Abscisic acid, AIDS research road map, Allopurinol, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Antimicrobial, Blood cancer, Cell transplantation, Cervical cell, contraception, Deep brain stimulation (DBS), depression, DNA, Egg therapy, embryogenesis, esophagus, Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A.), Gastroenteritis, gene therapy, Genetic diversity, Gout, Heart attack, Heart pain, HIV prevention pill, Human papilloma virus, Kyprolis, Lactobacillus, Melanoma, Mobile health application, Mortality, Neurodevelopmental disorders, NIH, Over reactive immune system, Parkinson’s disease, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)., Qsymia, Restless leg syndrome, Seizures, smoking, Smoking law, Sperm, Spinal cord injury, Spore forming bacteria, stem cells, Sweat glands, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Truvada, Vitamin C, Weight loss, whooping coughLeave a comment

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line509

__label__wiki

south sudan - search results New Ebola Outbreak In Uganda Kills Three, More Possibly Infected John Hollis - November 16, 2012 A new Ebola outbreak in Uganda has killed three people, leading authorities to separate people who may be carriers of the virus, officials said... Israel Preparing For Major Ground Invasion of Gaza Strip Nick Chiles - November 16, 2012 The violence that has erupted between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip isn't exactly a fair fight, as a story in the BBC... Submissions are in for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar ABS Contributor - October 8, 2012 Much like Christmas, rumblings over the Oscars seem to be starting earlier every year. Entertainment Weekly reports that the submissions are officially in for the... Tutu Awarded $1 Million Prize For Speaking ‘The Uncomfortable Truth” John Hollis - October 4, 2012 South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been awarded a $1 million prize by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation for “speaking truth to power.” In awarding the... Al Qaeda Spinoff Calls For Deaths Of More American Diplomats John Hollis - September 18, 2012 Al Qaeda’s affiliate in North Africa said Tuesday that last week’s murder of U.S. ambassador John Christopher Stevens was a “gift” and called for... Israel Denies Entry to Africans Huddled at Its Border Nick Chiles - September 7, 2012 Fearful that Israel is becoming overrrun with too many Africans, Israel has refused to grant entry to a group of Eritrean refugees huddled at... Will Slowdown in China’s Economy Stall Africa’s Growth? Stan - September 1, 2012 Sub-Saharan Africa's accelerated economic growth over the last decade has been well documented. Feted as the next boom market, especially with the backdrop of... Liberia’s 1st Female President Urges African Nations to Empower Women Nick Chiles - July 15, 2012 In a continuing effort to focus more of the African continent's attention on the plight of women in the previously announced African Decade of... Louis Farrakhan to Lead Nation of Islam Into Streets to Stem Chicago, Urban Violence Stan - July 14, 2012 The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan announced that he would lead the members of the Fruit of Islam, the men of the Nation of Islam,... Israeli Lawmaker Phony Apology for calling African migrants a ‘cancer’ ABS Contributor - May 28, 2012 Likud MK Miri Regev, who came under fire last week after calling African migrants "a cancer" in Israeli society, apologized for the first time... Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: African Immigrants A Danger To Israel’s National Identity Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday the phenomenon of African migrants infiltrating the country was a danger to Israel’s national identity. Netanyahu said the... African Migrants Under Attack In Israel Recent attacks against African asylum seekers in Tel Aviv are raising important questions for the state of Israel. Advocates say the migrants are victims of...

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line514

__label__wiki

Red Queen Band is an experimental electronic rock band formed during 2005 in Mexico City by twin brothers Daniel and David, since their early days, Red Queen was well known for their aggressive, electronic and frenetic live shows. These exciting shows ended up calling the attention of Alan Mcgee (Oasis, Glasvegas, The Libertines) dubbing the five piece Red McQueen during one of his visits to Mexico City. During 2007, Red Queen Band recorded their first studio EP, consisting of a three track album produced by Yamil Rezc. During this same year, Nike (Latin America) launched a campaign using the bands first single “Baby Machine” as the main theme for their TV advertisements. In 2008, Rolling Stone magazine (Latin America) published an article about new upcoming Latin American bands. Red Queen was included as one of the most promising mexican underground rock bands. Sonidos Urbanos (Urban Sounds), a book that covers the underground rock scene in mexico also recognized the band as one of the most influential groups in the mexican underground scene. In 2009, "Hombre Vegetal" and "La Palida", two singles from the band's spanish EP "Adult Frutman", were constantly played through out the year and received great acceptance by latin audiences through Mexico´s top Rock/Alternative radio stations, Reactor (105.7 FM), Ibero (90.9 FM), RMX, Grita Radio and others. This exposure helped the band launch an extensive tour across Mexico. During 2010, Red Queen Band recorded and produced their first full length album “Talk Show Ghost”. The album’s frenetic glitch punk sound helped the band develop a new and exciting live show that has been referred constantly as a “must see show” by the mexican indie music scene and local media over the past few months. Red Queen Band are currently recording their next album and are preparing a U.S. tour. Red Queen Band is an experimental electronic rock band formed during 2005 in Mexico City by twin brothers Daniel and David, since their early days, Red Queen was well known for their aggressive, electronic and frenetic live shows. These exciting shows ended up calling the attention... Read More → Habana Bar 708 E 6th St

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line516

__label__wiki

NEA Awards $240,000 in Grants to Arizona Organizations The National Endowment for the Arts announced on Tuesday, December 2, that it will award $29.1 million in 1,116 grants in three categories: Art Works, Challenge America, and NEA Literature Fellowships in Creative Writing. $240,000 will be awarded to Arizona-based projects. The Arizona Commission on the Arts congratulates the 12 Arizona recipients: For more information, including a complete list of all recipients nationwide, please click here. Grand Canyon Chamber Music Festival $25,000 Grand Canyon, AZ To support expansion of the Native American Composer Apprentice Project (NACAP). Students in Navajo and Hopi reservation high schools will study one-on-one with a composer-in-residence, creating original compositions to be recorded and performed by a professional quartet. Students will rehearse directly with professional ensembles such as ETHEL and Catalyst Quartet, and the ensembles will perform the students’ compositions at Native-American reservation schools and at the Grand Canyon Music Festival. Activities will include expansion of NACAP to schools throughout the Navajo Nation including Utah and New Mexico, and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community near Phoenix, Arizona. City of Litchfield Park, Arizona $10,000 Litchfield Park, AZ To support the Litchfield Park Invitational Native American Fine Arts Festival. Project activities will include demonstrations by juried artists, as well as hoop dancing and musical performances by Moontee Sinquah and Tony Duncan. Among the proposed Native American master artists whose work will be showcased are painter Judith Durr, carver Manfred Susunkewa, and silversmith Brad Panteah. Arizona Opera $20,000 Phoenix, AZ To support a new production of “Eugene Onegin” by composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Presented as part of a new partnership with the Tucson Desert Song Festival, the production will serve as the cornerstone of that festival. Arizona State University and the University of Arizona will help provide opportunities for public discourse about the historical significance of Tchaikovsky as well as librettist Alexander Pushkin. The creative team may include artists such as set designer Laura Hawke, stage director Tara Faircloth, conductor Steven White, with performers soprano Corrine Winters (Tatiana), baritone David Adam Moore (Eugene Onegin), and tenor Zach Borichevsky (Lensky). To support Free Summer Sundays in July, a multidisciplinary program featuring Latino and Native American musicians, dancers, and storytellers. The museum will offer free admission to all, with an emphasis on low-income families and youth for public events with guest artists. Scottsdale Cultural Council $25,000 Scottsdale, AZ To support the Discovery Series. The project is a performing arts initiative intended to expand the cultural horizons of audiences in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Discovery Series is designed to explore in greater depth a different region of the world each year in order to create context, understanding, and more meaningful, interactive exchanges for audiences. The inaugural programming for the Discovery Series will focus on Spain and Portugal. The series will feature performing artists such as Companhia Portuguesa de Bailado Contemporaneo, Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca, Ballet Nacional de Espana, and Portuguese fado singer Ana Moura, among several others. West Valley Arts Council $10,000 Surprise, AZ To support Gallery 37, featuring the creation and installation of permanent public art work in the communities served by the West Valley Arts Council. Gallery 37, the council’s signature youth arts employment program, engages students with professional artists to design, create, and install permanent pieces of public art for display in the West Valley. Childsplay, Inc. $20,000 Tempe, AZ To support the development and premiere of “Girls Who Wear Glasses” by Anne Negri. The play is about friendship, bullying, and identity among pre-teen girls and follows middle school student Mira as she navigates through several sets of friends to figure out what kind of person she wants to become. Negri tackles the layers of complexity that make up being a girl in the 21st century and challenges the media’s notions of how girls are expected to look, act, and feel. Arizona Theatre Company $20,000 Tucson, AZ To support Voices of the New Americans. The program will provide for the development of new Latino work and will foster meaningful Latino audience engagement. It will open with Herbert Siguenza’s “An Evening with Pablo Picasso” performed in both Spanish and English, and will culminate in a new commission by playwright-in-residence Elaine Romero. A new play program titled Cafe Bohemia and a newly inaugurated training program/literary series titled WordUp will provide a pipeline of Latino work for the company’s mainstage and a published anthology of Latino playwrights. Borderlands Theater Teatro Fronterizo, Inc. To support a production of “In Lak Ech” by Milta Ortiz and Marc Pinate. The new play will recount the controversy over the Tucson Unified School District’s dismantling of Mexican-American studies departments and its banning of books due to objections to their presentation of U.S. history. The piece will incorporate mask work, ceremony, and live music. The work is based on interviews with students, teachers, school board members, parents, journalists, as well as legal briefs, school board meeting minutes and student journals. Kore Press, Inc. To support the publication and promotion of works by women authors, an updated website, and The Listening Project, featuring audio recordings of female veterans’ stories made by teenage girls. Kore will publish work by authors such as TC Tolbert, Myha T. Do, Sarah Mangold, Katy Resch, Nina Pick, and Jenny Gropp Hess. The updated website will include the new “Kore Quarterly” journal, as well as audio and educational materials. Tucson Symphony Society To support the Young Composers Project (YCP). Elementary through high school students will learn to compose original works for orchestra, culminating in public reading sessions of their work by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra (TSO) and TSO String Quartet. Saturday sessions will begin with basic theory, ear training, and score reading as students learn about clefs, keys, modes, notation, chords, rhythm, form, ranges, and transposition. Each session will include a listening component with score study focused on orchestral repertoire. Tucson-Pima Arts Council, Inc. To support the PLACE: Festival, Heritage, and Community Celebrations Initiative. The project will support artists and arts organizations in southern Arizona. PLACE will support projects designed to provide opportunities for artists and arts organizations to engage in cultural activities that advance community and build social cohesion. It will build upon an arts-based civic engagement platform created in 2009 to leverage resources and talent to implement community cultural development activities. Participants will be selected through a peer review panel process. This round of PLACE will support the region’s informal art practices that exist in neighborhood or heritage practices within diverse communities with the intent to build greater awareness of the region’s distinctiveness and identity. Tags: NEA Working on a news story about the Arizona Commission on the Arts? Find additional graphics, images and resources on our Press Resources page.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line518

__label__wiki

Webmaster Foreign Policy, Governance, Unificationism For Peace between Israel and Palestine, Headwing Politics Secretary of State John Kerry (right) sits across from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center), and, to his left, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, in Jerusalem on June 29. By Andrew Wilson, Professor of Scriptural Studies, UTS These days Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a man caught in the middle. He seems to have come around to the understanding that peace with the Palestinians is a necessity to preserve Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state. Yet he is beholden to members of his own Likud party, which includes rightists like Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon. Danon recently stated on Israeli TV that there would never be a Palestinian state and the Palestinians would be governed by Jordan. Since Netanyahu apparently cannot find enough support for peace negotiations from his own base, if he truly wishes for peace, he has no choice but to reach across the aisle. Netanyahu governs in a coalition with centrists like Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, an advocate of negotiations, and Finance Minister Yair Lapid, whose party’s surge in the polls early this year came at Likud’s expense. Lapid sees peace with the Palestinians as a desideratum for Israel’s economic future. Yet his coalition also includes Economics Minister Naftali Bennett, whose settler movement seeks permanent Israeli sovereignty over the entire West Bank. In June, he told a settlers group that the idea of a Palestinian state had reached a “dead end.” And then there is the feisty right wing of Likud led by Danon. At a party nominating convention in May 2012, he organized a group of pro-settler Likud stalwarts to challenge Netanyahu and nearly deprived him of leadership of his own party. Netanyahu was forced to scramble back, which led to his short-lived alliance with Kadima Party leader Shaul Mofaz. Early this month, hardliners gained control of the Likud party. Netanyahu now has to govern with this fragile coalition, making domestic politics an ever-present problem. It goes a long way to explaining his recalcitrance, despite U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s five visits to the region since taking office to jumpstart peace talks. Netanyahu needs to reach across the aisle, to politicians like Shelly Yacimovich, leader of the Labor Party which won 15 seats in January’s election. She is a strong advocate of peace talks, and two months ago met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and told him it is necessary to start peace talks immediately. This is the nub of the argument I presented in a blog post last month on the website of the World Policy Institute. It is a strictly political argument; what, then, does it have to do with applied Unificationism? Reaching across the aisle is the practical application of what Rev. Moon calls the “Headwing” approach. A Headwing approach to politics becomes the order of the day once Satan is subjugated and God’s people no longer have to maintain an offensive posture against the other side, as was required in the era before Cheon Il Guk when God and Satan were in pitched battle. Headwing implies respect for people on both sides of the aisle as God’s children, and respecting that everyone owns an aspect of truth. In April 1990, Rev. Moon set the example of this when, after the fall of the Soviet empire in 1989, he met President Mikhail Gorbachev and pledged to work with him for the reconstruction of the Soviet Union. Before 1989, Rev. Moon had been one of the world’s foremost anti-Communists. He considered the Soviet Union an intractable foe and the headquarters of Satan’s ideology, and mobilized the Unification movement’s resources to fight communism all over the world. But when meeting Gorbachev, he offered an open hand to help the people of the Soviet Union (later Russia) to move forward towards a God-centered world. Many UTS alumni served among the missionaries who worked in Russia in the years that followed. Cheon Il Guk, the age when opposites unite, should be the age of Headwing politics. Implementing Headwing means inducing people who currently are enemies, such as the Israelis and Palestinians, to reconcile and settle their dispute. The same applies to domestic American politics, where the Headwing approach would urge Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, to reconcile their differences by intelligent compromise instead of viewing the other side as the enemy. Adversarial politics will not work in Cheon Il Guk; and as a result the U.S. government flounders in gridlock. In the Middle East, we can also see the Principle unfolding in the connection between domestic politics and international relations. Headwing politics at the international level requires the foundation of Headwing politics on the national level. Netanyahu is doing just that. He has moved away from his former attachment to right-wing settler politics and is building a centrist coalition—Headwing in Israeli domestic politics. This will afford him the base to engage with the Palestinians to establish the greater Headwing victory of reconciling the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac. Netanyahu knows that the main stumbling-block for the Palestinians is the settlements. But he also knows the political cost in facing down the settler wing of his own party and worries whether he can keep his coalition together if he were to offer a settlement freeze. So while he seeks to navigate the treacherous waters of domestic politics, he keeps a game face. Thus, in public statements, such as his June 20 interview with the Washington Post, Netanyahu puts the onus on the Palestinians: “The real reason is the persistent refusal to recognize a sovereign Jewish state in any boundary.” How much of this is a fig leaf for public consumption? Abbas has affirmed on numerous occasions that the Palestinian Authority recognizes Israel’s right to exist, and the Arab Peace Plan put forward by that side declares the same. However, two years ago Netanyahu made an affirmation of Israel’s Jewish identity as a precondition for talks. That gave the Palestinians pause, not because they don’t believe Israel will be a Jewish state, but because conceding it before negotiations would mean surrendering in advance their “right of return” to their ancestral homes in Israel. In the course of negotiations, when the Palestinians concede, as they must, that they will not have a right of return, they will expect to get something in exchange. That’s only fair. Despite this posturing about recognition of Israel’s Jewish identity, Netanyahu moved off his stance of two years ago; he no longer demands it as a precondition for talks. Some doubt Netanyahu’s sincerity, whether he actually wants a two-state solution. Indeed, the man holds his cards close to his vest. Yet, in the end, Netanyahu is committed above all to preserving Israel as a Jewish state. Like Prime Minister Ariel Sharon before him, he understands the impossible demographic conundrum facing Israel if it tries to incorporate millions of Palestinians into its democracy, as it must if it holds on to the West Bank and Gaza, and still retain its Jewish character. The bottom line is without a Palestinian state, Israel’s future as a Jewish state will be in jeopardy. America is playing its role as the Headwing mediator, fulfilling its role as the elder son nation. I tip my hat to Kerry for his optimism and persistence as he works to engage both sides. A mediator is by nature a parental role, and the parental heart is at the core of Headwing. Kerry demonstrates it by not forcing either side to comply with an American plan but rather cajoles them to work out their own positions and take ownership of peace for themselves. Prime Minister Netanyahu meets with Secretary of State John Kerry in late May. At the same time, as a good parent, America does wield a stick. Netanyahu knows that if he refuses to work with Kerry, and Israel is seen as the recalcitrant party, there will be international repercussions that could harm Israel. Also like any good parent, America does not withdraw her love for her child over the dispute. In Israel’s case, this means continued diplomatic and, if necessary, military support against Iran. The greatest challenge remains domestic politics, where to establish a Headwing centrist regime Netanyahu has to battle with his right wing. America is helping there as well. Last month, several senior leaders of American Jewry, notably Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, took the unprecedented step of warning Netanyahu against coddling the likes of Bennett and Danon even as they expressed confidence that Netanyahu would work for a two-state solution for the sake of Israel’s Jewish future. Since the ADL almost never criticizes Israel, one wonders whether Netanyahu asked Foxman privately to add his weighty voice to the debate. As Kerry continues his shuttle diplomacy in the region, Netanyahu must decide whether finally he will do whatever it takes to negotiate a peace agreement that provides for a two-state solution. He has the opportunity to rise to the occasion and do the right thing, the Headwing thing — reaching across the aisle.♦ Dr. Andrew Wilson is co-author of the Citizens Proposal for a Border between Israel and Palestine, an independent initiative to draw a map based on the principles of fairness, contiguity, access, minimizing dislocation of the population, and enhancing conditions for economic development. He edited World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts (1991). ← Before the Sweet Chariot Swings Low, Create Happiness Fostering a Strategic Relationship with China: A Unification Perspective → One thought on “For Peace between Israel and Palestine, Headwing Politics” Tomislav Bijukovic says: I am very skeptical of having lasting peace by drawing any new maps in that region… no matter from where it is coming from… Jews and Palestinians were living in those areas for centuries without problems until somebody decided to draw some new maps in 1948 and enforce them by war against the other side… If we want to have lasting peace we need to go back to 1948, and create the conditions for both parties to reach agreement so that Palestinians are allowed to stay in their homes, and also to give newcomers (Jews outside of Palestinian/Israel territories) the possibility to come and live in peace in that same area. If Jews from around the world can have the possibility to return to their homeland after 2000 years of exile, we also need to give the same right to Palestinians today who were chased away from their homes 60 years ago… if we really want to have peace “based on the principles of fairness”… In the end… It must be One country, and One only… 1. Both tribes will be sovereign on all territories, and as the rightful owners of that country. 2. Both tribes will be represented in the government equally… presidency will be given to each tribe every other year while the other tribe will keep the Prime Minister position and will rotate after that. The length of the term can be decided upon mutual agreement by both parties, either 1, 2 or 4 years. 3. Democratic elections will be held by each side voting for their own representatives, that will come after that to join in common government. 4. The religious rights of both tribes will be protected by New Constitution, laws and policies of the country… the right for education, language, culture will be given to each side no matter its percentage in any region. This means that both Palestinians and Jews will have the right to live, settle, receive education in their own native language, and the right to worship in any part of the territory in their own way… Gaza, West Bank, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or Ramallah… each territory will have institutions of both sides… 5. The military will also have same percentage of officers and soldiers, both sides represented and pledged to defend all citizens no matter the ethnic origin… police will also be multiethnic, and all other governmental institutions, in order to prevent any possible abuse or attempt to dominate the other side… In this way, it will make no difference if there is only one Jewish family in the village where everybody else is Palestinian. Even if there is only one family there, they will have the right to all those things mentioned above, guaranteed by the constitution, laws of the country and harsh punishments for any racial or xenophobic incident. Same rights will be given to Palestinian families in some major Jewish settlement. I believe, only in this way, we will be able to have lasting peace in the Holy Land… only this way we will be able to prevent any attempt from any side to dominate the other, either by number or some other majority. Only in this way we can “tear down the walls” we have today, and only in this way we can have real democracy (or Foundation to receive Messiah), where the rights of each group are protected and where all Jews and Palestinians will be able to prosper economically, culturally and be part of the modern world today. Only in this way we can have a nation that can be an example for the whole Middle East, where more groups are living next to each other (Kurds, Shias, Sunnis, Christians, etc…) This is also the way how the USA can have a lasting ally on the Arab side (Palestinian people) and bring great benefit for the security of our nation. All animosity the US experiences today can disappear within a decade or even less… if we show Parents heart in this way. We can’t be a good Parent if we love and care only for one child and not care for the other… In this way none of the children is getting a good influence from the Parent and can’t get on the right path. The US must go way beyond its current role in Israel/Palestinian peace process… Leave a Reply to Tomislav Bijukovic Cancel reply

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line519

__label__wiki

Who’s Next: Law; Meet 12 Pittsburghers shaping the legal community Toast these young lawyers at happy hour in their honor June 28. JAYNA WALLACE / THE INCLINE Sarah Anne Hughes and MJ Slaby Jun. 15, 2017, 10:25 a.m. From energy to entertainment to the environment and more, our seventh Who’s Next class is filled with young legal experts working across Pittsburgh. One works for the Pennsylvania Innocence Project. Another works to protect constitutional rights of those who are incarcerated. Others have opened their own firms. And multiple started in other careers before going to law school. The Incline’s editorial staff put together this list of 12 young legal leaders from dozens of nominees. (Nominate someone for our upcoming class: Who’s Next: Education by 5 p.m. today.) You can meet and celebrate with the honorees at a happy hour, presented by S&T Bank and Meyers, Evans, Lupetin, & Unatin, LLC. Celebrate Who’s Next: Law with The Incline Join us as we recognize stellar under-40 leaders shaping Pittsburgh's legal community. Your ticket includes appetizers, beer and wine from the Rivers Club, as well as your chance to meet The Incline's Who's Next: Law class. Presented by S&T Bank and Meyers, Evans, Lupetin, & Unatin, LLC. Where: The Rivers Club at 301 Grant St. (Downtown) When: June 28, 2017 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. How much: $20 for public | Free for Who's Next: Law honorees Kara Bailey Assistant Federal Public Defender, Office of the Federal Public Defender Kara Bailey grew up in Pittsburgh, and after a decade away, returned to Pittsburgh seven years ago. She works on a team in the Office of the Federal Public Defender’s Capital Habeas Unit. Bailey told The Incline that “the effective representation of a death-sentenced client does not rise and fall on a single, hot-shot lawyer; rather, it requires a collaborative defense team skilled in the law, investigation and the social sciences.” She said the team she works on aims “to reverse the inequities that flow from a state system where my client's identity and poverty — and not the evidence against him — determine his judicial outcomes.” Bailey is passionate about providing legal representation to low-income clients and encourages more lawyers to do the same. She was a facilitator for the 2011 and 2012 classes of Coro Pittsburgh’s Women in Leadership Program. Bailey “took an active role in her community by encouraging other women to assess their own leadership roles and is living out those values in her own career,” her nominator wrote. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and University of Michigan Law School and lives in Allegheny West. Jasmine Goldband / The Incline Seth I. Corbin Partner, Fox Rothschild LLP Seth I. Corbin is a partner at Fox Rothschild LLP, but he’s also been an active member of Big Brothers Big Sisters for a decade. As a lawyer, Corbin focuses on corporate law, employee pension and welfare benefits, employment law, health law, estate planning, taxation and executive compensation. He’s also worked with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to help clients get permits and approvals related to importing wine from South America and Europe. Corbin’s expertise also includes helping clients address issues and changes in health care laws and working with the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor programs. At Big Brothers and Big Sisters, he’s volunteered as a big brother for 10 years and worked with the local board of directors for seven, including as a past president. In 2011, he won the Jefferson Award for his “steadfast volunteer service” with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh. Corbin was named to a list of “Pennsylvania Rising Stars” by Super Lawyers Magazine from 2013 to 2017. He is a graduate of University of Pittsburgh with bachelor’s and law degrees and lives in Gibsonia, Pa. Elizabeth A. DeLosa Managing Attorney, Pennsylvania Innocence Project - Pittsburgh Division Elizabeth A. DeLosa works at as a managing attorney for the Pennsylvania Innocence Project’s Pittsburgh Division based at Duquesne University. There, DeLosa works to exonerate those wrongfully convicted of crimes and to prevent innocent people from being convicted. She’s also an adjunct professor at Duquesne’s school of law. DeLosa previously worked for the Allegheny County Office of Conflict Counsel, developing new programs and collaborating with community agencies to make sure juveniles had quality legal representation. She also worked for the office’s trial unit. DeLosa previously worked as a research and writing attorney and assistant federal defender in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and the Duquesne University School of Law. DeLosa lives in Squirrel Hill. Matthew S. Feinman Attorney and Owner, Law Offices of Matthew S. Feinman @MFeinmanLaw In September 2016, Matthew S. Feinman opened his law office, where his expertise includes bankruptcy, entertainment, small business start-ups, landlord/tenant issues and estate planning. He started his career in entertainment and moved to education but “always had that itch in the back of my mind that I should go to law school and make that my career,” he said. He moved from Orlando, Fla., to Pittsburgh to attend the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and graduated in 2015. “While a majority of the city may not know who he is now, I guarantee you he will be an attorney the city is talking about in the next five years,” his nominator wrote. When he’s not working, Feinman said he likes to explore Pittsburgh with his wife and three kids. He also is a member of the parent association of Community Day School, a board member of the Hebrew Free Loan Association of Pittsburgh and a confirmation teacher at the Beth El Congregation in the South Hills. Also a graduate of Full Sail University, Feinman lives in Squirrel Hill. Kate Gafner Associate, K&L Gates LLP @gafnerkm1 After working as a high school science teacher and in medical device sales, Kate Gafner decided to move to a career in law. Now, she said she uses her science background to “understand the technical nature” of the energy sector as an associate in the energy practice group at K&L Gates LLP. Gafner focuses on advising and advocating for energy clients including in crisis management and oil and gas transactions. “She's now the firm's go-to energy litigation associate,” her nominator wrote. And her teaching experience is still put to work as she mentors junior associates. Outside of work, Gafner is a fan of Pittsburgh sports and the city’s food scene and is a member of the Board of Directors for Bethany House Academy. The academy works to meet the needs of high-risk families in Northview Heights, including providing preschool, after school and summer programs. She is a graduate of Grove City College and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and lives in Manchester. Ryan E. Hamilton Attorney, Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services @HamiltonLawLLC As an attorney for Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services, Ryan E. Hamilton provides the legal tools needed for those working to increase sustainability in Western Pennsylvania. He’s helped clients with public trail access issues, conservation easements, eminent domain, property disputes and more. “Because of Ryan’s work, individuals have a say in their community’s future and development,” his nominator wrote. Hamilton has worked at Fair Shake since 2014 and before that, worked in the U.S. EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, as well as for the Environmental Integrity Project, both in Washington, D.C. He also worked for the Freshwater Trust and the Northwest Environmental Defense Center in Portland, Ore. Outside of work, Hamilton told The Incline that he’s “an avid cyclist and enjoys foraging for wild mushrooms” and volunteers with Tree Pittsburgh. He’s a graduate of Lewis & Clark College’s Law School in Portland, Ore. and Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa. and lives in Lawrenceville. Associate Attorney, Justin Ketchel Law and Zuckerman Law Firm Anthony Jackson says he dreamed of becoming a criminal defense attorney. He’s now achieved that as an associate attorney for two Pittsburgh firms: Justin Ketchel Law and Zuckerman Law Firm. Jackson previously worked as a contract attorney for Eckert Seamans Attorneys at Law and was a case manager and paralegal at Chaffin Luhana LLP. He is a graduate of the College of Wooster, where he played football, and Duquesne University School of Law. At Duquesne, Jackson was a member of the Moot Court Board and a board member of the National Black Law Students Association. A native of Steubenville, Ohio, he lives Downtown. Martin McKown Compliance Counsel, Duquesne Light Company At Duquesne Light Company, Martin McKown works to “reinforce a culture of ethics” as compliance counsel. In that role, “he assists with the development, implementation and oversight of corporate and regulatory compliance protocols,” according to his bio. Before joining the utility, he was a congressional staffer for a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a law clerk for a District Court judge and a teaching assistant at Duquesne University School of Law. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Tyler and Duquesne University School of Law, where he served as president of the Appellate Moot Court Board. McKown was named a member of the 2016 class of social fraternity Pi Kappa Phi’s “Thirty Under 30.” He’s a volunteer for the fraternity’s Ability Experience charity, which serves people with disabilities. He lives in Mt. Washington. Alexandra Morgan-Kurtz Staff Attorney, Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project Alexandra Morgan-Kurtz is a Western Pa.-based staff attorney for the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, which works to protect the constitutional rights of incarcerated persons. Among her clients, she is currently representing women who were placed in solitary confinement at the Allegheny County Jail while pregnant. Morgan-Kurtz, a graduate of Penn State and the University of Virginia School of Law, previously worked for the ACLU of Pennsylvania. “At only 30 years old, she handles a large and complex caseload virtually single-handedly,” wrote the person who nominated Morgan-Kurtz. “She is intelligent and compassionate and has devoted her career to vindicating the constitutional rights of individuals who are often ignored or even despised by most of society.” Morgan-Kurtz lives in Seven Fields with her husband Kevin and three cats: Logan, Sherlock and Nibbler. Jennifer O. Price Attorney, The Law Office of Jennifer O. Price @jennoprice Jennifer O. Price started her own law firm in 2016 after spending several years as an assistant district attorney for Allegheny County. She represents children with special needs against school districts, whether that be attending disciplinary hearings or providing a criminal defense. As an assistant district attorney, Price prosecuted felonies from attempted homicides to sexual abuse of children. She plans to launch “PricEd 2 Change,” a podcast “where I interview people making investments in the community, children and education,” she said. “The podcast will discuss topics, including incarcerated parents and their children, girls and education, education technology, and sports and youth.” Price is a graduate of Fayetteville State University and Hamline University School of Law. She lives in Murrysville. Marlene van Es Principal Attorney, Trellis Legal LLC @TrellisPGH Marlene van Es has a deep background in environmental and agricultural policy. She was a law clerk for PennFuture, legal intern for the Pa. Department of Environmental Protection and an agricultural policy intern for Vela Environmental. She also has a degree in Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources from Cornell University. With that expertise, she founded her own practice, Trellis Legal LLC, in January 2016, which seeks to make legal services more accessible. “Marlene van Es is as powerful and driven of a lawyer as I've ever met and doing amazing things here in Southwestern Pa. to disrupt the legal services process and bring her small business, nonprofit and individual clients accessible legal expertise,” wrote one of the people who nominated her. She serves as a board member for the Pennsylvania Farmers Union and is a member of the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, van Es lives in Lawrenceville. Sylvia Winston Nichols Associate, Jones Day For more than two years, Sylvia Winston Nichols has been an associate at Jones Day as part of the Business and Tort Litigation group. Before that, she was a litigation partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago. Nichols is involved with several nonprofits and serves as president of the Young Leader's Board of the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh. “She executes every job, role and mission with precision and grace,” a person who nominated her wrote. “She is an advocate for change, an advocate for women's rights, and she is making a change for the better in our area, on many fronts.” She graduated from Duke University and from that university’s School of Law. A Kansas City native, she now lives in Morgantown, W.V. Rivers Club, Anthony Jackson, Martin McKown, Alexandra Morgan-Kurtz, Jennifer O. Price, Marlene van Es, Sylvia Winston Nichols, Ryan E. Hamilton, Kate Gafner, Matthew S. Feinman, Elizabeth A. DeLosa, Seth I. Corbin, Kara Bailey, Downtown Pittsburgh food in June 2019: What’s opening and what’s closing Sip (and snap) Instagrammable coffee, try some new wine, and indulge in old world pizza. By Rossilynne Culgan · May. 31, 2019 Peculiar Pittsburgh In Pittsburgh art, beauty and fries are in the eye of the beholder This is a story of a lasting — albeit unintentional — testament to this city’s greatest vice. A window into our french-fried souls. By Colin Deppen Nominate Pittsburgh rising stars for our third Who’s Next: Technology class Tell us by 10 a.m. on Monday, June 17. Like hockey? You have Pittsburgh to thank for that. Long before the Penguins, Pittsburgh rooted for the Keystones, the Professionals, the Victorias, and the Bankers. What to do this week in Pittsburgh: May 27-June 2, 2019 Listen to jazz, learn Tai Chi, sip tea with a drag queen, and get a psychic reading. The big list of winners in Pittsburgh’s May 2019 primary election Several shakeups amid low voter turnout. What to do this week in Pittsburgh: May 20-26, 2019 Dance the salsa, rock out at KayaFest, and ask a date to adult Prom. The Procrastinator’s Guide to Pittsburgh’s May 21 primary Democracy in last-minute action. Explore the ultimate Pittsburgh bucket list with this new book How many have you checked off? Who’s Next: Animal Advocates; 10 young Pittsburghers helping animals Animals love our latest Who’s Next class. We think you will, too. Write poetry, learn to garden, and party like it's 1999. Jeff Goldblum — yes, that Jeff Goldblum — is the new voice of Carnegie Science Center’s Buhl Planetarium Star power among the planetarium's stars. In the Steel City, a blast furnace becomes the setting for Shakespeare It's a "once-in-a-lifetime" show. Siren: Sheetz is debuting a coffee-flavored beer Take that, Wawa. The 14 best Pittsburgh apartments for rent in May 2019 Larry David artwork, a spiral staircase, a gilded mansion — it's all up for grabs this month. What to do this week in Pittsburgh: May 6-12, 2019 This week is all about music. Running for those who cannot, Pittsburgh marathoners pay tribute to Tree of Life victims “It’s a symbolic run. It’s going to be very emotional.” Pittsburgh food in May 2019: What’s opening and what’s closing New right now: Eggplant parm, arepas, and martinis. Is this Pittsburgh pizza actually the best in America? We tried a slice … Find the Mee-Maw pizza at Caliente starting May 1. · Apr. 30, 2019 Nominate Pittsburgh up-and-comers for our 2019 Who’s Next: Education class This Who's Next class is in session. More Incline The Incline’s “Who's Next” series highlights some of the most dynamic people under 40 shaping Pittsburgh every day. Our goal is to identify and track the next generation of leaders and influencers. Who's Next Archives Who’s Next: Communicators; Meet 18 people giving a voice to Pittsburgh’s stories Who’s Next: Musicians; 23 young Pittsburghers composing the city’s soundtrack Who’s Next: Community Leaders & Activists; Meet 20 people making change in Pittsburgh Who’s Next: Fitness and Health; Meet 19 young leaders focused on Pittsburgh’s wellness Who’s Next: Politics; From the campaign trail to policymaking, 25 Pittsburghers making a difference Who’s Next: Art; Meet 22 Pittsburghers making art and making a difference Who’s Next: Transit; Meet 17 Pittsburghers helping you get around Who’s Next: Technology; Meet 22 people building the future in Pittsburgh Who’s Next: Education: Meet 20 people shaping a future generation in Pittsburgh Who’s Next: Food & Drink; Meet 23 people elevating Pittsburgh’s dining scene Who’s Next: Tourism; Meet 16 people who are showing off the Pittsburgh region Who’s Next: Style; Meet 14 people making Pittsburgh a more polished city Who’s Next: Business & Finance; These 11 Pittsburghers are shaping the city’s boardrooms and banks Who’s Next: Philanthropy; 17 people invested in making Pittsburgh a better place Who’s Next: Fitness; Meet 17 people making Pittsburgh a happier and healthier place Who’s Next: Politics; 18 rising leaders shaping Pittsburgh’s tomorrow Who’s Next: Music; 21 young leaders defining the new Pittsburgh sound Who’s Next: Health; Meet 16 people working to make Pittsburgh healthier Who’s Next: Housing; These 12 people want to make Pittsburgh ‘livable’ for everyone Nominate under-40 Pittsburghers for The Incline’s Who’s Next: Health class Who’s Next: Education; Meet 18 young educators preparing Pittsburgh for the future Nominate under-40 Pittsburghers for The Incline’s Who’s Next: Housing Nominate under-40 teachers, advocates and innovators in Pittsburgh for Who’s Next: Education Who’s Next: Drink; Meet the 15 young Pittsburghers raising the bar for the city’s beverage scene Tell us about stellar under-40 Pittsburghers in the legal community for Who’s Next: Law Who’s Next: Food; Meet the 16 people elevating Pittsburgh’s dining scene Nominate under-40 Pittsburghers for The Incline’s Who’s Next: Drink Who’s Next: Technology; These 18 people are transforming Pittsburgh Nominate under-40 Pittsburghers for The Incline’s Who’s Next: Food Who’s Next: Community Leaders and Activists; 20 people building a better Pittsburgh Nominate under-40 Pittsburghers for The Incline’s Who’s Next: Technology Who’s Next: Politics; These 19 people are shaping Pittsburgh’s political scene Nominate under-40 Pittsburghers for The Incline’s Who’s Next: Community Leaders Nominate under-40 Pittsburghers for The Incline’s Who’s Next: Politics Who’s Next in Communications: 21 people under 40 helping Pittsburgh tell its story

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line521

__label__wiki

Thank you #cmaawards A post shared by Trent Reznor (@treznor) on Nov 13, 2019 at 5:24pm PST Trent Reznor Acknowledges 2019 CMA Awards Win With Another Brooks & Dunn Photoshop When Trent Reznor learned of his first CMA Awards nomination, due to the inclusion of a sample of Nine Inch Nails’ “34 Ghosts IV” in Lil Nas X's viral hit “Old Town Road,” he celebrated with a hilarious, Photoshopped Instagram post that turned him and collaborator Atticus Ross into Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn. After the song's pre-show Musical Event of the Year win on Wednesday (Nov. 13), the singer and NIN frontman once again channeled his inner Brooks & Dunn on social media. The new, meme-worthy image proves two things: Reznor didn’t ignore his 2019 CMA Awards win, and he could totally pull off the rodeo rider look. Reznor, Ross and Lil Nas X's Musica Event of the Year victory is also shared by collaborator Billy Ray Cyrus and "Old Town Road" producer YoungKio. Reznor’s shared CMA win is the latest twist in country music’s relationship with “Old Town Road.” Upon its release, the song gained traction on the TikTok app and debuted at No. 19 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, before being removed from country chart consideration. A hot debate over whether or not the song is "country" ensued, as well as whether or not race played a factor in Billboard's decision to remove "Old Town Road" from the charts. Reznor isn’t the first heavy rock icon to win Musical Event of the Year (also known as Vocal Event of the Year) at the CMA Awards. Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant won the category in 2008, for “Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On),” from his multi-Grammy award-winning collaborative album with Alison Krauss, Raising Sand. Test Your CMA Awards Knowledge! More Surprising CMA Awards Winners Source: Trent Reznor Acknowledges 2019 CMA Awards Win With Another Brooks & Dunn Photoshop Filed Under: CMA Awards, Trent Reznor

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line522

__label__wiki

At the Tree Shadow Café... ... please feel free to talk about anything. And consider doing some shopping at Amazon through The Althouse Portal. Tags: light and shade, photography, trees "In Estonia, we don’t have Big Brother; we have Little Brother. You can tell him what to do and maybe also beat him up." Says "a local" to Nathan Heller, author of "Estonia, the Digital Republic/Its government is virtual, borderless, blockchained, and secure. Has this tiny post-Soviet nation found the way of the future?" by Nathan Heller (in The New Yorker). Today, in Estonia, the weekly e-residency application rate exceeds the birth rate. “We tried to make more babies, but it’s not that easy,” [Siim Sikkut, Estonia’s current C.I.O.] explained. Polling-place intimidation is a non-issue if people can vote—and then change their votes, up to the deadline—at home, online. Vote and change your vote... That's an interesting innovation. We assume that early voters are locked in and therefore unaffected by late-breaking news. Please read the whole article. I kept puzzling over whether this is the approach to life and government would spread all over the world and whether I should think it's very cool or how we ruin everything and can never get back out again. In Estonia, we don’t have Big Brother; we have Little Brother.... If you want a picture of the future, imagine a fluffy slipper smooshing a human face — forever. Tags: commerce, Estonia, immigration, Orwell, technology, the web, voting "This isn't an argument about policy, it's just a dumb attempt to personalize the issue." Says Glenn Reynolds: Brookings fellow rips Trump: I entered through lottery system. It’s like the people who defend affirmative action by saying “I’m a product of affirmative action!” as if that should silence any critics. I loathe these personalized arguments. They are not consistent with progressive politics, because they amplify the voice of the privileged and treat those who have been excluded as if they don't exist. So there's a de-personalization going on that you're encouraged not to notice. If a lottery were not the system, there would be some other system. Who are the people who would have got in under that system? They're not here to clamor for your attention to their personal story. There's a second form of silencing that goes on: Those who benefitted from the existing system are supposed to support it. This particular "Brookings fellow" is saying it helped me, so I'm for it and you should be too. But what about people who got the benefit but don't like the policy? They'll be told they need to shut up, because they took the advantage. I'm thinking of Clarence Thomas, who people assume got the advantage of affirmative action and who gets called a hypocrite for opposing it. Tags: affirmative action, Clarence Thomas, immigration, Instapundit, law, seen and unseen, Trump and immigration "At the end of 2016, our country had swung in the direction of gold leaf, an ecstatic celebration of unfeeling billionaire-dom that kept me up at night." "I couldn’t settle down to read or write, and in my anxiety I found myself mindlessly scrolling through two particular shopping websites, numbing my fears with pictures of shoes, clothes, purses and jewelry. I was trying to distract myself, but the distraction left me feeling worse, the way a late night in a bar smoking Winstons and drinking gin leaves you feeling worse. The unspoken question of shopping is 'What do I need?' What I needed was less." From "My Year of No Shopping" by Ann Patchett, who gave up shopping for a year and lived to tell the tale (in the NYT). She didn't give up food shopping — or anything-in-the-grocery-store shopping — or shopping for anything she had but ran out of — like shampoo, batteries, and toner cartridges. And she didn't give up buying books, because... books! I once did something like this, but it wasn't out of some politically motivated desire for psychological renewal. It was the challenge of sending 2 sons through college. My incantation was: Don't buy anything. I found that surprisingly easy to follow. When you reach a certain age, you probably don't need anything (putting aside the things you regularly consume, like food, toiletries, and cleaning supplies). Most of what you're buying is just things you're taking the trouble to think about wanting. You go into a clothing store and look around to find something to want or to feel that you need. I like that Patchett's last paragraph calls attention to something particularly stupid about what's on the racks in the stores this year: Clothes with the shoulders cut out. It really is best not to go to the insane mental place where you feel you want that. Just project yourself forward into next year when, it's easy to see, you'll think you were crazy to have believed that was even wearable. Tags: Ann Patchett, fashion, shopping, Trump derangement syndrome "FBI officials’ text message about Hillary Clinton said to be a cover story for romantic affair." What a crazy story, dropped last night in The Washington Post. Excerpt: “So look,” the text from Page to Strzok reads, “you say we text on that phone when we talk about Hillary because it can’t be traced, you were just venting [because] you feel bad that you’re gone so much but it can’t be helped right now.”... People familiar with the matter said that, although Page’s message may appear to suggest that she and Strzok used a separate communications channel for discussing the Clinton case, the point of her text was to advise Strzok how to explain to his wife why the two of them had been texting each other. Page and Strzok used their work on the Clinton case as a cover story for the affair, these people said, adding that there was not a separate set of phones for untraceable discussions of the Clinton case. The text had nothing to do with the Clinton investigation, these people said. We're talking about a senior FBI lawyer and a senior counterintelligence agent. “What people are forgetting is the human foible of a having an affair — they forget that the system itself will betray you and your texts,” said David Gomez, a former FBI counterterrorism official. “Using language like that is something a lot of people who have affairs do, but it does create problems with people who are conspiracy minded.’’ We're asked to believe sex made them this stupid. And we're asked not to look too hard because it must have been about sex, and we're "conspiracy minded" if we see anything but their getting stupid because of sex. But their sexual desire — however profound and stupid-making it may have been — doesn't make us stupid. Keep looking. And Washington Post, come on. You need to do better. The second-to-last paragraph of this story is an embarrassment: The issue has come up before. In 2014, an FBI agent was caught texting on the witness stand at a trial and then lied under oath about it. She killed herself hours after the incident. Law enforcement officials said her texts were innocuous messages exchanged with her husband while passing time in court. I'm not saying you ought to kill yourself over that, and I'm sorry for family of the woman who killed herself over lying on the witness stand about texting in 2014, but that's a cheap, lame, overreaching effort to make us lay off Strzok and Page. "The issue has come up before" — what issue? Tags: FBI, Hillary's in trouble, Strzok, suicide, text messaging Nevertheless, he persisted. From "Nine more women say judge subjected them to inappropriate behavior, including four who say he touched or kissed them" in The Washington Post: Christine O.C. Miller, 73, a retired U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge, said that around early 1986 — shortly after Kozinski was appointed to his seat in the 9th Circuit — he invited her to attend a legal community function in the Baltimore area. As the two drove back together, Miller said, Kozinski asked if she wanted to stop at a motel and have sex. Miller, then in her early 40s and married, said she had considered Kozinski, who had served as chief of the Claims Court, “an ally and a professional friend” but harbored no romantic feelings for him. “I told him, no, I wasn’t interested and didn’t want to be involved in anything like that,” she said. Kozinski, she said, persisted. “He said if you won’t sleep with me, I want to touch you, and then he reached over, and — this was the most antiseptic — he grabbed each of my breasts and squeezed them,” Miller said. She said she stared straight ahead, and he soon dropped her off at her home. Nevertheless, he persisted.... Tags: Kozinski, sexual harassment At the Littering Café... ... you can drop (or pick up) whatever you like. That's just a shred of litter I saw on the ground and felt moved to stoop over and photograph. Is that too profound to preclude my reminding you to shop at Amazon through the Althouse portal? I searched for God at Amazon and found "God: A Human History," "God and Donald Trump," and Zeus Greek God Holding Thunderbolt Statue with Eagle. Tags: books, God, litter, photography Mira Sorvino cries over confirmed suspicion. Just seeing this after I awoke, I burst out crying. There it is, confirmation that Harvey Weinstein derailed my career, something I suspected but was unsure. Thank you Peter Jackson for being honest. I’m just heartsick https://t.co/ljK9NqICbm — Mira Sorvino (@MiraSorvino) December 15, 2017 ADDED: Here's the underlying story. Excerpt: "I now suspect we were fed false information about both of these talented women [Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino] - and as a direct result their names were removed from our casting list " [said Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson].... "My experience, when Miramax controlled the Lord of the Rings... was of Weinstein and his brother behaving like second-rate Mafia bullies. They weren't the type of guys I wanted to work with - so I haven't," he said. Tags: Ashley Judd, Harvey Weinstein, Mira Sorvino, Peter Jackson "The woman said that she does not recall how long the unwanted contact lasted, and that she felt unable to do anything to stop it. 'There were people there'..." "... she said. 'What are they going to think of me, that I’m a whore, if a say something? What would I say? He’s Dustin Hoffman.' According to the woman, the car dropped her near her apartment, but Hoffman put $20 in her hand and instructed her to go to the San Remo, where he lived. 'I didn’t know what to do, the woman said, describing herself as being in 'a kind of fugue state' triggered by her encounter with Hoffman and related to abuse that she suffered as a child. She hailed a cab and asked the driver to 'drive around' for a few minutes, then asked him to take her to the San Remo. There she said, Hoffman was waiting outside the building. She accompanied him upstairs, where, she claimed, he performed oral sex on her and they had intercourse. Asked if she would describe the encounter in the station wagon as non-consensual, she said 'yes.' Asked if she would describe the encounter at the San Remo as such, she said, 'I don’t know.'" From "Dustin Hoffman Accused of Exposing Himself to a Minor, Assaulting Two Women," at Variety. A "fugue state" is "a rare psychiatric disorder characterized by reversible amnesia for personal identity, including the memories, personality, and other identifying characteristics of individuality." It "usually involves unplanned travel or wandering" — perhaps to the San Remo — "and is sometimes accompanied by the establishment of a new identity." Tags: Dustin Hoffman, psychology, rape, sexual harassment "[H]ow many of the men who were able to clerk for Judge Kozinski without having to worry about their own safety... concluded that their female colleagues fell behind because they just didn’t have what it takes..." "... not because they had been effectively cut off from certain opportunities? I have heard countless people, over the years, conclude that women don’t occupy as many senior positions because they just don’t 'try as hard' as men, or have the 'ambition' to reach the highest-level jobs, or because they care too much about 'work-life balance.' Maybe sometimes. But these accusations should remind us that some doors that look like they’re open to everyone are really closed to some. And that the consequences of that reach far beyond the individual victims." Writes Amanda Taub at "The #MeToo Moment: How One Harasser Can Rob a Generation of Women" (NYT). Tags: Amanda Taub, careers, employment discrimination, Kozinski, law, sexual harassment "A maid stole some rings, then returned them. A jury convicted her, then paid her fine. Was that right?" At WaPo: [The jury] felt bad for the young woman, pregnant with her second child, and agreed that she had made a dumb, youthful mistake.... “The general sentiment was she was a victim, too,” said the jury foreman, Jeffery Memmott. “Two of the women [jurors] were crying because of how bad they felt. One lady pulled out a $20 bill, and just about everybody chipped in.” Memmott then contacted the public defender in the case, and went to the home of Sandra Mendez Ortega. He gave her the jury’s collection, which totaled $80. “Justice had to be done,” said another juror, Janice Woolridge, explaining why the panel imposed a felony conviction. “But there’s also got be some compassion somewhere. Young people make bad decisions. We just couldn’t pile on any more.” Tags: charity, crime, law "Charge upgraded to first-degree murder for driver accused of ramming Charlottesville crowd." WaPo reports. Unlike second-degree murder, first-degree murder requires the element of premeditation. Authorities said video showing the Dodge backing up rapidly before it accelerated forward toward the crowd is evidence that the crash was intentional, prompting them to upgrade the main charge against [James Alex Fields Jr.]. Another video, taken by a surveillance camera mounted on a building, did not show the collision but offered a close-up view of the Dodge. At the moment it sped forward, almost in a blur as it moved toward the crowd off camera, there were gasps in the courtroom from friends of [the victim Heather D.] Heyer and supporters of her family. Several were in tears.... Tags: Charlottesville, law, murder "Kansas Dem Andrea Ramsey, accused of sexual harassment, will drop out of US House race." The Kansas City Star reports: She was running with the endorsement of Emily’s List, a liberal women’s group that has raised more than a half-million dollars to help female candidates who support abortion rights... “In its rush to claim the high ground in our roiling national conversation about harassment, the Democratic Party has implemented a zero tolerance standard,” Ramsey said in a statement Friday. “For me, that means a vindictive, terminated employee’s false allegations are enough for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) to decide not to support our promising campaign. We are in a national moment where rough justice stands in place of careful analysis, nuance and due process.”... “After I told her I was not interested in having a sexual relationship with her, she stopped talking to me,” [the male subordinate, Gary Funkhouser] wrote. “In the office she completely ignored me and avoided having any contact with me.”... Tags: sexual harassment Don't make personal remarks. Were you ever taught, Don't make personal remarks? Not just don't make negative personal remarks, but don't make personal remarks. I seem to remember this as a widely shared social understanding, but perhaps it was something very localized — like to Delaware or my own family — or perhaps I am misremembering. When I google the phrase, the first thing that comes up is a Wikipedia page titled "Wikipedia:Avoid personal remarks" about the civility policy for Wikipedia contributors: "If you have opinions about the contributions others have made, feel free to discuss those contributions on any relevant talk page. But if you have opinions about other contributors as people, they don't belong there – or frankly, anywhere on Wikipedia...." The next thing of any value is from the Mad Tea Party scene in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland": "Your hair wants cutting," said the Hatter. He had been looking at Alice for some time with great curiosity, and this was his first speech. "You should learn not to make personal remarks," Alice said with some severity; "it's very rude." Aha! Alice knows proper etiquette. Isn't that more or less the point of Alice in Wonderland? She brings her social conventions to a place where no one else follows them, and she sticks to them and gives voice to them, even as no one pays attention to what was so important on the other end of the rabbit hole. The Hatter's response to "It's very rude" is (of course), "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?" By the way, there are many answers to that riddle. I always assumed, reading that book, that there was no answer, that it was nonsense, but one very good answer is: "Poe wrote on both." Tags: Edgar Allan Poe, etiquette, Lewis Carroll, puzzles "What if you couldn't access this page?" (NYT Paywall, subscription required) pic.twitter.com/VNI2tRt8ha — David Freddoso (@freddoso) December 15, 2017 ADDED: Here's the underlying NYT article, which I (with my NYT subscription) am seeing as "What if You Couldn’t See This Page?" It's an op-ed by Nick Frisch, with the update: "The F.C.C. voted on Thursday to repeal net neutrality rules." Without net neutrality, American firms will have no obligation to provide equal access for content, and minimal statutory requirement to explain why one piece of content might arrive more slowly than another. In the future, if the article you’re reading loads slowly, or not at all, you might not know the reason. But you can guess. Tags: nyt, the web "An excerpt from the video of Mr. Wu’s last moments shows him on top of the building, clad in black with his hair pulled back from his face, meticulously and repeatedly wiping the ledge." "He swung his legs over the edge and partially hung there, clutching it with the full length of his arms, before pulling himself up and sitting down to wipe the edge again. Then he swung his legs over one by one for a final time. He did two pull-ups into the void, gripping the ledge. Attempting a third, he appeared to struggle, trying to find a hold with one foot after the other. A small sound resembling a human voice, perhaps a whimper, can be heard on the recording. Then he dropped...." I can read the text — from "Death of Man in Skyscraper Fall in China Puts a Spotlight on 'Rooftopping'" (NYT)— but I will not watch the video. This is another one for you to distance yourself from death by saying "Darwin effect" or "He died doing what he loved," but it's still terrible. RIP Wu Yongning. Anyway... rooftopping.... “There are different flavors — those who are doing it for the pure purpose of cityscape photography and those who are doing it for the thrill to post on Instagram and YouTube,” [said Daniel Cheong, 55, a professional cityscape photographer].... “The goal is to capture the cityscape...The attraction really has nothing to do with the fact that you go to the 100th floor. It is purely for composition.” Then there are those who sneak without permission onto buildings — and even pry or cut their way through locks. Some of these people are into the dare-deviltry and concentrate on photographing not the cityscape, but themselves... taking risks. Tags: death, photography, scary, viral video "When asked if Mueller has a conflict of interest 'as the former head of the FBI and a friend of James Comey,' 54 percent responded..." "... that the 'relationship' between the two amounts to a conflict of interest, including 70 percent of Republicans, 53 percent of independents and 40 percent of Democrats," The Hill reports. Shouldn't this have come up back when he was appointed? Yes, but the problem now is perception, and... “The special counsel has serious perception issues as a clear majority now see him as having a conflict of interest,” said Mark Penn, co-director of the Harvard CAPS-Harris survey. Tags: Comey, FBI, law, Mueller, prosecutorial ethics "But would we have grown this close if we hadn’t experienced the medical emergency that pushed us into marriage? I doubt it." "Lupus woke me up and forced me to take a leap of faith with Chris. And it taught me this: Being married to someone you love is a lot better than being married to your own cynicism." The last few lines of a NYT "Modern Love" essay by a woman who considered herself "way too progressive for such a conventional arrangement" but suddenly married her boyfriend when she had an acute health crisis and wanted to get on his insurance. She needed to go straight to the hospital, but they detoured to city hall first and got married. You might remember that back in July 2008, when I was single and had been single for many years, I did a Bloggingheads in which I talked about having health insurance through work that would cover a spouse, making my pay package less valuable than it would be if I were married. I added, "I've often thought I should just charitably marry someone... I'd just marry them to be nice..." For the connection between that diavlog and my marriage to Meade (which began in August 2009), read "Flashback '08: The Audacity Althousity of Hope." Excerpt (quoting Meade): Gee, I'm single now, happily single, and thought I'd just remain that way. But considering all the benefits, I guess I'd really be a fool not to take a close look if Althouse were to, just out of niceness, propose to pity-marry me. What could I offer in return? Let's see - I could prune those redbuds, take out the garbage, trap squirrels. That's a lot of trapped rodents ago. Tags: Althouse + Meade, insurance, marriage, rodents, solitude "He said, 'What were you arrested for, kid?' And I said, 'Littering.'" A line from an old song crosses my mind as I read this story in the Naperville Sun: William V. Winnie, 67, of the 1100 block of Greensfield Drive, was charged Dec. 2 with obscenity, disorderly conduct and littering after he was arrested earlier this month in Pratt’s Wayne Woods near the village of Wayne, according to court and DuPage County Forest Preserve District police reports.... Police say they had received reports dating back to October from people who had noted seeing the underwear... near a bridge along the path in the preserve.... According to the report, Winnie said he would routinely find underwear hanging from the trees along the Prairie Path, which he would take home, place in the plastic bags and then leave them at the bridge. Winnie reported leaving 15 to 20 pairs over the previous year. “He described his actions as an experiment and said he wanted to see where it would go,” the report said.... Sounds like an art project. He keeps finding underpants. Somebody else is hanging up underpants on various trees. He seems to be reframing the situation in a more orderly way, bagging the evidence and putting it all in the same place. I'm as concerned about littering as the next person, but does this old man really deserve to have his photo, name, and (approximate) address printed in the paper? We're told that some of panties were "accompanied by salacious photos," but that Winnie said he didn't know how that got in the bag. You may be thinking his explanation makes no sense: What "experiment"? Where could it "go"? Like the Underpants Gnomes, he did Phase 1, Collect underpants. Unlike the gnomes — whose Phase 2 was just "?" — Winnie's Phase 2 was: Package and redistribute underpants. But that doesn't get you to Phase 3: Profit. Winnie had "?" as Phase 3, and the police answered the question. Get arrested for littering. Tags: Arlo Guthrie, crime, litter, South Park, underpants A top aide to the Texas Attorney General had to resign after sharing (on Facebook) that much-shared "Can We Be Honest About Women?" piece in The Federalist. You know the Federalist piece? I didn't share it, but I certainly noticed that it was hitting a sweet spot for some people. Maybe it said what you wanted to say: We can’t always assume women are hapless damsels in distress horrified by how they’re objectified. Here’s a little secret we have to say out loud: Women love the sexual interplay they experience with men, and they relish men desiring their beauty. Why? Because it is part of their nature.... Women have their natures and their sin. Part of their sexuality, their feminine nature is beauty and the allure of sex. Their sin is exploiting it to abuse and take advantage of men, to reduce themselves to objects instead of cultivating their minds and souls, and to focus so much on the outward parts that they forget the value of inner virtues.... And it was written by a woman, D.C. McAllister, so that might make a man feel empowered to express an opinion he suspects he probably shouldn't say directly. Now, the man who lost his job, Associate Deputy Attorney General Andrew D. Leonie, didn't merely share the article and allow McAllister's relatively elevated statement to speak for him. He spiked it with his own blunt words: “Aren’t you also tired of all the pathetic ‘me too’ victim claims? If every woman is a ‘victim,’ so is every man. If everyone is a victim, no one is. Victim means nothing anymore.” That was posted in the middle of the night, and by the end of the next day he was out. The NYT notes that Leonie describes himself on Twitter as "Deplorable & Irredeemable Texas Christian Tea Party Republican Constitutionalist Conservative Libertarian." He doesn't seem to have tweeted since his resignation. The official statement from the attorney general's office was: "The views he expressed on social media do not reflect our values. The O.A.G. is committed to promoting and maintaining a workplace that is free from discrimination and harassment." Tags: #MeToo, feminine beauty, gender difference, sex, sin, victim politics "For 20 years, I’ve felt it was too early to speak up about Judge Alex Kozinski. Now I fear it’s too late." "He Made Us All Victims and Accomplices," by Dahlia Lithwick (at Slate). I have seen Judge Kozinski dozens of times in the past two decades, moderated his panels, sat next to him at high-powered, high-status events and dinners. My husband will tell you he once fielded a call from the judge to my home, in which Kozinski described himself as my “paramour.” I have, on every single such occasion, been aware that part of his open flouting of empathy or care around gender was a show of juvenile, formulaic bad-assery designed to co-opt you into the bargain. We all ended up colluding to pretend that this was all funny or benign, and that, since everyone knew about it, it must be OK. It never was.... But now it’s 2017.... You don't want to be thought of as a cog in a complicity machine. Tags: Dahlia Lithwick, Kozinski, law, law clerks, sexual harassment Instapundit rewrites "Cat Person" from the man's point of view. Part of it anyway, with some good sideways snark at Anderson Cooper. Posted by Ann Althouse at 12:05 PM 3 comments Tags: Anderson Cooper, fat, gender difference, Instapundit, Kristen Roupenian "'This fire is a beast': Massive inferno keeps growing despite epic battle by firefighters." The L.A. Times reports. Across the mountain ridges above Santa Barbara, Summerland and Montecito, firefighters Wednesday were building containment lines, clearing brush, digging breaks and setting small backfires to burn fuel, all in an effort to create barriers to stop the forward march of the fire. Conditions so far this week have been favorable, allowing firefighters to attack the flames on the southwestern flank of the blaze as it moves west toward the Santa Ynez Mountains. But the National Weather Service was forecasting sundowner winds blowing southeast at up to 35 mph Friday night, followed by Santa Ana winds Saturday that, at up to 45 mph, could steer the fire toward the southwest.... As firefighters well know, sundowner winds are notoriously unpredictable.... Tags: fire, L.A. Morgan Spurlock goes proactive in The Reckoning and declares "I am Part of the Problem." "As I sit around watching hero after hero, man after man, fall at the realization of their past indiscretions, I don’t sit by and wonder 'who will be next?' I wonder, 'when will they come for me?'..." Over my life, there have been many instances that parallel what we see everyday in the news. When I was in college, a girl who I hooked up with on a one night stand accused me of rape. Not outright. There were no charges or investigations, but she wrote about the instance in a short story writing class.... Then there was the time I settled a sexual harassment allegation at my office. This was around 8 years ago, and it wasn’t a gropy feely harassment. It was verbal, and it was just as bad. I would call my female assistant “hot pants” or “sex pants” when I was yelling to her from the other side of the office. Something I thought was funny at the time.... And then there’s the infidelity. I have been unfaithful to every wife and girlfriend I have ever had.... I am part of the problem. We all are. But I am also part of the solution.... Tags: #MeToo, adultery, Morgan Spurlock, sexual harassment When you happen to watch 2 movies in a row and see a common theme. There are a million things you might perceive in a movie. So when you see 2 movies in a row, your brain is going to match things up, and then something looks interesting and you go running down that road. Let me tell you about the 2 movies we happened to watch this week. Because we almost never watch movies, 2 recently watched movies are going to suggest a lot of connections with each other, even when they have little in common. 1. "Magic Trip/Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place." This is a documentary about Ken Kesey and his Merry Band of Pranksters driving a gaudily painted bus from San Francisco to the New York World's Fair in 1964. A man who's written a very successful novel ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest") and discovered LSD (by volunteering for a CIA-financed study) lets a speed freak (Neal Cassady) drive him and his friends across America. They take many, many reels of poorly shot film, and 50 years later, some talented filmmakers figure out how to base a watchable documentary on that sprawling footage. Highlights of the film: Kesey on his CIA/LSD trip, painting the bus, going to a blacks-only beach on Lake Pontchartrain (and not being welcomed as integrators), visiting Timothy Leary at his Milbrook Estate (and getting snubbed and looked down on), partying with Jack Kerouac (who wasn't On-The-Road Kerouac anymore, but a boring drunk), and making it back home where LSD really worked better, staying in one place and partying with the Grateful Dead as the house band. 2. "Get Out." This is a 2017 movie, by a black writer-director (Jordan Peele, who came from the world of sketch comedy), about a black man going on a short, strange trip with his white girlfriend to visit her parents, who turn out to be a real horrorshow. I recommend seeing this movie without knowing what's going to happen, so please stop now and come back later if you haven't seen it yet. It came out last winter, but maybe you're like me and you don't get excited about movies because they happen to be new. You might be noticing this movie now because it's on various year-end lists and getting nominated for awards. It's on HBO on Demand, where we watched it. Anyway, the man character — Chris Washington — feels uneasy being around so many white people and takes heart whenever he encounters a black person, but the black people there are very weird, for a reason we eventually learn: They are really white people who got surgically inserted into the black person's head. The black person is still in there, riding along, observing but unable to speak or act. The evil white people are systematically bringing black people to this place, one by one, lured by Allison Williams (of all people), and using them as shells for the aging white people to gain a new life. It's not just a way to avoid aging and death, but a way to experience life as a black person. That's something they all really want, these people who like to tell Chris about as soon as they meet him that they voted for Obama and would vote for him for a third term if they could. Now, what are the connections I'm seeing between these 2 movies I happened to encounter in sequence? In both, you've got a group of white people who see ordinary life as a white person in America as a predicament in need of transcendence by radical means. They take drastic, dangerous actions to break out of themselves and get somewhere else entirely. So involved and entranced with their own journey, they impose on everybody else. Tags: Allison Williams, buses, cia, Get Out, Grateful Dead, Jack Kerouac, Jordan Peele, Ken Kesey, LSD, movies, race and pop culture, Timothy Leary, whiteness "I went through a situation very similar to Margot and Robert [the characters in 'Cat Person,'] where I was in his position." "I traveled from New York to Virginia for a friend’s wedding and ended up spending the night with one of the other guests, who was actually moving to Brooklyn in a couple weeks. As I left, she handed me a card in a little gold envelope with my name on it, with a note saying she had a good time and her number. It was enough to leave the impression that she wanted to connect in some way when she made it to Brooklyn. I followed up with her, got no response, and left a voicemail referencing how we made out at the wedding and asking if she’d like to make out again. She left me a voice-mail after that saying that my message scared her, and not to contact her again. I called her back right away (I know this was disregarding her request) and apologized, because it was upsetting, and we had mutual friends who encouraged me to contact her. Then I never contacted her again and never asked our mutual friends anything about her. It was a shitty feeling all around, and I was sickened by the thought of making her scared. Simultaneously, I felt manipulated, like that was the worst thing she could say to me to make me leave her alone. I never said that to her or anyone else before this." Writes "Chris, 38, artist and father of two," quoted in "9 Men on Seeing Themselves in ‘Cat Person'" (New York Magazine). Tags: Kristen Roupenian, relationships, sex Should Netflix be shaming/mocking/stalking its own customers like this? To the 53 people who've watched A Christmas Prince every day for the past 18 days: Who hurt you? — Netflix US (@netflix) December 11, 2017 I wouldn't assume Netflix is using actual information about its customers. It's just a jaunty reminder that you can get Christmas movies on Netflix, using the trope that Netflix — like Santa Claus — sees what you're doing and judges you. And it worked really well. Look at all the re-tweets. And it got the Washington Post to write an article, "What to know about ‘A Christmas Prince,’ the Netflix movie that sparked a controversy." The response [to the tweet] was massive (retweeted about 110,000 times so far) and alternated between amused and scornful: Wow, Netflix, way to shame your own viewers for watching a movie that you commissioned and featured and promoted on your streaming service. Also, it’s a creepy reminder that this company has access to loads of personal data about all of your viewing habits, and probably has drawn some other intriguing conclusions. And it might tweet about them. Anyway, the “creepy tweet” kerfuffle has been in the news this week, so for those of you who are confused about this thing called “A Christmas Prince” that sparked such a controversy, here’s everything you need to know about the movie. Spoilers abound. I don't need to know anything about "A Christmas Prince," so I go back to the thing that pointed me to this "kerfuffle" in the first place, a humor riff — linked at Instapundit — "The Sad People Who Watched ‘A Christmas Prince’ 18 Days In A Row Craft A Statement/We've done nothing wrong. But we do need to lay down a marker that watching a good, clean holiday romance every single day of the Christmas season is just good, clean fun" by Mary Kathrine Ham. Sample: Lindsay: What’s the implication, here, that we’re all lonely cat ladies just because we want to watch a spunky reporter investigate a playboy prince and get herself entangled in some truly royal trouble a couple dozen times?? Martin: I am not a girl or a lady, cat or otherwise. I know I’m outnumbered, here, but really.... Angelica: We do have a lot of cats, to be honest.... Oh! Cats again. Time to reread "Cat Person" for the 3rd going on 18th day in a row: She learned that Robert had two cats, named Mu and Yan, and together they invented a complicated scenario in which her childhood cat, Pita, would send flirtatious texts to Yan, but whenever Pita talked to Mu she was formal and cold, because she was jealous of Mu’s relationship with Yan.... Before he got out of the car, he said, darkly, like a warning, “Just so you know, I have cats.” “I know,” she said. “We texted about them, remember?” Cats take on so much of the blame for what's wrong with us humans. That is, we project our shame onto cats. The cats don't care. More importantly, what would cats watch on Netflix 18 days in a row? Tags: cats, Kristen Roupenian, Mary Katharine Ham, movies, MSM reports what's in social media, royalty, shame If you're going to do grandiosity, go big. You can't do modest grandiosity. People may admire modesty and humility, but that does not pair well with grandiosity. With grandiosity, you've got to go big. The other side of that is if you're choosing to go with modesty, you can't be grandiose about it. Grandiose modesty? That's even worse than modest grandiosity. Much worse! Tags: aphorism, big and small, modesty At the Winter Swan Café... The photo — of Whooper swans —is by Andreas Trepte, www.photo-natur.net. We walked out on Picnic Point today, where it was very blustery with icy horizontal snow. Out on the lake, there were lots of white birds yelling and laughing like a party full of half-drunk humans. Were they swans? I couldn't get a good enough look and didn't think taking my own picture from that distance would help. The Wikipedia article on Whooper swans says: "They are very noisy; the calls are strident... kloo-kloo-kloo in groups of three or four." But they are in Asia and Europe. The 3 swans of Wisconsin are: Trumpeter, Tundra, and Mute. I've listened to recordings of all 3, and I'm going to say they were Tundra swans. (Listen here.) Anyway, this is an open thread. You certainly don't have to talk about swans! And if you've got some shopping to do on line, I recommend going into Amazon through The Althouse Portal. Tags: birds, photography "But this time, it was clear to me he would never let me finish this movie without him having his fantasy one way or another.... I had to say yes...." "I arrived on the set the day we were to shoot the scene that I believed would save the movie. And for the first and last time in my career, I had a nervous breakdown: My body began to shake uncontrollably, my breath was short and I began to cry and cry, unable to stop, as if I were throwing up tears. Since those around me had no knowledge of my history of Harvey, they were very surprised by my struggle that morning. It was not because I would be naked with another woman. It was because I would be naked with her for Harvey Weinstein. But I could not tell them then. My mind understood that I had to do it, but my body wouldn’t stop crying and convulsing. At that point, I started throwing up while a set frozen still waited to shoot. I had to take a tranquilizer, which eventually stopped the crying but made the vomiting worse. As you can imagine, this was not sexy, but it was the only way I could get through the scene." From "Harvey Weinstein Is My Monster Too" by Salma Hayek (NYT). Tags: Ashley Judd, crying, Frida Kahlo, Harvey Weinstein, Salma Hayek, sexual harassment, vomit The delusion that Elizabeth Warren "slut-shamed" Kirsten Gillibrand. I'm reading "Did Elizabeth Warren Just Call Her Fellow Senator a Slut?" (by Tyler O'Neil at Pajamas Media) because it was linked by Glenn Reynolds in a post that says "And yesterday [Warren] was 'slut-shaming' fellow Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand." O'Neil is talking about Warren's response to this Trump tweet... Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for Chuck Schumer and someone who would come to my office “begging” for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against Trump. Very disloyal to Bill & Crooked-USED! ... which I blogged about here. I said a few things about what Trump was doing with that tweet, but I ended with: Trump is toying with sexual innuendo. The woman is "USED!" and she "begg[ed]" and "would do anything." So it didn't surprise me when, later, I saw that Elizabeth Warren tweeted (in response to Trump's tweet): Are you really trying to bully, intimidate and slut-shame @SenGillibrand? Do you know who you're picking a fight with? Good luck with that, @realDonaldTrump.... That's not Warren slut-shaming Gillibrand. That's Warren seeing the same thing I saw, I believe. I said "toying with," where she used the device of asking a question, and I said "sexual innuendo" where she said "slut-shaming." It's the same point. O'Neil concedes that Trump's language "does seem sexually suggestive," which I think gets him as far as agreeing with me. So what's different about how Warren put it? O'Neil says the term "slut-shaming" is a way to criticize someone who's "blaming the victim of sexual assault" because she was acting or dressing a certain way, so that would mean that Warren implied that Gillibrand must have been overtly manifesting sexuality and that it was wrong of Trump to react to her expressiveness in a negative way. I think that's what O'Neil is groping at. I'm trying to help O'Neil make sense even as I think that O'Neil does not make sense and that whatever shred of sense there may be is used at the price of looking as though he'd just do anything to attack Elizabeth Warren. Tags: Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, slut-shaming, Trump rhetoric, Tyler O'Neil Volokh Conspiracy has moved from The Washington Post to Reason.com and it's not just about getting out from under the paywall. It's also about wanting to be free of the censorship of "vulgarities." And the Volokh bloggers don't even use vulgarities in the own writing. They just want to be able to quote things like "Fuck the Draft." [I]t's hard for me to see what value... redaction adds. And the symbolism is important to me... More importantly, we want the decision whether or not to redact to be ours, not the Post's. This is so for the familiar vulgarities, but also as to similar decisions about what to do with quoting incidents that involve offensive epithets, allegedly offensive team names and band names, allegedly improper use of pronouns to refer to various people, and much more. Once we acknowledge that it's proper to constrain our accurate reporting about one kind of offensive word, how would we effectively be able to defend our right to judge how to report on incidents involving other words? Tags: blogging, censorship, dirty words, Reason, Volokh Esther Perel "wants to redress a traditional bias against cheating spouses, to acknowledge 'the point of view of both parties—what it did to one and what it meant to the other.'" "In practice, it must be said, her method seems to demand heroic levels of forbearance on the part of faithful spouses. They are asked not only to forgo the presumption of their own moral superiority but to consider and empathize with what has been meaningful, liberating, or joyous about their partners’ adulterous experiences. The affair that has caused them so much anguish may have been prompted by boredom or a longing for sexual variety, or it may have been a bid for existential 'growth, exploration, and transformation.'... They are also asked to control their vengeful impulses, learning to 'metabolize' their desire for vengeance 'in a healthy manner.'... They must resist the desire to 'know everything' and avoid demanding details about the physical acts involved in their partners’ betrayals. (They can ask 'investigative questions' about feelings but not 'detective questions' about hair color, sexual positions, or the size of genital organs.) Americans, Perel observes, are particularly inclined to believe that a process of forensic confession is a necessary forerunner to the restoration of trust, but 'coming clean,' she argues, is often more destructive than it is salutary, and 'honesty requires careful calibration.'" From "In Defense of Adulterers/Esther Perel’s new book argues for a more compassionate understanding of our unruly desires," by Zoë Heller in The New Yorker. The book under discussion is "The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity." I'm trying to think who would be inclined to read this book. But the article about it caught my eye. Tags: adultery, books, confessions "What Conversations About Bitcoin Sound Like to Me." The linked article is by Ethan Kuperberg at The New Yorker. Full disclosure: He also wrote (last April) "What I Have in Common with Trump." Tags: Ethan Kuperberg, money "Hip New York Restaurant Reportedly had a ‘Rape Room.'" New York Magazine reports. The Spotted Pig, located in Manhattan’s West Village, [had] an invitation-only space that employees and industry insiders claim has been nicknamed the “rape room.” [Co-owner Ken Friedman allegedly] made it clear that regular restaurant rules do not apply on the third floor, and guests frequently groped female employees there.... Tags: restaurants, sexual harassment Did Anderson Cooper call Trump a "tool" and a "pathetic loser"? Or did "someone gain[] access to [his] twitter account," which is what somebody with access to Anderson Cooper's Twitter account is saying now? Link goes to Breitbart, which calls this "yet another catastrophic blow to CNN’s credibility, a news outlet that indentifies as objective." ADDED: Breitbart can snark "a news outlet that indentifies as objective," I presume, because Breitbart does not "identify as objective." That reminds me... yesterday Fox News had an article "CNN mocked for airing segment on Trump's soda consumption while NYC faced terror attack," and it has this: While viewers scrambled to hear the latest news, several people took to Twitter to mock CNN’s programming’s decision. Blogger Ann Althouse noted that the New York Times article that first mentioned Trump’s soda habit came out a few days ago and added, “CNN is hopeless,” after expressing frustration that CNN didn’t offer the live report on the attempted terror attack. Would it kill them to link? Here. Tags: Anderson Cooper, Breitbart.com, CNN, Fox News, journalism Another Trump tweet, further processing the Roy Moore defeat. We've been talking about what Trump tweeted at 10:08 PM. Now, here's what he tweeted at 5:22 AM: The reason I originally endorsed Luther Strange (and his numbers went up mightily), is that I said Roy Moore will not be able to win the General Election. I was right! Roy worked hard but the deck was stacked against him! Here's the NYT article about the new tweet: Tags: Ivanka Trump, Roy Moore, Steve Bannon, Trump's Congress "Sexually assaulted in full view of millions, the 18-year-old boy really has no option but to treat it as a joke." I just happened to land on this post from a mere 5 years ago: Look at the photograph of the hulking Jenny McCarthy grabbing Justin Bieber by the throat and suctioning the back of his neck: "Wow. I feel violated right now," he said, laughing. "I did grab his butt," McCarthy said backstage. "I couldn't help it. He was just so delicious. So little. I wanted to tear his head off and eat it." Imagine the sexes reversed. If you can. McCarthy is more than twice Bieber's age. She's 40. But, oh, she's trying so hard to project sexuality.... I said "stop molesting teenagers. That's not funny, even if circumstances require Bieber to pretend that it is." Here's the photograph: How did I happen upon that? I was searching my archive for "men's project," after seeing a link at at Instapundit to the Campus Reform piece "The University of Wisconsin-Madison has confirmed that it has disbanded its 'Men’s Project,' a program designed to teach 'men-identified students' about the harms caused by traditional notions of masculinity." The McCarthy molestation post had the word "men's" ("She first posed for the men’s mag at 21, which helped launch her career as a sexy doofus") and "project" ("She's 40. But, oh, she's trying so hard to project sexuality"). Anyway, the UW "Men's Project." I must have paid attention to that, since it involves my school and topics I care about, but I can't find an old post. My question is whether the Men's Project was as heavy-handed and demeaning as Campus Reform makes it sound. IN THE COMMENTS: CJ said points to this "SNL" routine with Tina Fey as a teacher fantasizing about sex with her student, played by Justin Bieber. This is from April 2010: CJ's comment is "I remember watching this when it aired and saying to my fiancee at the time - 'God this skit could've been so much funnier but they're obviously scared of sexualizing Bieber too much - but that's the whole point of the sketch!'" I think that sketch is great. Pitch perfect, right down to the "I'm going to go call Gloria Allred." It's prescient... about a future that still isn't quite here, the point when #MeToo extends to men accusing women. Tags: #MeToo, CJ, gender politics, Gloria Allred, Jenny McCarthy, Justin Bieber, sexual harassment, SNL, teenagers, Tina Fey Eligible for almost 30 years, The Moody Blues finally make it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I never liked that overblown, lavish style of rock music, and I don't really care who gets into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (a place I like enough to have visited twice), but I just want to say that I remember when the first Moody Blues song came out, and it was simple and charming in that 60s pop-song way I'll always like: Here's the news, from the L.A. Times: The induction of veteran English art-rock band the Moody Blues will quell a raft of fans who have consistently, and loudly, made their voices heard each year when the group was overlooked previously. Although the Moodys became eligible in 1989 under the hall's requirement that 25 years elapse after an act's first recording, the group perhaps best known for its 1967 ambitious and heavily orchestrated concept album "Days of Future Passed," and the single it yielded, "Nights in White Satin," appeared on the nominees list for the first time this year.... On the ballot for the first time, they're coming in along with 3 groups that I always think of in terms of MTV videos in the 1980s: Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, and The Cars. (Those 3 links go to videos I watched about a million times in the 80s.) Tags: Moody Blues, music The write-ins wrote out Roy Moore. Add it up yourself: The photo of Roy Moore is a screen grab I made from "LIVE NOW: Roy Moore's Election Night Headquarters...." (which you can watch non-live). The graphic of the vote was grabbed from the NYT article "Alabama Election Results: Doug Jones Defeats Roy Moore in U.S. Senate Race." Tags: Roy Moore What happened in Wisconsin's John Doe investigation — a forewarning to Robert Mueller? I'm reading "Governmental accountability board? More like Wisconsin's Secret Police," by Glenn Reynolds, which ends: It’s too early to say, as one account does, that the Wisconsin debacle prefigured the ongoing Robert Mueller investigation into Trump’s campaign, though there are certainly similarities between the attitudes of “The Resistance” in Washington and the Wisconsin establishment’s response to Walker. Writing in The Washington Post last week, Ed Rogers wrote that, though he’d supported Mueller in the past, Mueller needed to get a handle on the overwhelming partisan slant of his prosecutors or he’d be discredited. It’s good advice. Mueller and his investigators should take care not to get wrapped up in partisan politics while conducting a criminal investigation. Because that seldom ends well. Tags: Instapundit, John Doe investigation, Mueller, prosecutorial ethics, Scott Walker When has this happened in the last 50 years? Everyone's talking about the same short story! This is the second post on the topic of "Cat Person" by Kristen Roupenian, so start here if you don't know what I'm talking about already. This post just collects some of the fascinating tweeting under #CatPerson: "When I was reading the #CatPerson short story, my first reaction was to be annoyed with the protagonist, but then I realized that I was annoyed because I myself have felt powerless to stop situations that felt bad to me in the past because I didn't want to hurt the other person." — Mina Salome. "#CatPerson was such an odd thing to be published. Girl meets socially inept loser, aggressively pursues him despite lack of attraction so she can use his reaction to feel like a goddess, then dumps him and no one is surprised when he sends a mean text." — keanu steves. "Margot can be shallow, rude, naive and still be the victim of patriarchy. Robert can be a bad kisser and a creep and still be sweet, considerate and deserving of sympathy. Good literature will resist simplistic moral interpretations. Call me ‘bout it." — Claire Ní Carol-aigh. "One great thing about #CatPerson is I’ve never seen so many men suddenly collectively decide fatphobia is a real thing." — BridgetCallahan. (In the story, the young woman is grossed out by the man's slight tubbiness.) "#CatPerson male opinion: He knew she was uncomfortable and ignored it. He knowingly took advantage of her unwillingness to say no. He was aware of her characterisation of him and intentionally groomed her by playing into it. We aren't stupid, we're predators. Story is spot on." — difgefs uktyuk. "A girl meets an older guy with old fashioned tastes & he gives her a Pepe lighter & some food when she's hungry. Later, after she coerced him into fucking her, she finds him repulsive. And fat. #CatPerson." — Problematic Lola. "What I like about #CatPerson: it destroys the 'loveable awkward oaf' excuse that assholes lean on when they behave manipulatively/poorly. Being a socially awkward nerd doesn't excuse you from treating people like shit." — Grace Lau. "Can we please talk about how sis was in the car going to God knows where thinking 'I hope he doesn’t murder me' and then homeboy said 'don’t worry I’m not going to murder you' and then sis says 'It’s OK, you can murder me' GIRL WHAT?! #CatPerson." — The Honorable Chemist. I made CAT PERSON BINGO! Reflect on past mistakes or print one out and keep it in your purse so you can stay wary of dating red flags. You're welcome xxx #catperson pic.twitter.com/sfaGNezSEv — Emma Hope Allwood (@emmahopeall) December 11, 2017 Starting a new project where I ask tinder guys about #CatPerson and so far it is going better than I ever could have hoped. pic.twitter.com/aQFI1vrP2V — Michele O'Brien (@michele_ob) December 11, 2017 Tags: fat, Kristen Roupenian, murder, rape, relationships, sex, sexual harassment Trump absorbs the Roy Moore loss: "the Republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. It never ends!" Congratulations to Doug Jones on a hard fought victory. The write-in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win. The people of Alabama are great, and the Republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. It never ends! That's a modest, well-balanced response, but will he get any credit for that? In the primary, Trump fought hard for Moore's GOP opponent, but he adjusted and found a way to support Moore — who was made very hard to stand anywhere near. Now that Roy Moore is out, Trump is moving on. He's an optimist who tends to see the good in whatever happens and to go searching for new ways to win. In this case — I'll say, modeling optimism — Trump is better off looking for good things elsewhere than stuck with Roy Moore, his candidate, in the flesh, in the Senate, vocalizing social conservatism in an unappealing way and attracting a big expulsion effort. Do you remember that it was called a "stunning defeat" for Trump when Roy Moore won the primary?* On September 27, I blogged by WaPo's Robert Costa, said: Moore’s win... demonstrates the real political limitations of Trump, who endorsed “Big Luther” at McConnell’s urging and staged a rally for Strange in Huntsville, Ala., just days before the primary. The outcome is likely to further fray Trump’s ties to Republicans in Congress, many of whom now fear that even his endorsement cannot protect them from voter fury. What if this thing that seems to be Trump is bigger than Trump — a wave he figured out how to ride for a little while, but from which he can fall and which will roll on without him? Or is the whole thing — whatever it is (anti-establishment fury?) — already played out? We can't have an endless string of characters like Trump and, now, Moore... can we?... How many "out there" candidates can there be? How wild can you be before people won't trust you? It's hard to know in post-2016 America. We've got a taste for the bizarre and we don't trust the appearance of normality anymore. Yesterday, Alabama chose normality, and there's good in that for Trump, who's pretty bizarre. Tags: Alabama, Doug Jones, Roy Moore, Trump rhetoric, what Trump did to the GOP "Two FBI agents assigned to the investigation into alleged collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia exchanged text messages referring to the future president as an 'idiot'..." "... according to copies of messages turned over to Congress Tuesday night by the Justice Department," Politico reports. “I just saw my first Bernie Sanders bumper sticker. Made me want to key the car," [Lisa] Page wrote in an August 2015 exchange. “He’s an idiot like Trump. Figure they cancel each other out,” Strzok replied.... Tags: Mueller, Trump derangement syndrome 2 people watching the election results — on 2 different channels, at different locations — just told me they can tell the newspeople already know Roy Moore will win. I wasn't watching the election results yet. I was finishing that last post. Meade was watching Fox News, and he just started talking about how he could tell by the way they were talking that they are seeing some sort of information — which they're not revealing — that shows them Roy Moore will win. A minute later, I got a text from my son Chris, saying "The tone of the punditry on CNN makes me think they know he'll win." UPDATE: NYT declares Jones the winner! I was drawn in by the creepy close-up and started reading before "Cat Person" became an internet phenomenon. See? You can't look away. The shape of his mouth. The prickly growths. It's the same can't look away that's luring you out to see "The Shape of Water".... Women... and the creepy monsters they feel compelled to have sex with.... "Cat Person" is just a New Yorker short story. I get The New Yorker every week and almost never read the short stories, but I started "Cat Person" (by Kristen Roupenian), and I'm certain the photograph (by Elinor Carucci) made me do it. But I only got 7 paragraphs into it before moving on, intending to come back, but knowing my relationship with these mouth people might never be consummated. And then I found out the internet was going mad for this story. So now, I've read it, and I'm reading the stories about how and why it when viral. Let's dip into the discussion with "The reaction to 'Cat Person' shows how the internet can even ruin fiction," by Laura Adamczyk at the AV Club: Response to the story has varied from praise for its relatability to flat dismissal to jokes about how everyone is talking about a—Who’da thunk it?—short story of all things, with much of the conversation focusing on who is the more sympathetic character between Margot and Robert. On Sunday, someone created a “Men React To Cat Person” Twitter account, compiling screenshots of responses to the story, wherein some men express confusion over its merits, others defend Robert as the story’s victim, and one wonders if the story should exist at all, stating that the events depicted don’t just happen to women.... Debating over who’s the bigger jerk in this [story about a short male-female relationship], or any, work of fiction misses the point.... And yet because so many people came to the story through social media, as opposed to having the print issue delivered to their mail boxes, they clicked through and read without seeing its “fiction” designation. This no doubt encouraged some people to read the story not only as nonfiction but also as something that was up for debate, something they should or should not agree with... I'm not going to read any more of the internet chatter, at least not right now. But I'll just say, based on my own reading of the story, that it makes a good jumping off point for discussing the problem of bad sex. Bad sex is something you need to distinguish from a criminal assault and take responsibility for avoiding. And reading the story is a good vicarious experience that might help women (and men) get better at ending an evening at an appropriately early point. The sex in that story is very graphic — graphic in a completely nontitillating way. In fact, the sex in that story is such that it would make excellent reading for an abstinence-only class. Tags: kissing, Kristen Roupenian, monsters, movies, reading, relationships, sex How I calculated that my nap lasted 2 hours and 54 minutes. I did not intend to be able to calculate the length of the nap nor to sleep anywhere nearly that long. But I know the last thing I heard on my audiobook and the next thing I heard on my audiobook, and I can see in my app (Audible) how much time was left in the book — "Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen" — at each of those 2 points. This paragraph — which I heard about half of — happens with 3 hours and 36 minutes left in the book: People have surprisingly strong feelings about word breaks [at the end of a justified line of text]. A long time ago I met a man on a ship in the Dodecanese who complained to me about the way The New Yorker broke “English” and “England.” We follow Merriam-Webster’s, which divides words phonetically, giving us “En-glish,” “En-gland.” Webster’s New World Dictionary (among others) divides words along meaningful units and goes with “Eng-lish” and “Eng-land.” What bothered my shipmate was the way “glish” and “gland” looked on the next line, especially at the top of a column. What bothered me was that here in the Aegean an American— a college English professor, to judge by the tan Hush Puppies he wore— was grilling me about word breaks. (He also complained about his subscription.) The truth is that I, too, disliked it: “glish” and “gland” are unsightly stand-alones. Yet I was deeply invested in our way of doing it and resentful about having to defend it while I was on vacation. I woke up in the middle of this: At that pencil party, I encountered for the first time a handheld long-point pencil sharpener. Until then, I had not known that a handheld pencil sharpener could be anything but a toy; I have one in the shape of the Empire State Building that I treasure for sentimental reasons, but it is useless except as a cake decoration. The party featured a Sharpening Lounge, where there were state-of-the-art wall-mounted X-Acto sharpeners along one wall (they not only deliver a beautiful point but do so in reverent silence) and copies of a pencil-yellow manual called How to Sharpen Pencils, by David Rees. It is one of very few books worthy of the dual category “Humor/ Reference.” 42 minutes left. Now, Meade is asking "Do you want chili for dinner" and I'm saying "I want breakfast." Tags: audiobooks, editing, language, punctuation, sleep, time "Roy Moore shows up to vote on horseback." Reports the NY Post (with a photo). ADDED: The first commenter and (I'm thinking) a million people on the internet responded with some variation of "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on." Hey, whyntchya leave me alone, I'm tryna do my routine here. Tags: horses, Robert De Niro, Roy Moore At the Bike-Shadow Café... And remember, if you've got to do some shopping, to go into Amazon through The Althouse Portal. "The power of appearances first became clear to him at school, in the mid-eighties, when he noticed how much attention a particular girl received because she was the only pupil who owned a bra." "He soon found that there was money to be made selling cosmetics on the sidewalk — 'Owning a tube of lipstick was an untold luxury' — and dropped out of school after ninth grade to pursue business ventures. Cai co-founded Meitu with another entrepreneurial Quanzhou native, Wu Xinhong. The initial plan was to build a simplified Photoshop for what Cai called lao bai xing. (The phrase means, roughly, 'just plain folks,' and Cai constantly applied it to himself.) Once user data started coming in, they saw that their app was overwhelmingly used by young women for selfie enhancement. 'The demand was there even though no one knew it,' he said. He realized that the market for online beautification was his for the taking...." From "China’s Selfie Obsession/Meitu’s apps are changing what it means to be beautiful in the most populous country on earth." Tags: bras, China, feminine beauty, lipstick, selfies "I am dismayed that The New Yorker has decided to characterize a respectful relationship with a woman I dated as somehow inappropriate." "The New Yorker was unable to cite any company policy that was violated," said Ryan Lizza, saying The New Yorker's decision to fire him "was made hastily and without a full investigation of the relevant facts" and "a terrible mistake." Quoted in the NYT. The unnamed accuser is represented by Douglas H. Wigdor, "who has filed at least 11 lawsuits against Fox News this year for defamation, sexual harassment and racial discrimination." Wilder said that “in no way did Mr. Lizza’s misconduct constitute a ‘respectful relationship’ as he has now tried to characterize it.” I wish I had a clue what Lizza was accused of doing. He was disrespectful to a woman he was in a relationship with? Are we really going down that road now? As long as one party to a relationship wants to submit that relationship to public inspection, we're going to deem the other party to be the bad person his sexual partner deemed him to be? That seems crazy! But maybe Lizza did something truly horrendous. And yet, if he did, wouldn't he take advantage of the opportunity to slink away into the dark? Why would he beg for a full investigation into the facts? If there is no full investigation, if firing happens instantly when the woman steps into the light, then light is darkness. Will a man in an abusive relationship ever step forward and blindside a woman? Would The New Yorker fire the woman if he did? Tags: Ryan Lizza, sexual harassment, the dark, The New Yorker Trump tweet-trashes Kirsten Gillibrand. It took me a while to understand "Crooked-USED!" That hyphen is confusing. But I think "USED!" is a free-standing exclamation like his famous "Sad!" It's the way he abruptly ends tweets and not — as the hyphen suggests — part of a new nickname for Hillary. He's just calling Hillary "Crooked," not "Crooked-USED!" And Hillary is not the one who, according to Trump, is used. Gillibrand is used. She's "a total flunky." There are some mixed values in this tweet. Is loyalty good or bad? Gillibrand doesn't get credit for being loyal to Schumer. She gets called "a total flunky" for that. But she gets knocked for being disloyal to Trump and disloyal to Bill and Hillary. Trump cannot be totally serious. He can't think that Gillibrand, as a Democratic Senator, would support him politically just because he gave her money when he was a private citizen and she was fundraising. It sounds almost as though he's asserting that campaign contributions are bribes. Maybe that's why he gave Democrats the money, to get better treatment personally, but that's not a demand he should make publicly. And what's the disloyalty to Bill and Hillary he purports to be concerned about? From last month, "Gillibrand remark on Clinton sends shockwaves through Democratic Party/The anti-sexual harassment crusader and potential 2020 candidate prompted an uncomfortable debate among Democrats about a beloved party figure" (Politico): Asked whether [Bill] Clinton should have stepped down [because of the Lewinsky scandal], the senator paused and responded, “Yes, I think that is the appropriate response.” However, she then pointed to the difference between the late 1990s and now, highlighting the dramatically changed social and political environments. “Things have changed today, and I think under those circumstances, there should be a very different reaction. And I think in light of this conversation, we should have a very different conversation about President Trump, and a very different conversation about allegations against him,” she said. Where's the flunkyism there? Seems to me she led the way... if "led the way" makes sense when we're talking about doing something 20 years too late. In the heat of the struggle over what to do about Al Franken and confronted with a question about Bill Clinton, she quickly aligned her positions. I don't see what role Schumer played, and I think the problem of loyalty to Bill and Hillary is that there's been too much loyalty to Bill and Hillary Clinton, and it's made a mess of the Democratic Party (not that I think Kirsten Gillibrand has what it takes to drag the party out of that mess). So I guess I still don't get the "USED!" I think Gillibrand is trying to seem like an independent leader. I suppose Trump sees that and wants to screw up her game. She's a potential opponent for him in 2020, and he's trying to put a sticky label on her. He's trying "flunky," "lightweight," and "USED!" All of those are the opposite of what she's trying to establish for herself. ADDED: Trump is toying with sexual innuendo. The woman is "USED!" and she "begg[ed]" and "would do anything." Tags: Bill Clinton, campaign finance, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, punctuation, Schumer, sexual harassment, Trump rhetoric Okayed Ullah, "the nephew of an American citizen... benefited from what the officials called 'extended family chain migration.'" That's the stark photograph at the NYT. It has the notation "The photograph was provided by a city employee." I guess the city employee doesn't want a photo credit, perhaps because he was violating rules by taking that picture and/or sharing it with the press. The NYT article — "Suspect in Times Square Bombing Leaves Trail of Mystery" — tells us that Ullah lived in the Flatlands neighborhood in Brooklyn, next door to a guy named Alan Butrico, who had a problem with him: "He used to block the driveway. His family used to block the driveway all the time." Yesterday, he blocked traffic in the subway, by detonating an explosive in the tunnel between 2 major subway lines in Manhattan. Although that article purports to delve into the "mystery" of Okayed Ullah — and whoever "okayed" him for immigration should be delved into — it does not contain the element I'm searching for (which I heard in the NYT "Daily" podcast this morning). Ah, here it is in another NYT piece, "Bomber Strikes Near Times Square, Disrupting City but Killing None": Law enforcement officials said the attacker, identified by the police as Akayed Ullah, 27, chose the location because of its Christmas-themed posters, a motive that recalled strikes in Europe, and he told investigators that he set off his bomb in retaliation for United States airstrikes on ISIS targets in Syria and elsewhere. So... a war on Christmas... as the right-wing talking point goes. Lefties may mull over whether the visibility of the Christian majority in the United States makes non-Christians feel like outsiders and fuels — in a tiny minority of non-Christians — the kind of anti-social reaction that occasionally manifests itself in violence. Anyway, this idiot had little impact on the concrete space of the NY subway, but he'll have plenty of impact on thinking and talking about extended family chain migration. Tags: Christmas, immigration, terrorism "I encourage you to take a stand for our core principles and for what is right. These critical times require us to come together..." "... to reject bigotry, sexism, and intolerance," said Condoleezza Rice, speaking as "a native daughter" who "at heart, remain[s] an Alabaman who loves our state and its devotion to faith, family, and country." Which side is she on? It is imperative for Americans to remain focused on our priorities and not give way to side shows and antics. Now, she's saying "Americans," not "Alabamans," and she's using the word "imperative." That sounds like an elite outsider, lecturing. And she is an elite outsider, having got out. But she was speaking in Alabama, at the Invest in a Girl Celebration at the Von Braun Center, in Huntsville. It's hard to tell which direction her abstraction points. It's the anti-Moore forces that have put on the "side show and antics," right? Or is Roy Moore's whole public persona a "side show" with "antics"? (I'm thinking of his 10 Commandments routine and pandering about sexual "perversion.") Maybe Rice means that both sides are distracting voters with side issues. She says "focus[] on priorities." Does that mean focus on what legislation you want Congress to pass? Or does she mean personal morality? I know that Alabamans need an independent voice in Washington. But we must also insist that our representatives are dignified, decent, and respectful of the values we hold dear. Which candidate is the "independent voice"? And does that "But" mean that the one who's not the independent voice is the one who's "dignified, decent, and respectful of the values we hold dear" or is she just saying we want both things? And what are "the values we hold dear" — not dating and kissing underage girls or not aborting babies? Is Rice trying to be the master of ambiguity? She switches to the bland value of just voting: Please exercise your right to vote - a privilege won by the sacrifices of our ancestors. There's also a right not to vote. And a privilege not to vote. Many very sensible and good people believe in not voting. Some people have a religious scruple against voting,* some have the comic/distanced attitude expressed in the old line "I don't want to encourage them,"** and some are maintaining neutrality so that they can analyze everything better.*** Condi concludes: Sustain the central ideals and values that make our country a beacon for freedom and justice for the sake of Alabama and for the good of the United States of America. I think she's trying to say something without saying anything — trying to be appropriate in an elevated setting in the strange, specific state where she grew up (and Denise McNair did not). * Wikipedia on "Religious rejection of politics": Many Taoists have rejected political involvement on the grounds that it is insincere or artificial and a life of contemplation in nature is more preferable, while some ascetic schools of Hinduism or Buddhism also reject political involvement for similar reasons. In Christianity, some groups like Jehovah's Witnesses, the Amish, Hutterites, and the Exclusive Brethren may reject politics on the grounds that they believe Christ's statements about the kingdom not being of the world mean that earthly politics can or should be rejected. In other religious systems it can relate to a rejection of nationalism or even the concept of nations. In certain schools of Islamic thinking nations are a creation of Western imperialism and ultimately all Muslims should be united religiously in the umma.... Likewise various Christian denominations reject any involvement in national issues considering it to be a kind of idolatry called statolatry. Most Christians who rejected the idea of nations have associated with the Christian Left. ** Some of the best comedians take this position, often with better lines than the old joke I quoted above. For example, George Carlin: "I have solved this political dilemma in a very direct way: I don't vote. On Election Day, I stay home. I firmly believe that if you vote, you have no right to complain. Now, some people like to twist that around. They say, 'If you don't vote, you have no right to complain,' but where's the logic in that? If you vote, and you elect dishonest, incompetent politicians, and they get into office and screw everything up, you are responsible for what they have done. You voted them in. You caused the problem. You have no right to complain. I, on the other hand, who did not vote -- who did not even leave the house on Election Day -- am in no way responsible for that these politicians have done and have every right to complain about the mess that you created." I know: the joke there probably is that he does vote, and you're an idiot if you don't. *** Scott Adams has an April 2016 post on "The Value of Not Voting": Anderson Cooper of CNN says he probably won’t vote in the coming election. He says voting would bias him when he covers political news. I agree. I call it the joiner problem. The minute you take a side, you start acquiring confirmation bias to bolster your sense of rightness. Objectivity is nearly impossible once you commit to a team. The way confirmation bias works is that you can’t see it when you’re in it. Other people might be able to observe the bias in you, but by definition you can’t see it in yourself. The act of voting causes a sort of psychological blindness. I would be in this group if I weren't a longtime devotee of the ritual of voting (and maybe if, like Cooper and Adams, I didn't live in a swing state) but I do decline to decide until the time to vote arrives, and I have at least twice picked my presidential candidate as I walked to my polling place. Tags: 10 Commandments, Anderson Cooper, Condoleezza Rice, religion and politics, Roy Moore, Scott Adams, voting At the Sleeping-Dogs-Lie Café... ... you can lie all you want or rouse yourself and tell the truth. And you can shop at Amazon, using this special link, if you've got some shopping to do. If you're looking for a video to stream, here's the movie Meade and I just watched (for only 99¢). It wasn't really a great documentary, but how could it be, made out of reels and reels of badly shot footage of a very long bus trip that was mostly happening inside the head of a bunch of people who were in no position to show or tell us what it was like for them. Occasionally a word of wisdom seeps through, like the fact that no matter how much you believe you can, you can't pick up a saxophone for the first time and play like John Coltrane and why the bus was called "Further" rather than "Farther." Tags: dogs, Ken Kesey, movies, photography "Sexbots With Full Motion Are Closer Than You Think." That sounds dangerous. You're making them sound like stalkers. In the next room, perhaps. The headline is from Pajamas Media, linked by Stephen Green at Instapundit. The first comment is "Faster, please." Full motion? Can they rape you? Can they strangle you if you rape them? What are we talking about, full motion? As I've said before, I think someone really interested in sex would prefer some sort of virtual reality machine. A full size, human-like robot is more of an all-around companion: It occurs to me that the preference for a robot over virtual reality reflects a longing for a real human companion. You have this human-sized, human-looking object in your home. Why would you want that? Perhaps to give the feeling you have company, someone to talk to. And it would talk to you. If it were only for sex, wouldn't virtual reality work better and seem more realistic as sex? There are so many lonely people.... You might say: Deprive them of realistic robots so they will be forced to get out in the world and find somebody. But not everyone can do that easily (or without exploiting or manipulating another human being). I don't want to say that anyone is too old, ugly, disabled, diseased, or disagreeable to find a sex partner, but it's a big challenge for some people. Tags: robots, sex tools, Stephen Green "I want greater honesty regarding judicial clerkships. Law students are often told in glowing terms that a clerkship will be the best year in their career." "They are never told that it might, in fact, be their worst—and that if it is their worst, they may be compelled to lie to others in the name of loyalty to their judge. I also want law schools to start giving our best and brightest students accurate advice about clerkships. Students are often told that if they receive a clerkship offer from a judge, they must say 'yes' without hesitation. I cannot imagine a situation more rife for abuse. Students should feel free to say no to any judge who triggers their discomfort for any reason." That's one of 4 proposals at the end of the compelling narrative written by Heidi Bond (AKA Courtney Milan), which is the background to "Prominent appeals court Judge Alex Kozinski accused of sexual misconduct" (Washington Post). I had not seen Bond's full statement when I wrote about the WaPo article 2 days ago, and if the link is in there, I'm still not seeing it. I got the link from Paul Campos at Lawyers, Guns, and Money, who begins "Heidi Bond’s account of her interactions with Alex Kozinski needs to be read in full...." I agree. Please read the whole thing. It made a very different impression on me than the WaPo article... and from the things Paul Campos goes on say. Here's Campos: It’s important to recognize that men like Kozinski — and there are obviously a lot of them in our society — are sadists. That is, they get off, metaphorically and no doubt literally, on being cruel to people who are relatively powerless. Power, sex, domination, hierarchy, cruelty — it’s all mixed up for these guys. They are bullies and perverts, and they are everywhere. Before taking the time to read Bond's direct account, I was inclined to say that I agree with the generality about some men, but didn't think it was fair to conclude that Kozinski belonged in that category and that we should only be saying that he might and that we only know what Heidi Bond says happened and how it made her feel. It's some evidence, and even if we take it as true, we still need to make an inference to get to Kozinski's mental state. It seemed wrong and unfair for Campos to present that inference as a known fact. But now I want to step back from a critique of the Campos rhetoric and direct you to Bond's excellent narrative. To encourage you to read Bond, let me extract the part that relates to her career path into writing romance novels: Tags: clerkships, evidence, Heidi Bond, Kozinski, Paul Campos, reading, sexual harassment, writing "If you’re going to make up an entire false identity, why would you make yourself into a shitty person?" Key question in the tl;dr Deadspin piece, "Teen Girl Posed For 8 Years As Married Man To Write About Baseball And Harass Women." I got there from Metafilter, which sums it up like this: A 13-year-old girl managed to become a writer for on-line sports publications. She pretended to be a man and kept up the masquerade for eight years. During this time she harassed and insulted women on line, even getting nude photos from a few before being exposed.... As for that question I put in the title — "If you’re going to make up an entire false identity, why would you make yourself into a shitty person?" — I've got to say that every time I've contemplated writing through an alter ego — on another blog or as a sock puppet here — the attraction was being a shitty person. To be clear, I never wanted to do this for the purpose of engaging in bad behavior or hurting anyone in any way, and in fact, I never have created an alter ego. But to the extent that I've been interested in adopting a fictional persona as a writing experiment, I wanted to be a "shitty person." It would be like writing a novel and creating a great villain. Who writes a novel for the purpose of showing a wonderful, saintly person? I know there are such characters in fiction, but I think novelists create them for the purpose of torturing them, so the novelist, along with his readers, are getting off on the sadism. I'm not saying that's good. As the grand mufti said in the context of film: fiction is a source of depravity. Tags: baseball, blogging, emotional Althouse, evil, sexual harassment, teenagers, writing

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line523

__label__wiki

UN Security Council pushes back against Trump’s Jerusalem designation Published December 8, 2017 at 7:11 PM Updated December 8, 2017 at 7:44 PM As protests flared in the Middle East, the United Nations Security Council held a special session. The Palestinian delegation described the U.S. decision on Jerusalem as a violation of international law, while Israel sees it as a positive step. CGTN’s William Denselow reports. Follow William Denselow on Twitter @willdenze Palestinian U.N. Observer Riyadh Mansour delivered a clear message when the UN Security Council session got underway. “The status of Jerusalem cannot be unilaterally altered or determined by any state. And this decision by the U.S. should be rescinded, should be reconsidered and rescinded.” The U.N. insists that there is no alternative to the two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, adding the decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital for both sides should be addressed towards the end of peace negotiations. Israel has repeatedly accused the U.N. of showing bias against them, but Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said the U.S. showed courage to right what he called were historic wrongs. The meeting was also an opportunity for US Ambassador Nikki Haley to defend President Donald Trump’s decision. “Jerusalem is the home of Israel’s parliament, president, prime minister Supreme Court and many of its ministries. It is simple common sense that foreign embassies be located there,” Haley said. Clashes erupt in West Bank, Gaza as ‘Day of Rage’ continue over Jerusalem Palestinians were killed, hundreds more injured during clashes across the West Bank and Gaza. After Friday prayers, demonstrators rallied for a second day across the West Bank and Gaza to protest U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The emergency meeting was requested by 8 of the 15 Security Council members. After its conclusion, ambassadors from five European nations issued a joint statement. “The EU will not recognize any changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed to by the parties,” British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said. The Security Council said it remains hopeful that there can be a return to peace talks. European powers condemned President Trump’s move, but did praise his commitment to the two-state solution. They are now calling on the US to provide a detailed proposal to resume the peace process. Clashes erupt in West Bank, Gaza as ‘Day of Rage’ continue over Jerusalem »

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line524

__label__cc

Glossary of Power Industry Terms Access Charge A fee imposed on seller to gain access to a utility's transmission or distribution lines necessary to deliver power to a point of exchange or use. The American Legislative Exchange Council is a national association of state legislators. who develop and promote free market policies. One of ALEC's primary purposes is the development of model legislation to be used by its legislator members in the states. Alternating Current (AC) Current which varies from zero to a positive maximum to zero to a negative maximum to zero. a number of times per second. the number being expressed in cycles per second of Hertz (HZ) A device for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy. American Public Power Association (APPA) A national service organization representing 2000 municipal and other state or local publicly owned electric utilities throughout the United States. The strength or intensity of an electric current. measured in amperes (AMPS) Services provided by a utility and other suppliers to a provider of generation which maintains the quality. safety loading. accounting and planning necessary to move generation from one point to another. Avoided Cost The cost that a utility is expected to incur for its customers in providing (generation) service to its customer. This is the price paid by utilities to cogenerators in many states. Battery Charge Rectifier A component which changes AC voltage from the battery charge windings (within the STATOR) to DC voltage. This voltage could be used to charge a battery. Bilateral Contracts A contractual system between a buyer and a seller to obtain generation and/or ancillary services of a given type, duration, timing and reliability over a contractual term. Black-Out Refers to a condition when all electrical power is disrupted to your area. Bottleneck Facility A point on the system, such as a transmission line, through which all electricity must pass to get to its intended buyers. If there is limited capacity at this point, some priorities must be developed to decide whose power gets through. It also must be decided if the owner of the bottleneck may, or must, build additional facilities to relieve the constraint. Bonneville Power Administration. One of five federal power marketing administrations that sell low-cost electric power produced by federal hydro electric dams to agricultural and municipal users. BPA serves Idaho, Oregon and Washington as well as parts of Nevada and Wyoming. Broker Systems An electronic marketplace in which electric generation is priced and purchased. Brown-Out Refers to a condition when the system voltage drops below acceptable levels causing lights to dim and potentially causing other electrical equipment to function improperly or to be damaged. A conducting element, usually graphite and/or copper, which maintains sliding electrical contact between a stationary and a moving element. Bulk Power Supply Often this term is used interchangeably with wholesale power supply. In broader terms, it refers to the aggregate of electric generating plants, transmission lines, and related equipment. The term may refer to those facilities within one electric utility, or within a group of utilities in which the transmission lines are interconnected. Buy Release A secondary market for capacity that is contracted by a customer not using all of its capacity. Buy Through An agreement between utility and customer to import power when the customer's service would otherwise be interrupted. Captive Customer A customer who does not have realistic alternatives to buying power from the local utility, even if that customer had the legal right to buy from competitors. Cascade Failure A failure mode wherein the failure of one component of a complex system causes other components of that system to fail; for example, in a system of standby emergency diesel generators that must be synchronized in AC parallel to operate, a failure mode on one generator could cause all of the other generators in parallel to fail. The commonly used term for a rural electric cooperative. Rural electric cooperatives generate and/or purchase wholesale power, arrange for the transmission of that power, and then distribute the power to serve the demand of rural customers. Co-ops typically become involved in ancillary services such as energy conservation, load management and other demand-side management programs in order to serve their customers at the least cost. (All Co-ops do not necessarily generate electricity.) Cogeneration (Cogen) Generating electricity using a waste heat fuel source (full or partial) which comes from another industrial process. Common Cause Failure The simultaneous failure of more than one system component due to shared causes, often extraordinary events, such as natural disaster, human error, etc. Computer Grade Power Electricity meeting the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Standard 446-1987. This standard sets time and voltage intervals which electronic equipment must tolerate without malfunction. A wire or cable designed for the passage of electrical current. A contactor is an electrically operated switch usually used in control circuits and whose contacts are considered high amperage compared to a relay. Contracts for Differences (CfD) A type of bilateral contract where the electric generator seller is paid a fixed amount over time which is a combination of the short-term market price and an adjustment with the purchaser for the difference. For example, a generator may sell a distribution company power for ten years at 6 cents/kWh. That power is bid into PoolCo at some low cent/kWh value (to ensure it is always taken). The seller then gets the market clearing price from the pool and the purchaser pays the producer the difference between the PoolCo selling price and 6 cents/kWh (or vice versa if the pool price should go above the contract price). The laminations in the generator constituting the magnetic structure thereof. Cost Based Pricing Electric service prices determined by adding the costs associated with serving an individual customer (or the average cost of serving a group of similar customers) to an allowed return on investment. Cost of Service Studies Technical engineering/accounting studies that allocate the total cost of providing electric service to groups of similar customers, based on energy usage, peak use timing, character of service, load factor, voltage, type of metering needed, etc. The metal frame that surrounds and protects the generator/engine. The flow rate of electricity. One complete reversal of alternating current of voltage, from zero to a positive maximum to zero to a negative maximum back to zero . The number of cycles per second is the frequency, expressed in Hertz (HZ). A regulatory process for determining the total revenue needed to cover the costs of a utility in which the actual or projected level of sales is disassociated ("decoupled") from the revenues derived. Conservationists advocate such a process to discourage utilities from selling more energy to maintain adequate profit levels. Demand Side Management (DSM) 1. Refers to measures taken by a utility to encourage conservation of electric usage or to reschedule electric usage for more uniform usage throughout the day or year. Such efforts are intended at minimizing the size and number of generating facilities or designing strategic load growth. 2. Planning, implementation, and evaluation of utility-sponsored programs to change the timing or reduce the amount of a customer's energy consumption. The elimination of regulation from a previously regulated industry or sector. A solid state device which allows current to pass in one direction only. Since it allows only one half cycle of an alternating current pass, its out put will be unidirectional and it may be considered a rectifying element. The ability of a retail customer to purchase commodity electricity directly from the wholesale market rather than through a local distribution utility. (See also Retail Competition.) Direct Current (Dc) An electric current flows in one direction only. DC is produced by chemical action (i.e. a storage battery) or by electromagnetic induction. The functional separation of the vertically integrated utility into smaller, individually owned business units (i.e., generation, dispatch/control, transmission, distribution). The terms "deintegration", "disintegration" and "delamination" are sometimes used to mean the same thing. (See also Divestiture.) A distributed generation system involves small amounts of generation located on a utility's distribution system for the purpose of meeting local (substation level) peak loads and/or displacing the need to build additional (or upgrade) local distribution lines. The process of delivering electric power at lower voltages from central substations to the point of end use. Distribution Utility (Disco) The regulated electric utility entity that constructs and maintains the distribution wires connecting the transmission grid to the final customer. The Disco can also perform other services such as aggregating customers, purchasing power supply and transmission services for customers, billing customers and reimbursing suppliers, and offering other regulated or non-regulated energy services to retail customers. The "wires" and "customer service" functions provided by a distribution utility could be split so that two totally separate entities are used to supply these two types of distribution services. Divestiture 1. Refers to the sale of a utility's generation or transmission assets. 2. The stripping off of one utility function from the others by selling (spinning-off) or in some other way changing the ownership of the asset related to that function--most commonly associated with spinning-off generation assets so they are no longer owned by the shareholders that own the transmission and distribution assets. (See also Disaggregation.) A machine for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy by electromagnetic induction. A generator. 1. Measures the amount of output obtained for a given set of economic inputs. The most desirable economic efficiency is that which produces a given level of output using the fewest economic inputs. 2. A term that refers to the optimal production and consumption of goods and services. This generally occurs when prices of products and services reflect their marginal costs. Economic efficiency gains can be achieved through cost reduction, but it is better to think of the concept as actions that promote an increase in overall net value (which includes, but is not limited to, cost reductions). Economic Long Run The time period over which the value of a given set of economic inputs is recovered, which is often a function of both the physical life of the asset and its economic usefulness. Economic Short Run Any period less than the economic long run. During the economic short run, economists argue that price levels should cover all variable costs and make some or no contribution to fixed costs, but that full costs may not be recovered. Economies of scale exist where the industry exhibits decreasing average long-run costs with size. Edison Electric Institute. An association of electric companies formed in 1933 "to exchange information on industry developments and to act as an advocate for utilities on subjects of national interest." Electricity Consumers Resources Council. An association formed in 1976 of large industrial consumers of electricity. They work cooperatively for the development of coordinated and consistent policies affecting electric energy supply and pricing at the federal, state and local levels. ELCON members account for over five percent of all electricity consumed in the United States. Electric Technologies Processes and uses of electric service which increase productivity and decrease overall emissions. Examples of emerging electric technologies are laser cutting, microwave medical waste disposal, infrared paint drying processes, flash-bake cooking, etc. Electro-Motive Force (EMF) The force which causes current to flow in a conductor; in other words, the voltage potential. Embedded Costs Exceeding Market Prices (ECEMP) Embedded costs of utility investment exceeding market prices are: 1) costs incurred pursuant to a regulatory or contractual obligation; 2) costs that are reflected in cost-based rates; and 3) cost-based rates that exceed the price of alternatives in the marketplace. ECEMPs may become "stranded costs" where they exceed the amount that can be restored through the asset's sale. Regulatory questions involve whether such costs should be recovered by utility shareholders and if so, how they should be recovered. Engine Generator An electric power generator driven by a natural gas or diesel reciprocating engine. Environmental Externalities Environmental costs associated with the provision of a good or service which may or may not be incorporated in the internal cost measurements of the provider. Such costs are sometimes imputed theoretically to represent unmeasured costs to society associated with the use of the good or service. EPAct The Energy Policy Act of 1992 addresses a wide variety of energy issues. The legislation creates a new class of power generators, exempts wholesale generators (EWGs), that are exempt from the provisions of the Public Utilities Holding Company Act of 1935 and grants the authority to FERC to order and condition access by eligible parties to the interconnected transmission grid. Efficiency Service Company. A company that offers to reduce a client's electricity consumption with the cost savings being split with the company. Exempt Wholesale Generator (EWG) Created under the 1992 Energy Act, these wholesale generators are exempt from certain financial and legal restrictions stipulated in the Public Utilities Holding Company Act of 1935. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulates the price, terms, and conditions of power sold in interstate commerce and regulates the price, terms and conditions of all transmission services. FERC is the federal counterpart to state utility regulatory commissions. FERC 888 FERC 888 promotes wholesale competition through open access and non-discriminatory transmission service by public utilities. Requirements of FERC 888 include the identification of stranded costs by public utilities and transmitting utilities for recovery, unbundling of costs, and separating marketing functions from transmission operations. Requirements of FERC 889 include the creation of a nation-wide information sharing system. Open Access Same-Time Information System (OASIS) is a computer information system on the Internet created to allow utilities/power marketers to make reservations on transmission systems across the nation. This open access, information sharing site is scheduled to be operational January 1, 1997. The risks associated with making an investment; the probability of recovering that investment plus an appropriate return. An energy storage system that stores energy in the form of a rotating mass. A flywheel system is a functional replacement for a bank of chemical batteries. A forward is a commodity bought and sold for delivery at some specific time in the future. It is differentiated from futures by the fact that a forward contract is customized, non-exchange traded, and a non-regulated hedging mechanism. An electrochemical device which, without combustion, converts the chemical energy of a fuel, usually hydrogen or a hydrogen-containing mixture, and oxygen, usually from the air, directly into electricity. Full Power Outlet Enables you to draw the full power of the generator out of one outlet. Arrangement through a contract for the delivery of a commodity at a future time and at a price specified at the time of purchase. The price is based on an auction or market basis. Standardized, exchange-traded, and government regulated hedging mechanism. Generation Company (Genco) A regulated or non-regulated entity (depending upon the industry structure) that operates and maintains existing plants. The Genco may own the generation plants or interact with the short term market on behalf of plant owners. In the context of restructuring the market for electricity, Genco is sometimes used to describe a specialized "marketer" for the generating plants formerly owned by a vertically-integrated utility. A general name for a device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. The electrical energy may be direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC). A system of interconnected power lines and generators that is managed so that the generators are dispatched as needed to meet the requirements of the customers connected to the grid at various points. Gridco is sometimes used to identify an independent company responsible for the operation of the grid. A connection, intentional or accidental, between an electrical circuit and the earth or some conduction body serving in the place of the earth. Hedging Contracts Contracts which establish future prices and quantities of electricity independent of the short-term market. Derivatives may be used for this purpose. (See also contracts for differences, forwards, futures, and options). HiDEL High density electronic load. Idle Control A system that controls the idle speed of the engine in direct relation to the electrical load. A device used to supply DC voltage to the spark plugs Independent Power Producer (IPP) An entity which owns facilities to generate electric power for sale to utilities and end users. Independent System Operator (ISO) An independent management team set up to run transmission systems owned by two or more entities. Under the arrangement, owners retain title to their assets and the ISO runs the systems as a joint operation. The ISO files a single transmission tariff for the region, plans and schedules transmission outages, takes a lead role in transmission system planning, collects transmission charges and makes payments to the actual providers. Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) A process to control electric power planning through both demand-side management (to reduce the need or demand for electricity) and supply side management (to redistribute the types of needed electric generation among fuel types, location, etc.) to accomplish specified social and environmental goals. Integrated Resource Planning Principles The underlying principles of IRP can be distinguished from the formal process of developing an approved utility resource plan for utility investments in supply-side and demand-side and transmission resource costs and attributes outside of the basic provision (or reduction) for electric capacity and energy. These resources may be owned or constructed by any entity and may be acquired through contracts as well as through direct investments. Another principle is the incorporation of risk and uncertainty into the planning analysis. The public participation aspects for IRP allow public and regulatory involvement in the planning rather that the siting stage of project development. Investor Owned Utility (IOU) A utility operated by a public corporation in which ownership shares are held by individual investors who supply the capital in expectation of earnings on their investments. A unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second KiloVolt (kV) A KiloVolt is 1000 Volts. Kilowatt (KW) A watt is a unit of power in the International System of Units (SI) that is required to do work at the rate of 1 joule per second. Kilo is from the metric system and means 1000. Therefore, a kilowatt is power required to do work at the rate of 1000 joules per second. Kilowatt-hour (KWhr) A Kilowatt-hour is the total number of kilowatts used in one hour, or 3,600,000 joules. KVA refers to kilovolt-ampere and is the unit used to express apparent power. This unit of measure for power consumption is used for equipment that is not resistive such as motors, computers, and most non-incandescent lighting. The electric power used by devices connected to an electrical generating system. 1. The obligation of the wheeling utility to provide from its own generating sources any difference between the amount of power being wheeled and the instantaneous requirement of the customer receiving, or the supplier delivering the wheeled power. 2. Load following falls into two categories: (a) dedicating sufficient generating capacity to the automatic generator control (AGC) mode to allow them to follow load, and (b) monitoring mismatches between intended and actual interchanges between control areas, and transmitting control signals to AGC generators to minimize this mismatch. Both require a system to record mismatches (over-runs and under-runs). Load following is important because it helps maintain system frequency. Otherwise, if demand exceeded supply, generators would slow down; and if supply exceeded demand, generators would speed up. Both situations could result in an unstable situation which could lead to a widespread outage. An alternator with permanent magnets used to generate current for ignition in an internal combustion engine. In the utility context, the cost to the utility of providing the next (marginal) kilowatt-hour of electricity, irrespective of sunk costs. Electric service prices determined in an open market of supply on demand under which the price is set solely by agreement as to what a buyer will pay and a seller will accept. Such prices could recover less or more than the full cost, depending upon what the buyer and seller see as their relevant opportunities and risks. An agent for generation projects who markets power on behalf of the generator. The marketer may also arrange transmission, firming or other ancillary services as needed. Though a marketer may perform many of the same functions as a broker, the difference is that a marketer represents the generator while a broker acts as a middleman. (See also Power Marketers.) Mid-continent Area Power Pool (MAPP) MAPP is a voluntary organization of electric utilities committed to providing reliable and economical electric service to their customers. MAPP is one of nine Reliability Councils under the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC). It is also a power pool where members engage in sales and purchases of power. An electric power generator driven by an electric motor. Motor generators can be used to condition, or "cleanup", power from a "dirty" power source such as the electric utility grid or to convert electricity from one form to another. In the SurePower System, motor generators are used to convert DC power from the DC Link Bus to AC power. In the SurePower System, the motor generator also is configured to condition utility power if utility back up power is ever needed. Municipal Utility (Muni) A provider of utility services owned and operated by a municipal government. Municipalization The process by which a municipal entity assumes responsibility for supplying utility service to its constituents. In supplying electricity, the municipality may generate and distribute the power or purchase wholesale power from other generators and distribute it. NARUC The National Association for Regulatory Utility Commissioners. An advisory council composed of governmental agencies of the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands engaged in the regulation of utilities and carriers. The chief objective is to serve the consumer interest by seeking to improve the quality and effectiveness of public regulations in America. NASUCA The National Association of Utility Consumer Advocates. NASUCA includes members from 38 states and the District of Columbia. It was formed to exchange information and take positions on issues affecting utility rates before federal judges, Congress and the courts. The National Conference of State Legislatures. A national advisory council which provides services to state legislatures by bringing together information from all States to forge workable answers to complex policy questions. The Northern American Electric Reliability Council. An association for regional councils which provides coordination and planning. Non-Utility Generators (NUGs) Facilities for generating electricity that are not owned exclusively by an electric utility (less that 50%) and which operate connected to an electric utility system. Included are qualifying cogeneration and independent power productions facilities under Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) for 1978 (referred to as qualifying facilities, Qfs), facilities installed under the competitive bidding process, and other independent power producers (IPPs) that operate connected to the electric utility system. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. A designation used by the FERC for some of its dockets. NPCC Northeast Power Coordinating Council. A regional reliability coordinating council comprising the New England Power Pool, the New York Power Pool and the utilities of eastern Canada. NRTA Northwest Regional Transmission Association. A sub-regional transmission group within the Western Regional Transmission Association. Obligation to Serve The concept embodied in the statutes of most States governing the retail or end-use provision of electric service in which a utility is required to serve all customers who request service at non-discriminatory prices. This obligation is rendered in return for the granting of exclusive rights to serve a geographic area at retail. Generally refers to designated periods of relatively low system demand. NERC has defined these periods as 10 p.m. until 6 a.m., Monday through Saturday and all day Sunday. Off-Peak Rate Generally refers to the cost for power used during Off-Peak periods. Unit of electrical resistance. One volt will cause a current of one flow through a resistance of one ohm. 1. A term becoming generally applied to the evolving access to the transmission system for all generators and wholesale customers. (See FERC NOPR of March 1995.) 2. The use of utility's transmission and distribution facilities on a common-carrier basis at cost-based rates. Open Access Same-Time Information System (OASIS) OASIS is a real-time information-sharing system that enables all buyers and sellers of electricity to access the transmission costs for all other buyers and sellers. This system is designed to ensure that transmission owners and their affiliates do not have an unfair advantage in using transmission to sell power. All utilities must use the OASIS on the Internet. An option is a contractual agreement that gives the holder the right to buy (call option) or sell (put option) a fixed quantity of a security or commodity (for example, a commodity or commodity futures contract), at a fixed price, within a specified period of time. May either be standardized, exchange-traded and government regulated or over-the-counter, customized and non-regulated. The maximum load consumed or produced by a unit or group of units in a stated period of time. Peak Load or Peak Demand The electric load that corresponds to a maximum level of electric demand in a specified time period. Performance-Based Rate Making A process by which a utility's rates are set in such a way as to encourage certain behaviors considered to be in the public interest, as opposed to setting rates based on cost plus an allowed return on investment. The uniform periodic change in amplitude or magnitude of an alternating current. Three phase alternating current consists of three different sine wave current consists of three different sine wave current flows, different in phase by 120 degrees from each other. PoolCo 1. An entity in which the generating assets of all members are "pooled" and the participants obtain pooled average prices for power to meet their system needs. 2. PoolCo refers to a specialized, centrally dispatched spot market power pool that functions as a short-term market. It establishes the short-term market clearing price and provides a system of long-term transmission compensation contracts. It is regulated to provide open access, comparable service and cost recovery. A PoolCo would make ancillary generation services, including load following, spinning reserve, backup power, and reactive power, available to all market participants on comparable terms. In addition, the PoolCo provides settlement mechanisms when differences in contracted volumes exist between buyers and sellers of energy and capacity. Power Marketers Sales agents for electric power, typically not a part of a utility. Such entities contract with sellers and buyers as the middleman. Unlike brokers, power marketers take title to all power they transact. (See also Marketers.) Power Transfer System A system to safely wire your generator to your home's electrical system. Pricing Parity Under regulated pricing, the process of setting the price to collect revenues from a given group or category of customers to equal the cost to serve the customer, including and allowed return on investment. By contrast, an absence of parity would indicate that the prices for one class of customers were less than the full cost and prices for another class of customers were more than the full cost, even though total prices for all classes together may equal the total cost for all classes. Pricing Transparency and Liquiditynbsp; In a fully functioning competitive market, price transparency would reflect an indifference to the identity of buyer and seller because the price would be entirely available to all buyers and sellers. Probabilistic Risk Assessment A mathematical science used to calculate the unavailability of complex systems. PRA allows both qualitative and quantitative evaluation of reliability, availability and accident scenarios. An arrangement when a lender provides the needed capital to build a facility and the security for the lien is the value of the project itself, rather than the security being the full faith and credit of the owner of the project. PUHCA The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. This act prohibits acquisition of any wholesale or retail electric business through a holding company unless that business forms part of an integrated public utility system when combined with the utility's other electric business. The legislation also restricts ownership of an electric business by non-utility corporations. PURPA The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, passed by the U.S. Congress. This statute requires States to consider the implementation of Utility Conservation Programs and create markets for cogenerators and small power producers who meet certain efficiency standards, including the requirement that States set the price of power the utilities must buy from such facilities based on avoided costs. Qualifying Facility (QF) Under PURPA, Qfs were allowed to sell their electric output to the local utility at avoided cost rates. To become a QF, the independent power supplier had to produce electricity with a specified fuel type (cogeneration or renewables), and meet certain ownership, size and efficiency criteria established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Rated Speed Revolutions per minute at which the set is designed to operate. The rated voltage of an engine generator set is the voltage at which it is designed to operate. Rear Bearing Carrier The casting which houses the rotor bearing which supports the rotor shaft. An electrical component that converts alternating current (AC) to unidirectional current (DC) An electrically operated switch usually used in control circuits and whose contacts are considered low amperage, compared to a contactor. The degree to which electric power is made available to those who need it in sufficient quantity and quality to be dependable and safe. The degree of reliability may be measured by the frequency, duration, and magnitude of adverse effects on consumer services. Reserve Margin The amount of installed generation which exceeds the operating generation capacity needed to meet the expected peak load of a given utility with a defined statistical probability. Standards vary from utility to utility, but most utility planners consider a 15-20 percent reserve margin essential for good reliability. Opposition to the flow of current. The changes being considered in the set of regulatory and statutory policies governing electric utilities in the U.S. Retail Competition The concept under which multiple sellers of electric power and services can sell directly to end-use customers. (See also Direct Access.) A market in which electricity and other energy services are sold directly to the end-use customer. Retail Wheeling The process of moving electric power from a point of generation across one or more utility-owned transmission and distribution systems to a retail customer. (See also Direct Access.) The rotating element of a generator. A Regional Transmission Group. A voluntary organization of transmission owners, users and other entities interested in coordinating transmission planning, expansion, operation and use on a regional and inter-regional basis. Rural Electric Cooperative Utility An electric utility set up under the Rural Electrification Act of 1934 and owned by the customers of the utility itself. The original purpose of the Act was to provide electric power availability to rural customers who may not have received service because they were more costly to serve than the concentrated customers locally. (See also Co-op.) Service Area Exclusivity The concept embodied in the statutes of most States under which a utility is granted the right to be the exclusive provider of electric service in a given geographic area in return for the utility's obligation to serve all customers with reliable service at fair and non-discriminatory rates. An AC load, or source of power normally having only two input terminals if a load or two output terminals if a source. A component or location in a redundant system where a single, credible failure could lead to loss of electrical power to the critical load. Spinning Reserves 1. The difference between the capability and actual output of generating units which are operating and connected to the electrical network. 2. The amount of unloaded generating capability, on units that are in the generating mode and connected to the interconnected system, which can be fully applied in 10 minutes. Standby (Backup) Service 1. Service through a permanent connection not normally used but available in lieu of, or as a supplement to, the usual source of supply. 2. Generating and power quality assurance services provided by a supplier to customers who rely on service or equipment which may not be as available or reliable as needs dictate. Typically, standby or backup service is sold by a utility to another utility or generator, such as an industrial cogenerator, to assure continuation of service during maintenance and emergency outage. A backup source of electrical energy (e.g. a diesel generator) that waits dormant until a control device triggers it to start operating. The stationary part of a generator. Stranded Benefits Benefits associated with regulated retail electric service which may be at risk under open market retail competition. Examples are conservation programs, fuel diversity, reliability of supply, and tax revenues based on utility reserves. Stranded Costs/Stranded Assets Costs incurred by a utility which may not be recoverable under market-based retail competition. Examples are undepreciated generating facilities, deferred costs, and long-term contract costs. Activities conducted on the utility's side of the customer meter. Activities designed to supply electric power to customers, rather than meeting load through energy efficiency measures or on-site generation on the customer-side of the meter. SWRTA The Southwest Regional Transmission Association. A subregional Regional Transmission Authority (RTG) within the Western Regional Tranmission Authority (WRTA), and awaiting FERC approval. A document, approved by the responsible regulatory agency, listing the terms and conditions, including a schedule of prices, under which utility services will be provided. Time-of-Use (TOU) Rates The pricing of electricity based on the estimated cost of electricity during a particular time block. Time-of-Use rates are usually divided into three or four time blocks per twenty-four hour period (on-peak, mid-peak, off-peak and, sometimes, super off-peak) and by seasons of the year (summer and winter). Real-time pricing differs from TOU rates in that it is based on actual (as opposed to forecasted) prices which fluctuate many times a day and are weather-sensitive, rather than varying with a fixed schedule. Transition Costs See Embedded Costs Exceeding Market Prices. An electric power generator driven by a gas or steam turbine. The separating of the total process of electric power service from generation to metering into its component parts for the purpose of separate pricing or service offerings. (Uninterruptible Power Supply) A system designed to automatically provide power, without delay or transients, during any period when the normal power supply is incapable of performing acceptably. A UPS does not generate power and can operate only when a primary power source such as the electric utility grid is operating. An arrangement whereby the same company owns all the different aspects of making, selling and delivering a product or service. In the electric industry, it refers to the historically common arrangement whereby a utility would own its own generating plants, transmission system and distribution lines to provide all aspects of electric service. Vibration Mount A rubber device located between the engine or generator and the cradle to minimize vibration. The potential difference between two points. Electrical potential difference expressed in volts. A component which automatically maintains proper generator voltage by controlling the amount of DC exitation to the rotor. WATSO The Western Association for Transmission System Coordination. Unit of electrical power. In DC equals volts times amperes. In AC equals effective volts times effective amps times power factor times a consistent dependent on the number of phases. 1 kilowatt = 1,000 watts. Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) WAPA markets and transmits reliable, low-cost electric power, provides related services and encourages energy efficient management in an environmentally sound manner to a service area covering 3.38 million square kilometers (1.3 million square miles). Western's wholesale power customers provide service to millions of consumers in 15 western states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming). The transmission of electricity by an entity that does not own or directly use the power it is transmitting. Wholesale wheeling is used to indicate bulk transactions in the wholesale market, whereas retail wheeling allows power producers direct access to retail customers. This term is often used colloquially as meaning transmission. Wholesale Competition Rivalry between utilities and other electricity generators striving for the same market of bulk power for resale. Wholesale Wheeling The process of moving bulk power from a generator across one or more utility-owned transmission system to another utility for resale. All the coils of a generator. Stator winding consists of a number stator coils and their interconnections. Rotor windings consist of all windings and connections on the rotor poles. WSPP The Western Systems Power Pool. A FERC-approved industry institution that provides a forum for short-term trades in electric energy, capacity, exchanges and transmission services. The pool consists of approximately 50 members and serves 22 states, a Canadian province and 60 million people. The WSSP is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. WSSCC The Western States' System Coordinating Council. A voluntary industry association created to enhance reliability among western utilities.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line525

__label__wiki

Ethiopia: Free all jailed bloggers and journalists before Obama visit The Ethiopian government’s decision to release four journalists and two Zone 9 bloggers, jailed simply for expressing their views, is a positive move. But if this is to be more than a token gesture to clean up Ethiopia’s image ahead of US President Barack Obama’s imminent visit, Ethiopia must release all its imprisoned journalists and bloggers, said Amnesty International today. Over the last two days Mahlet Fantahun and Zelalem Kibret, both bloggers from Ethiopia’s Zone 9 collective, and the three journalists being tried alongside them for terrorism offences – Edom Kassaye, Tesfalem Waldeyes and Asmamaw Hailegiorgis – were released from jail after all charges against them were dropped. They had been in detention for over one year. Journalist Reeyot Alemu, detained in 2011 and serving a five-year jail term for terrorism offences, was also released. “These releases, while a positive step, are long overdue. Ethiopia has a terrible record of jailing journalists,” said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes. “What these bloggers and journalists did was no crime and they should never have been arrested in the first place.” Overly broad provisions in Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation are frequently used to silence dissenting voices. Since its introduction in 2009, the law has been used to prosecute members of opposition political parties, independent journalists and peaceful protestors more than any other groups. Many of them still languish in jail. Four other Zone 9 bloggers – Befeqadu Hailu, Atnaf Berahane, Natnael Feleke and Abel Wabela - still remain behind bars. They were arrested in April 2014 and charged with terrorism offences in July 2014. The case against them and their colleague Soliana Shimeles (who was charged in absentia) is set to continue, according to state media reports. “Befeqadu, Atnaf, Natnael and Abel should be immediately and unconditionally released, and all charges against the Zone 9 bloggers dropped,” said Sarah Jackson. “Their only ‘crime’ was to articulate fresh ideas and foster debate. Zone 9 should be allowed to continue its work without its members fearing harassment.” Likewise, Amnesty International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of journalists Eskinder Nega and Wubishet Taye, who, like many others, remain in prison after politically-motivated convictions on terrorism charges. The Zone 9 bloggers and journalists arrested alongside them lodged complaints with the court and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, stating that they had been tortured and ill-treated during their initial period of detention in Maikelawi police station. Amnesty International is calling for their complaints to be investigated promptly and impartially, and, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, for those responsible to be prosecuted in proceedings that meet international fair trial standards. At least six university student leaders from the Oromia region were also reported to have been released on Wednesday. Adugna Kesso, Tofik Rashid, Lenjisa Alemayo, Abdi Kamal, Magarsa Warqu and Bilisumma Dammana had been arrested following mass demonstrations in April and May 2014 protesting against a proposed ‘Integrated Master Plan’ to expand the capital, Addis Ababa, into Oromia regional territory. Security services responded to the protests with unnecessary and excessive force, resulting in dozens of deaths and scores of injuries. Thousands of people were arrested in the wake of the protests. For further information contact John Tackaberry, Media Relations (613)744-7667 #236 jtackaberry@amnesty.ca

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line526

__label__wiki

Home Page Change Essays How did the War change attitudes about how big a p Essay How did the War change attitudes about how big a p Essay art a government should play in people’s lives?War declared Trotsky, is the locomotive of history (Bourne, 1989,p. 191) When considering the attitude of the people towards the change governmental intervention had in their lives, one must consider a number of different aspects. The scene must firstly be set by ascertaining the mood of the people upon the outbreak of war, and this Bourne eloquently describes: The British urban working class was the oldest industrial workforce in the world. Its class-consciousness was very strong. It was well organised. It had a sharp awareness of its industrial strength. It was quite remarkably strike-prone. It was also riven with divisions, petty snobberies and subtle distinctions. It was disciplined and deferential, conformist and hedonistic, patriotic and loyal. It showed little interest in radical ideologies. It had a vast fund of goodwill towards Britain’ s national institutions, especially the monarchy and parliament. From the point of view of a hard- pressed government in time of war, the working class was far from intractable. There was, however, a sticking point. This was ‘fairness’, a concept deeply rooted in Anglo-Saxon culture. Government could ignore ‘fairness’ only at its peril. (Bourne, 1989, p. 204) These were the people the government were given the task of cajoling into acquiescence, people that had become accustomed to Free Trade, private enterprise and minimal governmental interference. Despite this scenario however, political Liberalism was seen to be evolving in response to social problems and the rise of labour, and the war became the locomotive which accelerated the change in British politics and society. We will write a custom essay on How did the War change attitudes about how big a p specifically for you It was only when the pressures of war were brought to bear, that the government gradually abandoned its laissez faire principles in favour of direct control. The goal was to fight a war, but simultaneously preserve the living standards of the civilians, so as to uphold morale on the home front and in the factories needed to supply the military front. Bourne suggests that: The nature of this interference was characteristic. It involved a series of ad hoc responses to specific problems. These were made of necessity and not through choice. There was no overall plan and no philosophy of action. (Bourne, 1989,p. 192) The desperate need for munitions was an early realisation of the need for state control, which later extended to shipping in 1916, food in 1917,coal in 1917, and food rationing in 1918. Both Lloyd George and Asquith’ s ministries were reluctant to affront public opinion, especially the trade unions, consequently a careful pace was adopted along with the contingency of ‘returning to normal’ at the conclusion of the war. The government were unwilling and unable to compel men to join up, and the ability to control labour was even more problematic, due to the increasing power and self-confidence of the trade unions. The union ideology was based on free collective bargaining, sensitivity to the prerogative of its workers and opposition to the introduction of new technology, consequently Britain lagged behind in production of iron and steel, coal and chemicals, all of which could be a distinct disadvantage in a war against its main European competitor. The British experience was that it was impossible to fight a major modern war without compulsory military service. Kitchener ‘s adherence to a ‘volunteer conscripts only’ policy until as late as 1916, was probably a factor in prolonging the war and it became increasingly difficult to maintain the supply of men for the front, thus the govt resorted to measures, which many saw as a betrayal of the notion of ‘fair play.’ The indiscriminate nature of volunteering meant that many ‘quality’ workmen were enlisting, leaving an acute shortage, especially in the munitions industry. The Board of Trade Report on State of Employment in United Kingdom, July 1915 showed that: Almost a quarter of the employees in the chemicals and explosives industry had enlisted, as had a similar proportion from electrical engineering; over a fifth had gone from coal-mining and almost as many from the metal trades. (Marwick, 1967,p.58) Marwick further observed that In a ‘war of machines’ it was at least as necessary to look to the supply of machine -makers at home as to the supply of machine-users on the fields of battle. (Marwick, 1967, p.58) There was an attempt to alleviate the manpower shortage with the issuing of badges for those men deemed to be engaged in ‘essential occupations’, and the compilation of a National Register for all persons between the ages of fifteen and sixty five in order to co-ordinate the war effort. Armed with this information, the government proposed a number of bills which deemed that single men, besides those who had ‘attested to volunteer if needed, had enlisted and were eligible for transfer to the Reserve. In light of this inadequate ‘ semi-conscription’, a new universal conscription Bill was introduced which eventually became law. The imposition of universal conscription was an event of central importance in the social history of the war. It implied a definite swing in the Government policy from the careful hoarding of its skilled labour to a prodigal casting of copper, silver and gold into the lottery of the trenches; it meant that the highly controversial ‘dilution’ which had been designed to maximise the domestic labour force now became ‘substitution’, the attempt to release the able-bodied by employing the less able – bodied. (Arthur Marwick, 1967, p.83) Lloyd George was compelled to open up hitherto skilled jobs to unskilled labour, and bring women into industry in vast numbers. The Trade Unions feared an erosion of their hard-earned power, the erosion of differences between skilled and unskilled workers, the driving down of wages by unscrupulous employers utilising women. Both employers and the government were in a quandary. The former were competing for labour in a seller’ s market and would have to offer higher wages and better working conditions. The latter would have to co-operate with the Trade Unions and share political decision-making. The TUC had craved recognition and responsibility since its inception, and now a golden opportunity had presented itself. The Treasury Agreement discussed from 17-19 March between Arthur Henderson and his trade union leader colleagues on one side, and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lloyd George and President of the Board of Trade, Walter Runciman on the other, meant that the unions agreed to ‘dilution of the restrictive practices’ and compulsory arbitration. The government for their part agreed to maintain the skilled wage rate even when performed by an unskilled person, and limit private profits. This, however, did not in practice amount to much; for the limitation was only on excess profits above the pre-war level, and the pre-war standards were so defined, by allowing firms to select their most profitable years to form the basis of an average, that munitions firms were not only able to make but also to retain very high profits in spite of the Government’ s promise. (Cole ; Postgate,1956, p.515) The new coalition government at once created the post of Minister in the Ministry of Munitions for David Lloyd George, and almost immediately sought to legalise the Treasury Agreement by presenting the Munitions of War Act before the House. The Ministry of Munitions was to take control over those factories engaged in war production under the Defence of the Realm Act, thus suspending trade union practice, in accordance with the Treasury Agreement, for the duration of the war. The suspicion that employers would try to outbid each other for the limited supply of skilled workers, was addressed by issuing a’ leaving certificate’ to an employee to enable him to change his job, if he had been engaged in munitions work within the previous six weeks, and at the consent of the previous employer. There was, however, no protection for the worker from dismissal by the employer, and this procedure became a standing grievance amongst the work force. Moreover, the certificate interfered with the skilled man’ s opportunities to earn higher wages in view of the labour shortage. In this way, not only could the government manage labour and supply the trenches, it could also select men whose removal from the workforce would be the least detrimental to war production. Those found guilty of provoking industrial unrest soon found themselves on the front line. The disruption of war production through strikes and industrial action was prohibited, and all differences were to be solved by compulsory arbitration, the Local Munitions Tribunals, a body with the power to appeal against the refusal of employers to grant leaving certificates, and to impose fines on workmen who attempted strike action or hindrance of munitions production. READ: Received: from mailsorter-102.bryant.webtv.net (20 Essay The Munitions of War Act gave the ministry extensive powers, which also stretched into the economy as a whole, power supply and the control of raw materials. The Ministry’ s aim was to encourage good industrial practice, adopt the latest methods and machinery, hence the conversion to Arc furnaces from Bessamer converters in the steel industry. Industrial specialisation, research and development, production analysis and modern systems of financial control were positively encouraged, and this also gave private manufacturers the opportunity to effect changes previously blocked by trade union opposition. Many industrial processes became standardised, new machinery created, and scientific research was rescued from neglect with encouraging results. However, the government’ s foray into other areas of British industry yielded mixed results. The railways were taken over to introduce some kind of standardisation amongst the 130 companies. The coal industry meanwhile experienced a ‘de facto’ nationalisation, which yielded little in the way of technical innovation, increased productivity or output. The dangerous nature of shipbuilding restricted women and the unions fought dilution. The drive to adopt good practice in agriculture yielded few results, farmers did not utilise their new women workers for one thing, or produce enough to adequately feed the nation without the imports secured by merchant seamen and their Navy escorts. The Ministry assumed the role of industrial employer in its own right, establishing factories with public funds on specially acquired land, and paying great attention to employee health and welfare, catering, washing and recreation, which in turn raised the standards of private manufacturers. Industrial discipline was vital, and there were fines for poor workmanship, lateness and absenteeism. Sobriety was promoted by heavy alcohol taxes, the imposition of licensing laws, which survive to this day, and the rising cost of living was curbed by rent control (The Rent Restriction Act of 1915) in order to avert strikes, which would hamper war production. This measure, however, failed to have the desired effect due to the arbitrary nature of its compulsion, the fact that the loss of profits would retard new house building and thus lead to overcrowding, consequently raising the incidence of tuberculosis, and general civil unrest. The government took responsibility for the incomes of the populace, whose means had been cut by the war. The post war separation allowances, widow ‘ s pensions, ex-servicemen disabled benefits, ‘making up’ the shortfall of cotton operative’ s wages, ‘dole’, all extended the government’ s responsibilities in the field of income maintenance permanently. I am disinclined to admit that all the measures of industrial and commercial organisation adopted during the war, which are commonly lumped together under the term state control, were merely necessary evils to be got rid of as soon as possible and never to be thought of again. A considerable extension of the co-operative and collective enterprise seems to me probable and desirable in times of peace; and I believe that there is something to be learnt from the experiments in state control during the war which may be of positive value in the difficult times ahead. (Lloyd, 1924, preface in Milward, 1984, p. 22) From mid 1916, when the Munitions of War Act, and the Military Service Act began to bite, working hours were increased alongside production targets. The news from The Front was bad, the Somme, Jutland etc. and a reportedly growing movement for a negotiated peace, all added to ‘war-weariness’ and the fragile truce between the workers and their government disappeared in 1917, after a severe winter of food and fuel shortages sparked a wave of industrial unrest. The strikes were ended by firmness and concession, and arrests were made under Regulation 42 of the Defence of The Realm Act (DORA)impeding the production of war material The leaders were in fact shop stewards, not the trade union national leaders whose collaborationist policies failed to represent grievances of the local rank and file, which were first and foremost, the high price of food and its unequal distribution. Resentment grew as the workers began to feel that they were suffering disproportionately, their mobility constrained, wages falling behind prices, whilst the employers were making fat profits that the workers were entitled to share. The conciliatory nature of wage increases meant in effect that the improved living standards were won through the rising influence of organised labour in both political and industrial sectors (Whiteside, 1988, p. 95) Moreover, these conciliatory measures were given against a backdrop of Bolshevik revolution in Tsarist Russia, the fear of it spreading to Britain, and Russia’ s exit from the war. On the Clyde, regarded as a potential hotbed of revolutionary fervour, strikes broke out as many were complaining that ‘dilution’, was being extended from government to private work, and that the practice was not being used to release men for ‘essential tasks’, but for ‘cannon fodder’ in the trenches. Thus the services of women were dispensed with at the end of the war in order to restore industrial peace. Victory went to those nations best able to mobilise the people and keep them believing in the war. (Gerard J De Groot, 2001,p.135) Nevertheless, the movements furthering the rights of both women and trade unions saw an improvement in their relative positions during the hostilities. The trade union movement emerged with a great deal of status, self- confidence and power. Its co-operation during the war effort was vital, the smaller unions amalgamated into larger ones and some of its leaders found themselves in important positions in deciding post war matters. The importance of the unions was reflected in a huge increase in new membership, due in part to the successes of collective bargaining. The war had shown how direct action was the most useful method of redressing any perceived grievance. The membership grew from 4 million at the start of the war to 6 million at the time of The Armistice, peaking at 8.3 million in 1920- almost half the working population (G.R. Askwith, 1974, pp414-46) The extension of the franchise in 1918 and the growth of trade union membership offered the poorer sections of the working population the chance to preserve the very real gains they had made during the war. Britain’ s workforce emerged from the war more homogenous, less poverty stricken and more organised than it had been in1914. Women had always worked in light industrial and domestic spheres, but the imposition of male conscription gave women an opportunity to move into traditionally male preserves. In many cases these were not ‘new’ workers: Contrary to propaganda reports of the time there was no enormous influx of non-working women into men’ s jobs: millions of working class women in Britain moved into different trades when the opportunity arose. (Gail Braybon, 2000, p.154) The effect of this was that the disparity between male and female wages was eroded from half to two-thirds the male wage by the end of the war. The post war years saw trade unionists remaining hostile to the principal of equal pay for equal work, and as many as two thirds of the women who entered employment during the war had left it by 1920. (Bourne, 1989,p. 197) Keith Robbins suggests that there was an expectation amongst women that their war work was a temporary measure, and this probably suited many women who wanted to return ‘to normal’ as soon as possible. Almost as a reward for their unstinting effort, parliament introduced the Representation of the People Act in February 1918, which in effect extended the franchise to all women aged 30. By this stage Robbins argues: The losses sustained in the war made it apparent that there was important work ahead for women. Perhaps it was the case that the factory turned their sex into one united family- a surrogate experience for the trenches, it was claimed-but when peace returned there was an undoubted need for the reproduction of real families. READ: Doctor Faustus By Marlow Essay (Robbins, 1985, p.161) Some saw it as a hollow victory, but the suffragettes saw it as the first step to full voting equality with men. The same year saw the emergence of the Sex Discrimination Act, and by 1921, women were allowed into the jury service, the magistracy, the legal profession, and Nursing was given professional status. The gains were not perhaps particularly revolutionary, but they were a start, but a lot of ground gained during the war was lost upon the return of the soldiers. However, there were continuing opportunities in clerical work and fresh ones in the higher professions. Women’ s maternal and welfare provisions were improved in factories that hitherto failed to cater for factory acts, due to the belief that to legislate for the adult male reflected on his manhood. but perhaps the most important development in hindsight was the significant change in the belief of women, and indeed society, of what they were capable of. Now that they were earning on their own account, they had economic independence; now that they were working away from home,they had social independence. Above all, in their awareness that they were performing arduous and worthwhile tasks, were living through experiences once confined only to the most adventurous males, they gained a new self-consciousness and a new sense of status. Alan S. Milward cites A.L. Bowley in his analysis of this change, The economic position of women and their more complete enfranchisement, would no doubt have developed in a different manner if their claims had not been substantiated by their ability to replace men. (A.L. Bowley, 1930, p. 22) However, De Groot maintains that the fact that women were still paid less than men when doing the same job increased tension between the sexes and did nothing for equality. They never attained the status of skilled workers, the real source of power in the labour hierarchy, and were consequently expendable. Many women were contented to return to their homes after the war, and very few found the opportunities to take advantage of their greater self-esteem. Their work in the munitions industry was not universally welcomed and few concessions were made regarding separate changing and washing facilities. There is a serious flaw in the argument that women can gain status in society taking up men’ s jobs. Status in a patriarchal society is calculated according to a male-orientated measure of importance. If a job becomes essentially ‘women’ s work’, it’ s status declines, a decline highlighted by the lower pay attached to it. (De Groot, 2001 p 156) The returning clerks saw their jobs had been taken by women in their absence at the front, and consequently declined to return to them as they were now cast-off jobs to be left to women, who were paid less. Britain witnessed perhaps the least disruption to civilian society during the war. Living standards were maintained and the centralised distribution of food supplies and rationing ensured that diet and nutrition, notably amongst the poorest in society, improved dramatically. British workers gained by the war, using their role in war production to force improved pay and conditions, as well as a greater participation in government. (Cawood & McKinnon- Bell, 2001, p. 53) Arthur Marwick’s thesis, however innovative and valid, was formed almost thirty-five years ago, and revisionist historians now feel that Marwick has perhaps over emphasised change at the expense of tradition. Thirty years later, these excessively sanguine theories of war and society seem over-cooked. War had some profound (even positive) effects, but it is reckless to postulate an all- embracing theory of war and its effects on society. In more stable societies like Britain and France, forces of conservatism and tradition were probably equal to the challenges of war. When one studies World War One, needs to be aware not just of the forces of change. but also of the countervailing forces which constrained or absorbed change. Progress was profound, but so was the power of convention, tradition, authority, repression and nostalgia. (Gerard J De Groot, 2001, p.155) De Groot further points out that the progress made by the workers depended on labour shortage, and that this power only lasted as long as the vagaries of the trade cycle were favourable. Workers willingly made sacrifices for the good of the country but ‘only for the duration’ and De Groot finds it is hard to see a group of people who sacrificed their lives and their rights to be seen as making progress. War is an extraordinary event which engenders a temporary tolerance for disruption. With the armistice comes a widespread desire, amongst all classes, to return to normal. The extent to which normality is restored is the gauge of how worthwhile the sacrifice was. War is seldom fought to change society, but more often to preserve it. De Groot p.158-159) In returning to the question at hand, it seems that the British people were prepared to go along with the increase in government intervention for the duration of the war, and to extricate as many concessions from the government as possible in this period, but it was only for a mutually understood period commensurate with the duration of the war. The British public were conservative in their views, and fought the war, as De Groot stated, to preserve society. Just because the government had been effective running the war, it did n’ t mean they would be as effective running the peace. The degree of state control eventually achieved during the course of the war was striking and impressive. It encompassed all Britain’ s basic industries. The British people showed remarkable readiness to accommodate themselves to the fact of this change. This readiness was not, however, extended to the question of principle. State control was not an idea whose time had come, but an exceptional measure for exceptional circumstances, to be abandoned when the world returned to its senses. The power of the responsibilities of government increase, but the nature of The State was not transformed. GR.R. Askwith, Industrial Problems and Disputes (New York: Harper ; Row, 1974) in Noel Whiteside, The British Population at War in Britain and the First World War John Turner (ed), (London, Unwin Hyman, 1988) J.M. Bourne Britain and The Great War 1914/1918 (London, Edward Arnold, l989) A.L. Bowley, Some Economic Consequences of the War 1930 in Alan S. Milward, The Economic Effects of the Two World Wars on Britain Second Edition (London, Macmillan, 1984) Gail Braybon, Women, War and Work in The Oxford Illustrated History of the First World War Hew Strachan (ed.) (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2000) Cawood ; McKinnon- Bell The First World War (London, Routledge, 2001,) G.D.H. Cole and Raymond Postgate, The Common People 1746-1946, (London, Methuen ; Co. Ltd., 1956) Gerard J De Groot, The First World War(London, Palgrave, 2001) Peter Dewey, The New Warfare and Economic Mobilisation in Britain and the First World War John Turner (ed), (London, Unwin Hyman, 1988) E.M.H.Lloyd, Experiments in State Control (1924) in Alan S. Milward, The Economic Effects of the Two World Wars on Britain Second Edition (London, Macmillan, 1984) Arthur Marwick, The Deluge (London, Pelican, 1967) Keith Robbins, The First World War(Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1985) Noel Whiteside, The British Population at War in Britain and the First World War John Turner (ed), (London, Unwin Hyman, 1988) economic change Essay 661 Words | 3 Pages In the world at this time the economic change was happening at an accelerated speed and this effected Canada. Industrialization started a whole new revolution in Canada. The movement from agricultural habitation to industrial base habitation was beginning. Also in this economic change there was a shift in the growth of industries in the city. People worked in the city but their homes were out in the country, so they had to move to the city. This caused a growth in the number of people living in cities, which meant the cities had to grow. Despite the larger numbers of... Child Labour: A Historically Important Role With Future Repercussions Essay 439 Words | 2 Pages In a modern society that views childhood as not only an important part of one’s life but as a fundamental growing stage, the idea of child labour has taken on a severely negative connotation; so much so that as consumers we attempt to remove ourselves from any countries that associate with this practice. However Canada during the late 19th and early 20th century used child labour as a major workforce and had 80’000 immigrant child workers migrating to Canada largely from Great Britain. The development and use of child labour during the 19th and early 20th century was a manifestation... Change of will Essay 780 Words | 3 Pages She had planned to spend the early summer in Central Park rehearsing Henry VIII, a play about, among other things, the inheritance of a man's powerful position by a woman. But when the 26-member board of directors of the New York Shakespeare Festival summarily dismissed JoAnne Akalaitis from her job as the festival's artistic director on March 15, any number of plans changed. Over the next few days Akalaitis packed away 20 months' worth of notabilia, issued a polite but unequivocal statement to the press, talked with characteristic frankness to friends and colleagues about how and why she was fired,... First British Industrial Revolution Essay 493 Words | 2 Pages The manufacture of military munitions and the development of a home market were critical underpinnings of the first industrial revolution in Britain. Military manufacturing supported by the British Government contributed directly to technological innovation and spurred industrialization. This is because the companies that choose to fulfill the government contracts to make military munitions found money could be made if new processes and technology was developed to fulfill the huge contracts. Military manufacturing was one of the few industries where innovation was rewarded. In most other industries conservative investors were reluctant to invest in new manufacturing technology. But in military manufacturing... Industrialization and Child Labour Essay 461 Words | 2 Pages Industrialization and Child Labour Child labour may well be morally repugnant but economists go beyond this and rationally argue for policies that will help children. Traditional arguments based on perfect competition are unhelpful and even suggest child labour may be a good thing. The argument is made persuasively in Krugman’s “In Praise of Cheap Labour”. Legislating higher wages for some group will quite likely reduce overall employment and make workers as a class worse off. Banning child labour may force children away from legitimate work to work that is off the books and not necessarily legal. Given that the sex... Unemployment Essay 684 Words | 3 Pages Unemployment Essay 76.3% of all men were employed (82.6% of women), 4.3% were employers (1.7%), 4.9% were self- employed (2.5%), 3.4% worked in family owned businesses (7.5%), 10.8% of all men worked in agriculture (and 5.6% of women). Men made up 62.3% of the employed (women 37.7%), 82.2% of all employers (17.8%), 78% of the self employed (22%), 45% of those employed in family businesses (55%), 77.5% of those employed in agriculture (22.5%). The Situation in 8/99 Economic underdevelopment, agrarian over-employment, external shocks and an unrestructured economy led to an increase in both structural and cyclical employment. The supply side... 76.3% of all men were employed (82.6% of women), 4.3% were employers (1.7%), 4.9% were self- employed (2.5%), 3.4% worked in family owned businesses (7.5%), 10.8% of all men worked in agriculture (and 5.6% of women). Men made up 62.3% of the employed (women 37.7%), 82.2% of all employers (17.8%), 78% of the self employed (22%), 45% of those employed in family businesses (55%), 77.5% of those employed in agriculture (22.5%). The Situation in 8/99 Economic underdevelopment, agrarian over-employment, external shocks and an unrestructured economy led to an increase in both structural and cyclical employment. The supply side is still... World History: Change Gathers Steam: 1800-40 Essay 2398 Words | 9 Pages French ideals and empire spread. Inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, and supported by the expanding French armies, new republican regimes arose near France: the Batavian Republic in the Netherlands (1795-1806), the Helvetic Republic in Switzerland (1798-1803), the Cisalpine Republic in N Italy (1797-1805), the Ligurian Republic in Genoa (1797-1805), and the Parthenopean Republic in S Italy (1799). A Roman Republic existed briefly in 1798 after Pope Pius VI was arrested by French troops. In Italy and Germany, new nationalist sentiments were stimulated oth in imitation of and in reaction to developments in France (anti-French and anti-Jacobin peasant... Economic Change in America Essay 4536 Words | 16 Pages The Economic Change in AmericaThe United States of America is a country that has gone through many changes in it's economical system even though we are still considered one of the youngest countries in the world. The United States is also considered one of the wealthiest countries in the world as well. This country however did not start out this way there were hard times. Hard times that helped shape this nation and it's people. Yet along with the hard times there were good times as well. Yet through these times our economic system has changed, to evolve with the... The Pearl Essays (11) , Alcohol Abuse Essays (31) , Self Concept Essays (4) , Culture Essays (190) , Hero Essays (123) Topic: How did the War change attitudes about how big a p Essay art a government should play in people's lives?War declared Trotsky, is the locomotive of history (Bourne, 1989,p. 191) The British urban working class was the oldest industrial workforce in

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line530

__label__wiki

Asia Matters for America America Matters for Asia The Trump Administration & US - Indo-Pacific Relations This resource will track statements, developments, visits, and other interactions in US-Indo-Pacific relations under the President Trump administration. Special focus will be given to the comments and activities of President Donald J. Trump; Vice President Mike Pence; United States Trade Representative Ambassador Robert E. Lighthizer; Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark Esper; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Jr.; and (former) Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Mark Esper Robert Lighthizer James Mattis Indo-Pacific Allies and Partners Southeast Asia/ASEAN Summits - APEC, East Asia Summit (EAS), US-ASEAN Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Text Quote Video Twitter Official Visits Security and Defense Trade Investment Environment and Energy Educational Exchange Cultural Connections Asian Americans Humanitarian Aid Human Rights Domestic Politics On Taiwan’s Election "The United States congratulates Dr. Tsai Ing-wen on her re-election in Taiwan’s presidential election. We also congratulate Taiwan for once again demonstrating the strength of its robust democratic system, which—coupled with a free market economy and a vibrant civil society—makes it a model for the Indo-Pacific region and a force for good in the world. The American people and the people on Taiwan are not just partners—we are members of the same community of democracies, bonded by our shared political, economic, and international values. We… USTR Announces FY 2019 WTO Tariff-Rate Quota Allocations for Raw Cane Sugar "The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative today announced the country-specific in-quota allocations under the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) on imported raw cane sugar for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 (October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019). TRQs allow countries to export specified quantities of a product to the United States at a relatively low tariff, but subject all imports of the product above a pre-determined threshold to a higher tariff. On June 29, 2018, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the establishment of the in-quota quantity… Secretary Mattis' Remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue - Taiwan "The Department of Defense remains steadfastly committed to working with Taiwan to provide the defense articles and services necessary to maintain sufficient self-defense consistent with our obligation set out in our Taiwan Relations Act. We oppose all unilateral efforts to alter the status quo, and will continue to insist any resolution of differences accord with the will of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait." Secretary Pompeo's Remarks During State Department Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Request - North Korea; Taiwan; China; South China Sea Secretary Pompeo's Remarks During State Department Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Request - Taiwan Secretary Pompeo's Remarks During Confirmation Hearing - China; Militants in Southeast Asia; Taiwan; North Korea President Trump Signs Taiwan Travel Act into Law Taiwan Travel Act: "The bill states that it should be U.S. policy to: (1) allow U.S. officials at all levels to travel to Taiwan to meet their Taiwanese counterparts; (2) permit high-level Taiwanese officials to enter the United States under respectful conditions and to meet with U.S. officials, including officials from the Departments of State and Defense; and (3) encourage the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office and any other instrumentality established by Taiwan to conduct business in the United States."

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line532

__label__wiki

It was more than twenty-six years ago that Bengal Foundation embarked upon its journey to project a culturally rich Bangladesh. Born out of the Chairman and Founder Abul Khair’s personal regard for the arts, the Foundation’s main objectives were to conserve tradition, allow diversity, evolution and growth from within. Bengal Foundation operates purely for public benefit and since its beginning has pursued the policy of making its events free for all. Today, it runs several programmes on Music, Visual Arts, Literature and Publications, Cinema, and Architecture. The Foundation’s Music programme involves producing musical recordings, organising local and international events such as festivals, concerts, talent-searches, lectures and workshops. Bengal Foundation also organises annually, the largest classical music festival in terms of number of performers on a single stage, audience capacity and duration. The ideology of the Festival was always backed by the intent to establish a school for training in classical music by renowned maestros, and the success of the first festival in 2012 led to Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay being introduced, in 2014. The school offers free tuition to deserving students. Bengal Foundation also focuses on the revival of natural dyes through its crafts outlet Aranya and in 2010, it introduced the Mastercraftsperson Award in collaboration with the National Crafts Council of Bangladesh. In 2003, the Foundation launched Jamini, the country’s first international arts magazine, and Kali O Kalam, a Bengali literary magazine. Later, Shilpa O Shilpi, a Bengali arts periodical, Six Seasons Review, an English literary magazine, and Jal Pore Pata Nore, a children’s magazine and the only one to be available in Braille, also came into being. In 2015 Kali O Kalam was launched in Kolkata whereby the magazine, in its 12th year in Bangladesh, is being printed and distributed in India. Bengal Foundation jointly publishes worldclass monographs on renowned Bangladeshi painters, with Skira Editore of Milan, for international distribution. The Foundation’s publishing wing, Bengal Publications, brings out books in Bengali and English with a mission to promote good authors and encourage readership. In 2016, the Foundation launched Bengal eBoi, with a collection of over 200 books and possibly the first eBooks in Bangla, in a proper format. The Foundation’s Visual Arts programme runs exhibitions, talks, film screenings, art workshops and residencies, and publishes books, catalogues and folios on art. In 2000, Bengal Foundation launched one of the first commercial galleries in Dhaka, the Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts, which was followed by the Bengal Art Lounge in 2012. In 2013, the Foundation launched the Daily Star-Bengal Arts Precinct as a platform for emerging artists. It also established the Safiuddin Bengal Printmaking Studio, which along with a space for collaborative shows, forms the Bengal Open Studios. The Foundation set up the SM Sultan Bengal Art College in south-west Bangladesh. Abul Khair’s own acquisitions, together with the Foundation’s collection, has over the years, created an art repository of over 5000 works by modern painters of the region. Bengal Museum of Arts and Crafts, the first of its kind, is envisioned as a project in the near future, to be built in the suburbs of Dhaka, where this substantive collection will be on public display. The museum will be the first adaptive re-use project of its kind. By 2016, the Visual Arts programme seemed to have fulfilled its initial mission of introducing existing and potential art enthusiasts to a certain echelon of art and bridging the gap between them and the artists. In the natural course if its evolution, the programme continued on its path by moving away from the commercial aspect of it to concentrate on being a platform for nurturing young and prospective artists, and highlighting the modernist legacy of Bangladesh. Realizing the need for positive contributions to the Bangladesh Film Industry, Bengal Cinema Development Forum was established under the Cinema Programme to invest in movies by young and promising filmmakers. The aim is also to revive the Bangladesh Film Industry in a way that lends a good movie-going experience to all members of a family. In 2015 the Foundation set up the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements, with an aim to offer an advanced platform for developing ideas and programs to improve the qualities of architecture, landscapes and settlements. In 2002, the Abdur Razzaq Foundation was set up with an aim to carry out work in political science and humanities. Under this Foundation, in 2015, was established the Gyantapas Abdur Razzaq Bidyapeeth, which allows researchers and serious readers to access, Abul Khair’s uncle and mentor, Professor Razzaq’s outstanding collection of books. The Bidyapeeth is managed by Bengal Foundation. Bengal Foundation has faith in the power of art as an agent of change and believes that in order to make that change, initiation must come from within and with one’s own resources as much as possible. It maintains a strong belief in the excellence and singularity of Bangladesh’s cultural wealth and therefore strives to work unconditionally to accommodate cultural advancement and growth. Please visit www.bengalfoundation.org for more information.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line538

__label__wiki

Back to Exhibits Women’s Suffrage Glitz & Glamour in the White House See Image Gallery Benjamin Harrison became president during a pivotal time in our country’s history. While no wars were declared or armies massed, significant national issues divided the electorate and redefined party platforms. Here are some of the ways that President Harrison played an important role in the dawn of the modern era: Harrison had the first peacetime billion-dollar budget. The first federal budget submitted in 1789 was about $75 million. For the next few decades, the budget did not significantly increase. Even in 1860, it was under $100 million. The budget increased drastically during the Civil War, rising above $1 billion in 1865, then shrinking to $293 million by 1870. When Harrison took office, the government was running a surplus. There was concern that so much government money was a drag on the economy. Harrison thought the best way to get the money back in circulation was to expand veteran pensions, including pensions for widows and orphans. Other ideas were put up for discussion as well. With a majority in both houses of congress, Harrison and Republican legislators were able to enact much of their agenda. The 51st congress passed 531 laws, an unprecedented level of accomplishment unmatched until Theodore Roosevelt’s second term. Henry Cabot Lodge wrote, “No Congress in peace time has passed so many great & important measures of lasting value to the people.” Significant measures relating to reorganizing the federal courts, tariffs, internal improvements, and naval expansion were approved. Harrison also signed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act “to protect trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and monopolies,” the first Federal act attempting to regulate trusts. For better or worse, Harrison‘s activism can be seen in the increase of federal workers. In 1871, the federal government employed 51,000 people, but 20 years later in 1891, more than 157,000 people worked directly for Uncle Sam. Obviously, all of this activity had a cost attached to it. For the first time except in war, Congress appropriated a billion dollar budget in 1890. When critics attacked “the billion-dollar congress,” Speaker Thomas Reed flippantly replied, “Well, this is a billion-dollar country.” His remark sparked criticism from those who felt that the government was consuming too much of the nation’s financial resources. Women who voted, voted for Harrison Harrison was the first president to receive votes from women. New Jersey briefly gave women the right to vote from 1804 to 1807. In that era, people did not vote directly for a president, but rather for electors pledged to support a certain candidate. The Territory of Wyoming, when it was first incorporated in 1869, tried to entice more women to relocate themselves to a rugged west by offering them suffrage. This right was maintained when Wyoming became the 44th state in 1890. Historian George Noles wrote that, “Wyoming gave women the right to vote in all elections; consequently in 1892, for the first time, women voted in a presidential election.” but that’s not the case. Cleveland was off the ballot in Wyoming and five other western states. This was because of the third-party Populists, who felt that their message would resonate more if they won some electoral votes. They made a deal to support the Democratic state candidates if the Democrats removed level and from the ballot. So in Colorado, Idaho, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Wyoming, it was a Harrison vs. James Weaver contest. Weaver carried five of the six states, but Harrison prevailed in Wyoming. So the first time women could vote in a US presidential election, they voted for Harrison! Harrison made the first presidential National Park visit Yellowstone National Park was established by Congress on March 1, 1872. In the summer of 1880, while traveling to Montana to visit his son, Harrison met up with a party that included Senator John Sherman of Ohio and the artist Albert Bierstadt. The group was on its way to Yellowstone, and invited Harrison along. They stayed at Marshall’s Hotel near the Old Faithful geyser, the first hotel built at Yellowstone. Awestruck, Harrison spent several days there, and fell in love with its amazing landscape. Although a formal park system wasn’t launched until 1916, Harrison got the process started with the National Forestry Reserve Act of 1891, which gave the president the authority to protect western lands from development or exploitation. He preserved more than 13 million acres through this legislation, opening the first urban park (Rock Creek in Washington, D.C.), the first military parks (Chickamauga and Chattanooga), and the first national park in Alaska (Sitka). Benjamin Harrison’s legacy extended beyond the legislative—he also helped shape our national conscientiousness and sense of self as a nation: The Harrisons had the first Presidential Christmas Tree Why did it take so long to get a Christmas tree in the White House? The custom of decorating a Christmas tree was first introduced in Germany during the late 18th Century. It became popular in America in the 1840s, thanks in part to Queen Victoria’s German husband Prince Albert. A woodcut of the British Royal family at Windsor Castle became the first widely circulated picture of a decorated Christmas tree in America. By the 1870s, putting up a Christmas tree had become common in America. Franklin Pierce was the first President to decorate a White House Christmas tree, but he made no attempt to publicize it. The tradition was not begun in earnest until the presidency of Harrison. On Christmas morning in 1889, the Harrison family gathered in the second-floor Oval Room and stood around a tree decorated with glass ornaments, toy soldiers, and lit candles. The Harrisons played an essential role in setting the stage for this tradition. The first family’s Christmas tree is still set up in the same location in the White House chosen by the 23rd President. Harrison was the first president to attend a major-league baseball game American Presidents have a long connection with professional baseball. On June 6, 1892, Harrison became the first to attend a major league game, during which the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Washington Senators 7-4 in 11 innings. One newspaper remarked disparagingly that “the President’s presence did not help the home team much.” (Given Harrison’s birthplace, he might have been rooting for the Reds!) Three weeks later, on June 25, Harrison saw his second game. Once again, the Senators were defeated, this time by the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-2. Sporting Life, a weekly baseball publication, featured a front page article about both games attended by Harrison. The article described Harrison as “a great lover of baseball.” It was at a baseball game at Stanford that future president Herbert Hoover had his first “brush with greatness,” as he described it, when he collected President Harrison’s ticket fee in the stands. Harrison initiated the flying of the U.S. Flag at schools and the first publicized Pledge of Allegiance. Francis Bellamy, writer of the Pledge of Allegiance, was also Chairman of the executive committee for the National Public School Celebration of Columbus Day in 1892. In this capacity, he asked President Harrison to endorse two agendas: the flying of the U.S. flag over every school, and the education of the country’s youth about the concept of patriotism. With Ellis Island about to open for the first time to new immigrants, the president heartily agreed. On June 21, 1892, he signed the proclamation that stated “Let the National Flag float over every school house in the country and the exercises be such as shall impress upon our youth the patriotic duties of American citizenship!” On Columbus Day, 1892, the first Pledge of Allegiance was published with the president’s approbation. —Gary Larreategui Death in the White House (2015) Since John and Abigail Adams first entered it in 1800, the White House has been home to familiar people who we love to call our own. We know the first family’s personalities, their quirks, the children and grandchildren. And yet, eight presidents and three first ladies have passed in the White House, causing us to also share in their grief. This special exhibit spanned two centuries of the lives–and deaths–of some of the country’s most beloved, controversial and, ultimately, mourned individuals. Who Do You Think They Were? (2014) “Who Do You Think They Were?” was our 10-month major exhibition in 2014. Harrison heritage is part of United States history. The family helped shape the nation and, in turn, events of their times shaped Benjamin Harrison and his extended families. The exhibit featured family treasures including a letter from Benjamin Harrison V, a lock of John Neal’s hair, Mary Harrison McKee’s DAR applications and certificate, Mary Lord Harrison’s passports, and early genealogy charts. A shipyard owner, an exporter, a plantation owner, a Major General, a farmer, a congressman, an artist, a graduate of Clinton Academy, a Presbyterian minister, a college professor, and a man and his two daughters all struck by lightning on a fateful July 12, 1745… Who do you think they were? Learn more about the Harrison Family Tree Raising the Hem: Historic Fashions of American Nobility (2013) “Raising the Hem: Historic Fashions of American Nobility” was our 10-month major exhibition in 2013. It featured dresses of several First Ladies including Caroline Harrison, Mary Lincoln, Grace Coolidge, and Mamie Eisenhower, just to name a few. Many were on loan from the National First Ladies Library. Dresses were rotated during the exhibit with 20 or more on display at any one time. Dresses, capes, hats, shoes, fans and purses of White House ladies were among the features of Raising the Hem. Guests of all ages will become immersed in the exhibit’s interactive components, which include a life-sized paper dress-up doll, a touch table with decorative fans and a “write-in” activity for those wishing to leave a written mark. Raising the Hem featured: Grace Coolidge, Mamie Eisenhower, Julia Grant, Florence Harding, Harriet Lane, Mary Lincoln, Mary Arthur McElroy, Jane Pierce, Edith Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Taft, Bess Truman, Edith Wilson, Caroline Harrison, and Mary Harrison McKee. More changed in the lives of women than a simple hemline during the 100 years represented. As women’s social status changed and they entered the work force, their clothing style reflected more freedom in mobility. “Raising the Hem” was a beautiful complement to our permanent display of women’s suffrage artifacts in the restored carriage house. Indiana’s Favorite Sons (2012) “Indiana’s Favorite Sons” focused on Indiana presidential and vice-presidential candidates through the years. Some were born in Indiana, some grew up in Indiana, and some were nominated or elected from Indiana. Some Indiana “Hopefuls” were also explored (men who tried but were never party candidates). One of the earliest Hoosier national ticket candidates was George Julian, nominated in 1852, to run as vice president on the Free Democrat ticket under John P. Hale. Other names may sound more familiar: Eugene V. Debs of Terre Haute nominated five times for president, representing the Socialist Party between 1904 and 1920, Wendell Willkie born in Elwood nominated as the Republican Party candidate for president in 1940, and Benjamin Harrison the only president elected from the state. Do you remember Colfax, Hendricks, Marshall, or Kern? These are just a few of Indiana’s Favorite Sons. Presidential Huddle (2011-2012) Indianapolis proudly welcomed Super Bowl XLVI! In conjunction with the festivities, we featured “Presidential Huddle” as part of the museum tour. Over the years, the presidency has changed along with the rules of football, gear and safety. The exhibit explored the ties between presidents and American football. Which Commanders in Chief played the game in college? Who was an assistant coach at Yale? What future Chief Executive tackled a future Heisman Trophy winner? Which president played a hand in changing the rules of the game? We answered these questions and discovered many more connections between the country’s greatest game and its highest office. Football related artifacts and images included those of TR, Hoover, Eisenhower, Nixon, Kennedy, Ford, Reagan, Bush and Obama. Football: A Short History There were many versions of football being played in the mid-1800s. Most were modeled after games being played in Europe, such as rugby and soccer. By the 1870s, colleges and universities in America were meeting to standardize the rules. Harvard played the “Boston game,” a version of football that allowed carrying the ball. The first edition of “The Game”—the annual contest between Harvard and Yale—was played on November 13, 1875, under a modified set of rugby rules known as “The Concessionary Rules.” Walter Camp is considered the father of American football. Camp played football at Yale and helped evolve the rules of the game away from those of rugby and soccer. Throughout the 1880s, they continued to adjust the rules, established the line of scrimmage, and transformed the game from a variation of rugby or soccer into the distinctly American game of football. During Benjamin Harrison’s time, college football expanded greatly with 43 teams by 1900. Football of the day entailed men pushing their way through masses of players. Frequent pile-ups would hide punches and jabbing elbows from the referees. In 1905, eighteen players died. Concerned citizens fought to prohibit football. On October 9, 1905, two days after the highly publicized brutal beating of Robert “Tiny” Maxwell in the Penn-Swarthmore game, President Roosevelt summoned representatives of the Big Three (Harvard, Yale and Princeton—the universities who first played the game and who also set the rules of play) to the White House. Roosevelt convinced them that the rules needed to be changed to eliminate the foul play and brutality. Roosevelt saw merit in the game. He felt that it built bodies, could build character, and created a sense of team spirit and the desire to never give up. Windows to the Past: Harrison’s Indianapolis (2011) The exhibit followed the Harrisons to their Delaware Street home and traced the progress of Indianapolis from a small state capital to a large metropolitan city. From 1854 to 1913, Indianapolis was a city growing in commerce, population, political influence, diversity, entertainment and educational opportunities. Looking into the windows of the past, we see the city leadership and the remarkable men and women who interacted to create a thriving, accomplished society. We see the strong businesses that established themselves, built buildings in which to operate, and contributed products and jobs to grow the economy. We also see the lifestyle, culture and educational attainment that allowed for enhanced living. The Harrisons were part of the population that moved north as the hustle, bustle, noise and pollution of the city increased. The material culture left behind will teach us much about the strength, courage, insight and inspiration of the Harrisons and their city. The exhibit opened windows to moments in time to discover remarkable facts and amazing figures about the growing city that would become known as the ‘Crossroads of America’. In 1821 Elias P. Fordham and Alexander Ralston plotted the map for the new Indiana state capital. The “Mile Square” plan provided 100 twelve-lot blocks bordered by broad streets in a grid pattern and a central circle with four diagonal streets completed the design. The Harrisons moved to Indianapolis in April 1854. Here, Harrison found that establishing a law practice was much more difficult than he had anticipated. In September1854, he wrote: “… I should feel contented if only I had some business to occupy my attention, however trifling the profits might be… But, however much I may be discouraged at the prospect, I never suffer myself to falter in my purpose. I have long since made up my mind that with God’s blessing and good health, I would succeed, and I never allow myself to doubt the result.” In 1888, a supplement of Harper’s Weekly featured Indianapolis and presidential candidate Benjamin Harrison. The article commended the residents for their “wide, well-shaded streets.” The article described Harrison’s home as “a fair specimen of the most comfortable house in the city.” The city had expanded well out from the mile square and more affluent citizens were moving to subdivisions in the north. All Aboard: Making Tracks with the Presidential Trail (2010) The first five presidents – George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe – never rode a train. It was not until the 1830s that transportation by rail began to spread in the United States. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad began construction in 1828, starting at the port of Baltimore, Maryland, going west to a suitable point on the Ohio River. They reached Wheeling, (now) West Virginia, in 1852. Another spur was started from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. in 1831, and opened in 1835. Railroads began as a way to transport freight, but soon passenger traffic increased. Railroads were key during the Civil War for transporting troops and supplies. This made them a valuable target as well. By 1869, the first Transcontinental Railroad (known originally as the Pacific Railroad and later as the Overland Route) was built in the United States. It opened for through traffic on May 10, 1869, with the driving of the last spike (“Golden Spike”) at Promontory Summit, Utah. The original gold spike was driven by Senator Leland Stanford. Presidents at first were just like regular passengers; as time passed, schedule demands and concerns for personal safety called for change. Presidents then rode in a private car coupled to a regular train. By Benjamin Harrison’s presidency, they traveled in special trains of four or five cars in length. By the 1940s, Franklin D. Roosevelt traveled in a full sixteen to eighteen car train. Travel by rail remained the main mode of presidential travel through Dwight D. Eisenhower. Rail still is used today on occasion, usually as nostalgic campaign excursions like the old whistle stop tours. William Henry Harrison is said to be the first presidential candidate to campaign from the rail, traveling from Wilmington, Delaware, to Trenton, New Jersey, in September 1836, during his first unsuccessful bid for office. Then in 1840 he became the first president-elect to travel by train to his inauguration. After traveling from Cincinnati via boat and stagecoach, he boarded a Baltimore and Ohio train in Frederick, Maryland, traveling through Baltimore to Washington. Benjamin Harrison Tour Through the South and West 1891 The grand transcontinental trip departed Washington on Monday, April 13, 1891, just after midnight. Harrison stopped in 19 states and 72 cities on this 9,232-mile train trip. The tour went through the south to the Pacific coast and home again through the new states admitted during his administration. The presidential party consisted of President and Mrs. Harrison, Postmaster-General Wanamaker, Secretary J. M. Rusk, Mr. and Mrs. Russell Harrison, Mrs. McKee, Mrs. Dimmick, Daniel M. Ransdell, United States Marshal of the District of Columbia, Major Sanger, the president’s military aid, Mr. and Mrs. George W. Boyd (Mr. Boyd, General Assistant Passenger Agent of the Pennsylvania Railroad and in charge of the train), Mr. E. F. Tibbott, the president’s stenographer, Alfred J. Clark, O. P. Austin, and R. V. Oulahan. On April 27 and 28, 1891, the party participated in the launching of the USS Monterey in San Francisco, California. “…returned to the little tug, which conveyed us to the Iron works where I never shall forget the sight. Aunt Carrie & the others met us on the platform which was erected by the cruiser “Monterey” which was to be launched. But before meeting them we were taken through the work shops of the Iron works & were much interested. At the launch each lady was presented with a beautiful bouquet, and we were introduced to many, and soon were a jolly party. The Monterey was decorated with flowers and all stood expectantly. Soon we saw the workmen knocking off the last wedges, and the signal was given. Mrs. Harrison touched the button, a little girl broke the champagne bottle against the ship (before this a clergyman offered a short prayer) and then she slid off in the most beautiful manner, and amidst cheers shouts & the band playing The Star-Spangled Banner. The President waving his hat, & the ladies handkerchiefs. I was perfectly paralyzed and could not move or even make a sound. It was a superb sight as the ship touched the water. Up went the Stars & Stripes, the Union Jack, and the President’s flag on her, and we all shook hands & screamed with excitement. Oh! What a sight it was!” – Mary Lorde Dimmick’s Diary, Tuesday, April 28 The train consisted of five cars, the dining car Coronado, the private car New Zealand, and the observation car the Vacuna. The front baggage car was inscribed in large gilt letters “The Presidential Special.” Returning back to Washington on May 15, 1891, Harrison called everyone on the train to speak to them; he was grateful for the delightful trip and shook everyone’s hand. The train pulled into Washington at 5:30 p.m. and Harrison’s first greeting was to the grandchildren waiting at the station, Baby McKee and his little sister Mary Lodge McKee. The Mail and Express reported that, “In less than five minutes the entire party were homeward bound, and the train was left alone, dust-stained and travel-worn, to tell its tale of the great ten thousand mile journey.” Campaigns & Cartoons: Role of Caricature in Political Persuasion (2009) We exhibited over one hundred original sketches and published political cartoons from 1862 through 1912 examined the evolution of the art form and the lives of popular artists who produced and popularized such symbols as Uncle Sam, Miss Colombia, and even the donkey and elephant party icons. The exhibit focused upon a fifty-year span during which the political cartoon played a unique role in political persuasion. It represents a time when technological advancement in the print media resulted in a vastly expanded readership, and a period devoid of conflicting and competing forms of media communication that mark the electronic age. With the onset of the Civil War, the lives of hundreds of thousands of families felt the pain of seeing sons, husbands, and fathers march to the battlefields. A ravenous hunger developed for war news. Weekly newspapers such as Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper and Harper’s Weekly filled their pages with etchings of camps, battle scenes, officers and political leaders. The images of Grant and Lee, of Lincoln and McClellan, came to be instantly recognizable by the readership at home. The opinion of the publishers was, from time-to-time, injected in the form of caricature; in the post-Civil War years, the political cartoon came of age. Led by Thomas Nast and his unrelenting attack in Harper’s Weekly upon the corrupt Democratic “Boss” Tweed and Tammany Hall, and by Nast’s efforts to reelect President Ulysses S. Grant, cartooning quickly proved to be a powerful tool in shaping public opinion. Nast, at Harper’s, and Matthew Morgan, at Leslie’s, were soon joined by Joseph Keppler, Bernard Gillam and a host of others, drawing in a lighter, more satirical vein for newspapers and in an explosion of color for Puck and Judge, magazines that came of age with the development of chromolithography. William Henry Harrison: Tippecanoe and History Too (2009) The 2009 exhibit explored the life of William Henry Harrison, grandfather of Benjamin Harrison. William Henry Harrison was the First Governor of the Indiana Territory, the Commanding General of the War of 1812, and the ninth President of the United States. The exhibit featured letters, documents and other artifacts that provided insight into his life from 1790 to his death while in office in 1841. Among the treasured artifacts was William Henry’s 1828 appointment as Envoy to Columbia by President John Quincy Adams. Reaching Bogota in February 1829, he was recalled a month later by Adams’ successor, Andrew Jackson, but he continued to function as minister until his replacement arrived in September. His stern republicanism proved uncongenial to the prevailing Colombian government headed by General Simon Bolivar. Harrison declared, “The strongest of all government is that which is most free.” The appointment is signed by President John Quincy Adams and Secretary of State Henry Clay. William Henry Harrison’s appointment to Major General in March 1813, signed by John Armstrong, was displayed. The appointment meant a great deal to Harrison, having proven his commitment to service in the military. Armstrong was appointed Secretary of War under President Madison in 1813. He made a number of valuable changes to the armed forces. Armstrong resigned in 1814 after American forces were repeatedly defeated by the British. We displayed numerous letters including his final writings, a portrait of William Henry Harrison by James Henry Beard, and a piece of Captain Spier Spencer’s flag from the Battle of Tippecanoe. The Tiffany Touch (2008) The Tiffany Touch exhibit encompassed a variety of Tiffany works, some on public display for the first time in Indianapolis. The materials were from the archives in Parsippany, New Jersey, eight pieces were on loan from the Tiffany & Company, four pieces from the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, and eleven pieces from our collection. Tiffany works touched the Harrison family with presentation pieces and special gifts. The most prized is the Tiffany peacock-patterned goose-neck Favrile glass vase – a wedding present to ex-President Benjamin Harrison and his second wife Mary Lord Dimmick in 1896, Louis Comfort Tiffany’s mark is engraved near the edge of the base. Several of the pieces in our collection were special presentations to President Harrison. A Silver Cylinder for the 1889 Centennial was made by Tiffany & Co. and created in a repoussé metalworking technique, meaning that the metal is pushed back. The scroll inside states: “1789-1889 To Benjamin Harrison President of the United States Ap. 30 1889. The undersigned representatives of many of the Civic, Commercial, Industrial, and Educational Organizations and Bodies of the City of New York on the occasion of this Centennial Celebration of the Inauguration of George Washington, the First President, present anew to the President of the United States in his official capacity their allegiance to the Government, Constitution, and the Laws, with their congratulations upon the completion of a Century of constitutional government, and the progress made in that Century.” Following this statement are signatures of representatives from many of the Civic, Commercial, Industrial, and Educational Organizations and Bodies of the City of New York, including Andrew Carnegie—president of the Oratorio and Symphony Societies and C.L. Tiffany—Manufacturing Silver Smiths. The bottom of the cylinder is marked “Tiffany & Co., Sterling Silver” and states, “This cylinder was made and inscribed in less than a week’s time.” The New Jersey Historical Society was involved throughout the 1889 Centennial Celebration. In January 1889, they resolved that a medal be struck commemorating the centennial of the inauguration of George Washington. A design would be selected and strikings in gold, silver and bronze would be made. Tardier, the engraver and Tiffany & Co., were engaged to manufacture dies for the medal. A mistake in the quotation from Washington struck on the first medal was discovered. Illness of the engraver and the need to correct the mistake held up the production until 1894. In the Society’s January 1894 minutes it was resolved that in carrying out the Society’s 1889 resolution, Number 1, being struck in gold, would be presented to ex-President Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States during the Centennial year. The Society sold copies in silver for $10.00 and in bronze for $2.50 to members. It is believed that a total of 72 medals were minted by Tiffany & Co. There were twenty-one silver medals, seventy bronze medals, and only one in gold presented to President Harrison in 1895. The Centennial Committee commissioned Augustus Saint-Gaudens, a renowned sculptor, to design a special medal honoring George Washington. His assistant Philip Martiny executed the piece, and it was cast by the Gorham Company of New York. This bronze medal (115 mm) was sold to the public. Then the Centennial Committee contracted with Tiffany & Co. to make for its members a ceremonial badge using a smaller version of Saint-Gaudens design. Twenty-five different badges were made for the dignitaries and committee members. The medals worn by the president and vice president, and the Governor of New York, were gold. The smaller version of the Saint-Gaudens medal hung from a ribbon and all were backed with a ribbon. The other badges differed in design, color of ribbon, and type of metal used for the badge. Another presentation piece was given to Harrison in 1893. A beautiful Birdseye maple box contained a scroll invitation to the flag-raising on the U.S. Mail Steamship New York.; the box was marked Tiffany & Co. The scroll had heavy parchment tied to an ivory celluloid bar. The Presbyterian Church was very important to the Harrison family. At the time of Benjamin’s death, the First Presbyterian Church was planning a new building at the SE corner of 16th and Delaware Street. His widow, Mary Lord Harrison, commissioned Tiffany & Co. to design and make a stained glass window for the new church. The original window is now in the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. Our collection contains the original water color of the Tiffany Memorial Window, titled “Angel of the Resurrection,” a 1903 drawing by “F. W.” – one of Tiffany’s designers. Original photographs of the window installed at the church and the agreement dated 1904 between Tiffany and Mary Lord Harrison were also displayed. Total cost was $1,500 including outside glass protection and installation. Campaigns Through the Centuries (2008) Every four years during the presidential election, our main exhibit explores the history of campaigns. The “Campaigns” exhibit in 2008 focused on parades, which were very popular during Benjamin Harrison’s campaign. We displayed several torches and paper lanterns from Harrison’s time. We borrowed items from several other institutions and collectors to round out our exhibit covering William Henry Harrison to George W. Bush. Parade items changed through the years to include car toppers and bumper stickers. One piece that was very popular during the late 1800s, is the campaign bandanna. Bandannas and ribbons would have been carried and worn by the parade participants. We were fortunate to include several Harrison examples. Bandannas of the late 1880s came in silk, linen and cotton. Other similar textiles are handkerchiefs that are smaller in size. Two early textiles of interest in the Harrison Collection are a colored ribbon and a silk inaugural invitation from 1841 for William Henry Harrison. The colored ribbon is rare, as most ribbons for William Henry Harrison in 1840 are printed in black only and usually on a white or cream silk. There are a few examples on a colored silk, but this one has red, blue and green in the decoration on the white ribbon. Campaign Torches Campaign torchlights were first patented in 1837, but did not really catch on until 1860. The “Wide-Awakes”—a marching club for Lincoln began organizing torchlight parades, entertaining communities in the evenings when little else was found for diversion. Marching clubs continued on through the 1800s. The Columbia Club was founded in 1888 as a marching society for Harrison. Torches come in varying sizes and shapes. Many were homemade, while others could be ordered from suppliers. The basic torch of the canister variety consists of an oil reservoir for coal oil or kerosene, a capped hole to pour in the fuel, a wick, and a wire frame or strap to hold the torch from a pole or broom handle. Few have patent dates while others can be identified with a specific campaign. The star shape was used in the 1860s. Rifle torches also made their appearance in 1860—at the time of the Civil War—and used through the 1880s. Rifle torches were used in “manual-of-arms” performances given by marching clubs comprised of Civil War veterans; examples were on display in the exhibit. One of the more detailed designs is the eagle torch. One eagle torch is in the Detroit Historical Society collection and is said to have been used in the 1860 campaign. Another example is in the DeWitt Collection and is identified as being used in William Henry Harrison’s 1841 inaugural parade. Several fine examples of Harrison’s torches were exhibited, including hat shaped torches and a portrait torch. Others found on display were a ballot box torch, punched hole McKinley lantern, fireman’s torch, Harrison collapsible paper lantern and helmet (hat) torches. Benjamin Harrison: Lawyer, Soldier, President (2007) This exhibit proudly featured the Harrison family legacy, Benjamin Harrison’s skills as a lawyer and the cases he took before the U.S. Supreme Court, his reputation as a military leader of men, his conservation efforts, his expertise in foreign affairs, and his expansion of the Navy. Harrison Home Christmas Display (Annual) The Christmas holiday was a happy time for the Harrison family especially during their first years in the White House. Benjamin and Caroline shared Christmas in the White House with their children, grandchildren, Dr. Scott, Mary Dimmick, Lieutenant and Mrs. Parker, the household staff, and the nation. A newspaper clipping describes the events. “The tooting of a horn in a series of more or less musical notes was the signal for the commencement of the Christmas celebration at the White House this morning shortly after 10 o’clock. When Mrs. Dimmick blew this juvenile instrument, faces came smiling from every door all around her in the corridor upstairs, and soon all the members of the presidential family had assembled in a laughing procession.” “Mary’s (Lodge McKee) gifts had a full set of baby doll furniture, with baby doll, lady dolls and boy dolls, a piano, a kitchen outfit and a quantity of other feminine necessities in the world of babydom, while Benjamin (Baby McKee) had a steam engine, a couple of train cars, a full suit of armor, books, pictures, and all manner of things to tickle a boyish fancy.” Harrison Home Benjamin Harrison was the first President to have a decorated Christmas tree in the White House, and his home in Indianapolis reflects his fondness for celebrating the holiday. During the holiday season the house represents a gala Victorian Christmas at its finest. Outside, the house is festooned with garlands of greenery and bows on the wrap-around porch. Upon entering the house, guests will feel drawn back in time to a 19th century Christmas. The front parlor features a large tree similar to one Benjamin Harrison decorated for his grandchildren in 1889 in the White House. Authentic decorations such as wooden soldiers, cotton batting ornaments, hand-blown glass figures, and candles adorn this tree. Victorian toys, many of them Harrison originals, will be displayed under the tree as the children might have found them on Christmas morning.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line542

__label__wiki

Chronograph vs. Chronometer Complications, Watch 101 Enhancing Your Watch Knowledge Although the words chronograph and chronometer may sound similar, they’re two totally different concepts in watchmaking. In the simplest terms, a chronograph is a watch complication. In horology, a complication is any feature of a watch that goes beyond basic hours and minutes. Even a date function is a complication, like a chronograph. On the other hand, a chronometer is a term used to describe a particular type of watch. It’s one that’s satisfied very specific criteria for precision. A chronometer is not a complication or additional function of a watch. Now, let’s dive deeper into these two characteristics so you can fully understand each. The term chronograph derives from the Greek word for “time recording,” “khronographos.” Master watchmaker and astronomer Louis Moinet invented the mechanism over 200 years ago in 1816. In the past century, the chronograph has become a relatively common feature on sport models, like racing and yacht watches. At the most basic level, a chronograph is a stopwatch function for a mechanical timepiece. It’s comprised of an independent sweep seconds hand that’s started, stopped, and returned to zero by pressing on the pushers. The pushers are typically located on the watch case at the two and four-o’clock positions. When you engage the pushers, the time on the watch remains unaffected. Instead, they initiate a sweep seconds hand, which allows you to measure elapsed time. Although the dial layouts of watches with chronograph functions vary, most models will have chronograph registers. These subdials often display counters in intervals of 30-minutes, twelve-hours, and 60-seconds at the three, six, and nine-o’clock positions respectively. One famous example of a watch with a chronograph function is the TAG Heuer Carrera. However, it’s interesting to note that most Carrera’s have a different layout of the subdials. This is because of the presence of a date complication at the three-o’clock position. Instead, its chronograph registers are commonly located at the twelve, nine, and six-o’clock positions. In addition to the standard chronograph, there are variations on the complication. For example, there’s the monopusher chronograph that operates with only one pusher. There’s also the split-second chronograph. It allows you to measure two intervals that start at the same time but end at different times. Two examples of these iterations are the Montblanc Monopusher Chronograph and the OMEGA Speedmaster Split-Seconds Chronograph. Watchmakers first developed the concept of the chronometer to measure the accuracy of timepieces. Time is a very precise measurement. On the other hand, watches are man-made and thus have a certain degree of imperfection. Today, if a watch is a chronometer or chronometer certified, it has met a specific set of precision standards. The International Organization for Standards (ISO) defines the categories, test program, and minimum requirements for chronometers. The ISO has also accredited certain institutions to test and grant chronometer certification. One of the most common is the Controle Officiel Suisse des Chronometres (COSC). In order to obtain chronometer certification, watches must undergo four types of tests. They take place over the course of several days, in five different positions, and at three different temperatures. Next, the watches must go through daily tests for a period of fifteen days and must meet seven criteria. If and only if they meet those seven criteria, the watch gets the esteemed privilege of displaying “chronometer” on its dial. Some brands have taken the chronometer certification process a step further. They’ve developed their own procedure in addition to the ISO standards. One example is Rolex, who offers watches with a Superlative Chronometer certification. For instance, the ISO standard for accuracy is -4/+6 seconds per day. Rolex’s Superlative Chronometers have accuracy of -2/+2 seconds per day. The Cosmograph Daytona is just one Rolex model that’s Superlative Chronometer certified. Can a Watch be a Chronograph and a Chronometer? While a chronograph and chronometer are two completely different entities, they’re not mutually exclusive. A chronograph model may in fact be a chronometer as well. Certain Rolex Daytona and OMEGA Speedmaster models come equipped with both this complication and a chronometer certification. Profiles in Time: Karl Lagerfeld A History of Horology in Ireland rodney | March 18, 2019 Reply | Enlightening. Thanks!

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line545

__label__cc

The IWC Portuguese and Portofino Brands, Collections Two Models that Live Up to the IWC Name IWC is one of the premier brands in the luxury watch industry. For over 150 years, they’ve been creating supremely crafted timepieces from the inside out. Many other manufacturers in the industry have built reputations as producers of purpose-built tool watches. On the other hand, IWC has focused their efforts on refining their designs. As a result, they have crafted some of the most sophisticated and timeless dress watches on the market. Two of their most popular dress watch models are the Portuguese and the Portofino. While the two have a number of similarities, they each have their own place in the IWC catalog. Here, we’ll explore how these two models measure up. The Portuguese The history of the Portuguese dates back to the 1930s. During that time, the demand for watches in the civilian market was declining as the world struggled to recover from economic depression and prepared for the onset of WWII. As a result, manufacturers needed to think outside of the box to keep their businesses afloat. IWC began looking to new areas to sell their watches outside of the Swiss and European markets. This led the brand to connect with two Portuguese businessmen. Following WWI, wristwatches grew in popularity worldwide. However, in Portugal, manufacturers struggled to create wristwatch movements with the same technical accuracy as pocket watches. When IWC connected with the Portuguese businessmen, they were looking to fill this void. They wanted to create a wristwatch with the precision of a marine chronometer. This collaboration ultimately resulted in the IWC Portuguese collection. Ironically, the original Portuguese actually housed a pocket watch movement. It was also particularly notable for its oversized 43mm case, which was incredibly large for the time. For decades, IWC only produced the Portuguese models in limited quantities. However, in the 1990s, the model became a more permanent fixture in the brand’s catalog. One of the most monumental updates to the collection came in 2013. That year, IWC upgraded the line’s signature movement from a Valjoux-based caliber to their own in-house caliber. The new movement also necessitated some aesthetic updates. To accommodate the new caliber, the case design was more robust, from the overall thickness to the lugs and crown. The Portofino The Portofino may have debuted roughly five decades after the Portuguese. However, it served a similar purpose for IWC. Its history begins in the 1980s. The watch industry as a whole was just recovering from the quartz crisis. As a result, many watchmakers around the globe were producing modern and daring designs in an effort to remain relevant and keep up with the shifting times. IWC was not one of those watchmakers. They emerged from the quartz era with an even stronger desire to remain committed to the art of traditional watchmaking. Instead of looking to the future, they looked to time-tested designs of the past. Namely, they focused on one of the greatest watchmakers of all time: Jean-Antione Lepine. Lepine’s namesake pocket watch is one of the most famous timepieces ever created, and this model inspired the Portofino collection. Similar to the original Portuguese, the original Portofino came equipped with a pocket watch movement. As a result, it also featured an oversized case construction. Still, the Portofino is the quintessential dress watch. Though the models are not strictly time-only, they maintain the qualities of a classic dress watch. They feature minimalist and refined designs with carefully laid out, uncluttered dials. Some of the most recent editions to the collection came in 2018. That year marked the 150th anniversary of the IWC brand. To commemorate the occasion, they launched the IWC Jubilee 150th Anniversary Collection, featuring three new variations of the Portofino. Choosing the Best Model for You Though they launched nearly 50 years apart, IWC developed the Portuguese and the Portofino during pivotal moments of change in the industry. Both models were born out of a need for creativity, ingenuity, and a fresh perspective. Yet, each model’s enduring appeal proves that these watches did more than fill a void in a time of need. They reflect IWC’s classic and time-tested approach to watchmaking. If you’re looking to start or expand your collection of dress watches, these are two of the best models around. Different Types of Bezels

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line546

__label__cc

The BBC iPlayer Myvu Personal Media Viewer A new London area code number is available Glastonbury shies away from internet ticket sales What is the most visited website in the world? MySpace and the future of social networking sites.... Yahoo bring in ex boss Yang Idea Volcano High speed broadband firms are slow to deliver List your business for free on the Daily Telegraph... 40% of the tickets for next year's Glastonbury Festival will now be reserved for telephone sales announced Michael Eavis - the festival's organiser. Mr Eavis felt that 2007's system had favoured those with high speed internet access. The swing towards telephone sales is thought to have been introduced to help teenagers with mobile phones buy tickets. This year's festival has been heavily criticised as being too "middle-aged". Looks like mum and dad snapped up the tickets on broadband while the kids were just that little bit too slow.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line547

__label__wiki

Home /Employees/State Employee Awards/2013 2013 State Employee Awards Agency / Employee(s) Katie Hill, Communications and Community Coordinator for the Office of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in Pierre received the Rising Star Award. She joined DOH in July 2012 and quickly picked up on core public health principles although she did not have a public health background. She has developed excellent working relationships with grantees and has taken the lead in tracking grant progress and reporting to CDC. Katie provides direction for tobacco control media efforts and serves as the primary contact with the contract ad agency. She is a quick study on public health programs and issues and is an excellent addition to DOH’s communications team. Accountant Nicole Asmussen received an Excellence in the Workplace Award for leading several projects that have created work efficiencies in the Fiscal Office in Pierre. Her willingness to take on new challenges and find effective solutions has led to significantly improved financial management and payment systems for Correctional Health and the Public Health Laboratory. Nicole led the implementation of the accounts receivable system used with the laboratory’s new information management system and is now working to adapt the system for Correctional Health and for the Immunization Program's billing requirements. Bill Chalcraft received an Excellence in the Workplace Award for outstanding performance during the past year. In addition to his duties as Administrator of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, in November 2012 Bill became interim Administrator of the Office of Health Protection. That interim position quickly became permanent as he restructured the Office of Health Protection and lead its staff through the transition. He provided the necessary day-to-day guidance to staff and salvaged and resurrected much-needed but floundering automation project that had already taken a significant toll on staff. Bill has gone above and beyond expectations and under his guidance and direction the Office of Health Protection is in excellent shape. Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Administrator Linda Ahrendt received an Outstanding Contribution to Public Health Award for her efforts in promoting health and preventing disease. Linda was instrumental in developing partnerships with South Dakota Parks and Recreation and South Dakota State Parks and promoted state parks as the greatest wellness centers in the state! South Dakota has received national recognition for the work with parks in our state. She has played a key role in developing the state's colorectal cancer screening program and in expanding and enhancing the Tobacco Quit line, which boasts one of the best quit rates in the country. Her passion for health promotion and chronic disease prevention together with her leadership skills and ability to engage partners resulted in the state's first ever Chronic Disease State Plan for South Dakota. Linda Joy Vanhove received the 2013 Outstanding Contribution to Public Health Award in the South Dakota Department of Health’s annual Secretary’s Awards Program. The award is presented to an employee who has made significant contributions to the state’s public health over the course of a career. A 22-year employee of the department, Linda served as the Regional Manager for the Sioux Falls area of the department’s Office of Family and Community Health Services until her retirement December 20, 2013. Katie Pieschke, Senior Microbiologist in the Medical Section of the department’s Public Health Laboratory, received the 2013 New Professional Member of the Year Award from the South Dakota Chapter of the American Society of Clinical Laboratory Science at the group’s recent conference. Beth Johnson was named Health Partner of the Year for 2013 by the Indian Health Service, Wagner Service Unit. She was nominated by staff at the Wagner Service Unit and was selected after being reviewed by a committee of staff from the Wagner Service Unit, and the Aberdeen Area Office. Beth is a Disease Intervention Specialist for the Department of Health in its Sioux Falls office. Linda Petereit was named the 2013 Distinguished Disease Intervention Specialist by the Department of Health. The award is given in conjunction with National Disease Intervention Specialist Recognition Day on October 4, an annual observance recognizing the important role of DIS in prevention and controlling public health threats. Linda is a DIS in the department’s Sioux Falls office. Department of Game, Fish & Parks (Division of Parks and Recreation) Jim Jandreau of Sturgis received the 2013 South Dakota State Parks Distinguished Service Award. Sean Blanchette of Fort Pierre and Katie Ceroll of Roslyn received Awards of Appreciation. The Innovative Programming Award was given to Jennifer Nuncio. The 2013 Seasonal Employee of the Year Award was given to Arlan Kuipers, who has been employed at Snake Creek Recreation Area near Platte for the past nine summers. Bob and Michele Ensz were named the South Dakota State Park Volunteers of the Year. Marty Link, Sioux Falls, received the 2013 President’s Award from the South Dakota Emergency Medical Technicians Association. Marty is the Trauma Program Manager for the South Dakota Department of Health.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line548

__label__wiki

President Trump wants Supreme Court to Block Writ Petitions Probing his Taxes!! President Donald Trump has promised on multiple occasions to release his tax returns but failed every single time. Now Trump is asking the Supreme Court to block a subpoena for his tax returns, and this will act as a test of the President’s ability to violate the investigations. Surprisingly, all the other modern Presidents of the United States released their tax returns, unlike Trump. It is also presumed that justice could support Trump’s claims as sitting presidents can’t be prosecuted or investigated for crimes. Jay Sekulow, chief counsel at the American Center for Law & Justice, said - “Allowing criminal investigation against the sitting President and subpoenaed would most likely be an indictment itself. It will also distract him from many important duties of his office.” Lower courts that already heard the case rejected Trump’s claims of immunity. At the time of arguments in a New York courtroom. Trump’s lawyer said - “ even if Trump shoots someone, he is immune from state criminal law because he’s the president.” This statement from Trump’s lawyer was about his comment in the campaign trail in 2016. During Trump’s 2016 campaign trail, he said, “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?” The entire US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voted not to consider the earlier panel opinion. There are two appointees of Trump in the nine-member Supreme Court panel, Justice Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. We’ll have to wait and watch if President Trump can violate the law as he is always known for. Joe Biden, former Vice President, took Twitter to express his views on the issue. Biden has been vocal in asking Trump to release his tax returns or shut his mouth. Here’s the tweet from Joe Biden: The American people deserve to know what the most corrupt president in modern history is hiding in his tax returns. https://t.co/QMMT8FEs3E — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 17, 2019

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line551

__label__wiki

Subscribe to our Strange Maps newsletter The world's watersheds, mapped in gorgeous detail Hungarian cartographer travels the world while mapping its treasures. Image: Grasshopper Geography Simple idea, stunning result: the world's watersheds in glorious colors. The maps are the work of Hungarian cartographer Robert Szucs. His job: to travel and map the world, one good cause at a time. These maps are both data-rich and absolutely gorgeous. You're looking at watershed maps, showing the flow of tributary streams into main rivers, and of those water courses into the sea (or final destinations inland). The streams are shown in the Strahler Stream Order Classification, which uses width to indicate the hierarchy of streams. Watersheds (a.k.a. drainage basins or catchment areas) are grouped together by color. The maps are the work of Hungarian cartographer Robert Szucs, 33, who combines expertise in GIS with a passion for beautiful maps. "GIS is short for Geographic Information Systems. It's a collective word for anything using spatial or geographic data — from monitoring changes in forest cover with satellite data to creating crime density maps for the police," Szucs explains. "In this case, I've used GIS to create artistic maps, which is a beautiful hybrid of the artsy and geeky sides of my personality." Can you spot the world's ten largest drainage basins? In order of magnitude: Amazon, Congo, Nile, Mississippi, Ob, Parana, Yenisei, Lena, Niger, Amur. Image source: Grasshopper Geography Africa is home to the rivers with the world's second- and third-largest catchment areas: the Congo (in blue), with a basin of 1.44 million square miles (3.73 million km2), and the Nile (in red), with basin area of 1.26 million square miles (3.25 million km2). The Nile is the longest river in Africa, though (4,130 miles; 6,650 km), followed by the Congo: 2,900 miles (4,700 km). The Congo River's alternative name, Zaire, comes from the Kikongo nzadi o nzere ('river swallowing rivers'). Image source: Grasshopper Geography The Volga (in yellow) is the river with the biggest catchment area in Europe (just under 545,000 square miles; 1.41 million km2). It flows exclusively through Russia, and the catchment area is entirely within Russia as well. Europe's number two is the Danube (in orange), which flows through 10 countries — more than any other river in the world. Its drainage basin (just over 307,000 square miles; almost 796,000 km2) includes nine more countries. Image: Grasshopper Geography The hydrographic map of Germany is dominated by just four major drainage systems: the Danube (in orange) in the south, the Rhine (in blue) in the west, the Elbe (in purple) in the east and the Weser (in green) between the latter two. In Antiquity, the Rhine was the border between the Roman Empire and the Germans. Rome once attempted to shift the border to the Elbe, which would have radically altered the course of history, but it suffered a massive defeat in 9 CE at the Teutoburger Wald (roughly between both rivers). Image: Grasshopper Geography Great Britain and Ireland Both Ireland and Great Britain are islands, as a result of which neither boasts a continental-class river. Twenty of the 30 longest British rivers are less than 100 miles (160 km) long. The longest river in Britain is the Severn (220 miles, 354 km), its catchment area shown in blue in the southwest. Ireland's longest river is the Shannon (224 miles, 360 km). Even combined they're not as long as France's Seine (483 miles, 777 km). Image: Grasshopper Geography Spread-eagled across the central part of the United States, the Mississippi's drainage basin covers all or parts of 32 U.S. states (and two Canadian provinces). The easternmost point of Ol' Man River's catchment area is really far east: Cobb Hill in northern Pennsylvania. Here rises the Allegheny, tributary of the Ohio, which in turn flows into the Mississippi at Cairo, Illinois. Image: Grasshopper Geography Even leaving out the Mississippi, there's enough going on in the rest of North America to keep the eye occupied. Here's a drainage map of Washington State. The big fish in this much smaller pond is the Columbia River (drainage area in blue), the largest river in the Pacific Northwest. Only in the western third of the state is there a colourful counterpoint, in the multitude of smaller river basins that are draining into the Pacific or into Puget Sound. Image: Grasshopper Geography At 1,558 miles (2,508 km), the Murray is Australia's longest river. It is often considered in conjunction with the Darling (915 miles, 1,472 km), the country's third-longest river, which flows into the Murray. The Murray-Darling basin (in blue, in the southeast) covers just under 410,000 square miles (1.06 million km2), or 14 percent of Australia's total territory. Don't let that spidery network of river courses in the interior fool you: Australia is the world's driest inhabited continent (Antarctica, bizarrely, is drier). Image: Grasshopper Geography Four of the world's largest drainage basins are in Russia: the Ob, Yenisei and Lena (origin of Vladimir I. Ulyanov's nom de guerre, Lenin) entirely and the Amur, shared with China. The Volga may be Europe's longest river, but 84 percent or Russia's surface water is east of the Urals, in Siberia. The sparsely-populated region is traversed by 40 rivers longer than 1,000 km. Combined, the Ob, Yenisey and Lena rivers cover a drainage area of about 8 million km2, discharging nearly 50,000 m3 of water per second in the Arctic. Image: Grasshopper Geography Szucs has managed to parlay his love for beautiful maps into a job designing them: "I made a huge elevation map of Eurasia which was used in a documentary about horses and their migrations. There's also a 12-foot wide mural in the making at Louisiana State University, based on one of my maps. And I made some maps for the BBC after they reached out, saying my work inspired a show on rivers. I'm not saying I was jumping on my bed from excitement after any of those requests, but maybe I was." Szucs is not just a theoretical map enthusiast, but also a practical one. He tries to move to a different country every few months, "donating" his mapmaking skills to worthy causes. He's worked with archeologists on St. Eustatius, an island in the Caribbean, with marine biologists in Alaska, and for an orangutan conservation programme on Borneo, among other destinations. "My moves are always temporary, linked with volunteering for an NGO. It's a way of developing my skills, but also of seeing the world and experiencing new cultures," Szucs said. Meanwhile, new map ideas bubble up. "My current favourite map as yet only exists in my head as an idea. I might have to learn a few new software applications to make it. Let's hope I can find a way to make it happen. After that, I hope to be back in Alaska for a few months, working with whales again." Many thanks to Mr. Szucs for sending in these maps. See more at Grasshopper Geography. Strange Maps #959 Got a strange map? Let me know at strangemaps@gmail.com. 10 Of The Most Beautiful Maps Ever Created - Listverse › Grafomap: Create and order gorgeous custom maps and posters › Rainbow Rivers: See Gorgeous Maps of the World's Waterways › Rainbow-Hued Rivers Transect Globe Like Veins in Gorgeous Maps › Watersheds Of The World | World Resources Institute › Fascinating new map shows EVERY river basin on the globe with a ... › Mapping the World's Watersheds | National Geographic Society › Rivers nature environment water natural resources map

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line553

__label__wiki

Home Botany Community Community Definition Types of Community Major Community Minor Community Characteristics of a Community Trophic Organization Community Structure Growth Form & Succession Related Biology Terms A biotic community, also known as a biota or ’biocoenosis’, is the group of organisms that live together and interact with each other within an environment or habitat. Together, the biotic community and the physical landscape or abiotic factors make up an ecosystem. Communities consist of a group of different species, which partake in direct and indirect biotic interactions, such as predator-prey interactions, herbivory, parasitism, competition and mutualisms. Alternatively, the interrelationships may take a more diffuse route, such as an organism that creates certain necessary climatic conditions, or one that acts as a substrate for another organism. There are two main types of community. A major community is the smallest ecological unit which is able to sustain itself and is self-regulating. These communities are usually relatively independent of other communities, for example a pond, a forest, a grassland or lake. Long lasting and mature major communities contain only those organisms, which are successfully adapted to the environment and to the other species within the community. A major community is an assemblage of a faunal community or ’zoonenosis’, a floral community or ’phytocenosis’, and a microbial community or ’microbiocenosis’. Minor communities, or merocenoses, which make up major communities, are smaller ecological units that are not individually self-sustaining and rely on interactions with other communities. An example of a minor community is the collection of organisms, which lives within a piece of deadwood on the forest floor. The features within communities are highly variable, and there are a number of characteristics that can be used as descriptors to distinguish them. Each organism within a community can be categorized within a specific trophic level, which relates to the way which it obtains nutrition. These trophic levels can be divided into three main groups: i) primary producers (also known as autotrophs) manufacture their own food using energy from the sun to perform photosynthesis. Primary producers are usually green plants and algae. ii) Consumers, or heterotrophs must obtain their nutrition from other organisms. Primary consumers, or herbivores eat the plant material while secondary and tertiary consumers, carnivores or omnivores, eat the primary consumers. iii) Decomposers (which are also heterotrophs) consume dead plant and animal material, recycling the nutrients back in to the earth. Communities can be described by the way that the energy is transferred through these trophic levels. For example, in a grassland community, the grass (primary producer) is consumed by a mouse (primary consumer), which is consumed by a snake (secondary consumer), and subsequently an eagle (tertiary consumer). The dead body of the eagle may be consumed by fungus (decomposer). Each interaction, from the sun’s energy to the decomposers, makes up a link in the food chain. It is usually the case however, that a number of primary producers are eaten by several different primary consumers, which are subsequently eaten by various secondary consumers. This lack of specialization results in various interconnected links within a food chain and so the nutritional relationships take the form of a food web instead. There is usually one or two species at each trophic level, which exert a more dominant influence over the function and structure of the community than others. This may be due to their physical size, population numbers, or activities that have an impact upon other organisms or the environment. These so called ’ecological dominants’, can have a major effect on the nature of the community. Plants usually dominate land communities, and so the name of the community is often based on the ecologically dominant vegetation, for example Douglas-fir Woodland or Rocky Mountain Maple Forest. The ecological dominants may be responsible for modifying the abiotic conditions of a habitat, although rare species might be equally as important for the correct functioning of the community. For instance, in a forest, a dominant tree species may control amount of light available to other plants, the temperature in the lower canopy, and the nutrients that are available to other organisms, whilst their reproduction may depend on pollination by a rare insect Communities are not just a random mixture of plants, animals and microbes; each of the organisms within a community has a fundamental dependence on at least one other, although most organisms will engage in multiple interactions. There are three main forms of interdependence. Nutritional interdependence describes the transfer of energy and nutrients through feeding. Certain organisms may be more reliant on the presence of others to fulfill their nutritional requirements, for example insects that can feed only from one species of plant. Reproductive independence can take several forms. A common example is that of pollination, which is present within most communities. Whilst for the pollinator the interaction provides a food source of nectar, for the plant, the interaction is essential to its reproductive success. Certain species may only be able to reproduce on a particular plant or substrate and are therefore dependent on the presence of this within the community. Other reproductive independences involve parasitic interactions, for example cuckoos, which lay their own eggs in the nests of other birds. Protective interdependence is the third main interaction. Most organisms require a level of shelter, and may rely on other organisms within the community for this. For example, insects living on a tree are dependent on the leaves and branches to shelter them from predation by birds. Interactions between community members are not always linear and can involve several highly complex interactions. Many of such interactions may take place only under precise environmental conditions. An example of this is the symbiosis between corals and their the photosynthetic algae which live within their body structures. The interaction supplies the coral with energy and the algae with nutrients; however, the algae only remain within the body under certain temperatures. If the upper limits of the temperature threshold are crossed, the algae are expelled and the coral cannot survive. The complexity of the interactions between species signifies the delicate balance within communities. Descriptions of the community structure relate to both the species richness, which is the total number of species, and the species diversity, a community complexity measurement which takes in the species richness as well as their relative abundances (i.e. 5 individuals rather than 100 individuals). Communities in which species exhibit higher species richness and evenness (the numbers of individuals in each species present are more equal) are considered to be more diverse. The structure of a community may be determined by its natural history, i.e. the chance colonization event of a population onto an island, by (non-living) abiotic factors such as the climatic patterns, the geography and the habitat location, or by (living) biotic factors such as the presence of other organisms which exert pressures such as predation or competition. Communities at tropical latitudes tend to display high species richness and diversity, due to the high productivity of plants, which receive large amounts of solar energy, and have year-round climatic stability. Alternatively, community structure in habitats such as arctic tundra are very different – usually displaying lower species richness as a result of fewer basic resources such as sunlight and nutrients. As a general rule, communities that have more species diversity are more resilient against ecosystem damage. A community can be described by major categories of its growth form. For example mosses, herbaceous plants, shrubs or trees. Communities may also be characterized by their successional stage. Ecological succession is the progressive and predictable replacement of one type of community by another, over time. Primary succession is the initial colonization of a bare landscape which has not previously been occupied, often following a significant ecological disturbance such as a volcanic eruption. Secondary succession occurs where a community has existed previously but has been removed from a landscape, for example, an area of deforestation or an abandoned cropland. In this case the nutrients within the soil are already present, and conditions for growth are favorable and so secondary succession happens much more rapidly than primary succession. Pioneer species are the first to make up the community within a bare landscape once their seeds or spores migrate from surrounding areas and successfully germinate. These pioneer communities consist of fast growing, hardy plants with a short lifespan and low biomass, requiring very little nutrients. The roots of pioneer species contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which are important for the formation of soil and other organic material. Seral communities develop in the area after the pioneer community. These transitional communities consist of intermediate sized species such as shrubs and heaths, which have high biomass and high nutritional content. These species further build the soil and nutrients with biogeochemical cycling. The climax community is the stable, self-regulating biotic community, which establishes after many years. It contains longer-lived and larger species with high niche specialization, complex food webs and mature interdependent relationships. Diversity is highest within climax communities and the community is at equilibrium with the habitat and climate. Natural climax communities usually exhibit some form of stratification, by which the populations that make up the community are distributed into defined vertical or horizontal strata. For example, the bottom-up stratification of a forest community could be divided into: The subterranean layer The forest floor The herbaceous vegetation The shrub layer The canopy layer Organisms may not occupy only one stratum, moving between the layers often on a diurnal basis. For example, a bird that feeds on the forest floor during the day but roosts within the canopy. A community may occur along a horizontal stratification where there is transition between successional stages and ecotones. Communities occur in a range of different sizes, and the boundaries of each are often not well defined. An ecotone is the transitional area between two biomes, where communities meet and may integrate. Many organisms may be part of several different communities because they have various geographic ranges, and density peaks; if these boundaries are wide, it is known as an open community. A community in which the species all have similar geographic ranges and density peaks, resulting in a discrete unit where the boundaries are well defined, is called a closed community. Open communities tend to occur where there is a long environmental gradient, such as that of soil moisture content or the altitudinal slope of a mountain. Organisms with different tolerances to the conditions occur at different spatial scales along the gradients. Closed communities occur where there is a sharp change in the vegetative structure or the physical environment, for example, an area of a beach, which separates the water from the land. Ecotones are generally very hard to define because within an ecosystem there are usually organisms, which can disperse between both open and closed communities. Ecosystem – The biological community of organisms, which interact within an environment. Population – The number of individuals from one species, which occupy the same area and in which inbreeding occurs. Habitat – The natural home or environment of a species or population. Trophic Level – Each of the hierarchal levels within an ecosystem, in which organisms have the same function and nutritional relationship within a food chain. 1. Which of the following is an example of a major community? A. The Kalahari Desert B. The Arctic Circle C. A Townhouse Backyard Answer to Question #1 A is correct. The Kalahari Desert is a major community as it a stable and self-regulating ecological unit. The Arctic Circle is a region consisting of many different major communities, and a backyard contains many minor communities but is not stable and self-regulating. 2. A climax community is: A. A community that is found in high latitudes B. A community in which many new species colonize an area C. A mature, stable and self-regulating community with high biodiversity C is correct. A climax community is the final successional stage of a community. It is diverse and contains many established relationships of interdependence. 3. The community structure that can be observed in the ecotone from a young forest habitat to mature woodland is likely to be: A. A closed community B. An open community C. A pioneer community B is correct. The community in the area ranging from a young forest to a mature woodland is likely to contain many species which move between the habitats, therefore the community is likely to be open, as the ecotones are not well defined. Energy Pyramid Deciduous Forest Food Web Secondary Consumer Ecological Succession Tertiary Consumer BotanyEcologyZoology

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line554

__label__wiki

Tag Archives: A Virgin among the Living Dead (1973) Melodrama Screening and Discussion, 4th of April, 5-7pm, Jarman 7 Posted on April 2, 2016 by melodramaresearchgroup After a brief break for the Festival of Projections Passages of Gothic installation, we return to the previously advertised screening schedule. All are very welcome to join us for the last of this term’s Screening and Discussion sessions, which will take place on Monday the 4th of April, 5-7pm, in Jarman 7. We will be showing Frances’ choice The Duke of Burgundy (2014, Peter Strickland, 105 mins). Frances has very kindly provided the following introduction: Peter Strickland’s The Duke of Burgundy (2014) is a film not easily classified. Upon its release, critics contextualised the work within European art cinema traditions, with comparisons to Luis Buñuel and Ingmar Bergman, as well as noting the influences of 1960s and 70s sexploitation films (Collin, 2015; Foundas, 2014). Strickland, himself, concurs with this broad range of inspiration, noting how, amongst others, he was inspired by films such as A Virgin among the Living Dead (1973) and Belle de Jour (1967) (Strickland, 2015). I propose that another way to interpret this challenging and compelling film is to think about it within the traditions of the Gothic. If we reflect upon the Gothic tropes and motifs discussed over the course of the term, it becomes clear how Burgundy may be analysed in this fashion. The film is set in an undisclosed place at an unknown time and – as indicated by the film’s opening scene – the narrative focuses upon the action taking place in and around the house. The film begins with Evelyn sitting alone in a woodland and the title sequence takes place as we follow Evelyn as she journeys from this peaceful area towards the large, dominating house. Upon arrival the non-diegetic whimsical music abruptly stops and the sounds of Spring audible elsewhere on the soundtrack – such as birds singing – suddenly convey a different, more menacing tone. Evelyn rings the doorbell and waits anxiously as the footsteps within take some time to finally arrive. When they do Evelyn is faced with a stern-looking Cynthia at the door who coarsely reprimands her: ‘You’re late’. Silently Evelyn walks through the door towards the dark gloom of the house within. The emphasis upon the house and the interactions of the heroine within it, is only one way Burgundy draws upon the traditions of the Gothic. There are other motifs which we have seen in the Gothic films screened previously appearing here: the importance of a key; the idea of secrets to be uncovered and hidden places; the imperilled woman who, in this case, appears to be oppressed and abused; and the heroine’s exploration of the domestic space within darkness. Indeed, Burgundy features a memorable moment when Evelyn gets out of bed in the middle of the night– whilst significantly dressed in a white nightie – and ventures into the dark cellar, lighting her way with a candelabra. This iconic image of the investigative heroine is one we have seen numerous times in the other Gothic films watched, as reflected by the several examples we included in our Passages of Gothic installation two weeks ago. In this way, Burgundy appears to be another return to the Gothic which is evident elsewhere within contemporary cinema: the year after Burgundy sees the release of Ex Machina and Crimson Peak (both 2015). These films echo the Gothic in comparable ways as Ex Machina evokes the Bluebeard tale in its translation of the Gothic heroine into an android in a science-fiction story, whilst Crimson Peak mirrors the familiar tale of a woman marrying a man she hardly knows in manner evocative of Rebecca (1940), albeit with events now taking place in a period setting. Ex Machina and Crimson Peak are reminders of the Gothic’s roots, particularly in respect to the centrality of relationships between men and women within the narrative’s trajectory. It is here that Burgundy differs. Evelyn and Cynthia are a lesbian couple and the story focuses on the dynamics of their sadomasochistic roleplaying in which Evelyn is the willing submissive. More broadly, Burgundy explores the relationships between various women within the film, with these interactions being alternately sexual, romantic, friendships, business transactions or scientific discussions. In Burgundy’s world, there are no men at all; indeed, even the mannequins which are part of the audience for the Lepidoptera lectures are female. The absence of a male figure may signal an alternative interpretation of the Gothic mode but this should not be read as a new, radical opposition to the Gothic ‘norm’ (if such a concept exists). In fact, it can be said that Burgundy harkens back to past themes and representations which can be analysed through the theories of queer Gothic. Queer theory and the Gothic have shared tendencies insofar as both emphasise contrary readings and the importance of subtext. George Haggerty pushes this idea further, arguing that the Gothic ‘offers a historical model of queer theory and politics: transgressive, sexually coded and resistant to dominant ideology’ (Haggerty, 2006, 2). Brian Robinson traces a similar historical connection, noting that ‘[t]he queer is inscribed in the DNA of Gothic fiction’ (Robinson, 2013, 143). This genealogy is one which the cinema inherits and capitalises upon because, as Robinson continues, it ‘was on film that the tropes of the Queer Gothic would find their full flowering’ (143). The queer readings possible – or, arguably, inevitable – of The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) and the numerous adaptations of Dracula (1897), along with cinema’s continued fascination with vampires, strongly supports this assertion. The female Gothic can also be contextualised within this lineage: the importance of the Gothic heroine’s relationship with the archetypal ‘other woman’ begins to illuminate how such films can be interpreted through queer readings. A key example of this is the new Mrs de Winter’s discovery of the obsessive behaviour of Mrs Danvers towards her previous mistress in Rebecca (1940). Burgundy brings to the fore the implied interpretations and queer subversions which have a historical precedent within cinema’s Gothic. In this way, the film becomes an embodiment of the uncanny: the return of the repressed which is, as Freud writes, unheimliche because this element ‘is actually nothing new or strange, but something that was long familiar to the psyche and was estranged from it only through being repressed’ (Freud, 1919, 148). Mair Rigby explores how the Gothic is queer – and how queer theory is Gothic – through the dialectics of the uncanny. Rigby argues: When I say that queer scholarship’s encounter with the Gothic is ‘uncanny’, I mean that it appears to be based on a sense of a ‘secret encounter’ in which the texts bring to light something that ought to be repressed, something that feels particularly pertinent to people whose identities, bodies, and desires have been culturally designated ‘queer’. (Rigby, 2009, 48) Burgundy presents this ‘bringing to light’ quite overtly through the portrayal of a world without men and in the detailing of alternative sexual practices which form an integral part of pivotal scenes between Evelyn and Cynthia. The fact that the most explicit forms of these acts remain off-screen only emphasises further their unheimliche nature: they are both familiar and normalised – we meet The Carpenter who specialises in building sadomasochist contraptions – and strange and marginal, as reflected by the way these practices are pushed to the periphery of the frame. Most importantly for Burgundy, however, is how the uncanniness of the story draws attention to the dynamics of the relationship between Evelyn and Cynthia, which is fraught with difficulties. By presenting us with two Gothic heroines, the film returns us to the central questions which orbit the archetypal female protagonist within this mode of storytelling: is the house a safe space or a danger? Within the romantic relationship, who holds the knowledge and the power? Whose secret is to be uncovered? What forms of oppression must the female protagonist(s) struggle against? Burgundy therefore revisits the ‘queerness’ of the Gothic and the significance of the Gothic heroine, although the film offers some surprising answers to the questions above: just like the ‘repressed’ returning to the light through the processes of the uncanny, so too does Burgundy remind us how what we initially think of as familiar or unusual, may quickly become conversely strange and homely. Collin, R. (2015). The Duke of Burgundy: ‘Sexy and Strange’. [Online]. The Telegraph. Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/duke-of-burgundy/review/ [Accessed 30 March 2016]. Foundas, S. (2014). Film Review: The Duke of Burgundy. [Online]. Variety. Available from: http://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/film-review-the-duke-of-burgundy-1201331373/ [Accessed 30 March 2016]. Freud, S. (1919). The Uncanny. In: Freud, S. (2003). The Uncanny. London: Penguin Books Ltd. Haggerty, G. (2006) Queer Gothic. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2006. Rigby, M. (2009). Uncanny Recognition: Queer Theory’s Debt to the Gothic. Gothic Studies, Volume. 11 Issue 1. Robinson, B. (2013). Queer Gothic. In: Bell, J (Ed). Gothic: The Dark Heart of Film. Witham: Colt Press. Strickland, P. (2015). Peter Strickland: Six Films that Fed into The Duke of Burgundy [Online]. BFI. Available from: http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/peter-strickland-six-films-fed-duke-burgundy [Accessed 30 March 2016]. Thanks very much for the introduction Frances! Do join us, if you can, for what sounds like a fascinating Gothic film many of us will have been intrigued by whilst watching the Passages of Gothic installation. Posted in Screening and Discussion | Tagged A Virgin among the Living Dead (1973), Belle de Jour (1967), Bluebeard, Brian Robinson, Crimson Peak (2015), DRacula (1897), Ex Machina (2015), George Haggerty, Gothic, Ingmar Bergman, Luis Bunuel, Mair Rigby, Melodrama, Passages of Gothic, Peter Strickland, queer Gothic, Queer theory, Rebecca (1940), Reviews, Robbie Collin, Scott Foundas, Screening and Discussion, Sigmund Freud, The Duke of Burgundy (2014), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945), The Telegraph, The Uncanny, Variety | Leave a reply

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line561

__label__wiki

Tag Archives: Merchant and Ivory Summary of Discussion on Death in Venice Posted on March 25, 2019 by melodramaresearchgroup (Apologies for the few months delay in posting this summary. I’ve backdated it so that it fits in with the flow of discussion on the blog, allowing the focus to be on our more recent events such as The War Illustrated project.) Our discussion on the film covered: its relation to melodrama; its music; its setting in time and place; films it reminded us of; the film’s place in Dirk Bogarde’s screen and star images; material in magazines. We discussed melodrama in terms of the suffering of the film’s main character, composer Gustav von Aschenbach (Dirk Bogarde). The film unfolds at a leisurely pace with the seriousness of Von Aschenbach’s purpose for staying at a hotel in Venice, an illness, revealed as time progresses. This is compounded by Von Aschenbach contracting cholera after witnessing those around him undergoing the awful effects of the disease. The film ends with dying on a beach. Furthermore, Von Aschenbach undergoes emotional distress as he feels unrequited, and inappropriate, desire for an adolescent boy, the Polish Tadzio (Bjorn Andresen). The film’s flashbacks also convey Von Aschenbach’s previous suffering. This is mostly emotional, rather than physical. Von Aschenbach has an extreme reaction to the poor reception of one of his musical works, and subsequently collapses. The inclusion of these scenes suggests that Von Aschenbach is still feeling their effects. Not all the flashbacks are unhappy. Some show Von Aschenbach happily spending time with his wife and daughter. This fits in with the rhythm of melodrama, since it shows both the highs (happy moments with his wife and child) and the lows (his extreme grief at their loss). We thought it interesting that Von Aschenbach’s wife and child, and indeed the happiness, was included given the film’s main focus on Von Aschenbach’s controversial desire for young Tadzio. Von Aschenbach is a complex character with a backstory which is revealed in a piecemeal fashion. We also commented on Death in Venice’s relation to the mystery, violence and chase elements of melodrama. Only the last of these was present in the film. As Von Aschenbach becomes increasingly ill, he worries about Tadzio’s health, and pursues him through Venice’s streets. This ends with him collapsing in the street with exhaustion. Unusually for a pursuer in the chase, then, Von Aschenbach action causes him suffering, heightening this aspect of melodrama. Death in Venice’s musical score, later released by EMI, was also discussed by the group in terms of melodrama. The opening shots of the film are languid long takes accompanied by the music of Gustav Mahler. Music also punctuates other significant moments in the film. Von Aschenbach feels embarrassed by his desire for Tadzio and decides to leave Venice. As he embarks on a long boat journey leisurely music accompanies the close-up shots of his sad face. After a mix up with Von Aschenbach’s luggage, he chooses to return to his hotel, and to Tadzio. Again, close-ups of Von Aschenbach are provided, though he is now smiling, and the mood of the music also seems to have lifted. Other points at which music is used especially effectively include the chase sequence referenced above, as well as the moving end of the film where Von Aschenbach falls ill on a beach and passes away. The film’s extra-diegetic music seems especially appropriate because the occupation of Von Aschenbach is altered from a writer in Thomas Mann’s 1912 novella, to a composer. Such a change also suits the medium of sound film. Von Achenbach’s musical background affords opportunities for music to be present within the diegesis. The flashback to the failure of Von Aschenbach’s concert includes music. We also see Von Achenbach’s responses to others playing music. Tadzio briefly picks out a few notes, badly, on the piano at the hotel. This does not seem to dampen Von Aschenbach’s desire. But he appears to be more judgmental about local musicians who are playing several instruments to try and inject some jollity into the cholera-stricken district. The film’s European Edwardian-era setting as a backdrop for Von Aschenbach’s suffering was also commented on. This is undoubtedly connected to the date and location of the original setting of Mann’s, novella. But we thought that Death in Venice’s title, as well as its depiction of disease, foreshadowed the upcoming first world war which would decimate Europe. Tadzio’s family also reminded us of the Russian royals the Romanovs who were killed following the Russian Revolution which began in 1917. Much of this was connected to the film’s mise en scene. The hotel is large and ornately furnished, denoting its expensive nature. The people who can afford to stay there are generally of the upper classes – such as Tadzio’s family. The clothing worn by Tadzio’s family, especially the exquisite dresses, also suggest wealth. Tadzio’s sailor suit costume reminded us of some of the photographs of the Romanovs. His costume therefore effectively reflects the time period in which the film is set, and his status as a member of the upper class. It also significantly emphasises his youth in comparison to Von Aschenbach. (We thought that Tadzio’s hair style reproduced the 1970s of the film’s era of production, however!) We also briefly mentioned other films set in Italy’s iconic landscape, such as Don’t Look (1973, Nicolas Roeg) and A Room with a View (1985, Merchant and Ivory). Since we have been screening several Bogarde films, we compared the melodrama in Death in Venice to other Bogarde films we’ve discussed. The suffering of Von Aschenbach raised thoughts about Esther Waters (1948, Ian Dalrymple), especially William Latch’s death-bed scene. We thought that the beautifully lit last moments of Bogarde’s character recalled similar deaths of heroines in film melodramas (https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/melodramaresearchgroup/2018/10/06/summary-of-discussion-on-esther-waters/) The fact that some aspects of chase were involved in Death in Venice reminded us of our discussion of Hunted (1952, Charles Crichton), which depicts killer Chris Lloyd’s attempt to escape pursuing police (https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/melodramaresearchgroup/2018/10/18/summary-of-discussion-on-hunted/). Like Hunted, Victim (1961, Basil Dearden) combined suffering with mystery, violence, and chase. Death in Venice has significant differences from the UK-set Victim which had a crusading agenda tied to its time. Von Aschenbach’s desire for a young boy is of course not the same as the gay theme of Victim, and he is a more tragic character than Melville Farr in Victim. In Victim, Farr lost a close friend and was a closeted homosexual who the film suggested would continue to live with his wife in what might be seen as a compromise at a time when gay sex was illegal. Von Aschenbach’s sexual desire for a child places him further on the outskirts of society. His wish to be desirable to Tadzio means that Von Aschenbach undergoes a makeover. At the start of the film, Von Aschenbach visibly recoils from an older man whose hair looks suspiciously colourful and who is acting in a jaunty manner. After he becomes increasingly ill with cholera, Von Aschenbach visits a barber. The barber not only dyes Von Aschenbach’s hair to remove the grey but applies heavy make-up to his face. This sad visual demonstration that Von Achenbach is trying to recapture his youth is made even more poignant when he collapses sobbing in the street after losing sight of Tadzio. With his hair dye and make-up running, Von Aschenbach is a pitiful figure. Bogarde did not exclusively portray provocative characters like Von Aschenbach after Victim. For example, in 1963 prior to playing the sinister titular character in Joseph Losey’s The Servant, Bogarde starred in I Could Go on Singing (Ronald Neame – see blog post here: https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/melodramaresearchgroup/2019/01/15/summary-of-discussion-on-i-could-go-on-singing/ ) as well as the last Doctor film, Doctor in Distress (Ralph Thomas). The move to comedy was even briefly seen in Bogarde’s work with Losey, as he appeared in the spy parody Modesty Blaise (1966) before the pair returned to more serious fare with Accident (1967). Bogarde’s work with other European directors included Visconti. Just before Death in Venice, Bogarde starred as a man with links to the Nazi party in Visconti’s The Damned (1969). Bogarde’s more controversial roles – especially in The Damned and Death in Venice – seem to occur in films which in some way foreground artifice. The makeover scene in Death in Venice emphasises that while Von Aschenbach is trying to present himself in a certain way to Tadzio, as an actor, Bogarde, is also casting himself in a certain light. The hair dye and make-up in fact cover the greying hair and subtler make-up Bogarde is already sporting as Von Aschenbach. We also considered the Bogarde’s star image – the way his ‘real self’ appears to us. We primarily thought about this in relation to the changing of the novella’s character from a novelist (and perhaps a stand in for Thomas Mann) to another type of artist – a composer. Classical music could still have been heavily used in film whose main character was a novelist, so the change perhaps has further significance. Bogarde’s main writing career occurred well after Death in Venice’s 1971 release. His first memoir, Snakes and Ladders, appeared in 1978, with his first novel, A Gentle Occupation, following two years later. Bogarde had, however, previously written articles for magazines (perhaps most notably a series of 5 for Woman magazine in 1961). The fact that he writes essay and poems is even mentioned in coverage about Death in Venice from the time. In Gordon Gow’s interview with Bogarde in Films and Filming, he self-deprecatingly comments that he doubts anyone will want to publish him (May 1971, p. 49): https://dirkbogarde.co.uk/magazine/films-and-filming-may-1971/ Although it was unlikely to have happened, it would have been unfortunate if audiences mistakenly conflated the character of Von Aschenbach with the ‘real’ Bogarde. Such a view is of course retrospective, and heavily Bogarde-centric. Other magazine coverage from the time instead emphasised the similarity of Von Aschenbach to composer Gustav Mahler. Gordon Gow’s review of Death in Venice comments that Von Aschenbach’s hairstyling and spectacles make him resemble Mahler (Films and Filming, May 1971, p. 87). Furthermore, Gow claims that the director Visconti thought Mann’s novella was responding to Mahler’s 1911 death. By changing Von Aschenbach to a composer, Visconti believed he was able to draw out Mann’s original intent. A similar opinion is expressed in Philip Strick’s review in the Spring issue of Sight and Sound (pp. 103-4): https://dirkbogarde.co.uk/magazine/sight-and-sound-spring-1971/. Analysis of contemporary publicity and promotion therefore reveals that rather than distancing Von Aschenbach from Bogarde, changing him to a composer made him closer to Mahler. If you’re interested in reading more about Dirk Bogarde’s screen and star images, I’ve written several posts about the British Film Institute’s (BFI’s) collection of magazines bequeathed to them by his estate. You can find these on the NoRMMA blog: http://www.normmanetwork.com/tag/dirk-bogarde/ As ever, do log in to comment, or email me on sp761@kent.ac.uk and let me know that you’d like me to add your thoughts to the melodrama blog. Posted in Summary of Discussion | Tagged A Gentle Occupation (1980), A Room with A View (1985), Accident (1967), Basil Dearden, BFI, Bjorn Andresen, British Film Institute, Charles Crichton, Death in Venice (1912), Death in Venice (1971), Dirk Bogarde, Doctor in Distress (1963), Don't Look Now (1973), Esther Waters (1948), Films and Filming, Gordon Gow, Gustav Mahler, Hunted (1952), I Could Go on Singing (1963), Ian Dalrymple, Joseph Losey, Luchino Visconti, Magazines, Melodrama, Merchant and Ivory, Modesty Blaise (1966), Music, mystery violence chase, Nicolas Roeg, NoRMMA, Philip Strick, Ralph Thomas, Romanov Family, Ronald Neame, Sight and Sound, Snakes and Ladders (1978), Suffering, Summary of Discussion, The Damned (1969), The Servant (1963), Thomas Mann, Victim (1961), Woman | Leave a reply

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line562

__label__cc

Wheat Ridge, LIRS announce '08 Good Samaritan program Congregations have until March 3 to apply for Good Samaritan Grants to help them develop new programs and services for immigrants and refugees. Wheat Ridge Ministries of Itasca, Ill., and Baltimore-based Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service co-sponsor the annual program that awards up to $5,000 t o each recipient congregation for “vital support services needed by deserving immigrants and refugees beyond the initial stages of resettlement,” according to an Oct. 18 news release announcing the 2008 grant program. For 2007, the Good Samaritan Fund awarded seed grants totaling $74,900 to 23 congregations to start programs including citizenship classes, literacy projects, children’s summer and after-school programs, driver’s education, and employment and entrepreneur training. Since the program began in 1999, 143 Lutheran congregations have received $684,000 in the grant program that “focuses exclusively on congregationally-based work that is directed to immigrants and refugees,” as stated in the release. Good Samaritan seed grants are awarded to congregations of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Each congregation receiving the award is expected to contribute at least one-fourth of the cost of its project, either through cash or in-kind support. As listed in the news release, funding priority will be given to projects that demonstrate at least one of the following services to immigrant communities: social ministry projects. joint projects between community members and new residents. public education or advocacy. leadership development within the ethnic groups served. To download the grant application packet or review grant guidelines, go to www.lirs.org. For more information about the Good Samaritan Grant program, contact Brian Becker, Wheat Ridge Ministries vice president for Ministry Programs, at brian@wheatridge.org or (800) 762-6748. The program’s fund is built by donations from congregations and individuals. Gifts may be mailed directly to Wheat Ridge Ministries, One Pierce Place, Suite 250E, Itasca, IL 60143; made via credit card by calling (800) 762-6748; or donated securely online at www.wheatridge.org. The Good Samaritan Fund was established in honor of the late Dr. August Bernthal, an LCMS pastor who was considered a pioneer in advocating refugee resettlement among LCMS congregations. Wheat Ridge Ministries is an LCMS Recognized Service Organization. LIRS is a cooperative agency working on behalf of the Synod and the other two Lutheran church bodies mentioned above. Pressure Points (November) LCMS, ELCA focus on cooperative ministries

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line563

__label__wiki

'Doubt' comes to Klein Theatre By STEPHANIE CHAE With an intimate cast of only four people and roughly four weeks to prepare, “Doubt” will kick off the University of Mary Washington’s 2014-2015 theatre season. By STEPHANIE CHAE With an intimate cast of only four people and roughly four weeks to prepare, “Doubt” will kick off the University of Mary Washington’s 2014-2015 theatre season. Set in 1964, “Doubt” is the story of the principal of a Catholic school in the Bronx that begins to suspect inappropriate relations between Father Flynn and the only African-American boy at the school. The production focuses on the principal’s campaign to expose the supposed crimes of Father Flynn. “It’s not about religion as more as it is about faith and following what you believe to be true and right. It’s thought provoking. The audience will hopefully leave with doubt,” junior Catalina Ruiz de Gamboa (Sister Aloysius Beauvier) said. “Doubt,” written in 2006 by John Patrick Shanley, is a fairly new play and was made into a film starring Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman just two years after it hit the stage. “I think many people will go see the play because it was a movie. So I think there will be high expectations,” senior Stephen Nickens (Father Flynn) said. “Plus, it’s raising the stakes for us, as actors, because it’s such a heavy play and we can’t rely on the darkness of the play. We have to give it life.” “Doubt” is directed by Associate Professor of Theatre Helen Housley and has a diverse cast consisting of a sophomore, a junior, a senior and an adult student. “It’s cool to have [an adult student] in the show because she has a different perspective,” Ruiz de Gamboa said. “To have someone there with the wisdom of a mother is very interesting to have and very beneficial because she knows what to bring to the table. But I think we all fit very well together.” “Doubt” is yet another production put on by the UMW Theatre Department in recent years that tackles incredibly heavy issues and social taboos. Some of the past plays that were based around difficult issues include “Spring Awakening” and “Harvey.” Ruiz de Gamboa said, “I feel like there is no villain. Everyone has what they believe to be true and right, and none of them should be villianified for that. Everyone who watches the show is going to have a different response. And they’re going to come out thinking something different.” The compelling production will play at the Klein Theatre from Sept. 25 through Oct. 5. Tags: Doubt klein theatre Life Stephanie Chae umw theatre Previous UMW's annual Family Weekend reunites students and families Next Center for International Education celebrates travel and culture in weeklong event “Thanks in Advance: Jason Robinson”: Multimedia duPont exhibit features digital art and themes of nature 2 months ago Blue and Gray Press Life Res Hall Recipes: quick and easy Friendsgiving food New Star Wars series “The Mandalorian” is a huge hit on Disney+

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line564

__label__wiki

Education ᛫ The Toronto Star ᛫ November 26, 2019 Schools Converting Consumers into Creators Cutting-edge classroom technology isn’t about smudged blackboards and overhead projectors, and it hasn’t been for at least a generation. Parents who have learned to integrate new technology into their lives have raised kids who may take it for granted, and teachers have to forge a path through the digital landscape while teaching subjects and life skills as old as a quill pen. At St. Michael’s College School, a private Toronto Catholic boys school, Mark Viola is the school’s educational tech-integration leader and a teacher in the visual-arts department. He says the really surprising thing for students with a reputation for unprecedented technological literacy is a classroom challenge that asks them to work with software and hardware that isn’t based around a cellphone. “They’re very good consumers of information, where they’ll go online so they’re willing to do that process. But on the creative side, where they’re asked to create a video, we’ve found that they’re not as sophisticated as we thought they’d be. In that respect, they are not afraid to try new things.” “When we talk about that generation gap, teachers are afraid to try new things because they’re afraid they won’t work, whereas I’m finding with students that they’ll try anything because they get excited about it.” At St. Clement’s, a private girls school in midtown Toronto, classroom tech is based around Chromebooks and the Google ecosystem. Heather Henricks, vice-principal: learning, research and innovation, says students develop an easy familiarity with the software. “With students, they seem to adapt naturally. When you are teaching them to use aspects of Google and you tell them it’s great that you never have to save anything — they ask what do you mean by ‘save?’ “With teachers, it varies, but all are diving into it in a way that makes sense for them — because they see the benefits.” The technology and opportunities available to students at private schools can be astonishing for someone who remembers classrooms that didn’t change for decades. The old-style AV Club, for instance, has evolved at St. Mike’s into a multimedia club and a 3D printing club and a team of students that produces video announcements screened at the start of classes every morning, starting work at 7:30 a.m. in the school’s studio. Daniel Douglas is on the music faculty at St. Michael’s and chairs its Deep Learning Committee. He describes how performance reviews have changed for music students at the school — tests once involved a student’s playing a piece for a jury of teachers, but now the student can record a piece, review it, re-record it and send it in for evaluation. “That takes a lot more of their time, but that’s more time with a horn on their face, so they’re developing more, they’re growing more, and it takes us a lot longer to mark those, but the advantage is that I can go back and hear it twice, and I can give some critical feedback. But if I’m hearing it on the spot, I can’t do that.” Private schools find technology useful in designing comprehensive curriculum plans like Deep Learning and in implementing concepts such as experiential learning, which schools employ to help deal with the different learning styles of students. At Blyth Academy, which has several campuses in Toronto, principal Adam Hurley is enthusiastic about Edwin, a new software suite being rolled out this year at the school. “Each student is provided with their own Dell laptop with Edwin programming, which provides them with access to endless amounts of resources and ensures an equitable playing field for each student. The technology helps to cater to each individual student, allowing the teacher to differentiate the learning experience to support the needs of all of their students. “There are many unique aspects to the technology, including the ability to schedule live virtual presentations and tours at well-known facilities around the world in order to enhance the curriculum and expose the students to experiential learning opportunities,” Hurley adds. “The technology fosters collaboration in real-time, allowing students to share seamlessly amongst their peers and with their teachers. It also encourages integration of video creation and editing. The resources and opportunities to further engage students are endless.” Private schools have the advantage of being able to source their own software and hardware solutions for students and teachers, and land on unique choices — the Google ecosystem at St. Clement’s, Edwin at Blyth Academy and Edsby at St. Mike’s, with faculties and clubs bringing in programs such as Adobe Creative Suite in visual arts, Sibelius and Dorico in music, and programs for coding, 3D printing, robotics and storyboarding those morning video announcements. The biggest challenge is a basic one: helping students organize their time and commitments during and after school, to deal with the demands of course work, extracurriculars and burgeoning social lives. David Lee, a vice principal at St. Michael’s College School, says that even with the best software available, students still need to be taught how to boost their organizational skills and get the most out of the technology at their fingertips. “Our student-affairs department has been spending a lot of time going into classes to talk about managing your time — organizational skills — because these guys are very busy, (and most of them are) probably overscheduled. They’re not just doing high school, and it’s tough to keep things straight.” This article was written by Rick McGinnis from The Toronto Star and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line567

__label__cc

← Roger Olson Blog – Part 7 Rob Bowman Can The Bible Be Trusted – Part 1 → The Wives of Joseph Smith Visit Manti Posted on July 9, 2015 by Sharon Lindbloom The annual Christian outreach at the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti, Utah concluded about 2 weeks ago. During this year’s outreach, 34 women, dressed in pioneer clothing, each took on the identity of a wife of Joseph Smith. This was a powerful visual representation that helped Mormons better understand what 34 wives actually looks like. Eric Johnson snapped a couple of photos of the actresses gathered together. In this one, rather than smiling for the camera, the women’s expressions reflect the discontent of their polygamous identities: When this same visual representation was performed in Manti for the first time (in 2008), most Mormons were completely unaware that Joseph Smith had more than one wife. They reacted to the parade of 34 women with the accusation that the whole thing was nothing but a vile lie. Even though the Mormon Church itself has now published an essay that admits Joseph had up to 40 wives, many Mormons still do not know that Emma was but one of Joseph’s dozens of plural wives. In this short (4-minute) video, Aaron names Joseph Smith’s wives and provides a few important facts about these women. This, too, is a powerful visual presentation. For more information about Joseph Smith’s polygamy, check out this excellent video of Chip Thompson and Doris Hanson discussing and teaching on the topic. This video also presents a visual representation of Joseph Smith’s 34 wives – along with 11 additional husbands to whom Joseph’s plural wives were also married. Visually Illustrating Joseph Smith’s Wives to Provoke Thought and Start Evangelistic Conversations at the Manti Miracle Pageant Troubled by Joseph Smith’s Polygamy Testing Joseph Smith’s Integrity This entry was posted in Early Mormonism, Joseph Smith, Mormon History, Polygamy and tagged Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith, Manti, Mormon Church, Mormon History, Mormonism, Outreach, Plural Marriage, Polygamy. Bookmark the permalink. 9 Responses to The Wives of Joseph Smith Visit Manti So our “chapel” Mormons tell us that this is a vile lie. Where do they go when they find out that this is not a lie but is indeed the truth? For those who aren’t familiar with the term, a “chapel” Mormon is a naive individual who believes all of the lies and obfuscation put out by the LDS church. These chapel Mormons have had the emotional buzz that comes with buying a feel good narrative. I suppose it sounds like I’m picking on these folks but some how I have trouble viewing them as victims. The real victims are the women, some married to other men, and the adolescent girls who succumbed to Joseph Smith’s shameless manipulation and lies. There has to be a way for these chapel Mormons to rescue their faith as expressed in the five points of the LDS canned testimony. In order to recover from “shaken faith syndrome” an explanation must be formulated. One of my favorites, as it is applied to the married women Smith married is that heavenly father had given these women to (Smith) in the pre-existence. It’s painful to face the truth about something or someone that has been invested in so heavily. This had to be one the best ways to get Mormons attention at Manti to the fact of how they have been fooled into joining a man made religious organization masquerading as Jesus’ Church . No doubt those who thought this was all a lie were doing so because they relied on a “testimony” which they just knew had to be from the Holy Ghost . Yet another example of the unreliability of the Mormon “testimony” , their so called “spiritual witness ” , to test the latter days prophets of Mormonism . May God open their eyes to the fact of latter days counterfeit prophets which Jesus warned would come . Sadly , the Mormon people have let feelings override proper testing of their prophets like Joseph Smith , Brigham Young etc . 1 Jn 4:1 . There are a lot of words to describe what Joseph Smith was up to with this but at the very least he was defrauding these women. That’s what frauds do. They defraud people. Also, when looking at the dates of his marrying these women a pattern develops. The dude was definitely on a “spree” at the end of his life; totally out of control. If he had lived, his religion would have had difficulty surviving. His death and BY taking over probably saved the sect. I don’t know if folks have ever watched someone out-of-control destroy themselves, but it isn’t a pretty picture. Pick the vice. I’ve seen it very readily with alcoholics who end-up dead as a result of their drinking. Smith is more in line with guys like Jim Jones and David Koresh. One thing most Mormons choose to ignore is the fact that Joseph Smith lied to them, and that LDS leaders have been lying to them for over 170 years. That’s every LDS prophet, every LDS apostle, every LDS bishop. Some of those leaders were lying to the church membership and the public because, in fact, they had been lied to by their leaders. Do you doubt this? Then look at the Mormon Church’s recent confession of the truth at https://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo?lang=eng Then compare that to published LDS “scripture”: “Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of fornication, and polygamy; we declare that we believe that one man should have one wife; and one woman, but one husband, except in the case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again.” — Joseph Smith, 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, C1, p. 251 (1835). http://mit.irr.org/joseph-smith-statements-denying-polygamy There’s an old adage that applies here. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Mormons: How many times has it been now?… Just a little historical fun fact. From the introduction in D&C 132. “Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Nauvoo, Illinois, recorded July 12, 1843, relating to the new and everlasting covenant, including the eternity of the marriage covenant and the principle of plural marriage. Although the revelation was recorded in 1843, evidence indicates that some of the principles involved in this revelation were known by the Prophet as early as 1831.” From the student manual: “It is clear that the Prophet Joseph Smith received section 132 before it was recorded but delayed making it known. The Prophet knew the Lord’s will on plural marriage within the new and everlasting covenant probably as early as 1831 (see History of the Church, 5:xxix). ” “The revelation was not made public until Elder Orson Pratt, under the direction of President Brigham Young, announced it at a Church conference on 29 August 1852. The revelation was placed in the Doctrine and Covenants in 1876.” I wish I had found this myself but it comes by way of former LDS bishop Lee Baker. He said it was this that shook his faith to the foundation. I believe this may have been the last straw for Lee Baker. You might ask why? Well it’s because up until 1876 the LDS church was denying that its members practiced plural marriage. In fact, the D&C entries on marriage were all about monogamy. So what upset Lee was that the leaders of the LDS church were ignoring what was in the D&C and doing just the opposite of what was the covenant the LDS people were to follow. His point is, who wants to follow men who don’t even follow what was in there own “sacred” doctrines and covenants. So plural marriage gets put on the books in 1876 and in 1890 by way of a manifesto, gets put on hold. Remember, plural marriage is still part of the doctrine and covenants. It’s just not practiced……….yet. A couple of good videos. The first is 10 minutes and the second 20 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-_tIuVstdQ Interview with a couple of the wives. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNfIhPq-DB4 This issue of Joseph Smith’s polygamy , and Mormon polygamy in general , is important when looking at the Mormon church’s claim of authority . When we look at what Mormon leaders taught about polygamy , as well as the testimonies from dedicated LDS who followed them , we can get a very good picture that will come in handy when testing of the claims of authority of Mormonism is undertaken . A foundational claim of Mormon authorities is that soon after the deaths of Jesus’ apostles a complete apostasy occurred and the results were : – Christianity died off [ Apostasy and Restoration , 1983 p. 9 , published by the Church ] . – The gospel of salvation was altered , corrupted , by men who mixed in their man made teachings to it thus rendering it a false gospel . Thus for 1700 years there was darkness and salvation was not available to man until 1830 when Joseph Smith showed up and restored / reestablished, Jesus’ gospel and church [ Mormon Doctrine p 396 ] . Thus only Mormon leaders , since 1830 , have preached the true gospel of salvation having been commissioned and then supervised since then by Jesus Himself to teach His church body and mankind the correct identity of Himself , His Father , and what is required to gain a right relationship with them as well as a complete salvation from them . In short the Mormon church is the exact same church that Jesus established through His apostles centuries ago , with the very same gospel as Paul, for example , taught then . These are indeed incredible claims . But they are laced with half truths and even some outright falsehoods . Mormon leaders inserted polygamy into Jesus’ gospel ! . Mormon leaders testified that it was an essential ordinance of the gospel and in Jesus’ church [ Joseph F. Smith , JofD. vol 20 , p28 ] . By succumbing to that behavior Mormon leaders drifted even farther from the truth and continued to offer a ” gospel ” but not the true authentic one Jesus’ apostles ,like Paul , preached — Rom 1:16 . Thus the verdict is clear : Mormon apostles have been tested and found guilty of preaching a counterfeit gospel and are therefore only religious men not sent by Jesus . Rev 2:2 Good interview with Lee Baker posted a month ago following this year’s Manti outreach. It’s worth the twelve minutes it takes to watch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO_FIrXDPEc I guess it will appear that I’m on a Lee Baker promotional tour here, but he has some very good things to share for those who are questioning Mormonism. This is a 48 minute video done with Sacred Groves and posted May 22 of this year. It covers our topic of conversation on this thread. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLV_H-qp2g4 Lee Baker says that it took him five years to work his way out of Mormonism. He was comfortable there. What happened though, is a young man who was a Christian asked him a question, gave him the reference and Lee said he’d look it up. It’s the quote where Joseph Smith claims to have done more than Jesus. Lee was shocked to find out that the quote was true. That set him to asking other questions and looking for answers in LDS sources. He says that the embarrassing thing was that the information was there all along but he didn’t know what he didn’t know and therefore didn’t know what questions to ask. The whole deal with polygamy threw him for a loop since he learned that the leaders were going directly against the D&C and lying to everyone. So Lee advices that we ask Mormons questions that are prefaced by, “Is it true that…………” and then let them look up the answers themselves. I’d say this follows that old piece of advice, “If I tell you something you can doubt me. If you say it, it’s true.”

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line572

__label__wiki

Best Job Ever: Mapping “California’s Galápagos” Cartographers and National Geographic grantees Marty Schnure and Ross Donihue traveled to the little-known Farallon National Wildlife Refuge to document the scientists who live there and to create an interactive digital map to allow the public to explore the islands from afar. The Farallon National Wildlife Refuge is closed to public access to protect this... Cartographers and National Geographic grantees Marty Schnure and Ross Donihue traveled to the little-known Farallon National Wildlife Refuge to document the scientists who live there and to create an interactive digital map to allow the public to explore the islands from afar. The Farallon National Wildlife Refuge is closed to public access to protect this wildlife hot spot. “Immediately when you step onto the islands you realize the island belongs to the wildlife and we’re just visitors here,” said Donihue. Schnure and Donihue are National Geographic grantees who have worked in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Point Blue Conservation Science (Point Blue) to do fieldwork on the Farallon Islands at multiple points over the last year. Once they arrived at the island after a five-hour sail, they were able to get on shore with the help of a crane and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who manages the refuge. They were blown away by the wildlife. The Farallon National Wildlife Refuge is the largest seabird nesting colony in the lower 48 states. Over 300,000 birds nest on the islands each year. Elephant seals, fur seals, and sea lions populate the coast. “The seabirds and the marine mammals are the most conspicuous creatures on the island, but it’s also home to an incredible intertidal community and endemic salamanders and endemic crickets,” said Schnure. A male Brandt’s cormorant displays to nearby females in the hope of finding a mate. The Brandt’s cormorant is one of 13 seabird species that nest on the island. Photograph by Marty Schnure Other than the wildlife, there is a select group of skilled scientists who live on the Farallones. Scientists from Point Blue—the conservation group responsible for research on the islands—have conducted research every day since the 1960s. “The long-term data collection happening on the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge is critical for understanding our marine ecosystem. The biologists are discovering new findings related to climate change each season,” said Donihue. Working with the researchers is one of the most rewarding things about the work to the pair. “It has been such a privilege to be able to live with the biologists and document their work on the island this past year,” said Donihue. “When we are making maps of a place we believe it is crucial to spend time getting to know it and form lasting relationships with the individuals that know it best.” The researchers’ dedication has been one of the more inspirational things Schnure has seen working on the islands. “There are a lot of people who would not thrive in that situation,” she said. The conditions are not exactly comfortable. It’s windy, noisy with all the sounds from hundreds of thousands of birds and marine mammals, and the researchers regularly get pooped on. There’s no source of freshwater on the Farallon Islands. The scientists rely 100 percent on collecting rainwater. “It’s really important to conserve water, and part of that means everybody gets to shower only once every four days,” Schnure said. “What you get are these individuals that are so smart, so friendly, so dedicated to this work, and that’s an incredible thing to be a part of.” The researchers brought them to points all over the islands, as well as into caves where they had to shimmy through tight passageways, all while being careful not to disturb the wildlife. “It really feels like a family,” Schnure said. Donihue and Schnure figured out that hot chocolate and sleeping bags make sunrise shoots even better. Photograph by Ross Donihue When it’s not completely foggy or cloudy, Schnure and Donihue love to wake up early and catch first light in the morning. “You get this gorgeous view of the sun rising over San Francisco,” Schnure said. “It’s fun to sit there and imagine the city waking up, and to know that most of the people there don’t even know that this island [exists], much less that there’s this team of scientists out here 365 days of the year doing great research. It reminds me that that’s why we’re here … to capture those stories and the essence of this place so that we can bring it back to the mainland.” Schnure explained the bigger picture about conservation advocacy through their organization, Maps for Good. She said something that people ask them all the time related to this project is, “It’s already a national wildlife refuge. It’s already protected, so what are you advocating for?” Schnure explained, “What we’re advocating for is increased awareness of this place. Protected places need continual support in terms of funding really important long-term research, as well as defending the protection of these lands against threats from development.” Dusk comes early in the winter field season on Southeast Farallon Island. Marty Schnure walks out to the elephant seal colony to meet Point Blue biologists for their last survey of the day. Photograph by Ross Donihue “The Farallones represent this true refuge, where these birds and marine mammals can come and be left alone,” Schnure said. “It’s a place where the wildlife reign supreme and the limited human activity is done in a way to minimize impacts on wildlife. Even though it’s only 30 miles from the city, it feels worlds away from the mainland.” You can learn more in a related video about how fur seals are making a comeback on the Farallon Islands. And be sure to check out more from other National Geographic Society grantees in our digital series, Best Job Ever. (Elephant seal research on the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge is conducted by trained professionals, under National Marine Fisheries Service Research Permit 17152-01.) Carolyn Barnwell Carolyn Barnwell has been a producer on the Science and Exploration Media team at National Geographic for over five years. She creates content to support the non-profit National Geographic Society including impact initiatives and the important work of explorers and grantees around the globe. She wrote, produced and edited for Nat Geo’s first-ever web series focused on explorers in the field: Expedition Raw and Best Job Ever. She loves yin yoga, wildlife encounters, and eating baked goods while they are still warm from the oven.

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line573

__label__wiki

Making sure data on sexual orientation rings true as same-sex couples celebrate five years of marriage Melissa Randall The ONS this week published its second full year of data on marriages of same sex couples. Melissa Randall explains how these stats add to ONS’s work to improve data on sexual orientation. Today marks the fifth anniversary of the first couples who married a partner of the same sex in the UK. Now, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has been able to publish its second complete annual data on marriages of same-sex couples and conversions of civil partnerships in England and Wales – meaning that for the first time, researchers can compare one full year to the next. This week’s report showed 7,019 same-sex couples got married in 2016 – an increase of 8.1% since 2015 when that number was 6,493. Including the 4,850 who married in 2014, a total of 18,362 same-sex couples married since the legislation was passed. This data will help show what life’s like for the lesbian, gay and bisexual population and show trends including how many same-sex couples choose to marry, how many hold religious ceremonies rather than civil ceremonies and how many choose to convert existing civil partnerships. We already know that between 29th March 2014 and 31st December 2016, 56% of those marrying a partner of the same sex were female (or conversely 44% were male), 40% were 40-years-old and over and only 0.7% (just 128 couples) said their vows during a religious ceremony. Figures for 2017 to 2019 will be published in the next few years due to delays in the submission of marriage entries by the clergy and registrars. These statistics add to on-going work at the ONS to improve the quality and amount of data available on sexual orientation – something we have been working on since 2006 when we launched our Sexual Identity Project. We have also revealed our recommendation to include a voluntary question on sexual orientation for the first time in the 2021 Census in the government’s Help Shape Our Future White Paper. It is the latest step by the ONS to improve the amount of data on the lesbian, gay and bisexual population – data that can be used for monitoring equality. There is an increasing demand for robust data to monitor equalities and to help us understand more about the society that we live in. These data help organisations provide services and develop policies that help improve the lives of everyone. Melissa Randall, Head of Research for Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Looking to the future at the Data Science Campus Married by 30? You’re now in the minority

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line574

__label__cc

The Best Industrial & Warehouse Office Space in the Orange County Area Orange County Office Space Industrial Warehouse An economic powerhouse known both for its endless blue skies and industrial might, Orange County is a highly desirable location for companies in search of the rare combination of ideal weather, bustling economy, and ample choices in industrial and warehouse office space. Between its laid-back appeal along the coast, commerce-oriented inland cities, and well-established tech corridor in its southern regions, Orange County offers appealing industrial and warehouse solutions to companies of all shapes and sizes in a wide variety of industries. For that reason, TenantBase has prepared a list of the most popular locations for companies looking for space within the appealing Orange County market. Take some time to analyze your own specific demands and goals – both now and into the future – to find industrial and warehouse office space within Orange County and start take advantage of its many unique and robust characteristics. Conveniently located at the intersection of several interstates between the coastal communities and Orange County’s industrial heart, the City of Costa Mesa is a mixture of vibrant neighborhoods, growing industry, and a retail mecca. Home to the South Coast Plaza, one of the largest shopping centers in the nation, as well as several repertory theaters and renowned performance venues, Costa Mesa is a unique mixture of art and commerce with an appealing quality of life that makes it desirable for companies trying to establish a balance of revenue and recreation. Already well known as the capital of the action sports industry – with notable companies such as Hurley International, Volcom, RVCA, Rip Curl, Vans, and Quiksilver calling in home – Costa Mesa takes full advantage of the booming surfing and skating scenes within the region, parlaying local popularity into national – even international – success. The city's economy also relies heavily on the varied retail and service-oriented companies populating its commerce centers, particularly along busy Harbor Boulevard, Bristol Street, and towards its shared border with Newport Beach. With the South Coast Plaza serving as the focal point to its commercial activity – an immense retail center known for its sheer size and unique architecture – the South Coast Plaza alone is responsible for generating almost $2 billion in annual revenue. Also the home to numerous electronics, pharmaceuticals, and plastics firms, Costa Mesa boasts significant manufacturing activity as well – particularly in the southwestern portion of the city – making it a truly eclectic combination of industries and personalities. When combined with large organizations like Experian – the largest employer in the city – Costa Mesa's employer base matches its diverse neighborhoods and demographics. Industrial and Warehouse Options in Costa Mesa For the most part, Costa Mesa is geared towards smaller industrial warehouse space that is most suitable for small to midsize businesses. Available space typically utilizes drive-in doors rather than deck level access, and most of the city's office parks are designed with ample office parking in the front and vast, flexible warehouse space in the back. Typically speaking, businesses looking for a combination of office and warehouse space with drive-up loading areas – usually with 16 to 18 foot clearance heights – will find Costa Mesa an appealing choice. Known throughout the world for its idyllic sandy beaches, mild climate, surfing and beach culture, Huntington Beach is a vibrant mix of character and commerce, industry and lifestyle, that makes it an intriguing outlier even within the highly diverse Orange County area. Sitting directly above a natural fault structure that has previously supplied the region with much of its oil – the local high school even uses the Oilers as their nickname – oil production still provides significant income to the local economy. However, as extraction efforts slow and oil reserves deplete, tourism is rapidly becoming the cornerstone of the city's economic footprint. With several retailers – both locally owned and large, corporate-owned outlets – particularly along the Pacific Coast Highway and tourist hubs of Main Street and Beach Boulevard, Huntington Beach relies on coastal foot traffic as well as the ever-important car culture of Southern California to generate its tourist-based revenue streams. From an employer-base perspective, Huntington Beach is the home to one of the largest installations from the Boeing Company – formerly McDonnell-Douglas – in the world, a leader in aerospace design and manufacturing. The city also houses the headquarters of Cambro Manufacturing, an international food service equipment company that runs two separate manufacturing facilities within city boundaries. Industrial and Warehouse Options in Huntington Beach Huntington Beach offers many different industrial and warehouse options, particularly for companies in search of larger industrial space. In fact, there is an 80/20 ratio of available industrial to office space within the city. Also, Huntington Beach tends to be more affordable than neighboring cities, providing more distribution-oriented space, some dock highs, and several bigger box-type options. One of the oldest cities in Orange County, Santa Ana straddles the Santa Ana River and lies about 10 miles from the coast, occupying the center of the Greater Orange County area. Extremely dense in population, Santa Ana ranks fourth nationally in population per square mile in cities with over 300,000 residents, trailing only New York City, San Francisco, and Boston. Despite its residential density, Santa Ana still ranks as the fourth safest city in the United States for population centers over 250,000 residents. Much of the city is built around the bustling Civic Center that houses the Orange County Superior Court complex, a modern sports facility that features a multipurpose stadium, the Santa Ana Zoo, and Bowers Museum. Just a few minutes from downtown, Centennial Park is one of the largest open parks in the county, featuring a variety of different athletic fields, courts, walking paths, and picnic areas. On the 4th of July, Centennial Park hosts the largest fireworks display in all of Orange County. Industrial and Warehouse Options in Santa Ana Despite Orange County being associated with more expensive pricing, Santa Ana offers companies more affordable solutions in a variety of different spaces. A more heavier industrial tenant mix than neighboring cities, Santa Ana landlords are typically more accommodating to a larger variety of uses, especially with respect to the restrictive zoning laws in southern portions of Orange County. Also, featuring a more substantial power grid than neighboring cities as well as less office buildout, Santa Ana is an appealing choice for small to medium size companies looking for a more industrial-oriented space solution. Furthermore, due to its centralized location, Santa Ana either contains or lies adjacent to the 55, 405, 5, 22, and 57 freeways, as well as close proximity to John Wayne Airport. Neighboring Santa Ana in Central Orange County, Tustin encompasses over 11 square miles and is located just 2 miles north of John Wayne Airport. Like many cities in the heart of the county, Tustin is bisected by several freeways, including the I-5, 55, and 57 – all critical transportation arteries for Southern California. With a top 10 ranking in startups and sole proprietorships per capita, as well as an extremely advantageous location for work commutes, Tustin has been ranked as one of the best towns to live in throughout all of America. Comprised of several quintessentially suburban neighborhoods, Tustin also boasts a burgeoning retail district built within the substantial open space on the former grounds of Tustin Air Force Base. Industrial and Warehouse Options in Tustin With plenty of available space, Tustin offers a tremendous variety of industrial and warehouse solutions, ranging from 1,000 square feet to large footprints of 100,000 square feet or more. Existing tenants occupy a healthy mix of industrial and flex spaces – featuring a combination of office and warehouse space – as well as service-oriented facilities. In other words, this Central Orange County city can accommodate a wide range of different companies, from professional services to light manufacturing, and many points in between. Another of the oldest cities in the county, the City of Orange features a population of almost 140,000 residents and is home to the infamous Orange Crush, one of the busiest commuting interchanges in the country where the 5, 57, 55, and 22 freeways all intersect within a mile of each other. Orange is also home to many of the county's largest medical facilities, including the University of California at Irvine Medical Center, St. Joseph's Hospital, and the Children's Hospital of Orange County. These three facilities are also the largest employers in the city, employing 4,000, 3,800, and 2,500 employees, respectively. As one of the older areas in Orange County, the Orange Circle – a traditional, Main Street setting that relishes its classic Americana atmosphere – is often used to film television shows and movies for the major entertainment studios located just 30 miles north in Los Angeles. Wanting to attract a more modern aesthetic as well, however, Orange is also home to The Block, a massive outdoor retail and entertainment complex that features hundreds of small stores, franchises, movie theaters, and a wide variety of restaurants. Industrial and Warehouse Options in Orange Industrial space in Orange falls within the medium price range with respect to the overall region due to the amount of inventory in its industrial-zoned areas. While the available space within the city tends to skew to the older side of local inventory, the area is in-demand due to its convenient location within Central and Northern Orange County, making it a popular choice for more prominent industrial users. Orange also has several auto zoned areas as well. The second largest city in terms of area in all of Orange County, Anaheim is world-renowned for being the home to the Disneyland Resort, a massive complex of family-friendly, Disney-themed rides, restaurants, hotels, shops, and entertainment locations. Anaheim is much more than a Disney foothold, however, as it also features several professional sports facilities – including Angel Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Honda Center, home of the Anaheim Ducks, and plays host to several NBA games throughout the year, particularly for the Los Angeles Clippers. With so much emphasis placed on family entertainment and professional sports, Anaheim's income is obviously dependent on tourist revenue. As such, with the Walt Disney Company being the city's largest employer and the Disneyland Resort contributing $5.7 billion annually to Southern California's economy, the entertainment industry produces over $255 million in local taxes every year. Industrial and Warehouse Options in Anaheim Despite such economic concentration on entertainment, Anaheim features a wide variety of larger industrial spaces, mostly geared towards bigger businesses on land valued at lower price points than neighboring cities. Therefore, particularly for larger industrial products, space in Anaheim tends to be more cost-efficient. Also, due to its proximity to several freeways – including the 405 – conveniently distributing products in and out of the area makes Anaheim an attractive industrial space and warehouse solution, particularly for larger companies. Located on the California coast midway between Los Angeles and San Diego along the southern border of Orange County, San Clemente is known for its expansive ocean views, hilly terrain, ideal climate, and pervasive Spanish Colonial architecture. Another international hub of the surfing world, San Clemente is also the home to most of the major surfing media outlets, including Surfing Magazine, the Surfer's Journal, and Longboard Magazine. Aside from its beautiful setting and concentration on outdoor sports and recreation, the city also houses the corporate headquarters to Cameron Health, ICU Medical, DealerSocket, and Stance Socks, making San Clemente a unique combination of relaxed lifestyle and manufacturing stronghold. Industrial and Warehouse Options in San Clemente Although Interstate 5 runs directly through the city, San Clemente differs from its central county brethren by featuring higher-end, pricier industrial park options, concentrating on high-quality facilities that feature HVAC as well as research and development-oriented lab space to cater to medical research tenants. Most of the available space is modern in design, newer, almost always climate controlled, and specifically appeals to larger, more creative uses of space. A meticulously designed city that lies squarely in the center of the more industrial cities to the north and expensive areas to the south, Irvine is a robust city with a wide variety of housing, recreation, and business options. Very much a prototypical suburb, Irvine concentrates on appealing to families and, as such, is a commuting city that is heavily reliant on its close proximity to the 405 and 5 freeways, John Wayne Airport, as well as a series of toll roads. Home to the Orange County Great Park– featuring an antique carousel and helium balloons that provide spectacular views of the California coast and Bommer Canyon below – Irvine's burgeoning tourism industry is coordinated directly with the city's Chamber of Commerce to concentrate not only on family vacations but providing a corporate destination for meetings, events, and other business initiatives as well. Thanks to these efforts over the last two decades or so, Irvine is consistently rated one of the top cities for startups in the nation and its strong, fast-growing economy provides the backbone for the entire county's healthy and competitive job market. Industrial and Warehouse Options in Irvine Much like San Clemente, Irvine features higher-end industrial park options with high quality facilities that include HVAC and ample lab space for research and development. Therefore, Irvine is a popular choice for companies in the medical sciences and technology sectors, relying on modern and expansive inventory to attract companies specializing in cutting-edge, scientifically-minded operations. Long known as an economically robust region in one of the strongest financial centers in the world, Orange County provides a wide variety of industrial and warehouse office spaces to meet the varying needs of a diverse company base. Featuring a unique blend of ideal weather, recreational options, ample housing, and business-friendly zoning, TenantBase expects Orange County to continue to be an economic force well into the future. Which Office Design is Right for My Startup? Office Space Calculator: Estimate Your Office Space Square Footage

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line575

__label__cc

City States Rising! December 29th, 2016 by ewalsh Globalism’s associated and accelerating complexity of interconnected crises from migration to terrorism, from pandemics to climate change, define the new context of our 21st-century reality. Unmanaged technological change and an outdated economic ideology compound the already unfair burden these crises impose on global citizens. One need only consider the 18 percent approval rating of the United States Congress, the recent U.S. election, the EU/Euro fiasco, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Turkey (and more) to question whether the Nation State, a 400-year-old response to a different challenge in a different context, is up to the task. Ideological rather than pragmatic, a political abstraction that has no grounding in the concrete reality of where and how we live and how life-supporting ecosystems function, the Nation State, together with its political party structure, is not well equipped for today’s most important globally interdependent challenges that cannot be solved through inter-State rivalries where self-interest and might rule the day. The “City State” predates the Nation State; it endures. Rome is older than Italy, Alexandria is older than Egypt. Cities are expanding as we know. They are already home to more than half the world’s population, and 80% in the developed economies. They are home to 85% of the global economy (and associated greenhouse gas emissions) and much of the evolution of our culture. Like it or not, we have become an increasingly urban species. Visionaries like Jonathan Rose are showing the way to regenerative cities with his timely publication of A Well-Tempered City. At the same time, rural culture, small towns, and life-sustaining rural landscapes, historically understood as essential extensions of the City State, have never been more vital, as I will discuss below. Cities are also where many of the world’s great challenges must be met. The migration crisis and terrorism are urban affairs. Since most cities are on coastlines or rivers, climate change will increasingly dominate the agenda of cities. And cities will be the target of a nuclear attack if dangerous men go unrestrained. Wise and competent city governance is a matter of life and death, not political theater among self-important globalist and nationalist bureaucrats. In response to the governance failures of the global system of Nation States, political theorist Benjamin Barber wrote an important book in 2013 called, If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities. The Global Parliament of Mayors (GPM), which he inspired, held its inaugural meeting in The Hague, two months before rural America elected Donald Trump against the wishes of a strong democratic majority of citizens living in America’s cities. Mayors must be pragmatists first. Ineptitude, ignorance, and ideology give way to the concreteness of real problems of real people living in real communities. New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia once famously said, “There is no Democratic or Republican way of fixing a sewer.” So too for dealing with rising sea levels or, God forbid, a nuclear attack. When our centralized governing bodies fail to uphold their responsibilities, a power vacuum ensues, creating an opening for dangerous “strongman” responses, as we are now witnessing in the U.S and abroad. Our present moment is particularly dangerous, with the simultaneous failure of other critical and powerful institutions – banking and the media in particular – to uphold their civil responsibilities and serve the health of the whole rather than their narrow self-interests. Banking’s consequential leadership failures are now a matter for the history books. But the media’s complex leadership failures are still unfolding, perhaps best epitomized by CBS CEO Leslie Moonves’ shamefully cynical comment at a Morgan Stanley analyst conference earlier this year: “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS,” he said of the election circus. “Sorry. It’s a terrible thing to say. But, bring it on, Donald. Keep going.” Well, the young crowd at Morgan Stanley chuckled, “Donald kept going,” and we have elected a man to the highest office in the land who numerous respected psychologists believe has a (dangerous to the world) incurable mental illness known as “Narcissistic Personality Disorder.” Not so funny, is it, Mr. Moonves? Enjoy your good quarterly profits. Just as the reckless behavior of Wall Street was not funny, its ongoing consequences leading directly to the rise in authoritarian movements across the globe are not funny. A core principle of sustainable systems is that a system must adapt to its changing context or it will collapse. The current context of accelerating, unpredictable (by definition) complexity and too powerful, dysfunctional critical institutions – Nation States, banking and finance, and the media, together providing much of the essential fabric of our modern democratic and free society – creates the pressure for real change and the very real prospect of possible collapse. Our response most certainly lies in the concept of subsidiarity, one of four tenets of Catholic social doctrine, balancing power away from the center and closer to where the inclusive and democratic will of the people is still expressed: the modern City State. Rise up Mayors! And, rise up regional banks and community newspapers! Looked at through a regenerative systems lens, this is a return to the natural “fractal” ordering of things, demanding an emergent network of City States to counterbalance the corrupted power at the center. Indeed, such a response is already underway with the numerous networks of city-based initiatives such as the prescient GMP, the C-40 focused on climate change, UN-Habitat, the Strong Cities Network, and numerous “Smart Cities” initiatives. Rural communities, too, have a vital role to play. In addition to preserving the ageless wisdom embedded in the diversity of rural cultures and communities, they have the critical responsibility to steward our essential landscapes – our forests, our soils, our watersheds, all under threat from our short-sighted, extractive, industrial economy. Critically, the regenerative management of forestry and agriculture, with the potential to massively increase natural carbon sequestration, now holds perhaps the missing critical dimension of our ability to respond in time to climate change. Therefore, City States have a self-interest in valuing and supporting the culture of land stewardship, the very foundation of human civilization and still very much alive in rural communities. No soil, no water, no life. We are passing from the 500-year-old Modern Era in which great progress including the Nation State emerged in response to pressures from a different context. We are entering the “Integral Era,” in response to new pressures and a new context. Power is shifting from corrupted institutions of an extractive and overly powerful center to a regenerative and more distributed network of interconnected City States. Happy New Era!

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line579

__label__cc

Closer (2004) April 4, 2014 December 31, 2014 / Sally This is a really hard film to review. Other than Natalie Portman’s character, the rest of the cast are very unlikable. Even Portman is no angel. The film is really well made though, the acting is brilliant. The film is set in London and follows four people, two men and two women, who’s relationships are all intertwined. The film starts with Dan (Jude Law) meeting Alice (Portman) after he saves her from a nearly getting hit by a car on her first day in London after travelling from New York. They begin a relationship until Dan meets a photographer, Anna (Julia Roberts) while she is shooting head shots for a novel he is releasing. She brushes him off when she realises he is involved, but he pursues her regardless. He inadvertently pushes her into a relationship with Larry (Clive Owen), whom she marries after dating for a few years. Over the course of the movie, all four main characters enter in and out of relationships with one another. As I said earlier, the acting here is phenomenal. Clive Owen is great as Larry. He is so powerful on screen, especially when he discovers Anna is cheating on him. The speech he gives in that scene is fantastic, and he was rightly rewarded with an Oscar nomination for this film. He is great. Portman matches Owen’s performance in this film, and received her own Oscar nod. Owen and Portman share one scene together in this film and it is the movie’s highlight. Granted, Portman spends the whole scene in a thong, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is the only time they are on screen together. It’s great seeing these two actors at the top of their game. The only weak link is Jude Law, he tries hard, but is a little out of his depth here and struggles to match the performances of Owen, Portman and Julia Roberts. My biggest problem with this film is it does not do a very good job of explaining the time jumps. Each new scene is set in the future, sometimes months or years in the future. It is hard to follow when we don’t know the film has jumped forward so far. For example, after the scene where Alice and Dan meet, in the very next scene, it shows them living together. It’s not explained until much later that it is a few years later, which I found a bit confusing. This film is quite depressing, there is not much of a happy ending for many of these characters. It is worth seeing for Clive Owen. He owns the character of Larry and gives the performance of his career. Closer is like watching four people pick at a scab for an hour and forty five minutes. The storyline is painful and seeing the characters deliberately fuck with each other (figuratively and literally) is annoying. Maybe this is better in it’s original form as a play, but the movie falls flat. There isn’t sufficient dialogue or build up to explain why the characters continually decide to pair up, break up, swap partners, and get back together. Then there are big jumps in time, which leave out the reasons for changes in the relationships. The viewer is left to deduce that the relationships depicted are no longer happy, but have no idea why. At least the cast is pretty, because the dialogue is unnatural (again, probably better as a play) and the acting leaves much to be desired. Natalie Portman can be flirty and insightful, but she’s quite unbelievable as a free spirited stripper. In fact, I bet she’s never even watched a movie with strippers, because her moves aren’t very sexual. Julia Roberts seems to be phoning it in. Half of her scenes involve her looking off into the distance, and anyone she shares a scene with easily outshines her. Jude Law’s character starts off as a cad, and ends as a cad who doesn’t seem to have learned anything from his romantic mistakes (so, basically Alfie all over again). Clive Owen is just a brute. Also, what doctor engages in chat room sex right before performing surgery? And how would this sex chat scene even work on stage? It barely works here. It would have been nice to see some subtlety in his performance, but he just goes from zero to 60 and back again. There is no middle ground here. I have never seen a movie filled with so many unlikable characters. I seriously did not care about any of them, and felt they all deserved their ultimate unhappiness. Rating: F Rated C, Rated F C, drama ← Clerks II (2006) Clueless (1995) → One thought on “Closer (2004)” Pingback: Closer (6/8) Movie CLIP – Tell Me Something True (2004) HD (much more than meets the eye!) | euzicasa

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line591

__label__cc

Roughing It: Sacrifice in Pursuit of Passion Antoine Jolicoeur Desroches Endurance Sports, Triathlon, Nutrition What do climber Alex Honnold, ultra-runner Anton Krupicka, and climber-photographer Jimmy Chin have in common? They all live or have lived in their car during their professional careers. That all-or-nothing philosophy may help explain their success. Alex Honnold is perhaps the most successful and popular climber in the world at the moment. Anton Krupicka has won countless major ultrarunning races, and Jimmy Chin is a success across many disciplines – he is a climber, photographer and filmmaker with more than one million followers on Instagram. Pursuing Passion at All Cost When Alex Honnold first started climbing, he wasn’t the sponsored, world-famous climber he is now. He was simply obsessed with climbing and wanted to do it every day. The only way to be able to do this was to live as a “dirtbag.” This might seem like an odd way to describe this lifestyle. But a dirtbag is defined by the Urban Dictionary as “a person who is committed to a given (usually extreme) lifestyle to the point of abandoning employment and other societal norms in order to pursue said lifestyle,” which is an accurate description. By this definition, dirtbags live the way the do not because they enjoy it, but because they are pursuing a dream. They are willing to live in poverty, without any luxuries such as TV and warm water, in order to pursue their passion. After a race or competition, we often hear athletes say, “I gave everything I had.” In a way these athletes are truly giving everything they have because they are willing to commit fully, not only during training and races or expeditions, but in life. They give away everything they had or could have had so that they can live their dream. There is no compromise. There is something special about that commitment. I’m sure many people working behind a desk would, in theory, love to quit all their responsibilities and live their dream. But most people are not willing to leave everything behind, because we are used to our luxury. Or maybe you have inescapable responsibilities and a family. The Realities of Pursuing Your Passion Perhaps that’s why these athletes are so popular. They are living the life that we would like to live, whether it is climbing kayaking, surfing, or skiing every day. When we follow these athletes on social media or read articles about them, we get a feel for what it’s like to live their life. It’s an exhilarating concept. You wake up and drive anywhere you want to go. Whether you want to climb a new mountain, find a new trail to run on, or find the perfect spot to surf, the possibilities are endless. "It may seem appealing to live on the road, but the trunk of a car is far from a five-star hotel room." Why not take it a step further and get a feel for what it’s like to live on the road yourself? Sleeping in a car is the most inexpensive way to travel. You don’t need a fancy van. Any car can be converted into a mobile house. This van life allows you to travel to anywhere and sleep wherever you want. It brings you a sensation of freedom that most people only dream about. However, the realities of this type of lifestyle need to be considered. It may seem appealing to live on the road, but the trunk of a car is far from a five-star hotel room. It gets warm on summer days and cold in the winter. You also need to limit the amount of clothes and gear you take, which may be difficult if you are a triathlete or climber and need to bring along your equipment. If you want to give this van-life lifestyle a try for a weekend or even longer, here are some tips that may help make your experience better: Park your car somewhere quiet, with few cars or people passing by. Bring ear plugs and an eye mask. Bring a good foldable mattress rather than the small inflatable mattresses used for camping. Park your car close to an establishment with a restroom. If you are in complete wilderness, bring paper towels and baby wipes. Always have a headlamp close to you if you need to get out of your “bed” in the middle of the night. Pack all your equipment and your training clothes separately from your casual clothing. You don’t want all the dirt, mud, and sweat to transfer to your jeans and t-shirts. Always keep non-perishable food in your car. For instance, I always have rice, cans of beans, dried fruits, dried edamame, and nuts. Upload eBooks and podcasts to your phone for entertainment. Bring a GoPro, camera, charger for your phone, and other equipment. Buy and bring a gas stove. You’ll use it to cook meals and prepare coffee and tea, especially when it’s cold and you’ve spent all day exercising outdoors. Give it a go for a weekend, and you’ll start to understand the freedom this lifestyle provides and the sacrifices it entails. Here is a video of me as a vegan pro triathlete training, sleeping, and eating out of my car for a weekend. Post your experiences to comments! You'll also enjoy: What to Pack and How to Train While Traveling How to Eat Healthy and Train Hard on the Road How Sleep Deprivation Affects Athletic Performance New on Breaking Muscle Today Photo courtesy of Shutterstock. See more about: adventure racing, surfing, running, skiing, traveling, trail running Classical P.E. For All: A Fast, Effective, Bodyweight Program Double Your Leg Strength One Leg at a Time Lateral Movement Training Too Damn Hard Become a Titan: An Intro to Football Programming Add New Disciplines to Your Training, Part 3: Execute Your Plan Add New Disciplines to Your Training, Part 1: How Do I Choose? The Awesome Things Helping Me Regenerate Knee Cartilage, Avoid Surgery and Snowboard a Whole Lot

cc/2020-05/en_head_0052.json.gz/line604