Home » People » Faculty A-Z Listing » Margaret Homans
Margaret Homans
Bird White Housum Professor of English and Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Ph.D., Yale University, 1978
B.A., Yale University, 1974
As I have practiced feminist (and, more recently, queer) literary criticism in fields ranging from Romantic poetry to the contemporary novel, my goal has been to mediate between sometimes polarized views of human identity: is gender the core or essence of any human subject, or is gender mutable and socially and culturally constituted? In my courses and publications on Victorian, modern, and contemporary literature, I have focused on women writers who explore questions of gender, sexuality, power, and identity. My current research is on narratives about adoption, which raises questions about what constitutes the human in the contexts of race, ethnicity, nationality, and class as well as gender and sexuality.
- Bearing the Word: Language and Female Experience in Nineteenth-Century Women’s Writing (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986)
- Royal Representations: Queen Victoria and Victorian Culture 1837-1876 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998)
- “ ‘Racial Composition:’ Metaphor and the Body in the Writing of Race,” in Female Subjects in Black and White: Race, Psychoanalysis, Feminism, ed. Elizabeth Abel, Barbara Christian, and Helene Moglen (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997)
- “Amy Lowell’s Keats: Reading Straight, Writing Lesbian,” The Yale Journal of Criticism 14 (2001)
- “Adoption Narratives, Trauma, and Origins,” Narrative 14:1 (Jan. 2006)
Undergraduate: George Eliot and Virginia Woolf; Virginia Woolf; History of Feminist Thought; Feminist and Queer Theory; The European Literary Tradition; Feminist Perspectives on Literature; Victorian Heroines; Gender and Power in Victorian Literature; World War I, Gender, and Literature; Reading and Writing the Modern Essay; Adoption Narratives
Graduate: Victorian Poetry, Feminist Criticism and Theory, George Eliot, Graduate Research Colloquium in Women’s & Gender Studies
The Imprint of Another Life: Adoption Narratives and Human Possibility
Royal Representations: Queen Victoria and British Culture, 1837-1876
Bearing the Word: Language and Female Experience in Nineteenth-Century Women's Writing


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Franz Bruggen
Photo by Annelies van der Vegt
Once the world's most famous recorder player, Frans Brüggen is now considered among the foremost experts in the performance of eighteenth century music. He was born in Amsterdam and studied musicology at the university there. At 21, he was appointed professor at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and later held position as Erasmus Professor at the Harvard University and Regents Professor at the University of Berkeley. Yet, as Luciano Berio wrote, he was "a musician who is not an archeologist but a great artist".
In 1981, Brüggen and friends founded the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, which consists of some fifty-five members from more than twenty different countries. The wide-ranging repertoire this orchestra has recorded for Philips Classics and nowadays for The Grand Tour / Glossa includes works by Purcell, Bach, Rameau, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Chopin.
Franz Bruggen passed away in 2014. The video below is from 1967.
© Tony Eyers 2014-19


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Copper Mountain Closes C$17.25 Million Bought Deal Offering of Common Shares
Copper Mountain Mining Corporation (TSX: CMMC | ASX: C6C) (“Copper Mountain” or the “Company” – https://www.commodity-tv.com/…) is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced bought deal offering of common shares (the “Offering”) led by Industrial Alliance Securities Inc. with a syndicate of underwriters including Cormark Securities Inc., National Bank Financial Inc., BMO Capital Markets and Haywood Securities Inc. (collectively, the “Underwriters”). Pursuant to the Offering, the Company has raised gross proceeds of C$17,250,002 through the issuance of 15,000,002 common shares of the Company (“Common Shares”) at a price of C$1.15 per Common Share (the “Offering”), including C$2,250,000 worth of Common Shares issued pursuant to the exercise by the Underwriters of the full amount of the over-allotment option.
The Common Shares were offered by way of a short form prospectus dated November 23, 2020 (the “Prospectus”) filed in all provinces and territories of Canada except for Quebec and were also offered by way of private placement in the United States. The Prospectus is available on the Company’s profile on www.sedar.com. The net proceeds of the Offering will be used for regional exploration on the Company’s prospective land package in Australia, advancing the development of the Eva Copper Project and general corporate purposes as more fully described in the Prospectus.
The securities offered have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
About Copper Mountain Mining Corporation
Copper Mountain’s flagship asset is the 75% owned Copper Mountain mine located in southern British Columbia near the town of Princeton. The Copper Mountain mine currently produces approximately 90 million pounds of copper equivalent per year. Copper Mountain also has the development-stage Eva Copper Project in Queensland, Australia and an extensive 2,100 km2 highly prospective land package in the Mount Isa area. Copper Mountain trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “CMMC” and Australian Stock Exchange under the symbol “C6C”.
Additional information is available on the Company’s web page at www.CuMtn.com.
On behalf of the Board of
COPPER MOUNTAIN MINING CORPORATION
“Gil Clausen”
Gil Clausen, P.Eng.
Letitia Wong
Executive Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development
Email: Letitia.Wong@CuMtn.com
Website: www.CuMtn.com
This news release may contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (together, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as “plans”, “expects”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “believes” or variations of such words, or statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might”, “occur” or “be achieved”. Forward-looking statements include, the anticipated use of the net proceeds from the Offering, and the Company’s intentions regarding its objectives, goals or future plans and statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance and opportunities to differ materially from those implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the successful exploration of the Company’s properties in Canada and Australia, the reliability of the historical data referenced in this press release and risks set out in Copper Mountain’s public documents, including in each management discussion and analysis, filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although Copper Mountain believes that the information and assumptions used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except where required by applicable law, Copper Mountain disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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Home > News > Japanese Films and Talents Receive 18 Nominations For the 10th Asian Film Awards
[Updates]
(February 3, 2016; Hong Kong/Tokyo)
From left; Johnnie TO, Wilfred WONG, Sean LAU Ching-wan
The Asian Film Awards Academy announced the nominations for the 10th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong today, with 18 nominations for Japanese films (including co-production film for the Best Film Award) and talents in 15 categories, including a nomination for “Three Stories of Love” (Director: Ryosuke Hashiguchi) for the Best Film Award.
*Full list of nominations of 10th Asian Film Awards⇒here
Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), together with the Hong Kong International Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival, created the Asian Film Awards Academy (AFA Academy), a nonprofit organization, in 2013 to promote and develop Asian cinema and its talents. Organized by the AFA Academy, the Asian Film Awards (AFA) will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year.
Today’s announcement encompassed 77 nominations for 15 awards. The nominations represent 36 films from 9 countries and regions. World-renowned Hong Kong director Mr. Johnnie TO Kei-fung will serve as this year’s Jury President and lead a jury comprising two charismatic and popular celebrities, Hong Kong actor Mr. Sean LAU Ching-wan and mainland Chinese actress Ms. GAO Yuanyuan, as well as 12 respected film industry professionals, festival programmers and critics from around the world, who will together choose the best Asian works. The 10th Asian Film Awards will take place on March 17, 2016 at one of the world’s leading integrated resorts, The Venetian Macao.
To commemorate the special occasion of the AFA’s 10th anniversary, a new award has been created in the category of Best Sound. Skillful recording, editing and mixing of sound is an often unnoticed but critical element in filmmaking, and this award is being given to recognize excellence in the field and encourage talent.
Dr. Wilfred WONG Ying-wai, SBS, JP, Chairman of the AFA Academy and the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, said, “The Asian Film Awards’ annual ceremony recognizes many outstanding Asian filmmakers and we have also launched year-round initiatives to sustain the promotion of Asian movies. Our Academy has developed from the annual awards to an entity that now organizes audience and professional development programs such as master classes, film festival visits for students, young professional training programs and film roadshows around the globe. The 10th anniversary is a special occasion for all the past winners to join together in this spectacular event and to testify to the great work of Asian filmmakers and industries.”
This year also marks the first collaboration between the AFA and Twitter. All the guests walking the red carpet and participating in the ceremony can now share their behind-the-scenes views and news with the world through a specially tailored mobile app called Twitter Mirror.
Details of the 10th Asian Film Awards Ceremony:
Date: March 17, 2016 (Thursday)
Official Site : www.asianfilmawards.asia
Full list of nominations of 10th Asian Film Awards


Major key alert
March 23, 2016, 1:15 p.m. | By Nicholas Shereikis | 4 years, 9 months ago
"You think they want me to have all these plaques?" the man who is one of the generation's most idolized hip-hop moguls asks, letting his camera glide over his wall of gold and platinum albums in yet another Snapchat video. "They don't. They don't want you to win."
Every generation has their star motivational speaker, their glowing symbol of hope. Wayne Dyer, Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins all provided inspiration and determination to countless souls, and yet none have ever matched the notoriety and influence that musician DJ Khaled currently has. Encouraging and supportive, Khaled has taken social media by storm.
Khaled currently has over two million followers on social media platform Snapchat, with more on others like Twitter and Instagram. The 40 year old daily shares his personal keys to success and gives brief mini speeches that raise self-esteem and inspire anyone watching. His trademark phrases and popularity even prompted a shout out from the White House in its first ever Snapchat story that contained the caption: "The key: get some rest before the big day."
Photo: Millions of followers watch his stories every day.
Whether he's in the kitchen eating Chef Dee's breakfast of turkey sausage, egg whites, and bottled water or lost at night on his jet ski, DJ Khaled has certain phrases that never grow old. Granted, there are those that don't follow Khaled – "All I know is that he was like trapped on an island and ate a sandwich or something," senior Eric Chen said – but a lot of Blazers do. In this article, Blazers explore what these life lessons mean to them.
One of DJ Khaled's biggest character traits is his perpetual gratefulness for everything he has, and that translates into his Snaps. "I think 'bless up' means being blessed or being grateful for everything you get," senior Zaafira Elham said, "it's also a way to say hi."
However, that doesn't mean Khaled sits back and is content with what he's got. Much like a personal trainer (although less in shape), the rap icon is all about 'another one,' pushing yourself to the next level. "Another one means 'more'," senior Kaleab Ribbiso said. "It means never accept mediocrity. It means to exceed your expectations. Above all, it means to never give up."
Khaled also helps his fans get to the next level by putting out a continuous stream of advice, which he calls 'keys to success.' "Major key alerts are advice that DJ Khaled gives that he thinks will help people be more successful in life," Elham said. When you see these signs, usually denoted by a key emoticon, you know that you're about to receive some invaluable advice or truth.
Among the easily discernible, however, DJ Khaled also mixes in some phrases with more ambiguous meanings. For example, 'they don't want you to [insert action here]'. And this includes everything from winning to exercising: "They don't want you to win. They don't want you to have the No. 1 record in the country. They don't want you get healthy. They don't want you to exercise. And they don't want you to have that view." While this phrase in itself has piqued people's interest across the world, its meaning is somewhat vague. In an interview with Bon Appétit Magazine, Khaled's personal Chef Dee Hodges said "In my opinion, 'they' are whoever is bringing negative energy to positive vibes." Senior Jimmy McMillan agreed. "In saying that, DJ Khaled is referring to his haters and people who don't work as hard as 'you' do or should. He's trying to motivate and move people, and reminds them that success is never without consequence or sacrifice," he said.
After all the inspiration and motivation, one thing is left: promotion. Khaled peppers his phrase "we the best!" onto everything – it's the name of his merchandise website, personal record label, and second record.
No matter what Khaled's saying or doing, his Snapchats are currently watched by millions internationally. Some, like McMillan, watch for pure entertainment. "I watch for the entertainment," he said, "but it's also interesting to see the things that people with absurd amounts of money and free time do that doesn't show up in tabloids or news."
Others, like Ribbiso, watch in order to get inspired or motivated for the day. "His stories give me motivation," Ribbiso said, "whenever I'm up at 2 AM doing homework and considering if school is even necessary to be successful in life, I can just watch a few of his stories and have a renewed passion."
Tags: Blessup DJ Khaled


Tag Archives: election monitoring
Entries tagged with "election monitoring"
China: Foreign observers: Tibetan democracy is a moral example to the world | The Tibet Post
ChinaBy admin October 23, 2015
Representatives of foreign delegations observed ‘Exile Tibetan Primary Elections’ stressed Sunday that the voting process in Tibetan elections offers lessons for the Future and marked by high turnout. They said that “Tibetans in Exile will further strengthen the moral example they display to the world.” A four-delegates representing the Asia Democracy Network (ADN), the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), and the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) said they “wish to congratulate the Tibetan Community in Exile for turning out in large numbers to exercise their democratic right to select their leaders in a peaceful and orderly manner.” The members of the delegation for the “Tibet Election Monitoring Solidarity Mission” are; Mr Pradip Ghimire coordinator (NEMA); Ms Kanchan Khatri, Program Officer (NEMA); Mr Tur-Od Lkhagvajav, president (TIM); and Mr Ryan D. Whelan, campaign & advocacy coordinator (ANFREL).
Tunisia: Presidential Vote Goes to a Runoff | Wall Street Journal
TunisiaBy admin November 25, 2014
Tunisia’s presidential election is poised to enter a hotly contested runoff vote next month, after unofficial results showed the interim president faring better than expected against the candidate widely tipped to win. Moncef Marzouki, who was voted in as interim president in 2011 by the Constituent Assembly, appeared to have secured between 32% and 35% of Sunday’s vote, according to a tabulation released on Monday by a respected Tunisian election monitoring group, Mourakiboun. Mr. Marzouki, a human-rights activist and longtime dissident during the autocratic regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was seen as the only candidate who could pose a challenge to favorite Beji Caid Essebsi, but few observers believed he could garner such a high percentage of the vote. He was believed to have been weakened by the slow and often turbulent transition in Tunisia since a popular uprising unseated Mr. Ben Ali in 2011.
Mauritania: Ex-president calls upcoming elections “farcical” | Middle East Eye
MauritaniaBy admin June 19, 2014
Former Mauritanian president Ely Ould Mohamed Vall on Tuesday called on local and international civil society groups not to recognize the country’s upcoming presidential polls in which incumbent President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz will vie for a second term in office. “These farcical elections will be supervised by a non-representative commission dedicated to serving the interests of one political party,” read a press statement issued by Vall. The June 21 presidential election is being boycotted by the National Forum for Democracy and Unity, an umbrella group of opposition parties ranging from social democrats to Islamists.
Afghanistan: Election monitors leave Afghanistan after Kabul hotel attack | The Guardian
AfghanistanBy admin March 24, 2014
Two foreign election observer and support missions have pulled staff out of Afghanistan after a Taliban attack on a hotel in Kabul, in a move that could undermine confidence in the outcome of next month’s vote. The presidential election on 5 April could mark the country’s first democratic transfer of power. Many fear a repeat of the widespread fraud that discredited the poll in 2009 when about 20% of votes were thrown out. “It’s really bad news,” said Jandad Spingar, director at the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan, the largest Afghan monitoring group. “Having international observers in the election is really, really important … [to] give legitimacy to the process.”
Editorials: Azerbaijan’s ‘AppGate’ | Al Jazeera
EditorialsBy admin October 15, 2013
Few people honestly thought that Azerbaijan stood a serious chance of conducting a fair and free presidential election on October 9. As I have written extensively, since the beginning of the year, Azerbaijani authorities have been engaged in an unprecedented crackdown to silence all forms of criticism and dissent. The underlying climate simply did not allow for a fair competition – not to mention that Azerbaijan has not held a single authentically democratic election since Aliyev came to power in 2003. Still, the brazen nature of the electoral violations that took place surprised even close observers of Azerbaijan. A day before the election, Meydan TV, a satellite/Internet television station, broke the story that set the tone for the whole election, which became known as the “AppGate” scandal. Meydan TV exposed an apparent fault of the Central Election Commission’s mobile phone application to allow users to track election results. On October 8, Meydan TV discovered that the results section of the application was showing, giving incumbent President Ilham Aliyev 72.76 percent of the vote before a single vote had been cast.
Russia: Opposition Leader Asserts Broad Problems in Moscow Race | New York Times
RussiaBy admin September 11, 2013
The Russian opposition leader, Aleksei A. Navalny, on Thursday submitted to a court more than 50,000 pages of documents illustrating what he said were irregularities in Sunday’s voting in the Moscow mayor’s race in an attempt to prove that he won enough votes to force a runoff against the incumbent, Sergei S. Sobyanin. But the court refused to block the inauguration of Mr. Sobyanin, who barely cleared the threshold for an outright victory with 51.4 percent. He was sworn in on Thursday evening during a ceremony in the city’s World War II museum. According to the official returns, Mr. Navalny placed second with 27.2 percent. Yet, even as Mr. Navalny and his aides lugged 21 boxes of documents to the courthouse, they acknowledged not only that there was little hope of overturning the results, but also that the voting had been relatively fair. So they have adopted a new message: while the vote was generally free of blatant fraud like ballot stuffing, the election itself was rigged from the beginning.
Russia: Vote monitoring group suspended under ‘foreign agent’ law | Reuters
RussiaBy admin June 27, 2013
Russia suspended an independent election monitoring group for six months on Wednesday, for failing to register as a “foreign agent” under a law that President Vladimir Putin’s critics say is part of a crackdown on dissent. The Moscow-based group, Golos, angered the government by publicizing evidence of fraud in a 2011 parliamentary vote that sparked opposition protests, and at the presidential election that returned Putin to the Kremlin for a third term last year. It is the first non-governmental organization (NGO) to have its operations suspended under the law Putin signed last July as part of a drive to decrease what he has said were efforts by Western countries to meddle in Russian politics. Golos denies it falls under the law, which obliges NGOs that receive any foreign funding and are deemed to be involved in political activity to register as “foreign agents”.
Russia: Election watchdog group must register as ‘foreign agent’ | UPI.com
Election monitoring group Golos must register as a “foreign agent” even though it says it does not get any foreign funds, Russian officials said Friday. The independent organization says it has not received money from outside Russia since November 2012, when a new law went into effect governing non-governmental organizations such as Golos, RIA Novosti reported.
Russia: Vote monitor slams Russia ministry for ‘wanting it closed’ | AFP
RussiaBy admin April 11, 2013
Russian election monitoring group Golos (Voice) on Wednesday slammed the authorities for trying to halt its work after the justice ministry launched a court case accusing it of failing to declare itself as a “foreign agent” with international funding. “This is total lawlessness. They have given an instruction not to let us cover elections,” the group’s executive director Lilia Shibanova told AFP, vowing to fight back and possibly even countersue the ministry. The group, which has claimed mass falsifications in parliamentary and presidential polls won by Vladimir Putin, is accused of “carrying out the functions of a foreign agent” and failing to register. The case is seen as the first test of a law passed by parliament last year obliging foreign-funded NGOs to register as a “foreign agent” and widely criticised as a throwback to the Soviet past.
Russia: Charges Brought Against Election Monitors | New York Times
The federal Justice Ministry opened a legal case on Tuesday against Russia’s only independent election monitoring organization, charging that the group, Golos, and its executive director had violated a controversial new law by failing to register as a “foreign agent.”
Related The ministry’s action came a day after Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany publicly chastised Russia over its intimidating treatment of nongovernmental organizations, including a series of recent raids. Ms.Merkel was the first Western leader to challenge President Vladmir V. Putin of Russia on the issue. She made her comments at a news conference in Hanover, Germany where the leaders toured a trade fair. The new law, which requires nonprofit groups that receive financing from abroad to register as foreign agents, was among the most provocative in a passel of Kremlin-supported legislation in recent months that was aimed at tightening restrictions and limiting foreign influence on nonprofit groups.
Ukraine: Violations build up as Ukrainian Election Day approaches | Kyiv Post
UkraineBy admin October 5, 2012
Just several weeks ahead of Election Day, Ukraine’s parliamentary campaign is already full of violations of election legislation that could affect the results and the vote’s legitimacy. Observers from OPORA, the largest domestic election monitoring group, point out increasing number of incidents of campaign violations, among them bribing voters, use of government resources of local authorities to the advantage of some parties and candidates, obstruction in election campaigning, unfair campaigning, use of law enforcement for campaign help and pressure on news media. “We have clearly determined that the [use of] administrative resources and [vote] bribing are those factors that may influence the outcome of [upcoming parliamentary] elections,” said Olha Ayvazovska, coordinator of electoral programs at OPORA, but could not elaborate whether this impact would be significant saying that it is too early to provide a final judgment as the campaign is not over yet.
Congo: Congolese vote in legislative elections | Radio Netherlands
CongoBy admin July 16, 2012
Congolese voters went to the polls on Sunday for the first round of legislative elections expected to maintain an overwhelming majority for allies of longtime President Denis Sassou Nguesso. The oil-rich central African country has been open to multiparty politics since 1991 but wracked by two civil wars in which Sassou Nguesso, an army colonel who first came to power in 1979, played a prominent role. Voting got off to a late start in some parts of Brazzaville, but Sassou Nguesso, who cast his vote at midday near the presidential palace, sought to reassure the nation that everything was proceeding smoothly. “The instructions I had given for the elections to take place in peace, transparency, for them to be free, fair and credible, have for the most part been followed,” he said.
Cambodia: Prime Minister Hun Sen’s party expected to win Cambodia elections | The Brunei Times
CambodiaBy admin June 4, 2012
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling party was expected to win Cambodia’s local elections yesterday in a vote that monitors say is tainted by vote buying and other irregularities. The elections for local governing councils across the country are viewed as the key indicator of public opinion ahead of general elections in 2013. Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party has ruled Cambodia for nearly three decades. It has strong rural support and overwhelmingly won both previous local elections in 2002 and 2007. Preliminary results from Sunday’s vote were expected by Monday.
Russia: Demonstrations denouncing electoral irregularities repressed, election monitoring NGO slandered | fidh.org
RussiaBy admin December 15, 2011
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), strongly condemns the pressure exercised on the NGOs, human rights defenders and peaceful protesters who denounced electoral irregularities and called for fair, free and independent electoral processes following the elections results on December 4, 2011, as well as the defamation campaign targeting the Golos, an NGO working on election monitoring, ahead of the election.
Golos (“the Voice”), a major Russian NGO specialising in election monitoring has been the target of a State-organised harassment and a defamation campaign since November 26, 2011. The harassment started a week before the holding of the elections when a State-controlled media, the pro-Government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta, published an article dated November 26, criticising Golos and accusing them of “reducing the process of observing the electoral campaign and voting on election day into a way of making money”.
Later, on December 2, 2011, the State-controlled TV channel NTV entered Golos headquarters to question the staff with cameras in order to broadcast in the evening a half-hour documentary containing sharp criticism of the NGO. In line with the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s statement of November 27, the broadcast alluded that Golos had been a “recipient of grants” following “instructions of foreign governments”, and that the NGO’s executives were handling millions of dollars in cash, in an attempt to discredit them. Vladimir Putin had accused the “representatives of some foreign countries” to pay money to influence the elections and accused western-granted associations to make a “wasted effort” as “Juda [was] not considered the most respected biblical character” in Russia.
Russia: Websites downed in Russia poll ‘hack attack’ | AFP
RussiaBy admin December 5, 2011
Websites which revealed violations in Russia’s legislative polls were targeted in a mass hacking attack Sunday their operators said was aimed at preventing the exposure of mass election fraud. Popular Russian radio station Moscow Echo and election monitoring group Golos said their websites were the victims of massive cyber attacks, while several opposition news sites were inaccessible.
“The attack on the website on election day is clearly an attempt to inhibit publication of information about violations,” Moscow Echo editor-in-chief Alexei Venediktov wrote on Twitter.
Golos said it was the victim of a similar “distributed denial of service” (DDoS) attack, while several other opposition news sites were down. The Moscow Echo is popular among the liberal opposition although it is owned by state gas giant Gazprom. After the close of polls on Sunday, the Moscow Echo website was working again but the Golos website was still inaccessible.
India: EC warns Punjab officials against repeat of SGPC polls omissions | Times Of India
IndiaBy admin November 14, 2011
They may have had no powers to take note of and stop the alleged irregularities and partisan activities committed during the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) elections, but the Election Commission of India has definitely been alarmed by what happened during the gurdwara polls recently.
That’s why, in a major snub to the state government, chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi told the administrative heads – the deputy commissioners and the divisional commissioner – on Saturday at Ludhiana that they knew “what exactly happened in Punjab during the SGPC elections and you dare not repeat this again.”


Artists Who Recorded WestCoast Music
NuCoast Artists from the New Millennium
WestCoast Artists from Around the World
WestCoast Artists from Hawaii
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WestCoast Contemporary Christian Music Artists (CCM)
The History of West Coast Pop
Out of the Ashes of 70s Fame Rose Solo Acts of the 80s
Posted on February 22, 2018 by The WestCoast Breeze
The idea of being super started to take over by the late 70s. It was not just for comic book heroes, expanded grocery stores or the Concorde. It was one thing to be successful but to be considered a superstar raised you to another strata few had ever been. Whatever feelings of invincibility one felt they were just as soon matched with time pressures, fan burdens, company managers and egos so out of control that by the end of the decade, a lot of these groups crashed and burned or at the very least didn’t want to be around each other anymore.
By 1980, The Eagles, Steely Dan, and the Doobie Brothers put out their last recorded output for a while as some of the members of those bands decided to explore other musical avenues. (Fleetwood Mac needed a similar break, and after recharging the batteries they would get back together from time to time.)
Luckily for us fans we ended up with more music than before. The Eagles would get back together 14 years later with Hell Freezes Over. The Doobie Brothers would only need 9 years until Cycles, but Michael McDonald never rejoined the band. And even though Steely Dan started touring again in the mid-90s after a multi decade drought of concerts, it would be a solid 20 years for their next album, Two Against Nature, which won a Grammy for Album of The Year. Good things come to those who wait….
Here’s a montage of 1980s West Coast solo acts spawned from popular 70s bands:
The Story Behind Toto’s 99
The first single from Toto’s second album, Hydra, in 1979, was the band’s second Top 40 hit when it peaked at #26 in early 1980. Written by David Paich, this soft yet funky keyboard-driven jam featured lead vocals by Steve Lukather and a very jazzy solo on the outro by him.
Many have wondered what the title refers to. Some say that someone in the band had been dating Barbara Feldon – Agent 99 on Get Smart – and that it was written about her. That turned out to be not true. [Coincidentally Barbara Feldon released a 45 in 1966 called 99.] Some say that 99 is about a girl who’s almost perfect but is not quite 100. Again, false. And it’s not about Wayne Gretzky either. Or the number of beer bottles on the wall.
David Paich actually wrote the song as a tribute to George Lucas’ first film, THX-1138. This film takes place many centuries in the future where people live in a totalitarian state and are referred to by number. Thus it’s a love song to someone imagined in the world with the number 99. Why 99? It probably just sounds right. (Two more Top 40 songs in the 1980s would have 99 in them – Prince’s 1999 and Nena’s 99 Luftballons.)
Toto didn’t play the song live for many years, mostly because Luke didn’t like it all that much. As it peaked in the Winter of 79-80, I personally enjoyed hearing it on the radio. When it came on I felt it breathing life into me as I stared out through frosted windows at the cold, dreary skies and leafless trees.
The song’s video reflects the film that inspired it by everyone wearing white jumpsuits and lens a tinge out of focus. I think most videos back them were made for $20 and took 30 minutes to film. Check it out for yourself:
Does Anything Last Forever?
I don’t know. But one thing that has lasted a very long time is the career of Michael McDonald. Since his early days with Del-Rays, Michael has been entertaining folks for almost 50 years. So let’s celebrate the birthday of one of our true national treasures with a deep cut from his first solo LP in 1982, If That’s What It Takes:
And here’s Michael and Kenny singing a big hit they wrote together:
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West Coast Rendez-Vous


Chuck Jaffe
A brother's prognosis puts life in focus
Published: June 24, 2010 at 12:01 a.m. ET
Chuck Jaffe and
Commentary: Forget about 'the number,' focus on making good things happen
PALO ALTO, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- The doctors were meeting with my brother Rob when I arrived at Stanford Medical Center last week to visit him. They let me in on the conversation. The prognosis was not good.
"I am not asking, 'Why me?'" my brother said, a little later. "I have had so many blessings and so many great things that I won't complain or waste time trying to figure out why this is what fate has picked for me."
And then he paused for a moment.
"I will wonder, 'Why not Bernie Madoff?'"
My big brother has been diagnosed with primary amyloidosis, a disease so nefarious and rare that many medical diagnostic specialists will go a lifetime without seeing it. There are just three medical centers in the U.S. that specialize in treating it. He is blessed to be at one of those facilities; it has already extended his life.
His mind is sharp as ever, his sense of humor obviously intact, but his body is failing him. While he believes his fate might be a fitting punishment for the likes of Madoff, he wouldn't wish this on anyone.
There is nothing Rob did to catch primary amyloidosis; there is nothing genetic that caused it. There also is no known way to beat it. You merely put it off for a time, until it eventually overwhelms you. He turned 57 in May.
The odds of being diagnosed with primary amyloidosis are only a bit better than winning the Powerball jackpot; as Rob said, his condition is like "winning the evil sweepstakes."
Rob's decline was swift and severe. He didn't feel so well at my father's 85th birthday party last December, but generally seemed fine. Soon thereafter, doctors diagnosed a gall bladder issue, but he didn't improve for long when that was removed in March.
Soon it was thought to be his kidneys, then his central nervous system, and then a failing heart; he couldn't stand up without feeling faint, then ultimately he couldn't sit or stand without his blood pressure falling so low that he'd trigger cardiac arrhythmia.
Because amyloidosis can affect so many internal organs and because the symptoms look like so many other things, doctors believe that many patients go undiagnosed; someone might suffer from, say, congestive heart failure with no one knowing that there was an amyloid problem that caused the decline and, ultimately, death.
While Rob is prepared to fight it with everything he has left -- and his condition has improved thanks to the efforts of Dr. Ronald Witteles and the team at Stanford -- he knows there might not be much left. Patients diagnosed early seem to be able to go for anywhere from 12 to 56 months in treatment; he was not diagnosed early.
Not counting the days, but living them
His goal now is not to count the days, but to live them. He's not looking for a measure of months, but rather the things he can live to see. It's not about ticking off days on a calendar, it's about checking off events in a life. There's a 30th wedding anniversary, his daughter's completion of graduate school, his son's graduation from college, his 60th birthday; he'd like to experience those events, and he knows the chances are not all that good.
That knowledge is what drove that first conversation we had when the doctors left after giving him such a short time. It's why he pushed me to write about something I would have otherwise kept to myself.
Rob knows that the one thing he can control in this situation is his attitude; we believe, as the late basketball coach Jim Valvano put it, that you can have a full day if you laugh, think, and are moved to tears, so every last day he gets will be a full one.
When your doctor delivers the news that you are financially set for life -- because you will not outlive your assets no matter what you do -- it puts things into focus. Rob wanted me to tell you some of the thoughts he has been focused on, because everyone's days are numbered -- you just live a little differently when God puts the time remaining in your game up on the clock.
If you can achieve your dreams, don't wait to make them happen
One of Rob's few regrets is the trip to New Zealand his wife always wanted to make. Eileen never asks for anything, yet this was one thing she really wanted. Two years ago, he picked a different family destination spot "because it was cheaper, and a better fit for the schedule." The dollars he saved will never allow him to make the journey with his wife.
The term "bucket list" has become cliché, and too often those lists are populated with the trivial. His point was different. "I wanted that trip for 30 years," he told me. "Cheaper shouldn't have made the difference. Having that experience we always dreamed of -- doing something that might have been once-in-a-lifetime -- that's why you work, and why you save, and why you ultimately spend something when you can afford to get the things you have always wanted."
Forget about 'the number'
This is connected to pursuing your goals. Financial-services companies manage money, so they want you to believe -- as one company shows in a series of wretched television ads -- that "your number" is what matters.
Your number is poppycock. It's how people set goals for themselves, work a lifetime to achieve them and then live like misers, because spending or losing any money would drop them below the goal and leave them short of their life's ambition.
Make your ambition the lifestyle you want, the things you hope to do. That doesn't just apply to trips or travel, it applies to work and job choices, to the timing of your retirement and much more. Let your spirit -- not the number -- drive your actions. It's a lot easier to save when you have a goal that is more concrete and real than seeing digits on an account statement.
Pick your causes, and support them to the fullest
Giving money away is a sign of money maturity. Give until it hurts, because the pain is exquisite, and because someone else is hurting or in need. When your time is up, knowing you helped to make a difference is a true comfort.
My current charity of choice is the Stanford Amyloid Center. For more information, see the site.
Like most middle-aged guys who work too hard, Rob was busy and he let some health concerns linger. Put off an appointment here, ignored an ache or pain there; nothing would have prevented him from having the disease, but catching it earlier might have improved his prognosis.
No one gets to the end of their life and says, "Man, I really wish I had worked more." Find the time to get yourself checked out, to recognize the signs your body is sending. There is no other appointment or task at work that is more important.
Make good things happen, rather than waiting for them to happen
I got some Chinese food on my trip and brought my brother the fortune cookies. Bad call. "Do you realize how much time people waste on horoscopes and fortune tellers and lottery tickets, hoping to have something magical happen that will change their lives?" he told me.
"If they want something to happen, they need to change their lives themselves; otherwise, you might still be waiting when something like [amyloidosis] happens, with nothing to show for your time and effort."
Focus on what's important, not on what's others think is important
It's much less about the dollars than about what you do with them. You won't come to the end of your life and wonder what the Dow is doing at that instant, or whether your portfolio is "optimized" or if it's worth a slightly above-average expense ratio for that mutual fund you like.
Money is a tool, not your scorecard or your ambition. In the end, if you ever have to reflect and judge your life and take stock of your life's work, you'll feel much richer if the focus is on something besides how big you could grow your bank accounts.
Take a look inside Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen’s Massachusetts mansion
NFL great Tom Brady has finally offloaded his Massachusetts mansion. The quarterback and his wife, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, have sold their luxe Brookline estate, according to the Boston Globe.
How much money was President Trump’s Twitter account worth?


Salute to American Success
CycleBar’s Unique Approach to Indoor Cycling Workouts
By Charles Payne, Matthew KazinFOXBusiness
In this Salute to American Success, we’re taking a look at CycleBar, an indoor cycling company. This luxury boutique fitness franchise was founded in 2004 by Bill Pryor and his sister Alex, and uses technology and forms of entertainment to enhance the fitness classes it offers to customers.
Bill, then a corporate executive, became interested in cycling after years of playing pick-up basketball took a toll on his knees.
“That [basketball] was my fitness workout for years,” Pryor said. “I started feeling a lot of pain in my knees. My doctor said I couldn’t run anymore, and recommended cycling, swimming or rowing… so I got into outdoor cycling.”
According to Pryor, CycleBar is unlike other types of indoor cycling classes.
“It’s a completely different type of experience than taking an indoor cycling class at a gym,” he said. “Everyone [at CycleBar] knows each other... there’s a community feel, a certain intimacy to it.”
He added, “We have a theater, the lights go down, video content is projected and music is played as well. We don’t refer to it as a workout. You come out drenched in sweat because it’s fun and doesn’t feel like drudgery.”
Some of CycleBar’s competitors include SoulCycle and Flywheel. However, Pryor said one of the biggest differences between CycleBar and other indoor cycling companies is its franchise model.
Pryor said the financial model of CycleBar is different as well. Customers pay per class, and the company offers packages of 20, 50 and 100 classes, which can help lower the cost for customers. Some classes offered include ones dedicated to endurance, performance and strength.
“You see results and the economic model is appealing to customers,” Pryor said.
Currently, CycleBar has three studio locations open for business, with a fourth opening in December.
Pryor expects the company to see rapid growth in the coming year.
“We plan to have 100 new locations available to open by the end of 2016,” he said. “The big deal with getting started is finding real estate, and we help people with that process.”
To Pryor, who still teaches multiple classes, the key to getting into shape is finding something that's “sustainable.”
“The key thing about getting into shape is commitment,” he said. “That becomes part of your lifestyle, like brushing your teeth. You just have to do it… find something you enjoy participating in. Then it becomes sustainable."


BRUNO DANN
Bruno Alfonse Dann is a Traditional Owner, Indigenous Artist, Indigenous Landcare and Culture Specialist and Chairperson of Manowan Aboriginal Corporation.
Bruno was one of the original artists for “Walkabout Australia” which became very successful in Europe, Canada, USA and Japan. In 1985 he was awarded a certificate from the Chief Minister for the Northern Territory for his contribution to art. In 2001, Bruno helped establish the Manowan Aboriginal Corporation, which was named after the country that Bruno’s grandfathers had left for him. As Chairperson, Bruno began his life’s work of healing and restoring his culture and country, while bringing employment and opportunities to many other members of the Nyul community.
Bruno has been an invaluable support for the Foundation, and continues to provide guidance and insights to the Board.


Featured, News
DJ Snake teases future collaboration with Drake
By Staff Team
DJ Snake is one of the biggest household names within the entire music industry. After breaking through the scene with the crowd-pleaser “Turn Down for What”, the French producer has consistently produced one hit after another. With the likes of “Lean On” and “Middle” under his portfolio, DJ Snake’s career has been nothing short of spectacular, especially during the past few years.
Also being one of the scene’s most versatile producers, DJ Snake has collaborated with numerous artists from a variety of genres. From rappers like Jeremih and Young Thug to pop stars like Justin Bieber, DJ Snake clearly shows no fear of teaming up with some of the world’s most prominent names.
Recently, another major artist popped up who could be working together with DJ Snake for a future collaboration. On his Twitter account, DJ Snake posted a photo of himself alongside Canadian rapper Drake, which could hint at a possible track from the two superstars.
While this tweet, by no means, is an official confirmation of a collaboration between DJ Snake and Drake, it could tease that they are cooking up new music inside the studio. Especially considering the amount of success DJ Snake has accumulated and the number of famous artists he has worked with, a production with a high-caliber talent like Drake should not come as a surprise at all.
New Season ~ @Drake pic.twitter.com/3CVIUn2XIe
— DJ SNAKE (@djsnake) December 2, 2016
Tags: collaboration, Dj Snake, Drake, Teaser, Twitter


Danesha Mead | Board President
Danesha Mead is first in her family to go to college. She grew up in Los Angeles and went to a high school where more students dropped out than went to college. She saw first hand how difficult the journey can be to navigate and is dedicated to helping the next generation avoid the many many mistakes she made herself.
Danesha works at McKinsey & Company where she focuses on data driven growth for technology, finance, and retail companies. She started her career at Hall Capital Partners, an investment management firm based in San Francisco, where she grew from a portfolio management analyst to an internal technology and operations strategy associate. Her love for technology drew her away from Hall to Salesforce, where she was an internal consultant for their marketing group focusing on data strategy, data visualization, and attribution modeling.
Danesha holds an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, a Masters in Economics & Finance at the University of Leeds in England, and a BS from UCSD. Danesha also served on the board of the Financial Women’s Association of San Francisco. In her spare time, she makes and distributes maple syrup so that people can know what real syrup tastes like and enjoys morning walks with her daughter (7 months), dog and husband.
Ryan Baum | Board Vice President
Principal, Jump Associates
Ryan Baum is a Principal at Jump Associates. For the past 10 years he has acted as a partner and advisor to Fortune 500 executives setting the course for large-scale transformations and aggressive growth. That has included work ranging from helping a major airline clarify and roll-out a new corporate strategy, to partnering with an automotive company to recapture the Millennial market, to helping a technology giant break into the healthcare space by redefining the long-term care market.
Ryan is an active thought leader in business strategy and innovation. He teaches a course at Stanford University in which students draw upon methods from anthropology, design, and business strategy to discover insights about people and define new offerings. He has also written for publications such as FastCompany, spoken at conferences such as the Economist’s Ideas Economy conference, and guest lectured at universities such as Wharton and Berkley.
Ryan holds a B.A. in Ethics, Politics and Economics from Yale University.
Hanish Rathod | Finance Committee Chair
Director of Global Go-To-Market Strategy, Zendesk
Hanish is the Director of Global Go-To-Market Strategy at Zendesk where he leads global GTM strategies, product strategy and integrated sales, marketing and channel strategy . Additionally, he leads enablement, pricing & packaging and market intelligence. He has over 15 years of tech industry experience in functions that include product development, marketing, strategy and investing.
Prior to Zendesk, Hanish worked in product marketing at The Climate Corporation, driving global go-to-market strategies, product strategy, messaging & positioning and channel enablement. Earlier at VMware, Hanish was the global lead product marketing manager for vSphere with Operations Management. He has also worked in asset management in New York leveraging his expertise in investment analysis on tech companies for Morgan Stanley.
Hanish went to Harvard Business School and has a Masters in Electrical Engineering from UCLA, and a Bachelors of Engineering from Vanderbilt. Outside of work, Hanish has been actively involved in higher education legislation in Washington D.C. for over 10 years. His grass roots efforts led to the house bill H.R. 3412 (Higher Education Affordability and Equity act) during the 108th congress and continues to serve through various channels to advocate on behalf of students.
John A. Spensieri | Development Committee Chair
Retired Financial Advisor
John served as a Financial Advisor in San Francisco with MorganStanley SmithBarney. Prior to that he was a Financial Advisor with Wells Fargo Advisors in NYC.. He made a career change into the financial services industry joining AG Edwards in NYC which was acquired by Wachovia Securities, which was then acquired by Wells Fargo Advisors.
Prior to Wells Fargo Advisors he was a VP & Senior Partner with Core Strategies, a market development consulting firm providing services to technology small businesses to help them dramatically grow their sales & profitability.
Previous responsibilities included Chief Marketing Officer for an eMarketplace startup Fast Parts, President of a new business unit within International Data Group, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Avnet’s Computer Marketing Group and Vice President of Marketing for Arrow Electronics’ Commercial System Group.
John received his MBA in Marketing from Loyola University in Chicago and a BSME from Marquette University in Milwaukee. John is a board member of the San Francisco Embarcadero YMCA, has served on the board of the NYC McBurney YMCA, Enterprise for HS Students- Board member & mentor in the Career Exploration Program, Career Coach for Summer Search, Volunteer for KIPP Charter Schools, Volunteer for First Graduate, Co-op Board Finance Committee Chairman, Co-President of the NYC Loyola Chicago Alumni and Host Committee member for Marquette University Circles events. Has served on various committees including the advisory committee for Youth Chance HS, YMCA Board Development Committee, YMCA Financial Development Committee , Program and Development for EHSS and Mentor for Enterprise for Youth. He and his wife Jayne enjoy collecting Contemporary Art and traveling.
John is a first generation college graduate.
Siddharth R. Alexander | Board Member
Managing Director, Investment Portfolio at Wells Fargo
Siddharth began his volunteer journey with First Graduate in 2009, joining the Board of Directors in 2018.
“I’ve supported and been involved with First Graduate for almost ten years now. The culture of the organization and level of dedication to the students and mission is truly impressive. Despite their success, I’ve valued their continued focus on the San Francisco area to help students be the first in their families to graduate college. Last year I had the opportunity to meet the college graduates I tutored when I first volunteered at First Graduate in 2008. It’s hard to express the mixed emotions of pride, joy, and mostly gratitude that I and other volunteers felt to have another class of students enter the work force and adult life equipped with a college degree, in large part due to First Graduate’s support. And if I were to gauge success, the same graduates fully recognize the benefits and support they have received from First Graduate’s staff, volunteers and donors. If you believe that education is near the top of the list to directly or indirectly make for a better world and better human beings, I would strongly urge you to consider supporting First Graduate in any capacity.”
Marvell C. Allen | Board Member
Principal & Owner, Millennium Career Advantage, LLC
Marvell C. Allen is Owner and Principal, of Millennium Career Advantage, LLC, a professional leadership development and coaching practice, started in 2010. Current and past clients have included Twitter, LinkedIn, Contra Costa County, The Bureau of Indian Affairs (U.S. Department of the Interior), Marin County, UC Davis, Marriott International, City of Mountain View, Kaiser Permanente, SanDisk, Watermark, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and Genentech, to name a few.
Marvell is an expert at delivering executive, management, and staff development programs that support organizational objectives. Moreover, she has a solid track record as a training leader for dynamic organizations to resolve complex business issues. Marvell is known as a key strategic partner for senior executives and cross-functional teams to help achieve business imperatives.
Marvell has spent many years supporting strategic organizational/learning initiatives with topics including:
Executive Presence
Organizational Influence
StrengthsFinder
Building Effective Relationships and Alliances
Marvell’s academic credentials include a BA degree from UC Berkeley, a MA in Political and Economic Assessment (International Business Asia) from Dominican University of California, and coaching certifications in StrengthsFinder, Leadership/Talent Management, and Career Management Coaching.
Neera Bhat | Board Member
Managing Director, Accenture
Neera is a Managing Director at Accenture, and like all of our students she is the first in her family to graduate from college.
Gopa Dasari | Board Member
Gopa Dasari was a volunteer with First Graduate for seven years before joining the board. Over the past 10 years, he has worked in the Private Wealth Management industry, dealing primarily with high-net-worth families and institutions.
Daniel Curme | Board Member
Professional Development Administrator at Minerva Schools at KGI
Dan Curme is a Professional Development Administrator at Minerva Schools at KGI, a relatively new non-profit university program built on principles of the science of learning and which equips students with practical skills and knowledge for the 21st century. He works with some of the brightest undergraduate students from around the world to help shape their professional interests and opportunities outside the classroom – and he does this without having a Minerva alumni network to lean on (the first graduating class in May 2019). Based on his experience teaching in the classroom, managing education programs, and advising students, Dan believes effective change in education comes from passionate, well-supported individuals and teams working in innovative and forward-thinking models.
Dan has spent his entire professional career in education, working and volunteering at organizations around the world with a variety of age groups. His experience includes Junior Achievement, City Year, College Access Now, Seattle Public Schools, StudentVox, and Minerva Schools. For 7 summers, Dan coached at Ultimate Peace, a non-profit ultimate Frisbee summer camp for Palestinian and Israeli youth.
Dan has co-written two Master’s theses, both of which explored college culture and supporting first-generation students in high school and college. Dan holds a BA in Modern Middle East History from Carleton College and an MA in Higher Education Administration from Stanford University.
Mark Hamilton | Board Member
CEO & Founder, Hamilton Zanze
Prior to co-founding Hamilton Zanze in 2001, Mark Hamilton sponsored the acquisition, ownership, and development of nearly 40 properties in the Bay Area. Mark’s main focus has always been locating value-add properties in changing urban neighborhoods and then re-working them into higher-quality buildings with higher incomes, improved tenant profiles, and higher resale values.
Mark has considerable experience in partnership formations and operations, project planning and implementation, asset management and management oversight, landlord-tenant and rent-control issues, risk management, and zoning and building department matters. Before forming his own commercial brokerage and investment business in 1994, Mark worked in the San Francisco office of Marcus & Millichap, subsequently co-founding Property Resource Group (real estate brokerage) and Quantum Land Company (development).
Mark earned a B.A. with High Honors in English Literature from San Francisco State University and an M.A. in English and American Literature from Brandeis University, which he attended as a University Scholar and Fellow.
Jenny Kao | Board Member
Chief Policy Advisor to the President of the University of California
Jenny Kao is the Chief Policy Advisor to the President of the University of California system of 10 UC campuses, 6 medical centers, and 3 affiliated national laboratories, where she advances the University’s policy agenda, leads policy initiatives and advises the President on a wide array of policy issues. Issues range from supporting undocumented/DACA-mented, first-generation and low-income students, to standardized testing in admissions, to developing a vision for UC’s role as a social mobility machine and economic driver in California’s future.
A product of California public education, Jenny has worked in the public sector and in public higher education for over two decades. Before her current role as Chief Policy Advisor to the President, she served as both Chief of Staff for Public Affairs and founding Executive Director for Issues Management, Policy Analysis and Coordination (IMPAC). In this dual role, she developed external messaging and strategy for policy initiatives and the University system’s positions on state and federal legislation. Prior to this role, Jenny co-led the University’s state governmental relations office in Sacramento, advocating for UC’s priorities with the Governor and Legislature. Before that, she worked as the Higher Education Policy Analyst in then-Governor Gray Davis’ administration from 1999-2000. She began her career in higher education in undergraduate admissions policy and student athletics at the UC Berkeley campus.
Kao earned her B.A. degree (with honors) in American History from UC Berkeley, with a minor degree in French literature. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University. An immigrant and non-native English speaker, Jenny was born in Taiwan, raised in San Francisco, and now calls Oakland home. She’s fluent in Mandarin and French. Hobbies include running, hiking, and wining and dining.
Susan Knowles | Board Member
Director of Genomics Services at UCSF Health
Susan Knowles has been a volunteer with First Graduate for four years, and she enjoys working with students on resumes, school applications and math homework. Susan manages four clinical genetic labs and supports the implementation of cutting-edge genomics methods for precision medicine. Susan spent 10 years in the life sciences industry developing DNA-sequence based applications in the fields of reproductive health, infectious disease, and metagenomics.
Susan has a BS degree from The George Washington Universityand an MBA from the University of Chicago. Susan lives in San Francisco and in her spare time enjoys cooking and just about anything outdoors.
Jaime Najarro | Board Member
Consultant at The Bridgespan Group
Jaime Najarro is a strategy consultant with deep expertise providing actionable insights to internal and external clients in education, philanthropy, government, and startups. Skilled in quantitative and qualitative analysis, stakeholder engagement, and effective communication on highly sensitive strategic questions. Wharton MBA, with additional degrees from Berkeley and Princeton.
Jaime is a first generation college graduate.
Tucker Serenbetz | Board Member
Director at TMT Strategy at KPMG
Tucker is a 12-year resident of San Francisco and lives just a short walk from the First Graduate office. His career has focused on advising large enterprises on growth and operating model strategy. In that time, he has worked for a number of companies in the Bay Area, including Yahoo! and McKinsey & Company.
Currently, Tucker is a Director of the Corporate Strategy practice at KPMG where he helps Technology, Media, and Telecommunications clients make effective M&A decisions, create winning corporate strategies, and use data to improve business performance.
Tucker is a graduate of Yale University where he studied Economics and History, which remain favorite hobbies.
Stefan Zorn | Board Member
Senior Operations Executive at Deloitte
Stefan is a senior operations executive with over 20 years work experience focused on spend management transformations and M&A execution. He has very deep experience leading complex enterprise-wide external spend management transformations for global enterprises in many industries, including high- and FinTech. Most currently, Stefan led the Customer Success group at Globality, a company that applies AI to transform the sourcing of professional services for Fortune 100 companies. In his previous role as a Managing Director of Deloitte Consulting’s Sourcing and Procurement practice, he has sourced over $3 billion of spend for his clients, while achieving over $450 million of savings and was a leader in Deloitte’s Sourcing and Procurement M&A practice. Stefan is an experienced execution and thought leader in:
Spend management transformations: Stefan has deep experience leading global sourcing and procurement leaders through complex transformations to become innovative contributors to their companies
Sourcing strategies and execution: Stefan has deep experience in extracting value from a large variety of spend categories, including professional services, marketing, IT hardware and software, legal services and travel
M&A execution: Stefan led many companies successfully through company-altering mergers and divestitures
Stefan is a first generation college graduate.


Nepera Meetings 200005
Meetings on Nepera
The Monroe-Woodbury CAP (Community Advisory Panel) that meets monthly on health and safety issues at the Nepera Chemical company in Harriman, NY, has been busy with the recent odor releases occurring at the plant. Meetings have been held at the Central Valley Elementary School and have been well attended by the public with experts from the DEC also attending to answer questions.
The latest incident caused a number of students who are sensitive to the pyridine smell and who had physical reactions (rashes, nausea, headaches, etc.) to be sent home. The plant was shut down by the DEC until a settlement was reached. Nepera paid a $62,500 plus fine and agreed to a number of restrictions. An on-site DEC monitor will be hired by the DEC (but paid for by Nepera) to oversee Nepera’s operations on a daily basis and to help ensure they are operating safely. Additionally, Nepera has hired ENSR, an engineering firm, to conduct a review of all manufacturing operations on the site. The company says that recommendations for equipment improvements will be implemented.
The CAP held a joint meeting with the CAER (Community Awareness and Emergency Responnse) Subcommittee on March 3rd to discuss the problems the schools and the community response teams have had with Nepera’s reporting procedures in the past. The Community Alert Network (CAN) response procedures, priority list notification protocols, and who should be on the lists was reviewed at length. Ellen Stoutenberg of the DEC attended all meetings and will incorporate suggestions from these meetings into the protocols for Nepera as required by the DEC.
Addtionally, Nepera had to appear in Village Court in the Village of Harriman on two charges of air quality violations for the odor releases in February. They pleaded not guilty and will appear again on May 17.
The Woodbury Zoning Board is holding a public hearing on Wednesday, the 22nd, at the Woodbury Town Hall, Route 32, Highland Mills, for the special permit renewal for “…operation and maintenance of a chemical production facility with its tank farm and other associated equipment.” A special audit report was prepared by Gerald J. Lauer, Ph.D. of Applied Science Associates for the Town of Woodbury for the Town’s and the public’s review.
Recent statistics on incidents of asthma attacks as reported by local hospitals shows that the Monroe-Woodbury area has one of the lowest rates in the region (Times Herald Record article: Tuesday, March 14, 2000). The study was done by the state Department of Health at the request of the Times Herald Record.


Van Gogh masterpieces come to Imax theaters
By Frank Scheck
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Art lovers who lack the means to visit such cities as New York, Paris or Amsterdam surely will be thrilled by the prospect of seeing “Van Gogh: Brush With Genius.”
This Imax Theater documentary, from MacGillivray Freeman Films, provides the visceral thrill of seeing numerous masterworks by the painter in visually dazzling fashion, even if its narrative style leaves something to be desired. The film is scheduled for release in Imax theaters in early 2009.
Like so many giant screen films, “Van Gogh” feels the need to enhance its visuals with a prosaic story line. In this case, it takes the form of concentrating on figures like Peter Knapp, who conceived the idea for the film, and a fictional museum researcher (played by French actress Helen Seuzaret) delving into Van Gogh’s numerous letters.
More problematically, Marie Sellier’s screenplay includes numerous observations by “Van Gogh” himself, who comments on the proceedings in, considering the mental illness that eventually led his suicide, disarmingly chipper fashion.
But these silly conceits don’t detract from the film’s raison d’etre, which is to showcase the artist’s magnificent paintings in a manner that will prove visually revelatory even for those fortunate enough to have seen many of them in person. The images of these masterworks, which are frequently accompanied by beautiful shots of the actual landscapes in such places as Arles and Saint-Remy that inspired them, are so stunning that it’s a wonder that no one thought to showcase them in this cinematic manner before now.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter


Thousands in Chile protest IDF Gaza operation
Demonstrators, mainly from Arab community, march to Israeli and US embassies
By AFP	20 July 2014, 12:23 am 18 Edit
Illustrative photo of pro-Palestinian activists, July 12, 2014. (AFP /Claudio Reyes)
SANTIAGO, Chile — About 5,000 people gathered in the Chilean capital to protest against Israel’s military strikes in Gaza in retaliation for Hamas rocket fire on Israeli cities.
The march took demonstrators to the Israeli embassy in Santiago, home to a sizeable Palestinian population, where some participants glued pictures of children who have died in the attacks to the walls of the building.
The marchers continued on to the embassy of the United States, seen as Israel’s close ally.
Protests were also held Saturday in Paris and London.
Twelve days of violence between Israeli forces and Hamas have led to more than 340 deaths, most of them Palestinian civilians.
Chile in 2011 recognized Palestine as a sovereign state, without specifying where its boundaries should be affixed.
Some 300,0000 people of Middle Eastern and Arab ancestry live in Chile, compared to a Jewish community of just 30,000.
anti-Israel activity


Deadline for NoMa Underpass Competition is Friday
NoMa Parks Foundation To Create Spectacular Art Parks in NoMa Underpasses
WASHINGTON, DC, May 7, 2014 – Calling all artists and designers! Friday is the deadline for qualifications to be submitted for consideration in the NoMa Parks Foundation’s underpass competition. On April 11, the Foundation launched an international design competition to transform four railroad underpasses in NoMa. The long hoped-for initiative will turn the underpasses at Florida Avenue, NE, and K, L and M Streets, NE, into stunning contemporary art installations, and further strengthen east-west connections in NoMa and to Capitol Hill.
Qualifications are due this Friday, May 9, 2014 and will be followed by a formal RFP issued to qualified entrants. Neighborhood residents could begin to see installation start as early as 2015. Details about the competition can be found at www.NoMaUnderpasses.org.
The NoMa Parks Foundation seeks artists and designers who will envision bold, creative and interactive approaches to the underpasses. Finalists will receive stipends to refine their ideas prior to final selection. The selected artists/designers will be responsible for final design and oversight of installation.
NoMa is a vibrant, growing neighborhood nestled between Union Station, the U.S. Capitol, Shaw, and the H Street, NE corridor in Washington, D.C. Over the last several years, private developers have invested more than $5 billion in the 35-block area within the NoMa BID boundary, and have plans to develop more than 16 million square feet of additional office, residential, hotel, and retail space. With a capital investment of $50 million from the District government in 2013, NoMa will soon have great new parks and public spaces as well. NoMa is home to more than 3,900 terrific new apartments, and more than 40,000 people work here each day. NoMa is the most connected neighborhood in Washington, D.C. With unparalleled transportation access on Amtrak, VRE, MARC, two Red Line Metro stops, and vehicular access to Interstate 395, visitors, workers and residents can easily travel throughout the region as well as get to New York or anywhere on the East Coast. NoMa has a WalkScore of 92 and offers great biking facilities, including three free outdoor air pumps, the East Coast’s only Bikestation, the 8-mile Metropolitan Branch Trail, and seven Capital Bikeshare stations. The NoMa BID organizes more than 50 free award-winning community events each year, connecting more than 20,000 friends and neighbors. For more information about NoMa, visit www.nomabid.org and sign up for our bimonthly newsletter. Follow us on Twitter @NoMaBID and like us on Facebook.
News media contact:
Rachel Davis


Bob Dylan Sells Out To Universal Music
by Paul Cashmere
And just when you thought 2020 couldn’t throw up any more surprises Bob Dylan has become a complete sell-out. Dylan has sold the publishing rights to his songwriting catalogue in a deal said to be worth around $300 million to Universal Music.
Tagged as: 60s, 70s, Abba, Adele, Al green, Alabama Shakes, Alex Da Kid, Alexandre Desplat, Alicia Keys, Ariana Grande, Axwell & Ingrosso, Bastille, Beach Boys, Beastie Boys, Bee Gees, Benny Blanco, Billie Eilish, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Brandi Carlile, Britney Spears, Bruce Springsteen, Carly Rae Jepsen, Carly Simon, Carole Bayer Sager, Chris Brown, Coldplay, DaBaby, Danny Elfman, Dave Matthews, Demi Lovato, Desmond child, Disclosure, Don Henley, Dua Lipa, Elton John/Bernie Taupin, Elvis Costello, Emile Haynie, Eminem, Florence + The Machine, folk, future, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Gustavo Santaolalla, H.E.R., Halsey, Harry Styles, Imagine Dragons, Irving Berlin, J Balvin, Jack White, Jason Derulo, Jeff Bhasker, Jhené Aiko, Jimi Hendrix, Jody Gerson, Joe Jonas, Josh Groban, Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, Kane Brown, Keith Urban, Kendrick Lamar, Kenny Chesney, Leonard Bernstein, Lil Baby, Lil Mosey, Lil Yachty, Linkin Park, Logic, Lucian Grainge, Maren Morris, Mariah Carey, Maroon 5, Martin Garrix, Megan Thee Stallion, Metallica, Metro Boomin, Michael Chabon, Miguel, Mumford & Sons, Ne-Yo, Neil Diamond, New Order, Nick Jonas, Nicki Minaj, Otis Redding, Paul Simon, Pearl Jam, Post Malone, publishing, Quavo, R.E.M., Randy Newman, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rex Orange County, rock, Rosalía, Sam Hunt, Selena Gomez, Sex Pistols, Shania Twain, Shawn Mendes, songwriting, Stax (East Memphis Music), Steve Mac, SZA, Taylor Swift, The Clash, the Mamas & the Papas, Tobias Jesso Jr., Troy Verges, U2, Universal Music Publishing, USA, Zedd
Sting, Al Green Given Kennedy Honors
by Roger Wink, VVN Music
Sting and Al Green shared in Kennedy Honors on the weekend.
Tagged as: Al green, Kennedy Honors, Sting
Al Green And Sting To Be Honored At Kennedy Center
Al Green and Sting are two of the people named to be honored at the 2014 Kennedy Centre donors.
Tagged as: Al green, music news, Sting
B.J. Thomas Discusses His New Album
B.J. Thomas has travelled the road from R&B to pop/rock, country, gospel and back home again with his latest album The Living Room Sessions. Thomas sings many of his hits in new, acoustic-based arrangements with such artists as Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett, Keb Mo, Steve Tyrell and Isaac Slade of The Fray.
Tagged as: 1970s, 2010s, Al green, B.J. Thomas, Burt Bacharach, Carole King, Hal David, Isaac Slade, John Sebastian, Johnny Farnham, Keb Mo, Lyle Lovett, Marvin Gaye, Paul Newman, pop, soundtrack, Steve Tyrell, The Fray, U.S.A., Vince Gill
Beyonce Lip-Synchs Star-Spangled Banner
by Music-News.com
Beyoncé Knowles lip-synched America’s national anthem at President Barack Obama’s inauguration.
Tagged as: Al green, Beyonce, First Lady Michelle Obama, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, Marine Corps Band, President Obama, Star-Spangled Banner
Memphis Music Hall Of Fame To Induct Initial 25 Artists
There are dozens of music halls of fame that have sprung up around the country.
Tagged as: Al green, B.B. King, Elvis Presley, Howlin' Wolf, Isaac Hayes, Jerry Lee Lewis, Memphis Music Hall Of Fame, Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas, Sam Phillips, The Staple Singers, ZZ Top
Beyoncé Knowles lip-synched America's national anthem at President Barack Obama's inauguration.


As Indian Casinos Grow, Regulation Raises Concerns
Major Expansion in California
Would Aid State Revenue,
Boost Oversight Only a Bit
By John R. Emshwiller and Christina BinkleyStaff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Candace Cates saw many things that troubled her as an investigator of Indian casinos for the California attorney general's office. What troubled her most was what she couldn't see.
Ms. Cates ran across what she and other agents suspected was evidence of embezzlement, kickbacks and suspicious money movements, including $90,000 being stuffed into a shoebox and driven away from one casino in the trunk of a car. Yet, she contends, her bosses at the state consistently stopped her from investigating these matters and ordered her to delete references to them from reports. One senior state official allegedly told her that because Indian tribes are semi-sovereign entities under federal law, investigators needed to "kiss a- on the reservations."
Gambling in Indian casinos is an increasingly large part of the gaming industry in the U.S. Indian casino revenues have nearly doubled since 1998, as new casinos have opened, putting the tribal sector on track to overtake the non-Indian sector within four years. But casino regulation hasn't kept pace with the growth, tribal-gambling critics say.
They maintain that Indian casinos are regulated much more loosely than their counterparts in places like Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J. Under federal law, the tribes that own casinos have the main responsibility for regulating them, a deal akin to letting the Yankees umpire their own games. States and the federal government play a limited role.
Evidence hasn't surfaced at Indian casinos of the kind of widespread corruption or organized-crime influence that long plagued Las Vegas. But state and federal investigators have at different times raised questions about suspected improprieties at tribal casinos in Connecticut, New Mexico and elsewhere, some of which have produced enforcement actions. Nationwide, the potential for problems is likely to grow as the industry continues to boom. More than 350 Indian casinos operate in 30 states, and dozens more are in the works.


Posted inHigh School Sports
Winslow football coach retires after 35 years
by Ernie Clark August 13, 2020 August 13, 2020
Winslow head coach Mike Siviski watches his team during their Class C football state championship game against Leavitt at the University of Maine's Alfond Stadium in 2014. Siviski is retiring from the position after 35 years. Credit: Ashley L. Conti | BDN
One of the state’s legendary football coaches is stepping down after a storied career.
Mike Siviski, who led Winslow High School to 287 victories and seven state championships over the last 35 years, has announced his retirement from the post.
The 73-year-old Winslow native told his returning senior players of his decision Wednesday.
“I think it’s just time,” said Siviski, who returned to his alma mater in 1985 and also guided the Black Raiders to 11 regional championships during his head coaching tenure. “It’s been my pleasure as a Winslow kid growing up in this area to coach in a community with great football tradition, dedicated players and strong coaching staffs. It has for the most part been not work, but fun.”
Siviski did acknowledge the uncertainty of the upcoming season amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as a factor in his decision.
“The dynamics of football have drastically changed,” he said. “COVID isn’t the overall reason as everything came together, but it is a concern.”
Siviski, who graduated from Winslow High School as a three-sport athlete in 1965, has been part of a remarkable run of coaching stability within the Winslow program.
He is one of just three head coaches for the Black Raiders over the last 62 years, since Wally LaFountain — who was Siviski’s high school coach and later coached the school’s freshman team under his former player — took the job in 1958.
Harold Violette followed from 1969 through 1984 before Siviski — who went on to play at the University of Maine before beginning his coaching career as a student assistant with the Black Bears — returned home to teach history and coach football after serving as an assistant coach under Bob Cote at Thornton Academy in Saco.
“We’ve only had three coaches since 1958 and Michael’s the longest-tenured of the three,” Winslow athletic administrator Jim Bourgoin said. “He really is Winslow football and has been since 1985.”
Siviski guided Winslow to its first state championship under his leadership in 1986. He went on to add three sets of back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993, 2000 and 2001 and most recently in 2014 and 2015. The first five state crowns were captured in Class B, the 2014 and 2015 championships in Class C.
In addition to the state-title years, Winslow also won regional championships in 2004 and 2006 (Class B) and 2012 and 2013 (Class C).
The Black Raiders finished 9-2 last fall, advancing to the Class C North championship game before being defeated by Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield 49-21.
Siviski was known as an offensive innovator, and his final team proved to be an example of that as it led the state in scoring at 52.9 points per game during the 2019 regular season and 48.6 points per game overall.
The 2016 recipient of the John Wolfgram Coach of the Year award from the Maine chapter of the National Football Foundation concluded his head coaching career with a 287-101 record.
“It hasn’t been the Mike Siviski show here at Winslow,” Siviski said. “We’ve had very strong coaching staffs all the way through, and it’s not just that we’ve had strong staffs but the staffs have stayed. Year in and year out there hasn’t been much turnover and that’s really been a key because we don’t have to coach the coaches.”
This offseason had been less routine from a football perspective for the longtime head coach, perhaps portending his decision to retire.
Siviski was not able to run his traditional summer football program at Winslow due to the coronavirus or hold his annual Raider Camp meeting timed shortly after the Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl — also canceled this year — where players are issued their equipment and lockers for the upcoming season.
Siviski also charted out his team’s anticipated preseason workouts and found that in some cases teammates would come shoulder-to-shoulder or face-to-face 16 to 28 times during each morning of double sessions.
“I don’t know how you can social distance in a contact sport, to be honest with you,” he said. “It’s that simple.”
No one has been named yet to fill Siviski’s coaching post.
“Obviously we’re up against the clock a little bit but we’ll do what’s best for the program,” Bourgoin said.
Tagged: Winslow
Ernie Clark
Ernie Clark is a veteran sportswriter who has worked with the Bangor Daily News for more than a decade. A four-time Maine Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters...	More by Ernie Clark


Philippine’s Leading Cities by Economic Expansion
How do you define a busy city? If you see yourself stranded in a sea of people at any given time of day, that’s one way to define a busy city. On top of that, population size, numerous infrastructures, active transport systems, commercial buildings, are the factors that define a busy city.
Photo courtesy of Aristocrats-hat via Flickr
According to the CIA World Factbook, the Philippines carries a total population of 86.24 million ten years ago and rose to more than 100 million people to date. People are the future of every country that a rising number of population means greatness to the growth of industries and businesses. However, the problem lies in the concentration of the people in the country. Almost all these people choose to embrace urbanization by living in cities in the country which causes crimes and issues on social control. More so, traffic, noise, pollution, insufficient public transportation vehicles and lots of people make a busy city. You probably know all these so read on and find out whether you live in one busy city. Check out the top eight busiest cities in the Philippines below.
8. Pasig City
Photo courtesy of Jun Acullador via Flickr
Pasig used to be completely residential and industrial, however, Pasig is slowly getting into the commercial side of the industry. Pasig boasts of the Ortigas Center which is one of the top business districts of the country. Another business hub lies along the Ortigas Avenue Extension, the Frontera Verde which houses CCF and the well-known Tiendesitas.
This city is also a known foodie destination especially in the Kapitolyo where numerous restaurants and hole-in-the walls swarm the streets. Transportation is made available in the city but having one of the main roads in the country, the Ortigas Avenue is always congested with cars especially during the rush hour.
7. Pasay City
Photo courtesy of Jojo Nicdao via Flickr
In terms of population density, Pasay City ranks third on the list with a population of 392,869 and an area of 13.97 sq. kilometers. One of the four original cities of Metro Manila, Pasay city has embraced urbanization during the American occupation. Pasay city houses the hangar of the top airlines of the Philippines like Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Zest air, and the like.
Pasay is also known for its share of tourist attractions and entertainment hubs located along Roxas Boulevard. The second largest mall in the Philippines is also found in Pasay, the SM Mall of Asia. Numerous attractions are found within the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex such as the Philippine International Convention Center(PICC), World Trade Center Metro Manila, Manila Film Center, Cuneta Astrodome, Aliw theater, and Star City. With the amount of tourists they get in a day, Pasay is teeming with numerous condominiums like La Verti Residences and properties near business districts like other condotels to stay in for the night.
6. Cebu City
Photo courtesy of Dbgg1979 via Flickr
Historically the first capital of the country, Cebu City has a population of almost a million people. Located in the Visayas region of the Philippines, Cebu city is the second most populous city in the country. With an area of 315 sq. kilometers, this so called “Queen City of the South" is the fifth most busy city in the country.
As early as the 1990s, Cebu has experienced a rapid economic progress due to its strategic location close to islands and beaches and accessibility to tourists. Last year, it was considered as the 8th BPO Destinations from all over the world due to the IT-BPO brands that crowded the city. On top of this, international hotel brands and big mall operators have popped in the city which increased the confidence level of more condominium and hypermarkets in Cebu. With this, you will always see people in the city out and about, experience traffic in the metropolis, and even experience crowded night markets.
5. Makati City
Photo courtesy of Sakanami via Flickr
Even with a population of only approximately 500,000 people and an area of 21.57 sq. kilometers, the city of Makati goes in the list of the top 8 busiest cities in the Philippines. Being the center of commerce and numerous business districts and establishments including hotels, BPO industries, bars, and condominiums, Makati city is home to most professionals and tourists alike. With 7,200 residents per square mile, you will witness the busy streets of Makati during the day and experience heavy traffic along its avenues during 7-8 pm. During the weekdays, the population of Makati is believed to double its size to almost a million people considering the people who go to work, shop, dine, and play within its Central Business District.
The city of Makati is considered the richest local government in terms of the local sources. To note, Makati has over 62,000 business enterprises with 1,159 BPO companies in the city. Numerous condominiums could also be found in the area such as DMCI Homes’ Brio Tower, whereby residents get full access to malls, sports centers, and even their workplace. With this, more and more people are hooked into the city living in Makati with the convenience a condo community offers.
4. Taguig City
Photo courtesy of Spektrograf via Flickr
With the current popularity of the Bonifacio Global City, Taguig city passes as one of the top 8 busiest cities in the Philippines. With a population of 695,793 and an area of 53.67 sq. kilometers, this city is home to top international brands’ main offices and IT-BPO companies. It is also home to SM Aura, one of the largest shopping centers in the country and is thrived by numerous foreigners and expats. Taguig city is booming with top-of-the-line condominiums and residential townhouses such as Cedar Crest, Cypress Towers, and Bonifacio Heights. With Taguig City, another commercial hub, Mckinley Hills is also crowded with professionals during the day.
3. Davao City
Photo courtesy of Asia DB via Flickr
With almost 1.4 million people, Davao City may not not have the tall buildings or skyscrapers but is packed with numerous people. Located in the island of Mindanao, this is considered as a rich city due to its low crime rate, curfew for minors, and 24-hour emergency system. It offers the closest taste of modern cosmopolitan living amidst a city of garden and forest resorts. To note, Davao city has been smoke-free for more than 10 years. Apparently, Davao has a lot of potential in becoming an economic power ranking 87th among the world’s fastest-growing cities in 2011.
Davao city also houses the Davao Light and Power Co., the third-largest electric utility in the country. In the region of Mindanao, Davao is the center for finance, trade and commerce. It is the leading producer of mangoes, pomelos, bananas, coconut products, and mangosteens. Apparently, this is city is expected to become the next BPO center in the Philippines with 20,000 to 21,000 full-time employees in more than 20 big, medium and small BPO firms.
2. Manila
Photo courtesy of Andrew Subiela via Flickr
The current capital of the Philippines and the most dense city in the world with 43079.48 people per sq. kilometer, Manila ranks second among the busiest cities in the Philippines. The population in Manila is close to two million people and is considered as the second among the largest cities in the country. Despite sitting in the Pacific typhoon belt and a high crime rate, Manila still holds on to its population.
Manila is also considered as the heart and soul of the Philippines economy. The city is home to major centers of finance, transportation, tourism, real estate, legal services, theater and the arts in the country. The largest seaport may be found in Manila making it the main international shipping gateway to the country. The largest Chinatown could be found in the Philippines. Binondo, as it is popularly known, is home to Chinese and Filipino residents. During the day, Binondo is crowded with chinese food lovers making you feel the busy streets of Manila. Also, the top shopping center of the Metro, Divisoria, is in Manila. During the Christmas season, tons and thousands of people crowd the streets for a chance to get a bargain or look for cheaper alternatives. Having a large area, numerous condominiums and townhouses have been built in different parts of the city such as Hampstead Gardens and Illumina Residences of DMCI Homes in Sta Mesa. This city is also a well-known shopping hub and known as one of the best shopping destinations in Asia. On top of this, tourists swarm Manila due to its landmarks like the Luneta Park and Intramuros, along with the red light districts of Malate.
1. Quezon City
Photo Courtesy of JLCuasay via Flickr
Topping the charts of the most populous city in the country with nearly three million in population, Quezon City also tops the charts of the busiest city in the Philippines. Considered as a highly urbanized city, there live 16,084 people per sq. kilometer. It is the largest city in the Metro Manila and is the site for most government offices. During the early 1980s, Cubao was considered the commercial center of the country with most shopping centers and the infamous Smart Araneta Center can be found. Moreover, the Philippine’s major broadcasting networks such as GMA Network, ABS-CBN, RPN, IBC, UNTV, and Net 25 are located in the city.
On top of this, Quezon City is also home to food lovers’ paradise and bars in Tomas Morato, Timog Avenue, and Maginhawa St. in UP Diliman. Eastwood, another commercial center is also within Quezon City where commercial buildings are present along with residential condominiums like the Stellar Place may be found. Just recently, different commercial centers have popped up like the UP Techno Hub and the Eton Centris which has retail establishments as well as BPO offices. Various transportation systems are also within Quezon city such as the LRT (Light Railway Transit System) 1 and the MRT2.
If you are into the city living and love the life it brings, then you have these eight busy cities to choose from. There’s no need to worry about living spaces because tons of condominiums like those of DMCI Homes are present and most of them are near business districts so travelling from home to work and work to some fun and entertainment will not be a problem at all!
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