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Unscientific America: Mooney & Kirshenbaum reviewed in BMJ
Being interested in science communication, I was pleased when the BMJ asked me to review Unscientific America , by Chris Monney and Sheril Kirshenbaum.
The BMJ provides a link that allows you access to the whole review. They have made very few changes from the submitted version, which is reproduced below (with live links in the text. [Download pdf of print version]
I very soon discovered that the book had already caused ructions in the USA, as a result of its advocacy of appeasement of religious groups. In particular there was all out war with P.Z.Myers, whose very popular blog, Pharyngula. documented the battle in detail).
It is an American book through and through, and in the USA the biggest threat to reason comes from the far-right religious fundamentalists who preach young-earth creationism. It is said that 46% of US citizens believe that the earth is less than 10,000 years old. The same far-right religious groups also preach that carrying guns is good, that Iraq was responsible for 9/11, that climate change is a socialist conspiracy and that health care for everyone is a communist plot. And they never hesitate to lie in the promotion of their ‘religious’ views. The US situation is totally different from that in Europe, where religion is all but dead, and young earth creationism is the preserve of a few cranky used-car dealers (and possibly Tony Blair?)
Review of the Week
Trust me, I’m a scientist
David Colquhoun, professor of pharmacology, University College London
Unscientific America sounds like a fascinating topic, not least because the book is a follow-up from Mooney’s The Republican War on Science. It is written entirely from a US perspective (the USA sequenced the genome and invented the internet, apparently unaided). It’s reported that 46 percent of Americans believe that the earth is less than 10,000 years old. That’s certainly cause for alarm and Mooney & Kirshenbaum are certainly alarmed. They think that the public needs to be educated in science. They identify the obvious problems, evolution, climate change and quackery and ask what can be done. The problem is that they propose no good solutions, and some bad ones. Their aims are worthy but sometimes the book reads like an over-long and somewhat condescending whine about why science and scientists are not sufficiently appreciated.
I simply don’t think that it’s true that the public are not interested in science, nor that they can’t understand it at a level that is sufficient to be useful. It’s true that they have been let down badly by some sections of the media. Think particularly of the “great MMR hoax”1. The disastrous fall in vaccination is more attributable to talk show presenters and air-headed celebrities than to lack of interest from the public. People are systematically deceived by anti-vaxers, climate change denialists, vitamin pill salesmen and a horde of crackpot alternative therapists.
There is one problem that Mooney & Kirshenbaum don’t talk about at all, yet it seems to me to be one of the biggest problems in science communication. It isn’t lack of interest by the public, nor even lack of understanding, but lack of trust. The tendency of real science to indulge in hyperbolic self-promotion is one reason for the lack of trust. Sometimes this descends into outright dishonesty2,3. That is a tendency that is promoted by government and funding agencies by their insistence on imposing silly performance measures. The public is quite sensible enough to take with a pinch of salt the almost daily announcements of “cancer cures” that emanate from university press offices.
On the face of it, one should be encouraged that ‘public engagement in science’ is the mode du jour. It isn’t quite that simple though. Only too often, universities regard public engagement as a branch of their own PR machine4. They even instruct you about what tone of voice to use when talking publicly.
One reason why scientists need to talk to people outside the lab is precisely to counteract this tide of nonsense from PR people, who are paid to deceive. The problem for academics is usually time. We already do three jobs, teaching, research and coping with HR bollocks. How can we find time for a fourth job? That’s not easy, especially for the best researchers (those that do research themselves, not just lead a team). Mooney & Kirshenbaum suggest that the solution is to create a “cadre of communication and outreach experts”. I don’t think this would work. They would, by and large, be outsiders, writing uncritical paeans, dictated by big name scientists. A new cadre of PR hangers-on does not sound like a great idea. A better, and very much cheaper, solution would be to provide a course in free blogging software and we’ll do it ourselves.
The two chapters that I looked forward to reading, on religion and on “The bloggers cannot save us”, proved deeply disappointing. The authors are firmly in the camp of what Richard Dawkins called the “Neville Chamberlain school of evolutionists&rdquo.; They maintain “if the goal is to create an America more friendly to science and reason, the combativeness of the New Atheists is strongly counterproductive”. They are particularly critical of P.Z. Myers5, the University of Minnesota developmental biologist who is splendidly clear in his views. Of the communion wafer, he famously said “It’s a frackin’ cracker”. But he, and Dawkins, are right. When it comes to young earth creationists we have a war on our hands, and nowhere more than in the USA. What’s more it’s a winnable war. Mooney & Kirshenbaum are all for appeasement, but appeasement won’t work. It might please the more moderate wings of the church, but they already believe in evolution and are regarded by fundamentalists as being just as big an enemy as Myers and Dawkins. And, one must ask, who has done best at getting a wide public readership? P.Z Myers’ blog, Pharyngula, has up to two million page views a month. Dawkins’ book The God Delusion has sold three million copies. In comparison the bland and often rather condescending corporate science web sites get tiny numbers of hits.
In Europe in general, and the UK in particular, young earth creationists are not the major problem that they are in the USA, despite being supported by Tony Blair6. Perhaps the nearest analogy in Europe is the threat to reason from various sorts of crackpot medicine. The appeasers are widespread. The Royal Colleges and the Department of Health are at the forefront of the Neville Chamberlain approach. But appeasement hasn’t worked there either. What has worked is the revelation that university courses are teaching that “amethysts emit high yin energy”7. Or, in a lecture on herbal approaches for patients with cancer, “Legally, you cannot claim to cure cancer. This is not a problem because: ‘we treat people, not diseases’ “8. This is shocking stuff but it has not been unearthed by the corporate media, but by bloggers.
I think Mooney and Kirshenbaum have it all wrong. They favour corporate communications, which are written by people outside science and which easily become mere PR machines for individuals and institutions. Such blogs are rarely popular and at their worst they threaten the honesty of science. More and more individual scientists have found that they can write their own blog. It costs next to nothing and you can say what you think. A few clicks and the world can read what you have to say. Forget corporate communications. Just do it yourself. It’s fun. And think of the money you’d save for doing science if the PR people were just fired.
(1) Goldacre, B. The media’s MMR hoax. 2008 http://www.badscience.net/2008/08/the-medias-mmr-hoax/
(2) PLoS One. Ghostwriting documents now fully available on PLoS Medicine website. 21-8-2009 http://speakingofmedicine.plos.org/2009/08/21/ghostwriting-documents-now-fully-available-on-plos-medicine-website/
(3) Colquhoun, D. Universities Inc. in the UK. The Corporate Corruption of Higher Education: part 2. 6-12-2007 http://www.dcscience.net/?p=193
(4) Corbyn, Z. Nottingham raises eyebrows over definition of ‘public engagement’. 21-8-2008 http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=403234
(5) Myers, P. Z. Pharyngula. 2009 http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/
(6) Pyke, N. Revealed: Blair’s link to schools that take the Creation literally (Independent 13 June 2004). 13-7-2004 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/revealed-blairs-link-to-schools-that-take-the-creation-literally-732032.html
(7) Colquhoun, D. Westminster University BSc: "amethysts emit high yin energy". 23-4-2008 http://www.dcscience.net/?p=227
(8) Colquhoun, D. Herbal approaches for patients with cancer. 10-8-2009 http://www.dcscience.net/?p=2043
P.Z. Myers has posted about thie book review, on Pharyngula, as Is this book dead yet? There are a lot more comments there than here, though few of them address the question of science communications..
Butterflies and Wheels is generating a lot of hits
Tagged Academia, blogs, CAM, communication, creationism, honesty, Human resources, intelligent design, Kirshenbaum, Mooney, P.Z. Myers, Pharyngula, public engagement, Public relations, Public understanding, religion, Richard Dawkins, Royal College of Physicians, Royal Colleges, science, science communication, trust, Universities, Unscientific America | 19 Comments
Creationism in schools
Latest: Michael Reiss resigns 16 September 2008: see below
There has been something of a rumpus in the media today when the education secretary of the Royal Society, Michael Reiss, appeared to endorse the teaching of creationism in science classes, The BBC’s report was only too typical.
“Call for creationism in science”
“Creationism should be discussed in school science lessons, rather than excluded, says the director of education at the Royal Society.”
The Guardian’s report, perhaps also not entirely accurate, started with the words
“Creationism and intelligent design should be taught in school science lessons, according to a leading expert in science education.”
After lunch today the email below was sent out to Fellows
Dear Fellow/Foreign Member
Royal Society’s position on the teaching of creationism in schools
You may have seen in the today’s media coverage of the Royal Society’s position on the teaching of creationism in schools, following a speech by the Society’s Director of Education. Unfortunately, much of the coverage has given a misleading impression of the Society’s policy.
To prevent further confusion, a statement clarifying the Society’s position has been issued today and the text is given below:
“The Royal Society is opposed to creationism being taught as science. Some media reports have misrepresented the views of Professor Michael Reiss, Director of Education at the Society expressed in a speech yesterday.
Professor Reiss has issued the following clarification. “Some of my comments about the teaching of creationism have been misinterpreted as suggesting that creationism should be taught in science classes. Creationism has no scientific basis. However, when young people ask questions about creationism in science classes, teachers need to be able to explain to them why evolution and the Big Bang are scientific theories but they should also take the time to explain how science works and why creationism has no scientific basis.”
In addition, we are working actively to correct the misunderstanding by dealing directly with individual newspapers and broadcast media.
So that seems clear “The Royal Society is opposed to creationism being taught as science.”. So I shan’t have to resign.
You can be sure that proponents of creationism, and its dishonestly disguised version, “intelligent design” will exploit this misunderstanding ruthlessly.
Much more of this and I’ll have to revive my old religion page. I thought for a moment that we were going back to the dark ages of Sarah Palin.
Watch this space for developments.
Perhaps this matter is not so trivial after all. The Guardian report Reiss as saying
“science teachers should not see creationism as a “misconception” but as an alternative “world view” “
The BBC says
“Rather than dismissing creationism as a “misconception”, he says it should be seen as a cultural “world view”. “
Most importantly, Reiss himself said, in a Guardian blog (not the original speech), on September 11th,
“I feel that creationism is best seen by science teachers not as a misconception but as a world view.”
None of those versions sounds at all acceptable to me.
Creationism is a misconception.
The original speech can be heard on a Guardian Play the mp3 file.
It seems to me all to turn on what Reiss means by “showing respect” for ‘alternative world views’, which you believe to be pernicious bunkum. The term ‘alternative world view’ is itself cause for concern. It smacks of alternative medicine. In what sense is a piece of nonsensical bunkum an ‘alternative’ as opposed to being simply bunkum?. I don’t envy teachers who have to deal with young children, who have been brainwashed by religious parents, on matters like this, but older ones should not be encouraged to think that religious nonsense is a proper alternative to sensible thought and observation.
The Observer on Sunday 14 September reports
Creationism call divides Royal Society
Two Nobel prize winners – Sir Harry Kroto and Sir Richard Roberts – have demanded that the Royal Society sack its education director, Professor Michael Reiss. The call, backed by other senior Royal Society fellows, follows Reiss’s controversial claim last week that creationism be taught in schools’ science classes.
Reiss, an ordained Church of England minister, has since alleged he was misquoted. Nevertheless, several Royal Society fellows say his religious views make him an inappropriate choice for the post.
The Reverend Professor Reiss presumably believes the Nicene Creed. That creed seems to make about as much sense as homeopathy (with the same reservation that some of the words have no discernible meaning at all). I’m inclined to agree that it makes no sense to ask someone who believes that stuff to take charge of science education.
Steve Jones, the UCL geneticist, has his say in the Sun
Latest: Michael Reiss resigns
On 16th September, the following statement was made by the Royal Society.
Some of Professor Michael Reiss’s recent comments, on the issue of creationism in schools, while speaking as the Royal Society’s Director of Education, were open to misinterpretation. While it was not his intention, this has led to damage to the Society’s reputation. As a result, Professor Reiss and the Royal Society have agreed that, in the best interests of the Society, he will step down immediately as Director of Education a part time post he held on secondment. He is to return, full time, to his position as Professor of Science Education at the Institute of Education.
The Royal Society’s position is that creationism has no scientific basis and should not be part of the science curriculum. However, if a young person raises creationism in a science class, teachers should be in a position to explain why evolution is a sound scientific theory and why creationism is not, in any way, scientific.
The Royal Society greatly appreciates Professor Reiss’s efforts in furthering the Society’s work in the important field of science education over the past two years. The Society wishes him well for the future.
Sadly, I’m inclined to believe that this is the best solution. Reiss’s soundness on evolution is not in doubt. but there was sufficient ambiguity in his statements that he should perhaps have anticipated the furore that would, and did, ensue.
Now the trivial stuff.
This video about Sarah Palin’s church was pulled from YouTube for “inappropriate content” -found it on richarddawkins.net
Sarah Palin’s Churches and The Third Wave from Bruce Wilson on Vimeo.
And this hilarious one from CNN
OK this is not very serious (or is it?). A computer game: players of PolarPalin must help a polar bear to navigate its way across Alaska to blow up oil wells, all the while avoiding Palin, the governor of the state, in her campaign tank.
Tagged creationism, intelligent design, Michael Reiss, religion, Royal Society, schools | 24 Comments
Good God Almighty, or Jurassic Theology
This item appeared originally on my old Religion and Education page. It has been moved here because of the discussion that followed my review in the BMJ of Unscientific America and the discussion that followed, on this blog and on P.Z. Myers Pharyngula blog.
Until recently, the idea that the earth was created 6000 years ago was largely restricted to right wing religious fundamentalists in the USA. Now we have a government in the UK which seems to be happy that such “fruit-cake” nonsense should be taught at the taxpayers’ expense.
The following article, Good God Almighty, was commissioned by Punch magazine, which folded before it could be published.
It refers to the fuss that followed the discovery that a state-funded school was being run by extreme ‘young earth’ creationists. If you want to see just how extreme, look at the speech made by Steven Layfield, the head of science at Emmanuel School. The views expressed are so extreme that the speech was actually deleted from the web site of the Christian Institute as soon as the fuss blew up. Luckily, thanks to the Google cache, this did not work and you can still read it at here.
Good God Almighty!
or Jurassic Theology
[This article was commissioned by Punch, but the magazine went out of business before it was published]
OK class, settle down. Here is your quiz. Compare and contrast the following.
(1) ” . . if the Bible really is the Word of God – and the internal evidence is overwhelming – true Science will always agree with it.”
(2)Science teachers should
“Note every occasion when an evolutionary/old-earth paradigm (millions or billions of years) is explicitly mentioned or implied by a text-book, examination question or visitor and courteously point out the fallibility of the statement and, wherever possible, give the alternative (always better) Biblical explanation of the same data”.
[Steven Layfield, Head of Science at Emmanuel School Gateshead, 2000]
(3) “There are those that argue that Science and Christianity can be harmoniously reconciled . . . We cannot subscribe to this view”
[John Burn & Nigel McQuoid; ex-head, and head, of Emmanuel School Gateshead, 2002]
(4) “Then there is science. Science is a God-given activity. Scientists are 5using their God-given minds and God-given creativity to explore and utilise God-given nature. Sadly, biblical literalism brings not only the bible but Christianity itself into disrepute.”
[The Bishop of Oxford. The Rt. Revd. Richard Harries, 2002]
(5) “God created the world and everything in it.” “It is about 6000 years old”
[Kate and Simon, pupils of Emmanuel School, Gateshead, interviewed by Mike Thomson, BBC]
(5) [Jenny Tonge, MP:] “Is the Prime Minister happy to allow the teaching of creationism alongside Darwin’s theory of evolution in state schools?”
[Tony Blair]. First I am very happy.”
“Secondly, I know that the honourable lady is referring to a school in the north-east, and I think that certain reports about what it has been teaching have been somewhat exaggerated”.
The prime minister is right. Something has been exaggerated:
The idea that teachers realise that the scientific method involves not declaring the outcome in advance.
Clearly, the head of science at Emmanuel doesn’t. To proclaim, before looking, that one view (the literal interpretation of the bible) is “always better” might be expected of an itinerant preacher in the deepest bible belt, but that is the view of the man in charge of educating children at a state-funded English school.
It is a view that offends the Bishop of Oxford, and it is contrary to the views expressed by Pope John Paul II. But don’t worry, our leader is “very happy” with it. To give equal time to a simple assertion (that the earth was created 6000 years ago), and to the wealth of hard-won reasons for thinking it to be untrue, is deeply offensive to every scientist who is trying to fumble towards the best approximation to the truth that can be found. Rarely can a couple of teachers and one prime minister have managed to offend so many people, everyone from bishops to professors, at a single sweep.
Of course neither the prime minister nor anybody else knows exactly what Emmanuel School has been teaching (though the reports from the children themselves give us a good idea). The glowing report from OFSTED was actually the result of a “short inspection” which does not look at such details. The school has not been given a full inspection since 1994, before the serious zealots took control. Views such as those in the first two quotations are so obviously relevant to the quality of science teaching that you may well ask how OFSTED managed not to notice that the views of the head of science were at the very extreme edge of fundamentalism.
Consider also the following amazing coincidence. The team of inspectors who found no fault with the unusual science (biblical is always best) teaching at Emmanuel was almost the same as the team that inspected the Huntington School, York. At that school they said that there was not enough teaching of religion (in the narrow sense, as opposed to spiritual values in general). The Huntington head teacher Chris Bridge lodged a complaint against that report, and it was partially upheld by OFSTED.
Does all this mean that extreme fundamentalism has infiltrated OFSTED, or does it simply mean that the inspectors did not do their homework?
The latter is the more charitable interpretation, but the inspectors are not going to get the chance to ‘try harder next time’. Instead Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, wrote a letter to the chairman of the governors, asking for “clarification”. Unlike most schools, the Emmanuel School does not publish the names of its governors in the school prospectus, and neither OFSTED, nor the Department of Education, knows who they are. OFSTED does give the name of the chairman as “Dr `Peter Vardy” (as does the school if you phone). It turns out that the learned Dr Vardy is one and the same person as Sir Peter Vardy, the man who gave the government two million pounds to pay for the school. Don’t worry about the “Dr” bit though –it is perfectly genuine. The University of Sunderland was generous enough to give him an honorary doctorate in business administration (after he generously gave the University £1 million). The Chief Inspector (by then changed) recieved a suitably emollient letter from Sir Peter, but did no investigation whatsoever. Ofsted gives the firm impression of having born yesterday.
It is hard to appreciate the manic fervour of Mr Layfield’s notorious speech from only two quotations. It used to be on the web site of the Christian Institute (www.Christian.org.uk), and that site is still worth a visit. Mr McQuoid is a major contributor (see quotation no 2), but other bits are well worth reading too, like the vigorous defence of beating children (don’t get me wrong –I know there are lots of sites that deal with that sort of thing, but this is different; it is holy beating).
Mr Layfield’s speech suddenly vanished from this web site shortly after Tania Brannigan (of the Guardian) told us what was going on. Luckily, though, some kind folks thought it was such an outstanding piece of work that should still be available to everyone (just go to http://www.darwinwars.com/lunatic/liars/layfield.html).
Time’s up folks. Put down your pens and now go out and vote.
Tagged Anti-science, antiscience, creationism, Education, fundamentalism, intelligent design, John Burn, Nigel McQuoid, P.Z. Myers, Pharyngula, religion, schools | Leave a comment
Creationists at the Oxford Union
This item appeared originally on my old Religion and Education page. It has been moved here because of the discussion that followed my review in the BMJ of Unscientific America and the discussion that followed, on this blog and on P.Z. Myers Pharyngula blog. Evan Harris MP and I were up against the head of fundamentist school that had been started by wealthy used-car dealer, Peter Vardy. Being rather daunted by the Oxford Union, I actually wrote down my bit. The order of speaking because Evan Harris had to rush back to the House of Commons to vote against the Iraq war. The rest is history.
Oxford Union talk on ‘faith schools’ and creationism
Monday 25th November 2002
This debate is meant to be about ‘faith schools’, but I suspect that the differences between the views of my two friends opposite are rather large. Mr Brady will, I presume, advocate schools that teach conventional religious views, and that I take to be the topic under discussion. First let’s get the issue of Mr McQuoid’s view on creation out of the way before coming to the serious matter of the debate. We have to be clear about one thing -there is a spectrum of religious views and Mr McQuoid is at the extreme fruit cake end of that spectrum. A true flat-earther.
An article by John Burn & Nigel McQuoid; (ex-head, and head, of Emmanuel School) stated:
“There are those that argue that Science and Christianity can be harmoniously reconciled . . . We cannot subscribe to this view”
This appeared on the web site of the Christian Institute, and that site is well worth a look. Apart from promoting ‘young-earth creationism’, it has two other obsessions, the evilness of homosexuality and the desirability of corporal punishment of small boys. It is truly bizarre. Well, at least Mr McQuoid’s job is not to teach science, but the head of science in his school, Steven Layfield, said in a speech published on the same web site (in 2000)
“…if the Bible really is the Word of God – and the internal evidence is overwhelming – true Science will always agree with it.”
Science teachers should… “Note every occasion when an evolutionary/old-earth paradigm (millions or billions of years) is explicitly mentioned or implied by a text-book, examination question or visitor and courteously point out the fallibility of the statement and, wherever possible, give the alternative (always better) Biblical explanation of the same data”.
He is free to express that view, but it disqualifies him from teaching science. The speech from which this is quoted, incidentally, disappeared form the web site of christian.org as soon as the row became public -one does wonder why, but don’t worry you can still ready it at the quaintly named site http://www.darwinwars.com/lunatic/liars/layfield.html However offensive it may be that such extremism is subsidised by taxpayers money, however offensive it may be that no full inspection of his school has been carried out since he came to power, and however offensive it may be that the prime minister supported his views, it is an irrelevant issue for the purposes of serious discussion. The pope does not believe that the earth was created 6000 years ago, the Anglican church does not believe that the earth was created 6000 years ago, hardly anyone but Mr. McQuoid thinks that the earth was created 6000 years ago (except in some parts of the south USA). The number of people who have that capacity to deny the obvious will never be more than handful, and to that extent we need not bother any further about them, and we can get on with the real issue of religious schools. As the Bishop of Oxford (The Rt. Revd. Richard Harries) said (2002)
“Then there is science. Science is a God-given activity. Scientists are using their God-given minds and God-given creativity to explore and utilise God-given nature. Sadly, biblical literalism brings not only the bible but Christianity itself into disrepute.”
Now to the real question…
What is wrong with allowing parents to choose a school for their child that teaches the parents’ religious belief? At first sight this sounds quite innocent, apart from the fact that it is the parents’ religious belief, not the child’s. In any case there are not many parents in the country who have religious (well Christian) beliefs. No more than 7.5 % now go to church regularly, and recently, for the first time, the proportion who profess even a nominal attachment to the church fell below half (as did the proportion of parents who have children baptised).
Why, then, are religious schools quite popular? The reason appears to be that they are selective. The rules say that selection must be on religious grounds only, but it simply does not work out like that. It is bad enough that children’s access to education should depend on their parents’ religious views (or, not infrequently, on their parents’ skill at lying about their religious views). But of course, selection of some implies exclusion of others, and, it turns out, not only because of their religion. Religious selection leads inevitably to racial selection too. In Oldham, scene of the recent race riots, the christian schools are almost exclusively white. Selection by wealth occurs too. In Accrington a C of E school has 12.5% of special needs pupils, while its neighbouring non-religious school has 69.8%; eligibility for free school meals is and 5% in the C of E school and 33% in its neighbour (on average the factor is almost 2).
How could such a disgraceful state of affairs come about? I believe that, as so often, a look at history might help, so let’s go back to see how the world looked in 1820.
Apart from 9 years I have spent all my working life at University College London.
The relevance of that will be obvious if we recall that in 1820, there were only two universities in England, Oxford and Cambridge (though 3 in Scotland). Both Oxford and Cambridge restricted entry to members of the Church of England – not only did they exclude Jews, atheists and muslims, but they also excluded many christians -catholics, protestants and dissenters. They would, no doubt, have excluded Mr McQuoid from getting higher education. It was in this context that liberals and dissenters in London founded the University of London, soon to become known as University College London, with the specific aim of admitting good students regardless of their religious beliefs, and with providing them with non-sectarian education in science as well as humanities (there was little science in Oxford and Cambridge at that time). Despite prolonged opposition from Oxford and Cambridge, UCL opened its doors in 1828.
At that time the fiercely conservative Duke of Wellington had just, albeit reluctantly, made the transition from general to prime minister. Even his government passed measures to increase the rights of catholics and dissenters, but his implacable opposition to electoral reform led to his resignation two years later, to be replaced by the Whig administration of Earl Grey.
The country was in ferment and change was rapid -in 1830 the Liverpool-Manchester railway opened and Faraday’s work on electricity was well-developed. But the electoral system was still mediaeval. The ‘rotten borough’ of Old Sarum (an iron age fort and 7 inhabitants) had two MPs while Manchester, already busy with the cotton trade, had none at all. In 1831 three attempts at electoral reform failed in parliament, but Earl Grey had told William IV “it is the spirit of the age which is triumphing and that to resist it is certain destruction”. The next year, in 1832, Lord John Russell (grandfather of Bertrand Russell) successfully got parliament to pass the (first) Reform Act and the modern age of democracy had begun.
The political ferment was paralleled by scientific ferment -people were no longer constrained by dogma and authority and new ideas came into medicine and biology too.
After another 40 years, Oxford and Cambridge caught up, when the Universities Test Act of 1870 eliminated religious criteria for university entrance. After 1870 it became quite unthinkable that a selection for higher education should be dependent on what a person believed, or did not believe in their private lives about religion.
That was 1870. Now it is 2002.. Can you imagine Oxford reintroducing religious selection of undergraduates now? Yet my friends opposite, and the government, are supporting a view of education that started to vanish in 1828 with the foundation of UCL, and finally died in 1870 with the Test Acts. They are trying to set back progress not by 10 or 20 years but by 175 years.
What next? Bring back rotten boroughs?
Tagged Anti-science, creationism, Education, fundamentalism, int, intelligent design, John Burn, Nigel McQuoid, religion, schools, Tony Blair | Leave a comment |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: In general, a change in a single allele of an oncogene can result in tumor growth or cancer, while it takes two changes in both alleles of tumor suppressor genes. How do you explain this difference? What do these genes code for normally? In a healthy person, what role are the oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes playing, and how do they do it?
a healthy person, what role are the oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes playing, and what is their difference? output: Hello and welcome to HCM,I will explain to you briefly the difference between tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes.Oncogenes are coded by proteins called proto-oncogenes.Proto-oncogenes are encoded by two alleles.Mutation of any one of the alleles converts proto-oncogene to oncogene.Oncogene is responsible for particular malignancy.The role of proto-oncogene in health is to keep a check on uncontrolled growth of cells.Tumor suppressor genes are encoded by two alleles.Mutation of both these alleles is required for development of malignancy.Tumor suppressor genes in health also prevent development of malignancy.Mutation of these genes may be genetic or is caused by chemicals, physical damage like radiations, etc.. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Hi. I am a 33 year old male and for the past 3-4 days my left nipple and around the area I feel pain. Not to bad, but it does hurt. I touched the area and as far as I can tell I have no lumps. Can this be breast cancer? I also notice my left breast is slightly larger than my right.
t are the symptoms of breast cancer ? output: Symptoms of breast cancerA lump in the breast or underarm that persists after your menstrual cycle. This Swelling in the armpit.Pain or tenderness in the breast. Although lumps are usually painless, pain or tenderness can be a sign of breast cancer.A noticeable flattening or indentation on the breast, which may indicate a tumor that cannot be seen or felt.Any change in the size, contour, texture, or temperature of the breast. A reddish, pitted surface like the skin of an orange could be a sign of advanced breast cancer.A change in the nipple, such as a nipple retraction, dimpling, itching, a burning sensation, or ulceration. A scaly rash of the nipple is symptomatic of Paget's disease, which may be associated with an underlying breast cancer.Unusual discharge from the nipple that may be clear, bloody, or another color. It's usually caused by benign conditions but could be due to cancer in some cases.A marble-like area under the skin.An area that is distinctly different from any other area on either breast.. |
Time for Teachership
40 of 110 episodes indexed
89. 5 Components of Real Buy-In with Dr. Samuel D. Nix
by Lindsay Lyons
In today's guest episode, author and educational leader Dr. Samuel D. Nix and I are discussing the 5 components of rea... More
I am honored that Dr Samuel knicks chose to be on this podcast to share his brilliance with you. Dr SAm began his career in education as a middle school teacher and coach. Dr Nix has served as an assistant principal and the principal at both middle and high schools. Dr Nix was named principal of the year 2015 to 2016 in the Arlington Independent School, currently serves as the chief of schools in the Duncanville Independent School district and since 2006 he has served as an education consultant for education career, alternative programmer. A cap has been awarded a Leadership in Education award from the texas House of Representatives. How Cool was nominated for the martin Luther King JR Service Award in education was presented the mary McLeod with the in Heritage Award for education by the CCP In 2010, The doctor june James C. P. Education Award in 2016 and the Leadership legacy award from the Future Schools Network in 2019. This guy is awesome.
DR Nix was featured in the new Horizon University of North texas magazine as a premier leader in education and was featured in the number one selling education book in America. The first days of school by Harry Wong. Dr Nix is the award winning author of ensure educational success, a book that offers innovative and common sense strategies for leading a school culture where teachers and students thrive. He has much wisdom to share, let's get right to the episode educational justice coach lindsey Lyons and here on the time for teacher ship podcast. We learn how to inspire educational innovation for racial and gender justice design curricula grounded in student voice and build capacity for shared leadership. I'm a former teacher leader turned instructional coach. I'm striving to live a life full of learning, running, baking, traveling and parenting because we can be rockstar educators and be full human beings if you're a principal assistant superintendent, curriculum director, instructional coach or teacher who enjoys nursing out about co creating curriculum students, I made this show for you.
Here we go, Dr Samuel Nix, welcome to the time for Teacher ship podcast. Thank you so much for having me. It is an absolute pleasure to be on your show and I'm not just saying that lazy, I am truly excited to be here before you say anything and I know I'm breaking protocol. The most recent podcast that I listened to of yours, that was my absolute favorite, was your fourth episode in your leadership series where you started to talk about adaptive leadership and approaching that to data analysis and so I'm just sharing with you that I'm not just here. I'm also a fan. I'm excited to be here. So thank you so much for having me on your show. Oh my gosh, that means so much to me. And also I'm really excited that that was the episode that you picked up on because I see so much overlap in our work in that regard. So we could dive into that too. Oh yes, this is gonna be great. So, I read your professional bio at the top of the hour episode, and I'm just curious to know if there's anything else that you want to add to that or that listeners should know as they kind of keep in mind who you are and what you bring to the table as we start this conversation today.
Well, thank you so much for sharing that. Just just the only thing that's not in my bio that I'd like to share with other people, just because it matters to me is that I am a proud father of two amazing young people, a five year old and a two year old at this time, and I have an amazing wife that allows me the opportunity uh and support to be able to do the things that that we and I do in education. So I'm very thankful, just wanted everyone to know how thankful I am. I love that, that is so beautiful, and I really think that's so important to be able to start with, because sometimes we're just kind of our professional bios to people, it's like our whole human beings like this is an important part of our lives. Absolutely, this is great. Okay, cool. So we'll dive in here and I always start with this first question for my guests, which is, you know, thinking about this kind of big dream that we have for education, and I love the idea of freedom dreaming, and I particularly love dr Bettina loves quote about it, where she describes it as dreams grounded in the critique of injustice.
I just think that's so powerful and I'm curious to know with that quote in mind what is that big dream that you hold for the field of education? Because in my opinion, there's a difference between how I think education should go in a dream for education when I think about a dream and I and I hope that it's not cliche, I think about dr martin Luther King who stood up and said, I have a dream and to me that is it's something that is almost seen as impossible. It's almost seen as something that is unattainable and unreasonable um for today, right? So for my dream for education, it is truly that there is no equity gap, there is no achievement gap. My dream for education is that students enjoy and want to learn and are motivated to learn, are inspired to learn that the adaptive approach that we take to education is the norm. Uh and it's not something that is, you know, unique to two individuals talking about the difference between technical approaches and adaptive approaches, right?
But that's my dream is that school is a place where kids enjoy, where they're benefiting from their learning in such a way that it creates so many opportunities for them in the future and where that gap of inequity is is not existent. So that's a dream that I have, I love so many pieces of that, I like the enjoyment part, I mean, I think that's like what we wish, you know, students had an experience of school, right? Joy is a huge piece that's often missing and it's not part of like our planning process, right? Like how do we bring in Joy should be a key question, but also I love that you were just saying like how they benefit from it right sometimes, but when we think about the benefits to students, it's like, oh the benefit is they learn stuff that we decided it was important for them to know and then have a dinner table conversation when they're 40 and they bring that into the mix, like what, that's not really what we want, right? So that immediate benefit I think is so powerful to think about, you know, I think a lot of teachers probably don't even think about that question as they are developing units and curriculum and lessons like what is that benefit and what do our students want that benefit to be?
So yeah, I love it. Okay, cool, so, I think what you started saying too about the context of the dream seeming almost as if it were impossible and that element of dreaming is so profound and I think it connects deeply to my next question about, you know, it takes some shifting to get to that place where we have joy for all students and we have an immediate benefit for all students. And so I'm wondering, you know, how do we need to shift our minds and our mindsets as educators, as leaders of schools and districts to get people to kind of buy and fight for that dream that you described? Do you ask a loaded question that, um, you know, I hope I can answer correctly, but here's the deal. I believe that the most difficult thing to do in any field, not the field of education, but any field is shifting a person's mindset. So, for example, because what you're, what you're in essence dealing with, in my opinion, when you're dealing with a mindset, you're dealing with a belief.
And so I believe that experiences shape beliefs, beliefs, influence actions and actions produce results. I'm gonna say that again. I believe that experiences shape beliefs, beliefs, influence actions and actions produce results. So in order for there to be a mind shift in order for there to be some some change in how people approach the work. First, we have to ask ourselves what has been their experience, what has led them to believe, what they believe about their profession, about these Children, about whatever that looks like, right. And then we're so quick to dismiss people's opinions or beliefs or whatever the case may be, instead of trying to understand them, trying to understand their perspective, trying to understand their background, trying to understand their rationale because it's only in truly understanding where they're coming from what they're dealing with what their perspective is, that we're even positioning ourselves to try to help them, quote unquote, help them shift their mindset to produce different actions to get different results.
So I'm sorry if I took the long way around for this, but I think how we do that is we have to honor what people's experiences are. We are so well versed in telling people what should happen. We are so well versed Lindsay and telling people what we want to see. We're so we're well versed in telling people what the dream is and what the vision is and where we're trying to go. And although people may take that direction may take those steps, they don't believe it. And so we have schools and we have universities and we have professional educators who are in systems where unfortunately they don't believe that the kids can do it. They don't believe that students should be in school, have fun. They don't believe that that making lessons relevant and and changing the way that they are approaching the work and doing the work is what's best for kids. Well, why what's been your experience? What have you seen if they haven't had an opportunity to really reflect on or engage in conversation about why they think that and why they believe that they were not going to change.
That's such a great point. And I think so, so thoughtful about many things to in your answer, your thoughtful about individual experience and so not necessarily doing this, saying this in like a blaming way, but like if your experience was like a miserable, you know, childhood education and no one in your teacher prep program exposed you to these different ways of doing it. Like of course, so we need system change here. And then also I love that you're, you're talking about, you know, the honoring experiences that made me think two of the experiences of our of our students and that oftentimes we assume what those experiences are too, without asking beyond that. I love that you're talking about kind of this notion of buying where I love your phrase of were well versed in telling were well versed in telling the vision and and I think so much of what leadership in leadership programs, what that purports to be is a telling. It is, let's get people behind this, lets you know the phrase of buy in usually irks me.
But I mean I think it's it's the closest thing sometimes that we have to like having a common understanding, but it's like, no, we don't need people to buy in, we need the co creation of the vision or whatever, right? So you just triggered a thought if you don't mind. Uh you mentioned that you mentioned that the phrase buy in. Um I don't know the word you use, but annoys you write or frustrate you, right. Um, and I would so much agree because what I see that we do is less buy in and more what I call selling. And so what I mean by that is we do a lot of selling to people and when people feel sold to, they will resist new ideas. And the reason why it's because people don't support what they don't understand. And so there's very little true buy in when it comes to uh, changing or shifting, whether that's mindsets, organizations or structures. There's very little buy in.
And the funny thing about it, Lindsay is that I have asked leaders and senior, did you get by? Oh yeah, I got buy in. But from their perspective, they didn't get by. They got, they got selling, they sold and they thought that people bought and people didn't buy because people didn't understand. And so there's compliance. But there's not comprehension, Hey, everyone, just a quick reminder that you have a bunch of free resources available for you in relation to this episode, Dr Nix is sharing a ton of great stuff. You can grab that link at lindsey Beth Lyons dot com slash blog slash 89. Now back to the episode, can you say that last line again? That was so good. Yeah, there's compliance. People do the work, but there's not comprehension, they don't understand why they're doing it. They don't, they don't have the belief system that will ensure sustainable success in that area, Right? Yes. Oh my gosh, So many things he asked about what you just said, and I appreciate that last Edition two with a sustainable success.
Because we have, I think an education like initiative fatigue where we're like, we're gonna do this, we're gonna do this and we're gonna pull this in and then it's gonna die out in two months. And I think teachers are frustrated by that students and families are frustrated by that. It doesn't actually impact like, you know, the long term adaptive challenges that we see in education and that sustainability, I think goes hand in hand with exactly what you're talking about about being sold to versus being like a full co creator or participant of like, what are we doing here? And so that's so important. Oh, my gosh, I'm so glad that you took us there. Thank you for that. And so as people are listening and they're just like, yes, I'm, you know, head nodding along as I'm listening to all the things you're saying, what are the things that people can do, whether they're, you know, a district leader, a school leader, maybe even just a teacher. You know, what are those brave actions that people can take that can actually make this idea a reality for their community, Would you say this idea?
Um are you referring to the dream that I shared or you're talking about getting people to buy into whatever it is that a leader is trying to um to promote or or trying to bring to fruition. Yeah. Oh my gosh, thank you for clarifying. So I I think ultimately uh the dream, but I do think it's really, it would be great if we could give listeners an idea of what it looks like to lead in a way that is not selling to and is, you know, co creating that vision and thinking about that specifically within, I think as a means to get to the larger dream. Very good lindsey. I um I often do something when I'm presenting to smaller groups of leaders, teachers and I'm gonna share what I do on this podcast. And if anyone takes this, and does it make sure you give credit? Not just playing.
So what I do Lindsay is I usually will, I'll give people a sheet of paper and on this paper are images of different students, asian student, african american student, uh african american girl and uh hispanic young lady, just different shades, different cultures, different um ages of Children. And at the top of the page I say, here's your challenge. You have to assign these Children a grade a through f there's no trick to this. What grade do you think these Children average? That's it, no qualifying, anything. And I've done this Lindsay. I'm not exaggerating, I've done this to thousands of educators, not hundreds. So I give them a few minutes, I tell them there is a correct answer to this, give them the sheet and I allow them a few minutes to go through and, and they look at the clothes that the Children have on, they look at their smile, their hair.
One of the student has a necklace on. One of the students has, um, uh, what we call a wife beater on, another has a nice shirt or whatever, whatever makes up the child, right? And then see what ends up happening is at the end of the allotted time. I will inevitably look down at the paper and I'll see they, you know, this child, they think they have an A or this child, they think they have a B or this child. They think average is A D or for whatever that looks like. And then I'll ask this question, why did you give that student that great? You don't know, this child, You've never met this child. You know nothing about this child. This child probably remind you of someone or triggered an emotion or triggered a thought or triggered something in you that said to you because they're dressed this way or because they look this way or because they remind you of something. They're probably a B. Student or C. Student. But the answer is they're all a students, they're all a students. But what is it in us that assigned that child and A or B or C or D or F.
What is it in us And here's the point that I'm making Lindsay if we don't come to the conclusion that we all have some internal bias that we have to acknowledge and deal with, then we're operating under the assumption that, oh, everybody, I love all kids, everything's fine. Everybody's gonna get an equitable treatment in my classroom. And and the reality is no, they're not. And and for those who are listening and saying that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I'm telling you thousands and thousands of people take this and they do this. And then when I ask them, can you explain to me why the asian never gets it of the thousands of people I've done, nobody's ever failed given them. I mean, it's just right why? Because there's something intrinsically in the head that, well, this student is smart. And how do you treat students that you think are smart? How do you approach students that you think are capable?
How do you plan for students that you think are going to excel versus the opposite and in our education system until we can deal with acknowledge and start to work on those things? We're gonna have a gap because your belief system drives your actions and those actions are going to produce results. Now, you talked about, we talked briefly about buying it and how to get people to buy into um change or or shift in mindset or or any type of of shift or movement or improvement um initiative or anything of that nature and here's what I would say to that I would say that there are five components to ensure and buy it. The first component I would say is that you have to engage in what I'm gonna call honest and transparent dialogue, you have to be honest about where you are, you have to be very transparent about what the issue is and you have to allow people to talk and to communicate what their challenges are, what their issues are and you have to be in a position to listen and understand.
So number one, are you engaging in honest and transparent dialogue with whatever it is that you're trying to get someone to buy into number two. Usually when there's a change, usually when there's a shift in any type of situation, it's usually a lot to ask them how to change, right, Lindsay and so the way that I have found or I have seen works the best is to be very strategic with how you chunk change. What I mean by that is If we can improve, there's a book called 1% right or a book called the slight edge where you talk about Jeff Olson, where you talk about um improving incrementally. So breaking down change initiatives into distinct phases is always helpful. The third way I would think after engaging in honest transparent dialogue after chunking the change, I would say the third thing that we would need to consider in Mayan is it's just really listening.
It's when I get to this third one, there's an author by the name of Ricco Rick, uh what's his name, Rick Mahr, I think M O U M A U R E R Rick Meagher and he says relationships are just as important as ideas, relationships are just as important as ideas. So you may have a great idea. But do you have a great relationship and in that he talks about in that book, he talks about three broad categories of why people resist change. Now all of this is falling under the third aspect of listening, right? But when he talks about three bread broad categories for resistance to change, it is so interesting what he says. Number one people resist because they don't understand it, right? Number two people resist because they don't like it. And number three people resist because they don't like you the first, which is they don't understand, it invites an opportunity to clarify the 2nd and 3rd, our emotional reactions and their emotional reactions to um the change message or the change messenger.
And what that does is is provide you an opportunity when you understand that. No, that that's why listening is so important because then you can know where the resistance is. So once again like Rick said, I don't like it, I don't like you or I just don't get it, but they don't get it, that's easy. But they don't like if they don't like you and they don't like the change, then you have to listen to find out where their experiences where their belief is. Um So after engaging honest feedback, chunking, listening, I would say that the fourth way to ensure buying is you have to obtain feedback and you have to gain input from the people that the changes impacting. If you're not getting feedback that goes beyond listening, listening is simply listening understanding but getting feedback and getting input from the people that the change impacts on the incremental process is key. Then lastly I would say you have to communicate progress so often I see people organizations, leaders will engage in change.
They'll do, you know, they'll be honest and they'll chunk and they'll listen and they'll get feedback but they won't communicate where they are, where they're progressing, where are we headed in relation to where we're trying to be give people updates and and and is this actually working or is it not? And if it's not, are we willing to make the proper justice? So those are just some of the things that I have seen that really work well to garner by it and and and and and really impede the process of trying to be trying to sell or trying to make sure someone feels sold to wow, there was so much in there that is so powerful and I really appreciate you naming each of those five pieces. One of the things that came to my mind as you were talking about your initial activity two is um there's a chapter I think is part of a larger book from Zander and Zander that was called Giving the A or giving an A something like that. Just the idea that like day one, you could just give everybody an A in your class and like how does that change the day dynamic and how does everyone rise to that standard and gets the A ultimately in the end, right?
They've earned it because you've created that image and I think that's so powerful just thinking about that with that activity is like, all right, everybody gets the a and now you have a very different experience with each individual students so powerful that mindset and like you're saying like everyone has bias, it's really telling when um you know, we we engage with the schools or school leaders who are like, oh well, you know, we're not we don't have that kind of problem. We don't have this, this underlying bias, that's not the issue. It's like if we can't even admit that, we can't even get to the first step just acknowledging that to be true. We're not going to get much further. We're not going to be able to do the deeper work that's necessary. And so yeah, huge, huge point that you made the other piece, I think that that stuck out to me was that dialogue piece um dr Sherry Bridges Patrick is as a person I worked closely with and she has been on the podcast a few times and her work is in uh dialogue, specifically racial dialogue and racialized dialogue in various communities of the helping profession social work, education and things like this.
And it's just that perceived she's taught me a lot about perceived safety and this concept of, you know, we can't declare a space safe and now we all get along and talk right? But that everyone comes to this space and has this different, unique, important perception of safety and each person has to perceive that this is a space we can have honest dialogue. Um and that is such a fundamental piece. I love that you named it first and then you don't know if I interpreted this or if you if you were intentional about this, but it almost sounded like that's the thing that if that's missing, you can't have any of the other ones. Is that a correct assumption or are they not in order in that way? I'm going to take credit for being strategic. Although it was not that I'm gonna take all the credit for being strategic and listen at first, but the reality is you're so right, you're so right, Lindsay, because if so if that's not in place, if that is not the foundational aspect that has been established, man, everything that comes after that is just gonna it's gonna crumble.
Yeah. And I think one of the things that I am really fascinated by recently is this idea of strategic planning and I know this is something that you talk about and write about in your book. And I think this key of honest dialogue and importantly, a lot of the other things you're saying, right, I really resonated with the gaining input and feedback. It actually made me think of, so I'm from the like the student voice scholarship field and I'm like really in that world and there's this great pyramid of student voice that dana mitra came up with and then she like maps it into this idea of turbulence theory. And so she he talks about how at the very first level, like the initial level of student voices just being heard, but also that's the most turbulent because you have people kind of sharing these ideas. But if you don't do anything with it, if you don't take that next level up and partner with them and take action as a result of that feedback, then it's just gonna get all these ideas spewed out into the world and people are gonna be like angry almost that they were vulnerable and shared with you and you did nothing with it.
And I think that's really powerful, but why why is there such a gap between listening and understanding and taking action from your perspective Lindsay, you know, I know this is I'm on your podcast and I'm honored and privileged to be here, but really Lindsay you spend so much time talking to experts, you spend so much time talking to leaders, you spend so much time helping and providing information and resource as a resource for educators who are, I mean they're, they're just, they're hungry and want to do better and want to learn more. And your podcast is is such a great venue for that. But what are you seeing when you're talking to people? Why is there such a disconnect between taking that action and and and and following up on on what you know to do? Why why is there such a disconnect there? I so appreciate you asking me a question. Thank you. So actually it goes back to, okay, I loved how you were saying um you were talking about the three reasons that people resist and it made me think of, I think it was high fits, it's some adaptive leadership scholar who says, you know, the resistance is loss and resistance is this kind of like fear of losing something.
Um, and I think for me it actually is number one of what you said, right, they don't understand. So that might be one piece, but then it's also this kind of fear or so sense of loss. So maybe I don't understand the how like how do I partner with students, but then I also, I might understand the technical piece of the, how I, I, you know, have a morning meeting or a circle time with students and I get their input and then we co create the unit question for the, you know, I might know the how, but I fear the loss of control for example, right? Like I fear that I am giving up something here, I'm losing. Like it's this zero sum game, right? That we imagine is is real. And I think a lot of that is tied to deeply held beliefs about just like adulthood, about the specific students in our class, about the implicit bias we were talking about, it's also teacher prep programs and this is, I've been told not to smile until christmas kind of thing, you know, and what that all means to be a teacher I really like and I know it's, it's turn into a bit of a cliche, but I really like this idea of like the coach, the teacher in the coach role because as a former basketball coach, like I, I am definitely a person who is like, oh, I can now get into that mode and I'm not dribbling for them, I'm not taking the shot for that.
Like I'm not doing these things for them, I'm not spoon feeding, I'm calling a play and then they're gonna figure it out and I need to make sure that each person has what they need to figure it out in the moment and if we looked at education in that way, I think the partnership mindset I guess makes so much more sense. I'm no longer fearing that I'm losing the coaching authority because a coach authority is not the same as like, you know, someone who dictates this is what's going to happen, everyone follow or else. And so I think there's, there's that resistance as lost as well as like maybe I just don't know. And so like you said, I think people fall into these different groups and you respond accordingly and coach accordingly lindsey. I love that. Here's my follow up question. I know I'm not the host and please forgive me for asking questions, but you, you phrased it so beautifully, is the current system that we're in, designed for teachers to be successful with that approach. Such a good question. Okay, so I think, I think that that could be a whole other podcast facility in terms of the depth we could go with that conversation, I'll say quickly, I don't think it is on the whole, however, I have seen pockets of innovation and and what I would call bravery that make it possible.
So for example, there's a group of schools in new york, new york city, new york state actually, I think they extend beyond the city. Um I was fortunate enough for part of my teaching career to teach in one of them And they said, you know, the system as it exists around standardized testing was, is the example that I'll start with. But they were like, this is messed up. It's not helping our kids, we know we can do better. And so they developed a consortium of schools. They said, here's what we're gonna do. As, you know, a group of 30 schools, we're going to do performance-based assessments. We're gonna have this really rigorous uh, rubric that we're gonna go through and and agree. And there's all this protocol to make sure it's good. We're gonna have panelists of judges from different schools in the community who are going to, you know, have real authentic feedback conversations with students as they present their projects. And this will serve. This project will serve as their standardized test. It's going to replace the region's test or whatever the state test would be in different scenarios. And that took a lot of work for them to come together and do that.
But it's possible. And those schools and those students in those schools are thriving because they were willing to put in the work and willing to change what the system was telling them that they could do and find an innovative way to work within it. Um, I'm definitely a fan of changing the larger system, but in the meantime, you know, what actions can we take to to do what we can to make it possible for us to take those action steps? Um, perhaps on a smaller, localized scale in the meantime, I think it is possible. I would completely agree, and, you know, in my book, ensure educational success, those are some of the things that I write about in harp on um for teachers to process through, even though you may be in a system that is inhibiting your freedom to, like you said, um, just be all the way autonomous with um allowing you, you being the coach and allowing the students to, or you guiding the students, it is absolutely possible. And although challenging it's possible and it doesn't take a whole lot right, There are just some things that you have to shift in your mindset to understanding the difference between a dependent learning an independent learner, right?
And and what it means to guide the learning and what it means to provide relevancy for students and coach them in certain areas, um, to allow them the space to think and learn um differently than they have been. So, I love the way that you put that, and I think you're absolutely correct, and I think that's the challenge. It's how do we step outside of the traditional system to provide opportunities for students in such a way that they enjoy that they're motivated that they're encouraged, but ultimately, um that you're not spoon feeding them or as you say, dribbling for them and teaching them how to do that. That's that's that's the goal, awesome. I love it. And I know that you mentioned your book too. I just want to give you a minute to just share. You know, is there anything else that, that people should know about your book? I feel like people are going to listen to this and be like, I want to buy your book and like can you just tell people how, you know a little bit about the book and then also like you know how they get a copy we can add any links to to the show notes.
Thank you so much. My book is called ensure educational success. It's available on amazon Barnes and nobles or wherever books are sold via online and of course, uh, hopefully the link will be provided there. Um, to access the reason that I wrote this book, it's for educators, educational leaders is because I have been in the traditional education system for um, Almost 19 years now. I've been very fortunate Lindsay, I've been very fortunate in education as a classroom teacher. I taught middle school, eighth grade U. S. History. I had the highest scores in my district. I was in um, a very large district in north texas, one of the ninth largest school district in texas. Um, I had a student one time and his name was Trey. Talk to Trey. Um, but they couldn't read Lindsay. Trey was in eighth grade. Now I just want you to just picture that. I know people hear that and they dismiss it and here's another sob story about a student.
But I really want you to think about this. An eighth grade student that reads about on a second grade love, imagine the challenge that this kid had, imagine that the all that this young man had to go through and of course he was a discipline problem. Of course he was an issue for, of course he was. I mean he, he has pride and he doesn't want everybody to know he's struggling, right? But the reality is with this particular student, he would tap on his desk, he would beat on his desk with a pen. He would wrap and lindsey for all of those who are dismissive of, of this genre of rap. This young man was able to rap about anything and make his words every other words rhyme and single page and so forth and so on. It takes a lot of skill to do that. So I knew he was intelligent. I knew he had it in him. I just had to find a way to get it out. So I had a friend of mine who's a producer and I went over his house one night and we stayed up all night trying to find how to make a song for the bill of rights so that he could learn the bill of rights.
So I'm sitting here trying to find something that rhymes with Magna carta right? And a friend is over here trying to get the music together and we create this this song for him so that he could learn. Do you know what happened Lindsay? He got that he learned the Bill of Rights in such a way that he started to help others learn the Bill of Rights Asked me can you do the same thing for the next section? We'll I'm not, I don't write write, I don't do that right? But that's what we did. And we ended up coming up with a city that was ended up being used in 12 different states. But the the point of it is I found a way to motivate him to encourage him to inspire him to want to learn. So whether it's C. D. Or art or music or whatever it is, there's things that inspire our Children. So I wrote this book to inspire educators to inspire leaders to break away from the traditional mindset of how we approach education and give some tenants and some common sense innovative strategies for how to take schools students leaders to the next level because of that city.
I was featured in Harry Wong's book. The first days of school Harry Wong if you don't know was on Oprah at that time and I don't care if you go on Oprah selling eyebrow pencil, you will have the number one selling eyebrow pencils in America right? So of course this book went to number one. Um, so having that opportunity as a middle school principal, having extreme success as a high school principal being named as a demonstration school, one of 32 top urban schools in America at closing achievement gaps. I mean these are things that I look back now and I just, I'm, I'm so thankful to have had a team and teachers that bought into what we were trying to do and what we're trying to do is ensure educational success for students. So that's what I write about. So I'll write about how to duplicate that, how to do it. It is not difficult, it's not rocket science, but it is intentional. Um, and, and so that's what the book is about. Thank you so much for talking about that and for sharing an anecdote from the book that's, that's so powerful and I think we've talked about so much on this in this podcast episode that I'm thinking for the teacher or leader who is kind of ready to close down the episode, Ready to go take action on some of this stuff.
What is one, just one next step that someone could go do, you know, tomorrow next week something to get the ball rolling on some of these big ideas we've been talking about. Um, that would just be kind of a momentum starter. Well the first thing they could do is go by the book, But, but the second thing they can do after 14? The second thing that they can do is in all transparency, Everything that we've talked about. If they're listening to this podcast, if they've listened this far in the podcast, that means that they're, they have a true proclivity to improve. What I would say Lindsay is the first thing that people should do is ask this question are my actions having the impact that they have the potential to have. So let me pause for a second. We are all busy every day. We are all doing something every day whether that's teaching.
Well that's an assistant principal in their duties and job responsibilities, whether it's a principal or superintendent, whether it's a podcast host or whatever it is, we are all engaged in actions. But if we don't stop and reflect on our, my actions, having the impact that I desire them to have, then we will continue in mediocrity. We will continue doing the things that we're doing and getting the results that we're getting and we will be looking for and blaming everybody and everything else for why we're not transforming the thing that I would say is we need to reflect much like earlier in the episode when I talked about the teachers who took the um gave the kids the grades. The first thing that has to happen is they have to understand where they are in relation to where they're trying to be. So the question is, are my actions yielding the results, having the impact and if not, are you willing, are you brave enough to do something about it?
Such a powerful question. Yes, I highly encourage everyone to just take a minute to press pause even on the episode and do that now. Right to just answer that question. Um thank you for that and, and, and as a closing, closing question, this is kind of just fun. I've been adding this in lately, but I'm curious to know we all in that spirit like you're saying of constant learning and growth and if you listen this far, you know, you're a person who is dedicated to that, I know you're dedicated to that. So I'm curious to know what's something that you have been learning about lately and this could be professionally, it could be personally, you learn how to cook something new. Like anything you've been learning about lately, you know, this is actually a really great question. I just finished a book um by chris Voss and the name of this book is never split the difference and chris voss I believe, and I hope I'm not misquoting this at one point in time, I believe he was the the United States leading negotiator and this book is about how to become a better negotiator now, the reason that I'm reading this book is because everything in life is a negotiation.
I mean trying to get your kids to go to sleep? It's negotiation? I mean where you know everything in life, but what I've learned and what I'm learning in this book is the art of communication in such a way that you're able to negotiate um not manipulate but negotiate for win wins. And so I'm really enjoying that or I read the book and I've enjoyed what I'm learning and I'll go back and just continue to try to refine that. Oh that's awesome. Now I love adding to my to read list going right on it. And the last question they have for you is just where can listeners learn more about you or connect with you online? Thank you so much. I'd like to share with them my website which is um www dot S N I X three consulting dot com. That's s next three consulting dot com. And it's on that website that you would be able to um learn more about me, my book um opportunities and resources for you and your organization to continue to improve.
There are different things on there for you to analyze kind of where you are as an organization, as a person. Um so that would be a great place to start. And then of course I don't have a million social platforms but you can follow me on twitter at Samuel nix. Perfect. And we'll link to both of those links in our blog post for the episode as well. Dr nick, Thank you so much for just spending this time with us and sharing so many wonderful insights. It's been an absolute pleasure to have you on. The pleasure has been all my Lindsay. Thank you so much and thank you to the listeners. I am so honored. Um, I wish you nothing but the best. If you're leaving this episode wanting more, you're going to love my live coaching intensive curriculum bootcamp. I help one department or grade team create feminist anti racist curricula that challenges affirms and inspires all students. We leave current events into course content and amplify student voices, which skyrockets engagement and academic achievement. It energizes educators feeling burns out and it's just two days plus you can reuse the same process any time you create a new unit which saves time and money.
If you can't wait to bring this to your staff, I'm inviting you to sign up for a 20 minute call with me, grab a spot on my calendar at www dot lindsey beth Lyons dot com slash contact Until next time leaders continue to think big act brave and be your best self. This podcast is a proud member of the teach better podcast network better today, better tomorrow and the podcast to get you there, explore more podcasts at teach better dot com slash podcasts and we'll see you at the next episode |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: What is a lipoma and how is it characterized? output: A lipoma is a type of benign tumor that develops from adipose tissue, which is the body's fat cells. It is typically characterized by a soft, movable lump that is located just beneath the skin. Lipomas are usually slow-growing and painless, and they are contained within a fibrous capsule. They can occur anywhere on the body where fat cells are present, but they are most commonly found on the torso, neck, upper thighs, and upper arms. While lipomas are generally harmless and do not require treatment, some people may choose to have them removed for cosmetic reasons or if they are causing discomfort or interfering with normal bodily functions. |
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Most expensive climate disasters in recent decades
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JOSh EDELSON/AFP // Getty Images
In 2022 so far, the U.S. has seen a staggering 15 climate and weather disasters. While the total cost of these disasters has not been fully realized yet, they've already caused billions of dollars worth of damage. Between 2021 and 2022, tropical cyclones, severe droughts and heatwaves, wildfires, and winter storms caused devastation and hundreds of deaths across the U.S. If the cost of 2021's natural disasters is any indication, 2022's total could amount to more than $100 billion in damages. Since 1980, the U.S. alone has been hit with 338 weather and climate disasters totaling at least $1 billion each.
Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation to 2022 value, based on 2022 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Estimates of the costs for Hurricane Ian, Fiona, and the 2022 Western Wildfire season are not yet available. The list starts with the Midwest, Plains, and Southeast drought, which caused $8.8 billion in damages in 2006, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed more than 1,800 people.
Keep reading to discover the 50 most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.
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USDAgov // Flickr
#50. Midwest, Plains, and Southeast drought (2006)
- Total cost (inflation-adjusted to 2022 value): $8.8 billion
- Total deaths: 0
- Begin date: March 1, 2006
- End date: Aug. 31, 2006
In the late winter and into the late summer of 2006, a drought with its eye on the Great Plains region also wreaked havoc in states across the Midwest and Southeast—by July, 52% of the contiguous United States was suffering from moderate to extreme drought. The drought affected crops and water sources, as well as livestock, prompting the U.S. Department of Agriculture to proclaim drought disasters in many states.
#49. Southeast drought (1983)
- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $8.9 billion
- Begin date: June 1, 1983
In the summer of 1983, many states in the Southeast experienced a rather severe flash drought. Eleven states were affected, and in Kentucky, Louisville saw its second-worst drought of the 20th century, experiencing dryness so severe that most of the state's vegetation was forced into dormancy and many towns suffered water shortages.
Dave Gatley FEMA // Wikimedia Commons
#48. Hurricane Opal
- Total deaths: 27
- Begin date: Oct. 4, 1995
- End date: Oct. 6, 1995
In October 1995, the Southeast endured the wrath of Category 3 Hurricane Opal. The hurricane ravaged Florida, Alabama, western Georgia, eastern Tennessee, and the western Carolinas with its gusting winds and flooding. Most of the damage came from storm surges of up to 10 to 15 feet along the coastal areas of the Florida panhandle. More than 1,300 homes and 1,000 boats were destroyed or extensively damaged. Left in the hurricane's wake was a massive $7.87 billion bill for such things as destroyed water and sewer systems, roadways, and phone and electric utilities.
#47. Hurricane Fran
- Begin date: Sept. 5, 1996
- End date: Sept. 8, 1996
In early September 1996, Hurricane Fran hit land at the tip of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and moved into Virginia with 115 mph sustained winds. Twenty-six people died in the Category 3 hurricane that left North Carolina with its costliest bill from a climate disaster—$8.16 billion—at the time. Some areas saw more than 10 inches of rain and 24-hour downpours, and Fran caused significant agricultural losses, as well.
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Mario Tama // Getty Images
#46. Western/Southern Plains drought and heatwave (2022)
- Total deaths: 117
- Begin date: Jan. 1, 2022
- End date: Sept. 30, 2022
Scientists have linked the droughts in 2021 and 2022 back to a larger drought that began in 2000 and has persisted in some way for more than two decades. This period has been the driest since 800 A.D., and is largely caused by climate change. The summer of 2022 was also reported to be the third hottest on record in the U.S. States like California called on residents to conserve water use, but the duration of the drought has made many experience drought fatigue.
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
#45. Western drought and heatwave (2021)
- End date: Dec. 31, 2021
For much of 2021, the Southwest, California, and the Pacific Northwest were subject to extreme drought conditions, which wreaked havoc on agriculture, caused particularly bad wildfires, and created a shortage of water supplies. Despite the Western U.S. being accustomed to moderate drought conditions, the severity of the 2021 drought and heat wave was worse than usual, causing some regions to go months without any rain. Roughly 229 deaths were reported.
USDA // Wikimedia Commons
#44. US drought (2008)
More than half of the country was affected by a prolonged drought that included large parts of the Southeast, West, the Great Plains, northwestern Great Lakes, and south-central Texas. The drought contributed to agricultural and livestock losses and many communities adopted water and burning restrictions. In Tennessee, the governor declared an agricultural disaster in 39 counties. North Dakota saw its driest winter in 114 years, and Minnesota saw its second driest.
NRCS Montana // Flickr
#43. South Plains severe weather
- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $10.5 billion
- Begin date: May 5, 1995
- End date: May 7, 1995
In early May 1995, the South Plains region, including Texas, Oklahoma, southeast Louisiana, and Mississippi, saw severe weather and storms that included heavy rains, hail, and tornadoes. New Orleans was the hardest hit, experiencing 10 to 25 inches of rain over five days. All told, 32 people died and the severe weather caused billions in damage.
#42. Hurricane Georges
- Begin date: Sept. 20, 1998
The second-most catastrophic hurricane in the Atlantic basin for 1998 was Category 2 Hurricane Georges, which struck Sept. 20. Georges ravaged Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Florida Keys, and the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Some areas had totals of up to 2 feet of rain over several days. In the end, 604 people died, mostly in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and the hurricane caused more than $9 billion in damage.
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David McNew // Getty Images
#41. Western wildfires
Severe drought and heat conditions in the Western U.S. led to devastating wildfires in the region in 2021. Roughly 7.7 million acres were burned, and the particularly dry conditions made the fires extraordinarily difficult to put out. Between the destruction of property and funds needed to battle the megablazes, the 2021 wildfires were some of the costliest in U.S. history. In addition to the ecological and economic damages, smoke from the fires is thought to have mingled with the debilitating respiratory effects of COVID-19 to increase infections and deaths by the thousands.
Liz Roll FEMA // Wikimedia Commons
#40. East Coast blizzard and severe weather
- Begin date: March 11, 1993
- End date: March 14, 1993
On March 11, 1993, "The Storm of the Century"—the most catastrophic and expensive winter storm in the United States since 1980—hit the entire East Coast with blizzards and severe weather that left many Eastern and Northeastern states under 2 to 4 feet of snow, and enduring hurricane-like winds, flooding, or tornadoes. Power was out to more than 10 million homes as the storm covered more than 550,000 square miles and affected almost 120 million people. All told, 270 people died in 13 states and 48 people were reported missing at sea.
Dave Saville FEMA // Wikimedia Commons
#39. Hurricane Floyd
On Sept. 14, 1999, Category 2 Hurricane Floyd struck the East Coast, hitting North Carolina first and the hardest. Twelve other states were affected and 10 were declared major disaster areas. The large size and range of Floyd resulted in heavier and longer-lasting rains—10 to 20 inches over two days in some areas. The largest peacetime evacuation in the United States occurred as more than 2.6 million fled their homes. The total death count was 77, with 51 in North Carolina alone. More than 80,000 homes were destroyed or damaged and 500,000 households were without electricity.
Mark Wolfe FEMA // Wikimedia Commons
#38. Hurricane Jeanne
Florida was hit by its fourth and final hurricane for a record-breaking year on Sept. 26, 2004, when Hurricane Jeanne made landfall on Hutchinson Island. The Category 3 hurricane was the deadliest and costliest of the 2004 season. After rampaging through Florida with 115 mph winds and heavy rain, Jeanne continued up the coast, hitting nine more states. It was the 12th- deadliest Atlantic hurricane and the 15th-most expensive in U.S. history at that time.
Greg Dumas NOAA // Wikimedia Commons
#37. Midwest/Southeast tornadoes
- Begin date: May 22, 2011
- End date: May 27, 2011
In May 2011, a flurry of tornadoes—an estimated 180—broke out all over the central and southern United States, resulting in 177 deaths and making that year the seventh-deadliest for tornado fatalities.
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Jonathan Shaw US National Guard // Wikimedia Commons
#36. Hurricane Matthew
- End date: Oct. 12, 2016
After skirting along Florida's coastline, Hurricane Matthew struck land on Oct. 8, 2016, just south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Flooding significantly affected coastal Georgia, the eastern Carolinas, and southeast Virginia. North Carolina experienced historic levels of river flooding. More than 100,000 homes and businesses were damaged. The flooding also wreaked havoc on agriculture, leading to huge losses in poultry, orchards, vegetables, and other crops. Hurricane Matthew was recorded as reaching Category 5 intensity at the lowest altitude in the Atlantic Basin ever.
Paul Meeker US National Guard // Wikimedia Commons
#35. Louisiana flooding
- Begin date: Aug. 12, 2016
For three days in August 2016, Louisiana was drenched in as many as 30 inches of heavy rain, causing historic flooding in a majority of its southern region. At least 20 parishes were declared disaster areas. More than 70,000 homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged, 30,000 people had to be rescued, and at least 13 died as a result of what was then the most destructive flooding since Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Jamie Squire // Getty Images
#34. Missouri River and North Central flooding
Rising rivers throughout the northern and central Plains in March 2019 flooded farms, towns, and cities. The flooding was caused by an aggressive storm system throughout the central U.S. that brought heavy winds, whiteout snow conditions, and downpours all the way from Colorado to North Dakota.
Daniel Acker // Getty Images
#33. Central severe weather - Derecho
A derecho—a line of powerful, quick windstorms sometimes joined by thunderstorms traversing a large expanse of land—pushed its way over the Midwest in the summer of 2020, causing damage in Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. The winds were powerful enough to create tornadoes. Power outages and property damage affected millions of people.
Al Jazeera English // Wikimedia Commons
#32. Western/Plains drought and heat wave (2013)
- End date: Nov. 30, 2013
2013 was a dry year for every state west of the Mississippi River as each experienced some level of drought and heat wave conditions. The drought began in the Midwest and Plains states and spread to Western states in March. By September, more than 50% of the contiguous United States was in a state of drought. California experienced its driest year on record as 97% of the state suffered from drought.
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Thilo Parg // Wikimedia Commons
#31. Southeast/Ohio Valley/Midwest tornadoes
- Begin date: April 25, 2011
- End date: April 28, 2011
Over the course of three days, 343 tornadoes spawned in at least 13 states—with a particular proclivity for metropolitan areas—in the Central and Southern United States in what was one of the deadliest, most destructive outbreaks in history. Alabama was hit the hardest as an EF-5 tornado struck in the northern region, affecting Tuscaloosa and Birmingham and killing at least 78 people and injuring thousands more. In the wake of hundreds of other tornadoes and three EF-5 level strikes, thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed or significantly damaged.
Andrea Booher FEMA // Wikimedia Commons
#30. Midwest flooding (2008)
- Begin date: April 1, 2008
- End date: June 30, 2008
The Midwest was subjected to continued heavy rain as storm system after storm system rolled through in 2008. Billions of dollars in agricultural loss and property damage were the result of mass flooding in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Historic water levels were reported all over the Midwest with some exceeding 500-year levels.
#29. Tropical Storm Allison
On June 5, 2001, the deadliest and costliest tropical or subtropical storm at that time struck, bringing heavy rains to Texas and Louisiana, which each saw rainfall between 30 and 40 inches. Severe flooding followed, and Allison headed northeast to Mississippi, Florida, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Each state suffered loss of life and property; in all, at least 45,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, thousands of public facilities and businesses were damaged, and 43 people were killed.
2002 was another dry year with at least 39% of the contiguous United States experiencing severe to extreme drought in July. The longstanding drought decreased to 22% of the contiguous United States by the end of December because storms brought heavy rains. The affected regions had some of the lowest precipitation levels in history, affecting water sources, and destroying crops and pastureland. Colorado, Arizona, and Oregon endured large wildfires that year, as well.
Jocelyn Augustino FEMA // Wikimedia Commons
#27. Hurricane Frances
Making landfall on Sept. 5 on the Florida peninsula near Sewall's Point, Category 2 Hurricane Frances started its course of destruction along the Southeast with its 105 mph winds and heavy rains that caused mass flooding and spawned more than 117 tornadoes. Florida's citrus crop was devastated, and more than 1.8 million residents lost electricity. Georgia, the Carolinas, and New York also sustained significant damage from flooding caused by 6 to 20 inches of rain.
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#26. Southern Plains/Southwest drought and heat wave
From March to the end of August 2011, severe drought and heat waves impacted much of the Southern Plains and Southwest United States. Range and pasture lands were in poor condition for much of the 2011 growing season and the drought took its toll on Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Kansas, and Louisiana. At least 95 people died.
Ann Froschauer USFWS // Wikimedia Commons
#25. Hurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene hit land in North Carolina before moving up the East Coast, affecting eight other states, perhaps none more so than Vermont. The true beast of the Category 1 hurricane was its torrential rainfall, which caused mass flooding. Vermont saw more than 11 inches of rain and more than $733 million in damage. More than 7 million people lost power and 45 were killed, and Irene also spawned numerous tornadoes. In New York, which also sustained massive rains, thousands of flights were canceled and major transportation services were shut down.
#24. Western wildfires - California, Oregon, Washington firestorms (2020)
- Begin date: Aug. 1, 2020
2020's western U.S. wildfire season was one for the history books that capped off an already turbulent year for people all over the world. The blazes were touched off by a series of August thunderstorms in California, Oregon, and Washington and expanded by powerful winds across dry landscapes and forests.
Gary Williams // Getty Images
#23. Hurricane Hugo
In September 1989, Category 4 Hurricane Hugo left the Carolinas with astronomical damage caused by its 140 mph winds and storm surges. The event also mesmerized the country as the drama of Hugo—the most destructive hurricane at that time—unfolded. In Bull's Bay just north of Charleston, South Carolina, a nearly 20-foot storm surge devoured the town. In the Carolinas alone, Hugo destroyed or damaged more than 100,000 homes and killed at least 19 people.
Kilmer Media // Shutterstock
#22. Western wildfires, California firestorm (2017)
Over the summer of 2017, many parts of the western United States and California experienced historic firestorms causing more than $18 billion in damage—the costliest wildfire series in history. About 9,000 massive wildfires ripped through Northern California in October, burning over 1.2 million acres, destroying more than 15,000 homes and businesses, and killing 44. More wildfires broke out across other western states, roasting 9.8 million acres in their paths. The resulting smoke was so extreme over Labor Day weekend that its cloud traveled all the way to Paris.
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#21. Hurricane Charley
In the middle of August 2004, Category 4 Hurricane Charley hit land near the Punta Gorda area in southwest Florida. The 145 mph winds and storm surges resulted in major damage to coastal areas—thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed, 2 million were left without electricity, and 25 of Florida's 67 counties were declared as federal disaster areas. Charley continued northeast up the coast, devastating Florida's citrus crop and bringing heavy rains and gusting winds into the Carolinas and Virginia.
Scott Olson // Getty Images
#20. Northwest, Central, Eastern winter storm and cold wave
- Begin date: Feb. 10, 2021
- End date: Feb. 19, 2021
The Feb. 2021 cold snap hit a large swath of North America, but was particularly catastrophic in Texas, where roughly 210 people died during the freeze. As many as 4 million Lone Star State residents were also left without power—and therefore, heat—due to widespread power grid failures, which is thought to be at least partially responsible for many of the deaths. Costly damage was also sustained by infrastructure. Extreme cold was also felt across much of the country: in Minnesota, one weather station reported a reading of 50 degrees Fahrenheit below zero.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP // Getty Images
#19. Hurricane Laura
Hurricane Laura is tied with the 1856 Last Island hurricane and Hurricane Ida as the most powerful on record to make landfall in Louisiana. It was the 12th named storm of the record-setting 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. It made landfall with 150 mph sustained winds and damaged innumerable buildings, homes, and wildlife areas.
Leif Skoogfors FEMA // Wikimedia Commons
#18. Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita hugely impacted the Texas-Louisiana border coastal region, as well as the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The Category 3 hurricane brought strong storm surges of up to 15 feet, wind damage, and inland flooding, and spawned at least 92 tornadoes. At least 119 people were killed, but most of the deaths came as 3.7 million Texans attempted to evacuate, causing a huge traffic jam—some stranded for an entire day.
2018's wildfire season stands as the deadliest, most destructive in California's recorded history. More than 8,500 fires were recorded over the course of the year, eating nearly 1.9 million acres of land. A major contributor to the severity of the fires was an increased volume of dead tree fuel.
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Sean Rayford // Getty Images
#16. Hurricane Florence
Though Hurricane Florence made landfall as a Category 1 storm, it was slow-moving and large and caused intense wind and rain damage to the Carolinas. Florence brought forth 100 mph winds, storm surges as high as 9 to 13 feet, and 20 to 35 inches of rain. The amount of rainfall was the biggest factor for why Florence was so devastating and deadly—51 fatalities resulted—as flood-height records were surpassed.
#15. Hurricane Wilma
- Begin date: Oct. 24, 2005
Category 3 Hurricane Wilma collided with southwest Florida touching down near Everglades City. Wilma—with its maximum sustained 120 mph winds and heavy rains—resulted in heavy flooding as it hurried across the state, touching on the Miami/Fort Lauderdale region and exiting to the coast again the same day. At least 10 people were killed and 6 million lost power—the most in Florida history. Wilma was recorded as a Category 5 at the lowest pressure ever in the Atlantic Basin while still offshore and as the most rapidly intensifying with a 105 mph increase in wind speed in just a day.
#14. Hurricane Michael
Hurricane Michael was the first Category 5 hurricane to hit the U.S. since 1992's Hurricane Andrew. The storm made landfall around Mexico Beach, Florida, gradually moving inland and losing strength as it moved northeast to Georgia and southern Virginia.
#13. Hurricane Ivan
Category 3 Hurricane Ivan came ashore on the Gulf Coast of Alabama on Sept. 16, bringing 130 mph winds, heavy rains, storm surges, and extreme flooding that affected 17 states. Ivan also spawned more than 100 tornadoes and waves that reached as high as 50 feet along the coasts of Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. Hurricane Ivan caused almost $28 billion in damage, and at least 57 people were killed. As a result of Hurricane Ivan and three other hurricanes in 2004, more than one out of every five houses in Florida sustained some kind of damage.
#12. Central/Eastern drought and heat wave (1980)
- Total deaths: 1,260
The 1980 U.S. drought and heat wave covered a 42-day streak of 100-plus-degree days, making it the longest-lasting in the Central-Eastern region's history. The drought of 1980 tied or met 29 daily high temperature records and hit many other records. It also caused significant damage to agriculture, and led to at least 1,200 deaths. Another remarkable thing about the 1980 drought was the media coverage, which became obsessive. As the U.S. media ran out of coverage ideas while the drought and heat wave dragged on for months, media crews from all over the world stepped into the scene.
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John Moore // Getty Images
#11. US drought and heat wave (2012)
Since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, the U.S. drought and heatwaves in 2012 were the most impactful and destructive. About 56% of the contiguous United States was affected by moderate to extreme drought. Many parts of the country saw huge agricultural losses, and the drought caused 123 direct deaths.
James L. Harper Jr. U.S. Air Force // Wikimedia Commons
#10. Hurricane Ike
Category 2 Hurricane Ike—the most intense of 2008—struck the Texas coastline on Sept. 13. Ike's tropical storm winds exceeded Hurricane Katrina's, and its massive size likened it to a Category 5 storm with 15-foot waves pummeling the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida and spawning 29 tornadoes. Ike affected 11 states resulting in 103 direct fatalities; a month after the storm passed, 157 people were still missing.
#9. Midwest flooding (1993)
- Begin date: June 27, 1993
In the summer of 1993, the Midwest and the central United States went through the most devastating and costly non-tropical, inland flooding on record. More than 17 million acres across nine states were drowned in water. Hundreds of levees broke along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, killing 48 people and destroying more than 50,000 homes. The flooding had significant impacts on agriculture and infrastructure but also halted all railroad traffic across the Midwest. In addition, 10 commercial airports flooded, and some places along the Mississippi River remained flooded for months.
#8. US drought and heat wave (1988)
One of the worst droughts since the 1930s Dust Bowl occurred in the summer of 1988 when at least 45% of the contiguous United States suffered sweltering temperatures and lack of rain. The drought lasted from June until the end of August and resulted in 454 direct deaths and upwards of 5,000 indirect fatalities, as well as significant losses in agriculture and related industries. The Mississippi River barely trickled, and temperatures rocketed up to 110 degrees in some areas.
Bob Epstein FEMA // Wikimedia Commons
#7. Hurricane Andrew
Category 5 Hurricane Andrew slammed Florida in August 1992 with 175 mph winds that damaged or destroyed more than 125,000 homes, stripping many down to their concrete foundations. Some 160,000 people were displaced in Miami-Dade County alone. Hurricane Andrew is one of only four Category 5 hurricanes to affect the U.S. mainland and resulted in the deaths of 61 people. It also destroyed Homestead Air Force Base. The positives to come out of the disaster were overhauls of state building codes, the insurance industry, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
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#6. Hurricane Irma
Category 4 Hurricane Irma hit the Florida Keys destroying or damaging more than 80% of its buildings. As Irma moved along the coast, the 185 mph winds, tornadoes, and storm surges hit nine states. Florida and South Carolina were the most affected. Jacksonville and Charleston had historic levels of storm surge, which caused severe coastal flooding that left millions without electricity. Irma was both the strongest Atlantic basin hurricane documented outside of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea and the longest-lasting, with sustained 185 mph winds over 37 hours.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
#5. Hurricane Ida
Damage from Hurricane Ida spanned from New Orleans all the way to New York. Originally making landfall in the Gulf of Mexico, the greatest impact from the storm was felt in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. In New Orleans, the entire city was left without power and sustained severe damage, though it was saved from even worse flooding by levees fortified after Hurricane Katrina. The Northeast, including New York City, also sustained immense damage and deaths.
DVIDSHUB // Wikimedia Commons
#4. Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy—"Superstorm Sandy"—struck at the end of October 2012, directly affecting 24 states and all of the U.S. Eastern seaboard, wreaking havoc from flash flooding and storm surges to blizzard-like conditions. Sandy resulted in 159 deaths and is the fourth-costliest storm in U.S. history. The New York Stock Exchange was forced to close for two consecutive business days for the first time since 1888, and a 14-foot surge caused Manhattan's subway system to sustain its worst damage in 108 years because tunnels were flooded. More than 8.5 million people lost power, and more than 20,000 flights were canceled.
Yuisa Rios FEMA // Wikimedia Commons
#3. Hurricane Maria
- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $107.1 billion
In September 2017, Category 4 Hurricane Maria affected many parts of the United States, but the impact was felt the most in Puerto Rico. After claiming the lives of at least 2,981 people and resulting in more than $90 billion in damage, Hurricane Maria became one of the deadliest and costliest climate disasters in U.S. history. The mass flooding and mudslides in Puerto Rico devastated the country's economy, infrastructure, and living conditions. The hurricane also was one of most rapidly intensifying storms, going from a tropical depression to a Category 5 Hurricane in less than 54 hours.
Daniel Martinez Texas National Guard // Wikimedia Commons
#2. Hurricane Harvey
At the end of August 2017, Category 4 Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas, spawning more than 30 tornadoes and heavy winds, and dumping 30 to 50 inches of rain on 13 million people in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. In Houston—the nation's fourth-largest city—at least 3,900 people still had no power almost three weeks after the storm, and national gas prices rose as 25% of oil and gas production was shut down in the region. At one point, 75% of Harris County, which encompasses Houston, was under 1.5 feet of water. Massive flooding displaced over 30,000 people and damaged or destroyed over 200,000 homes and businesses.
#1. Hurricane Katrina
On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina—the costliest and one of the deadliest disasters in U.S. history—made landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana, as a Category 3 storm with 127 mph winds and severe storm surges, some in excess of 30 feet. Katrina affected 90,000 square miles and at least eight states, with most of the damage occurring in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana—particularly New Orleans. At least 50 levees failed in New Orleans resulting in devastating mass flooding. By the end, 1,833 people had been killed, including 1,577 in Louisiana, and more than 1 million people had been displaced. Two of the region's biggest industries—oil and gas—suffered greatly, and tourism to the coastal communities died as infrastructure continued to erode. From April 2000 to July 2006, New Orleans' population decreased by more than half.
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<section> <header> <ul> <li>Story name: Most expensive climate disasters in recent decades</li> <li>Canonical URL: https://stacker.com/environment/most-expensive-climate-disasters-recent-decades</li> <li>Written by: Katelyn Leboff</li> <li>Description: <p><a href="https://stacker.com">Stacker</a> ranked the most expensive American climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation. Data came from the<a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/events/US/1980-2018"> National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)</a> and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).</p></li> </ul> </header> <article> <h2>Most expensive climate disasters in recent decades</h2> <p>In 2022 so far, the U.S. has seen a staggering <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/events/US/2021-2022?disasters%5B%5D=all-disasters">15 climate and weather disasters</a>. While the total cost of these disasters has not been fully realized yet, they've already caused billions of dollars worth of damage. Between 2021 and 2022, tropical cyclones, severe droughts and heatwaves, wildfires, and winter storms caused devastation and hundreds of deaths across the U.S. If the cost of 2021's natural disasters is any indication, 2022's total could amount to more than $100 billion in damages. Since 1980, the U.S. alone has been hit with <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/summary-stats/US/1980-2022">338 weather and climate disasters</a> totaling at least $1 billion each.</p> <p><a href="https://stacker.com/">Stacker</a> ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation to 2022 value, based on <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/events/US/1980-2022?disasters%5B%5D=all-disasters">2022 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a>. Estimates of the costs for Hurricane Ian, Fiona, and the 2022 Western Wildfire season are not yet available. The list starts with the Midwest, Plains, and Southeast drought, which caused $8.8 billion in damages in 2006, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed more than 1,800 people.</p> <p>Keep reading to discover the 50 most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.</p> <p><strong>You may also like:</strong> <a href="https://stacker.com/stories/3291/us-cities-cleanest-air">US cities with the cleanest air</a></p> <h2>#50. Midwest, Plains, and Southeast drought (2006)</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted to 2022 value): $8.8 billion<br> - Total deaths: 0<br> - Begin date: March 1, 2006<br> - End date: Aug. 31, 2006</p> <p>In the late winter and into the late summer of 2006, a drought with its eye on the Great Plains region also wreaked havoc in states across the Midwest and Southeast—by July, <a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/drought/200613">52% of the contiguous United States</a> was suffering from moderate to extreme drought. The drought affected crops and water sources, as well as livestock, prompting the U.S. Department of Agriculture to proclaim drought disasters in many states.</p> <h2>#49. Southeast drought (1983)</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $8.9 billion<br> - Total deaths: 0<br> - Begin date: June 1, 1983<br> - End date: Aug. 31, 1983</p> <p>In the summer of 1983, many states in the Southeast experienced a rather severe flash drought.<a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/events/US/1980-1983?disasters%5B%5D=all-disasters"> Eleven states were affected</a>, and in Kentucky,<a href="https://www.weather.gov/lmk/top10heat"> Louisville saw its second-worst drought of the 20th century</a>, experiencing dryness so severe that most of the state's vegetation was forced into dormancy and many towns suffered water shortages.</p> <h2>#48. Hurricane Opal</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $8.9 billion<br> - Total deaths: 27<br> - Begin date: Oct. 4, 1995<br> - End date: Oct. 6, 1995</p> <p>In October 1995, the Southeast endured the wrath of<a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/events/US/1980-2018"> Category 3 Hurricane Opal</a>. The hurricane ravaged Florida, Alabama, western Georgia, eastern Tennessee, and the western Carolinas with its gusting winds and flooding. Most of the damage came from <a href="https://www.weather.gov/mob/opal">storm surges of up to 10 to 15 feet</a> along the coastal areas of the Florida panhandle. More than 1,300 homes and 1,000 boats were destroyed or extensively damaged. Left in the hurricane's wake was a massive $7.87 billion bill for such things as destroyed water and sewer systems, roadways, and phone and electric utilities.</p> <h2>#47. Hurricane Fran</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $9.3 billion<br> - Total deaths: 26<br> - Begin date: Sept. 5, 1996<br> - End date: Sept. 8, 1996</p> <p>In early September 1996, Hurricane Fran hit land at the tip of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and moved into Virginia with 115 mph sustained winds. Twenty-six people died in the Category 3 hurricane that left North Carolina with its <a href="https://www.weather.gov/ilm/HurricaneFran">costliest bill from a climate disaster</a>—$8.16 billion—at the time. Some areas saw more than 10 inches of rain and 24-hour downpours, and Fran caused significant agricultural losses, as well.</p> <p><strong>You may also like: </strong><a href="https://stacker.com/stories/3639/25-endangered-animals-only-live-america">25 endangered animals that only live in America</a></p> <h2>#46. Western/Southern Plains drought and heatwave (2022)</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $9.3 billion<br> - Total deaths: 117<br> - Begin date: Jan. 1, 2022<br> - End date: Sept. 30, 2022</p> <p>Scientists have linked the droughts in 2021 and 2022 back to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/14/climate/western-drought-megadrought.html">a larger drought</a> that began in 2000 and has persisted in some way for more than two decades. This period has been the driest since 800 A.D., and is largely caused by climate change. The summer of 2022 was also reported to be the <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/us-climate-summary-august-2022">third hottest on record</a> in the U.S. States like California called on residents to conserve water use, but the duration of the drought has made many experience <a href="https://www.kpbs.org/news/local/2022/10/03/california-dry-winter-western-drought-drags">drought fatigue</a>.</p> <h2>#45. Western drought and heatwave (2021)</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $9.4 billion<br> - Total deaths: 229<br> - Begin date: Jan. 1, 2021<br> - End date: Dec. 31, 2021</p> <p>For much of 2021, the Southwest, California, and the Pacific Northwest were subject to <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/drought/202113">extreme drought conditions</a>, which wreaked havoc on agriculture, caused particularly bad wildfires, and created a shortage of water supplies. Despite the Western U.S. being accustomed to moderate drought conditions, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/drought-california-western-united-states.html">severity of the 2021 drought and heat wave</a> was worse than usual, causing some regions to go months without any rain. Roughly 229 deaths were reported.</p> <h2>#44. US drought (2008)</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $9.7 billion<br> - Total deaths: 0<br> - Begin date: Jan. 1, 2008<br> - End date: Dec. 31, 2008</p> <p>More than <a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/drought/200813">half of the country was affected by a prolonged drought</a> that included large parts of the Southeast, West, the Great Plains, northwestern Great Lakes, and south-central Texas. The drought contributed to agricultural and livestock losses and many communities adopted water and burning restrictions. In Tennessee, the governor declared an agricultural disaster in 39 counties. North Dakota saw its driest winter in 114 years, and Minnesota saw its second driest.</p> <h2>#43. South Plains severe weather</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $10.5 billion<br> - Total deaths: 32<br> - Begin date: May 5, 1995<br> - End date: May 7, 1995</p> <p>In early May 1995, the South Plains region, including Texas, Oklahoma, southeast Louisiana, and Mississippi, saw <a href="https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/13831/noaa_13831_DS1.pdf">severe weather and storms</a> that included heavy rains, hail, and tornadoes. New Orleans was the hardest hit, experiencing 10 to 25 inches of rain over five days. All told, 32 people died and the severe weather caused billions in damage.</p> <h2>#42. Hurricane Georges</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $10.7 billion<br> - Total deaths: 604<br> - Begin date: Sept. 20, 1998<br> - End date: Sept. 29, 1998</p> <p>The second-most catastrophic hurricane in the Atlantic basin for 1998 was Category 2 Hurricane Georges, which struck Sept. 20. Georges <a href="https://www.weather.gov/mob/georges">ravaged</a> Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Florida Keys, and the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Some areas had totals of up to 2 feet of rain over several days. In the end, 604 people died, mostly in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and the hurricane caused more than $9 billion in damage.</p> <p><strong>You may also like: </strong><a href="https://stacker.com/stories/940/animal-species-may-become-extinct-our-lifetime">Animal species that may become extinct in our lifetime</a></p> <h2>#41. Western wildfires</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $11.2 billion<br> - Total deaths: 8<br> - Begin date: June 1, 2021<br> - End date: Dec. 31, 2021</p> <p>Severe drought and heat conditions in the Western U.S. led to devastating wildfires in the region in 2021. Roughly 7.7 million acres were burned, and the particularly dry conditions made the fires extraordinarily difficult to put out. Between the destruction of property and funds needed to battle the megablazes, the 2021 wildfires were some of the costliest in U.S. history. In addition to the ecological and economic damages, smoke from the fires is thought to have mingled with the debilitating respiratory effects of COVID-19 to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/13/climate/wildfires-smoke-covid.html">increase infections and deaths</a> by the thousands.</p> <h2>#40. East Coast blizzard and severe weather</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $11.3 billion<br> - Total deaths: 270<br> - Begin date: March 11, 1993<br> - End date: March 14, 1993</p> <p>On March 11, 1993, "The Storm of the Century"—the most catastrophic and <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/1993-snow-storm-of-the-century">expensive winter storm in the United States since 1980</a>—hit the entire East Coast with blizzards and severe weather that left many Eastern and Northeastern states under 2 to 4 feet of snow, and enduring hurricane-like winds, flooding, or tornadoes. Power was out to more than 10 million homes as the storm covered more than 550,000 square miles and affected almost 120 million people. All told, 270 people died in 13 states and 48 people were reported missing at sea.</p> <h2>#39. Hurricane Floyd</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $11.3 billion<br> - Total deaths: 77<br> - Begin date: Sept. 14, 1999<br> - End date: Sept. 16, 1999</p> <p>On Sept. 14, 1999, Category 2 Hurricane Floyd struck the East Coast, hitting <a href="https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/extremeevents/specialreports/Climate-Watch-September-1999.pdf">North Carolina first and the hardest</a>. Twelve other states were affected and 10 were declared major disaster areas. The large size and range of Floyd resulted in heavier and longer-lasting rains—10 to 20 inches over two days in some areas. The largest peacetime evacuation in the United States occurred as more than 2.6 million fled their homes. The total death count was 77, with 51 in North Carolina alone. More than 80,000 homes were destroyed or damaged and 500,000 households were without electricity.</p> <h2>#38. Hurricane Jeanne</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $11.5 billion<br> - Total deaths: 28<br> - Begin date: Sept. 15, 2004<br> - End date: Sept. 29, 2004</p> <p>Florida was hit by its fourth and final hurricane for a record-breaking year on Sept. 26, 2004, when Hurricane Jeanne made landfall on Hutchinson Island. The Category 3 hurricane was the<a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/hazards/200409"> deadliest and costliest of the 2004 season</a>. After rampaging through Florida with 115 mph winds and heavy rain, Jeanne continued up the coast, hitting nine more states. It was the <a href="https://www.hurricanescience.org/history/storms/2000s/jeanne/">12th- deadliest Atlantic hurricane</a> and the 15th-most expensive in U.S. history at that time.</p> <h2>#37. Midwest/Southeast tornadoes</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $11.7 billion<br> - Total deaths: 177<br> - Begin date: May 22, 2011<br> - End date: May 27, 2011</p> <p>In May 2011, a flurry of tornadoes—<a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/tornadoes/201105">an estimated 180</a>—broke out all over the central and southern United States, resulting in 177 deaths and making that year the seventh-deadliest for tornado fatalities.</p> <p><strong>You may also like: </strong><a href="https://stacker.com/stories/14706/major-cities-biggest-projected-water-shortages-2040">Major cities with the biggest projected water shortages in 2040</a></p> <h2>#36. Hurricane Matthew</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $12.1 billion<br> - Total deaths: 49<br> - Begin date: Oct. 8, 2016<br> - End date: Oct. 12, 2016</p> <p>After skirting along Florida's coastline, <a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/national/201610">Hurricane Matthew struck land on Oct. 8, 2016</a>, just south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Flooding significantly affected coastal Georgia, the eastern Carolinas, and southeast Virginia. North Carolina experienced historic levels of river flooding. More than 100,000 homes and businesses were damaged. The flooding also wreaked havoc on agriculture, leading to huge losses in poultry, orchards, vegetables, and other crops. Hurricane Matthew was recorded as reaching Category 5 intensity at the <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL142016_Matthew.pdf">lowest altitude in the Atlantic Basin ever</a>.</p> <h2>#35. Louisiana flooding</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $12.3 billion<br> - Total deaths: 13<br> - Begin date: Aug. 12, 2016<br> - End date: Aug. 15, 2016</p> <p>For three days in August 2016, Louisiana was <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com/louisiana_flood_2016/article_3b7578fc-77b0-11e7-9aab-f7c07d05efcb.html">drenched</a> in as many as 30 inches of heavy rain, causing historic flooding in a majority of its southern region. At least 20 parishes were declared disaster areas. More than 70,000 homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged, 30,000 people had to be rescued, and at least 13 died as a result of what was then the most destructive flooding since Hurricane Sandy in 2012.</p> <h2>#34. Missouri River and North Central flooding</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $12.4 billion<br> - Total deaths: 3<br> - Begin date: March 14, 2019<br> - End date: March 31, 2019</p> <p>Rising rivers throughout the northern and central Plains in March 2019 flooded farms, towns, and cities. The flooding was caused by an aggressive storm system throughout the central U.S. that brought heavy winds, whiteout snow conditions, and downpours all the way from Colorado to North Dakota.</p> <h2>#33. Central severe weather - Derecho</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $12.5 billion<br> - Total deaths: 4<br> - Begin date: Aug. 10, 2020<br> - End date: Aug. 10, 2020</p> <p>A derecho—a line of powerful, quick windstorms sometimes joined by thunderstorms traversing a large expanse of land—pushed its way over the Midwest in the summer of 2020, causing damage in Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. The winds were powerful enough to create tornadoes. Power outages and property damage affected millions of people.</p> <h2>#32. Western/Plains drought and heat wave (2013)</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $13.2 billion<br> - Total deaths: 53<br> - Begin date: March 1, 2013<br> - End date: Nov. 30, 2013</p> <p>2013 was a dry year for every state west of the Mississippi River as each experienced some level of drought and heat wave conditions. The drought began in the Midwest and Plains states and spread to Western states in March. By September, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2013/09/12/drought-worsens/2806047/">more than 50% of the contiguous United States</a> was in a state of drought. California experienced its driest year on record as 97% of the state suffered from drought.</p> <p><strong>You may also like:</strong> <a href="https://stacker.com/stories/3166/15-wild-weather-phenomena">15 wild weather phenomena</a></p> <h2>#31. Southeast/Ohio Valley/Midwest tornadoes</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $13.3 billion<br> - Total deaths: 321<br> - Begin date: April 25, 2011<br> - End date: April 28, 2011</p> <p>Over the course of three days, <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/events/US/2011?disasters%5B%5D=all-disasters">343 tornadoes spawned in at least 13 states</a>—with a particular proclivity for metropolitan areas—in the Central and Southern United States in what was one of the deadliest, most destructive outbreaks in history. Alabama was hit the hardest as an EF-5 tornado struck in the northern region, affecting Tuscaloosa and Birmingham and killing at least 78 people and injuring thousands more. In the wake of hundreds of other tornadoes and three EF-5 level strikes, thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed or significantly damaged.</p> <h2>#30. Midwest flooding (2008)</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $13.7 billion<br> - Total deaths: 24<br> - Begin date: April 1, 2008<br> - End date: June 30, 2008</p> <p>The Midwest was subjected to continued heavy rain as storm system after storm system rolled through in 2008. Billions of dollars in agricultural loss and property damage were the result of mass flooding in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Historic water levels were reported all over the Midwest with <a href="https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/extremeevents/specialreports/2008-Midwestern-US-Floods.pdf">some exceeding 500-year levels</a>.</p> <h2>#29. Tropical Storm Allison</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $14.0 billion<br> - Total deaths: 43<br> - Begin date: June 5, 2001<br> - End date: June 17, 2001</p> <p>On June 5, 2001, the <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL012001_Allison.pdf">deadliest and costliest tropical or subtropical storm</a> at that time struck, bringing heavy rains to Texas and Louisiana, which each saw rainfall between 30 and 40 inches. Severe flooding followed, and Allison headed northeast to Mississippi, Florida, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Each state suffered loss of life and property; in all, at least 45,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, thousands of public facilities and businesses were damaged, and 43 people were killed.</p> <h2>#28. US drought (2002)</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $14.9 billion<br> - Total deaths: 0<br> - Begin date: March 1, 2002<br> - End date: Nov. 30, 2002</p> <p>2002 was another dry year with <a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/drought/200213">at least 39% of the contiguous United States</a> experiencing severe to extreme drought in July. The longstanding drought decreased to 22% of the contiguous United States by the end of December because storms brought heavy rains. The affected regions had some of the lowest precipitation levels in history, affecting water sources, and destroying crops and pastureland. Colorado, Arizona, and Oregon endured large wildfires that year, as well.</p> <h2>#27. Hurricane Frances</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $15.1 billion<br> - Total deaths: 48<br> - Begin date: Sept. 3, 2004<br> - End date: Sept. 9, 2004</p> <p>Making landfall on Sept. 5 on the Florida peninsula near Sewall's Point, <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL062004_Frances.pdf">Category 2 Hurricane Frances</a> started its course of destruction along the Southeast with its 105 mph winds and heavy rains that caused mass flooding and spawned more than 117 tornadoes. Florida's citrus crop was devastated, and more than 1.8 million residents lost electricity. Georgia, the Carolinas, and New York also sustained significant damage from flooding caused by 6 to 20 inches of rain.</p> <p><strong>You may also like: </strong><a href="https://stacker.com/stories/3971/90-companies-responsible-two-thirds-historical-greenhouse-gas-emissions">The 90 companies responsible for two-thirds of historical greenhouse gas emissions</a></p> <h2>#26. Southern Plains/Southwest drought and heat wave</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $15.9 billion<br> - Total deaths: 95<br> - Begin date: March 1, 2011<br> - End date: Aug. 31, 2011</p> <p>From March to the end of August 2011, <a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/hazards/201111#drought">severe drought and heat waves</a> impacted much of the Southern Plains and Southwest United States. Range and pasture lands were in poor condition for much of the 2011 growing season and the drought took its toll on Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Kansas, and Louisiana. At least 95 people died.</p> <h2>#25. Hurricane Irene</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $17.4 billion<br> - Total deaths: 45<br> - Begin date: Aug. 26, 2011<br> - End date: Aug. 28, 2011</p> <p>Hurricane Irene hit land in North Carolina before moving up the East Coast, affecting eight other states, perhaps none more so than Vermont. The true beast of the Category 1 hurricane was its <a href="https://www.weather.gov/mhx/Aug272011EventReview">torrential rainfall</a>, which caused mass flooding. Vermont saw more than 11 inches of rain and more than $733 million in damage. More than 7 million people lost power and 45 were killed, and Irene also spawned numerous tornadoes. In New York, which also sustained massive rains, thousands of flights were canceled and major transportation services were shut down.</p> <h2>#24. Western wildfires - California, Oregon, Washington firestorms (2020)</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $18.4 billion<br> - Total deaths: 46<br> - Begin date: Aug. 1, 2020<br> - End date: Dec. 30, 2020</p> <p>2020's western U.S. wildfire season was one for the history books that capped off an already turbulent year for people all over the world. The blazes were touched off by a series of August thunderstorms in California, Oregon, and Washington and expanded by powerful winds across dry landscapes and forests.</p> <h2>#23. Hurricane Hugo</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $21.1 billion<br> - Total deaths: 86<br> - Begin date: Sept. 21, 1989<br> - End date: Sept. 22, 1989</p> <p>In September 1989, Category 4 Hurricane Hugo left the Carolinas with astronomical damage caused by its 140 mph winds and storm surges. The event also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2014/09/21/hurricane-hugo-25-years-ago-changed-the-way-americans-watch-hurricanes/?utm_term=.8b21793497e9">mesmerized the country</a> as the drama of Hugo—the most destructive hurricane at that time—unfolded. In Bull's Bay just north of Charleston, South Carolina, a nearly 20-foot storm surge devoured the town. In the Carolinas alone, Hugo <a href="https://www.outsideonline.com/2343356/what-hurricane-hugo-can-teach-us-about-florence">destroyed or damaged</a> more than 100,000 homes and killed at least 19 people.</p> <h2>#22. Western wildfires, California firestorm (2017)</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $21.4 billion<br> - Total deaths: 54<br> - Begin date: June 1, 2017<br> - End date: Dec. 31, 2017</p> <p>Over the summer of 2017, many parts of the western United States and California experienced historic firestorms causing more than $18 billion in damage—the costliest wildfire series in history. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/national/california-wildfires-comparison/?utm_term=.22b05e2bad9f&noredirect=on">About 9,000 massive wildfires</a> ripped through Northern California in October, burning over 1.2 million acres, destroying more than 15,000 homes and businesses, and killing 44. More wildfires broke out across other western states, roasting 9.8 million acres in their paths. The resulting smoke was so extreme over Labor Day weekend that its <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/national/201709#:~:text=traveled%20all%20the%20way%20to%20Paris">cloud traveled all the way to Paris</a>.</p> <p><strong>You may also like: </strong><a href="https://stacker.com/stories/3479/10-toxic-cleaning-products-and-their-natural-alternatives">10 toxic cleaning products and their natural alternatives</a></p> <h2>#21. Hurricane Charley</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $24.6 billion<br> - Total deaths: 35<br> - Begin date: Aug. 13, 2004<br> - End date: Aug. 14, 2004</p> <p>In the middle of August 2004, <a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/hazards/200408">Category 4 Hurricane Charley hit land</a> near the Punta Gorda area in southwest Florida. The 145 mph winds and storm surges resulted in major damage to coastal areas—thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed, 2 million were left without electricity, and 25 of Florida's 67 counties were declared as federal disaster areas. Charley continued northeast up the coast, devastating Florida's citrus crop and bringing heavy rains and gusting winds into the Carolinas and Virginia.</p> <h2>#20. Northwest, Central, Eastern winter storm and cold wave</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $25.2 billion<br> - Total deaths: 262<br> - Begin date: Feb. 10, 2021<br> - End date: Feb. 19, 2021</p> <p>The Feb. 2021 cold snap hit a large swath of North America, but was particularly catastrophic in Texas, where <a href="https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/energy-environment/2021/07/14/403191/texas-winter-storm-death-toll-goes-up-to-210-including-43-deaths-in-harris-county/">roughly 210 people died</a> during the freeze. As many as 4 million Lone Star State residents were also left without power—and therefore, heat—due to widespread power grid failures, which is thought to be at least partially responsible for many of the deaths. Costly damage was also sustained by infrastructure. Extreme cold was also felt across much of the country: in Minnesota, one weather station <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/03/08/february-cold-wave-nation-had-coldest-february-over-30-years/4630615001/">reported</a> a reading of 50 degrees Fahrenheit below zero.</p> <h2>#19. Hurricane Laura</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $26.0 billion<br> - Total deaths: 42<br> - Begin date: Aug. 27, 2020<br> - End date: Aug. 28, 2020</p> <p>Hurricane Laura is tied with the 1856 Last Island hurricane and Hurricane Ida as the most powerful on record to make landfall in Louisiana. It was the 12th named storm of the record-setting 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. It <a href="https://www.weather.gov/lch/2020Laura">made landfall</a> with 150 mph sustained winds and damaged innumerable buildings, homes, and wildlife areas.</p> <h2>#18. Hurricane Rita</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $27.2 billion<br> - Total deaths: 119<br> - Begin date: Sept. 20, 2005<br> - End date: Sept. 24, 2005</p> <p>Hurricane Rita <a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/hazards/200509">hugely impacted the Texas-Louisiana border</a> coastal region, as well as the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The Category 3 hurricane brought strong storm surges of up to 15 feet, wind damage, and inland flooding, and spawned at least 92 tornadoes. At least 119 people were killed, but most of the deaths came as <a href="https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/hurricane-rita-forgotten-louisiana-texas-sep2005">3.7 million Texans attempted to evacuate</a>, causing a huge traffic jam—some stranded for an entire day.</p> <h2>#17. Western wildfires, California firestorm (2018)</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $27.8 billion<br> - Total deaths: 106<br> - Begin date: June 1, 2018<br> - End date: Dec. 31, 2018</p> <p>2018's wildfire season stands as the deadliest, most destructive in California's recorded history. <a href="https://www.census.gov/topics/preparedness/events/wildfires/2018-ca-wildfires.html#:~:text=The%202018%20wildfire%20season%20was,Forestry%20and%20Fire%20Protection%20(Cal">More than 8,500 fires</a> were recorded over the course of the year, eating nearly 1.9 million acres of land. A major contributor to the severity of the fires was an increased volume of dead tree fuel.</p> <p><strong>You may also like: </strong><a href="https://admin.stacker.com/stories/16336/top-10-best-and-worst-foods-environment">Top 10 best and worst foods for the environment</a></p> <h2>#16. Hurricane Florence</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $27.8 billion<br> - Total deaths: 53<br> - Begin date: Sept. 13, 2018<br> - End date: Sept. 16, 2018</p> <p>Though Hurricane Florence made landfall as a Category 1 storm, it was slow-moving and large and caused intense wind and rain damage to the Carolinas. Florence brought forth 100 mph winds, storm surges as high as 9 to 13 feet, and 20 to 35 inches of rain. The <a href="https://www.weather.gov/mhx/Florence2018">amount of rainfall was the biggest factor</a> for why Florence was so devastating and deadly—51 fatalities resulted—as flood-height records were surpassed.</p> <h2>#15. Hurricane Wilma</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $27.9 billion<br> - Total deaths: 35<br> - Begin date: Oct. 24, 2005<br> - End date: Oct. 24, 2005</p> <p>Category 3 <a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/hazards/200510">Hurricane Wilma collided with southwest Florida</a> touching down near Everglades City. Wilma—with its maximum sustained 120 mph winds and heavy rains—resulted in heavy flooding as it hurried across the state, touching on the Miami/Fort Lauderdale region and exiting to the coast again the same day. At least 10 people were killed and 6 million lost power—the most in Florida history. Wilma was recorded as a Category 5 at the lowest pressure ever in the Atlantic Basin while still offshore and as the most rapidly intensifying with a 105 mph increase in wind speed in just a day.</p> <h2>#14. Hurricane Michael</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $29.0 billion<br> - Total deaths: 49<br> - Begin date: Oct. 10, 2018<br> - End date: Oct. 11, 2018</p> <p>Hurricane Michael was the first Category 5 hurricane to hit the U.S. since 1992's Hurricane Andrew. The storm made <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL142018_Michael.pdf">landfall</a> around Mexico Beach, Florida, gradually moving inland and losing strength as it moved northeast to Georgia and southern Virginia.</p> <h2>#13. Hurricane Ivan</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $31.6 billion<br> - Total deaths: 57<br> - Begin date: Sept. 12, 2004<br> - End date: Sept. 21, 2004</p> <p>Category 3 Hurricane Ivan came ashore on the Gulf Coast of Alabama on Sept. 16, bringing 130 mph winds, heavy rains, storm surges, and <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/on-this-day-hurricane-ivan-2004">extreme flooding that affected 17 states</a>. Ivan also spawned more than 100 tornadoes and waves that reached as high as 50 feet along the coasts of Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. Hurricane Ivan caused almost $28 billion in damage, and at least 57 people were killed. As a result of Hurricane Ivan and three other hurricanes in 2004, more than one out of every five houses in Florida sustained some kind of damage.</p> <h2>#12. Central/Eastern drought and heat wave (1980)</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $37.7 billion<br> - Total deaths: 1,260<br> - Begin date: June 1, 1980<br> - End date: Nov. 30, 1980</p> <p>The 1980 U.S. drought and heat wave covered a 42-day streak of 100-plus-degree days, making it the longest-lasting in the Central-Eastern region's history. The drought of 1980 tied or met 29 daily high temperature records and hit many other records. It also caused significant damage to agriculture, and led to at least 1,200 deaths. Another remarkable thing about the 1980 drought was <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/news/2010/08/06/dallas-fort-worth-heat-wave-of-1868">the media coverage</a>, which became obsessive. As the U.S. media ran out of coverage ideas while the drought and heat wave dragged on for months, media crews from all over the world stepped into the scene.</p> <p><strong>You may also like: </strong><a href="https://stacker.com/stories/3294/us-cities-dirtiest-air">US cities with the dirtiest air</a></p> <h2>#11. US drought and heat wave (2012)</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $38.7 billion<br> - Total deaths: 123<br> - Begin date: Jan. 1, 2012<br> - End date: Dec. 31, 2012</p> <p>Since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, the U.S. drought and heatwaves in 2012 were <a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/drought/201213">the most impactful and destructive</a>. About <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/06/us-drought-2012-heat-wave_n_1654908.html">56% of the contiguous United States</a> was affected by moderate to extreme drought. Many parts of the country saw huge agricultural losses, and the drought caused 123 direct deaths.</p> <h2>#10. Hurricane Ike</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $40.2 billion<br> - Total deaths: 112<br> - Begin date: Sept. 12, 2008<br> - End date: Sept. 14, 2008</p> <p>Category 2 Hurricane Ike—the<a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/tropical-cyclones/200809#ike"> most intense of 2008</a>—struck the Texas coastline on Sept. 13. Ike's tropical storm winds exceeded Hurricane Katrina's, and its massive size likened it to a Category 5 storm with 15-foot waves pummeling the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida and spawning 29 tornadoes. Ike affected 11 states resulting in 103 direct fatalities; a month after the storm passed, 157 people were still missing.</p> <h2>#9. Midwest flooding (1993)</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $43.0 billion<br> - Total deaths: 48<br> - Begin date: June 27, 1993<br> - End date: Aug. 15, 1993</p> <p>In the summer of 1993, the Midwest and the central United States went through the most devastating and costly non-tropical, inland flooding on record. More than <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/25-years-later-the-great-flood-of-1993-remains-worst-river-flooding-us-has-ever-seen/70005654">17 million acres across nine states</a> were drowned in water. Hundreds of levees broke along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, <a href="https://www.livescience.com/7508-history-repeats-great-flood-1993.html">killing 48 people and destroying more than 50,000 homes</a>. The flooding had significant impacts on agriculture and infrastructure but also halted all railroad traffic across the Midwest. In addition, 10 commercial airports flooded, and some places along the Mississippi River remained flooded for months.</p> <h2>#8. US drought and heat wave (1988)</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $50.6 billion<br> - Total deaths: 454<br> - Begin date: June 1, 1988<br> - End date: Aug. 31, 1988</p> <p>One of the worst droughts since the 1930s Dust Bowl occurred in the summer of 1988 when at least <a href="https://weather.com/safety/heat/news/historical-droughts-20120330">45% of the contiguous United States</a> suffered sweltering temperatures and lack of rain. The drought lasted from June until the end of August and resulted in <a href="https://www.hsdl.org/c/tl/1988-u-s-droughtheatwave/">454 direct deaths and upwards of 5,000 indirect fatalities</a>, as well as significant losses in agriculture and related industries. The Mississippi River barely trickled, and temperatures rocketed up to 110 degrees in some areas.</p> <h2>#7. Hurricane Andrew</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $55.9 billion<br> - Total deaths: 61<br> - Begin date: Aug. 23, 1992<br> - End date: Aug. 27, 1992</p> <p>Category 5 Hurricane Andrew slammed Florida in August 1992 with 175 mph winds that damaged or destroyed more than 125,000 homes, <a href="https://weather.com/news/news/remember-what-hurricane-andrew-did-to-soflo">stripping many down to their concrete foundations</a>. Some 160,000 people were displaced in Miami-Dade County alone. Hurricane Andrew is one of only four Category 5 hurricanes to affect the U.S. mainland and resulted in the deaths of 61 people. It also destroyed Homestead Air Force Base. The positives to come out of the disaster were <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/08/24/hurricane-andrew-haunts-florida-25-years-later/577624001/">overhauls of state building codes</a>, the insurance industry, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.</p> <p><strong>You may also like:</strong> <a href="https://stacker.com/stories/2357/cities-dirtiest-air-world">Cities with the dirtiest air in the world</a></p> <h2>#6. Hurricane Irma</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $59.5 billion<br> - Total deaths: 97<br> - Begin date: Sept. 6, 2017<br> - End date: Sept. 12, 2017</p> <p>Category 4 Hurricane Irma hit the Florida Keys destroying or damaging more than 80% of its buildings. As Irma moved along the coast, the 185 mph winds, tornadoes, and storm surges hit nine states. Florida and South Carolina were the most affected. Jacksonville and Charleston had historic levels of storm surge, which caused severe coastal flooding that left millions without electricity. Irma was both the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/10/us/irma-facts-record-numbers-trnd/index.html">strongest Atlantic basin hurricane</a> documented outside of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea and the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/specials/hurricane-irma">longest-lasting</a>, with sustained 185 mph winds over 37 hours.</p> <h2>#5. Hurricane Ida</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $78.7 billion<br> - Total deaths: 96<br> - Begin date: Aug. 29, 2021<br> - End date: Sept. 1, 2021</p> <p>Damage from Hurricane Ida spanned from New Orleans all the way to New York. Originally making landfall in the Gulf of Mexico, the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/08/hurricane-idas-damage-tally-could-top-95-billion-making-it-7th-costliest-hurricane-since-2000-.html">greatest impact</a> from the storm was felt in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. In New Orleans, the entire city was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/08/30/us/hurricane-ida-updates">left without power</a> and sustained severe damage, though it was saved from even worse flooding by levees fortified after Hurricane Katrina. The Northeast, including <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/03/nyregion/nyc-ida.html">New York City</a>, also sustained immense damage and deaths.</p> <h2>#4. Hurricane Sandy</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $82.0 billion<br> - Total deaths: 159<br> - Begin date: Oct. 30, 2012<br> - End date: Oct. 31, 2012</p> <p>Hurricane Sandy—<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/world/americas/hurricane-sandy-fast-facts/index.html">"Superstorm Sandy"</a>—struck at the end of October 2012, directly affecting 24 states and all of the U.S. Eastern seaboard, wreaking havoc from flash flooding and storm surges to blizzard-like conditions. Sandy resulted in 159 deaths and is the <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/dcmi.pdf">fourth-costliest</a> storm in U.S. history. The New York Stock Exchange was forced to close for two consecutive business days for the first time since 1888, and a 14-foot surge caused Manhattan's subway system to <a href="https://www.globalchange.gov/browse/multimedia/hurricane-sandy-causes-flooding-new-york-city-subway-stations">sustain its worst damage in 108 years</a> because tunnels were flooded. More than 8.5 million people lost power, and more than 20,000 flights were canceled.</p> <h2>#3. Hurricane Maria</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $107.1 billion<br> - Total deaths: 2,981<br> - Begin date: Sept. 19, 2017<br> - End date: Sept. 21, 2017</p> <p>In September 2017, Category 4 Hurricane Maria affected many parts of the United States, but the impact was felt the most in Puerto Rico. After claiming the lives of at least 2,981 people and resulting in more than $90 billion in damage, Hurricane Maria became <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-is-now-one-of-the-deadliest-disasters-in-u-s-history/">one of the deadliest</a> and costliest climate disasters in U.S. history. The mass flooding and mudslides in Puerto Rico devastated the country's economy, infrastructure, and living conditions. The hurricane also was one of most rapidly intensifying storms, going from a tropical depression to a Category 5 Hurricane in less than 54 hours.</p> <h2>#2. Hurricane Harvey</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $148.8 billion<br> - Total deaths: 89<br> - Begin date: Aug. 25, 2017<br> - End date: Aug. 31, 2017</p> <p>At the end of August 2017, Category 4 Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas, <a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/national/201708">spawning more than 30 tornadoes</a> and heavy winds, and dumping 30 to 50 inches of rain on 13 million people in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. In Houston—the nation's fourth-largest city—at least 3,900 people still had no power almost three weeks after the storm, and national gas prices rose as 25% of oil and gas production was shut down in the region. At one point, 75% of Harris County, which encompasses Houston, was under 1.5 feet of water. Massive flooding displaced over 30,000 people and damaged or destroyed over 200,000 homes and businesses.</p> <h2>#1. Hurricane Katrina</h2> <p>- Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $186.3 billion<br> - Total deaths: 1,833<br> - Begin date: Aug. 25, 2005<br> - End date: Aug. 30, 2005</p> <p>On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina—the<a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Hurricane-Katrina"> costliest and one of the deadliest disasters in U.S. history</a>—made landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana, as a Category 3 storm with 127 mph winds and severe storm surges, some in excess of 30 feet. Katrina affected 90,000 square miles and at least eight states, with most of the damage occurring in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana—particularly New Orleans. At least 50 levees failed in New Orleans resulting in devastating mass flooding. By the end, <a href="https://www.weather.gov/mob/katrina">1,833 people had been killed</a>, including 1,577 in Louisiana, and more than 1 million people had been displaced. Two of the region's biggest industries—oil and gas—suffered greatly, and tourism to the coastal communities died as infrastructure continued to erode. From April 2000 to July 2006, New Orleans' population<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/topic/subject/hurricane-katrina"> decreased by more than half</a>.</p> <p><strong>You may also like:</strong> <a href="https://stacker.com/stories/3291/us-cities-cleanest-air">US cities with the cleanest air</a></p> </article> </section> <script src="https://analytics.stacker.com/tracking/c8277141-4fdc-4e0f-aa7c-fd7cb8712c8a/script.js?source=republish"></script>
Story name: Most expensive climate disasters in recent decades Canonical URL: https://stacker.com/environment/most-expensive-climate-disasters-recent-decades Written by: Katelyn Leboff Description: Stacker ranked the most expensive American climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation. Data came from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Most expensive climate disasters in recent decades In 2022 so far, the U.S. has seen a staggering 15 climate and weather disasters. While the total cost of these disasters has not been fully realized yet, they've already caused billions of dollars worth of damage. Between 2021 and 2022, tropical cyclones, severe droughts and heatwaves, wildfires, and winter storms caused devastation and hundreds of deaths across the U.S. If the cost of 2021's natural disasters is any indication, 2022's total could amount to more than $100 billion in damages. Since 1980, the U.S. alone has been hit with 338 weather and climate disasters totaling at least $1 billion each. Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation to 2022 value, based on 2022 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Estimates of the costs for Hurricane Ian, Fiona, and the 2022 Western Wildfire season are not yet available. The list starts with the Midwest, Plains, and Southeast drought, which caused $8.8 billion in damages in 2006, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed more than 1,800 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S. You may also like: US cities with the cleanest air #50. Midwest, Plains, and Southeast drought (2006) - Total cost (inflation-adjusted to 2022 value): $8.8 billion - Total deaths: 0 - Begin date: March 1, 2006 - End date: Aug. 31, 2006 In the late winter and into the late summer of 2006, a drought with its eye on the Great Plains region also wreaked havoc in states across the Midwest and Southeast—by July, 52% of the contiguous United States was suffering from moderate to extreme drought. The drought affected crops and water sources, as well as livestock, prompting the U.S. Department of Agriculture to proclaim drought disasters in many states. #49. Southeast drought (1983) - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $8.9 billion - Total deaths: 0 - Begin date: June 1, 1983 - End date: Aug. 31, 1983 In the summer of 1983, many states in the Southeast experienced a rather severe flash drought. Eleven states were affected, and in Kentucky, Louisville saw its second-worst drought of the 20th century, experiencing dryness so severe that most of the state's vegetation was forced into dormancy and many towns suffered water shortages. #48. Hurricane Opal - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $8.9 billion - Total deaths: 27 - Begin date: Oct. 4, 1995 - End date: Oct. 6, 1995 In October 1995, the Southeast endured the wrath of Category 3 Hurricane Opal. The hurricane ravaged Florida, Alabama, western Georgia, eastern Tennessee, and the western Carolinas with its gusting winds and flooding. Most of the damage came from storm surges of up to 10 to 15 feet along the coastal areas of the Florida panhandle. More than 1,300 homes and 1,000 boats were destroyed or extensively damaged. Left in the hurricane's wake was a massive $7.87 billion bill for such things as destroyed water and sewer systems, roadways, and phone and electric utilities. #47. Hurricane Fran - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $9.3 billion - Total deaths: 26 - Begin date: Sept. 5, 1996 - End date: Sept. 8, 1996 In early September 1996, Hurricane Fran hit land at the tip of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and moved into Virginia with 115 mph sustained winds. Twenty-six people died in the Category 3 hurricane that left North Carolina with its costliest bill from a climate disaster—$8.16 billion—at the time. Some areas saw more than 10 inches of rain and 24-hour downpours, and Fran caused significant agricultural losses, as well. You may also like: 25 endangered animals that only live in America #46. Western/Southern Plains drought and heatwave (2022) - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $9.3 billion - Total deaths: 117 - Begin date: Jan. 1, 2022 - End date: Sept. 30, 2022 Scientists have linked the droughts in 2021 and 2022 back to a larger drought that began in 2000 and has persisted in some way for more than two decades. This period has been the driest since 800 A.D., and is largely caused by climate change. The summer of 2022 was also reported to be the third hottest on record in the U.S. States like California called on residents to conserve water use, but the duration of the drought has made many experience drought fatigue. #45. Western drought and heatwave (2021) - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $9.4 billion - Total deaths: 229 - Begin date: Jan. 1, 2021 - End date: Dec. 31, 2021 For much of 2021, the Southwest, California, and the Pacific Northwest were subject to extreme drought conditions, which wreaked havoc on agriculture, caused particularly bad wildfires, and created a shortage of water supplies. Despite the Western U.S. being accustomed to moderate drought conditions, the severity of the 2021 drought and heat wave was worse than usual, causing some regions to go months without any rain. Roughly 229 deaths were reported. #44. US drought (2008) - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $9.7 billion - Total deaths: 0 - Begin date: Jan. 1, 2008 - End date: Dec. 31, 2008 More than half of the country was affected by a prolonged drought that included large parts of the Southeast, West, the Great Plains, northwestern Great Lakes, and south-central Texas. The drought contributed to agricultural and livestock losses and many communities adopted water and burning restrictions. In Tennessee, the governor declared an agricultural disaster in 39 counties. North Dakota saw its driest winter in 114 years, and Minnesota saw its second driest. #43. South Plains severe weather - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $10.5 billion - Total deaths: 32 - Begin date: May 5, 1995 - End date: May 7, 1995 In early May 1995, the South Plains region, including Texas, Oklahoma, southeast Louisiana, and Mississippi, saw severe weather and storms that included heavy rains, hail, and tornadoes. New Orleans was the hardest hit, experiencing 10 to 25 inches of rain over five days. All told, 32 people died and the severe weather caused billions in damage. #42. Hurricane Georges - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $10.7 billion - Total deaths: 604 - Begin date: Sept. 20, 1998 - End date: Sept. 29, 1998 The second-most catastrophic hurricane in the Atlantic basin for 1998 was Category 2 Hurricane Georges, which struck Sept. 20. Georges ravaged Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Florida Keys, and the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Some areas had totals of up to 2 feet of rain over several days. In the end, 604 people died, mostly in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and the hurricane caused more than $9 billion in damage. You may also like: Animal species that may become extinct in our lifetime #41. Western wildfires - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $11.2 billion - Total deaths: 8 - Begin date: June 1, 2021 - End date: Dec. 31, 2021 Severe drought and heat conditions in the Western U.S. led to devastating wildfires in the region in 2021. Roughly 7.7 million acres were burned, and the particularly dry conditions made the fires extraordinarily difficult to put out. Between the destruction of property and funds needed to battle the megablazes, the 2021 wildfires were some of the costliest in U.S. history. In addition to the ecological and economic damages, smoke from the fires is thought to have mingled with the debilitating respiratory effects of COVID-19 to increase infections and deaths by the thousands. #40. East Coast blizzard and severe weather - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $11.3 billion - Total deaths: 270 - Begin date: March 11, 1993 - End date: March 14, 1993 On March 11, 1993, "The Storm of the Century"—the most catastrophic and expensive winter storm in the United States since 1980—hit the entire East Coast with blizzards and severe weather that left many Eastern and Northeastern states under 2 to 4 feet of snow, and enduring hurricane-like winds, flooding, or tornadoes. Power was out to more than 10 million homes as the storm covered more than 550,000 square miles and affected almost 120 million people. All told, 270 people died in 13 states and 48 people were reported missing at sea. #39. Hurricane Floyd - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $11.3 billion - Total deaths: 77 - Begin date: Sept. 14, 1999 - End date: Sept. 16, 1999 On Sept. 14, 1999, Category 2 Hurricane Floyd struck the East Coast, hitting North Carolina first and the hardest. Twelve other states were affected and 10 were declared major disaster areas. The large size and range of Floyd resulted in heavier and longer-lasting rains—10 to 20 inches over two days in some areas. The largest peacetime evacuation in the United States occurred as more than 2.6 million fled their homes. The total death count was 77, with 51 in North Carolina alone. More than 80,000 homes were destroyed or damaged and 500,000 households were without electricity. #38. Hurricane Jeanne - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $11.5 billion - Total deaths: 28 - Begin date: Sept. 15, 2004 - End date: Sept. 29, 2004 Florida was hit by its fourth and final hurricane for a record-breaking year on Sept. 26, 2004, when Hurricane Jeanne made landfall on Hutchinson Island. The Category 3 hurricane was the deadliest and costliest of the 2004 season. After rampaging through Florida with 115 mph winds and heavy rain, Jeanne continued up the coast, hitting nine more states. It was the 12th- deadliest Atlantic hurricane and the 15th-most expensive in U.S. history at that time. #37. Midwest/Southeast tornadoes - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $11.7 billion - Total deaths: 177 - Begin date: May 22, 2011 - End date: May 27, 2011 In May 2011, a flurry of tornadoes—an estimated 180—broke out all over the central and southern United States, resulting in 177 deaths and making that year the seventh-deadliest for tornado fatalities. You may also like: Major cities with the biggest projected water shortages in 2040 #36. Hurricane Matthew - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $12.1 billion - Total deaths: 49 - Begin date: Oct. 8, 2016 - End date: Oct. 12, 2016 After skirting along Florida's coastline, Hurricane Matthew struck land on Oct. 8, 2016, just south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Flooding significantly affected coastal Georgia, the eastern Carolinas, and southeast Virginia. North Carolina experienced historic levels of river flooding. More than 100,000 homes and businesses were damaged. The flooding also wreaked havoc on agriculture, leading to huge losses in poultry, orchards, vegetables, and other crops. Hurricane Matthew was recorded as reaching Category 5 intensity at the lowest altitude in the Atlantic Basin ever. #35. Louisiana flooding - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $12.3 billion - Total deaths: 13 - Begin date: Aug. 12, 2016 - End date: Aug. 15, 2016 For three days in August 2016, Louisiana was drenched in as many as 30 inches of heavy rain, causing historic flooding in a majority of its southern region. At least 20 parishes were declared disaster areas. More than 70,000 homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged, 30,000 people had to be rescued, and at least 13 died as a result of what was then the most destructive flooding since Hurricane Sandy in 2012. #34. Missouri River and North Central flooding - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $12.4 billion - Total deaths: 3 - Begin date: March 14, 2019 - End date: March 31, 2019 Rising rivers throughout the northern and central Plains in March 2019 flooded farms, towns, and cities. The flooding was caused by an aggressive storm system throughout the central U.S. that brought heavy winds, whiteout snow conditions, and downpours all the way from Colorado to North Dakota. #33. Central severe weather - Derecho - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $12.5 billion - Total deaths: 4 - Begin date: Aug. 10, 2020 - End date: Aug. 10, 2020 A derecho—a line of powerful, quick windstorms sometimes joined by thunderstorms traversing a large expanse of land—pushed its way over the Midwest in the summer of 2020, causing damage in Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. The winds were powerful enough to create tornadoes. Power outages and property damage affected millions of people. #32. Western/Plains drought and heat wave (2013) - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $13.2 billion - Total deaths: 53 - Begin date: March 1, 2013 - End date: Nov. 30, 2013 2013 was a dry year for every state west of the Mississippi River as each experienced some level of drought and heat wave conditions. The drought began in the Midwest and Plains states and spread to Western states in March. By September, more than 50% of the contiguous United States was in a state of drought. California experienced its driest year on record as 97% of the state suffered from drought. You may also like: 15 wild weather phenomena #31. Southeast/Ohio Valley/Midwest tornadoes - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $13.3 billion - Total deaths: 321 - Begin date: April 25, 2011 - End date: April 28, 2011 Over the course of three days, 343 tornadoes spawned in at least 13 states—with a particular proclivity for metropolitan areas—in the Central and Southern United States in what was one of the deadliest, most destructive outbreaks in history. Alabama was hit the hardest as an EF-5 tornado struck in the northern region, affecting Tuscaloosa and Birmingham and killing at least 78 people and injuring thousands more. In the wake of hundreds of other tornadoes and three EF-5 level strikes, thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed or significantly damaged. #30. Midwest flooding (2008) - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $13.7 billion - Total deaths: 24 - Begin date: April 1, 2008 - End date: June 30, 2008 The Midwest was subjected to continued heavy rain as storm system after storm system rolled through in 2008. Billions of dollars in agricultural loss and property damage were the result of mass flooding in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Historic water levels were reported all over the Midwest with some exceeding 500-year levels. #29. Tropical Storm Allison - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $14.0 billion - Total deaths: 43 - Begin date: June 5, 2001 - End date: June 17, 2001 On June 5, 2001, the deadliest and costliest tropical or subtropical storm at that time struck, bringing heavy rains to Texas and Louisiana, which each saw rainfall between 30 and 40 inches. Severe flooding followed, and Allison headed northeast to Mississippi, Florida, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Each state suffered loss of life and property; in all, at least 45,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, thousands of public facilities and businesses were damaged, and 43 people were killed. #28. US drought (2002) - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $14.9 billion - Total deaths: 0 - Begin date: March 1, 2002 - End date: Nov. 30, 2002 2002 was another dry year with at least 39% of the contiguous United States experiencing severe to extreme drought in July. The longstanding drought decreased to 22% of the contiguous United States by the end of December because storms brought heavy rains. The affected regions had some of the lowest precipitation levels in history, affecting water sources, and destroying crops and pastureland. Colorado, Arizona, and Oregon endured large wildfires that year, as well. #27. Hurricane Frances - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $15.1 billion - Total deaths: 48 - Begin date: Sept. 3, 2004 - End date: Sept. 9, 2004 Making landfall on Sept. 5 on the Florida peninsula near Sewall's Point, Category 2 Hurricane Frances started its course of destruction along the Southeast with its 105 mph winds and heavy rains that caused mass flooding and spawned more than 117 tornadoes. Florida's citrus crop was devastated, and more than 1.8 million residents lost electricity. Georgia, the Carolinas, and New York also sustained significant damage from flooding caused by 6 to 20 inches of rain. You may also like: The 90 companies responsible for two-thirds of historical greenhouse gas emissions #26. Southern Plains/Southwest drought and heat wave - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $15.9 billion - Total deaths: 95 - Begin date: March 1, 2011 - End date: Aug. 31, 2011 From March to the end of August 2011, severe drought and heat waves impacted much of the Southern Plains and Southwest United States. Range and pasture lands were in poor condition for much of the 2011 growing season and the drought took its toll on Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Kansas, and Louisiana. At least 95 people died. #25. Hurricane Irene - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $17.4 billion - Total deaths: 45 - Begin date: Aug. 26, 2011 - End date: Aug. 28, 2011 Hurricane Irene hit land in North Carolina before moving up the East Coast, affecting eight other states, perhaps none more so than Vermont. The true beast of the Category 1 hurricane was its torrential rainfall, which caused mass flooding. Vermont saw more than 11 inches of rain and more than $733 million in damage. More than 7 million people lost power and 45 were killed, and Irene also spawned numerous tornadoes. In New York, which also sustained massive rains, thousands of flights were canceled and major transportation services were shut down. #24. Western wildfires - California, Oregon, Washington firestorms (2020) - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $18.4 billion - Total deaths: 46 - Begin date: Aug. 1, 2020 - End date: Dec. 30, 2020 2020's western U.S. wildfire season was one for the history books that capped off an already turbulent year for people all over the world. The blazes were touched off by a series of August thunderstorms in California, Oregon, and Washington and expanded by powerful winds across dry landscapes and forests. #23. Hurricane Hugo - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $21.1 billion - Total deaths: 86 - Begin date: Sept. 21, 1989 - End date: Sept. 22, 1989 In September 1989, Category 4 Hurricane Hugo left the Carolinas with astronomical damage caused by its 140 mph winds and storm surges. The event also mesmerized the country as the drama of Hugo—the most destructive hurricane at that time—unfolded. In Bull's Bay just north of Charleston, South Carolina, a nearly 20-foot storm surge devoured the town. In the Carolinas alone, Hugo destroyed or damaged more than 100,000 homes and killed at least 19 people. #22. Western wildfires, California firestorm (2017) - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $21.4 billion - Total deaths: 54 - Begin date: June 1, 2017 - End date: Dec. 31, 2017 Over the summer of 2017, many parts of the western United States and California experienced historic firestorms causing more than $18 billion in damage—the costliest wildfire series in history. About 9,000 massive wildfires ripped through Northern California in October, burning over 1.2 million acres, destroying more than 15,000 homes and businesses, and killing 44. More wildfires broke out across other western states, roasting 9.8 million acres in their paths. The resulting smoke was so extreme over Labor Day weekend that its cloud traveled all the way to Paris. You may also like: 10 toxic cleaning products and their natural alternatives #21. Hurricane Charley - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $24.6 billion - Total deaths: 35 - Begin date: Aug. 13, 2004 - End date: Aug. 14, 2004 In the middle of August 2004, Category 4 Hurricane Charley hit land near the Punta Gorda area in southwest Florida. The 145 mph winds and storm surges resulted in major damage to coastal areas—thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed, 2 million were left without electricity, and 25 of Florida's 67 counties were declared as federal disaster areas. Charley continued northeast up the coast, devastating Florida's citrus crop and bringing heavy rains and gusting winds into the Carolinas and Virginia. #20. Northwest, Central, Eastern winter storm and cold wave - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $25.2 billion - Total deaths: 262 - Begin date: Feb. 10, 2021 - End date: Feb. 19, 2021 The Feb. 2021 cold snap hit a large swath of North America, but was particularly catastrophic in Texas, where roughly 210 people died during the freeze. As many as 4 million Lone Star State residents were also left without power—and therefore, heat—due to widespread power grid failures, which is thought to be at least partially responsible for many of the deaths. Costly damage was also sustained by infrastructure. Extreme cold was also felt across much of the country: in Minnesota, one weather station reported a reading of 50 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. #19. Hurricane Laura - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $26.0 billion - Total deaths: 42 - Begin date: Aug. 27, 2020 - End date: Aug. 28, 2020 Hurricane Laura is tied with the 1856 Last Island hurricane and Hurricane Ida as the most powerful on record to make landfall in Louisiana. It was the 12th named storm of the record-setting 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. It made landfall with 150 mph sustained winds and damaged innumerable buildings, homes, and wildlife areas. #18. Hurricane Rita - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $27.2 billion - Total deaths: 119 - Begin date: Sept. 20, 2005 - End date: Sept. 24, 2005 Hurricane Rita hugely impacted the Texas-Louisiana border coastal region, as well as the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The Category 3 hurricane brought strong storm surges of up to 15 feet, wind damage, and inland flooding, and spawned at least 92 tornadoes. At least 119 people were killed, but most of the deaths came as 3.7 million Texans attempted to evacuate, causing a huge traffic jam—some stranded for an entire day. #17. Western wildfires, California firestorm (2018) - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $27.8 billion - Total deaths: 106 - Begin date: June 1, 2018 - End date: Dec. 31, 2018 2018's wildfire season stands as the deadliest, most destructive in California's recorded history. More than 8,500 fires were recorded over the course of the year, eating nearly 1.9 million acres of land. A major contributor to the severity of the fires was an increased volume of dead tree fuel. You may also like: Top 10 best and worst foods for the environment #16. Hurricane Florence - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $27.8 billion - Total deaths: 53 - Begin date: Sept. 13, 2018 - End date: Sept. 16, 2018 Though Hurricane Florence made landfall as a Category 1 storm, it was slow-moving and large and caused intense wind and rain damage to the Carolinas. Florence brought forth 100 mph winds, storm surges as high as 9 to 13 feet, and 20 to 35 inches of rain. The amount of rainfall was the biggest factor for why Florence was so devastating and deadly—51 fatalities resulted—as flood-height records were surpassed. #15. Hurricane Wilma - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $27.9 billion - Total deaths: 35 - Begin date: Oct. 24, 2005 - End date: Oct. 24, 2005 Category 3 Hurricane Wilma collided with southwest Florida touching down near Everglades City. Wilma—with its maximum sustained 120 mph winds and heavy rains—resulted in heavy flooding as it hurried across the state, touching on the Miami/Fort Lauderdale region and exiting to the coast again the same day. At least 10 people were killed and 6 million lost power—the most in Florida history. Wilma was recorded as a Category 5 at the lowest pressure ever in the Atlantic Basin while still offshore and as the most rapidly intensifying with a 105 mph increase in wind speed in just a day. #14. Hurricane Michael - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $29.0 billion - Total deaths: 49 - Begin date: Oct. 10, 2018 - End date: Oct. 11, 2018 Hurricane Michael was the first Category 5 hurricane to hit the U.S. since 1992's Hurricane Andrew. The storm made landfall around Mexico Beach, Florida, gradually moving inland and losing strength as it moved northeast to Georgia and southern Virginia. #13. Hurricane Ivan - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $31.6 billion - Total deaths: 57 - Begin date: Sept. 12, 2004 - End date: Sept. 21, 2004 Category 3 Hurricane Ivan came ashore on the Gulf Coast of Alabama on Sept. 16, bringing 130 mph winds, heavy rains, storm surges, and extreme flooding that affected 17 states. Ivan also spawned more than 100 tornadoes and waves that reached as high as 50 feet along the coasts of Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. Hurricane Ivan caused almost $28 billion in damage, and at least 57 people were killed. As a result of Hurricane Ivan and three other hurricanes in 2004, more than one out of every five houses in Florida sustained some kind of damage. #12. Central/Eastern drought and heat wave (1980) - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $37.7 billion - Total deaths: 1,260 - Begin date: June 1, 1980 - End date: Nov. 30, 1980 The 1980 U.S. drought and heat wave covered a 42-day streak of 100-plus-degree days, making it the longest-lasting in the Central-Eastern region's history. The drought of 1980 tied or met 29 daily high temperature records and hit many other records. It also caused significant damage to agriculture, and led to at least 1,200 deaths. Another remarkable thing about the 1980 drought was the media coverage, which became obsessive. As the U.S. media ran out of coverage ideas while the drought and heat wave dragged on for months, media crews from all over the world stepped into the scene. You may also like: US cities with the dirtiest air #11. US drought and heat wave (2012) - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $38.7 billion - Total deaths: 123 - Begin date: Jan. 1, 2012 - End date: Dec. 31, 2012 Since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, the U.S. drought and heatwaves in 2012 were the most impactful and destructive. About 56% of the contiguous United States was affected by moderate to extreme drought. Many parts of the country saw huge agricultural losses, and the drought caused 123 direct deaths. #10. Hurricane Ike - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $40.2 billion - Total deaths: 112 - Begin date: Sept. 12, 2008 - End date: Sept. 14, 2008 Category 2 Hurricane Ike—the most intense of 2008—struck the Texas coastline on Sept. 13. Ike's tropical storm winds exceeded Hurricane Katrina's, and its massive size likened it to a Category 5 storm with 15-foot waves pummeling the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida and spawning 29 tornadoes. Ike affected 11 states resulting in 103 direct fatalities; a month after the storm passed, 157 people were still missing. #9. Midwest flooding (1993) - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $43.0 billion - Total deaths: 48 - Begin date: June 27, 1993 - End date: Aug. 15, 1993 In the summer of 1993, the Midwest and the central United States went through the most devastating and costly non-tropical, inland flooding on record. More than 17 million acres across nine states were drowned in water. Hundreds of levees broke along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, killing 48 people and destroying more than 50,000 homes. The flooding had significant impacts on agriculture and infrastructure but also halted all railroad traffic across the Midwest. In addition, 10 commercial airports flooded, and some places along the Mississippi River remained flooded for months. #8. US drought and heat wave (1988) - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $50.6 billion - Total deaths: 454 - Begin date: June 1, 1988 - End date: Aug. 31, 1988 One of the worst droughts since the 1930s Dust Bowl occurred in the summer of 1988 when at least 45% of the contiguous United States suffered sweltering temperatures and lack of rain. The drought lasted from June until the end of August and resulted in 454 direct deaths and upwards of 5,000 indirect fatalities, as well as significant losses in agriculture and related industries. The Mississippi River barely trickled, and temperatures rocketed up to 110 degrees in some areas. #7. Hurricane Andrew - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $55.9 billion - Total deaths: 61 - Begin date: Aug. 23, 1992 - End date: Aug. 27, 1992 Category 5 Hurricane Andrew slammed Florida in August 1992 with 175 mph winds that damaged or destroyed more than 125,000 homes, stripping many down to their concrete foundations. Some 160,000 people were displaced in Miami-Dade County alone. Hurricane Andrew is one of only four Category 5 hurricanes to affect the U.S. mainland and resulted in the deaths of 61 people. It also destroyed Homestead Air Force Base. The positives to come out of the disaster were overhauls of state building codes, the insurance industry, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. You may also like: Cities with the dirtiest air in the world #6. Hurricane Irma - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $59.5 billion - Total deaths: 97 - Begin date: Sept. 6, 2017 - End date: Sept. 12, 2017 Category 4 Hurricane Irma hit the Florida Keys destroying or damaging more than 80% of its buildings. As Irma moved along the coast, the 185 mph winds, tornadoes, and storm surges hit nine states. Florida and South Carolina were the most affected. Jacksonville and Charleston had historic levels of storm surge, which caused severe coastal flooding that left millions without electricity. Irma was both the strongest Atlantic basin hurricane documented outside of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea and the longest-lasting, with sustained 185 mph winds over 37 hours. #5. Hurricane Ida - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $78.7 billion - Total deaths: 96 - Begin date: Aug. 29, 2021 - End date: Sept. 1, 2021 Damage from Hurricane Ida spanned from New Orleans all the way to New York. Originally making landfall in the Gulf of Mexico, the greatest impact from the storm was felt in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. In New Orleans, the entire city was left without power and sustained severe damage, though it was saved from even worse flooding by levees fortified after Hurricane Katrina. The Northeast, including New York City, also sustained immense damage and deaths. #4. Hurricane Sandy - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $82.0 billion - Total deaths: 159 - Begin date: Oct. 30, 2012 - End date: Oct. 31, 2012 Hurricane Sandy—"Superstorm Sandy"—struck at the end of October 2012, directly affecting 24 states and all of the U.S. Eastern seaboard, wreaking havoc from flash flooding and storm surges to blizzard-like conditions. Sandy resulted in 159 deaths and is the fourth-costliest storm in U.S. history. The New York Stock Exchange was forced to close for two consecutive business days for the first time since 1888, and a 14-foot surge caused Manhattan's subway system to sustain its worst damage in 108 years because tunnels were flooded. More than 8.5 million people lost power, and more than 20,000 flights were canceled. #3. Hurricane Maria - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $107.1 billion - Total deaths: 2,981 - Begin date: Sept. 19, 2017 - End date: Sept. 21, 2017 In September 2017, Category 4 Hurricane Maria affected many parts of the United States, but the impact was felt the most in Puerto Rico. After claiming the lives of at least 2,981 people and resulting in more than $90 billion in damage, Hurricane Maria became one of the deadliest and costliest climate disasters in U.S. history. The mass flooding and mudslides in Puerto Rico devastated the country's economy, infrastructure, and living conditions. The hurricane also was one of most rapidly intensifying storms, going from a tropical depression to a Category 5 Hurricane in less than 54 hours. #2. Hurricane Harvey - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $148.8 billion - Total deaths: 89 - Begin date: Aug. 25, 2017 - End date: Aug. 31, 2017 At the end of August 2017, Category 4 Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas, spawning more than 30 tornadoes and heavy winds, and dumping 30 to 50 inches of rain on 13 million people in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. In Houston—the nation's fourth-largest city—at least 3,900 people still had no power almost three weeks after the storm, and national gas prices rose as 25% of oil and gas production was shut down in the region. At one point, 75% of Harris County, which encompasses Houston, was under 1.5 feet of water. Massive flooding displaced over 30,000 people and damaged or destroyed over 200,000 homes and businesses. #1. Hurricane Katrina - Total cost (inflation-adjusted): $186.3 billion - Total deaths: 1,833 - Begin date: Aug. 25, 2005 - End date: Aug. 30, 2005 On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina—the costliest and one of the deadliest disasters in U.S. history—made landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana, as a Category 3 storm with 127 mph winds and severe storm surges, some in excess of 30 feet. Katrina affected 90,000 square miles and at least eight states, with most of the damage occurring in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana—particularly New Orleans. At least 50 levees failed in New Orleans resulting in devastating mass flooding. By the end, 1,833 people had been killed, including 1,577 in Louisiana, and more than 1 million people had been displaced. Two of the region's biggest industries—oil and gas—suffered greatly, and tourism to the coastal communities died as infrastructure continued to erode. From April 2000 to July 2006, New Orleans' population decreased by more than half. 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Fish and cheese: An unbreakable rule?
I always wondered about this seemingly static rule:
Never add cheese (especially, but not limited to parmigiano reggiano) to a dish with fish.
Italians would never, ever add parmigiano reggiano to a pasta with fish. But they have many other fixed views on food (e.g. sweet and savoury is a no-no, which is allowed at least in Austria and Japan).
I obliged until now, but I wonder where this rule comes from. To be honest, I would never add cheese to frutti di mare, but I'm open to trying other combinations. Is there some evidence that the two ingredients don't mix well? I hear there are some exceptions: Tuna with parmigiano reggiano is okay, but I only tried that as a salad and it was good. Also, I once saw a recipe of fish with mascarpone.
Did you ever have a professional cook serving you fish with cheese?
Please, I'm not interested in your personal opinion, but I'm trying to understand the rule and the exceptions.
Status update: Thanks for the brainstorming so far. I'm collecting the intermediate results:
Most importantly: It seems to be a regional thing (w/ Italy at its heart)
@Walter, @TFD and @Joe all agree on tuna as the prime counter example.
However, they disagree on the reason: We have @TFD's opinion, that tuna is strong and thus is not outplayed by strong cheese and @Walter's italo-centric opinion, that tuna is a particularly 'unfishy' fish.
@Carmi mentions umami as one/the possible reason.
@Todd has entered the discussion and disputes the highest voted answer: The umami claim by @Carmi. I'm delighted, because I'm still cautions about umami.
If you provide further examples, please include a detailed descriptions and a reason why you think the particular combination is a "allowed".
I would be extremely interested in opinions that favour the motion/rule. Is there anybody willing to take a stance and (maybe even) explain the origin?
And what about seafood with cheese? Is it unthinkable?
cheese fish italian-cuisine tuna
SebastianSebastian
I also wonder where this rule comes from. Could you give us some idea of where you heard it from? It's certainly the first time I've ever heard of it. – Aaronut Apr 28 '11 at 13:51
well, I grew up with it. Now I'm living in Italy where I'm even more exposed to it. – Sebastian Apr 28 '11 at 19:21
"No cheese with fish" is one of the unwritten Italian rules; being Italian, I can report it is true. – kiamlaluno Apr 28 '11 at 20:33
No, please, we don't need this question to become a compendium of examples (AKA recipes) that happen to include fish and cheese - any recipe search can do that. If this is a regional convention then it would make for far more interesting reading to hear about its origins, the reasons (if any) why it came to be, and what exceptions are known or implied - as several of the answerers have been doing, to various degrees. – Aaronut Apr 28 '11 at 21:32
modified my post in order to avoid the growth of recipe collection, thx @Aeronut – Sebastian Apr 29 '11 at 11:28
Disagree with the umami analysis from @Carmi, even if it was a good attempt. You have some basic facts wrong though.
Cooked tomato sauce is high in umami, and is often combined with mushrooms, however, a sauce with mushrooms would not take parmigiano (also extremely high in umami)
Mozarella is high in umami, like most fresh young cheeses. So is tuna.
Caesar salad has both anchovies and parmigiano (both high in umami).
But you are sort of on the right track. Baked fish in Italy is not strong in flavor. It's delicate and calls for the following: fresh lemon. That's it. Maybe some fresh parsley. Usually cooked with no herbs and served with no sauce. The fish should be extremely fresh and appreciated for it's delicate flavor. Something like parmigiano would easily overpower the taste of the fresh fish and by putting it on fish you are telling the cook "this is fish gone bad and I need to cover the taste with something". Or if it was served that way, maybe better to avoid it because what is the cook trying to hide? While there I never encountered a fish dish served with cheese.
Being a curious foodie and having lived in Italy for 5 years, I can also add the following:
There are a LOT of rules that might seem strange to an outsider. No cappuccino after 10am. You don't mix salty and sweet in the same dish, or even during the same course. Beer with pizza, not wine. You would never drink coffee before or during desert, it's served after.
While I was there I did a lot of thinking about the basis of some of these rules and concluded it's usually either 1) health, 2) taste, or 3) regional cultural rules.
I asked the fish and cheese question a few times. The answer was always "That's gross, you just don't put cheese on fish". My guess is this one falls under 2 and 3.
The health angle from @Walter I think has a lot of validity in general. Italians often complain of their liver hurting after eating especially 'heavy' meals. Heavy meaning something very specific in Italian: difficult to digest. So a fresh salad with too much raw garlic could be considered heavy because garlic sometimes causes indigestion. A huge chunk of parmigiano is not considered heavy because parmigiano is very digestable. My guess is some of the rules come out of the particulars of the Italian digestive system. Much like you will not find many Asians joining me when I chug my glass of milk.
Todd ChaffeeTodd Chaffee
I think this is the correct answer. I am italian and while I confirm this rule is widely accepted, it is mostly enforced on delicate fish flavours. Even tomato sauce is not overly used on delicate fish. On tuna, yes. But pasta with shrimp or frutti di mare will have no or very little tomato sauce. – Frazz Mar 14 '16 at 7:54
On a side note sweet and salty (or sour) dishes still do exist (mostarda di Cremona, cipolline in agrodolce, pork or boar with apple sauce) but are residues of medieval cuisine. Sweet was historically mixed with other spices and used everywhere, up until the Renaissance period. After that, the structure of the course has been revised and sweet has been relegated to the fruit and dessert phase (not just in Italy, but in most western cuisine). Most people now don't have a taste for sweet and spicy dishes... they just feel too different and strange to most. – Frazz Mar 14 '16 at 7:56
I think that historically, at least in Italy, it is due to the fact that the majority of the regions facing the sea weren't big cheese producers on the first place, hence the fact that cheese wasn't present in their recipes. This might eventually have become a custom, without any particular reason, besides the original lack of the ingredient on the first place.
If you think about it, if you were a fisherman you probably didn't have much time for keeping a herd of cows for milk and dairy products, and buying it wasn't probably all that feasible (and it was expensive, too). This probably led to the search for substitutes such as breadcrumbs, which are sometimes referred to as "poor men's Parmesan".
Italians are generally very tied to their traditions, so the fact that Italians tell you that fish and cheese is a big no-no probably doesn't have a very good reason to exist, apart from the fact that so it was told by their parents, and their parents' parents and so on.
New recipes with fish and cheese do exist, as old ones that were forgotten are rediscovered (I counted about 10 recipes out of 50 with Parmesan and some other sort of fish in my "Artusi" cookbook), it might just take a while to get accustomed.
I remember my aunt telling me how disgusted she was in the early '60s of seeing "tortellini with cream" in a London's restaurant. Now they are widespread, and nobody is complaining anymore, even though at the time it was considered a "heresy". It happened with that. It is happening with fish and cheese. It will change, eventually.
BrizioBrizio
There was some evidence I saw years ago that the "no cheese with fish" rule originated among Italian Americans that observed a convention and promoted it as a rule, and the historical accident that led to this was reverse-imported back to Italy in an era of trying to define "correct" Italian cuisine. I forgot where I read this account, but it seemed more convincing than any arguments based on natural flavor affinities. – JasonTrue Mar 27 '13 at 18:43
It's an umami thing. Both the very "fishy" fishes and the very "cheesy" cheeses, both of which are favoured in Italy, are very umami in flavour. Parmesan and anchovies are two very typical sources of umami in many dishes. It's possible that combining the two would make something that is just too umami, and you get that MSG overdone flavour.
Generally, a good cook will try to balance flavours, perhaps to let one stand out over the others, but not to overdo it, which a combination of fish and cheese would do.
That's probably why tuna and mozzarela is fine, as they are relatively not very umami.
CarmiCarmi
Interesting! And this provides another example that supports strong-fish-with-weak-cheese is okay: pizza napoletana contains anchovies and mozzarella. – Sebastian Apr 29 '11 at 6:52
I did a little more research: Umami taste is also very dominant in mushrooms or ripe tomatoes. Isn't that a contradiction? Tomatoes and parmesan is the classical combination?! I'm confused. – Sebastian Apr 29 '11 at 11:13
Well, as I'm unfamiliar with the concept, I think it's fair to ask for further references. If I had as much reputation as @Aaronut, I wouldn't bother. However, I think there is a subtle difference between umami and salt: Salt is something I grew up with tasting, adding and evaluating. It's also in my kitchen cabinet. Umami is not (it's not a Japanese kitchen :] ). Oh and if it is some kind of metric: Umami is unknown to my spell checker! :P – Sebastian Apr 30 '11 at 15:49
@Sebastian: I actually tried to write a description of umami that is concise enough for a comment and yet also explains why no European language has a word for it. I can't do it though, and I think it's an interesting enough topic to have its own question. If you ask it as an independent question, I'll be happy to answer it, as will many of the others here. – Carmi Apr 30 '11 at 16:23
@Carmi, @Aaronut's description above is concise and pretty much the standard definition. From the Wikipedia entry on Savoriness "Umami, popularly referred to as savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes..." So we do have a word for it, it just wasn't recognized as one of the basic tastes in Europe until recently. – Todd Chaffee May 4 '11 at 7:42
Fish and cheese is fine. There are plenty of recipes that use these two ingredients together e.g. fish taco (cotija cheese and fried snapper in a tortilla), tuna pie (tuna casserole topped with rich cheese sauce baked in a pie crust)
The problem is that many fish have very delicate flavours, and since they are often served hot the cheese tends to melt and then have an overbearing flavour and smell
Strong flavoured oily fish (salmon, tuna) would more likely match with cheese, especially with strong cheeses such as parmesan
Having said that, I suspect any baked or poached fish fillet tastes great with a blue cheese sauce
TFDTFD
great answer already @TFD. I do not understand all aspects though and hope you can clarify. You're saying that: 1. delicate (weakly characteristic?) fish is outplayed by strong cheese, 2. Strongly flavoured (do you mean intrinsically very tasty/characteristic?) fish matches well with strong cheese and 3. you assume most fish taste good with blue cheese sauce. Do you consider blue cheese a strong or weak cheese? Can you rate the examples given under your own categories? thanks! – Sebastian Apr 28 '11 at 19:59
1. Yes. 2. Strong/oily fish goes well with any strong or mild cheese. Weak fish generally not such a great candidate for cheese. 3. Blue cheese is not a normal cheese flavour, and pairs well regardless of fish type. Of course less people like blue cheese than cheese in general. Examples are very subjective as fish names and species vary widely around the word. Our local snapper is delicate, but oily enough to pair out a tasty cheese. Our local salmon and yellow fin tuna are also very strong – TFD Apr 28 '11 at 22:40
It's not a personal thing, it's a regional Italian thing. And it's even something like keeping kosher where you don't mix meat and dairy. (although, I'm not sure if fish counts as 'meat' under those rules).
Just the other day I was watching David Rocco's Dulce Vita on Cooking Channel, and he specifically showed someone's recipe that had shrimp and parmesean in it; he even commented on the no mixing fish and cheese 'rule', but mentioned that there were lots of exceptions to the 'rule'.
Personally, my mom's Italian-American, and although she was always concious of the no fish and cheese thing when visiting Italy to not offend people, growing up, we'd have tuna boats topped with cheddar cheese; a touch of parmesean or percorina romano (even more strongly flavored than parmesean) on a shrimp risotto, etc.
JoeJoe
FYI, fish does not count as 'meat' under those rules. – Aaronut Apr 28 '11 at 13:52
+1 for the reference to a professional (David Rocco), although I don't know him and also the story of your mum. – Sebastian Apr 28 '11 at 19:35
For keeping kosher, fish only counts as meat for Jews from Sephardi backgrounds. (Generally, the current or formerly Islamic countries, such as Spain, northern Africa, and the Middle East). Fish doesn't count as meat in Ashkenazi Jewish culture (Eastern Europe). – Martha F. May 1 '11 at 2:30
It is definitely a regional rule. Growing up in NE Brazil, I often had a typical fish dish called Peixe a Delicia - fish cooked in a cheese sauce with plantains.
Edit: I think the fish most commonly used is snapper or halibut, and mostly mozzarella cheese.
mthorpmthorp
Thanks for this example, could you please add: Is this typical fish of strong flavour (compared to tuna)? What about the cheese? Is it strong as pecorino or more like mozzarella? Nice picture! – Sebastian Apr 28 '11 at 19:39
I have never found in food science texts that dairy and fish do not go together for health or other reasons. On the other hand, the rule is a pretty strong on in Italian cuisine. You can find popular exceptions to it, for example there are countless salads served in Italian cafès (in Italy, I mean) that feature tuna fish (always from a can) and mozzarella. An Italian like me might tell you that canned tuna fish is the least fishy of fishes in the Italian worldview: people who don't eat any other fish will eat tuna from a can. In the same vein, mozzarella is barely cheese - no sharp, cheesy taste at all.
But to sum it up, I think that it is simply a widespread habit that then you can codify into a rule to use when generating new Italian dishes.
Another Italian no-no is fish and meat combinations, with few expections - vitello tonnato comes to mind.
Walter A. AprileWalter A. Aprile
+1 for considering health aspects @Walter, I didn't even think about that! Secondly thanks for providing some regional expert opinion. – Sebastian Apr 28 '11 at 19:32
your answer makes most sense to me until now. Mozzarella is not very cheesy, but I never saw a fish dish accompanied by mozzarella. Can you name one? But I'm curious: tuna is not very fishy? – Sebastian Apr 28 '11 at 20:09
The /tuna not very fishy thing/ is just a shot in the dark :) – Walter A. Aprile Jul 4 '11 at 21:35
"Please, I'm not interested in your personal opinion, but I'm trying to understand the rule and the exceptions."
The "rule" probably came into existence because of a lot of peoples' personal opinions that the combination doesn't yield something that tastes good :)
jwentingjwenting
It might not even be a 'tastes good' thing ... it might be frugal thing (don't waste good cheese on something that tastes good without it (or is already potentially salty); or don't mask the flavor of a great fish) – Joe Apr 28 '11 at 11:35
A rule without a reason? The only things that should ever preclude two food items from being eaten together is taste (does it taste bad?) or danger (will it make you sick?). My mother was born in Italy, came from a long line of amazing cooks, and we grew up putting cheese on all types of pasta dishes, including speghetti with clam sauce and fruiti de mare. What about seafood fettuccini alfredo or lobster mac n cheese? This is hogwash and whoever created this ridiculous rule should apologize to the entire food industry!
DameDame
Parmesan is way to strong to be put on fish dishes. Its taste is too strong and overwhelms the flavour of the fish.
RobertoRoberto
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By Mike Allen mike.allen@roanoke.com 981-3236
ROCKY MOUNT — The Franklin County School Board has debated for four months about revising its updated dress code to explicitly ban displays of the Confederate flag.
On Monday, after another impassioned and testy round of comments from the public and board members, the school board ultimately voted 7 to 1 adopt the new dress code without adding any language that bans the flag. Member-at-large Penny Blue, the board’s only African American member, was the sole no vote.
Before that vote happened, the board considered an amendment to the dress code update, proposed by Blue. In a section of the code generally forbidding clothing that depicts hate speech or imagery, her revisions would have added, “Examples include the Confederate flag. This list is not intended to be all inclusive.” The amendment failed when the board vote split 4 to 4.
Blue first raised the issue at the board’s Oct. 14 meeting. The board was preparing to make changes to its dress code, specifically loosening restrictions on hemlines, as parents had complained of being unable to find clothes in stores that were in compliance. She argued that the Confederate flag was a symbol of white supremacy and hate that needed to be barred from county schools.
Other members balked, saying that while they personally detested the flag, they believed an explicit ban could violate students’ rights to freedom of speech. Schools Superintendent Mark Church has cited a 2000 court case in Kentucky as the legal precedent that most applies to Franklin County. In that case, because the school could not show a history of disruptive incidents resulting from displays of the Confederate flag, the school’s attempt to institute a ban failed.
On Monday, Blue continued her argument that the school system needed to make a stand on this issue for the sake of education.
“You have to have your head in the sand if you don’t think it is reasonable to believe wearing the Confederate flag would cause disruption in the learning school environment,” she said. “The slippery slope that I believe we are going down is that if we are too general, and every teacher and every principal has such subjectivity, and we’re not consistent, that’s the slippery slope.”
Five speakers who provided public comment, all African Americans who reside in Franklin County, backed up Blue’s position. “Should your pleasure outweigh my pain?” asked Union Hall resident Ruby Penn, suggesting the board was using the First Amendment as an excuse for inaction. “Black people have been on a slippery slope since we were brought to America.”
“This is all the black people want, is respect,” Rocky Mount resident Sherman Witcher said. “The flag is disrespectful. I don’t know why you don’t get that. Lincoln got it.”
The public comment also included some pushback.
Patrick Cosmato, husband of board vice chairwoman and Boone representative Donna Cosmato, stirred gasps from some in the audience. “Nothing needs to be banned. If you go down that road, it’s a slippery slope. I would urge those who want to walk around on this earth spring-loaded in the offended position, please just get over it.”
FEATURED GALLERY:
READER'S RIDE: Junior Champ Kart
Everett Larson’s Junior Champ Kart is his pride and joy. He will be racing this year at the Kingsport Miniway for Chase Dixon Motorsports.
Submitted Photo / Everett Larson/Picasa
READER'S RIDE: 1955 Chrysler 300 Hemi
Ted Koehner sent this photo of his ’55 Chrysler 300, writing: “This was the first mass produced 300 horsepower car in America. It was Chrysler’s answer to the Chevrolet Corvette and the Ford Thunderbird. In 1955 the Chrysler 300 was virtually unbeatable in competition including Nascar and AAA races. It came stock from the factory with the renowned Hemi engine and two 4 barrel carbs producing 300 HP. Only 1725 units were manufactured and in only three colors, white. red, and black. Generally I am not a Chrysler fan, but when I was in High School the Chrysler 300 was a big deal, and now I can afford one.”
Submitted Photo / Ted Koehner
READER'S RIDE: 1966 Ford Fairlane
Jon Larson sent in this photo of his 1966 Ford Fairlane. "This car was my cousin’s pride and joy," Larson wrote. "He now has Alzheimer’s, and I have the honor of keeping it going."
Submitted Photo /Jon Larson
READER'S RIDE: 1968 Ford Mustang
Kyle and “Smokey” Oakes of Chilhowie, Virginia, can “bearly” wait for opportunities to cruise in this ’68 Mustang with a 351 Boss engine up and bring smiles to the faces of young and old.
Submitted Photo / by Brenda Simpkins
READER'S RIDE: 2007 Shelby GT Mustang
Michael and Sue Pinston, of Bristol, Virginia, sent in this photo of their 2007 Shelby GT Mustang.
Submitted Photo /Michael Pinson
READER'S RIDE: 2003 Chevrolet SS Silverado
Jody Cussins sent this photo of a 2003 Chevrolet SS Silverado. With only 59,000 miles on it now, Cussins bought used in 2004 with 5,200 miles on it. “By far the best truck I’ve ever owned! Fun to drive and travel in!” Cussins said.
Submitted Photo / Jody Cussins
READER'S RIDE: 1974 Land Rover 88”
Dickie Kiser of Abingdon, Virginia, owns this Rover — his sixth, and a friend restored it. "[I] will say they require progressive work to keep them happy," he wrote. "At about 75 H.P., it won’t be snapping your neck."
Submitted Photo / Dickie Kiser
READER'S RIDE: 1997 Toyota T100 Limited 4WD
Cristal Morales sent in this photo taken by Anthony Morales of Bristol, Virginia, of this 1997 Toyota T100 Limited, 4-wheel drive pick-up.
We want to see your ride! Submit a high-resolution photo with details on your vehicle to citydesk@bristolnews.com, and we will consider it for publication on Monday’s Region page.
Submitted Photo / Anthony Morales
READER'S RIDE: 1999 Chevrolet Silverado XLT
Teresa and Allan Marshall’s 1999 Chevrolet Silverado XLT 4-wheel drive pick-up, bought new, is all original with 45,000 miles.
Submitted Photo /Teresa and Allan Marshall
READERS RIDE: 1968 Ford Mustang
Kyle Oakes of Chilhowie owns this 1968 Ford Mustang, which is powered by a 351 Windsor engine that cruises around with the “puppy love” dogs in the back.
Reader’s Ride: 1976 Ford Maverick
Bo Teaster of Marion, Virginia, submitted this photo of his 1976 Ford Maverick.
Contributed photo/Bo Teaster
readers snapshot
Kim Sorensen submitted this photo of Sky Ferrell of Bristol, Virginia, mowing his yard with his cockatoo named “Sade” riding on his shoulder.
BHC 10152018 READERS RIDE
Robin Osborne submitted this photo of Bob Osborne’s 1968 Mustang with 94,000 miles in Damascus, Virginia.
2004 Ford Lariat XL
Gene Counts of Haysi, Virginia, submitted this photo of his customized 2004 Ford Lariat XL. It was customized by adding 22-inch wheels. The Lariat has a heavy-duty towing kit with air shocks, a zip-out liner in the bed and all metal surfaces are covered by Bedrug. The front was modified with a heavy-duty hood with air scoops. It also has custom paint and trim, 504 V-8 engine with very mellow exhausts and a rear camera. The interior has cream-colored leather.
Contributed photo/Gene Counts
1949 Minneapolis Moline model Z
This 1949 Minneapolis Moline model Z, owned by Bob Harris of Tazewell, Virginia, was on display June 17 at the Tazewell County Cruise-In.
Submitted by Jennifer Matney
1940 Chevy rat rod
Walter Scott of Falls Mills, Virginia, owns this 1940 Chevy rat rod.
Contributed by Michelle Blankenship
1929 Ford Sedan Delivery
1929 Ford Sedan Delivery 302 engine with automatic transmission. Dave Ashley of Damascus, Virginia, has owned the car for three years, and it took him two years to rebuild it.
Photo contributed by Dave Ashley
1967 Chevy II Nova Wagon
1967 Chevy II Nova Wagon owned by Bob & Kathy Blackwell of Bristol, Virginia. The car is still mostly original with 71,000 actual miles. It has a 250 6-cylinder engine with a 3-speed on the column. It’s a lot of fun to cruise around in.
Photo contributed by Bob & Kathy Blackwell
1966 GT Mustang
Owners for over 20 Years: Roger & Dixie Seymour, Chilhowie, VA. Has been completely restored. 289 Engine with a C-4 Transmission.
Photo contributed by Roger Seymour
1953 Ford Customline Flat Head
This is my 1953 Ford Customline Flat Head with a V8 engine. My grandfather bought this car new in 1953 and it has been in the family every year since. It has even been restored to its original condition.
Benny Kennedy
My father, W. C. Clark, bought this car in 1969 and has owned it for 48 years. My mother and father even dated in this car. Dad shows the Cyclone in car shows around the area.
Devin Clark | Lebanon, Virginia
It’s a 1970 VW Beetle automatic . I purchased it in 2003 and it’s been totally redone. Most of the parts are original VW parts except for the running boards. Me and my wife take it on Sunday cruises a lot. We also take it to the VW Show in Sevierville, Tennessee, almost every October.
Rufus Stratton
This is an original 1955 Ford F-100 with a 272 engine and 3-speed transmission belonging to Bob Osborne from Damascus, Virginia.
James Wimmer, Abingdon, Virginia
1957 Chevy Bel-Air Hardtop
‘This is my Bel Air Hardtop called ‘Betsy’. She is my pride and joy. I was born in 1957 and I bought her on my 57th birthday.’
Frank Perry, Bluff City, Tennessee
1978 Toyota LandCruiser FJ40
This is my custom-camouflage 1978 Toyota LandCruiser FJ40. I’ve owned this vehicle for 37 years after buying it in 1980. It is a four-wheel drive making it a great vehicle for the snow.
Michael Poe | Abingdon, Virginia
1950 Ford cab
It has the original 85 HP 6-cylinder motor and 4-speed granny gear transmission; lowered with 16-inch wheels, custom bed, it’s used for cruise-ins and car shows.
Bruce Cummings | Blountville, Tenn.
Owned since 1963, this pickup has a 350 fuel-injected motor, 350 transmission, Nova rear end and frame off rebuild. It’s used for cruise-ins and car shows.
Bruce Cummings | Blountville Tenn
1978 Corvette Pace Car
This car was bought in 1982 from the original owner. It is all original with only 3,900 miles and is often driven during parades and special events.
1948 Diamond T
I bought this truck in Bristol in the mid 1980s for $300, and did a restoration from the frame up. It has a Hercules flat head motor, 4-speed transmission, crank out windows and vacuum windshield wipers.
Mark Dickenson | Castlewood, Virginia
1966 Pontiac Tempest
This is a 1966 Pontiac Tempest with a custom 326 4-speed engine that has been completely restored by my husband. It took months of hard work to bring this beautiful car back to life and on the road again. The black exterior with the beautiful red leather interior makes this car breathtaking.
CAROLINE FRENCH
1949 Willis Jeepster
This is a 1949 Willis Jeepster. These cars were only made for three years (from 1948-1950). Kenneth Boyd has been the proud owner since 1964. Everything is still original including the 1949 state inspection sticker and license plates.
Kenneth Boyd | Raven, Virginia
1956 Bel-Air
I was born in 1956 and always wanted a 1956 Bel Air. I bought this one about 20 years ago and did a frame off restoration that took me 10 years to complete.
Paul Booher
This is my 1935 Chevrolet restored with the original, engine is 194 cubic six cylinder with 3 speed transmission. I cruise most Friday nights and attend car shows around town.
Kenny Allison | Bluff City, Tennessee
Wayne Dingus of St. Paul, Virginia, is the proud owner of this 1965 Corvette. Dingus is a member of the Tri Cities Corvette Club and has owned this vehicle for about 14 years. The Corvette has an original motor, 327/350 hp, 132,00 miles and 4 speeds, in addition to new suspension, brakes and tires. This ride is just out of repair after an incident with a deer; Kevin Farmer at Farmers Auto in Abingdon, Virginia, replaced the front clip and paint.
Wayne Dingus | St. Paul, Virginia
READER'S RIDE: 2008 Corvette & 2004 Corvette Z06
This 2008 Corvette (left) and 2004 Corvette Z06 belong to Bristol Arnold and his son Chris Arnold of Saltville, Virginia. They can be seen regularly at the Street Fights at Thunder Valley. Chris Arnold says they "enjoy wrenching on these two cars together."
Photo submitted by Chris Arnold
This 2008 Corvette (left) and 2004 Corvette Z06 belong to Bristol Arnold and his son Chris Arnold of Saltville, Virginia. They can be seen regularly at the Street Fights at Thunder Valley. Chris Arnold says they “enjoy wrenching on these two cars together.”
READERS RIDE: 2000 series Datsun
Owners Rick and Will Anderson of Abingdon, Virginia, have enjoyed restoring this rare 2000 series Datsun as a father and son project. “One of 4,000 made in 1968, this 135 horsepower, five-speed transmission convertible gets a lot of smiles per gallon,” according to Rick Anderson.
READER'S RIDE: 2000 Corvette
John Hogan of Piney Flats, Tennessee, submitted this photo of his 2000 Corvette.
READER'S RIDE: 2006 Honda Civic Si
Jae Canter is the original owner of this 2006 Honda Civic Si, with 19,000 original miles.
READER'S RIDE: 1965 Chevrolet K-10
Mary Rouse sent in this photo of a 1965 Chevrolet K-10. She says, “This truck belonged to my late husband since 1974. He was the second owner, having purchased it from the original owner who ordered it from a local dealership in 1965. It is a factory 4 x 4, and the suspension has never been altered. Complete off frame restoration done in 2002, turning into a show vehicle, winning a number of trophies over the years. A number of items on the truck were fabricated by my husband, like custom mirror brackets, rear bumper and air cleaner as well as the leather interior and hand-painted flame design on sides.
READERS RIDE: 2014 Harley Davidson Street Glide Special
Phil Bays, of Blountville, Tennessee, submitted this photo of his 2014 Harley Davidson Street Glide Special, bagged out by Bag Dragger in Gray, Tennessee. The ride features a hand-airbrushed Harley emblem, mini apes, 4 ½-inch Vance and Hines thundering pipes, LED headlights and signals, mustang seats, Hog Pro parts, air ride and lots of custom chrome. The bike also has cruise control, ABS brakes, navigation, AM/FM and satellite radio and a USB port. “Best of all it has the beautiful hills of the Mountain Empire with me aboard to ride and enjoy,” Bays said.
READER'S RIDE: 1973 American Motors Javelin/AMX
Mike Stoessel of Abingdon, Virginia, owns this 1973 American Motors Javelin/AMX. He says, “It is unrestored, original, finished in daisy yellow with black vinyl top and interior. It features many factory options, including tilt-wheel, AM/FM, A/C, etc. This was the model that American Motors campaigned in 1971 and 1972 to capture the SCCA Trans Am Racing Championship both years. The car is unmodified, 100 percent showroom stock with 54,000 miles.”
READER'S RIDES: 2017 F-150 XLT truck & 2013 Shelby Mustang GT 500
Scott Perkins submitted this photo of his 2017 F-150 XLT truck. It has a 6-inch lift kit with 22-inch wheels. “It rides nice for a lifted truck. It keeps us young at age 63 climbing in and out of it. We love it and think it is one sharp big black truck,” he said.
Scott Perkins submitted these photos of his rides. Above is his 2017 F-150 XLT truck. It has a 6-inch lift kit with 22-inch wheels. “It rides nice for a lifted truck. It keeps us young at age 63 climbing in and out of it. We love it and think it is one sharp big black truck,” he said. Below is his 2013 Shelby Mustang GT 500. “The 2013 Shelby cars were special for many reasons. That was the year that Carroll Shelby passed away and he had designed this car to have more horsepower than any of the American muscle cars built that year with 662hp from the factory. The car has a 5.8L supercharged motor, which makes all that power,” Perkins said.
Scott Perkins submitted this photos of his 2013 Shelby Mustang GT 500. “The 2013 Shelby cars were special for many reasons. That was the year that Carroll Shelby passed away and he had designed this car to have more horsepower than any of the American muscle cars built that year with 662hp from the factory. The car has a 5.8L supercharged motor, which makes all that power,” Perkins said.
READER'S RIDE: 1968 Mustang GT
Kendra Nickles of Abingdon, Virginia, submitted this photo of her my 1968 Mustang GT. It is a factory GT car, originally equipped with a 302, 4 speed. This is a one year only rare factory color (sunlit gold). She has owned the car for six years. It went through a complete rotisserie restoration.
Readers Ride: 1969 Mach 1 Mustang
Dennis Burress of Abingdon, Virginia, owns this 1969 Mach 1 Mustang, equipped with a factory 428 CJ engine and a 4 speed. He has owned the car for 10 years. The car went through a complete rotisserie restoration.
READERS RIDE: 1967 Pontiac Firebird
J.H. McCoy of Abingdon, Virginia, owns this garage-kept, 1967 aquamarine Pontiac Firebird, still driven on the streets of Abingdon by the original owner.
READER'S RIDE: 1970 Nova
D.T. Jeter of Bristol, Tennessee, sent in this photo of his 1970 Nova, completely stock, with 20,178 actual miles.
Reader's Ride: 1955 Chevrolet 210
“I bought this 1955 Chevrolet 2-door sedan in 2010 and performed a complete restoration on the body.” — Hunter Locke, Kingsport, Tennessee
This is my black and gray 1931 Model A Ford. It’s two years older than me and in much better shape.
-Kenny Morrell, Bristol, Tennessee
Readers Ride: Family of Corvettes
Kay Stone’s 1963 corvette, Chuck Stone’s 1966 corvette and grandson, Henry’s 1957 corvette are lined up at a local car show. The family resides in Lebanon, Virginia.
Reader's Ride: 1936 Chevy Short Cab
This is a 1936 Chevy short cab owned by Ken and Trudy Woods of Bristol Tennessee.
Reader's Ride: 1956 Crown Victoria
This 1956 Crown Victoria was purchased in 1989 in Grundy, Virginia, by Mack Keen of Bristol, Virginia. He hauled it to Michigan to finish putting it together. It has a 292 motor with 3 on tree. We take it to many car shows and cruise-ins throughout the Tri-Cities, as long as the weather is good.
Reader's Ride: 1955 Ford F-100
Reader's Ride: 1978 Chevrolet Cheyenne
This truck has an automatic 350 v8 engine with 4-wheel drive. It has only been owned by the Robinson family.
This 1966 Ford Mustang has a 289 V8 engine and a 4-barell, 4-speed transmission. It has never been restored and is still owned by the original owner. It has been featured on NBC nightly news.
Reader's Ride: 1972 Plymouth Cuda
This is my purple, 1972 big block Plymouth Cuda. The car was completely restored last year.
Reader's Ride: 1981 Z-28 Camaro
This is a 1981 Z-28 Camaro. It has t-tops, a 350 automatic motor, and tinted windows. It is owned by Joan McGraw. Abingdon, Virginia.
Reader's Ride: C10 Chevy
We bought this C10 Chevy 350 3-speed on the tree truck in 1985. It was driven to work for several years daily. My husband restored it, and now it is only driven to car shows and pleasure trips around town.
Reader's Ride: 1953 Cadillac
"I have owned this car since 1973. I bought it in Owasso, Michigan, out of an airport hanger a lot of the chrome and stainless is original. Me and my son Marty Keen has restored it from the frame up keeping what we could."
Reader's Ride: 1965 GTO
This is one of my favorite GTOs. I am a GTO enthusiast. This is a 1965 GTO with original motor, 389, 30 over, with air conditioning, power steering, new paint and new bumpers. It is owned by K. B. McGraw from Abingdon, Virginia.
Reader's Ride: 1965 Harley
Wayne Dingus of St. Paul, Virginia, has owned this 1965 Harley for 38 years. He is the third owner. The 1965 model was the last panhead engine, first year for electric start, 12 volt system, kick and electric start, they came with 5 gallon tanks and large saddle bags. This bike has 29,355 miles on it.
Reader's Ride: 1970 VW Beetle
“My name is Ronnie Walls. I purchased this solid 1970 bug in 1991 for $100. After a paint job, some minor engine work and interior work, this bug became my daughter’s first car. My grandson,Tyler is filling the gas tank with thirty cent a gallon gas (I wish).”
This is Chuck Stone’s 1963 Corvette split window with matching numbers; this car went through a frame-off, 5-year restoration. Also, here is Henry Stone Collins’ 1957 Corvette stroller, strolling all the way from Lebanon, Virginia.
Readers Ride: 1950 Chevrolet Hearse
This is Jim Singleton and his 1950 Chevrolet Hearse from Cedar Bluff, Virginia. It has around 6,000 miles and is all original.
Reader's Ride: 1968 Chevrolet Corvette
Owned by Darlene Doyle of Chilhowie, Virginia, and was purchased 7 years ago from Ken’s Classic Cars.
Occasionally cruises around Smyth County and can be seen at car shows.
Reader's Ride: 1955 Chevy Bel-Air
This car was originally owned by my dad. I completed the restoration along with a friend in 2013.
Reader's Ride: 1959 Custom Dodge
Dodge built 984 convertibles in 1959. Only a very few were Custom Royal or top of the line cars and even fewer had the Super D 500 (383 CID Engines with 2 four barrel carb). This option was an additional $540.45. Today only a handful of these cars are left, maybe 15 worldwide.
I am proud to have one headlining my collection of 8, 1959 Dodges that I have collected.
This Corvette was bought new on March 25, 1969 — at Bill Gatton – after returning from Vietnam. It went through a complete restoration in 2012.
Reader's Ride: 1957 Bricklin SV1
Make/model: 1975 Bricklin SV1
Country of origin: New Brunswick, Canada
Power: 351CI Ford Windsor V8
Transmission: Ford FMX automatic
Actual mileage: 7,430 miles
Notes: Approximately 2,800 Bricklins were built in 1974 and 1975
Owner: Glenn Altizer, Bristol, Virginia
Reader's Ride: 1984 Detomaso Pantera GT-5
Make/model: 1984 Detomaso Pantera GT-5
Country of origin: Modena, Italy
Power: Australian built 351 Ford Cleveland Mid-engine V8
Transmission: German built ZF, 5 speed
Notes: 1 of 36 Panteras built in 1984
Owner: Glenn Altizer, Bristol,Virginia
Paul Wilson bought this car from a junk yard in 1993 and it now has an off frame total restoration.
Deborah Wilson
Reader's Ride: ELF
"This may not be a hot rod, but my new ride is called the ELF. Riding the ELF (which stands for electric, light and FUN) is a great, healthy way to get around in my community while turning a LOT of heads.
The ELF is a solar and pedal hybrid vehicle powered by me and the sun. It is a bike with a battery assist that you can use when needed. The design allows the owner to ride in all kinds of weather.
I love my new ride because it’s good for the environment and good for me!! As promoted on the company’s website the ELF is:
“The most efficient vehicle on the planet”, it is a revolution in transportation and gets the equivalent of 1800 MPG."
Reader's Ride: 1932 Chevrolet Coupe
"This car has been fully restored. It has a 350 V-8 engine with automatic transmission. My wife and I enjoy taking it to car shows. The car resides in Abingdon, Virginia."
Reader's Ride: 1957 Chevy
"That’s my dad, Nat Whitlock, along with the 1957 Chevy he restored. This was at the Hot August nights car show in downtown Bristol last summer. Dad is a lifelong Bristol resident and has several antique cars. The 1957 Chevy is his favorite."
Reader's Ride: 05222017
Reader's Ride: 1963 Oldsmobile Jet Fire
I special ordered this new from the factory. It’s a turbo-charged, alcohol injected 4-speed transmission with posi traction. Has no power equipment. I bought it new from the factory and it was a daily driver for many years. It has been to several car shows and drive in type shows too.
Reader's Ride: 1969 Mercury Cyclone
Reader's Ride: 1978 Toyota LandCruiser
This is my custom-camoflage 1978 Toyota LandCruiser FJ40. I’ve owned this vehicle for 37 years after buying it in 1980. It is a four-wheel drive making it a great vehicle for the snow.
Reader's Ride: 1978 Corvette Pace Car
Reader's Ride: 1937 Ford pickup
— Bruce Cummings | Blountville, Tenn.
Reader's Ride: 1950 Ford cab over engine F5
Reader's Ride: 1948 Diamond T
Reader's Ride 1955 Ford F-100
James Wimmer purchased this truck in 1984 and restored it back to original condition, down to the hubcaps and the paint of candy apple red.
Reader's Ride: 1966 Chevy II Super Sport Nova
Owned by Butch Kestner of Saltville, Virginia for 26 years, this ride is often seen cruising around Smyth County, in parades, and occasionally makes an appearance at the street fights at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Reader's Ride: Gary Taylor
This is my 1956 Chevy Bel-Air 2 door hardtop, I found this car in a shed in Glade Spring in August of 2000. I purchased the car and I completely restored it from the ground up. I put in modern equipment like a 350 engine, 3-speed automatic disc brakes, air conditioning and power steering with a tilt steering wheel.
Reader's Ride: 1972 LT-1 Corvette
This car has 47,000 original miles with matching numbers. The 1972 Corvette was the last year featuring the LT-1 option(hi-performance small block 350) , steel bumpers and removable rear window. It is owned by Doug and Mary Lawson of Cedar Bluff, Virginia who are the second owners.
I bought this car from my high school principal, who inherited it new from his dad. The car still only has 66,000 miles on it. I had it painted candy red, upgraded the brakes and added S.S. dual exhaust to the 327 engine along with 17x8 chrome torque and thrust wheels. I love driving the car, and I have recently started taking it to shows.
1955-Ford F-100
Reader's Ride: 1966 Pontiac Tempest
Readers Ride: 1949 Willis Jeepster
Reader's Ride: 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air
Harold L. Crook of Marion, Virginia, bought this 1957 Chevrolet Bel air in 2013. He is the fourth owner of this beautiful car. It has a 2013 corvette motor with 78,000 original miles on it. Harold takes her to Food City Race Night in Knoxville and Bristol every year.
Reader's Ride: 1956 Bel-Air
Reader's Ride: 1971 Dodge Challenger RT
Here are a couple of pictures of my 1971 Dodge Challenger RT. It is a complete frame off restoration and features a 440 six-pack engine, automatic transmission and is painted in its original color of Hemi Orange. It was sold new in Virginia and I’m lucky enough to have the original inspection sticker, bill of sale, invoice, owner’s manual and original window sticker. It’s a great example of what 70s muscle cars were all about. Looks good and drives fast!!
Reader's Ride: 1923 'The Bucket' Hot Rod
Built with a 350 SC engine with auto transmission and fiber glass body and painted viper red with white interior, it’s always a fun drive.
Kenny Allison
Bluff City, Tenn.
Reader's Ride: 1955 Chevy 2-Door
"This car was built from the ground up by my husband for me. This is the year I was born which makes the car more special. It is a ’55 Chevy 2-Door with gray and black tweed interior. Automatic on the column with 350 small-block engine, 700 R transmission, 4-wheel disk brakes, rack and pinion."
Reader's Ride: Corvette2
Wayne Dingus of St. Paul, Virginia, is the proud owner of this 1965 Corvette. Dingus is a member of the Tri Cities Corvette Club and has owned this vehicle for about 14 years. The Corvette has an original motor, 327/350 hp, 132,00 miles and 4 speeds, in addition to new suspension, brakes and tires. This ride is just out of repair after an incident with a deer; Kevin Farmer at Farmers Auto in Abingdon, Virginia, replaced the front clip and paint. Email the Herald Courier today with a photo and information on your ride at newsdepartment@bristolnews.com
BHC 10042016 pic Reader's Ride2
BHC 10042016 pic Reader's Ride
Reader's Rides: 1967 Chevelle Malibu
"This is my '67 Chevelle Malibu, a.k.a. 'Big Red.' We've had her since 2002. She is a replacement for my '66 Chevelle my husband sold in 1979. She needs a little T.L.C., but she's still a looker."
-- Linda Moore Stanley, Coeburn, Va.
Reader's Ride: 1967 Chevelle Malibu
"This is my ’67 Chevelle Malibu, a.k.a. ‘Big Red.’ We’ve had her since 2002. She is a replacement for my ’66 Chevelle my husband sold in 1979. She needs a little T.L.C., but she’s still a looker."
— Linda Moore Stanley, Coeburn, Va.
To be a part of Reader’s Ride, share your ride with us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/heraldcourierdotcom or email a photo of your ride, along with information, to news@heraldcourier.com.
Penny Blue
Franklin County School Board |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Which diagnostic tests are most effective in differentiating between allergic and non-allergic rhinitis? output: Differentiating between allergic rhinitis (AR) and non-allergic rhinitis (NAR) involves a combination of clinical evaluation and specific diagnostic tests.
1. Clinical History and Examination:
• A thorough history and physical examination are essential. AR typically presents with sneezing, nasal pruritus, and conjunctivitis, whereas NAR often presents with nasal obstruction and rhinorrhea.[1]
2. Skin Prick Test (SPT) and Serum Specific IgE:
• The skin prick test (SPT) and serum specific IgE measurements are the primary diagnostic tools for confirming AR. These tests identify specific allergen sensitivities. The British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology emphasizes the importance of these tests in confirming allergic etiology.[2-3]
3. Nasal Provocation Test (NPT):
• The nasal provocation test (NPT), combined with acoustic rhinometry, can help differentiate AR from NAR and local allergic rhinitis (LAR). NPT involves exposing the nasal mucosa to suspected allergens and measuring the response. This test is particularly useful when SPT and serum IgE are inconclusive.[4]
4. Blood and Nasal Eosinophil Counts:
• Blood eosinophil counts and nasal eosinophil counts are higher in AR compared to NAR. These counts can be supportive but are not definitive on their own.[1][5]
5. Imaging:
• Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are not typically used to differentiate AR from NAR but can be useful in excluding other sinonasal conditions such as chronic rhinosinusitis.[6]
6. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Acoustic Rhinometry:
• Changes in VAS scores and acoustic rhinometry parameters after nasal provocation can help in diagnosing AR. Significant changes in total nasal volume (TNV) and minimal cross-sectional area (MCA) post-provocation are indicative of AR.[4][7]
In summary, the most effective diagnostic tests for differentiating AR from NAR include skin prick tests, serum specific IgE measurements, nasal provocation tests, and eosinophil counts. These tests, combined with a detailed clinical history and examination, provide a comprehensive approach to accurate diagnosis. |
20…....... stipulations and provisions hereinafter contained.. agreements.. BETWEEN:- 1... restrictions. 116790/1 and deposited in the Survey Records Office at Nairobi together with all the buildings... driveway.......... .... NOW THIS AGREEMENT WITNESSETH as follows:- 1.. fittings............. B....1655Ha) of a hectare or thereabouts and being Land Reference Number 12494/40 (Original Number 12494/2/7) which said piece of land is with the dimensions abuttals and boundaries thereof delineated shown and described in the Land Plan Survey Number 289156 annexed to the Certificate of Title registered in the Land Titles Registry at Nairobi as Number I.. Car Park and passages for the purposes only of egress from and ingress to the property) and areas provided.. The Premises : Comprises of the hereinbefore defined property inclusive of a mansionette and a guest house erected thereon (including all fixtures and fittings therein together with entrance halls. stairs landing.... The Tenant : Includes the persons deriving title under the Tenant. fixtures.day of ……………..R.. a rent consideration and subject to the covenants ........Two Thousand and.... and 2... TENANCY AGREEMENT THIS AGREEMENT is made the ... DAASANACH CONSTRUCTION LIMITED of Post Office Box Number 78607-00507 Nairobi (hereinafter called the “Purchaser” which expression shall where the context so admits include its successors-in-title and assigns) of the other part. additions and improvements from time to time erected and being thereon... DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION The Landlord : Includes the persons for the time being entitled in reservation expectant on the tenancy.. conditions. The Vendor is the registered proprietor as lessee from the Government of the Republic of Kenya of ALL THAT piece of land situate in the City of Nairobi in the Nairobi area containing by measurement Nought decimal one six five five (0....... agreed to rent the said premises to the Tenant herein for a term.. The Landlord has pursuant to an Agreement for Sale dated………... WHEREAS:- A.....day of. MIKE MUSHO AGENG’O of Post Office Box Number 55232-00200 Nairobi (hereinafter called the “Vendor” which expression shall where the context so admits include his personal representative and assigns) of the one part..
stipulations. the Landlord may demand an additional month’s deposit by giving the tenant one month’s notice. The Deposit or the balance thereof shall be repaid to the Tenant without interest at the expiry or sooner determination as hereinafter provided of the Term after payment by the Tenant of all sums then owing by the Tenant to the Landlord and the discharge by the Tenant of all obligations of the Tenant hereunder. Agreement 2.2 This Agreement incorporates the Letting Provisions detailed below. Letting Provisions The Tenant will: 3.. For good cause. 2.2 Pay to the Landlord and (maintain) a deposit equal to One (1) month rent and Service Charge (for the time being) to be held by the Landlord throughout the Term as security for the due performance by the Tenant of the covenants. restrictions.1 Pay the Rent together with the Service Charge in the manner specified above direct to the Landlord’s Bank Account. .1.- Account Name: MIKE MUSHO AGENG’O Bank: XXXXXXXXXXX Account Number: XXXXXXXXXXX Service Charge : Such amount as shall be determined by the Landlord payable in the same manner as the rent. to increase the deposit from One month (1) to two (2) months’ rent.day of ……….Thousand (Kshs………) only clear of any deductions whatsoever payable in one lump sum installment to the Landlord or the Landlord’s agent before execution hereof by direct credit to the landlord’s Bank Account as shown below (receipt of which is hereby acknowledged). The Rent : Kenya Shillings……….1.1 It is hereby agreed that the Landlord lets and the Tenant takes the Premises for a Term subject the terms and conditions of the Agreement for Sale.20…. (The “Agreement for Sale”) and shall remain in force until termination by either party as stipulated under clause 7. 3. agreements. 3. 2. and provisions herein contained and also to deposit such further sums of money throughout the said term as shall be necessary to ensure that the amount of the said deposit shall not at any time be less than one month’s rent payable from time to time as hereinbefore provided and reserved.The Term : This tenancy agreement shall be deemed to be for a Term subject to completion of the Agreement for Sale dated……….
1.1.3 Pay the respective deposits (if not already done) to the Kenya Power and Lighting Company Limited and the Nairobi City Council (if so desired by tenant) for the connection of electricity and water services respectively and thereafter pay for all electricity.12 On termination of the tenancy. and will replace with articles of a similar quality all items which shall be lost. broken or damaged during the tenancy. 3. in any other suitable place.11 Permit the Landlord or the Landlord’s Agent during the last two (2) months of the tenancy to exhibit. 3. during this period.9 Permit the Landlord or the Landlord’s Agents at any arranged time to enter the Premises to view the state and condition thereof.14 Not assign.7 Keep the interior of the buildings on the Premises including all fittings and fixtures in good repair and condition.1.5 Use the Premises in a tenant-like manner for a private residential dwelling only and not carry on or permit to be carried on the Premises any trade or business of any kind whatsoever.8 Cultivate the garden or growing plants (if any) of the Premises and keep the same in good order and condition and will not alter the established lay out of the same. 3. paint all those parts of the interior of the Premises as are usually painted with two coats of good paint and will grain. 3. 3. .3.1. varnish and colour all such parts as are usually so dealt with in a proper and workmanlike manner to the reasonable satisfaction of the Landlord or the Landlord’s Agents and in the same colour scheme as at the time of taking occupation. 3.1. underlet. charge or part with possession of the Premises (or any part thereof) without the prior written consent of the Landlord. 3.1.6 Not damage or injure the Premises or make any alteration in or addition to it (including boundary walls and any fences) and will not cut or remove any plants without the prior written consent of the Landlord. water and conservancy which shall be consumed on or supplied to the Premises during the tenancy and pay all charges made for the use of the telephone (if any) on the Premises during the tenancy and. which consent shall be entirely at the Landlords discretion.10 Timeously execute all repairs for which the Tenant is liable at all times without demand or notice by the Landlord and shall do so in accordance with any notice given by the Landlord or the Landlord’s Agents after inspection of the Property as aforesaid.1.13 Make periodic inspections of the Premises and report immediately in writing to the Landlord any apparent defects in the structure of the Premises and any signs of ants.. 3. bees. will allow all persons holding an order to view the Premises. 3.1.1. and not to allow an excessive number of people in the premises which would exceed a reasonable number of occupants for similar dwelling houses. 3. 3. fair wear and tear excepted. a notice advertising the Premises as being let and.1.1.4 Not to overload any electricity supply or equipment. termites or any other destructive insects or any signs of wet or dry rot.1. will give copies of paid up bills for all these services to the Landlord every three (3) months.
equipment. 3. 3.15 Not to do or suffer to be done on the Premises anything which may be or become a nuisance or annoyance to the Landlord or the tenants or occupiers of any adjoining premises or which may vitiate any insurance of the Premises against fire or otherwise or increase the ordinary premium for such insurance. or any other sum due under this lease within Five (5) days of the due date whether formally demanded or not the tenant shall pay to the Landlord an automatic default sum and interest on the overdue amount from the due date to the date of actual payment. 3. . Government Land Rent and all other taxes and charges now or hereafter payable in respect of the Premises. 4. air any clothes. re-entry or distress. and shall particularly not air any clothes or store anything on the front verandah. or store any items of furniture.19 Not to hang. 4.1.1 To permit the Tenant peaceably and quietly to possess and enjoy the Premises without any unlawful interruption from the Landlord or any person claiming under or in trust for the Landlord. and or place or fix any sting.20 Not to lay or fix any telephone or television cables on the premises except in the manner directed by and with the prior consent of.1.1.1. 3. main walls and main timbers and the outside of the buildings and common areas on the Premises and the outside water and sanitary apparatus in good and tenantable repair and condition. or balcony of the premises. provided that nothing in this covenant shall entitle the Tenant to withhold or delay any payment of the said rents or any other sums due under this Agreement after the date on which it falls due. the landlord. dogs chicken or birds on the premises.17 Notify the Landlord of an intention to leave the Premises unoccupied for a period of more than seven (7) days 3.1. containers or other things other than in places designated and provided for that purpose by the land. 3.1.1 The automatic default sum shall be at the rate of 2% above the base rate of Central Bank of Kenya as published from time to time until the aggregate amount so payable shall be recoverable as rent arrears.16.16 (i) In the event of failure to pay the said rent.1.1.1. PROVIDED THAT the payment of such default sum and interest shall not in any way prejudice the Landlord’s right and other cause of action by way of termination.1. The Landlord agrees with the tenant as follows:- 4.18 Not to permit an unreasonable number of people to assemble on the Premises for any large activity or function without the prior written consent by the landlord.2 To keep the roof.21 Yield up the Premises at the end of the tenancy in good and tenantable repair. 4.1. and not to bring or keep any animals cats. 3.3 To pay the Rates. or wires for that purpose in such places. 3.
5.2 For the avoidance of doubt. per day until full possession is yielded to the landlord or as the case may be. theft or injury to the tenant or tenant’s family.4 To be responsible for the electrical wiring and electrical apparatus comprised in and forming part of the main entrance circuits of the Premises and to make good promptly any defect or default discovered in the same.1. 5. . 5.3 Should the tenant wrongfully remain in possession beyond the term.1.1. the deposit paid shall not be treated as rent for the last months of the tenancy or any part thereof. 4.1.5 In consideration of the service charge paid.2 Any notice required to be served herein shall be sufficiently served upon either party if forwarded to that party by registered post or left at the party’s last known address in Kenya.1. Tenants will be notified in writing of such works and period to be taken. A notice sent by post shall be deemed to be given five (5) days after the date of posting thereof. but shall not be regarded as nuisance for the purposes of this tenancy agreement.1. it shall be lawful for the Landlord at any time thereafter to enter into the Property and to repossess it without prejudice to any right of action or remedy of the Landlord in respect of any antecedent breach of any of the covenants herein contained or implied. provided that by arranging such security the landlord shall not constitute itself an insurer of the tenant’s property.4 Any delay by the landlord in exercising any right hereunder shall not be deemed to be a waiver of such rights in any way.1. invitees or servants. A notice to the tenant may be left at the premises.1. damage..1. arrange for security guards or company for the compound. and such shall be done at reasonable times.1.5 The Landlord reserves the right to carry out renovations. licensee.1. until repairs are fully carried out.1. and the same shall be refunded to the tenant upon the tenants’ full compliance with the covenant herein after possession is yielded up. 5. 4. or fail to carry out repairs not later than the last of the tenancy period the tenant shall be liable to pay liquidated damages of Kshs………. keep the external areas of the Premises clean and undertake the gardening in the common areas.1 The tenant shall insure his personal and house hold belongings and indemnify the landlord against any action claim or demand arising from any loss. 5. Provisos 5.1. 5. 5.1 (i) If the Rent is outstanding for more than five (5) days or more after becoming due whether formally demanded or not or if the Tenant fails to perform and observe any of the agreements herein contained or implied.1. and without prejudice to the landlords remedy under the distress for rent Act. nor shall it be liable under any circumstances for any loss or damage howsoever occurring to the tenants property on the premises. alterations and improvements on other parts of the building.
7. This provisions will only apply where the tenant takes possession of the premises without the full completion of the Agreement for Sale stated herein.2 Provided that any such notice that is given at any date after the first day of the calendar month shall be deemed to take effect from the first day of the calendar month next following expiration of the period of such notice.6. .1 This Agreement shall terminate on the later of:- a) Completion date as defined in the Agreement for Sale b) Date of Payment of the full Purchase price under the Agreement for Sable provided that this Agreement shall automatically terminate in the event that the Agreement for Sale is terminated for any reason. 6. Termination 6.3 Upon issuance of proper notice. this agreement shall cease and determine but without prejudice to any right of action accrued to either party during the currency of the agreement. 6.
. ) PIN No…………………….IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties have executed this Agreement... ----------------------------------------------------------------- SIGNATURE & DESIGNATION OF PERSON CERTIFYING .. the year and date hereinabove written..I further certify that the above coloured passport size photograph is a true likeness of the above named person and that I have authenticated her PIN Number on this instrument.. ) ) ) ) ) Certificate of Attestation I certify that MIKE MUSHO AGENG’O the LANDLORD appeared before me on the day of 201… and being known to me acknowledged the above signature or mark to be hers and that she had freely and voluntarily executed this instrument and understood its contents.. THE LANDLORD Signed by MIKE MUSHO AGENG’O ) ) In the presence of ) ) ) ) Passport Size ) ) Signature………………………… Photographs ) ID No…………………………….
THE TENANT SEALED with the COMMON SEAL of ) DAASANACH CONSTRUCTION LIMITED ) in the presence of:. …………………………………… ) Signature……………………. …………………………… ) PIN No.. …………………………… ) PIN No..I further certify that the above coloured passport size photograph is a true likeness of the above named person and that I have authenticated his PIN Number on this instrument. ………… ) ) ) ) Certificate of Attestation I certify that DAASANACH CONSTRUCTION LIMITED the TENANT appeared before me on the day of 201… and being known to me acknowledged the above signature or mark to be his and that he had freely and voluntarily executed this instrument and understood its contents. ----------------------------------------------------------------- SIGNATURE & DESIGNATION OF PERSON CERTIFYING . ) ) ) ) Passport Size ) Common seal Photographs ) ) ) ) ) Director ) Name: ) ID No. ……………. ) ) ) ) Passport Size ) Photographs ) ) ) ) ) ) Director/Secretary ) Name: ) ID No. …………………………………… ) Signature…………………….
com .com www.O. Box 33223.sichangi.Drawn By:- Sichangi Partners Advocates Nairobi Office No: 31/33 Muthithi Road Westlands P.00600 Nairobi.Kenya services@sichangi.
028 (Nego) Dbp v. Sima Wei Et Al. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Hi, may I answer your health queries right now ? Please type your query here...Hello, I am a 50 year old Female..I have been in remission for 6 months from Stage III Lymphoma. I received 6 rounds o R-CHOP Chemo. About 6 weeks after I completed chemo I noticed a rash on my left forearm which soon spread to my right forearm and both legs between my knee and ankle. This rash is red in color and bumpy. It sometimes itches and bleeds. My family doctor prescribed a couple of prescription creams but neither helped. Could it be possible that I have CTCL? output: Your skin lesions are not improving with routine DIMITRY They are also bleeding and itchy. All these favor possibility of cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) more. It is common in lymphoma patients after the age of 50 years. It is actually spread of lymphoma in skin. So better to consult dermatologist and get done clinical examination of lesion and biopsy from the lesion to confirm that diagnosis. If it turns out to be CTCL then you will need chemotherapy. Hope I have solved your query. I will be happy to help you further. Wish you good health. Thanks. |
“I am the world crier, & this is my dangerous career… I am the one to call your bluff, & this is my climate.” —Kenneth Patchen (1911-1972)
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GSA formally recognizes Biden’s victory
23 Nov 20 ~ FmH
The presidential transition begins:
‘On Monday, General Services Administration (GSA) chief Emily Murphy sent a letter to President-elect Joe Biden, officially authorizing the start of the presidential transition. Murphy issued the letter of “ascertainment” after weeks of delay, and amid increasing pressure from Democrats, and bipartisan pushback from national security and public health experts to start the process. Some Republican politicians had also begun to speak out, too.
The ascertainment will provide funding for the Biden-Harris transition, and most critically, give Biden’s team the opportunity to meet with their counterparts across federal agencies to prepare for the new administration to take over in January.
“As the Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration, I have the ability under the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, as amended, to make certain post-election resources and services available to assist in the event of a presidential transition,” Murphy wrote in her letter to vice-president elect Biden.
“I take this role seriously and, because of recent developments involving legal challenges and certifications of election results, am transmitting this letter today to make those resources and services available to you,” she said.
Those “recent developments” most likely refer to Trump’s failed attempts in court to challenge the election, and battleground states, including Michigan and Georgia, officially certifying the votes for Biden’s win. In the past, most GSA administrators have made their judgments based on media projections, after which the losing candidate typically concedes. But Murphy had held off from doing so, despite Biden being declared the winner by all major US media outlets and Trump’s legal challenges largely going nowhere in court.
The GSA recognizing Biden’s victory, and the formal start if the transition process will likely quell some of the concern about Trump’s refusal to accept the election results. With Republicans backing away from their defense of the president, and the Trump’s legal avenues quickly closing, the reality Trump has tried to keep at bay for weeks is finally catching up to him. Biden will be president on January 20 — and now, at least, he can begin to properly prepare.
Murphy, in her letter Monday, defended her decision-making, saying the looked to “precedent from prior elections involving legal challenges and incomplete counts. GSA does not dictate the outcome of legal disputes and recounts, nor does it determine whether such proceedings are reasonable and justified.” Again, the one modern example of the GSA delaying a presidential transition came in 2000 because of the Florida recount.
Murphy also denied that the White House pressured her to withhold the ascertainment. “I have dedicated much of my adult life to public service, and I have always strived to do what is right. Please know that I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts. I was never directly or indirectly pressured by any Executive Branch official—including those who work at the White House or GSA—with regard to the substance or timing of my decision,” Murphy wrote. “To be clear, I did not receive any direction to delay my determination.”
But President Donald Trump undermined that a bit, saying in a tweet shortly after the GSA acted that “in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.”
Though Trump said his case “STRONGLY continues”, this is one of the most direct acknowledgments from the president so far that his tenure in office is ending — even if it isn’t exactly a concession….’
— Via Vox
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Barack Obama, Breaking, CIA, Iran, Iraq, Islam, Jordan, Russia, Terrorism
Breaking => Russian Fighters Join Iraq’s Battle Against NWO Terrorists Within Next Few Hours: Maliki Continues To Slaughter Sunnis Using ISIS & Iraqi Security Forces.
by Volubrjotr • 28 Jun 2014 • 0 Comments
Russian Sukhoi Su-24 Fighter
(IraqiNews.com) The Defense Ministry announced, on Saturday, the arrival of Russian Sukhoi (Su-24) fighter jets to Iraq.
Iraqiya TV channel announced, in a Newsflash followed by IraqiNews.com, that “The official spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, Mohammed al-Askari announced the arrival of the Russian fighter jets, type (Sukhoi 24) to Iraq.”
On Thursday, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki revealed to buy Sukhoi fighter jets used by Russia and Belarus to fight militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Iraq, blaming Washington responsibility of doing so as a result of its “slow policy” .
Iraq ground report: Maliki Soldiers reportedly executing Sunni detainees
110,000 Ukrainians Leave Obama Coup Infested Ukraine For Russia.
Russia Sends 60 Tons Of Humanitarian Aid To Eastern Ukraine: 110,000 Ukrainians To Date Have Immigrated To Russia
Iraqi Shiites ‘minority’ Join Iraqi Sunnis ‘majority’: Ousting Obama Puppet Nouri al-Maliki From Prime Minister’s Office.
Oil Prices Retreat After Biggest Monthly Gain This Year June 2014: Little Chance Of NWO ISIS Dog & Pony Show In Iraq Disrupting Oil Supply!
Putin Revolution Against The Rothschild Banking Cabal.
Breaking => Russia Warns Obama Against Using The Media To Falsify News: Any Direct Or Implicit Interference With Russia’s Home Affairs, All Sorts Of Pressure Being Exerted On Our Country And Our Allies – Is Absolutely Unacceptable.”
President Putin Tells United States Citizens Not To Give Up Your Guns: We Learned From Experience Fighting Rothschild’s Banking Schemes!
It was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin, had telephoned PM al-Maliki on 20 June to express the readiness of his country to support Baghdad [thus exposing Maliki ~ really, how could Obama puppet Maliki turn this down and look credible?] with various heavy weapons and long-range missiles.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia hopes to strengthen the military-technical cooperation with Iraq, noting that Moscow and Baghdad have taken new and serious steps to improve the cooperation. It was agreed to supply the Iraqi government of fighter jets.
Battle For Tikrit Continues As Iraq Receives Russian Sukhoi Ground Attack Fighter Jets: President Putin, “America Don’t Give Up Your Guns”!
Iraq is descending into chaos, but not for the reasons you’re being fed by the politicians and the mainstream media.
In June of 2014 the world watched in shock as an Islamic militant group operating under the name of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (or ISIS), took control of Mosul, Baiji and Tikrit and began pushing south to Baghdad. Fallujah has been under their control since January.
[Note they are also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or ISIL]
Iraqi military and police put up very little resistance in spite of the fact that they greatly outnumbered the militants. Most fled their posts and left their uniforms and weapons behind, those who didn’t were killed.
Obama & Toyota’s NWO Black Flag Of ISIS Jihad In Iraq!
Obama’s Muslim Brotherhood’s Turkey: Shuts Off Euphrates Water To Syria & Iraq.
U.S. ISIS In Iraq: Rothschild Middle East Geopolitical Arsonists Seek to Burn Region ~ But Not One NWO U.S. Taxpayer Oil Pipeline Touched That Carries Oil To The Muslim Brotherhood In Jordan & Turkey.
ISIS has convoys of brand new matching Toyota’s the same
vehicles seen among admittedly NATO-armed terrorists operating
everywhere from Libya to Syria, and now Iraq. It is a synthetic, state-
sponsored regional mercenary expeditionary force.
NWO BLACK FLAG JIHAD ~ IRAQ 2014 ~ UNDER THE MONIKER OF ISIS
NWO BLACK FLAG JIHAD ~ YUGOSLAVIA 1995 ~ UNDER THE MONIKER OF KLA
The same Modus Operandi being used in Iraq 2014 was the same used earlier in Yugoslavia in 1995 to divide it into 7 new countries ~ {Bosnia and Herzegovina}, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, & Kosovo. Watch for that in Iraq now.
Breaking -> Rothschild’s Israel Attacks Syria!
Obama’s Pipeline To Israel: The Seat Of Rothschild
Obama Sends More U.S. Taxpayer Purchased Assault Weapons To CIA Terrorists Inside Syria!
Russia, Iran, & Catholic Church On The Ground In Syria: World Unites In Massive Humanitarian Aid To Syria!
Netanyahu: I Won’t Be Silenced On Rothschild’s Security ~ Rothschild’s ‘State Of’ Israel Has Now Bombed Syria Twice ~ Iran Next?
Russia & Vatican Bring Humanitarian Aid To The Suffering In Syria: Suffering Direct Result Of John McCain & Obama Rothschild Regime!
ISIS, whose stated goal is to erase the border between Syria and Iraq, to establish an Islamic Caliphate encompassing both countries, and to impose sharia law, already holds vast swaths of territory, and they are rapidly gaining ground.
That’s an extremely important question. How you answer it will determine what comes next, and not just in Iraq. That’s why the media spin doctors and politicians are out in force attempting to rewrite history, and turning reality completely on its head in the process.
For example we have people insisting this is happening because the U.S. and NATO failed to intervene in Syria.
Well that’s a convenient answer isn’t it?
Obama Confirms Airstrikes Will Not Be Limited to Iraq
The President Does Not Have the Constitutional Power to Order Air Strikes in Iraq
The U.S. and NATO have been actively working to topple Assad by arming and funding the Syrian rebels since 2011. This has developed into a bloody civil war which has attracted Jihadists from all over the world. It has also created a vacuum of power which enabled groups like ISIS, Al-Qaeda and Al-Nusra to organize and establish physical strongholds.
President Vladimir Putin Warned Obama Yesterday That Russia Will Stand With Syria If Usurped U.S. Launches Military Strikes Against The Country.
The U.S. claims to only be arming the “moderate” rebels, however, the leadership of the Free Syrian Army (aka the FSA) has stated that they regularly carry out joint operations with Al-Qaeda and its affiliates. Up until recently ISIS was a branch of Al-Qaeda. In February of this year Al-Qaeda’s official leadership publicly disavowed ISIS due to their brutal tactics.
That’s why ISIS is referred to as a splinter group. Furthermore, we know for a fact that the majority of the weapons and funding from the U.S. and its allies are ending up in the hands of Jihadists, and U.S. officials have been aware of this since 2012. But don’t take my word for it, go read this article from the New York Times yourself.
Do the math folks. ISIS would have never gotten a foothold Syria if the U.S. hadn’t weakened the Syrian government, and the weapons they are using right now… were most likely paid for with your tax dollars.
But wait, this isn’t just about Syria is it? It’s also about Iraq. Which brings us to the other deranged narrative that is being promoted right now: that this chaos is unfolding because U.S. military withdrew prematurely in 2011.
Iraq is also an NWO panic move as the world is waking up and bearing down against them.
Syria Will Never Become A Western Rothschild Puppet State!
Governing Without Consent: International Banking Cartel Buying America With Printed Counterfeit Fiat Currency.
Middle East Rothschild Banking Puppet Regimes Are Collapsing: Kissinger’s Petrodollar Going Down Faster Than A Whore On Overtime!
Obama Illegally Escalates Syrian False Flag War: 100,000 Killed By Fomented Violence 2011 – 2013 ~ Experts Don’t See Evidence Of Sarin Gas!
You see Iraq is in ruins and unable to defend itself, because the U.S. military left the party too early. It’s not because the Bush administration and the mainstream media convinced the public that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and was planning to use them. It’s not because the U.S. invaded Iraq on these false pretenses, disbanding the Iraqi army and police, and reducing the country to rubble in an attempt to put down the resulting insurgency. No, it’s because eight years of military occupation wasn’t enough.
To those who fought there, it’s a punch in the gut to see your sacrifice was for nothing, but the occupation of Iraq was never going to end well, and the Bush administration knew that it wouldn’t. But don’t take my word for it. Let’s take a look at this clip of Dick Cheney from 1994.
Libya’s Paper Tiger ~ NWO Sleeper Cell Dennis Kucinich: Colludes With Terrorist Organization CAIR, Kucinich’s Code Pink Distributes $600,000 To Terrorists In Iraq!
That was very astute Dick. You accurately predicted the mess you were going to help create in 2003. I would even venture to say that your predictions were more accurate than those who warned against this adventure. I’m impressed.
Now you’ll notice that the talking heads of the left and the right are all trying to frame this crisis as the fault of the other side. They’re both right.
BILL CLINTON W/3 Porno Queens
Weekend Reflections: When Democrats (1998) All Wanted The Iraq War.
Both sides of the aisle have blood on their hands, and this goes way beyond Bush and Obama. The United States has been tinkering in Iraq for a long, long time. In fact it was the CIA that put Saddam Hussein in power in 1963. Don’t take my word for it, go read this article from the New York Times.
The U.S. government also backed Saddam in 1980 when he launched a war of aggression against Iran, even though they knew that he was using chemical weapons. But again don’t take my word for it, go read this article by Foreign Policy magazine.
Fast forward to 1990. Saddam Hussein was embroiled in a dispute with Kuwait over oil prices and borders and he was considering taking action. Given America’s support in the war against Iran, Saddam had no reason to believe that Kuwait would be any different, but just to be sure, he decided to consult with Washington first.
On July 25th of 1990 U.S. ambassador to Iraq April Glaspie met with Saddam Hussein. In the meeting Saddam described his case against Kuwait and told Glaspie that he viewed their activities as an act of military aggression. Glaspie responded by saying “We have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait”, and she reinforced this by saying “this issue is not associated with America” Naturally Saddam interpreted this as a green light, and eight days later he invaded.
Later, when questioned in hearings, Glaspie claimed that though this quote was accurate, she had followed it up by insisting that Iraq settle its dispute non-violently.
However that’s not what shows up in the transcripts of the conversation released by the New York Times. According to the transcript she said “All that we hope is that these issues are solved quickly.”
But maybe this was just an innocent diplomatic blunder right? Well not quite.
As soon as Saddam entered Kuwait the U.S. government launched a very interesting propaganda campaign to build up public support for a war. They claimed that Iraqi troops were slaughtering little babies by throwing them out of their incubators in hospitals, and they brought in teary eyed witnesses who testified to having seen the massacres.
Just one problem… the entire event was fabricated. It never happened. This woman who presented herself as a witness was actually the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the United States and her testimony was part of a public relations campaign organized by a company called Hill and Knowlton.
Once public support for the war was strong, the incubators story was dropped, and never mentioned again.
The U.S. invaded Iraq in 1991. During that war the U.S. military utilized approximately 640,000 pounds of Depleted Uranium ammunition. The Iraq was decimated, but the U.S. left Saddam in power.
The war didn’t ever really end though. The U.S. kept Iraq under a draconian sanctions regime that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children. Clinton kept those sanctions in place for the entire duration of his presidency, and they knew what was happening.
You know how they say “those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it”? That’s really not an exaggeration.
Fast forward to 2003 and the Kuwaiti incubator story was swapped out for stories of mobile missile silos and yellow cake uranium.
And when it turned out that those weapons of mass destruction didn’t exist, they acted like it was no big deal.
Then of course came Obama, riding in on promises of hope and change. But we saw how Obama toppled Libya in 2011, leaving that nation in utter chaos. Gaddafi was then killed in a rather gruesome fashion.
Before NATO brought down Gaddafi Libya had the highest standard of living in all of Africa. Now it’s a perpetual war-zone. And of course we’ve seen how Obama has funded and armed the Syrian rebels in an attempt to bring down Assad.
Obama is operating from the same playbook, and yes there is a playbook.
New York Times White Wash Thugs Bill Clinton & General Wesley Clark Of War Crimes Against Christian Serbs!
In Ukraine The West Crossed The Red Line: As Yesterday’s Murderous Thugs ~ Bill Clinton & Wesley Clark ‘Using Our Military’ Crossed The Red Line In Kosovo!
Fortunately the future is not set in stone. We can influence the outcome, and we already are. We proved that in 2013 when both the left and the right dropped their petty bickering and unified against Obama’s proposal to use airstrikes against Assad.
The pattern of deceit was the same, but this time the people didn’t fall for it. The fact that we had the U.N. investigator Carla Del Ponte come out to say that the Syrian rebels were behind the sarin gas attacks helped, the fact that Putin short circuited the U.S. diplomatically helped, but the determining factor was the popular resistance, particularly the signs of discontent from within the military.
You see, the ruling class is very hesitant to take a nation to war if the people and the military strongly oppose it. That’s why the first casualty of war is always the truth.
Resident Barry Soetoro aka; Obama Violates [U.S. Munitions Export Laws] To Export Assault Weapons To CIA’s Syrian ISIS “Rebels”.
What’s going on in Iraq right now is horrific. ISIS is already committing atrocities against civilians on a massive scale. Inexplicably the Obama administration did not provide the Iraqi military with immediate air support even after the fall of Mosul. I say inexplicably, not because I support airstrikes, but because on June 12th, the U.S. Military conducted its second drone strike this month in Pakistan. Why would Obama refuse to act in Iraq when civilians are being massacred, while employing drones in Pakistan without hesitation?
Syrian ISIS militants have reportedly come into possession of high-powered anti-tank weaponry supplied by US.
President Putin: Obama Kerry Claims About Syrian Chemical Attack ‘Unimaginable Nonsense’
U.S. Kuwait Fast & Furious In Progress: 20,000 U.S. M-16s Stolen from Unguarded Warehouse in Kuwait Staged Alibi.
Jordan to Head Syria Rebel Arms Program: Following Obama/Kerry Visit ~ Jordan Promised 1,056 Double Oil Pipe Line from Iraq ~ Jordan Now Helps Rothschilds Tumble Syria’s Central Bank!
I’ll tell you why. Because the outrage over the atrocities that the ISIS is committing may be enough to provide the U.S. government with a backdoor into Syria.
You see It turns out that Obama is considering airstrikes, but not just in Iraq. He wants to extend those strikes into Syria as well. Well, that’s convenient isn’t it? Once the U.S. military is able to freely conduct operations in Syrian territory getting the regime change that they will be much, much easier.
It’s the classic formula Problem, Reaction, Solution.
They created the problem, they are letting the public react and build up outrage, and then they are going to propose a “solution” that will sow the seeds for another generation of conflicts.
To short circuit this pattern the public needs to come to terms with the cold hold hard truth.
No matter what the U.S. does, and no matter how long they stay, there is no happy ending to this story. The chaos that we’re seeing in this region is the direct result of half a century of U.S. military interventions and covert operations in the Middle East. It’s time to acknowledge that bombing for peace doesn’t work, regime change for stability doesn’t work, and you can’t fix a mistake by repeating it over and over.
If the U.S. honestly wants to stop the spread of Islamic terrorism, then they should stop funding and arming Jihadists in Syria. That would be a good starting point don’t you think?
SCG News
The Wiping Of The Rothschild Dust From Our Feet: New World Order Ended In 1776
Iraq’s Rebirth As One Of The Richest Countries On The Planet Is Set Back For At Least A Generation: Huston, London, Moscow, & Beijing Pulling Their People Out.
Obama Captured
OBAMA GIVES JORDAN $1 BILLION U.S. TAXPAYER DOLLARS ~ OBAMA GIVES WESTERN UKRAINE $1 BILLION U.S. TAXPAYER DOLLARS ~ OBAMA GIVES POLAND $1 BILLION U.S. TAXPAYER DOLLARS ~ WHILE DETROIT GOES BANKRUPT.
Tags: black flag Iraq isis Islam Jordan kla Maliki Muslim Russia sukhoi jet fighter terrorists toyota tundra turkey World News
← Iraqi Shiites ‘minority’ Join Iraqi Sunnis ‘majority’: Ousting Obama Puppet Nouri al-Maliki From Prime Minister’s Office.
Russia Sends 60 Tons Of Humanitarian Aid To Eastern Ukraine: 110,000 Ukrainians To Date Have Immigrated To Russia → |
#define RCSID "$Id: chap-new.c,v 1.6 2004/11/04 10:02:26 paulus Exp $"
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include "pppd.h"
#include "chap-new.h"
#include "chap-md5.h"
#ifdef ANDROID_CHANGES
#include "openssl-hash.h"
#endif
#ifdef CHAPMS
#include "chap_ms.h"
#define MDTYPE_ALL (MDTYPE_MICROSOFT_V2 | MDTYPE_MICROSOFT | MDTYPE_MD5)
#else
#define MDTYPE_ALL (MDTYPE_MD5)
#endif
int chap_mdtype_all = MDTYPE_ALL;
/* Hook for a plugin to validate CHAP challenge */
int (*chap_verify_hook)(char *name, char *ourname, int id,
struct chap_digest_type *digest,
unsigned char *challenge, unsigned char *response,
char *message, int message_space) = NULL;
/*
* Option variables.
*/
int chap_timeout_time = 3;
int chap_max_transmits = 10;
int chap_rechallenge_time = 0;
/*
* Command-line options.
*/
static option_t chap_option_list[] = {
{ "chap-restart", o_int, &chap_timeout_time,
"Set timeout for CHAP", OPT_PRIO },
{ "chap-max-challenge", o_int, &chap_max_transmits,
"Set max #xmits for challenge", OPT_PRIO },
{ "chap-interval", o_int, &chap_rechallenge_time,
"Set interval for rechallenge", OPT_PRIO },
{ NULL }
};
/*
* Internal state.
*/
static struct chap_client_state {
int flags;
char *name;
struct chap_digest_type *digest;
unsigned char priv[64]; /* private area for digest's use */
} client;
/*
* These limits apply to challenge and response packets we send.
* The +4 is the +1 that we actually need rounded up.
*/
#define CHAL_MAX_PKTLEN (PPP_HDRLEN + CHAP_HDRLEN + 4 + MAX_CHALLENGE_LEN + MAXNAMELEN)
#define RESP_MAX_PKTLEN (PPP_HDRLEN + CHAP_HDRLEN + 4 + MAX_RESPONSE_LEN + MAXNAMELEN)
static struct chap_server_state {
int flags;
int id;
char *name;
struct chap_digest_type *digest;
int challenge_xmits;
int challenge_pktlen;
unsigned char challenge[CHAL_MAX_PKTLEN];
} server;
/* Values for flags in chap_client_state and chap_server_state */
#define LOWERUP 1
#define AUTH_STARTED 2
#define AUTH_DONE 4
#define AUTH_FAILED 8
#define TIMEOUT_PENDING 0x10
#define CHALLENGE_VALID 0x20
/*
* Prototypes.
*/
static void chap_init(int unit);
static void chap_lowerup(int unit);
static void chap_lowerdown(int unit);
static void chap_timeout(void *arg);
static void chap_generate_challenge(struct chap_server_state *ss);
static void chap_handle_response(struct chap_server_state *ss, int code,
unsigned char *pkt, int len);
static int chap_verify_response(char *name, char *ourname, int id,
struct chap_digest_type *digest,
unsigned char *challenge, unsigned char *response,
char *message, int message_space);
static void chap_respond(struct chap_client_state *cs, int id,
unsigned char *pkt, int len);
static void chap_handle_status(struct chap_client_state *cs, int code, int id,
unsigned char *pkt, int len);
static void chap_protrej(int unit);
static void chap_input(int unit, unsigned char *pkt, int pktlen);
static int chap_print_pkt(unsigned char *p, int plen,
void (*printer) __P((void *, char *, ...)), void *arg);
/* List of digest types that we know about */
static struct chap_digest_type *chap_digests;
/*
* chap_init - reset to initial state.
*/
static void
chap_init(int unit)
{
memset(&client, 0, sizeof(client));
memset(&server, 0, sizeof(server));
#ifdef ANDROID_CHANGES
openssl_hash_init();
#endif
chap_md5_init();
#ifdef CHAPMS
chapms_init();
#endif
}
/*
* Add a new digest type to the list.
*/
void
chap_register_digest(struct chap_digest_type *dp)
{
dp->next = chap_digests;
chap_digests = dp;
}
/*
* chap_lowerup - we can start doing stuff now.
*/
static void
chap_lowerup(int unit)
{
struct chap_client_state *cs = &client;
struct chap_server_state *ss = &server;
cs->flags |= LOWERUP;
ss->flags |= LOWERUP;
if (ss->flags & AUTH_STARTED)
chap_timeout(ss);
}
static void
chap_lowerdown(int unit)
{
struct chap_client_state *cs = &client;
struct chap_server_state *ss = &server;
cs->flags = 0;
if (ss->flags & TIMEOUT_PENDING)
UNTIMEOUT(chap_timeout, ss);
ss->flags = 0;
}
/*
* chap_auth_peer - Start authenticating the peer.
* If the lower layer is already up, we start sending challenges,
* otherwise we wait for the lower layer to come up.
*/
void
chap_auth_peer(int unit, char *our_name, int digest_code)
{
struct chap_server_state *ss = &server;
struct chap_digest_type *dp;
if (ss->flags & AUTH_STARTED) {
error("CHAP: peer authentication already started!");
return;
}
for (dp = chap_digests; dp != NULL; dp = dp->next)
if (dp->code == digest_code)
break;
if (dp == NULL)
fatal("CHAP digest 0x%x requested but not available",
digest_code);
ss->digest = dp;
ss->name = our_name;
/* Start with a random ID value */
ss->id = (unsigned char)(drand48() * 256);
ss->flags |= AUTH_STARTED;
if (ss->flags & LOWERUP)
chap_timeout(ss);
}
/*
* chap_auth_with_peer - Prepare to authenticate ourselves to the peer.
* There isn't much to do until we receive a challenge.
*/
void
chap_auth_with_peer(int unit, char *our_name, int digest_code)
{
struct chap_client_state *cs = &client;
struct chap_digest_type *dp;
if (cs->flags & AUTH_STARTED) {
error("CHAP: authentication with peer already started!");
return;
}
for (dp = chap_digests; dp != NULL; dp = dp->next)
if (dp->code == digest_code)
break;
if (dp == NULL)
fatal("CHAP digest 0x%x requested but not available",
digest_code);
cs->digest = dp;
cs->name = our_name;
cs->flags |= AUTH_STARTED;
}
/*
* chap_timeout - It's time to send another challenge to the peer.
* This could be either a retransmission of a previous challenge,
* or a new challenge to start re-authentication.
*/
static void
chap_timeout(void *arg)
{
struct chap_server_state *ss = arg;
ss->flags &= ~TIMEOUT_PENDING;
if ((ss->flags & CHALLENGE_VALID) == 0) {
ss->challenge_xmits = 0;
chap_generate_challenge(ss);
ss->flags |= CHALLENGE_VALID;
} else if (ss->challenge_xmits >= chap_max_transmits) {
ss->flags &= ~CHALLENGE_VALID;
ss->flags |= AUTH_DONE | AUTH_FAILED;
auth_peer_fail(0, PPP_CHAP);
return;
}
output(0, ss->challenge, ss->challenge_pktlen);
++ss->challenge_xmits;
ss->flags |= TIMEOUT_PENDING;
TIMEOUT(chap_timeout, arg, chap_timeout_time);
}
/*
* chap_generate_challenge - generate a challenge string and format
* the challenge packet in ss->challenge_pkt.
*/
static void
chap_generate_challenge(struct chap_server_state *ss)
{
int clen = 1, nlen, len;
unsigned char *p;
p = ss->challenge;
MAKEHEADER(p, PPP_CHAP);
p += CHAP_HDRLEN;
ss->digest->generate_challenge(p);
clen = *p;
nlen = strlen(ss->name);
memcpy(p + 1 + clen, ss->name, nlen);
len = CHAP_HDRLEN + 1 + clen + nlen;
ss->challenge_pktlen = PPP_HDRLEN + len;
p = ss->challenge + PPP_HDRLEN;
p[0] = CHAP_CHALLENGE;
p[1] = ++ss->id;
p[2] = len >> 8;
p[3] = len;
}
/*
* chap_handle_response - check the response to our challenge.
*/
static void
chap_handle_response(struct chap_server_state *ss, int id,
unsigned char *pkt, int len)
{
int response_len, ok, mlen;
unsigned char *response, *p;
char *name = NULL; /* initialized to shut gcc up */
int (*verifier)(char *, char *, int, struct chap_digest_type *,
unsigned char *, unsigned char *, char *, int);
char rname[MAXNAMELEN+1];
char message[256];
if ((ss->flags & LOWERUP) == 0)
return;
if (id != ss->challenge[PPP_HDRLEN+1] || len < 2)
return;
if ((ss->flags & AUTH_DONE) == 0) {
if ((ss->flags & CHALLENGE_VALID) == 0)
return;
response = pkt;
GETCHAR(response_len, pkt);
len -= response_len + 1; /* length of name */
name = (char *)pkt + response_len;
if (len < 0)
return;
ss->flags &= ~CHALLENGE_VALID;
if (ss->flags & TIMEOUT_PENDING) {
ss->flags &= ~TIMEOUT_PENDING;
UNTIMEOUT(chap_timeout, ss);
}
if (explicit_remote) {
name = remote_name;
} else {
/* Null terminate and clean remote name. */
slprintf(rname, sizeof(rname), "%.*v", len, name);
name = rname;
}
if (chap_verify_hook)
verifier = chap_verify_hook;
else
verifier = chap_verify_response;
ok = (*verifier)(name, ss->name, id, ss->digest,
ss->challenge + PPP_HDRLEN + CHAP_HDRLEN,
response, message, sizeof(message));
if (!ok || !auth_number()) {
ss->flags |= AUTH_FAILED;
warn("Peer %q failed CHAP authentication", name);
}
}
/* send the response */
p = outpacket_buf;
MAKEHEADER(p, PPP_CHAP);
mlen = strlen(message);
len = CHAP_HDRLEN + mlen;
p[0] = (ss->flags & AUTH_FAILED)? CHAP_FAILURE: CHAP_SUCCESS;
p[1] = id;
p[2] = len >> 8;
p[3] = len;
if (mlen > 0)
memcpy(p + CHAP_HDRLEN, message, mlen);
output(0, outpacket_buf, PPP_HDRLEN + len);
if ((ss->flags & AUTH_DONE) == 0) {
ss->flags |= AUTH_DONE;
if (ss->flags & AUTH_FAILED) {
auth_peer_fail(0, PPP_CHAP);
} else {
auth_peer_success(0, PPP_CHAP, ss->digest->code,
name, strlen(name));
if (chap_rechallenge_time) {
ss->flags |= TIMEOUT_PENDING;
TIMEOUT(chap_timeout, ss,
chap_rechallenge_time);
}
}
}
}
/*
* chap_verify_response - check whether the peer's response matches
* what we think it should be. Returns 1 if it does (authentication
* succeeded), or 0 if it doesn't.
*/
static int
chap_verify_response(char *name, char *ourname, int id,
struct chap_digest_type *digest,
unsigned char *challenge, unsigned char *response,
char *message, int message_space)
{
int ok;
unsigned char secret[MAXSECRETLEN];
int secret_len;
/* Get the secret that the peer is supposed to know */
if (!get_secret(0, name, ourname, (char *)secret, &secret_len, 1)) {
error("No CHAP secret found for authenticating %q", name);
return 0;
}
ok = digest->verify_response(id, name, secret, secret_len, challenge,
response, message, message_space);
memset(secret, 0, sizeof(secret));
return ok;
}
/*
* chap_respond - Generate and send a response to a challenge.
*/
static void
chap_respond(struct chap_client_state *cs, int id,
unsigned char *pkt, int len)
{
int clen, nlen;
int secret_len;
unsigned char *p;
unsigned char response[RESP_MAX_PKTLEN];
char rname[MAXNAMELEN+1];
char secret[MAXSECRETLEN+1];
if ((cs->flags & (LOWERUP | AUTH_STARTED)) != (LOWERUP | AUTH_STARTED))
return; /* not ready */
if (len < 2 || len < pkt[0] + 1)
return; /* too short */
clen = pkt[0];
nlen = len - (clen + 1);
/* Null terminate and clean remote name. */
slprintf(rname, sizeof(rname), "%.*v", nlen, pkt + clen + 1);
/* Microsoft doesn't send their name back in the PPP packet */
if (explicit_remote || (remote_name[0] != 0 && rname[0] == 0))
strlcpy(rname, remote_name, sizeof(rname));
/* get secret for authenticating ourselves with the specified host */
if (!get_secret(0, cs->name, rname, secret, &secret_len, 0)) {
secret_len = 0; /* assume null secret if can't find one */
warn("No CHAP secret found for authenticating us to %q", rname);
}
p = response;
MAKEHEADER(p, PPP_CHAP);
p += CHAP_HDRLEN;
cs->digest->make_response(p, id, cs->name, pkt,
secret, secret_len, cs->priv);
memset(secret, 0, secret_len);
clen = *p;
nlen = strlen(cs->name);
memcpy(p + clen + 1, cs->name, nlen);
p = response + PPP_HDRLEN;
len = CHAP_HDRLEN + clen + 1 + nlen;
p[0] = CHAP_RESPONSE;
p[1] = id;
p[2] = len >> 8;
p[3] = len;
output(0, response, PPP_HDRLEN + len);
}
static void
chap_handle_status(struct chap_client_state *cs, int code, int id,
unsigned char *pkt, int len)
{
const char *msg = NULL;
if ((cs->flags & (AUTH_DONE|AUTH_STARTED|LOWERUP))
!= (AUTH_STARTED|LOWERUP))
return;
cs->flags |= AUTH_DONE;
if (code == CHAP_SUCCESS) {
/* used for MS-CHAP v2 mutual auth, yuck */
if (cs->digest->check_success != NULL) {
if (!(*cs->digest->check_success)(pkt, len, cs->priv))
code = CHAP_FAILURE;
} else
msg = "CHAP authentication succeeded";
} else {
if (cs->digest->handle_failure != NULL)
(*cs->digest->handle_failure)(pkt, len);
else
msg = "CHAP authentication failed";
}
if (msg) {
if (len > 0)
info("%s: %.*v", msg, len, pkt);
else
info("%s", msg);
}
if (code == CHAP_SUCCESS)
auth_withpeer_success(0, PPP_CHAP, cs->digest->code);
else {
cs->flags |= AUTH_FAILED;
auth_withpeer_fail(0, PPP_CHAP);
}
}
static void
chap_input(int unit, unsigned char *pkt, int pktlen)
{
struct chap_client_state *cs = &client;
struct chap_server_state *ss = &server;
unsigned char code, id;
int len;
if (pktlen < CHAP_HDRLEN)
return;
GETCHAR(code, pkt);
GETCHAR(id, pkt);
GETSHORT(len, pkt);
if (len < CHAP_HDRLEN || len > pktlen)
return;
len -= CHAP_HDRLEN;
switch (code) {
case CHAP_CHALLENGE:
chap_respond(cs, id, pkt, len);
break;
case CHAP_RESPONSE:
chap_handle_response(ss, id, pkt, len);
break;
case CHAP_FAILURE:
case CHAP_SUCCESS:
chap_handle_status(cs, code, id, pkt, len);
break;
}
}
static void
chap_protrej(int unit)
{
struct chap_client_state *cs = &client;
struct chap_server_state *ss = &server;
if (ss->flags & TIMEOUT_PENDING) {
ss->flags &= ~TIMEOUT_PENDING;
UNTIMEOUT(chap_timeout, ss);
}
if (ss->flags & AUTH_STARTED) {
ss->flags = 0;
auth_peer_fail(0, PPP_CHAP);
}
if ((cs->flags & (AUTH_STARTED|AUTH_DONE)) == AUTH_STARTED) {
cs->flags &= ~AUTH_STARTED;
auth_withpeer_fail(0, PPP_CHAP);
}
}
/*
* chap_print_pkt - print the contents of a CHAP packet.
*/
static char *chap_code_names[] = {
"Challenge", "Response", "Success", "Failure"
};
static int
chap_print_pkt(unsigned char *p, int plen,
void (*printer) __P((void *, char *, ...)), void *arg)
{
int code, id, len;
int clen, nlen;
unsigned char x;
if (plen < CHAP_HDRLEN)
return 0;
GETCHAR(code, p);
GETCHAR(id, p);
GETSHORT(len, p);
if (len < CHAP_HDRLEN || len > plen)
return 0;
if (code >= 1 && code <= sizeof(chap_code_names) / sizeof(char *))
printer(arg, " %s", chap_code_names[code-1]);
else
printer(arg, " code=0x%x", code);
printer(arg, " id=0x%x", id);
len -= CHAP_HDRLEN;
switch (code) {
case CHAP_CHALLENGE:
case CHAP_RESPONSE:
if (len < 1)
break;
clen = p[0];
if (len < clen + 1)
break;
++p;
nlen = len - clen - 1;
printer(arg, " <");
for (; clen > 0; --clen) {
GETCHAR(x, p);
printer(arg, "%.2x", x);
}
printer(arg, ">, name = ");
print_string((char *)p, nlen, printer, arg);
break;
case CHAP_FAILURE:
case CHAP_SUCCESS:
printer(arg, " ");
print_string((char *)p, len, printer, arg);
break;
default:
for (clen = len; clen > 0; --clen) {
GETCHAR(x, p);
printer(arg, " %.2x", x);
}
}
return len + CHAP_HDRLEN;
}
struct protent chap_protent = {
PPP_CHAP,
chap_init,
chap_input,
chap_protrej,
chap_lowerup,
chap_lowerdown,
NULL, /* open */
NULL, /* close */
chap_print_pkt,
NULL, /* datainput */
1, /* enabled_flag */
"CHAP", /* name */
NULL, /* data_name */
chap_option_list,
NULL, /* check_options */
};
|
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: I am 39 years old, 5'7"and 60 kg.. have gone through ultrasound. It says Uterus is mildly bulky in size, anteverted in position measuring 9.5X5.8x3.7 cms. I am very much worried as have got two miscarriages during last two years (three/four wk) but d&c not done taken medicine to clean. I want to get pregnanat, please advise if it is possible.
to get pregnant when suffering from bulky uterus? output: Hi, I think you should go for evaluation first for finding the cause of abortions. Only bulky uterus can't lead to abortions. Do a thyroid profile and prolactin levels. Also do a APLA profile, and VDRL test. If everything is fine, you can take some medicines like clomiphene for the growth of your follicles and track your follicles growth by repeated ultrasound and when your follicles is more than 17 to 18 mm, take injection for rupturing the follicles. Be in contact with your husband for 2 to 3 days after injection. Take progesterone for next 2 weeks. Do a urine pregnancy test at home after that. You can try like that for 3 to 6 months. Hope I have answered your question.. |
Out of Babel
epic fiction about the very ancient world
The Research Behind the Books
Tag: Douglas Van Dorn
Giants II
On October 9, 2020 October 9, 2020 By Jennifer Mugrage5 Comments
Photo by NEOSiAM 2020 on Pexels.com
Welcome to October, month of Halloween! Every Friday, we will discuss scary things. This week’s scary thing is giants, and specifically the proper use of the word cannibalism.
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post arguing that in both ancient history and folklore, giants are more horror creature than fantasy creature. Part of the reason for this is that they eat people. My question for you is, Can we properly call them cannibals?
But first, a detour about eating blood
In my second book, The Strange Land, the people group whose adventures I am following (I think of them as “my” people) tell stories of giants who eat people and animals indiscriminately. Their euphemism for them is “blood eaters.”
Some religions have a taboo on “eating meat with the blood still in it.” In Indonesia, there is a special word for such meat. If you want to eat, say, a chicken, the word for the animal and the meat is ayam. But that’s only if the bird has been killed properly and bled out. If these rules have not been followed, it is ayam bangkai, which translates as “chicken carrion” or “corpse chicken.” If you are a devout Muslim, you would not eat meat without knowing that it has been butchered in the proper manner. Otherwise, you could accidentally defile yourself by eating ayam bangkai or some other kind of bangkai.
Obviously, this rule goes way back, at least to Leviticus:
“Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood — I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. Therefore I say to the Israelites, ‘None among you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood.’
“Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, because the life of every creature is its blood.”
Leviticus 17:10 – 14
There is a similar passage in Deuteronomy 12:23.
Here in Leviticus, God gives two reasons for the taboo on blood-eating. First of all, the blood is important to the sacrificial system that He had set up for the Israelites. “I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar.” This blood was a key part of God’s solution for dealing with the people’s sins. Obviously, to eat such a thing for mere physical nourishment would be to take lightly the evil in one’s own people, family, and heart, and to disrespect the sacrificial system and, by extension, the One who set it up. Note that God does not expect the other nations, to whom He has not yet given this sacrificial system, to abstain from blood, unless an individual foreigner happens to be living among the Israelites, and therefore presumably learning about and also benefiting from that system.
The other reason, which seems to be implied here, is that eating or drinking an animal’s blood shows disrespect for the creature itself. “The life of every creature is its blood.” Even when out hunting, and not bringing an animal for sacrifice, He tells them to bleed out the body and to cover the blood with earth, as if to symbolically give the animal a proper burial before we take it home and eat it.
Apparently, avoiding eating an animal’s blood is the respectful, civilized, human thing to do. This is very different from the usual picture we are given of ancient people, where they club something in the field and then tear right into it with their teeth.
I have described elsewhere how Genesis 6:1 – 4 tells of spiritual beings interbreeding with human women, producing a race of giants who terrorized the earth. This would have been before the Flood (and was probably a major reason for the Flood), which makes the time frame very ancient indeed. The extrabiblical book of 1 Enoch tells us,
“and when the people were not able to sustain them [with agriculture], the giants dared (to attack) them, and they devoured the people. And they began to sin with birds and wild animals and reptiles and fish, and to devour one another’s (!) flesh, and drink blood.” (I Enoch 7:2 – 6, quoted in Giants by Doug Van Dorn, p. 60)
This horrifying practice was apparently common knowledge even as “recently” as the time of the Exodus, which is still ancient history but is now within the realm of recorded history, not just dim memories. When the Israelites arrived on the border of the land of Canaan, having escaped from Egypt, Joshua sent twelve men to spy out the land. They came back and reported “it is a land that devours its inhabitants” (Numbers 13:32 -33). That’s why they were so scared. Even after having seen God’s ability to deliver them from the merely human inhabitants of Egypt, they recommended not entering the promised land for their own safety.
I am not arguing that the Biblical taboo on eating blood was given because the giants ate blood. I see it in reverse: eating blood — like eating people, like bestiality — was just one of many obvious and intuitive taboos in ordinary human morality which the giants either were unable to perceive or perversely sought to break.
This picture of giants as somehow paranormal and as eating humans and/or drinking their blood is well attested in world folklore. Polyphemus, the cyclops who captures Odysseus and his men in the Odyssey, will literally pick up a human and eat him alive. And he’s not hunting them like animals. He is fully aware that the sailors he has captured are persons and can talk, and he doesn’t care. He likes Odysseus, and so promises to eat him last.
Beyond Polyphemus, Van Dorn points out in his book that cultures all around the world have stories about paranormal creatures that seek to drink human blood, though they are not always portrayed as giants.
About the word “cannibal”
Surely, cannibalism has to be one of the last taboos. Even if you have been exposed to the concept before, it never seems to lose its shock value. (“Soylent Green is people!!!“)
On the other hand, the idea of a giant eating people, I believe has lost its shock value, though maybe it shouldn’t have. We associate it with fairy tales. After all, how scary can a character be if he lives in the clouds and goes around saying Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum?
To recover the shock value, I propose using the term “cannibal giants.” But there’s a problem. Technically, cannibalism means eating your own kind. Technically, these giants aren’t human. So, is this hyperbole only slightly less serious than that committed by every earnest 13-year-old vegetarian who calls her parents “cannibals” for eating something was that once sentient?
I argue no, for two reasons. For one thing, giants are clearly humanoid. They look like people (more or less). In Genesis, they have human mothers. Critically, like Polyphemus, they can talk. If they were less human-y, it wouldn’t make sense to call them cannibal. We would call them man-eating, like a man-eating tiger, which would still be scary, but not as much so, because it would be done more innocently somehow.
Secondly, the word cannibal actually has two subtly distinct senses. One, indeed, is the idea of eating one’s own kind. So we can say chickens or spiders are cannibals, or we can talk about someone cannibalizing their own ideas. But the other meaning is just eating people, who are a thing which should not be eaten, and I think this its primary meaning. Once that line has been crossed, humanity itself is now somehow defiled. We have been shown that it’s possible to think of people not as sacred bearers of the image of God, irreplaceable individuals, eternal embodied souls … but as a substance. A food source. We are being invited to change the way we view ourselves and our fellow humans, and this is true whether that ancient taboo is being broken by actual humans, or just by creatures that look sort of human and can talk and, frankly, ought to know better.
Neither one is great.
So I am going to go ahead and call these giants cannibals.
On September 18, 2020 September 18, 2020 By Jennifer Mugrage13 Comments
This is actually just a person in a tunnel, but imagine that it’s Polyphemus, blocking your way out of his cave.
How creepy, on a scale of 1 to 10, do you find the idea of giants?
I must confess, I was never particularly bothered by them. They have never struck me as uncanny. Just extra-large people, right? This might be partly because of portrayals like Disney’s, where the giants(s) are not too malevolent and certainly not too bright.
Then there is Fezzik from the Princess Bride. A wonderful, slightly large human being.
and the Jolly Green Giant.
And the Iron Giant, and Gulliver when he was in Lilliput. In all of these cases, the fact of a person being huge creates some interesting logistical problems, but it certainly isn’t horror in the same category as anything unnatural, undead, or even as really depraved human evil.
All that to say, if I had set about, unguided, to pick a force of evil for my story, giants would not be the first place I would have gone.
Nevertheless, giants ended up in my first novel because they are featured in Genesis.
[The] story is told succinctly in Genesis 6:1 – 4, one of the most enigmatic and misinterpreted passages in the Bible. Here is how it reads in the oldest surviving copy … the Greek Septuagint:
“And it came to pass when men began to be numerous upon the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God having seen the daughters of men that they were beautiful, took to themselves wives of all whom they chose. … Now the giants were upon the earth in those days; and after that when the sons of God were wont to go in to the daughters of men, they bore children to them, those were the giants of old, men of renown.”
[In this book], we will proceed upon the premise that this passage tells of a time in the remote past when heavenly beings entered the abode of humans, and through our women were able to spawn a race of half-breed children, giants that all cultures throughout the world remember as powerful and often wicked, ruthless demigods.
Douglas Van Dorn, Giants: sons of the gods, pp. 2 – 3, emphasis in the original
In other words, that there were once, in actual history, giants that were half human, and that could in some sense be called demigods.
In the rest of the book, Van Dorn looks in detail at this passage and others, and answers arguments about whether this passage, and other passages that seem to assume the same background, should be interpreted to be talking about literal giants or about the people of God versus humans who had rejected God. He also delves into Hebrew terms for other demonic and paranormal creatures, terms that often get rendered as various animals in modern translations.
I am not going to get into the exegetical discussion in this post. But I am going to touch on how Van Dorn’s thesis – that this stuff actually happened, way back in the mists of human history – is backed up by what is usually called mythology.
It is a really strange fact that every culture has stories about giants, gods, and various other supernatural creatures (including chimeras, but that’s another topic). This fact does not strike us as strange – at least, it didn’t me – precisely because these stories are so old and so universal. We just accept it as a given that human “legends” and “myths” deal with threatening creatures that we do not see today. We don’t look for an explanation of why this should be. I am sure that Jung could give you a psychological explanation for the universality of giant stories. Jordan Peterson could give you a Jungian, evolutionary explanation.
And certainly, the idea of a giant as a large and threatening presence is deeply embedded in the human mind. But why? How did this idea get there? Why aren’t our symbols of evil just bears and saber-toothed tigers, if those were the only threats our ancestors were dealing with?
If you go to Bali, you can see sculptures of an ugly, bearded giant being attacked by an eagle as he attempts to carry off a beautiful girl with an elaborate crown and hair that falls to her ankles. This is an illustration of a scene from the Ramayana, an ancient Indian epic that, in the millennia since it entered Indonesia, has there acquired its own flavor. In the Indonesian version, the beautiful girl is Sinta, bride of the prince Rama. The giant (raksasa) captures her through deception, carries her off, and is able to fly to get her back to his castle. The heroic eagle (garuda) attacks him in the air. This is a favorite scene for sculptors and illustrators, who still exist in great numbers in Bali and are insanely talented. The story is also told in shadow-puppet plays and operas.
In Borneo, where I had the privilege to live for a few years, they have their own local legends. One common theme in these is that you should not marry outside your clan, because if you marry a girl from an unknown people, she might turn out not to be human. In one story, a young man marries a foreign girl. When she goes down to the river to bathe, he goes to spy on her and is shocked to see her take off her head.
One area, where we lived for about a year, had a large local mountain with a distinctive jagged top. As the story went, this mountain once reached the clouds. A giant used to climb down it in order to eat the people down below. Then a female hero used a machete to hack off the top of the mountain. The giant, now trapped in the clouds, looks down upon the people but cannot eat them anymore. It drools, and the drops of drool become the bloodsucking leeches that live in the jungle on the slopes of the mountain. Still trying to eat the people, you see.
These few stories from island southeast Asia illustrate features that show up associated with giants again and again: kidnapping/rape, and eating people. (I mean, that is virtually all the giants and demigods do in the Greek myths, for example.) I mention these stories from Bali and Borneo to show just what a wide geographical area the human consensus on giant behavior seems to cover.
Given all this, giants are starting to look more like what we in our house would call a “horror creature.” To review: based on Genesis and numerous myths worldwide, the giants:
are not fully human, but are some sort of human/supernatural hybrid
are nevertheless fully physical and present in actual history
seem to like kidnapping human women
seem to like eating people
are smart enough to practice deception
Ok, now this is starting to get scary. If we accept that these myths are historical memories, then all of a sudden, hearing giant stories is sort of like hearing about atrocities committed by people during the Holocaust, or the Communist takeover of Cambodia, or any other of humanity’s many periods of pure, unrestrained, depraved evil. But it’s scary in another way too. Given the purported origin of these giants, it’s like hearing about a successful genetic experiment, or like finding out that demon possession is real.
I’ve always kind of longed to live in the really ancient ages of the world. But, the more I learn, the more relieved I am to be living in modern times. We slam the door to the giants shut behind us, and lean against it, panting.
The “Never Have I Ever” Tag for Writers
On July 31, 2020 July 29, 2020 By Jennifer Mugrage11 Comments
How appropriate that just as I am starting to do a bunch of posts about publishing, the orangutan librarian should tag me with this bunch of questions about the writing process! The original idea was created by the Long Voyage- so definitely check out the original here!
This tag asks writers about whether they have ever engaged in a number of (mostly disreputable) behaviors. The headings will say the behavior, and then I’ll comment about whether it applies to me.
“Never Have I Ever …“
. . . started a novel that I did not finish.
I have started, and not finished, a number of novels. You know that whole idea that an artist can create a complete work in his or her head and then it’s irrelevant whether they ever put it on paper or canvas or whatever? That’s baloney. The actual process of enfleshing the work forces you to include so much more detail than you do in your head when you see the end from the beginning.
. . . written a story completely by hand.
(gets dreamy look)
As teenagers, my BFF and I used to write stories together. We would pass a notebook back and forth. Each of us controlled certain characters. We would write notes to each other and argue with each other in the margins.
My parts of those particular stories were the worst tripe ever written. We all have to write our awful tripe on the way to becoming writers.
. . . changed tenses midway through a story.
. . . not researched anything before starting a story.
It’s never possible to do enough research.
But the experts don’t agree.
Also, if you research too long, you can end up talking yourself out of the premise for your story, at which point you’ve ripped out its heart.
So far, my stories have been inspired by cool theories (“research”) about the ancient world. So, I take the premise from the research. (See the ‘ancient world’ tag on my blog for all the stuff that interests me.) I have, so far, avoided setting my stories in really well-documented periods of ancient history (such as Rome) because of the sheer amount of research that would be required so as not to make glaring errors about the details of daily life.
Anyway, see the Bibliography page of this blog for a constantly slightly outdated, constantly growing tally of my sources.
. . . changed my protagonist’s name halfway through a draft.
I like stories that feature someone assimilating to a foreign culture. A total or partial name change is often part of this. So my protagonist Nimri starts out being called Nimri, which is basically Sumerian, but as they get to know him, the people around him eventually start calling him Nirri and that’s how he finishes the story. This is kind of an inconvenient feature, actually, because it makes it difficult to refer to him in summaries.
As for changing a name completely, just for the heck of it, I haven’t done so yet. But Find & Replace will make it easy to do if someone ever comes to me and says, “This name means [dirty word] in [major world language].”
. . . written a story in a month or less.
Short stories, yes.
. . . fallen asleep while writing.
. . . corrected someone’s grammar irl / online.
Scene: Husband and I have been married less than a year, visiting a friend of his.
Friend: I need to go get some groceries. [Names several cleaning supplies, none of which are edible]
Me: Those things are not normally included in the core definition of ‘groceries.’
Friend: Well, excuuuuse me!
Me: (laughing) You are talking to a linguist.
Friend: That’s not the word that I thought of.
. . . yelled in all caps at myself in the middle of a novel.
. . . used “I’m writing” as an excuse.
More like finding other tasks as an excuse not to write.
. . . killed a character who was based on someone I know in real life.
Mmm sooo …. I used to create characters based on my crushes and then kill them off. Yes, I was a sick puppy. Putting the best possible construction on it, I had figured out that killing off a character was the most poignant thing you can do in a story and I was overusing that tool sort of like a kid constantly dropping a new vocabulary word.
. . . used pop culture references in a story.
I avoid these because I am certain to use them clumsily, plus they will soon become dated. It’s part of the reason that my novels are set in the distant past, and that I may never try a “contemporary” novel.
. . . written between the hours of 1am and 6am.
Only at university, when finishing a paper due the next day. (Fun fact: if I stay up all night, I throw up!)
. . . drank an entire pot of coffee while writing.
While writing papers in college, yes, remembering that my “pot” only made two or three cups at a time. Also, vending machine brownies. Good times!
. . . written down dreams to use in potential novels.
Only once, age eleven.
. . . published an unedited story on the internet / Wattpad / blog.
No, but I have turned in a crummy first draft of a devotional essay to a church magazine. I believe the editor used his discretion and didn’t run it.
. . . procrastinated homework because I wanted to write.
Well, this gets into the whole topic of my work habits, which I’d rather not discuss …
. . . typed so long that my wrists hurt.
Not that I recall. I tend to take pauses for thinking.
. . . spilled a drink on my laptop while writing.
No, but that’s probably just dumb luck. I don’t take care of my equipment nearly as well as I should.
. . . forgotten to save my work / draft.
No, and I have even been known to send copies of Word documents to relatives so that copies exist out there in case my house burns down.
. . . finished a novel.
Two and counting.
. . . laughed like an evil villain while writing a scene.
… Um … I don’t think so? Not aware of the sounds I make while writing. Possibly grunts.
. . . cried while writing a scene.
Even in real life I am more likely to cry when angry, frustrated, or humiliated, rather than when sad. I’m not sure what that says about me. Nothing good, probably.
But I have certainly given myself the sads with my writing.
. . . created maps of my fictional worlds.
. . . researched something shady for a novel.
Giants and chimeras in history
horrible pagan practices of the ancient world
abusive husbands
what happens when a person falls into a super-hot sulpherous pool, as at Yellowstone National Park
All equally terrifying.
Now, Your Turn
In the comments section, tell me all your writerly habits! Or, judge mine!
Serpent Mound, Ohio
On July 19, 2019 November 22, 2019 By Jennifer Mugrage9 Comments
Body of the serpent seen from the viewing tower, looking North
Ohio’s serpent mound was first discovered by white people in about 1846. It was difficult to survey or even to find due to being covered in trees and brush. When the brush was partly cleared, it became obvious that the mound, perched on a cliff at the confluence of a creek (which cliff itself resembles the head of a serpent), was a really remarkable earthwork and was designed to be visible from the nearby valley.
The following article will draw on the book The Serpent Mound by E.O. Randall, published in 1905, which is a compilation of maps, surveys, and speculation about the mound by archaeologists of the time; and on my own visit to the mound. One advantage in using these older sources is that we get a variety of voices, we can learn what the Mound looked like when it was first (re)-discovered, and we get an archaeological perspective that is different from the modern one. For example, one source in Randall’s book says the mound appears to be “not more than 1,000 years old, nor less than 350 years” (p.50). This is not very precise, but I actually prefer it to a super-confident proclamation about the mound’s age based on dating methods and assumptions that might be suspect. In fact, the uncertainty of this early source is echoed by the informational video in the mound’s museum. It features an archaeologist saying that we could get “a million different carbon dates” from the mound because the earth was that used to build it was already old and had been through multiple forest fires, etc. He adds that it’s basically impossible to carbon-date earthworks.
On the Road to Serpent Mound
Walking south along the serpent (viewing tower in background)
To get to Serpent Mound (at least from where we are), you get in your car and head south over the Ohio highways. You leave behind the urban build-up and progress into farm country. Eventually, the landscape becomes less Midwestern and more Appalachian. Hills and hollers take the place of open farmland. Finally, after hopping from one rural route to another, you find yourself winding through thickly wooded hills in southern Ohio. You approach the Mound from the South. Though it stands on a bluff overlooking Brush Creek, the area is so heavily wooded that you can’t catch a glimpse of the Mound on your way in.
Large burial mound some ways south of the serpent
This land was purchased in 1885. At that time, the land was owned by a farmer and the Mound was “in a very neglected and deplorable condition” (Randall 106). To save the Mound from “inevitable destruction,” a Prof. F.W. Putnam arranged to have it bought by the Trustees of the Peabody Museum, Cambridge, where he was Chief of the Ethnological and Archaeological Department. Putnam later worked to have a law protecting it passed in Ohio, the first law of its kind in the United States (Randall 108). Today the Mound is a National Historical Landmark. Besides the Serpent itself, the area includes some additional burial mounds, a picnic shelter, and a tiny, log-cabin-style museum.
You disembark in the parking lot. The heat, the humidity, the strong sweetish green smells, and the variety of insect life remind you of your Appalachian childhood. They also remind you why you are planning to move out West.
The Serpent Mound Itself
An old drawing of the serpent as it would look if there were no trees around it (Randall p. 8)
Serpent Mound is difficult to describe in words, so please see the associated maps and photographs. It is 1335 feet long (winding over an area of about 500 feet), varies from three to six feet high, and slopes downward from the spiral tail to the jaws and egg which stand on the tip of the overlook. The head faces West towards the sunset at Summer Solstice. The body includes three bends which may sight towards the sunrises at Summer Solstice, Equinox, and Winter Solstice (short lines of sight and the gentle curves of the Serpent make it difficult to tell whether these alignments were intended for astronomical viewing).
Archaeologists have discovered the serpent once had a fourth coil near the head, which was deliberately dismantled.
It was made apparently by hand on a base of clay, followed by rocks, more clay, dirt, and then sod. Though it cannot be carbon-dated, there is evidence that it is not as ancient as some megaliths elsewhere in the world. The bluff it sits on and the creeks that surround it cannot be older than the retreat of the glaciers. The burials near it date to the Adena period, which runs 600 B.C. to 100 A.D., though there is no way to tell if the burials are contemporaneous with the Serpent or were added later. There has even been speculation that the Mound could have been built by the Fort Ancient culture, which flourished around 1000 A.D.
The “egg” which the Serpent contains in its jaws (or, the Serpent’s eye) used to have in its center a stone altar which bore traces of fire. (In the largest burial, too, the corpse was placed on a bed of hot coals and then covered with clay while the coals were still smoldering.) We assume, then, that the Serpent was the site of ceremonies, but we have no way of knowing anything about their nature.
A close up view of the oval “egg.” It once contained an altar.
The Serpent, despite its name, does not give a spooky or “wrong” feeling. The scale of it is very human and does not overwhelm. The shapes and proportions of the curves are pleasing and give a sense of calm and beauty. The Serpent is, in fact, inviting to walk on. One is tempted to walk along the curves, climb down into the oval of the egg, step into the middle of the spiral tail. One cannot do this, of course, as it is strictly forbidden.
The only problem with Serpent aesthetically (if this is a problem) is that it’s impossible to view it all at once. This is mostly because of the bend in the tail. In modern times an understated observation tower has been placed next to the Serpent, right near the tailmost curve. But even from the top of this tower it is impossible to take in the entire Serpent with either eye or cellphone camera. Looking to the left, we get a view of the spiral tail. Looking to the right, we see the undulations stretching off into the distance and falling away with the slope of the hill, but even then we cannot see the entire head because it takes its own slight curve and is blocked by trees.
Approaching the tail spiral. In the background, the cliff drops away into a wooded vista.
I can’t help but think this effect is intentional. This monument is not designed to be taken in all at once, looking along a line of sight, and to overwhelm the viewer. Instead, it’s apparently designed to draw us on, tantalizingly offering small charming vista after small charming vista. There is no one best place to view it. Perhaps the architects among us can explain what this says about the minds and intentions of the people who designed it.
Fort Ancient, another hill-and-plateau complex in southern Ohio, is also sprawling, hard to view, and offers the same “please explore me” effect.
Fort Ancient is a plateau surrounded by man-made hills with gaps in them, overlooking the Little Miami River, Ohio. It has man-made mounds on it as well.
“Effigy Mounds” in North America
The Serpent is definitely not the only large animal-shaped mound in North America. There are many of them, called by archaeologists “effigy mounds” (not the usual meaning of the term effigy).
“The effigy mounds appear … in various parts of … the Mississippi Valley. They are found in many of the southern states; many appear in Illinois, but Wisconsin seems to have been their peculiar field. Hundreds of them were discovered in that state … In Wisconsin they represent innumerable animal forms: the moose, buffalo, bear, fox, deer, frog, eagle, hawk, panther, elephant, and various fishes, birds and even men and women. In a few instances, a snake. In Wisconsin the effigies were usually situated on high ridges along the rivers or on the elevated shores of the lake. Very few effigy mounds have been found in Ohio – though it is by far the richest field in other forms of mounds.” (Randall 31)
There are, of course, large animal-shaped terraforms in other parts of the world, such as the Uffington and Westbury White Horses in Britain and the Nazca Lines in Peru.
So Ohio’s serpent mound is not unique. It is, however, impressive and well-done, and tends to strike people as mysterious and significant.
The Serpent Mound is a Giant Rorschach Blot
Map of the serpent found in the museum
Whatever else it might be, the Serpent Mound reliably functions as a giant Rorschach blot. It appears significant but ambiguous. Everyone who is not content to admit that we don’t know its purpose tends to bring their own interpretation.
Here are four examples.
One example, roundly mocked in Randall’s book, is the “amusing and ridiculous” “Garden of Eden fancy” (p. 93). This theory, put forward by a Baptist minister of the day, is that the Mound was built by God Himself to commemorate the eating of the forbidden fruit and to warn mankind against the Serpent. The oval object, which many people take to be an egg, is on this view the forbidden fruit itself, which the Serpent is taking in its jaws as if to eat or offer. Furthermore, the three streams that come together nearby represent the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. “Pain and death are shown by the convolutions of the serpent, just as a living animal would portray pain and death’s agony … America is, in fact, the land in which Eden was located” (pp 99, 101).
Now, here’s another interpretation, based on the accepted anthropology of the day: “Students of anthropology, ethnology and archaeology seem to agree that among the earliest of religious beliefs is that of animism or nature worship. Next to this in the rising scale is animal worship and following it is sun worship. Animism is the religion of the savage and wilder races, who are generally wanderers. Animal worship is more peculiarly the religion of the sedentary tribes … Sun worship is the religion of the village tribes and is peculiar to the stage which borders upon the civilized. ‘Now judging from the circumstances and signs,’ says Dr. Peet, ‘we should say that the emblematic mound builders were in a transition state between the conditions of savagery and barbarism and that they had reached the point where animal worship is very prevalent’” (pp. 37 – 38).
This theory of the slow development of man’s religion as they rise out of “savagery” into “barbarism” and finally into “civilization” is reported with much more respect than the Baptist pastor’s theory, but it is in fact just as fanciful. It is based on an overly neat-and-tidy and, frankly, snobby view of the history of religion that was popular for many years but that actual history does not support. But, again, Rorschach blot.
Many other observors have linked the Mound with its oval to the “egg and serpent” origin mythology that crops up in many places in the world, including Greece and India. This theory receives many pages in Randall’s book.
We got rained on while at Serpent Mound. Coincidence? I think not!
To take just one more out of many other examples, on this very blog we learned from a book review that Graham Hancock’s latest book prominently features the Serpent Mound as part of his latest theory that North America is, in fact, the source of the Atlantis legends. He believes that the Mound is meant to represent the constellation Draco and was built during an era when Draco was ascendant. Or something like that.
I, too, have taken the Serpent Mound Rorschach test and here is what I see. I see more evidence that serpent mythology (with or without eggs) and the strong motivation to build large, long-lasting religious monuments are both universal in human culture. I personally think that these things didn’t arise independently in every corner of the world but were carried distributively and that they represent distant memories of certain events in human history, which are hinted at but not fleshed out in the early chapters of Genesis. However, I am not fool enough to think that the existence of Serpent Mound “proves” any of this. It is, as I said, a Rorschach blot.
Other Serpent Mounds Around the World
Otonabee Serpent Mound sits on the north shore of Rice Lake, not far from the city of Toronto, Ontario (Randall 114). It is 189 feet long. The head faces “a few degrees north of east,” with an oval burial mound in front of the head which could represent an egg (115).
In Scotland, there is the stone serpent of Loch Nell:
“The mound is situated on a grassy plain. The tail of the serpent rests near the shore of Loch Nell, and the mound gradually rises seventeen to twenty feet in height and is continued for 300 feet, ‘forming a double curve like the letter S’ … the head lies at the western end [and] forms a circular cairn, on which [in 1871] there still remained some trace of an altar, which has since wholly disappeared, thanks to the cattle and herd boys. … The mound has been formed in such a position that worshippers, standing at the altar, would naturally look eastward, directly along the whole length of the great reptile, and across the dark lake to the triple peaks of Ben Chruachan. This position must have been carefully selected, as from no other point are the three peaks visible. General Forlong … says, ‘Here we have an earth-formed snake, emerging in the usual manner from dark water, at the base, as it were, of a triple cone – Scotland’s Mount Hermon, – just as we so frequently meet snakes and their shrines in the East.’” (Randall pp. 121 – 122)
Speaking of Mount Hermon. This large, lone mountain sits at the northern end of the Golan Heights in Israel. It is so high that it is home to a winter ski resort. In ancient times, this region was called Bashan. It was known for its large and vigorous animals (the “bulls of Bashan”), and for its humanoid giants. Down to Hellenistic times, Bashan was a center for pagan worship (the Greek god Pan had a sacred site there). And guess what else it has? A serpent mound.
“The serpent mound of Bashan has ruins on its head and tail. The ruins are square (altars?) on top of small circular mounds” (Van Dorn 144).
The Ohio serpent’s spiral tail, which evokes a stone circle. Viewing tower in the background.
This serpent mound is less than mile from a stone circle called Gilgal Rephaim (“Wheel of the Giants”). (Stone circles, as sacred sites, are also found throughout the world.) “The Wheel contains some 42,000 tons of partly worked stone, built into a circle 156 meters in diameter and 8 feet high on the outer wall. It is aligned to the summer solstice. The area is littered with burial chambers … If you go due North of the Wheel, [sighting] through the serpentine mound [and proceed] for 28 miles, you will run straight into the summit of Mt. Hermon” (Van Dorn 145).
Serpent, altar, circle, and sacred mountain. I don’t know about you, but the site in Golan sounds a lot scarier to me than Ohio’s Serpent Mound. However, it also makes me wonder whether people in Ohio – and Scotland – were trying to re-create this arrangement.
Giants: Sons of the gods by Douglas Van Dorn, Waters of Creation Publishing, Erie, Colorado, 2013.
The Serpent Mound: Adams County, Ohio: Mystery of the Mound and History of the Serpent: Various Theories of the Effigy Mounds and the Mound Builders, by E.O. Randall (L.L., M., Secretary Ohio State Archeological and Historical Society; Reporter Ohio Supreme Court), Coachwhip Publications, Greenville Ohio, 2013. First published 1905. This book is a compilation: “The effort has been made not merely to give a description, indeed several descriptions, of Serpent Mound, but also to set forth a summary of the literature concerning the worship of the serpent. … It is hoped that this volume, while it may not solve the problem of the origin and purpose of the Serpent Mound, will at least add to its interest and give the reader such information as it is possible to obtain.” (page 5)
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As We Were Discussing …
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10,800-year-old Gardens in Amazonia
“Prehistoric” Swag
In the Night My Hope Lives On
Caveat Writer
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
I Corinthians 13:1
Hi, I’m Jennifer Mugrage. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: so i have been on nuva ring for almost a year now...this past month i became sick and was prescribed a z-pac. My boyfriend and i were having sex (the first day of my period) and the condom broke, some of his sperm was inside me... what do you think is the likelyhood of getting pregnant? should I even be worried? output: Hello, and I hope I can help you today. The Nearing used alone is greater than 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy. Many women use it without a backup method of birth control. In addition, because the Nearing is absorbed through the skin of the vagina, its effectiveness it is not reduced by antibiotics because the medication is not swallowed, so it is not metabolized in your liver like oral birth control. In addition, the majority of women do not ovulate during their menstrual cycle even off birth control. So I really do not think you are at risk of pregnancy in your situation. I hope I was able to answer your question and that this information was reassuring. Best wishes,. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: So I was her skiing with a friend and landed on my ribs gallon off and like I went to med express and got an X-ray and then said they couldn t find anything wrong and now like a month later I got this hard bump on my left lower inner rib cage like by my stomach could I get some ideas of what it could be? output: Repeat chest x ray2. Ultrasound examination of local part. Since you are having blunt chest trauma, your hard lump can be due to healing process in the injured rib. Ribs are bony structure. So any injury in ribs will cause healing by fibrosis and calcification. This causes callus formation at the site of injury. And this callus can be felt as hard lump. So get done chest x-ray and ultrasound examination to rule out other causes. If needed biopsy of the lump can also be done to establish the diagnosis. But callus formation due to healed ribs appears more in your case.. |
Posted on March 3, 2018 by Kappy
Siege in Fog Drama Discussion Post: Episodes 1 & 2
I give up. I will join the dark side and follow this drama, even if I’m not a fan of the novel writer’s works. Lol. She’s known as Stepmother for a reason! Really want to see how our Wu Xin goes all bad boy in here (+ other pretty boys and girls!) So shallow of me. But I blame you guys!
Click To View Full Post
Stills:
Trailers & OST:
Siege in Fog premieres 3/2 and airs Wednesdays-Fridays, 2 episodes per day. VIP members (ahum) get to watch more episodes of course, 8 episodes the first week, 3 new ones the following Wednesday. Total of 50 episodes.
This entry was posted in Discussion Posts, First Impression and tagged Alex Fong, Author: Fei Wo Si Cun, Cdrama, Elvis Han Dong Jun, Jones Xu Zheng Xi, Kelsey Lv, Korn Kong Chui Nan, Ma Jing Han, Novel Adaptations, Siege in Fog (人生若如初相见), Sun Yi, Yu Bo, Zheng Luo Qian, Zou Ting Wei by Kappy. Bookmark the permalink.
42 thoughts on “Siege in Fog Drama Discussion Post: Episodes 1 & 2”
Anne on March 3, 2018 at 9:27 am said:
I am genuinely confused about this drama. So they are going to tell us how Elvis Han and Sun Yi first met through flashbacks?
Up to episode 6 so far and the drama is boring me with lots of war scenes and the conflicts between the few warlord families… I honestly expected more romance after watching the long trailer lol. Gonna keep watching for all the eyecandies in this drama though.
Nominstar89 on March 18, 2018 at 6:59 am said:
I believe the romance happens probably in the middle of the drama? In the novel, it happens towards the climax and end. Fortunately, for us it’ll be sooner since it’s more melodrama and romance based haha!
Derder on March 3, 2018 at 9:30 am said:
Where to watch for free with eng subs?
Pikabuu on March 4, 2018 at 12:23 pm said:
I’m sure other sites will post up English subs in due time but I have translated the first episode at subscene.
https://subscene.com/subtitles/siege-in-fog/english/1729903
Kappy on March 5, 2018 at 5:00 am said:
Oh wow, this is awesome! Thanks so much Pikabuu! If we have enough interest, maybe we can form a team! 🙂
Happy on March 8, 2018 at 1:45 am said:
I hope you all can collaborate soon! The new episodes are so good as well.
Productive Procrastinator on March 10, 2018 at 10:00 am said:
Hi Kappy & Pikabuu, I’m currently subbing this drama too. I’ve done ep 1 & 2 and starting on ep 3.
They are both available here:
https://productiveprocrastinationsite.wordpress.com/category/color-of-night/
If you guys have time and are interested maybe we can form a team?
jen on March 5, 2018 at 5:02 am said:
Thank you so much~~~~!
ChocolateCosmos on March 3, 2018 at 10:17 am said:
My first impression of 1st ep: What?! Huh? Is this a flashback? Lol I’m lost.
I’ve briefly skimmed through the novel before, the ending definitely made me sentimental even though I barely read the novel (you can tell the tone of the story based on the music videos…)
I don’t know how long I’ll last for this type of story… The author writes about male leads with a specific domineering personality, but I don’t really like her male leads as much lol.
Costumes, voice acting, acting itself, setting, etc all the aesthetic stuff seem alright so far.
Lilac on March 3, 2018 at 4:13 pm said:
I expected them to tell the story from when they were young to the present timeline.
But it seems like they are gonna do it through flashbacks
ChocolateCosmos on March 4, 2018 at 3:18 am said:
For me, with tv shows, the chronological route seems like a logical decision for the narrative. They have so many episodes to explore the childhood parts and to flesh out certain aspects. I feel that flashbacks and jumping into a part of the timeline would fit movies more so. It makes it more suspenseful. With movies, they can’t include every detail. But I guess I’ll stick a few more episodes and see the direction they are going for and how they present the storyline (even when I’m not a fan of the storyline lol).
TYN123 on March 7, 2018 at 12:43 am said:
In the novel it also starts out when they are already married and you only find out more about their past through mentions.
Honestly for this type of story I thought it was fitting they started here because the leads do not interact that much before marriage. This was one of the reasons they found it so hard to express their feelings for each other. They met once (by her standard) and twice (by his standard) before he asked for her hand in marriage.
She already had a full time boyfriend that her parents didn’t approve of by then.
nell123 on March 3, 2018 at 4:25 pm said:
Ok, so it wasn’t just me then. I took me a while to place people and timelines in proper order, considering I don’t know much about the original story.
Between this and Flame’s Daughter – I’ll watch this.
I agree. Flame’s Daughter made me cringe. For this show, it took me a bit to get used to stuff because I skim the novel so fast lol. I was only checking out the novel for the romance portion because people said the author excels at writing poignant scenes between the couple. I definitely skip out on the political machinations and whatnot.
nell123 on March 4, 2018 at 9:44 am said:
I’m also interested in the battle between the brothers for the inheritance.
Overall not bad at all. However, I think this drama could have made a better impression if it had a somber color palette like in the Sparrow/ Disguiser.
jen on March 3, 2018 at 4:30 pm said:
wait, where are the episodes? cant find them on youtube
Kappy on March 4, 2018 at 12:48 am said:
Episode 1: Youtube (follow channel to see the other episodes, but it can be removed anytime, so watch fast!) 🙂
Turtle on March 4, 2018 at 1:32 am said:
The episodes can be watched here: http://maplestage.com/show/%E4%BA%BA%E7%94%9F%E8%8B%A5%E5%A6%82%E5%88%9D%E7%9B%B8%E8%A6%8B
Not sure where to find an English subbed version if that’s what you’re looking for though :/
BreezeC on March 3, 2018 at 5:01 pm said:
I am very confused too. I feel like I am thrown in the middle of the storyline somewhere and not sure what is going on. I guess they are trying to show the present circumstances and then slowly reveal through flashbacks but I agree that there is way too much stuff about the war and conflicts that is really boring to me since I prefer the love/angst story between the leads with the war/family conflicts as the side to spice things up. Not the other way around. 🙁
tokkita on March 4, 2018 at 10:47 am said:
If the whole drama is gonna be told through flashblacks then I’m not interested…I watched some of the first ep but stopped cos it was confusing and don’t understand why they’ve edited it this way.
Will probably just wait til there’s video cuts of Sun Yi and Elvis Han scenes, then watch them in chronological order lol.
Watched till episode 8 and I have to say, I love it! Haha, of course I fast forward the politics but every scene with Sunyi and Elvis Han had my eyes glued to the screen. From the trailers which had me excited since June 2017, this show delivered on the electrifying chemistry between the leads. I really like the strength of Sunyi’s character. She is strong and meticulous, so she faced obstacles (and Elvis Han’s character) head on, but was able to yield and withdraw when it fits the situation. Elvis was a joy to watch as well. I love his charisma and micro-expressions. They really do reveal a lot about his thoughts and feelings towards Sunyi’s character. What surprised me pleasantly was how little angst there is so far. From the trailers, I expected angst and agony between the two leads for the entirety of their marriage. What they have, however, was a civil sort of reliance where he cared for her (but kept his distance/didn’t express it) and she respects him. They work together seamlessly when navigating family politics and it is beautiful to watch. Their fights and conversations are cutting and very sharp, but the hurt doesn’t last. I love it! Yi Lian Kai’s love kinda reminded me of Bai Lang’s love from Lady and Liar. :’)
Wow, you nailed it! Once I got through the confusion of ep 1 and focus on the plot better, I am loving it too! Whenever Elvis and SunYi is onscreen together, they totally shine and their chemistry is amazing!!! I absolutely love Elvis’s character and acting so far! As you said, I kind of expect a lot of arguing and angst between the leads but their interaction is soooo good to watch so far. There is no useless yelling/arguing/fighting and misunderstanding and I completely understand both sides when there is… I love how they didn’t go the route of the male lead going crazy with frustration where he loves her but angry that she doesn’t love him and keep hurting her and the female lead weak and not being about to do anything except hating and being unresponsive to him…This couple sort of have a clear understanding of each other…he knows that she doesn’t love him but still cares and respects her. She knows that he is smart and have the ability to fight for the general position but acts useless and spoiled to provide no threats to his older brother. Even if they have a different opinion privately, when they are in front of the family, they stood as a unit. In appearance wise, they are a loving couple. Overall, I really enjoy the dynamic of this couple and I can’t wait to see how they farther develop 🙂
Yes! And what I really like about it is that while they both don’t agree on love’s front, they get each other’s schemes and work perfectly. She doesn’t get bullied around and stands her ground, but at the same time, she isn’t bullish and pigheaded about it. I love how she manoeuvered the second lead without really offending anyone. 😀 And they are both so smart!! Hahaha. I read one of the comments and youtube and someone mentioned that it is very rare to have both leads’ intellect present and they act very well to boot. They both seem to be comrades in how they don’t mince words and kept it brutally honest, but still respecting each other’s intellect. Interesting choice to keep Pan Jian Chi around, because he definitely knows that there were tension between him and Qin Sang. Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer? Wednesday cannot come fast enough!
He doesn’t fly into rage when he saw Qin Sang and Pan Jian Chi conversing – he just simply limits the time for their interactions, is all. 🙂 A smart man, through and through! 😀
I agree 101%!
I am loving Sunyi’s character, she’s calm but there is still some fire in her, just very contained, which is different to the girl in the book, I prefer her interpretation. I love the moment when she asked him in that belittling voice of hers if he was going to say he loves her, he looks at her with such hurtful eyes, searching for an ounce of reciprocation from her but she turns away, squeezing at her own hands instead. I wanted to jump in the screen and tell them they love each other and just kiss already!
Both Sunyi and Elvis are so good, apart and especially together.
I’ve seen Sunyi before in 15years and Because of Meeting you so her chemistry with her leads was something I expected, I had only seen Elvis in Chinese Paladin 5 and was very unimpressed with his coupling, however, here I am sold.
Julianne Lin on March 9, 2018 at 7:28 am said:
Agree on how awesome Sun Yi is, but ever since watching WuXin Monster Killer (1 not 2, please don’t watch 2) I REALLY REALLY like Elvis. He was also entertaining and convincing in Good Times with Hu Ge.
notpoetenough on March 4, 2018 at 3:47 pm said:
Up to ep6 now! I actually adore the scheming hahaha. I love how everyone is complex/has complex motivations for what they do and how lines of dialogue often have multiple layers of meaning. Elvis Han’s acting is great.
Aryael on March 5, 2018 at 10:07 am said:
LOL for your comment re. the author of this novel. Stepmother indeed! If you like strong to the point of abusive and possessive heroes, forced kisses, near rape/rape and weak heroines (at this point it sounds suspiciously like a Thai lakorn!), and what my Hong Kong best friend always refer to as “HKC” (Hum Ka Chan aka “whole family/everyone die”) type ending, you’ll love this story! I haven’t started it yet. Wanna let it run for a few more episodes so I could marathon and fast-forward parts of the drama. Do keep us updated! 😉
nell123 on March 5, 2018 at 10:58 pm said:
Wait, wait, whaat? Do they all die?So its really super sad ending?I know there are translations of the novel online somewhere but I’m always scared to look for them before finishing a drama. Pre-existing knowledge creates unreasonably high expectations, which almost always end in disappointment for me (HQG for example. Yeah, 3 years and I’m still bitter)
I am not oposed to actual “drama” dramas, although Siege does look more like a melodrama at the moment, but they are hard to make. It takes considerable skill to make it hurt soo bad but still feel right.
Aryael on March 6, 2018 at 12:08 pm said:
I won’t reveal if they all die or if it’s a sad ending for the OTP. “HKC” is simply a term my friend use to describe melodrama involving deaths of important characters. Eg “HKC” drama/movie: Battle of Changsa, Under the Hawthorne Tree, Raise the Red Lantern etc. In Battle of Changsa, everyone died but the OTP, so you get a happy ending for the OTP. In Under Hawthorne Tree, one die the other left behind…..so, no guarantee if it’s going to be happy ending for OTP in “HKC” type movie/drama. 50-50 chance. One thing is for sure….this ain’t a Korean drama with guaranteed albeit forced or unrealistic happy endings! My advice? Just enjoy the movie/drama. 😉
Stepmother’s stories are generally sad endings, so don’t expect anything from her.
I have read the entirety of Siege in Fog and actually liked the story but the drama is very different, the relationship between the two is also different. I honestly prefer the drama at this point since it gives more background and builds characters with more grey areas. From what I saw of the two long trailers, almost everything in the book will happen in the drama.
Joo on March 7, 2018 at 2:44 am said:
Some episodes were leaked last year and showed the male lead dying along with his second brother.
But there’s a new trailer released for one of the OSTs this year that showed a new scene, so they might have changed the ending. The drama is quite different from the novel so far anyway; the male lead is definitely alot kinder and likable here.
Lovehj on March 8, 2018 at 4:25 am said:
The new OST showed a happy wedding scene as well. Today episodes Qin Sang has a flashback to their wedding and they didn’t have a good one. She said something upsetting upsetting to KEL and he left the bedroom.
JewelsC on March 6, 2018 at 2:35 am said:
Is it just me but the second brother Yi Lianshen (Zou Tingwei), at a certain angle, looks alot like Mark Chao maybe it’s the eyes?? I think Elvis Han is doing a great job, the role suits him perfectly.
Yes I agree he looks a lot like Mark and one other actor I can’t quite place…maybe that guy from Its Not easy being King?
dramas4me on March 11, 2018 at 4:16 am said:
@ JewelsC:
Yes, I thought the 2nd brother looks like Mark Zhao also. His acting is very good in this drama, too.
Majesty on March 6, 2018 at 4:05 am said:
productiveprocrastinator on the soompi thread said she is going to try and sub. She is asking if there is anyone with Chinese-English expertise who can help her out as she’s subbing alone? 🙁
https://productiveprocrastinationsite.wordpress.com/2018/03/05/seige-in-fog-ep-1-eng-sub/
sparkiepinkie2 on March 8, 2018 at 1:41 am said:
I’m not a native Chinese speaker learning through classes. I wouldn’t be of too much help but I could translate basic sentences here and there. I just figured it would lighten her load and get subs translated faster? I actually be willing to help with any aspect if she needed help. Whatever gets it out there faster.
Thanks! Look forward to watching it with Eng subs!
chasingpolaris on March 6, 2018 at 2:04 pm said:
I’ve only managed to finish four episodes but I’m liking it so far. While I’m in for the romance and all the upcoming torture, I’m more interested in seeing how the story will develop between the three brothers. Who will outsmart who, I wonder? Hope they don’t disappoint me with their power play.
Also love that we get a glimpse of a young Murong Feng here. I had always been interested in seeing what he was like prior to meeting Jingwan. The actor who plays the young warlord does vaguely remind me of Wallace Chung so I guess that helps hahaha.
Do you also get the impression young Murong Feng likes Sunyi’s character? I’m not the only one who feels that way but considering he is the lead in another story and Sunyi’s character actually appears in that one and they don’t have any romance between them there I’m not too sure.
Ah, I see what you mean. I actually don’t remember her character in Murong Feng’s drama, to be honest. But it seems to me that he is more fascinated by her relationship with Yi Liankai than her as person. It has been mentioned a few times that the couple gets along on the surface only and I’m sure MRF is aware of it. But he seems to notice all of the micro expressions from Qin Sang when it comes to YLK. Even in that scene where YLK is fighting (ep 6? 7?), MRF keeps his eye on Qin Sang and we notice how worried she actually is when YLK is being beat up. In that scene, what I got from MRF is that he’s trying figure out whether or not she actually cares for YLK. So while I think, yes, he may be intrigued by her, it’s triggered by the fact that he suspects something is different about this relationship between the married couple that others are not seeing.
On the other hand, I am not surprised if he does actually harbor a small crush on Qin Sang. I read somewhere that he’s like 16 or 17 here so I can see that happening. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: What are the symptoms of Neonatal polycythemia? output: Symptoms may include:
Extreme sleepiness Feeding problems Seizures Very ruddy (red) skin color |
September 3, 2010 by Robin Brenner
Manga Movable Feast: Reviewing Kids Manga Roundtable
September 3, 2010 by Robin Brenner Leave a Comment
As we are hosting the Manga Movable Feast this month taking a look at kids manga, we all thought this was a great time to share the joys and difficulties of reviewing manga for kids. A lot of questions come up when reviewing for kids, especially as all of us are a significant number of years away from being kids ourselves. Manga adds more complications to the mix as so few have been published in the US and the original intended audience in Japan can call into question just who titles are best suited for outside of Japan.
In the spirit of tackling the process of reviewing as well as providing reviews themselves, let’s get started.
We reviewers are generally fans of Japanese manga and know well its appeal to teens and adults, but manga aimed at younger readers has been few and far between. What makes a manga great for kids? Are there any special considerations you take into account when considering manga versus comics from the US?
Esther: My first response, which is really a question, is how do we define kids? We call our blog Good Comics for Kids, but we do review comics that are aimed at teens. (And I know we sort of just need a catchy name and calling it Good Comics for Kids & Teens wasn’t as catchy…. I’m just making a point.) From a librarian’s POV, I view kids as anyone below the age of 12 or 13. In my experience, (both personal and profession) by 7th grade or so, the kids really start to mature and start turning all teenish! Some do show the signs before they hit this age, but for the most part, those angsty teen years, really hit around the 7th grade. It always hits me when my little 6th graders come back from summer vacation and suddenly they’re not so little and cute anymore! So when I hear what’s a good manga for kids, I think about kids before 7th grade.
First and foremost, what makes a manga great for kids is that it’s a good solid story that will appeal to that age group. It shouldn’t talk down to its audience. Kids don’t always get the credit they deserve. 2nd, it should have lively artwork. It should be something that really appeals to kids.
When considering manga vs. western comics for kids, I don’t differentiate how I select titles. I want to know that it’s a good story. That it will appeal to most of my students. I want to know that the content is not too mature for their age group – whether it be too sexy or too violent or just a story that talks over their head (with themes and ideas that is a bit beyond them). The Japanese do think differently about sex and violence than many Americans, so it can get tricky. But for the most part, the titles aimed at the younger age demographic are quite kid friendly.
Brigid: When I was a kid, there were two kinds of books—books I wanted to read and books the grownups wanted me to read. I liked books about girls my own age with a world that I could step into (for that reason, I really liked series books, because I could keep coming back) and strong story hooks. The Scholastic Book Club flyer that came to my school once a month was packed with these.
The grownups wanted me to read books that had literary qualities that were important to them (the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Chronicles of Narnia). Reading those books was like eating peas, a necessary evil but not particularly enjoyable. Now that I’m an adult, I like peas and literary fiction, but my childhood distaste for Homer and Lewis remains, along with anything that has a whiff of official approval.
So when I’m reviewing a book, I channel my inner kid. That means I’m not too snobby about goofy characters or adaptations of TV and movie properties; I loved those things when I was a kid, and they may be a way into reading for some children. The basic ingredients are still the same—characters I can love or hate, a world I want to visit, and a plot I care about. My nieces and nephew, aged 5 to 10, are a great filter for this; often I’ll just love a book and they won’t give it a second look—or vice versa. Bringing this back to manga, my children loved Kodocha, Fruits Basket, and Tokyo MewMew, all of which appalled me at first, and none of which will ever make anyone’s list of great books. But it’s not about what I think, it’s about finding books that have those qualities—the same ones I sought out all those years ago—and making them available to kids. And not worrying too much about it—I think reviews of children’s books should take the adults, as gatekeepers, into consideration, and perhaps reassure them a bit. It has been over five years since my daughters went through their manga stage and now, as teenagers, they read literary fiction for enjoyment, so manga didn’t ruin their tastes, it honed them.
Esther: You mean, I’m not a kid? 🙂
Seriously, Brigid, you bring up such an excellent point about reviewing. I was just reviewing a title that I could not connect to, but knew it was very popular with my students. So it forced me to look at it with another eye… and when I did, I was able to see it’s appeal.
Robin: Characters are very important to me as well, but I agree with you, Brigid, that one of the biggest parts is presenting a world that I want to dive into. As a kid, I loved stories that took me away from my world and sparked my imagination (hence why I read a whole lot of science fiction and fantasy, starting with myths and fairy tales.) I see the same hooks work their magic on young readers today: present a world that intriguing, and makes you want to explore, and kids will let loose their imagination. Even if the title is nonfiction, it still needs to vividly present a place the reader wants to go, whether it’s cosmonaut training with Laika or learning to draw cartoons with an elf.
I wanted to chime in to say that I too try to find my inner kid. I think one of the hardest aspects of reviewing titles for an age group you’re not part of (which I do frequently as I review teen and kids titles) is turning off the accumulation of adult attitudes, criticisms, and experience. You have to remember that yes, a plot might seem tired and overdone to you, but what about a kid who’s never read that plot before? As an adult, you have years and years of story familiarity, but for a kid who’s never read the girl-dresses-up-as-a-boy-to-be-a-knight plot, it’s fantastically awesome as it’s the first time such an idea entered their head.
So in that sense, I do try very hard to keep the intended audience in mind in terms of reading experience as well as age appropriateness. The best comics, of course, can work on many levels and appeal to both parents and kids, as the best stories do. Still, not every story can reinvigorate a genre, so I have to remember not to reject a title because it feels old hat to me.
Lori: When I’m reviewing a title for kids, I don’t take country of origin into consideration. I’m looking at the story and characters and if either/both would appeal to kids. Part of my intent when I started reviewing comics and manga was to share a parent’s perspective with other parents. When I read a kid’s title, I’m often asking myself if I would give it to my daughters and would they enjoy reading it. What makes a title good for kids to me is if it appeals to them, entertains them, and makes them want to keep reading. In regards to content, I try to point out anything that a parent might find objectionable, but I don’t emphasis it. I treat it as a heads up so they know it’s there and can make their own decision on its appropriateness for their own children. In the end though, I think it’s the kids, who I define as 12 and under, that decide if a book is good. Whether I like it personally isn’t as important as if my daughter likes it.
Robin: As Esther comments, Japanese creators and publishers have a different sensibility when it comes to what elements (nudity, sensuality, alcohol, innuendo) are ok for different age ranges. How do you deal with those discrepancies in reviewing manga for kids?
Are there any titles that were presented as for young readers that didn’t quite fit for content reasons? What should readers and reviewers look out for in manga that deserves mentioning in a review?
Kate: When I’m reviewing manga that’s rated All Ages, I ask myself the following questions:
Is the script something a young reader could tackle on her own, or would she need parental assistance?
I’ve read some books that were translated very nicely, but the resulting script seemed too sophisticated for the actual story and artwork.
How is violence handled in the course of the story?
If the violence is of a slapstick nature, or is bloodless but with obvious repercussions, I’m OK with all all-ages rating; if there’s an element of sadism, or the imagery is gory, I’m less inclined to recommend it for kids under twelve.
Is there nudity? If so, in what context?
It’s pretty rare to find an All-Ages title with any nudity; the only example that comes to mind is Kon Kon Ko-Kon, a Broccoli Books title that has a bath scene in which the true gender of a character is revealed. (Nothing is shown directly, though it’s obvious what’s happening.) I wouldn’t necessarily label Kon Kon Ko-Kon a Teen book just because of that scene — especially because the underlying intent of the scene is humorous, not pornographic — but I would certainly mention it in my review so that a parent or librarian was aware of it. More common are books in which there’s a bit of mild fanservice (e.g. a villainess in a skimpy costume, as in The Legend of Zelda or Dinosaur King) or kids dressing in a manner that adults might find age-inappropriate. Again, I think most young readers can handle these kind of images, though I make it my policy to discuss and contextualize what I find so adults can decide whether it’s appropriate for the kids they know.
Could a grade school student follow the visual layout without too much difficulty?
Some kids’ manga is clearly designed for young readers (e.g. big panels, simplified character designs), while other titles are visually interchangeable with Teen and Teen+ series. For kids in the six-to-eight category, I’d be more likely to recommend a title like The Big Adventures of Majoko, Happy Happy Clover, or Ninja Baseball Kyuma!, as the artwork is very easy to parse, even for first-time manga readers. With slightly older kids, I lean more towards titles like BakeGyamon: Backwards Game, where the content is appropriate for younger readers, but the visual presentation is much closer to series in VIZ’s Shonen Jump line. Kids want to feel like they’re reading up.
Robin: Kate, this is a most excellent list of questions. I’ve never formalized these questions in my head, but I may well just crib your list now!
One other question I’ve had directly from parents is how cruel or vicious scenes are handled. Parents who express no worries at all about the occasional bit of language or nudity do worry about the behavior their kids might see in terms of bullying and models of mean behavior. I think about this concern after I’ve considered the big two of nudity/sensuality and violence, but I do try to remember to consider it.
Esther: Kate, I have to agree with Robin, this is an excellent list of questions! I especially like your question about the visual layout. I started to read Di Gi Charat (which is rated E) and that question immediately popped into my head while reading the title.
Eva: Like you, Robin, I answer a lot of the same questions Kate asks, but I’ve never formalized them. Let’s face it, the majority of the people buying books for kids are adults, and many of those adults won’t know much about comics in general, much less the conventions of manga or Japan’s social mores. So I try to mention any of the hot button topics you and Kate bring up, including tone and vocabulary choice, that may be concerning to adults when writing my review. The presence of hot button topics won’t necessarily change how I feel about a book (except for possibly saying it would be better in the teen or adult sections), but I do think it’s fair to spotlight the issues in the review so that the book buyer knows they’re present.
Robin: One thing I know reviewers struggle with, especially reviewers who are not used to reviewing work for young audiences, is how to turn off one’s adult sensibility. There are some harsh reviews out there that rip apart kids manga titles and seem to miss the point that a manga intended for eight-year-olds is not going to knock an adult’s socks off. How do you differentiate between what is appropriate for a kids title and what is truly not very good?
Esther: When you say appropriate, Robin, I imagine you mean what will appeal to that age group, not necessarily too much violence, sex etc. When reviewing, I accomplish that (or try to accomplish that) is by (like Brigid said) channeling my inner kid. In addition, I talk to kids all the time. Whether it’s my students, nieces & nephews, or my neighbors kids. I try to keep an eye & ear out for what they’re doing and reading. This way, I can honestly look at a manga and say, hey this will appeal to a kid (from this age group) or not. I’ll also ask the kids what they think and try to compare it to my own reactions. I can’t do this with every title, but at least I have a gauge of what their reactions are to certain titles.
Lori: Turning off the adult side of me and channeling my inner child isn’t easy for me sometimes, so I again use my children as a gauge. Since I monitor what they watch and read, I have a feel for what appeals to them and watch out for those things when I’m reviewing a title that’s meant to be for kids. Like Esther, I will ask my kids what they think of a title, especially if I’m not sure. It’s a little easier when you have the target audience living in the next room.
Kate: You raise a great point, Robin: adult criteria such as cleverness or originality aren’t very helpful in assessing a kids’ book, since children tend to value directness and similarity much more than adults. Whenever I’ve seen manga reviewers attack a book for young readers, it’s usually because it flunks the sophistication test.
At the same time, however, I do think a reviewer has an obligation to evaluate the skill with which a story is being told. I’ve read children’s comics that I thought were terrible — not because the stories were simple or cliche, but because the artwork was amateurish, or the book seemed more like marketing for a video game or TV show than a genuine story. The first wave of Ben 10 manga are an instructive example: the artwork consisted entirely of fuzzy screen captures, while the script was a mish-mash of dialogue from the show and clumsy voiceovers explaining the action (even though it was very obvious from the artwork what was happening). I don’t doubt that there were kids who loved these books — and I said as much in my review — but there wasn’t much to praise; the whole enterprise seemed like a hasty attempt to capitalize on the TV show’s popularity. Not all tie-in comics are bad, of course; BOOM! Studios has adapted franchises like The Muppet Show and Toy Story into fun, readable comics that work well for fans and newcomers alike. The key difference is craft: the BOOM! comics have great scripts and great artwork, which the Ben 10 manga did not. (Again, I’m speaking about the first wave of Ben 10 comics; I know Del Rey hired Peter David and Dan Hipp to do a manga with original artwork and scripts, but I haven’t read those yet.)
Craft shouldn’t be the only or most important criterion for evaluating a kids’ manga, but I do think it needs to be in the mix. I’d love to see reviewers find the middle ground between eviscerating a book because the concept is familiar and praising it simply because some kid, somewhere might like it.
Snow: I think Lori has boiled it down to the particulars, at least for me: “I’m looking at the story and characters and if either/both would appeal to kids.” I go with my gut in many cases, which is what I think a lot of librarians, parents, teachers, booksellers, etc. do when they are recommending books for kids. What aspects of this work do we think will make it appealing to kids? Not the “message,” not the deeper meaning, but what elements of the comic make it a “kids” comic.
When I’m reading and reviewing a comic for kids, I try to think about whether or not I would have read it as a kid. Does the story seem like it’s talking down to the reader? Is the art cheesy (and not in a good way)? Are the characters overly “cool” or do they seem too trendy? Is the plot just trying to cash in on a popular phenomenon or do the creators have something new and interesting to say? Do I enjoy the work? That last bit can be tricky. There are children’s comics that I, personally, speaking both as a grown woman and through my inner child, didn’t like. But very often there is a voice in my head that says, “yes, but a different child would like this.” I try to make sure I listen to that voice if it is there, because it is telling me something important.
Eva: This question comes up every few years when people start talking about the Newbery Award: why do books no kid will read keep winning big awards? Often there is a huge gap between literary quality and popularity, but it’s important to review both types of book. As Snow and Brigid point out, there are kids who love literary fiction. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t also be reviewing the fun stuff. And we shouldn’t be judging fun based on what a bunch of middle aged fogeys think, but by what a ten-year-old thinks is funny. And a ten-year-old thinks farts are little poots of gold.
Robin: A lot of the discussion and reviews from this week’s Manga Movable Feast address the fact that while Yotsuba&! is not marketed or written as a kids comic, it’s being treated as a kids comic here in the US. Many reviewers and commentators find this baffling as the adult perspective and nostalgia for childhood keep Yotsuba&! firmly adult appeal. A number of reviewers have said they can’t see why Yotsuba&! would appeal to kids.
As folks who work directly with young readers, do you find Yotsuba&! difficult to place? Where do you have Yotsuba&! in your collections? How much does the original intended audience (i.e. adult men) matter to you (or your readers)? Do your young readers pick up and enjoy Yotsuba&!?
Esther: In honor of Manga Moveable Feast, I took Yotsuba&! out of the library, because it’s been a long time since I read it… and I have to disagree with that assessment. I do see why it’s from an adult POV, but actually it’s a perfect tween title. Here’s my thought as to why…. ever watch a tween with a younger sibling/cousin/niece or nephew? I find it hilarious how they talk about the younger kids. As if they’re so far from it, when this behavior was them just a few short years ago. Even my 9-year-old niece. When I talk to her, she like a blow-by-blow of my 1-year-old son’s antics. What is he up to? Does he walk? Does he talk? She likes to hear the stories and then tells them to her mother. I call her a mini mommy.
So, a 9-year-old or 12-year-old will enjoy reading the antics of Yotsuba who’s about 5 or 6 or so. That nostalgia will resonate with them as they recall their antics “way back when.”
Yotsuba&! is not the most popular title in my manga collection, but this year it finally was graduated to popular enough to steal! That’s high praise for any book in the library.
Eva: Everything that Esther just said.
Another thing to keep in mind is that there are a lot of characters in the book besides Yotsuba. Watching the three sisters interact with each other, it’s easy to identify any of them. Moms can identify with the girls’ mother. Anyone can identify with having to deal with a crazy friend. This isn’t a one-dimentional book.
By saying that older kids can’t identify with a book about a younger kid, or that kids won’t “read down” is nonsense. For the most part, it’s not kindergarteners who are reading Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books. Or Judy Blume’s Fudge books. Kids “read down” all the time. What matters to them is that they’re engaged by the story. What they don’t like are books that talk down to them. Just because kids are short doesn’t mean they’re dumb.
manga movable feast
About Robin Brenner
Robin Brenner is Teen Librarian at the Brookline Public Library in Massachusetts. When not tackling programs and reading advice at work, she writes features and reviews for publications including VOYA, Early Word, Library Journal, and Knowledge Quest. She has served on various awards committees, from the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards to the Boston Globe Horn Book Awards. She is the editor-in-chief of the graphic novel review website No Flying No Tights.
by Robin Brenner
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instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: I think I might have a small case of catatonic, or indifferent schizophrenia. I am only 13, and it may be family stress, or just getting older, or something but I don;t think other kids like me, or many others, have the same thing going on as I do. I m very, very paranoid of my teachers, and principal, and i do believe they re out to get me, or affect my academic skills and grades. I also believe they talk about me and how to do bad things to me, even though I really have no evidence. I also think I hear people talk and yell to me, but no one there and I do believe its in my head. I also believe I see people, I can t tell what they are, but they follow me and gather information about me and tell the CIA or FBI or something. Theres some more, but I m not sure it involves schizophrenia. output: I understand that you are worried that you may be suffering from a psychiatric problem like Schizophrenia. I would advise you to inform an adult about your problems - your parents or a relative or your school counselor - who can arrange for you to consult a psychiatrist. You would need a detailed psychological assessment in order to arrive at any definitive diagnosis. Till then, I would suggest that you don't make any conclusions about your diagnosis. Whatever be your psychological problem, there is help available. So, please speak to someone to get professional help. Wish you all the best.. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: I have been diagnosed with Diverticultis in MAY; took antibiotics thought I was getting better; told last night that I have another infection. First 2 tests were from CT (contrast) and blood count. THIS TIME CT (no contrast and bloodwork ok). HOw is this possible? My left side feels like needles in it! output: Diverticulitis is a condition that can reoccur, and must be treated each time it happens. Diverticulosis is a common condition where there are a lot of "outpourings" along the large intestine-kind of like a bunch of little appendixes. When one of these gets inflamed or plugged up, it can cause an infection that requires antibiotics. You can reduce the recurrence of infections by avoiding foods like nuts and seeds that can get caught in the pouches and create infections. You also want to avoid constipation as that can make the situation worse.. |
Home > General > India’s Temple Sex Workers: The story of a devadasi
India’s Temple Sex Workers: The story of a devadasi
by William Dalrymple, 16 October 2008
other articles by the author
The New Yorker, August 4, 2008
Serving the Goddess: The dangerous life of a sacred sex worker
The devadasi system is centuries old, and the women once enjoyed lives of great privilege.
“Of course, there are times when there is pleasure,” Rani Bai said. “Who does not like to make love? A handsome young man, one who is gentle . . .”
She paused for a moment, looking out over the lake, smiling to herself. Then her face clouded over. “But mostly it is horrible. The farmers here, they are not like the boys of Bombay.”
“And eight of them every day,” her friend Kaveri said. “Sometimes ten. Unknown people. What kind of life is that?”
“We have a song,” Rani said. “ ‘Everyone sleeps with us, but no one marries us. Many embrace us, but no one protects.’ ”
“Every day, my children ask, ‘Who is my father?’ They do not like having a mother who is in this business.”
“Once, I tried to open a bank account with my son,” Rani said. “We went to fill in the form, and the manager asked, ‘Father’s name?’ After that, my son was angry. He said I should not have brought him into the world like this.”
“We are sorry we have to do this work. But what is the alternative?”
“Who will give us jobs? We are all illiterate.”
“And the future,” Kaveri said. “What have we to look forward to?”
“When we are not beautiful, when our bodies become ugly, then we will be all alone.”
“If we live long enough to be old and to be ugly,” Kaveri said. “So many are dying.”
“One of our community died last week. Two others last month.”
“In my village, four younger girls have died,” Kaveri said. “My own brother has the disease. He used to be a truck driver, and knew all the girls along the roads. Now he just lies at home drinking, saying, ‘What difference does it make? I will die anyway.’ ”
She turned to face me. “He drinks anything he can get,” she said. “If someone told him his own urine had alcohol in it, he would drink that, too.” She laughed, but harshly. “If I were to sit under a tree and tell you the sadness we have to suffer, the leaves of that tree would fall like tears. My brother is totally bedridden now. He has fevers and diarrhea.” She paused. “He used to be such a handsome man, with a fine face and large eyes. Now those eyes are closed, and his face is covered with boils and lesions.”
“Yellamma never wanted it to be like this,” Rani said.
“The goddess is sitting silently,” Kaveri said. “We don’t know what feelings she has about us. Who really knows what she is thinking?”
“No,” Rani said, firmly shaking her head. “The goddess looks after us. When we are in distress, she comes to us. Sometimes in our dreams. Sometimes in the form of one of her children.”
“It is not the goddess’s doing.”
“The world has made it like this.”
“The world, and the disease.”
“The goddess dries our tears,” Rani said. “If you come to her with a pure heart, she will take away your sadness and your sorrows. What more can she do?”
We had come to Saundatti, in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, to see the goddess Yellamma—Rani Bai, Kaveri, and I. (The names of the two women have been changed.) We had driven over that morning from the town of Belgaum, through the rolling green plains of cotton country. The women, who had been dedicated to Yellamma when they were children, normally took the old slow bus to visit her temple, so they had jumped at the chance to make the journey in the comfort of a taxi.
It was hot and muggy, not long after the end of the rains, and the sky was bright and cloudless. The road led through long avenues of ancient banyan trees, each with an intricate lattice of aerial roots. As we neared Saundatti, however, the green tunnel came to an end, and the fields on either side gave way to drier, poorer country. Trees, cane breaks, and cotton fields were replaced by strips of sunflowers. Goats picked through dusty stubble. Women in ragged clothing sold onions laid out on palm-weave mats set along the side of the road. After some time, a long red stone ridge appeared out of the heat haze. The ridge resolved itself into the great hogback of Saundatti, and at the top, rising from near-vertical cliffs, was the silhouette of the temple of Yellamma. Below, and to one side, stretched a lake of almost unearthly blue.
It was here, according to legend, that the story had begun. Yellamma was the wife of the powerful rishi Jamadagni. The couple and their four sons lived in a simple wooden hermitage by the lake. Here the sage punished his body and performed great feats of austerity. After the birth of his fourth child, these included a vow of chastity. Every day, Yellamma served her husband, and fetched water from the river for her husband’s rituals. She used a pot made of sand, and carried it home in the coils of a live snake.
One day, as Yellamma was fetching water, she saw a heavenly being, a gandharva, making love to his consort by the banks of the river. It was many years since Yellamma had enjoyed the pleasures of love, and the sight attracted her. Watching from behind a rock, and hearing the lovers’ cries of pleasure, she found herself longing to take the place of the beloved.
This sudden rush of desire destroyed her composure. When she crept away to get water for her husband, she found, to her horror, that she could no longer create a pot from sand, and that her yogic powers of concentration had vanished. When she returned home without the water, Jamadagni guessed what had happened, and in his rage he cursed his wife. According to Rani and Kaveri, within seconds Yellamma had become sickly and ugly, covered with boils and festering sores. She was turned out of her home, cursed to wander the roads of the Deccan, begging for alms.
Jamadagni belongs to that class of irascible holy men who fill Sanskrit literature with their fiery and unforgiving anger. In contrast, the goddess Yellamma, like Sita in the Ramayana, is a victim, suspected of infidelities she never committed, rejected by all. Though the story is full of sadness and injustice, devadasis—as those who have been dedicated, or “married,” to a god or a goddess are known—believe that the tale shows how the goddess is uniquely sympathetic to their fate. After all, their lives often resemble hers: they are cursed for crimes of love outside the bonds of marriage, rejected by their children, condemned like Yellamma to live on the roads, begging for favors, disfigured by sadness, and without the protection of a husband.
I got a glimpse of the tensions in the devadasi’s life when we arrived in Saundatti. We had gone to a tea shop near the lake, at my suggestion. Devadasis are a common sight in Saundatti, where they often beg in the bazaars on Yellamma’s holy days of Tuesday and Friday. But they don’t usually brave the tea shops on the main street.
Long before the glasses of hot sweet chai arrived, the farmers at the other tables had started pointing at Rani Bai, and gossiping. They had come from their villages to sell cotton at the market, and, having got a good price, were now in a boisterous mood. Although Kaveri and Rani Bai had the red tikka of a married woman on their foreheads, Rani Bai’s muttu—the necklace of red and white beads that a devadasi wears—and her jewelry, her painted face, and her overly dressy silk sari had given her away.
Kaveri had once been beautiful, but the difficulties of her life, and the suffering she had endured, had aged her prematurely, and she no longer attracted attention. Rani Bai was different. She was in her late thirties, at least ten years younger than Kaveri, and was still, undeniably, lovely. She was tall and long-limbed, and had a large mouth, full lips, a firm brown body, and a lively manner. She did not keep her gaze down, as Hindu women generally do in the villages; instead, she spoke in a loud voice, and every time she gesticulated about something—and her hands were constantly dancing about as she talked—her bracelets rattled. She wore a bright-lavender silk sari, and had rings sparkling on each of her toes and up the curve of each ear. The farmers sat there as we sipped our tea, looking at her greedily. Before long, they were noisily speculating about the relationship she might have with me, the firangi, and her cost, what she would and would not do, and wondering where she worked and whether she gave discounts.
Rani had been telling me in the car about the privileges of being a devadasi, about the way people respected her, how she was regarded as auspicious and was called even to upper-caste weddings to give her blessings. So when we finally fled the chai shop, to a chorus of laughter and bawdy remarks, her mood changed. As we sat under a banyan tree beside the lake at the edge of the town, she became melancholy, and she told me how she had come to this life.
“I was only six when my parents dedicated me,” she said. “I had no feelings at the time, except wondering: why have they done this? We were very poor and had many debts. My father was desperate for money, as he had drunk and gambled away all that he had earned and more, and he said, ‘This thing will make us rich, it will make us live decently.’
“At that age, I had no devotional feelings for the goddess, and dreamed only of having more money and living a luxurious life in a pucca house with a tile roof and concrete walls. So I was happy with this idea, though I still didn’t understand where the money would come from, or what I would have to do to get it.
“Soon after I had had my first period, my father sold me to a shepherd in a neighboring village for five hundred rupees”—about thirty-eight dollars at the time—“a silk sari, and a bag of millet. By that stage, I knew a little of what might lie ahead, for I had seen other neighbors who had done this to their daughters, and saw people coming and going from their houses. I had asked my parents all these questions, and repeated over and over again that I did not want to do sex work. They nodded, and I thought they had agreed. But, one day, they took me to another village on the pretext of looking after my sister’s newborn baby, and there I was forcibly offered to the shepherd. I was only fourteen years old.
“It happened like this. The night we arrived with my sister, they killed a chicken and we had a great feast with rotis and rice—all the luxuries even the rich could dream of. Then my mother went home to her village, and I went to sleep with my aunt. I was asleep when the man came, around nine.
“I realized something was going to happen and started crying. But my aunt, who was also a devadasi, said, ‘You should not cry. This is your dharma—your duty, your work. It is inauspicious to cry.’ The man was about twenty-two, and very strong. My aunt left the house, and I tried to kick him and scratch him, but he took me by force. After that, he cheated me and never gave the full five hundred rupees he had promised my father. Though I had given my body to him, he used me, and then cheated me.
“The next morning, I shouted at my aunt. I said, ‘You are a whore and you have made me into a whore.’ She just laughed at me. Often, I still curse my mother. Because of that woman, my life has been wrecked. For two years, I was very upset, and we did not talk. During that time, I refused to do any sex work. Instead, I worked in the onion fields here, earning fifty paise”—thirty-seven cents—“a day.
“Eventually, I went to Bombay with my devadasi aunt, who had promised to show me the city. We went by train, and I was very excited, as it was my first visit. I did not know that I would be tricked again. But when we arrived she took me straight in a rickshaw to a brothel. There she handed me over to the gharwalli—the madam—who was a friend of hers.
“The gharwalli was very sly. She gave me lots of sweets and chocolates, and introduced me to all the other girls. They were all dressed up in fine clothes and good saris with amazing jewelry on their wrists: I had never seen so much gold or so much silk! In fact, I had never seen anything like this on any woman in Belgaum. I thought this was the good life. The gharwalli offered my aunt two thousand rupees for me, as I was very good-looking, but she did not ask me to do any dhanda”—sex work—“at first, and let me take my own time. That first month, all I had to do was help cook and clean the house, and I was happy with that. I liked Bombay. I ate fabulous biryani at the Sagar Hotel, and once when I was in the streets I saw Amitabh Bachchan”—the Bollywood matinée idol—“pass by in his car.
“Before long, a rich man came and saw me at my duties, cleaning the house. He refused all the other girls and just demanded to have me. I was scared, as he was very hefty, very fat. So, instead, the gharwalli, who was very clever, sent some younger boys to me. They were lean and good-looking, and a nice match for me. Eventually, I agreed to sleep with one of them. They were very sensitive with me, not like the men here. We didn’t use a condom—I didn’t know about them in those days.
“Eventually, I agreed to take the big man. He offered five thousand rupees for me, and the gharwalli gave me half. Two thousand five hundred rupees! It would have taken me twenty years to earn that picking onions in my village, and I wasn’t even a virgin—I was already used goods. So I stayed, and even though I got some diseases that first year, I remained in that house for four years.
“By that time, I had had my first two children—a daughter and a son—and it was partly for them that I went back to my village. I lived with my mother, and for the last eighteen years I have done dhanda in our house in the village. After some time, I got a lover—a big man locally. He has a family—a wife, two sons, and two daughters—and used to give me money. With him, I had a second daughter. He wanted more children by me, and I didn’t. That was how we eventually parted, even though we had been happy together.
“I have been lucky and I’ve made good money. I can still earn two hundred to three hundred rupees from a single client. It’s true that I sometimes feel this is not dignified work. There is a lot of insecurity. But I have looked after and married off my sister, I feed my mother and my son, and I now have eight acres of land with the money I have earned. On it, we keep four buffalo and four bullocks. Thanks to the generosity of the goddess, I will escape this work when I have saved some more, and live by selling the milk and curd from the animals.”
I asked what had happened to her daughters.
“One was a singer. She eloped when she was fourteen. She came back a year later, but no one would marry her. So she became a devadasi.”
“And the other?”
“The other had some skin disease and had white patches on her thighs. We went to many doctors, but they could not cure it. Like her sister, she found it hard to get married, so I had to dedicate her, too.”
“But how could you do that when you were so angry with your own mother for dedicating you? You just said yourself this is undignified work.”
“My daughters scolded me,” Rani Bai admitted, “just as I scolded my mother.”
“Didn’t you feel guilty?”
“I didn’t like it,” Rani said. “But there was no alternative.”
“Where are they now?” I asked. “Here? Or in Bombay?”
There was a long pause when I asked this. Then Rani said, simply, “I have lost them.”
“Both have passed away. Maybe it was because of some sins in a past life that the goddess cursed me in this way. One lost weight and died of a stomach disease. The other had fevers.”
I later learned that Rani’s daughters had had AIDS. One died less than a year ago, aged fifteen. The other was seventeen, and died six months later.
The devadasis stand in the direct line of one of the oldest institutions in India. The word comes from Sanskrit: deva means “god” and dasi means “a female servant.” At the heart of the institution lies the idea of a woman entering for life the service of a deity. The nature of that service and the name given to it have wide regional variations and have changed through time; only recently have most devadasis come to be working in the sex trade.
Some experts trace the institution to the ninth century; others maintain that it is far older, and claim that what is arguably one of the most ancient extant pieces of Indian art, a small bronze of a naked dancing girl from Mohenjo-daro, dating to around 2500 B.C., could depict a devadasi. By the time of Asoka, in the third century B.C., a piece of graffiti in a cave in the Vindhya hills, in central India, recalls the love of Devadinna, an artist, who had fallen for “Sutanuka, a devadasi.” There are large numbers of images of temple dancing girls and a few textual references to devadasis from the early centuries A.D. onward, including some in the area immediately around Saundatti. The largest collection of inscriptions, however, comes from the Chola temples, around Tanjore, in Tamil Nadu, where the great Chola kings of the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries boast of giving hundreds of devadasis, or tevaratiyars, to the temples they founded. These royal temples were conceived as palaces of the gods, and just as the king was attended by ten thousand dancing girls so the gods also had their share of devoted attendants. The vast entourages added to the status of rulers, whether heavenly or terrestrial, and were believed to surround them with an auspicious female presence.
Not all the “temple women” referred to in such inscriptions were necessarily dancing girls, courtesans, or concubines. Some seem to have been more like nuns, busy with devotions and temple-cleaning duties. Some had honored and important roles in the temple rituals.
In the sixteenth century, Portuguese traders from Goa began to visit the Hindu capital of Vijayanagar, in southern India, and they left fuller and more explicitly sensual descriptions of temple women. One Portuguese traveller wrote that women who belonged to the pagoda danced before the idol. The traveller went on:
They give him food and all that is necessary, and all girls born of these women belong to the temple. These women are of loose character, and live in the best streets that there are in the city; it is the same in all their cities, their streets have the best rows of houses. They are very much esteemed, and are classed amongst those honoured ones who are the mistresses of the captains; any respectable man may go to their houses without any blame attaching thereto.
This partially sexualized nature of the temple women is similarly evident in the profusion of images of voluptuous temple dancing girls that cover the pillars of so many temples in the south. There is, moreover, a body of explicitly sexual poetry from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in southern India in which the love of a devotee for the deity is sometimes envisaged as being akin to the love of a temple dancing girl for her client. Some of the most famous of these poems were discovered carved, in an early form of Telugu, on copper plates and kept in a locked room in the temple of Tirupati; it is only in the past decade that they have been translated into English, and included in the collection “When God Is a Customer.” In most, the god is usually a form of Krishna; he is good-looking and desirable but a thoroughly unreliable lover who plays games that drive his devotees to despair. In other Telugu poems, however, the devadasi or courtesan sometimes dominates the relationship:
I’m not like the others.
You may enter my house,
but only if you have the money.
If you don’t have as much as I ask,
a little less would do.
But I’ll not accept very little,
Lord Kǒǹkaneśvara.
To step across the threshold
of my main door,
it’ll cost you a hundred in gold.
For two hundred you can see my bedroom,
my bed of silk,
and climb into it.
Only if you have the money
To sit by my side
and to put your hand
boldly into my sari:
that will cost ten thousand.
And seventy thousand
will get you a touch
of my full round breasts.
Three crores to bring
your mouth close to mine,
touch my lips and kiss.
To hug me tight,
to touch my place of love,
and get to total union,
listen well,
you must bathe me
in a shower of gold.
But only if you have the money
These poems of union and separation may be read partly as metaphors for the longing of the soul for the divine, and of the devotee for God. Yet they are also clearly an expression of unembarrassed joy in sexuality, part of a complex cultural tradition in pre-colonial India where the devotional or metaphysical and the sexual are not regarded as being opposed; on the contrary, they are seen to be closely linked. The temple girls were auspicious, and the devadasis retain this auspiciousness in Karnataka today.
There is, however, an almost unimaginable gulf separating the devadasis of ancient poems and inscriptions and the lives lived by women like Rani Bai. In the Middle Ages, the devadasis were drawn from the grandest families in the realm—among them princesses of the Chola royal family—and possibly from slaves captured in war. Many were literate, and some were highly accomplished poets; indeed, at the time they seem to have been among the few literate women in the region. Today, the devadasis are drawn exclusively from the lowest castes—usually from the Dalit Madar caste—and are almost entirely illiterate.
The majority of modern devadasis in Karnataka are straightforward sex workers; the devadasis I talked to estimated that only about one out of twenty of those dedicated as children manage to escape into other careers—not least because almost all of them leave school and begin work soon after puberty. They usually work from home rather than in brothels or on the streets, and tend to start younger than commercial sex workers. Nevertheless, the main outlines of their working lives are in reality little different from those of others in the sex trade. This does not, however, stop the devadasis from drawing elaborate distinctions between their sacred vocation and the work of their commercial sisters, which they take great pleasure in looking down upon.
Ironically, it was partly well-meaning social reformers who contributed to this marked drop in status. In the nineteenth century, Hindu reformers, reacting to the taunts of Victorian missionaries, began to attack the institution of temple dancers and sacred prostitution. Successive waves of colonial and postcolonial legislation slowly broke the ancient links between the devadasis and the temples, driving the women out of the temple precincts and eroding their social, economic, and spiritual position. In 1982, the Karnataka Devadasis (Prohibition of Dedication) Act forced the practice completely underground, threatening any priest who assisted in ceremonies with years of harsh imprisonment. Around the lake, and on the road to the temple, the government has put up huge warning signs: “Do Not Dedicate Your Daughter. There Are Other Ways of Showing Your Devotion” and “Dedicating Your Daughter Is Uncivilized Behavior.”
For all their efforts, the reformers have not succeeded in ending the institution. They have only demeaned and criminalized it. There are estimated to be around a quarter of a million devadasis in Maharashtra and Karnataka, about half of them living around Belgaum. For the very poor, and the very pious, the devadasi system can still be seen as providing a way out of poverty while gaining access to the blessings of the gods, the two things that the most impoverished crave.
This is why more than a thousand girls, usually between the ages of five and ten years, continue to be dedicated to the goddess annually. If the girls are dedicated when they are very young, they return to a normal childhood. When they reach puberty, they are wrenched from their lives and offered to the highest bidder to be deflowered.
Later that day, I visited the Yellamma temple with Rani Bai and Kaveri. It is a fine eleventh-century building, and was packed with pilgrims from across the state; we had to stand in line for some time to get a glimpse of the goddess. Ahead of us was a party of excitable eunuchs from Bijapur. The women had recovered their spirits and chatted with the eunuchs as they waited.
“I feel very devotional whenever I am here,” Rani said.
“You feel her presence so strongly in her temple,” Kaveri said.
“She is very near,” Rani said.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“It’s like electricity,” she replied. “You can’t see it, but you know it’s there, and you can see its effects.”
When we arrived before the idol, the priests blessed us with a camphor lamp, and Kaveri explained that the image of the goddess had emerged from the hillside. “No one made it,” she whispered.
I asked one of the Brahmans whether they still performed devadasi dedications. The priest looked uneasy.
“What do we know of these women?” he said, glancing around for support from his fellow-pundits.
“We used to bless their necklaces,” one of the older priests said. “Then give them back to them. But now that is illegal.”
“That was our only role.”
“What they do is their own business,” the first said. “This is nothing to do with us.”
That evening, after we dropped off Kaveri in Belgaum, I took Rani Bai back to her house, in a nearby town where many devadasis have settled. More than a hundred worked in a small warren of streets off the main highway heading to Bangalore.
Rani Bai’s house was in a dark lane, lit by a single, dim street light. Dogs sat next to open gutters, and half-naked children played in the side alleys. It was perhaps the depressing nature of her surroundings that led Rani—always the optimist—to emphasize the positive side of her career.
“We still have many privileges,” Rani said as we approached her house on foot—the lanes were too narrow here for the car. “If a buffalo has a calf, the first milk after the birth is brought to the devadasis to say thank you to the goddess. During the festival of Yellamma, the people bring five new saris to us as gifts. Every full moon, we are called to the houses of Brahmans and they feed us. They touch our feet and pray to us because they believe we are the incarnation of the goddess.”
“This still goes on?” I asked, thinking of the attitude of the Brahmans at the temple.
“Still,” Rani said. “When we are called for pujas like this, we feel very proud.
“There are so many things like this,” she continued. “When a child is born, they make a cap for the baby from one of our old saris. They hope then that the love of Yellamma will be on that child.
“Also,” she added, “unlike other women, we can inherit our father’s property. No one ever dares curse us. And when we die the Brahmans give us a special cremation ceremony.”
We stepped over a dog, sleeping half in, half out of an open sewer.
“You see, we are not like the ordinary whores,” Rani said, as we finally got to her house. “We have some dignity. We don’t pick people up from the side of a road. We don’t go behind bushes or anything like that. We spend time with our clients and talk to them. We are always decently dressed—always wear good silk saris. Never T-shirts or those miniskirts the other women wear in Bombay.”
We had arrived at Rani’s door. Outside, suspended on the wall, was a cubbyhole stall selling cigarettes and paan. Her younger sister was sitting here, handing out individual bidis and other cigarettes to passersby. As Rani led the way in, she continued, “You see, we live together as a community, and all this gives us some protection. If any client tries to burn us with a cigarette or to force himself on us without wearing a condom, we can shout and everyone comes running.”
Inside, everything was immaculate. The space was divided in two by a large cupboard that almost touched the shack’s roof. The front half of the room was dominated by the large bed where Rani plied her trade. To one side, on a shelf, were several calendar pictures of the goddess. In the back of the room was a second bed—the one Rani slept in. Here were pots and pans, stacked neatly in racks, and below was a kerosene burner for cooking. On a cupboard was a large mirror and Rani’s family photographs: pictures of her son and her old boyfriend—a handsome man with a Bollywood-film-star mustache and dark glasses—and beside that were passport-size shots of her dead daughters. Both were pretty girls, captured smiling when they were around twelve or thirteen.
Rani took the photographs from my hand, and replaced them on the cupboard. Then she led me back to the front half of the room and indicated that I should sit on the bed. I asked her whether her auspicious status made any difference to her clients when they came to be entertained.
“No,” she said. “There is no devotional feeling in bed. Fucking is fucking. There I am just another woman. Just another whore.”
“And do you feel safe from the disease here?” I asked. “Are you confident that the condoms can protect you?”
“No,” she said. “There is always fear. We know that even if you persuade all your clients to wear a condom, one broken one can infect us. And once we are infected there is no cure. We will die—if not today, then tomorrow.”
She paused. “You see, I know what it’s like. I watched both my daughters die, as well as at least six of my friends. I nursed many of them. Some lost their hair. Some had skin diseases. Some just became very, very thin and wasted away. One or two of the most beautiful girls became so repulsive that even I did not want to touch them.”
She shivered slightly. “Of course we feel very scared,” she said. “But we must continue this work if we are to eat. We have a lot of misery to bear. But that is our tradition. That is our karma. We try to show our happy side to the clients to keep attracting them, and put all our efforts into doing a good job.”
“Do you have any hopes for the future?”
“I am saving,” she said. “As I told you, I have bought a little land, and one day, I hope, if I can get some more buffalo and a few goats, maybe I can save enough to retire there and live by selling the milk and curds. Yellamma will look after me.”
“You know that?”
“Of course. If it wasn’t for her, how could an illiterate woman like me earn two thousand rupees in a day? Yellamma is a very practical goddess. I feel she is very near. She is with us in good times and bad.”
Later, I asked one of the project managers of an N.G.O. working in Belgaum about AIDS and how the devadasis’ families reacted.
“It’s terrible,” she said. “The families are happy to live off them and use the money they earn. But as soon as they become infected, or at least become bedridden and sick, they are dumped in a ditch—sometimes literally. Just abandoned. We had a case before Christmas. One girl was taken to a private hospital in Bijapur after she complained of severe headaches. The hospital ran some tests and found that she was H.I.V.-positive and, on top of that, had a brain tumor. She began treatment, but her family checked her out because of the expense and took her home. We found her in a semi-comatose state, completely untended by the same family members she had been supporting for years. She wasn’t even being given water. We took her straight back to the hospital ourselves, but it was too late. She died two weeks later.”
“Then it’s good that Rani will be retiring before too long,” I said.
“That is what she told you?”
“She said she would get some land and some buffalo and try and make a living from that.”
“Rani Bai?”
“I shouldn’t really be telling you this,” she said. “But Rani is infected—she’s been H.I.V.-positive for eighteen months now. I’ve seen the tests.”
“Does she know this?”
“Of course,” she said. “It’s not full-blown AIDS—at least, not yet. The medicines can delay the onset of the worst symptoms. But they can’t cure her.”
She shrugged. “Either way, it’s highly unlikely she’ll ever retire to that farm,” she said. “It’s the same as her daughters. It’s too late to save her.”
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Current treatment strategies for seasonal allergic rhinitis: where are we heading?
Erminia Ridolo ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1439-79021,
Cristoforo Incorvaia1,
Francesco Pucciarini1,
Elena Makri2,
Giovanni Paoletti3,4 &
Giorgio Walter Canonica3,4
Clinical and Molecular Allergy volume 20, Article number: 9 (2022) Cite this article
Allergic rhinitis (AR) is very commonly caused by pollens. The symptoms of AR consist of sneezing, nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, nasal itching and airflow obstruction. The diagnosis has long been based on clinical history, skin prick tests and in vitro measurement of specific IgE, but the innovative approach of precision medicine has made diagnostic tools of much greater accuracy available.
This review covers the advances in the treatment of seasonal AR concerning the drugs to be used according to the grade of disease and the characteristics of the patients, and the role of allergen immunotherapy (AIT), which is the only treatment capable of acting, in addition to the symptoms, on the cause of AR and therefore to modify its natural history.
Drug treatment of AR include a large number of agents, the choice of which depends on the severity of the disease. AIT has high evidence of efficacy demonstrated by meta-analyses, and further improvement is currently apparent, as for diagnosis, applying the means of precision medicine. However, when AIT is performed in current practice, without the strict rules of controlled trials, long-term low adherence is a major problem to be solved.
Allergic rhinitis (AR) is very commonly caused by pollens. The major culprit, due to its presence in all temperate zones, is grass pollen. A recent study on a large birth cohort found that the prevalence of sensitization to Phleum pratense was 9.7% at 4 years, 28.4% at 8 years and 37.1% at 16 years [1]. Further causes of seasonal AR are other pollens belonging to different plant families such as Asteracee, Urticacee, Cupressacee, Betulacee, and Oleacee, with variable importance in the different areas of the world. Symptoms of AR comprise rhinorrea, nasal congestion, sneezing, nasal itching and airflow obstruction, although other related symptoms can also occur [2]. It has long been known that AR has its peak of prevalence in the second to fourth decades of life, and then gradually declines [3]. AR is also a known risk factor for subsequent development of asthma [4, 5].
Several clinical variants of AR have been classified in the past, but the first edition of the document “Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Ashtma” (ARIA) reduced them to only the intermittent and persistent forms [6]. As far as diagnosis is concerned, for a long time the only diagnostic tool available was the analysis of the patient’s clinical history. Today we would tend to think that in patients with symptoms during the time of the year corresponding to a precise pollination of a plant, no further investigation is needed. However, most of patients are polysensitized and even in patients with a monosensitization (rare in real life) the critical period may be shared by different pollens. Therefore an allergy test has to be done possibly in any patients, to confirm the diagnosis.
Precision medicine, which has tools such as component resolved diagnosis (CRD), able to detect specific single-allergen molecules, allow to discern the causative allergens from the simply cross-reactive ones, while defining the patient's treatable traits addressing genetic and phenotypic features, and also omics, to predict the patient's response to the therapy [7] (Fig. 1).
Algorithm of treatment strategies for allergic rhinitis The figure shows how the treatment can be only symptomatic or even disease-modifying through a tailor treatment on the patient, once obtained the etiological diagnosis of seasonal rhinitis
Kind of treatment for AR
The treatment approach for AR may be based on drugs aimed at repealing or reducing allergic symptoms or on allergen immunotherapy (AIT), which is instead designed to modify the immunological response to the causative allergen inducing its tolerance. However, these two treatments have synergistic effect on patients and are not alternatives. Symptomatic treatments for AR are commonly dispensed as over the counter drug by pharmacists. In 2015, a survey performed in Italy showed that 87% of pharmacists, compared to 49% of general practitioners, were unaware of the ARIA guidelines [8]. Thus, the most recent ARIA document stated that, as community pharmacists are for AR patients the most approachable healthcare professionals, “the development of an integrated pathway in which the pharmacist is a member of the interdisciplinary team can affect the quality of both the individual healthcare services and the patient’s healthcare plan” [9].
Since the estimated prevalence of AR ranges from 20 to 30% of the population in both Europe and United States [10], it goes without saying that drug therapy, commonly prescribed by general practitioners, is much more used than AIT, which is prescribed by specialists. Various guidelines are available to address opportunities for quality improvement for clinicians in different settings, in order to optimize the management and care of AR patients and to promote diagnosis's and therapy's effectiveness [3, 11].
Current drug treatment
The International Consensus Statement on allergic rhinitis dedicated a section to the evidence of efficacy for the different drugs used to treat AR, including intranasal and oral antihistamines, intranasal, oral, and injectable corticosteroids, oral and intranasal decongestant, leukotriene receptor antagonist, oral cromolyn, intranasal anticholinergics and biologics (omalizumab), as measured through the Aggregate Grade of Evidence (AGE) [12]. Table 1 shows the respective AGE values to any drug and, when available, its different pharmaceutical preparations, based on the evaluation of studies that received a level based on the Oxford LOE, and the subsequent recommendation level.
Table 1 Efficacy of drugs to treat AR and recommendation level, according to Aggregate Grade of Evidence (AGE) from International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology: Allergic Rhinitis [12]
Another interesting approach is based on optimizing the treatment and disease management by detecting patients with severe AR. A large multicenter French study on seasonal AR assessed the patients with a 17 items questionnaire (Allergic Rhinitis Physician Score (ARPhyS) and the commonly used total symptom score (TSS-17). Patients were stratified according to AR severity and categorized into “mild”, “moderate”, and “severe”, through five different methods. The ARPhyS scale proved to be the best in discriminating the patients' AR severity, with reported cut-offs at the score of 8 to 9 for mild to moderate AR, and of 11 to 12 for moderate to severe AR. TSS-17 also had excellent score reliability (0.864), while Cronbach’s α coefficient was considered only acceptable (0.626). The authors then concluded that the ARPhyS scale could be a useful tool in the general practitioner daily practice, to identify those patients with severe AR in need of the specialist’s interventions [13].
The concept of personalized medicine, which is based on treating the patient and not just the disease, as previously done for centuries, is currently deeply changing the practice of medicine and particularly the therapy [14].
Personalized medicine for drug treatment
The first study using the personalized medicine approach analyzed the outcome of different drugs to treat AR in elderly patients. The results highlighted important matters: first and second generation antihistamines demonstrated a high incidence of adverse effects and drug to drug interactions; oral decongestants were risky when a variety of comorbidities common in older people were present. Leukotriene receptor antagonists were as effective as antihistamines, but less effective than intranasal corticosteroids, which showed the greatest safety and efficacy profile. The authors concluded that the approach for the diagnosis and treatment of AR in elderly patients should be tailored to their specific age-related factors [15]. Further studies evaluated particular applications of personalized medicine. They included: personalized pollen-related symptom-forecast information services for european patients with AR [16]; serum cytokine profiling as an indicator for personalized treatment of allergy [17]; validation of a new molecular multiplex IgE assay for the diagnosis and phenotipization of pollen allergy in the Mediterranean area [18]; implementation of digital technologies, such as online platforms for both patients and physicians, to improve the management of respiratory allergic diseases [19]. It is conceivable that in the years to come the number of studies dedicated to this important topic will increase more and more.
Personalized medicine for allergen immunotherapy
The literature on personalized medicine applications for allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is significantly more abundant. Actually, AIT is perfectly suited to the three needs to be met in personalized medicine: identification of the disease's molecular mechanism, availability of a diagnostic tool able to recognize such mechanism, and a treatment capable of blocking the mechanism itself [20]. Indeed, also before the introduction of personalized medicine, a number of meta-analyses proved the effectiveness of both subcutaneous and sublingual immunotherapy in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis [21,22,23,24]. In two of them, the outcome of AIT was compared to pharmacotherapy. The first meta-analysis demonstrated that the relative clinical impact of AIT was higher than those of mometasone and montelukast [22]; in the second one the relative clinical impact of AIT was greater than second-generation antihistamines and leukotriene receptor antagonists, while comparable to nasal corticosteroids [24]. As for the growing number of studies related to personalized medicine, those of highest interest will be discussed here. Variable personalized methods were used. In the first study, a deep analysis of allergenome in patients allergic to Japanese cedar (the most common seasonal allergy in Japan) was performed using immunoblotting analysis combined with two-dimensional electrophoresis. A number of novel IgE-reactive allergen molecules, including a serine protease, an aspartic protease, a lipid transfer protein, chitinase, as well as some novel IgE-reactive molecules, were found to have potential capacity to improve the diagnostic precision and consequently the effectiveness of AIT [25]. A subsequent study, based on one of the already known mechanisms that cause Th2 dominance, the inhibition of naive T cells differentiation in Th1 cells, tested the AIT ability to produce a shift towards Th1 dominance, presuming an alteration in interferon type I signaling caused by the therapy. Thus, the authors analyzed allergen and diluent challenged CD4+ T cell, from patients at different time points and from a healthy control group. The first results showed complex changes subsequent to AIT, consistent with the authors’ hypothesis of an interferon signaling pathway involving a different number of genes. However, the authors claimed the need for the result's validation in a larger group of patients [26]. More recently, a study in patients allergic to Artemisia pollen analyzed the clinical responses before and after 1 year of AIT, to identify responders to treatment by measure of specific IgE and IgG4 levels using ImmunoCAP and ELISA. Stepwise regression analysis was used to define which rhinitis-relevant parameters explained the variability in the outcome of the therapy. Only the responders had high levels of Artemisia specific IgE and IgG4. Analyzing the association to allergy and protein fold changes, four candidate biomarkers emerged as candidate biomarkers to predict AIT efficacy, while further ELISA proved that only the leukotriene A4 hydrolase was consistent with the proteomics data, showing a significant increase in responders after 1 year of AIT, while non-responders showed no significant changes. Based on these results, the authors suggested that serum LTA4H could be used as a valid biomarker for early prediction of effective AIT [27]. A European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) position paper addressed the potential role of mobile health technologies and applications, including personal devices, such as smartphones and tablet, to sustain and improve health-related services, patients’ self-management, surveillance, and disease management after the first diagnosis of AR, with the aim to optimize the patient’s therapy. A team of experts was then created, to define the current state of the art and the forthcoming potential of mobile health technologies in the field of allergology. Endorsing the "Be He@lthy, Be Mobile" WHO initiative, the quality, usability, efficiency, advantages, limitations, and eventual risks of these solutions used in allergic patients were matters of debate. Also, the regulatory context related to the "General Data Protection Regulation" and Medical Directives of the European Community was implemented. The observations of healthcare workers and allergic patients underlined the demand of in-depth investigation to ensure an effective design of mHealth technologies as supplementary tools to improve the quality of care. In the context of the personalized medicine, these tools might be useful in changing the perspective from a clinician to a patient-centered care. The impact of mobile technologies and the associated big data sets were defined, in different areas of allergology, ranging from allergic rhinitis to asthma, from dermatological diseases to food allergies, insect venom and drug allergy, and also in the field of immunotherapy [28]. Mikus et al. produced an allergome-wide microarray, including 731 allergens and over 172,000 overlapping 16-mer peptides. IgE, IgG4, and IgG allergen recognition was analyzed in samples of serum collected from AR subjects undergoing AIT for pollen allergy. The study showed wide-ranging induction of Phl p 1 and Bet v 1-specific humoral immunity in subjects after 3 years of AIT for grass and birch allergy. Different profiles based on the different epitopes detected were found mainly after 1 year of AIT, indicating that the leading allergen-specific clones persists as a fundamental supplier to humoral immunity even after their preliminary creation during the first phases of the therapy. Pattern of different allergen isoforms specific for different subjects were detected as group cross-reactivities, which might imply different grades of protection against various allergen sources. The authors suggested that the deconvolution of the epitopes could be an important topic for future attempts to evaluate the results of AIT in a personalized practice [29]. The most recent study to date assessed the usableness and impact of an algorithm for decisional support system (@IT2020-CDSS) in seasonal AR caused by either pollens or Alternaria. The diagnostic methods included clinical history, in vivo and in vitro test, in particular component resolved diagnosis (CRD), real-time digital symptom recording, and eDiary on prescription of AIT by the doctor. Following an educational preparation on the @IT2020-CDSS algorithm, a group of doctors (18 allergy specialists, and 28 general practitioners (GP), expressed a hypothetical AIT prescription in about ten different index cases. The association of eDiary and CRD improved the AIT decisions from the group of allergist as for the GPs. Based on history and proved sensitization to whole extracts, AIT prescription for sensitization to pollen or mold was heterogeneous, but the doctors reached a consensus in proposing integration of CRD and eDiary’s informations. The results suggest a potential usefulness of such approach and warrant further investigation [30].
The unsolved problem of poor adherence to medical treatments
Adherence to medical therapy, as the degree to which a subject correctly follows medical advice [31], is of crucial importance in the clinical success of any treatment. A document from WHO stated that low adherence to therapy for chronic illnesses is a universal problem of outstanding relevance. In developed countries the adherence to long-standing therapies for chronic diseases is estimated to be 50%, even lower in developing countries. The burden of scarce adherence increases worldwide equally to the impact of chronic diseases, causing poor health outcomes and severely affecting the effectiveness of therapies, establishing an essential issue in population health, both in regard to quality of life as for the increased health care costs. Investments in secondary prevention of adverse health outcomes and primary prevention of risk factors would therefore have positives returns by clinical decisions aimed to increase adherence to treatments. As to possible solutions, the document stated that patients need to be not condemned but sustained, highlighting that despite indications of the contrary, there still be the trend to point on patient-related aspects as the main cause of poor adherence, while health providers and health system-related factors are important as well. Adherence is an active process in need of a long-term follow up, that requires patient-tailored interventions, while keeping in mind that there is no unique strategy, or group of strategies, that has proved to be successful for all situations, conditions and, in the end, patient. Thus, actions targeting adherence has to be tailored to the particular disease-related needs of the patient [32]. This problem also concerns AIT. In a systematic review including 9998 patients from 81 controlled trials on sublingual immunotherapy, the dropout rates appear not to be a relevant problem, as shown by an overall dropout rate of 14% [33]. However, it is known that randomized, placebo-controlled trials are based on rigid rules and established doctor-patient contact, while observational studies, and even more for current clinical practice, have a significantly lower outcome. [34]. In fact, an analysis based on the official data in continuation of current practice sublingual immunotherapy provided by the manufacturers of various products in 2010 showed an alarming rate of discontinuation, with only 10% of patients continuing the treatment at 3 years after the prescription. The authors defined the phenomenon as uniform and consistent, and suggested that its causes needed to be investigated urgently, because adherence is of primary relevance for the efficacy of SLIT [35]. Even worse results were obtained in a retrospective study published in 2013 from a community pharmacy database from The Netherlands, comprised of data from 6486 patients who started immunotherapy between 1994 and 2009. 2796 patients received subcutaneous immunotherapy and 3690 received sublingual immunotherapy. Globally, the minimally required duration of AIT [3 years] was achieved only by 18% of the subjects. Sublingual treatment had the worst result (7%), but also subcutaneous treatment resulted in bad compliance (23%). Prescribers proved to be independent predictors of early discontinuation, as patients of allergologists and other medical specialists showed shorter persistence than those of general practitioners; other predictors of discontinuation were younger age, lower socioeconomic status and single-allergen therapy [36]. However, the results of these kind of studies are uneven. For example, in a retrospective cohort analysis from a German longitudinal prescription database, the adherence rate after 2 years of AIT with tree pollen and grass allergoid was 60.1% for subcutaneous immunotherapy, while only 29.5% for the sublingual route. Children showed higher adherence than teenagers or adults. A large number of studies on the issue of adherence are available, but the basic concept is that adherence to AIT for inhalants is insufficient for the injection route and awfully insufficient for the sublingual route [37]. The problem must be addressed with commitment. Pitsios and Dietis have dealt with it by identifying and analyzing a number of interventions, including educational sessions. Before the start of AIT, is mandatory to schedule medical evaluations every 90 days, apart from the other visits; is important to keep in touch with the patients in case of pre-seasonal AIT treatment to remind the planned appointments, eventually with the help of a secretary; is also important to explain to the patients the different therapeutic options and try to obtain concordance (mainly in children), showing sincere interest on their opinions and worries, asking questions as: “how do you feel about the evidence that the road ahead you is much longer than the one already traveled since your last visit?”, mentioning the reach of time milestones and reminding them that the evidence of improvement tend to appear slow but will last for a long time after the end of AIT [38].
The treatment of seasonal AR, even if both drug treatment and AIT have been used successfully for a very long time, has still room for improvement. The progress ensured by the innovative precision medicine has already brought enhancements in diagnosis, pharmacological therapy as well as AT, but it is apparent that the road ahead is still longer than the one traveled so far. In particular, the serious problem of poor adherence must be tackled with the utmost commitment, to avoid that an AIT treatment duration shorter than the recommended one of three consecutive years nullifies its effectiveness.
Seasonal AR has been known for centuries, and in 1911, when effective drugs were not available for its treatment, an innovative therapy called desensitization was proposed in the UK, which consisted of initially administering low and then progressively increasing doses of an extract of the grass Phleum pratense, to induce tolerance to the allergen [39]. Today that treatment is known as allergen immunotherapy, which is the only treatment capable of modifying the natural history of allergic conditions [40]. In the meantime, drug therapy has progressively been enriched with numerous agents suitable for treating the different forms and severities of AR. According to a recent review, there is a wide range of existing treatment options for AR, reflecting the variable disease severity and duration. Currently, newer generation antihistamines should be the first-line therapy for mild to moderate AR, while intranasal corticosteroids (INCS) are considered the mainstay treatment in case of moderate to severe AR. In patients with symptoms not controlled by INCS, their combination with additional drugs should be considered, presuming that cost is not a limiting factor [41]. As for the latest generation antihistamines, evidence of efficacy has been obtained for rupatadine by a systematic review of randomized placebo-controlled trials [42], and for bilastine through a multidisciplinary Real-World experience [43]. Concerning the combinations of intranasal formulations, to the first of them, consisting of azelastine and fluticasone [44], it has recently been added olopatadine hydrochloride and mometasone furoate, which demonstrated its efficacy for seasonal and perennial AR in a systematic review and meta-analysis [45].
As for any drug, side effects are possible. The greatest risk is borne by systemic corticosteroids, which must be reserved for the most serious cases. A recent consensus document addressed the efficacy of systemic steroids in the treatment of upper airway diseases as well as highlighting the possible harms of this therapy, providing recommendations for their use. Although with less frequency and severity than systemic corticosteroids, other drugs are also affected by side effects [46]. A recent review on AR management stated that a range of treatment options reflecting the varying disease length and severity is available. Between them, newer generation antihistamines for mild to moderate AR, and intranasal corticosteroids for more severe AR should be the mainstay treatment, even a combination of the two being feasible in the most demanding cases if its cost does not act as a limiting factor. The authors also took into consideration AIT, accomplishing that SCIT still is the option with the most possible targeted allergens, but the potential risk of severe systemic reactions demands weekly scheduled appointments for the administration in the first four to six months of therapy. SLIT has the advantage of being self-administered and is known for a lower risk for systemic reactions. For both treatments, a treatment plan dealing with AR severity and patient preferences is a mandatory standard care [47]. The future of seasonal allergy therapy will greatly benefit from personalized medicine. In a recent comprehensive analysis, Breiteneder et al. examined the modern health care system, which needs an active and individualized response to illnesses, starting from precision diagnosis and resulting in personalized therapy. Novel tools such as disease phenotyping and endotyping and the appliance of consistent biomarkers will become fundamental in the modern approach to allergic patients [48]. In the end, it is our opinion that, regardless the level of intervention, two major problems need to be addressed very seriously: the low adherence to treatments and, less considered but equally relevant, the poor technique for self-administering inhaled drugs, given that large numbers of patients do not use an adequate technique capable of allowing the drug to reach the site of action at the nasal level [12].
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Bousquet J, Anto JM, Bachert C, et al. Allergic rhinitis. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2020;6(1):95.
Hossenbaccus L, Linton S, Garvey S, et al. Towards definitive management of allergic rhinitis: best use of new and established therapies. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol. 2020;16:39.
Breiteneder H, Peng YQ, Agache I, et al. Biomarkers for diagnosis and prediction of therapy responses in allergic diseases and asthma. Allergy. 2020;75(12):3039–68.
Dept. Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Erminia Ridolo, Cristoforo Incorvaia & Francesco Pucciarini
Niguarda Ca’ Granda Hospital, Milan, Italy
Elena Makri
Personalized Medicine, Asthma and Allergy, Humanitas Clinical and Research Hospital, IRCCS, Rozzano, MI, Italy
Giovanni Paoletti & Giorgio Walter Canonica
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, MI, Italy
Erminia Ridolo
Cristoforo Incorvaia
Francesco Pucciarini
Giovanni Paoletti
Giorgio Walter Canonica
ER, CI e FP were the major contributors in writing the manuscript and in devising the figures; GP, EM e GWC were the major contributors to the revision of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Correspondence to Erminia Ridolo.
All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Ridolo, E., Incorvaia, C., Pucciarini, F. et al. Current treatment strategies for seasonal allergic rhinitis: where are we heading?. Clin Mol Allergy 20, 9 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12948-022-00176-x
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12948-022-00176-x
Seasonal allergic rhinitis
Treatment strategy
Symptomatic drugs
Allergen immunotherapy
Respiratory Allergy |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: How can imaging techniques aid in the diagnosis of deep-seated cysts? output: Imaging techniques play a crucial role in the diagnosis of deep-seated cysts by providing detailed anatomical and morphological information that aids in differentiating cyst types and assessing potential malignancy.
Computed Tomography (CT) is often the initial imaging modality used due to its high spatial resolution and ability to provide detailed images of the cyst's size, location, and relationship to surrounding structures. CT is particularly effective in identifying calcifications and assessing communication between cysts and ducts, such as in pancreatic cysts.[1-2]
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), including Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), offers superior soft tissue contrast compared to CT and is highly sensitive in detecting internal cystic structures, such as septations and mural nodules. MRI is preferred for its ability to better characterize cystic lesions and avoid radiation exposure. The American College of Radiology (ACR) recommends MRI over CT for differentiating cystic pancreatic lesions due to its higher sensitivity and specificity.[3]
Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS), while more invasive, provides high-resolution images and allows for fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of cyst fluid for cytological and biochemical analysis. EUS is particularly useful for evaluating cysts with worrisome features or when other imaging modalities are inconclusive. The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) notes that EUS is more accurate than MRI in identifying mural nodules and can be combined with MRI to increase diagnostic sensitivity.[1]
Ultrasound (US) is often used for superficial cysts but can be supplemented with fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) for deeper lesions. For large, deep-seated lesions, US may be less effective, and CT or MRI is preferred for comprehensive assessment.[4]
In summary, CT is typically the first-line imaging modality, MRI is preferred for detailed characterization and avoiding radiation, and EUS is valuable for its diagnostic precision and ability to obtain cyst fluid for further analysis. Combining these modalities can enhance diagnostic accuracy and guide appropriate management. |
War correspondents Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett and Charles Bean both provided first-hand accounts of the landing. Ashmead-Bartlett's first report in Australia of the Anzac landing at Gallipoli was reprinted in the Hobart Mercury on 12 May 1915. The Australian Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher made public Bean's first report of the Anzac landing on 17 May 1915.
Although Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett was a journalist with the British Daily Telegraph he had organised to apply as the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association representative so that he could supply accounts of the operations to the whole of the London press as well as for numerous other British, European and American newspapers.
On 25 April, the pinnaces from the battleships were so busy transporting the men that Ashmead-Bartlett did not actually step onto the peninsula until about 9.30 that night. He wrote later that as he arrived ashore, he was arrested as a spy by an Australian colonel, but was released almost immediately. He spent the next hours travelling around from ship to ship: his pinnace from the London had been commandeered to carry General Birdwood’s Anzac evacuation request to Sir Ian Hamilton and Ashmead-Bartlett travelled from ship to ship with the messenger. By his own account, he arrived back on board London at about 3 am on 26 April.
We publish today a brilliant description of the landingof the Australians and New Zealanders on Gallipoli Peninsula by that experienced war correspondent, Mr Ashmead Bartlett. It is a thrilling story, a story that will make us all feel proud of our soldiers. They have shown that, though transplanted to these southern skies, the breed is still the same as that of the men of Mons and Waterloo, and a hundred other great battles. They were in a desperate position when they landed on the narrow beach in the dawn, but they did not hesitate. They carried the Turkish trenches on the beach and on the cliffs, and, without the support of artillery, held on all day of Sunday, April 25. Their dash and courage saved the situation, and no troops that ever marched have done better.
The battle, or, rather, series of battles, continues to rage, but there must be now large force on the small strip of country from Gaba Tepe to the point of the peninsula. We now hear of Indian troops being there as well as French and British. The latest news is that a great battle is proceeding, to prevent a division of Turkish reinforcements from joining the main forces. It is probable that it is the Australians and New Zealanders that are engaged in this operation.
Detail from a coded telegram sent by Ashmead-Bartlett (In the collection of the State Library of NSW).
There has been further fighting in the Woevre district of France, east of Verdun.
The Austrians claim a great victory in West Galicia, but they could never force the Russians from any position they wished to keep. What has happened is that the Austro-Germans, by a great concentration on the Donigetz River to the east and south-east of Cracow, and with the help of heavy guns have caused the Russians to fall back in that region from the Donigetz and Binla rivers to Jazlo and Biecz on the Wistoka River which is the line they held six weeks ago. Here, doubtless, the advantage of the heavy guns is lost. The Russians made a strategic movement, which does not weaken, but probably strengthens their line, and does not affect the general situation.
General Botha has had further successes in South-West Africa. He is gradually cutting off and drawing round Windheck.
"It required splendid skill, organisation, and leadership. The huge armada got under way from Mudros Bay, on the Island of Lemnos, without accident. The warships and transports were divided into five divisions. Never before has an attempt been made to land so large a force in the face of a well-prepared enemy.
At 2 o’clock on April 24 the flagship of the division conveying the Australians and New Zealanders passed down the long line of slowly-moving transports, amid tremendous cheering, and was played out of the bay by the French warship."
A coded telegram sent by Ashmead-Bartlett (In the collection of theState Library of NSW).
"At 4 o’clock the ship’s company and the troops on board assembled to hear the admiral’s proclamation to the combined force. This was followed by the last service before the battle, in which the chaplain uttered a prayer for victory, and besought the Divine blessing for the expedition, all the men standing with uncovered, bowed heads."
"At dark all the lights were put out, and the troops rested for their ordeal at dawn. It was a beautiful calm night, with a bright, half-moon."
"By 1 o’clock in the morning the ships had reached their rendezvous, five miles from the intended landing place. The soldiers were aroused, and served with their last hot meal before landing. The Australians, who were about to go into action for the first time under trying circumstances, were cheerful, quiet, and confident, and there was no sign of nerves or excitement."
"As the moon waned, the boats were swung out. The Australians received their last instructions, and these men, who only six months ago were living peaceful, civilian lives, began to disembark on a strange, unknown shore, and in a strange land to attack an enemy of a different race.
Each boat, which was in charge of a midshipman, was loaded with a great rapidity in absolute silence, and without a hitch, and the covering force towed ashore by the ships' pinnaces. More of the Australian brigade were carried aboard torpedo-boat destroyers, which were to go close inshore as soon as the covering force had landed.
At 3 o’clock it was quite dark, and a start was made towards the shore with suppressed excitement. Would the enemy be surprised, or be on the alert?
At 4 o’clock, three battleships, line abreast and four cables apart, arrived 2,500 yards from the shore, with their guns manned and their searchlights in readiness. Very slowly, the boats in tow, like twelve great snakes, moved towards the shore. Each edged towards each other in order to reach the beach four cables apart. The battleships moved in after them until the water shallowed. Every eye was fixed on the grim line of hills in front, menacing in the gloom, and the mysteries of which those in the boats were about to solve.
Not a sound was heard, not a light seen, and it appeared as if the enemy had been surprised. In our nervy state the stars were often mistaken for lights ashore."
Portrait of Ashmead-Bartlett from Despatches from the Dardanelles (In the collection of the State Library of NSW).
"The progress of the boats was slow, and dawn was rapidly breaking at 4.50 when the enemy showed alarm for a light which had flashed for ten minutes then disappeared. The boats appeared almost like one on the beach. Seven torpedo-boat destroyers then glided noiselessly towards the shore.
At 4.53 came a sharp burst of rifle fire from the beach. The sound relieved the prolonged suspense which had become almost intolerable. The rifle fire lasted a few minutes, and a faint British cheer came over the waters, telling us that the first position was won.
At three minutes past 5 the fire was intensified. By the sound of the reports we could tell that our men were in action. The firing lasted for 23 minutes and then died down somewhat."
"The boats returned, and a pinnace came alongside with two recumbent figures on deck, and a small midshipman, who cheerfully waving his hand said, 'with shot through the stomach.' The three had been wounded in the first burst of musketry. The boats had almost reached the beach when a party of Turks, who were entrenched on shore, opened a terrible fusillade from rifles and Maxim guns. Fortunately, most of the bullets went high. Rush for the trenches, the Australians rose to the occasion. They did not wait for orders, or for the boats to reach the beach, but sprang into the sea, formed a sort of rough line, and rushed at the enemy’s trenches. Their magazines were not charged, so they just went in with the cold steel, and it was over in a minute, for the Turks in the first trench had been either bayoneted or had run away and the Maxim guns were captured."
"Then the Australians found themselves facing an almost perpendicular cliff of loose sandstone covered with thick shrubbery. Somewhere half-way up the enemy had a second trench strongly held, from which there poured a terrible fire on the troops below and on those pulling back to the torpedo-boat destroyers for a second landing party."
"Here was a tough proposition to tackle in the darkness, but these Colonials are practical above all else, and went about it in a practical way. They stopped for a few minutes to pull themselves together, got rid of their packs and charged the magazines of their rifles. Then this race of athletes proceeded to scale the cliffs, without responding to the enemy’s fire. They lost some men, but did not worry. In less than a quarter of an hour the Turks had been hurled out of their second position, all either bayoneted or fled."
"As daylight came it was seen that a landing had been effected rather further north of Gaba Tepe than had originally been intended, and at a point where the cliffs rise very sheer. The error was a blessing in disguise, for there were no places down which the enemy could fire, and the broken ground afforded good cover once the Australians had passed the forty yards of the flat beach."
"The country in the vicinity of the landing looked formidable and forbidding. To the sea it presents a steep front, broken into innumerable ridges, bluffs, valleys, and sandspits, rising to a height of several hundred feet. The surface is bare, crumbly sandstone, covered with shrubbery about six feet in height.
"It is an ideal place for snipers, as the Australians and New Zealanders soon found to their cost. On the other hand, the Colonials proved themselves adept at this kind of warfare."
"In the early part of the day heavy casualties were suffered in the boats conveying the troops from the torpedo-boat destroyers, tugs, and transports. The enemy’s sharpshooters, who were hidden everywhere, concentrated their fire on the boats."
"When close in, at least three boats broke away from their tow, and drifted down the coast without control, and were sniped at the whole way, and were steadily losing men."
"The work of disembarking proceeded mechanically under point blank fire, but the moment the boats touched the beach the troops jumped ashore and doubled for cover. From hundreds of points this went on during the landing of troops, ammunition, and stores."
"When it was daylight the warships endeavoured to support the landing by heavy fire from their secondary armaments, but, not knowing the enemy’s position, the support had more of a moral than a real effect."
The central logo design on the "Alexandria Station" telegram sent by Ashmead-Bartlett on the 30 June 1915. (In the collection of the State Library of NSW).
"When the sun had fully risen we could see that the Australians and New Zealanders had actually established themselves on the ridge, and were trying to work their way to the northward along it. The fighting was so confused, and occurred on such broken ground that it was difficult to follow exactly what had happened on the 25th April, but the task of the covering forces had been so splendidly carried out that the Turks allowed the disembarkation of the remainder to proceed uninterruptedly, except for the never-ceasing sniping. But then the Australians, whose blood was up, instead of entrenching, rushed to the northwards and to the eastwards searching for fresh enemies to bayonet. It was very difficult country in which to entrench, and they therefore preferred to advance."
"The Turks only had a weak force actually holding the beach, and relied on the difficult ground and the snipers to delay the advance until reinforcement came. Some of the Australians and New Zealanders who pushed inland were counter-attacked and almost outflanked by oncoming reserves, and had to fall back after suffering heavy losses.
The Turks continued to counter-attack the whole of the afternoon, but the Colonials did not yield a foot on the main ridge.
Reinforcements poured up from the beach, but the Turks enfiladed the beach with two field guns from Gaba Tepe. This shrapnel fire was incessant and deadly, and the warships vainly for some hours tried to silence it.
The majority of the heavy casualties received during the day were from shrapnel, which swept the beach and ridge where the Australians had established themselves. Later in the day the Turkish guns were silenced, or forced to withdraw, and a cruiser, moving close in shore, plastered Gaba Tepe with a hail of shell."
Date stamp and signature on one of the telegrams sent by Ashmead-Bartlett on the 30 June 1915. (In the collection of the State Library of NSW).
"Towards dark the attacks became more vigorous. The enemy were supported by powerful artillery inland which the ships' guns were powerless to deal with. The pressure on the Australians became heavier, and their lines had been contracted.
General Birdwood and his staff landed in the afternoon, and devoted their energies to securing the position, so as to hold it firmly until the next morning when it was hoped to get the field guns into position."
"Some idea of the difficulties in the way can be gathered when it is remembered that every round of ammunition and all the water and stores had to be landed on a narrow beach, and carried up pathless hills and valleys several hundred feet high to the firing line. The whole of the troops were concentrated upon a very small area, and were unable to reply, though exposed to a relentless and incessant shrapnel fire which swept every yard of ground. Fortunately, much of it was badly aimed or burst too high.
The most serious problem was the getting of the wounded to the shore for all those unable to hobble had to be carried from the hills on stretchers; then their wounds were hastily dressed, and they were carried to the boats."
"The boat parties worked unceasingly the entire day and night.
The courage displayed by these wounded Australians and New Zealanders will never be forgotten. Hastily placed in trawlers, lighters, or boats, they were towed to the ships, and, in spite of their sufferings, they cheered the ship from which they had set out in the morning.
In fact, I have never seen anything like these wounded Colonials in war before. Though many were shot to bits, and without hope of recovery, their cheers resounded throughout the night and you could see in the midst of a mass of suffering humanity arms waving in greeting to the crews of the warships. They were happy because they knew they had been tried for the first time, and had not been found wanting."
"For 15 mortal hours the Australians and New Zealanders occupied the heights under an incessant shell fire, and without the moral and material support of a single gun from the shore. They were subjected the whole time to violent counter-attacks from a brave enemy, skillfully led, and with snipers deliberately picking off every officer who endeavoured to give the command or to lead his men. No finer feat has happened in this war than this sudden landing in the dark, and the storming of the heights, and, above all, the holding on whilst the reinforcements were landing. These raw colonial troops, in these desperate hours, proved worthy to fight side by side with the heroes of the battles of Mons, the Aisne, Ypres, and Neuve-Chapelle.
"Early on the morning of April 26 the Turks repeatedly tried to drive the Colonials from their position. The latter made local counter-attacks, and drove off the enemy with the bayonet, which the Turks will never face.
The Turks had been largely reinforced over night, and had prepared a big assault from the north-east, and the movement began at half-past nine. From the ships we could see the enemy creeping along the hilltops, endeavouring to approach under cover. The enemy also brought up more guns, and plastered the position with shrapnel, while their rifle and machine-gun fire became unceasing."
"Seven warships crept close in, with the Queen Elizabeth further out as a kind of chaperone. Each warship covered a section, and opened a terrific bombardment on the heights and valley beyond.
As the Turkish infantry advanced they were met by every kind of shell our warships carry from 'Lizzies' (18-inch shrapnel) to 12-pounders. Their shooting was excellent, yet, owing to the splendid cover they had, the Turks advanced gallantly, while their artillery not only shelled our positions, but tried to drive off the ships."
"The scene at the heights of the engagement was sombre and magnificent. It was a unique day, and perfectly clear. We could see down the coast as far as Seddul Bahr. There the warships were blazing away, and on shore the rifle and machine-gun rattle was incessant. The hills before us were ablaze with shells, while masses of troops were on the beaches waiting their turn to take their places in the trenches.
One of the telegrams sent by Ashmead-Bartlett to the Daily Telegraph in London reporting on the Gallipoli campaign. It shows the heavy military censorship that the War correspondents text was subjected to. (In the collection of the State Library of NSW).
"The great attack lasted for two hours. We received messages that the fire of the ships was inflicting awful losses on the enemy, and then there came the flash of the bayonet in a sudden charge of the Colonials, before which the Turks broke and fled, amidst a perfect tornado of shells from the ships. They fell back sullen and checked, but they kept up an incessant fire throughout the day. The Colonials, however, were now dug in.
"Some prisoners were captured, including officers, who said the Turks were becoming demoralised by the gunfire, and the Germans had had difficulty in getting them to attack."
"The most prominent feature since my last message has been the great damage done to the forts at the Narrows by the guns of the fleet and the artillery of the land forces. Maidos is still on fire.
On Friday afternoon the Queen Elizabeth was getting most destructive shots in at Boghali Kalesai, opposite Nagara, until the place caught fire. Chanak was on fire by midday on Saturday. It is evident that the fleet is making considerable progress."
Detail from of the above telegram showing the blue pencil used by the military censor together with the censor’s stamp of approval. (In the collection of the State Library of NSW).
"The Australians and New Zealanders are pushing on towards the coast between Maidos and Boghali. The ‘pitter-patter’ of the machine-guns on the hills can be clearly heard from Aegean Sea.
The battleships at the entrance to the Dardanelles late on Saturday shelled the positions inland to facilitate the progress of the French at Kum Kale, on the Asiatic side.
The week’s progress is amply satisfactory in every way."
"In reply to a question asked by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Bonar Law), in the House of Commons today, the Prime Minister (Mr. Asquith) gave a detailed account of the landing of the British and French forces at the Dardanelles.
He said it commenced at three important points simultaneously on April 25, in the face of much opposition from entrenched infantry and artillery. By the nightfall 29,000 men had been landed. The Indians were held up for the whole day, but eventually succeeded by a fine attack, in taking up a position which enable them to cover the disembarkation of the remainder of their forces.
The landing of the Australians and New Zealanders was opposed by a heavy fire at point-blank range, but the troops carried the Turkish position with a rush. The attack was pushed forward with the greatest dash.
The French landed on the Asiatic side, and advanced with great gallantry.
The whole landing was magnificently supported by the naval forces. The losses during the operation were heavy.
The disembarkation continued the next day (April 26). Every Turkish attack was repulsed, and the troops were, by April 27, firmly established across the peninsula. The New Zealanders and Australians defeated every counter-attack.
By May 2 the position had everywhere been consolidated. The successful performance of this difficult operation in the face of determined opposition displayed unsurpassed courage and skill on the part of the troops. Operations are now being continually pressed on under highly satisfactory conditions."
Mr. Ashmead Bartlett’s graphic account of the glorious deeds of Australians in the Gallipoli Peninsula has sent a thrill of pride throughout the whole Commonwealth. It was a great achievement to land in the dark on a coast where the enemy’s strength was unknown, and, having driven the Turks back, to hold the country firmly, while reinforcements followed. Every one of those who are taking part in the action against the Turks will appreciate the words of General Birdwood, who said he could not sufficiently praise their courage, endurance, and soldierly qualities. Though the list of casualties has brought grief to many homes, there is consolation in the thought that all our men at the front are fighting gloriously for the defence of the Empire. Many more thousands of young men are giving their services, and in course of time will join their comrades in the battle line. And in the coming years the memory of all those who fought in the greatest war the world has ever seen, and in the severest crisis through which the Empire has ever passed, will be handed down from generation to generation with pardonable pride. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: What are the common clinical manifestations of Type I hypersensitivity reactions? output: Type I hypersensitivity reactions, also known as immediate hypersensitivity reactions, are IgE-mediated responses to allergens.
The clinical manifestations of these reactions are diverse and can affect multiple organ systems.
Cutaneous manifestations are among the most common and include urticaria (hives), angioedema, flushing, and pruritus. These symptoms result from the release of histamine and other inflammatory mediators from mast cells and basophils.[1-3]
Respiratory symptoms are also frequent and can include allergic rhinitis (sneezing, nasal congestion, rhinorrhea), allergic conjunctivitis (itchy, watery eyes), bronchospasm, wheezing, cough, and dyspnea. These symptoms are due to the involvement of the respiratory tract and can range from mild to severe, potentially leading to anaphylaxis.[3-5]
Gastrointestinal symptoms may occur, such as abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. These symptoms are less common but can be significant, especially in food-induced allergic reactions.[3]
Cardiovascular symptoms can include hypotension, tachycardia, and in severe cases, anaphylactic shock. These symptoms are critical as they can lead to life-threatening situations if not promptly managed.[3]
Anaphylaxis is the most severe form of Type I hypersensitivity reaction and typically involves multiple organ systems. It is characterized by a rapid onset of symptoms, including cutaneous, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular manifestations. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) guidelines emphasize the importance of recognizing these symptoms promptly to initiate appropriate treatment.[2-3]
In summary, the common clinical manifestations of Type I hypersensitivity reactions include urticaria, angioedema, pruritus, allergic rhinitis, bronchospasm, gastrointestinal symptoms, and anaphylaxis. These symptoms result from the release of histamine and other mediators from mast cells and basophils, leading to a rapid and often severe immune response. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Doctor, I have a rash that has spread all over my body. It's been itching and bothering me a lot for the past few days. What could this be? output: Based on your description, it sounds like you may have a viral exanthem. In order to confirm this diagnosis, I would recommend a complete physical skin exam, as well as other diagnostic procedures such as an interview, evaluation, and consultation. |
We have created additional guidance on the sanction process to complement the Handbook. It addresses key practical points and follows the natural timeline of a case from application through to the accounts stage. A section has also been created that you can direct experts, witnesses and shorthand writers to so they understand sanction and their role in the process.
Unless otherwise stated, "the Act" or "the 1986 Act" means the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986, and “the regulations” means the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 2002.
Changes made to sections on reporting and sanctions in this chapter in March 2009 mean that paragraph numbering has changed throughout.
The right of a solicitor to give up a legal aid case is recognised by section 31(2) of the 1986 Act. The circumstances in which you may do so are a matter of professional practice. Having decided that you should cease to act, you do not have to get our prior permission to be relieved from acting. You must, however, in terms of regulation 25(1), tell the assisted person and us that you have withdrawn, and tell us why using the online ‘Cease to Act’ function.
If you are told the assisted person no longer wishes you to act, you must tell us (regulation 25(2)), using the online ‘Cease to Act’ function.
While an assisted person may ask you to stop acting for them, they cannot insist on transferring their legal aid to another solicitor. They must get our approval to nominate another solicitor – the newly instructed solicitor will usually apply for our approval on their behalf, using the online ‘Transfer Registration’ application.
it is reasonable for them to continue to receive legal aid.
whether public funds are likely to be unjustifiably spent by instructing a different solicitor at the stage reached in the case.
However, the decision on the application to nominate another specified solicitor is entirely ours.
Any transfer to a new solicitor will only be effective from the date we authorise it, and cannot be made retrospectively. Any work done by the incoming solicitor, or on their instructions, before that date, will not be allowable under the legal aid. If you need to do work as a matter of urgency, you should contact us by phone or fax to arrange an urgent transfer.
Transfer of an application – no legal aid decision made – where a transfer of agency is being sought prior to the determination of the application, the incoming solicitor should make a transfer application using the online ‘Transfer Application’ function.
Complete the transfer registration screen and confirm you have obtained a copy of the transfer declaration.
The Board will notify the incoming solicitor of the decision taken and, where granted, the incoming solicitor will now have access to the online record including notifications.
The incoming solicitor must check the status of the application prior to undertaking any work on behalf of the client as the application may still be outstanding. Where the work is urgent a special urgency application may require to be submitted.
Transfer of Legal Aid Certification – Solicitor moving firm but nominated solicitor unchanged - The nominated solicitor must notify us in writing of all cases that they are taking with them to any new firm and provide details of the new firm code. As these are not transfers no client online declaration form is required.
Nominated solicitor moving firm but client wishes to stay with firm - Transfer applications require to be submitted by the solicitor within the firm who is now to act on behalf of the applicant. A signed declaration from the applicant is required. Alternatively, we will accept a signed letter from the acting solicitor advising that they have no objection to the cases being transferred to another solicitor within the firm, together with a list of cases to be transferred and a note of the new solicitor’s practitioner code.
If a transfer is required because the nominated solicitor commences maternity leave/has ill health or passes away, the normal transfer procedure applies: a client’s transfer declaration requires to be completed and the online line transfer application submitted.
reassures opponents that the case is being regularly reviewed.
Please refer to the civil legal aid application submitted to us when making a stage report. If legal aid has been transferred to you from another solicitor and you do not know what information was previously given to us, please provide a summary of the case to date.
You can ask for stage payments but you do not need to submit a stage report with such a request. We will consider the stage payment request without any reference to stage reporting.
Where a case is sisted for legal aid you do not have to submit a stage report. However if legal aid is subsequently granted and the case remains sisted you should submit an unprompted stage report to tell us of the progress being made in the case. You should submit this report as soon as possible after the grant of legal aid is made but no later than three months after the grant of legal aid.
any circumstances financial or otherwise which may affect our decision that the applicant or assisted person has probable cause or that it is reasonable in the particular circumstances of the case that that person should receive or continue to receive legal aid.
Regulation 23(4) states that a solicitor is not precluded from reporting such circumstances because of any privilege arising out of the relationship between solicitor and client.
we may need to re-assess eligibility.
The report will allow us to take the appropriate action.
where a sist is recalled other than where the sist was only for the purpose of seeking legal aid. If, for example, a case was been sisted to allow negotiations to try to settle the case to take place but settlement has not been possible we need to be told why this is the case and what steps are needed to bring the case to a conclusion. We also need to be given information about the likely costs of seeing the case to a conclusion.
where the outcome of any debate or hearing has changed the nature of the assisted person’s case. Where the court has reached a decision about any matter that impacts on a case being put forward by the person receiving civil legal aid you must give us full information about this to allow us to decide what action, if any, is needed in respect of that grant of civil legal aid.
whenever any hearing of any sort of three days or more is fixed. Where such hearings are fixed the costs may be significant and this information is needed at the earliest possible opportunity, together with information on continuing prospects of success, to allow us to decide what action, if any, is needed in respect of the grant of civil legal aid.
where you are given, or have information, that suggests the prospects of success in the case and/or the prospects of recovery have altered. You must give us full information about the changes and what has led to the alteration since the application was lodged or a report last submitted. Issues relating to the prospects of success and the prospects of recovery are very significant in our assessment of whether it is reasonable to make civil legal aid available so you must give us full information where there is any change.
in any cases involving children where allegations of abuse or sexual abuse of any sort arise. Allegations of abuse of any sort in family cases can result in proceedings being significantly elongated and more expensive. These allegations can also take up significant amounts of court time. It is important that we are made aware of any such allegations as soon as they are made where this information was not available when the application for civil legal aid was initially made. You should give us your views about the allegations being made and the prospects for successfully either establishing or defending such allegations.
whenever an expert has been instructed on behalf of the applicant or assisted person and the report shows a material difference from that being advanced as their position in the case. Where a report is critical of the position being adopted by the assisted person to any degree that may potentially impact on the case to be presented or may result in that expert not being used in the case any further, we need to be advised of this. We need this information to allow us to evaluate whether it is appropriate for a grant of civil legal aid to remain in place given the views of the expert.
where a report is obtained in any case involving children and the reporter is not supportive of the assisted person or applicant’s position in the case. This information is needed to allow us to assess whether the case should continue to be funded at public expense.
the assisted person’s capital increases by £500 or more during the lifetime of the case (even if legal aid has been terminated beforehand).
prospects of avoiding elongated court procedure.
If an unprompted response is not lodged and it becomes clear that an event occurred during the course of proceedings that should have been the subject of such a report then consideration will be given to the question of payment of the account. If the failure to provide an unprompted stage report involved a significant issue that would have impacted on the continuing grant of civil legal aid then consideration will be given to not paying for any work undertaken from the point when the unprompted stage report should have been lodged unless it can be shown that there are good reasons for making such payment notwithstanding the failure to provide an unprompted stage report.
Note: You should refer to paragraphs 7.20-30 for employment of counsel or solicitor-advocates in reparation cases.
Practical guidance has been created to complement this section and is available here.
Regulation 21 lists the situations where our prior approval is needed for employing senior and junior counsel. “Counsel” includes solicitor advocates acting in the Sheriff Appeal Court, Court of Session and the Supreme Court. The regulation does not lay down any criteria for approval.
• for one junior counsel in the Court of Session.
In all other situations you must get our approval for each piece of work you want counsel to carry out. If we grant sanction for a proof then from that point on counsel is able to consult, give advice, prepare etc. without the need for further sanction up to the conclusion of the proof. In addition such a grant will include appearing at any expenses hearings if needed and giving advice on the prospects for an appeal should this be required. All work undertaken will be subject to the usual accounts assessments on the need for the work and it being done appropriately.
there is no “magic” in using the word “appropriate”.
While this case concerned a criminal legal aid application the wording in relation to representation applies equally to civil legal aid. The definition of civil legal aid at section 13 of the Act can equally be seen to set a test, in very wide terms, for the employment of counsel.
highlight any relevant issues, whether in the pleadings, reports or other documents, to draw attention to them and to allow the issues to be given proper, detailed consideration.
the number, nature or significance of the productions involved in the case.
This list is not exhaustive and other factors, not listed, justifying the use of counsel could be present in a case.
You must explain the specific circumstances of the case, rather than referring to abstract concepts that may or may not apply in the specific case. The information needs to be adequate to allow us to take an overall view of the case.
Parity of representation may not, of itself, be enough to justify employing counsel. In cases where we have sanctioned counsel for another legally-aided party in the action, this may, however, be a persuasive factor. We will consider carefully whether there is any basis for distinguishing between two legally-aided parties by granting counsel to one party only.
Where the case is likely to involve cross-examination or criticism of another solicitor practising in the same locality or of some other locally-based court official, we will view this as a supportive factor.
If you cannot attend a diet personally because of personal or business circumstances. The circumstances would need to be exceptional with no possibility of transferring the case to another solicitor or having it dealt with on an agency basis. Where the difficulty has arisen simply because of a clash of dates and the problem would have been known some time before the court hearing, we will not usually grant sanction.
If you cannot attend the diet personally, where you have had a long-standing involvement in the case and the client feels comfortable only with you. This may be a factor justifying the use of counsel to allow you to continue to act and to prevent a fresh solicitor having to familiarise themselves with a case.
If you cannot deal with a case because of sudden illness or the death of a key member of staff, provided you can show you have tried to find other arrangements to resolve the difficulty, and provide details of the likely pressure on the applicant.
If there is no experienced local bar. In smaller, more rurally-based courts solicitors may, from time to time, need to take on casework involving matters they are not familiar with and might need assistance to run the case. In more populated areas where there is a wide range of solicitors’ firms, we would not view lack of experience as a supportive factor.
whether a decision has previously been taken in a case with similar circumstances which does not support the case or there is difficult expert evidence to be led.
the progress of the case will be slowed or halted by a refusal to allow junior to become involved.
try to show the problem is beyond the competence of a practising solicitor.
What exactly is the legal issue to be considered by counsel?
Is this a matter so complex or so unusual that it appears to be outwith the scope of a solicitor’s knowledge or experience?
Is there enough information to place before counsel to enable them to give a meaningful opinion?
What is the opinion to be used for?
Will it perhaps save expenses in the long run?
Is it premature to ask for counsel’s opinion?
Is there any information about what the legal issue is and the need for counsel?
Where sufficient information is available, is it adequate to establish the legal issue involved and that this is complex, novel or something which otherwise needs the use of counsel?
We will bear in mind the nature and value of the subject matter – is it sufficiently serious or potentially valuable, or perhaps more than de minimis but not of great value or significant importance to the client?
We may be satisfied that it is in order to grant for an opinion but not necessarily for a consultation, or vice versa. If we make any restriction, we will state this.
If we grant a request for an opinion of counsel, we will specify whether we have granted it for junior or senior counsel.
Any grant will cover not just the cost of the opinion or the consultation itself, but also your work.
As always, is it necessary and reasonable?
to interpret complex medical evidence in a medical negligence action.
If appropriate, a copy of any note from junior counsel recommending the employment of senior counsel should be provided.
Regulation 21 of the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 1996 lists the situations where you need our prior approval to employ senior and junior counsel. The regulation does not lay down any criteria for approval.
for one junior counsel in the Court of Session.
In all other situations, you must get our approval for the use of counsel.
You must apply for sanction to employ counsel by using the online ‘Sanction’ function as soon as possible once you identify the need for counsel.
If you are asking for more than one counsel, you require to submit separate sanctions for each one. We cannot consider a request for sanction unless you give us enough information to show the need to involve counsel and the benefit they will bring to the case.
whether the matter is to be heard by a civil jury.
Where there is a formal admission of liability, tell us so that we can take it into account. If damages for a reasonable amount (minimum £20,000) are likely to be recovered there is unlikely to be any loss to the Fund, so you should give us information about this. We may then put less emphasis on cost effectiveness but it is important to bear in mind that even then we have to consider each case on its own merits.
details of the particular complexities in the case that support the need to use counsel.
Where we grant sanction for counsel, this will cover their involvement throughout the case unless your request was for specific steps only. We will set out the extent of the grant in any correspondence we send you. If we do not restrict their use, you may instruct counsel to undertake the necessary work in the case.
Do you almost know the answer to the problem, but just want counsel’s opinion for reassurance?
Are you claiming your client does not want to believe an unfavourable opinion you have given them?
Is there any information as to what the legal issue is and the need for counsel?
Is the available information adequate to establish the legal issue involved and that this is complex, novel or something which otherwise needs the use of counsel.
We may decide to grant for an opinion but not necessarily for a consultation, or vice versa. If we restrict the grant, we will tell you in writing.
If appropriate, send us a copy of any note from junior counsel recommending the employment of senior counsel.
You must apply to us, if you need sanction, before employing counsel. We may grant it retrospectively, if we would have done so had prior approval been sought. However, we will only do so if we consider there was special reason why it was not sought. For example, if senior counsel had been employed in a Court of Session case and the local agents believed the Edinburgh agents had sought sanction and vice versa, we might consider there was special reason. We do not regard oversight as a special reason. (We cannot grant sanction retrospectively if prior approval was sought but we refused the request).
Regulation 21 provides that our prior approval is needed for employing any expert witness. No specific criteria for approval are laid down in the regulations and the matter is at our discretion.
Practical guidance has been created to complement this section and is available here. We have also developed a tool that allows you to check whether your case has templated sanctions available.
We have introduced templates for using certain experts and mediation. The categories covered and the maximum levels for expenditure (excluding VAT) allowed for the report are shown in the templates which can be viewed by selecting ‘Expert & Templates’ from the ‘Create Sanction’ screen, then from ‘Type’ selecting ‘Template’.
If you apply for sanction using a template you do not need to send us substantial information about the case such as copies of the pleadings or comparative quotes. In addition, you do not have to provide the name of the expert you are instructing.
where you need sanction for more than one expert in different categories of template – for example, for a gynaecologist’s report and a midwife’s report.
for retrospective approval for sanction.
You should use the template for an expert report or mediation where you are seeking sanction for the first time for that particular type of expert to prepare a report or to use mediation.
The templates do not allow you to instruct an expert to produce a supplementary report, even if you have sufficient funding left over within the template limit from the first report from that expert. If you need a supplementary report you should select ‘Expert & Templates’ from the ‘Create Sanction’ screen, then from ‘Type’ select ‘Custom’.
You can use more than one template when seeking sanction. Where it is your first request to instruct a specific type of expert or to use mediation you can ask for one expert or authority for mediation in each relevant template category. For example, in a reparation case you can use the templates for reports from a health and safety expert and an orthopaedic surgeon. If, however, you want sanction for two health and safety expert reports you can only use a template for one. You will need to make a separate sanction request for the second health and safety report by selecting’ Expert & Templates’ from the ‘Create Sanction’ screen, then from ‘Type’ selecting ‘Custom’. You do not need to apply for all the experts you want for the case using the templates at one time. If, for example, you previously asked for sanction for a health and safety expert using a template and you now want sanction for an orthopaedic surgeon’s report you can use Section D.
Where you have authority to instruct an expert report using the templates in Section D you do not have to ask us for cover for their subsequent attendance at court should this be necessary.
you are not asking for sanction retrospectively.
We have not introduced templates for cases where we would need a substantial amount of information before authorising a particular type of expert’s involvement. If the expert you wish to use is not included in the list of templates you should complete the sanction application at Section E.
You cannot use the templates at Section D to get retrospective authority to use an expert or mediation. If you need retrospective authority, complete Section E.
Practical guidance has been created to complement this section and is available here. We have also created a tool that allows you to check whether sanction is required if a witness is acting as an expert.
While you must get our prior approval to employ expert witnesses in all types of case, there is some dubiety about whether certain witnesses should be regarded as "experts" or not.
they would not have been involved as a witness in the case had one or other of the parties not specifically asked them to give such an opinion.
The expert does not actually have to be called to give evidence to meet the description "witness" . For example, a surveyor instructed to provide a valuation of a property is certainly an expert witness, even if the parties have agreed to abide by his opinion and he is not likely to be asked to give evidence.
By the same token, someone skilled and expert in their field may be cited and give evidence, but does not need our sanction if their evidence is factual. For example, a medical practitioner may be cited to give evidence of a litigant’s injuries, and of the treatment given, where their contact with the litigant has arisen in an ordinary doctor/patient relationship (in other words, the evidence is factual, although the facts are of a medical nature).
Applicant's own chartered accountant: If chartered accountants are to be employed specifically, having had no previous engagement with the litigant, they would be acting in the role of experts. However, occasionally you may want to get the evidence of a chartered accountant who is normally employed by the litigant to do their books, to give a report based on their existing knowledge of the litigant’s circumstances. That is not a case where sanction as an expert witness is needed.
Searchers: Occasionally during civil litigation you may need to employ a professional firm of searchers to do a search in the Registers of Scotland. These would not be classed as experts providing opinionative evidence, and you would not need sanction.
GPs and hospital doctors: Family doctors are not classed as experts, even though they have specialised medical knowledge not available to the layman. Such a witness would be giving evidence on the litigant’s complaints about their symptoms and on the treatment given. There is no need for any special authority to employ a general practitioner.
Hospital doctors below the status of consultant may have to speak to injuries observed by them and treatment given, but they would be classed as witnesses as to fact, and no special authorisation is needed.
Medical consultants: Whether a medical consultant counts as an expert witness depends on whether they are speaking to treatment they have given to the litigant, or whether they have been consulted specially for an opinion in connection with a court action. For example, someone may wish to bring a reparation action against their employers for an injury sustained at work, for which their GP has previously referred them to a consultant specialist for treatment. The solicitor will obviously wish to get a report from that specialist, both about the nature of the patient's infirmities (and the treatment given) and on what the prospects are for continuing disability.
In this situation, the specialist is not acting as an expert witness but giving evidence as to fact, although of a specialised nature. The opinion they offer is no more than the professional opinion they would form in the normal course of giving treatment to a patient. They can therefore be regarded as a witness as to fact.
However, you may refer an injured party to a specialist to get an opinion on, say, the degree of disability suffered and the likelihood of its persistence. In these circumstances, the specialist would not have been involved with the case had it not been for the court action and they are, therefore, an expert witness.
Photographers: Photographers employed to take photographs of a locus are not classed as expert witnesses.
Where a welfare and/or a financial guardianship order is being sought in terms of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) 2000 any reports that need to be provided to satisfy the court that the orders are appropriate do not need our prior sanction as the reports are not expert reports. If, however, the reports will cost in excess of £2,000 then sanction is needed as this involves unusually large expenditure. Paragraph 7.43 details the requirements for sanction for unusually large expenditure.
A sanction request must always be made via our online function. Using this means we should receive all the basic information needed for a prompt decision, and should avoid the need for continuation. In a case of exceptional urgency, you can apply by telephone, promptly followed by the an online sanction application referring to the telephone decision. Sanction requests should not be made via an online message or by fax.
details of a competitive quote from another expert where the sanction request is likely to cost in excess of £1750.
In general, you should apply for any form of Board authority as soon as possible and not leave it until a proof or other hearing is imminent. With an expert witness, however, you should delay asking for sanction until it is clear that a specific expertise will be needed to advance the case and that a particular expert is available to provide the necessary evidence. You should take care the issues the expert is to address are covered within the grant of legal aid.
Where you have an increase in authorised expenditure under advice and assistance for a report from an expert who is to be a witness in the proceedings, and they are to carry out further work, you should apply for sanction when you apply for legal aid or once civil legal aid has been granted.
Where you are not using a template, you should identify an expert skilled in the specific field in which the expert evidence is needed. This is particularly important in medical negligence cases. In all reparation cases, you should state whether the expert is to address issues about liability, causation or quantum.
In choosing an expert, you must consider whether they are appropriate for the particular case in question. For example, if the case is fairly routine and unexceptional, we would need a very convincing argument to authorise the “foremost expert in his field in Europe”, if he charged more than other experts with sufficient skill to deal with the case.
It will normally be more expensive to employ an expert witness who is based at some distance from the court than one close to the court. Before authorising the use of a “distant” expert, we must be satisfied that no comparable witness is available near the court.
We also have to take into account the fact that the cost of using the expert will be met out of public funds. We expect you to apply the test of whether a litigant in a privately funded case would be likely to incur the cost of employing the witness. We must be satisfied that it is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case to sanction that expenditure.
you want authority to consult with the expert or for the expert to attend court to give evidence.
specify any subsistence and overnight accommodation charges.
If the cost of the report is more than £1,750, you should provide competitive quotes in support of the sanction application.
Any sanction granted may include a condition that costs may not exceed a specified amount or that specified work may not be carried out.
When giving approval for employing an expert witness for, or including, a report or other specific work, we will normally impose a limit on the cost to be incurred. You must make the expert fully aware of that limit and point out that, if the work is going to cost more, you will have to ask us for an increased limit to allow the work to continue. Where you are using a template the limit on costs to be incurred is clearly set out on the sanction form.
Where you do not draw the limit to the expert’s attention, we will pay only up to the amount fixed and you may be personally liable to the expert for any extra costs. Where an expert has been told of the limit, but it has been unavoidably exceeded because of circumstances outwith their control, we may still meet the expert’s reasonable costs if we are satisfied that this is appropriate.
details of any subsistence and overnight accommodation charges.
If you are in any doubt about the charges likely to be allowed, our accounts assessment staff will be happy to offer guidance.
If you already have sanction to get an expert’s report, you do not need separate sanction to cover any necessary attendance at court by that expert. If, however, you got the report before legal aid was granted, whether using advice and assistance or not, you will need sanction for their attendance at court.
Practical guidance has been created to complement this section and is available here. We have also created a tool to check when common types of work require sanction and when they do not.
Regulation 21 provides that you need our prior approval for work of an unusual nature or likely to involve unusually large expenditure. No specific criteria for approval are laid down in the regulations and the matter is at our discretion.
All work done, and any item of expense incurred in a legal aid case, is, of course, subject to our scrutiny and possible abatement, and may also be subject to taxation by the auditor. To an extent, the requirement for prior approval for unusual work or unusually expensive work operates as a safeguard for the solicitor. It is much better for you to know in advance that we object to some item of expense, rather than finding out later, once the work has been done and the expense incurred, that we will not accept it as a valid charge on the Legal Aid Fund.
Where the cost of the work likely to involve unusually large expenditure is less than £2,000 excluding VAT, you do not need our sanction. However, if you would feel more comfortable getting our prior sanction, even though it is to incur expenditure of less than £2,000 and the work is not unusual, you can do so.
It is not possible to compile a list of situations where work should be regarded as being of an unusual nature or likely to involve unusually large expenditure. The following are examples of some common situations.
Sanction is needed for any commission (open or otherwise) to take the evidence of witnesses.
No sanction is needed for commission and diligence for the recovery of documents if the optional procedure is exhausted before proceeding to a formal commission and diligence. You should seek sanction where the optional procedure is not available or you decide not to use it.
mediation (see paragraphs 7.50 to 7.52).
These examples are not by any means exhaustive.
Where report is ordered by the court and the cost will not exceed £3,000 there is no need for prior sanction to be obtained irrespective of whether the report is ordered ex proprio motu or not. If, however, the cost of the report is to be in excess of £3,000 our prior approval will be needed for this work, irrespective of whether the report has been ordered ex proprio motu or not. You therefore need to know if a reporter considers they cannot prepare their report within the limit of £3,000 as sanction will then be needed from us. Any sanction application should give details of the costs to be incurred and reasons why funding beyond £3,000 is required. The £3000 limit is exclusive of VAT and outlays that may be incurred to third parties when preparing the report e.g. where a medical report is needed but is inclusive of outlays incurred directly by the reporter such as travel costs. The cap applies to each individual report prepared in a case rather than being a global limit to cover the cost of several reports. However, there are different arrangements if you are seeking the report prior to a grant of legal aid - please see our interactive flowchart.
Sanctions request must be submitted via the online ‘Sanction’ function. Using this function means we should receive all the basic information and papers needed for a prompt decision, and should avoid the need for continuation. You should apply as soon as possible and not leave it until a proof or other hearing is imminent. If you are seeking sanction in a case of exceptional urgency, apply by telephone, promptly followed by an online ‘Sanction’ application, referring to the telephone decision. A request for sanction should not be made via an online message or by fax.
when you send us lengthy documents (such as notes of evidence, judgements, reports, excerpts from textbooks), highlight relevant passages.
give full costings both for the course of action proposed and for possible alternative courses of action.
state clearly what fees are proposed, including fees for reports, attendance at court and travel time, with a statement of the basis of charge, for example, an hourly or daily rate.
fully explain the need for unusual work.
Mediation is available both from Relationship Scotland Member Services (RSMS) and from accredited solicitors who are members of Comprehensive Accredited Lawyer Mediators (CALM).
RSMS has generally focused on disputes involving children and provided the service free. Obviously, where the service is provided free there is no legal aid implication and you can make use of the service without getting our prior authority.
Some RSMS offices offer "all issues" mediation (for example, on issues relating to financial provision) and charge a fee for providing this service. If you want to make use of RSMS all issues mediation, the same rules apply as for using CALM mediators – shown below.
CALM mediators offer a comprehensive mediation service including financial matters and issues about children and charge for the service.
Where you want to make use of mediation involving CALM or RSMS where a fee is charged, you must get our approval before incurring the outlay. We recommend you use the template for family mediation for this work.
Legal aid will cover the client's half share of the total mediation fee, but not any charges for the opponent’s half share, unless the opponent is also receiving legal aid (or advice and assistance).
These rules apply to situations of voluntary mediation. Where the court ex proprio motu makes a remit for mediation and the client is an assisted person, the Legal Aid Fund will bear the client's half share of the mediation expenses as a consequence of that remit, and you do not need our prior approval. However, where the assisted person is considering asking the court to make a remit for mediation, you should apply to us for prior approval as unusual work.
We will consider requests for increases in expenditure under advice and assistance or for sanction in civil legal aid cases to cover the costs of mediation in non-family cases.
There is no restriction on the type of case which can be considered suitable for mediation, but we will consider requests based on the criteria set out below.
As with family mediation cases, we will regard the costs of mediation in non-family cases as an outlay in your account. We recommend you use the template for non-family mediation for this work.
This approval will, of course, apply only to the client’s own share of the total mediation fee, and not any share which is to be borne by an opponent or opponents. If the opponent is also receiving legal aid or advice and assistance, they should seek sanction or an increase in authorised expenditure to cover their share of the cost.
We will normally only consider requests for mediation involving mediators accredited by the Association of Mediators, the Centre for Dispute Resolution (CEDR), Core Solutions Group, Core Mediation or the Law Society of Scotland under its Accord scheme, although we may also agree to the use of other accredited specialists.
If you wish to make use of mediation facilities, you must get our approval for unusual expenditure before incurring the outlay in civil legal aid.
where possible, the costs that will be avoided should the mediation go ahead, for example, avoiding a proof or other court hearing.
Where someone has a civil legal aid certificate which is to be paid on a time and line basis, we will also consider paying your fees to attend the mediation if you can demonstrate that this would be reasonable, necessary and would assist the process of mediation.
We would normally expect the parties to enter into a legally binding agreement at the conclusion of the mediation. You should give us information on the outcome of the mediation and, if it was not successful, the reason why not. We will need the latter information if you submit a civil legal aid application after the mediation has taken place. Where the case concludes following the mediation, you should indicate in the narrative of your account whether the mediation resulted in a settlement.
whether the costs of the supervised contact should be shared between the parties in the action, (including situations where one individual is paying privately while one other party has legal aid) and if the costs are not to be shared, why this is the case.
Where applicable, a copy of the interlocutor ordering supervised contact should be provided with the sanction application.
We need enough information to know whether paid for supervised contact will assist the court in taking a final decision on contact. It is not a cost that we can meet indefinitely. If a final interlocutor is made ordering contact on a supervised paid for basis then this is an expense that the client has to meet from their own funds as we cannot be responsible for any costs in connection with supervised contact after the court case has concluded.
You should also bear in mind that the cost of paid for supervised contact may be allowed under advice and assistance where we are satisfied that it may help to resolve a dispute over contact without the need for litigation. You should ask us for funding to cover the cost of supervised and/or supported contact under advice and assistance where appropriate to help resolve a dispute.
Information we have from contact centres and from court ordered sessions suggests that 10 supervised sessions are generally sufficient to show if contact is working well and can move on from being supervised to being supported or able to take place without supervision of any sort. While we cannot fund this work indefinitely and at some point, contact will need to move from a centre this early support provides an early means of establishing if contact can work with initial sessions taking place in a safe environment to allow all parties to be assured that contact can work even if there have been issues between the parties in the past or if there has been a gap since contact was last exercised.
in the event that the contact is not successful, information about why this was the case should be given if any additional funding is sought to negotiate matters further under advice and assistance or to apply for civil legal aid.
The cost of paid of family therapy may be allowed where it is ordered by the court as a means of trying to resolve a family dispute. This work may bring about a more satisfactory means of settling a case. A solution brought about by this work is more likely to allow all parties to feel they have been heard and to let them understand the needs of their children rather than their own needs.
The family therapist to be instructed should be a member of the Association for Family Therapy which is regulated by the UK Council for Psychotherapy or a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy or a member of COSCA (Counselling & Psychotherapy in Scotland).
provide details of the therapist who is to undertake the work.
Where applicable, a copy of the interlocutor ordering family therapy should be provided with the sanction application.
Where therapy is ordered we expect parties to engage fully with the process. We would remind you that if a party who is getting legal aid does not comply with court orders or take part in work ordered by the court in a meaningful way then we look at whether their grant of legal aid should continue. If your client does not comply fully with such an order you need to tell us about it. This can be done using the stage reporting process.
The Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004 (“the 2004 Act”) contains provisions relating to child and adult vulnerable witnesses and, in particular, special measures that can be put in place in certain circumstances.
You may need to seek our approval to use special measures to assist child and vulnerable adult witnesses.
this work will not be classed as unusual , and no prior sanction is needed.
If, however, the work is likely to cost more then £2,000, you must get sanction under the provisions for incurring unusually large expenditure.
this work will be classed as unusual work and you therefore need prior sanction (even if the estimated costs do not exceed £2,000).
Sanction requests should contain sufficient information to explain why the measure is needed to help the witness give their best evidence.
We therefore consider all sanction requests made in respect of the vulnerable witnesses legislation to be unusual work and/or unusually large expenditure. As explained in paragraph 7.56, we cannot grant retrospective authority for work involving unusually large expenditure as the regulations prevent us from doing so. It is therefore essential that you apply timeously for sanction, or you will not be paid for this work.
If you are the person seeking this special measure, you can seek the costs of the commissioner appointed from the Board if the commissioner is not a sheriff or judge, in which case the Scottish Courts Service meets the costs.
It is also important to include in your sanction request all associated costs such as clerks’ fees, shorthand writers’ fees, accommodation costs and travel costs. Any associated costs not sanctioned timeously cannot be paid for from the Fund.
Where appropriate, we need a detailed breakdown of the time spent and the rates charged for our Accounts Assessment Department to properly assess the outlay claimed.
You normally need our prior approval to employ counsel or expert witnesses, or to do work of an unusual nature, but we may grant retrospective sanction if satisfied the employment would have been approved and that there was special reason why prior approval was not applied for. "Special reason" means that mere oversight would not be sufficient justification for a grant of retrospective sanction. We might grant retrospective sanction where, for example, the need to employ counsel or expert arose at the last moment, without an opportunity of seeking prior approval.
The power to grant retrospective sanction applies only to counsel, expert witnesses and unusual work. It does not apply to work likely to involve unusually large expenditure, and we should not, therefore, be asked to grant retrospective approval in such cases.
You should ask for an extension to an existing grant of legal aid or an amendment to an application already lodged by submitting an online ‘Amend’ application. We treat applications for extension in the same way as initial applications for civil legal aid, considering the tests for probable cause and reasonableness. We will already have assessed or be assessing the client’s financial eligibility, so you should remind the client of their duty to tell us of any change in circumstances.
a copy of the pleadings to date and any interlocutors which have been pronounced.
The opponent has to receive intimation of the proposed extension and be given an opportunity to lodge objections within 14 days. You can carry out specially urgent work under regulation 18, in which case you should submit a ‘Special Urgency’ request with the’Amend’ application . The effective date of the extension is the date we are satisfied the statutory tests are met for that matter. Where we refuse an extension application, and a reconsideration of this decision is sought, a fresh ‘Amend’ application requires to be submitted.
In general, you must get our prior approval for any step in the execution of diligence: that is, diligence in execution of a final or interim decree as opposed to diligence on the dependence of proceedings. You will normally need this approval in the context of diligence upon a decree obtained in the course of proceedings for which legal aid was granted. You should send your application to take steps in diligence to the Principal Sums Unit of the Treasury Department. Do not submit a sanction application. If we approve the diligence, you should include its cost in your account under the legal aid certificate for the proceedings or, if you have already submitted that account, send a supplementary account for the diligence alone. There is no time limit for seeking or granting approval for diligence.
For diligence and execution of a file or interim decree in situations relating to aliment, interim aliment or periodical allowance only, you should apply for sanction.
(iii) any order for the periodical payment of sums for the maintenance of any person which, by virtue of the Maintenance Orders Act 1950, the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1972 or the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, may be enforced in Scotland.
The exception also applies to any settlement arrived at to prevent or bring to an end proceedings in which a decree or order such as those in paragraphs i) to iii) above may be granted.
The type of diligence that may be carried out in execution of such a decree, order or settlement without our prior approval is restricted to arrestment. However, where the arrestment is an earnings arrestment under the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, the necessary prior service of a charge for payment may be carried out without our approval, in terms of regulation 22.
The exception for diligence by execution of an arrestment, or for service of a charge for payment as a preliminary step before an earnings arrestment, applies only where the arrestment or charge is carried out within 12 months of the date of the alimentary decree, order or settlement specified above. If you wish to lodge an arrestment, or serve a charge before an earnings arrestment, outwith that period, even in the case of an interim decree where the proceedings are still ongoing under a current legal aid certificate, you must get our prior approval.
If this exception applies, there is no limit on the number of arrestments that can be carried out, but your account will be subject to the usual taxation test of reasonableness.
Where you carry out any step in the execution of diligence without our prior approval (where necessary), under regulation 22 (4) we can approve the step retrospectively. We may do this if we consider that, had you applied timeously, we would have approved it, and that there was special reason why you did not apply for prior approval.
If you need to raise an action of furthcoming, you must make a separate application for legal aid. You also need to make a separate application if you propose to attempt enforcement by civil imprisonment or sequestration. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: I think I just had a panic attack. My surfboard fell off of the wall, scared the dog, woke me up. I thought the wall was caving in. I had a delayed reaction that spread from my stomach to my back and legs. Numbness and difficulty breathing. Is this a delayed panic attack?
ld delayed sudden reaction spreading from stomach to back and leg, numbness and difficulty breathing mean panic attack? output: DearWe understand your concernsI went through your details. I suggest you not to worry much. I sincerely do not think that you had a panic attack. Panic attack is usually happens to those with anxiety disorders. For you, the incident was just fear and after. We do not call it panic attack. Even though the symptoms are same. Panic attack is for anxiety disorders. That means panic attack where there is no inherent fear inducing objects and still we fear. Actual fear is caused by physical objects which causes fear. In your case, you encountered just a fear. Don't worry.Please post a direct question to me in this website. Make sure that you include every minute details possible. I shall prescribe some psychotherapy techniques which should help you cure your condition.Hope this answers your query. Available for further clarifications.Good luck... |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: i have sever stomach pain. the pain is right where my rib cage comes together its like someone is stabbing me with a knife and going right upwards. i am feeling light headed and dizzy i am extremely weak. i can t stand up straight. iv been looking on the internet and everything is pointing to my gallbladder . can you please help.
ere stomach pain in rib cage, light headed, dizziness. Due to gall bladder? output: Hi Your description is not clear - is it on the right side under the ribs? or 'right under' the rib?... Most pains abdomen start in the middle line and shift subsequently Under the rib cage and right side . going back to shoulder or shoulder blade - may be gall bladder If it is in the pit of stomach - 'rib cage comes together' and going up, it can be from heart also. Unless the pain is very severe, there should not be light headedness or dizziness. There is no mention of your age or gender You should SEE A DOCTOR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. You need an ECG to check the heart. You need blood tests - for heart, stomach, liver and so on. Delay could be dangerous. Take care Good luck.. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: I get large lumps on my spine, back of my head, neck whicChatDoctore and go every month. Sore to touch. I suffer with hirsutism and have been seen by an endocrinologist who says my androgens are "in normal levels" the lumps last about a week every month. output: Hi. Thanks for your query and an elucidated history. This looks to be due to furunculosis, / boils. This is due to failure of the skin to adapt to the hormonal changes as you have rightly noticed. Yet you can try this :::Apply liquid provide iodine twice daily to the area where you get this problem. Take vitamin A 3 lac units and vitamin D - 1 sachet daily for 3 days. Also take Doxycycline daily for weeks - till you get a result. I hope this helps you. No stress is very important... Stress is a cause of many problems.. |
By: Protean Magazine December 6, 2021 December 6, 2021
Trees and Other Abolitionist Allies
Amelie Daigle
Let’s say you learn that your friend Beth is going to murder your other friend, Emily. You have two options: You can wait until Beth murders Emily, and then punish Beth. Or you can plant a tree and prevent the murder from taking place.
This thought experiment is of course fanciful. There’s no guarantee that a particular tree will stop a particular murder. But it does reflect reality on a broader scale—multiple studies have found a connection between the number of trees in a neighborhood and reduced levels of violence. Other urban features associated with reduced levels of violence include painted crosswalks, lighted walk/don’t walk signs, visible and available public transportation, and nearby public parks. So while the example of Beth and Emily may seem absurd, the tradeoffs made for models of individual punishment and deterrence at the expense of non-traditional, non-coercive crime prevention strategies are very, very real.
The relationship between trees and (the lack of) violence hasn’t received as much scholarly attention as it deserves, but the scientific literature that exists to date has been remarkably consistent. A 2015 comparison of tree canopy cover and “crime incident data” from the New Haven Police Department found that a neighborhood with 10 percent more tree canopy than another tended to have, after adjusting for other factors, 15 percent less “violent crime” and 14 percent less “property crime.” A similar study in Baltimore found that neighborhoods with 10 percent more tree canopy tended to have 12 percent less crime, and, notably, that the crime-stopping power of trees planted on public lands rather than private was increased by 40 percent. After an invasive species of beetle massacred ash trees in Cincinnati, a 2017 study found that areas where ash trees had been removed saw “significant” increases in crime. And the list goes on. Some studies compare apartment buildings within the same neighborhood, and some studies track tree cover and crime within specific neighborhoods over time, but all seem to support the proposition that more trees result in less crime. (“Crime” is not synonymous with violence and harm, but rather “things the state prosecutes.” However, crime is the most likely form of violence and harm to be tracked, and consequently the most likely to be used in tree canopy cover analysis.)
We don’t know why trees stop crime. The connection is not necessarily intuitive. Criminologists in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s actually insisted that vegetation encouraged crime by creating hiding places from which ne’er-do-wells might leap out and assault passersby (the “violent man hiding in the bushes” trope). Consequently, the conventional wisdom in urban planning was that in “high crime” (read: Black) neighborhoods, urban deforestation might actually be a positive.
Like most questionable legal ideas, the notion that trees cause crime can be traced back to England. In the delightfully titled “Trees Shed Bad Rap as Accessories to Crime,” environmental writer Richard Conniff reports that, some eight centuries ago, “King Edward I required English towns to clear the trees for 200 feet on either side of main roads as a precaution against highwaymen.” This anti-tree bias and its violent effects were resurrected in the 1970s through books with titles like Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design and Defensible Space, and reinforced throughout the 1980s and 1990s with a series of studies arguing that low, dense vegetation was associated with all manner of crimes.
The effects of this common “wisdom” can still be felt today. A study published earlier this year focused on redlining—the racially discriminatory housing policy established by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation that was used to deny housing loans to people in majority-Black neighborhoods—and found that formerly redlined neighborhoods graded “A” (those set aside for “U.S. born white populations”) have twice as much tree canopy cover as neighborhoods graded “D” (where most residents were people of color.) This study is part of the growing science surrounding “tree inequality.” Poor, low-income, and historically Black neighborhoods are less likely to enjoy the many positive health benefits of trees, including their amazing ability to prevent violence and harm in our communities.
Does this sound ridiculous to you? It won’t if you’ve ever spent time in a city with a real summer. Not if you’ve taken one step outside of your home and felt heat hit you like a truck, like something solid. The kind of heat that makes trees want to pull up their roots and crawl under each other for shade.
Toni Morrison wrote: “You don’t know what heat is until you cross the border from Texas to Louisiana. You can’t come up with words that catch it. Trees give up. Turtles cook in their shells. Describe that if you know how.”
If you know what heat is, then I don’t have to tell you the difference between walking in direct sunlight on a black asphalt parking lot versus walking through a tunnel of enveloping green. If you know heat, you remember the difference on your skin. At some point, you’ve abandoned the shortest path to your destination in favor of the shaded path, and in that moment, you knew that trees were essential.
Once we crawl inside and pour ourselves a cool, refreshing beverage and sit for a minute, once our body temperature regains equilibrium, the misery of ten minutes before may seem a minor inconvenience. It seems ridiculous to say that it could be the cause of violence. But the entire structure of global capitalism orbits around ensuring convenience for people who can afford it. Countless nations have been ransacked so that other nations could season and sweeten their food, drink water from bottles, and enjoy bananas year-round. Our lives would look radically different without the thousand tiny conveniences shielding us from discomfort.
If you can bring yourself to remember what it’s like to be sweltering, dehydrated, and irritable, conjure that feeling now as I tell you that in the city of New Orleans, the temperature in some neighborhoods can be 18 degrees hotter than the official, recorded temperature. This is because of a phenomenon called “urban heat islands,” pockets of land that absorb and retain more heat than surrounding neighborhoods. In New Orleans, these heat islands are found in impoverished, largely Black neighborhoods like Hollygrove and Central City. There is a heat island covering the campus of Xavier University, a beloved historically Black school.
This is not merely inconvenient; it is dangerous. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports both that heat waves claim more lives than any other type of weather event in the United States and that they are “expected to become longer, more frequent, and more intense” as climate change intensifies. In New Orleans, where summers are hot as hell but with more mosquitoes, it is not at all unusual for the recorded temperature to top 100 degrees on an August day—and, as I and other readers of the New Orleans Advocate recently learned, the machine that measures the recorded temperature for the city “sits in shade near heat-absorbing wetlands.” By the end of this century, according to an analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists, Louisiana residents will have to endure three full months with a heat index of 105 or above.
Man-made climate change and also-man-made environmental racism will work in combination to ensure that the poor, Black neighborhoods of New Orleans are dangerously hot. People will die. It’s an example of what environmental humanities professor Rob Nixon terms “slow violence.” Slow violence, as defined by Nixon, is “a violence that occurs gradually and out of sight, a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed across time and space, an attritional violence that is typically not viewed as violence at all.” For example, the accumulated effects of systemic racism result in shorter life expectancies for Black Americans, who can anticipate dying four years earlier than white Americans, on average. Slow violence is caused by structural injustice, rather than by one individual making a split-second decision. The absence of trees in formerly red-lined neighborhoods, and the consequent unbearable heat, is slow violence.
Even apart from the absolute certainty that people will die from the heat this summer and every summer after, and that the burden of that deadly heat will be borne unequally across racial and class lines, there are reasons to be concerned about heat island and shade inequality. The absence of mature, absorbent trees can lead to the flooding of streets and houses in low-lying areas. There is also a well-developed body of research showing that trees improve air quality by capturing pollutants, leading to lower prevalence of lung cancer and hospitalization for asthma, as well as reduced mortality overall.
Perhaps less known are the myriad ways that trees protect our minds. To quote the abstract of a 2001 study of residents in a Chicago public housing complex, “[c]onsiderable evidence suggests that exposure to ‘green’ environments can enhance human effectiveness and make life’s demands seem manageable.” The Chicago study sought to determine whether these effects were so great as to be noticeable in an urban public housing context where residents had very limited access to greenery. The results were striking: “Residents living in buildings without nearby trees and grass reported more procrastination in facing their major issues and assessed their issues as more severe, less soluble, and more longstanding than did their counterparts living in greener surroundings.” A companion study found, more relevantly for our purposes, that “[r]esidents living in relatively barren buildings reported more aggression and violence than did their counterparts in greener buildings. Moreover, levels of mental fatigue were higher in barren buildings, and aggression accompanied mental fatigue.”
City life is stressful and overstimulating. This is not just my opinion—it’s the conclusion of several studies indicating that mental health conditions are more prevalent among city dwellers, possibly due to “repeated exposure to strangers” causing “chronic engagement of the amygdala.” Whatever the cause, an emerging scientific narrative suggests that city dwellers are bearing a high mental load that reduces impulse control—and lack of impulse control can have deadly consequences.
Think about the moment you experience a surge of aggression. Think of the second before you lash out at a friend, when your mind hastily calculates whether maybe speaking in anger might have consequences down the line. It’s the moment in which you can decide not to act on impulse, a split second to reconsider that biting remark that would feel so good in the moment and so bad afterwards. If you are tired or hungry or dehydrated or uncomfortably hot, that opportunity to make a different decision becomes smaller and smaller, eventually dwindling down to nothing.
This moment of grace before you make a terrible decision occurs in the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that thinks ahead and calculates consequences. Recent research involving brain scans indicates that the frontal cortex, which is responsible for critical decision-making, is not fully developed until around age 25. From self-reported research, we know that “almost all adolescents” engage in criminalized behavior, and that rates of both official and self-reported delinquency “decline precipitously during the late teens and 20s” as the frontal cortex develops. All of us are most likely to participate in some form of criminalized behavior—from violence to drug use—between the ages of 15 and 19.
The science is so settled on this point that the U.S. Supreme Court, which is not known for being science-forward, has recognized teenagers as “less culpable” than adults in a series of opinions beginning in 2005, the year that the Court found it unconstitutional to execute children under the age of 18 (despite a sputtering dissent by Justice Antonin Scalia). The American Psychological Association has consistently filed amicus briefs in cases related to the punishment of children, reporting that “middle adolescence (roughly 14-17) should be a period of especially heightened vulnerability to risky behavior, because sensation-seeking is high and self-regulation is still immature.”
All of which is to say that for teenagers and young adults—for anyone below the age of 25—the moment of grace is already sharply reduced. This is before we factor in heat, or smog, or a lack of trees. Due to their brain structure, young people are biologically less capable of taking a moment to imagine the consequences of an irrevocable act.
Having been a teenager myself once, I don’t need scientists to convince me that teens are wired for bad decisions. I can easily bring to mind several moments where I made a decision that could have resulted in someone calling the police, and I know that their forbearance may have radically altered the course of my life. I know that the margin of error I have been afforded is a product of my race and class background. I know that my whiteness shielded me from regular interactions with police and the resulting violence: chokeholds, arrest, incarceration. But less visible than the consequences I’ve avoided when I made mistakes are the mistakes I’ve narrowly avoided making. How many times, on the verge of a poor decision, was I rescued by a cool gust of wind?
If I’d grown up in the same city, but in an urban heat island, would I have spent my summers sweltering and anxious? Could the airborne pollutants attacking my lungs also alter my mind and mood in near-imperceptible ways? Who would I have been in late August when the window unit broke, when my neighborhood was a tangle of frayed nerves, my community boiling and seething in the unrelenting and inescapable heat? In laboratory settings, people are more likely to display aggressive behavior when a room is uncomfortably warm. Studies using real-world heat and violence data show the same findings, in every region, across every span of time: where there is heat, there is violence. If urban heat islands don’t kill you with a heat wave, or with street flooding, or with air pollution that slowly destroys your lungs, they’ll kill you with violence.
For abolitionists, violence and harm are not the actions of sick individuals; they are symptoms of a sick community, blighted by oppression and need. And as recent epidemiological catastrophes demonstrate, when a community is sick, treating individuals who exhibit symptoms is not a sufficient response. To see results, we need to treat disease at the community level.
Angela Davis, former political prisoner and vocal abolitionist, wrote: “Prisons do not disappear social problems, they disappear human beings. Homelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, mental illness, and illiteracy are only a few of the problems that disappear from public view when the human beings contending with them are relegated to cages.”
As Davis indicates, abolitionists don’t see violence and harm as something you can root out by disappearing individual people. Over two million people are incarcerated in the United States, yet the social problems that are the root cause of violence continue to exist, and so the violence continues occurring. In fact, homicide rates in the United States are seven times higher than violence in other high-income nations that incarcerate far fewer people. If incarceration were an effective way to reduce violence, we would have seen results by now.
A public health approach to violence and harm emphasizes prevention. Our criminal legal system’s focus is the exact opposite: we invest mind-numbing amounts of time and money into isolating individuals, punishing them for acts of violence after those acts have already occurred through policing, prosecution, and incarceration.
We expend far less energy and effort combating the “slow violence” that often doubles as an underlying cause of criminalized violence. As the prominent abolitionist community organizer Mariame Kaba has observed, “crime” is not synonymous with violent or even harmful behavior: “All that is criminalized isn’t harmful, and all harm isn’t necessarily criminalized. For example, wage theft by employers isn’t generally criminalized, but it is definitely harmful.”
Our society’s approach to violence and harm deliberately ignores slow, systemic violence. It’s hard to know who to blame for air pollution, exactly—no one pulled the trigger. There is no individual to prosecute, penalize, or incarcerate. Yet the person who dies of lung cancer or a severe asthma attack is exactly as dead as the person who was shot.
The most catastrophic example of slow violence, of course, is climate change. According to the World Health Organization, climate change already causes over 150,000 deaths annually. When structural violence is the killer, no one is prosecuted. And no amount of prosecuting individual people will bring us any closer to ending, or even mitigating, climate change. We can throw all of the money in the world at police departments, and the death toll will continue to rise. The carceral state has no response to slow violence.
But we have protectors. While they are not a panacea, trees are multidisciplinary specialists in preventing slow violence. Trees cool and soothe. Trees drink carbon dioxide and floodwater. And in the instant that someone is about to make the worst decision they have ever made, irrevocably altering the lives of everyone around them, trees offer an extra fraction of a second, a moment of grace and the potential for something better.
In addition to cooling the street and removing airborne pollutants, some scientists have hypothesized that trees trigger the neighborhood’s natural immune response to violence—what urbanist Jane Jacobs called “eyes on the street.”
Jacobs, a grassroots organizer and author who transformed the field of urban planning with her vocal opposition to “urban renewal” and “slum removal,” wrote that “[a] city street equipped to handle strangers, and to make a safety asset, in itself, out of the presence of strangers, as the streets of successful city neighborhoods always do, must have … eyes upon the street, eyes belonging to those we might call the natural proprietors of the street.” In order to do this effectively, Jacobs wrote, “the sidewalk must have users on it fairly continuously, both to add to the number of effective eyes on the street and to induce the people in buildings along the street to watch the sidewalks in sufficient numbers.”
We should distinguish this from more sinister models of surveillance, such as the proliferation of police cameras: Jacobs stresses the need for “a clear demarcation between … public … and private space.” It’s a kind of surveillance that only extends to our public life, which would mostly be taking place on the street anyway. Also, this surveillance isn’t the domain of prison officials, law enforcement, or some external authority—Jacobs is talking about communities watching each other, knowing each other, and holding each other accountable through a shared public life.
As Kuo and Sullivan, two scientists who changed the scientific conversation about trees and crime, speculated in 2001: “There is some evidence to suggest that in inner-city neighborhoods, vegetation might introduce more eyes on the street by increasing residents’ use of neighborhood outdoor spaces. A series of studies conducted in inner-city neighborhoods has shown that treed outdoor spaces are consistently more well used by youth, adults, and mixed-age groups than are treeless spaces; moreover, the more trees in a space, the greater the number of simultaneous users … Not surprisingly then, a recent study found that children were twice as likely to have adult supervision in green inner-city neighborhood spaces than in similar but barren spaces.”
Abolitionists have long said that a safe community is a community where members know, care for, and watch out for each other. Mariame Kaba’s June 2020 op-ed for The New York Times laid out a vision for a safer abolitionist society:
“When people, especially white people, consider a world without the police, they envision a society as violent as our current one, merely without law enforcement—and they shudder. As a society, we have been so indoctrinated with the idea that we solve problems by policing and caging people that many cannot imagine anything other than prisons and police as solutions to violence and harm.”
People like me who want to abolish prisons and police, however, have a vision of a different society, built on cooperation instead of individualism, on mutual aid instead of self-preservation. What would the country look like if it had billions of extra dollars to spend on housing, food, and education for all? This change in society wouldn’t happen immediately, but the protests show that many people are ready to embrace a different vision of safety and justice.
Trees are but one component of creating safe, accessible, sustainable, nurturing communities that acknowledge the slow violence of economic exploitation and environmental racism and that minimize its impact. They are a familiar, tangible example of how small changes to urban environments can result in safer communities.
At the end of Freedom Dreams, a book included in the open-source abolitionist curriculum “Study and Struggle,” Robin D.G. Kelley envisions abolition as a park: a tangible, public space where our collective needs and desires can be met. Kelley suggests that this “Freedom Space” be built on the site of the ruins of the World Trade Center (Freedom Dreams was published in 2002) and that it be funded with a percentage of each nation’s military budget. He writes: “This would not be just any park. Imagine a space filled with odd, beautiful play structures intended to force people to engage each other.” (Jungle gyms, he explains, were “originally designed in post-Nazi Germany as a way to enable free, unstructured, democratic play.”) He continues: “I can envision a section composed of large round picnic tables, a great lawn for playing and dreaming, sandboxes for kids of all ages, works of art that we can engage organically rather than as distant object … works of art that might spur us to talk to each other.” This is a space designed for us to interact in, to see and be seen by each other. And of course, “[a]ll performances are free. Indeed, everything should be free, including food and drink. And how about a row of nice, airy bungalows with beds and showers for the homeless?”
This is infrastructure as it should function—not in the service of capital, but in the service of community, working to maximize our bonds with and accountability to each other. The Freedom Space would be an accessible hub for mutual aid projects, community organizations, and study groups to gather. With a Freedom Space in every neighborhood, frequent visitors to the park might come to know each other, creating the strong communal bonds that keep us safe.
We can create Freedom Space. Liberation and joy are possible. But first we must be able to imagine ourselves outside of the confines of artificial scarcity. We must be able to imagine ourselves as part of a community that will care for us, even and especially during challenging times.
When I imagine myself in Freedom Space, there are no cops and no fences. Instead, there are people around me—people who care about me, who will intervene if they believe that I might be harmed. Instead of scarcity, there is abundance. And above my head, a lush canopy of trees.♦
Amelie Daigle serves as Editor-in-Chief of the NYU Review of Law & Social Change, the progressive law journal that all the cool kids are reading. She would like to thank Helen Campbell for providing comments on this article before anyone else was allowed to see it, and Lyta Gold and Cate Root for their editorial insight and labor to bring this piece to fruition. Find her at her urban tree canopy stan account, @AnomalousAmelie on Twitter.
This article originally appeared in print in the July/August 2021 issue of Current Affairs. It is republished here with permission.
Why we’re asking for your support.
lying in my bed I hear the clock tick and think of you |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Question, I ve been getting a cold sensation in my scrotum area, like the way icy hot feels when you put a small amount on your skin and it comes and goes from time to time. I ve had this feeling over a couple years but doctors have said it wasn t an STD, but couldn t find a diagnosis either. I haven t had any lumps in my testicles either and I ve had an oncologist take a look. My family has a history of prostate cancer, could this be a symptom or am I over thinking it?
t causes cold feeling in scrotum? output: DearWe understand your concernsI went through your details. The "cold sensation in my scrotum area, like the way icy hot feels" is an unusual occurrence but not that unusual for psychologist / psychiatrists across the world. The lack of knowledge about sex and sexual organs could be your problem. The lack of knowledge triggers anxiety whenever you think or obsess about those. Such an obsession could trigger "feeling" of pain, where as the pain never exists. That is called, in psychology, psycho-somatic disorder. You should stop thinking and obsessing about the "feeling" you are mentioning here. Obsessing worsens the symptoms. You should believe your doctors and that is it. I suggest you to consult a psychiatrist / psychologist for treatment, if need be. If you require more of my help in this aspect, please use this URL. Make sure that you include every minute details possible. Hope this answers your query. Available for further clarifications.Good luck. Take care... |
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A false ideology: Why identity politics doesn’t add up.
Posted on January 21, 2019 March 19, 2019 by leftinnewzealand
We now inhabit a world where influential people in academia and increasingly the government decide who is privileged and who is not, purely by which group we belong to. These are not organised by who’s rich or poor, educational attainment, health levels, class status or even the environment we may live in, sadly nothing quite so objective. Individuals are crudely grouped by what cannot be changed (generally), this being genitalia and melanin levels. This grossly unscientific method, purposely ignores many parameters as outlined above and boils what is termed “oppression” down to race and sex.
To get to grips with how this occurred, our journey starts in France, with some very smart but terribly misguided philosophers. This bunch were largely responsible for a type of philosophy called postmodernism. Postmodernism is at the root of identity politics and underpins social justice activism. The movement, primarily artistic and philosophical began in 1960’s France. It claimed that life was viewed through a male, middle class perspective and sought to rally against this. Additionally, postmodernism outright rejected philosophy that valued ethics, reason and clarity.
This brand of philosophy dismissed overarching movements such as structuralism, which was an attempt to analyse human culture and psychology. While Marxism, endeavouring to make sense of society through class and economic structures was considered simplistic. Furthermore, the movement deeply criticised science, in particular, the idea of objective information. Postmodernists postulated that knowledge without human perception was just another example of arrogant western assumptions. Historically, the term “postmodern” was first used by Jean-Francois Lyotard in 1979, in his book The Postmodern Condition. Above all this was a rejection of meta-narratives, used to explain large phenomena such as religion and science.
In their place Lyotard offered that mini-narratives should be used, with the aim of getting smaller, more personal truths. This thought process led to epistemic relativism, or a belief in personal or culturally specific ‘truths or facts’ and also towards the advocacy of privileging. In summary Lyotard simply ranked “lived experience” above empirical evidence. In addition, postmodernism regularly promotes a type of pluralism, privileging the opinions of minority groups over views of a consensus, such as science or even a liberal democracy.
Another one of the French postmodernists was Michel Foucault. Foucault suggested that people were culturally constructed and a “product of the relation of power exercised over bodies, multiplicities, movements, desires, forces”. In Foucault’s world, cultural relativity is expressed through structures of power, while shared humanity and individualism are practically ignored. Using this theory, people are constructed entirely by their position in relation to the dominant culture and labelled as oppressed or oppressor.
The third musketeer, in our postmodern yarn is Jacques Derrida. Derrida focused heavily on language, rejecting that words referred to anything in a straight forward way, suggesting that there were only contexts without any absolute anchoring. He implied that the author of a text is not the sole authority and that the listener provides their own equally valid meaning. Derrida’s main contribution to postmodernism was a literary critical method called ‘deconstruction’. This was utilised in an attempt to overturn what he perceived as biases in language.
Deconstruction arose from the belief that all concepts appear in opposing binaries and that language privileges one concept over another. For example “male” and “female” or “good” and “evil”, the first term usually having dominance over the other. Derrida suggested that this showed great inequality in western/modernist thinking. Derrida’s second idea, was to offer that the identity or meaning of words could not be understood except in relation to what they are not. He suggested that the only way to overcome these inequalities was by deconstructing text and thereby the language which was thought as the inherent power within the binary structure.
Derrida achieved this by equalising the opposing “inferior” and “superior” terms, then placing the “superior” term merely as an expression of the “inferior” term. Using this train of thought, we could say “good” is just an expression of “evil”. Derrida suggested at this point that the terms were meaningless and subjectively imposed by violence as the identity of words are overturned by différance. Derrida used this term to point out that the meaning is not final, rather it is constructed by differences specifically by opposites.
By now, if all this postmodern speak has “baked your noodle”, to borrow an expression from the Matrix, well that is kind of the point. Even the brilliant academic Noam Chomsky failed to see the relevance of postmodernism, stating; “Seriously, what are the principles of their theories, on what evidence are they based, what do they explain that wasn’t already obvious, etc? These are fair requests for anyone to make. If they can’t be met, then I’d suggest recourse to Hume’s advice in similar circumstances: to the flames”. The underlying problem now is, conclusions drawn by postmodernists were used as the foundations by future sociologists, gender and race studies academics to build an even more misguided, subjective, divisive and flawed theory.
One of the main theories that underpins social justice activism is intersectional feminism. This was introduced to the world in the late 80’s by UCLA law Professor Kimberleé Crenshaw. Crenshaw rejected “classical liberalism”, which looked past categories such as; race, gender and sexuality, while it focused on levelling the playing field and enabling all people to succeed on their own abilities. Incidentally, this is also known as “Enlightened liberalism” and promoted not only universal human rights, but the freedom of individuals to pursue their own path. Despite this, it was opined by critics such as Crenshaw, that this type of liberalism built structures of power which needed to be addressed. In contrast to liberalism, Crenshaw’s theory suggested that areas of race, gender and sexuality, were essential as it added levels of complexity to the problem.
Kimberlee Crenshaw
In general it is postulated that as a society we work primarily on 3 levels:
As a member of the human race with common needs and drives.
As a member of one of the numerous categories, such as; race, nationality, culture or religion.
As a individual, with our own particular interests and abilities.
It could be surmised that while universal liberalism concentrates on 1 & 3, intersectionality gravitates almost exclusively towards the second group. Meaning that this ‘theory’ fundamentally views all issues through the lens of race, gender and sexual identity. Hence the rallying cries of, “listen to women, listen to people of colour”.
But this theory possesses some glaring errors. Firstly, women of colour and LGTB people are to be found all across the political and moral spectrum. Intersectionality, however, is firmly embeded in the leftist identarian camp, complete with a distinct ideology. That said, intersectionality claims to support all of the aforementioned groups, but requires all members of these groups to subscribe to the identarian left. Judging by the stats available, this is just not obtainable. In the US 24% identify as liberals and 38% as conservative. In the UK the left and right are split roughly 50/50. Women are more likely to be left leaning than men. In the US 47% of African Americans identify as liberal and 45% conservative. The Conservative party (UK) claim 33% of Black and Middle Eastern voters, while 52% of Black Britons vote Labour. In Britain LGTB voters are as likely to be on the left as the right, but in the US LGTB voters are likely to be left wing. These nuances go on and on and do not fit the intersectional rallying cry.
As far as ideology is concerned, intersectionality alienates even more people. To be intersectional you are expected to focus on many categories at once, believing that they are all marginalised and worthy of your concern. Therefore, a woman describing herself as wholly a white, feminist would not be considered nearly committed enough to the cause. It would be assumed that the believer should also automatically subscribe to queer theory, critical race theory, trans-equality and anti-ableism discourses. However, as highlighted with politics, all of these varying groups do not have a single way of thinking. For a start in the US, only 20% of woman call themselves a feminist, while in the UK it’s as low as 9%. Using this information alone intersectionalists would have alienated over three quarters of their target population, that being women. Overall, the vast opinions expressed by the varying groups makes this theory totally unworkable.
Effectively what transpires, is the emergence of a small faction, with a minority ideological viewpoint, dominated by people from economically privileged backgrounds. This group generally has a university education, they have studied the social sciences, or have had enough leisure time to have grasped the varying ideas encompassed by intersectional theory. Activists of this cult readily pronounce that the only way is intersectionality, as all other groups are dismissed as fake. Crucially, intersectionality undervalues shared human experiences and universal rights. It ignores personal autonomy, individuality and distinctiveness, concentrating intently on group identity and intersectional ideology. This in turn places the individual in an extremely restrictive “collectivist” position, which was often considered the domain of severe conservative cultures, such as the religious right.
Looking at postmodernism and then intersectionalism, we can see the erroneous foundations being laid for the modern social justice movement. When this is combined with other factors that are peculiar to the millennial generation and now i-gen (generation Z), it starts to makes sense why we are witnessing behaviour punctuated by a lack of tolerance for any differing views. Safe spaces, trigger warnings and microaggressions are all common parlance on university campuses. This development like previous politically correct movements aims to stifle free speech. But according to Jonathan Haidt social psychologist, the motivation this time around, turns out to be more concerned with emotional wellbeing.
Haidt suggests that childhood has changed dramatically over the last couple of generations and that unsupervised play is much rarer than in previous decades. Children, therefore, have less chance to develop skills, such as, how to negotiate in a difficult situation or how to critically think. Meanwhile, a change in perception during the 80’s and 90’s regarding crime, suggested that there was a marked increase of kids being abducted or murdered. One of the main reasons for this view, was that we started to hear more about incidents through a increasingly pervasive media. Following this, a common message millenials received from adults was, life is dangerous but we will protect you from harm. This has contributed to millenials and i-gen being less resilient and more hostile towards political or moral opposition.
To add another layer to this, professor of psychology Jean Twenge wrote the book ‘the narcissism epidemic‘, in 2009. In this, the professor looked at the changes in individuals and in culture, discovering that narcissistic traits were rising twice as fast than in previous studies. More disconcerting, was that the severe form, Narcissistic Personality Disorder was experienced 3 times more in people in there 20’s than individuals over 65. Other markers that Twenge used, showed plastic surgery was up by a factor of 6 in a decade. Furthermore, materialistic attitudes had increased, as people were more likely to go into debt to get what they wanted. Meanwhile the reading of gossip magazines increased and the interest in newspapers decreased.
When we start to stitch all this together, it’s not surprising that we have a group largely of millenials, who actively attempt to curtail free speech. They also vigorously take part in historical revisionism, for example trying to get certain statues removed, which are deemed offensive. While the poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling was unceremoniously removed at Manchester University, following allegations of racism, with no historical context, just a veil of ignorance, as proudly worn by SJW’s. These puritans are offended by the slightest utterance that may come into conflict with their pristine, logic free utopia. While they brazenly display no conscience either, as they repeatedly attempt to remove university professors for ‘wrong think‘.
Many followers of the ‘social justice activism’ have been exposed to a postmodern philosophy, that twists language to square with their pre-conceived conclusions. It is proposed that certain groups are oppressed, such as women and people of colour. This is supposedly a fixed position, bound by the illogical ramblings of postmodernism and now intersectional feminism. These adherents are perpetual victims, regardless of any personal factors that may not tie up with this label, such as; being a middle class, privileged student, as witnessed in many cases. Their assigned victim status enables the SJW to be absolved of any personal responsibility. With this cloak of victimhood, they are able to call out all men or white people, purely because they are oppressed and by virtue of this, are unable to be a misandrist or indeed a racist.
It is by no means a revelation that people who are less developed in terms of diplomacy, resilience and people skills gravitate towards such a movement. It carries little risk, you can gang up on a single speaker, shower them with nasty tweets, retreat to your safe space after a trigger warning and declare an incoming microaggression to your dean. If you are narcissistic this is also perfect, you can metaphorically sniper your political opposition, all in the safety of your morally pristine ivory tower, thus not receiving a narcissistic injury in return. Outstanding! All this would be relatively bearable if it was limited to academia, but alas, we are not so lucky.
There are many examples of the cult of identity politics seeping into everyday life. We can start with the former Director of Public Prosecutions of the Crown Prosecution Service, Alison Sanders. It could be argued that Sanders utilised the CPS as a crusading tool, redirecting limited resources to focus on violence against women and hate speech. The former DPP was responsible for many victim-focused reforms, including the definition of a hate crime, which states; “any crime experienced by the complainant as motivated by hate”. Interestingly, during the last couple of years of her tenure, a series of rape cases collapsed. It had transpired that police and prosecutors had failed to pass key information to lawyers defending the men. This lack of ‘due process’ is what can occur when an ideological quest overrides the search for justice.
In Nottinghamshire, UK, unwanted sexual advances and unwanted verbal contact with a woman can now be recorded as a hate crime. The problem with the term “hate crime” is, it is purely subjective and, therefore, open to abuse. Across the Atlantic in Canada in 2017, bill C-16 was passed, meaning someone could be prosecuted for not using the correct gender pronoun for a person’s subjectively determined “gender identity”. In Brighton, UK, kids are now being taught that both boys and girls can have periods. The whole area around gender and sex is highly contentious and effectively pits science, based on rigour, peer review, evidence and objectivity against emotion, feelings, subjectivity and the idea ‘I feel, therefore, I am’.
Gender and sex are key areas where the Enlightenment collides with postmodernism and judging by the government orthodoxy in many domains Foucault et al. are winning. The primary concern with regards to basing society on subjectivity, is that it is potentially ever changeable, this makes it exceptionally difficult to create and enforce laws, such as hate crime. For example; An ugly guy walks up to a girl and starts talking to her, she might find him detestable and feels threatened. Under these rules, this conceivably could be called a hate crime and for the bloke no matter how well intentioned, he could find himself in trouble. However, a good looking guy could approach the same woman and say exactly the same words but this time, it could be well received. Neither guy has been offensive or violent, but one of them (lets call him Elephant Man) could end up being questioned by the police. Does that feel like a fair use of the law and resources to you?
It is this uneven handed use of the law, as demonstrated by many college Title IX proceedings in the US during the Obama presidency, that is a major cause for concern. Another campaign doing the rounds currently is “believe women” following sexual harassment or rape allegations. Their is an obvious danger behind this. It instantly biases any following investigation in favour of the accuser. Surely police departments all over the world can provide an environment that allows the person to share their perception of events without siding with them. For “believe women” to be effective, it must demand that women never lie and furthermore, never commit crimes, otherwise it’s a flawed premise. By promoting this we are asserting that women are morally superior to men at all times. Judging by the likes of Myra Hindley, Rose West or Joanna Dennehy this is patently untrue. Moreover, high profile false rape allegations such as the Duke Lacrosse team or Biurny Peguero also severely question this moral superiority theory. Just like men, women lie too, for a variety of reasons.
Joanna Dennehy
It makes absolutely no sense to enforce laws and rules that govern society based on a certain perception of a group as a whole. This is especially true, if the group in question is not 100% consistent. We hear from people on a daily basis, talking about white privilege or male privilege. Just an idea, but how about we look at what is occurring at an individual level, rather than writing off masses of the population via gross stereotyping. Identarians can get quite irate if they feel an individual for instance is stereotyping someone regarding gender identification. Yet, they are quite happy to put people in sociological boxes merely for traits that cannot be altered. Crucially, group stereotyping is what this whole identarian ‘belief’ system is built upon, it is the very core of their ideology, but makes no positive practical sense.
To point out how ludicrous this is; a black, middle class, well educated, relatively rich, woman, who has had no direct oppression, from a happy home, can be viewed as oppressed. In contrast; a white, ex-military, homeless man, with PTSD, with no formal qualifications and no support system, can seen as privileged. If this does not strike you as some sort of a scam, you are either benefitting from this in some way, or you are so blind with identarian doctrine that you have lost the ability to critically think. Which of course is the whole point of postmodernism, to appeal to emotion and subjectivity. It’s this loyalty to ones team, providing the power over government, media and society that allows, individuals like Professor Suzanna Danuta Walters to have an article published in the Washington Post enquiring, “why can’t we hate men”? A couple of weeks ago the American Psychological Association, published guidelines outlining the dangers of masculinity. This was nothing short of an overtly ideological exercise, using one social justice buzzword after another (see the link for original document).
Last week Gillette felt the need to jump on the bandwagon, releasing an advert imploring men and boys to sort their masculinity out. This has generally been lauded by the mainstream media, desperate not to stray from the feminist narrative. It’s worth noting, this is not in isolation, anti-male rhetoric is the social norm and is excepted in so called polite society. For instance, the Melbourne café who charged men 18% more, because of the supposed ‘gender wage gap’. Men are repeatedly told how to behave, when to speak (mansplaining), how to sit (manspreading), when it’s OK to talk to a woman, what to say and so on. The overwhelming percentage of men are not violent, do not rape, do treat people with respect, do act against bullying and the list continues. But if you’re trying to neutralise the very masculine traits that helped to build the physical world, that make up the majority of individuals who keep us safe, who love competition and do many of the dangerous jobs that keeps life ticking along, guess again.
For those who still buy into identity politics and in particular feminism, you need to have a serious chat with yourself. At this moment, the Social Justice movement currently feels emboldened, it has governments, media and much of society eating out it’s hand. Now feeling buoyant after #metoo, there is a huge offensive against masculinity, of course, not the bad men in society who it will never have any affect on, but ordinary men like many reading this. Right now, this is not a gender war, as only one side has turned up. It’s more like a massacre!
Posted in feminism, Identity politics, Media, Social Justice WarriorsTagged feminism Gillette ad Identity politics Intersectional feminism Political philosophy Self interestLeave a comment |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Dear Sir the ESR value in 2008 of the blood test of my mother came out to be 35, 65 in 2010, February and now 130. However she is not having any much problems except some low degree pain in head, mouth, forehead for many years. Also CRT value came out to be 58. So what could be the reason of these high value of ESR and CRT wheras she is not feeling any problems. output: Hi, dairy have gone through your question. I can understand your concern. Common cause for high ESR and CRP is inflammation. There are many other causes for high ESR like anemia, tuberculosis, malignancy, paraproteinemia all can lead to high ESR. You should search for chronic inflammatory disease first. Consult your doctor and search for the cause and take treatment accordingly. |
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Get Wonderful Small Office Space Square Footage For Your Home Office
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Get Wonderful Small Office Space Square Footage
For Your Home Office. Smallofficesearch.com is the only website dedicated to office space under 3,000 square feet. Standard $5 per square foot used to determine home business deduction Come claim your office today! Switching up the furniture arrangement in this small living room created the space needed for a home office. Next, let's look at rent. The irs allows you to make a simple calculation for small office spaces. To help understand true rental costs, check out this guidance primer. Calculating how much office space your business needs is not an exact science—though, unfortunately, you may feel the need to come up with an exact number. So in an average office, not all 250 sf will be devoted to the employees workplace, but rather a percentage of that square footage will be dedicated to the conference rooms, break areas and communal spaces. Find office spaces for rent or list a space & reach 200+ sites. The location of the building, the amenities, the age of the building and the foot traffic, for example, will affect the price. That's down from 176 square feet in 2012 and 225 square feet in 2010. The average office space in the united states is around $39 per square foot according to cushwake.com. Find the square footage of your home office space and multiply that by $5 a square foot. At a small firm, replacing traditional walls with glass panes can help to combat the absence of traditional space. Use the space analysis worksheet to determine the estimated square footage needed for your office facility based upon the number, sizes and types of spaces and/or rooms required. According to the wall street journal, partners at law firms now occupy an average of 225 square feet, while associates can expect to have closer to 150 square feet. Space is harder to come by, and more companies are being forced into smaller square footage than maybe what they would ideally want, says bianca tilley, interior designer at gensler, an architecture, design, planning and consulting firm. Creating a small space that produces quality, efficiency, and. Shared by all tenants) range from 10% to 20% so that will need to be added to calculate the rentable.
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Allowable square footage of home use for business (not to exceed 300 square feet) percentage of home used for business: Example with a yearly price per square foot: The irs allows you to make a simple calculation for small office spaces. At a small firm, replacing traditional walls with glass panes can help to combat the absence of traditional space. Switching up the furniture arrangement in this small living room created the space needed for a home office. If your space is 1,000 square feet, that's $6,000 a month in rent. View recommended spaces and seamlessly manage your office space search using the squarefoot platform. The location of the building, the amenities, the age of the building and the foot traffic, for example, will affect the price. Creating a small space that produces quality, efficiency, and. 100 to 300 square feet; If you're just starting out as a company or as an entrepreneur, the smallest available office space in anchorage, ak is 265 square feet, while the maximum rentable space on the market now is 27,000 square feet. If you're just starting out as a company or as an entrepreneur, the smallest available office space in monroeville, pa is 260 square feet, while the maximum rentable space on the market now is 66,798 square feet. A 3,000 sf office space has a yearly asking rental rate of $25 per square foot. Find office spaces for rent or list a space & reach 200+ sites. Common areas such as lobbies, hallways, and bathrooms will be an additional 10% to 20% of the office square footage, and corridors and circulation within the space will be an additional 25% to 35%.
If you're just starting out as a company or as an entrepreneur, the smallest available office space in monroeville, pa is 260 square feet, while the maximum rentable space on the market now is 66,798 square feet.
Doing so opened up square footage in the center of the space making the room feel open and airy instead. There are going to be many factors that need to be factored in. Shared by all tenants) range from 10% to 20% so that will need to be added to calculate the rentable. If your space is 1,000 square feet, that's $6,000 a month in rent. For the simplified method, all you need to do is measure the square footage of your home office space or area you store inventory. The average square footage allocated to a person in an office varies according to the size of the office, a number of employees and the nature of the business. The average cost for office rental rates per square foot varies depending on where you plan to set up. Determine the square footage (length x width) and choose the closest home office size: Even with a space so small, the average office space in american companies is around 150 square feet and is continually getting smaller. 50 to 200 square feet; We'll assume one square foot of commercial space costs you $6 per month, and your average monthly gross revenue is $48,000. To help understand true rental costs, check out this guidance primer. A real estate agent will often ask you your requirements in terms of square feet, which he uses as a relative measurement of which properties on the market are eligible for consideration. Standard $5 per square foot used to determine home business deduction Common area load factors (e.g. The location of the building, the amenities, the age of the building and the foot traffic, for example, will affect the price. Doing so opened up square footage in the center of the space making the room feel open and airy instead. Medical office square footage calculator. In new york, the average price for office space per employee costs about $14,800 per year. To get the job done, the experts at style by emily henderson placed the sofa against the longest wall and then put the desk directly in front of the window. The rule of thumb for creative open space that startup and small technology companies seek has been decreasing from 200 to 250 square feet to as low as 100 to 150 square feet of usable office space per person. Commercial cleaning rates per square foot pros will help clean small storefronts or offices under 1,000 square feet, as well as massive warehouse spaces or larger offices over 10,000 square feet. If you know the square footage of the office, you can estimate your annual and monthly rent. The average for office space per month in new york is about $6.16 per sq ft. Example with a yearly price per square foot: Our office space calculator makes it easy to determine how much space you need.
READ: Find Lovely Small Office Design Plan For Every Home Office
Individual Office Space For Rent Panama City Beach Fl Individual Office Space For Rent Panama City Beach Fl Beach Professional Center
What Will Tomorrow S Workplace Bring More Elbow Room For Starters The New York Times. View recommended spaces and seamlessly manage your office space search using the squarefoot platform. When looking at square feet per employee, the common area square footage is included. Smallofficesearch.com is the only website dedicated to office space under 3,000 square feet. Our office space calculator makes it easy to determine how much space you need. Find office spaces for rent or list a space & reach 200+ sites. To help understand true rental costs, check out this guidance primer. Determine how that space is divided. That's down from 176 square feet in 2012 and 225 square feet in 2010. The rule of thumb for creative open space that startup and small technology companies seek has been decreasing from 200 to 250 square feet to as low as 100 to 150 square feet of usable office space per person. The following office space ranges can be used a a guideline to help you determine the amount of usable square footage needed for your business based upon how you use the space. Common area load factors (e.g. Shared by all tenants) range from 10% to 20% so that will need to be added to calculate the rentable. So in an average office, not all 250 sf will be devoted to the employees workplace, but rather a percentage of that square footage will be dedicated to the conference rooms, break areas and communal spaces. Come claim your office today! Use the space analysis worksheet to determine the estimated square footage needed for your office facility based upon the number, sizes and types of spaces and/or rooms required.
Source: media1.popsugar-assets.com
225 to 450 square feet;
The average square footage allocated to a person in an office varies according to the size of the office, a number of employees and the nature of the business. According to the wall street journal, partners at law firms now occupy an average of 225 square feet, while associates can expect to have closer to 150 square feet. Allowable square footage of home use for business (not to exceed 300 square feet) percentage of home used for business: Determine the square footage (length x width) and choose the closest home office size: Before we committed to renewing our lease in our small 685 square feet space, we committed to investing in interior design. The irs allows you to make a simple calculation for small office spaces. The location of the building, the amenities, the age of the building and the foot traffic, for example, will affect the price. Find the square footage of your home office space and multiply that by $5 a square foot. Creating a small space that produces quality, efficiency, and. Next, let's look at rent. It is projected to reach 151 square feet in. Standard $5 per square foot used to determine home business deduction Even with a space so small, the average office space in american companies is around 150 square feet and is continually getting smaller. Smallofficesearch.com is the only website dedicated to office space under 3,000 square feet. At a small firm, replacing traditional walls with glass panes can help to combat the absence of traditional space. The bigger the space, the higher the cost because it will take more time, cleaning supplies and a larger cleaning crew. Commercial cleaning rates per square foot pros will help clean small storefronts or offices under 1,000 square feet, as well as massive warehouse spaces or larger offices over 10,000 square feet. Run the calculation ($6,000 monthly rent ÷ $48,000 monthly gross revenue) and your rent is 12.5% of your monthly gross income. Common area load factors (e.g. The average size of office space availabilities is 13,633 square feet. We'll assume one square foot of commercial space costs you $6 per month, and your average monthly gross revenue is $48,000. 100 sq ft, or about the size of a small bedroom; Our office space calculator makes it easy to determine how much space you need. Shared by all tenants) range from 10% to 20% so that will need to be added to calculate the rentable. 3,000 x $25.00 = $75,000 per year for rent. Doing so opened up square footage in the center of the space making the room feel open and airy instead.
READ: View Great Small Office Storage Cupboard In Your Decor
How Much Office Space Do I Need Calculator Per Person Standards
Square Footage Discrepancy Not Material Term In Chicago Office Lease Dispute Paul Porvaznik Business Litigator. The rule of thumb for creative open space that startup and small technology companies seek has been decreasing from 200 to 250 square feet to as low as 100 to 150 square feet of usable office space per person. Common area load factors (e.g. That's down from 176 square feet in 2012 and 225 square feet in 2010. Smallofficesearch.com is the only website dedicated to office space under 3,000 square feet. When looking at square feet per employee, the common area square footage is included. Find office spaces for rent or list a space & reach 200+ sites. Use the space analysis worksheet to determine the estimated square footage needed for your office facility based upon the number, sizes and types of spaces and/or rooms required. Come claim your office today! To help understand true rental costs, check out this guidance primer. Determine how that space is divided. The following office space ranges can be used a a guideline to help you determine the amount of usable square footage needed for your business based upon how you use the space. Our office space calculator makes it easy to determine how much space you need. So in an average office, not all 250 sf will be devoted to the employees workplace, but rather a percentage of that square footage will be dedicated to the conference rooms, break areas and communal spaces. View recommended spaces and seamlessly manage your office space search using the squarefoot platform. Shared by all tenants) range from 10% to 20% so that will need to be added to calculate the rentable.
Source: www.chicagobusiness.com
How much does office space cost?
Deduction for home office use of a portion of a residence allowed only if that portion is exclusively used on a regular basis for business purposes: Next, let's look at rent. Example with a yearly price per square foot: Determine the square footage (length x width) and choose the closest home office size: If you're just starting out as a company or as an entrepreneur, the smallest available office space in anchorage, ak is 265 square feet, while the maximum rentable space on the market now is 27,000 square feet. Common area load factors (e.g. Doing so opened up square footage in the center of the space making the room feel open and airy instead. The average office space in the united states is around $39 per square foot according to cushwake.com. It is projected to reach 151 square feet in. 225 to 450 square feet; The bigger the space, the higher the cost because it will take more time, cleaning supplies and a larger cleaning crew. There are going to be many factors that need to be factored in. According to the corenet global corporate real estate 2020 survey of 500 corporate real estate executives, square foot per employee has decreased from 225 in 2010 to 176 in 2012. If your space is 1,000 square feet, that's $6,000 a month in rent. The easy to use search bar at the top lets you refine our listings, and get directly to the owners of the spaces that best fit your needs. The following office space ranges can be used a a guideline to help you determine the amount of usable square footage needed for your business based upon how you use the space. How much does office space cost? In new york, the average price for office space per employee costs about $14,800 per year. To help understand true rental costs, check out this guidance primer. Divide by 12 months to get a monthly rental amount of $6,250. Even with a space so small, the average office space in american companies is around 150 square feet and is continually getting smaller. The average cost for office rental rates per square foot varies depending on where you plan to set up. Standard $5 per square foot used to determine home business deduction Allowable square footage of home use for business (not to exceed 300 square feet) percentage of home used for business: When looking at square feet per employee, the common area square footage is included. The maximum space is 300 square feet, for a maximum deduction of $1,500.
5 Dreamy Solutions For A Small Firm Or Office Space Under 200 Square Feet Daily Dream Decor
How To Live Large In A Small Office Space. Smallofficesearch.com is the only website dedicated to office space under 3,000 square feet. That's down from 176 square feet in 2012 and 225 square feet in 2010. To help understand true rental costs, check out this guidance primer. Determine how that space is divided. Use the space analysis worksheet to determine the estimated square footage needed for your office facility based upon the number, sizes and types of spaces and/or rooms required. Find office spaces for rent or list a space & reach 200+ sites. Come claim your office today! So in an average office, not all 250 sf will be devoted to the employees workplace, but rather a percentage of that square footage will be dedicated to the conference rooms, break areas and communal spaces. The following office space ranges can be used a a guideline to help you determine the amount of usable square footage needed for your business based upon how you use the space. Common area load factors (e.g. View recommended spaces and seamlessly manage your office space search using the squarefoot platform. When looking at square feet per employee, the common area square footage is included. Our office space calculator makes it easy to determine how much space you need. The rule of thumb for creative open space that startup and small technology companies seek has been decreasing from 200 to 250 square feet to as low as 100 to 150 square feet of usable office space per person. Shared by all tenants) range from 10% to 20% so that will need to be added to calculate the rentable.
READ: Get Magnificent Small Office Space For Rent Atlanta For Your Home Office
Source: hbr.org
The average cost for office rental rates per square foot varies depending on where you plan to set up.
So in an average office, not all 250 sf will be devoted to the employees workplace, but rather a percentage of that square footage will be dedicated to the conference rooms, break areas and communal spaces. According to the wall street journal, partners at law firms now occupy an average of 225 square feet, while associates can expect to have closer to 150 square feet. Allowable square footage of home use for business (not to exceed 300 square feet) percentage of home used for business: There are going to be many factors that need to be factored in. Deduction for home office use of a portion of a residence allowed only if that portion is exclusively used on a regular basis for business purposes: 225 to 450 square feet; Divide by 12 months to get a monthly rental amount of $6,250. 3,000 x $25.00 = $75,000 per year for rent. However, for office workers who perform their job at their workstation most of the time, a small space may create discomfort due to feelings of confinement. The location of the building, the amenities, the age of the building and the foot traffic, for example, will affect the price. At a small firm, replacing traditional walls with glass panes can help to combat the absence of traditional space. If you know the square footage of the office, you can estimate your annual and monthly rent. 100 sq ft, or about the size of a small bedroom; 100 to 300 square feet; So in an average office, not all 250 sf will be devoted to the employees workplace, but rather a percentage of that square footage will be dedicated to the conference rooms, break areas and communal spaces. 50 to 200 square feet; The irs allows you to make a simple calculation for small office spaces. If you're just starting out as a company or as an entrepreneur, the smallest available office space in anchorage, ak is 265 square feet, while the maximum rentable space on the market now is 27,000 square feet. The most expensive city to rent office space is in new york. A 3,000 sf office space has a yearly asking rental rate of $25 per square foot. Before we committed to renewing our lease in our small 685 square feet space, we committed to investing in interior design. The bigger the space, the higher the cost because it will take more time, cleaning supplies and a larger cleaning crew. 200 sq ft, or about the size of a large bedroom; How much does office space cost? Doing so opened up square footage in the center of the space making the room feel open and airy instead. Use the space analysis worksheet to determine the estimated square footage needed for your office facility based upon the number, sizes and types of spaces and/or rooms required.
Source: new.thespaceplace.net
View recommended spaces and seamlessly manage your office space search using the squarefoot platform.
Source: www.thebalancesmb.com
The easy to use search bar at the top lets you refine our listings, and get directly to the owners of the spaces that best fit your needs.
Source: www.eia.gov
It is projected to reach 151 square feet in.
Source: static01.nyt.com
Doing so opened up square footage in the center of the space making the room feel open and airy instead.
A 3,000 sf office space has a yearly asking rental rate of $25 per square foot.
Source: api.hubblehq.com
Use the space analysis worksheet to determine the estimated square footage needed for your office facility based upon the number, sizes and types of spaces and/or rooms required.
Source: images.globest.com
Medical office square footage calculator.
Source: hgtvhome.sndimg.com
The average size of office space availabilities is 13,633 square feet.
Source: miro.medium.com
Calculating how much office space your business needs is not an exact science—though, unfortunately, you may feel the need to come up with an exact number.
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Will Pewitt
I used to watch Aileen Belknap walk in to church with her nose and shoulders up, wearing all white with clean white socks as mittens on her tiny hands. I’m sure she was pretending they were satin gloves. And on the way home, as my family would walk behind hers, I would consider the pumpkins. December, March, August there’d be a pumpkin or two—new ones every couple of weeks—sitting like growled-out orange watchdogs lying in the uncut grass. At Halloween, none of them would be carved like jack-o-lanterns but they’d still be sitting there, docile and plump under the streetlamps, and when I would go trick-or-treating with Samantha she’d ask me questions about them: why they were there, what they looked like, where they got them. Of course I didn’t know, and I would come up with different descriptions, saying they looked like painted pregnant bellies or like gigantic orange light bulbs. We imagined things together and I think we both enjoyed the mystery more than the thought of actually knowing the truth.
The first time I spoke to Aileen at school she was doing a word problem in our math class; it was the only class we’d ever had together. I made my way over to the pencil sharpener, stuck mine in, twirled the knob, and peaked over at her faultless handwriting while hearing the sharpener wind almost silently around my pencil which was as pointy as it could get.
“Do you need help?” I asked her.
She looked at me as though she was insulted that I assumed she might not be able to do something.
I added, “I’m just asking because I just finished and could just, you know, just give you some tips.” The line was stupid and obvious, but came out so easily and naturally that I was surprised. Generally, my voice stutters when I say something genuine, something true. It’s when I lie that I sound trustworthy.
“I think I’m okay,” she said, letting her raised eyebrows utter a thank you.
“Well, you’re welcome anyway,” I said. She made a point of not looking at me in a way that let me know our conversation was over.
Later that day at recess my best friend Joshua said to me, “Why were you talking to the crazy girl?”
He was tossing pebbles at the swing-set where younger kids were playing, and I was drawing on the sidewalk with my pencil. I didn’t respond.
He went on, “She’s not even hot.”
We were eleven, and hormones had yet to fully settle in, which made our conversations about girls as juvenile as male dirty talk can get. Still, my friends and I all knew that being hot was the only redemptive quality of a person as strange as Aileen.
“I think she likes me,” I said.
I had thought about possible tactics—though I wasn’t sure exactly what I was after. I came up with possible lines or proposals or invitations. Though my attempt to offer mathematical advice hadn’t worked out with her, I still thought I could come up with something. I was inexperienced though, of course, and good ideas for talking to girls weren’t easy.
That afternoon, I went to my father for advice, wanting to hear what he had to offer. But also, I wanted him to have to recall what it was about Mom he loved.
Every day that year my chores were to read to my sister and hose down the tree-house Dad had built for me which was infested with roaches. The exterminator had come by at the beginning of the school-year and had sprayed every dilapidated inch of the thing. I had begged for Dad to build it, but was almost glad it was uninhabitable: the thing was unsanded and so splintery I was afraid to touch anything without workmen’s gloves, not to mention that the boards were loose and the ceiling was too short even for me—an undersized fourth-grader.
But the bugs made it worthwhile. I would shoot the hose in through the cracks of the peeling wood and would vocalize sounds to emulate the voices that the fleeing roaches would make if something that small could make any audible sound at all.
That day after school I asked him, “What did you say when you first asked out Mom?”
He was always home now, after losing his job at a grocery store—an occupation I once believed to be impressive. He was lying on the couch that afternoon in the living room watching a talk show that came on before cartoons. His eyes were dark like the half-chewed cigars he smoked, and his cheeks were always red as if he had just gotten back from the beach without wearing the sunscreen Mom always reminded him about.
“I didn’t say anything,” he said. “Your mother, asked me out.”
I was puzzled and actually scratched my head.
“Don’t do that. You look like an ape,” he said. Then he sat upright and looked at me, as if thinking that he owed me more. “Who’s the girl? You have to think about what her interests are. That’s always a good place to start.”
“I think she likes pumpkins.”
He squinted at me. “Are you talking about the Belknap girl?”
“No,” I said smoothly. “Someone else.”
“Someone else who likes pumpkins?”
“Lots of people like pumpkins. They’re a very popular vegetable.”
“What are you talking about?” he said.
“Maybe I’ll ask Mom what she said to ask you out.”
“Your mother was gorgeous. She didn’t have to say anything. All she had to do was smile and you melted.”
“I melted?”
“No, I would m—” he trailed off.
“Just talk to your mother.”
She wasn’t home of course and before she came home that day I went to the backyard, sat on the grass, and looked overhead, through a lattice of magnolia tree limbs from our yard and watched squirrels shimmy up the tree shafts after one another. I wondered if they mated for life. It was one of the first times I remember wondering about an animal without wanting to disremember it.
When I thought Dad might be checking how I was doing on my chores I went to the hose, loosened the rusty screw and watched the water surge outward up to the tree-house. I put an old flower pot on my head and pretended to be a fireman putting out the roach-ridden abode. When the lip of the pot covered my eyes I only listened to the tinny spray of the water on the wood and felt momentarily not like a fireman but like a soldier shutting his eyes as part of a firing squad.
My sister’s room was clean and pink and dim, and since childhood I always associated cleanliness with one’s lack of normality, and designated pink as a color for the blind. Dad believed in saving electricity because Sam couldn’t see. “Why bother keeping the lights on?” he would say.
He and Mom had had an argument about it one day and I could hear Mom telling him that it was horrible to think of their daughter that way; it made Sam seem like a prisoner to be locked up without light, she said. She can’t see any light so what the hell does it matter? Dad said. Then he offered the suggestion of asking Sam what she thought. Mom tried to keep the argument contained, but before she could he had bounded past my room and into hers—the door flung open with the sound of an amplified fly-swatter.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” my sister said. And so her room stayed dark.
When I read to her she would look out the window. Her blind eyes were frosted over, making them a dull blue that always made mine water, thinking that if she just wiped them with her fingers maybe they’d be functional.
Our reading time began as a way for my parents to kill two birds with one stone: I practiced my literacy and Sam was kept occupied. TV and drawing, not to mention books or puzzles or board games, weren’t after-school options for her of course. At least one parent had to be present to help her do her schoolwork and since Mom had started returning late from her job and Dad was becoming increasingly irritable since he’d been fired, the task of watching after Sam fell to me.
We read books about princesses and castles, and she would pretend to be Rapunzel. When she tired of that she had me read her the books from my English class that I would’ve ignored all afternoon anyway.
The day I asked Dad about how he and Mom became a couple, I read Sam a story where a prince goes on a quest to find true love. He goes to kill a dragon and he makes it through an alligator-infested swamp before meeting a wizard-like character with a full grey beard who gives the prince some bit of knowledge he uses to confuse some adversary before going to claim the princess. The prince was about to knock on the girl’s door when Sam said, “Are Mom and Dad getting a divorce because of me?”
“No,” I said quickly, sounding perfectly in-control.
She lolled her head around as though she were digesting the scenery of our yard. The way she looked out windows always made me have a respect for her that I didn’t have for anyone else.
Then she asked, “Why do you think that Aileen person has all those pumpkins out there?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“Will you ask her maybe?”
“Maybe,” I said. “I mean, yeah. Sure. I’ll ask her.”
She nodded and kept her face pointed toward the window. I wondered what she was thinking.
“And you know,” I said, “you’re not the reason they’re being, like, you know, mad and stuff.”
She wasn’t listening to me anymore, though.
I looked to the window, to the magnolia trees, the honeysuckle blossoms—all the things I could view so easily but had no appreciation for though I knew I should’ve felt lucky.
I added, “I think they fight because that’s, like, you know, part of being in love.” She moved her head toward me and I moved my eyes down to the book. “They’re still in love though, I think. Right?” I said.
But she still wasn’t listening, and if she was she wouldn’t know what I was talking about. Of course I didn’t even know.
When Mom came home I was color-penciling the outlines to some sketches I had drawn of Aileen. I didn’t want it to look like her—or like any girl—and so I only drew parts: lips, hair, eyelashes. And the things I couldn’t remember, I made up. When Mom came in and looked at them she told me I had a good eye for drawing insects.
She was washing the dishes from the day before when I came to ask her for advice on women. Her forehead was silver with sweat and the sun going down, and she wore rubber gloves that were a radioactive yellow.
“Dad says you asked him out first.”
“He’s a liar. I never asked any man out in my life.”
“Well, that’s what he said.”
“I think he told me I was gorgeous or something. That I looked like a movie star.” I thought this would have flattered her but then she said, “He’s a very good liar.”
“Hm,” I said, not knowing what else to say.
Things clattered in the sink. Dad said something from the other room which, under the noise from the dishes, was inaudible.
“Where did you two go?” I asked.
I had been trying to take a seat on top of the tile counter top by the sink where she used to set me when I was younger. But at that time, at age eleven, I was too small and awkward to do it by myself. I stuck myself in the crook between a cupboard and the refrigerator and looked up at her, waiting for an answer, hearing the groaning of the garbage disposal near my head.
She smiled and asked me, “Do you have a girlfriend?”
“Well I guess you wouldn’t ask for advice if you did. I guess I should say do you have a crush?”
The way she emphasized certain words, letting the syllables shift in volume and key, was embarrassing.
“Don’t make fun of me.” I said.
“Don’t be so oversensitive, honey,” she said sharply. “I just think it’s cute is all.”
“I’ve got to do some homework,” I said, beginning to move away. She turned the garbage disposal off as I was leaving.
“Oh, I was just kidding, honey,” she said. “You take everything so seriously.”
As I walked to my room my father bellowed from his study to me, “Don’t listen to your mother about this stuff. She takes everything too seriously, also.”
“Oh just hush,” she called.
“Hush up? Who says that?”
“Just shut the hell up,” she said before I shut my door and muted them.
The next day, Aileen was pristine, wearing white as usual. Her blonde hair was spun in a swirl on top of her head like soft-serve ice cream.
We were studying storytelling and every day that month our teacher would read us a short story. We were to go home every day and read a similar one from our books to our parents. This was the story I always read to Sam.
That day we were told a story of a frog who hops back and forth between his work at the docks during the day and to his home at the pond where he sits on lily-pads. He gets in an argument with a town of fish who tell him that his ribbitting is waking up their children. He says something to the effect of, “Fish don’t sleep—you always have to move.” Time goes by and the frog and the fish still can’t get along. One day though, the frog is married and his wife has a litter of minnows that swim through the pond. When the fish eat a few of them the frog is sad. He tries to complain to the fish mayor or something who just says that no one has gotten any sleep in the pond for the last two years and now they are all very, very angry.
I forget whether or not things got patched up or if the frog repents or moves to some other area of the swamp. All I remember is watching Aileen as tears formed in her eyes when we got to the part about the minnows being eaten. When the story was over and our teacher asked the silent room what the moral of the story was I heard nothing except a slight sniffle coming from the little woman wearing white who was huddled into herself at her desk. When everyone looked over she pretended to be on the verge of sneezing.
Recess was windy and her usually-perfect hair was disheveled. When I came over she was sitting on a bench under an oak tree with her legs crossed and her hair hurricaning upward.
“That was a pretty sad story, huh?” I said to her. Sadness seemed like a topic that would make me look sensitive—that seemed like something girls should have liked.
When she didn’t look up I looked down. She was drawing in a sketch book and when she sensed I was leering over her she said, “Would you please move?”
“I’m sorry. What are you drawing?”
“I’m not drawing. I’m pastel-ing.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Okay,” I said.
She had rows of what I later came to understand were pastel crayons. Blues and pinks and soft greens—colors that reminded me of Easter.
“So did you like the story?” I asked.
“I wasn’t paying attention,” she said.
Her hair was flying around her and she didn’t seem to mind.
I couldn’t find anything else to say and I didn’t feel it would help my cause to call her out for having cried during the reading of the story.
Rather than say nothing, which wouldn’t have been a bad choice, I said, “Do you like pumpkins? Because I was thinking—” I started to continue.
Suddenly she screeched, “Leave me alone!” and rushed off leaving her notebook and pastels behind. I saw a ladybug crawling over the table she’d be sitting at and flicked it across the table.
I started to pick up her things to take over to her but thought it better to leave her alone for the time. I looked over the notebook and saw a glossy pastel portrait she had begun of a frog sitting atop a circular lily-pad talking with a pinkish fish beneath. The beginnings of a smile had been sketched on both the creatures’ faces and I remember thinking something about how the worlds above the surface and below the surface should have been able to work things out.
For the rest of recess I spotted her with a few other girls that she was only peripherally friends with—no one was really friends with Aileen Belknap.
The girls played some game with dancing and hand-holding where one person stood in the center singing or screaming or something. Since I was a boy I didn’t have the gumption to go over and try to talk around an intimidating female audience—not even for Aileen.
Until we were called to go back into the school I listened to the girlish shouts splashing through the windy blacktop toward me as I sat on the swings—letting Joshua throw pebbles at me—watching Aileen like a bright white wick in the center of dizzy circle.
I didn’t speak to Aileen for several days out of embarrassment—both mine and what I assumed should have been hers. I didn’t look at her in class long enough to grab eye-contact but I couldn’t stop looking at her posture, her primness, the flawless way she carried herself even when she was simply sitting down.
When I was walking home one day she was about a block ahead of me. I tried to slow down to avoid interaction but with each passing street I seemed to be gaining ground. I realized she was trying to make our paths intersect.
It was a warmer day, one in which I actually saw butterflies—something I never took the time to notice until then, when I was trying to slow my pace. The trees in the yards were fragrant, filled with flowery scents. Rows of honeysuckle vines ran up to several houses, which I felt I’d never seen, as though a cord of honeysuckle weaved in and out of every home between mine and school in a strange way connected all of us.
“It’s okay,” Aileen called back to me when I was only fifty or so feet behind her. I wasn’t sure if she was forgiving me for my intrusion at recess or letting me know it was okay to walk alongside her.
“I’m sorry. I mean, yeah. It’s okay,” is something like what I said.
“I know it’s okay. I just said that.” She was at a corner with a hand on her hip. She seemed too proper to be carrying her own school supplies and though I’d never seen her converse with someone for longer than twenty seconds I guess I thought someone should’ve been chauffeuring her around.
When I caught up to her she said, “Did you look at what I was drawing?”
“When? The other day?”
“Mm-hm,” she said.
My voice became even and I responded quickly when I lied, “I don’t know.”
“I know you did.”
“Why’d you ask then?” I said.
“So you didn’t see what I drew did you?”
All I had seen really was an image of what looked like two frogs kissing. Figuring that someone as immaculately put together as her wouldn’t take that on as a subject, I said no.
“I know you’re lying.”
“Then why did you ask!”
We walked a few more feet and our elbows clanked. She walked on with quick but deliberate steps.
“You draw,” she said.
I didn’t say anything.
“Can I see something you drew?” she asked. She seemed to want to know not out of curiosity but to get even—as though I’d seen her naked and now she deserved the same voyeuristic rite.
“My mom says they look like bugs.”
“What does?” she asked looking around.
“The things I draw.”
“And what do you draw?”
I couldn’t say that it was her I drew. “Bugs, I guess. I mean, I guess bugs. Yeah.” I saw a butterfly float by in the ungraceful way they do. “Certain bugs. Like butterflies,” I said.
“Are those bugs?
“I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “They are before they turn into butterflies. I don’t know really if you call them bugs or not.”
“Have you ever kissed anyone?”
“Of course,” I said quickly.
“You’re lying.”
“Do you ever think about it?” she asked.
“No. It’s gross.”
“You’re gross,” she said. “I wasn’t asking you to kiss me!”
“Leave me alone.”
She started walking rapidly but I didn’t stay behind.
“I didn’t say you did,” I said.
“I don’t want to kiss you,” she said.
“Why are you talking about it?” I asked.
“Do you think it’s like the people in the movies?”
I had hardly ever thought about kissing, except for that I’d like to kiss her. And that was just the wanting of the kiss, not the doing of it.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she said.
“No,” I mumbled.
“You’re thinking you want to kiss me.”
“No,” I said with so little pause that I was sure I sounded unconvincing to her.
She went on, “I bet it is just better to imagine it though. Once you kiss someone you can’t imagine how it’ll be anymore. I kind of like imagining about it.”
“That’s a girl thing,” I said. “Boys don’t think about that kind of stuff.” As an afterthought I put in, “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
I didn’t realize we were in front of her house until she began stepping up her driveway. I wanted to say something, but I knew anything I said would just taint what we had exchanged.
Before she walked inside she smiled at me and told me to leave, but that she’d see me later.
When the door closed and I started to walk off I saw a ladybug fly off one of the pumpkins in the yard. I thought about possibly going over to grab it, but for whatever reason just walked away.
That afternoon, I went home trying to find one of the butterflies that had seemed so bountiful earlier. But none came. By the time I finally caught one it seemed too precious to destroy. I put it underneath a crystal glass and hid it in my dresser. When I woke up the next morning it was still. I cried and what was even more disturbing than its death was the fact that I cared.
The next day—the day I kissed Aileen Belknap—was also the day I thought I might never see my mother again. Mom and Dad had an argument about the sprinklers when I woke up. Mom was buttoning up a pantsuit and Dad was sitting down in his pajamas with little snowflakes on them; he had bought matching pairs for the three of us—him, me and Sam.
Sam was crying in her room.
Dad was spooning cereal into his mouth like a rusty forklift—his fingers trembling with each little movement. Mom’s movements through the kitchen were breezy and she went smoothly between the stove and making my plate. Her hair was packed behind her head in a bun and she seemed to be concentrating on twenty tasks at once.
She was talking loudly to Dad about the sprinklers and to punctuate every other sentence of hers he would yell something with words I wasn’t supposed to say. I wondered why parents seemed to want to hide words like those from kids who just picked them up eventually—whether we decide to use them or not, we still hear. You can’t keep secrets from children for too long.
The sun was knocking against the pane; it felt out of place, like a neighbor you wish would go away. Dad kept looking at it and then at me as though he expected me to yell at Mom too. I’d never heard them talk about sprinklers before—certainly not with as much anger. Mom was talking as rapidly as she was moving around. She set a plate of eggs, bacon and a blueberry muffin in front of me while packing up her leather briefcase.
“That brown briefcase doesn’t match your goddamn black suit,” Dad said as a few quiet moments passed.
I pushed the toast around on my plate and could hear Sam bellowing like a siren in the background.
“I wish this could have worked,” Mom said to Dad. “I really thought we were meant for one another.”
“Don’t talk like that in front of your kids, Veronica” he said.
“Don’t tell me how to talk. Listen to the things you’ve been saying.”
He sipped the milk out of his bowl in a way that disgusted everyone in the family except him. His eyes were low and when he set the bowl down milk melted into his dark stubble, turning it grey. Mom looked at him as though she wanted to cuss, but looked at me instead—a touchstone, a reason, an excuse—to keep from getting involved in the topic anymore.
“I hope those sprinklers are fixed when I get home, dear,” she said. “Jesus knows you don’t have anything else to do.”
Dad picked up a grapefruit from the bowl on the table. Mom shut the door and when it snapped shut he threw the fruit at it as it split through the glass frame with a quick and quiet crash. He picked up the bowl and tossed it too. It popped off the door. It was plastic. There was no milk to make a mess with as it hit the tiles on the floor.
Outside, on the other side of the peephole Dad had just made with the grapefruit, I could hear my mother utter a few syllables. She was so far away her voice almost seemed inflected with deep emotion. She was probably cussing—to herself or at him—but I imagined maybe she was saying sorry, although I didn’t know what she had to be sorry for.
When we heard her car pull off to work, Dad walked to the door to look where the grapefruit had swished through the glass. He picked up the bowl, opened the door, walked outside, and returned after a few seconds with the fruit in his hand. He set them both in the dishwasher—his movements as slow and lethargic as a zombie’s. Then he went back and took out the fruit, realizing momentarily that he’d done something wrong.
As he started to walk away he cut his foot on a piece of glass from the window pane. He sat down Indian-style in his pajamas and after he dug the tiny piece out of his bare foot.
He looked over at me as though he had to explain himself. He said, “I’ll clean it up later.”
I imagined him thinking like a robot—imagined that maybe his gears were clanging together or he needed a new chip inserted. Something buoyed him back into consciousness though. “Just don’t go over there for a while. Okay? Do you think you’re mother’s coming back tonight? Look. Forget it. Don’t go over there. I’ll deal with it later. Did I say that? I’ll deal with it later. Just, um, just—” but never finished his sentence.
That day we walked home on our same paths. She had been staying a block or so in front of me the whole time—looking back every so often, awkwardly making sure I was there. It made me feel like a stalker.
Eventually she had to stop at a red light and I gained some ground. I slowed down to give her her space but even when the light turned green she stood there still. She looked back at me again and I pretended to be in awe of the gorgeous walk I took for granted every day.
“Just come here,” she called after the light had gone through its cycle and had turned red again.
When I came close enough her eyes seemed a dark, harrowing brown that reminded me of bullets. She had that air about her that seemed to think everyone should be jealous of her, which is why I was surprised when she tilted her head, repostured herself, and said, “Are you jealous?”
I lied quickly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not jealous of you at all. You live in that crazy house with those crazy people and you never even talk to anybody and you don’t really even have any friends and it’s just pathetic.” I was looking down at the sidewalk and my voice had stuttered slightly. I added, “I don’t care if you can do your own math homework.”
I started to walk off but the light was still red. A car whizzed by and her hair swoomed upward like a visual shout, exclamating from her scalp. I couldn’t look at her, and so I watched a bee swing around my face and land on the ground. I thought about stepping on it but I couldn’t get myself to move.
“I mean, are you jealous I kissed your friend?”
I expected there to be tears in her eyes but a girl like that wouldn’t cry in front of you. She’d yell maybe or maybe just ignore you. But the power inside of a girl that tiny doesn’t come out in tears.
“No,” I said definitively.
“You wanted to kiss me,” she said.
“No,” I repeated. My voice was resolved but I think the repetition of the brief line gave my lie away.
Before I could think about anything except to notice the bee buzz through the air and past both our faces, her lips were on mine. It had the texture of old, softened sandpaper and tasting of little girls’ banana lip-gloss. When it was over I felt she had told me a secret—but not one I had asked to know.
I didn’t know what to say and she seemed to sense it. She said, “See it’s not as good as it is in the movies is it?”
I shrugged, trying to play it cool although I was too confused to pretend.
“I kind of liked imagining what it would be like more,” she said, “more than actually doing it.”
“Why do you want to taste like bananas?” I asked.
A car went by and she kept a hand on top of her head this time, keeping her hairdo place. Her eyes seemed to flutter in an even rhythm with the wind that rapped at her hair, as it rustled the swarming luster of her hair the color of artificial honey.
“What did you expect it to taste like?” she said.
I thought about all the flavors in the world. Strawberry and blueberry, chocolate cake and squash, pizza and root beer.
“Pumpkins,” I said.
She laughed.
We never kissed again but after that afternoon I noticed at recess every day that she put on some lip-gloss—always colored orange—and I liked to think it tasted like pumpkins.
When I came home that day the grass was wet from Dad getting the sprinklers working, and when I went around to the backyard I saw him listening to the radio outside. There was baseball game on and someone had struck out when I walked up. He was dressed in his pajamas and his eyes were as red as his cheeks.
“What’s going on, bud?” he said to me.
I shrugged my shoulders and tiptoed around the back porch.
“Your mother took some of her things,” he said.
I nodded and started to move back toward the front of the house, as though I’d come to the wrong home by accident. He was probably drinking and wouldn’t remember the next day. But he called out to me and I was trapped out in the open of the wet grass.
“Did you do your chores?” he asked.
“I just got home.”
He nodded and pointed his finger at me flagrantly.
“Right, right,” he said as though just remembering an old anecdote. He gave a chuckle punctuated by a hiccup, and then a deep burp.
“I’ll start on ‘em now,” I said.
“No, just—just come here I want to show you something.”
“Is Sam here? I should read to her.”
“What are you, deaf? Come here.”
“Let me get the hose going on the roaches.”
“Oh yeah. Those goddamn bugs. Jesus.” He got up quickly and his pajamas shimmied on his shoulders looking too big for him momentarily. Some papers I hadn’t noticed on the table fluttered up like escaping pigeons. He didn’t give them a second thought.
Before I could make a movement toward the hose he was already there spinning the knob. He took a long sip from the dangling spout before setting his thumb on the nozzle and then flinging the stream—like a blade—up toward the tree-house.
I moved toward the deck and watched his movements—dancing through the yard, looking like a circus clown. He was more drunk than I had thought. I wished I could see Aileen, that I was on her property and not mine.
“I was looking at letters I used to write to your mother,” he said explaining the papers on the table. “You asked me the other day how I got her. I think it was probably the letters.”
I didn’t speak but he forced the conversation nonetheless.
“She kept them all. All the letters.”
I stood over the letters and tried to collect the ones that had fallen off, many of which weren’t folded, nor signed, but they smelled of perfume and some of cologne, and they looked as old as worn-out skin.
“She kept all of them,” he said again. He sprayed the tree-house more, and that was the first time I understood that spraying the thing probably didn’t get rid of any bug problem.
When Mom and Dad started having more violent fights we’d had to go to a shrink. Dad was supposed to go too—that’s where the idea about trying to cry came from. The doctor said I should try to focus my anger somewhere else rather than on hurting animals. I guess now that it was about focusing on things like tree-houses and not animals.
Dad sprayed the house and some of the water bounced back toward him and he let the water shed off of him in tiny wet shingles, drenching his snowflake pajamas slowly but fully. I started reading one of the notes. I didn’t know what had been its cause, but it was dated before I was born. It was not sad, just disappointing to think that after all that time so many problems couldn’t be resolved. I read through it, thinking about love, tasting Aileen’s banana lips on mine.
The only line I can remember now said, “Veronica, I am trying to imagine any ways that would keep me from loving you—each one less realistic than the last. I belong to you.”
I looked back up and saw that Dad was lying down in the grass—passed out, or tired, or maybe just sad. Before I went inside I watched the water flowing from the hose in his hand like smooth, clear blood. “I belong to you,” he said to nobody.
Through the window in Sam’s room I watched Mom walk through the grass as she came home. Her shoes were off and she was carrying them in her hands as if she was coming home late from a party and wasn’t sober enough to walk in heels. She wobbled nonetheless.
I started trying to find the book I was supposed to read. I scrambled through my backpack and Sam seemed to sense what I figured: that I had left it at school. Her head was pointed at the window and I looked out as well and saw Mom come toward the house. I expected Sam to ask me what was going to happen like she always did, and I didn’t want to have to lie. She didn’t ask. She didn’t ever again.
When I heard the door close I began pretending to read. I told the story about the frog and the minnows but I changed it around a little. I spoke louder than I normally would, wanting to emphasize the illusion that I was actually doing what I was supposed to.
Sam sat on her bed trying to write out little messages with her finger onto the sheets. She was petting the covers with her fingertips and I looked at her movements while I pretended to read. I noticed then that she was a few years older than when most kids learn the alphabet. She whirled her finger around, making little nonsensical signs and symbols as I told my jumbled version of the frog and his family.
As we heard our parents talking downstairs Sam’s hand movements became more rapid and hard until they were almost violent. They way she was moving reminded me of how abstract painters might work—throwing their hands all over the place, communicating emotion without sense. The words she wrote were invisible but, I suspected, powerful. I watched the way her finger trailed around the bedspread, and I watched as though waiting for a message to reveal itself.
Downstairs, Mom and Dad were both crying and I stopped telling the story. I couldn’t hear their words but after a moment I heard my father utter a small cry that reminded me of a wince. I heard my mother say, “It’s okay.”
Then I imagined they were hugging.
As I heard one of them come around the corner toward Sam’s room I resumed the story. I was saying, “And then the frog had some babies and then they went into the pond and the fish said, ‘What if we ate your babies—then what?’ And the frog said, ‘I don’t know—how about let’s make a truce?’ And then the fish said, ‘Fine but you have to sing for us every night—one thousand ribbits—and then you can’t park on this lily-pad between nine and five on weekdays and four and nine on weekends.’ And then the frog goes, ‘Okay I guess that’s the end.’ And then they lived happily ever after.”
Sam, who I thought hadn’t been paying attention the entire time said, “You better be a better artist than a writer.” I told her to shut up when I realized Mom and Dad had gone into one of their rooms.
I sat with my sister on her bed for a while and I wondered what Aileen was doing. I was glad I hadn’t seen Mom and Dad. I hoped they had hugged. I hoped they would never leave each other.
Sam stared toward the window and began writing on the glass with her pinky finger. Her hand was sweaty and made soft, streaky sounds when she moved it against the pane. After a few moments she stopped and moved her head over toward me.
“So did you ever figure out why they have those pumpkins in front of their yard?” she asked me.
It hadn’t even occurred to me to ask. I had completely forgotten.
“No, she wouldn’t tell me,” I said quickly.
She looked out the window a little while longer and resumed writing her nonsensical letters into the covers. “That’s okay. I’m kind of glad. I like to imagine things. I like to make up reasons why. Even if they don’t make sense.” |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: hi, I m 24 years old (just turned) and have had really bad chest pain for the past 2 months. I was really sick for about a month and a bit prior to and coughing heaps. thinking it could be a sprained rib or something but do they normally heal after a month or so? I am asthmatic and smoke on average about 15 cigarettes a day. feeling really tired lately too but I have since I had my baby a year ago. any ideas? output: ..first and foremost quit smoking as soon as possible if you want to live a healthy life...kindly get these tests done(1) COMPLETE HOLOGRAM WITH ABSOLUTE BASOPHIL COUNT(2) PFT i.e. PULMONARY FUNCTION TESTS(3) X-ray OF CHEST(4) ECG(5) ECHOCARDIOGRAHYonce you get these tests done send me a copy of your reports so that I can evaluate your case in details and prescribe you with appropriate treatment take care. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: What is the relationship between antithrombin deficiency and heparin resistance? output: Antithrombin deficiency is a condition that can lead to heparin resistance. Heparin is a medication that is commonly used to prevent blood clots, but in some cases, it may not be effective due to the presence of heparin resistance. Antithrombin is a protein that helps to regulate blood clotting, and when there is a deficiency of this protein, it can interfere with the effectiveness of heparin. This can be a serious concern for individuals who are at risk for blood clots, as it may increase their risk of developing a clotting disorder. Understanding the relationship between antithrombin deficiency and heparin resistance is important for healthcare providers who are responsible for managing patients with clotting disorders. |
Tag Archives: Lehi
Pioneers of Lehi
Forts, Lehi, SUP, UPTLA, utah, utah county
The pioneers of Lehi settled in this vicinity in the fall of 1850. Thirteen families located at Sulphur Springs, later Snow’s Springs, forty rods east of here where a fort was begun. ANother group formed the Lott Settlement, to the southeast. Others located nearby.
The following year most of the families moved to higher ground on Dry Creek, selected in July 1850 by Canute Peterson and six companions, and established Evansville, named for Bishop David Evans. By legislative enactment, February 5, 1852 the “City of Lehi” was incorporated. It included the area between Utah Lake and the north foothills. The name Lehi was taken from the Book of Mormon. This monument was erected as a part of Lehi’s Centennial Celebration.
Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmarks Association Marker #118
Forts in Utah
Other UPTLA and SUP Markers
Lehi Fort One. Sulphur Springs
In addition to a new name, two monuments were also dedicated in the community. Honoring Lehi’s first permanent settlement at Sulphur Springs, later called Snow Springs, the Centennial Committee set a twelve ton boulder into a cement base near the site of the springs on Saratoga Road. A Bronze plaque provided a brief history of the area. Two dats later the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers unveiled their monument at the site of the town’s first cemetery on State Street.
Sulphur Springs History
Sulphur Springs was explored by the Canute Peterson party who came to Lehi. The party was sent by Brigham Young to explore the north end of Utah County. The party included Canute Peterson, David Savage, Charles Hopkins, Henry Royle, William S. Empey, William Wadsworth and Surveyor Lemmon. They set out on an exploration expedition to Utah Valley in July of 1850.
The party initially went to the American Fork area, but became involved in a dispute with Washburn Chipman, Arza Adams, and others over land and water rights. They soon left the area.
Peterson and his followers immediately left and stopped at another stream about three miles west. They named it Dry Creek due to the difficulty in finding adequate water for their horses. After camping on the approximate site of the present Wines Park, they spent the remainder of the day in exploring the surrounding country. They explored as far south as Utah Lake, and as far west and the Jordan River.
A spring was also discovered about three-fourths of a mile north of the lake, and one mile east of the river. It was christened Sulphur Spring on account of the peculiar taste of the water. This spring later became the center around which the first settlers located. The area later became known and Snow Springs. The springs were known as Sulphur Springs until William Snow took possession of the land in 1853.
After the parties exploration of the country, they became impressed by the land and its possibilities. They surveyed and located an extensive tract and determined to return and settle there permanently. Afterwards they returned to Salt Lake.
On September 5th, 1850, David Savage met a band of immigrants who had crossed the plains in Captain Aaron Johnson’s company. Among them were Joel W. White, the brother-in-law of David Savage. Savage urged them to proceed to Sulphur Springs and make it their home because it was the best place to obtain water for domestic use. He sent them on their way but promised he would follow the next day and overtake the party.
In the company traveling to Sulphur Springs were the families of Joel William White, John Griggs White, Claiborne Thomas and Elizabeth Moorehead. Ms. Moorehead was a sister to Claiborne Thomas. The next day David Savage and two hired men were soon followed by Samuel D. White, brother of Joel W. White and son of John Griggs White.
Daniel Cox arrived at Sulphur Springs in September and camped there. Their party was joined in November 1850 by Charles Hopkins, Israel Evans, and their families. William Fotheringham and his aged parents came next. They were followed by Thomas Karren and family. They had crossed by Alpine over the mountains and proceeded to Sulphur Springs. Last of all was Jehiel McConnell and that completed that first colony.
The first challenge was to erect swellings to protect them during the winter. Immediately the settlers began felling the native Cottonwood trees which were found some miles up the creek. Until they could complete their dwellings, the setters used their wagon boxes as temporary homes.
Most homes built had one to two rooms depending on the size of the family. The walls of the homes were approximately seven feet tall. The roof was a leaky inadequate mixture of willows and dirt gabled at the end.
There were only fifteen cabins completed. The cabins faced south. The north fort wall protected them from the north winds. The Spring was in the center. The full extent of their plan was not completed because of the low numbers of settlers. There were eight cabins on the north, four on the east, and three on the west.
They formed a group area to house the animals and a quantity of grass was cut for hay. The first group to arrive was able to put up the hay for the group. The first winter, while cold, was such that the stock could run at large until spring.
The first deaths in Lehi were at Sulphur Springs. In the month of February John Griggs White passed away. David Savage made a respectable coffin from a wagon box. They took his body and buried him at a nice spot north of the Dry Creek area. This was the beginning of the Pioneer cemetery above State Street.
Most of the Sulphur Springs settlers did not have shoes and their clothing was patched and mended. But most went through the winter in good health.
Religious services were performed regularly under the direction of David Savage and Charles Hopkins. In these services they expressed their gratitude to their God for helping them through these hard times of coming to Utah.
NMost of the people traveled the next spring and summer and joined groups that came: Evansville under the direction of David Evans; Lotville led by widowed Mrs Permilia Lott; and the Dry Creek with Canute Peters.
In 1851, soon after the Sulphur Springs Settlers joined with the other existing groups, the first ward in the area was created. The Dry Creek ward Bishop was David Evans with David Savage and Charles Hopkins as counselors.
These markers and monuments are located in Snow Springs Park in Lehi, Utah.
Snow Springs Park
Lehi, Parks, utah, utah county
Snow Springs Park in Lehi, Utah.
The historic marker Pioneers of Lehi is located here.
Parks in Lehi
Lehi Roller Mills
Lehi, Mills, utah, utah county
Built in 1906 by George G Robinson, the mill at Lehi Roller Mills is an iconic part of Lehi, Utah’s history and is also well known for being one of the filming locations for the movie Footloose.
Joseph D. Adams Memorial Park
Law Enforcement Memorials, Lehi, Memorials, Parks, utah, utah county
According to police, Adams stopped a suspected drunken driver at 2100 N. 1200 West just before 11 p.m. Friday. Adams reportedly ticketed the man for DUI and asked him to step out of his vehicle. In the process of being handcuffed, the man was somehow able to free one hand, grab a small handgun and begin shooting, Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dennis Harris said.
A wounded Adams was still able to shoot the assailant numerous times before the man got into his car and drove away with Adams’ handcuffs dangling from one wrist.(*)
Fallen Officer Memorials
Russon & Peck Immigration to Utah
Lehi, SUP, utah, utah county
S.U.P. Marker #156, located at Dairy View Park in Lehi. See other S.U.P. Markers here.
Lott Russon, Sr. was born January 1, 1829, and Eliza Round was born October 21, 1830, in England. The couple married December 25, 1850, and converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints (LDS/Mormon) two years later. To support his growing family, Lott worked in foundries and coal mines.
Elisha Peck, Sr. was born in England April 26, 1850. When he was three years old, his mother, Phebe Turner Peck, died. Four years later, his father, Elisha Peck, also died. At age twelve, young Elisha joined the LDS Church. When he turned seventeen, he served as a missionary in the Birmingham District. There he met Lott and Eliza Russon’s oldest daughter, Charlotte, who was singing in the Mormon Street Meetings. After completing his mission in 1868, Elisha immigrated to Lehi, Utah, working for the Union Pacific railroad on route to earn his fare.
When Elisha read in the Deseret News that Charlotte Russon had moved to Salt Lake City in the fall of 1869 and was living in the home of Peter Nebecker, a wealthy sheep rancher, he walked the 30 miles to visit his English friend. Their meeting was joyous and the two corresponded for more than a year before Elisha had the courage to ask for her hand in marriage. In 1870 they were sealed in the Endowment House in Temple Square. Their first Lehi home was a 12-foot by 14-foot, one room home with a dirt floor.
In the fall of 1871, Eliza R. Russon, still in England, received a letter from Peter Nebecker informing her that through the Perpetual Emigration Fund, arrangements had been made to convey her entire family to Utah. Eliza ran 2 miles to the coal mine and exclaimed to her husband Lott, “Take off those muddy clothes; we’re going to Zion!” The couple and their eight children soon journeyed from England to America, traversing the country on the new Transcontinental Railroad. In Lehi, the family of ten settled in the small home of Elisha and Charlotte Peck for a short time. In a few days, Elisha Peck, Jr. was born.
In 1885 Lott Russon, Jr. and Elisha Peck, Jr. purchased the bench land covered with wild sagebrush on which this monument rests. For four generations, the Russon and Peck families have their living from farming, and descendants of both families are still here. This property now includes homes, a park, and a beautiful LDS Chapel that was dedicated in 2007.
Left picture caption: “Elisha Peck, Sr. and Charlotte Russon
Right picture caption: “The next generation, The Elisha Peck, Sr. Family, which began November 7, 1870
Top Row: Leonard, Alice Redman, Thomas, Elisha, Jr., Eliza Graham, Isaac
Bottom Row: Sarah Saboy, Moroni, Elisha, Sr., Charlotte, John, Blanch Pearson
The Gifts Given to Them
As we try to visualize the present impact of this pioneer story, we realize that this monument is only a reminder of the gifts that came to this large family and what they have returned to the community.
The Russons and Pecks came to a relatively new country with frontiers of virgin land where men and women were free to speak and worship in liberty, and where the founders had struggled together to establish an honorable government.
We must acknowledge the missionaries who brought them a new religion and philosophy of life. We must also remember Peter Nebecker and the Perpetual Emigration Fund which made traveling to America financially possible for those families.
The Gifts They Returned
Russon and Peck descendants have made monumental contributions to religious and civic affairs. Their progeny have made their mark as mechanics, engineers, artists, morticians, physicians, lawyers, teachers, and professors. Men and women have served in every branch of the military and have fought and died to defend their American ideals. While many still live in this area, many more have scattered across the nation and throughout the world.
The initial reason why Russon and Peck family members settled this area was their devotion to the LDS Church. Their dedication required much faith and was buffered by considerable adversity. In this lay-member-ministry church, they served with diligence. Many family members have served as full-time missionaries throughout the world.
Today we face our own challenges. Yet as we look back from our comfortable homes and high-tech conveniences, we express gratitude to our forefathers who suffered much, yet left us a legacy of virtue, fortitude, and dedication to God and Country.
The ground we are standing on, from 900 feet west to 1,168 feet east and 2,800 feet north, was covered with wild sagebrush before 1885 when Lott Russon, Jr. and Elisha Peck, Jr. purchased it. Family members ultimately fenced the property and dug irrigation ditches. For the next 122 years, the Russons and Pecks raised hay, grain, sugar beets, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, peas, and corn. They cultivated fruit orchards and berries and raised horses and herds of beef and milk cattle. Other development began about 2007.
Left pictures caption: “Lott Russon, Jr.” and “Elisha Peck, Jr.”
Left bottom drawing caption: “Russons sorting onions”
Upper right picture caption: “Hauling Hay, 1930s”
Middle right picture caption: “Binder Cutting Grain 1924”
Bottom right picture caption: “Peck Dairy”
More photos from a return visit in 2022:
Dairy View Park
Dairy View Park in Lehi, Utah. See other parks in Lehi here.
The Russon & Peck Immigration to Utah historic marker is located here.
Little Free Library:
Little Free Libraries
Summercrest Park
Summercrest Park in Lehi, Utah. See other parks in Lehi here.
Cemeteries, Lehi, Memorials, Monuments, utah, utah county
The day the angels came for you
Our tears, like summer showers, fell.
We knew your time on earth was through,
With heavy hearts, we sang farewell.
We thought we were the “Chosen Ones”
To show you all life’s little things,
To teach you to appreciate
A bird’s song, or a butterfly’s wings.
But now we humbly realize
By seeing all you struggled through
That, by example, we’ve been taught
The Chosen Teacher, here, was you!
-By Rose Jane Waterhouse
William George Alan Waterhouse
Feb 10th – July 3rd, 2001
With the hope of
Bringing comfort to all who have lost
a “little one”.
Located in the Lehi City Cemetery in Lehi, Utah
The Peter Julius Christofferson Family
Historic Markers, Lehi, SUP, utah, utah county
S.U.P. Marker #182 (other SUP Markers here.)
Location: 1525 North 600 East, Lehi, Utah
Peter Julius Christofferson (1843-1910) was born February 16, 1843, in Saersley, Holbek, Denmark, to Hans and Elizabeth Nielsen Christofferson (Christopherson). Following the conversion of his father’s family to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they emigrated to Utah, arriving in the Salt Lake Valley on September 15, 1859.
On September 10, 1864, Peter married a fellow Scandinavian convert, Anna Peterson, in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. Nine children were born to this union. The family resided in Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah for four and a half years. During this period, Peter participated in the Black Hawk Indian War and was noted for his bravery.
In 1869, Peter moved his family to Lehi, Utah, and had a brick home built on the southwest corner of the intersection of 100 West Main Street.
In 1876, he was called by Brigham Young on a settlement mission to northeastern Arizona, where, in 1877, he settled his family, along with the James Robertson and John Bushman families, who were also from Lehi, on the Little Colorado River. Peter became the first bishop of the Omer Ward. In 1879, he served a short-term mission to the Native Americans in Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Mexico. In 1881, the Arizona Cooperative Mercantile Association was organized, and Peter was named to the Board of Directors and served as superintendent of the store for three years,, and, at the same time, he started a farm.
As a prominent local priesthood leader, Peter was instructed by Wilford Woodruff to take a second wife. He married Sarah Hulda DeWitt on February 13, 1881, in the St. George Temple. Peter and Sarah also had nine children.
In 1884, Peter and five other prominent Latter-day Saint men were indicted for violation of the Edmunds Act, which made Polygamy a felony. He and two other men were sent to the Detroit House of Corrections for a term of three and a half years of hard labor. During his incarceration, he was a correspondent to the Deseret News, reporting on their condition as “a prisoner for conscience’ sake.” After serving nearly two years, the men received a hand-written pardon from President Grover Cleveland in October 1886. Upon his return to Arizona, he found that his farm had been taken over by land jumpers.
In 1889, Anna and her children, with the exception of Joseph, moved back to Lehi to get medical treatment for their son, Lafayette, who had contracted scarlet fever. Peter moved his and Sarah’s family to the Mormon colony in Colonia Diaz, Mexico, where they resided until 1896, when he moved the family back to Arizona. During these years, Peter traveled between the families. Sarah and her children moved by team and wagon to Lehi in 1900, reuniting the two families after an 11-year separation.
Peter resumed his business activities as a trader under the name of “PJ Christofferson & Sons” and was elected the first full-time marshal of Lehi. He was active in the LDS Church and was superintendent of the Sunday School for several years. Sarah and her children resided in a home at approximately 250 East 1350 North, while Anna and her children lived in a home at 1415 North 600 East.
Peter died February 3, 1910. His posterity now numbers in the hundreds, with many of his descendants prominent in civic, business, education, and religious fields. A great-grandson, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, was called to serve as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2008.
Anna Peterson Christofferson (1842-1927), the fourth child of Anders and Marna Anderson Peterson, was born October 23, 1842, in Bjersjoholm, Sweden. Anna and her family were converted to the LDS Church and belonged to the first branch organized in Sweden. The family emigrated to America in 1862 and made their home in Lehi, Utah.
After she married Peter Julius Christofferson, they were called by Brigham Young to make their first home a Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete County, which was a dangerous post. There, Anna gave birth to two children; the second child, John, died of scarlet fever. The little family moved to Lehi, where Peter had the first brick house in the town built for Anna; four children were born in that home. Her third child, Zachariah, died of diphtheria.
In 1876, the Christoffersons were called to help colonize a new settlement in northeastern Arizona. After living in a fine home near her family for more than seven years, Anna went with her husband. There were no roads, and she had to help push wagons up mountains and across long stretches of sand. Her seventh baby was born in this Arizona settlement.
The Christoffersons and two other Lehi families were called to colonize three new towns in four years. When Anna did not have wheat, she used coarse black barley to make bread for her family. Their home was lighted with homemade candles or a dish of grease with a rag in it. Peter was called to be the first bishop, and when general authorities came to visit, Anna made room for them in their humble little home. Anna’s last two babies were born in these last settlements.
In 1879, Peter was called to serve an eight-month mission, leaving his family in lowly circumstances. Wilford Woodruff called Peter to enter into the principle of plural marriage, and Anna consented to his marriage to 17-year-old Sarah Hulda DeWitt. When Peter later served in prison for polygamy, Anna and Sarah were left with nine children to support.
In November 1888, scarlet fever struck the younger members of the family, and Lafayette, Anna’s youngest child, was left with residual health concerns. Anna and her children traveled to Lehi in 1889 to seek medical help for him. Her sixth child, Rachel, died that year.
After Sarah’s death, Anna, who was then 62 years old, took Sarah’s youngest children into her home to raise. Six years later, when Peter died, she became the single parent to those children. Anna died November 10, 1927, at age 85. Records describe her as a small woman with a patient and cheerful disposition.
I realize more fully now – my position on this earth – How I by Thee and aided – In any act of worth.
Sarah Hulda DeWitt Christofferson (1863-1904) was born March 26, 1863 at Big Cottonwood in Salt Lake City, Utah, to parents Abel Alexander DeWitt and Margaret Miller Watson, both Mormon converts. She cherished her childhood in the Salt Lake Valley by attending school in the winter and playing in fields in the summer.
Her father was called by LDS Church President Brigham Young to colonize the Little Colorado River area in northeastern Arizona. The family began their journey on November 10 1874. They arrived in Kanab, Utah, “as the sun was sinking” on January 1, 1875. For the first time, Sarah experienced poverty. The family lived in Kanab before moving south to Arizona in 1880.
When Sarah was almost 18 years old, she married Peter Julius Christofferson as his second wife. Sarah labored with Anna, the first wife, to create a home and live the gospel in a community that was hostile to polygamists. Sarah worked as a clerk in a store where Peter was manager. She gave birth to two children before her husband was sentenced to prison for polygamy. During his incarceration, she wrote, “We all did what our hands could find to do.” After Peter’s return, the two families lived in separate houses, and Sarah took in sewing to help provide for her children.
In 1889, to escape polygamy persecution, Peter moved Sarah and their children to the Mormon settlement of Colonia Diaz, Mexico. Her baby was only a few weeks old. Anna moved to Lehi, and Peter traveled between the two homes during the next 11 years. Sarah was often the sole provider for her children, selling milk from her cows, until the cows died of a disease. Later Sarah sold flour, which Peter left with her. She now had seven children. Sarah enjoyed serving in the stake young women’s organization. When Peter was away, Sarah got out her pen: “Weary worn and tired, dear pen I come again to thee…” She poured out her fears and frustrations by writing, “To me you all seem doubly dear – I seem to prize you better, and one thing more within my heart – I’ve learned to prize – a letter.”
In 1896, Peter moved Sarah and her children to Arizona to improve their living conditions. A short time later, the baby, Malcolm, tragically died in an accident. Another child was born in 1898.
In August 1900, Sarah and her children journeyed through the unsettled wilderness of Arizona and Utah with a horse team and a wagon. She was sad to leave her parents and siblings in Arizona, but there was a joyful reunion in Lehi for Peter’s two families. Peter made a farm for Sarah and her family on part of a vineyard in northeast Lehi. David Ward recalled that everyone ate and slept in both homes as “brothers and sisters of a happy family.” In 1902, Sarah gave birth to her ninth child. Sarah died on November 17, 1904.
Edward Southwick
Cemeteries, Lehi, utah, utah county
Edward Southwick Sr.
8 May 1811 – 13 April 1873
Lehi City Cemetery, Plot: 63_111_5, 1100 North 400 East, Lehi, Utah, Utah Territory, United States
Edward is my Great, Great, Great Grandpa and I wanted to stop by and get some pictures of his grave site and some of the many Southwick’s nearby in the Lehi City Cemetery.
The headstone actually has him being born May 15th 1812 instead of May 8th 1811 as I found on FamilySearch (K2M3-X6V ). |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: I have significant dental pain. The dentist X-rayed the area and could not find any abscess or cavities and he thinks it is due to grinding my teeth at night. He made a night guard for me and said it might take several days to help relieve the pain. Im wondering if there is inflammation involved (around the nerve) and if Relafen would be of some help. output: Thanks for your query, I have gone through your query. The pain in the teeth or jaw can be because of either tooth infection or TMJ disorder nothing to be panic, consult a good oral physician and get it evaluated. If it is a tooth infection, you need to take a course of antibiotics like amoxicillin and get the tooth treated. If it is a jaw joint disorder then you can take proximal with a muscle relaxant like chlorzoxazone after consulting the physician(if you are not sensitive and allergic)I hope my answer will help you, take care.. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: What is wrong with me if I am constantly second guessing myself? I started a new job a couple weeks ago, First time in this field (an office). I understand most of what Im doing, but I feel like Im messing up (even when Im not). Its not only at work. I find myself second guessing myself at other times too. Im 55 years old output: Degree understand your concerns went through your details. I suggest you not to worry much. Even though the symptoms you gave are not enough to diagnose your problem, I sincerely think that you need rest for a couple of weeks. You seem to be stressed. I also think that your family life is also affected, if you have a family. Otherwise, not having a family could be the basic problem. Consult a psychologist. If you require more of my help in this aspect, Please post a direct question to me in this website. Make sure that you include every minute details possible. I shall prescribe the needed psychotherapy techniques which should help you cure your condition further. Hope this answers your query. Available for further clarifications. Good luck.. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: My mouth feel dry and it is hard to eat and drink anything except water and I am coughing up brown mucous. This has been going on for four days now. Yesterday I let my coworker know about the brown mucous and they said I may have an infection. Then they looked in my mouth and saw that my uvula and tonsils were red and swollen. Do you know what could possibly be wrong with me and ways I can treat it. output: Hi. Thanks for the query. Red and swollen uvula and tonsils along with coughing up of brown mucous are a sign of throat infection causing TONSILLITIS and UVEITIS. You should not worry and star taking AZITHROMYCIN 500 mg once a day for 5 days. Take IBUPROFEN 400 mg thrice a day for reducing pain and inflammation. Chew a vitamin C pellet daily. Do warm saline gargles at least 3 to 4 times a day. Take a soft diet. Avoid spicy and hard foods.. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: I have been told there is nothing that can be done for my back pain. I have bulging discs, bone spurs, and arthritis in L4, L5, and S1. Also, osteoporosis. I have multiple compression fractures from T12 and above. I keep being given pain medications and just want to know if there is long-term relief or if I m going to have to live with meds that make me sleepy and grouchy. Thank you.
to get a long term relief from back pain? output: Hello, I have studied your case and reports with diligence.Check your bone strength with DEXA SCAN and you can start medication according to level of osteoporosis,And also check your vit B12 and vit D3 level.I will advise you to do regular physiotherapy and exercises as my patients find much relief by these therapies.You may consult physiotherapist for guidance. He may start TENS, or ultrasound which is helpful in your case you need to take diet rich in calcium and vitamin D.Vertebroplasty may help you if wedge compression is more.Hope this answers your query. If you have additional questions or follow up queries then please do not hesitate in writing to us. I will be happy to answer your queries. If you find this answer helpful do not hesitate to rate this answer at end of discussion. Wishing you good health.Take care... |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: MY 2 yr old has just gotten over a bout of vomiting n diarrhea for about a week. He has been in the clear now since sunday with solid stools and he is eating good again. However ive noticed the past few dYs that his belly is overly extended and very firm. What is this and shld I be worried?
ried for overly extended belly of a child after vomiting and diarrhoea output: HelloI have gone through your question and understand your concern. Post gastro-enteritis the normal microbes present in the intestine decline in number as they get washed away in stools during diarrhea. Those microbes are responsible to keep off abdominal bloating, which can cause distension of abdomen and firmness. In addition to this, other factors like high sugar contents in diet (including fruit juices and fluids taken to replace loss due to diarrhea/vomiting) can also cause abdominal bloating. The other cause could be constipation as you mentioned solid stools in the query which can be hard, not semi solid or soft stool. Most medications taken for diarrhea/vomitings have side-effects of constipation.Both the problems can be taken care at home with ease by adding probiotic's like yogurt, fibre rich food's like chia seed's and raisins and drinking enough water... |
Justia Patents US Patent for Cyclosporin galenic forms Patent (Patent # 7,081,445)
Cyclosporin galenic forms
Mar 1, 2004 - Novartis AG
Pharmaceutical compositions comprising a cyclosporin as active ingredient, a fatty acid triglyceride, a glycerol fatty acid partial ester or propylene glycol or sorbitol complete or partial ester, preferably, and a tenside having an HLB of at least 10.
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This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/234,273, filed Sep. 4, 2002, abandoned, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/931,680, filed Aug. 16, 2001, U.S. Pat. No. 6,468,968; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/552,634, filed Apr. 19, 2000, U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,825; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/350,560, filed Jul. 9, 1999, abandoned; which is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/047,056, filed Mar. 24, 1998, U.S. Pat. No. 5,977,066; which is a divisional of application Ser. No. 08/471,301, filed Jun. 6,1995, U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,997; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/163,193, filed Dec. 6, 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,724; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/940,119, filed Sep. 3, 1992, abandoned; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/822,375, filed Jan. 17, 1992, abandoned; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/481,082, filed Feb. 16, 1990, abandoned.
The present invention relates to novel galenic formulations, in particular novel pharmaceutical compositions as well as novel oral dosage forms comprising a cyclosporin as active ingredient.
The cyclosporins comprise a class of structurally distinctive, cyclic, poly-N-methylated undecapeptides, commonly possessing pharmacological, in particular immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory and/or anti-parasitic (in particular anti-protozoal, e.g. anti-malarial) activity. The first of the cyclosporins to be isolated was the naturally occurring fungal metabolite Ciclosporin or Cyclosporine, also known as cyclosporin A and commercially available under the Registered Trade Mark SANDIMMUNR or SANDIMMUNER. Ciclosporin is the cyclosporin of formula A.
wherein -MeBmt- represents the N-methyl-(4R)-4-but-2E-en-I-yl-4-methyl-(L)threonyl residue of formula B
in which x-y- is —CH═CH—(trans).
As the parent of the class Ciclosporin has so far received the most attention. The primary area of clinical investigation for Ciclosporin has been as an immunosuppressive agent, in particular in relation to its application to recipients of organ transplants, e.g. heart, lung, combined heart-lung, liver, kidney, pancreatic, bone-marrow, skin and corneal transplants and, in particular, allogenic organ transplants. In this field Ciclosporin has achieved a remarkable success and reputation.
At the same time, applicability of Ciclosporin to various autoimmune diseases and to inflammatory conditions, in particular inflammatory conditions with an aetiology including an autoimmune component such as arthritis (for example rheumatoid arthritis, arthritis chronica progrediente and arthritis deformans) and rheumatic diseases, has been intensive and reports and results in vitro, in animal models and in clinical trials are wide-spread in the literature. Specific auto-immune diseases for which Ciclosporin therapy has been proposed or applied include, autoimmune hematological disorder (including e.g. hemolytic anaemia, aplastic anaemia, pure red cell anaemia and idiopathic thrombocytopaenia), systemic lupus erythematosus, polychondritis, sclerodoma, Wegener granulamatosis, dermatomyositis, chronic active hepatitis, myasthenia gravis, psoriasis, Steven-Johnson syndrome, idiopathic sprue, autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease (including e.g. ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease) endocrine opthalmopathy, Graves disease, sarcoidosis, multiple sclerosis, primary billiary cirrhosis, juvenile diabetes (diabetes mellitus type I), uveitis (anterior and posterior), keratoconjunctivitis sicca and vernal keratoconjunctivitis, interstitial lung fibrosis, psoriatic arthritis and glomerulonephritis (with and without nephrotic syndrome, e.g. including idiopathic nephrotic syndrome or minimal change nephropathy).
Further areas of investigation have been potential applicability as an anti-parasitic, in particular anti-protozoal agent, with possible uses suggested including treatment of malaria, coccidiomycosis and schistosomiasis and, yet more recently, use in cancer therapy, e.g. as an agent for reversing or abrogating resistance to other anti-neoplastic or cytostatic therapy.
Since the original discovery of ciclosporin, a wide variety of naturally occurring cyclosporins have been isolated and identified and many further non-natural cyclosporins have been prepared by total- or semi-synthetic means or by the application of modified culture techniques. The class comprised by the cyclosporins is thus now substantial and includes, for example, the naturally occurring cyclosporins A through Z [c.f. Traber et al. 1, Helv. Chim. Acta. 60, 1247–1255 (1977); Traber et al. 2, Helv. Chim. Acta. 65 no. 162, 1655–1667 (1982); Kobel et al., Europ. J. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 14, 273–240 (1982); and von Wartburg et al., Progress in Allergy, 38, 28–45 (1986)], as well as various non-natural cyclosporin derivatives and artificial or synthetic cyclosporins including the so called dihydro-cyclosporins [in which the moiety -x-y- of the -MeBmt- residue (Formula B above) is saturated to give -x-y-=—CH2—CH2—]; derivatised cyclosporins (e.g. in which a further substituent is introduced at the α-carbon atom of the sarcosyl residue at the 3-position of the cyclosporin molecule); cyclosporins in which the -MeBmt- residue is present in isomeric form (e.g. in which the configuration across positions 6′ and 7′ of the -MeBmt- residue is cis rather than trans); and cyclosporins wherein variant amino acids are incorporated at specific positions within the peptide sequence, employing e.g. the total synthetic method for the production of cyclosporins developed by R. Wenger—see e.g. Traber 1, Traber 2 and Kobel loc. cit.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,108,985, 4,210,581 and 4,220,641; European Patent Publication Nos. 0 034 567, 0 056 782 and 0 296 122; International Patent Publication No. WO 86/02080; Wenger 1, Transp. Proc. 15, Suppl. 1:2230 (1983); Wenger 2, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 24, 77 (1985); and Wenger 3, Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products 50, 123 (1986).
The class comprised by the cyclosporins thus now includes, for example, [Thr]2-, [Val]2-, [Nva]2- and [Nva]2-[Nva]5-Ciclosporin (also known as cyclosporins C, D, G and M respectively), [3′-O-acyl-MeBmt]1-Ciclosporin (also known as cyclosporin A acetate), [Dihydro-MeBmt]1-[Val]2-Ciclosporin (also known as dihydro-cyclosporin D), [3′-Desoxy-3′-oxo-MeBmt]1[Val]2- and -[Nva]2-Ciclosporin, [(D)Fluoromethyl-Sar]3-Ciclosporin, [(D)Ser]8-Ciclosporin, [MeIle]11-Ciclosporin, [(D)MeVal]11-Ciclosporin (also known as cyclosporin H), [MeAla]6-Ciclosporin, [(D)Pro]3-Ciclosporin and so on.
[In accordance with now conventional nomenclature for cyclosporins, these are defined by reference to the structure of Ciclosporin (i.e. Cyclosporin A). This is done by first indicating the amino acid residues present which differ from those present in Ciclosporin (e.g. “[(D)Pro]3” to indicate that the cyclosporin in question has a -(D)Pro- rather than -Sar- residue at the 3-position) and then applying the term “Ciclosporin” to characterise remaining residues which are identical to those present in Ciclosporin. Individual residues are numbered starting with the residue -MeBmt-, -dihydro-MeBmt- or its equivalent in position 1.]
Very many of these further cyclosporins exhibit comparable pharmaceutical utility to Ciclosporin or more specific utility, for example activity particularly in reversing tumor resistance to cytostatic therapy, and proposals for their application as therapeutic agents abound in the literature.
Despite the major contribution which Ciclosporin has made, in particular to the areas of organ transplant and the therapy of autoimmune diseases, difficulties encountered in providing more effective and convenient means of administration (e.g. galenic formulations, for example oral dosage forms, which are both convenient for the patient as well as providing appropriate bio-availability and allowing dosaging at an appropriate and controlled dosage rate) as well as the reported occurrence of undesirable side reactions, in particular nephrotoxic reaction, have been obvious serious impediments to its wider use or application.
The cyclosporins are characteristically highly hydrophobic and readily precipitate in the presence of even very minor amounts of water, e.g. on contact with the body (e.g. stomach) fluids. It is accordingly extremely difficult to provide, e.g. oral formulations which are acceptable to the patient in terms of form and taste, which are stable on storage and which can be administered on a regular basis to provide suitable and controllable patient dosaging.
Proposed liquid formulations, e.g. for oral administration of cyclosporins, have hitherto been based on the use of oils in conjunction with solvent systems comprising, e.g. ethanol and Labrafils and equivalent excipients as carrier media. Thus the commercially available Ciclosporin drink-solution employs ethanol and olive oil or corn-oil as carrier medium in conjunction with a Labrafil as co-solvent—see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,307. Use of the drink-solution and similar compositions as proposed in the art is however accompanied by a variety of difficulties.
First the palatability of the known oil based systems has proved problematic. The taste of the known drink-solution is, in particular, unpleasant and admixture with an appropriate flavoured drink, for example chocolate drink preparation, at high dilution immediately prior to ingestion has generally been practiced in order to make regular therapy at all acceptable. Adoption of oil based systems hitherto has also required the use of high ethanol concentrations to maintain solubility. Use of ethanol is in itself inherently undesirable, in particular where administration to children is foreseen. In addition, evaporation of the ethanol, e.g. from encapsulated forms (adopted, in large part, to meet problems of palatibility as discussed above), or other forms (e.g. when opened) results in development of a precipitate. Where such compositions are presented in e.g. soft gelatin encapsulated form, this particular difficulty necessitates ackaging of the encapsulated product in an air-tight compartment, for example in air-tight blister or aluminum-foil blister package or container. This in turn renders the product both bulky and more expensive to produce. The storage characteristics of such formulations are thus far from ideal.
Use of such dosage forms is also characterised by extreme variation in required patient dosaging. In order to achieve effective immunosuppressive therapy, cyclosporin blood or blood serum levels have to be maintained within in a specified range. This range in turn can vary, depending on the particular condition being treated, e.g. whether therapy is to prevent transplant rejection or for the control of an autoimmune disease or condition, and on whether or not alternative immunosuppressive therapy is employed concomitantly with cyclosporin therapy. Experience shows however that, e.g. employing the available Ciclosporin drink solution, daily dosages needed to achieve required blood serum levels vary considerably from individual to individual and even for a single individual at different times. For this reason it is necessary to monitor blood/blood-serum levels of patients receiving Ciclosporin therapy at regular and frequent intervals in order that the daily dosage taken may be adjusted to maintain blood/blood-serum levels within the required range. Monitoring of blood/blood-serum levels, which is generally performed by RIA or equivalent immunoassay technique, e.g. employing monoclonal antibody based technology, has to be carried out for each patient receiving Ciclosporin therapy on a regular basis. This is inevitably time consuming and inconvenient and adds substantially to the overall cost of therapy.
It is also the case that blood/blood-serum cyclosporin levels achieved using available dosage systems exhibit extreme variation between peak and trough levels. That is, for each patient, effective cyclosporin levels in the blood vary widely between administration of individual dosages. This variation in patient response has been found to be attributable to a significant extent to variation in the availability of naturally occurring surfactant components, e.g. bile acids and salts, within the gastro-intestinal tract of the subject treated. For galenic formulations for cyclosporins hitherto known in the art, the presence of such natural surfactants in sufficient quantity is required if satisfactory resorption is to be achieved. However the availability of such surfactants in the gastro-intestinal tract inevitably varies from subject to subject and in individual subjects with time.
Apart from the unsatisfactory nature of such inconsistancy in therapy, this also means that individual patients must be monitored on each occasion within a relatively narrow time-window, to ensure, e.g. that a peak level is not inadvertantly recorded as a high response to dosage.
Beyond all these very evident practical difficulties lies the occurrence of undesirable side reactions already alluded to, observed employing available oral dosage forms.
Several proposals to meet these various problems have been suggested in the art, including both solid and liquid oral dosage forms. An overriding difficulty has however remained the inherent insolubility of the cyclosporins, e.g. Ciclosporin, in aqueous media and hence provision of a dosage which can contain cyclosporins in sufficiently high concentration to permit convenient use and yet meet the required criteria in terms of bioavailability, e.g. enabling effective resorption from the stomach or gut lumen and achievement of consistent and appropriately high blood/blood-serum levels.
As already noted, current commercial oral dosage forms for Ciclosporin are disclosed and claimed, e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,307. The early phase of this development is reflected in Swiss patent application no. 8634/78-8 which serves as a priority document to this patent. This application is directed to galenic formulations comprising Ciclosporin as the active ingredient together with a carrier medium comprising any one or more of the following components:
i) sesame oil;
ii) a non-ionic tenside, e.g. Tween 80, Cremophore EL, 40 or 60 or lecithins;
iii) a trans-esterified non-ionic triglyceride, e.g. Labrafil;
iv) mixtures of a lecithin (e.g. Epikuron), ingredients (iii) and ethyloleate;
v) neutral oils, e.g. saturated C8-12triglycerides such as Miglyol 812; and
vi) mono- and/or di-glycerides such as glycerol monooleate, glycerol monostearate and clycerol distearate.
In the text and examples: (i) is described for use alone, for oral or parenteral administration; (ii) are described for use in combination with ethanol for oral or parenteral administration and in combination with components (v) for parenteral application; (iii) are described for use alone and in conjunction with a vegetable oil and, additionally, ethanol for oral or parenteral administration; (iv) is described in terms of the defined combination with possible further additives, for example conserving agents, for oral administration; (v) are described for use in combination with solvents such as ethanol, benzoic acid benzyl ester, 1,2-butyleneglycol-1-methyl ether and components (iii) (Labrafil) as well as in combination with components (ii) as set forth above, in particular for parenteral administration; and (vi) are described for use alone or in combination with thickening agents such as aerosil or cellulose for oral administration in encapsulated or pelleted form. No specific proposal is made for the combination of components (vi) [mono-/di-glycerides] with any other component (i) to (v), or vice versa.
In the patent application which matured as U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,307, the focus of development set out in the above Swiss application is concentrated on compositions comprising cyclosporins as active ingredient, together with a carrier medium comprising one or more of components (iii) [Labrafils etc.], (v) [neutral oils] and (vi) [mono-/di-glycerides, in particular stearic or oleic mono/di-glycerides, especially glycerol monooleate]. In relation to oral dosage forms, use of co-solvents, ethanol and vegetable oils such as olive oil and corn oil, is preferred. Components (v) are specifically indicated as preferred in relation to parenteral, dosage forms. Components (vi) are proposed for use with lecithins, optionally together with components (iii) in orally administered aqueous or aqueous/ethanolic emulsions.
Belgian Patent no. 895 724, which relates primarily to the use of [dihydro-MeBmt]1-[Val]2-Ciclosporin (or dihydro-cyclosporin D) in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, also describes two oral formulations suitable for the administration of this particular compound. Both of these are based on the commercial Ciclosporin (SandimmunR) drink-solution, with adaptation to suit the particular cyclosporin active ingredient. The first comprises 5–10% [Dihydro-MeBmt]1-[Val]2-Ciclosporin, 10–12% ethanol, 30–40% Maisine, ca. 4% Cremophore and 51–30% Labrafil (i.e. to 100%). This corresponds to the composition of the SandimmunR drink-solution, but with the replacement of the natural vegetable oil component with Maisine and introduction of aminor pecentage of the tenside Cremophore. Maisine is a trans-esterification product of corn oil with glycerol, the more precise composition of which is described hereinafter. It comprises corn oil derived triglycerides and mono-/di-glycerides in the ratio ca. 1:8 p.p.w (tri-:mono-/di-glycerides). The ratio of cyclosporin: tenside in the disclosed composition is ca. 1:0.4–0.8, and the ratio of cyclosporin: triglycerides: mono-/di-glycerides is ca. 1:0.4–0.9:2.6–7.1. No proposal is made for possible increase in the tenside component nor for any means of avoiding the use of Labrafil or ethanol components as co-solvents.
The second disclosed composition comprises: 15–25% [Dihydro-MeBmt]1-[Val]2-Ciclosporin, 2–5% ethanol, 40–60% Maisine and 10–40% Imwitor 742, a coconut oil mono-glyceride product comprising >45% monoglycerides with additional di- and tri-glyceride components. Again, the use of ethanol is not avoided and no proposal is made for incorporation of any tenside component.
Australian patent application no. 87 335122 discloses the use of tensides belonging to the group comprising polyethoxylated castor oils, polyethoxylated hydrogenated castor oils and polyethoxylated fatty acids derived from castor oil or hydrogenated castor oil, such as Cremophores, Myrj, and Nikkol HCO-60 as solubilizers for the incorporation of difficultly soluble pharmaceutical agents into controlled release systems, such as hydrophilic gel systems. Difficultly soluble pharmaceuticals recited include Ciclosporine, though no example of the application of the system to cyclosporins is given. Nor is there any teaching for the use of the recited solubilizers/tensides in conjunction with simple fatty acid mono-, di- or tri-glycerides.
In accordance with the present invention, it has now surprisingly been found that pharmaceutical compositions comprising cyclosporins, in particular Ciclosporin, as active ingredient, which meet or substantially reduce difficulties in dosaging and patient acceptability hitherto encountered in the art, e.g. as discussed above, can be achieved by the use of carrier systems comprising fatty acid tri-glycerides and mono-/di-glycerides, suitably in combination with a hydrophilic tenside. In particular, it has been found that, employing the defined carrier systems, it is possible to obtain oil-based compositions, which are not aqueous emulsions, and which do not require the presence of additional solvents, co-solvents or solubilizers, for example ethanol or Labrafils or the like, and which exhibit high stability as well as improved bioavailability characteristics as compared with known cyclosporin/fatty acid triglyceride/solvent/co-solvent systems, for example, the known SandimmunR drink-solution. In a specific aspect the present invention provides for oil-based pharmaceutical compositions, in particular oil-based pharmaceutical compositions other than aqueous emulsions, which are free or substantially free of ethanol.
In particular, it has been found that compositions in accordance with the present invention enable effective cyclosporin dosaging with concomitant enhancement of resorption/bioavailability levels, and/or reduced variability in resorption/bioavailability levels, achieved both for individual patients receiving cyclosporin therapy as well as between individuals. In particular it has surprisingly been found that the compositions of the invention enable resorption of cyclosporins in a manner that is independent, or of substantially reduced dependency, upon the relative availability of natural surfactant materials, e.g. bile acids or salts, in the gastro-intestinal tract of the subject treated. By application of the teachings of the present invention, cyclosporin dosage forms are obtained providing reduced variability in achieved cyclosporin blood/blood serum levels between dosages as well as between individuals. The invention thus enables reduction of cyclosporin dosage levels required to achieve effective therapy. In addition, it permits closer standardisation as well as optimisation of on-going daily dosage requirements for individual subjects receiving cyclosporin therapy as well as for groups of patients undergoing equivalent therapy.
By closer standardisation of individual patient dosaging rate and blood/blood-serum level response, as well as dosaging and response parameters for patient groups, monitoring requirements may be reduced, thus substantially reducing the cost of therapy.
By reduction of required cyclosporin dosaging/standardisation of achieved bio-availability characteristics, the present invention also provides a means which may permit reduction in the occurrence of undesirable side-effects, in particular nephrotoxic reaction, in patients undergoing cyclosporin therapy.
In addition, the compositions of the invention exhibit improved stability on storage as compared with compositions based on the use of ethanol or equivalent alkanols and are, in particular, better adapted, e.g. for presentation in capsule, e.g. hard or soft gelatin capsule, form. Compositions in accordance with the findings of the present invention which are free or substantially free of ethanol have the particular advantage of eliminating or substantially reducing packaging difficulties, for example as hereinbefore discussed, e.g. in relation to the packaging of soft gelatin encapsulated forms.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided, in its broadest aspect:
A. A pharmaceutical composition comprising:
a) a cyclosporin as active ingredient in a carrier medium comprising
b) a fatty acid triglyceride and
c) a glycerol fatty acid partial ester or propylene glycol (e.g. 1,2-propylene glycol) or sorbitol complete or partial ester.
The term “pharmaceutical composition” as used throughout the present specification and accompanying claims is to be understood as defining compositions of which the individual components or ingredients are themselves pharmaceutically acceptable, e.g. where oral administration is foreseen, acceptable for oral use or, where topical administration is foreseen, topically acceptable.
Component (a) in the compositions of the invention may be any therapeutically applicable cyclosporin, e.g. as hereinbefore indicated. The preferred component (a) in the compositions of the invention is Ciclosporin. A further preferred component (a) in the compositions of the invention is [Nva]2-Ciclosporin, also known as cyclosporin G.
Components (b) and (c) in the compositions of the invention may comprise or consist or consist essentially of the individual components (b) and (c) of a single ingredient, e.g. single material or product. Suitable products of this type include, in particular, transesterification products of vegetable oils with glycerol, propylene glycol (e.g. 1,2-propylene glycol) or sorbitol.
Accordingly, in one particular series of embodiments the present invention provides:
B1 A pharmaceutical composition comprising:
b+c) a transesterification product of a vegetable oil with glycerol, propylene glycol or sorbitol;
a) cyclosporin as active ingredient in a carrier medium comprising
b+c) a transesterification product of a vegetable oil with glycerol or sorbitol; and
b+c) a transesterification product of a natural vegetable oil and glycerol or sorbitol.
Ingredients (b+c) for use in compositions of the invention as defined under B1 to B3 above include trans-esterification products of any appropriate natural (e.g. non-hydrogenated) or hydrogenated vegetable oil. Suitably they are, as specifically in the case of definition B3, trans-esterification products of natural vegetable oils, for example, almond oil, ground-nut oil, olive oil, palm oil or, preferably, corn oil.
Such trans-esterification products [ingredients (b+c)] are generally obtained by heating of the vegetable oil, e.g. corn oil, with glycerol, propylene glycol or sorbitol [e.g. glycerol or sorbitol], at high temperature under an inert atmosphere with continuous agitation, e.g. in a stainless steel reactor, to effect trans-esterification, e.g. glycerolysis, glycolysis or sorbitolysis. Ingredients (b+c) thus comprise mixtures of mono-, di- and tri-glycerides (i.e. glycerol mono-, di- and tn-esters) with generally minor amounts of free glycerol.
Where ingredients (b+c) for use in the invention are obtained by trans-esterification of a vegetable oil with sorbitol they will also contain free sorbitol as well as sorbitol mono-, di-, tri- and tetra-esters.
Where ingredients (b+c) for use in the invention are obtained by trans-esterification of a vegetable oil with propylene glycol they will also contain free propylene glycol (e.g. 1,2-propylene glycol) as well as propylene glycol mono- and di-esters.
In general free sorbitol/free propylene glycol will be present in relatively minor amounts, the recited mono-, di-, as well as tri- and tetra-esters when sorbitol is employed, in relatively substantial amounts.
The amount of triglyceride present in ingredients (b+c) for use in the invention will preferably be substantial, e.g. in excess of 5%, suitably from 7.5 to 12% by weight based on the total weight of the individual components (b) and (c) in said ingredient.
The amount of free glycerol plus any free propylene glycol or sorbitol present in ingredients (b+c) for use in the invention is preferably less than 10%, more preferably less than 5%, most preferably 1 to 2% or less based on the total weight of said ingredient. The amount of mono-glyceride present in ingredients (b+c) for use in the invention is preferably ca. 25 to 50%, more preferably ca. 30 to 45%, by weight based on the total weight of said ingredient.
When (b+c) is a trans-esterification product of a vegetable oil, e.g. corn oil, and glycerol, the amount of free glycerol present in said product is preferably less than 10%, more preferably less than 5%, most preferably less than ca. 4% by weight. The amount of mono-glyceride present is preferably about 30 or 35 to 50% by weight, more preferably about 35 or 40 to 45% by weight. The amount of di-glyceride present is preferably less than about 60%, suitably less than 40%, by weight. The amount of tri-glyceride present is preferably up to about 10% by weight, e.g. ca. 7.5 to 12 or 14% by weight (all percentages being based on the total weight of said product). The ratio of the components (b):(c) in the defined trans-esterification products is thus suitably of the order of ca. 1:8 to ca. 1:9 p.p.w.
When (b+c) is a trans-esterification product of a vegetable oil, e.g. corn oil, and sorbitol, the amount of free glycerol plus free sorbitol present in said product is preferably less than 5% by weight, more preferably ca. 1 to 2% by weight. The amount of mono-glyceride present is preferably ca. 30 to 40% by weight, more preferably ca. 35% by weight (all percentages being based on the total weight of said product).
Particularly suitable trans-esterification products [ingredients (b+c)] for use in accordance with the present invention are trans-esterification products of corn oil and glycerol, for example as commercially available under the trade name Maisine. Such products are comprised predominantly of linoleic and oleic acid mono-, di- and tri-glycerides together with minor amounts of palmitic and stearic acid mono-, di- and tri-glycerides (corn oil itself being comprised of ca. 56% by weight linoleic acid, 30% oleic acid, ca. 10% palmitic and ca. 3% stearic acid constituents). Physical characteristics for Maisine [available from the company Etablissements Gattefossé, of 36, Chemin de Genas, P.O. Box 603, 69804 Saint-Priest, Cedex (France)] are: approximate composition
free glycerol 10% max. (typically 3.9–4.9% or, in more recent batches, ca. 0.2%) monoglycerides ca. 40% (typically 41–44.1% or, in more recent batches, ca. 38%) diglycerides ca. 40% (or, in more recent batches, ca. 46%) triglycerides ca. 10% (or, in more recent batches, ca. 12%) free oleic acid content ca. 1%
Further physical characteristics for Maisine are: acid value=max. ca. 2, iodine no.=ca. 85–105, saponification no.=ca. 150–175, mineral acid content=0.
The fatty acid content for Maisine is typically: palmitic acid—ca. 11%; stearic acid—ca. 2.5%; oleic acid—ca. 29%; linoleic acid—ca. 56%; others—ca. 1.5%.
Further trans-esterification products [ingredients (b+c)] suitable for use in accordance with the present invention are trans-esterification products of corn oil and sorbitol, for example as commercially available under the trade name Sorbito Glycerides from the company Etablissements Gattefossé, for example Sorbito Glycerides WL 713, which has the following approximate composition:
Product: trans-esterification product of ca. 2 Mol corn oil and ca. 1 Mol sorbitol:
Approximate composition -
free glycerol {close oversize brace} ca. 1 to 2% free sorbitol monoglycerides ca. 35%
plus: di- and tri-glycerides and sorbitol mono-, di-, tri- and tetra-esters.
Color (Echelle Garner)=<8. Highly soluble in ethanol and chloroform/slightly soluble in ethyl-ether/insoluble in H2O. Acid no.=<1; saponification no.=ca. 160–185; iodine no.=ca. 110–140.
The carrier medium of compositions in accordance with B1 to B3 above may comprise (b+c) alone or together with one or more additional excipients, additives or other ingredients as known in the art, for example diluents, solvents, stabilizing agents, tensides, sweetening agents, preserving agents and/or flavouring agents.
Where ingredient (b+c) is semi-solid or of high viscosity e.g. as in the case of Maisine, the addition of a diluent or solvent to reduce viscosity will be especially advantageous, in particular to improve handlability of the composition, for example to facilitate filling into containers, particularly where these are of small diameter as in the case of ampoules, capsules and the like. Accordingly in a further embodiment the present invention also provides:
B4 A pharmaceutical composition as defined under any one of B1 to B3 above additionally comprising:
d) a solvent or diluent miscible with (b+c) and reducing, or capable of reducing, the viscosity of (b+c).
When present, component (d) suitably comprises a trans-esterification product of a natural vegetable oil triglyceride and a polyalkylene polyol. Such trans-esterification products are known from the art and may be obtained e.g. in accordance with the general procedures described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,824. They include transesterification products of various natural (e.g. non-hydrogenated) vegetable oils for example, maize oil, kernel oil, almond oil, ground nut oil, olive oil and palm oil and mixtures thereof with polyethylene glycols, in particular polyethylene glycols having an average molecular weight of from 200 to 800. Preferred components (d) are trans-esterification products obtained from maize oil. Further preferred as (d) are products obtained by trans-esterification product of the class defined are commercially available from Etablissement Gattefossé, Boulogne sur Seine, France under the trade name Labrafil [see Fiedler, loc. cit., page 539]. A preferred component (d) is the product Labrafil M 2125 CS, a polyoxvethylated, maize oil having an acid no.=Ca. 2, a saponification no.=ca. 155–175 and an iodine no.=ca. 90–100.
Use of Labrafil as component (d) is especially indicated where the compositions of the invention are to be filled into ampoules or the like for use as the base for a “drink solution” e.g. as hereinafter described.
Further, especially advantageous components (d) are (additional) components (c) as defined under A above, in particular mono- and di-glycerides, e.g. comprising an esterification product of caprylic and capric acid with glycerol. Use of such components (c) as (d) provides compositions in accordance with the invention conforming with the invention as hereinafter defined under C.
Examples of suitable components (c) for use as (d) include any of those described under (c.1) to (c.6) below. Especially preferred components (c) for use as (d) comprise products obtained by esterification of from about 50 to 75, e.g. about 60, parts by weight of caproic acid with glycerol, and comprising, or consisting mainly or essentially of caprylic/caproic acid mono-and di-glycerides. Especially preferred products of this class are those available under the trade name lmwitor as described under (c.1) below, in particular the product lmwitor 742.
A further possible, though less preferred, component (d) is ethanol, e.g. absolute ethanol.
In addition it has also been found that the bio-availability of the compositions in accordance with B1 to B3 above may be further increased if they additionally comprise an emulsifying agent. Accordingly, in yet a further embodiment, the present invention additionally provides:
Bs A pharmaceutical composition as defined under any one of B1 to B4 above additionally comprising:
e) an emulsifying agent.
Components (e) may or may not be directly miscible (e.g. capable of forming a solution, suspension or the like) with other components present in the compositions defined, e.g. components (a) and (b+c). Where components (e) are non-miscible, the compositions of the invention will be bi-phasic, i.e. comprise at least a double-system e.g. with components (a) and (b+c) and, optionally, (d) comprised in a first layer or phase of the composition and component (e) comprised in a second, separate layer or phase above or below the said first layer or phase (depending on the relative specific gravity of the two layers or phases). Such bi-phasic compositions are also to be understood as being within the purview of the present invention. Where the compositions of the invention are bi-phasic, separate phases may be commingled prior to administration, e.g. by shaking, stirring or other agitation, or may be contained together within a single unit dosage form, e.g. capsule or the like, so as to permit concommitant administration and release within the gastro-intestinal tract.
Component (e), when present, preferably comprises a tenside having a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of at least 10. Examples of suitable components (e) include any of those described under (e′.1) to (e′.8) below, in particular under (e′.1), most especially those known and commercially available under the trade name Cremophore, for example Cremophore RH40.
In the compositions of the invention in accordance with B1 to B5 above, (a) is suitably present in an amount of from about 2.0 to about 20%, preferably from about 5 to 15%, most preferably about 10% by weight, based on the total weight of the composition. Accordingly, when (b+c) is present alone, this will generally be present in an amount of from about 80 to about 98%, preferably from about 75 to about 95%, most preferably about 90% based on the total weight of the composition.
When (d) is present and is a trans-esterification product of a natural vegetable oil triglyceride and a polyalkylene polyol (for example a Labrafil), (d) is suitably present in an amount of up to about 50%, preferably from about 20 to about 40%, most preferably about 30%, based on the total weight of the composition.
When (d) is present and is an esterification product of caprylic and caproic acid with glycerol (for example an Imwitor), (d) is suitably present in an amount of up to 40%, preferably in an amount of from about 2 to about 40%, most preferably in an amount of from about 2 to about 20% based on the total weight of the composition.
When (d) is present and is ethanol, (d) is suitably present in an amount of up to about 10%, preferably in an amount of about 2–5% based on the total weight of the composition.
When present, (e) is suitably present in an amount of up to 10%, preferably about 5% (e.g. ca. 6%), based on the total weight of the composition.
When present, components (d) and/or (e) will generally be introduced in partial replacement of component/ingredient (b+c). Thus where the compositions of the invention comprise (a)+(b+c)+(e) [but not (d)] and (e) is present in an amount of 6% by weight based on the total weight of the composition, (b+c) will generally be present in an amount of from about 74 to about 92%, preferably from about 69 to about 89% most preferably about 84% based on the total weight of the composition.
For the purposes of oral administration, the compositions of the invention in accordance with B1 to B5 above will preferably be put up in unit dosage form. In so far as the compositions are liquid this may be done by filling into a solid pharmaceutical unit dosage container such as capsule, e.g. a hard or soft gelatin capsule, for direct oral administration or a phial or ampoule, e.g. for subsequent admixture with a drink-mixture, e.g. chocolate drink, prior to administration as currently practiced for the known cyclosporin “drink solution”. Where the compositions of the invention are bi-phasic as hereinbefore described, the components may be homogenised to produce a uniform mixture prior to filling into the chosen dosage form, thus facilitating the filling procedure. Component (e) may then separate out from other components present to form a separate phase or layer, e.g. after closure of the unit dosage form. Most preferably the compositions of the invention are put up in soft gelatin capsule form.
In general: where unit dosage forms, e.g. of the type described above, are desired, components (a) and (b+c) are suitably present in the compositions of the invention in a ratio of from about 1:4 to about 1:50, preferably from about 1:5 to about 1:20, most preferably about 1:9 p.p.w. [(a):(b+c)].
When a component (d) is present and this is the trans-esterification product of a natural vegetable oil triglyceride and a polyalkylene polyol, components (d) and (b+c) are suitably present in a ratio of from about 1:1.25 to about 1:3.5, most preferably about 1:2 p.p.w. [(d):(b+c)]. When a component (d) is present and is the trans-esterification product of a natural vegetable oil triglyceride and a polyalkylene polyol, components (a), (b+c) and (d) are suitably present in a ratio of from about 1:9:0.1 to about 1:3.5:5.5, preferably from about 1:7:2 to about 1:5:4, most preferably about 1:6:3 p.p.w. [(a):(b+c):(d)].
When a component (d) is present and this is a component (e) as hereinafter described, especially an esterification product of caprylic and caproic acid with glycerol, components (d) and (b+c) are suitably present in a ratio of from 1:50 to about 1:1, preferably from about 1:45 to about 1:3.5 p.p.w. [(c):(b+c)]. When a component (d) is present and this is an esterification product of caprylic and caproic acid with glycerol, components (a), (b+c) and (d) are suitably present in a ratio of from about 1:9:0.2 to about 1:5:4, preferably from about 1:8.8:0.2 to about 1:7:2 p.p.w. [(a):(b+c):(d)].
When component (d) is present and is ethanol, components (d) and (b+c) are suitably present in a ratio of from about. 1:8 to about 1:90 preferably from about 1:20 to about 1:45 p.p.w. [(d):(b+c)].
When a component (e) is present, components (a) and (e) are suitably present in a ratio of from about 1:0.1 to about 1:5, preferably from about 1:0.3 to about 1:1, most preferably about 1:0.5 p.p.w. [(a):(e)]. When a component (d) is present, components (a), (b) and (d) are suitably present in a ratio of from about.1:9:0.1 to about 1:8:1, preferably about 1:8.5:0.5 p.p.w. [(a):(b+c):(d)].
When components (d) and (e) are both present, and (d) is the trans-esterification product of a natural vegetable oil triglyceride and a polyalkylene polyol, components (a), (b+c), (d) and (e) are suitably present in a ratio of from about 1:9:0.1:0.1 to about 1:3:5:1, preferably from about 1:6.5:2:0.5 to about 1:4.5:4:0.5, most preferably about 1:5.5:3:0.5 p.p.w. [(a):(b+c):(d):(e)].
In an alternative and specific embodiment, compositions of the invention in accordance with B1 to B5 above may be put up in unit dosage from by compounding or admixture with an appropriate pharmaceutically acceptable base material such that the obtained product or admixture is capable of being formed into a solid unit dosage. In so far as the compositions of the invention may themselves be solid or semi-solid, e.g. when (b+c) comprises Maizine or the like, particularly when (d) is absent, such products and admixtures are readily achievable. Suitable base materials include any of those known and commonly employed in the art and providing products and admixtures with the compositions of the invention capable of being formed, e.g. moulded, pressed, cast or otherwise shaped, into unit dosage form.
For the preparation of unit dosage forms in this particular manner, the compositions of the invention preferably comprise components (a) and (b+c) and, optionally (e), but not (d).
In contradistinction to compositions to be contained in an ampoule or the like, it is further preferred that compositions according to the invention and processed in this manner comprise components (a) and (b+c) in a ratio of from about 1:1 to about 1:10, preferably from about 1:1 to about 1:5, most preferably about 1:2.5 p.p.w. [(a):(b+c)].
Preferred base materials for use in accordance with this particular modification of the present invention comprise in particular natural fats, especially vegetable fats, for example cacao fat or cacao butter and conventional chocolate bases, e.g. couverture chocolate and mixtures thereof. Where a natural fat is employed the ratio of (a) to fat is preferably from about 1:0.5 to about 1:2, more preferably from about 1:1 to about 1:1.5, most preferably about 1:1.25 p.p.w. [(a):fat]. Where a chocolate base is employed the ratio of (a) to chocolate is preferably from about 1:10 to about 1:50, more preferably from about 1:10 to 1:30 and most preferably about 1:20 p.p.w. [(a):chocolate]. By compounding or admixture of a composition in accordance with the invention with a fat and chocolate, e.g. in the above described proportion, a product may be obtained in the form of a substantially homogenous mass which can be put up in unit dosage form, e.g. by pouring as a warm melt into an appropriate mould, e.g. as described in the following example 5, to provide a cyclosporin sweet meat, bon-bon or candy as unit dosage form.
Alternatively components (a) and (b+c) may be filled, optionally together with component (d), into a chocolate mantel, cover or capsule.
Unit dosage forms in accordance with B1 to B5 above suitably contain from about 25 to 500, more preferably about 50 to 300, especially 50, 100, 150 or 200 mg of component (a), e.g. of Ciclosporin, for administration e.g. 1× or from 2 to 3× daily.
Compositions in accordance with the present invention, e.g. in accordance with A or any one of B1 to B5 above, which comprise a component (e) as hereinbefore set forth, in particular comprising (e′) a tenside having an HLB of at least 10, are of especial interest. In particular such compositions have been found to be surprisingly and unexpectedly veil adapted to meet difficulties in the art hitherto encountered in relation to cyclosporin dosaging, e.g. as hereinbefore particularly discussed.
Accordingly, in an especially preferred embodiment, the present invention further provides:
C. A pharmaceutical composition comprising:
b) a fatty acid triglyceride,
c) a glycerol fatty acid partial ester or propylene glycol (e.g. 1,2-propylene glycol) or sorbitol complete or partial ester, and
e′) a tenside having a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of at least 10.
In a series of specific embodiments the present invention also provides:
A composition as defined under C above, which composition:
i) is free or substantially free of ethanol; or
ii) comprises Ciclosporin or [Nva]2-Ciclosporin as component (a); or
iii) comprises components (a) and (e′) in a ratio of 1: at least 1 p.p.w.
Provisos (i) to (iii) above are not mutually exclusive. Compositions in accordance with C complying with said provisos and in which components (b) and (c) comprise, or consist or consist essentially of the individual components of an ingredient or component (b+c) as defined under any one of B1 to B3 above, e.g. in which components (b) and (c) consist or consist essentially of the individual components of a trans-esterification product of a vegetable oil with glycerol, are of particular interest.
Component (a) is suitably present in the compositions as defined under C above in an amount of from ca. 2–20%, more preferably ca. 5–15% based on the total weight of components (a) to (c) and (e′) inclusive. The preferred component (a) is Ciclosporin. A further preferred component (a) is [Nva]2-Ciclosporin, also known as cyclosporin G.
Examples of suitable components (e′) in the compositions as defined under C. above are:
e′.1 Reaction products of a natural or hydrogenated castor oil and ethylene oxide. Such products may be obtained in known manner, e.g. by reaction of a natural or hydrogenated castor oil with ethylene oxide, e.g. in a molar ratio of from about 1:35 to about 1:60, with optional removal of the polyethyleneglycol component from the product, e.g. in accordance with the methods disclosed in German Auslegeschriften 1,182,388 and 1,518,819. Especially suitable are the various liquid tensides available under the trade name Cremophor. Particularly suitable are the products Cremophor RH 40 having a saponification number of ca. 50–60, an acid number <1, an iodine number <1, a water content (Fischer) <2%, an nD60 of ca. 1,453–1,457 and an HLB of ca. 14–16; Cremophor RH 60 having a saponification number of ca. 40–50, an acid number <1, an iodine number <1, a water content (Fischer) 4.5–5.5%, and an nD25 of ca. 1.453–1.457 and an HLB of ca. 15–17; and Cremophor EL having a molecular weight (by steam osmometry) of ca. 1630, a saponification number of ca. 65–70, an acid number of ca. 2, an iodine number of ca. 28–32 and an nD25 of ca. 1.471. Also suitable for use in this category are the various tensides available under the trade name Nikkol, e.g. Nikkol HCO-40 and HCO-60. The said product Nikkol HCO-60 is a reaction product of hydrogenated castor oil and ethylene oxide exhibiting the following characteristics: acid value ca. 0.3; saponification number of ca. 47.4; hydroxy value of ca. 42.5; pH (5%) of ca. 4.6; color APHA=ca. 40; m.p.=ca. 36.0° C.; freezing point=ca. 32.4° C.; H2O con tent (%, KF)=0.03.
e′.2 Polyoxyethylene-sorbitan-fatty acid esters, e.g. mono- and tri-lauryl, palmityl, stearyl and oleyl esters, e.g. of the type known and commercially available under the trade name Tween (c.f. Fiedler, “Lexikon der Hilfstoffe”, 2nd revised and expanded edition (1981), Vol. 2, p.p. 972–975) including the products Tween 20 [polyoxyethylene(20)sorbitanmonolaurate], 40 [polyoxyethylene(20)sorbitanmonopalmitate], 60 [polyoxyethylene(20)sorbitanmonostearate], 65 [polyoxyethylene(20)sorbitantristearate], 85 [polyoxyethylene(20)sorbitantrioleate], 21 [polyoxyethylene(4)sorbitanmonolaurate], 81 [polyoxyethylene(5)sorbitanmonooleate].
Especially preferred products of this class for use in the compositions of the invention are the above products of Tween 40 and Tween 80.
e′.3 Polyoxyethylene fatty acid esters, for example polyoxy- ethylene stearic acid esters of the type known and commercially available under the trade name Myrj (c.f. Fiedler, bc. cit., 1, p. 228); an especially preferred product of this class for use in the compositions of the invention is the product Myrj 52 having a D25=ca. 1.1., m.p.=ca. 40–44° C., an HLB value=ca. 16.9., an acid value=ca. 0–1 and a saponification no.=ca. 25–35.
e′.4 Polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene co-polymers and block co-polymers, e.g. of the type known and commercially available under the trade names Pluronic, Emkalyx and Poloxamer (c.f. Fiedler, loc. cit., 2, p.p. 720–723). An especially preferred product of this class for use in the compositions of the invention is the product Pluronic F68, having an m.p.=ca. 52° C. and a molecular weight of ca. 6800–8975. A further preferred product of this class for use in the compositions of the invention is the product Poloxmer 188.
e′.5 Dioctylsuccinate or di-[2-ethylhexyl]-succinate (c.f. Fiedler, loc. cit., 1 pp. 307).
e′.6 Phospholipids, in particular lecithins (c.f. Fiedler, loc. cit., 2, p.p. 559–560). Lecithins suitable for use in the compositions of the invention include, in particular, soya bean lecithins.
e′.7 Propylene glycol mono- and di-fatty acid esters such as propylene glycol dicaprylate (also known and commercially available under the trade name Miglyol 840), propylene glycol isostearate, propylene glycol hydroxystearate, propylene glycol isostearate, propylene glycol laurate, propylene glycol ricinoleate, propylene glycol stearate and so forth (c.f. Fiedler, loc. cit., 2, p.p. 760 et seq.).
e′.8 Sodium lauryl sulfate.
The ratio of components (a):(e′) in the compositions in accordance with C. above is suitably of the order of 1:1 to 25 p.p.w., more preferably 1:1.25 to 20 p.p.w., yet more preferably 1:1.5 to 8 or 10 p.p.w, e.g. ca. 1:2 to 5 p.p.w. Most preferably the ratio of components (a):(e′) is 1: at least 2 p.p.w. Component (a) is thus suitably present in the compositions of the invention in an amount e.g. of from ca. 20–50%, more preferably 25–40% , by weight based on the total weight of components (a) and (e′).
Components (b) and (c) in compositions in accordance with C. above may comprise or consist or consist essentially of the individual components (b) and (c) of a single ingredient, e.g. single material or product. Examples of ingredients comprising both components (a) and (b) suitable for use in the present invention include for example known mixed fatty acid tri-glyceride and fatty acid mono-/di-glyceride products. Suitable products of this type include, in particular, transesterification products of vegetable oils with glycerol, propylene glycol (e.g. 1,2-propylene glycol) or sorbitol e.g. as hereinbefore described in relation to definitions B1 to B3 above.
Suitable components of this type thus include any ingredient (b+c) as hereinbefore described, in particular products of the type Maisine and Sorbito Glycerides.
In the case of compositions in accordance with C. above of which the components (b) and (c) consist or consist essentially of the individual components (b) and (c) of a single ingredient, e.g. of which the components (b) and (c) are comprised entirely or substantially entirely of trans-esterification products as hereinbefore described above, the ratio of (a):(b+c) is suitably of the order of 1:0.75–35, preferably 1:1–25 p.p.w., more preferably the ratio is of the order of 1:3–0, especially ca. 1:6 p.p.w. Where only ingredients comprising both (b) and (c) are employed, (b+c) are thus suitably present in the compositions of the invention in an amount of from ca. 15–70%, more preferably ca. 20–50% by weight, based on the total weight of components (a) to (c) and (e′) inclusive.
To enable combination of components (b) and (c) in the compositions of the invention, e.g. as defined under C. above, in preferred proportion as hereinafter described, component (b) in the compositions of the invention will however preferably comprise at least one ingredient definable as a fatty acid triglyceride as such, e.g. material or product, which is, or which consists or consists essentially of components (b) as hereinbefore defined (i.e. fatty acid triglycerides), e.g. which comprises at least 75%, preferably at least 90%, more preferably at least 95% by weight of components (b). Component (c) in the compositions of the invention will also preferably comprise at least one ingredient which is definable as a glycerol fatty acid partial ester or propylene glycol or sorbitol complete or partial ester as such, e.g. which is or which consists or consists essentially of components (c) as hereinbefore defined, e.g. which comprises at least 75%, preferably at least 90%, more preferably at least 95% by weight of said components (c).
More preferably components (b) and (c) in the compositions of the invention, e.g. as defined under c. above, will comprise separate ingredients combinable in selected proportion [(b):(c)] as hereinafter described. With respect to the components (b) and (c), the compositions of the invention will thus most preferably comprise a bi-partite combination of ingredients complying with definition (b) and of ingredients complying with definition (c), e.g. a combination of a first ingredient or ingredients consisting or consisting essentially of components (b) and of a second ingredient or ingredients consisting or consisting essentially of components (c).
Suitable components (b) include both saturated (including hydrogenated) and unsaturated fatty acid tri-glycerides, in particular animal or vegetable oils. The fatty acid constituents of components (b) suitably include, saturated or mono-, di- or poly-unsaturated acids having e.g. chain lengths of from 6 to 22 carbon atoms. Especially suitable for use in accordance with the invention are fatty acid triglycerides having a high content of unsaturated fatty acid constituents in particular mono-, di- and poly-unsaturated fatty acids having at least 16 carbon atoms, preferably 18 carbon atoms or more, in particular having a high oleic, linoleic or linolenic fatty acid constituent content. Of particular interest are fatty acid triglycerides having a linoleic and/or linolenic acid constituent content of at least 45%, preferably at least 60% and up to 65 or 80%, e.g. where super-refined oils are used.
A first group of fatty acid triglycerides suitable for use in accordance with the invention includes saturated C6-12 fatty acid vegetable oil triglycerides, e.g. caprylic-capric acid triglycerides. Examples of ingredients suitable as components (b) thus include fractionated vegetable oils, e.g. fractionated coconut oils such as are known and commercially available under the trade name Miglyol (c.f. Fiedler, loc. cit., 2, 615 and 616), including Miglyol 810, a fractionated coconut oil, caprylic-capric acid triglyceride having a molecular weight of ca. 520 and a fatty acid constitution=C6 max. ca. 2%, C8 ca. 65–75%, C10 ca. 25–35%, C12 max. ca. 2%. Miglyol 810 has the following further physical characteristics: αD20=1.4490–1.4510, acid no.=max. 0.1, saponification no. =ca. 340–360, iodine value=max. 1. Especially preferred is Miglyol 812, a fractionated coconut oil, caprylic-capric acid triglyceride having a molecular weight of ca. 520, and a fatty acid constitution=C6,max. ca. 3%, C8 ca. 50–65%, C10 ca. 35–40%, C12 max. ca. 5%. Miglyol 812 has the following further physical characteristics: αD20=1.4480–1.4500, saponification no.=ca. 330–345, iodine value=max. 1.
Further ingredients of similar class suitable for use as components (b) include those known and commercially available under the trade name Estasan, for example Estasan GT 8-60 and GT 8-65. Estasan GT 8-60 is a vegetable oil fatty acid triglyceride in which the fatty acid components are comprised chiefly of saturated C8-10fatty acids, in particular caprylic and capric acids. Fatty acid constitution=caproic (C6) max. ca. 3%, caprylic (C8) max. ca. 50–65%, capric (C10) max. ca. 35–45%, lauric (C12) max. ca. 3%. Estasan GT 8-60 exhibits the following additional physical characteristics: saponification no.=ca. 325–345, iodine no.=max. ca. 1, acid value=max. ca. 0.1 αD20=ca. 1.448–1.451. Estasan GT 8-65 is also a vegetable oil fatty acid triglyceride, comprised chiefly of saturated C8-10fatty acids, in particular caprylic and capric acids. Fatty acid constitution=caproic max. ca. 1%, caprylic min. ca. 65%, capric ca. 25–35%, lauric max. ca. 1%.
Yet further ingredients of this class are those known and commercially available under the trade name Myritol, for example Myritol 318 [c.f. Fiedler, loc. cit., 2, p.p. 635–636]. Myritol 318 is a caprylic/capric acid triglyceride having a saponification no.=ca. 340–350, an iodine no.=ca. 0.5 and an nD20=ca. 1.448–1.450.
Further ingredients suitable for use as components (b) include, e.g. vegetable oils such as corn oils, almond oils, kernel oils (for example apricot kernel oils), avocado oils, babassu oils, higher fatty acid coconut oils, primrose oils, grapeseed oils, menhaden oils, olive oils, orange roughy oils, peanut oils, safflower oils, sesame oils, soybean oils and wheat-germ oils as well as animal oils such as fish oils, e.g. fish liver oils, for example shark oils, and mink oils. Refined oils of any of the above types are of particular interest for use in accordance with the present invention, in particular refined plant oils, e.g. having the following approximate oleic/linoleic/linolenic acid constituent content:
OLEIC LINOLEIC LINOLENIC ACID ACID ACID EXAMPLE
ca. 9% ca. 68% ca. 15% evening primrose ca. 27% ca. 64% — grapeseed ca. 4% ca. 13% ca. 76% safflower ca. 5% ca. 40% ca. 47% sesame ca. 25% ca. 54% ca. 6% soybean ca. 14% ca. 58% ca. 8% wheat-germ
Components (c) as aforesaid include both symmetric mono- and di-glycerides (i.e. β-monoglycerides and α,α1-diglycerides) as well as asymmetric mono- and di-glycerides (i.e. α-monoglycerides and a, β-diglycerides) and acetylated derivatives thereof. They also include both uniform glycerides (i.e. in which the fatty acid constituent is composed primarily of a single fatty acid) as well as mixed glycerides (i.e. in which the fatty acid constituent is composed of various fatty acids and acetylated derivatives thereof.
Components (c) as aforesaid include both symmetric mono- and di-glycerides (i.e. β-monoglycerides and α,α1-diglycerides) as well as assymmetric mono- and di-glycerides (i.e. α-monoglycerides and α,β-diglycerides) and acetylated derivatives thereof. They also include both uniform glycerides (i.e. in which the fatty acid constituent is composed primarily of a single fatty acid) as well as mixed glycerides (i.e. in which the fatty acid constituent is composed of various fatty acids) and acetylated derivatives thereof.
The fatty acid constituent of components (c) may include both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids having a chain length of from 6 to 22 carbon atoms. Preferably the fatty acid constituent will predominantly comprise saturated or unsaturated fatty acids having a chain length of from 8 to 18 carbon atoms, in particular 8, 10 or 14 to 18, e.g. 16 or 18 carbon atoms. Especially suitable are mono- and di-glycerides in which the fatty acid constituent is comprised predominantly of one or more members selected from the group consisting of caprylic, capric, linolenic, palmitic, stearic and oleic acids.
Particularly preferred for use as components (c) are ingredients comprising mono- and di-glycerides, wherein the mono-/di-glyceride content is at least 50%, preferably at least 60%, more preferably at least 75% by weight, and acetylated derivatives thereof. Examples of appropriate ingredients for use as components (c) are:
c.1 Fatty acid mono- and di-glycerides, e.g. products obtained or obtainable by esterification of from about 50 to 75, e.g. about 60, parts by weight, and from about 50 to about 25, e.g. about 40, parts by weight of capric acid with glycerol, and comprising, or consisting mainly or essentially of caprylic/capric acid mono- and di-glycerides. Examples of such products include those known and commercially available under the trade name Imwitor (c.f. Fiedler, loc. cit., 1, p. 491), in particular: caprylic and capric acid mono- and di-glycerides such as Imwitor 742. Imwitor 742 is the esterification product of a mixture of ca. 60 p.p.w. caprylic acid and ca. 40 p.p.w. capric acid with glycerol. It comprises ca. 0.40 to 50% or more mono-glycerides. It is a yellowish crystalline mass, liquid at ca. 26° C. It exhibits the following, additional characterising data—acid value=max. ca. 2%, iodine value=max. ca. 1.0, saponification no.=ca. 250–280, free glycerol content=max. ca. 2%, unsaponifiables=0.3% max., peroxide no.=max 1; and stearic acid mono-glycerides such as Imvitor 191, which comprises at least 90% mono-glycerides as aforesaid and exhibits the following, additional characterising data—m.p.=ca. 63–66° C., acid value=max. ca. 3, saponification no.=ca. 160–170, iodine value=max. ca. 3, free glycerol content=max. ca. 2%, and Imwitor 960K which comprises 30–40% monoglycerides as aforesaid and exhibits the following, additional characterising data—m.p. rising from ca. 56 to ca. 60° C., saponification no.=ca. 155–170, acid value=max. ca. 3, iodine value=max. ca. 3, free glycerol content=max. ca. 4%.
c.2 Fatty acid mono- and di-glycerides as commercially available under the trade name Cutina (c.f. Fiedler, loc. cit., 1, p.p. 263 and 264): in particular palmitic and stearic acid mono- and di-glycerides such as Cutina MD-A, which comprises mono- and di-glycerides as aforesaid and exhibits the following characterising data—acid value=max. ca. 8, saponification no.=ca. 160–170; and stearic acid mono-glycerides such as Cutina GMS which comprises mono-glycerides as aforesaid and exhibits the following characterising data—m.p.=ca. 54–60° C., acid value=max. ca. 2, saponification no=ca. 162–173, iodine value=max. ca. 2.
c.3 Fatty acid mono-glycerides as commercially available under the trade name Myverol (c.f. Fiedler, loc. cit., 2, 637), in particular C18 fatty acid, e.g. linolenic acid, mono-glycerides such as Myverol 18–92, which comprises at least 90% mono-glycerides as aforesaid and exhibits the following additional characterising data: acid value=max. ca. 3.0, diglyceride content=max. ca. 5%, free glycerol content=max. ca. 1.2%.
c.4 Fatty acid mono-glycerides as commercially available under the trade name Myvaplex (c.f. Fiedler, loc. cit., 2, 637), in particular stearic acid mono-glycerides such as those of the Myvaplex 600 series, e.g. Myvaplex 600P which comprises ca. 94–90% mono-glycerides as aforesaid and exhibits the following additional characterising data—m.p.=ca. 73° C., density=ca. 0.92 g/cm3 at 80° C.
c.5 Fatty acid mono-glycerides as commercially available under the trade name Estagel, for example Estagel G-18 which is comprised primarily of C16-18 fatty acid mono-glycerides in particular palmitic and stearic acid mono-glycerides. The α-monoglyceride content of Estagel G-18 is min. ca. 40%. Further characterising data: acid value=max. ca. 2, saponification no.=ca. 162–173, iodine no.=max. ca. 3, free glycerol content=max. ca. 6%.
c.6 Acetylated fatty acid mono- and di-glycerides such as commercially available under the trade name Myvacet (c.f. Fiedler, loc. cit., 2, p.p. 636–637), in particular mono- and di-acetylated fatty acid mono-glycerides, for example mono- and di-acetylated stearic acid mono-glycerides such as: Myvacet 9–40 which has the following characterising data—αD50=ca. 1.4468–1.4476, m.p.=ca. 5° C., acid value=max. ca. 1.5, saponification no.=ca. 375–385; and Myvacet 9–45 which has the following characterising data—αD50=ca. 1.4465–1.4475, m.p.=ca. 8–12.4° C., acid value=ca. 1.5, saponification no.=ca. 375–385.
Further components (c) which are of particular utility, are mixed glycerol fatty acid partial esters and propylene glycol complete and partial esters, e.g. products comprising fatty acid mono- and di-glycerides and propylene glycol fatty acid mono- and di-esters. Examples of such components (c) include:
c.7 Fatty acid mono- and di-glycerides/propylene glycol fatty acid mono- and di-esters as commercially available under the trade name Atmos [c.f. Fiedler, loc. cit., 1, p. 156], in particular Atmos 300 in which the fatty acid moieties are comprised principally of oleic acid residues and Atmos 150 in which the fatty acid moieties are comprised principally of stearic acid residues.
c.8 Fatty acid mono- and di-glycerides/propylene glycol fatty acid mono- and di-esters as commercially available under the trade name Arlacel [c.f. Fiedler, loc. cit., 1, p.p. 143–144] in particular Arlacel 186 in which the fatty acid moieties are comprised principally of oleic acid residues.
Components (b) and (c) are preferably present in the compositions of the invention, e.g. as defined under C. above, in a ratio of about 1:0.02 to 3.0 p.p.w. More preferably the ratio of components (b):(c) is of the order of 1:0.1 to 2.5 p.p.w., most preferably 1:0.25–1.25 p.p.w. When components (b) and (c) in the compositions of the invention, e.g. compositions C, comprise separate ingredients, e.g. as described above, the said ingredients will thus suitably be employed in the same relative ratios. The amount of components (b) in the compositions of the invention as defined under C. above is thus suitably of the order of from 10–50%, preferably 20–40% by weight, based on the total weight of components (a) to (c) and (e′) inclusive, and the amount of components (c) in said compositions is suitably of the order of from 1–30%, preferably 10–25% by weight, based on the total weight of components (a) to (c) and (e′) inclusive.
The ratio of components (a):(b) plus (c) in the compositions of the invention, e.g. as defined under C, is suitably of the order of 1:0.5 to 40 p.p.w. Preferably, the ratio of (a):(b) plus (c) is about 1:1 to 35, more preferably about 1:1.5 to 30 p.p.w., most preferably about 1:2 to 6.
In accordance with the foregoing the present invention also provides
D. A pharmaceutical composition as defined under C above comprising at least one ingredient which consists or consists essentially of, a component or components as defined under (b) above;
E. A pharmaceutical composition as defined under C above comprising at least one ingredient which consists or consists essentially of a component or components as defined under (c) above;
F. A pharmaceutical composition as defined under C above in which components (a) and (b) comprise separate ingredients.
The compositions of the invention, e.g. as defined under any of C to F above, may include further components, for example thickening agents, granulating agents, dispersing agents, flavouring and/or colouring agents or anti-microbial agents etc . . . as required. They may also include polymeric thickening agents to permit processing into a solid or semi-solid mass suitable for tabletting or forming into granules.
The compositions of the invention, in particular as defined under any of C to F above, will suitably include anti-oxidants to improve shelf-life, for example butyl-hydroxy-toluene (or BHT), butyl-hydroxy-anisole (or BHA), ascorbyl palmitate, ascorbic acid, citric acid or α-tocopherol-acetate.
In particular the compositions of the invention will suitably comprise one or more stabilizers or buffering agents, e.g. to prevent degradation of component (a) during processing or on storage. Such stabilizors may include acid stabilizers such as citric acid, acetic acid, tartaric acid or fumaric acid as well as basic stabilizers such as potassium hydrogen phosphate, glycine, lysine, arginine or tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane.
Such stabilizors or buffer agents will appropriately be added in an amount sufficient to achieve or maintain a pH within the range of from about 5 to 7, more preferably between 6 and 7.
When components (b) and (c) in the compositions of the invention are comprised of a single ingredient which is the trans-esterification product of a vegetable oil with glycerol, the compositions of the invention will preferably be subject to proviso (i) as set forth under C. above, i.e. they will be free or substantially free of ethanol. Suitably they will be free or substantially free of any further component serving as a diluent or as a solvent medium for component (a), e.g. free of any such diluent or solvent other than a component (b), (c) or (b+c) as hereinbefore described.
While proviso (i) is applied above in a specific instance, compositions in accordance with the invention which are free or substantially free of ethanol are in general preferred. Compositions in accordance with the invention which are free or substantially free of any further component serving as a diluent or as solvent medium for (a), are also, in general, preferred. In a yet further series of embodiments the present invention thus also provides:
G. A pharmaceutical composition as defined under any one of (A) to (F) above which is free, or substantially free, of ethanol; and
H. A pharmaceutical composition as defined under any one of (A) to (F) above which is free or substantially free of any further component serving as a diluent or as solvent medium for component (a).
Compositions as aforesaid suitably comprise less than 2%, more suitably from 0 to 0.5 or 1% by weight ethanol, based on the total weight of the component ingredients. Compositions as aforesaid suitably comprise less than 20%, more preferably less than 10%, e.g. from 0 to 2.5 or 5.0% by weight further components serving as diluent or as solvent medium for component (a). Specific compositions in accordance with the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions as defined under any one of A. to H. above consisting, or consisting essentially, of components (b), (c) and (e)/(e′) as carrier medium for (a), i.e. exclusive of any thickening, granulating, dispersing, flavouring, colouring, stabilizing agents or the like excipients that may also be present, and which are present as additives to the carrier medium.
By components serving as diluents are in particular to be understood, components serving to reduce the viscosity/increase the fluidity of the compositions of the invention. By components serving as solvent medium for (a) are in particular to be understood co-solvents or other materials which enhance the solubility of components (a) in the compositions of the invention. Examples of such components are, in particular, solvent or diluent components having an HLB of less than 10, for example, trans-esterification products of natural vegetable oil triglycerides and polyalkylene polyols such as known and commercially available under the trade name Labrafil and ethanol.
Compositions in accordance with the invention may be applied in dosage form suitable for administration by any appropriate means, e.g. in the form of creams, gels or the like for topical or occular administration, or in the form of granules, tablets, capsules, drink-solutions or the like for oral administration or in a form suitable for intra-lesional application, e.g. in the treatment of psoriasis. Preferably however the compositions of the invention will be administered orally. In a preferred embodiment the invention accordingly provides a composition as hereinbefore defined in a form appropriate or adapted for oral administration, in particular in oral unit dosage form. Especially suitable unit dosage forms for oral administration include encapsulated forms, e.g. soft or hard gelatin encapsulated forms.
Oral unit dosage forms in accordance with the invention, in particular in accordance with any of definitions C to F above, will suitably comprise from 5 to 200 mg, more preferably from 20 to 100 mg, e.g. ca. 25, 50 or 100 mg component (a), e.g. for administration 2–5×daily.
In addition to the foregoing the present invention also provides a process for the production of pharmaceutical compositions as hereinabove defined and described which process comprises intimately admixing components (a), (b), (c) or (b+c) and, when present, (d) and/or (e)/(e′) thereof.
In a preferred aspect the present invention provides a process as aforesaid, which process comprises intimately admixing a component (a) with a first ingredient (b) which consists or consists essentially of one or more fatty acid triglycerides and a second ingredient (c) which comprises a glycerol fatty acid partial ester or propylene glycol or sorbitol complete or partial ester, or with a first ingredient (b) which comprises a fatty acid triglyceride and a second ingredient (c) which consists or consists essentially of one or more glycerol fatty acid partial esters and/or propylene glycol and/or sorbitol complete or partial esters, and with (e′) a tenside having a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance of at least 10.
In a more preferred aspect the present invention provides a process as aforesaid, which process comprises intimately admixing a component (a) with a first ingredient (b) which consists or consists essentially of one or more fatty acid triglycerides, a second ingredient (c) which consists or consists essentially of one or more glycerol fatty acid partial esters and/or propylene glycol and/or sorbitol complete or partial esters, and (e′) a tenside having a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance of at least 10.
The following examples are illustrative of the manufacture of compositions in accordance with the present invention:
A composition is prepared by intimate admixture of the following components in the indicated relative amounts.
COMPONENT AMOUNT
a) Ciclosporin 100 mg (= ca. 10.5%) b + c) Maisine 550 mg (= ca. 57.8%) d) Labrafil M 2125 300 mg (= ca. 33.5%) TOTAL 950 mg
The components are thouroughly admixed in conventional manner and the obtained mixture filled into standard soft gelatin capsules containing 950 mg composition per capsule.
Example 1 is repeated but using the following components in the indicated relative amounts:
a) Ciclosporin 100 mg (= ca. 10.5%) b + c) Maisine 490 mg (= ca. 52%) d) Labrafil M 2125 300 mg (= ca. 31.5%) e′) Cremophore RH40 60 mg (= ca. 6.3%) TOTAL 950 mg
The composition is filled into soft gelatin capsules containing 950 mg composition/capsule. Subsequent to sealing component (d) separates out from other components present.
a) Ciclosporin 100 mg (= ca. 10.5%) b + c) Maisine 850 mg (= ca. 89.5%)
The composition is filled into soft gelatin capsules containing 950 mg composition/capsule.
Example 1 is repeated but using the following components in the indicated relative percentages.
COMPONENT %
a) (Dihydro-MeBmt)1-(Val)2-Ciclosporin 15–25% (also known as dihydrocyclosporin D) b + c) Maisine 40–60% c) Imwitor 742 10–40% d) Ethanol 2–5%
(Imwitor 742=a glycerine ester available from Dynamite Nobel AG, Troisdorf-Obelar, SN).
The quantitiy of a) required for a single dosage (ca. 100–200 mg) is dissolved in the remaining components using conventional techniques to give a solution for filling into a soft gelatin capsule.
QANTITY COMPONENT (g)
a) Ciclosporin + 4.0 7% excess 0.028 4.028 b + c) Maisine 10.0 x) Cacao fat 5.0 y) Chocolate base 80.97 (couverture chocolate) Total 99.998
Components (x) and (y) are mixed thoroughly on a water bath at 40° C. Component (a) is dissolved in component (b+c) under a nitrogen atmosphere and the obtained mixture added to the mixture of (x)+(y). The whole is mixed thoroughly on a water bath at 40° C. and then filled into moulds in 2,500 mg portions, each portion containing 150 mg cyclosporin A. The moulds are stored overnight in a refrigerator and the obtained unit dosage forms sealed in individual plastic sachets.
QUANTITY INGREDIENT (mg)
a) Cyclosporin (e.g. Ciclosporin) 50.00 b) Miglyol 812 100.00 c) Myverol 18-92 100.00 e′) Cremophore RH 40 50.00 a)–e′) are intimately admixed in the indicated proportions in conventional manner and the obtained mixture filled into soft or hard gelatin capsules each containing 50 mg Cyclosporin.
Soft or hard gelatine capsules each comprising the following indicated ingredients in the indicated amounts, are prepared analogously to Example 1:
7a a) Cyclosporin (e.g. Ciclosporin) 50.00 b) Miglyol 812 100.00 c) Imwitor 742 100.00 e′) Cremophore RH 40 100.00 7b a) Cyclosporin (e.g. Ciclosporin) 50.00 b + c) Maisine 300.00 e′) Cremophore RH 40 100.00 7c a) Cyclosporin (e.g. Ciclosporin) 50.00 b) Soyabean oil 150.00 c) Myverol 18-92 50.00 e′) Emulgin R040* 250.00 7d a) Cyclosporin (e.g. Ciclosporin) 50.00 b) Sesame oils 150.00 c) Imwitor 900K 125.00 e′) Emulphor EL-719* 150.00 7e a) Cyclosporin (e.g. Ciclosporin) 50.00 b) Myritol 318 75.00 c) Estagel G-18 100.00 e′) Pluronic F68 175.00 7f a) Cyclosporin (e.g. Ciclosporin) 50.00 b) Estasan GT 8-60 130.00 c) Arlacel 186 75.00 e′) Tween 80 125.00 7g a) Cyclosporin (e.g. Ciclosporin) 50.00 b) + c) Maisine 100.00 c) Myverol 18-92 200.00 e′) Cremophore RH40 100.00 7h a) Cyclosporin (e.g. Ciclosporin) 50.00 b) Miglyol 812 100.00 c) Myverol 18-92 200.00 e′) Cremophore RH40 100.00 [*c.f. Fiedler, loc. cit. 1, p. 344]
The compositions obtained in accordance with examples 1 to 7 are suitable for administration for the prevention of transplant rejection or in the treatment of auto-immune disease, e.g. on administration of from 1 to 5 unit dosages, e.g. capsules, daily. Equivalent compositions may be prepared substituting any other Cyclosporin, e.g. [Nva]2-Ciclosporin, as component (a) in the same or equivalent amount.
Utility of compositions in accordance with the invention may be shown in animal or clinical trials, for example performed as follows:
Bioavailability Study for Compositions in Accordance with the Invention in the Dog
Study I
Test Dosage Forms
A. Unit dosages obtained in accordance with the above example 5, each unit dosage comprising 100 mg Ciclosporin.
B. Hard-gelatin capsules, each capsule containing 50 mg Ciclosporin compounded with 50 mg ethanol, 150 mg Labrafil M. 1944 CS and 212.5 mg olive oil (=currently commercially available Ciclosporin “drink solution”).
Preparations A and B are administered to male beagle dogs in randomised, cross-over sequence. Both preparations are administered directly into the oesophagus and swallowed without chewing, and administration is followed by washing out of the oesophagus with 10 ml water delivered as a spray. Preparation A is administered in single dosages. Preparation B is administered in double dosage (=100 mg cyclosporin A).
2 ml blood samples are taken prior to administration (control) and subsequent to administration at intervals of 0.5, 1,2,3,4,6,7,12,24,31,48 and 72 hours.
Blood samples are frozen at −20° C. immediately after collection and stored for analysis. Assay is effected by standard cyclosporin A radioimmunoassay technique employing obtained blood samples in 2μ aliquots, assay being effected 2×/sample. Standard curves for the assay are prepared for each individual dog. For characterisation of the release kinetics, average concentration for each sample, standard variation, average error and overall average concentration are calculated.
Variance analysis (p=1%) indicates a significance difference in average-AUC (area under curve) value between compositions A and B, with bio-availability for composition A being superior of that for composition B.
Advantageous bio-availability levels of the same or equivalent order may be demonstrated in analogous trials to the above employing compositions of the invention in soft-gelatin capsule form, e.g. compositions prepared in accordance with the preceeding examples 1 through 4 or 6 or 7.
Study II
Groups of 8 beagle dogs (male, ca. 11–13 kg) are used. Animals receive no food within 18 hours of administration of test composition but are allowed free access to water until administration. Test composition is administered by gavage, followed by 20 ml NaCl 0.9% solution. The animals are allowed free access to food and water three hours after administration of test composition.
2 ml blood samples (or 5 ml for the blank) are taken from the vena saphena and collected in 5 ml plastic tubes containing EDTA at −15 min. (blank), 30 min., and 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24 hours post administration. Blood samples are stored at −18° C. pending assay.
Blood samples are analysed by RIA. Areas under the blood drug concentration versus time curves are calculated by the trapezoidal rule. Analysis of variance is performed with respect to AUC (area under curve), Cmax (maximum concentration) and Tmax (time of maximum).
Calculated average AUC (in ng hr./ml−1) and Cmax (in ng/ml−1) values from individual trial runs together with calculated variation in response between test animals receiving the same test composition (CV), demonstrate high bioavailability (AUC and Cmax.) coupled with relatively low variability in subject response both for AUC and Cmax for compositions in accordance with the invention, e.g. in accordance with example 6 above, as compared e.g. with results for the known Sandimmune drink solution composition (e.g. as described in relation to the following CLINICAL TRIAL) administered at the same Ciclosporin dosage level.
The advantageous properties of the compositions of the invention on oral administration may also be demonstrated in clinical trials, e.g. performed as follows:
Trial subjects are adult volunteers, e.g. professionally educated males of from 30 to 55 years. Trial groups suitably comprise 12 subjects.
The following inclusion/exclusion criteria are applied:
Inclusion: Normal screening ECG; normal blood-pressure and heart rate; body weight=50–95 kg.
Exclusion: Clinically significant intercurrent medical condition which might interfere with drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion or safety; symptoms of a significant clinical illness in the two-week pre-trial period; clinically relevant abnormal laboratory values or electrocardiogram; need for concomitant medication during the entire course of the study; administration of any drug known to have a well-defined potential toxicity to a major organ system within the previous 3 months; administration of any investigational drug within 6 weeks prior to entry into the trial; history of drug or alcohol abuse; loss of 500 ml or more blood within the past 3 month period; adverse drug reaction or hypersensitivity; history of allergy requiring drug therapy; Hep.-B/HIV-positive.
Complete physical examination and EcG is performed pre- and post-trial. The following parameters are evaluated within 1-month periods pre- and post-trial: Blood:—red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, erythrocyte sedimentation, white blood cell count, smear, platelet count and fasting glucose; Serum/plasma total—protein and electrophoresis, cholesterol, triglycerides, Na+, K+, Fe++, Ca++, Cl− creatinine, urea, uric acid, SGOT, SGPT, GT-II, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, α-amylase; Urine-pH, microalbumin, glucose, erythrocytes, ketone bodies, sediment. Cretinine clearance is also determined 1-month prior to trial entry.
Subjects each receive trial compositions in randomised sequence. Compositions are administered orally, once to a total dose of 150 mg cyclosporin, e.g. Ciclosporin, and at least 14 days are allowed between each administration.
Administration is performed in the morning after an overnight fast of 10 hrs. with only water allowed. Only caffein-free beverages are permitted within the 24 hr. period following administration. Subjects are not allowed to smoke within the 12 hr. period following administration. Subjects receive a standardised lunch 4 hrs. following administration.
Blood samples (2 ml) are taken 1 hr. prior to administration and post-administration at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, 6, 9, 12, 14, 24, 28 and 32 hrs. For determination of creatinine 2 ml blood samples are taken immediately prior to administration and at 12, 24 and 48 hrs. post-administration. Samples for cyclosporin determination are collected in two EDTA coated polystyrene tubes (1 ml each) at each time point and are deep frozen at −20° C. after gentle agitation. Cyclosporin is assayed in whole blood using RIA with specific and/or non-specific MAB assay—detection limit in both cases=ca. 10 ng/ml.
In trials carried out in accordance with the above protocoll, e.g. comparing the composition of example 6 in hard gelatin encapsulated form with the current Ciclosporin drink solution (Ciclosporin=50 mg, Labrafil=150 mg, ethanol=50 mg, maize oil=213 mg, in soft gelatin encapsulated form: content end weight=463 mg/dosage) as standard, substantially increased bioavailability levels for the example 6 composition are recorded in comparison with the standard as reflected in both AUC (0–32 hrs) and Cmax values established. In addition, comparison of variation in whole blood Ciclosporin concentration (as determined by specific monoclonal RIA) with time following single administration of test compositions to a Ciclosporin dosage of 150 mg, demonstrates marked reduction in variability of response between all subjects receiving composition in accordance with example 1 as compared with that for all subjects receiving the standard composition.
Similar or equivalent results may be obtained following oral administration of other compositions in accordance with the invention, e.g. as herein described in examples 1 through 5 or 7.
1. A pharmaceutical composition for oral administration comprising:
a) a cyclosporin as active ingredient in a carrier medium consisting essentially of
b+c) a transesterification product of a hydrogenated vegetable oil with glycerol or propylene glycol.
2. A composition according to claim 1 comprising
b+c) a transesterification product of a hydrogenated vegetable oil and glycerol.
3. A composition according to claim 2, wherein (a) is selected from the group consisting of Ciclosporin, (Dihydro-MeBmt)1-(Val)2-Ciclosporin and (Nva)2-Ciclosporin.
4. A composition according to claim 2, wherein (b+c) is a corn oil, almond oil, ground-nut oil, olive oil or palm oil trans-esterification product.
5. A composition according to claim 4, wherein (b+c) is a corn oil trans-esterification product.
6. A composition according to claim 2, wherein the amount of free glycerol plus any other free mono-or poly-ol present in (b+c) is less than 10% by weight.
7. A composition according to claim 2, wherein the amount of mono-glyceride present in (b+c) is Ca. 25–50% by weight.
8. A composition according to claim 2, wherein the amount of free glycerol present in (b+c) is less than 10%.
9. A composition according to claim 2, wherein the amount of mono-glyceride present in (b+c) is 35–50% by weight.
10. A composition according to claim 2, wherein the amount of di-glyceride present in (b+c) is less than 40% and the amount of tri-glyceride present is less than 10% by weight.
11. A composition according to claim 2, wherein the amount of mono-glyceride present in (b+c) is 30 to 40% by weight.
12. A composition according to claim 2 additionally comprising:
d) a pharmaceutically acceptable solvent or diluent miscible with (b+c) and reducing, or capable of reducing, the viscosity of (b+c).
13. A composition according to claim 12, wherein (d) comprises a trans-esterification product of a natural vegetable oil triglyceride and a polyalkylene poly-ol.
14. A composition according to claim 12, wherein (d) comprises ethanol.
15. A composition according to claim 12, wherein (d) comprises an esterification product of caprylic acid and caproic acid with glycerol.
16. A composition according to claim 12, additionally comprising:
e) a pharmaceutically acceptable emulsifying agent.
17. A composition according to claim 16, wherein (d) comprises a reaction product of a natural or hydrogenated castor oil and ethylene oxide.
18. A composition according to claim 2, in admixture with a pharmaceutically acceptable base material, the admixture being formed as, or capable of being formed into, a solid unit dosage.
19. A composition according to claim 18 wherein the pharmaceutically acceptable base material comprises a natural fat.
20. A composition according to claim 18, wherein the pharmaceutically acceptable base material comprises a chocolate base.
21. A composition according to claim 2 wherein the amount of free glycerol plus any other free mono-or poly-ol present in (b+c) is less than 5% by weight.
22. A composition according to claim 2 wherein the amount of mono-glyceride present in (b+c) is 30–45% by weight.
23. A composition according to claim 2, wherein the amount of free glycerol present in (b+c) is less than 5%.
24. The composition of claim 23 wherein the amount of free glycerol present in (b+c) is ca. 4% by weight.
25. A composition according to claim 2, wherein the amount of mono-glyceride present in (b+c) is 40–45% by weight.
26. A composition according to claim 11, wherein the amount of mono-glyceride present in (b+c) is 35% by weight.
27. A composition according to claim 8, 23 or 24, wherein (b+c) is corn-oil trans-esterification product.
28. A composition according to claim 19 wherein the natural fat is a natural vegetable fat.
29. A composition according to claim 28 wherein the natural vegetable fat is cacao fat or butter.
30. The composition of claim 20 wherein the chocolate base is couverture chocolate.
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Patent number: 7081445
Filed: Mar 1, 2004
Date of Patent: Jul 25, 2006
Assignee: Novartis AG (Basel)
Inventors: Thomas Cavanak (Biel-Benken), Ulrich Posanski (Freiburg)
Primary Examiner: Jeffrey Edwin Russel
Attorney: Thomas R. Savitsky
Current U.S. Class: 514/11; Carboxylic Acid Ester (514/785)
International Classification: A61K 38/13 (20060101); A61K 47/14 (20060101); |
The source of all gossip
ALL THE GOSSIP THAT'S FIT TO SPEW?
IT'S BEEN A VERITABLE SUPER BOWL PARTY CHICKEN WINGS STYLE DUMP THIS WEEK WHEN IT COMES TO GOSSIP RELATED TO PRESIDENT CHEETO.
EVERYTHING -- INCLUDING GOSSIP THAT HIS SON WOULD BE DIVORCING -- HAS HIT THE TOILET BOWL THAT IS THE U.S. MEDIA WITH A HEAVY FORCE LEAVING A NASTY STAIN AND REFUSING TO FLUSH DOWN.
FROM A SECLUDED PRIVATE BAR, A CACKLE EMERGES AND, YES, SHE BECKONS TO US.
THE ONE PULLING ALL THE MEDIA'S STRINGS, CRANKY CLINTON.
OVER SHOTS OF CROWN ROYAL AND MULTIPLE BEERS, THE DRUNK CRANKY SLURRED HER WORDS AND WOBBLED ON HER BAR STOOL AS SHE BRAGGED THAT SHE WAS TAKING THE CHEETO DOWN AND MAKING THE MEDIA DO HER BIDDING.
"PULL THE STRING!" CRANKY CACKLED. "PULL THE STRING!"
As Patrick Martin (WSWS) pointed out earlier this month, he is among many people the Democrats are running as "experienced" but they can't seem to talk about their experience:
Josh Butner, running in the 50th District of California against Republican Duncan Hunter, Jr., “served for 23 years in the United States Navy where he saw multiple combat deployments, most recently in Iraq and Afghanistan.” The career Navy SEAL says almost nothing about what he actually did in the top military assassination unit, but that is to be expected. His campaign website features the slogan “Service, Country, Leadership,” alongside a photograph of Butner in desert fatigues.
I cannot endorse him or not endorse him. I don't live in that district (Nancy Pelosi's my House Rep). But if you're running for election on your "service" and your "leadership," you damn well should explain what that is. If you can't explain, you shouldn't run on it. And be sure to check out all three installments of Patrick Martin's "The CIA Democrats:"
PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE
Iraq is gearing up for elections as well. They will hold elections May 12th.
Hayder al-Abadi? He wants a second term as prime minister. In the fall of 2014, Barack installed Hayder as prime minister prompting the world to ask: "Hayder who?"
The watery figure hasn't grown any clearer in the years since.
But the US installed him and still backs him which prompts Tweets like this:
Aso Mahmoud @BigAsso2 13h13 hours ago
Replying to @kurdistanm1 @cngsgnc @brett_mcgurk
America will rig Iraqi elections for Abadi. Hopefully it won’t be a success.
1 reply0 retweets0 likes
Hayder wants a second term and is running on defeating ISIS.
It's shaky ground for him to stand on.
Adnan Abu Zeed (AL-MONITOR) reports:
The Islamic State (IS) appears to be staging a comeback in parts of Iraq, which could endanger the country's oil deal with Iran.
Hamid Hosseini, the Iranian secretary-general of the Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce, warned in late February that the countries' plan can't be implemented fully because of security concerns. The countries signed a bilateral agreement in July 2017 to install a pipeline to transport Kirkuk’s crude oil to Iran to be refined. In the meantime, the oil is being transported by trucks, which are vulnerable to attacks.
The Kurdish military, or peshmerga forces, took control of Kirkuk in 2014 after Iraqi forces fled as IS swept through the area. But in October, Iraqi forces reclaimed the oil-rich territory from the Kurds.
IS has been blamed for numerous recent attacks in the area. On Feb. 19, IS fighters ambushed a convoy of the Baghdad government's Shiite Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) in the Hawija district, southwest of Kirkuk, killing 27. On Feb. 27, gunmen had targeted the Turkmen Front with a rocket shell. Since Hosseini's warning, security has deteriorated both in Kirkuk and Hawija. Local authorities have called for military enforcement.
Masrour Barzani, the head of Kurdistan security, stressed that the “IS offensive in Kirkuk province is not coming to an end anytime soon.”
And XINHAU reports:
Iraqi security forces on Wednesday killed at least seven Islamic State (IS) militants in clashes at a village near the city of Shirqat in Iraq's central province of Salahudin, a provincial security source said.
The clashes erupted at dawn when about 10 IS militants attacked a military base at the village of Mseihli in southern Shirqat, some 280 km north of Iraq's capital Baghdad, Col. Mohammed al-Jubouri from the media office of the provincial police command told Xinhua.
Again, oops.
It was always a mistake for Hayder to run for re-election with nothing to show for it. Even worse was to run claiming ISIS was defeated. That might have worked for two weeks but for a campaign that's going to last months, it was a big mistake.
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ASKED ABOUT THE MOOD AT THE WHITE HOUSE, HILLARY CLINTON ASKED US NOT TO USE HER NAME BUT "IT'S TOXIC. TOXIC. IT STINKS. LIKE TRUMP'S ASSHOLES."
Will Moqtada al-Sadr support a second term for Hayder al-Abadi? ALSUMARIA reports the question was put to the Shi'ite cleric and movement leader who stated he would not be endorsing anyone at this time and noted that he was waiting -- still waiting -- for Hayder to address corruption.
AL MADA reports that Ammar al-Hakim met with Vice President Ayad Allawi and the two spoke of the need for the elections to be carried out in a calm manner. But KITABAT explains that voting buying has already started.
In an effort to look like they do something, the Parliament rushed through a 2018 budget earlier this month. To term it 'problematic' is to put it mildly.
ALL IRAQ NEWS reports that Iraq's president, Fuad Masoum, declared yesterday that he was sending the 2018 budget back to Parliament to rework it and that he would not sign off on it as is. ALSUMARIA notes that Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition is screeching that Masoum has violated the Constitution. No, he hasn't. He's used his veto power over laws -- it's the same power that the vice presidents also have. In the fall of 2009, this right/power was clarified when Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi used his veto on the election law. He didn't feel it properly represented and accounted for refugees. He used his power to veto the law. It was sent back to Parliament and reworked. (This is why the 2009 elections ended up taking place in March of 2010.) ALUMARIA also notes that the leader of GORAN (Change) in the Parliament, Amin Bakr, stated that the Parliament refused to use the legal committee when drafting the budget which accounts for so many of the problems with the budget -- including features that were unconstitutional. Meanwhile NINA reports that the United Kingdom has declared the budget Fuad sent back to contain a large budget deficit and stated that it does little to create jobs. Here's their official statement:
British Embassy Iraq
March 12 at 10:24am ·
UK welcomes the passage of the Iraqi budget last week, which will allow Ministries to plan their spending and projects. But the budget deficit remains high, and we were disappointed that there were no new measures to improve public finance management, including procurement processes. Doing more to show commitment to the IMF support package will help Iraq build its credibility as an economic partner and help tackle corruption and waste of public money. Of course some decisions are more difficult in election year, but the UK will continue to work with the Iraqi authorities and the international community throughout the coming year to improve the environment for local and international business and investment. With a million young Iraqis coming onto the jobs market every year, a better environment for business is the only way to create enough productive jobs. This will be a big issue in the upcoming elections, and we are asking all the senior politicians what they plan to do about it.
#UKiniraq
Fuad's actions really don't matter though. Regardless of him, the budget has to be redone. That's what happens when you sell your soul to the IMF. For years, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani warned the government of Iraq not to fall into the trap the IMF repeatedly attempted to lay out for them. For a long time, Iraq's government listened. Under Hayder al-Abadi, it stopped listening.
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MCENTEE WAS THEN ORDERED TO "BACK THAT SEXY STUFF OVER TO THE CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS 'CAUSE I CAN'T QUIT YOU, SEXY STUFF."
REACHED FOR COMMENT, JOHN MCENTEE SAID, "I SERVE AT PLEASURE OF THE PRESIDENT."
"THAT'S A LOT OF PLEASURE," INSISTED ROBERT WINK-WINK MUELLER.
Turning to forever thug and former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. Over the weekend, ALSUMARIA reported that State of Law is trying to kill rumors that Nouri al-Maliki is rejecting Hayder al-Abadi as prime minister. Nouri is the former prime minister and forever thug. Hayder replaced him as prime minister in late 2014. Nouri has, to this day, refused to move out of the prime minister's home. Nouri has been plotting to return as prime minister. Last month, some outlets insisted that Nouri was not interested in another term as prime minister. If he were to become prime minister, it would be his third term. The ALSUMARIA report quotes a State of Law official stating that Nouri believes the people -- only the Iraqi people -- have the right to determine the prime minister. That's laughable when you consider that Nouri lost in 2010 and that Barack had US officials negotiate The Erbil Agreement which gave Nouri his second term. Nouri wants back in to the post and his minions are wasting everyone's time pretending otherwise.
Nouri's State of Law is also in a tizzy over the candidates. In previous elections, Nouri's been able to use the Accountability and Justice Committee to weed out candidates he didn't want to run but ALL IRAQ NEWS reported State of Law is objecting to the list of candidates.
Nouri objects to a great deal -- mainly, he objects to the truth.
As noted in Friday's snapshot, Laura Rozen filed a ridiculous story -- that ignored far too many public details. If she thought Nouri al-Maliki was going to be pleased with her reticence, she was wrong. Even ignoring everything, she's still angered him. ALL IRAQ NEWS notes that Nouri has called her report "false" and stated she did not know her facts. NINA includes Nouri's remarks that the deal was cancelled by the government in 2012. Both NINA and ALL IRAQ NEWS note that it was the corruption perception -- the Parliament's perception that the deal was corrupt -- that killed the deal.
Please note that ALL IRAQ NEWS and NINA do a better job reporting on the corruption in their reports today than Laura did on Friday -- and Laura used a lot more words and sentences. Please note that the most deadly country for journalists in 2017 was Iraq. These were not foreign journalists being killed. And yet even living under that threat, Iraqis are turning out better journalism than American Laura Rozen who is not in Iraq.
Hayder al-Abadi replaced Nouri as prime minister when Barack Obama installed Hayder in the fall of 2014. Hayder wants to be prime minister for a second term.
He was supposed to be fighting corruption . . . but he wasn't.
So what does he have to show for it?
Not much.
He claims to have defeated the Islamic State.
Barzan SadiqVerified account @BarzanSadiq 17h17 hours ago
#BREAKING Clashes erupted between #Iraqi forces and #ISIS militants southetn #Mosul.
1 reply26 retweets21 likes
#BREAKING #ISIS militants attacking #Iraqi forces security points in #Adhaim #لعظيم southern #TuzKhurmatu. Casualties feared.
Barzan SadiqVerified account @BarzanSadiq
It seems #ISIS is not finished in #Iraq Mr. @HaiderAlAbadi. It was too early to announce the ‘victory’. But fears from ‘losing’ votes in the up coming elections turned the table up-down.
2:04 PM - 11 Mar 2018
4 replies6 retweets12 likes
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"THIS JUST IN! CRANKY DENIES VIRUS CLAIMS!" |
Wash Park Prophet
Defending Witches Since 2005.
Are Law Professors Prophets?
A March 24, 2006 opinion piece by John E. Banzhaf III in the Chronicle of Higher Education entitled "When Law Professors Don't Know the Law" (at B20) has very little good to say about the law professors who backed the law school positions in litigiation over the Soloman Amendment in the case of Rumfield v. FAIR.
How could so many nationally known law professors at top law schools . . . have vbeen so wrong in how they cose to challenge the Solomon amendment and in asserting that the statute violated the First Amendment under no less than four different constitutional theories? Every single justice who participated . . . ruled without exception that every legal theory the law profesors advanced was without merit.
If all those top constitutional scholars honestly believed the arguments that they publicly presented . . . they were so clearly mistaken that it casts some doubt on their competence. To incorrectly predict one Supreme Court decision is not unusual, but when all of their different constitutional arguments fail to sway even one justice (and even to the point of writing a concurrence), red flags should go up.
On the other hand if the law professors knew that their constitutional arguments had virtually no chance of being accepted in the high court, there is a certain hypocrisy in making those claims over and over again in public, including perhaps in their classes, and even a reckless disregard of the constitutional challenge that could easily backfire -- which it did.
As Oliver Wendell Holmes reminded us, "law is nothing more pretentious than the prediction of what courts will in fact do," and law professors are supposed to be learned in the law and to teach it to law students. . . . It is not, and should not be, a statement of what law professors teaching constitional law, no matter how learned, think it should be or how they hope it just might be, based upon their concerns about the underlyingh interests of gay people or their desire to control acess to their campuses.
Instead, they owe their law students, and indirectly the public, the benefit of their best efforts to predict how the justices would rule. When all of their predictions turn out to be so wrong, it only leads credence to the arguments that we law professors live in ivory towers oblivious to the real world, or that our publicly expressed opinions are based more on liberal guilt than hard-nosed and meaningful real-world analysis.
In short, in the view of Professor Banzhaf (he is himself a law professor), the nature of the job of a law professor is to be a prophet and to teach prophecy.
In my opinion, however, this isn't the job of a law professor. First off, predicting how courts will rule is just that, prophecy.
While Professor Banzhaf complains that the law professor's theories were rejected (indeed derided by many members of the court), the truth of the matter is that I can't point to anyone who got the Supreme Court's ruling in the case right. No one predicted that the Court would rule based on the argument that the power to raise Armies allowed Congress to mandate access of military recruiters to private campuses even in the absence of financial strings, and little in the case suggested that the courts would be inclined to go there. Likewise, I can't recall anyone who would have predicted that the Court would rule that while military recruiters must be given access to campus to recruit that even the administration is allowed to institutionally organize protests against their presence designed to make them unwelcome and treat them unequally compared to other recruiters.
Indeed, the fact of the matter is that the Supreme Court routinely makes unanimous decisions, and these unanimous decisions routinely overturn equally unanimous decisions of the courts below. Predicting the decisions of the Supreme Court is uniquely difficult because unlike other Courts no precedent binds it. Losing in a unanimous decision from the United States Supreme Court is not a sign that your argument was frivilous.
Indeed, often, particularly when circuits are split, it is the result that is mandated by our system of precedent. Each circuit must follow the precedents in their circuit, and if one of those is wrong, in the opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court, then the trial judge and court of appeals panels in that circuit are required to make the wrong decisions even if they strongly suspect that every judge of the U.S. Supreme Court might rule otherwise. Furthermore, such a split is one of the clearest pieces of evidence that what the U.S. Supreme Court does is to make law based on policy choices, rather than act as a neutral umpire. Learned appellate justices considering precisely the same issue of federal law, not infrequently come to opposite and unanimous conclusions.
Likewise, it isn't unheard of for the U.S. Supreme Court, facing the same issue on multiple occassions, to flatly reverse itself. The case of the constitutionality of executing a defendant who was seventeen at the time the crime was committed is one of the most recent examples of this phenomena. The constitutionality of the death penalty itself, is another. This is particularly true in the venue of constitutional law, which actually makes up a minority of the court's docket. Courts are often very rigid in adhering to precedent in the case of statutory interpretation, because Congress can always change a law if it doesn't like the way that it has been interpreted. But, they tend to be less rigidly bound by precedent in interpreting the Constitution, because they are the only people in the position to correct a ruling that in hindsight appears to be a poor decision, absent the most extraordinary circumstances.
Indeed, while the Constitution has been amended a number of times in the past 230 years, only a handful of amendments (the 11th, part of the 14th, the 15th, the 17th and the 24th) were in any meaningful way a response to decision of the U.S. Supreme Court on Constitutional issues. The 11th arose from concerns about the scope of sovereign immunity for states under the Constitution, the 14th, 15th and 24th all addressed a continuing inability to have the Courts use sufficient vigilance to prevent racial discrimination, and the 17th settled a long line of litigation over the Constitutionality of the income tax.
Constitutional law today, looks nothing like it did when today's law professors were in law school, and less still like it did a century ago. There is every reason to believe that when today's law students are senior law professors, that constitutional law will evolve into something equally different.
So, if it is almost inherently impossible to predict what the Supreme Court will do, what is the job of a professor of constitutional law and why? The answer, far from being out of the ivory tower, has everything to do with what practicing lawyers do, and is reflected in how law is taught.
The reality of life as a practicing lawyer is that you take your clients as you find them. In a large metropolitan area, you may have only a dim idea of the temperment and judicial philosophy of the judge whom you happen to draw, and that judge may have nothing in their background that gives you any clue about how they will rule on your case. The head of the criminal division of the general jurisdiction court that handles felony cases in Denver, for example, as he explained in the April 2006 issued of "The Docket", which is the Denver Bar Association's monthly journal, spent his legal career prior to being a judge as an insurance defense lawyer (i.e. the kind of lawyer who defense you when, for example, you have been in a car accident and are sued) who had almost no contact whatsoever with criminal cases.
As a practicing lawyer, you rarely have the luxury to ponder what the "right" decision in a case will be, and your audience is surprisingly rarely the judge. Your job, instead, is to be aware of all of the legal theories that are out there, to identify the ones that could do your client any good, and to argue them persausively, most often to opposing counsel. Not infrequently, the most persausive argument in the eyes of the opposing counsel with whom you are negotiating, or even the trial judge, will be an argument that has not been a winner in similar appellate court cases decided on the subject. Almost as often as not, even when a judge rules in my favor in a case, the ruling is on the basis of an argument that I felt was legally less likely to win in the unlikely event of an appeal, than another argument that I made that was rejected. The law in inherently muddy in a very large class of cases.
Yes, as a practicing lawyer, part of the job is to predict what the Court will do. But, in practice, the outcome of really clear cases are clear, not because of the clarity of the appellate court rulings interpreting that area of law, but because the evidence is exceptionally uncontrovertable. And, yes there are safe harbors of settled case law in ordinary run of the mill cases. If the Plaintiff's evidence in a traffic accident case includes a videotape of your client running a red light, or you are caught red handed with a bag full of cocaine in a search that a bus full of people see's you consent to, or a payment is not made on a straightforward promissory note, you have to fold. But, the more multi-dimensional a case is, the less rarely cases like it arise (and Rumfield v. FAIR is not a run of the mill case of a type that courts handle every day), and the more the evidence is equivocal, the harder it is to predict a result. Very few cases with these kinds of issues settle for the amount demanded.
Indeed, contrary to the claim of Professor Banzhaf, cases like Rumsfield v. FAIR do not inevitably wind up in the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court often denies certitorari in even constitutional cases of great public interest (when it takes just 80 or so cases a year, it must), and particularly in multi-dimensional cases asking for injunctive relief, elaborate settlements are the norm rather than the exception. Most of the big school desegregation cases, for example, were resolved with settlement agreements, as are most of the big cases involving envirnomental regulation. Cases like these settle precisely because no one can be sure how they will turn out on the merits, and go to the U.S. Supreme Court primarily because the non-economic stakes are so high, the parties have deep pockets, and the dispute is so stark because of the entrenched positions of the parties, that no settlement is mutually agreeable. Another administration might have settled this case, but this particular configuration of parties could not for institutional reasons that apply to each of them, although predicting the intransigence of parties is far outside the usual law professor's purview.
Customarily, constitutional law classes do not even spend so much as a day or two in which the professor teaches the "black letter law" or purports to know what the rule of law is in a case. Law classes are taught socratically. Students do most of the talking and the emphasis is on having them argue intelligently and orally, with only modest preparation, in the classroom, in the face of withering criticism from a more skilled rhetoritician, the professor.
Constitutional law classes are also exceptionally transparent. While physics and chemistry classes, for example, only occasionally provide students with the journal articles that gave rise to the conclusions stated in the textbooks, and history classes are generally taught primarily with secondary sources except at the most advanced level, constitutional law classes are universally taught by having students read verbatim from the cases decided by the judges themselves, with the students left to draw their own conclusions regarding the rules of law enunciated therein. A typical constitutional law textbook is written 90% by the U.S. Supreme Court and 10% by the professor (or less), although the professor, for some reason, gets 100% of the royalties.
Arguing that law professors are not competent because they cannot predict how the U.S. Supreme Court will rule, then, is hardly a valid criticism of them as law professors, because they do not "owe their law students, and indirectly the public, the benefit of their best efforts to predict how the justices would rule," in any case. Telling people what the law is, is the job of judges. Many law students wish that law professors were in that business, but I have yet to encounter a law professor who actually did that with regard to any point of law.
Posted 7:28 AM
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instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Doctor, I've been experiencing difficulty speaking, and I haven't been growing at the rate I should be. I also have had some depressive and psychotic symptoms. What could be the cause of these symptoms? output: Based on your symptoms, it seems like you may be suffering from birth trauma. This can cause damage to the brain and lead to developmental delays and mental health issues. We can run some tests to confirm the diagnosis and create a treatment plan for you. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: mum is 77, in constant backpain cant walk much due to so much pain, spine as been investigated, and nothing can be done,could u recomend a effective pain tablet, she ad lung cancer 5yrs ago is now clear still as pain in lung area as disease also. as took tramadol 4hourly does not help took did take morfine tablet only helped a little but ad side effects,she does suffer with tummy probs from some tabs.what do u sugest doctor gave her duloxetine 60mg is that for pain, i thought they r antidepressants. output: First the cause of pain needs to be found out. Since, your mother had a history of lung cancer, the probability of metastasis to the spine is likely. A bone scan is needed. Bone scan will detect the focus of metastasis in spine, if any. The metastatic focus can be treated by radiotherapy. Duloxetine is an antidepressant. Probably there are features of depression in your mother due to back pain and tummy problems. Thanks and take care. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: yesterday i inhaled the fumes of harpic in my toilet ,after an hour i felt heavy breath,n the next day i woke up with pain in my right side of the chest ,now i inhaled my mums inhalor for asthama thinking that it would help relieve my chest pain .plz respond
gest medication for inhaling toxic fumes output: Thanks for your question on Health Care Magic. I can understand your concern. You are having inhalation lung injury. And most commonly, this will cause bronchitis (inflammation of airways). Normally, no treatment is required. Avoid further exposure. Breath fresh air and take antihistamine and anti inflammatory drugs. You will mostly improve in 1 day. But if you still feel heaviness in chest, breathlessness, constant cough etc than consult pulmonologist and get done PFT (Pulmonary Function Test). This will tell you about severity of bronchitis and treatment of bronchitis is based on severity only. You may need inhaled bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroid. Don't worry, you will be alright. Hope I have solved your query. Wish you good health. Thanks... |
Episode 45: The secret to attracting and retaining customers
Meet Megan Roth, Marketing Manager at Insightly and women’s mentor, who discovered her love of marketing while doing character role research as a film major. Then
meet Ron Cates, a former coach to world-class distance runners, who’s now the director of digital marketing education at Constant Contact. Ron’s also a serious tennis player who,
in his own words, “is seriously not very good.”
These two marketing experts join Elizabeth Ü to chat about the secrets of attaining and
retaining customers through digital. Tune in to hear how the magic of email starts in the
‘from line’ and subject line, how great CRM can help your customers feel more connected
and why subscription-based cloud solutions are a beautiful, non-intimidating, no-brainer for your small business. Plus the cool, new show segment, Five Quick Questions. Xero Gravity #45. For digital sake, tune in!
Small Business Resources:
Alignable Local small business owner networking app
How great leaders inspire action Simon Sinek TEDTalk
Episode transcript
Host: Elizabeth Ü [EÜ]
Guests: Ron Cates [RC] and Megan Roth [MR]
EÜ: Hi everyone. I'm Elizabeth Ü, and this is Xero Gravity.
Guest soundbites
RC: “Most business owners are in digital diapers. This is really intimidating to them. It's really scary. They didn't open their business because they were interested in becoming an online marketer or digital marketer. They got into it because they love pool and they wanted to open a place that sells pool tables.”
MR: “I think that a lot of times when you mess up you're really hard on yourself. And you really shouldn't be, because it's in the past and you should just think of what you could do to kind of do a favor for your future self a lot of times.”
EÜ: Meet Megan Roth and Ron Cates. Megan and Ron are joining us today to talk about some great ways to not only attain but retain customers for small businesses.
MR: “Don't get too bogged down in e-newsletter-open matrix. You can make your emails actionable without your customers needing to open them.”
RC: “Today the subject line and the from line carry more weight than ever. People are taking action just on that, without opening the email. So never clean out your do not opens, or think that the ones that aren't open don't have action to them; they do.”
EÜ: So we have all that and more coming up on Xero Gravity, right after this.
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EÜ: Megan Roth and Ron Cates — thanks for joining us on Xero Gravity.
MR: Thanks for having me.
RC: Yeah, thanks for having us.
EÜ: So, Megan, we know a little bit about your professional background, but tell us a bit more about what you do when you're not serving as marking manager at Insightly.
MR: So when I'm not doing marketing at Insightly I do a lot of things in San Francisco. I'm pretty involved with the city; what it has to offer. Pretty involved right now with election going on. I really like to do a lot of things about bringing the community together and creating love for small businesses and local businesses in San Francisco.
EÜ: Oh, I love that. We have such a great community of local businesses here as well. And I understand you've had a pretty diverse and colorful career. So how relevant was your undergraduate degree to what you're doing now?
MR: It was funny that you asked that. Something that I think about a lot is that I actually didn't graduate with a marketing degree. When I went into college they ask you, in America, to choose a major the second you get there. And so I was 18, going to college and I'm thinking to myself, "Wow, I really like TV so I guess I'll go in to be a TV major, or, like, oh, I want to be filming." There was this one show called Wild on E that people just go to different countries and film these exotic vacations, and it looked just like so much fun. And I was, like, “Wow, that's what I want to do.” And so that's what I studied in college.
I thought I wanted to be a casting director. I think I kind of fell into marketing around thinking about when you're casting someone. You have to do research into a role and what are the motivations for people and what they're saying, and kind of where they're at in, you know, maybe a movie or a play. And it really resonated to me in marketing; the research you do behind people and what their motives are into buying a product. Or maybe what problems you're solving for them when introducing this new product or service. And I felt like it really resonated with me both those types of, you know, attributes when it comes to just connecting with people and that why I kind of transitioned from TV and casting to marketing.
EÜ: That's a fun story. And Ron, what about you? What are you up to when you're not ConstantContacts Director of Digital Marketing Education?
RC: I'm a very serious tennis player. I'm not very good. But I am very serious.
EÜ: [Laughing]
RC: I play as often as I can. I mean, I do travel a lot. I'm somewhere different in the country every week. So I don't get to play as much as I would like. But it's a great outlet me. So that's where I spend a lot of my free time, is the tennis court.
EÜ: And I understand that you quit the corporate world some 25 years ago. So tell us how you came to that decision.
RC: I did. I was a corporate guy; suit and tie guy. And I wanted to have kids. So we had kids and I decided to stay home. I wanted to be the full-time parent. My wife didn't want to — I did. So I moved to Miami. I've got these three little kids and what I haven't said yet is; I had this hobby all these years. I used to coach runners; distance runners. And even though it was just a hobby I was pretty successful. I had some world-class athletes; some world-record holders, some Olympic medalists.
Now, I never thought about it being a business. But when I moved back to Miami I got approached by this guy who said, "Oh, my gosh, you're Ron Cates. You're in Runner’s World and Track and Field News. I'm just a middle of the pack runner. Would you ever consider coaching somebody like me?" I said, "Sure." The next week he had a friend. The week after that the friend had a friend. In three months there were 120 of them. They said, "Ron, we should pay you." I said, "Okay."
EÜ: Oh wow!
RC: 10 years later, we did over $6 million.
EÜ: What were some of the challenges that you faced juggling that business while also being a stay-at-home parent?
RC: Well, I always promised myself that I would run the business from home. And the business, fortunately, and unfortunately, got really really big. So I had to cheat a bit. I ended up building a house around a pretty big business. So actually, when I sold the business I had some rooms in the house that were big enough that my teenage son, at that time, can invite his friends over to do skateboarding inside the house.
EÜ: Oh boy! [laughing] That sounds like it could be a bit of a challenge.
RC: I was by far the most popular home in the neighborhood.
EÜ: So speaking of coaching: Megan, I understand that mentoring is an important part of your career so far. Can you tell us about your mentors and your thoughts on mentorship?
MR: Yeah, totally. I think mentorship is a really big part of what I do today. I even try to be a mentor for a lot of people. I'm involved in a couple of different areas and groups, one being Women Catalyst, where we do a lot for women to be surrounded by positive leadership roles, and to talk about different things that they're doing and how to get more involved.
And I'm also a part of other groups like Dreamers and Doers, San Francisco. There's programs where we're all there to support each other in a way that we all want to be successful. At the same time we're all women and we want to join together and support each other when we can. Also I've had great mentorship, mentors, in my life, and I was really grateful for that. My first mentor was a man who got me into my first tech job because I had only retail on my resume.
He really saw a great drive in me and he decided to take me under his wing, and really teach me the ways of marketing and sales. I also got another mentor who I'm lucky to have, who is my current boss.
She took a lot of interest in growing my career in that she wanted to make sure that I felt comfortable, and that I understood the different tracks I could take, which I was super grateful for. I'm really lucky to have had really good mentors in my life. And I think it's really important to talk to people who are just starting out, who are looking to grow their careers or even grow their lives, and trying to find really good mentors in order to know that it's okay, and that you have to try some things and to really not get wrapped up in where you are right now. Because as long as you align yourself with people and the goals that you want to accomplish, opportunities are going to open up for you.
EÜ: And Ron, how did you journey from coaching athletes to coaching small businesses in your current role?
RC: It was a pretty natural segue, really. I mean, think about it. A lot of the same principles apply, (1) you have to really know what you're talking about so that they're going to go out and implement what you tell them to do, and (2) you have to be very honest, very candid, you know, with an athlete. You can't say you're having a great day if they're not having a great day. Or when they’re having a great day and you say so, it won't hold as much weight to it. With a small business I visit, and especially nonprofits, everything's a 10 on a scale of one to 10, because it's the best they've ever seen it done. And, a lot of times it's, "Hey, I'm sorry this isn't a 10. This is maybe a three. Here's how we can get to a four. I'm not even sure, you know, what a 10 would be yet."
Making them accountable, that's another big component, you know, with coaching. Athletes have a coach to be accountable to. That certainly works with small businesses, you know, I give them something fairly prescriptive things they need to do. We'll do a follow up on a seminar a year later and I'll sit in the back of a little discussion group, and they'll say, "Yeah, I did that thing, or Ron was talking about this dog and I did it and it worked." So I'm thinking, "Wow, you know, that's awesome." They implemented it. They were successfully with it. They followed through on it. And from a business standpoint the fact that they credited it back to us is a huge bonus. So education really, really works.
EÜ: So let's dig a little deeper into this episode's theme, which of course is: attaining and retaining customers. So first up, Megan what does it mean to attract and retain customers in the digital age?
MR: So I actually think it really means finding different customers, what's in it for them; that you want to create relationships with them, you want to be able to find out what they're trying to improve, and give them a solution. So I think that it's definitely important to not just have a one-way conversation, but have a two-way conversation with your customers or people who could potentially be prospects, who are interested in what you have to do and provide a solution. And retaining customers is kind of the same thing. You want to make sure that you follow up, that you make sure that your customers are satisfied, and that you take them to the next stage. And if they are happy with their service, definitely ask for some feedback or referrals, and that will really help your business grow.
EÜ: And so for you, Ron, what does it mean to attract and retain customers in the digital age?
RC: At Constant Contact we have 650,000 customers. We talk to them regularly. We do a survey and we ask them where their business comes from. They tell us that 90 percent of it comes from existing customers. So obviously retention is critically important. When we dive into it deeper that 10 percent that is "new", they tell us that 90 percent of that comes from referrals. So really, the retention, engagement, marketing, getting in front of it on a regular basis, that's where 99 percent of their business comes from. So that's critically important. It's very important to stay top of mind.
We get more than 6,000 marketing impressions per person per day in North American. So, you know, how are you going to get through that clutter? That's what we talk about is, how to stay top of mind, how to make sure that they don't forget you. Because sometimes we can love you but totally forget you. I think we all have restaurants we love but we forget to go there. If we've got some sort of marketing impression from them on a regular basis we'd probably salivate for that chicken sandwich and drive over and buy it that day.
EÜ: [Laughing] Or maybe that's a bacon, bacon burger. Megan, what are the ways in which we can attract and retain customers?
MR: I think what Ron said, definitely, is asking for reviews in order to retain more customers and to attract more customers because word of mouth is definitely very cheap. It could be free. And it gets a lot of customers because people like to see other people or businesses that align with them, that are on the same as them, using the products and seeing success from it.
So definitely asking your customers to review you, surveying your customers, seeing how you can improve what you're currently doing. Another great way to attract customers is when you're thinking about your goals for the business: who are the people you're trying to attract? What problems are you trying to solve? There are also other people out there that are kind of doing the same thing. You could partner with those people or really just kind of put yourself in your customer's shoes and see where they would look for the solutions and really optimize those areas.
EÜ: Ron, what are some of the mistakes that you see small businesses making?
RC: Well, the bar's been raised by consumers when it comes to marketing, in two very important ways. The first is they expect marketing to look professional. So as an example with email marketing; it used to be you could send out a plain text email and that would get good action to it. Today your recipient, the customer, the prospect, they expect it to be this nice looking, you know, HTML, colorful email. And if it's not then they assume that the product or service is second rate or amateurish. Now, when I first started doing email marketing 25 years or so ago, you couldn't even do these nice looking HTML emails.
The other mistake; the other way that consumers have changed is they expect marketing to be targeted. So you don't want to take every email address you collect, dump them all into one bucket and send the same message out to everyone. It needs to be targeted. And I have a great example of that.
I bought these two cars a couple of years ago, and I know that this car company has a $900,000 million marketing budget in North America. So the small businesses that are listening to this — you might not have a budget that size. It doesn't matter. I bought these two cars. I got put on their email list and three weeks later I get my first email from them. In the email message is, "Ron, you should come in and buy this new car."
Now, I don't buy a new car every three weeks. Sometimes I wait, you know, four months or so before I buy a new car. And it wasn't the car that I bought. So now I'm second guessing my decision. They should have a lot of buckets, a lot of lists, you know, people who bought a sports car, people who bought a luxury car, people who bought two cars, people who came in and didn’t buy anything, and then just target the message. They target what they send out.
EÜ: Well, Megan, I know that you know a lot about this targeting. I also think that you would have some great insights around some of the myths surrounding marketing.
Let's say I'm a small business and I have an e-newsletter and I'm expecting it to go to my customers' inbox. Obviously we have a lot of spam filters and other ways that things go to Google's promotions tab, for instance, or Gmail's promotions tab. What are some myths that you can debunk for people around how to do effective e-marketing?
MR: I guess a lot of people say that there's better deliverability when there's better text-to-image ratio. Maybe not using these buzzwords, like free, is sometimes is a trigger for spam. That's what we're hearing. I think that if you have a good relationship with your customer they'll want to open up your emails and they'll look forward to it as long as you provide information that they find valuable.
RC: So when it comes to email deliverability we know that about 20 percent of commercial email, bulk email, is blocked. Now, the way small ISPs, the companies that deliver the emails, the smaller ones, they use a spam filter and there's a whole bunch of tests to it. There's the words in the subject line, text, imagery, all of these: there's more than 700 tests. Now, those are just for small ISPs. The big ones that really matter: Google, Yahoo, MacMail, they care a lot more about where it's coming from.
So if you're using a service, you know, most of these services have really good relationships with the big ISPs, and your stuff gets through. It's what we call white listed in the industry. It gets delivered automatically. So using a service does have huge benefit to it.
Now, here's something really, really important. A big study done last year shows us that about a third, 31 percent, of the people who don't open the email usually take action and buy from you often within 14 days. So today the subject line and the from line carry more weight than ever. People are taking action just on that without opening the email.
Now, I'm a skeptic, you know, I read the study. I was thinking, "Well, I can't visualize that." I'm a serious tennis player; I'm not real good but I'm very serious. There's this store that I go to all the time. They sent me this email last month and the subject line is 40 percent off clearance shoes this weekend. I didn't open it. I didn't touch it but I was in line Saturday morning and I spent a couple of hundred dollars. So never clean out your do not opens, or think that the ones that aren't open don't have action to them; they do. And, of course, the from line and the subject line have become way more important than ever in the past.
EÜ: Megan, can you tell us a little bit more about personalization and how this attracts and retains customers?
MR: Definitely. I think that what Ron talked about earlier with his buying a car scenario, is that he had just purchased a car and then they send him an email three weeks later, and he's not going to buy a new car. So the thing is when you give people more personalization, it gives them the ability to take more action. Gives them more of a solution and resolution, and they feel that you're actually listening to what they're doing, and also, I think prompts them more to take action, for sure.
And with CRM you can do personalization based on the actions taken as a customer, maybe just the demographic; where are they located? And you could actually get people to feel more connected to your marketing campaign or to your emails. It was funny, I actually, I don't know if this will be a good example. But the other day I got, I've been playing this Safeway game, that it's this Monopoly game and...
EÜ: Oh my gosh, my boyfriend is addicted! [laughing]
MR: Right. So everyone is playing this game and no one is winning. And we're playing it at work. I'm playing it at home and no one is winning the game. And it's on Facebook. Everyone's like, "No one's winning this game. Everyone just needs this one more piece.” So I got targeted on Facebook by Safeway that said, "A San Francisco winner won $20,000," and I thought, "Oh, my gosh." And I wrote to my roommate, "Someone actually won the Safeway game in San Francisco." So it makes me feel like oh, I have a chance to actually win.
But then I thought about it and I said, "They probably targeted me knowing that I'm in San Francisco, to relate to me, like, I could be a winner too." I could see myself as that person. So then I looked at all the comments, being a marketer and all. I wanted to see who were all these people who were commenting. And every single person was in the Bay area. So I'm thinking that ad was targeted to Bay area people to show that, I don't know if it was a trick but, I mean, being a marketer and knowing about personalization I was, like, "I think this is a trick."
Personalization can definitely attract more people, allow them to see themselves in that role, if you want them to, or just see themselves taking action.
EÜ: And, Ron, how can small businesses use personalization to support their own campaigns?
RC: Yeah. So I'm going to bet that a lot of our listeners to this podcast are on the small end of the small business spectrum, and they might not have a sophisticated CRM system in place to give them insight into their customers. So here's a really simple way that you can start to come up with targeted lists. And you can do it with email. So email is approachable by everyone. You can send out an email, and let's say you've got two or three articles in this email.
Rather than give all the content, give them a portion of it and then say, "Click to continue." When they click to continue they're going to go to your website where they can see the rest of their content. That's great because it drives traffic to your website where they can take action. Even more importantly, when you're using an email service like ConstantContact, we report on who clicked on what. So if a bunch of people clicked on this content and no one clicked on this other content, I now know which content most resonates with my readers.
Even more importantly, with one button you can make a new list out of everybody that clicked on something. Now, think about that. "For more information about this product or this service click here," I now know exactly what they're most interested in. I can make a new list out of those people and do a very targeted follow up at some point just to those people on that specific product or service.
EÜ: Given your experience talking to small businesses, what stage are they at in their digital marketing journey do you think?
RC: Most, to be candid, and I love them; most are in digital diapers. This is really intimidating to them. It's really scary. They didn't open their business because they were interested in becoming an online marketer or digital marketer. They got it because they love pool and they wanted to open a place that sells pool tables. Or they open a restaurant because they're passionate about food. So this is not their wheelhouse.
All the help that we can give any company out there that's in the marketing space, that's willing to give education and share knowhow, I think that's where they're going to gravitate. You know, today it's more about giving away intellectual property. Giving it away because that's how you get attention. I mean, consumers are smart. They know that marketing exists to get their attention to sell them something. Today they will give you their attention; they'll barter for it, if you give them something back of value. So it's not about you. It's about what you know. And if I share that information, show that I know more about it than anyone else; they're more likely to do business with me.
EÜ: Megan, do you find that a lot of small businesses have resistance to migrating to the cloud?
MR: Oh definitely. And I don't know why. I think it's the concept of they think it's too hard or they think that the old way of doing things, you know, you can't really teach an old dog new tricks in a way.
I think cloud solutions are the perfect solution for small businesses, being that they're subscription based. You could try it before you buy it. And you can access it from anywhere. You don't really need to have a big bulky computer or an office in order to use the software.
And what's also really great is it integrates with tons of applications. It's made to be easy use and it integrates with other applications and it makes it so that everything is really seamless, and easy to get up and running on. You don't need to have someone install everything. It's also extremely secure being that both ConstantContact and Insightly are huge companies; have to go through tons of security and auditing, that they're extremely secure. And being that small businesses don't have people who can manage this type of on premise software, it's definitely a great resource for small businesses to take advantage of. Take advantage of cloud software for sure.
EÜ: Thanks so much. We're going to finish up with our quick five questions, for which we need five quick answers. Are you both ready? So these are super, super quick.
RC: I'm ready.
EÜ: Alright. What business book or idea made the biggest impact on your life?
RC: For me, Simon Sinek. “The Power of Why.”
MR: I like “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg.
EÜ: Alright. Next: what's the one thing you can't live without?
RC: This is going to sound strange, but right now it's my Xbox because it's a stress reliever.
MR: I love caffeine.
Alrght. What's the most useful app on your phone right now?
RC: For me I'm sitting all day on Alignable. You can also look at it at Alignable.com. It's a startup that connects small businesses so they can co-promote together, and learn from each other. It's the most amazing app; both work incredibly well.
MR: Yeah, we love Alignable here at Insightly. I actually want all my customers to get on Alignable because it's a really great way for you to find local businesses that have the same goals as you. And you could actually do partner marketing and do co-promotions together, and also see what technology they're using, get some tips from people who are just like you and looking to kind of grow their business. I think it's a really great resource. And it's free, like you said.
RC: Yeah, I was going to, and it's free. They've got a great app. They've got a great app for your mobile device. The website's amazing. I really, really am excited about what they're doing there.
MR: I love that they have ideas around giving more knowledge to know the community. I've wanted to do some webinars with them about marketing as well. They have some really great resources in order to make sure that their community is really knowledgeable about, you know, business. It gets the questions answered. We got some good stuff.
MR: My most useful app right now is Yelp.
EÜ: Alright. In one sentence: what's the greatest lesson you've learned throughout your small business journey?
RC: You can't fake enthusiasm.
MR: This is just a life lesson. It's forgive your past self and do a favor for your future self. I think that a lot of times when you mess up you're really hard on yourself, and you really shouldn't be, because it's in the past and you should just think of what you could do to favor your future self.
EÜ: And what skill do you want to enhance in 2016?
RC: I want to learn how to speak Spanish.
MR: I want to learn Photoshop.
EÜ: What a great conversation. Megan and Ron, thanks so much for joining us on the show.
RC: Thanks for having us.
MR: Thanks.
Enjoying today's show? Then why not join the conversation! Just use the hashtag #XeroGravity.
EÜ: That was Megan Roth, Marketing Manager at Insightly, and Ron Cates, ConstantContacts Director of Digital Marketing Education. Thank you for listening to Xero Gravity.
Make sure you join us next Wednesday because we'll be talking to Joe Malcoun from Nutshell.
Joe will be sharing his stories and insights about how small businesses can really utilize CRM and start improving customer relationship management.
So don't miss that one.We'll catch you then.
Are you a fan of Xero Gravity? Because we'd love to hear from you! Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Soundcloud and leave a review sharing your favorite moment from the show so far.
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State Terrorism in Ethiopia (Dawit W. Giorgis)
Dawit W. Giorgis
PDF Version available Here
This article is about a government that supports and conducts terrorist acts against its own citizens, which I call state terrorism. There is some controversy in the general definition of terrorism in both the academic and geopolitical sense. Terrorism is an aspect of organized violence which threatens peace and security across the globe. Some politicians define it as a political instrument. Resistance to oppression and struggle for human rights and freedom are sometimes defined as terrorism in the legislations of some countries. But it is generally recognized as one of the most serious contemporary security challenges of Africa, tantamount to an undeclared war, which transcends political borders, destabilizes governments, preys on innocent people and causes an enormous amount of pain and suffering to the population and the economy of the affected countries. According to the Africa Center for the Study &Research on Terrorism (ACSRT), in May 2020, there were 153 terrorist attacks compared to 101 in the previous month, April. What is less spoken and written about is state terrorism, which relates to the actions of states that create the conditions for domestic terrorism and insurgencies and /or support terrorism to achieve a politicalagenda. In what follows, we argue that the current government of Ethiopia under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is a terrorist state, whose ultimate goal, as incontrovertibly affirmed by the recent statements of Shimeles Abdissa, is the establishment of an Oromo-dominated system of government through systematic elimination and subjugation of other ethnic and religious groups, especially Amharas and Orthodox Christians.
Though there is no universal definition of terrorism, one that has been adopted by the UN in 1994 is:
“Acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them.” (Para. 3).
The Africa Union (AU) definition is very detailed. It comes from the Convention of the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, which has a long list of acts that constitute terrorism. Both the UN and AU definitions focus on non-state actors and exclude state sponsored terrorism or state terrorism:
“Governments are often the targets of terrorism, but they can also sponsor terrorists or use the tactics of terrorism. There are two broad definitions of ‘state-sponsored terrorism.’ One refers to governments that support or conduct terrorism against other governments. The other refers to governments that conduct terrorist acts against their own citizens.”
Terrorism is mostly transnational, as its threat is not directed against any particular country per se, but rather against a type of political system. In the case of extremists like the Islamic State (IS), the concept of a modern state is anathema, with the stated goal being the creation of a regional or global Muslim sphere of influence or caliphate. The major terrorist groups in Africa (i.e., Boko Haram, Al Queda, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQUIM), Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQUAP), Al Shabab, Lords Resistance Army in Uganda (LRA) and a few others, which I will be addressing in an upcoming article), have impacted regional peace and security and destabilized many governments, massacred hundreds of thousands of people and severely affected development in Africa. The impacted African countries include: Somalia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Chad, Kenya, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, Niger, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, many of the states in the Gulf of Guinea, DRC, and most recently Mozambique; with small presence in many other countries.
These organizations have developed the capacity of financing and recruiting in many parts of Africa through an elaborate extortion scheme, kidnapping, killings,bombings and drug and arms trafficking, taking advantage of porous borders, poverty and weak governance. Addressing terrorism requires institutional capacity, skills, training, regional and global coordination, persistent dialogue amongst the stakeholders, and unwavering commitment and vigilance.
Ethiopia has become a fertile place to recruit extremists and criminal gangs, intentionally or unintentionally inviting terrorist organizations already operating in the region, through the failure of the central government to govern by protecting the integrity and the unity of the people. Though, not included in the official definition of terrorism, this complacency and or complicity could be termed as state terrorism. While there is sufficient evidence to build a case to bring to justice the perpetrators of the horrendous crimes and genocide that have been committed over the last three decades, and particularly in the last two years, the state of Ethiopia can also be accused for aiding and abetting terrorists and their actions, thereby violating one of the key tenets of counter terrorism. Further investigation might eventually uncover the conspiracy between the state and non- state actors to fulfill the political agenda of external elements.
Government or “state” terror, sometimes referred to as “terror from above,” typically happens when a government terrorizes its own population to achieve a hidden political agenda. As revealed by the recent speech of the president of the Oromia region, Shimelis Abdissa, the regime in Ethiopia is aggressively following a policy of establishing an Oromo hegemony, making use of the official institutions, such as the judiciary, police, military, and other government agencies, spearheaded by a few in the top political leadership and non-state actors, particularly the ‘the kerros’ which Shimelis Abdisaa brazenly admitted in organizing. The “kerros “ are Ormo youth radicalized to conduct the mission of destroying churches killing Christians and Amharas In fact, the government has not even distanced itself from Abdissa’s statements pertaining to the overarching political agenda of Abiy’s government to crush the Amharas ad non-Oromos, and to establish Oromo supremacy.
Abdissa’s statement not only ignores to apologize the murder, massacre, torture and displacements that have taken place in the Oromia region, but it actually brazenly justifies it. Ominously, the shout for the blood of Christians and Amharas still reverberates across much of the Oromia region today. Like in the case of moderate Hutus in Rwanda, Oromos who are either Christians, or have assimilated in the Amhara culture, or have been married to non-Oromos, or are simply opposed to the whole idea of ethnic federalism, have also been killed, their properties destroyed, and thrown out of the region. This policy of ethnic cleansing of non Oromos rom Oromia region included the Gurages and Welayitas who are minorities but hard working people who have endured years of marginalization and oppression in the Oromia region.
After assuming power, the official Nazi policy was aimed at the deliberate destruction of “state enemies” and the resulting intimidation of the rest of the population. Stalin’s “purges” of the 1930s, Pol Pot’s massacre of the 1960s, and Mengistu’s Red Terror of the 1970s, are examples of using the machinery of the state to terrorize a population. Such terrorist acts are considered crimes against humanity and fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Crimes against humanity are acts directed against the civilian population on a widespread or systematic basis, either in time of war or in peacetime. Crimes against humanity have been defined differently according to the jurisdiction and context concerned. The “Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court for Crimes against humanity describes these crimes as crimes against humanity;
For the purpose of this Statute, “crime against humanity” means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack:
(a) Murder;
(b) Extermination;
(c) Enslavement;
(d) Deportation or forcible transfer of population;
(e) Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law;
(f) Torture;
(g) Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy,
enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of
comparable gravity;
(h) Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on
political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender as defined
in paragraph 3, or other grounds that are universally recognized as
impermissible under international law, in connection with any act
referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction of
the Court;
(i) Enforced disappearance of persons;
(j) The crime of apartheid;
(k) Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical Health.
2. For the purpose of paragraph 1:
(a) “Attack directed against any civilian population” means a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of acts referred to in paragraph 1 against any civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack”
The current PM was once a senior member of the EPRDF, and chief of the government security agency responsible for the detention of thousands of activists and opposition groups who faced years of detention and despicable torture. As one who believes in ethnic politics, he was actually put to power by the extremist Oromo nationalists to implement a policy that continues to promote, as revealed by Shimeles Abdissa, the partitioning of Ethiopia along ethnic lines, with the Oromo elites at the helm of power.
In Ethiopia that ethnic line and boundary had been blurred by years of peaceful coexistence. What the country needed at this historic junction was to address the grievances of the Oromos and other ethnic groups through peaceful reforms that could bring about a non-ethnic federal system, effectively decentralizing power and enhancing peaceful coexistence. Through his silence and/or complicity, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia today is untying the very fabric that had strengthened the ties that bound the people together for centuries. Religious, ethnic and cultural tolerance, and systematic reforms that come from the people through direct consultation, were what were expected from a leader in these times of crisis, instead of fanning the flames. Abiy Ahmed refused to change the constitution, which created an ethno-centric government, and a system of ethnic federalism drafted by the TPLF-led EPRDF, which he voluntarily joined and
enthusiastically supported. With the TPLF gone, he had the perfect opportunity and the overwhelming support of the people to change Ethiopia to a non-ethnic based federal arrangement. His failure to do so, and his tolerance of the proliferation of hate and divisive propaganda through the communication infrastructure controlled by the government, have led to a political crisis which has become complex with too many internal and external players.
The country is now on the verge of exploding. Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed was not able or willing to deliver what he promised to the Ethiopian people through his eloquent speeches. All those colorful speeches of peace love and freedom have now been confirmed to be smokescreens for a hidden agenda of promoting Oromo supremacism, as suspected by Ethiopians more recently and boldly and arrogantly confirmed by Shimeles Abdissa. Abiy Ahmed’s silence and complicity in the face of the premeditated killings of Christians, burning of churches, and prevalence of lawlessness across Ethiopia has brought the country to the brinks once again.
The very people who brought him to power and the party and ‘the kerros’ he leads have slaughtered Christians belonging to the Orthodox Church in the most gruesome way. Orthodox churches were burned down and desecrated. No African country has experienced such gruesome murders in recent years as has been witnessed in the Oromia region where innocent civilians were brutally massacred for either being Christians or Amharas or both, or for being either assimilated in the Amhara culture, or for opposing the actions of the Ormo extremists. Poor helpless people were massacred and their bodies dragged and body parts thrown all over, with family members not allowed to pick the pieces and give their brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers a decent burial ceremony. Properties belonging to many Amharas and Christians, Gurages and Welayitas were systematically destroyed without the intervention of the Prime Minister and the federal or local troops who were at the sites. Internet was shut down for a month in the entire country. Only now the world is getting glimpses of horrific images and stories of what really happened in Ethiopia in the month of July of 2020.
To the dismay of Ethiopians, the PM chose to keep quiet, not condemning those who committed these atrocious crimes, or assuming accountability for these vicious actions. He has yet to send condolences to the families who have been the victims of this genocide.
Ironically, these crimes are happening in Ethiopia in 2020 with no lessons learnt from the last genocide in Africa: The Rwandan genocide of 1994 after which the world premised Never Again! As the international community begins to understand the scope and gravity of these crimes, nothing is going to stop the campaigns to raise awareness until justice is served. Most importantly, the people of Ethiopia will continue to push for the world to recognize these actions as state terrorism, as Ethiopians prepare themselves present their cases to the ICC for what they are: genocide and crimes against humanity.
If people are effectively excluded from determining their future; and people are killed for who they are, for what they believe in, for their ideology or advocacy for equality and justice, then the state has become a terrorist organization. The Ethiopian state is conducting state terrorism, similar to the South African government during the era of apartheid. The policy of apartheid was state terrorism. And it was the resistance to this state terrorism that created the insurgency led by the African National Congress (ANC). The ANC was however declared a terrorist organization by the USA and continued to provide support in all spheres to the South African government which considered by law the blacks as inferior to whites. Indeed, the ethnic federalism of Ethiopia is very much alike to the apartheid policy of bantustanization.
The state in Ethiopia has used violence and extra judicial killings and detentions to coerce compliance with the wishes of the state. In some cases, the state has enabled a few extremists to instill fear in the general population, destroying, killing and looting Amharas and believers of the Orthodox church. A senior TPLF leader once publicly stated that the destruction of the Amharas and the Orthodox Church was a prime policy of the TPLF. Evidently, this ideology has been elevated to a different level under the premiership of Abiy Ahmed, as he strives to achieve his concealed objective of Oromo supremacy.
The crack in Ethiopian unity along religious and ethnic lines and the lawlessness across the country has also opened up the way to the Muslim extremists like al Al Shabab and IS to declare war on Ethiopia. On two occasions IS has publicly stated that it has started operating in Ethiopia with exclusive intention of establishing an Islamic Republic and exterminating Christians. This has added a new dimension to the ongoing state terrorism, as Ably Ahmed continues to downplay the role of Islamist extremists in the recent genocide. But almost all of Ethiopian Muslims would never allow such extremism to operate I the land where Prophet Mohamed declared as a peaceful land. According By Br. Najib Mohammed (written in EAL Selamta Magazine)
“In Islamic history and tradition, Ethiopia (Abyssinia or Al-Habasha) is known as the “Haven of the First Migration or Hijra.” For Muslims, Ethiopia is synonymous with freedom from persecution and emancipation from fear…..Ethiopia was a land where its king, Negus or Al-Najashi, was a person renowned for justice and in whose land human rights were cherished.” That is what both Christians and Muslims have tried to achieve in the centuries of peaceful coexistence that has been referred as a model to the rest of the world. Ethiopians are determined to keep it that way.
In law there is no difference between international terrorism and domestic terrorism. Domestic terrorism can take place by either state actors or government sponsored operations. Both are happening in Ethiopia. The government has used incarcerations, torture, massacre and different subtle and not so subtle means to implement a policy of ethnic cleansing or weakening of the powers and influence of the more than 70 ethnic groups in Ethiopia.
It is true that governments have the responsibility to maintain law and order and in the process use certain tactics that are violent or acts that deny the rights of a citizen. Prohibition of demonstrations, suppression of freedom of expression, and detaining violent and dangerous individuals and groups of people are sometimes essential when the intent is to protect the interest of the larger community and bring about civil order. But what happens in Ethiopia is not being done in a manner that the domestic or international law prescribes. The state takes these brutal actions, genocide and crimes against humanity with the specific intent of achieving the above-stated political objectives. This is stateterrorism, as described elsewhere:
“A defining feature of state terrorism, and that which distinguishes it from other forms of state violence, is that it involves the illegal targeting of individuals that the state has a duty to protect with the aim of instilling fear in a target audience beyond the direct victim. …… When non-state
actors use violence to intimidate an audience beyond the direct victim of that violence, we refer to it as terrorism. Yet there has been considerable resistance within International Relations scholarship to the notion that states can be perpetrators of terrorism, even though the vast majority of state violence, particularly against domestic populations, is intended to
have a terrorizing effect, and results in far higher casualties than non- state terrorism does. It is frequently assumed that because the existence of the state is based on its monopoly of coercive power, there is a fundamental difference between terrorism perpetrated by non-state actors, and violence perpetrated by the state. In other words, states are permitted to use violence, so we should not refer to their use of violence as terrorism. Non-state actors, on the other hand, are afforded no such right in pursuit of their political objectives hence we refer to their actions as terrorism. There are two significant problems with these assumptions. Firstly, terrorism and state violence are being differentiated on the basis of who the perpetrator of the act is, rather than on the nature of the act itself. Secondly, it incorrectly assumes that because the state has a monopoly on violence, any use of violence by the state is permissible. I will show that definitions of terrorism should be based on the nature of the act, and not the actor, and that on these grounds, there is no reason why actions by the state cannot be labeled as terrorism, if those acts fit the definition. I will then demonstrate that just because the state claims a monopoly on the use of violence in the interests of its survival, this does not mean that all forms of state violence are legitimate.”
Evidently, global diplomacy these days has shrunk to regional diplomacy; and the watchdog of global peace and security has relegated its powers to the key regional players. The Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia and UAE, in partnership with Egypt, have taken the lead role in shaping the destiny of the countries in the Horn of Africa, as they are trying to do in North Africa, Libya, Yemen, Lebanon Iraq and Syria.
Abiy Ahmed’s willingness to sideline the AU and sign a peace agreement with Eritrea in the palace of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is ground for suspicion. The reasons as to why Abiy became a frequent flyer to Saudi Arabia and UAE is not much known. However, it is further evidence, coupled with his inactions in the face of genocide, about his long-term vision of strengthening Oromo supremacy, while annihilating Orthodox Christianity, as was well articulated by Shimeles Abdissa.
To date, the ICC has opened investigations into 11 situations: (1) the Democratic Republic of the Congo; (2) Uganda; (3) the Central African Republic I; (4) Darfur,Sudan; (5) Kenya; (6) Libya; (7) Côte d’Ivoire; (8) Mali; (9) the Central African Republic II; (10) Georgia; and (11) Burundi. The ICC has publicly indicted 44 people. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for 36 individuals and summonses to eight others. Six persons are in detention. Proceedings against 22 are ongoing: 15 are at large as fugitives, one is under arrest but not in the Court’s custody, two are in the pre-trial phase, and four are at trial. Proceedings against 22 have been completed: two are serving sentences, four have finished their sentences, two have been acquitted, six have had the charges against them dismissed, two have had the charges against them withdrawn, one has had his case declared inadmissible, and four have died before trial.
In the face state terrorism, which has recently manifested itself in the July genocide, the only salvation for Ethiopians is fighting for justice at the ICC, indicting and convicting the perpetrators of these crimes. This will deter further bloodshed and dampen the continued turmoil in Ethiopia. It will also teach future leaders that they too will be held accountable unless they are led by the will of the people. Abiy’s persistent lies to himself and to Ethiopians; his penchant to collect people who are ‘yes’ people around him; his demand for constant adulation; his inability to be challenged or questioned; his lack of compassion to those dying and suffering; his grandiose behavior, which makes himself, not the country, the center of his life; are all reminiscent of characteristics of dictators before him, who committed egregious crimes against humanity to advance evil agendas and eventually ousted ignominiously. Whether it is Nazism, communism or Oromo supremacism, the crimes committed against humanity to achieve their objectives can only be redressed at the ICC. Since the dead, the displaced and the imprisoned cannot find justice at home; the international institutions established for this purpose should pick up the Case of Ethiopians Against State Terrorism.
Prime Minster Abiy should take notice of the advice of Matshona Dhliwayo, author of Lalibela’s Wiseman, who counseled: “If you wear a mask for too long, there will come a time when you cannot remove it without removing your face.” At no time was this duplicity of the prime minister clearer than when he recently launched his diversionary tactic, showcasing the grand projects in the capital city, only weeks after the ghastly genocide took place in the Oromia region, and days after the illuminating statements of Shimeles Abdissa were leaked through the popular media. Such diversionary tactics are, of course subtle tools of dictators who are known to use grand projects and made-up stories as smokescreens for their evil agendas. The inaugural documentary on parks and the antique car shows hosted by Abiy Ahmed remind one of Mussolini’s impressive square, named Forum Imperii. Stalin used the Great Purge to eliminate his enemies. Eskinder Nega and other innocent Ethiopians became sacrificial lambs to advance Oromo extremist agendas. And so history will keep repeating itself.
Dawit W. Giorgis is a visiting Scholar at Boston University, Africa Studies Center and Executive Director for The Africa Strategic and Security Studies (AISSS)
9 Responses to "State Terrorism in Ethiopia (Dawit W. Giorgis)"
Kessuma August 16, 2020 at 11:20 am
I wonder if Dr. Abiy’s government is 1/100th time terrorist than that of the very Derg junta that you were part of and willingly and forcefully supported to destroy our youth in the 70’s.
Alem August 16, 2020 at 9:03 pm
As the founding member of the notorious Derg regime Major Dawit is the last person to lecture us on terror. He is trying to promote Amhara nationalism in the guise of fighting terrorism (just read several of his articles).
Jitumma August 16, 2020 at 10:15 pm
Sooner or later Jawar will walk free with his head held up high because Jawar is innocent , many people are jealous of him especially Bekele Gerba is jealous of Jawar since Jawar became Oromo by merit , With Jawar dedicating himself to work closely with Abiy and Lemma in many timely sensitive issues such as the Oromo’s questions which Bekele Gerba did not get a chance to discuss with the governmental Oromo elites in a caliber Jawar did address it. Abiy knows perfectly that Jawar’s only crime is giving permission to Lemma Megersa to install a generator and satellite security system in Jawar’s residence. Besides that Jawar is a victim taken hostge by a mob of Querro Oromos led by Bekele Gerba who were ready to kill him for being Amara by birth, to save his life from Bekele Gerba in a desperate move Jawar run into Prosperity Party’s office in Addis Ababa because Jawar knew no police or other governmental security were trying to rescue Hachalu Hundessa’s body or no other securities were trying to save him from the Querro mob who took him hostage along with the corpse of Hachalu Hundessa. The Querro led by the Oromo Bekele Gerba tried to capture Jawar but Jawar managed to hide inside the Prosperity Party’s Addis Ababa office.
Lemma signed the order to install a home security satellite alarm system which the Federal Government security details can use to easily monitor “Jawar’s safety” so if possessing these satellite in a residence is a huge crime it is Lemma who is responsible for allowing that , not the unsuspecting victim Jawar Mohammed who cooperated with the federal government’s request to get install the satellite in his home.
Royal August 16, 2020 at 10:51 pm
Although hardly agree with ዳዊት and find it half-comical that a former ደርግ (Oromo: Dergii) official and advisor to Colonel መንግስቱ ኃይለ ማርያም lecturing Ethiopians about good governance, he is nonetheless an expert on the subject of State Terrorism in Ethiopia precisely because he used to be an official of one of the most terrorist governments in the history of Ethiopia. However, Dawit W. Giorgis, who is now a Visiting Scholar at Boston University’s Africa Studies Center and Executive Director for The Africa Strategic and Security Studies ( AISSS), is much more scholarly and research-based analyst than the pure ሰኞ ጠዋት ቱልቱላ ነፊወች። The verse from ‘Lalibela’s Wiseman’ “If you wear a mask for too long, there will come a time when you cannot remove it without removing your face” not sure applicable for Abiy but certainly applies to a lot of people who are circling the wagon today.
Observer August 16, 2020 at 10:52 pm
Abiy is caught between a rock and hard place because the Qeerros are not necessarily into him as you imagine. In fact the only person that’s standing between them and the rest of Ethiopia is Abiy at this time. Wonder who else in Ethiopia could stop them if it was not for ABIY. In a new publication Girma Gutema, the former Executive Director of OMN-Addis Ababa mentions that Prime Minister Abiy’s attitude toward Hachalu (a member of the original Qeerro) saying that “in a book titled “The Hijacked Revolution” written by an anonymous author (pen name: Mudhin Siraj) and published about a year before Hachalu’s assassination—on page 109 of the book, the author recounts how Hachalu was summoned to the prime minister’s office for a ten-minute lecture. It was not a dialogue, but a stern ‘executive order’ in which Abiy told Hachalu in no uncertain terms that: …the Oromo political struggle is over. The country is now being led by an Oromo Prime Minister and, therefore, you shouldn’t dare to produce any music work which opposes my government. If you obey this strict order, we can fulfil all your material needs. But if you defy, I will not tolerate you even for a single day. Whether you like it or not, I [Abiy Ahmed] will remain leader of this country for at least the next ten years”.
So Fact check: Despite the recent tragedy by a few bad apples , the Qeerroos (down down woyane) brought down the TPLF and help ushered in this new era that all of Ethiopia is enjoying today. The Abiy owes his power to the Qeerroos not the other-way around as suggested here.
Meknonen August 17, 2020 at 2:56 am
Sir, thank you, thank you so much for your article, you have put all what we have witnessed and outraged and confounded by and more in these past two years together. Well, it is very important now to call a spade a spade and declare outright – on the basis of exhaustive evidence – that Abiy Ahmed’s Ethiopian government is nothing more than a terrorist state. One would wish to say more, but there is very little to add, you have said it all – and we are profoundly grateful to you, thanks again.
Shenkut,Phd August 17, 2020 at 9:58 am
Dawit W. Giorgis was a part and parcel of ashebariw, terrorist regime, Derg, en sew belaw Derge whose leader was Mengistu Halemariam, Chirak, Monster, Man-eater!
And he is telling us about terrorism. Jib bemayawukut ager hido kurbet lemene aluu ???
ሀጫሉ August 18, 2020 at 12:06 am
Dawit W Giorgis was a high ranking member of the Derg communist regime in Ethiopia that terrorized the Eritrean people through mass killings, torture and imprisonment. While the world awaits a repentance to his past terrorist activities, he’s trying to absolve accountability for his crimes against humanity by accusing others of the same crimes he had committed. It sounds like he received money from TPLF to do their bidding. He’s a conman squeezing money out of the dying TPLF.
Senex August 18, 2020 at 12:14 am
This article is filled with false allegation is undermining our beloved PM Dr Abiy Ahmed a true son of Ethiopia, a visionary selfless leader. You have the gut to call him terrorist, really Dr Abiy Terrorist !!! if Dr Abiy is a terrorist then what word will best qualify you and your Derg Regime? I leave the judgment to the family of the millions of innocent Ethiopians that paid the highest price for no reason (including my dad) during the Derg Regime.
You know Shaleka Dawit, after reading your article, I truly blamed Col Mengistu Haile Mariam for letting you flee the country in 1985. Since then you have been a continuous nuisance to Ethiopians. to the At your age, one expects you to stand for peace and advocate for unity. Here you are again spreading poisonous messages and embracing yourself. This kind of allegation has no place in Ethiopia.
Shame on you !!! |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Hello, well I ve recently discovered this bump on my head. I ve also had symptoms that I think are linked to it. I ve heard cracking in my head like my bones are splitting, I ve felt heat in my head & my eyes, and my stomach & torso. I ve had indigestion & head pains and some gradual chest pains. I ve seen my doctor about this & he said he couldn t feel a lump but it s clearly protruding. He prescribed me naproxen & said come back if it doesn t work. I even had to go to the er before I could get a doctor s appointment & they couldn t find anything wrong. I m just worried it could be something very life threatning. output: Hi!, I would like to summarize your case first like this:Your feel a bump on the head which is recent, protruding and is associated with heat in eyes/head, stomach, torso and cracking sensations, gradual chest pain, indigestion etc...but doctor fails to identify i; it is resistant to analgesics... Therefore, I must suggest few possibilities in this case:1. A neurofibroma2. Metastatic cancer3. Neuropsychiatric problem Therefore please see a neurologist as most of the symptoms are related to nerves and get x-ray or CT scan of the region for a diagnosis;regards!. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: What kind of information can be found about Hepatocellular adenoma? output: The risk factor for malignant transformation of hepatic adenoma to hepatocellular carcinoma is:
Gender (men) Size (> 8 cm) Subtype (beta-catenin -activated HCA) |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: I have 11 year old daughter that is experiencing almost nightly headaches, stomach aches, hot/cold, leg pains that are making it difficult to fall asleep. After a while of trying to fall asleep, she gets what I feel is anxious and then gets a racing heart. We have tried over the counter pain medicine. I feel that after a while she just gets exhausted enough that she falls asleep. output: Hi, the symptoms of headache interrupting her sleep along with leg pains and stomach pain might be a serious condition. The child will require a full neurological examination to look for focal deficit and a good history of the type of headache, associated aura, familial or not, unilateral or over full cranium, duration, aggravating factors, relieving factors. Get an neurologist opinion and get an EEG, X-ray of sinuses, BP, Funds examination for raised intracranial tension. A neuroimaging of brain in form of CENT or MRI brain might be required later. Right now give her symptomatic treatment in form of tablet Ibuprofen along with Tab Steel. And consult a Neurologist asap. Thanks and regards.. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Hello. am 23 years old.I was been said that fibrocystic disease.I have pain in both breast. I want to know that if fibrocystic disease have any relation to breast cancer?and what is fibrocystic disease.I have done x-ray , mammogram , ultra sound scan.in ultra sound scan reported that both mammary glands show mild fibroadenotic changes of parenchyma output: These are non-cancerous in nature, so please do not worry. You have already done mammography and sonography, and they also support your diagnosis. Risk of cancer is there but very small fraction, only thing sometime it may be difficult to diagnose in presence of fibrotic disease. For pain local or systemic analgesic may be used, and treatment option are few but may be dopamine agonist and progestins. Take care Good luck. |
\section{Introduction}
\label{intro}
The essential achievements in nanoscience and nanotechnology during the past
decade lead to great interest in studying nanoscale optical fields. The
phenomenon of surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of
radiation (spaser) was proposed in Ref.~\onlinecite{Bergman_Stockman} (see
also Refs.~\onlinecite{Stockman_review,Protsenko}). Spaser generates
coherent high-intensity fields of selected surface plasmon (SP) modes that
can be strongly localized on the nanoscale. The properties of localized
plasmons are reviewed in Refs.
\onlinecite{Agranovich,Klyuchnik,Zayats,Bozhevolnyi}. The spaser consists of
an active medium formed by two-level systems (semiconductor quantum dots
(QDs) or organic molecules) and a plasmon resonant nanosystem where the
surface plasmons are excited. The emitters transfer their excitation energy
by radiationless transitions through near fields to a resonant plasmon
nanosystem.
By today theoretical and experimental studies are focused on
metal-based spasers, where surface plasmons are excited in different
metallic nanostructures of different geometric shapes. A spaser
consisted of the nanosystem formed by the V-shaped silver
nanoinclusion embedded in a dielectric host with the embedded PbS
and PbSe QDs was considered ~in Ref. \cite{Bergman_Stockman}.
A spaser formed by a silver spherical nanoshell on a
dielectric core with a radius of $10-20\ \mathrm{nm}$, and
surrounded by two dense monolayers of nanocrystal QDs was
considered in Ref.~\onlinecite{Stockman}. The SPs propagating along
the bottom of a groove (channel) in the metal surface were studied
in Ref.~\onlinecite{Lisyansky}. The SPs are assumed to be coherently
excited by a linear chain of QDs at the bottom of the channel. It
was shown that for realistic values of the system parameters, gain
can exceed loss and plasmonic lasing in
a ring or linear channels in the silver surface
surrounded by a linear chain of CdSe QDs can occur. In Refs.
\cite{Andrianov_ol,Andrianov_oe,Andrianov_prb1,Andrianov_prb2} the
spaser formed by the metal sphere surrounded by the two-level
quantum dot was studied theoretically. The spaser consisting of the
spherical gain core, containing two-level systems, coated with a
metal spherical plasmonic shell was theoretically analyzed in Ref.
\cite{Baranov}. The experimental study of the spaser formed by $44
\ \mathrm{nm}$ diameter nanoparticles with the gold spherical core surrounded
by dye-doped silica shell was performed in
Refs.~\cite{Noginov_2007,Noginov}. In this experiment the emitters
were formed by dye-doped silica shell instead of QDs. It was
demonstrated that a two-dimensional array of a certain class of
plasmonic resonators supporting coherent current excitations with
high quality factor can act as a planar source of spatially and
temporally coherent radiation~\cite{Zheludev}. This structure
consists of a gain medium slab supporting a regular array of
silver asymmetric split-ring resonators. The spaser formed by $55\ \mathrm{n
}$-thick gold film with the nano-slits located on the silica
substrate surrounded by PbS QDs was experimentally studied in
Ref.~\onlinecite{Plum}. Room temperature spasing of surface plasmon
polaritons at $1.46\ \mathrm{\mu m}$ wavelength has been
demonstrated by sandwiching a gold-film plasmonic
waveguide between optically pumped InGaAs quantum-well gain media~\cit
{Flynn}.
Since plasmons can be excited also in graphene, and damping in
graphene is much less than in
metals~~\cite{Varlamov,Falkovsky_prb,Falkovsky_conf}, we propose to
use graphene nanoribbon surrounded by semiconductor QDs as the
nanosystem for the spaser. Plasmons in graphene provide a suitable
alternative to plasmons in noble metals, because they exhibit much
tighter confinement and relatively long propagation distances, with
the advantage of being highly tunable via electrostatic
gating~\cite{Koppens}. Besides, the graphene-based spaser can work
in THz frequency regime. Recently there were many experimental and
theoretical studies devoted to graphene known by
unusual properties in its band structure~\cite{Castro_Neto_rmp,Das_Sarma_rmp
. The properties of plasmons in graphene were discussed in Refs.~\cit
{Hwang_Das_Sarma,Lozovik_u,Mikhailov,Geim_plasmons}. The electronic
properties of graphene nanoribbons depend strongly on their size and
geometry~\cite{Brey_Fertig_01,Brey_Fertig}. The frequency spectrum
of oblique terahertz plasmons in graphene nanoribbon arrays was obtained~\cit
{Popov}. Besides, graphene-based spaser seems to meet the new
technological needs, since it works at the infrared (IR)
frequencies, while the metal-based spaser works at the higher
frequencies. Let us mention that the graphene-based photonic two-
and one-dimensional crystals proposed in Refs.~\onlinecite{BBKKL,BK}
also can be used effectively as the frequency filters and waveguides
for the far infrared region of electromagnetic spectrum.
In this Paper we propose the graphene nanoribbon based spaser
consisting of a graphene nanoribbon surrounded by semiconductor QDs.
The QDs excited by the laser pumping nonradiatively transfer their
excitation to the SPs localized at the graphene nanoribbon, which
results in an increase of intensity of the SP field. We calculate
the minimal population inversion that is the difference between the
surface densities of QDs in the excited and ground states needed for
the net SP amplification and study its dependence on the surface
plasmon wavevector, graphene nanoribbon width at fixed temperature
for different doping and damping parameters for the armchair
graphene nanoribbon.
The paper is organized in the following way. In Sec.~\ref{dev} the minimal
population inversion for the graphene-based spaser is obtained. The
discussion of the results and conclusions follow in Sec.~\ref{disc}.
\section{Surface plasmon amplification}
\label{dev}
The system under consideration is the graphene nanoribbon, which is
the stripe of graphene at $z=0$ in the plane $(x,y)$, that is
infinite in $x$ direction and has the width $W$ in $y$ direction.
This stripe is surrounded by the deposited dense manolayers of
nanocrystal quantum dots with the dielectric constant $\varepsilon
_{d}$ at $z<0$ and $z>0$. When the quantum dots are optically
pumped, the resonant nonradiative transmission occurs by creating a
surface plasmon localized in the graphene nanoribbon. Our goal is to
show that amplification by QDs can exceed absorption of the surface
plasmon in the graphene nanoribbon. As a result we obtain an
increase of intensity of the surface plasmon field. In other words,
the competition between gain and loss of the surface plasmon field
in the graphene nanoribbon will result in favor of the gain.
Below we derive the expression for the minimal population inversion
per unit area $N_{c}$, needed for the net amplification of SPs in a
doped graphene nanoribbon from the condition that for the regime of
the plasmon amplification the rate $\partial \bar{U}/\partial t$ of
the transfer of the average energy of the QDs is greater than the
heat released per unit time $\partial Q/\partial t$ due to the
absorption of the energy of the plasmon field in the graphene
nanoribbon.
Let us start from the Poynting theorem for the rate of the
transfer of the energy density from a region of space $\partial \mathcal{W
/\partial t=-\mathrm{div}\vec{S}$, where $\vec{S}$ is the Poynting
vector and assume that the plasmon frequency equals the QD
transition frequency. From the other side the rate of the
transferred energy related to the rates of the average energy of the
QDs and the heat released due to the absorption of the energy by the
graphene nanoribbon can be presented as
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{wuq}
-\frac{\partial }{\partial t}\int \mathcal{W}dV=\frac{\partial \bar{U}}
\partial t}-\frac{\partial Q}{\partial t}\ ,
\end{eqnarray}
where $V$ is the volume of the system. Therefore, from the Poynting
theorem we have the following expression
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{S01}
\int \nabla \cdot \vec{S}dV=\frac{\partial \bar{U}}{\partial t}-\frac
\partial Q}{\partial t}\ \ .
\end{eqnarray}
Let us consider now each term in the left hand side
of Eq.~(\ref{S01}) separately. The excitation
causing the generation of plasmons in the graphene nanoribbon comes
from the transitions in the QDs between the excited and ground
states. The average
energy $\bar{U}$ of the QDs characterized by the dipole moment is given by
\cite{Tamm}
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{uav1} \bar{U}=\frac{1}{2}\int \vec{P}\cdot \vec{E}dV\ ,
\end{eqnarray}
where $\vec{E}$ is the electric field of the graphene nanoribbon
plasmon, and $\vec{P}$ is the polarization of QDs, which is the
average total dipole moment of the unit of the volume $V$. When the
plasmon frequency $\omega $ equals the QD transition frequency, and,
$\vec{E}\sim \exp (-i\omega t)$ and $\vec{P}\sim \exp (-i\omega t)$,
the relation between the polarization of QDs $\vec{P}$ and electric
field of the graphene nanoribbon plasmon $\vec{E}$ has the
form~\cite{Lisyansky}
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{Lis} \vec{P}=-ik\frac{\tau _{p}|\mu |^{2}n_{0}}{\hbar
}\vec{E}\ ,
\end{eqnarray}
where $k=9\times 10^{9}\ \mathrm{N\times m^{2}/C^{2}}$, $n_{0}$ is
the difference between the concentrations of quantum dots in the
excited and ground states, $\tau _{p}$ is the inverse line width,
and $\mu $ is the average off-diagonal element of the dipole moment
of a single QD.
Substituting Eq.~(\ref{Lis}) into Eq.~(\ref{uav1}), we obtain the rate of
the transfer of the average energy of the QDs
\begin{eqnarray} \label{uav11}
\frac{\partial \bar{U}}{\partial t} = \int \omega \mathrm{Im} \left(\vec{E
\cdot\vec{P}^{\ast}\right) d V = \omega k\frac{\tau _{p}|\mu |^{2}}{\hbar
\int n_{0} |\vec{E}|^{2} d V \ .
\end{eqnarray}
We assume that the distances between the quantum dots are small, so
their effect on a plasmon is the same as that of a continuous
(constant) gain distribution along the graphene nanoribbon. We
consider the two-dimensional graphene nanoribbon at $z=0$ and assume
it is infinite in $x$ direction, has the width $W$ in $y$ direction
and therefore, $n_{0}=N_{0}\eta (y,-W/2,W/2)\delta (z)$, where
$N_{0}$ is the difference between the numbers of the excited and
ground state quantum dots per unit area of the graphene nanoribbon,
and $\eta (y,-W/2,W/2)=1$ at $-W/2\leq y\leq W/2$, $\eta
(y,-W/2,W/2)=0$ at $y<-W/2$ and $y>W/2$. Then, taking into account
mentioned above, we obtain from Eq.~(\ref{uav11})
\begin{eqnarray}\label{dudt}
\frac{\partial \bar{U}}{\partial t} &=&\omega k\frac{\tau _{p}|\mu |^{2}}
\hbar }\int_{-\infty }^{+\infty }dx\int_{-\infty }^{+\infty }dy\int_{-\infty
}^{+\infty }dzN_{0}\eta (y,-W/2,W/2)\delta (z)|\vec{E}(x,y,z)|^{2}=
\nonumber \label{uav111} \\
&=&\omega k\frac{\tau _{p}|\mu |^{2}N_{0}}{\hbar }\int_{-W/2}^{+W/2}d
\int_{-\infty }^{+\infty }dx|\vec{E}(x,y,0)|^{2}\ .
\end{eqnarray
Taking into account the spatial dispersion of the dielectric
function in the graphene
nanoribbon~\cite{Brey_Fertig_01,Brey_Fertig}, we use the following
expression for the rate of the heat $\partial Q/\partial t$
released due to the absorption of the energy of the plasmon field in
the graphene nanoribbon~\cite{Agranovich,Landau}
\begin{eqnarray} \label{uav2}
\frac{\partial Q}{\partial t} &=& \int \omega \mathrm{Im} \varepsilon
\omega,q_{x})\eta(y,-W/2,W/2)|\vec{E}|^{2} d V \nonumber \\
&=& \omega \mathrm{Im} \varepsilon(\omega,q_{x}) \int_{-\infty}^{+\infty} d
x \int_{-W/2}^{+W/2} d y \int_{-\infty}^{+\infty} d z |\vec{E}(x,y,z)|^{2} \
.
\end{eqnarray}
where $\mathrm{Im} \varepsilon(\omega,q_{x})$ is the imaginary part of the
dielectric function $\varepsilon(\omega,q_{x})$ of graphene nanoribbon given
by Eq.~(\ref{epsilon}).
The plasmons in a graphene nanoribbon are excited due to the
radiation caused by the transitions from the excited state to the
ground state on the QDs. Therefore, according to the conservation of
energy, the regime of the amplification of the plasmons in the
graphene nanoribbon is established, if the rate of the transfer of
the average energy $\partial \bar{U}/\partial t$ of the QDs
given by Eq.~(\ref{dudt}) is greater than the heat
released rate $\partial Q/\partial t$ due to the absorption of the
energy of the plasmon field in the graphene nanoribbon:
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{ineq} \frac{\partial \bar{U}}{\partial t}>\frac{\partial
Q}{\partial t}\ .
\end{eqnarray}
Substituting Eqs.~(\ref{uav111}) and~(\ref{uav2}) into Eq.~(\ref{ineq}), we
get
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{comb}\omega k\frac{\tau _{p}|\mu |^{2}N_{0}}{\hbar }\int_{-W/2}^{+W/2}dy\int_{
\infty }^{+\infty }dx|\vec{E}(x,y,0)|^{2}>\omega \mathrm{Im}\varepsilon
(\omega ,q_{x})\int_{-\infty }^{+\infty }dx\int_{-W/2}^{+W/2}dy\int_{-\infty
}^{+\infty }dz|\vec{E}(x,y,z)|^{2}\ .
\end{eqnarray}
From Eq.~(\ref{comb}), one can obtain the condition for the
difference between the surface densities of the quantum dots in the
excited and ground state corresponding to the amplification of
plasmons:
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{N0} N_{0}>N_{c}=\frac{\mathrm{Im}\varepsilon (\omega
,q_{x})\int_{-\infty
}^{+\infty }dx\int_{-W/2}^{+W/2}dy\int_{-\infty }^{+\infty }dz|\vec{E
(x,y,z)|^{2}}{k\frac{\tau _{p}|\mu |^{2}}{\hbar }\int_{-\infty
}^{+\infty }dx\int_{-W/2}^{+W/2}dy|\vec{E}(x,y,0)|^{2}}\ ,
\end{eqnarray}
where $N_{c}$ is the critical density of the QDs required for the
amplification of the plasmons. The evaluation of the integrals in
Eq.~(\ref{N0}) requires the knowledge of the electric field of a
plasmon in a graphene nanoribbon. The electric field of a plasmon in
a graphene nanoribbon is derived in Appendix~\ref{ap.el}. Using
Eq.~(\ref{E}) for the electric field of a plasmon, we have:
\begin{eqnarray} \label{E0}
|\vec{E}(x,y,0)|^{2}=E_{0}^{2}\left( 2q_{x}^{2}\cos
^{2}(q_{y}y)+q_{y}^{2}\right) \ ,
\end{eqnarray}
\begin{eqnarray} \label{Exyz}
|\vec{E}(x,y,z)|^{2}=E_{0}^{2}e^{-2\alpha |z|}\left( 2q_{x}^{2}\cos
^{2}(q_{y}y)+q_{y}^{2}\right) \ ,
\end{eqnarray}
where $\alpha =\sqrt{q_{x}^{2}+q_{y}^{2}}$ and for the armchair nanoribbon
we have $q_{yn}=2\pi /(3a_{0})\left( (2M+1+n)/(2M+1)\right) $ at the width
W=(3M+1)a_{0}$ \cite{Brey_Fertig_01}, where $a_{0}$ is the graphene
lattice constant, $M$ is the integer. We will use $n=1$.
Substituting Eqs.~(\ref{E0}) and~(\ref{Exyz}) into Eq.~(\ref{N0}),
we obtain
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{N01} N_{0}>N_{c}=\frac{2\hbar \mathrm{Im}\varepsilon (\omega
,q_{x})\int_{-\infty }^{+\infty
}dx\int_{-W/2}^{+W/2}dy\int_{0}^{+\infty }dze^{-2\alpha z}\left(
2q_{x}^{2}\cos ^{2}(q_{y}y)+q_{y}^{2}\right) }{k\tau _{p}|\mu
|^{2}\int_{-\infty }^{+\infty }dx\int_{-W/2}^{+W/2}dy\left(
2q_{x}^{2}\cos ^{2}(q_{y}y)+q_{y}^{2}\right) } \ .
\end{eqnarray}
Finally from Eq.~(\ref{N01}) we obtain
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{N02} N_{0}>N_{c}=\frac{\hbar \mathrm{Im}\varepsilon (\omega
,q_{x})}{\alpha k\tau _{p}|\mu |^{2}}\ .
\end{eqnarray}
Using Eqs.~(\ref{epsilon}) and (\ref{pi}) one can find $\mathrm{Im
\varepsilon (q_{x},\omega )$:
\begin{eqnarray} \label{ime}
\mathrm{Im}\varepsilon (q_{x},\omega
)=-\frac{V_{00}(q_{x})f_{1}(q_{x},\beta ,\mu )g_{s}v_{F}q_{x}\omega
\gamma }{\pi \hbar \left( \left( \omega
^{2}-v_{F}^{2}q_{x}^{2}\right) ^{2}+\omega ^{2}\gamma ^{2}\right) }
\ ,
\end{eqnarray}
where $v_{F}$ is the Fermi velocity of electrons in graphene. The
plasmon frequency $\omega$ can be obtained at $\gamma = 0$ from the
condition $\mathrm{Re} \varepsilon (q_{x},\omega) = 0$ using Eqs.~(\re
{epsilon}) and~(\ref{pi}):
\begin{eqnarray} \label{pl}
\omega^{2} = v_{F}^{2}q_{x}^{2} - \frac{V_{0,0}(q_{x})f_{1}(q_{x},\beta
\mu)g_{s}v_{F}q_{x}}{\pi\hbar} \ .
\end{eqnarray}
To perform the calculations, one should calculate the critical density $N_{c}
$ using Eq.~(\ref{N02}). $N_{c}$ is a function of the wave vector $q_{x}$,
the graphene nanoribbon width $W$, temperature $T$, and electron
concentration $n_{0}$ determined by the doping.
\section{Results and discussion}
\label{disc}
For our calculations we use the following parameters for the PbS and PbSe
QDs. Since the typical energy corresponding to the transition between the
ground and excited electron states for PbS and PbSe QDs synthesized with the
radii from $1 \ \mathrm{nm}$ to $8 \ \mathrm{nm}$ can be $0.7 \ \mathrm{eV}
, we use $\tau_{p} \approx 5.9 \ \mathrm{fs}$, and $|\mu| = 1.9 \times
10^{-17} \ \mathrm{esu} = 19 \ \mathrm{Debye}$ ($1 \ \mathrm{Debye} =
10^{-18} \ \mathrm{esu}$, $1 \ \mathrm{Debye} = 3.33564 \times 10^{-30} \
\mathrm{C\cdot m}$)~\cite{Stockman_QD}. Let us mention that the typical
frequency corresponding to the transition between the ground and excited
electron states for PbS and PbSe QDs, which is $f \approx 170 \ \mathrm{TH
}$, matches the resonance with the plasmon frequency in the armchair
graphene nanoribbon~\cite{Brey_Fertig}. Therefore, PbS and PbSe QDs can be
used for the spaser considered here. The damping in graphene $\gamma =
\tau^{-1}$ determined by $\tau$ is assumed to be either $\tau = 1 \ \mathrm
ps}$ or $\tau = 10 \ \mathrm{ps}$ or $\tau = 20 \ \mathrm{ps}$~\cit
{Neugebauer,Orlita,Dubinov,Emani}.
The dependence of the critical density of the QDs $N_{c}$ required for
the amplification of the signal on the wave vector $q_{x}$ for the
different doping electron densities $n_{0}$ at the fixed width of
the nanoribbon, temperature and dissipation time $\tau $
corresponding to the damping, obtained using Eq.~(\ref{N02}) is
presented in Fig.~\ref{Fig1}. According to Fig.~\ref{Fig1}, $N_{c}$
decreases as $q_{x}$ and $n_{0}$ increase. Let us mention that at
$q_{x}$ larger than $0.6\ \mathrm{nm^{-1}}$ there is almost no
difference between the values of $N_{c}$ corresponding to the
different doping electron densities $n_{0}$, and for large $q_{x}$
$N_{c} $ converges to approximately $18\ \mathrm{\mu m^{-2}}$. In
Fig. \ref{Fig2} the dependence of the critical density of the QDs
$N_{c}$ required for the amplification of the signal on the wave
vector $q_{x}$ for the different dissipation time corresponding to
the damping at the fixed width of the nanoribbon, temperature and
doping electron densities obtained using
Eq.~(\ref{N02}) is shown. As it follows from Fig.~\ref{Fig2}, $N_{c}$ decreases as
q_{x}$ and $\tau $ increase. This means that higher damping
corresponds to higher $N_{c}$. According to Fig.~\ref{Fig2},
starting with $q_{x}\approx 1.0\ \mathrm{(nm)^{-1}}$, $N_{c}$
depends very weakly on $q_{x}$, converging to some constant values
that depend on the value of $\tau $. The dependence of the critical
density of the QDs $N_{c}$ required for the amplification of the
signal on the width of the nanoribbon $W$ at the different wave
vector for the fixed dissipation time corresponding to the
damping,
temperature and doping electron densities obtained using Eq.~
\ref{N02}) is displayed in Fig.~\ref{Fig3}. From Fig.~\ref{Fig3} we
can conclude that $N_{c}$ increases as $W$ increases and decreases
as $q_{x}$
increases. When $W$ increases, the values of $N_{c}$ stronger depend on
q_{x}$. The dependence of the critical density of the QDs $N_{c}$
required for the amplification of the signal on the frequency $f$
at the different dissipation time corresponding to the damping for
the fixed temperature and doping electron density obtained using
Eq.~(\ref{N02}) is shown in Fig.~\ref{Fig4}. As it is demonstrated in Fig.
\ref{Fig4}, $N_{c}$ increases as $f$ and $\tau $ decrease. According
to Fig.~\ref{Fig4}, starting with $f \approx 140\ \mathrm{THz}$,
$N_{c}$ depends very weakly on frequency and converges to some
constant values that depend on the value of $\tau $. The dependence
of the plasmon frequency $f$ on the width of the nanoribbon $W$, for
the different wave vectors at the fixed dissipation time
corresponding to the damping,
temperature and doping electron density obtained using Eq.~(\re
{pl}) is presented in Fig.~\ref{Fig5}. According to Fig.~\ref{Fig5},
the plasmon frequency $f$ increases as $q_{x}$ increases and the
width of the nanoribbon $W$ decreases. If in Eq.~(\ref{N02}), the
imaginary part of the dielectric function would not depend on the
width $W$, $N_{c}$ would not depend on
$W$. However, due to the complicated dependence of $\mathrm
Im}\varepsilon (\omega ,q_{x})$ on $W$ through $V_{0,0}(q_{x})$
given by
Eq.~(\ref{V002}), this dependence exists. For the damping time we use
\tau =5\ \mathrm{ns}$, $\tau =10\ \mathrm{ns}$, and $\tau =20\
\mathrm{ns}$,
because such damping for graphene was obtained in the experimental studies
\cite{Neugebauer,Orlita,Dubinov,Emani}. One can conclude from Figs.~\re
{Fig2} and~\ref{Fig4}, that $N_{c}$ decreases when the damping time
$\tau $ increases.
\begin{figure}[tbp]
\includegraphics[width=10cm]{Fig1.eps}
\caption{The dependence of the critical density of the QDs $N_{c}$
required for the amplification of the signal on the wave vector
$q_{x}$ for the different doping electron densities $n_{0}$ at the
fixed width of the nanoribbon $W$, temperature $T$ and dissipation
time $\protect\tau$ corresponding to the damping.} \label{Fig1}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[tbp]
\includegraphics[width=10cm]{Fig2.eps}
\caption{The dependence of the critical density of the QDs $N_{c}$
required for the amplification of the signal on the wave vector
$q_{x}$ for the different dissipation time $\protect\tau$
corresponding to the damping at the fixed width of the nanoribbon
$W$, temperature $T$ and doping electron densitiy $n_{0}$.}
\label{Fig2}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[tbp]
\includegraphics[width=10cm]{Fig3.eps}
\caption{The dependence of the critical density of the QDs $N_{c}$
required for the amplification of the signal on the width of the
nanoribbon $W$ at
the different wave vector $q_{x}$ for the fixed dissipation time $\protec
\tau$ corresponding to the damping, temperature $T$ and doping electron
densities $n_{0}$.}
\label{Fig3}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[tbp]
\includegraphics[width=10cm]{Fig4.eps}
\caption{The dependence of the critical density of the QDs $N_{c}$
required for the amplification of the signal on the frequency $f$
at the different dissipation time $\protect\tau$ corresponding to
the damping for the fixed width $W$, temperature $T$ and doping
electron density $n_{0}$.} \label{Fig4}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[tbp]
\includegraphics[width=10cm]{Fig5.eps}
\caption{The dependence of the plasmon frequency $f$ on the width of
the nanoribbon $W$, for the different wave vectors $q_{x}$ at the
fixed dissipation time $\tau$ corresponding to the damping,
temperature $T$ and doping electron density $n_{0}$.} \label{Fig5}
\end{figure}
Let us mention that we used the parameters for PbS and PbSe QDs to
calculate $N_{c}$, because among different materials for the QDs the
PbS and PbSe QDs demonstrate the lowest transition
frequency~\cite{Auxier}, which can be in the resonance with the
plasmon in graphene nanoribbon in the IR region of spectrum.
According to Ref.~\onlinecite{Plum}, the transition frequency for
the QDs depends on the radius of the QDs. The PbS QDs with the radii
$2 \ \mathrm{nm}$---$5 \ \mathrm{nm}$ have the transition
frequencies $231$ and $194 \ \mathrm{THz}$~\cite{Plum}. For our
calculations we use PbS and PbSe QDs synthesized with the radii up
to $8 \ \mathrm{nm}$, which can provide the transition frequency $f
\approx 170 \ \mathrm{THz}$~\cite{Stockman_QD}. Let us mention that
changing the radius of the QDs, we can change the frequency of the
QDs resonant to the plasmon frequency in graphene nanoribbon
controlled by the wave vector $q_{x}$, and, therefore, we can
control $N_{c}$ by the radius of the $QDs$. The density of PbS QDs
with the diameter $3.2 \ \mathrm{nm}$ applied for the amplification
of plasmons in a gold film in the experiment~\cite{Plum} was $4\times 10^{6} \ \mathrm
\mu m^{-2}}$. According to Figs.~\ref{Fig1}-\ref{Fig4}, in the
graphene nanoribbon-based spaser there are possibilities to achieve
much less densities of the PbS QDs necessary for amplification than
in the gold film-based spaser.
Let us mention that in our calculations we take into account the
temporal and spatial dispersion of the dielectric function of
graphene nanoribbon in the random phase approximation
\cite{Brey_Fertig_01,Brey_Fertig}. The effects of spatial dispersion
are very important for the properties of spaser based on a flat
metal nanofilm~\cite{Larkin}. Taking into account the spatial
dispersion of the dielectric function of a metal surface in the
local random phase approximation allows to conclude that the strong
interaction of QD with unscreened metal electrons in the surface
nanolayer causes enhanced relaxation due to surface plasmon
excitation and Landau damping in a spaser based on a flat metal
nanofilm~\cite{Larkin}. And we assume that taking into account the
spatial dispersion of the dielectric function of graphene nanoribbon
is also very important to calculate the minimal population inversion
needed for the net SP amplification in the graphene nanoribbon based
spaser.
The advantages of the graphene nanoribbon based spaser are wide
frequency generation region from THz up to IR, small damping --- low
threshold for pumping, possibility of control by the gate. While we
perform our
calculations for IR radiation corresponding to the transition frequencies
170\ \mathrm{THz}$, the graphene-based spaser can work at the frequencies
much below that this one including THz regime.
\acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to M.~I. Stockman for valuable discussions.
The work was supported by PSC CUNY under Grant No. 65572-00 43.
|
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: hi i have a dull pain in the centre of my chest which is worse when i lie down or move about. it also pulsates with my heart beat and when my heart gives a big thud (beat) it hurts more, feel like there is a thump n my throat and chest, i had this about 5 yrs ago and tests came back with nothing. i have had it over 24 hrs now, could it been indigestion ? output: Hi, This looks like a gastritis and reflux disease. Still one ECG just to rule out heart disease, if you have any risk factors like elder, smoking, high BP, or cholesterol, then avoid fatty, oily and high calorie diet. Have some walk after having food instead of taking rest. Have multiple small meals instead of heavy meals. Have regular sleep habits and avoid stress. Eat lots of green leafy vegetables, fruits, fish once or twice a week, and avoid meat. Also, avoid smoking and alcohol if any. You can get prescribed tab Pantoprazole before breakfast once a day for 2 weeks. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Hello doctor,I am trying to conceive but my husband and I did cocaine a week ago. How long should my husband and I wait to safely continue to try to get pregnant? How long until it is out of our system? How long does cocaine stay in sperm? Thanks in advance.
How long should my husband and I wait to try for a baby if we did cocaine? output: Hello, Wellcome to iclinq.com. There are few researches/studies on cocaine use by males and its effect on pregnancy. Few suggest that cocaine by itself has limited effects as most of the time it is taken along with other drugs or as a cocktail of alcohol and cigarette (tobacco). So, most of the people take not just cocaine but a combination of drugs. Cocaine narrows blood vessels (vasoconstriction). It can lead to erectile dysfunction. Few studies suggest that it has receptors on testicles and sperm. So, it can degenerate testicular tissues/or sperm quality, transfer from sperm to female egg and can lead to early miscarriage. Cocaine is a very fast acting drug which affects the nervous system and produces short-lived euphoric attitude for 15 minutes to an hour, but causes long-term damage to the body and brain like anxiety, depression, aggression, impairment of logic and critical thinking, heart problem, hypertension and decrease in bone density. Its half-life is an hour. So, it takes about an hour for half of the cocaine consumed to leave the body. But, with long-term use, the drug starts to accumulate in the blood and body tissues allowing certain tests to detect it in the system for an extended period of time. After a single use of cocaine, agents created by its metabolism can be detected in the urine for two to four days, and in chronic users, cocaine can be detected up to 12 days and highly concentrated cocaine can be detected in the urine up to three weeks. It can be detected in the saliva and blood for an average 12-48 hours. In hairs and sweat for an extended period of time, it can be detected. So, after all the above description, I do not know how your husband had cocaine, as a cocktail along with other drugs, or just cocaine? Secondly, how long he has been taking it? For you, have you been on alcohol, cocaine or smoking? If you had taken in the past, better to quit completely. My advice is, try to avoid drugs like cocaine, alcohol, ketamine, and MDMA completely for a couple of months before trying for pregnancy. Because, if the mother has an addiction, it has psychosocial effects on the fetus in addition to the drugs' side effects itself. Best of luck.. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: I fell from the stairs last december 2010 and since then i never went to the doctor. I cant sleep or position myself in a prone position cuz my back will hurt so bad. If i will, then I have to stand up slowly so it wont hurt. what do u think it is and what should i do? thank you.
eriencing body pain especially back ,What treatment is suggested ? output: Hello, I have studied your case. Due to trauma to back there can be injury to vertebra or sacrum ,you may need to do X ray spine and MRI spine.Due to compression of this nerve root there is back pain.For these symptoms analgesic and neurotropic medication can be started.Till time, avoid lifting weights, Sit with support to back. You can consult physiotherapist for help.Physiotherapy like ultrasound and interferential therapy will give quick relief.Core stabilizing spine exercises will help.I will advise to check your vit B12 and vit D3 level.Hope this answers your query. If you have additional questions or follow up queries then please do not hesitate in writing to us. I will be happy to answer your queries. Wishing you good health.Take care.. |
stated on July 31, 2017 in an interview on MSNBC:
"Undocumented immigrants commit less crimes than the native born."
The 2018 California Governor's Race
Iker Velasquez, 4, who came from Honduras with his parents, holds a U.S. flag as he listens while Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., speaks to the media with children and families from Central America. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
By Chris Nichols August 3, 2017
MOSTLY TRUE: Undocumented immigrants less likely to commit crimes than U.S. citizens
Candidate for California governor Antonio Villaraigosa jumped into the nation’s heated debate on immigration reform during a recent interview on MSNBC.
The Democrat and former Los Angeles mayor rejected the idea that deporting undocumented immigrants was a sound strategy for reducing crime.
His statement followed President Trump’s speech about combatting MS-13 gang members. The gang started in poor Los Angeles neighborhoods where many refugees from civil wars in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua lived in the 1980s. It’s grown into an international criminal organization with more than 30,000.
Trump campaigned on the promise to deport millions of undocumented residents, often describing them as threats to public safety.
Here’s what Villaraigosa said on July 31, 2017 on MSNBC.
"I think we all agree that people that commit violent crimes ought to be deported. But going after the undocumented is not a crime strategy, when you look at the fact that the National Academy of Sciences in, I think it was November of 2015, the undocumented immigrants commit less crimes than the native born. That’s just a fact."
Watch the interview here.
We decided to examine this last point as part of our Tracking The Truth series, which fact-checks claims in the 2018 California governor's race.
We interpreted Villaraigosa’s statement to mean undocumented people commit crimes at a lower rate than the native born.
But we wondered whether this was really a settled matter.
We set out on a fact check.
We started by checking out the 2015 National Academy of Sciences study Villaraigosa cited. It found: "Immigrants are in fact much less likely to commit crime than natives, and the presence of large numbers of immigrants seems to lower crime rates." The study added that "This disparity also holds for young men most likely to be undocumented immigrants: Mexican, Salvadoran, and Guatemalan men."
It continued: "Today, the belief that immigrants are more likely to commit crimes is perpetuated by ‘issue entrepreneurs’ who promote the immigrant-crime connection in order to drive restrictionist immigration policy."
The academy is a nonprofit research organization charged with providing independent advice to the nation. It is funded largely by the federal government.
Findings in a March 2017 study by the libertarian Cato Institute also support Villaraigosa's statement:
"Illegal immigrants are 44 percent less likely to be incarcerated than natives. Legal immigrants are 69 percent less likely to be incarcerated than natives. Legal and illegal immigrants are underrepresented in the incarcerated population while natives are overrepresented."
The Cato study used information from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey for immigrants aged 18 to 54 who are incarcerated in the United States.
To examine Villaraigosa's claim, we also relied on research into similar claims by our partner national PolitiFact. In July 2016, it rated Mostly True a statement by Libertarian candidate for president Gary Johnson that Mexican immigrants "are more law-abiding than U.S. citizens and that is a statistic."
PolitiFact found several studies that back up this claim by citing incarceration rates. It also found groups that challenged those studies or said more research is needed.
PolitiFact’s findings
PolitiFact pointed to a July 2015 report by the American Immigration Council, a pro-immigrant nonprofit in Washington. The council analyzed data from the Census’ 2010 American Community Survey and found that about 1.6 percent of all immigrant males (Census does not specify legal status) between 18 and 39 years old were incarcerated, compared to 3.3 percent of the native-born population.
Looking at California prisons, immigrants are also underrepresented. U.S.-born men are incarcerated in the state at a rate of more than two-and-a-half times greater than that of foreign-born men, according to a study by the Public Policy Institute of California.
The American Immigration Council also reported that 2010 Census data shows incarceration rates of young, less educated Mexican, Salvadoran and Guatemalan men — which comprise the bulk of the unauthorized population — are "significantly lower" than incarceration rates of native-born young men without a high-school diploma.
Specifically for Mexican men ages 18 to 39, the incarceration rate in 2010 was 2.8 percent, compared to 10.7 percent for native-born men in the same age group, the council’s report said.
Featured Fact-check
stated on January 4, 2022 in a Fox News appearance
Recently released Jan. 6 footage shows "these cops using massive amounts of force against unarmed Trump supporters, including women."
By Bill McCarthy • January 10, 2022
Immigrants come to the United States to build better lives for themselves and their children, said Walter A. Ewing, a senior researcher at the American Immigration Council and one of the report’s authors.
"They are very motivated to not blow that opportunity by getting in trouble with the police," he told PolitiFact. "This is especially so for unauthorized immigrants, who can be deported at any time for unlawful presence."
PolitiFact also noted that as the immigrant population has increased, crime has gone down, citing Ewing’s report.
Between 1990 and 2013, the foreign-born share of the U.S. population increased from 7.9 percent to 13.1 percent, and the number of unauthorized immigrants went up from 3.5 million to 11.2 million. At the same time, the violent crime rate (murder, rape and aggravated assault) decreased 48 percent and property crime rate fell 41 percent, the report said, citing FBI data.
Bianca E. Bersani, an assistant professor and director of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Program at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, says her research also shows that crime involvement among foreign-born residents is lower than that of U.S.-born citizens.
"The rhetoric of the ‘criminal immigrant’ does not align with the bulk of empirical research," Bersani said.
According to Bersani’s research, while first-generation immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than the native-born population, the second generation (individuals born in the United States to at least one foreign-born parent) more closely resemble patterns of their native-born peers (three or more U.S.-born generations).
"This does not suggest that the second generation is uniquely crime prone, but instead that they are acting in ways that are no different from the rest of the U.S.-born population," Bersani said.
Datasets with information on both crime and immigrant status are rare, Bersani said, though more research and data are becoming available.
More research needed?
The Center for Immigration Studies, which supports stricter immigration policies, in a 2009 study said that overall understanding of immigrants and crime "remains confused" due to lack of data and contrary information.
Unless inmates are identified as immigrant or native-born, incarceration rates are a poor way to measure links between immigrants and crime, the study said.
As PolitiFact reported in 2015, there isn’t exact data on how many undocumented immigrants are currently incarcerated.
PolitiFact California spoke about this critique with Ewing of the American Immigration Council, whose research supports Villaraigosa’s claim. He said he’s confident in the work that’s been done and said critics have used anecdotes, rather than full-blown research, to try to make their points.
Ewing added that the studies backing up Villaraigosa’s statement are "from such a wide range of researchers using so many different methodologies and sources of data -- not everyone can be wrong."
Our ruling
Villaraigosa said "undocumented immigrants commit less crimes than the native born."
He cited a 2015 study by the National Academy of Sciences that backs up this claim.
In a fact check last year, PolitiFact rated a similar claim Mostly True. It cited additional studies by scholars and partisan groups that show that the foreign-born population is less likely to commit crimes than the native-born.
It also found that researchers agree more data is needed to get a better understanding of immigration and crime. It said this was a needed clarification.
PolitiFact California agrees with these findings.
We rated Villaraigosa’s claim Mostly True.
MOSTLY TRUE – The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information.
Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.
UPDATE: We have added information to the ‘Our research’ section of this fact check from a March 2017 study by the libertarian Cato Institute. The study’s findings provide additional evidence backing up Villaraigosa’s claim that undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than the native born.
Share the Facts
PolitiFact Rating:
Candidate for California governor
PolitiFact California is fact-checking claims in the 2018 California governor's race through our Tracking The Truth series.
Hear a claim you want fact-checked? Email us at [email protected], tweet us @CAPolitiFact or contact us on Facebook.
Antonio Villaraigosa, interview on MSNBC, July 31, 2017
Michelle Yeung, campaign spokeswoman for Antonio Villaraigosa, interview Aug. 2, 2017
Walter A. Ewing, a senior researcher at the American Immigration Council, interview, Aug. 3, 2017
Cato Institute, "Criminal Immigrants: Their Numbers, Demographics, and Countries of Origin," March 15, 2017
Center for Immigration Studies, "Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Conflicted Issue," November 2009
The Pew Research Center: "Crime rises among second-generation immigrants as they assimilate," October 15, 2013
The New York Times, "Contrary to Trump’s Claims, Immigrants Are Less Likely to Commit Crimes," January 26, 2017
National Bureau of Economic Research, "Why are immigrants’ incarceration rates so low? Evidence on selective immigration, deterrence, and deportation," July 2007
The Hill, "DOJ releases data on incarceration rates of illegal immigrants," May 2, 2017
The Los Angeles Times, "Immigrants don't commit more crimes. Why does the myth persist?" September 6, 2016
PolitiFact, "Libertarian candidate says Mexican immigrants more law-abiding than U.S. citizens," July 14, 2016.
PolitiFact, "Trump immigration claim has no data to back it up," July 6, 2015
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, "The Integration of Immigrants into American Society," 2015
Read About Our Process
The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Chris Nichols
stated on August 31, 2021 a CNN interview:
“I don’t believe the science suggests that young people should be vaccinated. I don’t believe that young people should have to wear masks at school. I’m not sure the science is settled on that at all.”
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Voting-rights legislation proposed by Democrats in Congress called H.R. 1 “would force states to restore the voting rights of convicted felons—including violent felons convicted of murder or rape.”
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Just saw it, courtesy of one of the kids--birthday present.
Even if you have NOT read the books (I have not), the flick absolutely oozes Roman Catholic symbolism. Likely will take at least two viewings to internalize/list all of it. There's a lot there; the light/dark stuff, the flower of Jesse, the eagles, (yes, Ms. Asquith, we paid attention;) the score's vaguely Dies Irae turn at Aslan's death--and OT references, as well--Lion of Judah, Isaac/Christ...
There was a lot reminiscent of the Gibson "Passion," too (unsurprisingly.) Frankly, I liked the score better than Mel's; it fits better into the scheme and is more apprehensible.
The Titanic Battle stuff is interesting. Clearly, Lewis did not view Kumbaya as a viable Christian theological position. The child-less-ness of the Ice Queen, who reigns in (dark) Winter is also a good, targeted hit.
Lewis certainly clarified sin and likes auricular confession, eh?
It's worth the $6.00/head. Go see it.
Windows At Risk--Again
This is NOT an "Explorer" problem--it's embedded in Windows, so using Firefox will not prevent the difficulty.
MS 'is scrambling.'
My Norton went ballistic yesterday and pointed to an item ("Bloodhound") in "Temporary Download." That particular file on my box is rather large, drat it all....
So keep your Norton up to date. There may be a lot more of this stuff going around in the next few days before MS comes up with a patch. One hopes that the BigBoys in MS security are not off on holiday breaks...
The Mouths of Babes
Malkin caught a marvelous item. The top cartoon was a RESPONSE, drawn by a 12-year-old girl, after she saw the Editorial cartoon in the local MSM rag (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Here's the girl's letter to the AJ-C:
The first time I saw Mike Luckovich’s drawing of the word “WHY?”, made up of the names of 2,000 troops killed in Iraq, was when my mother was putting it up on our refrigerator. It bothered me that no one did a response showing how others feel. On Nov. 8, I got an updated list of the names of the war dead and started writing them, spelling out “FREEDOM.” Six days later, it was done. I only worked on it in my free time at school. It took me about 12 hours to get it done, so needless to say I devoted many of my classes to this, and stayed late after school to work on it. I didn’t take it home and show it to my mother until I had prints made. She and I have different views of things. She said that, as a mother, she didn’t like it that so many people have been killed. She was not happy when I placed my work next to Luckovich’s “WHY?” on the fridge, but it hasn't been taken down. I may seem as if I am too young to have an opinion on matters like these. I am not saying that my opinion is right, for an opinion is just that — someone’s views on something. But, like a child’s voice, an opinion is often not heard.
We often give children a lot LESS credit than they deserve.
BagManJim--the Gift That Keeps On Vetoing
In a moment of candor, ol' BagManJim spake thus:
“I wish I could enact laws and sign them into law. I don’t do that as governor,” Doyle said in a year-end Wisconsin Public TV interview airing tonight “A special session doesn’t mean the bill gets passed. It just wastes a lot of people’s time and taxpayer money to call a special session on a bill that isn’t going to be enacted.”
First, he expresses his desire to become the Dictator--no big surprise here. But he also raises an interesting question: why bother with legislative sessions at all? BagMan will veto any common-sense bill passed by the Legislature--
Save MORE money. Keep the Leggies at home.
HT: Kevin
Milwaukee Makes the National News
But not for the reason you expected.
Seems that good old X42 was the President who initiated "renditioning" with the CIA--the practice of taking terrorists to allied countries for questioning. This fact has yet to be reported by the NYSlimes or the WaPost...
And the individual who claims credit for inventing the program (in 1995) tells us:
"In Cairo, people are not treated like they are in Milwaukee. The Clinton administration asked us if we believed that the prisoners were being treated in accordance with local law. And we answered, yes, we're fairly sure."
But is this good or not good? Perhaps Mike McCann should think about 'renditions' for street-gang terrorists. Might have just the right effect.
Her Mom and Dad Must Be Proud
Oh, yeah, it's controversial: the idea that women "want" to get raped.
And some ditzy blonde "editor" at the UW-M Post tells the world that it's true. With pictures. On the front page of the 11/23/05 issue, no less.
The photo essay, which was published Nov. 23, shows Sara DeKeuster, the publication's photo editor and a senior at the time, being attacked in a parking garage. In the staged scenes, which are titled "Bedtime stories," DeKeuster is slammed against a car by a man posing as a stranger and forced into what photo captions describes as "unexpected intercourse" that leads to her feeling "guilty and rejoiced."
Diego Costa, a graduate student who is the Post's arts and entertainment editor, said in a note to readers that he and DeKeuster conceptualized the essay "in order to explore the age-old repressed female sexuality in its attempt to strip itself of social and feminist constraints." In a follow-up article, Costa, who took the photos, said the work was an "art piece" that expressed DeKeuster's "guilt-ridden sexual desire of getting raped."
DeKeuster, who graduated this month with a degree in fine art photography, said the essay was originally done for a class. Her aim, she said, was to use self-portrait film stills as a way of "liberating my sexuality." She said Costa, a graduate student of film who serves as a teaching assistant, took the photos and came up with the captions.
It turns out that those who question the sanity of Sara and Costa are just the usual Neanderthal Red-State schlumps who don't get it:
Critics were even more upset when the Post ran a follow-up story Dec. 7 about the angry reaction on campus, in which Costa dismissed it as "typical of people whose understanding of art is so superficial" - a sentiment that he and DeKeuster maintain today.
Costa, meanwhile, said he will strive to publish "other things in the future that will question the order of things."
The dumb jack evidently thinks the phrase "Ars pro gratia Artis" actually has some foundation in rightly-ordered Western thought.
UW-M, of course, is helpless. They can't take action "because the Post receives no University funding," --only FREE OFFICE SPACE AND PARKING!!
"They see themselves as an independent newspaper, and we treat them as such," [Provost Rita] Cheng said this week. "This is a very sensitive issue of independence and freedom of speech."
Earth to Ms. Cheng: FREE OFFICES AND FREE PARKING ARE STATE SUBSIDIES. Get your act together and toss these morons out into the real world.
You're damned right, by the way, if you think I'm a little exercised about this particular topic.
Maybe NOT Smarter than That
Just this morning it occurred to me that Xoff, the predictable (lovable??) Leftable had not really spent any time spinning the war-footing actions of the President--you know, like paying attention to what our enemies overseas are talking about...
Ah, well. Now it turns out that Xoff was waiting for the ACLU to speak--that way he'd know what to say.
Earth-to-Xoff: ACLU or not, Article Two of the Constitution is still in effect, and it is NOT going to be repealed nor derogated by Congress.
Tailgunner Joe Looks Smarter Every Day
The Marquette Warrior has a very interesting piece about Sacco & Vanzetti, their completely unethical and execrable lawyer, and Upton Sinclair posted here.
Seems that the "MSM malaise" is not exactly recent-vintage, as Sinclair was also a practitioner (just as was the NYSlimes when covering Joe Stalin's murderous ass at about the same time.)
And, by the way, Joe's famous speech was about 207 "names." He may not have had all of the bad guys on that list, and did NOT reveal the names (Joe believed in the 'innocent-until-proven-guilty' stuff.)
The Second Amendment's Enemies
In an effort to fulfill Jib's prediction, I will now try to slap the silliness out of Wigderson
Despite his formidable writing, political analysis, and intellectual talents, Wigderson misses the point of the Second Amendment by a mile. Obviously, Wig's in need of some target practice.
Jim contends that 'we have nothing to fear from a tyranny here in the USA,' and thus, the Second Amendment was REALLY written to assure the US of a prepared civilian-military force. This contention is partially accurate, of course. Should the US be invaded by some foreign army, weaponry already in the homes (or hands) of the citizens will be necessary and quite useful.
But Jim seems to ignore the history. The "shot heard 'round the world" was fired specifically to prevent the Redcoats (that would be the Government's troops at the time) from seizing the guns the Colonials had stored.
The King of England (through his appointed local governor) WAS the Government of the Colonies at the time. He was also judged to be a tyrant by the Colonials.
By no co-incidence, the Founders specifically included the Second Amendment into the Constitution following the Revolution against a tyrant. They were well-aware that tyrants arise, and sometimes are VERY popular fellows (see above quotation's author.)
Self-defense and the defense of others is good, and an inalienable right. It was the contention of the Founders that a corollary right was the ability to overthrow a Government (ANY Government) which was adjudged to be a tyranny.
Frankly, it's not likely that Washington will become so oppressive that a critical mass of the citizens will decide that a revolution is necessary. But that does not obviate the reality of the Second Amendment's genesis.
Posted by Dad29 at 7:21 AM 18 comments: Links to this post
Poll Result is Amazing
Last night's Channel 6 News ran the results of a poll on the question "Are you Safe in Milwaukee?"
1200 people called in.
It was 3 t0 1 "NO." 76% of the responders called the "I'm not safe here" telephone number.
I know--it's not scientific, it's not controlled sample, who knows who actually called in...
But that's a stunning number.
RIP One of the Great Catholics of Milwaukee
A friend, mentor, and great Catholic woman passed away yesterday.
It was my privilege to know her for over 25 years, and it was an honor to speak with her.
She was wise--she knew serpents when she saw them--and yet, like all great women, compassionate. She never gave up, never quit, and never allowed her friends to confuse the Church with its often-ignominious members.
Jo Kuffel, RIP.
In Paradisum deducant te, Angeli
In tuo adventu suscipiat te Martyres
Et perducant te in civitatem sanctam,
Jerusalem.
Chorus Angelorum te suscipiat,
Et cum Lazaro, quondam paupere,
Aeternam habeas requiem.
SOME Anti-Catholicism is Bad
There's a story below about ABC News engaging in Catholic-bashing. We also recall the MSM-propaganda about the current Pope's "Nazi" past, and more than a little ammo being thrown at the Church over its position on homosexual priests (no more will be ordained, thank you.)
Then there's the Church-bashing which other Elite Liberals spew on the topic of abortion--not to mention artificial birth control.
That is GOOD Church-bashing; it's done by the Left and its MSM running-dogs.
But there is such a thing as BAD Church-bashing, according to a Leading Lefty Light (Xoff.) BAD Church-bashing happens when Tom Reynolds is in the mix.
There are, however, a few lingering questions for Reynolds, including his association with an anti-Catholic organization that spews bigotry in its publications -- which Reynolds prints.
I'm sure Xoff recalls the quote about motes and beams.
There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religion.
Just Co-Incidence, Of Course
The JSOnline reports that the Menomonee and Potowatomi are in a fight over "territory"--they both claim to have inhabited the Kenosha area long, long ago.
But the interesting paragraph in the story is here:
Nonetheless, the heightened concern over whether the Menominee tribe has historic Kenosha ties dovetails with legislation introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) last month that would ban new off-reservation casinos unless a tribe had a proven "temporal, cultural and geographic" connection to a proposed casino site.
IIRC, there's a good deal of lobbyist money and campaign contributions being spent by various tribal gambling interests.
Has Marty Schreiber been visiting with John McCain?
Tom Barrett's Problem
It's clear from the televised reports on Channel 4 and Channel 6 (not to mention from bloggers who know) that people living near 35th and Hampton are scared to ID the area's troublemakers. That's bad enough.
There are a couple of reasons: first, calling out the tangos may well result in retaliation. Second, it's likely that after the usual drill in Juvenile Court, the little darlings will be back at 'home' in a matter of 90 days or less.
Go ahead: tell us that all the perps in the recent beating will be doing 5-10 at Waupun.
What? No takers?
The Mayor of Milwaukee emerged from a cocoon, put on his "I'm serious" face, and told the residents to get on the phone with the police, but quick. There's a logic here: Tommy, who lives with a police guard and escort at his disposal, doesn't think that citizens like Sam McClain should have the tools of self-defense handy. Tommy doesn't like CCW.
Nor, for that matter, does E. Michael McCann, the DA. Nor does Milwaukee's Top Cop. Nor does the Milwaukee County Sheriff.
So these eminentoes have consigned men like McClain to Froedtert's emergency department. One wonders--when Steve Hargarten, MD., treats these folks, does Steve re-think HIS opposition to Concealed Carry?
S'pose if McClain brandished a Glock .40 that the results would have been the same?
Baba Wawa Competes with Drooler Dan
We all knew that the Disney purchase of ABC would have an effect--and sure enough, ABC is now producing "news" shows from Fantasyland.
Similar to its take on the controversial "Da Vinci Code," ABC News "Primetime" gives credence to the claim that a woman disguised as a man served as pope in medieval Rome.
Titled "On the Trail of Pope Joan," an ABC promo says, "Diane Sawyer takes you on the trail of a passionate mystery. Just as intriguing as 'The Da Vinci Code.' Chasing down centuries-old clues hidden even inside the Vatican. Could a woman disguised as a man have been pope? Thursday night. One astonishing Primetime."
ABC's take was fashionable at one time:
But Catholic writer Philip Jenkins, in his book "The New Anti-Catholicism, calls the "Pope Joan legend" a "venerable staple of the anti-Catholic mythology."
"Though it has not the slightest foundation," he writes, "from the sixteenth century through the nineteenth, the tale was beloved by Protestants, since it testified to Catholic stupidity. ..." Today, he says, "Pope Joan enjoys a lively presence on the Web, where feminist anti-Catholics celebrate her existence much as did seventeenth-century Calvinists."
The posting on the Newsbusters site said: "That a major network like ABC would lend credibility to such a vicious anti-Catholic smear is deplorable."
Did Mary Mapes find a new job?
SUE the So-and-So's
When all seems to be working well, it's time to SUE!
Thus speaketh Citizens' Utility Board (the Left with neckties) and its compatriot, Wisconsin Industrial Energy Council, which claims to represent firms employing over 60,000 people in Wisconsin.
Why do I say "...claims to represent..."? Because the website for WIEC will not tell you exactly who those 'firms' really are. But when Nino Amato runs his jaw, you can be sure that some utility, somewhere, will pay a price.
This time it's WE Energies.
In something of a complex deal, WE was authorized to keep the money they saved when they purchased Wisconsin Gas and right-sized the management teams and employee roster. That put them over their authorized 12.2% ROI limit to the tune of $52MM.
The wonzos want the money back. Of course, their press release is filled with irrelevant and immaterial stuff--like the recent authorized increases in rates due to the recent run-up of natural gas prices (you know, like gasoline prices...) They figure if they spray enough brown material at the reader, the reader will come to the conclusion that all those high prices mean WE is stealing.
So WE and the PSC will spend a few hundred thousand on lawyers to defend a decision made years ago. The sue-happy bozos will pepper the press with stories (like Bruce Murphy specializes in) telling us that all those Big Guys at WE are vastly overpaid.
But if you took back every dollar of compensation for the 5 highest-paid Big Guys at WE, it still wouldn't total $52MM--nor would you EVER notice it in your energy bill.
Memo to the Sue-Happy: get a life.
If Lincoln Was Right...
Well, well. Notice the faint Copper glow emanating from these drooling faces...
HT: Catholic Caveman
What Daschle REALLY Said
Scrappleface provides a translation of the Disgraceful Displaced Democrat's droolings:
[Daschle] wrote that Democrats in Congress never authorized NSA surveillance of terrorist communications with U.S. residents, and he would not have approved a document the Bush administration has used as its justification for the wiretaps: the U.S. Constitution.
When I was in Congress, the Constitution never came up for a vote, Mr. Daschle wrote "and if it had, Article II never would have made it out of committee."
Just like Jennifer (see below), Tom, you've been FIRED! Now go find a job.
Jennifer Goes B&^%chy
While Dan Vrakas is deservedly taking heat for his levy-increase problem, his former Chief of Staff is beginning to make the case that she SHOULD have been fired.
"Mr. Vrakas has mishandled the management of my resignation - and he needs to be accountable as a public servant for it," she said.
Jennifer, you've been fired. Your remarks are ridiculous; one may conclude that you think you have some sort of Divine Right to an office in the Courthouse.
You don't. You're done. Go find a real job someplace.
Papa Ratzi Drops the Hammer
HT to Bettnet on this one.
Chiesa reports that Pope Benedict has firmly requested that the Neocatechumenate Way organization conform its liturgical celebrations to the norms of the Roman Rite.
Speculation is that this organization, which professes loyalty to the Pope, is "first on the list" precisely because they DO profess such loyalty and are likely to comply with his request.
The points made:
1. Sunday is the “Dies Domini” as the Servant of God Pope John Paul II wished to illustrate in the Apostolic Letter on the Lord’s Day. Therefore the Neocatechumenal Way must enter into dialogue with the diocesan bishop in order to make it clear that the community of the Neocatechumenal Way is incorporated into the parish even in the context of the liturgical celebrations. At least one Sunday per month, the communities of the Neocatechumenal Way must participate in the Holy Mass of the parish community.
(NW has celebrated Mass on Saturday nights, not Sundays, and the NW members are NOT in their 'home parishes' for Mass.)
2. As for any admonitions issued before the readings, these must be brief. Adherence must also be shown to what is set out in the “Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani” (nn. 105 and 128) and to the Praenotanda of the “Ordo Lectionum Missae” (nn. 15, 19, 38, 42).
3. The homily, because of its nature and importance, is reserved to the priest or deacon (cf. Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 767 § 1). As for the occasional contribution of testimonies on the part of the lay faithful, the proper places and methods for these are indicated in the Interdicasterial Instruction “Ecclesiae de Mysterio,” which was approved “in specific form” by Pope John Paul II and published on August 15, 1997.
(NW had extensive commentaries on the readings delivered by laymen. The priest's sermon or homily was an undistinguished part of these 'commentaries.')
5. On the manner of receiving Holy Communion, a period of transition (not exceeding two years) is granted to the Neocatechumenal Way to pass from the widespread manner of receiving Holy Communion in its communities (seated, with a cloth-covered table placed at the center of the church instead of the dedicated altar in the sanctuary) to the normal way in which the entire Church receives Holy Communion. This means that the Neocatechumenal Way must begin to adopt the manner of distributing the Body and Blood of Christ that is provided in the liturgical books.
6. The Neocatechumenal Way must also make use of the other Eucharistic Prayers contained in the missal, and not only Eucharistic Prayer II.
The letter was NOT signed "Is That CLEAR, Bucko?"...
Steyr and Norinco
Both companies are under sanction by the US State Department for providing missile systems $ components and other arms to Iran.
Norinco and 5 other PRChina-Government-run companies were named. Norinco is best known for its attempt to smuggle full-auto rifles to Los Angeles street gangs a number of years ago.
They also manufacture a cheap line of shotguns retailed in the United States.
Steyr-Mannlicher of Austria makes better-quality rifles and pistols.
Neither of these companies is a friend of United States citizens who enjoy shooting sports.
"Afganistaning" In the Blogosphere
About 20 years ago, before Afghanistan was a point of interest to Special Forces, the term "Afghanistaning" was used to describe newspaper editorials which were written about things totally irrelevant to the editorialist's own personal life and circumstances. A Milwaukee Journal editorial would appear bemoaning some political development in New York, e.g., or wailing about some school-tax referendum in Rhinelander.
That was when there was such a thing as the Milwaukee Journal--and, as mentioned, when "Afghanistan" was about as distant from 4th and State as was Rhinelander, at least mentally.
NOW we have bloggers from Ozaukee or Sheboygan County (who knows?) bewailing the fact that Waukesha County residents and taxpayers are calling for Vrakas' head, after a certain Ms. Finley revealed that Vrakas did not assiduously pursue budget cuts.
"Afghanistaning" has risen again!!
Perhaps Ms. Finley is posturing; perhaps not. Perhaps Mr. Vrakas should not have hired Ms. Finley, and perhaps he will actually address the issue himself at some point in time.
But we do know this: Vrakas SAID that he would not increase taxes--and then he DID increase taxes. Not by much, true. But by the testimony of Ms. Finley, Vrakas did not HAVE to increase the levy.
The Afghanistaners tut-tut. After all, they are mature.
More on Chant
While Mgr. Miserachs-Grau's bona fides are suspect, his commentary on the question of liturgical music (specifically, Gregorian Chant) is direct and to the point. Many observers can make the point that Miserachs-Grau has been in his position since 1995--meaning that 10 full years have elapsed before he 'came out of the closet' so to speak. Nonetheless, a few excerpts from his Zenit interview are in order.
As to why his remarks of a couple weeks ago were applauded:
I believe...that there is a general opinion that coincides on the necessity of recovering Latin and Gregorian chant, which is the chant proper to the Church. Gregorian chant has been abandoned and left to concert halls and CD's when its proper place was and is the liturgy.
On current "musical" offerings (the Haugen-Hass/StLouis mess of pottage):
I think that new musical products, in the majority of cases, have not learned or have not been able to root themselves in the tradition of the Church, thus dragging in a general impoverishment. It is incomprehensible, especially in the Latin countries, that Latin and Gregorian chant has been pushed aside in the last 40 years. Latin and Gregorian chant form part of tradition -- and they have been amputated. It is like cutting the roots …
Whether Catholics are too STUPID to learn Chant:
Before, people knew how to sing the basic songs in Latin. Today, it seems that efforts are being made to make them unlearn what they knew. It is obvious that we cannot propose they learn the entire repertoire, which contains 5,000 pieces.
What "actuosa participatio" means IN CONTEXT:
In liturgical chant the assembly does not have to be the only protagonist. A certain order must be kept. The people should sing their part and the rest should be done by the choir, the chanter, the psalmist and obviously the celebrant.
Whether the question of music in the liturgy has been resolved:
No. For some time, we have insisted on this point. Our institute does its job, but it is only an academic institution, not a normative body and it thus has no say in these affairs. A Vatican body is needed that would directly oversee the matters of sacred music.
John Paul II stated that the musical aspect of liturgical celebrations cannot be left to improvisation or to the free will of the people. It should be confided to a concerted direction and the respect for certain norms. Authorized indications are awaited and this concerns the Church of Rome, the Holy See.
While it is true that there is no "Vatican-based" governing body, Mgr. Miserachs-Grau elides a few things which are important to the discussion.
First off, there IS an international body of genuine Church Music experts which WAS directly commissioned by Paul VI to recommend, advise, and serve as a standards-creation/maintenance group: the Consociatio Internationalis Musicae Sacrae. The people who are part of this have absolutely luminous academic credentials, and are published. They pay a great deal of attention to the writings and speeches of the current Pope on the topic of liturgical music, too--not just to 'dead white men.'
Secondly, Mgr. M-G overlooks the pernicious and obstructionist activities of, ah, "genealogically-challenged" 'national' music commissions (such as the one maintained by the USCC) and their similarly-begotten children, the Diocesan music/liturgy commissions. Here in the US, at least, one can easily make the case that members are selected for their outstanding qualities of historical ignorance, revolutionary inclinations, and malformed musical sensibilities. This has been the case in this country since the Revolution of 1966 which enshrined Rembert Weakland OSB (a Cdl. Jos. Bernardin lackey) as the domestic tin-god of church music. Aside from Sr. Theophane Hytrek OSF (+) and Fr. Larry Heimann, members of the US 'establishment' have simply not met any standard of excellence. (I'd be perfectly willing to be corrected here--but am perfectly willing to argue the cases on an individual basis.)
What about folks like Paul Salamunovich? Roger Wagner? Cal Shenk? Ted Marier? Mgr. Shuler? ALL (save Shenk) were Knights Commander of St. Gregory, an honor not given because of purchase, but rather for real capabilities and real accomplishment.
So, yes, Mgr., there's a lot of work to do. Perhaps you should telephone CIMS' President and ask for help. It would be a very good start.
We had them all here on Christmas Eve, including the grandchild--and we got the early "peek" about an event which would occur only a few hours later as #2 kid displayed the engagement ring he'd give a wonderful young lady that evening. A great deal of salt water flowed both here and in Green Bay, the location of the event. A chorus of inarticulate wimminfolk noises arose.
Pictorial results from THAT front tell us that she was pleased with the idea of becoming a wife.
Did you know that people actually pay MONEY for jeans with holes in the knees? This presents an opportunity, because after only about 2 years or so, my jeans develop holes in precisely the correct places.
Recycling for profit becomes a possibility.
Some debate was inspired: are REAL coaster wagons made of steel or from polymers?
Vatican Midnight Mass: A Lotta Latin Goin' On
It was very noticeable. Latin chant, Latin hymns, Latin prayers.
Yes, the "bidding prayers" were multi-lingual--perfectly understandable and no surprises.
One can feel the resentment and resistance seething over in certain local rectories--not to mention in the 'liturgical establishment' dominated by the Shallow and Timebound--you know, the ones for whom Vatican II marked the actual birthday of the Church and whose reading on the topic consists of reading American Catholic, Commonweal, and the NAPALM Newsletter (whatever its title may actually be.)
Latin is the language of the future of the Church. Get over it.
OMG!!! GWB Authorizes Nuke-Material Search
You can't make this stuff up. Here's the first breathless graf from USNWR's article:
In search of a terrorist nuclear bomb, the federal government since 9/11 has run a far-reaching, top secret program to monitor radiation levels at over a hundred Muslim sites in the Washington, D.C., area, including mosques, homes, businesses, and warehouses, plus similar sites in at least five other cities, U.S. News has learned. In numerous cases, the monitoring required investigators to go on to the property under surveillance, although no search warrants or court orders were ever obtained, according to those with knowledge of the program. Some participants were threatened with loss of their jobs when they questioned the legality of the operation, according to these accounts.
Shock!!! HORROR!!! AWFUL!!!!!!!!!!
To date no nuclear bombs, nor high/low-level nuclear waste has been found.
HT: Froggy
New Blogger Welcome
Although Get Up and Get Moving has only posted once, the promise is certainly present in the offering.
Welcome to the Milwaukee-Catholic-blogosphere!
Sen. Larry Craig is NOT a Nut
In contrast to Sen. Feingold (D-AlQuaeda), who has purchased his 15 minutes' fame with silly rhetoric and Me! ME! MEEEE! statements, Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) has some significant objections to the PATRIOT Act which deserve consideration.
Craig's concerns about the Act are encapsuled in his "SAFE" Act proposal, which would modify the PATRIOT Act in certain specific ways.
How significant are these modifications? Well, here's one that caught my eye:
Section 7 – Domestic Terrorism Definition (Section 802)
The PATRIOT Act’s overbroad definition of domestic terrorism could include acts of civil
disobedience by political organizations. While civil disobedience is and should be illegal, it is
not necessarily terrorism. The SAFE Act would limit the qualifying offenses for domestic
terrorism to those that constitute a federal crime of terrorism, instead of any federal or state
crime, as is currently the case.
And here's another:
Section 5 – National Security Letters (Section 505)
The SAFE Act would restore a standard of individualized suspicion for using an NSL, requiring
that the government have reason to believe the records sought relate to a suspected terrorist or
spy. As is the case for grand jury subpoenas, the SAFE Act would give the recipient of an NSL
the right to challenge the letter and the nondisclosure requirement, and place a time limit on the
nondisclosure requirement (which could be extended by the court). As is the case for FISA
authorities, the SAFE Act would give notice to the target of an NSL if the government seeks to
use the records obtained from the NSL in a subsequent proceeding, and give the target an
opportunity to challenge the use of those records.
There are others, perhaps less striking.
Yesterday's Limbaugh show included an interview with Craig, where he explained his objections very clearly and quite convincingly. Limbaugh countered with a remark to the effect that 'there will always be abuse of the system' by Government officials. BOTH cited the regime of X42, and BOTH conceded that a Hildebeeste Presidency would likely produce more of the same. It is VERY important to recall that the Hildebeeste specifically refers to anti-abortion protesters as "terrorists" in the context of this debate. And it is a sure bet that other Democratic Party figures hold this opinion as well. (Can you say George Soros? Howard Scream?)
Having thought about this for a while, it is clear to me that Senator Craig's position is the better one. While Limbaugh's assertion that miscreants will abuse their power is undoubtedly true (and could happen under some (R) President, too...) there is NO GOOD REASON to explicitly license such abuse. In fact, the compelling case is Craig's: make abuse illegal.
A close and valued friend--and an exceptionally bright guy--mentioned over lunch that he simply does not now, and never will, trust the Government with his personal information. Not that it's possible to hide the info; the IRS or Wis DOR could create fairly accurate biographies of anyone who pays taxes, and the FBI has the capability to fill in all the details (with court authorization), including when and where you bought your last bag of Doritos.
Sensenbrenner has assured us that a good debate will take place again, soon. Outstanding. Let those who think that the Government can define abortion protestors as "terrorists" make their case, if they can.
"O" of December 23rd
Entrance Examination
Stolen, top-to-bottom, from its hilarious resting spot at Catholic World News:
Don't ask, don't tell: a subtle seminary entrance test
1) What is your current occupation?
a) construction worker
b) computer programmer
c) dance instructor
2) Would you like something to drink?
a) a cold can of beer would be nice
b) Scotch, thanks, with just a splash.
c) Chardonnay, but only if it's chilled. Or do you have any herbal tea?
3) In high school, what was your main extracurricular activity?
a) football team
b) school newspaper/student government
c) drama club
4) When your friends come over for dinner, what do you like to serve?
a) Steak. You want vegetables? Don't worry; the cow ate some.
b) Burgers on the grills, probably. The wives and girlfriends will bring salads, so we'll be OK.
c) Quiche
5) If you could choose any car for your own use, what would your prefer?
a) a 4-by-4 pickup truck
b) whatever; as long as it's comfortable and gets good mileage
c) a sporty red convertible
6) If you are not admitted to the seminary, what career path are you most likely to choose:
a) the US Marines
b) investment banking
c) fashion design
7) If you had the time to get out of the city, and spend a few weeks in the countryside, what do you think you would enjoy the most?
a) hunting
b) the quiet, the fresh air, the clear skies at night
c) the antique shops
8) An old friend calls, to ask if you have a couple of hours this weekend to help him do a valve job on his old Jeep. What do you say?
a) Sure! Should I bring my spring compressor?
b) OK, I suppose. If you can tell me what to do…
c) What's a valve job?
9) Imagine that you can take a half-dozen of your old friends on a week-long vacation, with all expenses paid. Which would you choose:
a) Camp out at an untouched trout stream. Eat what you catch. Play poker at night. Remember to take a shower as soon as you get home.
b) Fly to Scotland. Play 18 holes on a different golf course every day.
c) Book a nice hotel in New York. Catch a different Broadway show every night.
10) At a friend's birthday party, you are introduced to a young woman who is, frankly, a bombshell. Beautiful curly red hair, a 50-megawatt smile, and a sensational figure. She's wearing a tight hot-pink dress with a slit up to here and a neckline plunging down to there, and she's delighted to meet you. What is your first reaction?
a) What do you think think my first reaction is? I'm human, you know.
b) I try to avoid her, without being impolite. Custody of the eyes, and all that. Stay away from trouble.
c) I love it; she's fabulous! I just wish she'd realize that pink is not her color. And those shoes definitely don't match the belt!
For extra credit:
11) What do you think of this test?
a) Worth a couple of laughs, I suppose.
b) Not sure. What are you getting at?
c) I am outraged! How dare you!
How to score your own test: If you have to ask, you flunk.
REAL Torture
Here's how we handle all this stuff.
First, we get a room, about 1000 square feet. Secure. Barred windows, solidly lockable door, etc., nice furniture but nothing that can be made into weapons, all fastened securely to the floor or walls.
Now we attach men's and ladies' rooms, with showers, similarly secure.
Then we attach a kitchen, fully equipped, but separated from The Room by a solid wall--the wall will have apertures.
Yup. Pretty close to a prison. Nice--but a prison.
Now we fill the room with those who deserve each others' company.
I'll start the list:
BagManDoyle
Hldebeeste
Risser
Get the idea? OK. Now you make additions. Think it will be crowded? No problem--we'll add another room.
No radio--no TV--no 'Net--no phone. No books, newspapers, periodicals. All they get to do is eat, sleep, and talk with each other. No interpreters, either...
Edited Editorials on ID vs. Darwin's Failed Theory
A friend of mine sent the following editorial to the Milwaukee JS:
By TOM PHILLIPS
There has been much propaganda regarding intelligent design.In truth, creation/design is the scientific position; evolution is unscientific. By definition, science is based upon what we observe in the physical world and logical inference from what we observe.
While microevolution, which is change within a species, is observed and scientific, macroevolution, which is what "evolution" customarily means, is not. It asserts life somehow arose from non-life by chance.
Such "spontaneous generation," disproved long ago, has never been observed. Instead, we always observe that life comes from previous life - and, as Scripture teaches, ultimately from an ever-living God.
Evolution also asserts one life form can change into another, higher form - something also never observed and thus unscientific. Instead, we always observe exactly what Genesis states numerous times: Life reproduces "according to its kind," i.e., cats beget cats, crickets beget crickets, etc. They never change into something else. With microbiology, we understand why.
All life contains DNA, a genetic blueprint containing information. But purely material processes cannot create information, which originates only from a "mind." Evolution proceeds via chance, the antithesis of information. The DNA in simple bacteria has several million specifications; man's has several billion.
The DNA molecule, the most complex structure we know and unquestionably the most efficient copying device, with self-correcting processes, prevents one life form from "changing" into another. We are all copies of a copy of a copy, etc., going back to the very first human parents.
Genesis 3:20 says Eve was "the mother of all the living." Science proved we are descendents of one woman, whose genes are carried by all mankind. Even evolutionists accept the finding that all humans descended from a relatively recent woman whom scientists have taken to calling Eve, based on the DNA in our mitochondria, the cell's powerhouse. Mitochondrial DNA comes unmixed, only from the mother.
The fossil record disproves evolution. If the first life form changed into another, higher form by gradual gene changes, and so on down the line, accounting for all life then, quoting Darwin, "the number of intermediate and transitional links, between all living and extinct species, must have been inconceivably great."
The whole world would be awash in the remains of "infinitely numerous connecting links." It isn't. Darwin conceded that fact, calling it "the most obvious and serious objection" against his theory. He attests the "sudden appearance" of species, complete and distinct, in the fossil record - just as if God created all life individually.
Evolution is scientifically preposterous. Laws of probability are real scientific laws. Our DNA is unique because the odds of another person having our exact DNA are so remote we can dismiss that possibility altogether. Likewise with evolution.
Nobel laureate Francis Crick calculated nature's chances of producing one small protein: 1 in 10 to the 260th power. Crick reminds us there are only 10 to the 80th power (1 followed by 80 zeros) atoms in the whole universe; he concludes even the elementary components of life "cannot have arisen by pure chance."
Mathematician Emile Borel states an event will never happen when the odds are less than 1 in 10 to the 50th power.
Sir Fred Hoyle, mathematician and astronomer, calculated nature's chances of producing the 2,000 enzymes found in life: 1 in 10 to the 40,000th power. He states: "The Darwinian theory of evolution is shown to be plainly wrong" and concludes, "Life cannot have had a random beginning . . . but must have come from a cosmic intelligence."
Nobel laureate Ernst Chain said, "To postulate that the development and survival of the fittest is entirely a consequence of chance mutations seems to me a hypothesis based on no evidence and irreconcilable with the facts."
Albert Einstein said, "I want to know how God created this world." Einstein knew the universe didn't happen by chance.
Atheism and evolution are dead. Science destroyed them. Those claiming evolution is scientific must demonstrate that life can come from non-life by purely material processes and that one life form can turn into another, higher form.
Science demands it. Put up or shut up.
Here's what the Journal printed:
The big lie, recently reiterated by U.S. District Judge John E. Jones in the Dover, PA case, is that evolution is "scientific" but that creation/design is not. The opposite is true. It is WRONG for the courts to let atheists use public schools and public money to teach a (very unscientific) theory that supports their atheism, while forbidding believers to teach a (scientific) theory that supports their beliefs.
An effective way to debunk evolution is to use Darwin himself. He has no fewer than four chapters in The Origin Of Species which present serious problems with his own theory: "Chapter VI --Difficulties of the Theory," wherein he touches on "design" questions in discussing "Organs of extreme perfection" (such as the eye); "Chapter VII --Miscellaneous Objections to the Theory of Natural Selection," wherein he actually discredits the modern theory of "punctuated equilibrium" in discussing "Reasons for disbelieving in great and abrupt modifications" of changes within species; "Chapter VIII --Instinct,"wherein he discusses "Difficulties of the theory of the natural selection of instincts"; and "Chapter X --"On the Imperfection of the Geological Record" --my Quotes from Darwin in the editorial come from this chapter. A judge can scarcely say that Darwin's book is "scientific" except for four chapters.
FYI: The Journal also dis-remembered that Tom has TWO degrees: a B.S. Bio (Magna cum Laude) from Boston College, and an MS Educational Psych, (4.0 GPA) from UW-Milwaukee.
Judge Robertson: A "Reversal Record" Contestant
The X42-appointee who quit the FISA Court for unknown reasons (speculation is that he's in a snit over bad feeeeeelllllllllllings about National Defense)--did he have a track record?
As a District Judge, he got reversed a lot. A LOT.
Recall that X42 had a 'pal' at the Second Circuit, who tricked up the hearing-judge calendar whenever Ken Starr brought motions/pleas?--Yeah--one of the favorite "friendlies" was none other than Robertson.
Too bad that impeachment of a Fed bench-sitter requires that he be videotaped committing a crime (and who knows? the Dimowits might block that, too...)
Powerline has the story.
"O" of December 22nd
Richard Rohr, OFM (Gnostic)
(Fr.) Richard Rohr writes columns, some of which escape the dank confines to which they should be assigned and actually get in front of adults and children (!!) in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
Here's a sample, and some commentary from Catholic World News:
If you want and need religion, I think the Papacy is rather excellent at providing just that. No one does it better, and it will continue to appeal to a large percentage of humanity, many young people, and then again at the end of life. Individuals need the container to get started; nations and cultures need religion to hold together. Institutional Christianity, and the Papacy in particular, will give you intellectual arguments, enchanting rituals, grand historical sweep, a fine belonging system, and a clear morality to give you pleasing ego boundaries. This will hold you together quite well. It works at deep and good levels. It can create the real beginnings of spiritual desire, as it did for me.
But just remember, it can also give you just enough of God to quite effectively inoculate you from any need or search for the real thing. This is the normal pattern, in my experience. "I have no need for inner experience. I have outer assurances". In fact, I find a rather clear correlation between one's preoccupation with outer forms and one's lack of any inner substance.
The question for me is how much of your life do you want to give to maintaining, supporting, and cheering the container, and when do you get on to finding your real life and "giving it away"? Any preoccupation with exalting or maintaining Peter does not seem to be the least part of Jesus' teaching, but once you replace the contents with the container, Peter becomes your concern, your figurehead, your projection screen, even your vicarious salvation. Peter is fine, but he was never meant to be a substitute for Jesus or the Gospel.
"If you want and need religion ..." It's all there, isn't it? The sharp, invidious divisions: container vs. content, exterior forms vs. interior reality, plebeian morality vs. patrician enlightenment. Even the patronizing tone is perfect. Remember the unctuously condescending gnostic (Marcias, the tutor turned traveling mystic) in Waugh's Helena? Rohr all over.
Let me concede that there's a grain of truth in his picture. It does happen that some Christians content themselves with purely formal compliance with the concrete requirements of churchmanship and cultivate no interest in God. But Rohr doesn't see this as a defective adherence to religion but as the function of religion full stop. It's a place to begin, a ladder that you kick away once you've used it to climb to a higher plane: "Religion can create the real beginnings of spiritual desire, as it did for me."
Note that, for Rohr, it doesn't matter much which religion you begin with. He's not really interested in truth claims. Where Judaism and Catholicism and Hinduism disagree, they've all missed the point. This puts him at variance with the huge majority of the adherents of these religions, of course, as does his tellingly dismissive compliment paid to morality: it can give you "pleasing ego boundaries." I'm not sure what ego boundaries are exactly, but I suspect they're the kind of thing that fortuitously tend to dissolve in an all-men's bath house in the Castro district.
It's clear that Rohr's Higher Life is not markedly family friendly. Breeders -- those simple folks engaged in the messy and fatiguing struggle to pay school fees and dental bills and turn their children into Christian adults -- aren't going to find much sympathy from him. After all, they make considerable sacrifices to keep alive some remnant of the "institutional Christianity" that Rohr disdains, and put themselves to great trouble to connect their children with it. One feels Rohr would advise the family interested in God (as opposed to mere religion) to stay home on Sunday mornings and watch the Discovery Channel. I'm wryly amused by the image of a Catholic mom, stuffing her four young children into snowsuits, unstuffing the one who has to go to the bathroom, re-fitting him, cramming the family into the minivan, racing to church on icy roads, and arriving steamy and panting three minutes late for the start of Mass -- only to meet Father Rohr in the vestibule, with his superior half-smile: "Institutional Christianity, and the Papacy in particular, will give you intellectual arguments, enchanting rituals, grand historical sweep, a fine belonging system ..."
Some of us are painfully aware of unctious, condescending priests--they show up at close range often, here in Milwaukee.
NYSlimes Reporting Methodology
Sorry it's so small, Xoff. But you get the idea.
Who's more embarassing to the State of Wisconsin?
A) the 3-win Packer team which did an El Foldo on Monday night?
B) Feingold, (D-AlQuaeda) who wants the US to do an El Foldo on its own National Security?
"O" of December 21st
Xoff Tries the Spin Tricks
Backed up by the Milwaukee Driveling Sentinel, Xoff seems to think that Rusty Feingold, (D-AlQuaeda) is some sort of hero.
We await Xoff's terse and pithy condemnation of FDR for his internment of Japanese-Americans and Italian-Americans during WWII.
We're still waiting for Xoff-the-Statist's terse and pithy condemnation of Kelo--so my advice to you readers is: don't hold your breath.
Feinie is an embarassment, at best, on the issue of national security and it would serve Xoff well to disconnect from the brown-end of that horse--immediately.
Was it Rockefeller (D-Saudi Arabia)???
The AmericanSpectator blogsite has a tantalizing little bit about Jay Rockefeller, (who is allegedly a United States Senator.)
Seems that Rockefeller is known as a leaker and serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, with Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Ks.)
Roberts issued a statement this morning, blowing Rockebozo out of the water:
"I am puzzled by the release yesterday of a July 2003 letter from Senator Rockefeller to the Vice President regarding the recently exposed intelligence collection program, which was authorized by the President shortly after September 11, 2001.
“In his letter and accompanying press statement, Senator Rockefeller asserts that he had lingering concerns about the program designed to protect the American people from another attack, but was prohibited from doing anything about it.
“A United States Senator has significant tools with which to wield power and influence over the executive branch. Feigning helplessness is not one of those tools.
“If Senator Rockefeller truly had the concerns he claimed to have had in his two and a half year old letter, he could have pursued a number of options to have those concerns addressed:
1. First, he could have discussed his concerns with me or other Members of Congress who had been briefed on the program. He never asked me or the Committee to take any action consistent with the “concerns” raised in his letter.
2. Second, he could have raised objections with the Vice President during one of the many briefings we received. I have no recollection of Senator Rockefeller objecting to the program at the many briefings he and I attended together. In fact, it is my recollection that on many occasions Senator Rockefeller expressed to the Vice President his vocal support for the program. His most recent expression of support was only two weeks ago.
3. Finally, he could have pursued any number of legislative remedies. He chose to pursue none.
“Senator Rockefeller could have taken any of these approaches to adress his “lingering concerns.” He did not. He chose instead to write a letter to the Vice President and for two and a half years, keep a copy of the letter in the Intelligence Committee vault and say nothing to anyone.
“For the nearly three years Senator Rockefeller has served as Vice Chairman, I have heard no objection from him about this valuable program. Now, when it appears to be politically advantageous, Senator Rockefeller has chosen to release his two and a half year old letter. Forgive me if I find this to be inconsistent and a bit disingenuous.”
No less disingenous than Feingold's (D-AlQuaeda) sniveling and whining about "civil rights."
ENEMIES HAVE NO CIVIL RIGHTS, Feinie, you dumbass.
Having a birthday near Christmas is not a bad thing--among other bennies, the occasion allows for more-than-the-usual-expense goodies to be purchased for BOTH occasions.
That's how it worked this time, when I was very pleased to receive the entire (hardbound) opus of Watterson--Calvin & Hobbes from beginning to end. (The damn thing weighs near 50 pounds, btw. Careful!)
A few of the chilluns were able to justify it on the "two-gifts" theory described above. Neat.
Also, two (TWO!!) French Chocolate pies plus a single-serve of same. Of course, the pies are now reduced to 1/8 of 1, as the chilluns seemed to have fasted in anticipation; three white shirts, JIT-delivery formulation, and...
a Dan Wesson .357mag. Damn fine piece, great balance, shoots straight and consistent groups, a fine "in the waistband" for around-the-house use, especially if I were Kathy Stepp.
Kinder, Gentler, GWB
Scrappleface offers a solution:
The new National Do Not Wiretap Registry (DoNotWiretap.gov) follows the successful DoNotCall.gov model of allowing citizens to opt-out of harassment by electronic means.
If you are concerned that your civil rights might be violated simply because some al Qaeda member has your information in his cellphone or computer, the president said, then go to DoNotWiretap.gov, enter your contact phone number, email address, and names of terrorists who might have you on speed dial and let the National Security Administration know that you don't want them eavesdropping on you.
Sen. Feingold--jump right in here, you jackass.
Don't Like FISA? Then Try C-In-C
Hinderaker makes another point:
Many people seem not to understand that the executive branch is of equal authority with the legislative and judicial branches. The President has Constitutional powers upon which Congress cannot impinge. Thus, if the President has the authority to direct the armed forces to intercept phone calls received by telephones used by terrorists in Afghanistan, as I think he surely does, that authority cannot be taken away by Congressional action. Consequently, while the fine points of FISA and the scope of Congress's authorization of war in Iraq are interesting topics, the legality of the NSA program does not necessarily turn on statutory analysis. If, as I think, the program falls within the President's Constitutional authority as commander in chief, there is nothing that Congress could do about it, even if it tried. Which it hasn't.
Personally, I think that prosecuting a WAR requires that action be taken immediately to disable or neutralize the enemy. The position that Feingold (D-Vainglory and AlQuaeda) has taken is in stark contrast to common sense.
There is also the argument (cited below) from Captain'sQuarters that FISA specifically addresses only LEGAL immigrants who are not here on student visas--thus, the vast majority of people who are terrorist accomplices are simply not protected under FISA.
Sen. Specter (R-Snakes and Abortionists) has 'skepticism' about the President's powers as C-In-C. Since we know that Spectral Specter also has 'skepticism' about pre-born infants being actual human beings, it demonstrates that he is at least consistently skeptical about common sense, too.
Feinie is also consistent. It is a very rare occasion when Feinie votes FOR a military-spending bill.
We could conclude that Feinie is mainlining Coke.
It's All Coke's Fault
You know, the "Coke overcomes all..." bilge, where polar bears meet penguins (real-world check: last count, they live about 12,000 miles apart...)
And it's a happy ending with Coke.
The commercial encapsulates the Foreign Policy sophistication of Senator Feingold (D-AlQuaeda) and Ms. Pelosi (D-Haight-Ashbury Redux) --much like the 'Tenement Top' concert commercial they ran during the summer.
One notices that the Coke commercials never feature a picture of the vacant airspace where the World Trade Center used to exist...
"O" of December 20th
O Key of David:
Sen Feingold (D-Complete Idiot)--PAY ATTENTION
Look, Senator, I have family in the States.
I have friends overseas who are occupied in war zones.
Your self-aggrandizing BS is now pissing me off, mightily. Jim Sensenbrenner knows from 'civil liberties,' and HE thinks that the Patriot Act, as amended, passes muster.
GWBush apparently knows a hell of a lot more about FISA than you do--and for that matter, my 8th-grader knows more about Constitutional law than you do, based on your cockamamie reverse-negative crap (see below if you need more, Senator Stupid.)
I'd hate to think that any of my family or overseas friends got hurt because you think that it's time to revive Gene McCarthy's campaign.
So get this straight, Senator Asshole: change your votes. Clear?
Jolly Wrong, Corrected...
The blog "Regret the Error" has published its "Corrections of the Year" awards, highlighting MSM stupidities in the 'extraordinary' class. Unfortunately, such stupidities must be acknowledged by the MSM originator to make "Corrections,"--which leaves the ordinary MSM prejudices out of the column.
Nonetheless, we rather like this one:
This jolly typo/correction comes from the Liverpool Daily News in England:
Technology has revolutionised most of our lives in recent years and the media has particularly benefited from developments in IT and communications.
But all technology should always be treated with a degree of caution. This was a lesson brought into sharp focus last week following a review of the Welsh National Opera's double bill performance of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci at the Empire Theatre. The problem arose when the computer spell checker did not recognise the term "WNO" (Welsh National Opera).
A slip of the finger caused it to be replaced with the word "winos". All stories in the Daily Post go through a series of checks for error, but unfortunately this one slipped through the net. It just goes to show that it's hard to beat the good, old-fashioned dictionary.
A second runner-up, but a delight, eh wot?
HT: Godfaddah
"Root of Jesse"
"O Antiphons" Countdown to Christmas
These are the last seven days of Advent, the 'great ferias,' and each of them gets its own "O Antiphon". Each of the antiphons provide another name for Christ who is to come.
These are the "O"s for the first two days (got into this a little late, obviously.)
Note the first letter of the appelations (Sapientia, Adonai) When all of them are published here, if you take the first letters and create an acrostic in REVERSE order, they form Ero cras, Latin for "I Shall Come," or "I Will Be."
Let us pray--that these will serve as an antidote to the nausea you all experienced when reading the post below!
Bush and Intercepts of Communications
Captain's Quarters, once again, sets it straight.
Yes, indeed, the NYSlimes' story is BS--artfully disguised. That is to say, the President did what he was authorized to do--explicitly authorized to do--despite the bitch-ninny Feingold's horrific mis-reading of US law.
People have the impression that FISA requires warrants from the FISA judge, but that isn't what FISA says at all. In fact, FISA gives the government wide latitude in warrantless surveillance of international communications even when one point originates in the US -- as long as the person in the US does not qualify as a "US person":
(i) “United States person” means a citizen of the United States, an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence (as defined in section 1101 (a)(20) of title 8), an unincorporated association a substantial number of members of which are citizens of the United States or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or a corporation which is incorporated in the United States, but does not include a corporation or an association which is a foreign power, as defined in subsection (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section.
And further,
In fact, the only people who need to make this call are the President and the Attorney General, and it doesn't even make the accidental or tangential exposure of communications with US persons a crime. It only requires that the AG ensure that mitigation procedures have been applied to ensure compliance with FISA. The only way that one can violate this law is if the law gets intentionally violated. In other words, one would have to prove that Bush intentionally ordered the surveillance of a qualifying US person.
Since the targets within the US got identified through intelligence developed through captures of al-Qaeda agents and their equipment, it seems rather unlikely that they had contacts with many US-born American citizens. Most AQ assets enter countries on student visas -- which does not qualify them as a US person under FISA and therefore does not extend them the protection of warrants prior to or during surveillance.
Note that a US person must either be a US citizen or someone lawfully admitted to the US for permanent residence. If someone resides in the US on a visa and not a green card, they do not qualify, nor do they qualify if they get a green card under false pretenses. FISA authorizes warrantless surveillance in its opening chapter
Nothing more to be said.
Ghastly Liturgical Stories, Chapter 3,265
Just when you think that you're inured--that your armor-plating is sufficient--and that there is NO level of asininity that remains to be plumbed...
That's when you hear the update.
A Milwaukee suburban parish's Christmas concert will include the Mozart Ave Verum as part of the pre-Christmas Mass concert. Yup. How could I make this up?
You know, the piece which has the text about 'for us, [Your Body], sacrificed, perforated, ...flowing Blood and Water...' you know: CHRISTMAS stuff.
And, by the way, the piece will be sung in English, just in case nobody gets the connection.
It's worth remembering that the Director-ette/Liturgeist of this Parish has earned an MA from the seminary. Given this credential, it's obvious that our thoughts are uninformed.
We take comfort in the knowledge that the Liturgeist has affirmed that the Ave Verum is, indeed, "highbrow music."
Defend Vrakas?
Da Godfaddah, Charlie, mentions that nobody--but nobody--is defending Vrakas for his rather messy "deparature scene" melodrama at the Courthouse.
Ummmmm......Vrakas never took anyone into his confidence and said (for publication on some blog, or in some newspaper) that there was a REASON to dump Finley.
So, even if someone were inclined to be nice and helpful, with what tools? Any ammo handy?
All we are left to conclude is that Vrakas did what was best for himself and his office. That's the logical conclusion.
As to a rationale--dohhh...I dunno, chief.
Why Can't Weeeeee Beeeeee Friends?
The smarmy and dimwitted CIA takes a well-deserved hit:
Mr. Scheuer, he of pseudo-“Anonymous” fame, who was supposedly “in charge” of the Bin Laden desk, was clearly not up to the task. Instead of low cunning, he offered a kind of Boy Scoutish, or rather Cub Scoutish, simplemindedness, and clearly understood nothing about the theory and practice of Islam. His every remark showed this. Yet apparently he was kept on for many years. The C.I.A. needs to have a cadre created, or expanded, of people who will be given the necessary leisure to read widely in the history of Islam -- and particularly to learn something about its teachings, and about Jihad-conquest, and about the very similar treatment, through time and space, of non-Muslims under Muslim rule. They then need to be trained in the fissures, or disgruntlements, within Islam itself. They need to learn as well about the points of obvious weakness that can be emphasized to non-Muslims all over the world, who are grossly underinformed about the nature of Islam.
One hopes that the C.I.A. is not pulling any punches about Islam. If it echoes the nonsense from the government about the “extremists” in Islam, and continues to offer a sanitized version of Islam instead of the Ibn Warraq or Ali Sina version, then there is not much to expect from those on whom we rely for our own security, and from whom we have a right to expect at least as hard-eyed a view as was taken by the secret services of America and England with the Nazis and then with the Communists. All pieties, all vagueness, all denial of reality, really have no place, whatever role they may have in public diplomacy (and it has been a grave error to define the current, and continuing, and endless but manageable conflict as a “war on terrorism” instead of as a “war against the Jihad”). And even the latter formulation, while much saner and more realistic, needs to be amplified: the Jihad has many instruments, and the three D’s -- Da’wa, demography, and dhimmitude -- are more potent, in the end, than intermittent terrorism.
And while we're at it, DhimmiWatch mentions a corollary which the MSM has managed to ignore, for the most part:
Archbishop Charles Chaput, of the diocese of Denver, broke free from politically correct restrictions to speak openly about growing Moslem persecution of Christians, in an address to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, of which he is a member.
“Anti-Christian discrimination and violence seem to be growing throughout the Islamic world,” said Archbishop Chaput. “In the past several years, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and even Moslem-controlled areas of the heavily Catholic Philippines have all seen extraordinary acts of bloodshed against Christians.”
The Archbishop expressed his concern over consistent lack of media attention given to acts of violence against Christians.
“Three things distinguish anti-Christian persecution and discrimination around the world. First, it’s ugly. Second, it’s growing. And third, the mass media generally ignore or downplay its gravity.”
More "cultural incompatibility" issues arise in Northern Europe:
Some Muslim immigrants admit their bias quite openly. An Islamic Mufti in Copenhagen sparked a political outcry after publicly declaring that women who refuse to wear headscarves are "asking for rape." Apparently, he's not the only one thinking this way. “It is not as wrong raping a Swedish girl as raping an Arab girl,” says Hamid. “The Swedish girl gets a lot of help afterwards, and she had probably f+*+*+* before, anyway. But the Arab girl will get problems with her family. For her, being raped is a source of shame. It is important that she retains her virginity until she marries.” It was no coincidence that it was a Swedish girl that was gang raped in Rissne – this becomes obvious from the discussion with Ali, Hamid, Abdallah and Richard. All four have disparaging views on Swedish girls, and think this attitude is common among young men with immigrant background. “It is far too easy to get a Swedish whore…… girl, I mean;” says Hamid, and laughs over his own choice of words. “Many immigrant boys have Swedish girlfriends when they are teenagers. But when they get married, they get a proper woman from their own culture who has never been with a boy. That’s what I am going to do. I don’t have too much respect for Swedish girls. I guess you can say they get f+*+*+* to pieces.”
So maybe young Muslims are not really "dating material" for my daughters...unless my daughters are carrying a nice S&W in .357...
Boots and Sabers quotes a former WSJ foreign-affairs reporter who quit his job to join the USMarines:
When you live abroad long enough, you come to understand that governments that behave this way are not the exception, but the rule. They feel alien to us, but from the viewpoint of the world’s population, we are the aliens, not them. That makes you think about protecting your country no matter who you are or what you’re doing. What impresses you most, when you don’t have them day to day, are the institutions that distinguish the U.S.: the separation of powers, a free press, the right to vote, and a culture that values civic duty and service, to name but a few.
I’m not an uncritical, rah-rah American. Living abroad has sharpened my view of what’s wrong with my country, too. It’s obvious that we need to reinvent ourselves in various ways, but we should also be allowed to do it from within, not according to someone else’s dictates.
Which quote brings us back to the top of the post: what the Hell is the CIA actually doing out there in Langley besides criminal leaking? Maybe hiring a few folks who did NOT graduate from Smarmy University, but rather from a school with a degree program in Nasty, Brutish, and Short would be helpful. Think of it: Chuck Chvala (D-Dane County Jail) could rehabilitate his reputation--or at least put to GOOD use the skills he worked so hard to sharpen.
The Problem with Feinie
Feingold, (D-Arrogant and Condescending) makes the wrong point in his response to GWB's weekly address:
Feingold also argues that whatever is not explicitly legal is somehow prohibited under American law, but the opposite is true. In order for something to be illegal, it has to be explicitly made so by law. Anything unaddressed remains legal until the Legislature makes it illegal.
If I recall correctly, Feingold's horrific mis-understanding of US law is actually true--in Germany.
As noted by CQ, the blogger who caught Feinie's flapdoodle, were Feinie's take actually operative, the US would be a tyranny.
Of course, that's exactly what the Arrogant and Condescending want--a tyranny. Certainly suits the style of X42 and Hildebeeste, (D-Candidate from Hell.)
A Magi Meditation
Yes, it's a bit early for chat about Ephiphany, the Twelfth Day...but Evelyn Waugh's prayer to the Kings is worth repeating in preparation, as well as in celebration of their day:
"Like me," she said to [the Magi], "you were late in coming.... You are my especial patrons," said Helena, "and patrons of all late-comers, of all who have a tedious journey to make to the truth, of all who are confused with knowledge and speculation, of all who through politeness make themselves partners in guilt, of all who stand in danger by reason of their talents.... For His sake who did not reject your curious gifts, pray always for the learned, the oblique, the delicate. Let them not be quite forgotten at the Throne of God when the simple come into their kingdom."
More Waugh--on far less serious topics (mostly):
[On] politics, which Waugh loathed: "I have never voted in a parliamentary election.... I do not aspire to advise my Sovereign in her choice of servants";
(2) modern art: "Perhaps in the Providence of God the unqualified hideosity of Modern Art has been sent us to scourge us";
(3) psychology: "Voodoo, bog-magic, the wise woman's cabin -- there isn't such a thing as psychology ... the whole thing's a fraud";
(4) socialism: "[Marxism is] the new opium of the people [and] the ideal of a classless society is so unnatural to man that his reason, in practice, cannot bear the strain";
(5) the sexual revolution: "Responsible people -- doctors, psychologists, novelists -- write in the papers and say, 'You cannot be happy unless your sex life is happy.' That seems to me just about as sensible as saying, 'You cannot lead a happy life unless your golf life is happy.' It is not only nonsense, it is mischievous nonsense";
(6) the health and dieting craze: "Food can and should be a source of delight. As for 'nutrition,' that is all balls";
(7) liturgical reform: "'Participation' in the Mass does not mean hearing our own voices. It means God hearing our voices."
All stolen from Blosser's Homepage. If you read the linked article, there's a LOT more, especially on the definition of "snob," which Waugh may have been--but maybe not.
Still Think Gard is a Good Guy?
No Runny does the math for you on his post.
John Gard has demonstrated to Mark Belling and Charlie Sykes that he can f*&^ Wisconsin residents and taxpayers 9 ways from Sunday, and he's perfectly happy to do so.
History 101:
1) Gard makes it perfectly clear that he has NO interest in honest politics, affirming that taxation without representation is his preferred mode of governance.
2) Belling, Sykes, and others raise holy Hell about Gard's position and force a vote on the matter.
3) Gard suddenly reverses course on Indexing--Belling and Sykes claim victory.
4) Gard immediately sees to passage of the Corn-a-Hole bill (that's descriptive, not exactly scientifically accurate.) Because Corn-a-Hole is less efficient, Wisconsin motorists will buy more gasoline. Thus, the Highway Paver/DOT Estimate-Buster lobby is not just protected, but rewarded!
REPEAT: DOT will have MORE money to waste on highway projects, and will piss away MORE money than ever before.
5) Gard smirks his way to his Congressional race and gives the bird to Belling and Sykes.
You've been had, radio-boys.
The Value of the Free Press, (If Used)
Although there's good reason to bemoan the MSM (part of it will be cited here), there's also a good reason the Founders enshrined 'free press' in the 1st Amendment.
The free press, for example, would be all over this sort of story in the US:
On December 6, 2005, villagers in Shanwei, a small town in Southern China, staged a protest outside of a power plant that had been built on their expropriated farms. Acting with their usual restraint, the Communists fired machine guns into the crowd of men, women and children.
The Communist Chinese government is claiming only 3 dead, but Lost Budgie's China sources say the number will eventually reach over 100 dead. Telecommunications and internet service in the area have been cut off, and police have been confiscating cameras and cell-phones. The bodies of the dead have not been returned to the families and it is expected by many that the Communists will dispose of the bodies to hide the death toll and killing of children.
Except that the Free Press is NOT all over this story:
The Epoch Times is following the story closely, but no one in the western media really seems to give a damn.
PRChina holds an interesting position in the world. There are lots of US apologists for PRC, and many of them are major players in the Fortune 500 (Rick Waggoner, for example, doesn't mention PRC's little problems like this one.) After all, there's money to be made over there, right?
GWB and the State bozos have been very quiet, although the President has recently begun speaking up about PRC's notorious and well-reported human rights abuses (of the sort described above) and religious-rights abuses (see, e.g., any story on Catholic priests or Christians in PRChina.)
The US press has been ambivalent, at best, and clueless or silent at worst. Sorta reminds you of the US press' take on Saddam back a few years ago, eh?
Genuine Ninny-dom Example
Commenting on Wisconsin's CCW law, a ninny of the Left (redundant, I know) sketches a ghastly scenario of the foreboding future in Wisconsin on Monday nights:
The way the law works, he’ll have to keep up the vigilance when he gets home if wants to prevent people from bringing guns into his house.
When his buddies come over for a Monday Night Football game, if he wants to make sure that none of them bring a gun into his house, he must “verbally and orally” notify them them that they can’t bring concealed weapons into the house.
If he forgets, their rights to carry a gun in his house are intact. He might as well post a sign by the door in case he forgets, and so that there is not misunderstanding.
OMG!!! I suppose that if your friends are likely to shoot your house up over the results of Monday Night Football, the casual observer might question your choice of friends...
But not in NinnyLand.
Attention, Wisconsin Capitol Ninny Squad
The perfect Christmas gift for the Capitol Ninny Squad (Pedro Colon, D-Infantile, Leader):
Canadian auto regulators are testing a system that would enforce speed limits by making it harder to push down the car's gas pedal once the speed limit is passed, according to a newspaper report.
The system being tested by Transport Canada, the Canadian equivalent of the U.S. Department of Transportation, uses a global positioning satellite device installed in the car to monitor the car's speed and position. If the car begins to significantly exceed the speed limit for the road on which it's travelling the system responds by making it harder to depress the gas pedal, according to a story posted on the Toronto Globe and Mail's Website.
No mention whether the system will be installed in State of Wisconsin-owned vehicles and disable the auto when a DUI driver enters the car.
Evidently Transport Canada has never heard of "passing," wherein a vehicle accelerates beyond the speed limit to get past lethargic Government-payroll employees who are, after all, on the clock and don't really have to get anyplace.
HT: Bainbridge
More "Religion of Peace" Crap
Alright, I'll admit it: when the Muslims burned down France, I wasn't too concerned. That's OK--neither was Mitterand's government.
Now they're burning down Australia, too:
Muslims Attack-Burn Christian Churches in Sydney, Australia - Carol-singers Spat Upon etc.Adrian from Cablog reports that while the beaches have been quiet, things are heating up in other areas - with attacks upon half a dozen Christian churches in the last 24 hours.
More here in The Australian.
HT: Lost Budgie
"Religion of Peace"?--Maybe Not
Another astounding tale of CIA incompetence (why do you think they're Bush-bashing over at Langley, anyway?) broken by Front Page Magazine, coupled with a dark revelation:
“Today we are confronted with a stateless threat that does not have at the strategic level targetable entities: no capitals, no economic base, no military formations or installations,” states a new Pentagon briefing paper I’ve obtained. “Yet political Islam wages an ideological battle against the non-Islamic world at the tactical, operational and strategic level. The West’s response is focused at the tactical and operation level, leaving the strategic level — Islam — unaddressed.”
So far the conclusions of intelligence analysts assigned to the project, who include both private contractors and career military officials, contradict the commonly held notion that Islam is a peaceful religion hijacked or distorted by terrorists. They’ve found that the terrorists for the most part are following a war-fighting doctrine articulated through Muhammad in the Quran, elaborated on in the hadiths, codified in Islamic or sharia law, and reinforced by recent interpretations or fatwahs.
“Islam is an ideological engine of war (Jihad),” concludes the sensitive Pentagon briefing paper. And “no one is looking for its off switch.”
As usual, it's Little Green Footballs who found the item.
The Pentagon commissioned the study because after 10 years of Jihads, bombings, and attacks on US buildings, ships (etc.) abroad, and after >25 years of similar attacks on Israel, our fine-feather(bedded) CIA had not yet inquired about Islam. Not at all. No interest. Zip. Zero. Nada.
Most of my 3 regular readers understand that REAL wars are fought over religion--and yes, both Hitler and Stalin had 'religions,' (atheistic or idol-worship, take your pick) as does Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and others.
Those who do NOT understand this are the pointy-heads commonly hired by the CIA, State, and other Universities: educated beyond 'religion' and serenely unaware of the impact of faith on actions. Seems to me that most of those poor slobs should get refunds from their Ivy League almae matres.
Teacher, Student
Kevin and Dennis both covered this--and the real credit goes to the JS reporter--but it's so damn disgusting that I want to post it anyway:
Remember ex-Chvala staffer Paula McGuire's breathless account of what a great guy convicted felon Chuck is? The one where she recounts how Chuck emptied his own trash and allowed a Capitol janitor to sit in on a policy meeting where they all ate pizza? A great story, right?
Too bad it isn't true.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Steve Walters actually talked to the janitor, who said it never happened.
Ms. McGuire simply did what she'd been taught--lie, lie, lie. Make up a good story! Who the hell will bother to check?
Works for Clinton.
By the way, Steve Walters: the title should be The Chvala Code--some fact, and a LOT of fiction.
Edited Editorials on ID vs. Darwin's Failed Theory...
Gratuitous Slam
Professional Standards vs. the Museum
McCann to bow out
On Walker: The Opinion That Counts
ACLU-Approved Carolers
Stupid Republicans Bury Clinton Investigation
Jensen Comes Home, We Think
Tech College Taxes
GM Chairman's Comments
Obnoxious Defined
CCW: What's Going On Here?
Highway Contractors and The Tavern League
The Elephant in the Living Room
Maybe Miller Park Will Be Paid Off
PJB Makes It Clear--to Those Who Will See
"Jobs Americans Won't Do"
The Matter of the Missing $50 Million
Bleg--But Not For Money
Yes, Indeed--Christianity IS A Target for Democrat...
Another Thing I Learned at Lunch on Friday
Blatant Bias? Not the Journal-Sentinel!!
Things You Learn at a Conservative Lunch
Reduce Her Budget
Terrorist Fundraiser Acquittal: An Explanation
Chvala's Sentence
GWB: The Scales Tip to "Liberal"
Nat'l Ass'n of Pastoral Musicians "Top 25" Hits
Bishop Skylstad Explains It All For You
Church Music Making a Return to Church!?!! UPDATE
Another Theft of Poetry
Sykes Gets It
Scooter Jensen, Call Home
Thanks, Ted!
Kerry Was Right!
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Complete Special Issue
Volume 2019, Article ID 8173016, 17 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/8173016
Modulations of Histone Deacetylase 2 Offer a Protective Effect through the Mitochondrial Apoptosis Pathway in Acute Liver Failure
Yao Wang, Fan Yang, Fang-Zhou Jiao, Qian Chen, Wen-Bin Zhang, Lu-Wen Wang, and Zuo-Jiong Gong
Department of Infectious Diseases, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Correspondence should be addressed to Zuo-Jiong Gong; moc.361@gnogjz
Received 15 November 2018; Revised 19 March 2019; Accepted 24 March 2019; Published 28 April 2019
Guest Editor: Valentina Giorgio
Copyright © 2019 Yao Wang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the modulation of histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) on mitochondrial apoptosis in acute liver failure (ALF). The cellular model was established with LO2 cells stimulated by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)/D-galactosamine (D-gal). Rats were administrated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/D-gal as animal model. The cell and animal models were then treated by HDAC2 inhibitor CAY10683. HDAC2 was regulated up or down by lentiviral vector transfection in LO2 cells. The mRNA levels of bcl2 and bax were detected by real-time PCR. The protein levels of HDAC2, bcl2, bax, cytochrome c (cyt c) in mitochondrion and cytosol, apoptosis protease activating factor 1 (apaf1), caspase 3, cleaved-caspase 3, caspase 9, cleaved-caspase 9, acetylated histone H3 (AH3), and histone H3 (H3) were assayed by western blot. Apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. The serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and total bilirubin (TBIL) levels were also assayed. The openness degree of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) was detected by ultraviolet spectrophotometry. The apoptosis of hepatocytes in liver tissues was determined by tunnel staining. The liver tissue pathology was detected by hematoxylin eosin (HE) staining. The ultrastructure of liver tissue was observed by electron microscopy. Compared with cell and rat model groups, the bax mRNA level was decreased, and bcl2 mRNA was increased in the CAY10683 treatment group. The protein levels of HDAC2, bax, cyt c in cytosol, apaf1, cleaved-caspase 3, and cleaved-caspase 9 were decreased, and the apoptosis rate was decreased (), whereas the protein level of bcl2 and cyt c in the mitochondrion was elevated () in the CAY10683 treatment group. In the HDAC2 down- or upregulated LO2 cells, the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway was inhibited or activated, respectively. After being treated with TNF-α/D-gal in HDAC2 down- or upregulated LO2 cells, the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway was further suppressed or activated, respectively. The MPTP value was elevated in CAY10683-treated groups compared with the rat model group (). Liver tissue pathological damage and apoptotic index in the CAY10683-treated group were significantly reduced. In addition, AH3 was elevated in both cell and animal model groups (). Downregulated or overexpressed HDAC2 could accordingly increase or decrease the AH3 level, and TNF-α/D-gal could enhance the acetylation effect. These results suggested that modulations of histone deacetylase 2 offer a protective effect through the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway in acute liver failure.
Acute liver failure (ALF) is an extremely serious clinical syndrome caused by various factors. Its pathological characteristic shows that there is necrosis in a large number of hepatocytes and inflammatory cell infiltration in the liver. ALF has features of acute onset, quick development, serious complications, and high mortality [1]. Previous studies have verified that intestinal endotoxemia plays an important role during development of ALF. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the main component of endotoxin, induces liver microcirculation disorder and causes serious damages in liver cells [2]. Endotoxin can also stimulate Kupffer cells to release many cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1, and IL-6, which further result in liver necrosis [3].
As a common form of cell death, apoptosis contributed to liver injury in a wide range of acute and chronic liver diseases. In liver disease, hepatocytes would die through the apoptosis pathway [4]. Apoptosis is usually induced in two ways. One is the death receptor/extrinsic pathway; another is the mitochondrial/intrinsic pathway. The former can be activated by combining death signal mediators, such as TNF-α, with death receptors on the cell surface. The latter manner can be activated by cytochrome c released from mitochondria [5, 6]. These two proapoptotic signals can be activated by caspase 8 and caspase 9, which further result in the activation of caspase 3, cleaving of substrate proteins, destruction of DNA molecules, and cell apoptosis [7]. Because hepatocytes are enriched with mitochondria, liver is the chemical center of the human body and accounts for 20% of the total body oxygen consumption [8]. Therefore, the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway plays an important role in hepatocellular apoptosis [9]. It is important to investigate hepatocyte mitochondrial apoptosis in ALF.
Acetylation regulation involving histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylase (HDACs) is important to maintaining homeostasis [10]. HDACs have been verified to regulate homeostasis by inhibiting gene transcription [10, 11]. In the previous study, tumor suppressor breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) has been found to inhibit miR-155 via its association with HDAC2. HDAC2 deacetylates histones H2A and H3 on the miR-155 promoter [12]. Many studies have also shown that acetylation played a key role in liver injury. HDAC broad-spectrum inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) can effectively alleviate septic liver injury [13, 14]. Histone deacetylase 4 promotes cholestatic liver injury in the absence of prohibitin-1 [15]. These results are consistent with our previous findings that TSA can effectively inhibit the release of multiple inflammatory factors, improve hepatocyte injury, and improve the survival rate of rats with acute-on-chronic liver failure [16]. The HDAC2 inhibitor CAY10683 achieves the goal of treating acute liver failure by protecting the damaged intestinal mucosa and reducing intestinal endotoxemia [17]. Most of these studies are based on the mechanism association with acetylation in the process of inflammation. However, the direct protective effects of HDACs on hepatocytes through mitochondrial apoptosis during liver failure have been rarely studied.
In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of HDAC2 on TNF-α/D-gal-induced injury in the LO2 cell line and in the LPS/D-gal-induced ALF rat model and to further explore the HDAC2 epigenetic regulation on the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway in acute liver failure.
2. Material and Methods
2.1. Chemicals and Reagents
HDAC2 inhibitor CAY10683 was purchased from Sellect (Houston, USA). DMEM basic and fetal bovine serum (FBS) were obtained from Gibco (NY, USA). Lipopolysaccharide (LPS, purity of 99%), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α, purity of 97%), and D-galactosamine (D-gal, purity of 98%) were purchased from Sigma (St. Louis, USA). Rabbit anti-rat/human HDAC2, bcl2, cytochrome c (cyt c), apoptosis protease activating factor 1 (apaf1), caspase 3/cleaved-caspase 3, caspase 9, cleaved-caspase 9, histone H3 (H3), and acetylated histone H3 (AH3) antibodies were obtained from Cell Signaling Technology (Boston, USA). Rabbit anti-rat/human bax antibody was obtained from Abcam (Cambridge, UK). Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 4 isoform 1 (cox IV) antibodies were purchased from Proteintech (Wuhan, China). The goat anti-rabbit fluorescent secondary antibody (IRDye800) was obtained from LI-COR Biosciences Inc. (Lincoln, USA). RNAiso Plus, PrimeScript™ RT reagent, and SYBR Premix Ex Taq kits were purchased from TaKaRa (Dalian, China). The purified mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) fluorescence detection kit was purchased from GENMED (Shanghai, China).
2.2. Cell Culture and Chemical Treatment
A DMEM medium mixed with 10% FBS was used to culture LO2 cells at 37°C and saturated humidity and using a 5% CO2 incubator. The medium was replaced every 2-3 days. The cells were divided into control, model, and CAY10683-treated groups. TNF-α and D-gal were used to establish an in vitro model. When the cells were 70% confluent, they were passed into 6-well plates for 24 h. Then, TNF-α (100 ng/mL) and D-Gal (44 μg/mL) were used to stimulate the cells except for the control group. CAY10683- (120 nM) treated cells were harvested after a 24-hour incubation.
2.3. Knockdown or Overexpression of HDAC2 in LO2 Cells via Lentiviral Transduction
HDAC2 knockdown- or overexpression-lentiviral vectors were constructed by GeneCreate Biological Engineering Co. Ltd. (Wuhan, China). The knockdown interference sequence was 5-GCAAATACTATGCTGTCAATT-3 (21 bp). The cloning vectors were transfected into the 293 T cell line, and the viral supernatant was harvested after 48 h ( transducing units (TU)/mL). Then, LO2 cells were seeded into 24-well plates and transfected with lentivirus vectors. According to the manufacturer’s instructions, the tested multiplicity of infection (MOI) value was 40. After being transfected for 72 h, knockdown or overexpression of HDAC2 was confirmed by RT-PCR analysis.
2.4. LO2 Cell Apoptosis Detection
The LO2 cell apoptosis rates were detected by flow cytometry with Annexin V-phycoerythrin/7-aminoactinomycin D (Annexin V-PE/7AAD) apoptosis kit (BD, USA). After the 105 cells were processed to a 6-well plate, they were collected for staining. The cells were added with 400 μL buffer solution, 5 μL Annexin V-PE, and 5 μL 7AAD, then incubated for 15 min at 37°C away from light. Flow cytometry (BD, USA) was adopted to count the apoptosis rate in the early and late stages.
2.5. Animal Groups
A total of 30 rats were randomly divided into three groups: control group, model group, and CAY10683-treated group. The model and CAY10683 group rats were administrated by intraperitoneal injection with 400 mg/kg D-gal combined with 100 μg/kg of LPS. CAY10683 and the same amount of saline were given to the CAY10683-treated group and model group 2 h before ALF modeling was conducted. All rats were sacrificed under anesthesia for 48 h.
2.6. Specimen Collection, Histological Studies, and Biochemical Tests
Fresh liver specimens were fixed in 10% neutral-buffered formalin for 2 days and then processed for sectioning and staining by standard histological methods. Sections from the liver were stained with H&E and evaluated under light microscope (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan). Liver samples were fixed by 2.5% glutaraldehyde and 1% glutaric acid. After dehydration by ethanol and acetone, epoxy resin was embedded and sliced, and saturated uranium acetate and lead citrate were stained double. The serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and total bilirubin (TBIL) levels were assayed using a fully automated Aeroset chemistry analyzer (Abbott Co. Ltd., USA).
2.7. Quantitative Real-Time PCR to Detect mRNA Expression
The PCR procedure followed the previously published steps [18]. Total RNAs from LO2 cells and liver specimens were isolated by using RNAiso Plus according to the manufacturer’s protocol. The cDNAs were produced with a PrimeScript RT reagent kit and incubated at 37°C for 15 min and at 85°C for 5 s. Quantitative real-time PCRs were performed using a StepOnePlus device (Applied Biosystems) at 95°C for 10 s, followed by 40 cycles at 95°C for 5 s and at 60°C for 20 s, according to the instructions for the SYBR Premix Ex Taq kit. The data were analyzed by the 2−ΔΔCT method. All the primer sequences (Table 1) were designed and synthesized by Tsingke (Wuhan, China). GAPDH was set as the housekeeping gene.
Table 1: Primers for RT-PCR.
2.8. Western Blotting for Protein Expression Measurement
Isolation of proteins in the mitochondrion and cytosol were performed following the method described by Cai et al. [19]. Proteins from the LO2 cell, liver specimen, mitochondrion, and cytosol were separated by SDS-PAGE gels and then transferred onto a nitrocellulose filter membrane, respectively. The membranes were blocked overnight with 5% nonfat milk in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and probed with the indicated antibody (Ab) before being washed three times in Tris-buffered saline with Tween 20 (TBST) and then incubated with an HRP-labeled secondary Ab. The dilutions of the primary and secondary antibodies were as follows: HDAC2, 1 : 1000; bcl2, 1 : 1000; cyt c, 1 : 1000; apaf1, 1 : 1000; caspase 3/cleaved-caspase 3, 1 : 1000; caspase 9, 1 : 1000; cleaved-caspase 9, 1 : 1000; H3, 1 : 1000; AH3, 1 : 1000; and GAPDH, 1 : 1000. Then, they were incubated with a fluorescent secondary antibody at 37°C for 2 h. The blot was analyzed using the Odyssey Infrared Imaging System (LI-COR Biosciences). GAPDH and histone 3 were set as the housekeeping genes.
2.9. Relative Fluorescence Unit (RFU) of Mitochondrial MPTP in Hepatocytes
Fluorescence enzyme assay was used to detect bis-(bis-carboxymethyl aminomethyl fluorescein)-acetoxymethyl ester. When the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) was in an open state, calcitonin would release out of the mitochondria. The fluorescence changes of calcitonin in mitochondria represented the open state of MPTP. The specific experimental procedures were carried out in accordance with the product specification of the purified mitochondrial membrane channel fluorescence detection kit (GENMED, China).
2.10. Statistical Analysis
Data were statistical analyzed with SPSS 13.0 software. The results were expressed as . One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) or Student’s test was performed to examine the differences between groups. A value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
3.1. CAY10683 Inhibited the Mitochondrial Apoptotic Pathway in the TNF-α/D-Gal-Treated LO2 Cells
Compared with the control group, the bcl2 mRNA level was significantly decreased and the bax mRNA level was significantly increased in the model cell group (). CAY10683 treatment could significantly increase bcl2 and decrease bax mRNA levels () (Figure 1(a)). As shown in Figures 1(b)–1(g), the expressions of HDAC2, cyt c in cytosol, cleaved-caspase 3, cleaved-caspase 9, apaf1, and bax were significantly elevated, while the expressions of bcl2 and cyt c in the mitochondrion were significantly suppressed in the model group (). CAY10683 treatment significantly decreased HDAC2, cyt c in cytosol, cleaved-caspase 3, cleaved-caspase 9, apaf1 and bax protein levels, and elevated bcl2 and cyt c in mitochondrion protein levels (). There was no difference between the protein expressions of caspase 3 and caspase 9. Compared with the model group, the apoptosis rate in the CAY10683 group was significantly decreased (Figure 1(h), ).
Figure 1: CAY10683 inhibited the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in the TNF-α/D-gal-treated LO2 cells. (a) The mRNA level of bcl2 and bax mRNA levels were detected by RT-PCR. (b-g) The protein expressions of HDAC2, cyt c in mitochondrion, cyt c in cytosol, caspase 3, c-caspase 3, caspase 9, c-caspase 9, apaf1, bcl2, and bax were detected by western blot. (h) The staining with Annexin V-phycoerythrin/7-aminoactinomycin D (Annexin V-PE/7AAD) and flow cytometry were performed to detect the influence LO2 cell apoptosis. , compared with the control group. , compared with the TNF-α/D-gal-treated model group. c-caspase3: cleaved-caspase 3, c-caspase9: cleaved-caspase 9.
3.2. The Levels of Mitochondrial Apoptosis Signaling Molecules in LO2 Cells Were Changed after HDAC2 Knockdown or Overexpression
The HDAC2 knockdown or overexpression lentiviral vector (LV) was made and transfected into LO2 cells. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) was observed with a fluorescence microscope after 72 h (Figure 2(a) and Figure 3(a)). At 72 h after transfection, the HDAC2 mRNA level was obviously decreased in the LV-down group (Figure 2(b), ). The interactions among the molecules of mitochondrial apoptosis signaling were observed. There was no significant difference between the control and lentivirus negative control (NC) groups for bcl2 and bax mRNA levels (Figure 2(c)). The protein levels of HDAC2, cyt c in mitochondrion, cyt c in cytosol, cleaved-caspase 3, cleaved-caspase 9, apaf1, bcl2, and bax were decreased (Figures 2(d)–2(f)), and the apoptosis rate was decreased (Figure 2(g)). Moreover, in HDAC2 knockdown cells, the bax mRNA level was decreased, and the bcl2 mRNA level was increased; compared with the control group, there was a significant difference (, Figure 2(c)). The protein expressions of HDAC2, cyt c in cytosol, cleaved-caspase 3, cleaved-caspase 9, apaf1, and bax were decreased; the levels of bcl2 and cyt c in the mitochondrion were increased in the LV-down group (Figures 2(d)–2(f)).
Figure 2: The levels of mitochondrial apoptosis signaling molecules in LO2 cells were decreased after HDAC2 knockdown. (a) The HDAC2 knockdown lentiviral vector was made and transfected into LO2 cells. GFP was observed with a fluorescence microscope after 72 h. (b) At 72 h after transfection, the HDAC2 mRNA level was detected by RT-PCR. (c) The mRNA level of bcl2 and bax mRNA levels were detected by RT-PCR. (d-f) The protein expressions of HDAC2, cyt c in mitochondrion, cyt c in cytosol, caspase 3, c-caspase 3, caspase 9, c-caspase 9, apaf1, bcl2, and bax were detected by western blot. (g) The staining with Annexin V-PE/7AAD and flow cytometry were performed to detect the influence LO2 cell apoptosis. , compared with the control group. , compared with the control group. , compared with the TNF-α/D-gal-treated model group.
Figure 3: The levels of mitochondrial apoptosis signaling molecules in LO2 cells were increased after HDAC2 overexpression. (a) The HDAC2 overexpression lentiviral vector was made and transfected into LO2 cells. GFP was observed with a fluorescence microscope after 72 h. (b) At 72 h after transfection, the HDAC2 mRNA level was detected by RT-PCR. (c) The mRNA level of bcl2 and bax mRNA levels were detected by RT-PCR. (d-f) The protein expressions of HDAC2, cyt c in mitochondrion, cyt c in cytosol, caspase 3, c-caspase 3, caspase 9, c-caspase 9, apaf1, bcl2, and bax were detected by western blot. (g) The staining with Annexin V-PE/7AAD and flow cytometry were performed to detect the influence LO2 cell apoptosis. , compared with the control group. , compared with the control group. , compared with the TNF-α/D-gal treated model group.
HDAC2 knockdown cells were treated with TNF-α/D-gal for 24 h. Compared with the model group, the bax mRNA level in the LV-down/TNF-α/D-gal group was decreased (), and the bcl2 mRNA level was increased (, Figure 2(c)). The protein expressions of HDAC2, cyt c in cytosol, cleaved-caspase 3, cleaved-caspase 9, apaf1, and bax were decreased, and the levels of bcl2 and cyt c in the mitochondrion were decreased (, Figures 2(d)–2(f)). The apoptosis rate was also decreased in the LV-down/TNF-α/D-gal group, compared with the model group (, Figure 2(g)), whereas the levels of mitochondrial apoptosis signaling molecules showed the opposite change after HDAC2 overexpression (Figures 3(b)–3(f)).
3.3. The Level of Histones H3 Deacetylated by Histone Deacetylase 2 in Different LO2 Cell Groups
As shown in Figures 4(a) and 4(b), the AH3 protein level was increased in the model group, compared with the control group (). CAY10683 could significantly enhance AH3 protein expression, compared with the model group (). However, AH3 was upregulated or downregulated in the HDAC2-LV-down or HDAC2-LV-up group, respectively (). It was suggested that TNF-α/D-Gal could increase the AH3 protein level in either the HDAC2-LV-down or the HDAC2-LV-up group ().
Figure 4: The level of histone H3 deacetylated by histone deacetylase 2 in different LO2 cell groups. , compared with the NC group. , compared with the control group. , compared with the TNF-α/D-gal treated model group. NC: normal control.
3.4. CAY10683 Could Alleviate the Hepatic Pathology and Liver Function in ALF Rats
As in HE staining shown in Figure 5(a), the structure of liver lobules in the control group was clear. The arrangement of liver cells was neat, and the infiltration of inflammatory cells was not observed around the liver cells. In the rat model group, the liver lobular structure was unclear, and hepatocytes were necrotic surrounded by inflammatory cell infiltration. However, the hepatic lobule structure in CAY10683 treatment rat liver was clearer than that in the model group, and the infiltration of inflammatory cells was also reduced. As shown in Figure 5(b) and Figure 5(g), tunnel staining presented that the apoptotic index in the CAY10683 treatment group was distinctly decreased, when compared with the model group (). For the ultrastructure of liver tissues (Figure 5(c)), in the control group, the mitochondrial inner and outer membranes were intact, the mitochondrial raft structure was clear, and the continuity was complete. In the model group, the swollen mitochondria in hepatocytes were found, the continuity of the inner and outer membranes was obviously destroyed, the mitochondrial cristae were broken, and the structure was fuzzy. However, in the CAY10683 treatment group, the swollen mitochondria in hepatocytes were significantly less than those in the model group. The membrane continuity was more complete, the mitochondrial membrane rupture was less, and the structure was clearer in the CAY10683 group than that in the model group. In addition, as shown in Figures 5(e)–5(g), the serum ALT, AST, and TBIL levels significantly decreased in the CAY10683 treatment group compared with the model group ().
Figure 5: CAY10683 could alleviate the hepatic pathology and liver function in ALF rats. (a) HE staining was used to detect pathological changes in liver tissue. (b, f) Tunnel staining was used to detect the apoptotic index in liver tissue. (c) The ultrastructure of liver tissue and the mitochondrial membranes were detected by electron microscopy. (d-f) The rat serum ALT, AST, and TBIL levels were detected by the fully automated Aeroset chemistry analyzer. , compared with the control group. , compared with the LPS/D-gal-treated model group.
3.5. CAY10683 Alleviates Liver Damage through Regulating the Mitochondrial Apoptotic Pathway in ALF Rats
As shown in Figure 6(a), the RFU value was increased in the CAY10683 treatment group, compared with the model group (). The bcl2 mRNA level in the model group was significantly decreased, and the bax mRNA level was significantly increased, compared with the control group (, Figure 6(b)). CAY10683 treatment significantly increased the bcl2 mRNA level and decreased the bax mRNA level, compared with the model group (). As shown in Figures 6(c)–6(e), the protein levels of HDAC2, cyt c in cytosol, cleaved-caspase 3, cleaved-caspase 9, apaf1, and bax were significantly elevated. The protein levels of bcl2 and cyt c in the mitochondrion were significantly suppressed in the model group (). CAY10683 treatment significantly decreased the protein levels of HDAC2, cyt c in cytosol, cleaved-caspase 3, cleaved-caspase 9, apaf1, and bax and elevated bcl2 and cyt c in the mitochondrion (). There was no significant difference between the protein expressions of caspase 3 and caspase 9. As shown in Figure 6(f), the AH3 protein level was increased in the model group, compared with that in the control group (). CAY10683 could significantly elevate the AH3 protein level, compared with the model group ().
Figure 6: CAY10683 alleviates liver damage through regulating the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in ALF rats. (a) The RFU value was detected by the purified MPTP fluorescence detection kit. (b) The mRNA level of bcl2 and bax mRNA levels were detected by RT-PCR. (c-e) The protein expressions of HDAC2, cyt c in mitochondrion, cyt c in cytosol, caspase 3, c-caspase 3, caspase 9, c-caspase 9, apaf1, bcl2, and bax were detected by western blot. (f) The protein expressions of AH3 and H3 were detected by western blot. , compared with the control group. , compared with the LPS/D-gal-treated model group.
Regarding the pathogenesis of acute liver failure, the “two-hit” hypothesis is widely recognized. The primary injury is induced by the virus directly or indirectly (immune responses). The secondary injury is caused by the release of major proinflammatory cytokines in the gut-liver axis [20]. It is currently recognized that endotoxemia and hepatocyte apoptosis might be the most important factors, which have an extreme impact on the occurrence and development of liver disease. Previous studies have shown that the patients with liver failure had severe intestinal microecological imbalances. The overgrowing intestinal bacteria could decrease intestinal colonization resistance and destroy intestinal wall barrier function, which resulted in intestinal bacteria (including endotoxin and intestinal cytokines) translocation [21]. As a major component of endotoxin, LPS induced localized nonspecific hypersensitivity reactions in the liver. It further causes liver microcirculation disturbance and leads to severe damage of liver cells. Endotoxin could also stimulate liver Kupffer cells to release TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and other cytokines, which could cause apoptosis and necrosis of hepatocytes [22]. LPS and/or TNF-α is involved in the vicious circle to destroy the hepatocytes, which may result in liver failure. Therefore, it is suggested that inflammation control and prevention of endotoxemia could be the key strategy for the treatment of ALF through reducing “two-hit.”
Hepatocyte apoptosis is one of the important pathogeneses of ALF. It is mainly mediated by the death receptor pathway and mitochondrial apoptosis pathway [23]. The mitochondrial pathway is the central circle of hepatocyte apoptosis. Hepatocyte apoptosis is mainly regulated by bcl2 family proteins, including the antiapoptotic molecules such as bcl-2 and bcl-xL, and proapoptotic molecules such as bmf, bid, bax, and bak [24]. Some proapoptotic molecules such as bid, bad, and bim could bind to other proapoptotic molecules, which express in the outer surface of the mitochondria or cytoplasm, such as bax and bak, resulting in the oligomerization of the proapoptotic molecules. Subsequently, the oligomeric molecules could insert into the mitochondrial membrane, which cause the increase in mitochondrial membrane permeability and the loss of transmembrane potential. These mitochondrial changes could further induce the releases of cyt c from the mitochondria into the cytosol. Then, cyt c binds to apaf1 in the presence of dATP to form a multimer, which is able to recruit caspase 9 precursors in the cytoplasm and promote the binding of caspase 9 to apoptotic bodies through the caspase recruitment domain (CARD) of the amino terminus of apaf1. The activated caspase 9 could further activate caspase 3, which would trigger a caspase cascade and induce apoptosis [25]. Caspase 3 is the most important apoptotic executor in the caspase family. It is responsible for the activation or inactivation of the key molecules, such as GSDME (gasdermin E) [26]. In addition, apoptosis-inducing factors (AIF) could be released from the mitochondria. It is involved in the activation of caspase, the release of cyt c, and the formation of apoptotic bodies. In the mitochondrial pathway, the increased expression of bcl2 could exert an antiapoptotic effect by reducing mitochondrial membrane permeability, inhibiting mitochondrial depolarization, and releasing cyt c [27, 28]. Bax could promote the release of cyt c and regulate cell apoptosis [29]. The antiapoptotic effect of bcl2 and the proapoptotic effect of bax have been widely recognized. Therefore, the ratio of bcl2/bax could reflect the apoptosis state. Increasing the ratio of bcl2/bax could be an effective way to inhibiting apoptosis [30].
It has been widely demonstrated that inhibiting the activity of some HDAC molecules could alleviate liver failure. Our previous study showed that HDAC broad-spectrum inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) could effectively suppress the release of some inflammatory factors, improve liver and small intestine injury, increase the survival rate, and provide a protective effect in ALF or ACLF rats [31]. Another specific histone deacetylase 6 inhibitor, CY-1215, also known as ricolinostat, has reported many other effects such as anti-cancer [32], improvement of pulmonary fibrosis [33], and alleviation of peripheral neuropathy [34]. Our previous study has also demonstrated that ACY-1215 could inhibit the inflammatory response through the TLR4-MAPK/NF-κB pathway in ALF rats [35]. A clinical study has shown that the activities of HDAC1 and HDAC2 are obviously elevated in the patients with chronic hepatitis B, especially in the patients with liver failure. The downregulated HDAC1 could reduce the production of inflammatory factors [36]. However, whether the HDAC inhibitor (HDACi) plays an anti-hepatocyte apoptosis role in liver failure is still kept unknown at present. Many evidences have demonstrated that HDACi can inhibit the apoptosis in some tissue parenchymal cells or functional cells apart from cancer cells. It has been shown that TSA could attenuate apoptosis during acute lung injury [37]. Similarly, HDAC broad-spectrum inhibitor sodium butyrate could improve cardiac function and suppress myocardial remodeling in diabetic mice through decreasing the active caspase 3 protein level and the amounts of apoptosis myocardial cells [38]. Another HDAC broad-spectrum inhibitor, sulforaphane (SFN), significantly inhibits the apoptosis of LPS-induced porcine monocyte-derived dendritic cells [39].
In the present study, a specific HDAC2 inhibitor CAY10683 was used in an in vitro study. CAY10683 treatment significantly increased the levels of bcl2 and cyt c in the mitochondrion and decreased the levels of HDAC2, cyt c in cytosol, cleaved-caspase 3, cleaved-caspase 9, apaf1, and bax in the cells of the model group. The apoptosis rate in the CAY10683-treated group was significantly decreased. In order to further observe the effects of modulations of HDAC2, HDAC2 knockdown and overexpression by lentiviral vector in LO2 cells were performed, respectively. These transfected cells were treated with TNF-α/D-gal for 24 h. Compared with the control group, both mitochondrial apoptosis pathway and apoptosis rate were inhibited in the LV-down group and were increased in the LV-up group.
In in vivo experiments of this study, CAY10683 could significantly improve hepatic pathology and biochemical function in ALF rats. Tunnel staining showed that the apoptotic index was distinctly decreased in the CAY10683 treatment group, when compared with model group rats. As shown in the ultrastructure of liver tissues, the swollen mitochondria in hepatocytes were significantly alleviated in the CAY10683 treatment group than those in ALF rats. The mitochondrial crista continuity was complete, and the mitochondrial membrane rupture was also significantly reduced in the CAY10683 treatment group. The RFU value was increased in the CAY10683 treatment group when compared with the LPS/D-gal treated group. Likewise, the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway was activated in the model rat group and inhibited in the CAY10683 treatment group.
Previous studies have proved that HDAC2 can affect the histone level and dissociate histone H3 from the DNA molecule, thereby reducing the expression of the DNA molecule [40, 41]. In this study, we studied the mechanism of the HDAC2 level affecting apoptosis through regulating acetylated histone H3. When compared with the control group, the level of AH3 was increased in the TNF-α/D-Gal group. CAY10683 could significantly enhance the AH3 protein level compared with the TNF-α/D-Gal group without CAY10683. Likewise, in the HDAC2-LV-down or HDAC2-LV-up group, the AH3 protein level was upregulated or downregulated, respectively. Either in the HDAC2-LV-down or HDAC2-LV-up group, TNF-α/D-Gal could increase the AH3 protein level.
In fact, this preliminary study only demonstrated that inhibition of HDAC2 expression could alleviate apoptosis in acute liver failure. The mitochondrial apoptosis pathway included proapoptosis molecules (such as BMF, bid, bax, and bak) and antiapoptosis molecules (such as bcl-2 and bcl-xl). The mechanisms of modulations of HDAC2 effects on the specific antiapoptotic and/or proapoptotic molecules are still unknown. In addition, whether HDAC2 deacetylates histone H3 on some key molecule promoters, such as miR-155 [12], consequently affecting the apoptosis, needs to be further studied. In conclusion, modulations of histone deacetylase 2 via the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway offer a protective effect in acute liver failure. It is suggested that inhibiting the expression of HDAC2 could be a therapeutic agent for treating ALF.
The histological examination, electron microscopy examination, biochemical index detection, PCR data, and WB data used to support the findings of this study are included within the article. There is no restriction on data access.
This study was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University.
The manuscript was presented as an abstract at the following URL https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs12072-019-09936-5.pdf. We updated the manuscript accordingly. Hindawi Publishing Group reserves the right to interpret this manuscript.
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (81870413) and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2042018kf0187). The authors would like to thank the central laboratory at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University (Wuhan, Hubei, China) for their support of our study.
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instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Hello. Everytime my 4 year old daughter swallows bubble gum she complains her belly hurts I stoped giving gum to her and her friend gave her a pice today knowing she can t have any and she was crying reay bad and I asked her did you have gum today she said yes. Why does the gum hurt her belly so bad? output: This item is not to be swallowed. The reason it causes pain is that it contains substance which is not digested and it doesn't move easily through the gut due to its consistency. I would suggest you to teach your child that gum is supposed to be spit out and not swallowed. Your child is big enough, and I am sure smarter enough to understand too. Take care.. |
Bruce C Jayne
Rieveschl Hall
A&S Biological Sciences - 0006
Ph.D.: Michigan State University East Lansing, 1985 (Zoology)
I am interested in the evolution of complex systems that involve a combination of behavior, physiology and morphology. I believe that using a comparative, functional and experimental approach combined with an ecological perspective provides the rigor necessary for studying evolutionary adaptation. Most of my research has been on different aspects of locomotion and muscle function in snakes, fishes and lizards. Major methods used in my lab are the quantitative analysis of both motion (from high-speed video images) and in vivo patterns of muscle activity (from electromyography). I have also conducted field studies of reptiles. Click here for more details on my research interests, equipment & facilities.
The following information is also available:
Video Clips of Vertebrate Locomotion and Animal Behavior
Animal Pictures & Miscellaneous Photos
Bibliography on the Physiology and Biomechanics of Cycling
Cycling Physiology & Biomechanics
Post-docs and Students
Scientists Promoting Evolution Education in Cincinnati
Abbreviated Publications
Jayne, B.C., Bamberger, A.**, Mader, D., Bartoszek, I. (2022) Scaling relationships of maximal gape in two species of large invasive snakes, brown treesnakes and Burmese pythons, and implications for maximal prey size. Int. Org. Biol.
Savidge, J.A., Seibert, T.F., Kastner, N. & Jayne, B.C. (2021) Lasso locomotion expands the climbing repertoire of snakes. Current Biol. 31(1):PR7-R8.
Gripshover, N.D.* & Jayne, B.C. (2021). Crayfish eating in snakes: Testing how anatomy and behavior affect prey size and feeding performance, Int. Org. Biol. 3:
Jurestovsky, D.J., Jayne, B.C., & Astley, H.C. (2020) Experimental modification of morphology reveals the effects of the zygosphene-zygantrum joint on the range of motion of snake vertebrae. J. Exp. Biol. 223: jeb216531. doi:10.1242/jeb.216531.
Jayne, B.C. (2020). What defines different modes of snake Locomotion? Int. Comp. Biol. 60(1):1-15. doi:10.1093/icb/icaa017
Jayne, B.C., Harold K. Voris & Peter K.L. Ng. (2018). How big is too big? Using crustacean-eating snakes (Homalopsidae) to test how anatomy and behavior affect prey size and feeding performance. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 123 (2): 636–650.
Newman, S.J.* & Jayne, B.C. (2018). Crawling without wiggling: muscular mechanisms and kinematics of rectilinear locomotion in boa constrictors J. Exp. Biol. 221, jeb166199. doi:10.1242/jeb.166199 (featured in the new York Times)
Jorgensen, R.M. & Jayne, B.C. (2017). Three-dimensional trajectories affect the epaxial muscle activity of arboreal snakes crossing gaps. J. Exp. Biol. 220: 3545-3555.
Tingle, J., Gartner, G.E.A. Jayne, B.C. & Garland, T.Jr. (2017). Ecological and phylogenetic variability in the spinalis muscle of snakes. J. Evol. Biol. 30 (11): 2031-2043.
Mauro, A.A. & Jayne, B.C. (2016). Perch compliance and experience affect destination choice of brown tree snakes (Boiga irregularis). Zoology 119:113–118
Crotty, T.L. & Jayne, B.C. (2015). Trade-offs between eating and moving: What happens to the locomotion of slender arboreal snakes when they eat big prey? Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 114: 446–458.
Jayne, B.C. & Byrnes, G. (2015). The effects of slope and branch structure on the locomotion of a specialized arboreal colubrid snake (Boiga irregularis). J. Exp. Zool. 323A:309–321.
Jayne,B.C., Newman, S.J., Zentkovich, M.M. & Berns, H.M. (2015) Why arboreal snakes should not be cylindrical: body shape, incline and surface roughness have interactive effects on locomotion. J. Exp. Biol. 218: 3978-3986.
Jayne, B.C., Lehmkuhl, A.M. & Riley, M.A. (2014). Hit or miss: branch structure affects perch choice, behaviour, distance and accuracy of brown tree snakes bridging gaps. Animal Behaviour 88:233-241.
Horner A.M. & Jayne, B.C. (2014) Lungfish axial muscle function and the vertebrate water to land transition. PLoS ONE 9(5): e96516.
Byrnes, G, & Jayne, B.C. (2014) Gripping during climbing of arboreal snakes may be safe but not economical. Biol. Lett. 10: 20140434.
Hoefer, K.M. & Jayne, B.C. (2013). Three-dimensional locations of destinations have species-dependent effects on the choice of paths and the gap-bridging performance of arboreal snakes. J. Exp. Zool. A 319(3):124-137.
Jayne, B.C. Baum, J.T. & Byrnes, G. (2013) Incline and peg spacing have interactive effects on the arboreal locomotor performance and kinematics of brown tree snakes (Boiga irregularis). J. Exp. Biol. 216:3321-3331
Jones, Z. M. & Jayne, B. C. (2012). The effects of sound on the escape locomotor performance of anole lizards. J. Herpetol. 46(1):51–55.
Jones, Z. M. & Jayne, B. C. (2012). Perch diameter and branching patterns have interactive effects on the locomotion and path choice of anole lizards. J. Exp. Biol. 215:2128-2134.
Byrnes, G. & Jayne, B. C. (2012) Three-dimensional trajectories affect gap bridging performance and behavior of brown tree snakes (Boiga irregularis). J. Exp. Biol. 215:2611-2620
Hyams, S.E., Jayne, B.C. & and Cameron, G.N. (2012) Arboreal habitat structure affects locomotor speed and path choice of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) J. Exp. Zool. 317A:540–551.
Jayne, B.C., Olberding, J.P., Athreya, D. & Michael A. Riley. (2012). Surface shape affects the three-dimensional exploratory movements of nocturnal arboreal snakes. J. Comp. Physiol. A. 198:905–913.
Mansfield, R. H. & Jayne, B. C. (2011). Arboreal habitat structure affects route choice by rat snakes. J. Comp. Physiol. A. 197:119–129.
Jayne, B. C. & Herrmann, M. H. (2011). Perch size and structure have species-dependent effects on the arboreal locomotion of rat snakes and boa constrictors. J. Exp. Biol. 214:2189-2201.
Byrnes, G. & Jayne, B. C. (2010). Substrate diameter and compliance affect the gripping strategies and locomotor mode of climbing boa constrictors. J. Exp. Biol. 213:4249-4256.
Astley, H. C. & Jayne, B. C. (2009). Arboreal habitat structure affects the performance and modes of locomotion of corn snakes (Elaphe guttata). J. Exp. Zool., 311A, 207-216.
Horner, A.M. & Jayne, B. C. (2008). The effects of viscosity on the axial motor pattern and kinematics of the African lungfish (Protopterus annectens) during lateral undulatory swimming. J. Exp. Biol. (211), 1612-1622.
Day, L.M., & Jayne, B.C. (2008). Interspecific scaling and posture of the limbs during the locomotion of cats (Felidae). J. Exp. Biol., 210(4), 642-654.
Jayne, B.C., & Riley, M.A. (2007). Scaling of the axial morphology and gap-bridging ability of the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis). J. Exp. Biol., 210, 1148-1160.
Astley, H.C., & Jayne, B.C. (2007). Effects of perch diameter and incline on the kinematics, performance and modes of arboreal locomotion of corn snakes (Elaphe guttata). J. Exp. Biol., 210, 3862-3872.
Mattingly, W.B., & Jayne, B.C. (2005). The choice of arboreal escape paths and its consequences for the locomotor behaviour of four species of Anolis lizards. Animal Behaviour, 70(6), 1239-1250.
Higham, T.E., Malas, B., Jayne, B.C., & Lauder, G.V. (2005). Constraints on starting and stopping: Behavior compensates for reduced pectoral fin area during braking of the bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus). J. Exp. Biol., 208(12), 4735-4746.
Higham, T.E., & Jayne, B.C. (2004). In vivo muscle activity in the hind limb of the arboreal lizard, Chamaeleo calyptratus: general patterns and the effects of incline. J. Exp. Biol., 207(2), 249-261.
Mattingly, W.B., & Jayne, B.C. (2004). Resource use in arboreal habitats: structure affects locomotion of four ecomorphs of Anolis lizards. Ecology, 85(4), 1111-1124.
Spezzano Jr., L.C., & Jayne, B.C. (2004). The effects of surface diameter and incline on the hindlimb kinematics of an arboreal lizard (Anolis sagrei). J. Exp. Biol., 207(12), 2115-2131.
Higham, T.E. & B.C. Jayne (2004). Locomotion of lizards on inclines and perches: hindlimb kinematics of an arboreal specialist and a terrestrial generalist. J. Exp. Biol., 207(2), 233-248.
Jayne, B.C., H.K. Voris & P.K.L. Ng (2002). Snake circumvents constraints on prey size. Nature, 418(143).
Higham, T.E., M.S. Davenport & B.C. Jayne (2001). Maneuvering in an arboreal habitat: The effects of turn angle on the locomotion of three sympatric ecomorphs of Anolis lizards. J. Exp. Biol., 204(23), 4141-4155.
Nelson, F.E. & B.C. Jayne (2001). The effects of speed on the in vivo activity and length of a limb muscle during the locomotion of an iguanian lizard, Dispsosaurus dorsalis. J. Exp. Biol., 204(20), 3507-3522.
Jayne, B.C. & D.J. Irschick (2000). A field study of incline use and preferred speeds for the locomotion of lizards. Ecology, 81(11), 2969-2983.
Irschick, D.J. & B.C. Jayne (2000). Size matters: Ontogenetic variation in the three-dimensional kinematics of steady-speed locomotion in the lizard Dipsosaurus dorsalis. J. Exp. Biol., 203, 2133-2148.
Jayne, B.C. & M.W. Daggy (2000). The effects of temperature on the axial motor pattern and performance of sandswimming of the Mojave fringe-toe lizard, Uma scoparia. J. Exp. Biol., 203(7), 1241-1252.
Irschick, D.J. & B.C. Jayne (1999). A comparative analysis of three-dimensional kinematics of the hindlimb for high-speed bipedal and quadrupedal locomotion in lizards. J. Exp. Biol., 202, 1047-1065.
Jayne, B.C. & D.J. Irschick (1999). Effects of incline and speed on the three-dimensional hindlimb kinematics of a generalized iguanian lizard, Dipsosaurus dorsalis. J. Exp. Biol., 202, 143-159.
Irschick, D.J. & B.C. Jayne (1999). A field study of the effects of incline on the escape locomotion of a lizard, Callisaurus draconoides. Physiol. Biochem. Zool., 72(1), 44-56.
Jayne, B.C. & R.V. Ellis (1998). How inclines affect the escape behaviour of a dune dwelling lizard, Uma scoparia. Anim. Behav., 55, 1115-1130.
Fieler, C.L. & B.C. Jayne (1998). Effects of speed on the hindlimb kinematics of a lizard Dipsosaurus dorsalis. J. Exp. Biol., 201(4), 609-622.
Irschick, D.J. & B.C. Jayne (1998). Effects of incline on speed, acceleration, body posture, and hind limb kinematics in two species of lizards (Callisaurus draconoides and Uma scoparia). J. Exp. Biol., 201, 273-287.
Lauder, G.V. & B.C. Jayne (1996). Pectoral fin locomotion in fishes: testing drag-based models using three-dimensional kinematics. Amer. Zool., 36, 642-655.
Jayne, B.C. & G.V. Lauder (1996). New data on axial locomotion in fishes: how speed affects diversity of kinematics and motor patterns. Amer. Zool., 36, 567-581.
Rumping, J.M. & B.C. Jayne (1996). Muscle activity in autotomized tails of a lizard (Gecko gecko): a naturally occurring spinal preparation. J. Comp. Physiol. A, 179, 525-538.
Jayne, B.C. A.F. Lozada & G.V. Lauder (1996). Functions of the dorsal fin in bluegill sunfish: motor patterns during four distinct locomotor behaviors. J. Morph, 228, 307-326.
Jayne, B.C., T.J. Ward, & H.K. Voris (1995). Morphology, reproduction and diet of the marine homalopsine snake Bitia hydroides in peninsular Malaysia. Copeia, 1995(4), 800-808.
Jayne, B.C. & G.V. Lauder (1995). Red muscle motor patterns during steady swimming in largemouth bass: effects of speed and correlations with axial kinematics. J. Exp. Biol., 198(7), 1575-1587.
Anderson, B.D., J.W. Shultz & B.C. Jayne (1995). Axial kinematics and muscle activity during terrestrial locomotion of the centipede, Scolopendra heros. J. Exp. Biol, 198(5), 1185-1195.
Jayne, B.C. & G.V. Lauder (1995). Are muscle fibers within fish myotomes activated synchronously? patterns of recruitment within deep myomeric musculature during swimming in largemouth bass. J. Exp. Biol, 198(3), 805-815.
Jayne, B.C. & G.V. Lauder (1995). Speed effects on midline kinematics during steady undulatory swimming of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides. J. Exp. Biol, 198(2), 585-602.
Johnson, T.P. D.A. Syme B.C. Jayne, G.V. Lauder & A.F. Bennett (1994). Modeling red muscle power output during steady and unsteady swimming in largemouth bass. Am. J. Physiol, 267, R481-R488.
Jayne, B.C. & G.V. Lauder (1994). How fish use slow and fast muscle fibers: implications for models of vertebrate muscle recruitment. J. Comp. Physiol. A, 175, 123-131.
Jayne, B.C. & G.V. Lauder (1994). Comparative morphology of the myomeres and axial skeleton in four genera of Centrarchid fishes. J. Morph, 220, 1-22.
Gibb, A.C., B.C. Jayne & G.V. Lauder (1994). Kinematics of pectoral fin locomotion in the bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus. J. Exp. Biol, 189, 133-161.
Jayne, B.C. & G.V. Lauder (1993). Red and white muscle activity and kinematics of the escape response of the bluegill sunfish during swimming. J. Comp. Physiol. A, 173, 495-508.
Secor, S.M., B.C. Jayne & A.F. Bennett (1992). Locomotor performance and energetic cost of sidewinding of the snake Crotalus cerastes. J. Exp. Biol, 163, 1-14.
Jayne, B.C. & J.D. Davis (1991). Kinematics and performance capacity for the concertina locomotion of a snake (Coluber constrictor). J. Exp. Biol, 156, 539-556.
Jayne, B.C., G.V. Lauder, S.M. Reilly & P.C. Wainwright (1990). The effect of sampling rate on the analysis of digital electromyograms from vertebrate muscle. J. Exp. Biol, 154, 557-565.
Jayne, B.C. & A. F. Bennett (1990). Selection on locomotor performance capacity in a natural population of garter snakes. Evolution, 44(5), 1189-1203.
Jayne, B.C. & A.F. Bennett, & G.V. Lauder (1990). Muscle recruitment during terrestrial locomotion: how speed and temperature affect fibre type use in a lizard. J. Exp. Biol, 152, 101-128.
Walton, M., B.C. Jayne & A.F. Bennett (1990). The energetic cost of limbless locomotion. Science, 249, 524-527.
Jayne, B. C. & A. F. Bennett (1990). Scaling of speed and endurance in garter snakes: a comparison of cross-sectional and longitudinal allometry. J. Zool, 220, 257-277.
Jayne, B. C. & A.F. Bennett (1989). The effect of tail morphology on locomotor performance of snakes: a comparison of experimental and correlative investigations. J. Exp. Zool, 252(2), 126-133.
Jayne, B.C. (1988). Muscular mechanisms of snake locomotion : an electromyographic study of the sidewinding and concertina locomotion of Crotalus cerastes, Nerodia fasciata and Elaphe obsoleta. J. Exp. Biol, 140, 1-33.
Jayne, B.C. (1988). Muscular mechanisms of snake locomotion: an electromyographic study of lateral undulation of the Florida banded water snake (Nerodia fasciata) and the yellow rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta). J. Morph, 197, 159-181.
Jayne, B.C., H.K. Voris, & K.B. Heang (1988). The diet, feeding behavior, growth and numbers of a population of Cerberus rynchops (Serpentes: Homalopsinae) in Malaysia. Fieldiana Zoology New Series, 50, 1-15.
Jayne, B.C. (1988). Mechanical behaviour of snake skin. J. Zool., London, 214, 125-140.
Jayne, B.C. (1986). Kinematics of terrestrial snake locomotion. Copeia, 1986, 915-927.
Jayne, B.C. (1985). Swimming in constricting (Elaphe g. guttatta) and nonconstricting (Nerodia fasciata pictiventris) colubrid snakes. Copeia, 1985, 195-208.
Jayne, B.C. (1982). Comparative morphology of the semispinalis-spinalis muscle of snakes and correlations with locomotion and constriction. J. Morph, 172, 83-96.
Voris, H.K. & B.C. Jayne (1979). Growth reproduction and population structure of a marine snake, Enhydrina schistosa (Hydrophiidae). Copeia, 1979, 307-318.
Voris, H.K. & B.C. Jayne (1976). The costocutaneous muscles in some sea snakes. J. Herpetology, 10(3), 175-180.
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BIOL-6093 HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY & BIOMECHANICS LAB Level:Both |
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Why isn’t Javier Conde more popular?
He should be a legend among flamenco guitarists by now, but the YouTube account under his name only has 2,200 subscribers. One of his videos was posted 16 years ago - so he’s been around a long time. Some of his more recent videos have fewer views than those posted by Foro members.
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 21 2022 2:02:14
RE: Why isn’t Javier Conde more po... (in reply to Pgh_flamenco)
Didnt he make his name performing covers?
Maybe thats why
has he ever released an album of original material?
what singers has he worked and/or recorded with?
what dancers has he worked with?
what Stu said re original material
i guess that's why
RE: Why isn’t Javier Conde more po... (in reply to mark indigo)
ORIGINAL: mark indigo
These are all good points - and I considered them before posting the question. I read that Javier received standing ovations after each song at a concert in Europe. I know he performed in Japan, but I’m not aware of him concertizing in the US.
Original material probably would have been enough to help him overcome the lack of interest in his playing. Even so, Grisha has a lot of views on his channel, but he hasn’t written new songs.
It doesn’t seem like there are any singers who are popular enough to help a guitarist build a career in flamenco. There are no towering figures in the genre as there were years ago.
If Javier had engaged the English-speaking world on the internet would that have made a difference?
I read that Javier received standing ovations after each song at a concert in Europe. I know he performed in Japan, but I’m not aware of him concertizing in the US.
He probably needs a manager and to tour relentlessly in Europe, the US and Japan. And to sell CD's (yeah, or memory sticks of mp3 or whatever) at the gigs - Flamenco artists rarely do that, promote their music at live shows, or offer any kind of merchandise. There are loads of indie bands who've never had a "hit single" who survive like a cottage industry touring and selling stuff...
Might have been, but again, Grisha is based in the US, where there is maybe more of a market for virtuoso renditions of other known artists' work?
I think in Spain that is probably the way to get known as a flamenco artist, and even outside Spain if you are known as an accompanist then there is a kind of mark of "authenticity" to that to give kudos to solo work... maybe, I'm kinda speculating here!
maybe - I think it is probably all of these things. A couple of albums with known singers would look great on his CV. Then if he hired some singers and dancers and toured the "Javier Conde Dance Company" all around the world and sold a solo album of Sabicas and Paco covers and an album of original contemporary solos at the shows and backed that up with an English language/Spanish web presence he would be on to a winner! Oh, wait, he needs to publish a book/audio/video guitar method with volumes for beginners as well as for off-the-scale advanced too!
Oh, wait, he needs to publish a book/audio/video guitar method with volumes for beginners as well as for off-the-scale advanced too
JC needed the business acumen of Juan Martin to be a successful musician in today’s world. I think Michael Schenker made his living by touring and selling merch at his shows.
I hate to put this forward, because I don’t feel this way myself, but many people have this opinion of “chops versus feel”, and Javier fit into this typical category of a guy playing perfect recreations of classics with equal or BETTER technical execution…and people are left cold about the emotional aspects of the music that they normally get from the original versions. Again I don’t like that criticism but it would explain the situation.
Grisha, on the other hand, was criticized for the same, but in his case, especially as a foreigner, sparked controversy and debate. So the same type of criticism worked in favor of his popularity as he became a “controversial” figure in the genre. Javier remains as the “prodigy” that did not break through the early “copy the maestros first” stage of development, yet there is nothing there to “criticize”.
A further possibility is that in the early years of his appearance, the online situation involved his father often, and I can’t remember the details, but perhaps there were guitar deals gone wrong or some other such drama? It lingers in my mind as “poor Javier, he should be on his own doing his own thing”. I never forget him in Gerardo’s class 2006. As good as he was, he really wanted to work more on Cante accompaniment and Gerardo gave him that chance and he really was doing well. He did not like the advanced class of Gerardo and said to us “it was too hard” and dropped to the intermediate class (which is less of Gerardo’s music and more traditional material). We all played one after the other one night, and he was in danger of making us all look bad with his note for note “Doblen Campanas” of 1972….then Antonio Rey appeared and blasted us all with technique and duende. (Not including Gerardo himself who at the time played his traditional Solea Por buleria and made it clear who was the maestro of the gang).
I have no critiques of the guy’s playing of worth. For example the video of Nunez material first posted, I would not leave so much space between the phrases, but he is not “wrong” for doing that.
RE: Why isn’t Javier Conde more po... (in reply to Ricardo)
ORIGINAL: Ricardo
I know you don’t like the common criticism regarding “too many notes,” etc. Whether you call it duende, soul or breathing life into music some people have this ability and others don’t. I think it’s often necessary to sacrifice technical prowess for the sake of melody and harmony. A few weeks ago I posted Gerardo performing Puente de los Alunados as a solo piece. This song requires intermediate level technique IMO and is well below Gerardo’s technical ability, but when it comes to melody and harmony it’s a masterpiece. Anyone who can write songs like this deserves to have a career. After all it’s the music, not the technique, that people enjoy.
IIRC Javier’s father used to sell his son’s guitars on eBay. Also, his father was often mentioned when Javier’s name came up.
I enjoyed Javier’s performance of Gerardo’s La Cartuja. Not many people can play on that level. It’s just a shame that his career appears to be withering on the vine.
xirdneH_imiJ
From: Budapest, now in Southampton
What makes a real musician is composition in my opinion. There are many technical monsters out there, but very few with genuinely interesting material. Javier is one of the best around yet I can't recall hearing much original pieces of his and if you just copy other people's work, you remain in the "cover band" category. It gets you gigs and you might be able to make a living, but you won't be recognised for who you are, but maybe what you're capable of. Aside of ability, outside circumstances can really make a career - Paco had toured the world as a kid and made so many connections and absorbed so many influences and genuine life experiences which inspired him in his creations. But the real thing is (and noone seems to mention this) is charisma, which is of course hard to change. The real greats all had it - I can't really see it in Javier unfortunately.
RE: Why isn’t Javier Conde more po... (in reply to xirdneH_imiJ)
Yeah to be honest I've never really listened to him or even cared about him. probably due to the show pony aspect....
I find him a little off putting visually too. dunno if thats a bit mean..so sorry javier.
I think it's hard for a flamenco guitarist to establish a "career"
as a soloist. In Spain if you haven't played for important singers or dancers, gonna be tough. Even if you have, making that transition seems to be incredibly difficult-there are so many really good players who are nowhere near being able to tour under their name. How much demand is there really?
Antonio Rey is clearly one of the most talented soloists today and he was doing gigs in living rooms a few years ago. Doing classes. I saw him in Santa Barbara a few weeks ago and he's being suported by locals on this tour. Drew a couple hundred folks maybe.
Paco and Vicente, and to a lessor degree Tomatito, were able to bring their own people, but Antonio is doing the Chuck Berry thing at the moment.
The guy tours pretty much non stop, and I think its going to work for him, but his "career", at least in the US, is nowhere near his talent at this stage.
RE: Why isn’t Javier Conde more po... (in reply to Stu)
Yeah me too actually. Why is that? Terrible!
I also remember after he got his name out there he stuck to playing traditional flamenco like Sabicas and such, and maybe that killed the buzz around him after a while. Like, people thought oh he’s a talented player and young, but going back instead of forward. Been there done that, move on to another guy… whereas maybe Grisha was also covering some trad but also some modern, and his name has long been out before YouTube was around
me too, I think it's his lower lip, it sort of hangs there like he's gonna start drooling or something...
I was having second thoughts about the dance company thing, maybe that's just too last century, maybe he "needs" to get collaborating with DJ's and rappers and "electronica" and get some urban-fusion thing going...
Kind of to echo the sentiments. He's a monster player but I have never felt he had his own voice or compositions. Players like Diego Del Morao, Dani De Moron, Antonio Rey etc. are almost instantly recognizable in their playing and "voice" and have really came forefront.
Piwin
Joined: Feb. 9 2016
Post has been moved to the Recycle Bin at Sep. 22 2022 22:58:40
aw we're mean. But yeah. As.Henry on here would say in his wonderful Irish accent.''.aww now, yer being bad moinded'' (bad minded)
For balance, I'd give my right arm for his technical ability. (And his right arm to replace mine) 😃
It is mean :) - but I guess it's part of the charisma.
Antonio is amazing and is trying to do the solo artist thing, but I think he's been repeating himself for years in his new compositions. It seems that he's milking the west coast of the US for concerts, but I don't really see him going to places where flamenco used to go often through the "big four". Of course times are changing and general demand for flamenco is ever decreasing too.
trivium91
Late to the party but I saw the post and was interested. What you said was also my first feeling, robotic playing that does not move the audience, they do not feel anymore enlightened after watching a performance. Great players yes, but not the best performers, as harsh or critical as it sounds. There is no emotion or expression to move the audience. Emotions are irrational, in the context of music they activate the limbic portion of the brain which bypasses logic. Logically these players are awesome but they dont speak to the portion of the brain that draw people to come back for more without knowing why. Its the same reason Apple is so successful, their marketing speaks directly to the limbic brain which bypasses logic. Logically apple sells computers just like any other computer company, yet they are far more successful because of their clever marketing and ability to tap into the portion of the brain that causes people to drop $1500 on the newest iDevice without thinking.
RE: Why isn’t Javier Conde more po... (in reply to trivium91)
It's so subjective. I was walking out of a Vicente Amigo concert and two guys were discussing it, saying he had incredible technique but no feeling. I just smiled to myself.....
ORIGINAL: trivium91
RE: Why isn’t Javier Conde more po... (in reply to Mark2)
ORIGINAL: Mark2
When I hear comments like this I always wonder about the background of the person making the comment. I saw the Romeros perform with the symphony years ago and two women wearing fur stoles said something about “flamingo.” You can’t be too critical IMO - after all, they did buy tickets.
Vicente Amigo….no feeling! Blasphemy! Lol you are likely right though about it being subjective but also perhaps some people are poor judges of character and others better at it. Yes definitely it’s subjective just the same as peoples taste in music, otherwise Paco would have been filthy rich like Taylor Swift. At any rate when i was a younging my classical guitar teacher at the time accused me of playing robotically, though not as bad as my older brother. I didnt really truly understand what it meant at the time, or really what it felt like to be enlightened by creating music for that matter so it was true in a sense.
A small part of me wanted to admonish them, but what's the point? You like what you like.
When I was in college I auditioned for the jazz band. It was super competitive. Like 50 guitarists trying for three spots. First time I pulled out a strat and got thrown out. Next semester I brought a 60.00 steel string and luck was with me. The audition tune was Joy Spring and I knew it well. I got the third spot and pretty much sucked at it all semester-my reading wasn't where it needed to be, and I was not a jazz guy, just a young musician interested in the challenge of playing difficult music.
I decided to test the limits of my good fortune by auditioning for classical guitar lessons. They only had one teacher, and she could only take a few students. She roasted me, saying my teacher should be taken out and QUIETLY shot. Since I had not studied with a classical guitar teacher I assumed she thought I should just end it all. Not a cheery bunch those classical players.......
otherwise Paco would have been filthy rich like Taylor Swift.
Paco had two homes, in Mexico Playa de Carmen on the beach and in Madrid, then he bought a freakin Castle. A friend in charge of concert series told me the flamenco players fees. Nunez group, $7000, $5000 for the trio. Vicente, $10,000, Tomatito $20,000, and Paco….ONE MILLION DOLLARS, for a 10 show minimum. If they could only line up 8 or 9 spots for a tour of USA, he still charged $1 million, which the tour manager would have to figure out how to work it per each venue. This is why we see long stretches where Paco would not come to USA.
So, not sure what “filthy” means but Paco was doing very well there by the end of it all.
aw we're mean.
Yeah, that was a bit mean... sorry Javier... but it got a few laughs
Also I take it all back about needing to work with singers and/or dancers, apparently he has/does:
(in the alegrias above he is playing Manolo Franco falsetas)
also he seems to be composing?
Joined: Jun. 15 2006
Listen from the 4:00 minute timeframe and you'll basically have big part of your question answered.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Tsolakk
Oh I didn’t know this, I just randomly looked up what his estimated net worth was online and it was only like 1.5 Million. I guess those are not that accurate. https://allfamousbirthday.com/paco-lucia/
hamia
He's a top level guitarist - even if he's not writing his own stuff, and even if his stage presence leaves a bit to be desired.
After all, Julian Bream didn't get much blowback for not being a composer.
https://youtu.be/EbcxBQ2aWKs?t=1220
RE: Why isn’t Javier Conde more po... (in reply to hamia)
I hear you but I don't think it is the same expectations when it comes to classical music.
In the flamenco culture, it is important for everyone to have their own material, lyrics, falsetas (the forms are very limited so they have to be personalized otherwise everyone sounds the same). That's not the case in the classical world...
And yes I agree with you, he is a top notch player with great technic.
yeah I mean I dont think anyone has said he isn't a top notch player.
In fact thats the whole point of this post. He so technically brilliant...so why isnt he more succesful/popular?
whats your theory?
RE: Why isn’t Javier Conde more po... (in reply to tk)
I don't think it is the same expectations when it comes to classical music.
IMHO that's really all it boils down to. Flamenco just doesn't have that culture of musicians as interpreters. Personally, I greatly appreciate what the handful of guitarists who have chosen that route do. There's a lot of value in it, but admittedly it's not the route to stardom in this particular genre.
Javier was an accompanist at a tablao in Madrid for quite a while. He disappeared at some point (IIRC he landed a teaching gig in Germany). I think he's back but I'm not entirely sure (I haven't really returned to the flamenco scene since covid). Either way, I remember thinking that he wasn't my favorite accompanist but that he got the job done well enough.
"Anything you do can be fixed. What you cannot fix is the perfection of a blank page. What you cannot fix is that pristine, unsullied whiteness of a screen or a page with nothing on it—because there’s nothing there to fix."
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instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: What are the common etiologies of stomatitis? output: Stomatitis is a broad term that refers to inflammation of the oral mucosa, and its etiologies are diverse. Common causes include:
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8. Lifestyle Factors:
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In summary, stomatitis can result from a variety of infectious, immunologic, nutritional, and mechanical factors. Proper diagnosis often requires a thorough history, clinical examination, and sometimes specific tests like patch testing or microbial cultures. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: I have a large lump onon my nose in between my eye and the bridge of my nose. It feels like a hard water balloon. It doesnt give me much discomfort but i believe that is still growing, and is causing sinus pressure. It started to present itself about 4 years ago when some debris got blown into my face at a boat yard i worked at. I had a stye but when it went away i thought it was all over. Any help will be greatly appreceated thanks
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instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Of late my son has has been complaining of breathlessness which lasts for 4-5 minutes. He was rushed to hospital twice. Since he was having cold and slight cough , he was adviseake antibiotics. Later I could understand from him that he had some kind of feeling in his nose (like an air bubble going up the nose when one drinks soft drinks) which he thought as problematic and led to anxiety and breathlessness. For the past couple of days, he has started again complaing of breathlessness . He hyper ventillates during this time and he feels dizzy too. He complains that he feels dryness and heat too inside his mouth. He has large tonsils and allergic too. He breathes through both nose and mouth. I feel that his problem is more attributed to anxiey ( fear that he would become breathless) and 25% to physical . I request your help in this and also help me to find out a good clinical psychologist in Kochi
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The Edward E. Spencer House - 244 West 75th Street
By the 1880s the Upper West Side was feverishly developing. Mass transit, sewers and paved streets made the area ripe for new home construction and builders like William J. Merritt & Co. scrambled to take full advantage. In 1888 alone Merritt & Co. advertised 38 new houses: four on West End Avenue between 73rd and 74th Streets, seven harmonious dwellings on the corner of 75th Street and West End Avenue, and the entire block—27 houses in all—on both sides of 73rd Street between West End Avenue and Broadway (then called the Boulevard).
Merritt had been working on such projects on the Upper West Side for years. In 1884 he filed plans for another block of homes on both sides of West 75th Street between West End Avenue and Broadway. Acting as both architect and builder, the bullish Merritt offered the houses to buyers with a money-back guarantee.
No. 244 West 75th Street was one of a group of five completed on the block in 1885. What Victorian critics might have called "a happy marriage of styles," it was three stories tall above a deep English basement. The entrance to the basement level, next to the dog-legged stoop, was clad in chunky, undressed stone. Its Romanesque Revival styling contrasted with the bowed bay of the parlor level, dressed in planar stone and adorned with a bas relief plaque. The carving depicted a contemporary woman with 1880s hair style surrounded by deftly-carved ferns, oak leaves, roses and calla lilies.
The romantic parlor level bay smacked of a castle turret.
Merritt's blend of styles continued with neo-Grec stone band courses, a neo-Classical pressed frieze below the bracketed cornice, and a Queen Anne pediment for good measure.
Edward Everett Spencer and his wife, Mary Jane, purchased No. 244 from Merritt in March, 1886 for $20,000--just over $525,000 today. The couple had a son and a daughter, Everett, Jr. and Florence Luella.
Spencer was the principal in Edward E. Spencer & Co., "dealers in findings and shoe manufacturers' goods." An expert on machinery, he had left his job as a locomotive engineer to join the firm of Crosby, Butterfield & Haven in 1863 as superintendent of its machinery department. He was also responsible for "fitting up factories" for clients who purchased the firm's machinery.
A salesman's card listed some of the items offered. Soft goods like moccasins and bootees were not considered shoes, but "fittings." (copyright expired)
In 1867 Spencer was made a partner. That same year the company turned to manufacturing shoe making equipment and shoe components--like insoles, overgaiters, "leggins" and baby shoes. When he bought out William Butterfield, the last remaining partner, in 1882 Spencer ran the company alone for another five years.
By the time the Spencer family moved into the West 75th Street house, he had taken two partners. The Boot and Shoe Recorder noted in December 1894 it was doing business not only in the States, but in South America, Switzerland, Japan and other countries. The magazine said the firm specialized in "fitting out shoe stores with everything except shoes."
Christmas Eve 1891 was especially memorable for the family. Florence Luella was married in the house that day to Samel Holdens Parsons. The Spencer house must have been a bit crowded, for The New York Times reported "After the ceremony a reception followed by dancing was given to 200 guests."
The Spencers regularly summered at Lakewood, New Jersey. But the fashionable resort hotels there were equally popular in the winter season when moneyed families flocked to enjoy sleighing. A society columnist for The New York Times reported from Lakewood on February 1895 saying "Everything in the form of a sleigh finds favor these Winter days. Russian sleighs, with silver bells, hobnob with brilliant-colored high-backed sledges that show the early date of their manufacture chiefly in their substantial lines and build." The article noted several sleigh parties hosted by "prominent people."
Among those arriving at the Laurel House hotel that week were the Spencers. Just as in the warm months, guests followed a strict routine and social protocols while enjoying themselves. The article listed dinners, lunches and other entertainments hosted by New York and Philadelphia socialites, and mentioned "The 5 o'clock teas at the Laurel-in-the-Pines must be regarded as filling a very welcome space of time between the daily walk and dinner."
By now Spencer Jr. was working in his father's firm. He was a member of the jury in the highly-publicized case of Michael F. Considine, on trial for the murder of John J. Malone, in April 1896. According to the New-York Tribune, "Considine shot Malone in front of the St. James Hotel in Broadway on the evening of January 28, 1895, when the two men quarreled about a sum of money which Considine declared Malone owed to him."
Considine pleaded self defense, saying that Malone "threatened to strike him with a cane." Setting aside the expectation of unbiased reporting, the New-York Tribune added "but he did not pretend that he called out for the protection which could have been afforded by other men in front of the hotel before he drew his revolver and shot his adversary down."
Spencer and his co-jurors acquitted Considine on April 15. The editors of the New-York Tribune were outraged. "A number of well-informed men declared that they could not understand how any jury could have acquitted Considine," it wrote and concluded "the just punishment of murderers in this city is becoming too tardy and too uncertain."
Mary Jane Spencer rarely entertained on a large scale, but she was visibly involved in one social club, the Daughters of Ohio. The women met once a month during the winter season, most often in the drawing rooms of a member or in a large venue, as was the case on May 16, 1903. That afternoon Mary Jane joined her fellow members at the Waldorf-Astoria. "After the business session a musical entertainment and reception were given," noted the New-York Tribune the following day.
She did, nevertheless, entertain on a small scale in the 75th Street house. On March 12, 1905 The New York Times noted "Monday afternoon Mrs. Edward Everett Spencer received informally in her home," and added "She will be at home to her friends to-morrow." The announcing of when women would be "at home" was highly important for socialites in order to arrange their tangled schedules.
In the spring of 1906 a new club was incorporated, the National Society of Ohio. Mary Jane Spencer was among its original members and hosted its first event on March 16 that year. The New-York Tribune noted "An interesting programme has been arranged."
1918 was a traumatic year for Edward Everett Spencer. On April 4 Mary Jane died. Her funeral was held in the house three days later. Then, on June 20, fire broke out in a building downtown that housed one of the Spencer firm's manufacturing plants, now headed by Edward Jr. The damage amounted to $25,000, around $398,000 in today's dollars.
In 1932 George Lawton, writing in his The Drama of Life After Death, said "A rapidly growing association in New York City is the Independent Associated Spiritualists Supreme Council which at the present writing consists of six churches." Among those listed was the Temple of Brotherhood, Inc.
Spiritualism had first appeared in New York State in the 1840s, partly an outgrowth of the founding of Mormonism there. Spiritualists believed that direct communication with God. spirits or angels was possible.
In May 1934 Edward Spencer Jr. and his wife sold the family home to Isaac M. Levy. He resold it one year later to the Temple of Brotherhood. The house was assessed at the time at $25,000, just under $450,000 today and a substantial amount during the Great Depression.
The Temple of Brotherhood made alterations which resulted in a "chapel and reading room" on the parlor floor, one apartment on the second, and three furnished rooms and two kitchens on the third.
One of the original upstairs tenants was Grant Williams, a retired police lieutenant with an astounding story. Williams had retired because of ill health in 1928, but not before changing the course of forensic science.
He entered the NYPD in May 1897, making the rank of sergeant in 1905. When he was transferred to the detective division in 1911 he was made a lieutenant. In 1913 he was assigned to the Bureau of the Unidentified Dead, and the following year organized the Bureau of Missing Persons. He headed that department until his retirement.
Williams's innovative techniques led to his solving "many police mysteries," according to a newspaper. But the one that stood out was the 1922 case of a skeleton found near Haverstraw, New York. The New York Times reported "Lieutenant Williams reconstructed a face from the skull, and established the identify of the skeleton as that of Lillian White, a Letchworth Village inmate."
On June 2, 1937 Williams's body was found in his furnished room. The 65-year old had been dead for at least two days. Medical examiners blamed his death on "a hemorrhage."
In 1954 the Temple of Brotherhood sold No. 244 to Murray M. Walters, who continued to rent rooms in the building. It was home to respectable tenants like Edward J. Alpin, who moved in in the early 1960s.
Born in England in 1883, he was ordained a Methodist minister there. But when he came to the United States at the turn of the century, he founded Alpin, Inc. a painting company. Then in the 1930s he turned again to religion, devoting all his time to the ministry. He was pastor of St. Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church during the Depression, never taking a salary. From 1950 until his retirement in 1950 he was pastor of the Elton Avenue Methodist Church in the Bronx. He was still living in a room in the 75th Street house when he died at the age of 82 in February 1965.
By now the once-quiet block lined with William J. Merritt's fanciful rowhouses had seen the erection of soaring 20th century apartment buildings. But No. 244 had steadfastly refused to go. Squashed in between two large structures, it received a renovation in 2006 that brought it back to a single family home.
photographs by the author
Labels: holdout architecture, upper west side, west 75th street, William J. Merritt
The Lost Cyrus Clark Mansion - Riveride Drive at 90th Street
photo from the collection of the New York Historical Society
The development of the rocky, hilly Upper West Side into a modern suburb was due in great part to the tireless work of Cyrus Clark. By the end of the Civil War, when Clark was still in his 30s, he had amassed a substantial personal fortune from his wholesale silk business.
He left New York in 1867 to pursue an entirely different career. After studying real estate development in Europe, he returned in 1870 and began buying undeveloped land in the Upper West Side. Disinterested in any other sections of the city, he lobbied for improvements like mass transit, sewer and water lines, and gas street lamps.
Clark pushed for laying out Riverside Drive along Riverside Park, construction of which had begun in 1872. In February 1884 he helped organize the Citizen's West Side Improvement Association, which was incorporated as the West End Association in 1889. Clark would be its president for years and his unrelenting work led to his being warmly called The Father of the West Side.
Clark and his wife, the former Julia Antoinette Requa, had three children, Walter, Howard and Mary. When the West End Association was incorporated Clark and his family had lived in their new home on the southwest corner of Riveride Drive and 90th Street for a year. Architect Henry F. Kilburn designed the mansion--a successful blending of French Renaissance and Romanesque Revival. Costing $90,000 to construct (about $2.34 million today), it was faced in rough-cut stone. The tile-covered hip roof was broken by two towers, dormers and clustered chimneys. Numerous porches took advantage of the location's river breezes and spectacular views.
On December 17, 1891 The New York Times ran the headline "OWNERS LOADED FOR BEAR." The article explained that mansion owners along Riverside Drive, including Cyrus Clark, accused the Park Commissioners of failing to maintain Riverside Drive and allowing "nuisances" to invade it. They insisted that the Parks Commissioners were responsible for their falling property value, and now threatened to go to Albany over the "threatened construction of ill-smelling and unsightly factories along the river front."
This interior view of the Clark house shows a typical 1890s assemblage of paintings, statuary and bric-a-brac. photographer unknown, from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York
Clark never let his guard down in protecting the Upper West Side and in particular the Riverside Drive neighborhood. He was there when the Parks Commissioners met on February 3, 1892 to discuss the proposed licensing of a triangular piece of land in Riverside Park between 72nd and 75th Streets to the New-York Central Railroad. Clark fought against the proposal, asserting it "was a scheme to gain the right to the river front, so that docks and warehouses could be built there later."
In the meantime, Julia had more immediate issues on her mind. Mary was now a young woman and her marriage to Dr. Edward Washburn had to be carefully planned. The ceremony took place in the Riverside Drive mansion on June 3, 1893, prompting The Times to call it "one of the prettiest of the early June weddings."
The groom was an educator with an impressive background. He had been an instructor in Latin and Greek at Columbia College, and now held the post of Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology at Bryn Mawr College.
Mary's wedding party assembled on the porch and lawn. Note the little second floor balcony just above the porch roof; a charming detail. photographer unknown, from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York
The wedding reception was held in the house following the ceremony. The New York Times mentioned "The bride and bridegroom will spend the Summer in Europe"
The following year, on October 25, 1894, Walter was married to Alice Marshal Westervelt in what was called "an important and unusually pretty wedding." The ceremony took place in the fashionable St. George's Episcopal Church on Stuyvesant Square.
Walter had graduated from Harvard five years earlier. His bride was the great-granddaughter of Daniel D. Tompkins, who was several times the Governor of New York and the James Monroe's Vice President.
Howard was his brother's best man. The 23-year old had enlisted in the United States Army, serving in Troop A Calvary, in 1891. He had seen field service in the Buffalo Switchmen Strike in August 1892 and three months after the wedding he would help squelch the violent Brooklyn Trolley Strike.
In October 1897 Clark sold the southern half of the block, totaling about 10 building plots, for about $200,000 (just under $6 million today). His relinquishing of half his lawn may have been a signal. With two of his children married, he and Julia left the Riverside Drive mansion in 1898, significantly downsizing to a new rowhouse at No. 327 West 76th Street.
The Riverside Drive mansion was purchased by Mary Llewellyn Swayne Parsons. Her husband, Edwin Parsons had died four years earlier. The head of Edwin Parsons & Company, a cotton commission house, he left his widow a substantial fortune. Mary's father, Noah Haynes Swayne, had been a United States Supreme Court Justice. Her summer estate was at Northport, Long Island.
Mary wasted no time in opening her new home to guests. On March 1, 1898 The New York Times reported "Mrs. Edwin Parsons gave a dinner of twelve covers at her home, Ninetieth Street and Riverside Drive, last night. The table decorations were roses."
On August 30, 1900 Mary was an honored guest at the cornerstone laying ceremonies of the Parsons Memorial Library in Edwin's hometown, Alfred, Maine. Earlier that year she had taken a much different stance against another memorial.
Mary's neighbor to the north, seen here in 1903, was John H. Matthews, the "soda water king." photographer unknown, from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York
In January, calling herself "a taxpayer," she filed suit against Mayor Van Wyck, the President of the Park Board, three city officials and Joseph A. Goulden, the Chairman of the Memorial Committee of the Grand Army. She intended to stop plans for erection of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument at Riverside Drive and 89th Street. She declared that the monument would interfere "with the flow of light and air and obstruct the view."
No doubt much to Mary's distress, the lawsuit was defeated and the memorial was built.
Mary Parsons died at the age of 73 in 1913. She left many charitable bequests including, for instance, were $5,000 to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, $5,000 to the Society for the Relief of Destitute Blind of New York, and $5,000 to the Church Home for Infirm and Disabled Colored People.
Family members, of course, received large inheritances. The slice of the estate received by Mary's brother, Francis, was $80,000--about $2 million in today's terms--and the Riverside Drive mansion.
In the meantime the wealthy and powerful Bishop Henry C. Potter had constructed his lavish mansion on the corner property that Clark had sold in 1897. That same year restrictive covenants had been placed on the block barring "for a period of thirty-five years" the construction or use of any building except private dwellings intended for single families.
The year before Mary Parsons died William H. Barnard, President of the International Salt Company, and his wife, Lily, had purchased the Potter mansion. Now those restrictions would result in problems.
Francis Swayne leased his sister's former house to Mrs. Florence B. de G. Shaw. Florence moved her Hamilton School for Girls into the mansion. Exclusive private girls' schools were almost always located within upscale residential districts. But William Barnard was not pleased.
Citing the restrictive covenants, he took Francis Swayne and Florence B. de G. Shaw to court in October 1915. He argued that the school was a business and, therefore, violated the covenants. He insisted that "it would be necessary to install fire escapes on the building, which would destroy the privacy of the neighborhood." The New York Times reported "He said he had heard that Mrs. Shaw would take boarding pupils, as well as day pupils."
Before a grand jury the following month, Florence "contended that the privacy of the Drive neighborhood was passing" and "insisted that her school would be conducted so quietly that it would not disturb the block."
Then she flipped the accusation--pointing out that William Barnard had already broken the restrictive covenant when he leased his mansion for $1,000 to a motion picture company. Scenes of the silent film thriller, which starred Billie Burke, were shot in the Barnard mansion. Florence told the court that the privacy of the block was in chaos during the filming.
The mansion was ivy-covered in the early 20th century. Behind, to the left, can be seen the carriage house. The back of this postcard reads "Cyrus Clark, Father of the West Side, Built This House."
The New York Times reported on November 6, 1916 "The scenes leading up to the capture of the escaped murderer in the house, she said, had been taken on the grounds and in the street, and had created so much excitement that large crowds collected and the peace of the neighborhood was greatly disturbed."
Barnard pressed on with the suit, and hired a private detective to snap photographs. When the case came to trial on January 8, 1917, William L. Drummond provided his "pictorial evidence" and told of "seeing the girls exercising in the barn, which is now the school's gymnasium." Barnard testified that his property value had fallen from $880,000 to $800,000 because of the school.
When Barnard won his case, Florence de G. Shaw appealed to the State Supreme Court. On December 14, 1917 the ruling was overturned and Barnard's suit dismissed. The court decided that the restrictions applied "to any future buildings erected on the property and did not affect present building there."
The tense co-existence between the Barnards and the Hamilton School for Girls would last only seven more years. In 1925 the mansions were demolished to be replaced with that block-engulfing apartment building designed by J. E. R. Carpenter which survives.
photo via https://www.manhattanscout.com/building/173-riverside-drive
Labels: cyrus clark, henry f. kilburn, riverside drive, upper west side, west 90th street
The James B. Clark Bldg - 66 Pearl Street
Historic preservation was the last thing on anyone's minds when the Frederick Philipse house was torn down in 1827. Built in 1689 and located at the corner of Pearl Street and Coentis Slip, the property was ripe for development in the seaport neighborhood.
Surprisingly, a new building was not constructed on the site until 1831. The upper face of the Greek Revival building was clad in red brick and trimmed in brownstone. The storefront was composed of heavy granite piers with Tuscan capitals supporting a substantial stone architrave.
James B. Clark and his brother, William, moved their dry goods business into the new building. Things seem to have initially gone well until six years later the devastating Financial Panic of 1837 swept the nation.
James B. Clark described the dire situation at a meeting of bankers and businessmen on October 24, 1839. The Morning Herald reported "The large room at the City Hotel was crowded last night with well dressed listeners." Clark, who was one of several speakers, said "I am no prophet, but if the banks don't relieve us, seven out of every ten merchants will break in the next twenty days; we must have relief in ten, aye in five days, or all burst up; if not, I am content they should write me down as an ass."
Clark's predictions were accurate, apparently saving his reputation but not his business. When he died on December 21, 1844 at the age of 46, the first floor of the Pearl Street building was home to the hardware store of Isaac C. and C. J. Van Wyck.
In 1842 they had been the victims there of what would seem to today be a petty theft. It was nevertheless treated seriously. The New York Herald reported on March 4 "Two black fellows named William Soles and Charles Rankin, were arrested on Wednesday morning by Mr. John Helms, for stealing a quantity of iron hinges, valued at $6, from the store of Isaac C. Van Wyck, No. 1 Coenties slip, and both committed." The goods would be worth about $180 today.
In the days before illuminating gas, houses were lit by chandeliers and lamps fueled with whale oil. Having received a new shipment in February 1843, the Van Wycks announced "Important to Families--Pure Winter sperm oil, of the very best quality, of New-Bedford and Nantucket manufacture, can be had at C. J. Van Wyck's Store, No. 1 Coenties Slip, corner of Pearl-street, at five and six shillings per gallon."
By 1853 the former Van Wyck store was home to Chamberlin, Lee & Co., tobacco merchants. When shipments of tobacco entered the harbor, they were held for inspection. The recipients were furnished with certificates to claim their goods afterward. An employee of Chamberlin, Lee & Co. lost five certificates covering five barrels of tobacco in February 1853. A notice in The New York Herald offered "a suitable reward" for the certificates and warned "All persons are cautioned against negotiating them, as their delivery has been stopped at the Inspection Warehouse."
Among the several tenants in the upper floors in the 1870s was Drake & Colby, produce commission merchants, composed of James Haines Drake and Joseph L. Colby. Both men were members of the New York State Chamber of Commerce.
Also in the building was W. R. Preston & Co., flour and grain merchants. Following the brutal murder of William Foster, whose business was across the street at No. 71 Pearl Street, there was concern that bribes were being offered to officials to exonerate his accused murderer. Preston joined 14 other businessmen in the area who urged Governor John A. Dix to "wholly ignore all signatures, petitions and letters...and decide only on points of law and evidence, such as the corrupting influence of money has not touched."
William R. Preston & Co. lived at No. 27 West 48th Street, the exclusive Fifth Avenue neighborhood of some of the city's wealthiest citizens. But his highly lucrative business and luxurious lifestyle came to an end in February 1882 when he was forced to declare bankruptcy.
The building that had been home to produce commission merchants for decades saw a new type of tenant in the 1880s: ship chandlers. Larson, Phillipsen & Co. was here by 1879, joined soon by H. Osmundson & Co., W. W. Thomas, and J. F. H. King. All were members of the Maritime Association of the Port of New York.
By the time John Dowd, "bags and bagging" merchant, took space in No. 66 Pearl Street around 1913, the historic Fraunces Tavern, at the opposite end of the block, had been restored and dedicated as a museum. Much discussion had been bandied about concerning plans to demolish the entire block as green space, to be known as Liberty Park.
Instead, the Sons of the Revolution began buying up property around the Tavern with plans to prevent modern development and maintain the early 19th century tone of the block. In 1966 the City budget included a plan to preserve the block; but no funds were appropriated. Among the few buildings the Sons of the Revolution had not been able to acquire was No. 66 Pearl Street.
In the 1930s the elevated train still rumbled past the second floor of No. 66. photo by Byron Company from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York
The Uris Buildings Corporation owned both No. 66 and 64. Preservationists became concerned in May 1974 when scaffolding was erected on the structures. The New York Times reported "it was understood from sources in the trade that the company intended to raze the buildings to create a parking lot."
A last minute agreement was reached and the buildings were sold to the Landmarks Conservancy. Joined internally with No. 64 and Nos. 3 and 5 Coenties Slip in 1982, there are now 42 apartment in the upper floors. Outwardly, the 1831 appearance of the handsome and historic structure is now assured.
Labels: pearl street
The Henry E. Price House - 138 Sullivan Street
Something happened to the house at No. 138 Sullivan Street around 1840. Brick-faced residences had first begun appearing along the block between Prince and Houston Streets only around 14 years earlier; so it may have been fire that necessitated Charles Stewart to build a replacement.
The former house would have been Federal in style, with dormers piercing the peaked roof. Stewart's, however, took on the newly emerging Greek Revival style. The slightly pitched roof sat above a full-height third floor. The openings were trimmed in understated brownstone lintels and sills. The entrance, however, was transitional. More in line with its Federal-style neighbors, there was no stone enframement around the entrance. On the other hand, the simple, squared pilasters flanking the door reflected the more somber Greek Revival.
Despite serious abuse, the Greek Revival elements of the entrance can be seen. A Federal-style doorway would have been flanked by more effusive fluted columns.
Most houses of the period had small buildings in the rear lot--either a stable for those who could afford a horse, or a small house or shop. These were accessed by a horse walk--a narrow pathway between houses. The oval window to the left of the entrance suggests a horse walk may have originally tunneled to the rear, beside the stoop.
No. 138 became home to Henry E. Price family by the 1850s. It appears that one bedroom was leased. In 1855 William P. Howe listed the house as his address. A saddler by trade, he also volunteered with the Niagara Engine Company No. 4. That fire house was a few blocks away on Mercer Street.
The young Price may have been a member of the Municipal police at the time. In 1857 Republican reformers abolished the force, creating instead the Metropolitan Police force that covered Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Westchester County. A sharp rift developed between the immigrant officers and those of Anglo-Dutch roots; the former refusing to give up their positions while the latter adapted to the transition.
The dispute led to two police forces which came together in violent riots. Chaos resulted and while the police fought one another in at least two high profile skirmishes, criminals ran rampant. The situation was finally put to rest on July 3, 1857 when the courts enforced the Metropolitan Police jurisdiction. On November 24 Henry E. Price was "reported on favorably" by the Committee on Applications and Removals, which was charged with staffing the new department.
By the summer of 1859 J. Whitelaw was boarding with the Prices. Out of a job, he placed an advertisement in The New York Herald on July 13. "Wanted--by a young man, who has a thorough knowledge of the wholesale drug business, a situation in a wholesale house; is willing to make himself generally useful, and can give satisfactory reference as to capability and character."
Christmas Day that year was anything but jolly. Price's mother-in-law, Mary Ann Short, had died on Friday, December 23 at just 43 years old. Her funeral was held in the Sullivan Street house at 1:30 on Christmas afternoon.
Exactly two months later, on February 23, Price's father, Ellis, died. His funeral, too, was held in the house the following Sunday afternoon.
The Prices left Sullivan Street in the early 1860s. Their moving may have been the reason for the advertisement that appeared in The New York Herald on July 14, 1863. "Wanted--By a respectable girl, a situation in a private family, as waitress or chambermaid and fine washer."
James Forrest Taylor was assistant engineer in Engine Company No. 13. In 1869 he and his wife, Mary, had a son, James, Jr. Taylor . Like the Prices, they rented a room. In 1864 and 1865 their tenant was Addie N. C. Gale. She taught in Primary School No. 25 at No. 545 Greenwich Street.
On January 29, 1876 the Taylors' seven-year old son died. His funeral was held the following Sunday. It would not be the last tragedy that year. Apparently renting from the Taylors was the Prendt family. On June 20 The New York Times reported "An inquest was held yesterday by Coroner Croker in the case of Henry S. Prendt, a boy, of No. 138 Sullivan street, who, while playing on a float at the foot of Charlton street, fell overboard and was drowned." The jury ruled the death an accidental drowning.
Their son's devastating death may have prompted the Taylors to leave the Sullivan Street house. By 1878 it was owned by Daniel Coffey, another police officer. The Coffey family would retain possession of No. 138 Sullivan Street for decades.
Coffey was also well-known in political circles and in 1871 served as president of the Seventh Ward Hickory Club. In 1878 son Charles E. Coffey was enrolled in the "Mechanical Course" at New York City College. As their predecessors had done, the Coffey family rented a furnished rooms. In 1878 a boarder named Blohm was looking for a job as a grocery clerk.
In 1881 a German furrier named Willegas boarded with the Coffeys. Before he left Heidelberg, he had promised an co-worker, Henrich Zapke, he would help find him work once he was established. The 35-year old Zapke had understandable reasons to leave Germany.
He had owned his own fur business and things had initially gone well. Then, six months after he was married his bride died. According to Mrs. Coffey later, "After her death he was unfortunate in business, and came to this country almost penniless to work at his trade."
In October 1881 he arrived in New York and, he too, rented a furnished room in the Coffey house. Just as he promised Willegas landed Zapke a position with the fur store of Duncan, Ashe & Jaekel on Broadway. But business slowed in the middle of December and Zapke lost his job.
His streak of bad luck, possibly coupled with the holidays, was apparently too much to bear. On Christmas Day Zapke visited Willegas in his room and appeared "to be in his usual health and spirits," according to a newspaper. But the following day he did not come out of his room.
Willegas peered through the window into his room and saw him hanging from a clothes rack. A policeman was summoned, who found that the door was locked on the inside and a towel had been placed over the doorknob so no one could peer inside.
The New York Times reported "The door was broken in and Zapke was found quite dead." With unnecessary detail the article said "His body was stiff, and decomposition had already begun, indicating that he had committed suicide during the previous night."
The dejected man's suicide had was not entirely due to finances. His life's savings of $90 in cash was in his room (more than $2,100 today) along with a silver watch and chain.
Daniel Coffey retired from the Police Department on March 4, 1886, receiving a pension of $600 a year. He augmented that income, about $15,600 today, with real estate investments in the neighborhood. By the time of his retirement he had moved his family down the street to one of his properties, No. 84 Sullivan Street. He retained possession of No. 138, operating it as a rooming house. And it was about this time that he converted the basement to a store.
The changing times were reflected in one tenant's want ad in April 1892. William Brosher wrote "Experienced young man wishes a situation as elevator runner." And at the time of Brosher's ad, the Sullivan Street neighborhood was seeing a different type of change as it filled more and more with Italian immigrants.
The little house in the rear yard was rented to fruit seller Gaestono Ricchi and his wife, Maria, in 1893. Maria's brother, Giuseppi Lendini and his wife lived a block away at No. 117 South Fifth Avenue (later renamed West Broadway). What started out as a Sunday family dinner on July 2 ended in bloodshed.
According to The Sun the following day, "After dinner the men got drunk. Ricci [sic] slapped his wife's face. Lendini, as her brother, objected, and was told to mind his own business." With Italian honor at stake, the confrontation escalated.
Lendini asserted "that he would allow no one to abuse his sister, whereupon Ricci [sic] knocked her down. Then he turned to her brother and said: 'What are you going to do about it?'"
Lendini knocked his brother-in-law to the floor. But when Ricchi got to his feet, he had a stiletto in his hand, which he stabbed into Lendini's left hand and head. The wounded man responded by pulling out a revolver.
Ricchi ran into the yard as Lendini followed, firing the gun. "Lendini, dripping with blood from his wounds, kept firing at Ricci [sic] and succeeded in hitting him three times," reported The Sun. Lendini's wife, in the meantime, had run to the Prince Street police station for help. By the time Patrolmen Kelly and Baker arrived, according to the newspaper, 400 to 500 neighbors were milling around in front of the house.
The New York Times report on the incident was brazenly stereotypical. "Calabrians recreated yesterday afternoon in Camorra fashion in the basement of the rear house at 138 Sullivan Street, and two men were wounded. As usual they kept their own counsel. A vendetta murder may be the outcome."
The Sun reported that Ricchi's wounds were comparatively slight. But, it said, "Lendina was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital with a hole in his lung, and is likely to die." The Times was more casual, callously reporting "Honors were about even."
Daniel Coffey owned No. 138 Sullivan Street as late as 1912 when he took out a $10,000 mortgage on the property. The names of his tenants in the pre-World War I years reflected the neighborhood now known as Little Italy: Capazeli, Dalto, Motta and Longobardi among them.
Throughout the remainder of the 20th century renters came and went with little attention. When the house was sold at auction in January 1920 it was described as a "three-story brick tenement and store."
But as the century drew to a close, the Sullivan Street neighborhood saw change once again. Bordering the trendy Soho district to the south, it was home to the Autism Women's Network in 2012. Today Arthouse NYC, self-described as "NYC's favorite pop-up concierge for art galleries...and just about anything imaginable," calls No. 138 home; while the basement level until recently housed GLLAM (Gallery La La Artisan Market).
Through it all the house that Charles Stewart erected around 1841 retains its early residential appearance on a much-changed block of Sullivan Street.
Labels: greek revival, Soho, sullivan street, sullivan-thompson district
"The Equestrian Washington" - Union Square
On June 22, 1855 the editor of The New York Times lamented the fact that "a small party of citizens of New-York have clubbed together and subscribed fifty-thousand dollars for a statue which has been modeled by our countryman, H. K. Browne [sic]." The editorial noted "Our New-York monument will be an equestrian statue of gigantic proportions, and will be placed in Union-square."
The Times was clear in its condemnation of a statue. It applauded the fact that during the Revolution the British statues had been destroyed. "New-York, as yet, is free from any monumental pillars or effigies, and the fact is most creditable to the good sense of our practical and busy people." The writer used the logic that in ancient times monuments were necessary to record history. But the invention of the printing press did away with that need. "A nation that has books has no need of monuments."
Saying that "Every child knows Washington" and "his history is on every book-shelf," the article insisted there was no need for a monument. The editor called the raising of statues "idolatry,"and said "a monument is something repugnant to the common-sense of a practical and intelligent people."
The "small party of citizens" who had raised the funds for the Washington statue included the wealthiest and most powerful men of New York--including William Astor, August Belmont, Peter Lorillard, James Lenox, Robert B. Minturn, Robert L. Taylor, and W. C. Rhinelander among others.
Henry Kirke Brown was in the last stages of the two-year project when The Times editorial was published. An apprentice sculptor, John Quincy Adams Ward, who would become one of America's great artists, had been highly involved in the work in Brown's Brooklyn studio. Decades later, in May 1886, the Magazine of Western History noted that when workers involved in the "mechanical work" went on strike, Ward convinced Brown they could do the work themselves. "Ward says he passed more days in the bronze horse's belly than Jonah spent minutes in the belly of the whale."
Two weeks before The Times editorial, a journalist from the Springfield, Maine, Republican, visited the Ames Manufacturing Company in Chicopee, Maine where the statue was being cast. The newspaper said the work, still in dismembered pieces, "is spoken of in the highest terms of praise."
Brown used the famous bust of Washington executed by Jean-Antoine Houdon in 1785 as his model. He depicted the general on horseback (making this only the second equestrian statue in the United States) and posed him as he might have appeared on Evacuation Day, November 25, 1783.
The morning of July 4, 1856 saw pouring rain in New York City. Nevertheless, a large parade preceded the unveiling ceremonies where newspapers estimated the crown at between 8,000 and 9,000. The weather was not the only glitch in the ceremonies. The coverings became caught and firemen had to erect ladders to disentangle it.
Finally, at about 9:15, the covering fell off and, according to The New York Herald, "the statue was hailed with the most enthusiastic cheers by the crowd...The bands plays 'Hail Columbia'--the ladies waved their handkerchiefs--the troops presented arms--the people generally uncovered their heads, and gave vent to their enthusiasm in loud and long continued cheering."
The Times reported "The friends of Mr. Brown, the sculptor, pressed around him to shake him by the hand and congratulate him...one man in the throng distinguishing himself above the rest by repeatedly shouting 'Hooray for the architect of the statue."
Brown's bigger-than-life statue stood 14 feet, mounted on a granite pedestal of the same height. The body of the horse was cast in a single piece. Washington was dressed in his Continental uniform, his hat resting on his bridle arm and his sword sheathed to his side. His right hand was extended as if he were about to speak. The monument was placed in the triangular traffic island at the southeast corner of the park. Its location was touted as being "the spot where the citizens met the Commander-in-Chief of the army when he reentered the city after the British evacuation, November 25, 1783," according to Helen Henderson in her 1917 A Loiterer in New York.
The New York Herald, in reporting on the unveiling, was perhaps the first to heap praises on the work. "Not intending to anticipate the critical opinions which will be showered upon Mr. Brown's work, we may say that it is a great ornament to the finest portion of the Empire city, and that its general effect is highly impressive." Somewhat disappointingly, the young architect who designed the monolithic base got no recognition by any of the critics. Richard Upjohn is remembered today as one of the most important architects of the period.
Suddenly The New York Times had changed its tune. "It is in every way worthy of the highest admiration," it wrote. In a separate article the editor gushed "We are not sure that any city of the Old world can boast of a more noble work of the kind; we are sure that no city of the New can." It was a compliment that would be echoed again and again.
An early view shows the cast iron lamp posts that surrounded the monument. In the background, left, is the Everett House Hotel.
In 1878 The Art Journal discussed Brown's works and said "Nothing can be more harmonious in all respects than his Washington statue in Union Square, New York. The horse is worthy of his rider, but does not divert the mind from the latter." And nearly half a century after the unveiling, in January 1892, Jonathan Gilmer Speed, writing in The Christian Union said "Its dignity and simplicity of treatment impress both the cultivated and the unlearned, and it is not infrequently spoken of as the best equestrian status in this country."
The statue was the scene of ceremonies every subsequent Washington's Birthday and Memorial Day. Union Square was still an upscale residential enclave, and the events sometimes upset the quietude within the homes of residents like Cornelius Roosevelt, who lived directly opposite. On February 21, 1862, for instance, The New York Herald reported on the arrangements for Washington's Birthday. "A national salute will be fired at sunrise at the Equestrian statue of Washington, in Union square."
An 1863 cabinet card, oddly enough, viewed Washington from behind. from the collection of the Library of Congress.
Two decades after the end of the Civil War the Equestrian Washington statue was the scene of touching, if mistaken, reverence. On July 3, 1885 an elderly man, Samuel Johnson, fell to his knees before the monument and began praying. The Sun reported "He raised his voice gradually until it became very loud, indeed, and a crowd gathered around him."
Overcome with emotion, the gray-haired man rose to his feet and shouted "Lincoln, Lincoln, I owe my freedom to you!"
A policeman pushed through the crowd and tried to persuade Johnson to move along. He continued sobbing and murmuring "Lincoln! Lincoln!" Finally the officer explained that the statue was Washington and that the Lincoln statue was on the opposite side of the park. "The old negro then moved away," said the article. The reporter concluded "He said he was a slave for a man named Bob Jenkins, in West Virginia, and that he had scars on his back from the lashings he had then received."
The massive proportions of the bronze statue were captured in this stereopticon slide. from the collection of the New York Public Library
The universal esteem earned by Brown's work of art was perhaps best exemplified in 1903 when Adolf Friedmann, an American citizen living in Hungary, presented the city of Budapest with an exact copy. The Evening World reported "The statue was unveiled...in the presence of the members of the American colony of Budapest and of thousands of enthusiastic Hungarians."
In September 1913 Parks Commissioner Charles Bunstein Stover pushed to relocate the statue. The New-York Tribune reported that he "is anxious that the equestrian statue of the Father of His Country now at Union Square, looking north, should look south." He wanted to move it to the middle of the southern edge of the park, where the statue of the Marquis de Lafayette currently stood. Another faction wanted the monument to be moved to Washington Square--a seemingly appropriate site.
It would be 15 years beore the statue would be moved to where Stover envisioned it. On April 22, 1928 the Board of Transportation announced intentions to build an ambitious subway concourse below the park. "Extensive changes in Union Square Park will be made necessary by the underground construction," said The Times. The entire park had to be excavated and the grade of the park raised to accommodate the underground mezzanines and passageways. "This will involve relocation of the historic statues in the park," said the article.
The monuments and fixtures were taken down, crated, and stored to await the park's reconstruction. When the Equestrian Washington statue was brought back on July 10, 1930, a surprising detail was temporarily visible to New Yorkers. Henry Kirke Brown had included a roster of the wealthy donors' names at the horse's feet. The New York Times reported "As long as the statue remained on its stone pedestal, elevated above the heads of passersby, only spectators who carried ladders as aids to sightseeing were able to notice the list on the flat bronze base of the statue."
Sculptor and chairman of the National Sculpture Society was astonished, saying "This method of memorializing the donors of a statue is unusual" and that those names were more commonly encased in a cornerstone. But the Washington statue had no cornerstone.
For a few days in 1930 passersby could view the roster of names as the statue sat on the ground. photographer unknown, from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York
As the monument was reassembled on its new site, its artistic merit had not dimmed. Parks Commissioner Walter R. Herrick mentioned on July 9, 1930 "artists consider the statue, which is by H. K. Brown, one of the finest equestrian statues in the world."
Union Square suffered a dark period in the late 1960s and 1970s when the city was on the verge of bankruptcy. With no money to maintain it, the park was neglected and became a "needle park," reigned over by drug users and sellers. Monuments throughout the city suffered, including George Washington which lost its bronze sword and bridle strap.
In 1986, during happier times, the park was renovated. In 1989 the Adopt-A-Monument Program restored the Washington statue, recreating the missing elements.
The monument was a site of Manhattan's collective expression of grief following the World Trade Center attacks. An unofficial shrine developed around its base and a 24-hour community vigil lasted for days.
The monument was restored three more times, beginning that year. In 2004 the bronze was treated and in 2006 Upjohn's granite pedestal was conserved.
The Equestrian Washington--despite an 1855 newspaperman's vehement opposition--is the city's oldest public monument. And more than 160 years after its unveiling it is still considered a masterwork.
Labels: henry kirke brown, new york statues, Richard Upjohn, union square
The 1837 Robert Hogan House - 175 MacDougal Street
A high stoop originally led to the parlor floor.
In 1826 Mayor Philip Hone ordered that the former potter's field near Greenwich Village be converted to a parade grounds named after George Washington. By 1833 exceptionally fine brick mansions had begun lining the new park.
Dr. Robert Hogan soon began construction of his own upscale home a block north of the park, at No. 175 MacDougal Street. Completed in 1837 the 25-foot wide brick-faced home was designed in the new Greek Revival style. Three bays wide the doorway sat above a high brownstone stoop.
The wealthy and highly educated Hogan was perhaps best known for his passionate work among the Irish population. From 1839 through 1842 he was the president of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, and therefore in charge of the St. Patrick's Day Parade each of those years. He also served as president of the Irish Emigrant Society and in 1846 was a vice-president of the committee formed to provide "Aid to the Famishing People of Ireland."
Hogan was, of course, involved in other interests than the Irish. He held directorships in firms like the Excelsior Fire Insurance Co. and was invited to speak at the commencement exercises of St. John's College in the Fordham section of the Bronx on July 13, 1843. The New-York Daily Tribune noted "a poem of great feeling and masterly composition, 'Joan of Arc,' was admirably delivered by Robert Hogan."
By the early 1850s the house was home to the John Hobart Sprague family. A merchant and partner in Sprague, Robinson & Co., Sprague had married Henrietta Prall on February 20, 1843. When they moved into the house they had two children, Anna Augusta and John Hobart, Jr. In 1853 another daughter arrived whom they named Maria Louisa.
Tragedy struck just over a year and a half later when Maria Louisa contracted scarlet fever. She died in the house on March 30, 1855. The heart-rending funeral took place in the parlor two days later, on Sunday April 1.
Two more children would be born while the family lived in the MacDougal Street house--Henrietta Louise and Julia Adelaide.
Henrietta involved herself in charitable causes, most notably The New-York Ladies' Educational Union (otherwise known as The Patriot Orphan Home). The Civil War had left hundreds of New York children without fathers. The women purchased a building with grounds in Flushing and were caring for more than 100 fatherless children.
Irish immigrant and millionaire John Rose, who died on April 11, 1860, had left a fortune in his will to be distributed at the discretion of his brother, Chauncey. A specific amount, $300,000, was earmarked to establish "a farm for destitute boys of the city of New York." Chauncey recognized that The Patriot Orphan House fell within that designation.
In August 1864 he donated a large chunk of that bequest, $20,000 to Henrietta Sprague for the New-York Ladies' Educational Union. The New York Herald opined "It is an excellent gift for a good and noble purpose." The gift equal about $315,000 today, and The New York Times reported that the society could now "liquidate the entire debt" on its property and "will undertake the charge of a larger number."
When the family's dog wandered off on Wednesday morning, September 19, 1866, they quickly placed a notice in The New York Herald. Describing him as "a black and tan dog, with cropped ears. Answers to the name of Jack," a $5 reward was offered for his return. (About $78 in today's dollars.)
Before 1868 the Spragues moved to No. 173 Madison Avenue. The MacDougal Street house was purchased by William Henry White who leased it in the early 1870s to Mrs. Muretta O'Brien, a self-sufficient businesswoman who ran a retail furniture business.
Mrs. Helen B. Dexter was equally self-sufficient--although in a less upstanding manner. When not using that name, she went by the aliases of Miss Eliza Dunning, Miss Abbie Lincoln, Mrs. Ellen B. Dexter and Mrs. S. P. Douglas. It was under the name of Abbie Lincoln that she entered Muretta's furniture store in September 1876.
Dexter had rented a vacant house at No. 187 Lexington Avenue and asked Muretta to furnish it. Delivery vans took $1,500 in furniture to the residence--about $35,000 in goods by today's standards. Then, the name of Mrs. S. P. Douglas, Dexter then sold the furniture and disappeared.
When she realized she had been duped, Muretta went to police headquarters. Detectives Ferris and McConnell worked the case for two weeks. Finally on September 22 The New York Herald reported "They succeeded last night in arresting Mrs. Lincoln at her residence. She was taken to the Central Office last night and locked up on a charge of grand larceny."
The following year, in October, White sold the house to Israel Ullman and his wife for $18,000. The 63-year old had come to New York City from his native Bavaria with his parents in 1839. A wholesale dry goods merchant, he operated from the corner of Franklin Street and Broadway for years.
The couple would not stay in the house appreciably long. They sold it to Francis Aquila Stout in March 1882 for $10,600; taking a significant loss. The millionaire bachelor immediately laid plans for updating the residence.
In May 1883 his architect, H. R. Marshall, filed plans for renovations including "roof raised and flattened," and "entrance for coach" and "front and interior alterations." The updates cost Stout nearly a quarter of a million dollars by today's terms. It was most likely at this time that the stoop was removed and the arched doorway and round opening above it were added.
Stout was a remarkable character in New York social history. The year after he did the renovations to the MacDougal Street house he married Emily Meredith Read, the daughter of Civil War General Meredith Read. Although he held the position of President of the Nicaragua Canal Construction Company and had studied engineering in Paris, the Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York later mentioned "he never entered upon a professional or business career.'
Instead he focused on his passion. "Inheriting a fortune, he devoted himself to scientific and literary pursuits, and, in a large sense, to social obligations; and he was actively engaged in the work of many important charities," said the Journal. A member of the most exclusive social clubs--the Union, the Union League, the Knickerbocker and the Century among them--he maintained a summer estate named Thousand Island House, in Alexandria Bay, New York. He was highly involved with the American Geographical Society and was its vice-president from 1872 to 1892.
Stout's marriage apparently upset his plans to live in the MacDougal Street house. Instead the house was leased until after Stout's death on July 18, 1892. Emily sold the house in December 1892 to John Hagy Davis for $21,000. Like Stout, Davis immediately did renovations, although less extensive by far. A few weeks after taking title Davis had contractor R. H. Casey alter the interior layout at a cost of $1,200.
The wealthy widower was the head of the banking firm of John H. Davis & Co. He lived in a mansion around the corner at No. 24 North Washington Square and maintained a villa in Newport. "Rhua House." Every summer Davis took his daughter, Florence, to Europe. Known as Flora, The Evening World described her as "popular in New York and Newport society."
The same year that Davis initiated the renovations to No. 175 MacDougal, Flora was married in the British Embassy in Paris to Lord Terence Blackwood. After that civil ceremony, reported The Evening World "there was a brilliant religious ceremony."
When her new husband's older brother was killed in the Boer War, Flora became the envy of every New York debutante by receiving a title: the Marchioness of Dufferin.
In the meantime, back home, Flora's father married the widowed Mary Ethel Jackson Meredith in July 1898. They continued to live on in the Washington Square mansion, leasing the MacDougal Street house. Ethel died in the Washington Square house in March 1900 and John, by then remarried, died there on May 7, 1926 at the age of 83.
His widow, Therese, held on to the MacDougal Street house until 1930, when she sold it to Adelaide Goan. The immediate neighborhood had become highly important in the New York artist community by now. The WPA's New York City Guide advised "MacDougal Street, bordering the west side of Washington Square, swarms with tearooms, night clubs, and Villager memories." Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney's gallery had operated around the corner at No. 8 West 8th Street for years and several of the former carriage houses of the Washington Square mansions directly across from No. 175 MacDougal had been converted to artist studios.
An awning shade the doorway to The Brick House in 1937. It was the last year for the restaurant. from the collection of the New York Public Library.
Once again a new owner began renovations. Adelaide converted the first and second story to a "tea room" and rented the upper floors to artist Virginia Needham who supplied illustrations for periodicals like St. Nicholas magazine.
The tea room, or cafe, at No. 175 was called The Brick House and was popular among the artsy set. In 1934, for instance, New Democracy magazine noted "on the evening of March 22 at The Brick House, 175 Macdougal Street, the Discussion Group held by Mr. Allan Brown held a very successful dinner. At first planned as a small dinner, the idea became popular and almost sixty sat down."
On October 11, 1937 The New York Times reported "The Grant Studios, which for several years have flown the banner of art on Brooklyn Heights have joined the Manhattan show places and are now located at 175 Macdougal Street." The gallery opened that day with its 17th Annual Invitation Exhibition of paintings, prints and sculpture.
The Grant Studios held important exhibitions, perhaps the best known being the New York Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition. On the other hand, the art critic of The New York Sun was less than enthusiastic about the show that opened on November 17, 1939:
The Fine Arts Guild is having rather an extensive showing at the Grant Studios, 175 Macdougal street. It is a quietly conservative display, marked here and there by generally competent painting, but containing nothing it seems necessary to get excited about.
The Grant Studios lasted at least through 1949. By then Benjamin Canzonier had owned the building for eight years. He converted the upper floors to apartments in 1943. But as West 8th Street, steps away, changed from art galleries to shops catering to New York University students at mid-century, so did No. 175.
In August 1957 The New York Times column "Shop Talk" lauded the bags available at the shop that had replaced the Grant Studios. "One of the most versatile carry-all bags in town can be found at Robert John," it said. The writer was impressed that the duffel bag included a leash attachment, "in case you want to bring the dog too."
In 1965 a dress shop was in the retail space, replaced in 1975 by Reminiscence, a clothing and gift store where often quirky items like a washable canvas lunch bag could be purchased for $14 in 1981. The popular store remained here until 1985 when it moved to No. 74 Fifth Avenue.
The treads of the three-step entrance are white marble--evidence of the high-end tone of the house when Francis Stout remodeled the doorway in 1883.
The last vestige along the block of a time nearly two centuries ago when the wealthy erected their homes on the northern fringe of the city, the Robert Hogan house still exhibits its residential beginnings.
Labels: greenwich village, macdougal street
The Lucius H. Biglow House - 340 West End Avenue
The enclosed stoop ensured protection in times of bad weather. from the collection of the New York Public Library.
In 1889 wealthy builder and developer Dore Lyon began construction on five upscale rowhouses on West End Avenue, Nos. 340 through 348. Designed by prolific architect Edward L. Angell, the showpiece of the group was the corner house, No. 340.
Four stories high above a deep basement, the Romanesque Revival style residence was faced in brownstone and brick. Swirling foliate carvings, chunky colonnettes, and muscular crockets atop the rooftop finials added to the medieval style. The two-story bowed front on the avenue provided visual movement. No brooding mansion with shadowy interiors, its abundance of windows on three sides flooded the rooms with natural light. To the rear of the house was the service entrance, protected by a high wall and entered through an especially handsome wrought iron gate.
Dore Lyon and his wife, the former Anna E. Parker, moved into No. 340, upon its completion in 1890. Anna was a colorful figure in New York society. She not only styled herself as a pundit on etiquette; but involved herself in so many clubs, associations and committees that she was dubbed by the press "The Queen of Clubs."
In 1892 the Lyons commissioned architect Charles Israels to add an eye-catching bowed oriel on the second floor directly above the entrance. Its carved decorations masterfully blended with the originals. It may have been at this time that the glass and iron enclosed marquee was installed over the stoop, which hugged the 76th Street wall.
The bowed oriel was a pleasant after thought. The window directly below was originally the entrance.
The couple had one child, Grace. In 1893 they erected what one newspaper deemed "a magnificent mansion" as their summer estate in Saratoga, New York. The following year, in February, they sold No. 340 to Lucius Horatio Biglow.
The apparently busy Biglow was a partner in the highly successful music publishing firm of Biglow & Main; the president of L. H. Biglow & Co., printers and stationery suppliers; president of the Metropolitan Realty Company; and, according to The New York Times later, "Director in a dozen other concerns." The capacious West End Avenue house made sense for his family. He and his wife, the former Anna Graham, had seven children, William, Elsie, Ray, Herbert, Elizabeth, May, and Lucius, Jr.
The Biglow family summered in Ridgefield, Connecticut, described by The New York Times in 1893 as "a favorite Summer resort for numbers of New York City people." Biglow had purchased an 18th century fieldstone house, once the home of Revolutionary War leader Colonel Philip Burr Bradley, and had it Victorianized to a modern "cottage." Melding his surname with Anna's maiden name, he named the estate with its park-like grounds Graeloe.
The Graeloe estate was impressive enough to warrant picture postcards like this one.
Julius Biglow became involved in the issues of the Upper West Side and on April 7, 1899 was accepted as a member of The West End Association. Among the issues addressed that evening were the "driving regulations on Broadway (Boulevard), now being constantly violated by truck drivers," and illegal dumping of sand and dirt near by the 79th Street dock.
The issue of driving regulations being violated became personal six years later. Ray, who was 17 years old and already attending Yale University, was home that spring. He was arrested with two others motorists, charged "with racing their cars," according to The New York Times on April 6, 1905.
The teen was sketchy in the details he gave police, using only his middle name Graham and saying he attended Harvard. He had shocking confederates in his joy ride. Twenty-nine year old George Mitchell was the chauffeur to wealthy real estate operator Joseph M. Ohmeis. He had taken Ohmeis's automobile and riding along were prize fighters James J. Jeffries and "Joe" Kennedy. Even more surprising was the driver of the third vehicle--James A. Roche, the Chief Inspector for the Bureau of Highways. Raymond's father apparently put up his $500 bail (more than $14,000 today) and one can imagine the discussion that took place on their way back to No. 340 West End Avenue.
Two weeks earlier the Biglow family had suffered a tremendous shock. The term "butler" today brings to mind refined, white-gloved men with English accents who announced visitors by delivering calling cards on silver trays. And, indeed, the duties of butlers in the Fifth Avenue palaces of families like the Astors and Vanderbilts were restricted to such activities. But in the mansions of the families like the Biglows, the responsibilities were much wider.
James Fahey was the Biglows' butler in 1905. On March 20 he was cleaning windows on the fourth floor. Somehow he lost his balance and fell to the rear areaway. The New-York Tribune reported "Fahey's skull was crushed at the base of the brain." He died in Roosevelt Hospital that afternoon.
The rear service area is protected by an ornate iron gate. It was the scene of Fahey's tragic fall in 1905.
Also attending Yale at the time was Lucius, Jr. A big man on campus, he was captain of the football team and a member of the rowing team. Following his graduation he became Yale's head football coach.
On February 4, 1909, the year after his own graduation, Ray was married to Harriet Chamberlain Moseley in New Haven, Connecticut. There were two hundred guests at the "old fashioned breakfast." When it was time for the cake-cutting, the room was surprised when the bride's uncle, Rear Admiral Frank A. Cook, handed her his sword to cut the cake.
The Sun reported "This sword was presented to Rear Admiral Cook by his father when as a boy he first entered the navy. It was carried by him all through the War of the Rebellion and the Spanish war." Admiral Cook was captain of the Brooklyn during the Spanish-American War and was wearing that sword at his side when Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete surrendered to him.
The Biglow family was at Graeloe on September 27 that year when Lucius fell ill. He died there on September 30 at the age of 72. His will left $25,000 to Anna (about $680,000 today), $15,000 to his sister, and the rest of the estate was divided among the children. Anna's fortune was increased five months later when she sold the house to Ralph L. Spotts for $85,000.
Later that year he had a two story addition constructed on the rear roof.
A 1925 photograph shows the rear roof-top addition commissioned by Spotts in 1910. from the collection of the New York Public Library
Spotts was vice-president of H. B. Kirk & Co., liquor distributors, and a partner in the Cantono Electric Tractor Co. But his fame came from his expert marksmanship. On November 21, 1910, the same year he bought No. 340 West End Avenue, The New York Times reported on the shooting matches of the Larchmont Yacht Club.
"Ralph L. Spotts carried off the honors of the day, for he not only won the fist prize of the season as high gun with a score of 119, but he also won the ten and five bird scratch events, and the leg for the Sauer gun. He also won the 200 target match."
A member of the New York Athletic Club, he was on the 1912 American Olympic trapshooting team. For years his name appeared in sporting magazines like Field & Stream as he continued to add silver cups and trophies to his collection.
In 1916 Spotts branched out, forming the R. L. S. Realty Company. On April 15 The New York Times reported he had purchased in a single deal five apartment houses valued at about $1 million.
He was still listed at No. 340 West End Avenue in 1920; but his residency here and the status of the house as a private dwelling would soon come to an end.
Like most of the first floor windows, the dining room window once had a profusion of stained glass. The masterful ironwork below is both whimsical and lovely.
At the time Thomas F. Clark ran his private school, The Clark School for Concentration, in four buildings at the corner of West End Avenue and 72nd Street. An advertisement in The Century in April 1920 read: "For Boys and Girls. Boarding and day pupils; prepares for any college. An intensive system of individual instruction. Separate boys' and girl' buildings in fine residential section of New York." It produced graduates like stage and film actress Ann Dvorak, and actress and off-Broadway producer Lucille Lortel.
On November 20, 1922 the school sold its properties for a hospital project and moved into the five-story mansion at No. 78 Riverside Drive on the corner of 80th Street. By 1925 the school added the former Spotts residence as a women's dorm. An advertisement in the Columbia Spectator that year noted "The Dormitory of the Clark School on 340 West End Avenue, can accommodate 22 women for the summer session."
The dormitory appears to have remained at No. 340 until 1940 when the property was sold to be converted to apartments, just three per floor. The stoop with its unique enclosure was stripped off and the main entrance moved to sidewalk level. It was most likely at this time that the colorful but out-of-date stained glass transoms were removed.
Despite the alterations, the former mansion retains its imperious presence. Somewhat surprisingly, the stone wall around the basement light moat survives with its wonderful 1890 ironwork. With little effort the one can imagine a time when wealthy families lived here, catered to by a staff of servants.
Labels: edward l. angell, Romanesque Revival, upper west side, west end avenue
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instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Last Sunday i passed out. when my friend checked on me, i was unresponsive. when at the hospital my blood pressure was 76/48. after regaining conciousness, i couldnt speak correctly or move my right leg and arm. within a day, i was back to normal and prescribed nothing and given no answers. what happened to me? output: Hello, There could be a few reasons to your symptoms. Since your blood pressure was so low, the first thought is that you were simply not getting enough blood to your brain. From you symptoms it sounds like your left hemisphere of the brain was affected given that you couldn't move your right leg and arm. Language also resides most commonly in the left hemisphere, so speaking would also be difficult. You didn't mention your age, but when symptoms are isolated to a side of the brain, what needs to be done is an MR-Angiogram (blood vessel imaging with MRI) or CT-angiogram (blood vessel imaging with a CT) of the arteries in the neck and brain to make sure that there is no narrowing of the blood vessel that could result in the symptoms just affecting one side of the brain. If neither of those tests are possible, then as a bare minimum a carotid ultrasound should be done. Alternatively, but much less likely is that you could have a migraine that caused paralysis and focal neurological symptoms. They are very rare, but still a possibility. The symptoms usually resolve in a few hours to a day. Lastly, a seizure could have also occurred which caused you to lose consciousness. There is a condition where after the seizure, it takes the brain time to recover and there can be difficulty with movement and language. Again, I feel that that is less likely. None-the-less you need more testing done to make sure the blood vessel are open. Also, they need to investigate the cause of your low blood pressure. I hope this helps. Sincerely, Kristoffer Mission. |
OVERWHELMINGLY NEGATIVE
Thread: OVERWHELMINGLY NEGATIVE
1st Jun 2019 18:23 #26
Sounds like RSSBot02 is trying to say it's about ethics in game journalism.
ANYHOO, back on track, I played some more of Spacebase DF-9 today, and had quite a lot of fun. Sure, because it was cut short in development, it's nowhere near as deep as it should have been, but that doesn't stop it being a good game.
It's a LOT like Startopia and less like Dwarf Fortress mind you.
But that's okay, 'cos Startopia's one of my all-time favourites.
So yeah, pleasantly surprised.
Next I'll see if I can be bothered to give my clicking-finger a vigorous workout by playing Godus Wars.
6th Jun 2019 10:11 #27
Tony_Tarantula
Not sure if it's on STEAM, but I actually enjoyed Enter the Matrix in spite of it's problems. Sue me.
Think I've got an original box copy of that somewhere. And yeah, while it was pretty janky, I remember enjoying it too. Like a much less polished Max Payne.
* E.Y.E - Divine Cybermancy - This is nothing but a glorified Half-Life 2 mod, that they had the balls to charge for. They even left one of the original Half-Life 2 turrets in the game at the start with a different texture applied to it. They were that ballsy. I played this for about an hour. Got to a long hallway against an enemy with a rocket launcher I think, and it all just looked and felt meh. I really wasn't enjoying it, as the "game" just didn't excite me. Was nothing about it that was fun. Uninstalled.
I hated it as well but we seem to be on the outer judging by the "very positive" rating on Steam. Perhaps we both gave up to early? That said, I'm in no rush to give it another try.
Luckily I don't have any "overwhelmingly negative" games in my library but I do have 3 "mostly negative" ones:
Deus Ex: The Fall (33%): I picked this up for a song during a sale some time ago. It didn't seem to be as terrible as the ratings appear to suggest but it plays more like a mobile game adapted to PC and I had no interest in spending any time with it.
Underworld Ascendant (34%): This still needs a lot of work in its current state. I'll wait for the final patch before it giving it another try.
Half-Life: Before (39%): I had no idea this was in my library -- never heard of it -- but it's actually a mod for Half Life. As such I won't be able to try it anyway as I don't own Half Life on Steam.
Originally Posted by Malf
But with a surprisingly functional Kung-Fu system.
Originally Posted by twisty
Exactly, which was my experience. if a game leaves a sour taste in my mouth quite quickly, then I don't have the motivation to keep going. I'd far rather move on to something I'll enjoy.
reizak
Location: flapping in the wind
I liked EYE enough to "finish" it, but you definitely need to be in the right mood to put up with the abstruse storytelling and systems. I think it has a sort of Outsider Art thing going that appealed to me, since that's just not how professional developers make games.
I have about 5 pages of games with no rating, because they aren't in the store anymore. But of the ones I can get a rating for:
1. 21.59% Spacebase DF-9 - haven't played, don't care
2. 22.59% 10 Years After - HP,DC
3. 27.66% Hyper Fighters - haven't gotten to it yet
4. 29.25% Razor2: Hidden Skies - kill it with fire and then burn whatever memories you have of it
5. 29.50% D&D: Daggerdale - just kind of boring more than offensively bad
6. 29.72% Confrontation - HP,DC
7. 30.85% Stronghold 3 - HP,DC
8. 31.75% Two Brothers - tried it, too broken to bother with
9. 32.38% Iesabel - KIWFATBWMYHOI
10. 33.15% Future Wars - HP,DC
11. 33.57% DX: The Fall - JKOBMTOB
12. 34.23% ArmA Tactics - HGTIY
13. 36.27% Prey: Typhon Hunter - HP,DC
14. 36.58% Legends Of Dawn Reborn - KIWFATBWMYHOI
15. 37.37% Shattered Haven - HP,DC
16. 39.01% Hacker Evolution Duality - HP,DC
17. 39.82% Twin Sector - JKOBMTOB
18. 40.27% Batman Arkham Origins Blackgate Deluxe Edition - JKOBMTOB
19. 40.31% Trapped Dead - JKOBMTOB
20. 40.87% Alone In The Dark - HP,DC
Somehow I skipped Underworld:Ass - HGTIY
Another way to search your own library: https://www.lorenzostanco.com/lab/steam/ (doesn't require logging in, just pasting the url to your profile)
My bottom 5:
29% 1... 2... 3... KICK IT! (Drop That Beat Like an Ugly Baby) - Great title, bad game.
39% Burn Zombie Burn! - Dunno what this is.
40% Twin Sector - Kinda a portal-esque first person puzzler. Yeah it was pretty bad.
41% Underworld Ascendant - I had a pretty fun 11 hours with it after Update 2. Waiting for Update 4 before giving it another go.
42% theHunter Classic - The low score has more to do with users protesting the monetization-system than the actual quality of the game. A good, deep hunting sim.
You know, I didn't mind 1... 2... 3... , but it was very reminiscent of their other titles.
And Burn Zombie Burn! is actually quite good, dunno why it's scoring that low. It's a Robotron-esque Zombie-masher with a neat scoring mechanic centred around setting zombies on fire to increase your multiplier as far as I remember. I also seem to remember it having a pretty good Psychobilly soundtrack too.
Mind you, I also enjoyed WET, which was pretty widely derided at the time of release, so make of that what you will. Indeed, one of the guys who did level design for the game used to regularly post over at Quake3World, and even he said the game was shit.
He also worked on Watchdogs and managed to sneak in a Quake3World easter egg, in the form of some trash arranged in the letters Q3W
WingedKagouti
Originally Posted by henke
Another way to search your own library: https://www.lorenzostanco.com/lab/steam/
According to that site my lowest scorers are (at least the ones that have a score):
Pinball FX2: Civil War Table (18%) - I got that as part of a Marvel Tables bundle for FX2, can't remember how well it played but I don't think I've returned to replay it after trying it out.
Razor2: Hidden Skies (21%) - I probably picked it up in a bundle at some point, though most of the negative reviews just seem to have expected it to be better for the asking price
Borderlands 2: Mad Moxie (30%) - I'm guessing the score is a combination of BL fatigue and a non-impressive piece of DLC for the price. I'm fairly certain I got this by getting a complete edition of BL2.
Two Brothers (31%) - This isn't Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons (which is a great game), but rather an attempt at doing some sort of simplistic jRPG with lots of bad UI decisions (including the screen size) and bugs. My gut reaction is that this is from a Humble Bundle.
Shattered Haven (42%) - I got this in an Arcen (small indie developer) bundle and tried it for an hour or two, it didn't click. A zombie survival game with Arcen's usual style of adding a twist to the mechanics because that's what they like to do. They don't add a twist to the mechanics of their games because they can, but because they want to play a game in that genre with that twist.
For a game that's got overwhelmingly negative reviews I enjoyed most (but not all) of Aliens Colonial Marines. Once you fix that 1 line of code in that ini file, the game is heaps better.
I'd say about the first 60% of the game is pretty good, with some sections rising up to excellent. Then you get to the other 40% and it all gets very meh. My assumption is that by the time development got to that bit, the ini error was in there and they couldn't find the source of it anywhere they looked. And so they eventually gave up and said meh fuck it and just kept going, but by that stage they had barely any time till release, so were like ah fuck and just did some quick levels.
You'll know when you've hit that final 40%. Quite noticeable. The really good bits though are great. Hadley's Hope being my favorite.
I was just looking at Road to Guangdong, the kind-of sequel to Jalopy, and it's getting Mostly Negative reviews.
Apparently most of the game is just pushing "w", turning now and then, and listening to dialog, with no further interaction.
They're saying you can't really call it a sequel as the devs are different. Only the publisher is the same.
And this review might sum it up "Jalopy - Things that made Jalopy good = Road to Guangdong".
I've got a coupon even since I bought Jalopy, putting it around $8, but I'm not exactly tempted to pick it up now. If it gets down to $2 or less in a year or so on sale, and I have a feeling it will, I might consider it then.
I'm double-post to look at my own games. I used lorenzostanco, as it's most convenient.
Putting aside the unrated games, my worst one is
X-Rebirth at 33%.
Now this one is interesting. It's undeniably terrible compared to X3, and the poor comparison no doubt drove it to getting trashed in the reviews.
But I kind of ... well liked it would be going too far. But it has its unsung virtues. It's goofy and glitchy in a way that made me laugh more than a few times.
You can walk around FPS style, which was a long-sought thing for a space sim. But, e.g., everytime you enter a ship, the graphics will glitch to make it clear it's respawning you in an empty grey room and then building the ship around you. Every station is a maze of the same empty hallways where you have to walk for ages just to find one alien in the back insult you. The universe, and each system with it, is much smaller, in size and ambition. It has a ridiculous "highway warp" system, like a rainbow way in space, that pulls your ship like a waterslide, and you can just slip on and off at any time... And it just doesn't have anywhere near the depth that X3 had, if someone even had the patience to stick with it.
But I don't know... I was laughing at it a lot when I was playing it, with that "I'm not even mad" face. They tried and failed, but I could feel that they were still trying, and somehow that put me in a more forgiving mood. It's a bad game & deserves the bad rating it has, but I didn't mind playing it for a bit. But that said, space sims like this are supposed to suck you in for 100s of hours, and this definitely isn't going to do that for me. I'll save that for the good space sims I have. Even then, this game also make me hold off on getting X4, and I'm still holding off on it until the bugs are fixed and ratings go up. But I'll get it someday.
Then under 50% is:
Deus Ex: The Fall at 45%.
I believe I got the Deus Ex bundle on sale, so that explains how I got it, and I think that was still cheaper than getting the other games outside the bundle. I haven't gotten to it because I haven't even finished DX:MD yet. It's notable because of the disparity to the other DX games. I wasn't even fan of the new ones because of the disparity to the original, but I still appreciated them as nice-looking & good shooters in their own right. The reviews don't give me much incentive to play this.
Viridi at 46%, a taking-care-of-a-plant sim.
I believe this is supposed to be like a tamagachi, where you just pop in every now and then and take care of your plant. It's a zen thing, and a glitchy one at that. The in-game purchases all over the place kind of sour that one thing it had going for it. But it's free so one can hardly complain. It's not really supposed to be anything more than just jumping in to take care of a retrogame looking plant, so it's almost not even worth being disappointed if someone was expecting something more.
Karateka at 48% - I think this was one of the games packaged in that "buy 10 games for $8" deal I bought. I haven't looked at it so I don't have any opinion yet.
The rest of my rated games are all over 50%.
Edit: That's metacritic scores. If I go by user ratings, then Viridi gets much higher ratings at, uh let me check, lol, 90%. Somebody could probably write an article how the user ratings and metacritic score can be so different with that as a case study. And Karateka is 80%.
Aside from those two, X-Rebirth and DX: The Fall are still rated very low. And then Prey: Typhon Hunter, as mentioned earlier.
I recall someone playing Prey TH here and liking it, with the understanding that it's not like vanilla Prey, so I'm still giving it a chance.
Last edited by demagogue; 8th Jun 2019 at 08:30.
Is that the Karateka on the C64 and early DOS days PCs? I loved that game.
Starker
No, it's the remake.
Ok. That I've not played.
Played some free fan made remakes of it ages ago, but never an official one.
I actually played it the other day! Having never played the original and then finding out that Jordan Mechner is behind this, I was expecting something good.
I was somewhat disappointed.
Yeah, that's why it made some tiny waves a few years back -- the creator of Prince of Persia returning to his roots and all that jazz. To be honest, I never understood how the game got so popular or why it's being held in such high esteem. Especially when I look at all the fantastic games that were made in the same year: Marble Madness, King's Quest, Tetris, Elite, Excitebike, Paperboy, Punch Out, the second Wolfenstein game etc... For me, even back in the day it was just boring. And the remake pales in comparison to comparable modern games such as One Finger Death Punch.
Of note, Karateka came first, then Prince of Persia.
Prince of Persia was actually fun and deserved all the hype, IMO. I played the SNES port a couple years back and it still held up.
10th Jun 2019 00:15 #47
I've never beaten that game, but played A LOT of the various ports.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided sequel was cancelled so that they could make this boring ass looking Avengers live service game, with 2008 quality pre-rendered cutscenes. Fuck you, Square.
I think the RSSBot02 is malfunctioning.
Wrong thread maybe?
Originally Posted by Starker
What about all the moral panic and pearl clutching that happens any time any reviewer dares to criticise, well, anything?
I don't see how the existence of regressive gamers refutes Eva's point about journalists not being immune to personal bias. Personally, I don't trust just Steam reviews, or just social media, or just critics. They each have their problems. Better to read into multiple viewpoints and draw your own conclusions.
Anyways: My lowest rated game that I've actually played, per Steamdb, is Blacklight: Tango Down. I remember this game coming out in 2010, right in the middle of the glut of gritty modern tactical shooters, and in many respects it was fairly unremarkable. But what it had going for it was a weapon customization system that felt like Borderlands's procedural generation turned into an upgrade mechanic, mated to a core gameplay loop that was actually pretty tight and polished for an indie game. It also had some neat mechanics like giving every player a limited-duration headset that could spot enemies through walls. I enjoyed the little bit of time I spent in it, but have no real desire to play it again.
It seems that most of the negative Steam reviews come from it being reliant on Games for Windows Live, and now dead as a multiplayer-only game, making it an inadvisable purchase. IGN gave it a rating of 'Okay', averaging a 7 for score, describing it as mostly derivative but at least modestly priced ($15 on release).
The next-lowest on my list that I've put any real time into is... Colonial Marines. Oof. I actually played through the entire game, in co-op, while drinking, in some attempt to cobble together an enjoyable experience from a game I pre-ordered for a full $60. Coincidentally, it's both the last game I pre-ordered, and the last cent I gave to Gearbox, so there were some valuable lessons to come out of that debacle. Since I already have it, though, I'm thinking about maybe giving it another shot with the AI scripting fix, and see how much it changes. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: I feel really flat bordering depressed. my work place is toxic iv recently split with my parter, my anxiety is quiet scary really. im 23 yr old malei work n mental health and feel burnt out. iv hit rock bottom I need clarity on my situation from a professional
t is the treatment for anxiety and depression? output: DearWe understand your concernsI went through your details. I suggest you not to worry much. Please try to understand depression. I think you are not depressed. You could be dissatisfied. Of course from life situations. Different life situations make people disappointed and they feel terrible and lost. They may not have clear thinking, feel lazy and hate life, etc etc.But this cannot continue infinitely. Body and mind knows how to tackle this. Also we have other jobs to do than thinking and worrying about what had happened. Concentrating on the tasks at the hand and living today helps a lot. The problems you met are relatively simpler that other problems of people. You may face such grave situations in your future. Eveyone will. Now you have a lesson with what happened. These lessons will help you in future. So forget past, don't worry about future, have good faith in god or yourself, hope for the best and you will be a success. For more visit : this answers your query. Available for further clarifications.Good luck... |
Home » Reviews » A Roundtable Review of Hyun Ok Park’s The Capitalist Unconscious: From Korean Unification to Transnational Korea
A Roundtable Review of Hyun Ok Park’s The Capitalist Unconscious: From Korean Unification to Transnational Korea
By Sino-NK | March 07, 2016 | No Comments
The Tumen-Namyang bridge on a frigid winter day. | Image: Sino-NK
As an indictment of the current world order, Hyun Ok Park’s The Capitalist Unconscious: From Korean Unification to Transnational Korea is an ambitious and far-reaching work. Engaging its readers in the latest postcolonial critiques and Marxist theories, Park deconstructs democratic politics of the post-Cold War era, laying bare triumphalist discourses on reparation, peace, and human rights. Placing the spotlight squarely on migrant laborers as “the protagonists of transnational Korea,” Park shows how identity politics and lofty notions of cosmopolitanism mask difficult social relations in the era of neo-liberal capitalism.
The book’s empirical foundation rests upon years of ethnographic observations, archival research, and notes from the field. It puts substance on the theoretical bone. The ambitious geographic and temporal scope of the book will doubtless frustrate some, and the alternative — some kind of post-capitalist order — might not impress. But, then again, this is not an effort to “fill a gap” in the literature so much as the birth of a new genre or category of analysis of Korea’s place in Northeast Asia. It is thus with great interest that Sino-NK’s roundtable reviewers engaged the work. — Steven Denney, Managing Editor
by Sino-NK
Park, Hyun Ok. The Capitalist Unconscious: From Korean Unification to Transnational Korea. Columbia University Press, 2015. 400 pp. ISBN: 9780231171922
(Names link to reviews)
I. Andre Schmid, “The Unconscious Explained: Review of Hyun Ok Park’s The Capitalist Unconscious”
II. Steven Denney, “Going Beyond Cosmopolitanism: Park Hyun Ok’s Critique of Identity Politics in Contemporary South Korea”
III. Christopher Green, “Capital and Crisis: No Time to Waste”
IV. Adam Cathcart, “Hyun Ok Park’s History of the Cultural Revolution in Yanbian”
V. Robert Winstanley-Chesters, “From Hiroshima to Seoul”
At the Dandong railroad station, gateway to North Korea. If North and South Korea are indeed unified in a transnational form by capital, this city facilitated the unification. | Image: Matthew Bates/Sino-NK
The Unconscious Explained: Review of Hyun Ok Park’s The Capitalist Unconscious
by Andre Schmid (University of Toronto)
The Capitalist Unconscious will leave readers raising their eyebrows in marvel, frowning in frustration, and scratching their head in wonderment. Hyun Ok Park has written a book that will change the way many think about Northeast Asia, both past and present.
At the core of the book lies the key challenge remaining from the Cold War for the region: the division of the Korean peninsula. For everyone invested emotionally or professionally in the politics of reunification, Park has a little surprise, which she reveals in the first clause of the book’s first sentence. “Korea,” she tells us, “is already unified.” (p. ix)
At first glance, this suggestion appears absurd. For anyone who has visited that most militarized of demilitarized zones, watched the weeping families reunited by the Red Cross, or listened to the shifting but ever constant rhetoric in Seoul and Pyongyang about the need for future reunification, these four words beg the question: how could anyone possibly suggest that anything other than division captures the current predicament of the peninsula?
Park’s answer relies on the novel way she defines unity, or as she explains in the remainder of that first sentence, “Korea is already unified in a transnational form by capital.” The book is a sweeping and audacious effort to unpack just what she means by these last six words. It is quite a story.
Park would no doubt be displeased with my invocation of these hoary Cold War images of division. For these are her bugaboos, from which she wants to rescue us. Indeed, Park challenges our penchant to understand reunification as a territorial problem, one of bringing back together two separated territories. To the now all-too-common claim that “the Korean peninsula remains frozen in the Cold War,” Park might reply, “Nonsense – too much has been changing but simply not recognized because of that very style of Cold War thinking.”
At the time when Northeast Asia is experiencing a historical transformation that is bringing Koreans closer together in the labor and capital relations of a growing market economy, Park tell us this emphasis on space and sovereignty for thinking about unification is a type of misdirection. Instead, she contends that Koreans in the north and south as well as diasporic Korean in China have never before been so deeply intertwined in complex social, economic, and ideological ties. That which now binds them is what she calls a “capitalist consensus,” arising out of simultaneous economic crises in all three locations of her study.
Park’s extended critique of Cold War approaches rests on a historical sociology of the transformations of labor – or, more precisely, the movement of labor throughout Northeast Asia. This is the transnational in the Capitalist Unconscious, which Park traces through the life stories of a wide range of migrant laborers as they move in a “cascading hierarchy” from North Korea into China and, in turn, from China to South Korea, always linked by a flow of capital invested in and extracted from their labor. Park allocates separate sections to each segment of these flows – subjects which have been covered by other researchers, often in much more extended, book-length treatment. Yet the power of Park’s argument lies precisely in the fact that she rises above any one location, bringing multiple sites together as a single field of analysis to show how each of these places are simultaneously undergoing massive disruptions that serve to bring them more tightly entwined. Although the book includes new empirical information – interviews, statistics and the like – its strength lies more in rethinking and reinterpreting what we have already been coming to learn over the last fifteen years.
No where is this more true that in the chapters on North Korea – the lowest rung on Park’s hierarchy, yet, arguably, the most significant section of the book. By now it has become standard in most current accounts of changes in the DPRK to trace the rise of markets back to the famines of the early 1990s. While analysts might disagree how much of this shift was due to deliberate state policy or how much changes in state policy were forced by the crises, most observers rest their analysis on a series of assumptions – what Park calls a “market utopia” – that the growth of market forces are necessarily antagonistic to the North Korean state.
Not so quick, Park warns us. Instead, she offers a longer history, reaching back to the 1950s. Noting that material incentives had always been part of the economic strategy of the construction of socialism, Park argues that the changes of the 1990s were in themselves not as radically new as is generally assumed but must be seen as “embedded” in a longer history of the DPRK’s economic policies. It’s at this point in her argument that Park’s turn to theoretical Marxism is most helpful, in particular her use of a long tradition of leftist critiques of state capitalism. Some will feel uneasy with discussions of theorists as diverse as Rosa Luxemburg and Jodi Dean, or the author’s treatment of the general theory of value. Yet Park shows the worth of all her efforts because ultimately her approach enables her to reach a crucial point: North Korea has long been obsessed with maximizing worker productivity and differential wages structures and bonus systems have been regularly mobilized to this end. Labor, in short, has always been commodified in the north, as it has been in the south. On this point, Park offers a theoretical argument rather than an empirical one, which leaves room to debate the extent of change and continuity over these years, yet there’s little doubt of her main point that a variety of incentives used in the past in an effort to maximize the value extracted from labor acted as a precursor to the reforms of 1990s.
For Pyongyang watchers – who are by no means Park’s targeted audience – there is a significant lesson that arises out of the arguments in The Capitalist Unconscious. By questioning liberal orthodoxies about the mutually antagonistic relationship of markets and states, Park is telling us to be careful in assuming that the growth of markets in the north will necessarily undermine the state. Given that the South Korean experience in 1987 is often the star model in civil society-style arguments about democratic “transitions,” Park is cautioning against such simplistic, triumphalist formulations being extended northwards. Instead, she suggests that we should be realizing that markets are highly adaptable to diverse political regimes.
Read conversely, the North Korea state has long incorporated markets into its governing strategy – which is a ‘’blend of socialist and capitalist elements” (p. 248) that we have failed to recognize because of our own Cold War ideologies have always represented North Korea as socialist and, thus, different.
Although Park does not quite go so far as to suggest that recent market growth might, in fact, strengthen the state, this is one of the obvious implications of her research. Thus, as much as her “capitalist consensus” allows for a high degree of unevenness in the hierarchical relationship between the north, China, and the south, it is the interlinkage of capitalist forces through the flows of labor that brings not only unity to her analysis but also of her opening statement, “Korea is already unified.” In this sense, Park’s emphasis on the parallels between the north and the south can be seen in the context of a growing body of Cold War scholarship, starting with Susan Buck-Morss (one of Park’s inspirations) that emphasizes the commonalities across the Cold War divide. Most of this work has been done on Europe and the United States. Park is one of the first to bring this approach fruitfully to Northeast Asia through her focus on the transnational commodification of labor.
“Korea is already unified” is a statement that, however qualified, might appear to be a cause for celebration. Not so for Park. Her work is a despondent one. For pundits of diverse political stripes, reunification has often appeared from at least the 1970s to offer a panacea to the socio-economic and national problems of the south, an imaginary future of possibilities. Capitalist Unconscious is stripped of any such hope. Park’s emphasis on the capitalist consensus and its accompanying market utopia to define unification ultimately leaves unification, with all its triumphant possibilities, as the current problem. This is perhaps not surprising for a work that has reached its conclusion through a commitment to theoretical Marxism. Yet it leaves Park in something of a conundrum, especially given that she hesitates to turn to class politics as a possible solution for the very challenge she outlines.
What is to be done? Not human rights, reparation, and peace movements. All of these are skewered by Park, who sees this “trinity” as doing little more than reinforcing the very capitalist consensus she wishes to critique. Her rather unusual answer is to turn to three individuals, all migrants from North Korea living in China. The vagabond, the manual worker, and the stateless national all give voice to not just a critique of the capitalist present but also the rejection of the two Koreas. Their “disquiet” at the situation in Northeast Asia reads as the author’s own. When Park writes that a certain Mr. Han possesses a sense “of a new temporality that…marks a radical moment of remembering the unrealized dream that once again is commandeered by the capitalist present,” (p. 285) one cannot help but wonder how much the views of the interviewer are blurred with those of interviewee. And just as these three figures struggle to articulate an alternative or a politics that arises out of their critiques, Park is left struggling to move beyond invoking the humanity that arises out of their “momentous critique” and a “struggle for the commons.” Nevertheless, herein Park offers a sliver of hope in a work which otherwise remains a bleak assessment of Northeast Asian futures.
The slenderness of this hope presents something of a danger for the author. For while Park has written one of the most erudite and incisive analyses of the political economic changes shaping the Koreas in Northeast Asia, there will be readers who reject her politics yet accept her conclusions – only with a very different assessment. If, for Park, the words “Korea is already unified in a transnational form by capital” represent a lamentable situation, for others these same words hazard being celebrated as the post Cold War triumph of capitalism. While Park positions her analysis as a critique of both the north and south Korean states, for others her emphasis on the dominance of capitalism in all places will be taken as proving precisely that against which she warns us from accepting: the victory of the capitalist south over the socialist north. If for Park, her tracing of the process of labor commodification opens up history, in the eyes of others her analysis threatens to be read as a naturalizing history of capitalism — in other words, a Northeast Asian version of the End of History.
Such interpretations would be regrettable but hardly unexpected. For as Park has shown throughout her book, the capitalist unconscious is above all powerful. And among its powers – whether conscious or not – is the remarkable capacity to recoup and refold criticism back into the ideologies that make it work. Yet, for others actually willing to follow Park on her journey across Northeast Asia, Capitalist Unconscious offers that strangely illicit pleasure of having one’s common assumptions questioned and new historical vistas opened.
Geographic distribution of Korean speakers on the peninsula and in China. | Image: Zorion/Wikicommons
Going Beyond Cosmopolitanism: Park Hyun Ok’s Critique of Identity Politics in Contemporary South Korea
by Steven Denney
“Korea is already unified in a transnational form by capital,” writes Park Hyun Ok in the first sentence of her book The Capitalist Unconscious: From Korean Unification to Transnational Korea. This deceptively simple thesis is captivating, because it is a widely held belief that not only is the Korean peninsula not unified, but that it is headed toward something approximating permanent division (what some may call a “re-bordering”).
But unification isn’t what Park’s latest work is really about. True, the movement of capital and people across borders has had a certain de-territorializing effect, but that’s as true for Korea as it is anywhere else. More than unification, The Capitalist Unconscious is about labor, specifically migrant laborers and their struggle for the right to work and for freedom of movement. This theme runs throughout Park’s hefty tome, but chapter three, “Reparation: On Colonial Returnee,” is one that will speak loudly to those interested in how labor interacts with the politics of post-minjung activism and recent changes in national identity in South Korea.
Passage of the original Overseas Koreans Act (alternatively, the Act of the Immigration and Legal Status of Overseas Koreans; first passed in 1999), a policy crafted with the intention of bringing in overseas capital from the Korean diaspora, made it possible for those who had previously held Korean citizenship and their children (the “past citizenship principle”) to acquire permanent status and opened a path towards naturalization. The state made a conscious effort, according to Park, to avoid the lineage principle, citing international conventions on repatriation which bars principles based on race or ethnicity, i.e., ethnic nationalism. (This is an interesting development for those studying changes in types of Korean nationalism, specifically the grounds upon which the state adopted the past citizenship principle over the lineage principle.)
The act, however, effectively barred those who had emigrated prior to liberation from Japanese colonial rule (approximately fifty percent of the entire diaspora). Subsequent amendments, nominally meant to address the act’s exclusive nature, did little to resolve the exclusion of many ethnic Koreans who were already in South Korea as undocumented workers (predominantly Chinese Koreans). Thus, while they may be ethnically similar to Korean-American or Japanese-Americans and preferred over other foreigners, their national origins separates them from the others. South Koreans consider China to be a developing country and a place from which relatively “cheap and disciplined” labor hails. Herein lies what Park sees as the power of capitalism to affect social relations between ethnic Koreans – a Marxist critique, perhaps, of Seol and Skrentny’s “Ethnic return migration and hierarchical nationhood.”
After a Constitutional Court ruling deemed the act unconstitutional (and in need of revision), a flurry of activism geared toward resolving the Korean-Chinese reparation issue brought to center the debate on reparation and the (ethnic) nation. As told by Park, the Committee for Amending the Overseas Korean Act, an organization lead by Christian reverends and former democracy movement activists (Lim Kwangbin chief among them), campaigned vigorously against “the economic instrumentalization of Korean Chinese.” (p. 84) Drawing from the well spring of ethno-nationalist rhetoric and symbolism, the former protestors-cum democratic activists called upon the South Korean state to fulfill its obligation to take care of all members of the (ethnic) nation. Lim, for instance, rejected “proponents of the principle of past citizenship [who] drew on cosmopolitanism” for lacking “historical consciousness,” arguing instead that “treating tongp’o [ethnic Koreans residing outside of Korea] as any other foreign migrant worker constitutes discrimination against tongp’o…. As an act of rewriting history, the Overseas Korean Act must perform ssikkimgut [a shaman’s cleansing dance], capable of fully cleansing [nation history of] the perturbed relationship between tongp’o and our [South Korean] society.” Employment, “the most important issue,” was not prioritized, notes Park. (p. 86)
And it is on this point – employment – that Park criticizes civil society activists (e.g., Lim) for failing to account for the real struggles of daily life for Chinese Korean migrant workers. Their struggle has more to do with working conditions and dignity in work than lofty notions of righting history’s wrongs or brining together the ethnic nation. In my interview with the author, Park had this to say:
South Korean democracy is in crisis. Since the 1990s, the social movement in South Korea has split into a labor movement and a civil society movement. The book extrapolates the limits of this dual hegemonic movement. On the one hand, the labor movement has focused on defending rights and benefits of unionized workers, while seeking to establish a national labor party. It is too centered on unionized workers to represent migrant workers and precarious domestic Korean workers who are the majority of workers. NGOs have advocated the rights of the discriminated, appealing to the principle of difference. The civil society movement is too focused on identity and culture to unleash attacks on rapidly growing inequality, unemployment, and unfulfilled promises of a welfare-society.
For another committed civil society activist – reverend So Kyongsok – simply permitting the right to freely travel (or work) was insufficient. Reverend So wanted the South Korean state to recognize Chinese Korean migrant workers as dual citizens, calling upon the state to recognize the principle of lineage, thereby channeling the emotional and historically prominent sense of ethnic and pan-Korean nationalism. The reverend mobilized a number of Korean Chinese active in the movement to amend the act to apply for citizenship. After the court rejected this particular appeal, true interests surfaced. In one official letter to the Chinese government cited (in part) by Park, the Korean Chinese who actively participated in So’s campaign had the following to say about their involvement: “All that we wanted is to visit and work freely in South Korea…. Although we have applied for South Korean citizenship, not all of us want South Korean citizenship. In fact, most of us want to return to China. What we really want is to possess the right to choose Chinese or Korean citizenship at our will.” (p. 95)
Some may applaud the state’s abdication of the principle of lineage, arguing that the struggle over migrant laborers’ rights has precipitated a decline of ethnic nationalism (this argument is indeed popular), and that this change is good. Such an observation, however, runs contrary Park’s critique that a decline in ethnic nationalism doesn’t mean a more just or equal society; civic nationalism, cosmopolitanism, or whatever nominally inclusive -ism tends to mask the “capitalist unconscious.” In fact, the nature of social relations in capitalist 21st century South Korean are such that, while ethnicity means less than perhaps it once did, the demands of capital and the shortcomings of South Korea’s underdeveloped welfare state demands immigration (especially of Korean-speaking Chinese and others), but only for a short time and for a very limited, economically instrumental reason: filling a labor shortage. And life for migrants workers (especially those hailing from developing or underdeveloped countries), as studies illuminate, is difficult at best, insufferable at worst. Park reminds us of the enduring value of Marx’s analysis of capitalism: the commodification of labor has an alienating effect, especially on those most vulnerable.
Chinese Yuan | Image: Sino-NK
Capital and Crisis: No Time to Waste
by Christopher Green
Crisis as a driver of social change is scarcely a new idea; Rahm Emanuel was by no means first in line to envision the potential for drastic re-calibration in the aftermath of a major incident. Indeed, the desire to fundamentally alter the status quo appears to transcends partisan politics. Perhaps that is inevitable, for if one didn’t want to change the world, or at least a part of it, why would one go into politics in the first place? The only missing ingredient is the right and proper moment. Put simply, crisis makes manifest the “opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”
But whereas Emanuel may have envisioned crisis as opening up the political space for powerful elites — acting in all our best interests, no doubt — to remake the world in a positive sense, Park Hyun Ok, with a Marxist historical brief, sees instead a free-floating process of unification of the two Koreas and their Korean-Chinese brethren rising from the ashes of societies reconfigured by the multiple crises of capitalism that beset Northeast Asia in the 1990s. That is, the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, which did and continues to demand greater labor flexibility from South Korean workers, and the collapse of state distribution in the North in the years immediately preceding it, which triggered a rush for one or other of Albert Hirschman’s exits — to China for some, and to a parallel system of market exchange for most.
Park’s good news is that these contiguous crises mean unification is already here1)It is only the tendency of many to treat the nation-state as the only understandable ordering principle of social life that obscures this stark reality.. When North Koreans cross the Tumen and Yalu rivers, they form part of the “osmosis” of economic migration that is happening more or less everywhere, more or less all the time. Ditto the remittances that flow north from Seoul and elsewhere in South Korea; the tens of thousands of ethnically Korean Chinese who, under a liberal visa regime, flow to the South annually; and all the intermediaries who facilitate these mass capital and human flows. The bad news is that there is seemingly little or no room for transmogrifying the flows of people and capital into a lever for a new mass politics that might, in its turn, alter the way of things in a positive, productive, (counter-)Emanuelian sense. Efforts are made, but the target is slippery, and transnational capital never grants that kind of space; it is an impersonal response to crisis, at best.
Park’s is an exciting, fresh vision. However, the conceptualization is taut, and opens itself up to ready critique. First and foremost, disjuncture rather than unity tends to prevail. Put the book down, look out of the window, and what you will see is a level of integration between the three economies that still depends heavily on contravening the will of state(s) through illegal border crossings of goods and people, not to mention overwhelming economic and political differentials. Transnational capital is powerful, yes, and we would be wise to thank Park for slicing through the demagoguery that hides this indisputable fact behind dominant social discourses about democracy and freedom2)This has always been the benefit conferred by Marxist historical analysis.. Nevertheless, politics also isn’t going anywhere — witness closures of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in 2013 and 2016. Borders are not wide open, and the majority of North Koreans — most obviously but not exclusively — shall never go across to the other side.
Moreover, while “Transnational Korea” may be a real construct, if you’ll forgive the oxymoron, it is far from being one of Ian Lustick’s “ideologically hegemonic” ones. Recent clashes between labor and capital in South Korea highlight the point that labor is not going without a fight, and despite serious doubts over both motivation and competence, politicians and civil society leaders3)Some, like Seoul City’s progressive mayor, Park Won-sun, are both. still debate alternative ways of organizing society — economics with a sociological component, in Bourdeau’s encapsulation — even though their chances of revolutionary change are — and frankly probably should be — slim.
In September 2015, a single toppled truck on the ancient bridge across the Yalu was enough to paralyze legal trade into Sinuiju, and North Koreans who attempt to cross a river to ply trade or make the indirect and perilous leap toward South Korea are increasingly prevented by force from doing so. It is best to view Park’s exceptional vision as lighting the lamps on a possible path, deftly highlighting the notion that apolitical trade and capital flows are in the process of unifying Northeast Asia as an economic entity, irrespective and disrespecting of the political power in the hands of the region’s leaders — elected and unelected alike. But the process is not the done deal that is implied in this work of breadth and ambition.
Chu Dok-hae in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture History Museum | Image: Adam Cathcart
Hyun Ok Park’s History of the Cultural Revolution in Yanbian
by Adam Cathcart
Paradoxically, scholarship that attempts to explode the frame of the nation-state can be most useful for scholars concerned precisely with what occurs within state boundaries. In the case of The Capitalist Unconsious: From Korean Unification to Transnational Korea, the ardent drive to reframe the nation results in an exquisitely useful chapter for scholars concerned with the history of ethnic Koreans, or Chosonjok, in eastern Jilin province, whose intellectual forays into neighboring North Korea tend to be fleeting.
Scholarly writings about the experiences of “minority nationalities” during the Cultural Revolution on the frontiers of the PRCs are still relatively few, although growing. Among the best entrants are Kerry Brown’s The Purge of the Inner Mongolian People’s Party, 1967-69 (which originated as a PhD dissertation at Leeds University), and Melvyn Goldstein’s galvanizing 2009 book on Nyemo, a Tibetan county taken over by a charismatic spiritual medium woman, and where the intersection between ethnic nationalism, traditional religion, and Maoism became extraordinarily violent in 1969.
When it comes to viewpoints on the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture during the Cultural Revolution, few works have shed much light; or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that light has been shed from a small number of works which have been rendered dim by virtue of their isolation. An early fieldwork report, “The Effects of the Cultural Revolution on the Korean Minority in Yenpien,” was Setsure Tsurushima’s useful effort to unpack his 1976 fieldwork to the region, but was more geared toward travelogue and institutional history than unpacking the full brunt of how the Cultural Revolution had fallen upon interpersonal relations in the region, much less a cataloging of cadre who had been struggled against. A more recent addition in Korean Studies, published in 2010, “Nationalism and Ethnic Identity in the Sino-Korean Border Region of Yanbian, 1945–1950,” looked forward to the Cultural Revolution via a biographical template of Chu Dok-hae. Dr. Park’s chapter easily surpasses these works, resulting in the most in-depth treatment of the Cultural Revolution in Yanbian yet to appear in English, describing the impact that the Maoist revolution had on Korean minorities in China and in the subsequent diaspora.
The formation of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in 1952 is often marked as a defining moment in the Chosonjok as a minzu, or nationality, within the boundaries of the PRC. But, as Park shows, the back story and the tensions within it are more interesting. The designation of Koreans as a “model minority” in China went beyond levels of education; there were revolutionary behaviors and struggles against Japan dating back to the colonial era. As in her previous work, Park is impatient with dominant narratives, and thus moves beyond the historiographically monolithic themes of anti-Japanese guerrilla resistance and the Korean War.
Park focuses on Chu Dok-hae, the secretary of the Party and arguably the most prominent political Chosunjok since 1949. Chu had been at Yenan in the 1930s, was a friend of Zhou Enlai and did much to help the CCP consolidate eastern Jilin province in the late 1940s. He also was a pivotal link for the Central Committee with the Northeast — along with the controversial Gao Gang (the Chinese equivalent of Pak Han-yong, whose purge in Pyongyang preceded Gao’s by a year). From a newly-socialist Yanbian, Chu supported the war effort in Korea, providing Korean interpreters for the Chinese People’s Volunteers in the battlefield and also creating linkages with North Korean institutions like Kim Il Sung University.
A large new permanent museum exhibition for Chu, on the top floor of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Region History Museum, mirrors the official histories in Yanbian by emphasizing Chu’s work in the 1940s and 1950s, and leaving his Cultural Revolution trauma out of the frame entirely, since, presumably, everyone local knows what happened anyway, and the notion that foreign visitors need not be bothered with scars caused by the Chinese Communist Party.
To borrow a phrase from Park’s title, there is nothing particularly “unconscious” about the way that Chu Dok-hae was destroyed; the Party which he had helped to build tore him apart. Chu was accused of ethnic nationalism, and finally lost his ability to shape events or soften punishments for Chosunjok accused by Han cadre or Red Guards of having been collaborators with the imperial Japanese or the Kuomintang. Park describes these fissures, but, like Melvyn Goldstein, does not seem interested in recreating binary treatment of ethnic victimization. Indeed, the Cultural Revolution served as a screen for their fellow ethnic Koreans to attack one another, often for colonial-era slights, a point brought out skillfully by Park in her interviews. (pp. 147-149)
Along the way, Park reveals how memories of the Cultural Revolution are lingering (often unconsciously) in South Korea, and discusses the difficulties encountered by ethnic Koreans during the collectivization leading to the Great Leap Forward. She also draws from a large number of official histories and biographies published in the mid-1980s in Yanji or Changchun, a time of relatively greater academic openness. (Fortunately for Sinologists who are not fluent in Korean, most of these materials are also available in Chinese). Some of the newest writing about Chu Dok-hae published in the northeast is not referenced, but this is to be expected in a book of this size and scope. Perhaps the Chinese state representatives will at some point make the full run of Yanbian archives available, or open a few more doors in their extraordinary museum. In the meantime, we all have more reading and re-reading to do, not least of this extraordinary chapter.
General Government Building at Gyeongbokgung, Seoul. The chief administrative building during Japan’s colonial rule over Korea, the structure was demolished upon order by the Kim Young-sam administration in the mid-1990s. | Image: Wikicommons
From Hiroshima to Seoul
by Robert Winstanley-Chesters
A month or so before writing this review, I spent an eventful afternoon in Hiroshima, Japan, site of course of one of only two instances of tactical nuclear discharge in human history. I walked to the Atomic Bomb Dome, across the memorial square and rather quickly through the busy museum in the company of a South Korean citizen, for whom the terrible fact of 1945 and the atrocious deaths of so many of the towns citizens at the behest of American military strategy, pointedly and assertively did not atone for the sheer viciousness of Japan’s Imperial crimes against the Korean Peninsula. Hiroshima is ground zero of a memorial industry focused on the promotion of Japanese victimhood, and the abstraction away in part of the militarism of its colonial adventures and the ferocity of the war in the Pacific.
However similar to Auschwitz, another industrial beacon and generator of memory, and its homosexual internees, Hiroshima harbors necessarily and usefully forgotten ghosts in its narratives. Hiroshima was home the day the Enola Gay flew over, to some 20,000 Koreans, working as industrial slaves in its factories and elsewhere, many of whom died and are memorialized in a forlorn piece of architecture to the right of the main square. Those Koreans that survived were soon to be displaced by the collapse of Japanese imperialism back to the Peninsula from whence they came and again to be lost in the fabric of memory until their rediscovery by the utopian politics of a different face and time, namely North Korea who used their memory to extract reparations of a form from the Japanese government. These transnational Koreans trapped in the darkness of historical memory seemed somehow abstract and diffuse in spite of the virulent piquancy of their misfortune. This diffuse however was rapidly displaced in an acupuncture studio later that evening, when the technician, after learning of my academic interests, furtively and somewhat shamefaced, admitted to being a Zainichi Korean, rather than Japanese, but in order both not to puncture the socially and legally acceptable myth of homogeneity, and to cast aspersions on his national loyalties, preferred to keep this a secret from his friends and clientele. Koreans, it seemed, live in a history of shadows and occasional darkness, their potential and lived transnationalities hidden and buried.
Alain Delissen and others recent work on the intriguing backwaters of Korean historicity and historiography, their “Shadow Capital Cities” project lay out a fascinating alternative spatio-history of Korean nationhood. Just as the notion of Korean identity, nationhood and transnational relation is slippery at the individual level, as lost and displaced Koreans in Japan, Russia and the Central Asian republics might attest, Korea’s important and capital cities have some mobility and diffusion about them, as does the space of the geographic Korean nation itself. The present division of the peninsula of course has mean the deployment of innumerable elements and methodologies of contestation surrounding this history and the people involved. However the core notion of contemporary Korean identity, namely that there is one generic Korean ethnicity, divided between two distinct nations and a diaspora is rarely implicated or infiltrated by this slipperiness.
Until of course this ambitious and assertive new piece of work by Hyun Ok Park. Built it seems out of a careers worth of anthropological investigation, exploration, thinking and review, The Capitalist Unconscious: From Korean Unification to Transnational Korea seems to explode nearly every mythology that Korean’s are wont to tell each other and the outside of the world. While the 5,000 years of unbroken homogeneity narrative is perhaps easy to critique for its sheer unfeasibility given the shifting cultural, ethnic, linguistic and politics sands of the geo-region Korea finds itself within, modern South Korea finds itself lumbered with a modernist progressive and positivist narrative akin to those of 19th European Liberalism which were brutalized and traumatized into irrelevance and impossibility by the violence of the European Great War. South Korea has apparently been getting better and better since the collapse of Park Chung-hee’s dictatorship and the final flowering of democracy and political legitimacy in 1987. With the success of the Seoul Olympics, the technological dominance of Chaebol corporations and the cultural victories of K-Pop and Korean BBQ, Korea has won itself a distinct and local place in the twenty-first century world order, a consumer driven, social democratic lightning rod for praise and popularity, an example to others. Seoul can both forget its North Korean neighbor and gerrymander its future, unencumbered by any of the usual fears and carefully articulated exceptions surrounding regime change. Unification will be in and of its own choosing, a moment of nationalist overcoming and endeavor, the fulfillment of historical inevitability.
Hyun Ok Park, has, as the reader might have expected by now, other ideas. Rejecting almost entirely Seoul’s narrative of progress, Park identifies what we might call a narrative of betrayal. Conjoined with the semi-mystical yet determined power of global Capital, South Korea’s politicians, economists, and social movements have harnessed popular energy and desire for progress and development to serve as a vector and carrier signal for that same population’s enslavement and capture by Liberal and Neo-Liberal forces of all kinds. The ruptures of 1987 and 1997 are diminished and diffused by the co-option of the energy of democracy and modernity for the nefarious means and desires of Capital at its most assertive.
Extraordinarily Park articulates a new narrative of the relationship between Capital and nation, in which South Korean progressives are broken by the seemingly unwitting incorporation of the global and regional Korean diaspora into Capital’s fight against labour and social radicalism. In fascinating detail Park tracks the history of South Korean institutional articulation and bureaucratization of Korean nationality (or otherwise), seeing the Liberalizing of immigration, visa and residency law in the 1990s and 2000s as a methodology and technology of work place and social oppression. Korean Chinese or Chosonjok are deployed as a weapon in the arsenal of Capital to drive down wages, lessen working conditions and social rights, break labour organizations and generate neo-liberalism’s preferred social and national status quo of the precariat. The resentments generated by this are clear to see in the uneasy relationships between those who reside in South Korea as South Korean citizens, and those who are ethnically Korean yet for various reasons of history have returned from geographies and temporalities beyond its borders. The insulting and denigratory nature of South Korean discourse towards Koreans who have lived in China, Central Asia, even the United States is familiar of course to all who have seen below the shiny veneer of that discourse, Park however along with this new narrative local to South Korea offers something even more vital within this work which is an extrapolation of her analysis of South Korea’s labour and social relations.
Moving beyond the ground of South Korea, Park conceives of these difficult and sometimes divisive flows of returning or emigrant Koreas as representing something far larger and more impactful to the debate that addresses the Korean Peninsula as a whole. Rather than simply manufacturing a precarious, Neo-Liberal South Korea, Capitalist imperatives have infiltrated and inculcated themselves into the wider Korean diaspora, breaking not only the ideological barriers of the People’s Republic of China and Yanji’s Korean Autonomous Region (from which the Capitalist underclass of the Chosonjok derive), but those of Seoul’s northern neighbor as well. North Korea’s famine period of the early and mid-1990s of course demanded that its citizens adopt new social and structural forms of engagement to ensure their own physical survival. The spread of physical markets in North Korea’s periphery has of course been widely recounted by other scholars, as in a sense has the impact of social marketization on family and other relations at much more basic level. Capital’s imperatives run very deep and assertive when populations are faced with the collapse of the institutional structures which normally mediate and organize them, and works such Sandra Fahy’s recent Marching Through Suffering: Loss and Survival in North Korea certainly have attested to this. What has not been analyzed at great depth is the diffusion of these imperatives beyond the Yalu, the Tumen or the DMZ.
Holding these new forms and processes in mind, Park asserts in The Capitalist Unconscious, that Capital’s imperatives have in fact broken the binary system of division between the two Korea’s, uniting both in a tandem flow of necessity and desire. The Korean peninsula through these means is in fact already united, both states essentializing superstructures and defenses broken and laid waste by Capitals’ urgency. Further than this act of negation, the carefully institutionalized and legalized boundaries between Korea(s) proper and its extensive diaspora are themselves diffused. Unification it seems, to Park has already occurred, there will be no grand moment of absorption and triumph by the warriors of freedom however, no victory parade into Kim Il-sung Square, no structured process of forgetting and disintegration. Capital, for Park has cheated the advocates and agitators for regime change of this moment of triumph as the merger of the two Korea’s is already a fact brought about by the collapse of Politics, into bio-politics and the post-political. Further than this though, the collapse of the binary division means that Korea’s unification is a slippage into trans-nationality, as its lost and unwanted diaspora’s come home to roost in Capital’s nest.
There is no doubt that Park’s work is highly contestable: the introductory chapter is an extraordinary, visceral piece of articulate and exciting polemic which will be subject to future extensive debate. Its analysis, linguistic, stylistic and methodological approach will be difficult for some commentators and politics to accept or even consider. But “The Capitalist Unconscious: From Korean Unification to Transnational Korea” is a grand piece of thinking, beyond, outside and around the stultifying, restrictive, artificial box of Korea’s division. One which any reader and this reviewer will be turning to for new ways to contextualize and consider the impact of Capital’s incursions into Korean nationhood either side of its current historiographic divide for perhaps years to come.
Correction: The Capitalist Unconscious was published by Columbia University Press, not Cambridge, as the review originally stated.
1. ↑ It is only the tendency of many to treat the nation-state as the only understandable ordering principle of social life that obscures this stark reality.
2. ↑ This has always been the benefit conferred by Marxist historical analysis.
3. ↑ Some, like Seoul City’s progressive mayor, Park Won-sun, are both. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Hello doctor, I am a 33 year old female. I have been getting shingles since I was 6 years old. Until high school, I would get it once a year around the same time. Then, I began getting it twice a year. As I got older, I started getting multiple outbreaks in a year. I have had shingles for 27 years. This year, I had four outbreaks that occurred once in every three months. In the past, my doctor was against vaccinating me because it was not tested on anyone under the age of 50 or 60. With the multiple outbreaks over the past two to three years, we discussed it again and we decided that it might help. Previously, I had taken Famvir and Hydrocodone. Currently, I am continuing the same medicines for shingles outbreak. I had undergone a wellness checkup a few months back and all my laboratory test results were normal. In your opinion, do you think that the vaccination would help me? Are there any concerns or issues about a person of my age getting the shingles vaccine? I am not currently pregnant, but could possibly want another child in a couple years from now. Could the vaccination have any effect on future pregnancy or children? I trust my doctor and know he has my best interest in mind; I just wanted a second opinion as this vaccine has not been tested on anyone in my age group.
Are there any issues if I take a shingles vaccination? output: Hi. From the history, it is apparent that you are getting frequent recurrences of shingles, which have increased in the recent past. Shingles occur when your body immune system is low. I am not aware if you are on medication as that may lower your immune system (except for steroids that you are taking for acute attacks). As your physician rightly said, varicella vaccine is not recommended below the age of 50. Logically, vaccination at this age may provide relief from frequent recurrences, but I do not have enough literature or evidence to support this. You may go ahead with the vaccination after detailed discussion with your doctor. The point of caution is to make sure that the vaccination is given when an acute attack is not there and when you are not on steroids or any medicines which considerably reduce body's immune system as it is a live vaccine. As far as pregnancy is concerned, you can plan the same. But, you may require frequent visits to your obstetrician for close supervision as the effects on the fetus cannot be ruled out.. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: I m 14 years old and my lower right back area hurts, it s right where the kidney is. It s not painful everyday but roughly once a month I get a sharp really painful pain in that area and it goes away about a minute after. It hurts to press on the area also output: Hi, welcome to our site. Read your query. That is a very significant question and I appreciate your problem. I will try my best to answer your query am sorry to hear of your pain. Now your localization of the pain, if accurate brings us to a very limited number of problems. The first possibility is a calculus. Now I would expect that more commonly in people much older, but incidents do happen in younger population, especially if their fluid intake is low, or if the infection may happen. The best way to detect this would be via an ultrasound of the affected area.Also, you should have a lot and a lot of water. This will help your kidneys wash of the calculi more easily. It may also be due to constipation. Taking lots of fluids and having high fiber diet is a good way to relieve the constipation. Sometimes this is just gas. A plain antacid may help in such cases. I hope this helps you. Inform the reports mentioned above/if any other, so I can be of help further. I have given you the answer to the maximum considering the information provided. The results of the tests could further enhance my answer to you. Please do understand that some details could be extracted from a detailed history and examination. Please feel free to ask another query. I would be glad to help you. Looking forward to your return query with the details asked so that I can help you further. (If the answer has helped you, please indicate this)Best of luck. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: My gum is swollen around wisdom tooth that is not fully in yet. My tonsil on same side is slightly swollen as well. I'm not sick or having any symptoms in my throat area other than soreness outside of my mouth around my neck in same spot as wisdom tooth and tonsil. What do you recommend since I am not showing signs of a sickness and my mouth inside is pink/red normal color no spots on tonsil either.?
t does swollen gum and tonsil around wisdom tooth indicate? output: Hi,With your query, Nothing to worry about it anyways you are symptomless. This is normal to happen like this and ususally gums will be swollen before eruption and this not exactly the swelling infact it is nothing but the tooth is trying to pierce the gum so that it will make its way into oral cavity thats it.Coming to your tonsil problem in some patients it happens especially when wisdom tooth is erupting slight to mild inflammation of those surrounding might appear but its normal. Wait for the complete eruption of tooth if you any symptoms then you can visit your dentist/Oral surgeon who will examine and prescribe drugs if necessary based on the situation.Till then be cool enjoy your life.Hope this helps you.. |
Psi Research Centre
Serena Roney-Dougal
books, tapes & CDs
Where Science and Magic Meet
Tibetan Psychic Traditions
By S.M.RONEY-DOUGAL
This article describes the early stages of a research project in India with Tibetan meditation practitioners, looking at the relationship between meditation attainment and psychic awareness. As this is an overview to give a flavour of the psychic traditions of the culture, I shall mention several different traditions quite briefly, rather than give an in-depth account of any one of them. There is very little literature about Tibet’s psychic traditions, so much of what follows is based on interviews with various people.
The Tibetan culture is renowned for its psychic practitioners, but there has been no scientific research into their practices. Tibetan traditions incorporate psi extensively, with three main areas that appear to have ancient origins:
1) The oldest Tibetan traditions are those of the oracles, which involves deity possession;
2) Mo divination, which often involves a Tibetan deity called Palden Lhamo;
3) and the mahasiddhis.
There are two areas of more recent beliefs that relate primarily to the monastic communities and derive directly from Buddhism: attainment of psychic abilities through Buddhist meditation practice, and a belief in consciously chosen reincarnation, resulting in tulkus who are identified using a variety of psychic practices.
Tibetan traditions are a unique mixture of original shamanic Bon practices, Buddhism, which came to Tibet about 1,300 years ago, and Indian Buddhist tantric traditions, which came to Tibet about 1,000 years ago (Schlagintweit, 1999). The psychic aspects of Tibetan tradition primarily date from the pre-Buddhist shamanic period, though they are not inimical to Buddhism per se and so have been extensively incorporated by the monks into their practices. There are many different types of Buddhism, and that in Tibet is renowned for its inclusion and development of psychic abilities.
A. Belief
Every culture has its own world-view. Exploring a different culture can often shed light on our own belief systems and help us to see our own concepts. Beliefs are an intrinsic part of one’s mental make-up determined to a great degree by the culture in which one grows up. We are, for the most part, completely unconscious of our belief systems until they are pointed out to us, or we go to a completely different culture where people hold very different beliefs.
Most Tibetan people accept the psychic as an every day part of life. An example of the place divination has in everyday life for Tibetans is their use of astrology. Their calendars specify more than a dozen different attributes of each day, e.g., whether or not it is auspicious to start a business, get married, hold a funeral or even to have a party!
1. The Tibetan Oracles
Tibetans have the tradition of oracles (kuten, which literally means medium). These mediums go into trance, becoming possessed by a deity, who then speaks through the medium giving advice and prophecy, which is used to make decisions by people at every level of society, e.g. Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government consult the Nechung Oracle, who is recognised as the state oracle. The oracle is held in high esteem as the following quote from the Dalai Lama shows:
For hundreds of years now, it has been traditional for the Dalai Lama, and the Government, to consult Nechung during the New Year festivals. In addition, he might well be called upon at other times if either have specific queries. I myself have dealings with him several times a year. This may sound far-fetched to twentieth century western readers. . . . But I do so for the simple reason that as I look back over the many occasions when I have asked questions of the oracle, on each one of them time has proved that his answer was correct. . . .
Surprising as it may seem, the oracle’s replies to questions are rarely vague. As in the case of my escape from Lhasa, he is often very specific. (Dalai Lama, 2002).
There are numerous oracles. Many monasteries will have their own resident oracle, who sometimes is a monk, as well as the more common village lay oracles.
The following information about oracles was given by Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche (2005) in a series of private interviews. (see picture 1) Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche was recommended as he was a great authority on tantric aspects of Tibetan Buddhism. I feel so grateful and blessed to have been able to spend time in his presence – a truly holy man.
There are two factors involved in an accurate prophecy: the ability of the medium and the faith of the participants. He considered faith to be very important, and likened this participation between the medium and the sitter to needing a crutch if you have a bad leg — to be effective in walking you need both. Many of the people I have spoken with have reiterated this point of the importance of faith. For example, Penor Rinpoche (2006), who is head of the Nyingma sect, said with regard to divination that the diviner must have complete faith in the deity, and the questioner must have complete faith in the diviner.
Thus, a medium requires complete faith in their abilities from the sitter, and as there are both good and fraudulent mediums, one must check their reliability over a long period in order to increase one’s trust in them. He considered that it is essential to check in order to know whether the oracle’s divination will be successful. He likened Buddhists to scientists in that they always check everything. He explained that if you have a precognition, you can increase the certainty of your experience by asking lots of other people what they think, and so check it out. He said to make ratings for everything, e.g., for a 3 or 6 month prophecy check the person who has given it: are they reliable? How do they express themselves? What are their qualifications? Education? The way they dress? Do they speak well? What is their credibility? In similar vein he says we must analyse everything. By analogy he said that someone can appear happy or sad, but this may just be the appearance. He was very firm that things of the senses can often deceive us, and that when we’re sick our senses are faulty.
Kirti Tsenshabe Rinpoche also mentioned the Tibetan tantric teaching that an oracle becomes possessed by a deity because of the wind energy in their channels. This wind energy is conceived in a similar manner to prana of the Yogic tantric tradition, and the channels are equivalent to the nadis. He considers that some people have the ability to see the future because of past-life karma, which is related to their wind energy. Many other people I spoke with have repeated this point.
2. Mo Divination
Far more common than the oracles, is the practice of Mo divination. Nearly every monastery will have at least one lama who does Mo divination. There are also many lay village people who “do the Mo.”
An article in a Tibetan magazine (Cho Yang) states that the purpose of performing divination is to look into a person’s life situation in order to:
“recommend how to respond or deal with it. Remedial action, in the form of rituals, evokes positive forces and can result in a change in the person’s karma. . . . . When performing a divination, an individual is relying on the power vested in him by a particular deity. This power may have been acquired through a connection with the deity in a past life, and reinforced through retreats involving recitation of a mantra as many as one million times, identifying himself with the deity with clear concentration and the generation of divine pride. . . . The motivation for performing divination must be pure . . . the fundamental motive for engaging in the practice of divination should be to help sentient beings.”(Tseten et al, 1995, p. 111-112)
This quote shows the typical Tibetan blending of shamanic with Buddhist beliefs. As in the beliefs about the oracle, connection with a deity is considered an essential part of the psychic act, and also there is mention of the Buddhist teachings of karma and altruistic motivation.
The Cho Yang journal article lists 11 different divination methods, some of which are mentioned below:
(i) Doughball divination is done by high lamas in order to help find an important reincarnation, which means it is used only rarely. The names of potential candidates are written on paper and then rolled into a ball of dough. All candidate names are in equal-sized balls, great care being taken to make sure that all the balls are identical. These balls are placed in a sealed bowl, which is put in front of a sacred object, such as a statue in a temple, and for three days monks remain in the temple reciting prayers day and night. On the fourth day the cover is removed and a high lama rolls the doughballs round in the bowl until one of them falls out. That is the ball containing the answer. I was told that, in the case of the latest Panchen Lama who has been imprisoned by the Chinese, this process was repeated three times, and each time the same name came up.
The most common forms of divination are Dice and Mala divination. In Mala divination the person holds the mala (a string of prayer beads) with the fingers of each hand holding a bead at random. The intervening beads are then counted out three at a time until one, two or three beads are left, this giving the outcome of the divination
In a similar manner, dice will be thrown, the diviner blowing on the dice before throwing. Normally three dice are used.
In the above two forms of divination, the advice is specified by books which tell you what the particular outcomes mean. For example, in general with the dice, odd numbers are auspicious whilst even numbers are inauspicious. With the mala the best outcome is three beads.
Whilst doughball, dice and mala divination rely on a “random” event having a meaningful relationship with the person’s question (synchronicity), in the next most common forms of divination, direct clairvoyance is used.
(ii) Mirror divination is special to a protector deity known as Dorje (or Lhamo) Yudronmai. The mirror is placed ceremonially and, as with the previous forms of Mo, rituals are performed. The diviner sees appearances, reflections of writings and letters from the deity. When I visited a lovely old Tibetan lady called Amathaba, (see picture 2) living in one of the Tibetan settlements in south India, she saw a misty dawn scene which gradually cleared, and interpreted this as there being an initial difficulty which would then get resolved. She recommended asking the local nuns to say special prayers, and to hang prayer flags to help overcome the obstacles. This is a very common practice.
She says it was a gift she was born with and which ran in the family, she being the seventh person in the family to have inherited this gift. In her case she uses three mirrors, placed upright in a bowl of rice. In two of them she sees the deities connected with the divination, and in the front mirror the actual reading. She is thought of very highly in the community and many people consult her.
In Thumb nail divination you look into the thumbnail and blow on it in order to receive the vision. When the Mo is done via mirror or thumbnail reading, the diviner will tend to see particular symbolic visions, which are then interpreted in the light of the querent’s problem.
Also in this category come precognitive or clairvoyant dreams. Again, as with most Tibetan methods, these are related to a particular deity. Specific things are attributed to different symbols as in mirror divination (Tseten et al, 1995, p.114). I was told of a local woman who consulted a lama and was told by him to have a dream about her problem. The lama also noted their own dream that night. The two dreams were then compared and predictions made by the lama, which turned out to be correct. Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche (2005) corroborates this saying that prophecies can appear as visions in dreams, but considers this less reliable because not all dreams are prophetic, so one is never completely sure whether or not it is an accurately prophetic dream.
(iii) The next group of practices tend to be done by the querent themselves. Until 1959, 80% of Tibetans were semi-nomadic to varying degrees. Their practices are accordingly much simpler than the previous methods, and the information required is primarily whether or not it is auspicious to do a certain task.
Bootstrap divination is popular among nomads. The straps, which are wide pieces of webbing tape, are folded into squares and suddenly pulled apart. If they part easily, this is a positive sign — if they tangle, this is considered to be unlucky. Several people have mentioned this form of divination to me and it is apparently very popular in Tibet.
Tibetans commonly take note of omens such as certain birds being seen, overhearing certain music, or people saying auspicious words, which are all positive. There are numerous negative signs as well, such as the chatter of monkeys, or interestingly, having a black cat cross your path before you set out on a journey. Why a black cat should have this mystique both in Britain and Tibet is very strange!
Examining flames in a ritual fire or observing a butter lamp is also a form of divination. In this case one invokes the fire god and then observes the flame. Different types of flames mean different things.
In interviews with diviners, apart from the importance of faith, which is always mentioned, the other aspect that is considered absolutely vital is that of prayers to Buddha, or a protector deity, most commonly to Palden Lhamo, who is the main protector deity of Tibet and of divination. Dice and mala divination in particular are normally associated with the deity Palden Lhamo. All of the diviners I have spoken to have reiterated that they are not psychic, they are the channel for the deity who thereby through them controls the fall of the dice, or whatever method they use. They do not consider that they do anything other than mediate between the querent and the deity.
Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche (2005) says that when you do the Mo, if your supplication to the deity is good, then you will have a good Mo. In general a good relation with the deity increases your ability. He also says that those who have good faith in Buddhism are better at doing the Mo, and in time their ability increases. It is also considered important that the diviner has purified their “energy” channels (Kirti Tsenshab, 2005; Topgyal, 2005). One Rinpoche I interviewed (Drakser, 2006) had undertaken three months of purification practices, chanting mantras specific to the deity, doing prostrations and pujas, before he was considered fit to practice Mo divination.
As can be seen from this list of different types of practices, divination ranges from the most simple “good or bad luck” omens through to highly developed clairvoyant skills, and from practices that anyone can do to those normally performed only by monks.
This aspect of Tibetan psychic tradition is the form most related to Buddhist teachings. In Buddhism there are two meditation disciplines: the shamatha discipline of one-pointed concentration and the vipassana discipline of contemplative insight. Developing shamatha (calm-abiding or mental quiescence) is considered to be an essential first step. Many traditional Mahayana and modern Tibetan Buddhist texts (e.g. Conze, 1990; Lamrimpa, 1995, p.63) relate meditation attainment to development of psychic powers, as do Yogic teachings.
It seems that this “clairvoyancy” is more akin to what in the West we would define as omniscience, rather than the clairvoyance we research in parapsychology, since the Buddhist clairvoyancy includes what we consider to be miraculous powers. Traditional Buddhist scriptures talk about the six superknowledges which you gain on attaining perfection of concentration, and make it very clear that practice of concentration meditation brings both enlightenment and psychic awareness, and that you cannot have one without the other.
In interviews with various monks, it was stressed over and over again that only a few people attain samadhi and clairvoyant abilities, and even then the clairvoyance is no more than 80% reliable. Omniscience arises only with full enlightenment. Not everyone who practices meditation will attain samadhi, so not everyone who practices meditation will become psychic. In other words:
there is a genius for enlightenment;
there is a genius for meditation;
there is a genius for psychic awareness;
We can all learn anything but not everyone has a talent. Only a few have genius.
My recent research at a yoga ashram and with Tibetan Buddhist monks supports this teaching, in that those who had practised meditation for longer, in terms of decades of practice, do seem to show more reliable psychic awareness as measured by a picture test for precognition and clairvoyance. However, this research is still in the early stages, so it can at present only be considered that the teachings have been suggestively confirmed. (2)
B. Warnings about Psi
It seems that most cultures have some sort of reservation around psychic phenomena. We find stories of psychic abilities being used for negative purposes in most cultures, and, in an apparent paradox, this is also prominent in Tibetan culture.
1. Fear of Sorcery
As already mentioned, Tibetan culture is still very close to its shamanic roots. Shamanic cultures accept the psychic as part and parcel of life (Eliade, 1923). What is very apparent in shamanic cultures is the awe and the fear that surround the psychic manifestations.
Demons, and the fear of them, are apparently very common in Tibet. For example, amongst the Tibetans, disease is often thought to be caused by a bad spirit (Jhongur, 2006). A story was told how someone fell ill when a tree in the garden was cut down, and this was related to the spirit of the tree. This is a classic shamanic belief. Sickness is often related to a sorcerer who sends the bad spirit, or hex, at someone’s request. This is not to say that shamans only use their psychic abilities for negative purposes, but it is to say that they have been used sufficiently often in this way for people to develop a fear of the psychic. The well-known stories about Milarepa, who was said to have killed lots of people at a distance, exemplify the fear of “bad” magic and the belief that people can do such terrible acts.
In an interview with an astrologer (Jhongur, 2006), I was told that there is a belief in sickness resulting from people talking about the person (“Mikha-Suk”). This corresponds to the ‘evil eye’ in Western culture, and basically means harm due to excessive praise for any kind of success or accomplishment, such as owning a specially beautiful object, or a newly built house which has become talk of the town (Nyima, 2007). Very young children are felt to be prone to this and need special protection
There is also fear of a spirit called a “disa” (literally smell-eater), which is a kind of trapped spirit which runs after food and is supposed to be satisfied with the mere smell of the food placed for it (Nyima,2007).
There is a belief in possession by a spirit that may be from a dead person or may come from someone who is still alive, often contained within an object that used to belong to that person. An amulet is an object worn around the neck as charm against evil or injury. It is always used for protection from unknown harm. One sort of amulet, called a “ga’u,” is a small silver casket which will contain, relics, photos of holy people etc. Tibetans often carry a ga’u in their coat. And of course the usual of a man using a charm to make a young girl fall in love with him!
I found it very interesting that, in my interviews with Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche (2005), he again and again reiterated the importance of Buddhism for creating a moral sphere within which one could use one’s psychic abilities. In many ways Buddhism is being strongly affirmed in order to morally “move on” from some of the problems that one encounters within a shamanic culture.
Attracting Spirits
One fear is that if you talk about psychic phenomena you might attract a spirit to you, and that might not be beneficial. For example, there is a belief that if you are possessed by a spirit, as with the oracles, you yourself stop developing at the level of the spirit that possesses you — or you just stop developing per se.
Tibetans consider that all ghosts can harm us. There are many stories of a special sort of ghost they call “hungry ghosts,” and of others who will lure you to your death. Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche said to beware of obstacles from ghosts when doing the Mo divination. They, or other beings, can obstruct the ability and can harm us. He considers that we gain protection from praying to the protector deity at the onset of the divination, from positive karma and from merit (Kirti Tsenshab, 2005).
He also says that there are two directions for personal development — going into the unconscious and going for super-consciousness. Psi abilities are normally considered to be related to the former, e.g. oracular trance, dreams or hypnosis, and in spiritual development one is going for the latter. Spirit connection, as in mediumistic practice, is definitely connected with the unconscious aspect of consciousness.
For Tibetans this is a complex, paradoxical subject because as Buddhists, the high lamas do Mo divination on request by people, who come to them for a variety of reasons. They also do divination for the tulku identification. And there are many oracles, some of them official state oracles. So the practice of psi is everywhere. The need for protection is acknowledged, and the prevalence of fraudulent practitioners, but not a taboo on practising. My translators have all said that Tibetans are very comfortable with this apparent contradiction.
2. Detrimental Effects on One’s Spiritual Development
Ego and Humility
The fear of an immoral use of psi is a very obvious surface fear; the fear of pride is a subtler level of fear. In the Indian subcontinent and amongst the Tibetan people it is considered wrong to pay any special attention to psi. Manifesting psychic abilities is thought to have detrimental effects on one’s spiritual development. It is stressed that having attained Enlightenment, one is no longer disturbed spiritually by attainment of psychic abilities, whereas, for unenlightened people, psychic abilities are seen as very tricky indeed, associated with deception, with glamour and with pride.
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, in his book “Freedom in Exile” (2002), expresses a wish for Western science to explore Tibetan psychic traditions. However, when I met Geshe Samten (2005), the director of Sarnath Institute, he told me that, whilst Tibet has a rich tradition of psychic abilities, even those with a reputation of psychic awareness would deny their abilities. He stated that it is taboo to say that you are psychic or to “show off” your abilities. There must be a genuine purpose for doing the psychic practice. Even to say one has reached a certain level of meditation is considered an obstruction on the path to enlightenment. Humility is considered essential for one’s spiritual development. For example, the Dalai Lama repeatedly says that he is a simple monk and is not clairvoyant.
Confidentiality and Secrecy
There is a Tibetan tradition about not speaking of things because they are secret teachings. For example, the Dalai Lama writes of Herbert Benson’s research (Benson et al, 1982) with Tum-mo meditators:
As a strong believer in the value of modern science, I decided to let him proceed, though not without some hesitation. I knew that many Tibetans were uneasy about the idea. They felt that the practices in question should be kept confidential because they derive from secret doctrines.” (Dalai Lama, 2002, ch.12)
Tibetan monks and nuns who are working with techniques that are thought to be related to development of psychic awareness, make vows that they will not speak about their practice or reveal their capabilities. Practitioners take their vows first and then they do the study and practice.
This level of fear, that acknowledging one’s psychic abilities, which are considered to manifest at one level of development on the path, is an obstacle to one’s spiritual growth, is a quite subtle understanding of psi and its manifestation from which we could learn.
Another aspect of the fear of the psychic is the knowledge that power corrupts, and glamorous psychic abilities are seen as very powerful. In an introduction by Francis Story to a book on early Buddhist Pali Canon, he says:
It is true that certain psychic faculties capable of a worldly application, such as the Dibba-cakkhu (clairvoyance), Dibba-sota (clairaudience), Mano-Maya-Kaya (projection of the ‘astral body’) and other paranormal powers are developed in the course of Buddhist meditation. . . .The Buddha and the Arhats possessed such powers and when need arose they exercised them for the sake of the ignorant who demanded ‘signs and wonders.’ But in general the Buddha deplored their use, preferring to spread the Dhamma by the ‘miracle of teaching’ and the self-propagating power of truth. To those not yet fully emancipated from worldly delusion they can become attachment-forming faculties, and as such have to be guarded against and overcome in the struggle for Nibbanna. In the Buddhist view, one who embarks on concentration exercises to obtain supernormal powers (Iddhi) is doing so with the wrong intention and at great danger to himself. If all power corrupts, supernormal power can corrupt superlatively. (Mahathera, 1975, p.iv)
This is a very real fear and I am sure that most people can think of examples of this facet of human experience.
Fraud: Distinguishing Fact from Fantasy and the Problems of Attracting Glamour
One of the Buddhist precepts is not to claim to possess powers you do not have. Already noted above, in my discussions with Kirti Rinpoche (2005) were his frequent references to checking that the practitioner is not a charlatan, for example when talking about the oracles. He also said that it is most important to check the appearances of the psychic practitioner: don’t be caught by appearances, see what is really being taught. He reiterated not to look at the outer appearance, and to check for the meaning. He used an analogy of a poem, and warned against being misled by beautiful words.
Why is it that we are so fascinated by psychic abilities? Why do we so easily venerate those who possess them? This is the root cause behind both the fraudulent pretence of psi and the ego glorification people experience when demonstrating psychic abilities.
I am aware that this is just a beginning, a first touch on the surface of a deep and complex culture and its traditional beliefs about the psychic realm.
What I find really fascinating is His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, is encouraging scientific research into this topic. And he is doing this with full awareness of the difficulties:
I am well aware, however, of the danger of tying spiritual belief to any scientific system. . . . This is not to say that I consider things like the oracle and the ability of monks to survive nights spent out in freezing condition to be evidence of magical powers. Yet I cannot agree with our Chinese Brothers and sisters, who hold that Tibetan acceptance of these phenomena is evidence of our backwardness and barbarity. Even from the most rigorous scientific viewpoint, this is not an objective attitude. At the same time, even if a principle is accepted, it does not mean that everything connected with it is valid. . . . . Great vigilance must be maintained at all times when dealing in areas about which we do not have great understanding. This, of course, is where science can help. After all, we consider things to be mysterious only when we do not understand them. . . . . Through mental training, we have developed techniques to do things which science cannot yet adequately explain. This, then, is the basis of the supposed ‘magic and mystery’ of Tibetan Buddhism. (Dalai Lama, 2002, pp. 230-243)
Ignorance is a major obstacle on the path. The scientific method has “truth” as its aim. Does a real and deep understanding of the process of psi enable one not to fall into the traps surrounding the development and use of psychic abilities? I think it does and I think that this is one of the best reasons for undertaking parapsychological research within the Tibetan culture.
Deep gratitude to His Holiness, Dalai Lama for inspiring this project and to his secretary, Tenzin Geyche Tethong, for his support; to the Perrott-Warwick Fund and Bial Foundation (grant no. 64/04) for supporting this research; to Geshe Jampel Dakpa for all his help and for affiliating this project to Sarah College, Dharamsala; to Khangser Rinpoche for enabling the research to take place at SeraJey monastic university, Bylakuppe; to Yaki Platt and Gen Andu for their excellent translator skills and unfailing good spirits; and last, but not least, to all those interviewed who gave of their time and wisdom.
S.M.RONEY-DOUGAL
Psi Research Centre,
Glastonbury.
Amathaba (2006). Personal interviews, 11th Jan., 9th Feb.
Benson, H. et al (1982). “Body temperature changes during the practice of gTum-mo (heat) yoga,” Nature, 295, 234-236..
Conze, E. (trans. & ed.) (1995). The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom, Motilal Banarsidaa, New Delhi.
Dalai Lama, H.H. (2002). Freedom in Exile, Abacus.
Drakser Rinpoche (2006) Personal audience, 25th Jan.
Eliade, M. (1923). Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, Penguin Arkana, UK.
Jhongur, (2006). Personal interviews, 11th March, 1st May.
Kirti Tsenshab, Rinpoche (2005). Personal audience, 14th March, 23rd March, 19th April.
Lamrimpa, Gen (1995). Calming The Mind: Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on Cultivating Meditative Quiescence. Snow Lion, USA.
Lodro, Gedun (1998). Calm Abiding and Special Insight, Snow Lion Pubs., USA.
Mahathera, Paravahera Vajiranana (1975). Buddhist Meditation in Theory and Practice: A General Exposition to the Pali Canon of the Theravada School, Buddhist Missionary Society, Malaysia,
Ngawang Nyima, Acharya (2007) Letter to the Editor, J. Society for Psychical Research, ,
Penor Rinpoche (2006). Personal audience, 16th Feb.
Roney-Dougal, S.M. & Solfvin, J. (2006). Yogic Attainment in Relation to Awareness of Precognitive Targets, J. Parapsychology, 70(1), 91-120.
Samten, Geshe (2005). Personal interview, 25th January.
Schlagintweit, E. (1999). Buddhism in Tibet, Book Faith India
Topgyal, Geshe (2005). Personal interview, 14th April.
Tseten, D. et al (1995). Looking into the Future, Cho Yang: The Voice of Tibetan Religion and Culture, 6, 111-118.
Picture 1: Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche
Picture 2: Gen Andu (translator) with Amathaba (mirror diviner)
(1) An earlier and more complete version of this article was published in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 2006.
(2) The yoga studies have been published (Roney-Dougal & Solfvin, 2006) and the first Buddhist study has been presented at a conference and submitted to a journal, but is not yet published,
copyright Serena Roney-Dougal 2012 |
Infobox Settlement
official_name = City and County of San Francisco
nickname = The City by the Bay, The CityFact|date=October 2008, Frisco, [cite news
last = Sullivan | first = James
title = Frisco, that once-verboten term for the city by the bay, is making a comeback among the young and hip. Herb Caen is spinning at warp speed.
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/10/14/DD67721.DTL&type=travelbayarea
work = Datebook | publisher = San Francisco Chronicle
location = San Francisco
page = D-1
date = 2003-10-14
accessdate = 2008-06-12] [Many tourists refer to San Francisco as "Frisco", a name popularized through songs like Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay and Sweet Little Sixteen. However, locals discourage this use and prefer the nickname "The City by the Bay." Samuel D. Cohen writes that many credit "Friscophobia" to newspaper columnist Herb Caen, whose first book, published in 1953, was "Don't Call it Frisco." Caen was considered by many to be the recognized authority on what was, and what was not, beneath the city's dignity, and to him, Frisco was intolerable. cite web | last =Cohen | first =Sam | title = Locals Know best: only tourists call it 'Frisco'| work = Golden Gater Online| publisher = San Francisco State University | date = 1997-09-11| url =http://www.journalism.sfsu.edu/www/pubs/gater/fall97/sept11/Frisco.html | accessdate = 2008-07-13] The City That Knows How (archaic), [cite web
last= San Francisco Public Library
url=http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/news/onlineexhibits/amusing/ppie.htm
title=PPIE: The City That Knows How
accessdate=2008-06-14
work=Amusing America
publisher=San Francisco Public Library, Online Exhibitions
date=2005-03-29] Baghdad by the Bay [cite book
last = Caen
first = Herb
authorlink = Herb Caen
title = Baghdad-by-the-Bay
publisher = Doubleday
date = 1949
location = Garden City, N.Y.
id = LC F869.S3 C12
isbn = 978-0891740476]
settlement_type = City
motto = "Oro en Paz, Fierro en Guerra"
(Spanish for "Gold in Peace, Iron in War")
imagesize = 250px
image_caption = San Francisco from the Marin Headlands, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the foreground
flag_size = 100px
image_
seal_size = 100px
mapsize = 200px
map_caption = Location of San Francisco, California
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = California
government_type = Consolidated city-county
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Gavin Newsom
leader_title1 = Board of Supervisors
leader_name1 = Collapsible list
title = Supervisors
frame_style = border:none; padding: 0;
list_style = text-align:left;display:none;
1 = Jake McGoldrick
2 = Michela Alioto-Pier
3 = Aaron Peskin
4 = Carmen Chu
5 = Ross Mirkarimi
6 = Chris Daly
7 = Sean Elsbernd
8 = Bevan Dufty
9 = Tom Ammiano
10 = Sophie Maxwell
11 = Gerardo Sandoval
leader_title2 = State Assembly
title = Assemblymembers
1 = Fiona Ma (D)
2 = Mark Leno (D)
leader_title3 = State Senate
title = State senators
1 = Carole Migden (D)
2 = Leland Yee (D)
leader_title4 = U.S. House
title = Representatives
1 = Nancy Pelosi (D)
2 = Jackie Speier (D)
established_title = Founded
established_date = June 29, 1776
established_title1 = Incorporated
established_date1 = April 15, 1850
founder = Lieutenant José Joaquin Moraga and Father Francisco Palóu
named_for = Saint Francis of Assisi
unit_pref = Imperial
area_total_sq_mi = 231.92
area_land_sq_mi = 46.7
area_water_sq_mi = 185.2
area_water_percent = 79.8
area_urban_sq_mi =
area_metro_sq_mi = 3524.4
elevation_ft = 52
elevation_max_ft = 925
elevation_min_ft = 0
population_as_of = 2007
population_footnotes = cite web
title = Table 1. Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007
publisher = US Census Bureau
url = http://www.census.gov/popest/metro/tables/2007/CBSA-EST2007-01.xls
format = XLS
accessdate = 2008-06-11] cite web
title = San Francisco County, California
work = Population Finder
url = http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=&geo_id=05000US06075&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US06%7C05000US06075&_street=&_county=san+francisco&_cityTown=san+francisco&_state=04000US06&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=050&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=ACS_2006_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null®=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=
doi =
title = Table 2. Annual Estimates of the Population of Combined Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007
url = http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/metro_general/2007/CBSA-EST2007-02.xls
accessdate = 2008-06-12]
population_total = 653,509
population_density_sq_mi = 16380
population_metro = 6,345,004
population_urban = 2,453,989
timezone = Pacific Standard Time
utc_offset = -8
timezone_DST = Pacific Daylight Time
utc_offset_DST = -7
latd= 37
latm= 46
lats= 45.48
latNS= N
longd= 122
longm= 25
longs= 9.12
longEW= W
postal_code_type = ZIP Code
postal_code = 94101–94112, 94114–94147, 94150–94170, 94172, 94175, 94177
area_code = 415
website = [http://www.sfgov.org/ www.sfgov.org]
footnotes =
The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 14th most populous city in the United States, with a 2007 estimated population of 764,976. Among the most densely populated cities in the country,cite web
title = 2000 Census: US Municipalities Over 50,000: Ranked by 2000 Population
publisher = Demographia
url = http://www.demographia.com/db-uscity98.htm
accessdate = 2008-06-12] San Francisco is part of the San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan area, which is home to more than 7.2 million people. [cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/metro_general/2007/CBSA-EST2007-01.csv|publisher=US Census Bureau|accessdate=2008-06-30|title=Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007] The city is located at the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, with the Pacific Ocean to the west, San Francisco Bay to the east, and the Golden Gate to the north.
In 1776, the Spanish settled the tip of the peninsula, establishing a fort at the Golden Gate and a mission named for Francis of Assisi. The California Gold Rush in 1848 propelled the city into a period of rapid growth, transforming it into the largest city on the West Coast at the time. After being devastated by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. During World War II, San Francisco was the send-off point for many soldiers to the Pacific Theater. After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, massive immigration, liberalizing attitudes, and other factors gave rise to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, cementing San Francisco as a liberal bastion in the United States.
San Francisco is a popular international tourist destination famous for its landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, the cable cars, Coit Tower, and Chinatown, its steep rolling hills, and its eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture. The city is also known for its diverse, cosmopolitan population, including large and long-established Asian American, and LGBT communities.
The earliest archaeological evidence of inhabitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC. [cite web
url=http://www.sonoma.edu/asc/projects/pointreyes/overview2.pdf
title=Archaeological Research Issues For The Point Reyes National Seashore - Golden Gate National Recreation Area
last=Stewart
first=Suzanne B.
year= 2003
month=November
format=PDF
publisher=Sonoma State University - Anthropological Studies Center] The Yelamu group of the Ohlone people resided in several small villages when a Spanish exploration party, led by Don Gaspar de Portolà arrived on November 2, 1769, the first documented European visit to San Francisco Bay.cite web
title= Visitors: San Francisco Historical Information
url= http://www.sfgov.org/site/visitor_index.asp?id=8091
date= n.d.
publisher = City and County of San Francisco] Seven years later, on March 28, 1776, the Spanish established the Presidio of San Francisco, followed by a mission, Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores).
Upon independence from Spain in 1821, the area became part of Mexico. In 1835, Englishman William Richardson erected the first significant homestead outside the immediate vicinity of the Mission Dolores,cite web
last= The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco
title= From the 1820s to the Gold Rush
date=2004-07-16
url= http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/early.html
publisher = The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco] near a boat anchorage around what is today Portsmouth Square. Together with Mission Alcalde Francisco de Haro, he laid out a street plan for the expanded settlement, and the town, named Yerba Buena, began to attract American settlers. Commodore John D. Sloat claimed California for the United States on July 7, 1846, during the Mexican-American War, and Captain John B. Montgomery arrived to claim Yerba Buena two days later. Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco the next year. [cite web
url=http://www.yerbabuenagardens.com/history.html
title=History of Yerba Buena Gardens
publisher=MJM Management Group
date=2004] Despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography. [cite book
last = Wiley | first = Peter Booth
title = National trust guide- San Francisco: America’s guide for architecture and history travelers
publisher = John Wiley & Sons, Inc. | year = 2000 | location = New York | pages = pp. 4–5 | oclc = 44313415
isbn = 9780471191209]
The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers. With their sourdough bread in tow, [Sourdough bread was a staple of western explorers and miners of the 19th century. It became an iconic symbol of San Francisco, and is still a staple of city life today.cite journal
last = Tamony
first = Peter
title = Sourdough and French Bread
journal = Western Folklore
pages = 265–270
publisher = Western States Folklore Society
year = 1973 |month = October
doi = 10.2307/1498306] prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia, [cite web
title = San Francisco's First Brick Building
publisher = The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco
date = 2004-07-16 | url = http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/brick.html
accessdate = 2008-06-13] raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849. [cite book
last = Richards
first = Rand
title = Historic San Francisco: A Concise History and Guide
publisher = Heritage House
id = ISBN 1-879367-00-9 ] The promise of fabulous riches was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor.cite news | last = Harris | first = Ron | title = Crews Unearth Shipwreck on San Francisco Condo Project |publisher = Associated Press | date = 2005-11-14 | url = http://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/story.asp?story=6287&headline=Crews | accessdate = 2006-09-04] California was quickly granted statehood and the U.S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate and a fort on Alcatraz Island to secure the San Francisco Bay. Silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in 1859, further drove rapid population growth. [cite book
publisher = John Wiley & Sons, Inc. | year = 2000 | location = New York | pages = pp. 31–33 | oclc = 44313415
isbn = 9780471191209] With hordes of fortune seekers streaming through the city, lawlessness was common, and the Barbary Coast section of town gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution, and gambling. [“The miners came in forty-nine, / The whores in fifty-one, / And when they got together / They produced the native son.” cite book | last = Wiley | first = Peter Booth
publisher = John Wiley & Sons, Inc. | year = 2000 | location = New York
pages = pp. 237–238 | oclc = 44313415 | isbn = 9780471191209]
developed into the most important American military installation on the Pacific coast. [cite web
title = Under Three Flags | work = Golden Gate National Recreation Area Brochures
publisher = US Department of the Interior
year = 2004 | month = November
url = http://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/upload/3flags_7-03.pdf | format = PDF
doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-13] By the turn of the century, San Francisco was a major city known for its flamboyant style, stately hotels, ostentatious mansions on Nob Hill, and a thriving arts scene. [cite book
and fire [cite journal
last = London
first = Jack
title = The Story of an Eyewitness by Jack London
journal = Collier's, The National Weekly
date = May 5, 1906
url = http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist5/jlondon.html
accessdate=2006-08-29] ]
At 5:12 am on April 18, 1906, a major earthquake struck San Francisco and Northern California. As buildings collapsed from the shaking, ruptured gas lines ignited fires that would spread across the city and burn out of control for several days. With water mains out of service, the Presidio Artillery Corps attempted to contain the inferno by dynamiting blocks of buildings to create firebreaks.cite web
title = Presidio of San Francisco: Firefighting and Dynamiting
work = Golden Gate National Recreation Area
publisher = US Department of the Interior | date = 2003-12-24
url = http://www.nps.gov/archive/prsf/history/1906eq/firedyn.htm
doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-13] More than three-quarters of the city lay in ruins, including almost all of the downtown core. [cite news
last = Montagne | first = Renée
title = Remembering the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
work = People & Places | publisher = National Public Radio
url = http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5334411
accessdate = 2008-06-13] Contemporary accounts reported that 498 people lost their lives, though modern estimates put the number in the several thousands. [cite web
title = Casualties and Damage after the 1906 earthquake
work = Earthquake Hazards Program - Northern California
publisher = US Geological Survey
url = http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/1906/18april/casualties.php
doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-13] More than half the city's population of 400,000 were left homeless. [cite web
title = Presidio of San Francisco:1906 Earthquake and Fire
url = http://www.nps.gov/archive/prsf/history/1906eq/index.htm
doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-13] Refugees settled temporarily in makeshift tent villages in Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, on the beaches, and elsewhere. Many fled permanently to the East Bay.
Rebuilding was rapid and performed on a grand scale. Rejecting calls to completely remake the street grid, San Franciscans opted for speed.cite book
pages = pp. 56–62 | oclc = 44313415 | isbn = 9780471191209] Amadeo Giannini's Bank of Italy, later to become Bank of America, provided loans for many of those whose livelihoods had been devastated. The destroyed mansions of Nob Hill became grand hotels. City Hall rose once again in splendorous Beaux Arts style, and the city celebrated its rebirth at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915. [cite book | last = Wiley | first = Peter Booth
page = 9 | oclc = 44313415 | isbn = 9780471191209]
In ensuing years, the city solidified its standing as a financial capital; in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, not a single San Francisco-based bank failed. [cite web
title = San Francisco Gold Rush Banking - 1849
date = 2004-06-24 | url = http://www.sfmuseum.net/hist9/banking.html
accessdate = 2008-06-13] Indeed, it was at the height of the Great Depression that San Francisco undertook two great civil engineering projects, simultaneously constructing the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, completing them in 1936 and 1937 respectively. It was in this period that the island of Alcatraz, a former military stockade, began its service as a federal maximum security prison, housing notorious inmates such as Al Capone. San Francisco later celebrated its regained grandeur with a World's Fair, the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939–40, creating Treasure Island in the middle of the bay to house it.
During World War II, the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard became a hub of activity and Fort Mason became the primary port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater of Operations. [cite web
title = Port of Embarkation Essay--World War II in the San Francisco Bay Area
work = A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary:
url = http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/wwIIbayarea/embarkation.htm
doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-13] The explosion of jobs drew many people, especially African Americans from the South, to the area. After the end of the war, many military personnel returning from service abroad and civilians who had originally come to work decided to stay. The UN Charter creating the United Nations was drafted and signed in San Francisco in 1945 and, in 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco officially ended the war with Japan.
Urban planning projects in the 1950s and 1960s saw widespread destruction and redevelopment of west side neighborhoods and the construction of new freeways, of which only a series of short segments were built before being halted by citizen-led opposition. [cite news
last = Fang | first = Eric CY | title = Urban Renewal Revisited: A Design Critique
work = SPUR Newsletter | publisher = San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association
year = 1999 | month = February | url = http://www.spur.org/documents/990201_article_01.shtm
accessdate = 2008-06-13] The Transamerica Pyramid was completed in 1972, [cite web | title = Pyramid Facts and Figures | work = Company Profile
publisher = Transamerica Insurance and Investment Group
url = http://www.transamerica.com/company_profile/about_the_pyramid/pyramid_facts_and_figures.asp
accessdate = 2008-06-13] and in the 1980s the Manhattanization of San Francisco saw extensive high-rise development downtown.cite book
pages = pp. 95–96 | oclc = 44313415 | isbn = 9780471191209] Port activity moved to Oakland, the city began to lose industrial jobs, and San Francisco began to turn to tourism as the most important segment of its economy. The suburbs experienced rapid growth and San Francisco underwent significant demographic change, as large segments of the white population left the city, supplanted by an increasing wave of immigration from Asia and Latin America. [cite web
last = Willis | first = James
coauthors = Habib, Jerry, Brittan, Jeremy
title = San Francisco Planning Department Census Data Analysis
publisher = San Francisco State University
date = 2004-04-19 | url = http://bss.sfsu.edu/pamuk/SFDemographics.ppt#1
format = PPT | accessdate = 2008-06-13] [cite news
last = Minton | first = Torri
title = Race Through Time
work = San Francisco Chronicle
page = SC-4
publisher = Hearst Communications
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1998/09/20/SC72759.DTL
accessdate = 2008-06-13] Over this same period, San Francisco became a magnet for America's counterculture. Beat Generation writers fueled the San Francisco Renaissance and centered on the North Beach neighborhood in the 1950s. [cite book | last = Wiley | first = Peter Booth
pages = pp. 240–242 | oclc = 44313415 | isbn = 9780471191209] Hippies flocked to Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s, reaching a peak with the 1967 Summer of Love. [cite web |url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/love/filmmore/fd.html |title=American Experience: Summer of Love: Film Description |accessdate=2008-06-17 |author= |date=2007-03-14 |work=Website for American Experience documentary on the Summer of Love |publisher=PBS] In the 1970s, the city became a center of the gay rights movement, with the emergence of The Castro as an urban gay village, the election of Harvey Milk to the Board of Supervisors, and his assassination, along with that of Mayor George Moscone, in 1978. [cite web |url=http://www.frommers.com/destinations/sanfrancisco/0029033660.html |title=San Francisco History: The 1970s and 1980s: Gay Rights |accessdate=2008-06-17 | work=Destinations: San Francisco |publisher=Frommers.com]
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake caused destruction and loss of life throughout the Bay Area. In San Francisco, the quake severely damaged structures in the Marina and South of Market districts and precipitated the demolition of the damaged Embarcadero Freeway and much of the damaged Central Freeway, allowing the city to reclaim its historic downtown waterfront.
During the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, startup companies invigorated the economy. Large numbers of entrepreneurs and computer application developers moved into the city, followed by marketing and sales professionals that changed the social landscape as once poorer neighborhoods became gentrified. When the bubble burst in 2001, many of these companies folded and their employees left, although high technology and entrepreneurship continued to be mainstays of the San Francisco economy. [cite web |url=http://www.sfeconomicstrategy.org/site/uploadedfiles/moed/economic_strat/ExecutiveSummary_EconomicPerformanceReview.pdf|title=City and County of San Francisco: An Overview of San Francisco’s Recent Economic Performance |accessdate=2008-06-19 |author=Ted Egan|date=2006-04-03 | format=PDF | work=Report prepared for Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development | publisher=ICF Consulting | quote=Another positive trend for the future is San Francisco’s highly entrepreneurial, flexible and innovative economy...San Francisco’s very high reliance on small business and self-employment is typical of other dynamic, fast-growing, high-technology areas across the country.]
San Francisco is located on the West Coast of the U.S. at the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula and includes significant stretches of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay within its boundaries. Several islands are part of the city, notably Alcatraz, Treasure Island, and the adjacent Yerba Buena Island, together with small portions of Alameda Island, Angel Island, and Red Rock Island. Also included are the uninhabited Farallon Islands, 27 miles (43 km) offshore in the Pacific Ocean. The mainland within the city limits roughly forms a "seven-by-seven-mile square," a common local colloquialism referring to the city's shape.
San Francisco is famous for its hills.There are more than 50 hills within city limits.cite news
last = Graham | first = Tom
title = Peak Experience
work = San Francisco Chronicle | page = PK-23
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/11/07/PKGJ99K7KD1.DTL
accessdate = 2008-06-13] Some neighborhoods are named after the hill on which they are situated, including Nob Hill, Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, Potrero Hill, and Telegraph Hill.
thumb|upright|left|Cars_negotiate_Lombard Street to descend Russian Hill.Near the geographic center of the city, southwest of the downtown area, are a series of less densely populated hills. Dominating this area is Mount Sutro, the site of Sutro Tower, a large red and white radio and television transmission tower. Nearby is Twin Peaks, a pair of hills resting at one of the city's highest points and a popular overlook spot for tour groups. San Francisco's tallest hill, Mount Davidson, is convert|925|ft|m|0 high and is capped with a convert|103|foot|m|0 tall cross built in 1934. [cite news |first=Henry K. |last=Lee|title=Mount Davidson Cross Called Landmark by Panel |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1997/01/16/MN71385.DTL |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |date=1997-01-16 |accessdate=2008-06-17 ]
The San Andreas and Hayward Faults are responsible for much earthquake activity, even though neither passes through the city itself. It was the San Andreas Fault which slipped and caused the earthquakes in 1906 and 1989. Minor earthquakes occur on a regular basis. The threat of major earthquakes plays a large role in the city's infrastructure development. The city has repeatedly upgraded its building codes, requiring retrofits for older buildings and higher engineering standards for new construction. [cite news |first=Charles |last=Smith |title=What San Francisco didn't learn from the '06 quake |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/04/15/HOGQ9I7P2T1.DTL |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |date=2006-04-15 |accessdate=2008-06-30 ] However, there are still thousands of smaller buildings that remain vulnerable to quake damage. [cite news |first=Robert |last=Selna |title=S.F. leaders ignore weak buildings' quake risk |url= http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/06/29/MNDD110U2E.DTL |page= A-1 | publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |date=2008-06-29|accessdate=2008-06-30 ]
San Francisco's shoreline has grown beyond its natural limits. Entire neighborhoods such as the Marina and Hunters Point, as well as large sections of the Embarcadero, sit on areas of landfill. Treasure Island was constructed from material dredged from the bay as well as material resulting from tunneling through Yerba Buena Island during the construction of the Bay Bridge. Such land tends to be unstable during earthquakes; the resultant liquefaction causes extensive damage to property built upon it, as was evidenced in the Marina district during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. [cite web
title = Liquefaction Damage in the Marina District during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake
publisher = California Geological Survey
url = http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/information/outreach/Documents/Marina%20Poster%2011x17rw2b.pdf
format = PDF | accessdate = 2008-06-17]
A quotation incorrectly attributed to Mark Twain is "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."cite news
last = Nolte | first = Carl
title = Fog Heaven: The sun will come out tomorrow. Or maybe not. It's summer in the city, and that means gray skies
page = A-1
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/08/19/MNGOBEA9JI1.DTL
accessdate = 2008-06-13] [cite web
title = And Never the Twain Shall Tweet
work = Urban Legends Reference Pages
publisher = Snopes.com
url = http://www.snopes.com/quotes/twain.asp
doi = | accessdate = ] San Francisco's climate is characteristic of California’s Mediterranean climate with mild, wet winters and dry summers. [cite web
title = Climate of San Francisco - Narrative Description
publisher = Golden Gate Weather Services
year = 2002 | url = http://ggweather.com/sf/narrative.html
doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-13] In addition, since it is surrounded on three sides by water, San Francisco's climate is strongly influenced by the cool currents of the Pacific Ocean which tends to moderate temperature swings and produce a remarkably mild climate with little seasonal temperature variation. Average summertime high temperatures in San Francisco peak at 70 °F (21 °C) and are 20 °F (9 °C) lower than in nearby inland locations like Livermore.cite web
title = Historical Weather for Livermore, California, United States of America
publisher = Weatherbase.com
url = http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=799440
doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-14] The highest temperature ever recorded in San Francisco was 103 °F (39 °C) on July 17, 1988 and June 14, 2000. [cite web
title = June 2000 City/State Extremes | publisher = US Department of Commerce
work = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | date = 2004-06-24
url = http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/extremes/2000/june/juneext2000.html
doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-13] Winters are mild, with daytime highs near 60 °F (15 °C). Lows almost never reach freezing temperatures, though the lowest temperature ever recorded in San Francisco was 27 °F (−3 °C) on December 11, 1932. [cite web
title = San Francisco - Top 10 Temperatures
date = 2001-06-28 | url = http://ggweather.com/sf/temp2.html
doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-13] May through September is very dry, but rain is common from November through March. Snowfall is extraordinarily rare, with only 10 instances recorded since 1852. The greatest snowfall on record is 3.7 inches (9.4 cm) in downtown San Francisco, and up to 7 inches (17.8 cm) elsewhere, on February 5, 1887.cite web
last = Null | first = Jan
title = Climate of San Francisco (Third Revision) | publisher = US Department of Commerce
work = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | year = 1995 | month = January
url = http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mtr/sfd_sjc_climate/sfd/SFD_CLIMATE3.php
doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-14] The last measurable snowfall in San Francisco was on February 5, 1976, when most of the city received an inch of snow. [cite web
title = Climate of San Francisco - Snowfall
year = 2006 | url = http://ggweather.com/sf/snow.html
doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-14]
The combination of cold ocean water and the high heat of the California mainland create the city's characteristic fog that can cover the western half of the city all day during the spring and early summer. The fog is less pronounced in eastern neighborhoods, in the late summer, and during the fall, which are the warmest months of the year. Due to its sharp topography and maritime influences, San Francisco exhibits a multitude of distinct microclimates. The high hills in the geographic center of the city are responsible for a 20 percent variance in annual rainfall between different parts of the city. They also protect neighborhoods directly to their east from the foggy and cool conditions experienced in the Sunset District; for those who live on the eastern side of the city, San Francisco is sunnier, with an average of 260 clear days, and only 105 cloudy days per year. [cite web
title = Historical Climate Information | work = Western Regional Climate Center
publisher = Desert Research Institute
date = 2008-01-23 | url = http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/CLIMATEDATA.html
The historic center of San Francisco is the northeast quadrant of the city bordered by Market Street to the south. It is here that the Financial District is centered, with Union Square, the principal shopping and hotel district, nearby. Cable cars carry residents and tourists alike up steep inclines to the summit of Nob Hill, once the home of the city's business tycoons, and down to Fisherman's Wharf, a tourist area featuring Dungeness crab from a still-active fishing industry. Also in this quadrant are Russian Hill, a residential neighborhood with the famously crooked Lombard Street, North Beach, the city's Little Italy, and Telegraph Hill, which features Coit Tower. Nearby is San Francisco's Chinatown, established in the 1860s. The Tenderloin is known as the crime-infested underbelly of the city. [cite web | title = The Tenderloin | work = SfGate San Francisco Neighborhood Guide| publisher = Sfgate.com | url = http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/tenderloin.shtml | accessdate = 2008-06-27 ]
The Mission District was historically predominantly working-class and populated by immigrants from Mexico and Central America, but in recent years has seen rapid gentrification primarily along the Valencia Street corridor which is strongly associated with the modern hipster sub-culture. Haight-Ashbury, famously associated with 1960s hippie culture, later became home to expensive boutiques [cite web | title = The Haight | work = SfGate San Francisco Neighborhood Guide| publisher = Sfgate.com | url = http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/haight.shtml | accessdate = 2008-06-29 ] and a few controversial chain stores, [cite news |first=Katherine |last=Bishop |title=Haight-Ashbury Journal; Love and Hate Linger In Ex-Hippie District |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5DF1638F930A25753C1A96E948260&sec=&spon= |publisher=New York Times |date=1988-10-13 |accessdate=2008-06-30 ] although it still retains some bohemian character. Historically known as Eureka Valley, the area now popularly called the Castro is the center of gay life in the city. [cite web | title = The Castro | work = SfGate San Francisco Neighborhood Guide| publisher = Sfgate.com | url = http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/castro.shtml | accessdate = 2008-06-27 ]
The city's Japantown district suffered when its Japanese American residents were forcibly removed and interned during World War II. The nearby Western Addition became established with a large African American population at the same time. The "Painted Ladies," a row of well-restored Victorian homes, stand alongside Alamo Square, and the mansions built by the San Francisco business elite in the wake of the 1906 earthquake can be found in Pacific Heights. The Marina to the north is a lively area with many young urban professionals. [cite web | title = The Marina | work = SfGate San Francisco Neighborhood Guide| publisher = Sfgate.com | url = http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/marina.shtml | accessdate = 2008-06-27 ]
The Richmond, the vast region north of Golden Gate Park that extends to the Pacific Ocean, today has a portion called "New Chinatown," but also attracts immigrants from other parts of Asia and Russia. South of Golden Gate Park lies the Sunset with an Asian majority population. [cite news | last = Chow | first = Andrew
title = Dismal APA Turnout at First Redistricting Meetings
publisher = Asian Week | date = 2002-03-22] The Richmond and the Sunset are largely middle class and, together, are known as The Avenues. Bayview-Hunter's Point in the southeast section of the city is one of the poorest neighborhoods and suffers from a high rate of crime, though the area has been the focus of controversial plans for urban renewal.
The South of Market, once filled with decaying remnants of San Francisco's industrial past, has seen significant redevelopment. The locus of the dot-com boom during the late 1990s, by 2004 South of Market began to see skyscrapers and condominiums dot the area (see Manhattanization). Following the success of nearby South Beach, another neighborhood, Mission Bay, underwent redevelopment, anchored by a second campus of the University of California, San Francisco. Just southwest of Mission Bay is the Potrero Hill neighborhood featuring sweeping views of downtown San Francisco.
Beaches and parks
Ocean Beach runs along the Pacific Ocean shoreline, but is not suitable for swimming because the waters off the coast are perennially cold and form deadly rip currents. Fort Funston, a former coastal fort along the Southwestern shore, is popular with both dog owners and hang gliders. Baker Beach is located in a picturesque cove just inside the Golden Gate and west of the Golden Gate Bridge. The largest and best-known city park is Golden Gate Park, [cite web |url=http://www.tpl.org/content_documents/ccpe_Most_Visited_Parks.pdf |title=The Most Visited City Parks |accessdate=2008-06-17 |date=2007-10-11 |work=Center for City Park Excellence |publisher=The Trust for Public Land] which stretches from the center of the city west to the Pacific Ocean. Once covered in native grasses and sand dunes, the park was conceived in the 1860s and was created by the extensive planting of thousands of non-native trees and plants. The large park is rich with cultural and natural attractions such as the Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden and Strybing Arboretum. The Presidio, a former military base, and its rehabilitated Crissy Field section, recently restored to its natural salt marsh ecosystem, are a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which also encompasses Golden Gate Park, Alcatraz island and other regional parks and preserves both inside San Francisco and nearby. Lake Merced, in the southwestern quadrant of the city, is a popular fresh-water lake surrounded by parkland.
Culture and contemporary life
:main|Culture of San FranciscoSan Francisco is characterized by a high standard of living. [cite news
last = Schwarzer | first = Michelle
title = San Francisco by the Numbers: Planning After the 2000 Census
year = 2001 | month = July | url = http://www.spur.org/documents/010701_article_03.shtm
accessdate = 2008-06-14] The great wealth and opportunity generated by the Internet revolution continues to draw many highly educated and high-income workers and residents to San Francisco. Numerous lower-income neighborhoods consequently have become increasingly gentrified, and many of the city's traditional business and industrial districts have experienced a renaissance driven by the redevelopment of the Embarcadero, including the neighborhoods South Beach and Mission Bay. The city's property values and household income have escalated to among the highest in the nation, [cite web
last = Sadovi | first = Maura Webber
title = San Francisco's Home Prices Remain Among the Highest in U.S.
work = Real Estate Journal
publisher = The Wall Street Journal
url = http://www.realestatejournal.com/columnists/livingthere/20060412-livingthere.html
doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-14] cite web
title = Median Family Income (In 2003 Inflation-adjusted Dollars)
work = American Community Survey | publisher = US Census Bureau
date = 2007-08-22 | url = http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/Ranking/2003/R14T160.htm
last = Hawn | first = Carleen
title = It may not feel like it, but your shot at the good life is getting better. Here's why
work = San Francisco magazine | publisher = Modern Luxury
year = 2007 |month = March | url = http://www.sanfran.com/archives/view_story/1068/ |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070224105246/http://www.sanfran.com/archives/view_story/1068/
archivedate= 2007-02-24 | doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-14] allowing the city to support a large restaurant and entertainment infrastructure. Because the cost of living in San Francisco is exceptionally high, many middle class families have decided they can no longer afford to live within the city and have left.cite news
last = Hendricks | first = Tyche
title = Rich City Poor City: Middle-class neighborhoods are disappearing from the nation's cities, leaving only high- and low-income districts, new study says.
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/06/22/MNG6HJIDMM1.DTL
Although the centralized commerce and shopping districts of the Financial District and the area around Union Square, are well-known around the world, San Francisco is also characterized by its culturally rich streetscapes featuring mixed-use neighborhoods anchored around central commercial corridors to which residents and visitors alike can walk. Because of these characteristics, San Francisco was rated "most walkable" city by the website Walkscore.com. [cite news |first=James |last=Temple |title=S.F. a step ahead as most 'walkable' U.S. city |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/16/MN3J11Q3N8.DTL |page=A-1 |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |date=2008-07-17 |accessdate=2008-07-18 ] [cite web |url=http://www.walkscore.com/rankings/San_Francisco |title=WalkScore #1 San Francisco |accessdate=2008-07-18 |publisher=Walkscore.com ] Many neighborhoods feature a mix of businesses, restaurants and venues catering to the daily needs of the community while also drawing in visitors. Some neighborhoods are dotted with boutiques, cafes and nightlife, such as Union Street in Cow Hollow, and 24th Street in Noe Valley. Others are less so, such as Irving Street in the Sunset, or Mission Street in the Mission. This approach especially has influenced the continuing South of Market neighborhood redevelopment, with businesses and neighborhood services rising alongside high-rise residences.cite news
last = Wach | first = Bonnie
title = Fog City rises from the funk.
work = USA Today | publisher = Gannett Company, Inc.
url = http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/cityguides/sanfrancisco/worthdoing.htm
The international character San Francisco has fostered since its founding is continued today by large numbers of immigrants from Asia and Latin America. With 39 percent of its residents born overseas,cite web
last = Egan | first = Ted
title = An Overview of San Francisco's Recent Economic Performance - Executive Summary
publisher = ICF Consulting | date = 2006-04-03
url = http://www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/moed/economic_strat/ExecutiveSummary_EconomicPerformanceReview.pdf
format = PDF | doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-14] San Francisco has numerous neighborhoods filled with businesses and civic institutions catering to new arrivals. In particular, the arrival of many ethnic Chinese, which accelerated beginning in the 1970s, has complemented the long-established community historically based in Chinatown throughout the city and has transformed the annual Chinese New Year Parade into the largest event of its kind outside China. [cite news
last = Lam | first = Eric
title = San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade Embroiled in Controversy
publisher = The Epoch Times | date = 2005-12-22
url = http://en.epochtimes.com/news/5-12-22/36073.html
Following the arrival of writers and artists of the 1950s—who established the modern coffeehouse culture—and the social upheavals of the 1960s, San Francisco became an epicenter of liberal activism, with Democrats and Greens dominating city politics. Indeed, San Franciscans have not provided a Republican presidential candidate more than 20 percent of the vote since the 1988 election. [cite web
last = Leip | first = Dave | authorlink =
title = Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
publisher = Dave Leip | date = 2008-06-04
url = http://www.uselectionatlas.org/
doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-14] The city's large gay and lesbian population has created and sustained a politically and culturally active community over many decades, developing a powerful presence in San Francisco's civic life. A popular destination for gay and lesbian tourists, the city hosts San Francisco Pride, an annual parade and festival.
Entertainment and performing arts
San Francisco's War Memorial and Performing Arts Center hosts some of the most enduring performing-arts companies in the U.S. The War Memorial Opera House houses the San Francisco Opera, the second largest opera company on the North American continent [The San Francisco Opera is second in size only to New York City's Metropolitan Opera] as well as the San Francisco Ballet, while the San Francisco Symphony plays in Davies Symphony Hall. The Herbst Theatre stages an eclectic mix of music performances, as well as public radio's "City Arts & Lectures."
The Fillmore is a music venue located in the Western Addition. It is the second incarnation of the historic venue which gained fame in the 1960s under the legendary concert promoter Bill Graham, housing the stage where now-famous musicians such as the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane first performed, fostering the San Francisco Sound. "Beach Blanket Babylon" is a zany musical revue and a civic institution that has performed to sold-out crowds in North Beach since 1974.
The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) has been a leading force in Bay Area performing arts since its arrival in San Francisco in 1967, regularly staging original productions. San Francisco frequently hosts national touring productions of Broadway theatre shows in a number of vintage 1920s-era venues in the Theater District including the Curran, Orpheum, and Golden Gate Theatres.
:"See also: List of museums in San Francisco The Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) houses 20th century and contemporary works of art. It moved to its iconic building in the South of Market neighborhood in 1995 and now attracts more than 600,000 visitors annually. [cite web
title = Corporate Sponsorship - Why Sponsor
publisher = San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
url = http://www.sfmoma.org/membership/corp_sponsors_why_sponsor.html
accessdate = 2008-06-14] The Palace of the Legion of Honor holds primarily classic European works of art, while the city's De Young Museum and Asian Art Museum have significant anthropological and non-European holdings.
The Palace of Fine Arts, built originally for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, today houses the Exploratorium, a popular science museum dedicated to teaching through hands-on interaction. The California Academy of Sciences is a natural history museum which also hosts the Morrison Planetarium and Steinhart Aquarium. The San Francisco Zoo maintains more than 250 animal species, many of which are designated as endangered. [cite web
title = What to See at the Zoo | publisher = San Francisco Zoo
url = http://www.sfzoo.org/openrosters/ViewOrgPageLink.asp?LinkKey=15015&orgkey=1821
The "San Francisco Chronicle", in which Herb Caen famously published his daily musings, is Northern California's most widely circulated newspaper. [cite web
title = Top 200 Newspapers by Largest Reported Circulation
publisher = Audit Bureau of Circulations
url = http://www.accessabc.com/products/top200.htm | date = 2007-03-31
archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070813073544/http://www.accessabc.com/products/top200.htm
archivedate= 2007-08-13
accessdate = 2008-06-14] The "San Francisco Examiner", once the cornerstone of William Randolph Hearst's media empire and the home of Ambrose Bierce, declined in circulation over the years and now takes the form of a free daily tabloid. [cite news
last = Rosenberg | first = Scott
title = The San Francisco Examiner, 1887–2000
publisher = Salon.com | date = 2000-03-21
url = http://archive.salon.com/media/feature/2000/03/21/examiner/index.html
accessdate = 2008-06-15] [cite news
title = Examiner Staff Ends an Era With Tears, Newsroom Tales
work = San Francisco Chronicle | page = A-1 | publisher = Hearst Communications
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2000/11/22/MN121380.DTL&hw=san+francisco+examiner&sn=005&sc=498
accessdate = 2008-06-15] "Sing Tao Daily" claims to be the largest of several Chinese language dailies that serve the Bay Area. [cite news
last = Hua | first = Vanessa
title = Newspaper war in the Bay Area: Ming Pao becomes 6th Chinese-language daily
work = San Francisco Chronicle | page = B-1 | publisher = Hearst Communications
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/03/BAGI781MM91.DTL
accessdate = 2008-06-14] Alternative weekly newspapers include the "San Francisco Bay Guardian" and "SF Weekly". "San Francisco Magazine" and "7x7" are major glossy magazines about San Francisco. The national newsmagazine "Mother Jones" is also based in San Francisco.
The San Francisco Bay Area is the sixth-largest TV market [cite web
title = Local Television Market Universe Estimates
publisher = Nielsen Media | date = 2007-09-22
url = http://www.nielsenmedia.com/nc/nmr_static/docs/2007-2008_DMA_Ranks.xls
format = XLS | accessdate = 2008-06-15] and the fourth-largest radio market [cite web
title = Arbitron Radio Market Rankings: Spring 2008
publisher = Arbitron | date = 2008-04-16
url = http://www.arbitron.com/radio_stations/mm001050.asp
doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-14] in the U.S. The city's oldest radio station, KCBS (AM), began as an experimental station in San Jose in 1909. KALW was the city's first FM radio station when it signed on the air in 1941. All major U.S. television networks have affiliates serving the region, with most of them based in the city. There also are several unaffiliated stations, and CNN, ESPN, and BBC all have regional news bureaus in San Francisco. The city's first television station was KPIX, which began broadcasting on December 24, 1948. Other prominent stations include KGO, KRON, and KTVU.
Public broadcasting outlets include both a television station and a radio station, both broadcasting under the call letters KQED from a facility near the Potrero Hill neighborhood. KQED-FM is the most-listened-to National Public Radio affiliate in the country. [cite web
title = Top 30 Public Radio Subscribers - Winter 2004 Arbitron
work = Radio Research Consortium | publisher = Arbitron Media Research | date = 2004-06-17
url = http://www.pacifica.org/documents/pdf/ArbitronRatingsWinter2004.pdf | format = PDF
accessdate = 2008-06-14] San Francisco–based technology companies such as CNET and Salon.com pioneered the use of the Internet as a media outlet. Leading global media targeted toward gay and lesbian audiences also are centered in San Francisco, with PlanetOut the parent company of major print newsmagazines and online communities, located in the city.
The San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) are the longest-tenured major professional sports franchise in the city. The team began play in 1946 as an All-America Football Conference (AAFC) league charter member, moved to the NFL in 1950 and into its present stadium in Candlestick Park on Candlestick Point in 1971. The 49ers dominated the league in the 1980s and 1990s, winning five Super Bowl titles behind stars Joe Montana, Steve Young, Ronnie Lott, and Jerry Rice.
Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants left New York for California prior to the 1958 season. Though boasting stars such as Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Barry Bonds, the club has yet to win the World Series while based in San Francisco. The Giants' cross-bay rivals, the Oakland Athletics, swept the Giants in the 1989 World Series, after Game 3 in San Francisco was infamously pre-empted by the Loma Prieta earthquake. The Giants play at AT&T Park which was opened in 2000, a cornerstone project of the South Beach and Mission Bay redevelopment. [cite web
title = Federal Brownfields Tax Incentive: SBC Park
work = Brownfields
publisher = US Environmental Protection Agency
year = 2005 | month = May
url = http://www.epa.gov/swerosps/bf/pdf/sfcasestudy070505.pdf | format = PDF
Kezar Stadium, near the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood formerly hosted the 49ers, as well as the San Francisco Dragons of Major League Lacrosse, and the now defunct California Victory of United Soccer League (USL) First Division. The semiprofessional San Francisco Bay Seals of the USL developmental league are the second soccer team based the city.
At the collegiate level, the Dons of the University of San Francisco compete in NCAA Division I play, where Bill Russell guided the program to NCAA men's basketball championships in 1955 and 1956. The San Francisco State Gators compete in Division II.
With an ideal climate for outdoor activities, San Francisco has ample resources and opportunities for amateur and participatory sports and recreation. The Bay to Breakers footrace, held annually since 1912, is best known for colorful costumes and a celebratory community spirit. [cite web
title = About Us - History
work = ING Bay to Breakers
publisher = ING Group
url = http://www.ingbaytobreakers.com/about_us/history.html
accessdate = 2008-06-15] The San Francisco Marathon is an annual event that attracts more than 7,000 participants. [cite web
last = Winitz | first = Mark
title = San Francisco Marathon Expands Cool Reputation
work = Press Release
publisher = The San Francisco Marathon | date = 2004-06-18
url = http://www.runsfm.com/about/pr/061804.html
archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20061230235057/http://www.runsfm.com/about/pr/061804.html
archivedate= 2006-12-30 | doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-15] There are more than 200 miles (320 km) of bicycle lanes in the city, [cite web
title = Bicycle Network Facilities
work = Commuting and Resources
publisher = SF Municipal Transportation Authority
url = http://www.sfmta.com/cms/bcomm/3180.html
accessdate = 2008-06-15] and the Embarcadero and Marina Green are favored sites for in-line skating. Extensive public tennis facilities are available in Golden Gate Park and Dolores Park, as well as at smaller neighborhood courts throughout the city.
Boating, sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing are among the popular activities on San Francisco Bay, and the city maintains a yacht harbor in the Marina District. San Francisco residents have often ranked among the fittest in the U.S.cite news
last = Hübler | first = Eric
title = The Fittest and Fattest Cities in America
work = Men's Fitness | publisher = American Media, Inc
date = 2008 | url = http://www.mensfitness.com/city_rankings/454
thumb|right|Alcatraz receives 1.5 million visitors per year. [cite news
last = Gonzales | first = Richard
title = New Parts of Alcatraz Revealed to Public
work = People and Places | publisher = National Public Radio
date = 2006-05-22 | url = http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9977965
Tourism is the backbone of the San Francisco economy. Its frequent portrayal in music, film, and popular culture has made the city and its landmarks recognizable worldwide. It is the city where Tony Bennett left his heart, where the "Birdman of Alcatraz" spent many of his final years, and where Rice-a-Roni [cite news
last = Finz | first = Stacy
title = Rice-a-Redux After a 7-year hiatus, it's billed once again as the San Francisco treat
work = San Francisco Chronicle | page = A-1
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/07/16/MNGTUK06P31.DTL
accessdate = 2008-06-15] was said to be the favorite treat. San Francisco attracts the fourth-highest number of foreign tourists of any city in the U.S.update after|2009|06|01cite web
title = Overseas Visitation Estimates for U.S. States, Cities, and Census Regions: 2007
work = International Visitation in the United States
publisher = US Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, US Department of Commerce
url = http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/outreachpages/download_data_table/2007_States_and_Cities.pdf
format = PDF | accessdate = 2008-06-15] and claims Pier 39 near Fisherman's Wharf as the third-most popular tourist attraction in the nation. [cite web
title = Sights in San Francisco
publisher = City and County of San Francisco
url = http://www.sfgov.org/site/mainpages_page.asp?id=18191
accessdate = 2006-09-14] More than 16 million visitors arrived in San Francisco in 2007, injecting nearly $8.2 billion into the economy—both all-time high figures for the city.cite news
last = Raine | first = George
title = Visitors to S.F. in 2007 set record for spending
publisher = San Francisco Chronicle | page = A-1
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/30/MNQ51106T1.DTL&hw=tourism+dollars&sn=004&sc=434 | accessdate = 2008-06-15] With a large hotel infrastructure and a world-class convention facility in the Moscone Center, San Francisco is also among the top-ten North American destinations for conventions and conferences. [cite news
last = Spain | first = William
title = Cost factors: Top convention cities boast most-affordable lodging
work = CBS Marketwatch | publisher = Marketwatch Inc
date = 2004-11-13 | url = http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B708E799D-2F2A-4AE8-9814-096BDF4F98DA%7D&siteid=mktw&dist=
for its corporate headquarters. Many large financial institutions, multinational banks and venture capital firms are based in or have regional headquarters in the city. With over 30 international financial institutions, [cite web
title = San Francisco: Economy
work = City-Data.com
publisher = Advameg Inc | date = n.d.
url = http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-West/San-Francisco-Economy.html
accessdate = 2008-06-15] six Fortune 500 companies, [cite news
title = 2008: Cities
work = Fortune 500 | publisher = Fortune magazine, Time Inc
date = 2008-05-05 | url = http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2008/cities/
accessdate = 2008-06-15] and a large support infrastructure of professional services—including law, public relations, architecture and design—also with significant presence in the city, San Francisco is designated as one of the ten Beta World Cities. [cite web
last = Beaverstock
first = J.V.
coauthors = R.G. Smith & P.J. Taylor
title = Research Bulletin 5: A Roster of World Cities
work = Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network
publisher = Geography Department, Loughborough University
url = http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/rb/rb5.html
format = HTML
accessdate = 2008-06-26] The city ranks fifteenth in the world's list of cities by GDP and eighth in the United States. [cite web| url=http://www.ukmediacentre.pwc.com/imagelibrary/downloadMedia.asp?MediaDetailsID=863| title="Table 1.2 – Top 30 urban agglomeration GDP rankings in 2005 and illustrative projections to 2020 (using UN definitions and population estimates)"|first="UK Economic Outlook, March 2007", page 5|last=PriceWaterhouseCoopers|format=PDF | accessdate=2007-09-26]
San Francisco's economy has increasingly become tied to that of its Bay Area neighbor San Jose and Silicon Valley to its south, sharing the need for highly educated workers with specialized skills. [cite news
last = Selna | first = Robert
title = New jobs, houses spur S.F. population in 2007
work = San Francisco Chronicle | page = B-1
publisher = Hearst Communications | date = 2008-05-15
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/15/BA2110LPHB.DTL
accessdate = 2008-06-15] San Francisco has been positioning itself as a biotechnology and biomedical hub and research center. The Mission Bay neighborhood, site of a second campus of UCSF, fosters a budding industry and serves as headquarters of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the public agency funding stem cell research programs statewide.
Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees and self-employed firms make up 85 percent of city establishments. [cite news | last = Tan | first = Aldrich M.
title = San Francisco is gateway city for immigrants and Silicon Valley Technology
work = Fogcityjournal.com | date = 2006-04-12
url = http://www.fogcityjournal.com/news_in_brief/sf_tech_gateway_060412.shtml
accessdate = 2008-06-15] The number of San Franciscans employed by firms of more than 1,000 employees has fallen by half since 1977. City government has made it intentionally difficult for national big box and formula retail chains to expand in the city; the Board of Supervisors has used the planning code to limit the neighborhoods in which formula retail establishments can operate, [cite news
url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/03/24/BAGD65PVI821.DTL
author=Hetter, Katia
title=Supervisors OK limits on chain-store expansion
publisher=San Francisco Chronicle] an effort affirmed by San Francisco voters. [cite web
url=http://smartvoter.org/2006/11/07/ca/sf/meas/G/
title=Proposition G: Limitations on Formula Retail Stores, City of San Francisco
publisher=smartvoter.org]
name = Representation
title = Representation
header1 =
label1 = 8th U.S. House district
data1 = Nancy Pelosi (D)
label2 = 12th U.S. House district
data2 = Jackie Speier (D)
label3 = 3rd Senate District
data3 = Carole Migden (D)
label4 = 8th Senate District
data4 = Leland Yee (D)
label5 = 12thAssembly District
data5 = Fiona Ma (D)
label6 = 13th Assembly District
data6 = Mark Leno (D)
below = San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, a status it has held since 1856. [cite book
last = Coy
first = Owen Cochran
title = Guide to the County Archives of California
publisher = California Historical Survey Commission
location = Sacramento, California
page = p. 409] It is the only such consolidation in California.cite web |url=http://www.sfgov.org/site/sf311_index.asp?id=55765 |title=Board of Supervisors - Does San Francisco have a City Council? |accessdate=2008-06-16 |work=SFGov SF311] The mayor is also the county executive, and the county Board of Supervisors acts as the city council. Under the city charter, the government of San Francisco is constituted of two co-equal branches. The executive branch is headed by the mayor and includes other citywide elected and appointed officials as well as the civil service. The 11-member Board of Supervisors, the legislative branch, is headed by a president and is responsible for passing laws and budgets, though San Franciscans also make use of direct ballot initiatives to pass legislation.
thumb|left|San Francisco City Hall] The members of the Board of Supervisors are elected as representatives of specific districts within the city.cite web
title=Board of Supervisors District Information
url=http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=4385
publisher = City and County of San Francisco, Board of Supervisors
accessdate = 2006-01-29] If the mayor dies or resigns, the President of the Board of Supervisors assumes the office, as Dianne Feinstein did after the assassination of George Moscone in 1978.
Because of its unique city-county status, local government exercises jurisdiction over property that would otherwise be located outside of its corporation limit. San Francisco International Airport, though ostensibly located in San Mateo County, is legally in San Francisco because it is owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco. San Francisco was also granted a perpetual leasehold over the Hetch Hetchy Valley and watershed in Yosemite National Park by the Raker Act in 1913.
In 2006, the Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance making San Francisco the first city in the nation to provide health care services to all uninsured residents, with creation of the Healthy San Francisco program. [cite web
url=http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/7760.pdf
title=Key Facts: Healthy San Francisco
year=2008 | month=March
publisher=Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured] The municipal budget for fiscal year 2007–2008 was just over $6 billion. [cite news
first=Cecilia
last=Vega
title=Newsom signs the city's largest budget
url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/07/28/BAGAOR8Q591.DTL
publisher=San Francisco Chronicle
accessdate=2008-03-15] The federal government utilizes San Francisco as the regional hub for many arms of the federal bureaucracy, including the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Federal Reserve Bank, and the U.S. Mint. Until decommissioning in the early 1990s, the city had three major military installations—the Presidio, Treasure Island, and Hunters Point—a legacy still reflected in the annual celebration of Fleet Week. The State of California uses San Francisco as the home of the state supreme court and other state agencies. Foreign governments maintain more than thirty consulates in San Francisco. [cite web
url=http://www.yellowpages.com/sp/yellowpages/ypresults.jsp?t=0&v=3&s=2&p=1&q=Consulates&ci=san+francisco&st=CA&q=Consulates
title=Search for consulates in San Francisco, CA
publisher=Yellowpages.com]
The estimated 2007 population of San Francisco is 764,976. [ The city of San Francisco has announced it will contest the Census Bureau figure, stating that its own estimate is closer to 864,000. Ref: cite news|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle|title=Newsom says U.S. census missed 100,000; City to officially fight '07 population estimate of 764,000|author=Steve Rubenstein|date=2008-04-01 |accessdate=2008-04-01 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/31/BATIVTOMG.DTL] With nearly 16,000 people per square mile, San Francisco is the second-most densely populated major American city.For cities with greater than 200,000 population. cite web | title=2000 Census: US Municipalities Over 50,000: Ranked by 2000 Density | url=http://www.demographia.com/db-2000city50kdens.htm | publisher = Demographia | accessdate=2007-08-23] San Francisco is the traditional focal point of the San Francisco Bay Area and forms part of the greater San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area (CSA) whose population is over 7 million: the fifth largest in the U.S. as of the 2000 Census. [cite web |url=http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t29/tab06.xls |title=Population in Combined Statistical Areas (CSAs) in Alphabetical Order and Numerical and Percent Change for the United States and Puerto Rico: 1990 and 2000 |accessdate=2008-06-16 |format=Excel |work=Census 2000 and 1990 Census |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau | date=2003-12-30]
Like many larger U.S. cities, San Francisco is a minority-majority city, as non-Hispanic whites comprise less than half of the population. As of 2006, the Census Bureau estimated that 44.6 percent of the population was non-Hispanic white.cite web |url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06075.html |title=State & County QuickFacts: San Francisco County, California |accessdate=2008-06-16 | |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau] Asian Americans make up about a third of the population; Chinese Americans constitute the largest single racial group in San Francisco at about a fifth of the population. Hispanics of any race make up about 14 percent of the population. San Francisco's African American population has declined in recent decades, from 13.4 percent of the city in 1970 to 7.2 percent of the population in 2006. The current percentage of African Americans in San Francisco is similar to that of the state of California.
Relatively few of the city's residents are native San Franciscans. Only 35 percent of its residents were born in California; 39 percent were born outside the U.S.
According to the 2005 American Community Survey, San Francisco has the highest percentage of gay and lesbian individuals of any of the 50 largest U.S cities, with 15.4%. [cite web | url=http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/SameSexCouplesandGLBpopACS.pdf |title=Same-sex Couples and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Population: New Estimates from the American Community Survey | last=Gates | first=Gary | accessdate=2008-07-10| year=2006 | month=October | format=PDF | |publisher=The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law ] San Francisco also has the highest percentage of same-sex households of any American county, with the Bay Area having a higher concentration than any other metropolitan area.cite web | title=Gay and Lesbian Families in the United States: Same-Sex Unmarried Partner Households | format = PDF | url=http://www.hrc.org/documents/gayandlesbianfamilies.pdf | accessdate=2006-08-26 | publisher = Human Rights Campaign ]
The San Francisco median household income is $57,833 and the median family income, at $67,809 in 2005, is the third-highest for any large city in the nation. Following a national trend, an out-migration of middle class families is contributing to widening income disparity and has left the city with a lower proportion of children, 14.5 percent, than any other large American city.cite web |url=http://www.colemanadvocates.org/includes/downloads/amiliesstruggletostaypg111.pdf?PHPSESSID=fe69726d1f893afa0893c110367fe07e|title=Families Struggle To Stay: Why Families are Leaving San Francisco and What Can Be Done |accessdate=2008-06-16 |date=206-03-01 |format=PDF |publisher=Coleman Advocates for Children & Youth]
The city's poverty rate, at 7.7 percent, is lower than the national average and among the lowest for cities ranked by the U.S. Census Bureau. [cite web |url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/07statab/income.pdf |title=Table 689 - Household Income, Family Income, Per Capita Income, and Individuals and Families Below Poverty Level by City: 2004 |accessdate=2008-06-16 |format=PDF |year=2004 |work=Statistical Abstract of the United States 2007, Section 13: Income, Expenditures and Wealth |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau]
Homelessness has been a chronic and controversial problem for San Francisco since the early 1980s. The city is believed to have the highest number of homeless inhabitants per capita of any major U.S. city. [cite web
title=Care Not Cash
publisher=PBS
url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/economy/jan-june05/homeless_4-8.html
accessdate=2007-09-06] [cite web
last=Pratt
first=Timothy
title=Critics say regional plan won't solve the problem
publisher="Las Vegas Sun"
url=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2005/aug/12/critics-say-regional-plan-wont-solve-the-problem/
accessdate=2006-08-30]
The rates of violent and property crime, reported for 2006 as 875 and 4,958 incidents per 100,000 residents respectively,cite web |url=http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/data/table_08_ca.html|title=Uniform Crime Reports: Table 8 Offenses Known to Law Enforcement by State by City, 2006 |accessdate=2008-06-16 | work=2006 Crime in the United States |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation] are higher than the national average. [cite web |url=http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/data/table_01.html |title=Uniform Crime Reports: Table 1 Crime in the United States by Volume and Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants, 1987–2006 |accessdate=2008-06-16 |work=2006 Crime in the United States |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation] In 2007, the city recorded 98 homicides, the highest number in more than a decade. [cite news |first=Cecilia |last=Vega |title=Guns, crack cocaine fuel homicides in S.F. - 98 killings in 2007 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/15/BAQHUF1NG.DTL&hw=homicides&sn=001&sc=1000 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=2008-01-15 |accessdate=2008-01-18]
The University of California, San Francisco is part of the University of California system but is solely dedicated to graduate education in health and biomedical sciences. It is ranked among the top-five medical schools in the U.S. [cite web |url=http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/mdr/search |title=America's Best Graduate Schools: Best Medical Schools |accessdate=2008-06-16 |year=2008 |publisher="U.S. News and World Report"] and also operates the UCSF Medical Center, ranked among the top 10 hospitals in the U.S. [cite web |url=http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/best-hospitals/honorroll.htm |title=America's Best Hospitals 2007 |accessdate=2008-06-16 |publisher="U.S. News and World Report" |year=2008 ] UCSF is a major local employer, second in size only to the city and county government. [cite web |url=http://www.sfced.org/docs/Largest_Employers_in_SF_2007.doc |title=San Francisco Business Information: Largest Employers in San Francisco |accessdate=2008-06-09 |work=San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2007 | format=Microsoft Word |publisher=San Francisco Center for Economic Development ] A 43-acre Mission Bay campus was opened in 2003, complementing its original facility in Parnassus Heights. It contains research space and facilities to foster biotechnology and life sciences entrepreneurship and will double the size of UCSF's research enterprise. [cite web |url=http://pub.ucsf.edu/newsservices/releases/2003072264/ |title=New UCSF Mission Bay campus: country's largest biomedical university expansion |author=Wallace Ravven |accessdate=2008-06-09 |publisher=UCSF |date=2003-07-22 ] The University of California, Hastings College of the Law, founded in Civic Center in 1878, is the oldest law school in California and claims more judges on the state bench than any other institution. [cite web |url=http://www.uchastings.edu/?pid=37 |title=Hastings Quick Facts |accessdate=2006-08-30 |publisher=University of California, Hastings College of the Law ]
San Francisco State University is part of the California State University system and is located near Lake Merced.cite web |url=http://www.sfsu.edu/~puboff/sfsufact/sftoday.htm |title=SF State Facts 2006–2007: Today |accessdate=2008-06-09 |publisher=SFSU] The school has close to 30,000 students [cite web |url=http://www.sfsu.edu/~puboff/sfsufact/stud.htm |title=SF State Facts 2006–2007: Students |accessdate=2008-06-09 |publisher=SFSU] and awards undergraduate and master's degrees in more than 100 disciplines. The City College of San Francisco, with its main facility in the Ingleside district, is one of the largest two-year community colleges in the country. It has an enrollment of about 100,000 students and offers an extensive continuing education program. [cite web |url=http://www.ccsf.edu/Offices/Public_Information/factsheet.html |title=City College of San Francisco Fact Sheet |accessdate=2008-06-16 |year=2008 |month=April |format=PDF |publisher=City College of San Francisco] Founded in 1855, the Jesuit-run University of San Francisco, located on Lone Mountain, focuses on the liberal arts and is one of the oldest universities established west of the Mississippi. [cite web |url=http://www.usfca.edu/online/about_USF/USFAlmanac2007.pdf |title=University of San Francisco Fact Book and Almanac 2007 |accessdate=2008-06-16 | |date=2007-12-31 |format=PDF |publisher=University of San Francisco]
Notable schools providing higher education in the arts include San Francisco Art Institute, the Academy of Art University, and an extension of the Oakland-based California College of the Arts. The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the only school of its kind on the West Coast, grants degrees in orchestral instruments, chamber music, composition, and conducting.
The California Culinary Academy, associated with the Le Cordon Bleu program, offers programs in the culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, and hospitality and restaurant management.
Public schools are run by the San Francisco Unified School District as well as the State Board of Education for some charter schools. Lowell High School, the oldest public high school in the U.S. west of the Mississippi, [cite web
title = The Oldest Public High School West of the Mississippi
work = About Lowell: Lowell History | publisher = San Francisco Unified School District
url = http://www.sfusd.edu/schwww/sch697/about/history/
accessdate = 2008-06-16] and the smaller School of the Arts High School are two of San Francisco's magnet schools at the secondary level. Just under 30 percent of the city's school-age population attends one of San Francisco's more than 100 private or parochial schools, compared to a 10 percent rate nationwide.cite news
last = Knight | first = Heather
title = Many reluctantly chose private schools
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/05/31/MNGJIJ50T41.DTL
accessdate = 2008-06-16] Nearly 40 of those schools are Catholic schools managed by the Archdiocese of San Francisco. [cite web
title = School Directory August 2007
publisher = Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco
url = http://www.sfcatholicschools.org/school_directories/Directory_School_07-08.pdf
format = PDF | accessdate = 2008-06-16 [http://www.sfcatholicschools.org/school_directories/schooldirectories.htm School Directory] Archdiocese of San Francisco, Department of Catholic Schools. Retrieved on August 27, 2006.]
Because of its unique geography—making beltways somewhat impractical—and the results of the freeway revolts of the late 1950s,cite news
last = Gordon | first = Rachel
title = Boulevard of dreams, the premiere
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/08/BAGBFEJVE21.DTL
accessdate = 2008-06-16] San Francisco is one of the few American cities that has opted for European-style arterial thoroughfares instead of a large network of freeways. This trend continued following the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, when city leaders decided to demolish the Embarcadero Freeway, and voters approved demolition of a portion of the Central Freeway, converting them into street-level boulevards.
Interstate 80 begins at the approach to the Bay Bridge and is the only direct automobile link to the East Bay. U.S. Route 101 extends Interstate 80 to the south along the San Francisco Bay toward Silicon Valley. Northbound, 101 uses arterial streets Van Ness Avenue and Lombard Street to the Golden Gate Bridge, the only direct road access from San Francisco to Marin County and points north. Highway 1 also enters San Francisco at the Golden Gate Bridge, but diverts away from 101, bisecting the west side of the city as the 19th Avenue arterial thoroughfare, and joining with Interstate 280 at the city's southern border. Interstate 280 continues this route along the central portion of the Peninsula south to San Jose. Northbound, 280 turns north and east and terminates in the South of Market area. Highway 35, which traverses the majority of the Peninsula along the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains, enters the city from the south as Skyline Boulevard, following city streets until it terminates at its intersection with Highway 1. Major east–west thoroughfares include Geary Boulevard, the Lincoln Way/Fell Street corridor, and Market Street/Portola Drive.
Cycling is a popular mode of transportation in San Francisco, with about 40,000 residents commuting to work regularly by bicycle.cite news
last = Wood | first = Daniel B
title = Bicyclists winning a war of lanes in San Francisco
work = Christian Science Monitor | publisher = Church of Christ, Scientist
date = 2006-09-12 | url = http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0912/p01s01-ussc.html
accessdate = 2008-06-16] There are convert|68|mi|km|0 of bicycle lanes and paths throughout the city.cite web
publisher = San Francisco Municipal Transporation Agency
date = 2008-05-12 | url = http://www.sfmta.com/cms/bcomm/3180.html
Many people in San Francisco use public transportation, nearly a third of commuters in 2005. [cite web |url=http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/13/real_estate/public_transit_commutes/index.htm |title=New Yorkers are Top Transit Users |accessdate=2008-08-20 |author=Les Christie |date=2007-06-29|work=CNNMoney.com |publisher=Cable News Network] Public transit solely within the city of San Francisco is provided predominantly by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni). The city-owned system operates both a combined light rail/subway system (the Muni Metro) and a bus network that includes trolleybuses, standard diesel motorcoaches and diesel hybrid buses. The Metro streetcars run on surface streets in outlying neighborhoods but underground in the downtown area.cite news
title = Bay Area Traveler: Transportation Information
work = SF Gate.com
publisher = Hearst Communications Inc
year = 2007 | month = March
url = http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/transportation/publictrans.shtml
accessdate = 2008-06-16] Additionally, Muni runs the highly visible F Market historic streetcar line, which runs on surface streets from Castro Street to Fisherman's Wharf (through Market Street), and the iconic San Francisco cable car system, which has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. [cite web
title = Report on San Francisco's Cable Cars
publisher = San Francisco Beautiful
url = http://www.sfbeautiful.org/images/press/5.07.Cable%20Car%20Report.pdf | format = PDF
Commuter rail is provided by two complementary agencies. Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is the regional rapid transit system which connects San Francisco with the East Bay through the Transbay Tube. The line runs under Market Street to Civic Center, where it turns south to the Mission District, the southern part of the city, and through northern San Mateo County, to the San Francisco International Airport, and Millbrae. The Caltrain rail system runs from San Francisco along the Peninsula down to San Jose. The line dates from 1863, and for many years was operated by Southern Pacific.
The Transbay Terminal serves as the terminus for long-range bus service (such as Greyhound) and as a hub for regional bus systems AC Transit (Alameda County), SamTrans (San Mateo County), and Golden Gate Transit (Marin and Sonoma Counties). [cite web |url= http://www.transbaycenter.org/TransBay/content.aspx?id=36 |title= Project Overview - Regional Transit |accessdate= 2008-06-08 |publisher= Transbay Transit Center] Amtrak also runs a shuttle bus from San Francisco to its rail station in Emeryville. [cite web |url= http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Station/Station_Page&code=EMY |title= Profile of Emeryville Station |accessdate= 2008-06-08 |publisher= Amtrak]
A small fleet of commuter and tourist ferries operate from the Ferry Building and Pier 39 to points in Marin County, Oakland, and north to Vallejo in Solano County.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO), though located 13 miles (21 km) south of the city in San Mateo County, is under the jurisdiction of the City and County of San Francisco. SFO is primarily adjacent to the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno, but also borders the most southern part of the city of South San Francisco. SFO is a hub for United Airlines, its largest tenant,cite news
last = Young | first = Eric
title = Pact keeps United from flying away
work = San Francisco Business Times | publisher = American City Business Journals
date = 2004-04-02 | url = http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2004/04/05/story1.html
accessdate = 2008-06-16] and the decision by Virgin America to base its operations out of SFOcite news
title = Taking to the air: Low-fare startup Virgin America says it has the funding to fly
work = San Francisco Chronicle | page = C-1 | publisher = Hearst Communications Inc
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/09/VIRGIN.TMP
accessdate = 2008-06-16] reverses the trend of low-cost carriers opting to bypass SFO for Oakland and San Jose. SFO is an international gateway, with the largest international terminal in North America.cite web | title = Fact Sheet: International Terminal
publisher = San Francisco International Airport
url = http://www.flysfo.com/web/export/sites/default/download/about/news/pressres/fact-sheet/pdf/International_Terminal_Fact_Sheet.pdf
format = PDF | accessdate = 2008-06-16] The airport is built on a landfill extension into the San Francisco Bay. During the economic boom of the late 1990s, when traffic saturation led to frequent delays, it became difficult to respond to calls to relieve the pressure by constructing an additional runway as that would have required additional landfill. Such calls subsided in the early 2000s as traffic declined, and, in 2006, SFO was the 14th busiest airport in the U.S. and 26th busiest in the world, handling 33.5 million passengers.cite web
title = Passenger Trafic 2006 Final | publisher = Airports Council International
date = 2008-03-12 | url = http://www.aci.aero/cda/aci_common/display/main/aci_content07_c.jsp?zn=aci&cp=1-5-54-55-4777_666_2__
eaports
The Port of San Francisco was once the largest and busiest seaport on the West Coast. It featured rows of piers perpendicular to the shore, where cargo from the moored ships was handled by cranes and manual labor and transported to nearby warehouses. The port handled cargo to and from trans-Pacific and Atlantic destinations, and was the West Coast center of the lumber trade. The 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike, an important episode in the history of the American labor movement, brought the port to a standstill. The advent of container shipping made pier-based ports obsolete, and most commercial berths moved to the Port of Oakland.
Many piers remained derelict for years until the demolition of the Embarcadero Freeway reopened the downtown waterfront, allowing for redevelopment. The centerpiece of the port, the Ferry Building, while still receiving commuter ferry traffic, has been restored and redeveloped as a gourmet marketplace. The port's other activities now focus on developing waterside assets to support recreation and tourism.
* Potrero Point
* San Francisco Municipal Wireless
last = De La Perouse
first = Jean Francois
coauthors = Yamane, Linda Gonsalves; Margolin, Malcolm
title = Life in a California Mission: Monterey in 1786: The Journals of Jean Francois De La Perouse
year=1989
publisher=Heyday Books
id = ISBN 0-930588-39-8
last = Hansen
first = Gladys
title = San Francisco Almanac: Everything you want to know about the city
publisher = Chronicle Books
location =
id = ISBN 0-8118-0841-6
last = Ungaretti
first = Lorri
title = San Francisco's Richmond District
publisher = Arcadia Publishing
*cite book | author=Wiley, Peter Booth | title=National trust guide San Francisco: America’s guide for architecture and history travelers | publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc. | year=2000 | id=ISBN 0-471-19120-5
*cite book | year= 1989 | publisher=Dorset Press | title=The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld | author=Asbury, Hubert | id=ISBN 0-88029-428-0
*cite book | author=Bronson, William | title=The Earth Shook, the Sky Burned | publisher=Chronicle Books |year=2006 | id=ISBN 0-8118-5047-1
*cite book | year= 1987 | publisher=Square Books | title=Spanning the Gate | author=Cassady, Stephen | id=ISBN 0-916290-36-0
*cite book | year= 1998 | publisher=Celestial Arts (Reissue edition) | title=High Steel: Building the Bridges Across San Francisco Bay | author=Dillon, Richard H. | id=ISBN 0-88029-428-0
* cite book | title=Literary San Francisco: A pictorial history from its beginnings to the present day | author=Ferlinghetti, Lawrence | id=ISBN 0-06-250325-1 | year=1980 | publisher=Harper & Row
*cite book | year=2002 | publisher=University of California Press | title=City for Sale: The Transformation of San Francisco | author=Hartman, Chester | id=ISBN 0-520-08605-8
* cite book | title=Rush for Riches: Gold Fever and the Making of California | author=Holliday, J. S. | id = ISBN 0-520-21402-1 | year=1999 | publisher=University of California Press
*cite book | year= 1997 | publisher=University of Illinois Press | title=San Francisco, 1846–1856: From Hamlet to City | author=Lotchin, Roger W. | id=ISBN 0-252-06631-6
*cite book | year= 1981 | publisher=Heydey Books | title=The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area | author=Margolin, Malcolm | id=ISBN 0-930588-01-0
*cite book | year= 1971 | publisher=Stein and Day | title=The San Francisco Earthquake | author=Thomas, Gordon and Witts, Max Morgan| id=ISBN 0-8128-1360-X
* [http://transit.511.org/ Bay Area Public Transit Info, Schedules and Maps]
* [http://www.sfgov.org/ Official website for the City and County of San Francisco]
*wikitravelpar|San Francisco
* [http://www.sfmuseum.org/ Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco]
Even and odd permutations
San Francisco (California) — City and County of San Francisco San Francisco Ciudad condado consolidada de los Estados Unidos … Wikipedia Español
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Balboa High School (San Francisco, California) — Infobox SFHS name=Balboa High School seal coordinates=coord|37|43|18.58|N|122|26|27.86|W|region:US type:edu|display=inline,title district=SFUSD ceeb=052916 motto= First on the Pacific founded=1928 grades=9 ndash;12 campus=Urban principal=Patricia … Wikipedia
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instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: My name is archana, 34 years old. I was suffering with intermiitent loose motion and stomach pain, and I was diagnosed with "Amoebic Infection" from food. I was taking NIZONIDE 500 and CYCLOPAM since the last 5 days as per the doctors prescription and no relief yet for the abdominal pain. Can you please look into and suggest a solution?
ermittent loose motion,stomach pain,amoebic infection,nizonide 500,cyclopam,5days.suggestion? output: Hello,Thanks for posting on HCM,If indeed the cause of your diarrhea is amoebic infection then the treatment your doctor indicated should have been effective (i.e within the number of days that you started taking them) but if you still have similar symptoms, then it might be probably that your amoebic infection has developed resistance against the antiprotozoal agent nizonide and you might require another type of antibiotics such as metronidazole (or common brand name flagyl) which usually is very effective with amoebic infections. I also suggest you start oral rehydration therapy (with zinc supplements) as your diarrhea is persisting. If after taking the metronidazole and you still have similar symptoms it will be best to do another stool test + antibiotics sensitivity (stool exams + culture). Another microbial organisms could be present and therefore require more extensive testing to determine them. Hope this helps and wish you the best... |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: for the pst 6 days i have been haing upper abdome distress ... i have had gall bladder surgery 2 yrs ago ..in the past 2 yrs when i get these bouts .. i go to emerg they run cardiograms xrays ,blood work ,all comes back normal ...im stressing out over this as im scared every time it happens im having a heart attack wht is it ?
t causes abdominal pain after gall bladder operation? output: Hi.Thanks for your query, read and understood your problems.You are getting bouts of pain in the upper abdomen within the last 2 years particularly after the gall bladder surgery. This is a great news that cardiac problems are ruled out by the tests every time in the emergency Room. This means that we have to find a local cause in the abdomen itself. I would suggest the following:Get Ct scan and MRCP for the hepato-biliary- pancreatic system .Also go for upper GI Endoscopy to rule out Gastric ulcer . cancer.Colonoscopy for the possible problem of the colon in this area. If required a diagnostic Laparascopy may help to see or rule out the intestinal adhesion due to bands or kinking or so and can be tackled at the same time. This way a final diagnosis and treatment plan can be done to get you permanent results... |
By Owen Jarus , All About History published 15 November 21
The worst epidemics and pandemics have ravaged humanity throughout its existence, but which were the deadliest?
During the Spanish Flu pandemic, a typist wearing her influenza mask, New York City, 1918 (Image credit: Public domain)
Prehistoric epidemic
Plague of Athens
Plague of Cyprian
Plague of Justinian
The Black Death
Cocoliztli epidemic
American Plagues
Great Plague of London
Great Plague of Marseille
Russian plague
Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic
Flu pandemic
American polio epidemic
Spanish Flu
Asian Flu
AIDS pandemic and epidemic
H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic
West African Ebola epidemic
Some of the worst epidemics and pandemics in history have doomed whole civilizations and brought once powerful nations to their knees, killing millions. While these terrible disease outbreaks still threaten humanity, thanks to the advances in epidemiology we no longer face the same dire consequences as our ancestors once did.
Here are 20 of the worst epidemics and pandemics in history, dating from prehistoric to modern times.
Related: Spanish Flu: The deadliest pandemic in history
1. Prehistoric epidemic: Circa 3000 B.C.
The discovery of a 5,000-year-old house in China filled with skeletons is evidence of a deadly epidemic. (Image credit: Photo courtesy Chinese Archaeology)
About 5,000 years ago, an epidemic wiped out a prehistoric village in China. The bodies of the dead were piled inside a house that was later burned down. No age group was spared, as the skeletons of juveniles, young adults and middle-age people were found inside the house.
The archaeological site is now called "Hamin Mangha" and is one of the best-preserved prehistoric sites in northeastern China. Archaeological and anthropological study indicates that the epidemic happened quickly enough that there was no time for proper burials, and the site was not inhabited again.
Before the discovery of Hamin Mangha, another prehistoric mass burial that dates to roughly the same time period was found at a site called Miaozigou, in northeastern China. Together, these discoveries suggest that an epidemic ravaged the entire region.
2. Plague of Athens: 430 B.C.
Remains of the Parthenon, one of the buildings on the acropolis of Athens. The city experienced a five year pandemic around 430 B.C. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
Around 430 B.C., not long after a war between Athens and Sparta began, an epidemic ravaged the people of Athens and lasted for five years. Some estimates put the death toll as high as 100,000 people. The Greek historian Thucydides (460-400 B.C.) wrote that "people in good health were all of a sudden attacked by violent heats in the head, and redness and inflammation in the eyes, the inward parts, such as the throat or tongue, becoming bloody and emitting an unnatural and fetid breath" (translation by Richard Crawley from the book "The History of the Peloponnesian War," London Dent, 1914).
What exactly this epidemic was has long been a source of debate among scientists; a number of diseases have been put forward as possibilities, including typhoid fever and Ebola. Many scholars believe that overcrowding caused by the war exacerbated the epidemic. Sparta's army was stronger, forcing the Athenians to take refuge behind a series of fortifications called the "long walls" that protected their city. Despite the epidemic, the war continued on, not ending until 404 B.C., when Athens was forced to capitulate to Sparta.
3. Antonine Plague: A.D. 165-180
Roman soldiers likely brought smallpox home with them, giving rise to the Antonine Plague. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
When soldiers returned to the Roman Empire from campaigning, they brought back more than the spoils of victory. The Antonine Plague, which may have been smallpox, laid waste to the army and may have killed over 5 million people in the Roman empire, wrote April Pudsey, a senior lecturer in Roman History at Manchester Metropolitan University, in a paper published in the book "Disability in Antiquity," Routledge, 2017).
Related: Plague doctors: Separating medical myths from facts
Many historians believe that the epidemic was first brought into the Roman Empire by soldiers returning home after a war against Parthia. The epidemic contributed to the end of the Pax Romana (the Roman Peace), a period from 27 B.C. to A.D. 180, when Rome was at the height of its power. After A.D. 180, instability grew throughout the Roman Empire, as it experienced more civil wars and invasions by "barbarian" groups. Christianity became increasingly popular in the time after the plague occurred.
4. Plague of Cyprian: A.D. 250-271
The remains found where a bonfire incinerated many of the victims of an ancient epidemic in the city of Thebes in Egypt. (Image credit: N.Cijan/Associazione Culturale per lo Studio dell'Egitto e del Sudan ONLUS)
Named after St. Cyprian, a bishop of Carthage (a city in Tunisia) who described the epidemic as signaling the end of the world, the Plague of Cyprian is estimated to have killed 5,000 people a day in Rome alone. In 2014, archaeologists in Luxor found what appears to be a mass burial site of plague victims. Their bodies were covered with a thick layer of lime (historically used as a disinfectant). Archaeologists found three kilns used to manufacture lime and the remains of plague victims burned in a giant bonfire.
Experts aren't sure what disease caused the epidemic. "The bowels, relaxed into a constant flux, discharge the bodily strength [and] a fire originated in the marrow ferments into wounds of the fauces (an area of the mouth)," Cyprian wrote in Latin in a work called "De mortalitate" (translation by Philip Schaff from the book "Fathers of the Third Century: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix," Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 1885).
5. Plague of Justinian: A.D. 541-542
A mosaic of Emperor Justinian and his supporters. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
The Byzantine Empire was ravaged by the bubonic plague, which marked the start of its decline. The plague reoccurred periodically afterward. Some estimates suggest that up to 10% of the world's population died.
The plague is named after the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (reigned A.D. 527-565). Under his reign, the Byzantine Empire reached its greatest extent, controlling territory that stretched from the Middle East to Western Europe. Justinian constructed a great cathedral known as Hagia Sophia ("Holy Wisdom") in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), the empire's capital. Justinian also got sick with the plague but survived. However, his empire gradually lost territory in the time after the plague struck.
6. The Black Death: 1346-1353
Plague victims are buried at Tournai in what is now Belgium, circa 1349 (Image credit: Getty / Photo 12)
The Black Death traveled from Asia to Europe, leaving devastation in its wake. Some estimates suggest that it wiped out over half of Europe's population. It was caused by a strain of the bacterium Yersinia pestis that is likely extinct today and was spread by fleas on infected rodents. The bodies of victims were buried in mass graves.
The plague changed the course of Europe's history. With so many dead, labor became harder to find, bringing about better pay for workers and the end of Europe's system of serfdom. Studies suggest that surviving workers had better access to meat and higher-quality bread. The lack of cheap labor may also have contributed to technological innovation.
7. Cocoliztli epidemic: 1545-1548
Aztec Ruins National Monument. (Image credit: USGS)
The infection that caused the cocoliztli epidemic was a form of viral hemorrhagic fever that killed 15 million inhabitants of Mexico and Central America. Among a population already weakened by extreme drought, the disease proved to be utterly catastrophic. "Cocoliztli" is the Aztec word for "pest."
A recent study that examined DNA from the skeletons of victims found that they were infected with a subspecies of Salmonella known as S. paratyphi C, which causes enteric fever, a category of fever that includes typhoid. Enteric fever can cause high fever, dehydration and gastrointestinal problems and is still a major health threat today.
8. American Plagues: 16th century
Painting by O. Graeff (1892) of Hernán Cortéz and his troops. The Spanish conqueror was able to capture Aztec cities left devastated by smallpox. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
The American Plagues were a cluster of Eurasian diseases brought to the Americas by European explorers. These illnesses, including smallpox, contributed to the collapse of the Inca and Aztec civilizations. Some estimates suggest that 90% of the indigenous population in the Western Hemisphere was killed off.
The diseases helped a Spanish force, led by Hernán Cortés, to conquer the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán in 1519. Another Spanish force led by Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incas in 1532. The Spanish took over the territories of both empires. In both cases, the Aztec and Incan armies had been ravaged by disease and were unable to withstand the Spanish forces.
When people from Britain, France, Portugal and the Netherlands began exploring, conquering and settling the Western Hemisphere, they were helped by the fact that disease had vastly reduced the size of any indigenous groups that opposed them.
9. Great Plague of London: 1665-1666
A microscopic engraving of a flea by English scientist Robert Hooke (1635-1703) in 1665. Fleas transmitted the plague (Image credit: Getty / Photo 12)
The Black Death's last major outbreak in Great Britain caused a mass exodus from London, led by King Charles II. The plague started in April 1665 and spread rapidly through the hot summer months. Fleas from plague-infected rodents were one of the main causes of transmission.
By the time the plague ended, about 100,000 people, including 15% of the population of London, had died. However, this was not the end of that city's suffering. On Sept. 2, 1666, the Great Fire of London started, lasting for four days and burning down a large portion of the city.
10. Great Plague of Marseille: 1720-1723
An 18th Century engraving of the plague in Marseille (Image credit: Getty / DEA / M. SEEMULLER)
Historical records say that the Great Plague of Marseille started when a ship called "Grand-Saint-Antoine" docked in Marseille, France, carrying a cargo of goods from the eastern Mediterranean. Although the ship was quarantined, plague still got into the city, likely through fleas on plague-infected rodents.
Plague spread quickly and, over the next three years, as many as 100,000 people may have died in Marseille and surrounding areas. It's estimated that up to 30% of the population of Marseille may have perished.
11. Russian plague: 1770-1772
Portrait of Catherine II by Vigilius Erichsen (ca. 1757-1772). Even Catherine the Great couldn't bring Russia back from the devastation caused by the 1770 plague. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
In plague-ravaged Moscow, the terror of quarantined citizens erupted into violence. Riots spread through the city and culminated in the murder of Archbishop Ambrosius, who was encouraging crowds not to gather for worship.
The empress of Russia, Catherine II (also called Catherine the Great), was so desperate to contain the plague and restore public order that she issued a hasty decree ordering that all factories be moved from Moscow. By the time the plague ended, as many as 100,000 people may have died. Even after the plague ended, Catherine struggled to restore order. In 1773, Yemelyan Pugachev, a man who claimed to be Peter III (Catherine's executed husband), led an insurrection that resulted in the deaths of thousands more.
12. Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic: 1793
Painting of George Washington's second inauguration at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, March 4, 1793. An epidemic of yellow fever hit Philadelphia hard in the first half of 1793. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
When yellow fever seized Philadelphia, the United States' capital at the time, officials wrongly believed that slaves were immune. As a result, abolitionists called for people of African origin to be recruited to nurse the sick.
The disease is carried and transmitted by mosquitoes, which experienced a population boom during the particularly hot and humid summer weather in Philadelphia that year. It wasn't until winter arrived — and the mosquitoes died out — that the epidemic finally stopped. By then, more than 5,000 people had died.
13. Flu pandemic: 1889-1890
Wood engraving showing nurses attending to patients in Paris during the 1889-90 flu pandemic. The pandemic killed an estimated 1 million people. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
In the modern industrial age, new transport links made it easier for influenza viruses to wreak havoc. In just a few months, the disease spanned the globe, killing 1 million people. It took just five weeks for the epidemic to reach peak mortality.
The earliest cases were reported in Russia. The virus spread rapidly throughout St. Petersburg before it quickly made its way throughout Europe and the rest of the world, despite the fact that air travel didn't exist yet.
14. American polio epidemic: 1916
A doctor and two nurses tend to children suffering from paralysis due to the 1916 polio epidemic in Beacon, New York (Image credit: Getty / Bettmann )
A polio epidemic that started in New York City caused 27,000 cases and 6,000 deaths in the United States. The disease mainly affects children and sometimes leaves survivors with permanent disabilities.
Polio epidemics occurred sporadically in the United States until the Salk vaccine was developed in 1954. As the vaccine became widely available, cases in the United States declined. The last polio case in the United States was reported in 1979. Worldwide vaccination efforts have greatly reduced the disease, although it is not yet completely eradicated.
15. Spanish Flu: 1918-1920
Emergency hospital during influenza epidemic, Camp Funston, Kansas. (Image credit: Otis Historical Archives, National Museum of Health and Medicine)
An estimated 500 million people from the South Seas to the North Pole fell victim to Spanish Flu. One-fifth of those died, with some indigenous communities pushed to the brink of extinction. The flu's spread and lethality was enhanced by the cramped conditions of soldiers and poor wartime nutrition that many people were experiencing during World War I.
Despite the name Spanish Flu, the disease likely did not start in Spain. Spain was a neutral nation during the war and did not enforce strict censorship of its press, which could therefore freely publish early accounts of the illness. As a result, people falsely believed the illness was specific to Spain, and the name Spanish Flu stuck.
16. Asian Flu: 1957-1958
Chickens being tested for the avian flu. An outbreak of the avian flu killed 1 million people in the late 1950s. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
The Asian Flu pandemic was another global showing for influenza. With its roots in China, the disease claimed more than 1 million lives. The virus that caused the pandemic was a blend of avian flu viruses.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that the disease spread rapidly and was reported in Singapore in February 1957, Hong Kong in April 1957, and the coastal cities of the United States in the summer of 1957. The total death toll was more than 1.1 million worldwide, with 116,000 deaths occurring in the United States.
17. AIDS pandemic and epidemic: 1981-present day
AIDS became a global pandemic in the 1980s and continues as an epidemic in certain parts of the world. (Image credit: Mario Suriani/Associated Press, via the New York Historical Society)
AIDS has claimed an estimated 35 million lives since it was first identified. HIV, which is the virus that causes AIDS, likely developed from a chimpanzee virus that transferred to humans in West Africa in the 1920s. The virus made its way around the world, and AIDS was a pandemic by the late 20th century. Now, about 64% of the estimated 40 million living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) live in sub-Saharan Africa.
For decades, the disease had no known cure, but medication developed in the 1990s now allows people with the disease to experience a normal life span with regular treatment. Even more encouraging, two people have been cured of HIV as of early 2020.
18. H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic: 2009-2010
A nurse walking by a triage tent set up outside of the emergency room at Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch, California on April 30, 2009. The hospital was preparing for a potential flood of patients worried they might have swine flu. (Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The 2009 swine flu pandemic was caused by a new strain of H1N1 that originated in Mexico in the spring of 2009 before spreading to the rest of the world. In one year, the virus infected as many as 1.4 billion people across the globe and killed between 151,700 and 575,400 people, according to the CDC.
The 2009 flu pandemic primarily affected children and young adults, and 80% of the deaths were in people younger than 65, the CDC reported. That was unusual, considering that most strains of flu viruses, including those that cause seasonal flu, cause the highest percentage of deaths in people ages 65 and older.
But in the case of the swine flu, older people seemed to have already built up enough immunity to the group of viruses that H1N1 belongs to, so weren't affected as much. A vaccine for the H1N1 virus that caused the swine flu is now included in the annual flu vaccine.
Related: How does the COVID-19 pandemic compare to the last pandemic?
19. West African Ebola epidemic: 2014-2016
Health care workers put on protective gear before entering an Ebola treatment unit in Liberia during the 2014 Ebola outbreak. (Image credit: CDC/Sally Ezra/Athalia Christie (Public Domain))
Ebola ravaged West Africa between 2014 and 2016, with 28,600 reported cases and 11,325 deaths. The first case to be reported was in Guinea in December 2013, then the disease quickly spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. The bulk of the cases and deaths occurred in those three countries. A smaller number of cases occurred in Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, the United States and Europe, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
There is no cure for Ebola, although efforts at finding a vaccine are ongoing. The first known cases of Ebola occurred in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976, and the virus may have originated in bats.
20. Zika Virus epidemic: 2015-present day
A worker sprays pesticide to kill mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus. Zika is most prevalent in the tropics. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
The impact of the recent Zika epidemic in South America and Central America won't be known for several years. In the meantime, scientists face a race against time to bring the virus under control. The Zika virus is usually spread through mosquitoes of the Aedes genus, although it can also be sexually transmitted in humans.
While Zika is usually not harmful to adults or children, it can attack infants who are still in the womb and cause birth defects. The type of mosquitoes that carry Zika flourish best in warm, humid climates, making South America, Central America and parts of the southern United States prime areas for the virus to flourish.
Learn what a pandemic is.
Discover what the coronavirus outbreak can teach us about bringing samples back from Mars.
Learn about how the spread of COVID-19 is fueled through stealth transmission.
Owen Jarus
Live Science Contributor
Owen Jarus writes about archaeology and all things about humans' past for Live Science. Owen has a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Toronto and a journalism degree from Ryerson University. He enjoys reading about new research and is always looking for a new historical tale.
north1coast
Has something happened to facilitate these epidemics? They seem to be occurring more frequently.
Tom Miller
Yes, the massive increase of human population moving into places formerly only inhabited by wild animals, therefor exposing people to pathogens they were not in in the past.
ETHANANGSK1
Coronavirus (Covid-19) will join this list very soon once it is over!
iiDemonKing
north1coast said:
One of the biggest reasons people think like this is due to the fact that we have much more information on recent outbreaks. I believe they are actually getting less and less in both effect (Compared to the total population ) due to better medication in actually preventing these. Imagine we didn't have ANY protection at birth. SO many more outbreaks would happen instantly and simultaneously without protection. By information systems getting better, I don't mean only about the past. Information is also getting getting out and spread in the current time as well, so you know more about the events going on WHILE they are going on. There are small outbreaks every once in a while but for it to spread and become known and get on these lists, information systems are essential.
LMB1
What about the Hong Kong Flu of 1968?
jbloe0401
Tom Miller said:
That explanation is based on fear and so far removed from reality and fact that it's laughable. Consider the human population today and where humans lived, populated, migrated -- relative to the number of acknowledged epidemic and pandemic -- and consider how many of those events have taken place during the times of greatest population influxes, movements and declines? Those events are not contingent or related. SARS was manufactured in a lab (also a gift from China). Ebola was not deadly until scientists morphed the cells in a lab and made it deadly in trying to change the cell behavior. Find the video by Dr. Mikovitz Phd. and she perfectly explains the reason why virus geneticists cannot identify a 'natural virus ancestry' that links to this 'Wuhan virus' that has been mutating and spreading at an unheard of rate. Consider the Bubonic plague never had a cure but dwindled out once the unhealthy, weak, infirm and elderly died of it - what remained of the population then were the healthy people who survived it. Bubonic plague still exists in pockets of the globe but it doesn't wreak havoc among populations because the virus cannot spread among the resilient populations as it did among the unhealthy and those who were not practicing consistently safe hygiene.
Wintercore
LOL... the picture used for epidemic/pandemic #7, the Cocoliztli epidemic, which affected Mexico and Central America, is actually of a photo of Aztec Ruins National Monument in Aztec, NM, USA. They are Pueblo Indian ruins from about 900 years ago; not Aztec ruins of 470 years past.
JaneS13
There have been many illnesses or sicknesses but these are just some of the worst ones
happyecho
Yes Airplanes and world travel.
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Does everyone have an inner monologue?
Infamous Mars meteorite contains organic molecules. But they aren't proof of life.
Rare 'bionic' armor discovered in 2,500-year-old China burial
Earth inhales and exhales carbon in mesmerizing animation |
Internationalisation of the euro
HomeArtículos Internationalisation of the euro
Fecha: marzo 2020
Iain Begg, European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science1
Despite the evident problems of the protracted sovereign debt crisis, the euro is, by any reasonable measure, comfortably the second most important global currency after the US dollar. Yet there has long been ambivalence about what international role the euro should aspire to fulfil, with the European Central Bank (ECB) especially doubtful about a more extensive internationalisation.
In the last two years, this has started to change, although the impetus for change appears to have come more from the European Commission than the ECB or, indeed, the European Council. The Commission (2018) published a communication in which it sets out both the rationale and the conditions for a step-change in the global reach of the euro. It enumerates a range of potential benefits of an enhanced international role, including the overtly political aim of being a ‘tool to strengthen Europe’s influence in the world’. The Euro Summit in December 2018 then asked for work on the issue to be taken forward, usually a signal that there is now political momentum behind a proposal. The ECB approach can be summed up as ensuring the euro is as attractive as possible by further governance reforms, then letting markets decide whether to boost their use of the currency.
This policy note first assesses why it would be in Europe’s interest to have an enhanced international role for the euro, then examines what is required for a currency to achieve this ambition and looks at the evidence on the euro today. After considering the conditions needing to be met, the note considers how to push forward on the global role of the euro.
The rationale for seeking an enhanced international role for the euro
The underlying reasons are not hard to discern. On the one hand, the euro is close to its 21st birthday, the traditional age of transition from youth to adulthood, and could reasonably be expected to broaden its ‘grown-up’ roles and responsibilities. On the other, confidence in multi-lateral institutions has eroded and there is increasing concern that US hegemony is not only fading, but also drifting from being comparatively benevolent vis-à-vis Europe to more overtly hostile. Europe, in other words, has to face up to a range of global challenges, and the future of international monetary arrangement is plainly a key dimension.
For Montoya Acedo and Buti, it is partly a matter of strengthening Eurozone sovereignty, but they also argue that it is ‘time to revisit the policy of “benign neglect” towards the international role of the euro’ because the balance of costs and benefits has changed. However, the stance of the ECB will be crucial. As explained by Benôit Coeuré, former ECB Executive Board member, in a February 2019 speech in New York, the euro’s international role decreased after a high-point reach just prior to the financial crisis. As a result, there is
‘a perception that the EU is more exposed to the risk that the monetary power of others is not used in its best interest or has been used against it. And I guess that’s the starting point for the discussion in Europe’.
Another perspective is offered by Gräb and Mehl in an assessment of the costs and benefits of internationalisation, published in the latest ECB paper on the International Role of the Euro. They recall that, since 1999 and the first speeches on the matter by the ECB President, Wim Duisenberg, ‘the Eurosystem has advocated a policy of neutrality vis-à-vis the international role of the euro’. They explain this position as reflecting an assessment of the trade-off between costs and benefits.
Advantages of a stronger euro role include greater choice for economic agents across the world, against the backdrop of concerns about the US global role, as well as benefits for the Eurozone in a number of respects:
Scope for improved financial stability;
Lower exchange rate risk and costs for European businesses;
Reduced interest rates as a result of greater monetary autonomy by diminishing the spillover of interest changes in, above all, the US. However, while this phenomenon is a real concern for the currencies of small open economies, its impact is likely to be more marginal for the euro;
The prospect of less exchange rate pass-through into inflation and greater monetary policy autonomy: a higher share of imports invoiced in euros would, assuming some short-term stickiness in prices, mean less volatility in prices because of exchange rate movements;
Reduced exposure to external influence, such as extra-territorial sanctions which the US (especially) is able to impose because European banks or companies want to use the dollar. According to the Commission, the exposure would be reduced if transactions were only in euros.
Since the phrase was coined by former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, Europeans have complained of the ‘exorbitant privilege’ enjoyed by the US $. The reason is the advantages for the US economy of being able to capitalise on having the safe asset of the US Treasury bond, thereby being able to finance borrowing by the US government on very favourable terms, while also having its liabilities in the same currency as it issues.
It is not all one way, because the extent of exorbitant privilege comes under challenge in periods of crisis, such as the decade from the onset of the financial crisis in the latter half of the 2000s. As Gourinchas, Rey and Govillot demonstrate, there is a countervailing ‘exorbitant duty’ arising from the responsibility of the leading currency to provide insurance to the rest of the world. They calculate that the US provided a net transfer of wealth, in the form of a reduction in its net foreign assets, in two episodes: the financial crisis (19% of GDP) and the euro crisis (a further 17% of GDP). The resulting open question for the Eurozone is whether the balance of privilege and duty, so defined, is one it is ready to accept.
Attributes of an international currency
In April 2008, as the financial crisis was intensifying, Menzie Chinn and Jacob Frenkel published an article in which they concluded ‘that the euro may surpass the dollar as leading international reserve currency as early as 2015’. Their principal argument was that the persistent depreciation of the dollar would weaken its appeal for, and hold on, global investors. Their analysis was careful, cautious and historically grounded, bearing in mind how rapidly the pound had been supplanted by the dollar in the mid-20th Century. But with the benefit of hindsight, it was also mistaken.
Earlier, in 2003, Jerry Cohen had predicted the euro was ‘fated to remain a distant second’ to the dollar, a theme to which he has repeatedly returned. Among his key arguments were the flaws in the institutional design and governance of the euro. In subsequent work, published in 2015, Cohen has also turned his gaze to the renminbi, but reached broadly the same conclusion: in the Darwinian flight for supremacy ‘only the dollar embodies the full list of attributes that make a currency internationally competitive’. As he also put it:
“Dollar pessimists, it turns out, are like members of one of those religious cults that predict the end of the world at noon tomorrow. How do we explain, the day after, why we are all still here?”
A hegemonic currency does not necessarily require the most powerful economy, though it plainly helps. Nor need there be only one dominant currency; indeed, as Barry Eichengreen explains in his magisterial volume on exorbitant privilege having a multi-polar system is far from unusual, and he recalls how the pound and the dollar co-existed in the inter-war years. Even so, it would take egregious policy mistakes by the US for the dollar’s status to be compromised.
To be credible, any aspiring global currency has to command widespread support in financial markets and the confidence of prospective users. Liquidity is unavoidably part of the story and here the Eurozone lags behind the US, but is well ahead of China. Moreover, rivals would need to establish the necessary pre-conditions. The two most likely ones, China and the Eurozone, continue to exhibit major shortcomings. As Eichengreen rather tartly puts it, the ‘Euro is a currency without a state’, while the renminbi ‘is a currency with too much state’. The necessary attributes for an international currency, can be linked to the three basic functions of money: unit of account, store of value and medium of exchange. Elements of these functions, together with governance provisions suggest five requirements for an international currency:
1. A large market, rich in transactions
2. Robust, stable and transparent institutions
3. Deep and liquid financial markets.
4. Having an internationally accepted and safe asset: in a turbulent world, investors are arguably more likely to want the currency that is the safest of havens, even if this means accepting lower returns on assets.
5. The backing of a powerful state
Whereas the US can reasonably point to all five being fulfilled, the euro is deficient in the last two and would need to bolster the second and third. The EU also has to ponder how ambitious to be and what time-scale is realistic. Although, as the ECB repeatedly asserts, markets will ultimately determine usage of the euro for transactions, the EU can try to accelerate the process, for instance by using its market power to develop a strategy to reduce the share of dollar invoicing in key sectors, such as energy.
The international role of the euro can be measured on a number of different criteria, starting with its share of global holdings of international reserves. As figure 1 shows, throughout its first decade the euro accounted for around a fifth of the total, less than a third of the US$ share, with a smattering of other currencies sharing the rest. In its latest report annual report on the international role of the euro, the ECB notes some evidence of diversification away from the dollar, not least because of the hostile approach to sanctions by the US authorities. Nevertheless, the gap in shares remains striking.
European financial intermediaries have paid large fines to US authorities which they have had to tolerate for fear of losing market access. While there is a wider agenda about the relative lack of presence of Europe on the global stage, going beyond internationalisation of the currency, these fines clearly cause resentment in Europe. A recently compiled infographic by Refinitiv shows just how substantial some of these fines have been, running to hundreds of millions of dollars for breaching US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets sanctions.
Figure 1 Currency composition of official foreign exchanges reserves (% share of allocated reserves)
Source IMF:
On other indicators, the story is more mixed. Measures of the use of the euro for transactions, such as invoicing, generally show the great pre-eminence of the dollar. Thus, according to the ECB’s 2019 analysis:
The share of the euro in international debt issuance was stable between 2017 and 2018 at 23%, down from around 30% in the mid-2000s, but the dollar share has increased by twenty percentage points over the same period to 63%;
However, euro debt is concentrated in developed Europe and Canada, with the dollar dominant in the Middle East and elsewhere;
The share of the euro in invoicing for exports outside the euro area has been stable at around 50-60% over the last decade and is very high for exports to non-euro EU countries, but is very low for exports to the US;
In contrast to the dollar, the euro is little used for invoicing not involving the euro area, although Member States in central and Eastern Europe, as well as Turkey do use the euro to trade with one another;
Differentiated goods are more likely to be invoiced in the exporter’s currency, whereas homogeneous good (such as oil) are more likely to be invoiced in the dominant currency;
Euro use for cash purposes is quite extensive in the non-euro area countries of central, eastern and south-eastern Europe.
In addition, the 2018 Commission communication cites data from Swift showing global payments in euros were very close to those in dollars in 2017, at 36% and 40% respectively. In earlier years, the euro share exceeded the dollar share significantly, but fell back in the period 2014-16. But these data only really reflect the size of two advanced economies with broadly similar numbers of transactions, most internal.
Several pre-conditions will have to be met for the euro to make advances. Completing economic and monetary union by further governance reforms is vital, bearing in mind it is only a few years since the very survival of the euro was in doubt. Although, by the EU’s normal standards, the extent of reform in recent years is impressive, there are continuing gaps resulting from the tendency to ‘kick the can down the road’ when politically awkward issues arise. These include:
An incomplete banking union, still without a coherent fiscal backstop and with unresolved disputes over the scale and scope of common deposit insurance;
Less progress on advancing the project to create a capital markets union than would be required to ensure deep and liquid financial markets;
The continuing inability, despite a plethora of proposals, to establish a European safe asset, regarded by Benoit Coeuré as ‘a dominant factor keeping the euro from having a stronger international role’;
A confusion of voices representing the euro, whether in international bodies (such as the IMF) or when communication is needed, for example to reassure economic actors in time of crisis;
Sometimes too easily neglected is the need for political momentum behind a project that can elicit weighty opposition.
Because a European safe asset is widely regarded as an essential development without which internationalisation of the euro will remain stalled, the options for creating one deserve attention. Continuing resistance from net creditor members of the Eurozone to fully-fledged Eurobonds – jointly and severally guaranteed – rules out an asset with the same depth of appeal as the US Treasury bond. But there is no shortage of creative thinking on new financial instruments with attributes sufficiently ‘safe’ to fulfil the criteria markets seek.
Leandro and Zettlemeyer assess four distinct approaches, all of which they adjudge to be capable of generating sufficient assets to substitute for national sovereign debt, yet without requiring the national guarantees likely to foment resistance. In a subsequent paper they revisit the question focusing on avoiding mutualisation of risk. Giudice, de Manuel, Kontolemis and Monteiro look specifically at E-bonds, a form of safe asset that involves a supranational agency borrowing from the market, then issuing bilateral loans to member states. The table below summarises these authors’ assessments of the implications in key respects.
Table Proposals for a European safe asset assessed
* A ‘senior’ bond will only be at risk of default once ‘junior’ bonds from the same issuer have been wiped-out. This makes them safer.
Source: derived from Leandro and Zettelmeyer, and Giudice et al.
Beyond the immediate proposals for a safe asset assessed in the table above, the longer-term goal of having Eurobonds as part of the EMU architecture deserves attention. The ‘purple bond transition’ proposal from Bini Smaghi and Marcussen would entail distinguishing between debt up to 60% of GDP – consistent with the Maastricht debt criterion and the revised Stability and Growth Pact – guaranteed by (for example) the European Stability Mechanism) and higher levels of debt which would not be guaranteed. By providing a twenty-year transition towards lower debt levels, the scheme would facilitate the introduction of true Eurobonds.
Conclusions on ways forward
Bridging the gap between the euro and the dollar will not be easy, if only because of the incumbency advantages of the latter, nor will it happen quickly. Yet there is manifestly a political will to try. Could all this change and, if so, how rapidly? There is obvious resentment at the direction of US policy, not least on secondary sanctions, alongside a recognition that China will, in future, be a rival in key domains. On the US side, ‘weaponization’ of the dollar in the pursuit of foreign and economic policy objectives, already visible under previous presidents, has become increasingly prominent under the Trump administration. It can be viewed as a form of bullying, manifesting itself in various forms. There have been demands on companies, such as not to trade with Iran or to help in the construction of the Nordstream II pipeline from Russia to Germany, on pain of being excluded from US markets, with use of the dollar as the instrument
The upshot has been to strengthen the sense inside Europe that more has to be done to emphasise European autonomy in international matters. Coeuré detects ‘the growing perception of a shift in global governance, from leadership built on trust and common identities – what the ancient Greeks called hegemonia – to leadership based on arkhe, hard power where policies and doctrines are imposed on others’.
What the Commission proposed in its 2018 communication is a credible mix, comprising four sets of measures:
Completion of monetary union, alongside a banking union and a capital markets union;
Deepening the European financial sector;
A range of measures to facilitate use of the euro in international financial transactions and as a reserve currency;
Promoting the use of the euro in sectors deemed to be instrumental in boosting euro use, notably energy, food, other raw materials and the transport sector.
Some of these measures aim to build on Europe’s aggregate weight in global sectors, but could face an uphill battle. In particular, the halting progress on completing EMU and ambivalence about an integrated financial sector continue to be problematic. Poul Thomsen, the IMF’s Director for Europe, highlights the incomplete EMU and the continuing reluctance of Eurozone members to commit fully to the rules and other processes of governance of the euro as fundamental obstacles. The inference he draws is that it may be better to look at enhancement of the euro’s global role as ‘a welcome bi-product of changes needed to make the euro work better for Europe’. He is also sceptical about the prospects for boosting euro use in pricing of global commodities. As he notes:
‘For commodities with a truly global market, such as oil, the efficiency gains from everyone pricing in a single currency seem to be quite strong. In those markets it is hard to see the euro making significant inroads into the dollar’s dominance anytime soon.
While his reservations are well-founded, Thomsen may be unduly pessimistic. The Von der Leyen Commission has made enhancement of Europe’s global influence a priority and sees the euro as a relevant and crucial instrument. There is an evident desire to move on from the ‘benign neglect’ of the international role and the current circumstances for breaking the deadlock on completing EMU are propitious. It may be unrealistic to expect early resolution of all the shortcomings in governance, but breakthroughs on banking union and a safe asset could come relatively quickly.
Despite the magnitude of the challenge, if the EU/Eurozone can overcome its penchant to procrastinate, the opportunity is there to achieve real advances and to initiate the sort of virtuous cycle portrayed in figure 2. It will not occur quickly and it would be prudent to envisage a ten to twenty year time-scale, rather than a rapid leap forward, but a significantly enhanced international role for the euro is a credible objective.
Figure 2. Pathway to an enhanced global role for the Euro: a virtuous cycle
Source: own elaboration
1 I am grateful to Raymond Torres, Director for Macroeconomic and International Analysis at Funcas, for very helpful suggestions |
TANNER v. UNITED STATES
TANNER v. UNITED STATES(1987)
Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Seminole), obtained a bank loan for a power plant construction project which included an access road. The loan was guaranteed by the federal Rural Electrification Administration (REA) which had the right to supervise the project, to approve certain contracts including the road construction agreement, and to require certain bidding procedures to be used. Petitioner Conover, Seminole's procurement manager, and petitioner Tanner were friends and had engaged in several business deals together. At about the time the contracts for construction of the road and for fill materials were awarded to Tanner's company upon favorable bidding specifications prepared by Conover's procurement department, Tanner paid Conover over $30,000, allegedly as payments on their personal transactions. Thereafter, Conover helped resolve problems between Seminole and Tanner on terms favorable to Tanner, and, after the REA complained that Tanner's bond was not from an approved company, Conover sent letters to a new bonding company that misrepresented the road's state of completion. On these facts, petitioners were indicated and convicted of conspiring to defraud the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371, and of committing mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1341. Before they were sentenced, petitioners filed a motion seeking permission to interview jurors, an evidentiary hearing, and a new trial based on a trial juror's statement that several jurors had consumed alcohol at lunch throughout the trial, causing them to sleep during the afternoons. The District Court concluded that juror testimony on intoxication was inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b) to impeach the jury's verdict, but invited petitioners to call nonjuror witnesses in support of their motion. The only such evidence introduced was defense counsel's testimony that he had observed one of the jurors "in a sort of giggly mood" at trial but did not bring this to anyone's attention at that time. The judge pointed out that, although he had discussed with counsel during the trial the possibility that jurors were falling asleep, neither counsel nor courtroom employees had thereafter alerted him to such a problem, and he had observed none himself. Thus, he denied the motion and subsequently denied a similar motion based on another juror's affidavit which alleged widespread juror use of alcohol and drugs during the trial, but which [483 U.S. 107, 108] admitted that none of the jurors with whom the affiant drank were intoxicated and that his own reasoning ability was affected only one time. The Court of Appeals affirmed petitioners' convictions, holding that their actions constituted a conspiracy to defraud the United States under 371, and that this conspiracy was sufficient to establish a 1341 violation. Thus, the court did not reach the question whether the evidence established the use of the mails for the purpose of defrauding Seminole.
1. The District Court did not err in refusing to hold an evidentiary hearing at which jurors would testify on juror alcohol and drug use during the trial. Pp. 116-127.
(a) Such testimony is barred by Rule 606(b), which embodies the long-accepted common-law and federal rule on the subject, and which prohibits the impeachment of a verdict with a juror's testimony "as to . . . the effect of anything upon his or any juror's mind or emotions . . ., except that [such testimony is admissible on the question] whether any outside influence was improperly brought to bear on any juror." This Rule is supported by substantial policy considerations, including the need to assure full and frank discussion in the privacy of the jury room, to prevent the harassment of jurors by losing parties, and to preserve the community's trust in a system that relies on the decisions of laypeople. Petitioners' argument that substance abuse constitutes an improper "outside influence" about which jurors may testify under the Rule is without merit in light of contrary judicial interpretation of the common-law rule, as well as Rule 606(b)'s plain language and legislative history. Even if the Rule is interpreted to retain a common-law exception allowing postverdict inquiry into juror incompetence in cases of "substantial if not wholly conclusive evidence of incompetency," the record here falls far short of the extremely strong showing of incompetency that the exception requires. Pp. 116-126.
(b) An evidentiary hearing including juror testimony on drug and alcohol use was not required under petitioners' Sixth Amendment right to trial by a competent and unimpaired jury. That right is adequately protected by several aspects of the trial process, including voir dire, the fact that the preverdict conduct of jurors is observable by the court, by counsel, by court personnel, and by other jurors, and by the fact that, as here, the trial court may allow a post-trial evidentiary hearing to impeach the verdict by nonjuror evidence of juror misconduct. Pp. 126-127.
2. To the extent the evidence established a conspiracy by petitioners to defraud Seminole, their actions did not violate 371, which prohibits conspiracies "to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof." The Government's argument that Seminole, as the recipient of federal financial assistance, and the subject of federal supervision, must be [483 U.S. 107, 109] treated as "the United States" under 371 is untenable, in light of the statute's plain and unambiguous language and the Government's concession that Seminole is not an "agency" thereunder, and in the absence of any indication in the legislative history that 371 should be expanded to cover conspiracies to defraud those acting on behalf of the United States. Given the immense variety of federal assistance arrangements, the Government's suggested requirement that there be "substantial ongoing federal supervision" of the defrauded nongovernmental intermediary before a crime against the United States occurs fails to provide any real guidance. However, to the extent that the evidence was sufficient to establish that petitioners conspired to cause Seminole to make misrepresentations to the REA, petitioners' 371 convictions may stand. On remand, the Court of Appeals must consider the sufficiency of the evidence on this charge. Pp. 128-132.
3. If, on remand, the premise on which the Court of Appeals based its affirmance of the mail fraud convictions under 1341 - that petitioners' actions constituted a conspiracy to defraud the United States under 371 - is rejected, that court must consider whether the evidence established a scheme to defraud Seminole through the use of the mails. Pp. 133-134.
772 F.2d 765, affirmed in part and remanded.
O'CONNOR, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court with respect to Parts III and IV and the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I and II, in which REHNQUIST, C. J., and WHITE, POWELL, and SCALIA, JJ., joined. MARSHALL, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which BRENNAN, BLACKMUN, and STEVENS, JJ., joined, post, p. 134.
John A. DeVault III argued the cause for petitioners. With him on the briefs were Timothy J. Corrigan and David R. Best.
Richard J. Lazarus argued the cause for the United States. With him on the brief were Solicitor General Fried, Assistant Attorney General Weld, Deputy Solicitor General Bryson, and Gloria C. Phares.
JUSTICE O'CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.
Petitioners William Conover and Anthony Tanner were convicted of conspiring to defraud the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371, and of committing mail fraud in [483 U.S. 107, 110] violation of 18 U.S.C. 1341. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions. 772 F.2d 765 (1985). Petitioners argue that the District Court erred in refusing to admit juror testimony at a postverdict hearing on juror intoxication during the trial; and that the conspiracy count of the indictment failed to charge a crime against the United States. We affirm in part and remand.
Conover was the procurement manager at Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Seminole), a Florida corporation owned and operated by 11 rural electric distribution cooperatives. Seminole generates and transmits electrical energy to the cooperatives.
In 1979, Seminole borrowed over $1.1 billion from the Federal Financing Bank in order to construct a coal-fired power plant near Palatka, Florida. The loan was guaranteed by the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), a credit agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that assists rural electric organizations by providing loans, guaranteeing loans from other sources, and approving other security arrangements that allow the borrower to obtain financing. REA, A Brief History of the Rural Electrification and Telephone Programs (1985). The loan agreement between Seminole and the REA provided for federal supervision of the construction project. Under the contract, the REA could supervise the construction and equipment of the electric system, and inspect, examine, and test all work and materials relating to the construction project. App. 61-62. REA Bulletins and REA memoranda required Seminole to obtain REA approval before letting out certain contracts, and required certain bidding procedures to be used depending on the type of contract. Id., at 83, 105-108.
Construction of the Palatka plant began in September 1979. To provide access to an area where a transmission line would be run, the plans called for the construction of a 51-mile [483 U.S. 107, 111] patrol road. The road required materials that would support heavy trucks and resist flooding, and in March 1981, Conover was informed that Seminole's current construction contractor was having difficulty obtaining enough suitable fill material for the road. The contractor indicated that it had not attempted to locate alternative fill materials, and that the contract price would have to be increased substantially in order for them to complete the road. The contract was subsequently terminated.
Following the March meeting at which Conover was informed of the difficulty with the patrol road, Conover called a friend, Anthony R. Tanner. Tanner owned a limerock mine, and the two discussed the possibility of using limerock and limerock overburden as an alternative fill material. At Conover's request, a Seminole engineer examined the material at Tanner's mine and determined that it would be suitable for the road. Seminole acquired limerock overburden from Tanner on an interim basis so that road construction could continue while bids were solicited for the remainder of the project. Seminole called for bids on a contract for provision of fill materials as well as a contract for building the road. Both contracts were to be paid with loan money guaranteed by the REA, and the contract for building the road required the REA's approval. The final specifications for the two contracts, which were prepared by Conover's procurement department, were favorable to Tanner's company in several respects. Tanner was awarded both contracts on May 14, 1981. The fill material contract paid approximately $1,041,800, and the road construction contract paid approximately $548,000. App. 10.
Several problems developed after Tanner began working on the road. There was a dispute as to whether Seminole or Tanner was required to maintain access roads leading to the patrol road. Conover advised Seminole that the contract was ambiguous and that Seminole should pay for maintenance of the access road; ultimately Seminole did pay for the [483 U.S. 107, 112] access road. Later, the REA complained that the bond provided by Tanner was not from a bonding company approved by the Treasury Department. In two letters to another bonding company in July 1981, Conover represented the construction on the patrol road to be considerably more advanced than it was at that time. It was also discovered during the course of construction that limerock, which weakens when wet, could not be used in areas subject to flooding. For those areas Tanner's company provided and spread sand, at a higher price than the sand provided and spread by the first contractor. The patrol road was completed in October 1981.
At the time Conover called Tanner about using limerock as a fill material for Seminole's patrol road, Tanner and Conover were friends and had engaged in several business deals together. In January 1981 Conover had obtained a contract from Tanner to perform landscaping work and install a sprinkler system at a condominium complex owned by Tanner. In early March 1981, Tanner paid Conover $10,035, allegedly in partial payment for the landscaping work; eventually Conover received a total of $15,000 for the work. In May 1981 Conover purchased a condominium from Tanner, and Tanner loaned Conover $6,000 so that Conover could close on the condominium.
In June 1981, before the patrol road was finished, representatives of one of the members of the Seminole cooperative requested that Seminole end all business relations with Tanner. Seminole initiated an internal investigation, after which Seminole suspended and later demoted Conover for violation of the company's conflict of interest policies.
Federal authorities also investigated the situation, and in June 1983 Conover and Tanner were indicted. A 6-week trial resulted in a hung jury and a mistrial was declared. The two were subsequently reindicted; the first count alleged conspiracy to defraud the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371, and the second through fifth counts alleged [483 U.S. 107, 113] separate instances of mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1341. Conover was convicted on all counts; Tanner was convicted on all but count three.
The day before petitioners were scheduled to be sentenced, Tanner filed a motion, in which Conover subsequently joined, seeking continuance of the sentencing date, permission to interview jurors, an evidentiary hearing, and a new trial. According to an affidavit accompanying the motion, Tanner's attorney had received an unsolicited telephone call from one of the trial jurors, Vera Asbul. App. 246. Juror Asbul informed Tanner's attorney that several of the jurors consumed alcohol during the lunch breaks at various times throughout the trial, causing them to sleep through the afternoons. Id., at 247. The District Court continued the sentencing date, ordered the parties to file memoranda, and heard argument on the motion to interview jurors. The District Court concluded that juror testimony on intoxication was inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b) to impeach the jury's verdict. The District Court invited petitioners to call any nonjuror witnesses, such as courtroom personnel, in support of the motion for new trial. Tanner's counsel took the stand and testified that he had observed one of the jurors "in a sort of giggly mood" at one point during the trial but did not bring this to anyone's attention at the time. Id., at 170.
Earlier in the hearing the judge referred to a conversation between defense counsel and the judge during the trial on the possibility that jurors were sometimes falling asleep. During that extended exchange the judge twice advised counsel to immediately inform the court if they observed jurors being inattentive, and suggested measures the judge would take if he were so informed:
"MR. MILBRATH [defense counsel]: But, in any event, I've noticed over a period of several days that a couple of jurors in particular have been taking long naps during the trial. [483 U.S. 107, 114]
"THE COURT: Is that right. Maybe I didn't notice because I was ____
"MR. MILBRATH: I imagine the Prosecutors have noticed that a time or two.
"THE COURT: What's your solution?
"MR. MILBRATH: Well, I just think a respectful comment from the Court that if any of them are getting drowsy, they just ask for a break or something might be helpful.
"THE COURT: Well, here's what I have done in the past - and, you have to do it very diplomatically, of course: I once said, I remember, `I think we'll just let everybody stand up and stretch, it's getting a little sleepy in here,' I said, but that doesn't sound good in the record.
"I'm going to - not going to take on that responsibility. If any of you think you see that happening, ask for a bench conference and come up and tell me about it and I'll figure out what to do about it, and I won't mention who suggested it.
"MR. MILBRATH: All right.
"THE COURT: But, I'm not going to sit here and watch. I'm - among other things, I'm not going to see - this is off the record.
"(Discussion had off the record.)
". . . [T]his is a new thing to this jury, and I don't know how interesting it is to them or not; some of them look like they're pretty interested.
"And, as I say, if you don't think they are, come up and let me know and I'll figure how - either have a recess or - which is more than likely what I would do." Tr. 12-100 - 12-101.
As the judge observed during the hearing, despite the above admonitions counsel did not bring the matter to the court again. App. 147. [483 U.S. 107, 115]
The judge also observed that in the past courtroom employees had alerted him to problems with the jury. "Nothing was brought to my attention in this case about anyone appearing to be intoxicated," the judge stated, adding, "I saw nothing that suggested they were." Id., at 172.
Following the hearing the District Court filed an order stating that "[o]n the basis of the admissible evidence offered I specifically find that the motions for leave to interview jurors or for an evidentiary hearing at which jurors would be witnesses is not required or appropriate." The District Court also denied the motion for new trial. Id., at 181-182.
While the appeal of this case was pending before the Eleventh Circuit, petitioners filed another new trial motion based on additional evidence of jury misconduct. In another affidavit, Tanner's attorney stated that he received an unsolicited visit at his residence from a second juror, Daniel Hardy. Id., at 241. Despite the fact that the District Court had denied petitioners' motion for leave to interview jurors, two days after Hardy's visit Tanner's attorney arranged for Hardy to be interviewed by two private investigators. Id., at 242. The interview was transcribed, sworn to by the juror, and attached to the new trial motion. In the interview Hardy stated that he "felt like . . . the jury was on one big party." Id., at 209. Hardy indicated that seven of the jurors drank alcohol during the noon recess. Four jurors, including Hardy, consumed between them "a pitcher to three pitchers" of beer during various recesses. Id., at 212. Of the three other jurors who were alleged to have consumed alcohol, Hardy stated that on several occasions he observed two jurors having one or two mixed drinks during the lunch recess, and one other juror, who was also the foreperson, having a liter of wine on each of three occasions. Id., at 213-215. Juror Hardy also stated that he and three other jurors smoked marijuana quite regularly during the trial. Id., at 216-223. Moreover, Hardy stated that during the trial he observed one juror ingest cocaine five times and another [483 U.S. 107, 116] juror ingest cocaine two or three times. Id., at 227. One juror sold a quarter pound of marijuana to another juror during the trial, and took marijuana, cocaine, and drug paraphernalia into the courthouse. Id., at 234-235. Hardy noted that some of the jurors were falling asleep during the trial, and that one of the jurors described himself to Hardy as "flying." Id., at 229. Hardy stated that before he visited Tanner's attorney at his residence, no one had contacted him concerning the jury's conduct, and Hardy had not been offered anything in return for his statement. Id., at 232. Hardy said that he came forward "to clear my conscience" and "[b]ecause I felt . . . that the people on the jury didn't have no business being on the jury. I felt . . . that Mr. Tanner should have a better opportunity to get somebody that would review the facts right." Id., at 231-232.
The District Court, stating that the motions "contain supplemental allegations which differ quantitatively but not qualitatively from those in the April motions," id., at 256, denied petitioners' motion for a new trial.
The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed. 772 F.2d 765 (1985). We granted certiorari, 479 U.S. 929 (1986), to consider whether the District Court was required to hold an evidentiary hearing, including juror testimony, on juror alcohol and drug use during the trial, and to consider whether petitioners' actions constituted a conspiracy to defraud the United States within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 371.
Petitioners argue that the District Court erred in not ordering an additional evidentiary hearing at which jurors would testify concerning drug and alcohol use during the trial. Petitioners assert that, contrary to the holdings of the District Court and the Court of Appeals, juror testimony on ingestion of drugs or alcohol during the trial is not barred by Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b). Moreover, petitioners argue that whether or not authorized by Rule 606(b), an evidentiary [483 U.S. 107, 117] hearing including juror testimony on drug and alcohol use is compelled by their Sixth Amendment right to trial by a competent jury.
By the beginning of this century, if not earlier, the near-universal and firmly established common-law rule in the United States flatly prohibited the admission of juror testimony to impeach a jury verdict. See 8 J. Wigmore, Evidence 2352, pp. 696-697 (J. McNaughton rev. ed. 1961) (common-law rule, originating from 1785 opinion of Lord Mansfield, "came to receive in the United States an adherence almost unquestioned").
Exceptions to the common-law rule were recognized only in situations in which an "extraneous influence," Mattox v. United States, 146 U.S. 140, 149 (1892), was alleged to have affected the jury. In Mattox, this Court held admissible the testimony of jurors describing how they heard and read prejudicial information not admitted into evidence. The Court allowed juror testimony on influence by outsiders in Parker v. Gladden, 385 U.S. 363, 365 (1966) (bailiff's comments on defendant), and Remmer v. United States, 347 U.S. 227, 228 -230 (1954) (bribe offered to juror). See also Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209 (1982) (juror in criminal trial had submitted an application for employment at the District Attorney's office). In situations that did not fall into this exception for external influence, however, the Court adhered to the common-law rule against admitting juror testimony to impeach a verdict. McDonald v. Pless, 238 U.S. 264 (1915); Hyde v. United States, 225 U.S. 347, 384 (1912).
Lower courts used this external/internal distinction to identify those instances in which juror testimony impeaching a verdict would be admissible. The distinction was not based on whether the juror was literally inside or outside the jury room when the alleged irregularity took place; rather, the distinction was based on the nature of the allegation. Clearly a rigid distinction based only on whether the event took place inside or outside the jury room would have been [483 U.S. 107, 118] quite unhelpful. For example, under a distinction based on location a juror could not testify concerning a newspaper read inside the jury room. Instead, of course, this has been considered an external influence about which juror testimony is admissible. See United States v. Thomas, 463 F.2d 1061 (CA7 1972). Similarly, under a rigid locational distinction jurors could be regularly required to testify after the verdict as to whether they heard and comprehended the judge's instructions, since the charge to the jury takes place outside the jury room. Courts wisely have treated allegations of a juror's inability to hear or comprehend at trial as an internal matter. See Government of the Virgin Islands v. Nicholas, 759 F.2d 1073 (CA3 1985); Davis v. United States, 47 F.2d 1071 (CA5 1931) (rejecting juror testimony impeaching verdict, including testimony that jurors had not heard a particular instruction of the court).
Most significant for the present case, however, is the fact that lower federal courts treated allegations of the physical or mental incompetence of a juror as "internal" rather than "external" matters. In United States v. Dioguardi, 492 F.2d 70 (CA2 1974), the defendant Dioguardi received a letter from one of the jurors soon after the trial in which the juror explained that she had "eyes and ears that . . . see things before [they] happen," but that her eyes "are only partly open" because "a curse was put upon them some years ago." Id., at 75. Armed with this letter and the opinions of seven psychiatrists that the letter suggested that the juror was suffering from a psychological disorder, Dioguardi sought a new trial or in the alternative an evidentiary hearing on the juror's competence. The District Court denied the motion and the Court of Appeals affirmed. The Court of Appeals noted "[t]he strong policy against any post-verdict inquiry into a juror's state of mind," id., at 79, and observed:
"The quickness with which jury findings will be set aside when there is proof of tampering or external influence, . . . parallel the reluctance of courts to inquire into jury [483 U.S. 107, 119] deliberations when a verdict is valid on its face. . . . Such exceptions support rather than undermine the rationale of the rule that possible internal abnormalities in a jury will not be inquired into except `in the gravest and most important cases.'" Id., at 79, n. 12, quoting McDonald v. Pless, supra, at 269 (emphasis in original).
The Court of Appeals concluded that when faced with allegations that a juror was mentally incompetent, "courts have refused to set aside a verdict, or even to make further inquiry, unless there be proof of an adjudication of insanity or mental incompetence closely in advance . . . of jury service," or proof of "a closely contemporaneous and independent post-trial adjudication of incompetency." 492 F.2d, at 80. See also Sullivan v. Fogg, 613 F.2d 465, 467 (CA2 1980) (allegation of juror insanity is internal consideration); United States v. Allen, 588 F.2d 1100, 1106, n. 12 (CA5 1979) (noting "specific reluctance to probe the minds of jurors once they have deliberated their verdict"); United States v. Pellegrini, 441 F. Supp. 1367 (ED Pa. 1977), aff'd, 586 F.2d 836 (CA3), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 1050 (1978) (whether juror sufficiently understood English language was not a question of "extraneous influence"). This line of federal decisions was reviewed in Government of the Virgin Islands v. Nicholas, supra, in which the Court of Appeals concluded that a juror's allegation that a hearing impairment interfered with his understanding of the evidence at trial was not a matter of "external influence." Id., at 1079.
Substantial policy considerations support the common-law rule against the admission of jury testimony to impeach a verdict. As early as 1915 this Court explained the necessity of shielding jury deliberations from public scrutiny:
"[L]et it once be established that verdicts solemnly made and publicly returned into court can be attacked and set aside on the testimony of those who took part in their publication and all verdicts could be, and many would be, followed by an inquiry in the hope of discovering something [483 U.S. 107, 120] which might invalidate the finding. Jurors would be harassed and beset by the defeated party in an effort to secure from them evidence of facts which might establish misconduct sufficient to set aside a verdict. If evidence thus secured could be thus used, the result would be to make what was intended to be a private deliberation, the constant subject of public investigation - to the destruction of all frankness and freedom of discussion and conference." McDonald v. Pless, 238 U.S., at 267 -268.
See also Mattox v. United States, 146 U.S. 140 (1892).
The Court's holdings requiring an evidentiary hearing where extrinsic influence or relationships have tainted the deliberations do not detract from, but rather harmonize with, the weighty government interest in insulating the jury's deliberative process. See Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209 (1982) (juror in criminal trial had submitted an application for employment at the District Attorney's office); Remmer v. United States, 347 U.S. 227 (1954) (juror reported attempted bribe during trial and was subjected to investigation). The Court's statement in Remmer that "[t]he integrity of jury proceedings must not be jeopardized by unauthorized invasions," id., at 229, could also be applied to the inquiry petitioners seek to make into the internal processes of the jury.
There is little doubt that postverdict investigation into juror misconduct would in some instances lead to the invalidation of verdicts reached after irresponsible or improper juror behavior. It is not at all clear, however, that the jury system could survive such efforts to perfect it. Allegations of juror misconduct, incompetency, or inattentiveness, raised for the first time days, weeks, or months after the verdict, seriously disrupt the finality of the process. See, e. g., Government of the Virgin Islands v. Nicholas, supra, at 1081 (one year and eight months after verdict rendered, juror alleged that hearing difficulties affected his understanding of the evidence). Moreover, full and frank discussion in the jury room, jurors' willingness to return an unpopular verdict, [483 U.S. 107, 121] and the community's trust in a system that relies on the decisions of laypeople would all be undermined by a barrage of postverdict scrutiny of juror conduct. See Note, Public Disclosures of Jury Deliberations, 96 Harv. L. Rev. 886, 888-892 (1983).
Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b) is grounded in the common-law rule against admission of jury testimony to impeach a verdict and the exception for juror testimony relating to extraneous influences. See Government of the Virgin Islands v. Gereau, 523 F.2d 140, 149, n. 22 (CA3 1975); S. Rep. No. 93-1277, p. 13 (1974) (observing that Rule 606(b) "embodied long-accepted Federal law").
Rule 606(b) states:
"Upon an inquiry into the validity of a verdict or indictment, a juror may not testify as to any matter or statement occurring during the course of the jury's deliberations or to the effect of anything upon his or any other juror's mind or emotions as influencing him to assent to or dissent from the verdict or indictment or concerning his mental processes in connection therewith, except that a juror may testify on the question whether extraneous prejudicial information was improperly brought to the jury's attention or whether any outside influence was improperly brought to bear upon any juror. Nor may his affidavit or evidence of any statement by him concerning a matter about which he would be precluded from testifying be received for these purposes."
Petitioners have presented no argument that Rule 606(b) is inapplicable to the juror affidavits and the further inquiry they sought in this case, and, in fact, there appears to be virtually no support for such a proposition. See 3 D. Louisell & C. Mueller, Federal Evidence 287, pp. 121-125 (1979) (under Rule 606(b), "proof to the following effects is excludable . . .: . . . that one or more jurors was inattentive during trial or deliberations, sleeping or thinking about other matters"); cf. Note, Impeachment of Verdicts by Jurors [483 U.S. 107, 122] - Rule of Evidence 606(b), 4 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 417, 430-431, and n. 88 (1978) (observing that under Rule 606(b), "juror testimony as to . . . juror intoxication probably will be inadmissible"; note author suggests that "[o]ne possibility is for the courts to determine that certain acts, such as a juror becoming intoxicated outside the jury room, simply are not within the rule," but cites no authority in support of the suggestion). Rather, petitioners argue that substance abuse constitutes an improper "outside influence" about which jurors may testify under Rule 606(b). In our view the language of the Rule cannot easily be stretched to cover this circumstance. However severe their effect and improper their use, drugs or alcohol voluntarily ingested by a juror seems no more an "outside influence" than a virus, poorly prepared food, or a lack of sleep.
In any case, whatever ambiguity might linger in the language of Rule 606(b) as applied to juror intoxication is resolved by the legislative history of the Rule. In 1972, following criticism of a proposed rule that would have allowed considerably broader use of juror testimony to impeach verdicts, the Advisory Committee drafted the present version of Rule 606(b). Compare 51 F. R. D. 315, 387 (1971) with 56 F. R. D. 183, 265 (1972); see 117 Cong. Rec. 33642, 33645 (1971) (letter from Sen. McClellan to Advisory Committee criticizing earlier proposal); id., at 33655 (letter from Department of Justice to Advisory Committee criticizing earlier proposal and arguing that "[s]trong policy considerations continue to support the rule that jurors should not be permitted to testify about what occurred during the course of their deliberations"). This Court adopted the present version of Rule 606(b) and transmitted it to Congress.
The House Judiciary Committee described the effect of the version of Rule 606(b) transmitted by the Court as follows:
"As proposed by the Court, Rule 606(b) limited testimony by a juror in the course of an inquiry into the validity of a verdict or indictment. He could testify as to the [483 U.S. 107, 123] influence of extraneous prejudicial information brought to the jury's attention (e. g. a radio newscast or a newspaper account) or an outside influence which improperly had been brought to bear upon a juror (e. g. a threat to the safety of a member of his family), but he could not testify as to other irregularities which occurred in the jury room. Under this formulation a quotient verdict could not be attacked through the testimony of juror, nor could a juror testify to the drunken condition of a fellow juror which so disabled him that he could not participate in the jury's deliberations." H. R. Rep. No. 93-650, pp. 9-10 (1973) (emphasis supplied).
The House Judiciary Committee, persuaded that the better practice was to allow juror testimony on any "objective juror misconduct," amended the Rule so as to comport with the more expansive versions proposed by the Advisory Committee in earlier drafts, * and the House passed this amended version.
The Senate Judiciary Committee did not voice any disagreement with the House's interpretation of the Rule proposed by the Court, or the version passed by the House. Indeed, the Senate Report described the House version as "considerably broader" than the version proposed by the Court, and noted that the House version "would permit the impeachment of verdicts by inquiry into, not the mental processes of the jurors, but what happened in terms of conduct in the jury room." S. Rep. No. 93-1277, p. 13 (1974). With [483 U.S. 107, 124] this understanding of the differences between the two versions of Rule 606(b) - an understanding identical to that of the House - the Senate decided to reject the broader House version and adopt the narrower version approved by the Court. The Senate Report explained:
"[The House version's] extension of the ability to impeach a verdict is felt to be unwarranted and ill-advised.
"The rule passed by the House embodies a suggestion by the Advisory Committee of the Judicial Conference that is considerably broader than the final version adopted by the Supreme Court, which embodied long-accepted Federal law. Although forbidding the impeachment of verdicts by inquiry into the jurors' mental processes, it deletes from the Supreme Court version the proscription against testimony `as to any matter or statement occurring during the course of the jury's deliberations.' This deletion would have the effect of opening verdicts up to challenge on the basis of what happened during the jury's internal deliberations, for example, where a juror alleged that the jury refused to follow the trial judge's instructions or that some of the jurors did not take part in deliberations.
"Permitting an individual to attack a jury verdict based upon the jury's internal deliberations has long been recognized as unwise by the Supreme Court.
"As it stands then, the rule would permit the harassment of former jurors by losing parties as well as the possible exploitation of disgruntled or otherwise badly-motivated ex-jurors.
"Public policy requires a finality to litigation. And common fairness requires that absolute privacy be preserved for jurors to engage in the full and free debate necessary to the attainment of just verdicts. Jurors will not be able to function effectively if their deliberations are to be scrutinized in post-trial litigation. In the interest [483 U.S. 107, 125] of protecting the jury system and the citizens who make it work, rule 606 should not permit any inquiry into the internal deliberations of the jurors." Id., at 13-14.
The Conference Committee Report reaffirms Congress' understanding of the differences between the House and Senate versions of Rule 606(b): "[T]he House bill allows a juror to testify about objective matters occurring during the jury's deliberation, such as the misconduct of another juror or the reaching of a quotient verdict. The Senate bill does not permit juror testimony about any matter or statement occurring during the course of the jury's deliberations." H. R. Conf. Rep. No. 93-1597, p. 8 (1974). The Conference Committee adopted, and Congress enacted, the Senate version of Rule 606(b).
Thus, the legislative history demonstrates with uncommon clarity that Congress specifically understood, considered, and rejected a version of Rule 606(b) that would have allowed jurors to testify on juror conduct during deliberations, including juror intoxication. This legislative history provides strong support for the most reasonable reading of the language of Rule 606(b) - that juror intoxication is not an "outside influence" about which jurors may testify to impeach their verdict.
Finally, even if Rule 606(b) is interpreted to retain the common-law exception allowing postverdict inquiry of juror incompetence in cases of "substantial if not wholly conclusive evidence of incompetency," Dioguardi, 492 F.2d, at 80, the showing made by petitioners falls far short of this standard. The affidavits and testimony presented in support of the first new trial motion suggested, at worst, that several of the jurors fell asleep at times during the afternoons. The District Court Judge appropriately considered the fact that he had "an unobstructed view" of the jury, and did not see any juror sleeping. App. 147-149, 167-168; see Government of the Virgin Islands v. Nicholas, 759 F.2d, at 1077 ("[I]t was appropriate for the trial judge to draw upon his personal [483 U.S. 107, 126] knowledge and recollection in considering the factual allegations . . . that related to events that occurred in his presence"). The juror affidavit submitted in support of the second new trial motion was obtained in clear violation of the District Court's order and the court's local rule against juror interviews, MD Fla. Rule 2.04(c); on this basis alone the District Court would have been acting within its discretion in disregarding the affidavit. In any case, although the affidavit of juror Hardy describes more dramatic instances of misconduct, Hardy's allegations of incompetence are meager. Hardy stated that the alcohol consumption he engaged in with three other jurors did not leave any of them intoxicated. App. to Pet. for Cert. 47 ("I told [the prosecutor] that we would just go out and get us a pitcher of beer and drink it, but as far as us being drunk, no we wasn't"). The only allegations concerning the jurors' ability to properly consider the evidence were Hardy's observations that some jurors were "falling asleep all the time during the trial," and that his own reasoning ability was affected on one day of the trial. App. to Pet. for Cert. 46, 55. These allegations would not suffice to bring this case under the common-law exception allowing postverdict inquiry when an extremely strong showing of incompetency has been made.
Petitioners also argue that the refusal to hold an additional evidentiary hearing at which jurors would testify as to their conduct "violates the sixth amendment's guarantee to a fair trial before an impartial and competent jury." Brief for Petitioners 34 (emphasis in original).
This Court has recognized that a defendant has a right to "a tribunal both impartial and mentally competent to afford a hearing." Jordan v. Massachusetts, 225 U.S. 167, 176 (1912). In this case the District Court held an evidentiary hearing in response to petitioners' first new trial motion at which the judge invited petitioners to introduce any admissible evidence in support of their allegations. At issue in this case is whether the Constitution compelled the District [483 U.S. 107, 127] Court to hold an additional evidentiary hearing including one particular kind of evidence inadmissible under the Federal Rules.
As described above, long-recognized and very substantial concerns support the protection of jury deliberations from intrusive inquiry. Petitioners' Sixth Amendment interests in an unimpaired jury, on the other hand, are protected by several aspects of the trial process. The suitability of an individual for the responsibility of jury service, of course, is examined during voir dire. Moreover, during the trial the jury is observable by the court, by counsel, and by court personnel. See United States v. Provenzano, 620 F.2d 985, 996-997 (CA3 1980) (marshal discovered sequestered juror smoking marijuana during early morning hours). Moreover, jurors are observable by each other, and may report inappropriate juror behavior to the court before they render a verdict. See Lee v. United States, 454 A. 2d 770 (DC App. 1982), cert. denied sub nom. McIlwain v. United States, 464 U.S. 972 (1983) (on second day of deliberations, jurors sent judge a note suggesting that foreperson was incapacitated). Finally, after the trial a party may seek to impeach the verdict by nonjuror evidence of misconduct. See United States v. Taliaferro, 558 F.2d 724, 725-726 (CA4 1977) (court considered records of club where jurors dined, and testimony of marshal who accompanied jurors, to determine whether jurors were intoxicated during deliberations). Indeed, in this case the District Court held an evidentiary hearing giving petitioners ample opportunity to produce nonjuror evidence supporting their allegations.
In light of these other sources of protection of petitioners' right to a competent jury, we conclude that the District Court did not err in deciding, based on the inadmissibility of juror testimony and the clear insufficiency of the nonjuror evidence offered by petitioners, that an additional postverdict evidentiary hearing was unnecessary. [483 U.S. 107, 128]
Title 18 U.S.C. 371 provides, in relevant part:
"If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both."
Section 371 is the descendent of and bears a strong resemblance to conspiracy laws that have been in the federal statute books since 1867. See Act of Mar. 2, 1867, ch. 169, 30, 14 Stat. 484 (prohibiting conspiracy to "defraud the United States in any manner whatever"). Neither the original 1867 provision nor its subsequent reincarnations were accompanied by any particularly illuminating legislative history. This case has been preceded, however, by decisions of this Court interpreting the scope of the phrase "to defraud . . . in any manner or for any purpose." In those cases we have stated repeatedly that the fraud covered by the statute "reaches `any conspiracy for the purpose of impairing, obstructing or defeating the lawful function of any department of Government.'" Dennis v. United States, 384 U.S. 855, 861 (1966), quoting Haas v. Henkel, 216 U.S. 462, 479 (1910); see also Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 66 (1942); Hammerschmidt v. United States, 265 U.S. 182, 188 (1924). We do not reconsider that aspect of the scope of 371 in this case. Therefore, if petitioners' actions constituted a conspiracy to impair the functioning of the REA, no other form of injury to the Federal Government need be established for the conspiracy to fall under 371.
The indictment against petitioners charged them with having conspired "to defraud the United States by impeding, impairing, obstructing and defeating the lawful functions of the Rural Electrification Administration in its administration [483 U.S. 107, 129] and enforcement of its guaranteed loan program." App. 5. Petitioners argue that if the evidence adduced at trial established a conspiracy to defraud, then the target of that conspiracy was Seminole Electric, and a conspiracy to defraud a private corporation receiving financial assistance from the Federal Government does not constitute a conspiracy to defraud the United States.
The Government sets out two arguments in response to petitioners' challenge to the 371 convictions. The first, which we accept, is that a conspiracy to defraud the United States may be effected by the use of third parties. The Government's second argument asserts that Seminole, as the recipient of federal financial assistance and the subject of federal supervision, may itself be treated as "the United States" for purposes of 371. This second argument must be rejected.
The Government observes, correctly, that under the common law a fraud may be established when the defendant has made use of a third party to reach the target of the fraud. 2 H. Brill, Cyclopedia of Criminal Law 1244, p. 1892 (1923). The Government also correctly observes that the broad language of 371, covering conspiracies to defraud "in any manner for any purpose," puts no limits based on the method used to defraud the United States. A method that makes uses of innocent individuals or businesses to reach and defraud the United States is not for that reason beyond the scope of 371. In two cases interpreting the False Claims Act, which reaches "[e]very person who makes or causes to be made, or presents or causes to be presented" a false claim against the United States, Rev. Stat. 5438, we recognized that the fact that a false claim passes through the hands of a third party on its way from the claimant to the United States does not release the claimant from culpability under the Act. United States v. Bornstein, 423 U.S. 303, 309 (1976); United States ex rel. Marcus v. Hess, 317 U.S. 537, 541 -545 (1943).
The Government's principal argument for affirmance of petitioners' 371 convictions, however, is a great deal broader [483 U.S. 107, 130] than the proposition stated above. The Government argues that, because Seminole received financial assistance and some supervision from the United States, a conspiracy to defraud Seminole is itself a conspiracy "to defraud the United States."
The conspiracies criminalized by 371 are defined not only by the nature of the injury intended by the conspiracy, and the method used to effectuate the conspiracy, but also - and most importantly - by the target of the conspiracy. Section 371 covers conspiracies to defraud "the United States or any agency thereof," a phrase that the Government concedes fails to describe Seminole Electric. Tr. of Oral Arg. 26 ("We do not say they are federal agents"). The Government suggests, however, that Seminole served as an intermediary performing official functions on behalf of the Federal Government, and on this basis a conspiracy to defraud Seminole may constitute a conspiracy to defraud the United States under 371.
The Government suggests that this position is supported by the Court's reasoning in Dixson v. United States, 465 U.S. 482 (1984), a decision involving the scope of the federal bribery statute, 18 U.S.C. 201(a). Far from supporting the Government's position in this case, the reasoning of the Court in Dixson illustrates why the argument is untenable. For the purpose of 201's provisions pertaining to bribery of public officials and witnesses, 201(a) defined "public official" to include "an officer or employee or person acting for or on behalf of the United States, or any department, agency or branch of Government thereof . . . in any official function, under or by authority of any such department, agency, or branch of Government." The question presented in Dixson was whether officers of a private, nonprofit corporation administering the expenditure of federal community development block grants were "public officials" under 201(a). Although the "on behalf of" language in 201(a) was open to an interpretation that covered the defendants in that case, it was not unambiguously so. Therefore, the Court found [483 U.S. 107, 131] 201(a) applicable to the defendants only after it concluded that such an interpretation was supported by the section's legislative history. See Dixson, 465 U.S., at 491 -496. "If the legislative history fail[ed] to clarify the statutory language," the Court observed, "our rule of lenity would compel us to construe the statute in favor of petitioners, as criminal defendants in these cases." Id., at 491; see Rewis v. United States, 401 U.S. 808, 812 (1971).
Unlike the interpretation of the federal bribery statute adopted by the Court in Dixson, the interpretation of 371 proposed by the Government in this case has not even an arguable basis in the plain language of 371. In Dixson the Court construed 201(a)'s reference to those acting "on behalf of the United States." Rather than seeking a particular interpretation of ambiguous statutory language, the Government, in arguing that 371 covers conspiracies to defraud those acting on behalf of the United States, asks this Court to expand the reach of a criminal provision by reading new language into it. This we cannot do.
Moreover, even if the Government's interpretation of 371 could be pegged to some language in that section, the Government has presented us with nothing to overcome our rule that "ambiguity concerning the ambit of criminal statutes should be resolved in favor of lenity." Rewis v. United States, supra, at 812. The Government has wrested no aid from 371's stingy legislative history. Neither has the Government suggested much to commend its interpretation in terms of clarity of application. Petitioners assert that the Government's logic would require any conspiracy to defraud someone who receives federal assistance to fall within 371. The Government replies that "there must be substantial ongoing federal supervision of the defrauded intermediary or delegation of a distinctly federal function to that intermediary to render a fraud upon the intermediary a fraud upon the `United States.'" Brief for United States 25-26. Yet the facts of this case demonstrate the difficulty of ascertaining [483 U.S. 107, 132] how much federal supervision should be considered "substantial." The Government emphasizes the supervisory powers granted the REA in the loan agreement; petitioners argue that the restrictions placed by the REA on Seminole were comparable to those "that a bank places on any borrower in connection with a secured transaction." Tr. of Oral Arg. 19. Given the immense variety of ways the Federal Government provides financial assistance, and the fact that such assistance is always accompanied by restrictions on its use, the inability of the "substantial supervision" test to provide any real guidance is apparent. "A criminal statute, after if not before it is judicially construed, should have a discernable meaning." Dixson v. United States, supra, at 512 (dissenting opinion).
Although the Government's sweeping interpretation of 371 - which would have, in effect, substituted "anyone receiving federal financial assistance and supervision" for the phrase "the United States or any agency thereof" in 371 - must fail, the Government also charged petitioners with conspiring to manipulate Seminole in order to cause misrepresentations to be made to the REA, an agency of the United States. The indictment against petitioners stated that:
"It was further a part of the conspiracy that the defendants would and did cause Seminole Electric to falsely state and represent to the Rural Electrification Administration that an REA-approved competitive bidding procedure had been followed in awarding the access road construction contracts." App. 7.
If the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to establish that petitioners conspired to cause Seminole to make misrepresentations to the REA, then petitioners' convictions may stand. Because the sufficiency of the evidence on this particular charge in the indictment was not passed on below, we remand this case to the Court of Appeals for further proceedings on this question. [483 U.S. 107, 133]
Each mail fraud count of the indictment charged Tanner and Conover with acting in furtherance of "a scheme and artifice to defraud:
"(a) the United States by impeding, impairing, obstructing and defeating the lawful function of the Rural Electrification Administration in its administration and enforcement of its guaranteed loan program; and
"(b) Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc., of its right to have its process and procedures for the procurement of materials, equipment and services run honestly and free from deceit, corruption and fraud, and of its right to the honest and faithful services of its employees." Id., at 12.
On appeal, petitioners argued that the evidence did not establish either a scheme to defraud the United States or a scheme to defraud Seminole. Petitioners' arguments on the scheme to defraud the United States were raised in the context of the 371 convictions. If the 371 convictions were reversed, petitioners argued, then the mail fraud convictions could stand only if the Government proved a scheme to defraud Seminole. 772 F.2d, at 771.
The Court of Appeals discussion on this point is as follows:
"Appellants argue that the convictions on counts II through V can be upheld only if the evidence establishes that they used the mails in effectuating a scheme to defraud Seminole. This is so, appellants contend, because the indictment did not charge, and the evidence did not establish, a violation of 18 U.S.C. 371. We have already rejected this proposition. Thus, we need not reach the question of whether the evidence establishes the use of the mails for the purpose of effectuating a scheme to defraud Seminole." Ibid. (emphasis added).
If, on remand, the premise on which the Court of Appeals based its affirmance of the mail fraud convictions - that petitioners' [483 U.S. 107, 134] actions constituted a conspiracy to defraud the United States under 371 - is rejected, the Court of Appeals must consider petitioners' argument that the evidence did not establish a scheme to defraud Seminole under the mail fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. 1341.
The judgment of the Court of Appeals is affirmed in part and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
[ Footnote * ] The House version, which adopted the earlier Advisory Committee proposal, read as follows:
"Upon an inquiry into the validity of a verdict or indictment, a juror may not testify concerning the effect of anything upon his or any other juror's mind or emotions as influencing him to assent to or dissent from the verdict or indictment or concerning his mental processes in connection therewith. Nor may his affidavit or evidence of any statement by him indicating an effect of this kind be received for these purposes." H. R. 5463, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. (1974).
JUSTICE MARSHALL, with whom JUSTICE BRENNAN, JUSTICE BLACKMUN, and JUSTICE STEVENS join, concurring in part and dissenting in part.
Every criminal defendant has a constitutional right to be tried by competent jurors. This Court has long recognized that "[d]ue process implies a tribunal both impartial and mentally competent to afford a hearing," Jordan v. Massachusetts, 225 U.S. 167, 176 (1912), "a jury capable and willing to decide the case solely on the evidence before it." Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209, 217 (1982). If, as is charged, members of petitioners' jury were intoxicated as a result of their use of drugs and alcohol to the point of sleeping through material portions of the trial, the verdict in this case must be set aside. In directing district courts to ignore sworn allegations that jurors engaged in gross and debilitating misconduct, this Court denigrates the precious right to a competent jury. Accordingly, I dissent from that part of the Court's opinion. 1
At the outset, it should be noted that petitioners have not asked this Court to decide whether there is sufficient evidence to impeach the jury's verdict. The question before us is only whether an evidentiary hearing is required to explore [483 U.S. 107, 135] allegations of juror misconduct and incompetency. As the author of today's opinion for the Court has noted:
"A hearing permits counsel to probe the juror's memory, his reasons for acting as he did, and his understanding of the consequences of his actions. A hearing also permits the trial judge to observe the juror's demeanor under cross-examination and to evaluate his answers in light of the particular circumstances of the case." Smith v. Phillips, supra, at 222 (O'CONNOR, J., concurring). 2
The allegations of juror misconduct in this case are profoundly disturbing. A few weeks after the verdict was returned, one of the jurors, Vera Asbel, contacted defense counsel and told him she had something she wanted to get off her conscience. App. 247. She stated that at the trial some of the male jurors were drinking every day and then "slept through the afternoons." Ibid. According to Asbel, another juror, Tina Franklin, could confirm these charges. Ibid. Despite these revelations, the District Court refused to hold an evidentiary hearing. Like this Court, the District Judge believed that Asbel's statements to defense counsel were inadmissible under Rule 606(b). Id., at 181-182.
Several months later, Asbel's allegations were buttressed by a detailed report of rampant drug and alcohol abuse by jury members, volunteered by another juror, Daniel Hardy. 3 In a sworn statement, Hardy indicated that seven members [483 U.S. 107, 136] of the jury, including himself, regularly consumed alcohol during the noon recess. App. 210. He reported that four male jurors shared up to three pitchers of beer on a daily basis. Id., at 212. Hardy himself "consumed alcohol all the time." Id., at 239. The female juror selected as foreperson was described as "an alcoholic" who would drink a liter of wine at lunch. Id., at 213-214. Two other female jurors regularly consumed one or two mixed drinks at lunch. Id., at 215.
The four male jurors did not limit themselves to alcohol, however. They smoked marijuana "[j]ust about every day." Id., at 222. In addition, two of them ingested "a couple lines" of cocaine on several occasions. Id., at 225. At times two of the jurors used all three substances - alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana. Id., at 229. Hardy also maintained that the principal drug user, identified as "John," used cocaine during breaks in the trial. Id., at 234. "I knew he had that little contraption and he was going to the bathroom and come back down sniffing . . . like he got . . . a cold." Id., at 234-235. Hardy's statement supported Asbel's assessment of the impact of alcohol and drug consumption; he noted that "[m]ost, some of the jurors," were "falling asleep all the time during the trial." Id., at 229. At least as to John, the effects of drugs and alcohol went beyond inability to stay awake at trial: "John just talked about how he was flying," which Hardy understood to mean that "he was messed up." Ibid., Hardy admitted that on one day during the trial his reasoning ability was affected by his use of alcohol and marijuana. Id., at 239. These allegations suggest that several of the jurors' senses were significantly dulled and distorted by drugs and alcohol. 4 In view of these charges, Hardy's characterization [483 U.S. 107, 137] of the jury as "one big party," id., at 209, is quite an understatement.
Despite the seriousness of the charges, the Court refuses to allow petitioners an opportunity to vindicate their fundamental right to a competent jury. The Court holds that petitioners are absolutely barred from exploring allegations of juror misconduct and incompetency through the only means available to them - examination of the jurors who have already voluntarily come forward. The basis for the Court's ruling is the mistaken belief that juror testimony concerning drug and alcohol abuse at trial is inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b) and is contrary to the policies the Rule was intended to advance.
I readily acknowledge the important policy considerations supporting the common-law rule against admission of jury testimony to impeach a verdict, now embodied in Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b): freedom of deliberation, finality of verdicts, and protection of jurors against harassment by dissatisfied litigants. See, e. g., McDonald v. Pless, 238 U.S. 264, 267 -268 (1915); Advisory Committee's Notes on Fed. Rule Evid. 606(b), 28 U.S.C. App., p. 700. It has been simultaneously recognized, however, that "simply putting verdicts beyond effective reach can only promote irregularity and injustice." Ibid. If the above-referenced policy considerations seriously threaten the constitutional right to trial by a fair and impartial jury, they must give way. See Parker v. Gladden, 385 U.S. 363 (1966); Mattox v. United States, 146 U.S. 140 (1892).
In this case, however, we are not faced with a conflict between the policy considerations underlying Rule 606(b) and petitioners' Sixth Amendment rights. Rule 606(b) is not applicable [483 U.S. 107, 138] to juror testimony on matters unrelated to the jury's deliberations. By its terms, Rule 606(b) renders jurors incompetent to testify only as to three subjects: (i) any "matter or statement" occurring during deliberations; (ii) the "effect" of anything upon the "mind or emotions" of any juror as it relates to his or her "assent to or dissent from the verdict"; and (iii) the "mental processes" of the juror in connection with his "assent to or dissent from the verdict." 5 Even as to matters involving deliberations, the bar is not absolute. 6
It is undisputed that Rule 606(b) does not exclude juror testimony as to matters occurring before or after deliberations. See 3 D. Louisell & C. Mueller, Federal Evidence 290, p. 151 (1979); cf. Note, Impeachment of Verdicts by Jurors - Rule of Evidence 606(b), 4 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 417, 431, n. 88 (1978). But, more particularly, the Rule only "operates to prohibit testimony as to certain conduct by the jurors which has no verifiable manifestations," 3 J. Weinstein & M. Berger, Weinstein's Evidence § 60604., p. 606-28 (1985) (emphasis added); as to other matters, jurors remain competent to testify. See Fed. Rule Evid. 601. Because petitioners' claim of juror misconduct and incompetency involves objectively verifiable conduct occurring prior to deliberations, juror testimony in support of the claims is admissible under Rule 606(b). [483 U.S. 107, 139]
The Court's analysis of legislative history confirms the inapplicability of Rule 606(b) to the type of misconduct alleged in this case. As the Court emphasizes, the debate over two proposed versions of the Rule - the more restrictive Senate version ultimately adopted and the permissive House version, reproduced ante, at 123, n., focused on the extent to which jurors would be permitted to testify as to what transpired during the course of the deliberations themselves. 7 Similarly, the Conference Committee Report, quoted by the Court, ante, at 125, compares the two versions solely in terms of the admissibility of testimony as to matters occurring during, or relating to, the jury's deliberations: "[T]he House bill allows a juror to testify about objective matters occurring during the jury's deliberation, such as the misconduct of another juror or the reaching of a quotient verdict. The Senate bill does not permit juror testimony about any matter or statement occurring during the course of the jury's deliberations." H. R. Conf. Rep. No. 93-1597, p. 8 (1974) (emphasis added). The obvious conclusion, and the one compelled by Rule 601, is that both versions of Rule 606(b) would have permitted jurors to testify as to matters not involving deliberations. The House Report's passing reference to [483 U.S. 107, 140] juror intoxication during deliberations, quoted ante, at 122-123, is not to the contrary. Reflecting Congress' consistent focus on the deliberative process, it suggests only that the authors of the House Report believed that the Senate version of Rule 606(b) did not allow testimony as to juror intoxication during deliberations. 8
In this case, no invasion of the jury deliberations is contemplated. Permitting a limited postverdict inquiry into juror consumption of alcohol and drugs during trial would not "make what was intended to be a private deliberation, the constant subject of public investigation - to the destruction of all frankness and freedom of discussion and conference." McDonald v. Pless, 238 U.S., at 267 -268. "Allowing [jurors] to testify as to matters other than their own inner reactions involves no particular hazard to the values sought to be protected." Advisory Committee's Notes on Fed. Rule Evid. 606(b), 28 U.S.C. App., p. 701.
Even if I agreed with the Court's expansive construction of Rule 606(b), I would nonetheless find the testimony of juror intoxication admissible under the Rule's "outside influence" exception. 9 As a common-sense matter, drugs and [483 U.S. 107, 141] alcohol are outside influences on jury members. Commentators have suggested that testimony as to drug and alcohol abuse, even during deliberations, falls within this exception. "[T]he present exception paves the way for proof by the affidavit or testimony of a juror that one or more jurors became intoxicated during deliberations. . . . Of course the use of hallucinogenic or narcotic drugs during deliberations should similarly be provable." 3 Louisell & Mueller, Federal Evidence, 289, pp. 143-145 (footnote omitted). See 3 Weinstein & Berger, Weinstein's Evidence, supra, § 60604., pp. 606-29 - 606-32 ("Rule 606(b) would not render a witness incompetent to testify to juror irregularities such as intoxication . . . regardless of whether the jury misconduct occurred within or without the jury room"). The Court suggests that, if these are outside influences, "a virus, poorly prepared food, or a lack of sleep" would also qualify. Ante, at 122. Distinguishing between a virus, for example, and a narcotic drug is a matter of line-drawing. Courts are asked to make these sorts of distinctions in numerous contexts; I have no doubt they would be capable of differentiating between the intoxicants involved in this case and minor indispositions not affecting juror competency.
The Court assures us that petitioners' Sixth Amendment interests are adequately protected by other aspects of the trial process: voir dire; observation during trial by the court, counsel, and courtroom personnel; and observation by fellow jurors (so long as they report inappropriate juror behavior to the court before a verdict is rendered). Ante, at 127. Reliance on these safeguards, to the exclusion of an evidentiary [483 U.S. 107, 142] hearing, is misguided. Voir dire cannot disclose whether a juror will choose to abuse drugs and alcohol during the trial. Moreover, the type of misconduct alleged here is not readily verifiable through nonjuror testimony. The jurors were not supervised by courtroom personnel during the noon recess, when they consumed alcoholic beverages and used drugs. Hardy reported that he and his three companions purposely avoided observation. They smoked marijuana and used cocaine first in a municipal parking garage and later "[d]own past the Hyatt Regency" because it was "away from everybody." App. 218, 222.
Finally, any reliance on observations of the court is particularly inappropriate on the facts of this case. The District Judge maintained that he had a view of the jury during the trial, and "[y]ou might infer . . . that if I had seen somebody sleeping I would have done something about that." Id., at 167. However, as the portions of the trial transcript quoted ante, at 113-114, indicate, the judge had abdicated any responsibility for monitoring the jury. He stated: "I'm going to - not going to take on that responsibility" and "I'm not going to sit here and watch. I'm - among other things, I'm not going to see - . . . ." Tr. 12-100 - 12-101.
The Court acknowledges that "postverdict investigation into juror misconduct would in some instances lead to the invalidation of verdicts reached after irresponsible or improper juror behavior," but maintains that "[i]t is not at all clear . . . that the jury system could survive such efforts to perfect it." Ante, at 120. Petitioners are not asking for a perfect jury. They are seeking to determine whether the jury that heard their case behaved in a manner consonant with the minimum requirements of the Sixth Amendment. If we deny them this opportunity, the jury system may survive, but the constitutional guarantee on which it is based will become meaningless.
I dissent.
[ Footnote 1 ] I agree with the Court's disposition of petitioners' convictions under 18 U.S.C. 371 and 1341. Thus, I join Parts III and IV of the Court's opinion.
[ Footnote 2 ] See also Remmer v. United States, 347 U.S. 227, 229 -230 (1954); Sullivan v. Fogg, 613 F.2d 465, 467-468 (CA2 1980).
[ Footnote 3 ] Both Asbel and Hardy contacted defense counsel on their own initiative. Asbel telephoned, see App. 246-247, while Hardy simply showed up at counsel's home and stated: "I had some things on my mind that had been bothering me a long time and I wanted to clear my conscience." Id., at 209. In addition, the District Judge reported that the jury foreperson had contacted his office. "She wanted to know when there was going to be a hearing and she wanted to testify." Id., at 172. This is not a case where jury members were being pursued and harassed by losing litigants. Thus, the concerns underlying the local rule cited by the Court, ante, at 126, are not implicated in this case.
[ Footnote 4 ] The Court's attempt to downplay the seriousness of the charges of incompetence is unconvincing: "The only allegations concerning the jurors' ability to properly consider the evidence were Hardy's observations that some jurors were `falling asleep all the time during the trial,' and that Hardy's own reasoning ability was affected on one day of the trial." Ante, at 126. Even if this were the extent of the incompetence alleged, the [483 U.S. 107, 137] claim that several jurors were "falling asleep all the time during the trial" and that one had impaired mental faculties raises a serious question of juror incompetence. If only one juror were shown to be incompetent, the verdict could not stand. Cf. Parker v. Gladden, 385 U.S. 363, 365 -366 (1966).
[ Footnote 5 ] Rule 606(b) provides, in relevant part:
"[A] juror may not testify as to any matter or statement occurring during the course of the jury's deliberations or to the effect of anything upon his or any other juror's mind or emotions as influencing him to assent to or dissent from the verdict or indictment or concerning his mental processes in connection therewith, except that a juror may testify on the question whether extraneous prejudicial information was improperly brought to the jury's attention or whether any outside influence was improperly brought to bear upon any juror."
[ Footnote 6 ] Rule 606(b) expressly authorizes jurors to testify as to "extraneous prejudicial information" or "outside influence." See infra, at 140, and n. 9.
[ Footnote 7 ] Proponents of the more restrictive Senate version were reluctant to allow juror testimony as to irregularities in the process by which a verdict was reached, such as the resort to a "quotient verdict." See, e. g., 120 Cong. Rec. 2374-2375 (1974) (statement of Rep. Wiggins); 117 Cong. Rec. 33642, 33645 (1971) (letter from Sen. McClellan); id., at 33649, 33655 (Dept. of Justice Analysis and Recommendations Regarding Revised Draft of Proposed Rules of Evidence for the U.S. Courts and Magistrates).
As the Court explains, ante, at 124, the Senate rejected the House version because it "would have the effect of opening verdicts up to challenge on the basis of what happened during the jury's internal deliberations, for example, where a juror alleged that the jury refused to follow the trial judge's instructions or that some of the jurors did not take part in deliberations." S. Rep. No. 93-1277, p. 13 (1974) (emphasis added). See also id., at 14 ("[R]ule 606 should not permit any inquiry into the internal deliberations of the jurors").
[ Footnote 8 ] H. R. Rep. No. 93-650, p. 10 (1973) ("Under this formulation a quotient verdict could not be attacked through the testimony of a juror, nor could a juror testify to the drunken condition of a fellow juror which so disabled him that he could not participate in the jury's deliberations").
[ Footnote 9 ] The sole support for the Court's cramped interpretation of this exception is the isolated reference to juror intoxication at deliberations, contained in the House Report, quoted supra, n. 8. The source for the reference is a letter to the House Subcommittee, to the effect that the version of the Rule adopted by the Senate would not allow inquiry into juror consumption of alcohol during deliberations. The letter was offered in support of reinstatement of the original form of the Rule (the version adopted by the House); the letter focused primarily on the question whether inquiry into quotient verdicts should be permitted. See Rules of Evidence, Hearings before the Special Subcommittee on Reform of Federal Criminal Laws of the House Committee on the Judiciary, 93d Cong., 1st Sess., 389 (1973). In a subsequent letter, the writer dropped any reference to the question of intoxication, focusing exclusively on the issue of [483 U.S. 107, 141] quotient verdicts. See Rules of Evidence (Supplement), Hearings before the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice of the House Committee on the Judiciary, 93d Cong., 1st Sess., 27-28 (1973). Moreover, this reference is hardly dispositive. The comparison was provided to show that the House version was "the better practice." H. R. Rep. No. 93-650, supra, at 10. None of the subsequent Committee Reports make any allusion to juror intoxication. [483 U.S. 107, 143] |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: My husband has esld, we have dealt with this for 4 years now he has terrible mood swings, what sign,s should i look for to know that I need to get him help fast. Also he is diabetic now, has hep c, memory loss at times also barretts eshopahgus, now they say he has a hernia on same side as liver but it would be too dangerous to operate output: I am DIMITRY, I understand your concerns and I will try to help you as much as I can. This is serious disease and quitting alcohol is the most important thing that should be done. Also, medications which are hematologic should be avoided. This is necessary to prevent disease progression which is lethal in most cases. At early stages it can be treated with these measures but in case of progression, only liver transplantation may help. Diet should be balanced and healthy and get regular exercise. Limit high-carb foods such as bread, grits, rice, potatoes, and corn. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: hello sir...... my gf and i had a oral sex yesterday...... and now she is not feeling well.... means she had stomach pain and also omitting... is there any chance of pregnancy ??? plzzzz help me out.... and if so what is the solution for avoiing it??? output: Hello and I hope I can help you today. You do not need to worry sir-there is no chance of pregnancy from oral sex. A woman can only get pregnant if semen gets inside her vagina or very close to the opening. I hope this reassures you and that your girlfriend feels better. She is probably ill from something else, and please let her know it is not possible for her to be pregnant if she is worried about it. The stress from worrying can make her feel sick, so I hope this information is helpful. Best wishes,. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: I have a white round raised soft bump on the roof of my mouth where the space between my front teeth meet the roof of my mouth. My dentist looked at it and said he didn t know what it was but he ruled out cancer, absessed tooth and a blocked duct. I do not have insurance and can not afford a dental surgeon. What is this and is it dangerous. Thank you, Dan output: Hi Dan, Sometimes if while eating something sharp gets lodged in gums or palate hurting/injuring that area it causes blanching of the tissues resulting in a white bump. The area you have mentioned already has a small bump anatomical called incisive papilla from where nerves and vessels pass. As your dentist has ruled out cancer, access and a blocked duct then you should just wait and watch the area for any changes. If you do smoke then please stop till you are sure that the area has reverted to normal. If any changes occur I strongly recommend you to re visit your dentist. Regards. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Could you provide me an overview of Pituitary apoplexy, please? output: Pituitary apoplexy is an acute clinical syndrome caused by hemorrhage and necrosis in the pituitary gland. Most commonly, pituitary apoplexy is associated with pituitary adenoma. The pituitary adenoma predisposes the patient to an increased risk of bleeding within the pituitary gland. The pituitary adenoma has fenestrated endothelium surrounded by a variable number of smooth muscle cells, which are not found in the normal pituitary gland.Gene involved in the pathogenesis of pituitary apoplexy include a mutation in AIP gene, which is located on chromosome 11q13.2. On gross pathology, pituitary apoplexy presents with hemorrhage with or without necrosis. Electron microscopic shows evidence of abnormal fenestration of tumor vessels (pituitary adenoma) with fragmented basal membrane s that may predispose the patient to hemorrhage. |
How To Be Awesome: The Mindset To Success With Erik Swanson
The key to success starts with believing in yourself and what you can do. It’s all about learning how to be awesome by changing your mindset. Erik Swanson is an acclaimed keynote speaker, author, success coach, and President/CEO of Habitude Warrior International. Erik joins host Michelle Seiler Tucker to teach you how to embody your awesomeness and get one step closer to achieving your success! He also talks a bit about an exciting new project with the first volume of his books series, The 13 Steps To Riches. Tune in for inspiring messages and lessons on mindset from Mr. Awesome himself!
I’m excited to have my very good friend, Erik “Awesome” Swanson on the show. Erik Swanson and I have a lot of things in common, but one of the biggest things is Brian Tracy. Brian Tracy is Erik Swanson’s mentor. He also wrote a glowing testimonial for my book, Exit Rich. Let’s talk a little bit about Erik. He has many credentials. His bio was long, so I had to shorten it to a couple of paragraphs. Erik is an award-winning International Keynote Speaker, ten times Number One National Bestselling Author in five different categories of success. Erik is in great demand all around the world, speaking on stages to more than a million people per year. That’s almost as big as Tony Robbins, maybe bigger. He’s also been invited to speak at Harvard University and he’s a member of the TED Talk Family with his latest TED Talk speech called A Dose of Awesome. Erik, welcome to the show.
Success Mindset: At the very least, build yourself up. And then everything will flow around you in a great positive way.
Thank you so much, Michelle. It’s great to see you. I love you and all that you’re doing.
Thank you. Tell our audience a little bit more about Awesome Swanson. How did you get that title?
I appreciate it. Thank you very much for bringing me on the show. It’s great to be with your awesome audience. I got started many years ago with Brian Tracy. He was my very first mentor. I ended up working with him. I came from a waiter’s background, so I waited tables. I was a server for years. In my first 25 years, I was a server, and I’m still a server if you know what I mean. I went from serving to serving. Brian taught me the value of building ourselves as a business and helping people on this journey of success. I was in. I didn’t even know Brian Tracy at first. I had to ask people, “Who is this guy Dick Tracy? I don’t know who Dick Tracy is.” They’re like, “No, it’s Brian Tracy.” I asked a very respectable gentleman named Buddy Schilling, who was one of my mentors in my early years.
Buddy is a huge mogul in real estate over in Austin, Texas. He owns tons of real estate and has lots of agents and so forth. He would come in every Thursday to have his whiskey with one ice cube. I remember this now. He would come in and he’s like, “What’s going on, Erik?” He would always request for me because he wanted to be positive and he wanted to be left alone at the same time. I would always wait on him. I said, “This week, some gentlemen came in, Dick Tracy or something and his manager. They asked me if I like to travel and make money, and if I want to train. It sounds like one of those weird things, right?” He goes, “Do you mean Brian Tracy?” I said, “Maybe?”
I showed him the business card. He’s like, “Drop what you’re doing, take the menus, and go over to the gentlemen over there. Wear a mistletoe on the back of your belt.” You’ll get it soon. It’s one of those jokes that you’ll get it afterwards. “Walk over to your manager in the restaurant and say, ‘It’s been great but I’ve got to go. I’ve got to work on amazing awesomeness, and that’s myself,” and I walked out. I gave him a two-week notice of course.
On January 5th, 1998, I started with Brian Tracy. That’s my first start and then the nickname Mr. Awesome came around because Brian kept on calling it. Les Brown saw me coming off stage one time when I was speaking at an event in Scottsdale. It might have been at Sharon’s Event. I’m not sure if you were there but Les looks at me and he goes, “You’re Mr. Awesome.” I’m like, “Thank you,” so it stuck. That’s me.
You should be your own best amazing cheerleader.
You left the restaurant waiting tables to go mentor with Brian Tracy. He was your mentor. Were you working for him or are you in a program?
No, I was working for him directly.
He used to come to your restaurant. You used to wait on him. He saw something in you and he was like, “I need him to work for me.” Is that how that happened?
One of his managers was there, then he came to the restaurant. It’s called Mezzaluna in Austin, Texas. If you guys are from Texas, you know what I’m talking about. I was waiting on all these individuals and one of the individuals was the manager of Brian Tracy. Brian had, at that point, had about 3 or 4 entities that would promote and help build the Brian Tracy brand. This was one of those brands. Brian was at the helm. They saw potential in me.
It was the manager, not Brian Tracy.
Brian was there as well but the manager was the one who was recruiting me on. I say this not for my purpose but for the purpose of the audience. They saw something in me, meaning do what I call the 30 List. Write down 30 reasons why some people should see some things in you. You should be your own best amazing cheerleader. I get up in the morning, I yawn and I high-five myself. I’m not even kidding. You got a high five yourself. Brian Tracy told me this. He used to see the play, Cyrano de Bergerac. There’s a line in there. I don’t know the line but it was like, “At least, please yourself. At least, talk to yourself in a great way. At the very least, build yourself up and everything will flow around you in a great positive way.”
They saw something in me there, which is great. I can look at it and go, “They saw something in me. I should have seen something in me as well.” Anyway, to bring it full circle, I ended up getting recruited onto the Brian Tracy team that was called Brian Tracy International Program. I became a senior trainer within a year and then I worked for him for about seven more years, so eight years total. I told him one time, I said, “Brian, there are three things that are going to happen.” He’s like, “What’s that?” I go, “I promise you three things. One, you’re going to be sharing stages with me sometime. Number two, I’m going to be making at least $1 million a year because of your mentorship right off the bat. Going from waiting tables to working with you. Number three, I’m going to be driving a Porsche 911 or a Maserati.”
I hit all of those within a year and a half to two years of working with him. About two years later, I ended up sharing the stage with him. If we have the Olympics on now, it’s like passing the baton. I’ve got a whole story on this. I won’t bore you with it but he basically passed the baton. What’s the baton? It’s a microphone. He literally looked at me and there were 2,000 people in this room. It was at the Javits Center in New York City, and I was brand new at this whole thing. I had my confidence but I was still nervous. We were losing the crowd because they came to see Brian. Brian turns to me as he’s coming down the steps. They had steps going straight down for some reason, not to the side of the stage.
We’re high up on the stage and I came up. He looks at me down at the bottom of the stairs. He comes down the stairs, three steps, he squares me off, he turns me around literally by my shoulders. He’s 6’2” and I’m 6’2” as well, and he grabs his back, clip and hands me the microphone. He looks at me and goes, “Start talking now.” Those are the three things he said to me. He says, “Don’t even put on the clip, just start talking,” and he puts it into my mouth and I started talking. Brian Tracy introduced me.
How did it go?
It was awesome. I did a 45-minute training on how to remember people’s names and how to build confidence in others, so you build confidence in yourself as well.
What do you think that they saw in you that you didn’t see in yourself?
I did see it in myself. A lot of people don’t see it in themselves. I saw it in myself. I think a lot of us need reminders.
What was that one thing they saw in you and said, “This guy could be good, I’m going to get him away from waiting tables?”
Success Mindset: Say, “This too shall be awesome”, because then it trains your mindset to let you know that this will be awesome if you allow it to.
I’ll give you the root amazing cause of these effects. The cause is changing lives. That’s the one thing they saw in me because of these three things. When you said, “What’s the one thing?” I was going to say there are probably three things. The three things of traits that I believe that I have is one, I smile through adversity.
I don’t think I have ever seen you not smiling.
You and I have been to countless events that we share stages at. You’ve been on my stage, Habitude Warrior. There are 33 speakers, and there are 300 to 400 people in the audience. Things go on and I’m running this whole thing, and I got to keep a smile. Long story short, one of the traits that I believe I have is I’ll smile through adversity. Do you know how the saying, “This too shall pass?” I don’t say that anymore. I say, “This too shall be awesome,” because then it trains your mindset to let you know that this will be awesome if you allow it to, then you have to dig deeper and say, “What are the 2 or 3 things that I can do to make it awesome?” It’s like Exiting Rich.
How many people are exiting and dying with their song inside them still like Wayne used to tell us? You teach people how to take these principles of success and the things that you have to do. It’s like a checklist. I have my own checklist. That checklist shows up. I say PEA, so you have to PEA every day. That stands for you got to be Positive, Energetic and Awesome. My traits were that I would always show up and conquer whatever it was. That’s number one. The second trait was I correlated everything I did in business exactly like I would do when I’m going out there on a date. By the way, I’m still single. Just letting you know. I chose to be single.
Here’s the deal. You think about what’s the purpose of a date. Some people will get this wrong. A lot of people will. The purpose for me to go on a date is to get a second date. The same thing that Brian Tracy asked me, “What’s the purpose of a client?” A client is to get them to meet a new client, another client and a referral client. I do the same thing with dating. When I go out on a date, I want to make sure that that person, that young lady will say, “I had such a great time. I feel good.” Subconsciously, they’re going to feel this here and here. At night or the next morning, they’re going to say, “I want more of that. What was that? Last night, I went to dinner, I had a good time, I laughed and I talked about my favorite person in the world,” themselves. That’s the way I do it. Number one, my trait was I would show up and look adversity in the eyes and say, “I got this.” Number two, make it fun when you show up. Number three is never quit.
They saw those three traits in you when they came to the restaurant when you waited on them?
Since you asked this question, which I love the question, I’ve never been asked this before. You know I do these probably 3 or 4 summits and podcasts every week. You and I are very similar in this. I’ve never been asked a question like what you just said. Now, I’ve got this answer. The answer is what they saw in me was the end result. The end result was, I would help countless individuals, including them in their business, Brian Tracy’s business, as well as myself. That’s what leverage is all about, but also the world. That’s the real result of what I do.
NDSO: No drama, serve others.
How quick did they make that assessment? How many times did they visit the restaurant?
The manager was there twice. I met Brian once. I met him on December 12th, 1998. It’s like a date that you remember. They flew me to Denver, Colorado. I met him there. There were 3,000 people on stage and I met him once there. They were supposed to send me through the training but they saw so much training in me already. They’re like, “We’re putting you in the wolves now. Let’s go.” They threw me to Seattle. It was my first event. I would go there and I would do all the training in advance. I was the advanced trainer for Brian Tracy.
Where would Erik Swanson end up if Brian Tracy never stepped foot in that restaurant and you didn’t wait on him?
The same place. Without a doubt. It’s not Brian. It’s me allowing myself to take that opportunity.
You don’t think if he didn’t walk in, you wouldn’t meet him, and he recruited you, do you think you would’ve stayed in the same place?
It would have been a different timeline. Maybe a month here, two months here, a year here or a year there.
The same place that you wouldn’t have been waiting tables.
Yes, I would be in the same place I’m in now, ten times number one bestselling author, etc. I would be in the same place. It would have been a different road to get there. How do you get to San Jose?
That’s an amazing story. I always look at my waiters too and say, “I should recruit this person.”
It’s great to look at servers, waiters or people in the serving industry because I got hired to wait tables in the first place because it was all about your personality. Why do you go to the restaurant? You’re going there to eat some great food. Maybe you’re going there to be left alone. Most of the time or 80% of the time, you’re there for the ambiance to experience it. It’s the experience. Not only the food but also the experience of the restaurant. I capitalized on that right away.
I would walk up to every table. I’d go up and I’d count them. Let’s say you, Taylor and your whole family are there. I would count them. I wouldn’t say a word and they would see me counting. I would go like, “1, 2, 3, 6 tequila shots coming right up.” They would laugh, then 1 out of 5 tables would say, “Do that. Get six, go ahead. It’s on us.” My check would go up higher. I will get a $50 tip right there because of the tequila.
Erik, what do you feel are your core competencies? What makes you so unique? What do you do better than everybody else?
It’s a tough answer to a tough question because I don’t believe that I’m that unique from everyone else. That’s the reason why it’s a tough question. All of us have it in us. We’re just not finding it. There’s a book years ago, I read called the Passion Test. I believe we all need to look at what our passions, core competencies and attributes are. That’s where I use the 30 List. Thirty reasons why someone should work with you or surround themselves with you.
Why 30? That seems quite extensive.
I’ll tell you why 30 because it’s easy to do 5 to 10. You can write down on a blank piece of paper 5 to 10 reasons why someone should work with you. You can name five attributes that you bring to the table when I call you up, which I’ve done. How many times have I done this? I text you and I say, “Michelle, I want to introduce you to somebody? Are you cool with that?” You’re like, “Of course,” and I connect the dots. What are the five reasons why I should introduce you to that individual? First, you need to figure out who that individual is. I said, “It’s someone from Shark Tank.” You’d go, “We’ll let them know these five things very quick,” and you got those. The next 5, 10 or 20 are going to be a little tougher. Where do you get those? I’m not asking for 60 or 90. That’s literally getting a book and writing a book about yourself. Don’t do that.
Have a 30 List and the first 5 to 10 are a bit easy but then work with those other ones. How do you find those other ones? Here’s the key. You ask your existing clients, past clients, friends or family, be careful with friends and family because some of our friends and family don’t even know what the heck we do. Ask those people you trust and say, “Could you give me 2 or 3 things that you believe I’m great at? I’m compiling a cheerleader list for myself.” It’s fantastic. I’m going to ask you. What are three things you love? I’m on your show right here. You reached out and put me on your show. Why is that? What are the three things that you believe in Erik Swanson, Mr. Awesome? Why do you trust the fact that I would do such a great job with you?
I think first and foremost is your energy. You’re contagious.
I’m contagious, not going to say that in a pandemic.
Energy contagious. You got amazing energy and you’re always so positive. You’re great at networking. You always know how to connect the dots and who to introduce who to. I think those are the reasons. We’re all contagious.
I remember we shared some moments with Frank. It’s who you surround yourself with. I have a saying that this is what I live by. NDSO, which stands for No Drama, Serve Others. It’s all about serving others.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if everybody adopted that philosophy? We have a lot less fights.
It’s easy to do.
Let’s talk about your daily habits because you’re all about habits. Tell me about your daily habits other than giving yourself a high five.
I’ll give you a few of them really quick. Do you like the frog in the room? Do you know why there’s a frog in the room?
Why is there a frog in the room?
It’s because Brian Tracy, being the mentor that he is and an amazing gentleman, wrote a book called Eat That Frog. It’s always a constant reminder to eat that frog. That means do the hardest things first. The rest will go down easier.
That’s what I’ve always said and taught my team. Do the biggest and hardest things first, then everything else is a piece of cake.
That’s true. I’ll give you an example. If you see some of my books like Sales Habitude. It’s all about habits and attitude for salespeople. That took me about a year and a half to two years to write. The next one was Social Millions, which took me less than a year to write, then Crush and Dominate, which took me about three months to write it. It gets easier, doesn’t it? It’s amazing how the concepts flow and you’re in this flow state. Quick habits that I do every day. One is I write.
Do you write every day? At what time? Do you have a set time?
A little bit of every day, 30 minutes.
Do you have a set time that you get up and write or is it whenever you can get to it?
I do it in the morning, but I will extend it to about a 2:00 to 3:00 time period because it’s nice, serene and quiet during that time for me. That’s number one. Anyway, I’d write every day.
Are you writing every day for a new book or something else? What are you writing every day for?
I’m writing every day to include in my future books but not for a specific book. I learned this from Brian Tracy. Brian, don’t get mad at me for saying this. If you go to any bookstore, anywhere and get a Brian Tracy book, which I highly recommend you do if you don’t have one yet, what happens is you’ll open up focal point, maximum achievement, or accelerated learning techniques. I have a whole stack of Brian’s books in front of me over here in this library. I have the Sharon Lechter library right here in front of me.
Where’s the Seiler Tucker library?
I’ve got your books scattered everywhere. Brian Tracy has this unique way of writing concepts. What he does is he logs them in certain folders on his computer. He has a team that writes the books with him or helps him write the books, not write it for him and the topic. Let’s say, this book is on time management. He’ll pull anything that has to do with time management and those strategies he’s written over the year. He’ll edit that book, and there’s another book. If you read a lot of his books, you’ll see similarities in the concepts but it all gears towards that genre for that book. It’s cool. I write every day. I also do what I call the what-the-heck calls. Three of them and it looks like this.
You pick up your phone, either your iPhone or your other silly phone that everyone else uses. What you do is you do the what-the-heck call. I’ll look through my speed dial and I’ll say, “What the heck, I’ll call Michelle,” and say, “Michelle, what’s going on?” You know that. You get random texts from me every now and then. That’s the what-the-heck calls. I’ll say, “I was thinking about you.” I did this with Larry Wilcox, Jon from CHiPS. I connected the dots with him and somebody else in regard to this water purification company that they are now maybe partnering up with.
It’s cool stuff. The what-the-heck calls get you in front of it. It’s almost like what Brian and Tony used to talk about, which is called TOMA. TOMA stands for Top Of Mind Awareness. The what-the-heck calls simply get me to the top of the list on their mindset to say, “I’m going to this event. Erik would be perfect for this. Let me ask him what his speaker fee is.” It’s an easy thing to do, but the what-the-heck calls are fantastic to do.
How many of those do you do?
Success Mindset: It’s not just the attitude of the owner or the CEO or the founder or the team leader. It’s really the culture that you’re developing through the team.
Three a day and they seem to work. I’ll tell you what happens. I’m positive you’re exactly the same way. I’ve heard this countless times. Do you know the EF Hutton line years ago? “When Erik Swanson calls, people answer and I’m serious.” I’ve heard that so many times. Our dear friend, Frank Shankwitz, used to say this all the time. He’s like, “I’ve got to drop it. Erik is calling. What’s going on?” He always answers because he knows I got something cool to talk about.
He used to say it when I call him too. He says, “Michelle, you don’t call me very often, but when you do, I know it’s going to be important.”
What the what-the-heck calls do for you is it allows the receiver to not just think that it’s a specific timeline.
It can be text, too. It doesn’t have to be phone calls.
It can be a voice text. It’s great.
Do you have your top 5, 10 or 15 new connections you want to make every single month? Do you do a list like that?
I call it The elephant list. I write about it in the book, Crush and Dominate: 13 Strategies to Piss Off Your Competitors. I read it about there and what I do is I write down a list. It’s literally what’s called an elephant list. I write down ten names that I want to connect with over the next six months. It’s six degrees of separation. It’s a true degree of separation. I put Oprah on the list one time, and I met and shared the stage with Stedman Graham. I’m like, “I’ve got one degree of separation now. I’m getting closer.”
Have you met her? I met Stedman Graham too. I spoke on stage with him.
Stedman is a dear friend.
I haven’t met Oprah yet. Have you?
I have not yet but we will. Let’s put it in the universe. I’ll tell you what, once I get the call from Oprah, I’ll do the what-the-heck call and call you at the same time, so you’ll be on the phone with us. The list is called the elephant list. I literally write down on a piece of paper ten names I want to surround myself with over the next six months that are influential people that I don’t know yet. I did that with Joe Dispenza. I’ve heard tons of great things about him and now I’m sharing a stage with him. It works in the universe.
What percentage of success do you have on that ten? If you have the top ten, do you connect with 5 or 3 of them, on average?
80% to 90%.
I think this concept from Brian Tracy because I’m a very good learner. Many years ago, I took this concept from Brian. Let’s say here’s a list of goals and he’ll say, “Write down ten goals that you want to accomplish over the next twelve months. Take it and put it somewhere. Put it in inside a book or something and put it back wherever.” About 2 or 3 years later, when you’re moving to another place or you’re doing some redecorating, you’ll look at that and you’ll start check-marking all of them.
It’s like the vision board.
It’s a mental goal list. Eight to ten of these I will accomplish. It’s the same thing with Brian. I took that concept and I put it towards meeting people, what I call the elephant list. Here’s the secret though. You put it on the front of the page, then at the back of this, what you do is you put what I call the donkey list. This is the cool part. On the front, you have the elephant list of who you want to meet. These are the people I’m interviewing, but who do you want to meet over the next six months, and then on the back, you put ten people that you should not be surrounding yourself with that are taking up so much of your time.
Do the hardest things first, the rest will go down easy.
Don’t you have anybody on the back of your list?
This isn’t the real list. I have a list. This is only an example I was using for you. You have that donkey list who are the people that’s taking up so much of your time. How many people want to pick your brain? One of my websites is PickTheBrain.com. They go to it and they see an invoice for me. Stop allowing yourself to get rid of your presence. I heard one time from one of the master members of my mastermind. She says, “Your presence should be a premium.” I love that.
Be careful of surrounding yourself with these people. They’re not bottom feeders, but they’re people who want to bring you down. My answer to them is, “I wish I could hang out with you but I’m busy. I have an appointment.” People ask me, “What if you don’t have an appointment?” My answer is, “You always have an appointment. Who’s your appointment with? Yourself.” It’s easy.
What you’re saying is it’s 10% skills and 90% attitude. How do you think attitude contributes to success for entrepreneurs and business owners? In my opinion, It’s everything. I always say, “You’ll never grow the business beyond what you can grow the owner.”
I’ll take it one step further. It’s not only the attitude of the owner, CEO, founder or team leader. It’s the culture that you’re developing through the team. I’ve learned that the hard way. I’ll publicly say it right now. No names, of course. It’s amazing how sometimes a positive industry can sometimes or a lot of times be negative out there. There is some cutthroat information from people out there. What I do is surround myself with the right people who are there to serve. On one of my vehicles, I literally have this as one of my license plates, No Drama, Serve Others because it’s all about that. It’s all a reminder. I was in somewhat of a rat race of my own.
I want to share something also. I noticed over here you’ll see the red velvet ropes. I have this in my peripheral mindset in my view. I also have things in front of me in my view that make a big difference in your life. I do videos, podcasts, interviews and summits. I’ll share an example. I have something in front of me. It’s me. It’s a flyer that my team passes out while I’m on stage. It’s simply all my books or part of my books or whatever. You have this in front of you. I learned this from a great friend of mine, Marie Diamond from The Secret. She talks about Feng Shui and which direction you’re facing. The real trick or technique is to make sure you’re facing yourself to give yourself accolades of awesomeness. You’ve got to pump yourself up.
A lot of us have teams, yet we’re alone a lot of the time. You’ve got to pump yourself up in certain ways. Getting back to what I was saying before, which is attitude. Attitudes play a huge part. A lot of us work with people who have attitude. I was in a rat race of my own because I placed myself, I put myself, and I designed this probably by accident that I was the racehorse, meaning I worked with Brian. Brian was a racehorse, then I moved up to that racehorse position in my company, and then everyone around me, what they were doing is they were promoting me in all the different places in the cities, in the US, internationally as well, in Canada and so forth. If I didn’t show up, they didn’t make money.
I was in a certain position where I was doing myself harm rather than helping the situation. We had a pandemic. The pandemic revamped a lot of our culture. My culture changed right away. I said, “No more negativity,” because they weren’t interested in me. They were interested in their pocketbook and that was it. They knew they had a Maserati and a Ferrari in their hands, and that’s fine. I’m happy that I made them millions of dollars. At this point, I’m going to surround myself with the team members that are growing for the right reasons. Still making big money but they will learn what I’m doing so they can emulate that as well. I’m not the only racehorse because if the racehorse is sick or has a bad ankle one day. What happens? Production goes down.
That’s what we always talk about on Exit Rich. It’s how to build the business to run without you. When you have a business, the problem in the business is you. I’m sure you’re looking at that going forward saying, “How do I build this empire like Tony Robbins had to do an ESOP to sell to his employees?” T. Harv Eker, a millionaire mindset started Peak Potentials. What is Erik Swanson doing so he can exit rich when he’s ready?
I’ve already done it. That’s a good point. My day now consists of 90 minutes a week or every week being on these guys. My team does all the rest of the stuff. We have over 100 mastermind members now. Everything is in the works and it’s amazing.
What are you doing the rest of your time?
I literally have shorts on.
You can be like David Corbin and say, “I’m not wearing any.”
This is a San Diego suit. You wear your watch and shirt, and you’re good to go. Bless these people’s hearts like our buddy Bill Walsh. You and I know Bill Walsh very well. He’s a great buddy of mine. Do you know what his schedule is? It’s crazy. He’s in two cities every day. Not one but two.
He’s even got a family.
He’s got kids and family and so forth. What I do is as soon as we’re done, I’m off to play with my dog, go down to the beach, and hang out. Do a little bit of writing and help the team. My goal these days is to help the team grow so that they become the number one bestselling authors and award-winning speakers, and they can grow the business. The masterminds are amazing because now we have global speakers and we have Habitude Warrior. I’d like to invite you to be on our Global Speaker’s Mastermind. I’d love to interview you. We have about a year and a half. You’re going to hate me, but I kid you not. April 2022 is our next availability, so if you’d like that spot, let me know.
Let’s get all of our audience to email Erik and petition to get me to speak sooner than April 2022. Sign me up for April. I think it’s a good way for entrepreneurs, business owners to step outside their comfort zone and start their own mastermind within their organization, industry and community. Would you agree?
The 13 Steps to Riches – Habitude Warrior Volume 1: DESIRE with Denis Waitley
Absolutely. In fact, to your audience, if they want to, go to DecideToBeAwesome.com and seek this out. What we’re doing is we have something called Coach-To-Coach Global. It’s a program where we teach the entrepreneur or the person that says, “I’m sick of the rat race. I’m sick of driving everywhere and going there to see them. I want them to come to see me. I want to be here an hour a week or an hour and a half.” I have a new theory. It’s called the 90-Minute Theory. What I’m doing now is everything. Anything and everything should be 90 minutes or less. Anything that I do, 90 minutes or less. If I’m going to dinner or a bike ride, 90 minutes or less.
Why 90 minutes or less?
It’s a great sweet spot for me.
For a day, 90 minutes or less?
Yes, that’s good, so you’ve got to get another one. I’m covered because if the date goes well and it goes into a different room, 90 minutes is still fine. How long are weddings? 90 minutes. How long are funeral services? 90 minutes roughly. Your speech should not be more than 90 minutes. How long is this show? Probably an hour, but if you have a Q&A at the end. That’s what we do for our masterminds, it’s 90 minutes. It’s a very good sweet spot. I’m getting back to your question. I was mentioning that we have something called Coach-To-Coach Global. Masterminds are the way to go. It’s awesome.
Anybody can do it.
You pick your niche and figure out what you want to focus on and what you want to share with the audience. You don’t have to be all crazy like I am. You can be awesome in your own way, whatever that is. I was talking to my friend, Laura, and she keeps on asking me like, “How are you doing? What’s going on?” She always checks in on everybody on Bill, on you, on Sharon, on me. She wants to see what’s going on in the playing field of what we do. I keep on telling her, I said, “Everything is awesome. What are you talking about?” She’s like, “How do you feel this is happening?” The last question she asked me was, “Do you feel like you’re going to get out? Are you sick of pandemic and being in the Zoom land?” I said, “No, all I want to do is Zoom, Zoom.com.” I swear I have that.
I have 217 URLs directed to three websites. My point is this, I told her straight out, I said, “Do I want to get out there and do events like our Habitude Warrior Conferences?” Three-day conference, 33 speakers. You are on it. You’re an alumnus. Yes, I want to do this. They’re fun. They’re great. Do I have to? Absolutely not. I don’t have to do anything else anymore. All I have to do is build other people’s businesses by helping them through the content that I’ve already learned for many years. That means Coach-To-Coach Global, teach them that way or have them join our masterminds.
What is your secret sauce in building businesses? I know mine. What is yours?
Mine is just being there, being present and literally diving deep with that individual, but also finding out what their end result is. Find out what your team player’s goal strategy is. What’s their end result? What’s the reward that you can set up for them? I bought a bunch of these guys. I don’t even know what these are. I don’t know how to use them, but they’re the new Apple headset, and it’s this brand-new cool thing. I don’t even know how to use it but I got those so that I could do some contests for the team so that they get excited about stuff. It’s all about getting the elevation of attitude up.
Awesome Swanson, any last-minute thoughts for our audience?
Go to Decide To Be Awesome and join our mastermind.
What does Awesome Swanson want on his tombstone?
I don’t want to. I’d rather live.
Yes, but when you do, what do you want to be known for? What do you want people to remember you for?
It’s going to be tough. It’s going to be a long tombstone.
We don’t have that much time.
It’s going to be a long tombstone. That’s all I’m saying.
It’s going to be a 6’2″ tombstone.
Obviously, that way but the tombstone is going to go up to heaven. There’s a reason why it’s going to say, “Erik Swanson mentored,” and it will be all these people that I mentored through their lives. That’s what I want. I want them all to come over and high-five the tombstone. That’s a good idea, Michelle. I’m going to have an imprint of my hand. It’ll be in the cement of the tombstone. You can come up and high-five my tombstone. Do you know how many people do not have that? The world. Nobody has that. That’s hilarious.
I realized that somebody might go out and get it.
Don’t do it or don’t get buried near me.
Any last-minute thoughts? Any words of wisdom or golden nuggets?
Be you. Decided to be awesome. Go there. Join our tribe.
Tell everybody about your latest book, 13 Steps to Riches.
It is based on the Think and Grow Rich principles. I called my friend Don Green, who’s the President of Napoleon Hill Foundation. I said, “I’ve got this great idea.” He’s like, “Do it. It’s a great idea.” I came up with the principle of 13 Steps to Riches which is literally what’s written in Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. What I did is it’s a full-fledged book of amazingness. I have 33 authors in there and thirteen celebrity authors in a thirteen-book series. This is volume one with Dr. Dennis Waitley. He wrote his chapter in this particular book with the other 33 of us. The next books that are coming out are every two months. We have another book. You have all these different individuals that are cool, New York Times Bestselling friends of mine who are awesome.
Stop allowing yourself to get rid of your own presence.
This is a thirteen-book project or marketing strategy if you think about it. It’s marketing for who? It’s for all of the authors that are in here. We come out with this book every two months. This came out July 15th, 2021. The next one is on September 15th, 2021. The next one is on November 15th, 2021 and so on for two years. I’m doing the same concept with 13 Steps, but it’s going to be based on David and Goliath. We are excited about that and we sell this app. It’s pay-to-play to be in it for the 33 authors. Of course, the celebrities don’t but it’s sold out in eight days for this one.
Thank you, Awesome Swanson, for being on the show. Thanks to all of our Exit Rich Show followers. Make sure you subscribe and share. Share with your friends and with everybody else that wants to be awesome. Thanks, everyone. Thanks, Erik, for being awesome.
It’s my pleasure. Thank you very much, Michelle. Thanks for spending the time and keep on being awesome.
Erik “Awesome” Swanson
A Dose of Awesome – YouTube
Brian Tracy International Program
Buddy Schilling
Passion Test
Eat That Frog
Sales Habitude
Social Millions
Crush and Dominate
PickTheBrain.com
Marie Diamond
Zoom.com
13 Steps to Riches
DecideToBeAwesome.com
About Erik Swanson
As an award-winning International Keynote Speaker, 10 Time #1 National Best- Selling Author in 5 different categories of success, Erik “Mr Awesome” Swanson is in great demand around the world! Speaking on average to more than one million people per year, and honored to be invited to speak to Business and Entrepreneurial school of Harvard University as well as joining the Ted Talk Family with his latest Tedx speech called “A Dose of Awesome.”
You can easily find Erik sharing stages with some of the most talented and famous speakers of the world, such as Brian Tracy, Nasa’s Performance Coach Dr. Denis Waitley, from the book & movie ‘The Secret,’ Bob Proctor, Jack Canfield, John Assaraf, Millionaire Maker Loral Langemeier, Co-Author of ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’, Outwitting the Devil, Three Feet from Gold, and Exit Rich, Sharon Lechter, Legendary Motivator Les Brown, among many others!
Mr. Swanson has created and developed the super popular Habitude Warrior Conference which has a 2-year waiting list and includes 33 top named speakers, all in a ‘Ted Talk’ style event that has quickly climbed as one of the top 10 events not to miss in the United States! Erik’s motto is clear: “NDSO!” No Drama – Serve Others! He has also created his Habitude Warrior Special Edition Book Series called 13 Steps to Riches which includes 13 powerhouse, famous celebrity authors as well as 33 up-and-coming bestselling authors and leaders. @HabitudeWarrior
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Illiteracy at the New York Times
December 22, 2019 /10 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Colin McGinn
Today I read this sentence in the book review section of the New York Times: “An interesting , sciencey explanation of the Y chromosome in all it’s vagary and confusion, and the strange trip through the behaviors of the life span of the males of many species.” This is from Mark Morris in By the Book. It is semi-literate in several ways, including not being a complete sentence, but what caught my eye was the grammatical error of using “it’s” instead of “its”. I assume Mr. Morris initiated the error, but think of how many pairs of editorial eyes failed to detect and correct it! And this is the book review section of the New York Times! Is there really no hope for civilization? I would fire the people responsible. Are they trying to promote illiteracy? I felt more despair at this than the many other outrages I have seen recently in this country.
0 0 Colin McGinn Colin McGinn2019-12-22 17:54:422019-12-22 17:54:42Illiteracy at the New York Times
Intelligibility
December 14, 2019 /7 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Colin McGinn
The concept of intelligibility is often used by philosophers but not often analyzed. The OED gives this simple definition of “intelligible”: “able to be understood”, but it follows that up with a definition proper to philosophy: “able to be understood only by the intellect”. The intellect is the faculty that makes things intelligible; without it nothing would be. Clearly, intelligibility is a relational concept: something (we are not told what) is intelligible only if it is understood (possibly potentially) by someone, or by someone’s intellect. Logically, the concept is like being perceivable or knowable: a non-mental entity is said to be perceivable or knowable or intelligible in relation to a mind equipped with certain cognitive powers. We might paraphrase the dictionary definition by saying that something is intelligible if and only if it is graspable by the intellect (not by the senses or the faculty of knowing): it is intellectual apprehension. But what is that exactly? One tradition has it that intellectual apprehension belongs to the domain of the a priori—mathematics, logic, the forms, maybe philosophy itself. But it would be wrong to limit the concept to these areas, since the empirical world can be intelligible too, i.e. understood by the intellect. This is a special kind of cognition, distinct from perception and knowledge—superior, deeper, more penetrating. In it the world is made peculiarly transparent to the mind, not in a blur or superficially or inadequately. It is, we might say, an elevated type of insight, not to be identified with simply knowing brute facts.
What would count as paradigm instances of the intelligible? Mathematics is the standard example, both pure and applied. Numbers and geometric figures are inherently intelligible, but so is their application to the world: when we describe the world mathematically we make it intelligible, because we make it graspable by the intellect. Mathematical laws are the central examples. This doesn’t mean that everything in physics is intelligible, but the common assumption is that physics is our best hope of rendering the world intelligible–and mathematics is central to physics. However, there is another area of intelligibility that should be mentioned—belief-desire psychology. We make actions intelligible by relating them to beliefs and desires: actions are intelligible in the light of the beliefs and desires that lead to them. We render the action rational by describing it in this way, and hence we understand it; there is nothing brute or opaque about it. Just as with mathematics, there is a whiff of the a priori: the idea of rationality as a normative domain is invoked–hence the practical syllogism.[1] In both cases an ideal structure is brought to bear on concrete reality, thereby rendering it intelligible. This is not something we detect with our senses; we apply it, by means of the intellect, to the things we perceive. We render the world intelligible rather than see it to be so.[2]
I am inclined to suppose that these are the only cases of intelligibility in the natural world. Mere perceptual knowledge is never by itself intelligible knowledge; nor is causal knowledge, since it merely tells us what causes what, not what abstract principles underlie the causal connections. Physics might tell us that gravity causes motion, but without a mathematical law this does not render nature intelligible. Animals can have perceptual and causal knowledge, but they don’t have intelligible knowledge of the kind delivered by mathematical physics. Cartesian mechanism was supposed to make the physical world intelligible and it was a quantitative account of matter and motion. The case of biology is interesting: it is not generally thought of as having an a priori component, but it is supposed to provide understanding of the biological world. Does Darwin’s theory make evolution intelligible? It has a mathematical side because it uses the notion of frequency—advantageous traits lead to greater frequency in the population than disadvantageous ones. And we can quantify many aspects of animal behavior and genetic propagation. But there is also the teleological notion of function, which brings biology close to psychology: the heart beats as it does because that is its function (compare: a person beats a drum because he desires to). It is as if bodily organs desire to do what it is their function to do. Moreover, the standard way of understanding natural selection is analogous to intentional selection by agents—nature selects certain organisms to survive as selective breeders do. So biology falls under teleological conceptions and hence inherits the intelligibility that belongs to such conceptions (it is the same for theories that attribute evolution to God’s design). Thus biology is not a clear counterexample to the thesis that mathematics and teleology are the sole types of intelligibility. Merely knowing that clouds cause rain does not render the cloud-rain nexus intelligible: we must either treat it mathematically or conceive it teleologically to do that. In fact, the mathematical method works in this case because we can describe clouds as aggregates of water droplets subject to mathematically describable forces—rain thereby becomes intelligible.
Are these two modes of intelligibility unrelated? They certainly seem so at first glance: mathematics is one thing, psychology another. But perhaps there are some significant commonalities or areas of overlap. Psychology has its quantitative aspects, both scientific and common sense; in particular, we have the ideas of strength of desire and degree of belief. These are formalized in decision theory, a mathematical theory; so ordinary psychological understanding is capable of mathematical formulation in addition to being teleological. There is also a good deal of mathematics in the psychology of perception and elsewhere. We thus have a kind of double intelligibility in psychology, though the mathematical component is not as salient as it is in physics. In the case of mathematics itself, we can ask whether it has any teleological dimension, any built-in purpose. Formalists might say so, relying on the notion that mathematics reduces to symbolism and symbolism has a purpose; an instrumentalist view of mathematics would then be indicated. The same can be said for intuitionism: mathematics is a mental construction and that construction has a purpose—it is a kind of mental artifact that we employ in certain ways. Mathematics has a purpose and our application of it to the empirical world is the fulfillment of that purpose. Platonism, however, seems to banish purpose from mathematics, viewing it as a non-human objective realm of reality that pre-dates human existence. But that is not so clear on reflection: for there is an uncanny fit between mathematics as an abstract inquiry and the nature of empirical reality. For example, numbers are remarkably useful for counting objects, and geometry seems tailor made for describing objects in space. Is this just a happy accident? One could swear that mathematics was designed so as to be applied in these ways. Yet, according to Platonism, mathematical reality follows its own internal rules and was not constructed by human minds in any way. Its usefulness is therefore entirely contingent, extrinsic to its inner nature. Thus Platonism pulls away from the idea that mathematics has a purpose that is realized in its applications.
Here an ingenious theist may spot his chance: God designed mathematics to be both an objective abstract structure and imbued with purpose! His relation to mathematics is like our relation to our machines: both are objective constituents of reality but both are also purposive. Mathematics is objective-cum-functional.[3] So even Platonism may be understood (at a stretch) to incorporate a teleological dimension, though obscurely so; in which case, it shares something with psychology. The two are not then completely separate conceptually, though it would obviously be wrong to reduce one to the other. If so, we have a more unified or integrated theory of intelligibility than we might have hoped for: our two paradigm cases turn out to have more in common than appears at first sight. We might even speak of the “teleological-mathematical” as the cornerstone of intelligibility: this joint conceptual structure is the key to making nature intelligible to ourselves—transparent to the intellect. Where it applies we have intelligibility–otherwise we don’t.
And what about unintelligibility? What are the paradigm cases of that? Nonsense is surely at the top of the list—garbled speech, ungrammatical sentences, and rampant non sequitur. Here we can make no sense of what we hear: the words don’t add up to a semantically coherent whole. The purpose of words is to join with other words according to rules to produce meaningful sentences, but in nonsense speech this purpose breaks down. The combinatorial power of grammar, itself a type of computational structure, fails to apply to nonsensical products. There is an absence of both fulfilled purpose and mathematical order: it is like saying, “Zero plus addition over prime number equals infinity”—mathematical nonsense. In nonsense abstract form and purpose fail to apply. And the same is true of actions in general: a person’s actions are said to be unintelligible when we can discern no purpose in them, when even the abstract structure belief and desire fails to apply. We also find unintelligibility in science—quantum theory being the prime example. The idea of God playing dice with the universe is an expression of teleological chaos at the root of things—what could God’s purpose be in playing cosmic dice? We feel we cannot make sense of things if no agency could ever act as reality is thought to demand. In the case of the mysteries of mind we also use the notion of unintelligibility—for example, the nexus of consciousness and the brain is said to be unintelligible. Here again we have no coherent mathematics to apply and it is difficult to see how the brain can fulfill the purpose of producing consciousness. If we could see how an agent could build a brain so as to mathematically guarantee that consciousness would be the result, then we would regard the psychophysical nexus as intelligible; but we lack any such understanding, so we declare the connection unintelligible, at least for now. Thus the scaffolding of intelligibility applies in some areas but not in all, more or less dramatically. We can bring it to bear in some cases but not in every case. It is the idea (and ideal) of making intellectual sense—conformity to the paradigms of mathematics and commonsense psychology being the model.
We try to extend the paradigms into various corners of the world; sometimes we succeed, sometimes not. If we lacked these conceptual structures, nothing would be intelligible to us—we would at best have perceptual and causal knowledge (as we may presume is the state of animal cognition). The special type of comprehension that we call intellectual understanding is constituted by these two types of thinking—the mathematical and the teleological. They afford us a kind of transparency and order not available otherwise. And notice that they are not perceptually based: we don’t see the world as mathematically or teleologically ordered; we bring these notions tothe given, rather than deriving them from it. They are not licensed by strict empiricism. There is something projective at work here—imposed, self-generated. We make the world intelligible; we don’t find it to be so—except in the sense that we discover that things turn out that way. We apply our intellect to empirical reality and thereby render it intelligible; we don’t have impressions of intelligibility as we have impressions of color and shape. Intelligibility is not a sense datum.
Some strains of thought have it that the world is actually not intelligible at all, not as an objective trait of reality. Instead we force it into an appearance of intelligibility by imposing our own minds on it. Thus nothing is inherently teleological or mathematical: there is no purpose in psychology and the physical world is not a mathematical structure. Ideally, we should banish both ways of thinking from psychology and physics: no goals and no numbers. One need not agree with this point of view to appreciate its motivation: goals and numbers are not part of the given but a conceptual apparatus that we bring to bear in order to organize the facts. They are how weunderstand things not how things are in themselves (phenomenal not noumenal). Thus we cannot really make sense of the world, only our apprehension of it; in itself the world is without sense, not subject to intellectual comprehension at all. It is all, as the saying goes, just one damn thing after another, without rhyme or reason. To say that the world is intelligible can only mean that we can apply the apparatus of mathematics and teleology to it in order to organize our knowledge, but it is quite indifferent to these invocations. This is certainly an intelligible position to take on intelligibility, to be set beside the more realist position that goals and numbers are part of the fabric of objective reality. I won’t attempt to decide the issue, though I incline to the realist view.[4]
[1] The same is true of exercises of theoretical reasoning, i.e. acquiring beliefs by rational processes: here we use logic, a normative discipline, as a means of rendering belief formation intelligible. It is like applying mathematics to empirical reality.
[2] It is sometimes supposed that the touchstone of intelligibility is conformity to commonsense categories and principles, as with the idea that causation works only by physical contact. But conformity to common sense is neither necessary nor sufficient for intelligibility: much of physics is not part of common sense but quite intelligible (the same is true of pure mathematics), and some commonsense categories are not intelligible (at least presently)—such as consciousness and free action, arguably. Moreover, common sense has little to do with specifically intellectual knowledge as opposed to practical knowledge.
[3] We can compare mathematics with morality in this respect: moral realism can be combined with a functional view of morality. Its truths are not dependent on the human mind, but they fit human life remarkably well, as if designed to do so. Morality is not irrelevant to human life, even if its basis is extra-human. Indeed, we need to be able to combine both moral realism and moral relevance in order to give a satisfactory account of morality, as we also do in the case of mathematics.
[4] I have not discussed the extremely controversial question of whether philosophy itself renders the world intelligible. The question turns on the nature of philosophy and the form of its findings. Let me just remark that concepts have a purpose and that the notion of a calculus of concepts is not to be rejected out of hand. On the other hand, philosophy is the domain of mystery par excellence.
0 0 Colin McGinn Colin McGinn2019-12-14 14:28:242019-12-14 14:28:24Intelligibility
Our Unified Universe
Imagine a universe in which mind, matter and mathematics all exist but stand in no interesting relation with each other. Minds don’t know any mathematics, mathematics has no application to matter (or mind), and mind and matter have no causal interaction or even correlation with each other. The three merely coexist in this universe as separate realms with no connection. It is not a unified universe but simply a three-element universe—a mere list not an organic whole. The parts don’t interlock and function together but merely exist alongside each other. In particular, the minds in this universe don’t understand mathematics and apply it to reality; mathematics simply exists abstractly, not even being true of the rest of the universe. Think of it as an ontological trinity without connecting relations: each realm has a robust existence but they are totally cut off from each other. They are a Many that does not correspond to a One (except the set consisting of all three). It would be hard to think of any design to this universe; it seems gratuitous, random, and pointless—just three types of being idly sitting beside each other (and not even that, because “beside” expresses a spatial relation). They are non-communicating cohabitants not collaborating members of a team. They leave each other completely alone in splendid isolation. If a super-being had created this universe, you would wonder what its purpose was—a cosmic storeroom perhaps? Each component has its own reality and set of truths, but there is no inter-category impingement and hence no higher unity.
Our universe is not like this; indeed, the universe described is the negation of ours. We have the same set of basic categories, but our categories interact in substantial and meaningful ways. Our minds do grasp mathematics, mathematics does apply to the world, and mind and matter interact in manifold ways.[1] We can picture our universe as a triangle with mathematics at the apex and mind and matter at the two base angles. A line connects mind to mathematics with an arrow pointing upwards (this is understanding mathematics); the opposite line connects mathematics to matter with an arrow pointing downwards (this is mathematics applying to the world); and the two base angles are connected by arrows pointing both ways representing causal interaction. This last involves perception of matter by mind, dependence of mind on brain, and possibly the origin of mind in matter. In virtue of these relations the three-part structure functions in a certain way: mind and matter enjoy causal commerce and are deeply connected, while mind uses mathematics to describe and explain the world by exploiting the fact that mathematics applies to the world. It might be said that matter causes mind, which understands mathematics, which applies to matter. Mathematics is not cut off from mind and matter at all, as in the previous universe, and mind and matter are closely intertwined. This is not mere cohabitation but close collaboration.
None of the relations I have described is philosophically unproblematic; in fact, they constitute some of the deepest problems of philosophy. How does the mind come to grasp and know mathematical truth, especially given a Platonist understanding of it? This can’t be a causal relation, but then how does the mind make the connection? Similarly, why is mathematics applicable to the world? If mathematical truth concerns an autonomous abstract world, why is there an uncanny fit between it and empirical reality? How is mathematical physics even possible? And the mind-body problem is too well known to need exposition: how does psychophysical interaction occur? Is the mind the same as the body or separate from it? Nevertheless, these relations evidently exist, puzzling and mysterious as they are.[2] They lead to a variety of familiar theories: materialism declares all three realms to be variations on matter, so that all the inter-category relations reduce to physical relations; idealism makes all three mental, thus eliminating ontological gulfs (matter and numbers being mental constructions); and dualism (or pluralism) affirms the reality of all three and lives with the accompanying mysteries, maybe invoking divine assistance (pre-established harmony and so on). These problems don’t arise for the list-like universe, because the problematic relations don’t even obtain there; but that is not our universe. Our universe consists of interlocking parts in which ontological chasms are routinely crossed: we do know mathematics, mathematics applies to extra-mathematical reality, and mind and matter are on intimate terms. Our universe is structured by these relations: psychophysical causation, mathematical knowledge, mathematical application. The first relation has received much attention, but the other two should not be neglected.
I submit that our universe qualifies as an organic unity, unlike the unstructured universe. I don’t mean that it is literally a living thing, only that it works as a unified whole (as a machine does): it has parts that work together.[3] One might venture to suggest that mathematics exists in order to be known and applied to the empirical world, while mind owes its efficacy (and maybe its existence) to the material world. In the other universe each category is irrelevant to its companions, but in our universe each category feeds off the others in a kind of cosmic dance (we might picture mathematics as being rather pleased that it is known by minds and applicable to matter). Our universe is unified, a One that encompasses a Many. It is not a mere random set but a functioning totality. An animal body consists of an interacting assemblage of organs not merely a collection of them, so that it constitutes a higher unity; the universe is similar in that its parts do not sit idly by content with their own internal reality but feed into each other to produce results not obtainable otherwise. Physics is one such result, as is science generally (psychology too has its mathematical side). Material civilization is another. These are not possible in the list-like universe, because the requisite relations don’t obtain. This universe seems logically possible, but it is a far cry from our universe with its rich internal structure. If it had been designed by a super-being, one could see the point: the whole arrangement was set up to exploit the relations between the different parts, not as a mere exercise in ontological fecundity. If you wanted to produce beings like us, such a universe would be necessary—not the universe in which disunity reigns. We are psychophysical beings who know and apply mathematics, but this human nature requires the existence of the relations I have been harping on.[4] The mental beings in the alternative universe would have a very different nature, having no commerce with matter and no inkling of the mathematical realm. They would be vastly inferior to us in both power and knowledge, knowing only their own mind and being incapable of shaping the material world (or being shaped by it). The architecture of our universe, by contrast, delivers real dividends and does not provoke the reaction “What is the point?” If you were a god with a strong interest in mathematics and science (but not much concerned with morality), this would be an interesting project to undertake–while the unstructured universe would seem an exercise in futility.
These reflections edge us in a theistic direction, but not of the traditional Judeo-Christian kind. The emissaries of the god who created our unified universe are not Jeremiah, John the Baptist and Jesus, but Euclid, Pythagoras and Plato. This god has little discernible interest in sin, suffering, and salvation, but it evidently has a strong interest in mathematical knowledge and its applications. Its proudest products are Cantor, Godel, Gauss, Newton, et al. It also apparently believes that the psychophysical nexus is the beating heart of things—seeing, acting, feeling—not disembodied contemplation and self-directed introspection. Thus this super-being (let’s not call it “God” or “a god”) created a universe in which these ideals could be realized: a world of embodied minds and knowable mathematical order. And who is to say that these are not worthwhile aims? So we might try to convert the considerations of this essay into an argument for the existence of such a being—only a designer like this can account for the organic structure present in our universe. The disparate parts had to be brought coherently together, which was no easy feat, and is not built into the very ideas of mind, matter and mathematics. On the evidence, this being is not keen to reveal its existence, being more like a scientist conducting experiments than a caring father figure interested in our moral condition (perhaps at this moment the being is saying to itself, “Rumbled at last!”). At any rate, there is a challenge here to explain why the universe in which we live isn’t of the unconnected variety—why it seems so well designed for knitting the separate parts together. There is nothing random or pointless about it. The parts fit harmoniously together, nicely enabling certain things not possible otherwise, such as science and civilization. Even morality finds a place, given the need for concrete moral action and the possibility of a utilitarian calculus (though no doubt our super-being prefers actual calculus). Pythagoras was the true prophet, though (temporarily?) eclipsed by religions of a more worldly and practical bent.
There are two ways to render the universe metaphysically unified. One is to claim that everything is made of the same stuff—hence materialism and idealism. The other is to claim that the various parts of the universe, whether of the same stuff or not, are interrelated in such a way that an organic whole is the outcome. It appears that our universe is of the latter kind, unlike other universes that may be conceived. Perhaps in the logical space of possible universes ours stands out for its organic unity, fortunately for us.[5]
[1] This isn’t to say that there are no areas of disconnect: we may not understand all of mathematics, some of it may have no application to the world, and mind and matter may harbor aspects that have no bearing on each other. So the links are partial not total; still they exist and are significant.
[2] As an exercise read Paul Benacerraf’s “Mathematical Truth” and Thomas Nagel’s “What is it Like to be a Bat?” in tandem—the structural parallels should stand out. The best conceptions of mind and mathematics leave their relation to the human organism deeply problematic.
[3] The OED gives this as its fourth definition of “organic”: “denoting a harmonious relationship between the elements of a whole”.
[4] There is a question about other animals—do they know mathematics too? You might be tempted to say no, but that would be rash: animals live in a mathematically describable world and must be sensitive to mathematical facts. Animals need to be aware of amounts, plurality, size, distance, speed, and so on in order to function successfully (consider migrating birds). True, they are not taught arithmetic at school, but their brains must be capable of elaborate calculations. So let’s not exclude them from the realm of the cognitively mathematical; there can be many ways of “knowing” mathematics.
[5] Do I need to point out that I am well aware that this is an essay in metaphysics of the most unapologetic, unabashed, and unrepentant kind? Yet doesn’t it possess a certain logical rigor?
0 0 Colin McGinn Colin McGinn2019-12-10 14:05:162019-12-10 14:05:16Our Unified Universe
Philosophical Events
There are many types of event: physical, chemical, astronomical, biological, psychological, social, economic, historical, cultural. Each type of event has its own science or field of study, so that disciplines are identified via types of event. In general, these disciplines describe, predict, and explain the events that form their subject matter. Naturally, this involves dealing with certain types of object in which the events participate—material bodies, molecules, stars, organisms, psychological subjects, social groups, economic institutions, historical figures, cultures. So the sciences all deal with characteristic types of events and their associated objects, as their names suggest. They are event-specific. But philosophy is not like this: it has no class of events to call its own. There are no philosophical events that form the subject matter of philosophy; the very phrase “philosophical event” is an oxymoron. What would it even be for an event to be philosophical? Of course, there are such events as philosophical conferences or philosophical publishing events (“It was a philosophical event when Philosophical Investigations was published in 1953”), but these are not what philosophy is about. It might be said that philosophy is about other kinds of event and object, those dealt with in the sciences—physical, psychological, biological, etc. It is about what other subjects are about, while having no subject matter to call its own. While physics, say, is about physical things, philosophy is not about philosophical things—a class of distinctively philosophical entities. It may postulate philosophical entities—platonic forms, immaterial spirits, Fregean truth-values, Meinongian subsistent beings—but it isn’t about a certain class of events and objects recognized to exist in the world. There are no specifically philosophical events whose nature it strives to discover.
To the cynical this may suggest a lack of legitimate subject matter—philosophy is about nothing![1] The sciences are about things we can point to and identify, but philosophy has the null subject matter—it is just hot air devoid of any real anchor. Not only does it make no progress; it has no object of investigation on which progress could be made. Indeed, that is why it makes no progress—it isn’t about anything. But this dismissive attitude is far too quick: for philosophy isn’t alone in lacking a specific ontology of events on which to work. There are no logical events or moral events or mathematical events either. Does that mean that logic, morality, and mathematics have no legitimate subject matter? Not a specific type of event, to be sure, but does that exhaust the possibilities? Logic is about logical relations, morality is about right and wrong, mathematics is about mathematical truth: it is just that these subject matters are not event-like. There is no such thing as a number turning even or a moral value coming into existence or a logical entailment being derailed. What these subjects are about is a controversial question, but we are not required to suppose that they must be about events or about nothing—maybe they are about structures or properties or concepts or facts. Events happen, but not everything real is a happening. Philosophy belongs with these subjects in being about no distinctive class of events, but that doesn’t prevent it from being about structures or properties or concepts or facts. In fact, I believe that philosophy is about logical reality, and logic is not directed at events either.[2]
A more positive response to the recognition that philosophy is not about philosophical events is that this provides a neat way to define the nature of philosophy. It belongs to that class of intellectual inquiries that do not deal with events; it is not event-directed. Sometimes it is said that philosophy is about thought, or again about language, but on one interpretation this cannot be true: it cannot be about episodes of thought, or episodes of language, or else it would be about a particular class of events—as psychology is. It cannot be about mental acts or speech acts, since acts are events. It could be about the structure or content of thought or language, but not their occurrence—not concrete happenings. This conception is partly prompted by a desire to find something solidly empirical for philosophy to be about, but that is precisely the wrong move: it tries to assimilate philosophy to the empirical sciences that traffic in concrete events. That is the exact opposite of what philosophy does. If philosophy were about events of ordinary linguistic usage, then there would be philosophical events; but there are no philosophical events, so philosophy can’t be about that. There are events of ordinary linguistic usage, but they are the subject matter of other disciplines—linguistics, sociology—not philosophy as such. This is like supposing that morality is about events of moral (or immoral) action, but it is not about such events—rather, it is about the rules and principles that should guide action. Morality is not concerned with the description, prediction, and explanation of actions deemed moral or immoral—that is a matter for the psychology of behavior. Maybe speech acts could provide useful data for philosophy, but they are not its proper subject matter in the way that physical events are the proper subject matter of physics or speech behavior is the proper subject matter of psycholinguistics. The same is true for mathematical acts and the proper subject matter of mathematics—mathematics is not about events of doing mathematics. This is why there are no mathematical events, though there are events with a mathematical subject matter (e.g. actual calculations).
More to the point, it might be wondered how this fact about philosophy relates to the traditional idea that philosophy is an a priori science (like logic and mathematics—or even morality under some interpretations). It relates closely, but the ideas are not identical. The a priori claim is epistemological; the event claim is ontological or semantic. To say that philosophy is an a priori discipline is to say that the knowledge it produces is gained independently of experience (as the phrase goes); to say that philosophy is not about philosophical events is to make an ontological or semantic claim concerning the type of reality with which philosophy is occupied. Putting both claims together, we could say that philosophy is a priori precisely because it is not about events, that being the mark of the a posteriori. In any case, the claims are different, though related. Perhaps if there were philosophical events (whatever that might mean) philosophy would not be a priori, since those events would interact with our senses to produce philosophical knowledge; but the very oddity of that supposition shows how bizarre it is to think that there are philosophical events. In this sense it is quite wrong to hold that philosophy is “continuous with science”, as if philosophy has the same general shape as science but brings its own subject matter. We can say that biology is continuous with physics and chemistry, but in that sense philosophy is not continuous with those disciplines—as if it were concerned with a special more rarified type of event. The same can be said of logic, morality, and mathematics—none of these are “continuous with science” if that means they share science’s general preoccupation with events. Obviously, this is connected to the fact that the sciences seek causal explanations, events being the stuff of causation, but these non-event disciplines are not in that line of business. We canreasonably claim that philosophy is continuous with logic, morality, and mathematics, since all these disciplines are dedicated to aspects of reality that go beyond events; and indeed the affinity is generally recognized.
Being a priori and being concerned with something other than events are connected characteristics, but the latter is fundamental. When philosophy concerns itself with events of the ordinary type, as with the question of the relation between mental events and physical events, it is not concerned with some proprietary type of philosophical event; it is concerned with the nature of the relation between the two ordinary types of event—that is its proper subject matter. This is why the subject matter of philosophy includes all types of event but not a specific type of event peculiar to it.[3] According to one tradition, philosophy is concerned exclusively with concepts, understood abstractly, and this well captures the sense in which it is not the study of a certain type of event. The obvious fact that there are no philosophical events dramatizes the point that philosophy is not as other sciences. We could say that it is a “formal science”, but it is more illuminating to say that it has no event-like subject matter. As remarked, I think that its subject matter is logical reality, and that is far removed from the world of passing events and perishable happenings. Trying to reconfigure philosophy so that it resembles the event orientation of the sciences only leads to distortion, confusion, and cynicism.
[1] Like Seinfeld, a show about nothing, which was quite philosophical. At least astrology is about something!
[2] See my “Philosophy Defined” and Truth By Analysis. According to this conception of science and philosophy, the science of events could be completed without any philosophical problem being resolved: all events could be described, predicted, and explained without making a start on the problems of philosophy. This shows that science will never take the place of philosophy.
[3] It would be wrong to suppose that philosophy is identical with the union of all event-directed sciences, since that would simply make it a very inclusive empirical science. In order to study philosophy one would need to master all the sciences and no more.
0 0 Colin McGinn Colin McGinn2019-12-07 16:19:032019-12-07 16:19:03Philosophical Events
“All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” This famous remark by Tolstoy usually provokes a wry smile and a sage nod, but is it true and what exactly does it mean? We may paraphrase it thus: there is only one kind of family happiness, but there are many kinds of family unhappiness. Families are such that happiness in them comes in only one variety, but unhappiness in families has several varieties. This has the look of a proposition about families as such, but families themselves are various. Do we mean families with children, and how many children and of what sex, or are we including childless marriages? Must the parents be married? Must they be of different sexes? What of single parent families? Does happiness come in several forms if the family varies along these dimensions, or is Tolstoy’s statement to be limited to traditional families of a man, a woman, and three children of both sexes? Does the same point apply to couples before marriage: are all happy engagements alike while unhappy engaged couples come in different varieties? And what about romantic partners not contemplating marriage and family?
But why limit ourselves to family units at all—couldn’t we say the same about any social grouping? Are happy friendships all happy in the same way but unhappy ones variable in their mode of unhappiness? What about clubs or regiments or dinner parties or motorcycle gangs or rock bands? If these social units admit of the distinction Tolstoy identifies, it has nothing essentially to do with families, but applies equally to people forming groups of any kind. The trouble is that we are not told what it is about families in particular that generates the asymmetry in question, and it is not obvious what Tolstoy had in mind (or any of his sage assenters). Is it that happy families all have a strong but fair father, while unhappy families can have a flighty mother or a delinquent son or a disobedient daughter? That is hardly plausible: more plausible is the proposition that happy families contain happy members while unhappy ones contain at least one unhappy member—but then all unhappy families are unhappy in the same way. And what about the individual: can’t we equally say that all happy individuals are happy in the same way but unhappy individuals can be unhappy in different ways? Is it that my happiness resembles your happiness but that my unhappiness is unique to me? But surely I can be happy in virtue of something that doesn’t make you happy (e.g. being a kite surfer) and also unhappy about the same thing you are unhappy about (e.g. being short of funds). Whence the asymmetry? People vary, so what makes one person happy may not make another happy, and the same for unhappiness. Why should happiness be uniform but unhappiness multiform? And is it that Tolstoy’s statement is intended to apply only to family happiness—only it exemplifies the uniformity of happiness and variety of unhappiness? This takes us back to what is meant by “family” and whether the point generalizes to other social groups.
I can see one possible rationale for Tolstoy’s statement, but it doesn’t apply to families in particular or even to all social units; nor is it clearly true. This is that there are more things to be unhappy about than things to be happy about. As a rough generalization, people are happy when they are safe, well fed, and loved, though some may crave worldly success and plaudits; but they can be unhappy about virtually anything—their looks, weight, height, popularity, job, spouse, home, national politics, tennis game, literacy, numeracy, teeth, lack of riches, state of the world, death, the neighbors, etc. Happiness is found in a small number of things while unhappiness can be found all over the place. That seems right as a rough generalization about human nature: it explains why people who seem to have it pretty good can still find things to complain about. So happy people will converge in the things they are happy about, more or less, while unhappy people will tend to diverge in their cause of discontent. There are just so many things to be irritated about, disappointed in, furious over, and pissed with—while happiness seems to flow from just a few sources. Thus happy people will tend to be happy about the same things while unhappy people will vary in their list of peeves and grievances. This is the grain of truth in Tolstoy’s remark, but it has nothing particularly to do with families, happy or unhappy. Families will tend to he happy when their members are safe, well fed, and loved; unhappy families may be unhappy because of a domineering father or a feckless mother or a reckless son or a depressed daughter or a deceased pet or a paucity of bathrooms. There are not many things in this world to be thankful for, but of things to complain about there is no end. Consequently, one person’s happiness tends to resemble another person’s happiness while unhappiness can differ widely from person to person. Tolstoy doesn’t tell us the relative proportions of happy and unhappy families, but according to the explanation just given we might predict that unhappiness will preponderate, simply because there are so many causes of unhappiness to choose from. The same is true for human beings in general.[1]
[1] But not for animals as far as I can see: they are not constantly seeking reasons to be miserable, or even naturally prone to bouts of depression; on the whole, they seem pretty happy, short of starvation and abuse. Tolstoy could not make his statement about, say, chimpanzee or elephant families.
0 0 Colin McGinn Colin McGinn2019-12-07 16:17:432019-12-07 16:17:43Happy Families
The Concept of Miracle
Where do we get the concept of the miraculous? Why does that concept seem compelling to us? Why do we take to it so readily? It is not, to be sure, from the observation of miracles, in the style of empiricism—we don’t have perceptions of actual miracles. Nor, presumably, is it innate: what would be the use of a concept so inapplicable? Apparently it is a complex concept, so it could be constructed from simpler components, but why does it grip us—why this concept and not any of the indefinitely many other concepts that we might construct? Why does it seem so natural, so inevitable? It is a conceptual universal, but nothing about the world to which we apply it suggests its necessity. What explains its presence in the human conceptual scheme? Even those who reject its application most fervently are familiar with the concept itself.
Here is how the OED defines “miracle”: “an extraordinary and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws, attributed to divine agency”. This is too narrow for our purposes, since not all supernatural events are thought to be welcome, nor assigned to divine agency. Some are unwelcome and assigned to malign forces—the Devil is deemed capable of devilish “miracles”, i.e. extraordinary events not explicable by natural or scientific law. The broader concept we are interested in connotes the uncanny, the inexplicable, the exempt from natural law—the weird, the spooky. How does that idea enter our thoughts? Whence the concept of magic, whether for good or ill? Might it simply never have occurred to us? Is it just a dispensable historical accident, a piece of cultural detritus with no discernible foundation? Or does it have deep roots in our experience of the world, including ourselves?
I once compared the emergence of consciousness from the brain to the miracle of converting water into wine.[1] Why did I do that? It was because the concept of the miraculous suggests itself when considering the way consciousness arises from the physical world: this seems uncanny, contrary to natural law, freakish, inexplicable. I emphasized that this can only be an appearance—consciousness is not really miraculous. The mind is not objectively a miracle; rather, it is a mystery that looks like a miracle. But now I want to invert that thought and make a speculative suggestion: we get the concept of a miracle from our sense of ourselves as conscious beings. We strike ourselves as freakish and uncanny, at least when we reach a certain level of self-consciousness, and we then project this idea onto things outside of us. The dependence of mind on body appears unintelligible, extraordinary, possibly a sign of divine agency (assuming we find consciousness a “welcome event”). So it is not so much that the brain is like water and the mind is like wine; rather, water is like the brain and wine is like the mind. The emergence of mind from matter is the paradigm of the miraculous–everything else is projection and extension. Thus the concept arises spontaneously in us as a consequence of our very nature, at least as that nature strikes us; it isn’t just an adventitious eccentricity of culture. We don’t regard the mind-brain connection as miraculous because we alreadyhave the concept of a miracle from some other source; we derive the concept of the miraculous from our apprehension of ourselves as psychophysical beings. This is why it is universal and deep seated. This is why the concept seems so familiar, so easy to grasp. No wonder people often feel that the supernatural is all around them and ever-present—because it is part of our nature (as we apprehend ourselves). We see the world as spooky because we are spooky. In fact, of course, we are not objectively spooky, just deeply mysterious; but we convert a mystery into a miracle and then spread the concept outwards. After all, if we are a miracle inside, why can’t there be miracles outside? When someone miraculously rises from the dead (allegedly) isn’t this just like the way conscious life rises from dead matter, even when that matter resides in a living brain? There is that peculiar sense of getting something from nothing that attends all putative miracles. And the miracle of consciousness does occur all the time—every time a baby is conceived, every time we wake from sleep, every time our brain causes a thought. So why can’t external miracles happen regularly too? Clearly they are possible because they happen all the time in our own lives. Is water turning into wine any more impossible than brain chemicals turning into consciousness? In fact, it looks a lot more possible, what with water and wine both being liquids and all.
The form of explanation I am suggesting resembles Hume on causation and the origins of animism. Hume couldn’t find a source for the concept of causation in external objects (no impression of necessary connection), so he sought it within the mind in our habit of anticipation; we then project this inner impression outwards and populate the world with causal relations. It is not that we derive our concept of causation from external objects and then project it inwards; we get the idea from our inner feeling of expectation and then project it outwards. By analogy, we sense miracle within ourselves (erroneously but intelligibly) and then project it onto the outside world. We are under the illusion that we are miraculous and we suppose that we are not alone in this. In the case of animism, we attribute the qualities of living things to inanimate objects, mistakenly assimilating them to ourselves: we find intention and will where they do not objectively exist. We have a first-person awareness of life and we spread it around indiscriminately—as we have a first-person awareness of the (seemingly) miraculous and then ascribe it to the world outside. No doubt we are motivated to do this in various ways, but the cognitive groundwork is prepared by our knowledge (sic) of ourselves. The idea of miracle is all too familiar from our ordinary experience.[2] Presumably other animals don’t have the concept of a miracle, because they don’t have the kind of self-consciousness that gives rise to it; but we humans apprehend ourselves as enigmas, which we then convert into the idea of a miracle. Suppose that dualism were really true and that causal interaction takes place in the pineal gland: that would strike us as a type of miracle and God might be invoked to make sense of it. This could be the origin of the concept of the miraculous, and it would be an intelligible explanation of how the general concept arises. But the same is true even if we don’t accept that kind of metaphysics, because emergence is mysterious anyway. The enigma of emergence is readily converted into the idea of miracle, and then projection does the rest.
The obvious next question is whether the concept of God has a similar type of origin. I won’t go into this deeply, but I will make a couple of suggestions. The concept of God is clearly a compound of other concepts: omnipotence, omniscience, moral perfection, immateriality, and infinity. The last two are the hardest to explain in that both concepts are difficult to account for: where do we get them? We obviously don’t see and touch immaterial spirits and derive the concept by abstraction; and the concept of an infinite being is likewise not derived from perceptual acquaintance with such entities. A plausible hypothesis is that we derive them from knowledge of our own nature, or at least the kind of limited awareness we have of our nature. We certainly don’t experience our own consciousness as material, so it is at least intelligible that we could form the idea of an immaterial being on this basis—even if we are not rightly so described. Crudely, we have an illusion of immateriality. In the case of infinity we have more than an illusion of infinity: we ourselves are infinite beings. I don’t mean that as spatial beings we are infinitely divisible; I mean that we have attributes that are characterized by infinity—namely, language and thought. I intend nothing mystical here; I am just making the familiar point that language and thought admit of infinitely many combinations of primitive elements. And we are aware of this fact about ourselves: we know that we have this kind of infinite potential. So we have no trouble forming the idea of an infinite being, combining it with the other attributes that define God. We thus come by the idea of an immaterial infinite being via contemplation of our own make-up: this concept is not alien to us. So it is not that we have an antecedent idea of God that we subsequently apply to ourselves, casting ourselves in his exalted image; rather, we use ourselves as model to construct the complex idea of God, which we then proceed to project onto the world. Whether the world really contains anything answering to this concept is another question, but the concept itself has its origin in our own nature. How else could we get it? The concept of the supernatural is ultimately based on a distorted picture of ourselves, as a result of partial understanding and incorrigible projection. Religion begins at home.[3]
[1] In “Can We Solve the Mind-Body Problem?” (1989).
[2] Does anyone ever really get over the discovery that his or her precious consciousness, in all its glory, is the result of that furrowed and frightful thing called the brain? The miracle seems almost cruel in its absurdity!
[3] Let me stress that this is a speculative proposal—other theories might be suggested. The advantage of the present proposal is that it finds a firm place for the concept of the supernatural in the natural world. We don’t want to discover that only the existence of the supernatural can explain the presence of that concept in our minds—not if we want a secular psychology anyway.
0 0 Colin McGinn Colin McGinn2019-12-07 16:16:362019-12-07 16:16:36The Concept of Miracle
Discrete and Continuous
December 7, 2019 /1 Comment/in Uncategorized /by Colin McGinn
Philosophy is awash in grand dichotomies—particular and general, mind and body, fact and value, finite and infinite, being and nothingness. Reality is held to divide into two large categories and the relations between them are mapped. But there is one dichotomy that is seldom discussed by philosophers, though it is generally recognized elsewhere: that between the discrete and the continuous. These concepts are not easy to define, though they are widely accepted at an intuitive level, no doubt because they pervade our everyday experience. The discrete consists of separate, distinct, self-contained objects that can be distinguished and counted: animals, mountains, tables, cells, atoms, words, concepts, numbers, propositions, gods. The continuous consists of undivided, unbroken, uninterrupted, seamless, smooth, homogeneous…what? Not objects or things–for then they would be discrete–but what we call mediums or manifolds or dimensions or magnitudes: stuff of some sort. Space and time are the paradigms, but we also regard other things as continuous: intensity of emotion, milk and honey, geometrical figures, colors, motion, fundamental matter. Of course, things that seem continuous have sometimes been discovered to be discrete, as with the atomic theory of matter or the quantum theory of energy; but we have a clear idea of what continuity might be even in these cases. We have a commonsense concept of the continuous that meshes with our ordinary perception of things, in which discrete objects are perceived to be internally continuous (possibly falsely). We thus feel ourselves to be surrounded by two kinds of being: discrete separated entities that can be counted, on the one hand, and smoothly varying continua that can only be measured, on the other. There are the discrete objects in space and time and the continuous mediums of space and time. The latter require their own mathematics, which nowadays involves the real numbers, infinitesimals, the concept of a limit, and calculus. We employ the modern notion of a dense array of points between any two of which there is always a third (this may be viewed as a way to discretize continuity). There is even a distinctive type of paradox associated with continuity (Zeno et al). So we accept a kind of ontological dualism: two kinds of being with different essential natures. Descartes used the concept of extension to unite space and matter, but that concept papers over the deep difference between the discrete and the continuous, both of which can be said to have extension—though we should note that not everything that is continuous is physical, e.g. emotional strength. The discrete-continuous distinction cuts across the mental-physical distinction, and brings its own brand of dualism.
Like other dualisms, this one invites philosophical scrutiny. How solid is the distinction? Might we not view each as a special case of the other? Is one derivable or emergent from the other? Are there illusions of continuity and discreteness? Is it possible to be a monist with respect to one or the other type of being? For instance, we are told that in the first moments after the big bang the temperature was so high that no particles could exist, so there were no discrete objects then—they came into being only when the universe cooled. Then wasn’t physical reality entirely continuous at that early point? If so, our current discrete universe emerged from a continuous universe, rather as we suppose that mind emerged from matter (which took more than mere cooling). Might not other universes stay at that initial high temperature and never evolve into discrete universes? On the other hand, it has been maintained that continuity is a mathematical fiction—everything real consists of discrete entities with no smooth transitions anywhere. Motion is really jerky and jumpy, space and time are particulate, and the mind is purely digital. Or we could just decide to eliminate entities that don’t meet our ontological expectations: there is no such thing as motion, space and time are unreal, and there are no emotions to vary continuously. We have the usual panoply of philosophical options to choose from: dualism, monism, reductionism, elimination, and invocations of God to get over ontological humps (e.g. the miracle of discrete entities springing from continuous stuff). Our experience suggests a dualism of the discrete and the continuous, but maybe reality is not so constituted; maybe in the noumenal world all is discrete (or all continuous). Continuity certainly presents problems of understanding, and it was only in the nineteenth century that mathematicians began to be comfortable with it (but at what cost—is a smooth line really reducible to a collection of points?). And why is the universe made this way to begin with? Why the ontological division? Wouldn’t it be simpler to make a universe that was just one way or the other? Why did God introduce continuity at all, given that his main purpose was to create discrete moral beings like us? What has continuity got to do with morality? We appear to live in a mixed world, but this doesn’t seem like a logical necessity—unless it really is once you get down to basics (maybe space and time couldn’t exist without their smooth structure). It is all quite puzzling—the mark of a good philosophical problem.[1]
That was about the metaphysics of the discrete and continuous, but there is also the epistemology. Do we know about these things in the same way? Do we perceive continuity as we perceive discreteness? How do we get the concepts? There is a kind of primitive impression of continuity in vision that exists side by side with impressions of discreteness, but what exactly does this amount to? Is it just an absence of perceptible discreteness or is it a positive sense datum in itself? Is the child’s mind a continuous visual blur until sensations of discreteness supervene? What does it mean to say that a surface looks continuous—does it look as if all potential gaps have been filled? What if we look closer and see that the object is made up of lots of little discrete entities? Were we under an illusion? But is it even possible to see a discrete object without some parts of the visual field giving an impression of continuity? The gaps between objects look to be filled with continuous space and the objects themselves look like they are composed of continuous matter. And the cognitive mechanisms that process perception must recognize the discrete-continuous distinction: they deliver different kinds of mental representation to handle the sensory input. Is consciousness itself continuous or discrete or both? Is it quantized or infinitely divisible? Are the features of the brain that account for consciousness discrete properties of neurons or continuous features? Neural firings are discrete, but electrical charges can vary as continuous magnitudes—do both contribute to generating consciousness? Behaviorism in effect treated the mind as continuous, because behavior is just a type of motion, but how does that square with the discrete character of so much of the mind, particularly language and concepts? There is no such thing as applying half a concept, but the body can move half a meter. Your utterances must be either meaningful or not, but your voice can be louder or softer. How do we derive the discrete mental notions from concepts of continuous bodily motion? That is like trying to define atomic structure in terms of motions of matter—a sort of category mistake.
The natural position to take is that the world contains two sorts of ontological structure corresponding to two types of mathematics: discrete structure and continuous structure. The former can be dealt with using finite mathematics (or the mathematics of discrete infinity), while the latter requires the infinite mathematics of the continuum. Space and time have a continuous structure, while atoms and species have a discrete structure. This is just an irreducible fact. The two coexist and intermingle. Correspondingly, we have two sorts of phenomenology and mental representation geared to these objective structures—discrete cognition and continuous cognition. These might be conceived as distinct modules located somewhere in the brain. We know how to handle continuous magnitudes and we know how to handle discrete objects. When we see an object in motion we separate it from its surroundings as a distinct individual thing (using our discrete module) and we also track its movement through space as a continuous path with no gaps or interruptions (using our continuous module). We are capable of seeing the world in both ways simultaneously. The dualism is present but it is integrated, fused. It is rather like the perception of shape and color: different properties, different perceptual modules, but a unified perception. Just as there is a division of primary and secondary qualities despite perceptual unity, so there is a division of discrete and continuous properties despite perceptual unity. We see the same object as a discrete entity and as moving through a space without internal discreteness. Phenomenology thus recapitulates ontology. The distinction between discrete and continuous deserves a place in the pantheon of philosophical dualities.[2]
[1] We could call it the problem of the granular and the gradual: are both equally real, and how do they meet up? The grainy and the graded, the chopped up and the smoothed out, the lumpish and the soupy: which form does reality prefer, and how does it combine them?
[2] The distinction is entrenched in mathematics along with other dualities (finite and infinite, odd and even, rational and irrational, prime or non-prime); time for philosophy to catch up.
0 0 Colin McGinn Colin McGinn2019-12-07 16:14:542019-12-07 16:15:32Discrete and Continuous |
Home » Blog » 39 Types Of Donuts And All The Things You Need To Know 2023
39 Types Of Donuts And All The Things You Need To Know 2023
The exact number of how many types of donuts is so huge that it’s even hard to count, and it’s varied around the world. But in the end, it’s still the most beloved sweets and a snack that are enjoyed all over the world.
If you want to take the first step into the world of donuts, you have come to the right place. This post will do its best to provide you with all the necessary information about the basic types of donuts, what they are, and what they will bring you.
Donuts have a big family that you won’t get tired of easily
What Is Donut?
Donuts are one of the most famous kinds of cake around the world that you have probably heard about them at least once in your life. Now it’s your chance to learn more about these fascinating sweets.
Basic Information About Donut
A donut (doughnut) is a type of leavened fried dough and a famous snack or dessert around the world. It has many various forms and can be either homemade or purchased from any bakeries and food stalls you can find.
Normally, a donut is made from deep-fried dough or various types of batter. The ingredients can be different for each region. The origin of donuts can be traced back to the 14th century in Europe with some simple pastries and then bagels.
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In the 15th century, the olykoeks (oil cakes) were made by the Dutch and were the closest to donuts both in ingredients and the method of making. Many people believe that those olykoeks are the true origin of modern donuts.
As for where the term “donut” came from, the pilgrims who came to America decided to change this sweet treat’s name to “donut” in the 17th century.
Donut has a wide range of toppings and flavors that can be chocolate, sugar, or maple. The main ingredients include water, eggs, milk, sugar, suitable oil for frying donuts, and other flavors, together with leavening agents and shortening.
This is probably the most common type of donut that you can easily find anywhere.
Different countries may have many variants and modifications for the ingredients and flavors. However, they mostly stick to the four main categories based on the shapes and fillings that are: ring donuts, filled donuts, donuts hole, and donuts with other shapes. (1)
Furthermore, ring donuts come in two types: those made from yeast-based doughs (raised donuts) and those made from baking powder or baking soda (cake donuts).
Interestingly, there are many purposes for the holes in donuts. For example, some people believe that the holes are there to help store the donuts more conveniently.
In the United States, Dunkin’ Donuts and Krispy Kreme are no doubt two of the most beloved donut chains. Dunkin’ Donuts is known for outstanding menu prices and a huge number of stores across the country.
Krispy Kreme also offers a wide menu and great prices as well as special in-house made donuts. The company is especially well-known for its glazed donuts.
Don’t miss out on the next section if you want more details about many delectable types of donuts (and more)!
Donuts also has quite an interesting and inspiring history.
Watch this video: A Brief History of Donuts
Types Of Donuts
Now it’s time to get a little deeper into the rabbit hole. Aside from the two major types that have been mentioned above, there are still many other types that even this article cannot include all of them.
Instead, here are the most basic types of donuts based on the methods of making while considering cultural and regional differences. Each of them will be accompanied by several subtypes of their own.
Leavening methods
Raised Donuts Crumby layer yet has a puffy interior Yeast-raised
Cake Donuts Dense, sturdy and crumbly texture Chemical leavening agent
Long John Bar-shape Yeast-raised
Donut Holes Bite-size, crispy Cake or raised
Potato Donuts Moist, fluffy Typically yeast-leavened
Gourmet Donuts Complex, combined from various dessert Cake or raised
Cruller Twisted, fluted shape Choux pastry
Drop Donuts Crispy layer but soft and doughy inside Chemical leavening agent
Healthy Donuts Organic ingredients, low calories Usually cake
Filled Donuts Typically round-shaped with no hole Yeast-raised
Raised Donuts
They are usually bigger than cake donuts and taller when finished due to the rising. Made from yeast leavening agents, they have a puffy structure and are softer due to the air within when they expand.
For the toppings, they will be added after the frying. Raised donuts are generally topped with a glaze with various flavors. Because raised donuts need a longer time to fry, they tend to absorb more oil.
Raised donuts are famous for their crispy yet soft and tender texture
1. Malasada
Malasada will bring you the unique flavor of Portugal
Malasada is a type of donut from Portugal. These sweet treats are famous worldwide as an iconic Portuguese street delight.
They are small, round-shaped, with the main ingredients being evaporated milk which gives them a rich texture. Malasadas are usually coated with white sugar or cinnamon sugar for a gentle and sweet flavor.
In Hawaii, they are the ideal choice for Fat Tuesday. People often fill them with more traditional ingredients and turn them into a unique sweet.
2. Glazed Donuts
Glazed donuts are one of the best types of donuts you can have
Glazed donuts are one of the most famous types of donuts as a whole. They are ring-shaped donuts coated with sugar glaze or many other kinds of flavors, and each of them is a different experience.
Glazed donuts also have many shapes, but the classic ring shapes are still the best choice.
3. Chocolate Yeast Donut
Chocolate donuts are very tempting for younger consumers
It’s simple as the name states it all. They are yeast-leavened donuts but with the addition of chocolate flavor. The combination of puffy, soft texture with rich and tasty chocolate makes this type of donut very attractive to young consumers.
Cake Donuts
Cake donuts are thicker and heavier than other types
Different from raised donuts, cake donuts are leavened by chemical leavening agents like baking powder or baking soda. They are denser and have a sturdier crumb structure than raised donuts, which makes them ideal for heavier topping.
Although they have less oil than raised donuts, they contain extra fat in the batter before frying.
4. Apple Cider Donuts
Apple cider donuts will give you a fresh, unique, and strong taste
Apple cider donuts are a cakey, moist, and dense type of cake donuts made from concentrated apple cider and cinnamon. They have a very unique and strong taste due to the amount of cider incorporated within the dough.
5. Red Velvet Donuts
Tasty and elegant, Red Velvet Donuts will be a great addition to your party.
Red Velvet Donuts are mostly based on layered cakes, so it’s no surprise they share the same style with each other. These donuts are made from cocoa powder, vanilla, buttermilk, and for most of the time, dyed with food coloring.
For the finishing touch, they will be topped with cream cheese frosting, which makes them no less appealing than an original cake.
6. Blueberry Cake Donuts
Blueberry donuts are a good breakfast to start your day.
This is a type of cake donut that is filled with blueberry and is made from egg yolk, buttermilk, and baking soda. All of the ingredients give Blueberry cake donuts a crispy crunch texture with a slight tang and rich flavor.
Long John Donuts
Looking similar to bread, Long John Donuts is one of the American creations.
These are bar-shaped yeast donuts entirely covered with glaze or topped with cake icing. You can also fill them with custard or creme for more flavors.
The name “Long John” has its origin in the Midwestern United States and Canada. They often use it to call the oblong donuts with no filler, while in the West Coast, they are more often referred to as bar donuts.
The topping for this type of donut can be various, from chocolate, maple to even chopped bacon. Most likely, each region will have its own special recipes and the ingredients that come with them.
7. Cream-filled Long John
Cream-filled Long John topped with chocolate is a treat that everyone can hardly ignore
Just as the name suggested, they are oblong yeast donuts filled with cream, custard, or other flavors. Typically, they can be topped with chocolate and maple glaze.
The Middle Atlantic states of America usually categorized them as eclair donuts because they share many commons with those pastries from France.
8. Chocolate Long John
Simple yet very tasty and rich in flavor that is Chocolate Long John
Just like the original Long John, they are also bar-shaped long donuts made of yeast and glazed with chocolate. In Western America, they are usually referred to as chocolate bars.
9. Maple Bacon Bar
A strange combination, but they go surprisingly well together
This is rather a strange combination but actually works pretty well. Basically, it’s a Long John donut bar with maple and bacon on top. Since their first appearance in Portland and Oregon, they have become popular all across the United States.
10. Maple Bar
If you are a fan of maple then you should not miss this Maple bar donut
This one is a bar-shaped yeast donut just like the original Long John but with maple glaze. It is most popular on the American West Coast. In the Midwest regions of the United States, they are called maple Long Johns.
Donut Holes
From a by-product, donut holes have become a delicious dessert
Donut Holes are small, bite-sized snacks, mostly made from the leftover dough of ring donuts, specifically, the center part. At first, it’s just a way to reduce wasting food and increase profit, but over time they become a famous snack.
Normally, donut holes are just the frying dough left from ring donuts. They are much smaller in size but still have all the necessary toppings and flavors like the original one.
Sometimes people can make them by dropping a small dough ball into hot oil and frying them, like a completely separated product from ring donuts.
11. Zeppole
Zeppole is a little treat from Italy that will surely capture your heart
Zeppole is the Italian version of donut holes. It’s a fried dough ball that is usually topped with powdered sugar and sometimes can be filled with various flavors like cream, honey, custard, or honey butter. The dish is one of the most popular Neapolitan sweet treats.
The sizes can be various, but in general, most of them are around 4 inches in measurement. Depending on the type of dough and ingredients, the Zeppole texture can be thick or airy.
12. Nun’s Puff
Nun’s Puff is one of the proofs that French cuisine can turn any simple ingredients into remarkable food
They are a kind of pastry from France made from choux dough, milk, sugar, eggs with a sugar coating, or cinnamon. They also have another name that is Pets-de-nonne. Usually, Nun’s Puff will have a size of 1 inch and a half, but this can also be varied.
They are a typical treat during the Mardi Gras in France. Later on, the Americans also adapted this tradition, especially in New Orleans and Alabama. Thus Nun’s Puff also comes to the United States and has its other version, which is called Beignet.
13. Lokma
These small-looking Lokma will fill you with many unique flavors
Lokma is a Greek mini size, fried doughnut coated with honey, syrup, and other flavors. It’s notable by the crispy, golden layer yet soft and puffy on the inside. Before serving, people usually decorated it with chopped walnuts or cinnamon.
Potato Donuts
Although they are made from somewhat unusual ingredients, the flavor still won’t lose to anyone
Potato donuts, also known as “Spudnuts”, are a type of donut made from mashed potato or potato starch instead of flour. Typically yeast-raised and moist by nature, with a fluffy texture they tend to be lighter than flour-made donuts.
The processing method is pretty much similar to other normal donuts, frying and then topping. Potato Donuts also have a variety of flavors and toppings, just like other donuts. They can use the same topping with the others most of the time.
14. Picarones
Picarones will give you a taste of traditional Peruvian sweets
A Peru variant that is made from sweet potatoes and pumpkin. They are often filled with Peruvian brandy and served with traditional Peruvian sweets.
15. Fastnacht
Fastnacht is a flavorful snack with a richness that you should try
Fastnachts are fried yeast-raised potato donuts with square or triangle shapes from German. They are made from lard, sugar, fat, and butter. It is meant to use up all the fat and sugar in the house to make them for the Lenten season.
16. Maine Potato Donuts
Maine potato donuts are one of the most popular potato donut types
The main ingredient of these donuts is mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, which give them a creamy, sharp flavor. Other ingredients include grated nutmeg, buttermilk, and cinnamon sugar.
The method of cooking for Maine potato donuts is frying. They have ring shapes and are very popular in New England.
17. Kuih Keria
If you want a slightly healthier choice of donut, then Kuih Keria is your bet
This is a sweet potato vegan donut from Malaysia. Kuih Keria is usually deep-fried, topped with a sugar glaze, and is ring-shaped just like a ring donut.
18. Graffe Napoletane
You can even feel the festivity when you try the taste of Graffe Napoletane
This is an Italian carnival food. Graffe Napoletane is a yeast donut with some special ingredients that are mashed potatoes and citrus mixed in the dough. Some other recipes may include limoncello, but all of them use caster sugar for coating.
Gourmet Donuts
Gourmet donuts can be considered an art of making sweets
Probably the most complex and visually appealing type of donuts on this list. They’re usually mixed with various other ingredients and flavors to become something more than your ordinary donuts. Their variants are only limited by the creativity of the maker.
Gourmet donuts can even combine with other desserts to become a unique and remarkable dish. Bakers from different countries and regions can freely make them in any shape and with any ingredients that they feel fit with the culture.
For example, there is cronut, an in-between of donut and croissant and donut, mochi donut made with rice flour, apple fritter, which is donuts filled with fresh apple pieces and cinnamon. Each one of them is an artful display of the baker’s skills.
19. Cronut
A cronut can have both the good parts of a donut and a croissant
Cronut is an in-between croissant and donut. It has many layers of dough and butter, just like a croissant, and is fried like a donut. Cronut can be coated, glazed, or filled based on the preferences of the maker.
20. Apple Fritter
Apple Fritter is a fascinated snack that will continue to stay for a long time
They are cake-based donuts filled with fresh apple and cinnamon, usually coated with sugar glaze or rolled in cinnamon sugar. Other versions include banana, elderflower, and peach fritters.
21. Mochi Donut
Mochi donuts and their interesting appearance raise people’s curiosity
They are also known by the nickname “Pon de Ring”. The main ingredient is sweet rice flour which gives them a springy texture that is different from many other types.
They are usually made by connecting eight dough balls into a ring and have many flavors like matcha, coconut, and mango.
22. Sourdough Donut
Sourdough Donut has a gentle and balanced flavor that you will surely love
Sourdough donuts are made with a sourdough starter, a natural leavening agent that gives them a unique flavor and airy texture.
They are best to be glazed with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar as their sweetness is gentle enough to not interrupt the flavor of sourdough starter.
23. Brioche Donut
Brioche donuts have a rich flavor together with a tender, fluffy texture that makes you want to keep eating them
This donut is made from brioche dough which contains a high level of butter, making it very rich in flavor. Brioche has both the advantage of yeast and cake donuts that are tender, fluffy yet melt-in-the-mouth texture.
24. Beignet
From France to the United States, Beignet has proved itself to be a great dessert no matter where it is
Here’s a special treat from New Orleans for you to enjoy. Beignets are the successor of the French Nun’s Puff that have come a long way to become their own American variant.
They are deep-fried choux dough topped with powdered sugar, but sometimes you can make them from yeast pastry. Beignet is a common dessert in New Orleans and is famous for its soft and melty texture.
Cruller
Cruller is a deep-fried donut that has a twisted shape achieved by putting the dough into a piping bag with open star tips then molding them to a unique fluted shape. They can also be done by hand by twisting dough strips together.
Cruller is very popular around the world, and many cultures have adapted them like China, Denmark, Germany, and America. The most famous should be the French cruller, a fried pastry with a light, airy texture that is crispy on the outside yet soft on the inside.
25. French Crullers
They have a rather strange shape, but that’s the unique point of them
They are pastries that have their origin in France. French Crullers are fried and glazed round-shaped food made from a dough kind called choux pastry dough. In America, donut shops tend to create the crullers with their own recipes.
26. Klejne
Klejne is also known as Angel Wings due to its unique shape
Klejne is a Danish variant of the cruller and also has a rather strange shape that looks like a pair of wings. It’s also a famous treat in Icelandic gastronomy.
It’s made from flattened dough that is cut into small pieces with a slit in the center, and both ends will be pulled through that slit to form a knot.
Then the Klejne will be deep-fried in oil and finally topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon to serve.
27. Cruller Donuts
Cruller donuts have a unique appearance, but the taste is absolutely delicious
This is a popular type of donut in the United States. You can find them in many big donut chains. They are classic dense cake donuts that are molded into long flute shapes and flavored with chocolate, sugar, or other sweet sauce.
28. Milwaukee Cruller
This is a Germany style cruller that has been adapted by Milwaukee. Much different from other types, Milwaukee crullers use buttermilk as their main ingredient. They have a rectangle shape and a doughy, melty texture denser than most donut types.
29. Youtiao
Youtiao is a special treat from China both in taste and texture
They are also known as Chinese fried dough or Chinese crullers. Youtiao is made from two long strips of fried dough tied together and can be separated easily. For the flavor, it’s slightly saltier compared to other kinds of donuts and is usually served as breakfast.
Drop Donuts
A mini version of classic donuts, but they won’t disappoint you
Drop donuts are the simplest type of donuts and quite similar to donut holes. They are just dough balls that are dropped into hot oil then fried until turning golden.
Commonly made from chemical leavening agents, they have a crispy layer but are soft and mushy from the inside. Unlike donut holes that are usually considered a by-product, drop donuts are a separated subtype of donuts.
Being smaller in size means that it’s more convenient to enjoy them as a light snack. They are typically coated with sugar for a gently sweet flavor.
30. Olykoeks
Even till now, olykoeks is still a delicious snack that everyone enjoys.
A sweet from Dutch, these fried dough balls can even be considered the origin of every donut in the world. Their name means “oily cakes” which is also the way they are made.
Olykoeks are just simply dough balls dropped into hot oil until they are done, then rolled in powdered sugar for more flavor. Many people believe that they are the first kind of donut in history.
31. Buttermilk Drop Donuts
Buttermilk donut is another donut from New Orleans and also a successor of African donuts. Buttermilk drop donuts are made from nutmeg, vanilla, and buttermilk as the key. Just like any drop donuts, they are dropped into hot oil to cook and then coated with a sugar glaze.
32. African donuts
African donuts are just as good and tasty as any other type
African donuts are made by dropping a small ball of batter into hot oil and fried until golden brown. The batter can be mixed with orange or nutmeg, which gives them a distinguished taste. They are tender yet crispy and can be flavored with powdered or caster sugar.
Healthy Donuts
These healthy donuts will guarantee your health while still being able to satisfy your sweet tooth
Although they used to be a somewhat rare variant, healthy donuts have earned their place as one of the most popular donuts.
To expand the market share, manufacturers begin to shift their attention to more friendly diet products and gluten-free alternatives, thus the birth of healthy donuts.
These donuts are usually made from plant-based or other organic ingredients to reduce the calorie content and are baked instead of fried to eliminate the oil.
They can be slightly different from classic donuts, but with the softness and sweet flavor that they provide, you can hardly notice the dissimilarities.
33. Keto Donuts
With these Keto Donuts, you don’t have to worry about your diet anymore
This is a healthier version of the classic donuts. Keto donuts are made from grain flour (like coconut flour or almond flour) and sugar-free sweeteners (yes, they exist). As a result, they’re completely friendly to a keto diet.
34. Gluten-Free Donuts
Made from organic ingredients, gluten-free donuts are your choice for a yummy and healthy snack.
In order to make gluten-free donuts, the bakers have replaced all-purpose flour and bread flour with organic flour. These treats still manage to preserve most of the original flavors despite the change in the main ingredients.
35. Baked Donuts
Baked donuts can be your ideal snack anytime without worry
Baked donuts are your best choice when you want to enjoy donuts’ original flavor with no change in the ingredients. Baking doesn’t require oil, so these treats are much healthier than their fried counterparts. Plus, they’re also easier for you to make at home.
36. Vegan Donuts
Rest assured, you won’t realize the ingredient changes as vegan donuts are just as tasty as the classic types.
This is the best choice for you if you want a healthy alternative completely free of animal products.
Although Vegan donuts are made from plant-based ingredients like soy milk, coconut milk, and oat milk, they provide flavors that are no less remarkable than the classic donuts.
Tasty and healthy, that’s enough reasons for you to give these Vegan donuts a try.
Watch this video: How To Make Vegan Donuts
Filled Donuts
Filled donuts, simple in the making but tasty in the flavor
Filled donuts are a little more straightforward than ring donuts since they’re just flattened fried spheres doughs, which in most cases are raised donuts. Then fill them with cream, jelly, chocolate, Nutella, and other sweet fillings.
After finishing, they are often dipped into powdered sugar or topped with various frostings. The most common toppings for them are Boston cream, coconut, key lime, and jelly.
37. Berliner
Germany always makes everything with extra care, that’s why Berliner can be such a fine snack.
A filled yeast donut type with the main ingredients include a huge quantity of egg, milk, and butter. Berliner has its origin from Berlin, Germany, and also has numerous varieties available. One of the common variants is deep-fried dough filled with jam.
The toppings usually depend on the fillings since these factors need to be in harmony and amplify each other.
For example, strawberry-filled Berliners are usually topped with powdered sugar, Jam Berliner with icing sugar. Lemon-filled Berliner is best with coconut topping, or Spiced apple-filled Berliner topped with crumble apple.
38. Paczki
Rich and flavorful, Paczki is a great snack for you to enjoy
A special street treat from Poland. These donuts are very rich due to the heavy use of eggs and butter and sometimes even alcohol. Paczki is often filled with local fruit flavors like raspberry, plum, or apricot.
Traditionally, Paczki is fried and then rolled in powdered sugar. Sometimes the fillings can be cheese or cream.
39. Boston Cream Donut
As a descendant of a famous cake, Boston Cream Donut won’t make you disappointed about the taste.
Boston Cream donut is a yeast-leavened donut and the successor of the famous Boston Cream Pie. It’s made from classic ingredients with custard filling and chocolate frosting. You can also top them with rum syrup for a more traditional flavor.
Dunkin’ Donuts And Krispy Kreme
In terms of brand and manufacturers, these two are some of the most famous franchises of donuts and sweets you can find in America and also around the world.
Dunkin has been a long-live brand of sweets from the United States since the 1950s. Specializing in coffee and donuts, they have now expanded into one of the largest chains in the world, with approximately 12,900 locations in 49 countries. (2)
What makes Dunkin’ Donuts so popular is the appeal to the working-class in America. The company offers good products with generous gifts for loyal customers. In addition, they also pay much attention to localization for every country they come to.
Furthermore, their marketing strategy is based on the American culture, which quickly captures the attention of the consumers. “American runs on Dunkin” is their famous slogan even to this day.
A good and effective strategy is what helps Dunkin’ Donut to take on the world.
Watch this video: Dunkin' Donuts
Krispy Kreme is one of the two major players together with Dunkin’ Donuts. The brand also has a long history ever since its foundation in 1937 in the United States. They have been making premium sweet treats that are loved by generations.
The biggest difference between Krispy Kreme and other competitors is the quality of their donuts. Unlike many other brands, Krispy Kreme makes their donuts in-house, which helps the donuts always stay fresh and tasty.
The glazing of Krispy Kreme donuts is also a significant advantage of them against others. A new batch of glazing is made every 12 hours (twice a day) to ensure its freshness. This is what makes Krispy Kreme donuts one of the best.
Honor the tradition, maintain the quality are what make Krispy Kreme different.
Watch this video: The Truth About What Makes Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
Those are all the basic types of donuts that you should be aware of, but for you to know them even better, here is some extra information.
How many carbs are in a sugar donut?
One sugar-raised donut contains 22g of total carbs, 21g net carbs, 14g fat, 3g protein, and 230 calories.
Are baked donuts healthier than fried ones?
Yes, because baked donuts don’t use oil like fried ones. A fried donut will typically have around 269 calories, while a baked donut has much fewer.
What is the most popular donut in America?
Glazed donut is no doubt the most popular flavor of donut in America. They are consumed in many states, from the West to the Eastcoast.
Which country eats the most donuts?
Canada holds the highest donut consumption rate compared to all other countries. Canadian people eat more than 1 billion donuts annually.
What is the average cost of donuts?
The price can be varied depending on the region, but the average should be from 2.80 to 3.50 USD.
Why are donuts usually round?
It is for them to be easier to fill with cream, custard, or other types of filling. The round shape is to leave no corner so that when filling, there are no weak points for the content to spurt out.
Why do donuts have holes?
Because the outside tends to be cooked quicker than the inside of donuts, which will lead to them being burnt on the outside while the inside is still not yet cooked. Punching a hole in the middle will allow them to be cooked evenly.
A Sweetness That Is Captive To Everyone
Ever since your childhood, the taste of donuts must have been something you are too well familiar with. Now you will know how to enjoy them properly. The crispy yet soft and tasty flavor that melts in your mouth is something you can’t get enough of.
Donuts are a treat for everyone from all over the world, no matter the age. If you give them enough attention, they will become a snack to brighten your day anytime. Don’t hesitate to share this article to find yourself some friends to enjoy the wonderful sweets together.
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Doughnut – Wikipedia.
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Dunkin’ Donuts – Wikipedia.
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sea foam mag
art & poetry by lilith kulp
✱✱✱
Lilith Kulp is a 22 year old non-binary trans womxn living in Philadelphia. When she's not under selling her labor to the capitalist machine, she's writing poetry or sketching up a portrait.You can follow her for updates about her projects to come on her Instagram @shimanthajones or on Twitter @goldstarbi
glitter erasures by sara adams
dead-end roads
kids
Citations:
Waffles: A found poem from: King, Stephen. Cujo. Viking Press, 1981. P. 105.
Dead-End Roads: A found poem from: King, Stephen. Cujo. Viking Press, 1981. P. 296.
Kids: A found poem from: King, Stephen. Cujo. Viking Press, 1981. P. 27.
Sara Adams (kartoshkaaaaa.com) is the author of two poetry e-chapbooks: Think Like a B (SOd Press) & We All Have to Keep our Heads (Ghost City Press) and two print chapbooks: Poems for Ivan (Porkbelly Press) & Western Diseases (dancing girl press). Sara has work in publications such as DIAGRAM and Queen Mob's Tea House. She lives in Portland, OR.
peeling by jourden v. sander
Jourden V. Sander is a bookseller, writer and the EIC of lit zine Feminine Inquiryin Austin, TX. She’s been published a few places including The Fem, Five2One, The Rumpus, Ghost City Press, Maudlin House, the Austin International Poetry Festival 2015 anthology Di-Vêrsé-City, and others. She wears a different color lipstick every day of the week and finds you suspicious. She says hello! Follow her on twitter @jourdensander.
girl plus ___ project by emma banks
what is girl plus ___?
"girl plus ___ is a project that aims to explore spaces & the women that live there. i started this photo series as a way to share my girl gang with the world. all of my friends were doing really incredible things, spreading light in their own way and fulfilling creative endeavors that spoke to them, and it felt like someone outside of our circle should know. it’s a cool thing to create a little corner of the internet for “your kind of people,” and then make connections beyond that. definitely something i had not taken advantage of prior to this project!
i really hope that with these photos and interviews, readers/viewers can visit the world of each person, make connections, bridge the gap, and hopefully see a little bit more of their own potential in the process. what started as a fun side project has become much more purposeful, and i’d love to keep moving in that direction. as always, i’m super thankful for each visitor and whatever impact (if any) these stories have on their lives. my beginning statement has always been the most important truth of this project and i think it’s the best way to give you the gist: we embrace both the mundane & the extraordinary. each person is a tiny, incredible star in the universe. "
excerpts from girl + brooklyn
head over to http://girl--plus.com/ for more photos and interviews from brooklyn, austin, manhattan, dallas and san luis obispo.
at the whitney museum of art, meatpacking district, manhattan
i spent my first month in new york roaming around the city aimlessly, totally solo and without a clue. enter christina: the saving grace i met one sunday after church who heaved me out of my solitude and into the frenzy that is her nyc social life.
christina is currently in grad school at colombia studying arts administration, & she'll probably be running coachella and acl one day so keep an eye out for this one...she's rad.
"After working as a fashion/lifestyle publicist for a couple of years, I decided I needed a change. So I went back to school. It has been amazing. I feel like I'm exploring new interests and possibilities I had never considered. I am excited about the future. However, having to do homework after thinking I was done with that part of my life can be annoying, but it's only for a short time. I'll deal."
where are you from? I spent my formative years in Cincinnati, OH, but I also claim Houston, TX and Richmond, VA. It depends on who I'm talking to.
what do you do? I am a graduate student at Columbia University studying Arts Administration, which is basically a nonprofit business management degree with a focus on the arts. I'm hoping to work in music festival planning and programming one day, but recently I've been obsessed with idea of working at the Brooklyn Museum or BAM.
style is...mixed prints, bright colors, funky African prints.
i start every morning…by checking my horoscope. If it's positive, it's like a pep talk. If not, I'm like these are all lies! Haha
one thing i couldn't live without...my planner. I'm a Virgo...
3 women i admire: Erykah Badu, Solange Knowles, and Cipriana Quann of Urban Bush Babes on the basis of their style.
i am most well-known for...being the social coordinator for my friends. I really enjoy bringing people together.
vintage is...for mixing with new pieces.
i like it when girls...can accept a compliment without feeling the need to reciprocate or deny it. It really is an art.
i like it when guys...are feminists.
lipstick...should be bold/make you feel bold.
the best outfit i ever wore...navy loose top with white polka dots tucked into my favorite high-waisted paisley pants with black booties. I wore it to the BK Museum Artist Ball recently, and I got compliments all night long. I felt like the belle of the ball.
everyday…is a new day.
the best thing about Brooklyn is...diversity. Diverse neighborhoods, diverse people, and diverse things to do. I can't get enough.
currently reading: White Teeth by Zadie Smith
currently listening to: Mean Lady, Tei Shi, and Tennis
favorite phrase or quotation: "You are who you think you can't be."
i'll never forget...the day I moved to Brooklyn. August 16, 2012.
i'll always...have my nose ring. I'd feel naked without it.
at her home in greenpoint, brooklyn
joy is defined as "a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated; elation." i think it's safe to say that, for anyone that knows her, joy is so far living up to her name. no small feat!
truly, i've never met anyone that is so full of life and laughter. it's easy to photograph someone with so much gusto and i couldn't have enjoyed my visit to her home more. thanks for having me!
"I have filled my room with things that make me happy. I like to call it my Tacky Nightclub. I have weird things everywhere, pink flamingos, SNL prints, a 7’ inflatable shark, a disco ball and a whole ton of color everywhere in between. You can find wigs and costume pieces under my bed just in case there is a parade outside that I need to run out and join.
It feels pretty good to wake up every morning under a disco ball. I don't want my main environment to be serious. I want to laugh and for it to feel like it’s truly me, so a jumbled mess of crazy things that somehow maybe work together. It helps me feel more creative. I like how bright it is. My mood lifts when I’m in it. My whole apartment is like that though, bright. I don't have a closet and I used to not love that all my clothes are hanging on a rack in my room, but now I love it. It’s like art, but I get to wear it everyday. My favorite thing about my place though, is the amount of people that are in it. I feel like it is a great place for friends to come and hang and laugh. I always wanted to have a place that friends want to come to and now I think I do. So come over anytime!"
where are you from? Germantown Hills, Illinois.
what do you do? Wardrobe for film/ tell dumb jokes.
style is...whatever you feel like so that you are no longer naked
i start every morning…telling myself to freakin get out of bed already Joy!!
one thing i couldn't live without...deodorant (being honest here).
3 women i admire: My mom, Tina Fey, My past professor Dr. Brunson.
i am most well-known for my...very loud voice…and laugh.
vintage is for...everything but underwear.
i like it when girls...are unafraid to tell risky jokes.
i like it when guys...laugh at those jokes.
lipstick...I start with it on, but somehow it never stays.
the best outfit i ever wore...I have one of those very large t-shirts with a bikini painted on it, whenever I wear that and roller blades, I feel pretty damn good.
everyday…I watch something that will make me laugh, most likely an SNL clip.
the best thing about greenpoint is...the amount of old polish men always drinking on their stoops.
currently reading: Yes Please by Amy Poehler.
currently listening to: Killin the Vibe by Ducktails.
favorite phrase or quotation: “Life’s short. Stunt it.” –Rod Kimble aka Hot Rod (and every other line in that movie).
i’ll never...say no to ice-cream.
i'll always...stop for ice-cream.
in greenpoint, brooklyn
tiffany: one part production coordinator, one part editor, one part creator, all parts texan. she's a fellow austin ex-pat turned new yorker, incredibly busy 24/7, and has a funny obsession with this chris isaak music video (it's fantastic, if you were wondering).
she's also the creator/editor of voyeur, a personal project that takes a look at the daily lives of people via disposable cameras, so she's no stranger to the film game. lucky us...
name: Tiffany Diane Tso
where are you from? Texas!
what do you do? I work in production for PHHHOTO and am the Features Director for LADYGUNN Magazine.
style is...better than fashion.
i start every morning...by trying to bargain with my alarm clock for more sleep.
one thing i couldn't live without...laughter.
3 women i admire: My grandmother, for raising six children of her own and still having the generosity to take two more in. My mother, for coming to this country without much and making a career for herself. Women writers.
i am most well-known for my...disgusting humor and tiny hands.
vintage is...forever.
i like it when girls...are chillers.
i like it when guys...are Southern.
lipstick is...hard.
the best outfit i ever wore...was probably patterned.
everyday...is the worst/best.
currently reading: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.
currently listening: to a lot of Wiz Khalifa.
favorite phrase or quotation: "From my rotting body, flowers will grow, and I am in them, and that is eternity." - Edvard Munch
i’ll never...smoke cigarettes.
i'll always...recycle.
emma is a writer & photographer currently living in new york city.
you can see more of her work here: www.emmacbanks.com or say hi on instagram, @emmacbanks.
art by alexander c. solomon
Alexander C. Solomon is (not-for-too-much-longer) a Boston based writer, photographer, and singer originally from Omaha, Nebraska. In the summer of 2012, Alexander lived in Baden-bei-Wien Austria, where he studied twentieth-century German poetry, and discovered his desire to write. Photography was always a part of Alexander's life and travels, but only recently did he merge it with his writing. The inspiration for his work is found in travel, meditation, and his dreaming life. He's coined his works “Illuminations” after the medieval art of illuminating manuscripts, for which an artist would take meaningful text and paint or “illuminate” the words with symbols and scenes. After seven years of writing, this collection is the first time Alexander's work has been published – which is a pretty big deal – so thank you to Sea Foam Mag! Check out more of his work HERE and find him on Instagram HERE.
art by mrcz
MRCZ (Marcos) is a Brazilian artist born in 1991. He was born into a small town of ~3000 people and lived for years in a countryside house with his parents, which he believes to have changed him forever. He currently lives in the large city of Porto Alegre where he works in publicity. He started his artistic work in 2015, creating daily between college design courses and work. His main objective was to make something he could pour his entire heart into - to immerse himself completely. His productions are a way of expressing the challenges that come with the responsibilities of adulthood in a grand city. His inspirations include comics, music, the human mind and its gimmicks, philosophy, fiction and science. You can find more of his work here.
archiving strategies - the next installation of the mai visti e altre storie project
Mai Visti e Altre Storie continues!
On October 27th, the exhibition Archiving Strategies will open at the Arteco Temporary Space. The exhibit is included in the wider context of Nesxt, an observatory in progress about the no-profit sphere intended as a fundamental and necessary area of the Art system - an independent research and experimentation zone in an incessant metamorphosis.
Archiving, recording, cataloging and preserving are common words in the context of contemporary artistic practice, conveying not only the necessity of transmission of memory, but also touching on varieties of reception.
In the rooms of an empty house hosting the Arteco Temporary Space, original artworks from artists belonging to the Mai Visti e Altre Storie archive show a plurality of archiving practices that start with the necessity of preserving memories of daily-use objects through musealization, presented here in the photographic and cataloging objects of the Museum of Anthropology and Etnography of the University of Turin. Liliana Macario who "knits the weave" of her own memories into a unique, long scarf, takes an intimate approach to memory. Also on display is the extremely declared strategy pursued by Gaetano Carusotto through unfinished writing. You'll also find patiently created artworks by Ernesto Levesque, in which text and watercolour have a dialogue.
Mai Visti e Altre Storie (Never Seen and Other Stories) is an archive preserving and enhancing Outsider Art in the Piedmont area. It provides opportunities to reflect on the permeability of the boundaries between concepts as mainstream and outsider, commonness and abnormality, considering art and culture as shared heritage and instruments for active citizenship. Click HERE for a full list of partners and to learn more.
2 pieces by prairie m. faul
A body (A)maze
The walls are tense periwinkle tendon like someone's been smoking on the job and all the floorplans got lost in the confusion. Like we decided arteries make for great architecture so they made these four dovetails rest on a sigh; I think there’s a fault line beneath my bed. I think memory is like packing a list and watching as unfurling it shows how blank it can become. I think i can't remember my dreams. I think im still having them. I’ve been spilling seeds before sleep and all these knotted cherry stems are growing around like they own the place. this is another space ive regretfully made for fallopian metaphors. One day i woke up and ive felt tired ever since; one night i went to sleep with all my teeth a-sweating and awoke to all this hair. When i part it to the left i can breathe without calves tingling of suspicion; When I part it to the right i can laugh in that pitch that makes you think of hairless youth. Most of the time I’ll just lie there between tickling&itching about dreams i cant remember. What lives in between locks of hair? Cause there's a whole lot of space between mine and its keeping me awake at night wondering if i should be saying hello. What's it like to be a home? Im living a new life with every closed door, im birthing selves that tumble out of four walls, a rushed job that sits helter-skelter on the sidewalk right along the way to work and i don't know any routes to avoid seeing it. I think this, like all of this, might be one big question about the different ways things might taste in the outside of the inside. What does it mean that i've never received a text in my dreams? I think it might say alot about what it means to have expectations. Sometimes i forget where i am but that's okay since you gave me these months to remember i'm doing a really good job knowing what time we’re both living in. I want to show you all the things i’ve collected, i want to lay them out in front of rocks by the sea, i want to find the right placement of them next to each other as if to say ‘here’s everything i know about being alive its not alot but i think you’ll appreciate the attention to detail.’ Maybe we could spend nights next to the sea and harvest all the tree bones that wash ashore. Maybe we could build a house ourselves. I could shave off all this hair and everyone could find a space between the locks to live in. I could say hello how are you doing out there. And they would say oh we’re well, things are feeling good again.
i have this picture of me
Prairie M. Faul is a Cajun poet and flagrant transsexual from Louisiana. She is the author of the micro-chap Root-Heart. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming from Inferior Planets, FogMachine, and The Wanderer. Her collected work can be found at motsduprairie.tumblr.com
pastels & poetry by raychel reimer
What: 'Pastels & Poetry' is an ongoing poetry/photo project by published writer, Raychel Reimer. Reimer visually showcases her poetry works in uniquely assembled frames to catch the reader's eye. The purpose of the bold colour use in Reimer's project is to not shy away from her own personal femininity, and to deconstruct the idea that bright colours are gendered or juvenile.
Who: Raychel Reimer is a freelance artist based out of Vancouver, Canada. She studied Media Arts at Sheridan Institute in Toronto where she specialized in documentary filmmaking. A lover of many platforms, Reimer is not only an award-winning documentary filmmaker, but also a photographer, writer and mixed media artist. She continues to create raw, non-fiction art in all of these mediums. | www.raychelreimer.com | @RRxWords
i don't love myself yet, but i'm learning to by izzy leslie
(glo worm press published this piece first & we really love them a lot)
Izzy Leslie (@badplantmom) was born in 1992 in Plano, Texas. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her cat Frida. She feels like Dawn Wiener most of the time.
twitter |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: What is the recommended treatment for a Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome patient with atrial fibrillation who is hemodynamically stable? output: The recommended treatment for a hemodynamically stable patient with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and atrial fibrillation is procainamide.
Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is a condition in which there is an extra electrical pathway in the heart, which can cause episodes of rapid heartbeats or atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is a type of irregular heartbeat that can increase the risk of stroke and other complications.
Procainamide is a medication that can help to control the heart rate and rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation. It works by blocking certain electrical signals in the heart, which can help to restore a normal heartbeat.
It is important for patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and atrial fibrillation to receive appropriate medical management to reduce the risk of complications. Healthcare providers may recommend other treatments in addition to procainamide, depending on the individual patient's needs and medical history. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: How does Enterococcus faecalis typically present in urinary tract infections? output: Enterococcus faecalis typically presents in urinary tract infections (UTIs) with a range of clinical manifestations. Common symptoms include dysuria, increased urinary frequency, urgency, and lower abdominal pain. In more severe cases, patients may present with fever, chills, and flank pain, indicating possible pyelonephritis or complicated UTI.[1-2]
E. faecalis is frequently associated with chronic and complicated UTIs, particularly in patients with indwelling urinary catheters or those who have undergone recent urinary tract instrumentation. It is also a notable pathogen in catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), where it can subvert immune responses and promote polymicrobial infections.[2-3]
Microscopically, E. faecalis can be identified by its Gram-positive cocci morphology. In some cases, it may present as a mucoid encapsulated morphotype, which can complicate identification and delay appropriate treatment. [4]
E. faecalis has been shown to invade urothelial cells, forming intracellular reservoirs that can contribute to chronic infection and recurrence. This invasive capability is significant in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), where intracellular E. faecalis can be detected within shed urothelial cells.[5]
In summary, E. faecalis in UTIs often presents with typical UTI symptoms but is particularly associated with chronic, complicated, and catheter-associated infections.
Its ability to invade urothelial cells and form intracellular reservoirs complicates treatment and contributes to recurrent infections. |
instruction: You are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description. input: Hello doctor, My friend aged 30 had two drops of phenol mistaking for milk. He vomited and had lot of salt water. Please advice for any side effect.
Please explain the poisonous effect of phenol ingestion. output: Hi. I want to assure you not to worry as everything is going to be fine if proper care and treatment is opted in for. I have thoroughly gone through your case and can well understand your genuine health concerns. 1. No, there is not much problem right now as he vomited and also had a lot of water. It is fine because it was only two drops. 2. We usually do not go for emesis (vomiting) for phenol poisoning cases. Because, it is a volatile compound and causes vapors entering the lungs through the airways. 3. As it was only two drops, I do not think it may cause much trouble. If he feels short of breath contact me back, otherwise fine. 1. He should avoid re-exposure. 2. Rule out if there is some sort of suicidal ideation due to depression or anxiety and take him to a psychiatrist for physical evaluation. For further follow up consult a general practitioner online.--->.. |
Accomplice liability See Aiding and abetting liability
Aiding and abetting liability – A well-established concept in both international and domestic law, which holds that an individual or corporation may be held liable for giving substantial assistance or encouragement to the person who actually commits the violation, provided that the person giving aid knew that the assistance would help the person commit the violation.
Alien Tort Statute (ATS) – The Alien Tort Statute is a U.S. federal law dating to 1789 which allows foreign victims of international human rights abuses to sue the perpetrators in U.S. courts, no matter where the abuses were committed, so long as the perpetrator is found within the United States. Since 1980, the ATS has been used successfully in cases involving torture, rape, extrajudicial killing, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and arbitrary detention. » Read more…
Amicus curiae brief – Latin for "friend of the court." A written legal argument filed with a court by someone who is not a party to the case that addresses a related legal issue. CJA files amicus briefs in human rights cases brought by other individuals or organizations, in which the issues raised are of vital concern to our work.
Amnesty law – From the Greek, amnestia “forgetting”. An amnesty law is any law that retroactively exempts a group of people—usually military and government leaders—from criminal or civil liability for crimes committed in the past. » Read more…
Appellant – Any party making an appeal to a higher court.
Appellee – The respondent in an appeal.
Arbitrary detention – When an individual is arrested and detained by a government without due process and without the legal protections of a fair trial, or when an individual is detained without any legal basis for the deprivation of liberty.
The right to be free from arbitrary detention can be traced to one of the founding documents on personal liberty and civil governance—the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta was drafted in 1215 to check the abuse of power by the English monarchy. In particular, Chapter 39 proclaimed that “[n]o free man shall be taken, imprisoned, disseised, outlawed, banished, or in any way destroyed, nor will We proceed against or prosecute him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers and by the law of the land.”
Freedom from arbitrary detention is a fundamental right enshrined in Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain that without aggravating circumstances, simple arbitrary detention was not sufficiently well-established as a violation of international law to be an actionable claim under the ATS. U.S. courts have subsequently recognized claims for prolonged arbitrary detention. Also called Unlawful detention. See also Forced disappearance, Habeas corpus
Asylum – The right of asylum is an ancient legal notion, under which a person persecuted in her own country, on the basis of her race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group, may be protected by the sovereign government of a foreign state. Also called political asylum. See also Refugee
ATCA – Alien Tort Claims Act. See Alien Tort Statute
ATS – See Alien Tort Statute
Audiencia Nacional – See Spanish National Court
Cert petition – A document which a losing party files with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the Supreme Court to review the decision of a lower court. It includes a list of the parties, a statement of the facts of the case, the legal questions presented for review, and arguments as to why the Court should grant the writ of certiorari. Also called Petition for writ of certiorari, Petition for cert
Civil action – See Lawsuit
Civil law (Branch of the common law system) – A body of law dealing with disputes between private individuals or organizations. Civil law courts provide a forum for disputes involving torts or other private matters that involve individual parties or organizations, including government departments. The civil law often attempts to right a wrong, honor an agreement, or settle a dispute. Unlike criminal law, the civil law can be enforced by private parties, through lawsuits brought before a civil law court.
Civil law (Legal system) – A legal system in which a codified and published collection of statutes provide the source of law. In contrast, the source of law in common law systems is found in precedents set by previous court decisions. The most prevalent legal system in the world, the civil law is practiced in most of continental Europe, most of Latin America, parts of the Middle East and significant parts of Africa and East Asia.
Civil war – See Internal Armed Conflict
Comity – A practice in international relations where political entities (e.g. courts, nation-states) agree mutually to recognize each other’s legislative, executive and judicial acts.
Command responsibility – A legal doctrine which holds that a superior in an organized armed force may be held liable for international law violations committed by subordinates, if the commander knew or should have known about the abuses, and failed to take reasonable measures to prevent them or to punish the offenders.
Common law – Common law refers to a legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals, rather than through legislative statutes. A decision in a current case depends on decisions made in previous cases, called precedents. This evolving body of precedent—also called "common law" or “case law”—is binding on future decisions. In contrast, civil law legal systems derive laws exclusively from legislative statutes and legal codes, rather than from previous court decisions. Common law countries include, among others, the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa, India and Pakistan.
Complaint – The presentation made by the plaintiff in a lawsuit, setting forth the claims for which relief or damages are sought.
Court of Appeals (U.S. Federal) – A higher court of law empowered to review the decisions made by a lower district court. U.S. federal courts of appeals are limited to reviewing whether the lower court made a correct legal determination, and do not hear new evidence or determine the facts of a case. There are 13 U.S. courts of appeals, 12 of which correspond to a geographic region or “circuit”. Also called Appellate Court.
» Click here for a map of the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals.
Crimes against humanity – Crimes against humanity includes individual violations committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population. An attack is widespread if it occurs on a large scale, directed at many intended victims. An attack is systematic if it is sufficiently organized and not random, such as in a pattern of similar crimes. Courts generally agree that the attack can be directed against any civilian population.
Historically, individual violations have included: murder; extermination; deportation; unlawful imprisonment; torture; rape; or persecution on political, racial, or religious grounds. Recent definitions used in international law have expanded the list of violations to include: institutionalized racial, ethnic, or religious discrimination (apartheid); forcible population transfer; forced disappearance; or forced prostitution, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy, and other severe forms of sexual violence.
Criminal law – The body of law that involves a government or international body’s prosecution of individuals who have committed an act classified as a crime. Within the U.S. legal system, federal, state, and local governments codify crimes and prosecute criminals. In common law jurisdictions, only a prosecuting attorney acting on behalf of the government may bring a criminal case against an accused. Despite variations in rules and procedures, the common characteristic of the criminal law, across jurisdictions, is the potential to impose sever penalties for failure to comply. Punishments can include, fines, deprivation of liberty, and in certain nations, even death.
Cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment (CIDT) – While prohibiting CIDT, Article 16 of the UN Convention on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment (CAT) does not provide an enumerated list of acts that qualify as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Court decisions on international law claims of CIDT have been mixed; several judges allowed lawsuits and several others rejected them. Part of the problem is that it is difficult to define CIDT; in general, CIDT is of the same character as torture, but to a lesser degree of severity. U.S. courts have at times limited this violation to acts that would be considered “cruel and unusual punishment” under the U.S. Constitution.
Customary international law – One of the fundamental sources of international law, customary international law consists of certain rules of law derived from the consistent conduct of States acting in the belief that such conduct is required by law. The elements of customary international law include:
• The widespread repetition by States of similar international acts over time
• The acts must occur out of sense of obligation
• The acts must be taken by a significant number of States and not be rejected by a significant number of States
Death squad – From the Spanish “escuadron de la muerte”. A clandestine military or paramilitary group who carries out extra-judicial killing and/or forced disappearance of perceived political opponents, often on behalf of or with the tacit approval of a government. See also Paramilitary
Default judgment – A binding judgment in favor of the plaintiff when the defendant has not responded to a summons or has failed to appear before a court. A default judgment may be vacated, or set aside, if a defendant later files a motion with the court providing a proper excuse for her absence.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – A U.S. federal agency responsible for preventing and responding to domestic emergencies, including terrorist attacks and natural disasters. The DHS absorbed the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in 2003, and divided its activities between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), responsible for border protection and law enforcement, and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), responsible for handling immigrant visa and naturalization petitions, and asylum and refugee applications. See also Asylum, Refugee
Disappearance – See Forced disappearance
Discovery – A stage in a case in which both parties are able to compel the release of facts or documents relating to the case.
District Court (U.S. federal) The general trial courts of the U.S. federal court system, district courts have jurisdiction over cases which involve federal statutes or interpretations of federal law. There are 94 U.S. district courts. Decisions from these courts are subject to review by one of the 13 United States court of appeals, which are, in turn, subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Docket – A list of filings (e.g. pleadings, motions, responses, briefs) in a case.
Due process – In the U.S. legal system, due process of law is the principle that the government must respect all of the legal rights that are owed to a person according to the law of the land, as stated in the constitution and developed through case law. Due process is an ancient legal notion in the common law, dating back to the Magna Carta of 1215.
» Read more on due process rights under the U.S. constitution and international humanitarian law.
Equitable tolling – A principle of law stating that plaintiffs may still sue even after a statute of limitations has expired, but only if they have been prevented from doing so by extraordinary circumstances. In this sense, “tolling” means that the clock on the limitation time period will not start to tick until the circumstances which barred the suit from being filed have been lifted.
En banc – Law French, meaning “on the bench.” U.S. Courts of Appeals divide into panels of judges to hear cases. A case may be re-heard en banc, meaning before the entire "bench" of appellate judges.
Ethnic cleansing – The expulsion, imprisonment or killing of an ethnic minority by a dominant majority in order to achieve ethnic homogeneity. Ethnic cleansing may constitute the international crimes of genocide or crimes against humanity.
Exhaustion of remedies – A legal doctrine which prevents a litigant from filing a lawsuit in a new court or jurisdiction until all claims or remedies have been exhausted (pursued as fully as possible) in the original one. In the U.S. courts, under the TVPA, survivors are generally required to try to bring a case in their home country before suing in the United States. This rule has not been applied in domestic law cases, and courts have generally rejected an exhaustion requirement for ATCA cases. Even if an exhaustion requirement exists, it can typically be met if the survivors show that it would have been futile or impossible to try to bring a case in their home country.
Extradition – Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state requests and obtains from another nation or state the surrender of a suspected or convicted criminal. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties.
Extrajudicial killing – A deliberate killing not authorized by a court affording due process protections. Also called Summary execution, extrajudicial assassination.
Extraterritorial jurisdiction – Customary international law recognizes five principles of jurisdiction under which every sovereign government has the power to hear criminal or civil cases. The territorial principle gives a sovereign jurisdiction within its national borders. Four non-territorial principles may allow sovereigns to exercise criminal or civil jurisdiction over conduct committed outside its national borders. These are the protective principle, the nationality principle, the passive personality principle and the principle of universal jurisdiction.
Forced disappearance – An abduction by state officials or their agents, without due process of law, followed by an official refusal to acknowledge the abduction or to disclose the fate of the person abducted. Also called ‘enforced disappearance’, or simply ‘disappearance’.
Forced labor – See Slavery
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) – Passed by Congress in 1976, the FSIA establishes the limitations under which a foreign sovereign nation (or its political subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities) may be sued in U.S. courts. It also establishes specific procedures for service of process and attachment of property for proceedings against a foreign state. The FSIA provides the exclusive basis and means to bring a lawsuit against a foreign sovereign in the United States.
» Read the text of the FSIA
Forum non conveniens – Latin for “inconvenient forum”. A fairly complex legal doctrine that allows a court to dismiss a lawsuit that it determines would be more appropriately and conveniently filed somewhere else. Often, the choice is between a court in the U.S. and a court in a foreign country, such as the country where the violation occurred or the country where the defendant resides.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) – A 1966 U.S. law requiring government agencies to release their records to the public upon request, unless the information sought needs to be kept secret to preserve national security, an individual’s right to privacy, or internal agency management. If the government agency does not comply, an individual or group can sue for the release of records.
Gender-based violence – Physical or mental harm perpetrated against a person based on power inequalities resulting from gender roles. Gender-based violence may or may not contain elements of sexual violence, such as rape. Although gender- (and trans-gender-) based violence can affect both men and women, the majority of cases involve women and girls.
Geneva Conventions – A key source of international humanitarian law that governs the way wars may be fought and the protection of individuals in times of armed conflict. The Four Conventions were adopted in 1949 and cover the treatment of sick and wounded armed forces, prisoners of war and civilians. Among their many provisions, Article 3 Common to the Geneva Conventions (often called Common Article 3) sets out the minimum protections that must apply including the prohibition against torture and “humiliating and degrading treatment,” and the passing of sentences by irregularly constituted courts that do not apply the judicial guarantees “which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.”
» Read more about the Geneva Conventions
Genocide – Article 2 of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines genocide as: “Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such:
• killing members of the group
• causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
• deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring
about its physical destruction in whole or in part
• imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
• forcibly transferring children of the group to another group
Habeas corpus – A Latin expression meaning “produce the body”. A writ of habeas corpus is a judicial order to a prison official demanding that an inmate be brought to the court so that a judge can determine whether or not that person is imprisoned lawfully. If there is no factual or legal reason for the detention, release is ordered. Petitioning for a writ of habeas corpus is a means of testing whether a prisoner has been given basic due process rights.
Human rights – The rights and freedoms to which all human beings are entitled in the society in which they live. Such rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the law; and economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to participate in culture, the right to food, the right to work and the right to education.
Human trafficking – The transport of persons, by means of coercion, deception or consent, for the purpose of exploitation, such as forced or consensual labor or prostitution. See also Slavery
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – A federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for the nation’s border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security. ICE includes an Office of Investigations tasked with investigating transnational crimes such as human rights violations, human smuggling, human trafficking, narcotics, arms trafficking, smuggling, terrorism, financial crimes and computer crimes. ICE is also responsible for the detention and removal (deportation) of unlawful immigrants.
To date, ICE has initiated nationwide over 1000 human rights related investigations or removal cases that are in various stages of investigation from over 89 countries. See also Department of Homeland Security
Immunity – The status of a person or body that places them beyond the law and makes them free from legal obligations, such as liability for torts under civil law or prosecution under criminal law. Foreign governments and many of the officials who work for them often claim they are immune from human rights lawsuits in U.S. courts. See also Qualified immunity, Sovereign immunity, FSIA
Impunity – The impossibility, de jure or de facto, of bringing the perpetrators of human rights abuses to justice. Impunity arises when states fail to meet their obligations to investigate abuses, to take appropriate measures to prosecute the perpetrators or to duly punish those convicted.
» Read the Updated Set of Principles for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights Through Action to Combat Impunity, submitted to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on 8 February 2005.
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) – Established in 1959, the IACHR is a permanent autonomous organ of the Organization of American States which meets in Washington D.C. to examine allegations of human rights violations in the hemisphere. The main functions of the IACHR are to investigate individual petitions, publish country specific human rights reports, request that states adopt precautionary measures to prevent human rights violations and refer cases to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for trial.
Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) – Established in 1979, with the purpose of enforcing and interpreting the provisions of the American Convention on Human Rights, the IACHR hears and rules on the specific cases of human rights violations referred to it, and issues opinions on matters of legal interpretation brought to its attention by other OAS bodies or member states.
Internal armed conflict – A contemporary term for a civil war that marks a contrast with international armed conflicts—which are subject to specific provisions of international humanitarian law—and also allows for differences in the nature and scale of internal conflicts. Although an exact threshold has not been codified, the international community generally accepts that at a certain point violent confrontation within a State goes beyond the realms of domestic criminal law and becomes an armed conflict to which international law applies. » Read more
International Criminal Court – The International Criminal Court (ICC), governed by the Rome Statute, is the first permanent, treaty based, international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. The ICC is an independent international organization, and is not part of the United Nations system. Its seat is at The Hague in the Netherlands. See also International criminal law
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) – The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is a United Nations court of law dealing with war crimes that took place during the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s. Since its establishment in 1993, it has irreversibly changed the landscape of international humanitarian law and provided victims an opportunity to voice the horrors they witnessed and experienced.
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) – The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda was established by the United Nations Security Council in November 1994, for the prosecution of persons responsible for genocide and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of Rwanda between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1994. It may also deal with the prosecution of Rwandan citizens responsible for genocide and other such violations of international law committed in the territory of neighboring States during the same period.
Internally Displaced Person (IDP) – Individuals or groups who have been forced or obliged to flee their homes or places of habitual residence—as a result of armed conflict, persecution, human rights violations, or natural or human-made disasters—but who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border. In contrast, a refugee is one who has, for similar reasons, fled their habitual residence and crossed an international border.
International criminal law – A branch of international law which deals with crimes of an international character
and the courts and tribunals set up to adjudicate such cases. Unlike other branches of international law which concern the rights and obligations of states and institutions, international criminal law addresses the criminal responsibility of individuals for violations of international law. See also International humanitarian law, International public law, International human rights law
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) – A body of law that defines the conduct and responsibilities of belligerent nations, neutral nations and individuals engaged in warfare, in relation to each other and to protected persons, including civilian non-combatants and prisoners of war. IHL is comprised of the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Conventions, as well as subsequent treaties, case law and customary international law. Also called the ‘laws of war’ or the ‘law of armed conflict’.
International human rights law – A system of laws, both domestic, regional and international, designed to promote human rights. Human rights law is made up of various international human rights instruments which are binding to the nation-states that sign them, although certain universal minimum standards, called jus cogens norms, are considered binding on all nations, even those that have not ratified the relevant treaty.
In principle, human rights law is enforced on a domestic level, through national courts, since states that ratify human rights treaties commit themselves to enact domestic national human rights legislation. Enforcement can also occur on a regional level, through a body such as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, or at the international level, through a body such as the International Criminal Court. See also International Humanitarian Law, Customary International Law, International public law, International criminal law
International law – A system of laws concerning the rights and obligations of sovereign
nations, international governance institutions (such as the United Nations), and in
some cases, movements of national liberation or armed insurrection as well as individuals. Norms of international law have their source in:
1) treaties;
2) customary international law (consistent state practice accompanied by a sense of legal obligation (opinio juris)); or
3) general principles of law common to domestic legal systems (e.g., principles of fraud or fairness).
See also International humanitarian law, International criminal law, International human rights law
Joint criminal enterprise – A concept in domestic and international law that assigns individual criminal or civil responsibility to all individuals who are part of a common plan or purpose which amounts to or involves the commission of a crime.
Jurisdiction – In a broader political sense, jurisdiction is the power of the State to enforce its laws. In a narrower legal sense, jurisdiction is the authority of a court or judge to render a decision and enforce the law in a particular case.
See also Universal jurisdiction, Extraterritorial jurisdiction
Jus cogens – Latin for “compelling law.” Jus Cogens is a principle of international law which holds that certain globally accepted standards of behavior or “norms” are binding on all states, regardless of whether a state has signed a related treaty. In other words, a jus cogens norm is one which all states are obligated to respect and are bound to enforce.
It is generally accepted that jus cogens norms include the prohibition of genocide, maritime piracy, slavery and slave trading, torture, and wars of aggression and territorial aggrandizement. Also called peremptory norm. See also International law
Law of nations – See International law
Lawsuit – A civil legal action brought before a court in which a party, called a plaintiff, claims to have received damages from a defendant’s actions or negligent inactions. If the plaintiff is successful, judgment will be given in the plaintiff’s favor, and a range of court orders may be issued to award monetary damages, or impose an injunction to prevent or compel an act.
Letters Rogatory – In its broader sense in international practice, the term letters rogatory denotes a formal request from a court in which an action is
pending, to a foreign court to perform some judicial act. Examples are
requests for the taking of evidence, the serving of a summons, subpoena,
or other legal notice, or the execution of a civil judgment. In United
States usage, letters rogatory have been commonly utilized only for the
purpose of obtaining evidence. Requests rest entirely upon the comity of
courts toward each other, and customarily embody a promise of reciprocity.
Magna Carta – One of the founding documents on personal liberty and civil governance, the Magna Carta was drafted in 1215 to check the abuse of power by the English monarchy. Chapter 39 proclaimed that “[n]o free man shall be taken, imprisoned, disseised, outlawed, banished, or in any way destroyed, nor will We proceed against or prosecute him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers and by the law of the land.” See also Habeas corpus, Arbitrary detention, Due process
» Read a modern English translation of the Magna Carta
Nationality principle (jurisdiction) – A principle of international law that gives a sovereign state jurisdiction over crimes committed by its nationals while they are abroad.
Nuremberg principles – A set of guidelines created for the purposes of the Nuremberg Trials, to define War crimes, Crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace. The Nuremberg Principles were formulated under the direction of the U.N., and have become a key part of international law in prosecuting cases such as genocide, slavery, torture, deportation, or destruction of property.
Nuremberg trials – A series of trials or tribunals most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of Nazi Germany after its defeat in World War I. The first and best known of these trials was the International Military Tribunal (IMT), which tried 22 of the most important captured leaders of Nazi Germany. It was held from 21 November 1945, to 1 October 1946. The second set of trials of war criminals including doctors, lawyers and government ministers was conducted under Control Council Law No. 10 at the U.S. Nuremberg Military Tribunals (NMT). See also Nuremberg Principles
Organization of American States (OAS) – The Organization of American States (OAS) brings together 35 nations of the Western Hemisphere to strengthen cooperation on democratic values, defend common interests and debate the major issues facing the region and the world. The OAS is the region’s principal multilateral forum for strengthening democracy, promoting human rights, and confronting shared problems such as poverty, terrorism, illegal drugs and corruption.
Paramilitary – A group of civilians unofficially organized into a military unit especially to operate in place of or assist regular army forces. In internal armed conflicts and under repressive regimes, paramilitaries are routinely deployed by governments to preserve plausible deniability and to obscure the chain of command. See also Death squad
Passive personality jurisdiction – A principle of international law which permits a sovereign State to exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed against its nationals while they are abroad. For example, a state may have criminal jurisdiction over the torture of its own citizens by a foreign national, no matter where the torture occurred. See also Extraterritorial jurisdiction
Peremptory norm – See Jus cogens
Plaintiff – An individual who has been wronged and brings a lawsuit to court
.
Pleading – A pleading is a formal written statement filed with a court by parties in a civil action.
Political question doctrine – A legal doctrine which holds that U.S. federal courts may refuse to decide a case if the matters involved properly belong to the decision-making authority of elected officials. Although it is generally true that the Courts may not supervise or control the decisions of the executive branch of government, in certain instances the demands of due process and criminal justice may outweigh claims of executive privilege.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – An anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults such as sexual violence or torture, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents or military combat. People with PTSD often experience persistent frightening thoughts and memories or flashbacks of their ordeal and may experience sleep problems, feel detached or numb, or be easily startled.
Protective principle (jurisdiction) – A principle of international law that gives a State jurisdiction over extraterritorial conduct that threatens its national security, regardless of the nationality of the perpetrator or the location of the conduct. Such conduct could include espionage or counterfeiting of currency. See also Extraterritorial jurisdiction
Qualified immunity – A legal doctrine which grants immunity from civil liability to a public official, as long as the conduct in question does not violate clearly established constitutional or statutory norms. Under this doctrine, a government official may still be held liable for certain types of egregious conduct.
Rape – A form of sexual violence. Under repressive governments and in situations of armed conflict, rape is often used by combatants or by government or paramilitary agents as a tactic to terrorize and humiliate individual women and men as well as their communities, and to disrupt social continuity. The systematic use of rape as a weapon of war has been a feature of ethnic cleansing and genocide. See also Gender-based violence, Sexual violence, Violence against women
Refugee – A person who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence and has crossed an international border to Seek asylum in another State. A refugee is unable or unwilling to return home due to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. See also Asylum, Internally displaced person
Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity (SOGI) – The United Nations’ Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights
Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (2007) clarify that international human rights protections extend to sexual orientation and gender identity. Sexual orientation refers to "each person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to, and intimate and sexual relations with, individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender." Gender identity refers to "each person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth, including the personal sense of the body (which may involve, if freely chosen, modification of bodily appearance or function by medical, surgical or other means) and other expressions of gender, including dress, speech and mannerisms." In many societies, when an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity does not conform to majority expectations, s/he may become the target for discrimination or even violence. See also Violence Based on Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity.
Sexual violence – Sexual contact or activity of an abusive and coercive nature. Sexual violence can include physical abuse, such as rape, as well as psychological abuse, such as harassment and threats. Although individuals of any gender can be subjected to sexual violence, the majority of victims are women. In armed conflicts, the breakdown of social infrastructures can leave women and girls particularly vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence. However, sexual violence is not simply a by-product of war. It can also be a deliberate and systematic strategy of warfare or of government repression, designed to terrorize and humiliate. See also Violence Based on Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity, Violence against Women
Slavery (and slave trading) – Slavery is one of the oldest recognized violations of international law, even when committed by non-state actors, and can form the basis of a lawsuit under international law. Slavery and slave trading may include several different kinds of conduct – obviously, slavery that involves actual ownership of individuals and control of their actions, or the buying or selling of individuals, is a violation of international law. Other slave-like conditions also violate international law; in one case, a court correctly found that paying someone to conscript forced labor would constitute participation in slave trading. If individuals (other than prison inmates) are forced to provide labor, and the defendant participates in or benefits from this practice, a claim of slavery or slave trading may be recognized. See also Human trafficking.
Spanish National Court (SNC) – Located in Madrid, Spain’s Audiencia Nacional has jurisdiction over:
(1) cases relating to more than one of the provinces throughout the country;
(2) serious monetary and drug trafficking cases;
(3) serious crimes committed outside the country when, according to Spanish law and international treaties, Spanish courts can exercise universal jurisdiction to prosecute them.
CJA currently has two criminal human rights cases in the SNC: the Guatemala Genocide Case, arising from the systematic violence against the Maya in the 1980s, and the Jesuits Massacre Case, arising from a 1989 massacre in El Salvador. See also Universal jurisdiction
State action – Because many international law rules only apply to governments, not to private individuals, many acts (such as torture) are only violations of international law when committed by a state actor: a government official or someone acting in partnership with a government official.
State secrets privilege – An evidentiary rule in U.S. case law that allows a court to exclude evidence from a case, following the federal government’s request, on the grounds that the proceedings might disclose sensitive information that may threaten national security.
Statute of limitations – A law establishing a time limit for bringing a legal action. In a civil case, the statute of limitations may begin when the tort occurred or when it was first discovered.
Stress position – A euphemism for any number of torture techniques where a detainee is forced by an interrogator or jailer to maintain painful positions in order to coerce a confession, obtain information, or obtain compliance. Examples include binding by ropes, chains, or handcuffs into unnatural positions or forcing a detainee to stand or perform an exercise for prolonged periods of time, often under threat of further injury. Also called Stress and duress, “torture lite”. See also Torture, Cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
Subject matter jurisdiction – A determination of whether a court has jurisdiction, or the power to render decisions, over claims or disputes.
Summary judgment – A determination made by a court, applying law to facts, without going to full trial
Tort – A wrongful act that results in injury to another’s person, property, reputation, or the like, and for which the injured party is entitled to compensation.
Torture – The UN Convention on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment (CAT) defines torture as: “Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.”
Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) – A federal statute, passed in 1991, that allows for the filing of lawsuits in U.S. federal courts against individuals who, acting under the actual or apparent authority of a foreign nation, committed torture or extrajudicial killing. Under the TVPA, both U.S. citizens and non-citizens may file suit. The perpetrator must be served with the lawsuit while they are present in the U.S. in order for a court to have jurisdiction. See also Alien Tort Statute
Transitional justice – A range of judicial and non-judicial strategies that are used to deal with a legacy of human rights abuses and armed conflict in a given country. These strategies have a variety of goals: to hold those who had command responsibility for systematic abuses legally accountable; to help repair social divisions caused by conflict; to provide survivors with a full accounting and acknowledgement of the abuses that occurred; to offer material and moral reparations to survivors; and to reform key state institutions including the military, police and judiciary in order to ensure that the pattern of human rights violations is not repeated.
Truth commission – One of the most prominent mechanisms for transitional justice, a truth commission is a temporary official body, often formed by a national government in a post-conflict situation, that is tasked with investigating and documenting the historic pattern of human rights abuses within a certain country, over a specific period of time. Also called Truth and reconciliation commission.
Universal jurisdiction (UJ) – The doctrine of international law which holds that certain crimes are so egregious that the perpetrators may be held accountable wherever they are found. These crimes include genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture. The doctrine provided the legal foundation for the Nuremberg trials against Nazi war criminals. More recent events – including the arrest of Chilean General Augusto Pinochet in London, the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR), the prosecution of Liberian dictator Charles Taylor in Sierra Leone and the establishment of the International Criminal Court, all reflect the growing determination of the international community to carry forward the Nuremberg legacy of bringing individuals to justice for violations of international law that “shock the conscience of humanity.”
Violence against women – Under repressive governments and in situations of armed conflict, women and girls are frequently targets of gender-based violence. Such violence can take the form of direct physical assaults and sexual violence or of psychological abuse. In addition to rape, women and girls are often abducted into sexual slavery, forced into marriage and pregnancy, trafficked and/or forced to exchange sex for survival. See also Gender-based violence, Sexual violence
Violence Based on Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity (SOGI) – The persecution of individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity constitutes a pervasive human rights problem around the world. SOGI-based violence can take the form of discrimination and denial of basic rights and liberties as well as imprisonment, torture and even execution. See also Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity (SOGI), Gender-based violence.
War crime – War crimes are those violations of international humanitarian law —the laws of war—that incur individual criminal responsibility. These violations are enumerated in the 1949 Geneva Conventions and in Additional Protocol I of 1977. See also International criminal law, International humanitarian law
Waterboarding – One of several techniques of interrogational torture that involve suffocation by water. In this technique, the perpetrator restrains the victim, places a cloth over the victim’s face and then pours a stream of water over the victim’s nostrils and mouth. The water triggers an involuntary layrngospasm in the victim’s throat, creating the sensation of imminent drowning. Although waterboarding has been called “simulated drowning” in the U.S. media, a more accurate description might be “controlled drowning”, since an uninterrupted application of the method could be lethal. Waterboarding could also be considered a form of staged execution–a severe form of psychological torture. Also called water torture, the “water cure”, the “Dutch method”
Writ of certiorari – A decision by the Supreme Court to hear an appeal from a lower court. Also called Cert. See also Cert Petition
Please Note – This glossary is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. The materials contained in this glossary serve as general information which may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. Links to other websites are provided for informational purposes alone and are not an endorsement of the views or opinions published therein.
Black’s Law Dictionary, Standard Ninth Edition, Ed. Brian A. Garner, West, 2009.
Crimes of War Project: www.crimesofwar.org
EarthRights: International Litigation Manual (2nd Edition) [PDF]
International Committee of the Red Cross: www.icrc.org
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: www.ohchr.org
World Health Organization: www.who.int/en/ |
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Encrypted payment transactions on this website
If you are under an obligation to share your payment information (e.g. account number if you give us the authority to debit your bank account) with us after you have entered into a fee-based contract with us, this information is required to process payments.
Payment transactions using common modes of paying (Visa/MasterCard, debit to your bank account) are processed exclusively via encrypted SSL or TLS connections. You can recognise an encrypted connection by checking whether the address line of the browser switches from “http://” to “https://” and also by the appearance of the lock icon in the browser line.
If the communication with us is encrypted, third parties will not be able to read the payment information you share with us.
Within the scope of the applicable statutory provisions, you have the right to at any time demand information about your archived personal data, their source and recipients as well as the purpose of the processing of your data. You may also have a right to have your data rectified, blocked or eradicated. If you have questions about this subject matter or any other questions about personal data, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time at the address provided in section “Information Required by Law.”
We herewith object to the use of contact information published in conjunction with the mandatory information to be provided in section “Information Required by Law” to send us promotional and information material that we have not expressly requested. The operators of this website and its pages reserve the express right to take legal action in the event of the unsolicited sending of promotional information, for instance via SPAM messages.
E-mail: datenschutz@triangle-tools.de
The processing of these data is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR, if your request is related to the execution of a contract or if it is necessary to carry out pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, the processing is based on your consent (Article 6 (1) a GDPR) and/or on our legitimate interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR), since we have a legitimate interest in the effective processing of requests addressed to us.
We shall process the data entered during the registration process on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. a GDPR). You have the right to revoke at any time any consent you have already given us. To do so, all you are required to do is sent us an informal notification via e-mail. This shall be without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data collection that occurred prior to your revocation.
The comment function on this website
When you use the comment function on this website, information on the time the comment was generated and your e-mail-address and, if you are not posting anonymously, the user name you have selected will be archived in addition to your comments.
Storage of the IP address
Our comment function stores the IP addresses of all users who enter comments. Given that we do not review the comments prior to publishing them, we need this information in order to take action against the author in the event of rights violations, such as defamation or propaganda.
Subscribing to comments
As a user of this website, you have the option to subscribe to comments after you have registered. You will receive a confirmation e-mail, the purpose of which is to verify whether you are the actual holder of the provided e-mail address. You can deactivate this function at any time by following a respective link in the information e-mails. The data entered in conjunction with subscriptions to comments will be deleted in this case. However, if you have communicated this information to us for other purposes and from a different location (e.g. when subscribing to the newsletter), the data shall remain in our possession.
Storage period for comments
Comments and any affiliated information (e.g. the IP address) shall be stored by us and remain on our website until the content the comment pertained to has been deleted in its entirety or if the comments had to be deleted for legal reasons (e.g. insulting comments).
Comments are stored on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. a GDPR). You have the right to revoke at any time any consent you have already given us. To do so, all you are required to do is sent us an informal notification via e-mail. This shall be without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data collection that occurred prior to your revocation.
Data transfer upon closing of contracts for online stores, retailers and the shipment of merchandise
We share personal data with third parties only if this is necessary in conjunction with the handling of the contract; for instance, with companies entrusted with the shipment of goods or the financial institution tasked with the processing of payments. Any further transfer of data shall not occur or shall only occur if you have expressly consented to the transfer. Any sharing of your data with third parties in the absence of your express consent, for instance for advertising purposes, shall not occur.
We have integrated plug-ins of the social network Facebook, provided by Facebook Inc., 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA, on our website. You will be able to recognise Facebook plug-ins by the Facebook logo or the “Like” button on our website. An overview of the Facebook plug-ins is available under the following link: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/.
Whenever you visit our website and its pages, the plug-in will establish a direct connection between your browser and the Facebook server. As a result, Facebook will receive the information that you have visited our website with your plug-in. However, if you click the Facebook “Like” button while you are logged into your Facebook account, you can link the content of our website and its pages with your Facebook profile. As a result, Facebook will be able to allocate the visit to our website and its pages to your Facebook user account. We have to point out, that we as the provider of the website do not have any knowledge of the transferred data and its use by Facebook. For more detailed information, please consult the Data Privacy Declaration of Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation.
If you do not want Facebook to be able to allocate your visit to our website and its pages to your Facebook user account, please log out of your Facebook account while you are on our website.
The use of the Facebook plug-in is based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in being as visible as possible on social media.
We have integrated functions of the social media platform Twitter into our website. These functions are provided by Twitter Inc., 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA. While you use Twitter and the “Re-Tweet” function, websites you visit are linked to your Twitter account and disclosed to other users. During this process, data are transferred to Twitter as well. We must point out, that we, the providers of the website and its pages do not know anything about the content of the data transferred and the use of this information by Twitter. For more details, please consult Twitter’s Data Privacy Declaration at: https://twitter.com/en/privacy.
The use of Twitter plug-ins is based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in being as visible as possible on social media.
Instagram plug-in
We have integrated functions of the public media platform Instagram into our website. These functions are being offered by Instagram Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.
If you are logged into your Instagram account, you may click the Instagram button to link contents from our website to your Instagram profile. This enables Instagram to allocate your visit to our website to your user account. We have to point out that we as the provider of the website and its pages do not have any knowledge of the content of the data transferred and its use by Instagram.
The use of the Instagram plug-in is based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in being as visible as possible on social media.
For more information on this subject, please consult Instagram’s Data Privacy Declaration at: https://instagram.com/about/legal/privacy/.
Pinterest plug-in
We use social plug-ins of the social network Pinterest on our website. The network is operated by Pinterest Inc., 808 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-490, USA (“Pinterest”).
If you access a site or page that contains such a plug-in, your browser will establish a direct connection with Pinterest’s servers. During this process, the plug-in transfers log data to Pinterest’s servers in the United States. The log data may possibly include your IP address, the address of the websites you visited, which also contain Pinterest functions. The information also includes the type and settings of your browser, the data and time of the inquiry, how you use Pinterest and cookies.
The use of the Pinterest plug-in is based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in being as visible as possible on social media.
For more information concerning the purpose, scope and continue processing and use of the data by Pinterest as well as your affiliated rights and options to protect your private information, please consult the data privacy information of Pinterest at: https://about.pinterest.com/en/privacy-policy.
This website uses functions of the web analysis service Google Analytics. The provider of this service is Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.
Google Analytics uses so-called cookies. Cookies are text files, which are stored on your computer and that enable an analysis of the use of the website by users. The information generated by cookies on your use of this website is usually transferred to a Google server in the United States, where it is stored.
The storage of Google Analytics cookies and the utilization of this analysis tool are based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The operator of this website has a legitimate interest in the analysis of user patterns to optimize both, the services offered online and the operator’s advertising activities.
On this website, we have activated the IP anonymization function. As a result, your IP address will be abbreviated by Google within the member states of the European Union or in other states that have ratified the Convention on the European Economic Area prior to its transmission to the United States. The full IP address will be transmitted to one of Google’s servers in the United States and abbreviated there only in exceptional cases. On behalf of the operator of this website, Google shall use this information to analyse your use of this website to generate reports on website activities and to render other services to the operator of this website that are related to the use of the website and the Internet. The IP address transmitted in conjunction with Google Analytics from your browser shall not be merged with other data in Google’s possession.
You do have the option to prevent the archiving of cookies by making pertinent changes to the settings of your browser software. However, we have to point out that in this case you may not be able to use all of the functions of this website to their fullest extent. Moreover, you have the option prevent the recording of the data generated by the cookie and affiliated with your use of the website (including your IP address) by Google as well as the processing of this data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available under the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.
Objection to the recording of data
You have the option to prevent the recording of your data by Google Analytics by clicking on the following link. This will result in the placement of an opt out cookie, which prevents the recording of your data during future visits to this website: Google Analytics deactivation.
Demographic parameters provided by Google Analytics
This website uses the function “demographic parameters” provided by Google Analytics. It makes it possible to generate reports providing information on the age, gender and interests of website visitors. The sources of this information are interest-related advertising by Google as well as visitor data obtained from third party providers. This data cannot be allocated to a specific individual. You have the option to deactivate this function at any time by making pertinent settings changes for advertising in your Google account or you can generally prohibit the recording of your data by Google Analytics as explained in section “Objection to the recording of data.”
This website uses the WordPress tool Stats in order to statistically analyse user access information. The provider of the solution is Automattic Inc., 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110-4929, USA.
WordPress Stats uses cookies that are stored on your computer and that make it possible to analyse the use of this website. The information generated by the cookies concerning the use of our website is stored on servers in the United States. Your IP address is rendered anonymous after processing and prior to the storage of the data.
“WordPress Stats” cookies will remain on your device until you delete them.
The storage of “WordPress Stats” cookies and the use of this analysis tool are based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the anonymous analysis of user patterns, in order to optimize the operator’s web offerings and advertising.
You can set up your browser in such a manner that you will be notified anytime cookies are placed and you can permit cookies only in certain cases or exclude the acceptance of cookies in certain instances or in general and you can also activate the automatic deletion of cookies upon closing of the browser. If you deactivate cookies, the functions of this website may be limited.
You do have the option to object to the collection and use of your data for future implications by placing an opt out cookie into your browser by clicking on the following link: https://www.quantcast.com/opt-out/.
If you delete the cookies on your computer, you must set the opt-out cookie again.
This website uses Google AdSense, a service for the integration of ads offered by Google Inc. (“Google”). The provider of this service is Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.
Google AdSense uses so-called “cookies”; i.e. text files that are stored on your computer and that make it possible to analyse your use of this website. Google AdSense also uses so-called Web Beacons (invisible graphics). These Web Beacons can be used to analyse information, such as visitor traffic data, on this website.
The information generated by the cookies and the Web Beacons concerning the use of this website (including your IP address) and the delivery of advertising formats are transferred to a Google server in the United States, where they are archived. Google may share this information with Google contracting partners. Google shall, however, not merge your IP address with any other of your data stored by Google.
The storage of the AdSense cookies is based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the analysis of user patterns, in order to optimize the operator’s web offerings and advertising.
You can prevent the installation of these cookies by making a pertinent adjustment to your browser software settings; however, we have to point out that in this case you may not be able to use all of the functions of this website to their fullest extent. By using this website, you declare your consent to the processing of the data we collect about you by Google in the manner described above and agree to the aforementioned purpose of use.
Our websites use the functions of Google Analytics Remarketing in combination with the functions of Google AdWords and Google DoubleClick, which work on all devices. The provider of these solutions is Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.
This function makes it possible to connect the advertising target groups generated with Google Analytics Remarketing with the functions of Google AdWords and Google DoubleClick, which work on all devices. This makes it possible to display interest-based customized advertising messages, depending on your prior usage and browsing patterns on a device (e.g. cell phone) in a manner tailored to you as well as on any of your devices (e.g. tablet or PC).
If you have given us pertinent consent, Google will connect your web and app browser progressions with your Google account for this purpose. As a result, it is possible to display the same personalized advertising messages on every device you log into with your Google account.
To support this function, Google Analytics records Google authenticated IDs of users that are temporarily connected with our Google Analytics data to define and compile the target groups for the ads to be displayed on all devices.
You have the option to permanently object to remarketing / targeting across all devices by deactivating personalized advertising in your Google account. To do this, please follow this link: https://www.google.com/settings/ads/onweb/.
The consolidation of the recorded data in your Google account shall occur exclusively based on your consent, which you may give to Google and also revoke there (Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. a GDPR). Data recording processes that are not consolidated in your Google account (for instance because you do not have a Google account or have objected to the consolidation of data), the recording of data is based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The legitimate interest arises from the fact that the operator of the website has a legitimate interest in the anonymized analysis of website visitor for advertising purposes.
For further information and the pertinent data protection regulations, please consult the Data Privacy Policies of Google at: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads?hl=en.
Google AdWords and Google Conversion Tracking
This website uses Google AdWords. AdWords is an online promotional program of Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States (“Google”).
In conjunction with Google AdWords, we use a tool called Conversion Tracking. If you click on an ad posted by Google, a cookie for Conversion Tracking purposes will be placed. Cookies are small text files the web browser places on the user’s computer. These cookies expire after 30 days and are not used to personally identify users. If the user visits certain pages of this website and the cookie has not yet expired, Google and we will be able to recognise that the user has clicked on an ad and has been linked to this page.
A different cookie is allocated to every Google AdWords customer. These cookies cannot be tracked via websites of AdWords customers. The information obtained with the assistance of the Conversion cookie is used to generate Conversion statistics for AdWords customers who have opted to use Conversion Tracking. The users receive the total number of users that have clicked on their ads and have been linked to a page equipped with a Conversion Tracking tag. However, they do not receive any information that would allow them to personally identify these users. If you do not want to participate in tracking, you have the option to object to this use by easily deactivating the Google Conversion Tracking cookie via your web browser under user settings. If you do this, you will not be included in the Conversion Tracking statistics.
The storage of “Conversion” cookies and the use of this tracking tool are based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the analysis of user patterns, in order to optimize the operator’s web offerings and advertising.
To review more detailed information about Google AdWords and Google Conversion Tracking, please consult the Data Privacy Policies of Google at: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.
To measure our conversion rates, our website uses the visitor activity pixel of Facebook, Facebook Inc., 1601 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA (“Facebook”).
This tool allows the tracking of page visitors after they have been linked to the website of the provider after clicking on a Facebook ad. This makes it possible to analyse the effectiveness of Facebook ads for statistical and market research purposes and to optimize future advertising campaigns.
For us as the operators of this website, the collected data is anonymous. We are not in a position to arrive at any conclusions as to the identity of users. However, Facebook archives the information and processes it, so that it is possible to make a connection to the respective user profile and Facebook is in a position to use the data for its own promotional purposes in compliance with the Facebook Data Usage Policy. This enables Facebook to display ads on Facebook pages as well as in locations outside of Facebook. We as the operator of this website have no control over the use of such data.
The use of Facebook Pixel is based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in effective advertising campaigns, which also include social media.
In Facebook’s Data Privacy Policies, you will find additional information about the protection of your privacy at: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/.
You also have the option to deactivate the remarketing function “Custom Audiences” in the ad settings section under https://www.facebook.com/ads/preferences/?entry_product=ad_settings_screen. To do this, you first have to log into Facebook.
If you do not have a Facebook account, you can deactivate any user based advertising by Facebook on the website of the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance: http://www.youronlinechoices.com/de/praferenzmanagement/.
The processing of the information entered into the newsletter subscription form shall occur exclusively on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. a GDPR). You may revoke the consent you have given to the archiving of data, the e-mail address and the use of this information for the sending of the newsletter at any time, for instance by clicking on the “Unsubscribe” link in the newsletter. This shall be without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data processing transactions that have taken place to date.
Among other things, MailChimp is a service that can be deployed to organise and analyse the sending of newsletters. Whenever you enter data for the purpose of subscribing to a newsletter (e.g. your e-mail address), the information is stored on MailChimp servers in the United States.
MailChimp is in possession of a certification that is in compliance with the “EU-US-Privacy-Shield.” The “Privacy-Shield” is a compact between the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA) that aims to warrant the compliance with European data protection standards in the United States.
With the assistance of the MailChimp tool, we can analyse the performance of our newsletter campaigns. If you open an e-mail that has been sent through the MailChimp tool, a file that has been integrated into the e-mail (a so-called web-beacon) connects to MailChimp’s servers in the United States. As a result, it can be determined whether a newsletter message has been opened and which links the recipient possibly clicked on. Technical information is also recorded at that time (e.g. the time of access, the IP address, type of browser and operating system). This information cannot be allocated to the respective newsletter recipient. Their sole purpose is the performance of statistical analyses of newsletter campaigns. The results of such analyses can be used to tailor future newsletters to the interests of their recipients more effectively.
The data you archive with us for the purpose of the newsletter subscription shall be archived by us until you unsubscribe from the newsletter. Once you cancel your subscription to the newsletter, the data shall be deleted from our servers as well as those of MailChimp. This shall not affect data we have been archiving for other purposes.
We have executed a so-called “Data Processing Agreement” with MailChimp, in which we mandate that MailChimp undertakes to protect the data of our customers and to refrain from sharing it with third parties. You may review this Agreement under the following link: https://mailchimp.com/legal/forms/data-processing-agreement/sample-agreement/.
YouTube with expanded data protection integration
Our website uses plug-ins of the YouTube platform, which is being operated by YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave., San Bruno, CA 94066, USA.
We use YouTube in the expanded data protection mode. According to YouTube, this mode ensures that YouTube does not store any information about visitors to this website before they watch the video. Nevertheless, this does not necessarily mean that the sharing of data with YouTube partners can be ruled out as a result of the expanded data protection mode. For instance, regardless of whether you are watching a video, YouTube will always establish a connection with the Google DoubleClick network.
As soon as you start to play a YouTube video on our website, a connection to YouTube’s servers will be established. As a result, the YouTube server will be notified, which of our pages you have visited. If you are logged into your YouTube account while you visit our site, you enable YouTube to directly allocate your browsing patterns to your personal profile. You have the option to prevent this by logging out of your YouTube account.
Furthermore, after you have started to play a video, YouTube will be able to place various cookies on your device. With the assistance of these cookies, YouTube will be able to obtain information about our website visitor. Among other things, this information will be used to generate video statistics with the aim of improving the user friendliness of the site and to prevent attempts to commit fraud. These cookies will stay on your device until you delete them.
Under certain circumstances, additional data processing transactions may be triggered after you have started to play a YouTube video, which are beyond our control.
Via an API, this website uses the mapping service Google Maps. The provider is Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.
9. Payment service providers and resellers
Among other options, we offer payment through the services of Klarna on our website. The provider is Klarna AB, Sveavägen 46, 111 34 Stockholm, Sweden (hereinafter referred to as “Klarna”).
Klarna offers a wide spectrum of payment options (e.g. payment by instalment). If you should decide to pay through Klarna (Klarna checkout solution), Klarna will collect personal data from you. For specifics, please review Klarna’s Data Protection Declaration by following this link: https://www.klarna.com/us/privacy-policy/.
Klarna uses cookies to optimise the use of Klarna checkout solutions. The optimisation of the checkout solution constitutes a legitimate interest as defined in Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. Cookies are small text files that can be stored on your device and that do not cause any damage to your device. The information stays on your device until you delete it. For details concerning the use of Klarna cookies, please follow this link: https://cdn.klarna.com/1.0/shared/content/policy/cookie/de_de/checkout.pdf.
Instant Transfer Sofort / Sofortüberweisung
Among other options, we offer the payment service called “Instant Transfer Sofort” on our website. The provider of this payment option is the Sofort GmbH, Theresienhöhe 12, 80339 München, Germany (hereinafter referred to as “Sofort GmbH”).
With the assistance of the “Instant Transfer Sofort” tool, we receive a payment confirmation from the Sofort GmbH in real time, which allows us to instantly start to fulfil our obligations to you.
When you choose the “instant transfer Sofort” payment option, you must send a PIN and a valid TAN to the Sofort GmbH, which allows the company to log into your online banking account. Upon logging in, the Sofort GmbH will verify your account balance and will execute the bank transfer to us with the assistance of the TAN you provided. Subsequently, the company sends us an immediate transaction confirmation. After Sofort GmbH has logged in, the system will also automatically verify your revenues and check the credit limit of your pre-approved overdraft credit line and the existence of other accounts along with their balances.
Along with the PIN and TAN numbers, the system also transfers the payment information you entered along with personal data to the Sofort GmbH. Your personal data comprise your first and last name, address, phone number(s), e-mail address, IP address as well as any other data required for the processing of the payment transaction. This data must be transferred in order to be able to determine your identity with absolute certainty and to prevent attempts to commit fraud.
The legal basis for the sharing of your information with the Sofort GmbH is Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. a GDPR (consent) as well as Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. b GDPR (processing for fulfilment of a contract). You have the option to at any time revoke your consent to the processing of your data. Such a revocation shall not have any impact on the effectiveness of data processing transactions that occurred in the past.
For details on payments made with the instant transfer option, please follow these links: https://www.sofort.de/datenschutz.html and https://www.klarna.com/sofort/.
Among other options, we offer payment via Paydirekt on our website. The provider of this payment service is the Paydirekt GmbH, Hamburger Allee 26-28, 60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany (hereinafter referred to as “Paydirekt”).
Whenever you transact a payment via Paydirekt, Paydirekt collects transaction data and passes the data on to the bank you are registered with under Paydirekt. Besides the information required for the payment transaction itself, Paydirekt collects other data in conjunction with the processing of your transaction, such as the shipping address or the individual items in the shopping cart.
Subsequently, Paydirekt authenticates the transaction with the assistance of an authentication process that has been archived with the bank for this purpose. Next, your payment amount will be transferred to our account from your account. We do not have any access to your account information; neither do third parties.
For details concerning payment via Paydirekt, please review the General Terms and Conditions as well as the Data Protection Provisions of Paydirekt by following this link: https://www.paydirekt.de/agb/index.html. |